"Functional training requires multi-training movements, like you would do a lunge from front to back, a lunge going side to side, and then you would do a lunge with rotation. So when you do all of the plains of motion, your body gets used to all of the different angles; your muscles, tendons and ligaments get used to different angles. That way, when you're playing your sport and you twist something, your body at least knows those angles, so it's least likely to get injured...I have trained a lot of different fighters before and I've trained champions before and Mo is a focused guy. If he messes up, he takes it upon himself to do it all over again. He will start from scratch and he will do it until he gets it right. This guy's focus and determination is like no other and now I understand why he was and will be a champion again very soon," stated trainer Omar Lima as he talked about the work he's been doing with former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion King Mo Lawal, using Functional Core methods to prepare him for his upcoming September 10 return to the ring. Check it out!
PC: How is everything going Omar?
OL: Everything is going great. Everything is awesome. The training is going perfect and life couldn't be any better.
PC: My man King Mo put me on to your method of training, which is called Functional Core. It's an insane training regimen. Tell us a little bit about Functional Core and how it got started?
OL: I have been a trainer now for the last 12 years and I have been a huge fan of Rocky movies and movies like the Karate Kid because I am a huge fan of training outside of the gym, what we call functional strength, so I have really been into the outside training and being more creative and getting away from the gym stuff because the gym will get you gym strength, but the outside stuff, like flipping tires, the sledgehammers and hills, and things like that is functional strength, which is more operable in fighting and other sports that you can do. That has always been my philosophy, just doing things outside. If you come into my studio, I don't have any machines. Everything that I have is just for cardio. The rest is just bands and ladders and dumbbells; things that we can use our body more as opposed to machines. I'm just a big fan of functional training and core training.
PC: How much does having a strong core and doing this sort of training prevent injury for athletes, especially fighters?
OL: The one thing about functional training that a lot of people don't understand, the difference between say your bodybuilding technique styles of training, is that it's a single plain motion. In other words, a lot of the motions that you do...the body is broken up into 3 different ways: it goes forwards, backwards and side to side in rotation, and the type of stuff that you see in gyms or for bodybuilding, everything is one plain motion. It's usually front to back. Functional training requires multi-training movements, like you would do a lunge from front to back, a lunge going side to side, and then you would do a lunge with rotation. So when you do all of the plains of motion, your body gets used to all of the different angles; your muscles, tendons and ligaments get used to different angles. That way, when you're playing your sport and you twist something, your body at least knows those angles, so it's least likely to get injured, as opposed to if you do strictly machines and you do one plain of motion, anytime you are outside of that one plain of motion that you work out in, which is always front to back or side to side, those muscles, tendons and ligaments aren't used to those and they haven't strengthened themselves in those angles and that's when injuries come about. So that's why a lot of the functional training philosophy comes from physical therapy. If you look at the exercises, they mimic a lot of physical therapy type of movements because we are strengthening all of those muscles, tendons and ligaments in all three different plains of motion and not just one plain of motion. We work on all different muscles at all different angles.
PC: Watching the video of King Mo doing your training and speaking to him afterwards really gave me an idea of how tough it is to get through these workouts. What is it like working with King Mo?
OL: I have trained a lot of different fighters before and I've trained champions before and Mo is a focused guy. If he messes up, he takes it upon himself to do it all over again. He will start from scratch and he will do it until he gets it right. This guy's focus and determination is like no other and now I understand why he was and will be a champion again very soon. He never complains or argues. He just says, "Okay coach." If I told him to go pick up my dogs and told him to run up a hill, he would just say, "Okay," because he trust me and he knows that I am going to do whatever it takes to get him prepared for this fight. He has been an awesome, awesome guy to work with.
PC: Is it just fighters or are you training other types of athletes?
OL: I will work with anyone and everyone, but I'm trying to specialize in fighters only. I can do pretty much any sport because the functional training does everything. Movement is movement and the body does a certain amount of movement, so you can train pretty much any sport, but I personally prefer the combatant sports because I do Jiu Jitsu myself and that's what I would like to specialize in.
PC: What is your background?
OL: I used to manage 24 Hour Fitness clubs and I used to teach other trainers how to become good trainers. At the same time, I was introduced to functional training through the group in which I got my certification from, which is NASM [National Academy of Sports Medicine], so when I got my certification, it opened up my eyes to all kinds of fitness sports and fitness training. When Fairtex opened in Mountain View, I decided to join and once I joined, I decided, "You know, this is what I want to do. I want to train fighters." I joined their Jiu Jitsu program and fell in love. Everyone knows that the MMA athlete is the best in the world, so I figured why not work with the best in the world. That's what kind of brought everything on.
PC: How does your method of training co-exist with their MMA training and how many days a week would you recommend functional training?
OL: That's a major question right now in the community and a lot of people are saying, "We know that strength and conditioning is extremely important, but at the same time, my fighters need to see their boxing coach, their Muay Thai coach, and everything else coach." But just like everything else, strength and conditioning programs are extremely important and I would recommend three to four times a week in your regular program. It is up to the trainer or strength and conditioning coach to design the program so that they know what their fighters are doing on the other days so they are not going to be as tired. They have to make sure that they know what the other coaches are doing and they have to make sure...we can't do four days a week of hard extreme training. One day might be agility training, the other day it might be traditional strength training, and then it might be conditioning, like outside on the beach. It's real important that the strength and conditioning coach at least knows what the other coaches are doing and that way, they can design a program where the fighter isn't too exhausted or tired. You have to make sure that you are not beating the fighter up too much.
PC: Where are you guys located and where can fans and athletes find out more information about Functional Core?
OL: We're located in Mountain View, California. It is in the San Francisco Bay area. It is the city south of San Francisco. It's in between San Francisco and San Jose. You can look up my website at www.functionalcorefitness.com. I'm on Twitter @functionalcore, and I have a Facebook fan page, Functional Core Fitness. I am all over the social networking scene.
PC: Anytime King Mo speaks highly of something, it has to be effective. I appreciate your time and if you don't mind, we will link a few of the videos with King Mo in them into this interview.
OL: That would be awesome. I have a lot more coming and every week I will do more and more different kinds of training. I mean, we're 7 weeks out, so we haven't even gotten to the second set yet. So we have a lot more to come.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]