Ever wanted to know how ‘Rocky’ trains?
And no, we’re not talking about the Rocky that punches hanging meat or runs through the streets of Philadelphia. We’re talking about no other than UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards.
Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards entered his fight against Kamaru Usman in the UFC 278 main event as a substantial underdog. Usman was without a doubt the best fighter in any division, and he ranked as the top fighter in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings (he defeated Edwards in their first encounter in 2015). Despite trailing on the judges’ cards for most of the fight, Edwards reached the final round, where he won the title. A high kick from Edwards knocked Usman out with a minute to go, one of the most exciting and shocking ends in UFC history.
En route to his trilogy bout with Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, the champ would divulge his workout secrets.
Warm-Up: Assault Treadmill (5 Mins)
“My warmup will be normally I’ll go on either the Aerodyne bike or the treadmill for five minutes,” Edwards told Men’s Health. “I wanna feel loose before I go into a heavy workout. I do like more dynamic stretches. I like to do lunges and anything with movement in it but far as like also getting range on my body.”
Strength Training: Dumbbell Bench Press (20 Reps)
“Now I’m gonna head to the weight room. My favorite exercise will be bench press. General strength, you also get a little cardio element of it, you pair in the sets together. And again, loads of high reps in.”
Incline Dumbbell Row (20 Reps)
“Then into back row. I don’t like to just do heavy weights like chest, 10, 10, 10, then rest. The muscle endurance translates into the ring of fires. Like mixed martial arts is a mixture of sports. So when two muscles are firing at the same time, it can all be beneficial.”
Trap Bar Deadlift (20 Reps)
“Deadlift into both lands. That keeping my body explosive even off-season.”
Medicine Ball Slam
“Heavyweights deadlift into like explosive movement. Ball slam, which is basically a fight, you going from being in the wrestling position where it’s like more attention than into like explosive, which is like striking, moving. So, I think the dead lift into ball slam mimics that a little bit.
“I wouldn’t say I like it, but I put it into my routine cause I know the benefits far as overall strength that it gives me. I do enjoy the benefits I get from it.”
Finisher: Assault Stationary Bike (5 Sets Of 10 Secs Sprint, 20 Secs Rest)
“My finisher [is] normally a 10 (second) sprint, 20 (second) rest, five times. When I’m in a training camp, it varies in general, just maintaining that all overall fitness.
“That’s how I train,” Edwards said. “I hope they can use some of these move to implement in your lifestyle and train hard and just be dedicated and you achieve it.”
Here is a full workout:
Assault Treadmill – 5 min
Full Workout List:
Chest and Back Superset
2A – Dumbbell Bench Press – 20 reps
2B – Incline Dumbbell Row – 20 reps
Posterior Chain Superset
3A- rap Bar Deadlift – 20 reps
3B- Med Ball Slams – 20 reps
Finisher
Stationary Assault Bike – 5 secs of 10 Sprints, 20-sec rest
