Issue 154
May 2017
What is it like training with elite athletes at American Top Team?
ATT is one of those gyms that either makes or breaks you. There are a lot of guys that come from small gyms and they are the top dogs. They kick everybody’s ass there. They
are a little more athletic, a little meaner than everyone in their little gym.
A lot of guys come to ATT and it’s always the same thing.
They get beat up and maybe seven out of 10 will be there a few weeks, maybe a few months, but eventually we never see them again.
What are the gym’s grappling sessions like?
It’s fun. In our gym, we have had world champions in certain disciplines, like judo guys and Greco guys.
That’s always an amazing feeling, to be able to go with guys who are the best in the world in that discipline.
All they have done their whole life is wrestle or do judo. We always have a good room. We will have three or four All-Americans on the mat.
How about standup?
We have a good striking room, too. We have guys like Robbie Lawler and a bunch of other guys that are animals. We have a good relationship with a bunch of gyms in Europe so we will get a lot of the Dutch strikers that come over and we will just bang it out with them.
All they have done their whole life is strike.
They don’t know how to sprawl or do a take-down. They know how to bang. They know how to punch and kick and they are really good at it. We will bang it out and that’s always fun.
What does your cardio training consist of?
There are days that I do more cardio if my weight is high. I might not get on the treadmill or Stairmaster because I hit the pool. On days I don’t hit the pool or track I will always do some type of cardio.
Even if I just pick up a kettlebell and lift it for fifteen minutes – just fifteen minutes of working on my grip. It’s strength training, but when your technique becomes good enough it almost becomes cardio. You are just flowing.
How much weight training do you do?
At 155, I wouldn’t touch weights because my weight would explode too much. At 170, I started lifting to try to put on weight. Now I lift often. It’s not always heavy but I lift five days a week. Anything from deep squats, to hip thrusts, to clean and jerk.
On those days, it’s not about cardio so I will take as long of a break as I need before I hit my next set. It’s cool. It’s a different pace on those days. I am putting max effort on every rep and every set. I hit the kettlebells twice a week. I wish I’d found out about them sooner because I really love it.
How much do you spar?
ATT used to do it a lot back in the day. My main striking coach is a Cuban national.
Other coaches of mine were involved in the boxing game there. I always use them as my guiding light. Let’s spar more but not hurt each other.
The Cubans will spar three or four times a week. It’s beautiful to watch if you enjoy technique. It’s a lot of speed and cardio, but they won’t hurt each other.
Right before they hit each other they will pull back. Every once in a while you do need a hard sparring session. Once a week I will spar to hurt. We need to see where the tools are. I spar light also.
Two or three times a week the pace is high but it’s not to hurt.
Is your weight cut difficult?
At 170 I am walking on clouds. It’s a breeze. At 155 it was a struggle for my life. I would diet to about 5% body fat.
That would leave me at around 172. I couldn’t get lower because I wouldn’t have energy in practice.
Usually, I would cut from there. To go from 172 to 156 was hell. I would always hit the wall at 160. That’s why I can’t sympathize with a guy like Kelvin Gastelum. He’s fat. Ten pounds? That’s an act of cowardice. If it took an hour to get from 173 to 160 it would take me twice as long from 160 to 156.
How has your diet changed?
At 155 I would mainly eat my vegetables, carbs, fish and chicken.
I would eat red meat maybe once a week, usually Wednesday night. I would get a good 12oz portion. That’s all the meat I would eat for the week. It was harder to lose the weight with that red meat.
I would stay away from cheese and dairy.
At 170 my diet is strict but it’s nothing too crazy.
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