Issue 124
January 2015
Kevin Kearns, S&C coach to top-class UFC and Bellator fighters, presents his best training tips. This 8lb shirt will kick your ass – but it’ll make you faster and stronger too.
Everybody who has ever trained with a weighted vest understands the benefits it offers athletes of all levels. I’ve personally been an advocate of them for years. Used intelligently, with a gradual increase in load, you can fool the body into perceiving it as an internal load instead of an external one. In other words, you become stronger from the inside out.
Yet weighted vests are seldom mainstays of training programs. The problem is their weight shifts and bangs into your body. They’re also not the most portable devices. They’re heavy, cumbersome and restrict movement, which is detrimental to a good workout.
However, the next generation of vest – the weighted compression shirt – has arrived. The Titin weighted shirt weighs just 8lb fully loaded, but it kicked my ass from the first time I wore it. And it’ll do the same to you, I guarantee it.
Used by a host of professional athletes already, including new UFC fighters Alex White and Charles Rosa, the Titin shirt is unique. It’s a compression shirt in every sense of the word, so it doesn’t interfere with your range of motion.
It sticks to your skin so you can wear it for any exercise. I’ve even worn mine while holding focus mitts for a client to give myself a workout.
Crucially, its weights aren’t metal or sand. They’re medical gel, which can be heated or cooled to aid rehab or therapy sessions. It’s even machine washable, so no more smelly gear in your kitbag!
I used the Titin weighted shirt all last summer. It kicked my ass and it can do the same to you and supercharge your cardio levels. Here’s my eight-exercise workout. See if you can do five rounds against just 8lb... I’ll bet you can’t!
TITIN TOUGH 1
Load your shirt and get ready. Aim for 10-15 consecutive reps on all exercises for three five-minute rounds, with just 60 seconds rest between rounds.
KIT
• Titin weighted shirt
• Heavy medicine ball (40lb+)
• Pull-up bar
• Jump Sport Fitness Trampoline
1. Heavy med ball snatches
Grab the med ball and squat down. Now in one quick motion launch the ball up over your head and lock it out.
2. Military chin-ups
With a neutral grip, lower your body down to a dead hang before performing a pull-up.
3. Trampoline box jumps
Jump onto the trampoline and then step off.
4. Heavy med ball toss squat
With a grip on the med ball, drop into a low squat position before tossing the ball forwards.
5. Plyo trampoline push-ups
In a push-up position explode off the trampoline.
6. Side to side pull-ups
Grab the chin-up bar and instead of pulling yourself straight up, alternate pulling from side to side.
7. Overhead heavy med ball lunges
With the med ball raised over your head, step forward in a lunge position and then press back to the starting position. Alternate legs.
8. One-legged trampoline hops
Stand on one foot on the trampoline and drive your knee upwards as you bounce for 10 seconds, before changing legs.
The UFC’s Alex ‘The Spartan’ White is one of the up-and-coming pro athletes to use the Titin weighted shirt while training.
