Working out at the gym has the tendency to grow stale, but there is no reason to abandon your zest for fitness just because the environment has become dull! We met up with Mohamed Zakaria, the Head of Fighting at Fight and Fitness Factory in Sheikh Zayed, to learn some of the functional training steps that fighters go through to pump up the stamina for boxing, MMA, and kickboxing. You can use any of these hacks to battle the carbs, punch up the power, and beat the gym rut!
WARMING UP
It is essential to warm up your rotator cuff, the group of muscles and tendons surrounding your shoulder joint, before attempting any form of fighting fitness. Use resistance bands or light dumbbells to stretch your arms and shoulder in a range of motions.
SKIPPING ROPES
A great lower body workout; hamstrings, glutes and calves all warm up with this simple and fun exercise. Great for the shoulders and general coordination, too.
SHADOW BOXING
A great cardio move for warming up, grab some dumbbells and get your rotator cuff muscles moving by boxing the air.
BATTLE ROPES
Work out your glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps in isometric contraction by holding yourself into a squat position and lifting the ropes in a wave. This increases your endurance and speed while also giving your shoulders and back a great workout.
PUNCHING BAG
Use your own body weight to increase the power of your punch by hitting the bag, the heaviness of the bag increases your overall strength and gives you a great fat-burning cardio workout. It also increases core muscle strength.
AIR BIKE
This nifty bike is harder than it looks! The resistance works out your shoulders, lats in the back, and your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves. Great cardio and fat burning, too.
HAMMER SMASH
This increases the range of motion of your waist, and gives great overall body conditioning. Legs, shoulders, lats, triceps, and biceps all work together to execute this move with fat burning results.
SAND BAG
There’s a big difference between hitting on the ground and hitting standing up! Hit a sand bag on the ground to increase your cardio stamina and use all your core muscles to stay steady and not flip over.
KETTLE BALL SWING
The main muscles used here are hamstrings and glutes, while also using your core muscles. This move increases explosive power needed by fighters for kicks and punching, while also increasing the shoulders range of motion. This exercise also bulks up the lower body mass.
Mohamed Zakaria is a certified personal trainer and is certified in MMA conditioning. He teaches several classes at F3 including Muay Thai, wrestling, and kickboxing. He is a certified Boxercise, Cage Fitness, MMA and Kickboxing instructor. Zakaria will be in Sa7el from mid-July and is available for both personal and group fitness training.
Contact details
FIGHT FITNESS
Mohamed Zakaria
Tel: 0111 874 4557
Mahmoud Zakaria
Tel: 0111 425 3576
Fight and Fitness Factory
Arkan – Building 4, 1st Floor Sheikh Zayed
Tel: 0128 050 1070
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