The UFC body of a Brock Lesner or Forrest Griffith did not just happen overnight. They trained hard, using many different techniques and routines. The following is a three day split routine designed by Kerry Kayes. This will blast the fat and build the right kind of muscle to compete on the mat.
What to do...
Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the days you will work so you can rest in between to give your muscles a change to rebuild. The routine is simple, but not easy.
Monday you work chest, shoulders and triceps. Wednesday, you work the lower body and Friday you will work you back and you biceps.
Sets 3-4 with the first exercise working a muscle group; 1-2 sets on all other exercises.
For your first set training each muscle group, use a load that requires around 50% of your maximum effort. “You are just getting your muscles used to the movement,” explains Kayes. Your second set should use a load that requires around 80% of your maximum effort, and your final set(s) should be executed with as much weight as you can physically manage, overloading your muscles to stimulate growth. With subsequent exercises training the same muscle group, you’re already warmed up, so just do 1-2 sets using as heavy a load as you can.
Tweak your reps according to your training goal. To put the emphasis on strength gains, add more weight and perform less reps; to focus on building muscle, use a little less weight and squeeze out a few extra lifts each set. Just ensure your risk of injury is low by keeping things within a 6-12 range.
Rest “We’re training for strength, not fitness, so make sure you have recovered from the previous set before your start the next one,” says Kayes. Don’t be afraid to take extended breathers. Researchers at the State University of Rio De Janeiro recently found resting for five minutes between sets maximised strength gains.
UFC BODY - Monday: Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
1. Flat bench press
Muscles worked Pectorals, deltoids, triceps and latissimus dorsi.
How to do it Lie on a bench with your legs positioned at the sides, feet flat on the floor. Place your hands about six inches wider than shoulder-width and grab a barbell at arm’s length above your chest – in line with your shoulders. Lower to about an inch below your nipples, then press up until your arms are fully extended. “Do not relax and drop the barbell to the chest: lower it under complete control, and pause at your chest before pressing back to the starting position,” says Kayes. Remember to always exhale on the effort part of the movement.
2. Flat bench dumb-bell flys
Muscles worked Pectorals
How to do it Again, lie on a bench with your legs positioned at the sides, feet flat on the floor. Hold two dumb-bells with your arms slightly bent, reaching as high as you can. Lower the weights slowly in an arc movement outwards as far as you can, stretching your pectoral muscles and breathing in. Then contract your pectorals, raising the dumb-bells to the starting position, breathing out as you do so.
You can alter the order of these chest exercises each workout.
3. Standing dumb-bell press
Muscles worked Deltoids, triceps, traps, biceps and core musculature.
How to do it Lock your legs to give you a solid platform. Keeping your elbows in, with palms facing away from you, press the weights overhead from chest height until your arms lock out. Then lower under control back to the starting position. Again, remember to always exhale on the effort part of the movement.
4. Side Lateral Raises
Muscles worked Deltoids and core musculature.
How to do it Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold two dumb-bells loosely at your sides, arms slightly bent. Breathe out and contract your side shoulder muscles to raise the dumb-bells sideways and outward to shoulder height (forming a ‘capital T’ shape). Then, lower the dumb-bells back to the starting position along the same line of movement, breathing in slowly as you do so.
You can alter the order of these shoulder exercises each workout.
5. Close-grip barbell press
Muscles worked Triceps, pectorals, deltoids and biceps.
How to do it Lie on a bench with your legs positioned either side, feet flat on the floor. Grip a barbell with both hands at shoulder width. Start with the barbell touching your stomach about an inch above your belly button. Press upwards towards the sky, keeping your elbows as close to your body as possible, and breathing out with the effort until your arms lock out. Then, slowly lower the bar back to just above your belly button as you breathe in.
UFC BODY - Wednesday: Legs
1. Squats
Muscles worked Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core.
How to do it Place a barbell on your upper-back behind your head. Kayes suggests using a grip width that feels most comfortable to you. Keep your head up, your back straight, and your feet on the floor around 15 inches apart as you squat down until your upper thighs are parallel to the floor. Then, push up and return to the starting position, but don’t lock your legs before beginning the next rep. As always, exhale on the effort part of the move.
2. Stiff leg deadlifts
Muscles worked Glutes, hamstrings, erector spinae and core.
How to do it With your feet slightly wider than shoulder width and (despite the exercise being called stiff leg deadlifts) a slight bend in your knees, tense your legs. Holding a barbell using a shoulder-width grip, with palms facing inwards, slowly lower the weight as low as you can (if your lower back hurts, be very careful). At the bottom point of the move, contract your lower back and glutes and lift the bar as close to your legs as possible while breathing out.
3. Calf raises
Muscles worked Calves.
How to do it If you don’t have access to a calf raise machine, perform standing calf raises with a barbell as follows: stand with the balls of your feet on the edge of a step – two-thirds of both feet should be hanging over the edge. Place a barbell on your back. Take two seconds to rise up onto the toes of both feet, then lower as far as you can over one second. Repeat.
UFC BODY - Friday: Back and biceps
1. Bent over barbell rows
Muscles worked Latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, calves and core.
How to do it With a barbell on the floor in front of you, place your feet about 18 inches apart, and grip the barbell with your hands placed a little wider than your feet. Keep your legs slightly bent and your back parallel to the floor as you pull the weight up to the lower part of your chest.
2. One-arm bent over dumb-bell rows
Muscles worked Latissimus dorsi, rear deltoids, traps and biceps.
How to do it Bend over so your back is parallel to the floor, supporting yourself with one hand on a bench. Hold a dumb-bell at your side with the other hand. Contract your back while breathing out and pull the weight upwards, slightly arcing it backwards – if the dumb-bell travels up and down only, you are using more of your bicep than your back. This is also a great move for taxing your core, says Kayes.
3. Bar-bell curls
Muscles worked Biceps.
How to do it Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the barbell with your palms facing out, and your arms straight down by your side. Slowly breathe out and contract your biceps to raise the weight upwards in an arc as high as you can, without recruiting your shoulder muscles. Then slowly breathe as you return along the same line of movement to the starting position.
The UFC Body is not impossible, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck.
