Tag: living lean

STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — Get fit like a UFC fighter!
Mike Dolce, a renowned mixed martial arts coach, stopped by the KCAL9 studios Thursday to talk about the new Ultimate Fighting Championship’s at-home fitness and nutrition program, UFC FIT!
Dolce shared a few moves from the UFC FIT program that can be used to attain that “Knockout Summer Body!” All of the moves Mike demonstrated can be done in your living room!
• Overhead Squat with Dumbbells: A full-body exercise that focuses on glutes, thighs, shoulders and core.
o Head up with feet slightly wider than shoulder width; raise one arm straight up in the air, with the other arm hanging at your waist
o Slowly sit back into a full squat position while simultaneously lowering your raised arm, under full control.
o At the lowest point of your squat, you should be sitting back onto your heels to really activate those glutes.
o Now, reverse motion, standing back up while simultaneously raising the opposite arm.
o Complete 10 reps on each side.
• Drop Squat: Thigh and Glute specific
o Standing in a natural stance with your hands at eye level and elbows tucked in to your torso, keep your head up while looking straight forward.
o Focusing on one leg at a time, begin the motion, similar to a rear lunge by squatting onto your lead leg and bringing your rear leg behind your body. (Note: If you are standing on a typical analog clock, your lead foot points to the 12 o’clock position, while your rear leg reaches to the 4 or 6 o’clock position.
o Pause at the bottom and really sit into that glute before reversing motion.
o Complete 10 reps on each side.
• Push-up with Alternating Arm Raise: Focuses on the shapely muscles of the shoulders and arms as well as core.
o Starting in a traditional push-up position, lower yourself as you would normally, being sure to keep your tummy tight.
o Pressing yourself back up to the top position, extend one arm in front of you, knuckles to the ceiling, until your body is one straight line.
o Lower that arm and continue your next push-up, alternating the opposite arm raise on each rep.
o NOTE: To really kick this up a notch, grab a light dumbbell in each hand but make sure your knuckles clear the floor at the bottom.
o Complete 5 reps on each side for a total of 10 reps per set
• Bow & Arrow: Full body focus with an emphasis on glutes, hamstrings, lower back, core and shoulders.
o Starting on the floor, on your hands and knees, grab your left with your right hand and gently pull it as close to your chin as you can, increasing flexibility and range of motion.
o Next, extend your left leg straight behind you trying to press your heel into the wall directly behind you while also extending your right arm straight ahead.
o Your body should form a straight line, just like an archer, pulling back her bowstring.
o Pause and squeeze each rep to really activate those core muscles.
o NOTE: Be sure to keep your tummy tight throughout this exercise.
o Complete 10 reps on each side.
For more on the program, visit UFCFIT.COM

50 LBS. LOST! Jessica Hagerty went from 185 lbs. to 135 lbs. using 3 Weeks To Shredded & Living Lean

“Initially my goal was to find a way to keep myself at a healthy weight and maintain it. I would lose 20 lbs, gain back 15, lose another 10 and then gain it all back. It was a constant struggle to keep it off. LIVING LEAN kept me motivated because it has such a variety of foods. It’s eating healthy, but actually eating, several times a day, which is quite the opposite of what doing.
I was counting calories, and going 4-5 hours without eating. Now, I get hungry at the exact same times everyday, it’s my body letting me know it’s time to refuel. Like anyone first starting, I had several obstacles; resisting anything sweet or chocolate was the most difficult. Instead of just eating what I wanted when I wanted, I’d tell myself, on Sunday you can have that. Normally by the time Sunday came around I felt so good eating lean the whole week that I didn’t want half of the things I had promised myself I’d have during the week.
This kept me motivated, as well as the fact that I had increased amounts of energy for my workouts. I train Muay Thai, and boxing 6 days a week, running in the morning, and 2 hours of hard pad work or sparing at night. I was preparing for a fight and used 3 WEEKS TO SHREDDED as my guideline and was able to maintain my energy levels during my workouts. LIVING LEAN has seriously helped me realize that it’s not a diet, it’s not a quick fix, it’s a lifestyle change, and that nobody gets to decide that but you.
My lifestyle change started with LIVING LEAN, which gave me all the tools and inspiration to get started, one healthy, fulfilling meal at a time. No counting calories or depriving myself of truly amazing sustenance to fuel my body.”
~Jessica Hagerty

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#1 BESTSELLER
THE DOLCE DIET: LIVING LEAN ON SALE NOW

LISTEN HERE
Mike Dolce answers your questions! Topics include how to hydrate after a wild night of partying, how to time your meals for optimal weightloss, workouts for obese folks, what food to bring while backpacking, weightlifting belts & straps and more!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Quinton Jackson, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more! His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook.
For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.

UFC’s leading fitness and nutrition authority talks about his in-home fitness and nutrition program, fighters and more

By Case Keefer
Thu, Jun 20, 2013

Mike Dolce is one of the most sought-after men in all of mixed martial arts.
The sport’s pre-eminent mind on nutrition, fitness and weight cutting grew his profile over the past five years by working with top fighters such as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Chael Sonnen and Gray Maynard.
Dolce is so busy that he can no longer take on any new clients. So how did the 37-year-old former “Ultimate Fighter” contestant carve out enough time to develop the promotion’s first in-home fitness and nutrition program that features 12 workout DVDs and a 132-page nutrition manual?
The Sun caught up with Dolce at a luncheon with reporters to ask him about the recently released “UFC Fit,” his fighters and more.
It supposedly took three years to get “UFC Fit” to the point where it was ready for a release. What was the process of putting it all together like for you?
It was a whole different system with different coaches at first, called UFC Training Camp. They brought me in while that was still running and asked me to write the nutrition book. I said, “Absolutely,” and wrote the book probably the same day and sent it back immediately. They were surprised because it had been a year and they didn’t have the strength program done yet. A couple weeks went by, I came in for a meeting and nothing had happened with it. Then they said, “Listen, can you write the strength program also?” I was like, “I can, but I don’t want to get too involved and make any issues because you’ve got other guys.” They said it wasn’t going to work out with them, and they also wanted to get me involved on camera. I said, “I’m not the guy, I don’t want to be that guy.” But Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta) looked at me and said, “You are the guy.” So how do I say no to that?
You’ve expressed some disdain for other in-home fitness programs. What makes this one different?
I’d been aware of a lot of the in-home fitness systems and even diet books out there, and unfortunately, it’s mostly all garbage. It’s all fads, marketing ploys to get people to spend $99.99 and keep them in the same situation they’re in. It’s all crash diets that are unsustainable. What I’ve done is keep the same sustainable system of eating, living, training and changing your lifestyle that yields consistent results. No one else is doing this. The P90X, Insanity, they are selling the quick and sexy. That’s it. With me, I want to change people’s lives.
When did you discover your knack for nutrition and fitness?
It’s something I was born to do. As a freshman in high school, I was the captain of the varsity wrestling team and was running the strength and conditioning portions of those practices. I was overseeing the weight cuts. We had 17- or 18-year-old men on the team and I was telling them what to do. It just came naturally. I was always a science and mathematics guy. I was a municipal tax assessor for years, which is very heavy math. It’s just the way my mind works, but my passion has always been applying it to physical things.
Which fighters are you working with currently?
I try to work with less than 10 athletes full time at this point, but I have a few career athletes. My career athletes would be Thiago Alves, Nik Lentz, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Johny Hendricks. Those are the five guys who, as long as they are fighting, I will be with them. I’m also working with Jake Ellenberger, Mike Pyle, probably working with Stefan Struve and Daniel Cormier their next fights, Kelvin Gastelum dropping to welterweight right now and Luke Barnatt.
What was the toughest weight cut or training camp you’ve ever had to oversee?
Chael was 233 pounds six weeks before the Michael Bisping fight. To go from 233 to 185 in six weeks is insane. The hardest issue — I would have to say Rampage is the hardest I’ve ever had to deal with. Not because he was the biggest or heaviest because he wasn’t. I helped Duane Ludwig lose 42 pounds in 13 days to fight Jim Miller on short notice here in Las Vegas. He went from 198 to 156 in 13 days with my coaching. It took eight weeks to do the same with Quinton. Now it was so much easier with Duane because Duane is a professional; he’s a good guy with a big heart. He just got down to the business of working with no complaints, no objections, no obstacles. Some of these other guys, Rampage being one of them, everything was a challenge. He’s shown that not just with myself but with every business deal he’s ever been in.
What’s the story about your time with Rampage before the 2010 fight against Rashad Evans?
He had taken 14 months off to film “The A-Team” and “The Ultimate Fighter.” He came into camp 51 pounds overweight before the fight — seven weeks and six days before the fight.
We weren’t behind schedule, but we weren’t ahead of schedule. But I worry. I wasn’t satisfied with it. I talked to Quinton and he said, “I’m not cheating. I’m not doing anything wrong.”
A day does by and we go to train. It’s a three-story house and Quinton lives on the top floor. He forgets his gym bag, so I say I’ll go up there and get his gym bag. I go up and look and I see something that doesn’t look right inside his pillow — a purple box, or a square. I say, “What the hell is that?” I walk over and see it’s a candy bar, a Cadbury fruit and nut candy bar. There were four of them. Under the bed there were more wrappers. So what he was doing was, we would go and get gas before the gym. We’d sit in the car and fill it up. He’d go in to pay for the gas and the window would be right there, right below window level was the candy rack. He’d buy a bunch of these candy bars and put them in his pocket and go home and eat them.
I caught it and he turned it into a joke. So I say, “What we’re going to do is compromise: You’ve got a chocolate thing. I get it. I understand it. Therefore, I’ve got a healthy alternative to it.” In that area in England, the healthiest thing I could find was Nutella, which is really not that bad considering the alternative. It’s a mental thing, not a physical thing, so I start making him Nutella sandwiches, telling him, “It’s the best thing in the world — toasted, warm, crunchy and with banana slices. It’s delicious. That’s what we’ll have if you train your (butt) off. You’ll get those as a reward system.” We started to do that and the weight dropped immediately.
A lot of your guys have fights coming up. Anything you’re particularly excited for?
Nik Lentz is a story I keep pushing. He’s 3-0 since dropping to featherweight. I’m very excited about this kid. When he reached out to me, I was so busy that I was not taking new clients. I only took Nik Lentz because I believe he’s going to be a world champion at 145. I have all those superstars, too — Chael, Vitor, Hendricks — but Nik is one of the most exciting guys I’m working with right now. He has so much upside.
What about Daniel Cormier? He said he would like drop from heavyweight to light heavyweight before the end of the year. Is that going to happen?

What we’re doing with Daniel is just getting him healthy. My job is to get him down to 10 percent body fat with as much muscle mass as we can pack on his body. Once he’s there, we can decide whatever weight class he wants to go to. My job is to keep him healthy, fit, teach him how to eat and take care of himself. Whether he fights at 205 or not, I mean we could do it this Friday. That’s just what I do. I’ve gotten phone calls where guys are 30 pounds overweight a few days beforehand and we can do it. So we could do 205 or we could stay at heavyweight and go out and destroy everyone at that weight, too. It’s up to Daniel. I’m just happy to be involved because he’s a stud.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or case.keefer@lasvegassun.com. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

LISTEN HERE
Mike Dolce welcomes Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia and Duane “BANG” Ludwig to a show packed with determination and oceans of mental fortitude. Released from the UFC in May, Garcia has reformed his outlook on his career with one single thought – persistance! With the help of his longtime friend and coach Duane Ludwig, the two speak about training, family and how to find that return to winning ways. If you’ve ever had to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and redefine life as you know it in order to accomplish your dreams, than this is the must-listen-to Mike Dolce Show for you!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Quinton Jackson, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more! His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook.
For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.

Heather Morton
@HeatherMorton12
Can’t believe the difference of one week on the @TheDolceDiet I feel amazing. #unbelievable #healthy

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NAME: Christopher Thompson
AGE: 41
DOLCE DIET BOOKS: 3 Weeks to Shredded & Living Lean

My goal was to improve my overall diet and obtain the lean look I had before breaking my hand in a kickboxing match at 145 lbs. I got instant results in 3 days which made me want to complete the three weeks. I went from 169 to 159 in just 8 days, the pic included is my results of 8 days, not bad for a lightweight.

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LISTEN HERE
In Ep. 36 Mike talks about foods that can suppress your appetite, how to get lean without losing size, exercises that are good for MMA athletes, breads, eating raw eggs, how to measure body fat, how to start UFC FIT if you’ve never worked out, how to use food to help you bulk up and more!
The founder of The Dolce Diet & creator of UFC FIT, Mike Dolce is known the world over for his work managing the weight cuts of UFC athletes like Johny Hendricks, Vitor Belfort, Thiago Alves, Chael Sonnen, Quinton Jackson, Nik Lentz, Jake Ellenberger and more! His #1 international best-selling books include The Dolce Diet: 3 Weeks to Shredded, The Dolce Diet: Living Lean, & The Dolce Diet: Living Lean Cookbook.
For more information on Mike’s books, MMA weight cuts, weight management, gaining muscle, weight loss, overall healthy living, UFC FIT and so much more, visit TheDolceDiet.com & TheMikeDolceShow.com & UFCFIT.com.

We always like to share stories that inspire! Here’s one of them…

Originally posted at EliteAthletes.be

by Brian Lynch
I would like to share a story with you. I was 25 years old, about to turn 26, finishing up my 4th season overseas professional basketball when I decided to make a choice that would ultimately change my life.
My first 4 seasons had been a whirlwind. I had just graduated from Villanova University and we as basketball players were spoiled there. We played in amazing arenas throughout the Big East with fans of over 25,000 people at times. All locker rooms were first class and every hotel we stayed at had a bunch of stars tagged to its name.
We were “the shit” there and we mattered!
I started in Poland, where I played very well on the court but struggled terribly off the court. Going to a place were we had no lockers in our locker room but only a hook for all your clothes, playing in gyms that were over 50 years old which are shared by most of the community, and playing with only one other American in a country where nobody spoke English took its toll on me. But I loved hoops, had an encouraging dad who told me to stay with it, and pressed on.

My second season started in Israel, where during that time 9/11 happened. I still remember watching the planes hit the buildings and thinking, I am sitting right now in the middle east! I recall the phone calls I had with my mother during this time, needless to say she wanted me home. So my game struggled for the first time in my career. I started playing poorly and eventually at the end of the pre-season before I had even played 1 game, the coach asked if I would like to leave. I left!

Later that season I got picked up by a team in Portugal. It was difficult coming on to a team where they had already played half their games and were doing well. So I accepted a role of coming off the bench and embraced it. That season I ended up getting 6th man of the year. But still, I felt far from where I was supposed to be.
Season 3 began very interesting. I got a good contract in Greece which was one of the best leagues in Europe. There I enjoyed the sites and craziness of Greece in general, but basketball struggled. My game wasn’t fitting in to the coach’s system. I couldn’t find a way to be effective and started to second guess myself. Eventually me and the other American at that time had stopped getting paid as well. After 3 months of this, I settled 10 cents on a dollar and left. I ended that season in Germany where I played much better and had a better experience off the court. Only problem was, I was back to square one. My contract offers were all the same as before, and I was not being recruited by any Eurocup or Euroleague teams. I was not moving forward, I was moving backwards.
Season 4 was supposed to be my year. I had an Italian passport at the time and decided to try Italy. Contract was ok, team was A1. Maybe I could finally break out! Well, this was the beginning of the end for me. I was lent out to another team in A2 Italy after 6 weeks, and even there, I wasn’t even getting burn. Sitting and watching. I practiced so hard to get the coaches attention for the next month but to no avail, I continued riding the pine. Was I not good enough? Most of the Americans in the league were guys I competed against in college. I even had better stats than them in college yet they were flourishing while I was sitting. I left Italy to take a one-month job in Pro A France to replace an injured player. I was able to get my rhythm back and played ok, but when the player was healed, I had to go find another team. I finished that season on the same team I was on in Germany the year before but with a different coach, Chris Finch. His team was struggling at that time. I came in, and after only 4 games, he had been fired. My play was not good and our team ended up dead last! 3 teams in 1 season…..
That plane ride home in early May of 2004 was when I made “the choice” to rededicate myself. I had thought: why haven’t I moved forward and so many guys I competed against and outplayed in college were flourishing in Europe? I thought back on my last 4 summers and started to see a trend of non commitment and laziness. I started to wonder maybe the lack of passion to get better during the summer was what was holding me back. So I gave myself 1 last chance.

Here is the deal I made with the mirror: You give everything you got to yourself, your body, your game this summer for 12 weeks, and if I still fail, I can move on and get a real job back in the New Jersey/New York area. Ball will be finished and the dream will be over. So I did just that. In my first visit to the gym in mid-May to start my off-season promise, I bumped into an old friend. He was a guy I knew growing up who used to live around the corner from my house. His name is Mike Dolce. He was training to be an ultimate fighter and wanted to become a champ in his weight class. We spoke, I told him about what was going on in my life and this guy inspired me beyond belief. He wanted to train me. I would become his summer project. He told me to do everything he said as hard as I could, to follow his diet, and to believe in myself. By doing these 3 things, he would make me “BULLETPROOF”!

So it began. We made a schedule to meet 4 days a week. I mixed in a strength program during the week, along with drill and basketball workouts alone in a gym on my own. And to top it off, I had summer league basketball.
I remember all my friends and brothers calling me “Rededicated B”! They would help me with my dieting. While some nights those guys would get pizza and beer, I was drinking water and eating chicken, brown rice, and broccoli. Or a salad with brown rice and tuna fish, and so on! They were real friends, real brothers!!! They encouraged me to stay the course and give my dream of playing hoops at the highest level another chance. They weren’t the kind of friend or brother that called me soft for not taking a shot or having a beer.

I had the support, I had the mentor in Dolce, I just needed to keep the drive. As summer progressed, I started to see immediate results in my body, in my mind, and in my game. I tore up the summer league basketball that summer taking a team that shouldn’t have won many games to the finals. And my mentality was completely different. I had so much confidence because of the work that I had put it in that I became “bullet proof” both physically and mentally like Dolce said.

So after that summer, I went to Belgium possessed. I was going to play for the coach that I played for in Germany for only a few games before the team let him go. Coach Chris Finch had the perfect system that matched my game and he gave me freedom to make mistakes. My preseason was not great, but I was still playing harder and in better shape then anybody over the 6 weeks pre-season. Eventually I found my rhythm and when we started the 2004-2005 season, I was on top of my game. I averaged over 15 points, over 6 boards, and around 3 assists that season.
From a personal standpoint, I was the most consistent I had ever been in my life. I always had big games in other seasons, but I lacked consistency.

These 12 weeks with Dolce gave me the consistency. And most importantly, our team won a championship. NOBODY was expecting our small budgeted team from Bree to ever compete with the big boys in Belgium but we did.

We sort of shocked the Belgian Basketball Community and I never felt better about my game. I had no injuries, played in all games and never missed a practice. The following season, I finally got a better contract and our team was going to compete in the Eurocup. I was moving forward at last. And to top it all off, I met the woman I would eventually marry and have a family with. The rest is history!!
When I look back, if I decided to quit after that plane ride coming from Germany after finishing in last place and not playing well, I don’t know where or what I would be right now. Real talk! It was a choice to “rededicate” myself to this beautiful game that I love for 1 summer, 12 weeks!!!
Now I am still involved in the game as a Coach and hopefully will be able to reach the highest level as a coach. This choice has not only become a lesson learned, but more so a lifestyle. Whatever I do, I do it 1000 percent and give my full commitment. And it’s not always perfect.
I wanted to get drafted in the lottery and play in the NBA. That never happened but I still followed the dream of playing ball at the highest level that I could personally. I know that with passion and dedication to what I want, I may not get it (as I didn’t make the NBA) but something good will come from the hard work and you can never regret giving everything you got towards your goals and dreams. Not making the NBA actually ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me because I wouldn’t trade the journey that I experienced for anything. And it goes without saying, I wouldn’t trade what I have in my life now for anything. I am what I am, nobody will change that. My turning point in life started by the choice to get after it for 1 summer! Thats all it took. Anybody can do the same if they go for it with everything they got. There is no secret, its just work and belief.
My advice, if you want something really bad, then give every off-season your dedication!
Give yourself 12 weeks to change your life!
Brian Lynch
Twitter: @blynch8

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