Fighters Only

Issue 138

February 2016

Jon Jones is back and looking jacked so FO shows you how to power up like the pound-for-pound king

Building Bones

Learn from Jon Jones’ powerlifting training to get strong and stacked

Banging and clanging the iron in an old-school gym, covered in sweat and grunting away while wrestling with a 600lb deadlift sounds like the life of an elite powerlifter, not MMA’s most talented fighter. Yet videos of Jon Jones have revealed the former UFC champion heaving some serious iron – and he looks lean, mean and more motivated than ever.

With a grudge match with current 205lb champion Daniel Cormier on the horizon, ‘Bones’ looks more determined than we’ve seen ever seen him before, despite spending almost a year on the sidelines due to suspension.

Any thoughts the former light heavyweight leader may have gone off the rails while he was away from the cage have been shattered by his social media posts. ‘Bones’ has used his time away to build an impressive physique and power up some brute strength – the first sign he’s not only returning stronger than ever, but also ready to move up to the heavyweight class before too long.

Here’s how you can also add Olympic lifting to your S&C program to add lean muscle mass and increase your MMA power.

The full-body mass builder

3 reps x 6 sets (90% maximum), with 1 minute rest between sets

Deadlift

Focus on driving your hips forward to finish the movement. This is vitally important because it will ease the pressure on your lower back if you’re pulling heavy loads.

Sumo deadlift

Turn your toes out – not too far – and make sure to open your stance. By making these simple adjustments you’re able to lift the bar through your inner thigh, giving you a smoother, shorter pull.

Squat

This is one of the best exercises to build mass but make sure you get as low as possible to increase the intensity of the exercise.

Bench press

Don’t lock your elbows out when you’ve hoisted the weight. Keep your chest under pressure throughout the set to build a bigger chest, fast.

Weighted pull-up

Kip up using your legs to eke out an extra couple of reps. The last two pull-ups will take your muscles into the overload phase to build strength.

Flat dumbbell press

Aim to make the eccentric (lowering) phase three seconds and the concentric (lifting) phase one second to improve explosive power.

Jon ‘Bones’ Jones’

GAT supplements:

Pre-workout: GAT PMP Pre-workout

A powerful formula that’ll give you focus and energy to smash through your plateaus.