NYCmitch25

With less than two months until his title defense against Quinton (Rampage) Jackson, Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell, 37, has headed to the hills of Arroyo Grande, Calif., to train at an outdoor compound known as The Pit. "It's one of those raw places that you heard about growing up but thought was folklore," says Liddell, who first trained there 16 years ago, while he was a collegiate wrestler at Cal Poly. In that Pit debut Liddell -- now nicknamed the Iceman -- sparred against the facility's owner, John Hackleman, for 19 straight minutes. "I took a beating," Liddell admits. "I had a catcher's mitt for a face. But he has been my trainer ever since."

Hackleman, a 10th-degree black belt and former Army boxing champion, leads Liddell through twice-daily workouts with 14 other mixed-martial-arts fighters. "A lot of guys don't last because they hate these medieval workouts," says Hackleman, 47. "But there is no New Age exercise or machine that's better for you than pushing a wheelbarrow up a hill."

With a 20-3 career record and coming off a Dec. 30 title defense, against Tito Ortiz, that drew about $40 million in pay-per-view sales, the 6'2", 204-pound Liddell swears by his hard-core regimen. Here are some highlights.

Rowin' and Rasslin'

In a standard rowing machine, start with knees bent and bare feet strapped into footrests. Row 800 meters in less than 2 1/2 minutes. Roll off machine and onto adjacent mat. Wrestle opponent for 2 1/2 minutes. Rest one minute. Five sets.

Hackleman: "The machine works mainly the legs but also the lats. By the time he finishes 800 meters and wrestles, he's exhausted -- it simulates how tired he'd be in a fight. To make it worse, I'll have him start wrestling on his back and fight his way to the top of his opponent."

Hammer Time

Grip a 16-pound sledgehammer with left hand by base of handle and right hand halfway up. With knees bent, swing hammer above right shoulder and down onto a 300-pound tire with a steady rhythm. 100 reps.

Hackleman: "I call this the Earnie Shavers [after the boxer] -- he told me about this drill. It's for punching power, and [Shavers] was one of the hardest punchers. The motion simulates an overhand right, the most common punch for knockouts. It's mainly for shoulder strength, but the core also gets worked.

Wheelbarrow

Place 275 pounds of free weights in a standard wheelbarrow. Grip wheelbarrow handles and sprint 100 yards up a 10-degree incline. Turn and run down, still holding wheelbarrow in front of you. One-minute rest. Three round trips.

Hackleman: "It takes endurance and leg strength to push that weight up the hill, but it's a killer for your grip and shoulders going down. Down is just as important because in ultimate fighting you constantly use those muscles to pull your opponent to the mat or off of you."

Pit Wall Ball

Stand six feet away from wooden beam. Bend down, pick up a 125-pound medicine ball and raise it to chest height. Throw ball at beam by pushing arms straight out in front of you. Must bounce back at least three feet, or else repeat rep. Five reps is one set. One-minute rest. Five sets.

Hackleman: "This is for punching power. Just picking up the 125 pounds is killer, but I need him to throw it with power as well. This primarily builds up his shoulder muscles."

__________________
"I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds." - Rollins

NYCmitch25

11 a.m. Wake. Six to eight egg whites with hot sauce, two slices wheat toast. Water. "Fights are at night, so I wake late and train late to acclimate," says Liddell. "I want 9 p.m. to be like the middle of my day."

12:30-2 p.m. Workout.

2:30 p.m. Grilled chicken breast or grilled salmon, white rice, broccoli or carrots. Water. "I'll reheat this for my other meals," he says. "I had a nutritionist who gave me different meal plans. Too much work."

4:30 p.m. Supplement shake.

7 p.m. Repeat lunch meal. "If I vary and go out, it's usually for sashimi," he says. "I'll have salmon and tuna and water. No alcohol during training."

8:30-10 p.m. Workout.

10:30 p.m. Repeat lunch meal.

2 to 3 a.m. Bedtime.

__________________
"I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds." - Rollins

davtown

Wow, that training sounds brutal

__________________
--Training Journal--

current/goal
D: 350/380
S: 280/300
B: 235/260

cha0s_49

That man is a beast...props to anyone that can survive that.

__________________
Beginning(Dec 06)/Current/Goal
Weight: 128/145/175
Bench Press: 80/170/250
more coming soon...

DarkFalcon

Nice, like the old school training in Rocky4!

DJSTARER

whats with the diet?

seems very restricted. Most performance based athletes would amp up the energy.

__________________
My philosophies on training:

"Extreme training yields extreme results"

"Just because you can, does not mean you should"

"The best program is the one you are not doing"





Penn State Powerlifting-181 lb weightclass

PGA Professional of America


Current Stats:
474 Squat
601 Deadlift
320 Bench


Goals for next training cycle:

500lbs squat and a total over 1400 in competition

Arsnik23

Chuck is an animal...but I think I am going to root for Rampage...time for a new champ!!