Star Athletes Provide Effective Home Workout Tips

With most governments around the world putting some type of quarantine measures in place due to the COVID-19 global situation, many gyms and dojos have closed their doors.

Fortunately, ONE Championship’s experienced martial artists have some tips on how people can stay active in the comfort of their own homes.

It is crucial that people are responsible about distancing themselves from others to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus, but remaining healthy in body and mind is also a key battle in the ongoing war.

The organization’s world-class mixed martial artists, kickboxers, and Muay Thai athletes need to stay in shape for their livelihood, so they have worked out ways to safely maintain their fitness and training routines.

Here are their tips on how you can still be effective outside of the gym.

Bibiano Fernandes – ONE Bantamweight World Champion

“I have a gym in my house. I have put some mats in there and my coach comes here to do my pads. It’s safe, and that’s very important. My strength and conditioning, everything I do at my house now. That is the best way to do it. Another way to do it is to go outside in the open space with your coach.

“Make sure your cardio is good and make sure your power is still there. I put some weights in my house to make sure it is good. My mind is always on the fight, but I make sure my power, strength, and cardio are still good.

“Diet [is important], too, and drink a lot of water. Make sure your body is okay before you come back and push yourself hard. Always do conditioning, cardio training, and shadow boxing daily.

“I think the most important thing about this now is to focus your mind and keep helping everybody to get through this together. I think that’s the big thing.”

Christian Lee – ONE Lightweight World Champion

“You just have to keep your mind engaged. It’s nice to just relax at home for a day, but I’m sure by the second, third, or fourth day, you’ll be going out of your mind. So, there are a lot of things you can do at home.

“You can do push-ups and sit-ups. For those who are fighters, you can shadowbox and practice a lot of different techniques just at home in front of the mirror.

“There are definitely a lot of things you can do at home, even without having a television in front of you. It’s not the best thing to be stuck at home, but it’s also definitely not the worst.”

Shannon Wiratchai – Thai Mixed Martial Arts Pioneer

“There are a lot of things you can work on by yourself, even fighters. We all have mistakes that we make, and it can be a small thing that’s boring that you usually do not want to deal with.

“Say you throw a straight right and you have a bad habit with it that allows your opponent to see it coming. You need to spend a lot of time with the ‘boring basics’ to improve that. If you’re quarantined, your life is already boring, so why not?  You have the time, so you might as well make the most of it.

“I think many people question, if they are not a pro fighter, how are they going to know what is wrong with their technique? The tip is very easy. Take a night to think about your problem. Why does my opponent always block this? Why does this shot always miss? Why does this go wrong every time? Ask the question, and then think about what your expectation is if you can get rid of it. You have the problem, and then you have the goal.

“Think about what you can do to fix it. Maybe you can YouTube it, you can Google it, or you can think about it for yourself – maybe you’ll find the way that will only work for you. It sounds like a lot, but it’s boring anyway and you found a problem. Now, you’re going to have 14 days to figure out a solution.”

Eko Roni Saputra – Indonesian Wrestling Champion

“While staying at home, we can clean our house, cook some dishes, and play with family, too. It is time for us to try something new and do some activities we have never tried before.

“It is good to watch some movies or series we have not watched yet. For me, it is time to spend more time with my wife and son.

“I think it is also important to do some exercises. We can do push-ups because it’s simple and doesn’t require certain equipment. We can also do some aerobic activities.”

Elliot Compton – ONE Super Series Lightweight

“As far as I’m concerned, on a personal level, with fights getting canceled, postponed, and pushed around, I’m just using the time to build on myself. Even if I can’t get to the gym, I will stay at home and work on my mind.

“I will focus on all of the positive things I have in my life. I will use that to inspire myself to be better and to develop a stronger mindset and a stronger will so that come fight time, I’ve been working something – even if I can’t physically get to a gym and work out.

“Train your mind and focus on the positives because no matter how tough we have it now, I know that somewhere in the world, someone has it a lot tougher than I do. So just focus on the positives and, hopefully, this will blow over quickly enough and we can get back to doing what we do.”

Gurdarshan Mangat – Top Indian Mixed Martial Artist

“I know it’s a tough time. I know it’s kind of secluded from everybody, but we’ve all got to battle this together and we’ve all got to do our part. We’ve got to stay with the social distancing and stay isolated, and the best thing to do is to improvise.

“I’ve started working out at home. I’ve been using elastic bands, attaching them and wrapping them around walls, and shadowboxing. I’ve been doing stuff like that.

“You have a lot of time to focus and work on yourself, and you have time to meditate. I’ve been doing a lot of visualizing and meditating, letting the day slow down and just enjoying it for what it is. I’ve been enjoying the calm for once.

“Life is always fast-paced because you’re always trying to be one step ahead, but now we can take a break and recover, and take the opportunity for what it is. We can take the negative and turn it into a positive. [For example], I’m spending time with my family that I never ever get around this time.”

Azwan Che Wil – ONE Super Series Flyweight

“I have a punching bag at home, so thankfully I can still resume my training without much restraint. However, for those of you who don’t own one, there are other ways you can sweat it out by staying at home.

“I have a pretty basic routine. First, try skipping [rope] for 20 minutes. If you don’t have one, just mimic the movement for 20 minutes. Once you are done with that, take a break for a minute before doing four sets of 20 repetitions of push-ups and sit-ups. I usually end my workout with a short Muay Thai shadowboxing session.

“If you are too lazy to do that, then try making a list of house chores you can do at home.  Cleaning the house does make you sweat a lot, so it is just as good as a short skipping session.”

Josh Tonna – ONE Super Series Strawweight

“The social distancing is getting stricter by the minute, so we are creating content for our MuayU members and for the fight team to train at home. We have been brainstorming ideas about quarantine training, so that’s been fun.

“I follow a few guys on social media outside of ONE who inspire me: David Goggins, Courtney Dauwalter, Joe Rogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jocko Willink, Russell Brand, and Wim Hof. Listening to these people for a few years has shaped how I train, think, and live, really. I try to do meditation, yoga or breathwork when I wake up, or all three.

“I would encourage people to continue to train. Don’t let your health suffer over the next few months because you aren’t motivated. Be disciplined and support your gym if they have online lessons. It will be your mental health, as well as your physical health, that will suffer.”

Read more: 5 Stars Get Their Kids Involved In Their Home Workouts