UFC PI: UFC’s Quarantine Fitness Advice

7/1/2020 • Thorne

No gym? No problem. In the final part of our series, Bo Sandoval, UFC Performance Institute Director of Strength & Conditioning shares his strategies for staying fit and active with limited gym access.

Transcript

The video starts with a title screen. A maroon and orange gradient aura shifts in the upper right corner of the screen as words appear. They read “UFC PI: UFC’s Quarantine Fitness Advice” and appear over a short resume blurb. The blurb reads: “Bo Sandoval: Director of Strength and Conditioning, UFC Performance Institute.”

After a few seconds the words pan up the screen as a question fades in from below. The question reads: “What are some recommendations for those at home without access to a gym or equipment?”

Bo Sandoval:

In the last, I would say 10 years, I've really kind of pride myself in terms of how I handle my own life and my own endeavors. And it comes from how I would like to teach people to prioritize their own. And the fact that you need to be able to do it on your own foundationally first.

As Bo talks, words appear on the right side of the screen emphasizing his points. The text only serves to clarify what is being said and does not add any new information that isn’t already present in what Bo has to say.

Bo Sandoval

So not having to rely on a gym, not having to rely on a coach. So foundationally, what's that mean? If you strip away all the fancy stuff, equipment, my fancy smartwatch or whatever devices I'm using to track my sleep and my training and whatever else, I know how to be active. What is that? Run? I could ride my bicycle. Particularly, right now, things you can do in solitude. I have a pool in my backyard, I can swim, whoever that person might be. Do you have access to trails, I could trail run, I could walk.

More of the calming, I have a mat, I have a backyard. I can do yoga on my own in the backyard. So first, what can you do foundationally on your own where you don't have to rely on anything? Because I think it's important that it is a life choice. It's not a program. It's not a diet. It's, I need to move. I need to do something. And then later on, you start to weaponize that mentality with, "Hey, I do have access to a gym, so now I'm going to weaponize this a little bit more. I'm going to add some things to give it a little more flavor." But foundationally first, I would like to encourage that you need to have a drive to want to take care of yourself.

So if I have access to absolutely nothing, what can I do on my own? And there is quite a bit, so there's resources around calisthenics and bodyweight training, and now there's 700 different apps or YouTube channels where you can do yoga by yourself at home, bodyweight workout routines, you name it. Because at this day and age, they want to make it convenient for the consumer. For some people that convenience is going to the gym. For a lot of those consumers, that convenience is being able to do it at home or doing it within their own space.

So I would say fundamentally first, you want to be secure and being able to do that, that way when this kind of thing happens or when you're limited, because maybe your work schedule has just gotten crazy hectic. Now I don't have time to go to the gym. That's another time for that fundamental, okay, how do I exercise on my own? How do I stay active on my own? You should already kind of have your go-to's for that instilled. Personally, I've been lifting weights my whole life. I've always said, I'm going to have a dedicated space in my house for a home gym. So we have a little home gym. We do a lot of cycling. We do a lot of road biking. We do a lot of mountain biking. We have two small kids. They can't really road bike or mountain bike yet. So we do a lot of hiking. We do a lot of entry level hikes that are pretty flat, take the dogs out, whatever tickles your fancy. But the biggest thing is, we were built to move and you got to kind of get up and do that.

So that would be my number one thing. And then, aside from that, there's obviously other pieces that play into wellness or what makes people feel good. And ultimately I think food is a big part of that. When you're eating well, typically you feel good. You're not inflamed, you're not bloated, belly doesn't... All those kinds of things. So sticking to things, eating things and digesting things that just make you feel good. That is a part of it because when you feel good, you can be active. I'm not worried about, "My shoulders a little achy, I can't do that thing today." Or, "I feel bloated. My belly hurts. I don't really want to go do this hike right now." But when all that digestion and everything is taken care of, then being active is easy.

When you feel good, being active is easy. It's when you're hurt and ache, some things are out of whack, chemically, that's when... Man, I don't really feel like going on that bike ride right now because my engine's not running real well. So that's kind of got to be the foundational part, which I'm a little bit lucky in that area. We've got some great nutritional professionals, dieticians on our team. So they're my go-to, I don't know that space inside and out. And they're the ones that, "Hey, here's what I'm doing at home. Can I get some tricks off of you, what can help with ABC or D?" So nowadays, too, it's kind of like the app craze. I mean there's 701,000 different apps or blogs or things that you can find online to get access to information, to help figure out what works for you. But it's better than doing nothing.

Closing text appears onscreen reading: “Make the most of your health while staying at home. Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest content on COVID-19 along with insights, education, and advice you won’t find anywhere else.

The video starts with a title screen. A maroon and orange gradient aura shifts in the upper right corner of the screen as words appear. They read “UFC PI: UFC’s Quarantine Fitness Advice” and appear over a short resume blurb. The blurb reads: “Bo Sandoval: Director of Strength and Conditioning, UFC Performance Institute.”

After a few seconds the words pan up the screen as a question fades in from below. The question reads: “What are some recommendations for those at home without access to a gym or equipment?”

Bo Sandoval:

In the last, I would say 10 years, I've really kind of pride myself in terms of how I handle my own life and my own endeavors. And it comes from how I would like to teach people to prioritize their own. And the fact that you need to be able to do it on your own foundationally first.

As Bo talks, words appear on the right side of the screen emphasizing his points. The text only serves to clarify what is being said and does not add any new information that isn’t already present in what Bo has to say.

Bo Sandoval

So not having to rely on a gym, not having to rely on a coach. So foundationally, what's that mean? If you strip away all the fancy stuff, equipment, my fancy smartwatch or whatever devices I'm using to track my sleep and my training and whatever else, I know how to be active. What is that? Run? I could ride my bicycle. Particularly, right now, things you can do in solitude. I have a pool in my backyard, I can swim, whoever that person might be. Do you have access to trails, I could trail run, I could walk.

More of the calming, I have a mat, I have a backyard. I can do yoga on my own in the backyard. So first, what can you do foundationally on your own where you don't have to rely on anything? Because I think it's important that it is a life choice. It's not a program. It's not a diet. It's, I need to move. I need to do something. And then later on, you start to weaponize that mentality with, "Hey, I do have access to a gym, so now I'm going to weaponize this a little bit more. I'm going to add some things to give it a little more flavor." But foundationally first, I would like to encourage that you need to have a drive to want to take care of yourself.

So if I have access to absolutely nothing, what can I do on my own? And there is quite a bit, so there's resources around calisthenics and bodyweight training, and now there's 700 different apps or YouTube channels where you can do yoga by yourself at home, bodyweight workout routines, you name it. Because at this day and age, they want to make it convenient for the consumer. For some people that convenience is going to the gym. For a lot of those consumers, that convenience is being able to do it at home or doing it within their own space.

So I would say fundamentally first, you want to be secure and being able to do that, that way when this kind of thing happens or when you're limited, because maybe your work schedule has just gotten crazy hectic. Now I don't have time to go to the gym. That's another time for that fundamental, okay, how do I exercise on my own? How do I stay active on my own? You should already kind of have your go-to's for that instilled. Personally, I've been lifting weights my whole life. I've always said, I'm going to have a dedicated space in my house for a home gym. So we have a little home gym. We do a lot of cycling. We do a lot of road biking. We do a lot of mountain biking. We have two small kids. They can't really road bike or mountain bike yet. So we do a lot of hiking. We do a lot of entry level hikes that are pretty flat, take the dogs out, whatever tickles your fancy. But the biggest thing is, we were built to move and you got to kind of get up and do that.

So that would be my number one thing. And then, aside from that, there's obviously other pieces that play into wellness or what makes people feel good. And ultimately I think food is a big part of that. When you're eating well, typically you feel good. You're not inflamed, you're not bloated, belly doesn't... All those kinds of things. So sticking to things, eating things and digesting things that just make you feel good. That is a part of it because when you feel good, you can be active. I'm not worried about, "My shoulders a little achy, I can't do that thing today." Or, "I feel bloated. My belly hurts. I don't really want to go do this hike right now." But when all that digestion and everything is taken care of, then being active is easy.

When you feel good, being active is easy. It's when you're hurt and ache, some things are out of whack, chemically, that's when... Man, I don't really feel like going on that bike ride right now because my engine's not running real well. So that's kind of got to be the foundational part, which I'm a little bit lucky in that area. We've got some great nutritional professionals, dieticians on our team. So they're my go-to, I don't know that space inside and out. And they're the ones that, "Hey, here's what I'm doing at home. Can I get some tricks off of you, what can help with ABC or D?" So nowadays, too, it's kind of like the app craze. I mean there's 701,000 different apps or blogs or things that you can find online to get access to information, to help figure out what works for you. But it's better than doing nothing.

Closing text appears onscreen reading: “Make the most of your health while staying at home. Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest content on COVID-19 along with insights, education, and advice you won’t find anywhere else.