ASK GRAY

First of all, thank you for all of the questions you sent in.  Here are some of the ones I received.  I will post more later in the week.  If you have something to ask email the question in.  As always, I enjoy hearing from you.  I want to write about what you want to hear about.  Thanks for all of your continued support.

1. Who are you looking to fight next?

Don’t know yet. I think they (UFC) are waiting to see what happens with a couple other fights.

2. Who will win, Michael Bisping or Wanderlei Silva?

That should be a great fight. I know Wanderlei is hungry to get back on the winning track. He’s a legend and been through some wars, so he’s always tough to beat. Bisping is out to prove he can still be a contender. So there’s a lot riding on the fight, which always makes it interesting. I’m not really big on predicting fights when I don’t know how their training camp is going and what their mindset is for the fight. But, I’m definitely anxious to watch it!!

3. What are your training and conditioning routines?

Right now I’m not in training camp. My lifting is geared more towards gaining strength, rather than metabolic lifting in training camp. I lift three times a week with heavier weight and fewer reps, also incorporating some speed drills.

Now is the time I really concentrate on technique and learning. I can slow down my practices and focus on certain areas I need to work rather than hard sparring and working on a certain game plan and movements for an upcoming opponent. This is a great time to cross train like mountain biking, road biking, and swimming. Breaks up the routine, but I’ll still get a great workout.

4.  I’m a BJJ practitioner and I’d like to get some muscle and strength to get to the next weight class….do you have any suggestions on the weight training? Actually I’m focused on Bench and deadlifts.

There’s a lot of information out about strength training. I really don’t know too much about how to increase your weight through strength training, because I’ve never been able to do that. I already have to lose a lot of weight to make 155lbs. So my strength and conditioning coach (PSI where I train)  incorporates exercises that don’t add weight, but add strength. Also nutrition is a big part of gaining or losing weight. Increase your calorie intake with good food to help build the muscles you need. Don’t limit yourself to just Bench and Deadlift. We incorporate Squats, Cleans, Trap Bar Deadlift, Incline Press, Overhead Squats, Bentover Rows, and many more. I know one common lifting routine that works good is a heavy weight/low rep upper body day, heavy weight/low rep lower body day, than do a full body day with medium weight and reps.