Issue 123
Less icky gear equals less embarrassment when finding a partner and could save on new equipment too.
The fight against infections is one of the toughest all fighters face. From Diego Sanchez and Kevin Randleman through to Forrest Griffin and ‘Minotauro’, many high-profile athletes have been hospitalized by the dreaded staph infection, one of the most notorious MMA gym bugs.
You don’t have to be a germ-free freak to stay safe from infections and other nasties, but a certain amount of responsibility and vigilance is necessary to ensure you never end up TKO’d by a microscopic opponent.
1) Wash your kit after every training session
Let’s be frank here: you shouldn’t need to be told to wash your gear after each outing.
But who hasn’t been in the changing room when someone has pulled a soaking wet pair of dirty shorts out of their gymbag right before a workout? Show the right respect to your training partners and yourself.
2) Segment your kit with plastic bags
If you train more than once a day and keep multiple changes of clothes in the same bag, simple plastic grocery bags will become your best friend. Chucking everything into the same compartment only means your soaking wet T-shirt will pollute the entire contents of your bag. Keep everything separate until you get home and put them all in the laundry. Higher end kitbags come with mesh compartments for this exact purpose.
3) Kill bugs dead with disinfectant
Add a drop of disinfectant into the washing machine if your kit is particularly dirty or stinky. Simply putting more washing powder in will only see your machine spew bubbles everywhere, but a drop of disinfectant added to the load will help kill any stubborn germs.
4) A drop of spray goes a long way
Putting a drop of hand sanitizer gel or spray on gloves and shinpads will kill germs. Wiping them down straight after training with a cloth and a spot of sanitizer will not only keep them clean, but could also prolong the life of your kit. Moldy bacteria can eat away at the lining of your equipment, so by keeping it all fresh you can put off buying a new pair of boxing gloves by up to a few years.
5) Hang up your gloves
Hang-dry your gloves and shinpads between training sessions bacteria thrives in warm, moist environments. Taking away both means you won’t end up with mold-ridden stuff. Popping some silica gel pouches those little closed sachets you find in some packaging inside your gloves between sessions will absorb any moisture and help them dry out quicker.
6) Get fresh
It doesn’t actually kill bugs, but an air freshener wrapped in a sock stashed in your bag will keep it from smelling a little less awful, eliminating the need to hold your breath every time you have to root out your hand wraps.
Add a drop of disinfectant into the washing machine load as it will help kill any stubborn germs. UFC lightweight Gray Maynard recommends using a mesh gymbag, which helps your kit to dry faster.
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