Conor McGregor is not one to rest on his laurels. Though his haters say he’s lost his hunger, we’d say we’ve never seen him work this hard. It’s just that he’s older than he was in his prime. In any case, McGregor now appears to be going to extreme lengths in order to build up his chest muscles before his next fight.
After breaking his leg against Poirier in his last fight, McGregor is being rumoured to be making his injury comeback against either Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira or Australia’s own Alexander Volkanovski.
McGregor-Diaz is the fan favourite fight, McGregor-Gaethje (or Oliveira) is the optimistic ‘I want McGregor to have another shot at a title’ fight and McGregor-Volkanovski is the fight many Australians are hoping for (after McGregor claimed he could kick the Aussie’s head off “like it was a rugby ball.”
Lovely.
Oh, and there are still some fans hoping McGregor will get a shot of redemption against Poirier.
Whoever he fights, McGregor has bulked up massively in recent months. Speaking of which, he took to Instagram on Friday to show off an impressive, if perilous variation of the bench press.
Video: Conor McGregor Goes To Extreme Lengths To Bulk Up His Chest
In the video, McGregor can be seen strutting outside, checking his reflection in the window of one of his cars, and then strutting back into his fancy garage gym (inspiring one Instagram user to quip: “no wonder he keeps losing he does 5 reps and walks around for 15 minutes”).
Then it gets real. McGregor does a bench press. Except plates aren’t enough of a challenge. So McGregor decides to add exercise bands to each side of the barbell (as well as a hefty number of plates), which are attatched to the dumbells on the ground.
Scott Reynolds, Altitude Training Specialist, Fitness Director and Co-Founder of Combine Air, told DMARGE McGregor’s technique is “not common in a typical gym setting” because “the setup is advanced and takes time plus the actual exercise is challenging.”
Reynolds added: “The exercise is at its heaviest point just before the arms are at full extension (locked out). This is due to the banded being at their most stretched point. You may see this technique used in more specialised strength clubs and personal training settings.”
“It basically puts more stress on the muscle which can lead to greater strength and muscle growth. Eccentric loading (lengthening of the muscle) is also commonly used in rehabilitation and pre-habilitations scenarios.”
Just don’t do it with too heavy of a weight though. Why? Besides using too heavy weights being a risky thing to do with or without adding bands to the mix, there is an increased risk with this exercise; a greater chance of tearing muscle “as the resistance is heavier and load changes in the press phase of the bench press.” For this reason, it’s recommended to ask your coach before trying this on your own.
The exercise sparked a bit of debate on Instagram, with some social media users saying “lets see that on a squat,” others fawning, and others saying “that wasn’t impressive.”
We’re sure the 33 year old has a team of professionals looking after his every move. The only question that seems to remain now is how on earth he’s going to cut all this weight when it comes time to fight…
Whatever happens, McGregor seems set to try. As McGregor’s longtime coach John Kavanagh recently said: “He’s won a couple of belts at this stage, he’s earned all the money he was going to earn.”
He continued, providing an insight into McGregor’s psyche: “He’s achieved all of those targets I’m sure he set himself, and exceeded them.”
“So now at this stage I believe it’s more about exciting fights and doing other things.”
“Whether it’s Volkanovski, it’s (Max) Holloway, it’s Tony Ferguson, it’s Diaz, for me the most important thing is to get back training, get back improving ourselves and get back in there competing, doing what he does best.”
Read Next