How Does a Combat Sports Diet Help Augment Athletic Performance?
Combat sports which include Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, Taekwondo (TKD), and Mixed Martial Arts (MM) have athletes with different diet plans and training regimes.
Sticking to a diet plan has always been challenging to many, but it’s an everyday ritual for professional athletes especially during preparing for a fight. Many fighters also tend to switch between different weight classes and cut off weight when desired.
Though cutting off weight or increasing weight itself is a challenging task. However, this inspires fighters to attempt to gain a competitive edge over others. All through the process of refeeding and following a diet plan that speeds up the weight loss or weight gain journey. Athletes additionally practice fasting and sometimes voluntary dehydration in order to significantly reduce weight before the weight-in event. Of course, such a regime is not recommended to amateurs especially for weight loss purposes.
In this article, we will help you get familiar with the diet plan of Georges St. Pierre (GSP), who is undoubtedly one of the OG’s of the combat sports industry. A name that made it and is chiseled in the history of the sport. We at RDX Sports will help you get a better understanding of how GSP maintains his weight and how he shifts between weight classes without affecting his own health.
Georges St-Pierre (GSP) Diet Plan
Rush’s diet plan includes high protein content. The carbohydrates components are medium to low whereas fats are kept at bare minimum level. The most common foods he includes in his diet are eggs, vegetables, meats, berries, whole grains and leafy greens.
A meal plan that comprises about 5 to 6 meals a day keeps him in shape and always fueled for his workouts that require a lot of strength and stamina.
Meal 1 – Breakfast
So he starts off with his breakfast with three eggs, a few slices of lean turkey and some spinach.
Meal 2 – Mid Morning Snack
This meal includes protein shake with a handful of almonds and sunflower seeds.
Meal 3 – Lunch
At lunch, Rush eats half sweet potato with turkey meatballs and asparagus.
Meal 4 – Evening Snack
Turkey jerky with some peanut butter and sunflower seeds.
Meal 5 – Dinner
At dinner, he eats white fish with steamed and shredded cabbage.
He doesn’t shy away from adding nutritious healthy desserts to his diet. He prefers having a smoothie prepared by blending whey protein, carrot juice, almonds, half avocado, acai juice and blackberries. He also drinks plenty of water throughout the day to keep himself hydrated at all times.
Cheat Diet
Though GSP has very sophisticated eating habits, he also goes on a cheat diet once a week. On cheat days he prefers eating pizza, burgers, french fries and some ice cream.
Supplements
Apart from consuming nutritious food items, Rush also uses supplements like Whey Protein, Creatine and Multivitamins.
Georges St-Pierre’s Workout Routine
Georges St. Pierre’s strictly follows his diet plan even after retiring from the MMA world. Even today, training is a crucial part of GSP’s lifestyle and he seldom skips it.
His workout routine mainly focuses on enhancing body strength and losing weight. The workout also contains certain explosive movements that enable him to generate maximum power and maintain stability. Additionally, he also incorporates sprinting and strength conditioning into his regime.
He mainly prefers speed push-ups, squats, push-press, etc. These exercises enable GSP to generate maximum power and help him develop his muscle strength.
GSP mentioned his life’s motto a quite few times while saying:
My goal is to be the most efficient, quickest-thinking fighter. I aim to be flexible, open-minded and ready for any situation.
This desire of being the best helped GSP in both his professional and personal life especially when it came to his fitness regime. A belief system that was at the core of his success and fame as a fighter.
GSP Fight-Oriented Training Routine
Boxing, Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai are the four combat sports form into GSP’s fighting style. For that very reason, his fight oriented training and sparring sessions helped him maintain his core strength and helped him achieve his fitness goals.
GSP’s Workout During MMA Career
During GSP’s glorious MMA career, his workout regime was more about weight management, endurance and stamina building, cardio and sparring sessions. The combination of all these styles made him a fighting machine.
GSP’s Leg Workout Routine
With an average of 3 sets and 5 reps, GSP performs ten different leg workout exercises. These exercises are listed below:
Deadlifts
Rush performs 8-12 reps in 3 sets for deadlift exercise.
Cleans
For cleans, he does 5 reps and 3 sets.
Front Squat
He proceeds with 3 sets and 5 reps for front squat exercise.
Single Leg Bodyweight Squats
He performs 3 sets and repeats till failure.
GSP’s Abs Workout Routine
For Ab workout, GSP primarily focuses on two exercises mentioned below:
Barbell twists
Georges St. Pierre starts off with 3 sets of barbell twists and unlimited reps till failure
Lying Leg Raises
Lying Leg Raises exercise is part of GSP’s workout routine. He does 3 sets of 30 seconds each for a perfect ab workout.
Upper Body Workout
GSP hits six different exercises when performing his upper body workout, each with 3 sets of 12 reps each.
Medicine Ball Slams
He performs 3 sets each with reps till failure.
Single Arm Dumbbell Row
3 sets of 8 to 12 reps each.
Dumbbell Chest Press
He proceeds with 4 sets of 12 reps each.
Front Dips and Pushups
After performing the Dumbbell Chest Press exercise, he hits 1 set of both dip and pushups and repeats until he gets tired.
Handstand Pushup
Another important part of GSP’s upper body workout includes 1 set of handstand pushups till failure.
Bicep Curls
He ends his workout with 3 sets of bicep curls that entails 8-12 reps each.
Let’s Wrap Up!
Along with being concerned about what to eat, athletes must also be cautious about what not to consume. A well-structured diet plan is what fuels up the body with essential nutrients that promote growth, help in muscle recovery and keep an athlete active and energized throughout the day. Not to forget, a good diet plays a vital role for their strength, stamina and endurance especially when preparing for a fight.
If you are inspired by GSP, you are already on the right path, so take the best out of his each diet and create one for yourself that caters to your body type and fitness goals. Be aware that the key to a happy life even if you are not a pro athlete, is staying fit. This doesn’t only contribute to your physical health but is very important for your mental well being. Follow a workout routine with your diet plan and there you are, on the path to a better self. Just make sure you stay focused and consistent. If you are an athlete, you can make use of supplements to boost your athletic performance after conferring to your trainer or nutritionist.
Start your journey today, we at RDXSports are in your corner to help you Move, Improve and Evolve with fitness equipment, guides, ambassador content and many more!
