Issue 011
March 2006
Fighter Fitness Profile
In a feature brand new for 2006, we will give you a glimpse of top MMA fighter’s training regimes. Each month we’ll catch up with a fighter at the top of their game and look at the different elements of their fight preparation. In the first of the Fighter Fitness profiles we spoke with CageWarriors Welterweight Champion Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy, a member of the prolific Rough House team in Nottingham.
This is a rough plan of a normal training week for Dan. Though one of the UK’s top fighters, Dan still has to work part-time to support his fighting career. “I work part time in a gym. Life would be easier if I didn’t have to work but I’m pretty good with time management so I am able to fit everything in, plus the people at work are very supportive so they understand if I’m a little late and spend a lot of time eating!”
Wednesdays and Fridays sees Dan go running, but the type of run he does (whether jogging or sprints) and the overall intensity of the training depends on how far out from a fight he is. Dan also does power-lifting twice a week but stops lifting weights two weeks out from a fight.
Daily Diet Plan
Dan’s diet stays very similar to this even in preparation for a fight. As he says, “It doesn’t change much from day to day. Its all pretty basic, high-alkaline food that is easy to make.”
The time of each meal or snack Dan eats varies depending on his training schedule. Throughout the day he will drink up to four litres of water and sometimes consume a malt drink for extra B vitamins. Cutting weight isn’t too difficult a process for Dan, as he explains. “Leading up to a fight I start to cut carbs down later in the day, and up my water intake.” Though dieting plays an important part in losing weight for a fight, Dan is well accustomed to using dehydration techniques to drop weight for a fight, and will often walk into the ring much heavier than his fighting weight of 77kg.
Supplementation is important to Dan, but he doesn’t go overboard. “I just stick to whey protein and a little glutamine. I also take a multi-vitamin, fish oil, flaxseed oil, glucosamine sulphate and extra vitamin C and E.”
Breakfast
Shot of wheat grass , Breakfast shake - oats, mixed seeds, whey protein, rice milk. Freshly squeezed juice (orange or grapefruit)
Snack
Almonds, Apple, Banana
Lunch
Salmon with rice, lots of broccoli and mixed herbs
Snack
Oat cakes, Juice, Whey protein
Snack
Apple, Banana, Almonds
Dinner
Turkey breast, potatoes with cider vinegar, mixed herbs and olive oil and a large salad
Snack
Carrot sticks, Cucumber, Almonds
Weekly training.schedule
Monday
4.30pm Circuit training
5.30pm Muay Thai
8.00pm BJJ
Tuesday
10.30am Pad work
11.30am Sparring
6.00pm Submission wrestling
Wednesday
7.00am Run/sprints
6.00pm Muay Thai
8.00pm BJJ
Thursday
10.30am Pad work
11.30am Sparring
Friday
7.00am Run/sprints
11.30am BJJ
Saturday
10.00am Boxing
2.30pm BJJ
Sunday
Rest
