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Rumble.
in the category: Fitness
Mixed martial arts athlete Anthony "Rumble" Johnson talks about training, Southern cooking and training harder than the next guy.
Even elite professional athletes cut loose—just a little—during the holidays.
"I'm eating dirty while I'm home."
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson had just returned to his grandparents home for the holidays when we spoke.
"I usually eat pretty clean, but I'm back home in Georgia" says Johnson. "I haven't been home in a year and a half so I've decided to eat a little sloppy."
Anyone who's seen Paula Deen's Southern cooking shows on TV knows what he means. "Everything around here sounds good, smells good, looks good to me."
Anthony Johnson is a rising star in the world's premier mixed martial arts promotion, the UFC. Fresh off an impressive Knockout of the Night victory over Kevin Burns, Anthony is taking a few days off to be with friends and family. "Yeah, I'm taking a little break, but if the UFC wants me to fight soon I'm ready to do it."
Mixed martial arts athletes must not only be well-rounded boxers, kickboxers, wrestlers and grapplers (thus "mixed"); they also need to be in top physical shape to endure fast-paced, high-intensity matches with equally skilled opponents. Every one of them must nurture an internal Steve Prefontaine to stay competitive.
With frequent events and varying schedules, fighters must stay in top shape to fight on short notice. "The 170 weight class is so tough, and I respect everybody in it. I'm not calling out anybody, so whoever they want me to fight is cool with me."
Fighting...in a Cage
To those unfamiliar, mixed martial arts can appear brutal—something John McCain once likened to human cockfighting. Ironically, the competitors' tattooed exteriors frequently belie what are in reality educated, eloquent and well-mannered people. Ivan Salaverry is a perfect example. And so is Anthony Johnson.
At 24, Johnson is a respectful sportsman and class act—a true ambassador for the sport in the mold of Randy Couture. He embodies composure beyond his years, something that may be attributed to his upbringing by his grandparents, for whom he holds deep admiration. His "old soul" wisdom is also relevant in his training approach: "I think I've matured as a fighter. Every time you see me fight you can tell that I learned something" says Johnson. "You can really tell now that I'm actually improving a lot, between my first fight in the UFC a year and a half ago until now. In another year and a half I'll be even better."
He's also grateful for the support of TapouT and "the boys from KNOXX", as he says, "and everybody that supports me." He was also kind enough to make a point of thanking me—his tone a deliberate courtesy that (frankly) pleasantly surprised me, coming from someone who's spent so much time on television.
Johnson, who began competition as a collegiate wrestler, is evolving his game, as is evidenced by his head-kick knockout of Kevin Burns. He now trains with Cung Le, an accomplished fighter with a reputation for fight-ending kicks. Anyone who has trained kickboxing knows power, speed and flexibility are essential to effective kicking. "Cung and his partner Allan Maravilla have worked with me on how to move your hips and the technique. You can have sloppy technique and you can have good technique. The technique and the repetition helps a lot."
Cardio Conditioning
So, aside from gaining strength and honing technique, how does one prepare for a sport that requires your body to bury the needle and go all-out for 15 minutes?
"I do a lot of running. My coach has me doing a lot of crazy stuff—a lot of core strength training. You can tell my conditioning in this last fight has improved. Last time I was using the Hypoxico altitude machine, which is good, but I did a lot of running on my own, too. Using the Hypoxico can only take you so far. By actually running that's when you get your cardio in."
"You just gotta force yourself to keep going more and more" says Johnson. "The way I do it, I just think about my opponent. I assume he's doing extra in the gym and training harder than me, so I have to train harder than he is."
Mental Toughness
The physical toughness mixed martial arts requires goes without saying. You will get punched. You will get kicked. You will get thrown to the ground. And someone may very well try to break your arm or choke you out. On Anthony's level, every fight is the Boston Marathon, every fight is the Olympics. How does he keep from bonking on fight day?
"I think it's more mental than anything. There's nothing specific that I do, I just think this whole thing is mental" says Johnson. "I don't have any tricks up my sleeve or anything like that."
With a good race training program, the hard work is done the months leading up to the race. Putting in the hours, pushing yourself, doing your long runs, your short runs, your hills and speed work. As with racing, grueling preparation is also the key in fighting, where shortcuts and quitting lead to check marks in the "Loss" column. And while many runners have a mantra that keeps them focused, Johnson also has a bit of wisdom he hangs on to when he's pushing himself harder and harder.
"A good friend of mine told me 'don't cheat yourself.' That meant a lot to me. If you cheat yourself, who do you have to look up to or depend on? You can only blame yourself if you cheat yourself. That makes me work a lot harder."
What's in the iPod?
Always curious about what's in people's ears, I asked Anthony what the top 3 things are in his iPod. "I listen to every kind of music except for opera and country" Anthony says, with a laugh. "I'm from the South so I listen to a lot of Young Jeezy
Congrats on your win Anthony, happy holidays, and here's to a successful 2009.
All images courtesy of UFC and ZUFFA, LLC.
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Leave a Comment
Let's keep it polite and on topic.
Well, Rumble is so physically fit because he does a lot of exercise and work outs. Music is also a good exercise for the ears.
Gold Coast Hotels | December 08, 2009