TOM ASPINALL IS moving some serious weight as he prepares for his fight with Ciryl Gane at the end of October. The UFC fighter is already in the thick of his training camp, working on his metabolic conditioning and building up his strength to supplement the vast amounts of sparring and jiu jitsu training he is mainly focusing on.
While mornings consist of MMA training, Aspinall heads to the gym in the evenings. Alongside exercises that will help keep him explosive in the octagon, Aspinall is developing his core, posterior chain and main movement patterns that ensure he is functionally strong, too.
The 32-year-old shared a workout from the first week of his training camp on his YouTube channel, which includes him moving impressively heavy weight – he repped out 80kg barbell floor presses while in a glute bridge position, and managed to row 100kg while in a high, shrug-like position. In total, Aspinall completed seven exercises as part of a full-body workout.
The Workout
1. Single-arm Kettlebell Farmer’s Walk
2. Jump Squat
3. Alternating Single-leg Box Jumps
4. Banded Pull-through
5. Barbell Floor Press in Glute Bridge
6. Foam Roller Wall Slide
7. Barbell High Row
How to do the movements
Single-arm Kettlebell Farmer’s walk
Stand tall with a heavy kettlebell in just one hand. Let your arm hang freely at your side, take a deep breath into your core and begin a fast, deliberate march. When you reach a 20-metre mark, turn around – without letting the weight swing – and head back, before swapping arms.
Jump squat
Stand tall, core engaged and chest lifted. Squat down, keeping your back straight, until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor. Jump upwards explosively as high as you can, let your arms travel slightly behind you. As you descend, continue into your next rep, directly into the squat position ready to repeat.
Alternating single-leg box jump
Stand in front of a box, with your feet hip-width apart. Jump on top, landing with just one foot as softly as possible and bending your knee slightly to absorb the impact. Quickly return that leg to the ground, while bringing your other leg up to the box at the same time.
Banded pull-through
Anchor a resistance band around a sturdy piece of equipment. Place the band between your legs, grabbing the handle with both hands while facing away from the anchor point. Step forward until there’s tension in the band, hinge over and reach your hands as far back as you can so that it’s comfortable but challenging. Squeeze your glutes, pushing your hips forwards so that you come to stand up with your arms relaxed but still gripping onto the band.
Barbell floor press in Glute Bridge
Lie down on the floor underneath a barbell. With the bar at shoulder height and your upper arms on the floor at a 45-degree angle relative to your torso, squeeze your shoulder blades, abs and glutes to create full-body tension. With your heels flat on the floor, bridge up so that your glutes are now off the floor.
From there, press the barbell straight up, squeezing your chest. Lower the weight back down to the starting position with control, pausing at the bottom before the next rep, all while staying in the glute bridge position.
Foam roller wall slide
Stand a couple of feet back from a wall and lean forward, placing a foam roller between your forearms and the wall at just below shoulder height. Press the foam roller up towards the ceiling using just your forearms, keeping the movement controlled. Using the same pressure, bring the foam roller back to the starting position. Repeat.
Barbell high row
Grab a barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. With your legs slightly bent, lock your core, keep your back straight and stand so that your torso is at a 135-degree angle to the floor. Row the weight upwards in an arc shape towards your hips. Pause and squeeze the shoulder blades together for a beat while keeping the shoulders away from the ears. Slowly reverse the rep back to the beginning position.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
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