Marlon Moraes lived up to his nickname "Magic". The fighter started training in Muay Thai at the age of 9 and achieved national success in his native Brazil. He won two national Muay Thai championships before moving to MMA, where he is now under contract with the UFC.
Sharing his thoughts on exercise and nutrition, Moraes offers an MMA workout that can be attempted anywhere without equipment.
“I want to show everyone that they can all do an MMA workout with just their body weight, and that's nothing complicated,” says Moraes, whose typical training day consists of two intense sessions; Switch between sparring, wrestling and grappling. Each of his meals consists of 100 g protein and 100 g carbohydrates and vegetables.
In between meals, Marlon Moraes complements protein shakes and took an interest in the science behind nutrition during his visits to UFC PI. “We meet with nutritionists, with professionals, and they introduced us to Thorne,” says Moraes. "w they have the whole system that we come to fight with and they all give us supplements to help us with diet, during fight week, to gain weight and recover with all the vitamins."
Marlon Moraes, who struggles at 135 pounds, shares that creatine has helped him achieve the speed and endurance required to compete at the highest level. And with an MMA record of 23-9-1, the 33-year-old also knows that the only way to achieve your goals is to do whatever you can for training. The following workouts by Moraes are designed to provide an intense workout while also giving you a taste of MMA, including defense and attack. If you want to customize the program to suit your own fitness level, you can adjust the number of seconds, repetitions, or laps. Let's go!
Warm up
Courtesy of Marlon Moraes
"You have to warm up before training," says Moraes, "just to get our blood pumping and our bodies moving."
Arm circles (front and back): 10 reps (both directions) Horizontal triceps stretch: 10 seconds (each arm) Overhead triceps stretch: 10 seconds (each arm) Side lunge (toward alternating feet): 10 seconds Side stretch (both hands) on the same shin, feet wider than shoulder width): 10 seconds (each side) Wide-legged forward bend (with feet more than shoulder width apart, lean forward and touch the ground with both hands): 10 seconds jump rope simulation (make small jumps, land on toes) : for 10 seconds. High kicks: 5 reps (each leg). Squats: 10 reps
The Workout In MMA, your hands must always be up to protect yourself, so keep your hands up during exercise, as if you were in a defensive block position.
| Marlon Moraes MMA Workout - Warm Up | ||
|---|---|---|
| a practice | Repetitions | Remarks |
| Jab | 10 seconds | * While throwing your jab, keep the (other) hand up. |
| Cross for 10 seconds. Combine both jabs, then cross | 10 seconds | 12 per leg |
| Jab, then high knee (opposite leg) | 5 per side | 8, 12, 12 |
| Jab, high knee, then cross | 5 per side | 8, 12, 12 |
| Jab, kick, then change stance (one leg is always in front) | 5 per side | 12th |
| Jab, cross, change stand, then kick | 5 | 12th |
| Jab, Cross, Sprawl and Knee | 5 | * The sprawl is when someone is trying to bring you down and you want to avoid this situation. The movement is the same as that of a burpee. |
| Rest | 5 seconds | * Focus on breathing |
| Jab, knee, kick, then switch | 5 | |
| Jab, cross, knee, then kick | 5 | |
Marlon Moraes MMA workout
3 timed laps (2 minutes on, 1 minute break): These two-minute explosions are divided into 30-second segments:
Round 1 - Be aggressive
| (Round 1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| a practice | Repetitions | Remarks |
| Jab and cross | 30 seconds | You can stand or move a little. |
| Sprawl with jab and cross combination | 30 seconds | - |
| Alternately high knees | 30 seconds | Right then left and so on |
| Jab, cross, then kick combination | 30 seconds | - |
| Rest | 60 seconds | - |
Courtesy of Marlon Moraes
Round 2 - Defense
"For this round you can work on defense and counterattacks on your own," says Moraes.
| round 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| a practice | Repetitions | Remarks |
| Jab, cross, knee | 30 seconds | |
| Kicks | 30 seconds | |
| Kicks (opposite leg) | 30 seconds | |
| Jab, cross, sprawl, knee, then kick | 30 seconds | |
| Rest | 60 seconds | |
Courtesy of Marlon Moraes
Round 3 - core focus
"It's the last round," says Moraes, "let's make sure we push ourselves."
| Round 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| a practice | Repetitions | Remarks |
| Sit-ups | 30 seconds | - |
| Alt.Leg raises (shoulders off the floor) | 30 seconds | - |
| Leg raises (both legs): 30 seconds | 30 seconds | * Try not to let your feet touch the ground. |
| pushups | 30 seconds | - |
| Rest | 60 seconds | - |
Courtesy of Marlon Moraes
Congratulations!! You are done!
"That's it for training," says Moraes. "Make sure you are drinking water and your amino complex now!"
