A Theory on McGregors Cardio issue

[The Adder]

Conor is just your typical d level athlete.

 

[champ145]

I don't know. Cardio in sports is an interesting issue.

Charles Poliquin says, "conditioning is specific to the activity" This backs up a lot of "fit" people's experiences with trying cardiovascular sports that are forgein to them and being surprisingly tired.

There are athletes like James "fat ass" Toney who never gas out.

George St. Pierre talks about his Muay Thai coach smoking packs of cigarettes a day and having the best cardio he's ever seen. Able to out last every young athlete in his gym.

I think cardio = efficiency

More cardio = Making less into more and pacing yourself

I mean, take Floyd mayweather for example. He has historically great cardio. If we made him hit a heavy bag at 100% balls to the wall, trying to save his family's life effort, he would gas quickly. And if he can somehow go for a while, then he's not going 100%

If your able to do something for longer than your probably not doing it 100%

Are Olympic 100m sprinters not exhausted after sprinting?

Ramble ramble

True. It's like the Buggati Veyron at top speed. Sure it can go what 240+ mph at top speed, but it burns 3 gallons per minute at top speed.

 

[Bjjpitbull8]

 

[paddy_da_pikey]

No. Just no. There's a reason cyclists and rowers have the biggest VO2 Max levels on the planet. If you're saying he needs to spend more time on his feet, it has nothing to do with roadwork. Cycling, when done correctly, taxes the cardiovascular system just as well as running. And given the amount of training he should be doing in the other modalities of mma, it's probably better that he's not pounding away at his joints as running, which involves approximately 180 brute force impacts beginning with your foot and radiating up your entire posterior chain, is one of the most injury-producing activities one can do. Conor gasses because he's either not doing enough cardio, blowing his load prematurely, or taking too much of a beating.

Im speaking from experience, I was a national champion and represented my country in road cycling and 3rd in national MTB league for winter training - the cardio is not comparible for cycling and running, like I state in my opinion piece doing any cardio will give you base fitness but running is very very different

 

[bigma]

Im speaking from experience, I was a national champion and represented my country in road cycling and 3rd in national MTB league for winter training - the cardio is not comparible for cycling and running, like I state in my opinion piece doing any cardio will give you base fitness but running is very very different

I don't care what you know from experience - as a reference, I'm a semi-elite runner and former USATF III coach - the literature says otherwise. The cardiovascular system is taxed in the same way between running and cycling. The difference is in biomechanics. Since Conor is training neither to run nor cycling, it doesn't matter if he's becoming more efficient at cycling or running so that point is moot. You are fucking moronic if you argue against this in any other capacity.

​

 

[paddy_da_pikey]

I don't care what you know from experience - as a reference, I'm a semi-elite runner and former USATF III coach - the literature says otherwise. The cardiovascular system is taxed in the same way between running and cycling. The difference is in biomechanics. Since Conor is training neither to run nor cycling, it doesn't matter if he's becoming more efficient at cycling or running so that point is moot. You are fucking moronic if you argue against this in any other capacity.

​

When McGregor is in a ring he is on his feet and carrying his own body weight and throwing punches whilst on his feet

- when he is on a bicycle he is neither carrying his own weight or preparing to step into a ring to throw punches whilst seated on a bicylce

I will not lower myself to your language or slurs I am really not that emotionally involed but suffice to say you are wrong.

End of conversation

 

[herra]

Iv been thinking about McGregors ongoing Cardio issues or should I say recent Cardio issue

It appears McGregor has about 10-12 minutes then fades. 4 good paced rounds (12 minutes) against Mayweather, 2 solid rounds (10 mins) against Diaz, before alternating the final 3 rounds with a very tough 3rd (10th - 15th minutes) with Diaz

So why does someone who trains so hard have a difficulty with such prolonged cardio into the deeper rounds?

Well iv watched all behind the scenes access, embedded shows, all access and MacLife for all recent fights and thought of something...

All of McGregors cardio training is off his feet. I mean literally he does no road work or at least none evident, not even a treadmill for running.

We see him rowing, aerodyne, out cycling, pad and bag work but no running, no miles not ever - why?
In fact the only time we ever saw him 'running' was at the UFC performance institute in a specialised underwater treadmill to avoid impact and very slow paced which leads me to my point.

As someone who has cycled internationally and ran for my county I can tell you now the cardio for one movement doesnt transfer to the next. You will get a base level of fitness that will give you something to build upon when changing disciplines but I can tell you from experience just because I could comfortably do a 60 - 80 miles cycle didnt transfer to fitness for running a 10k for example and vice versa even though they both use 'legs'

Why? Impact! The impact of being on your feet and bounding and dealing with the gravity of carrying your own weight around is a very different type of fitness than non weight bearing cardio (the examples of which he prefers as outlined above)

Conor does not run and there must be a reason for this as to why he stays in his comfort zone as his 'legs going' as the boxing pundits would describe it or jelly legs if you've ever felt it is what McGregor concedes to when fights go into that 15 minute + time frame.

Keep in mind boxers or stand up fighters are notorious (no pun intended) for their road work, the early morning runs, the 5 miles a day (35 - 40 minutes = to fight duration of 12 round fight) the getting up at 5am or in Mayweathers case the 2am night time runs in the cooler Vegas weather - but they all put the miles in except McGregor?

So what is the reason?

Well his first and last 3 rounder was against Holloway this was a very fast paced fight and while McGregor hurt his knee he did not drop the pace or did not appear affected by Cardio in this fight at all

Therefore there are 2 reasons why McGregor doesnt do the road work required to have the 'on feet' impact level fitness required to compete 15 - 30 minutes

1) He is lazy, soft and doesnt want to work out of his comfort zone as he doesnt enjoy running

2) He has joint issues (knee, hip, ankle) or potentially his reconstructed knee following Holloway fight simply will not allow him to run and put in the miles expected in order to get himself through a training camp and has thus sourced other cardio methods as previously mentioned, in fact making reference to the underwater treadmill when I googled it, it is designed exactly for NFL athletes recovering from injury to avoid heavy weight bearing on the joints - this is the ONLY time we say McGregor run in any of the build ups in previous fights


I dont believe it is Number 1, he is tough, he does have heart fighting through a knee injury to get decision over current FW champ holloway, he doesnt look to stay in comfort zone challenging himself immediately wanting a rematch at 170 against the 185 - 190 Diaz who had 'strangled him on live TV' months earlier. He moved up in weight class, fought every opponent in front of him and challenged the P4P no 1 and TBE in Mayweather. This isnt dick riding, thats just a list of facts so its not number 1

So in my opinion (I said opinion not fact) it must be Number 2 which is a fucking shame that he must have had to find a work around for cardio post knee injury as cardio was never an issue previously, he played football as a youth but since that injury... no running, every other form of cardio but weight bearing running.

And this is why I believe McGregor will always struggle to have the fight level fitness required to compete in later rounds as his legs simply cannot cope with the demands of the type of grinding road work necessary to get himself into that condition to be on his feet for 30 minutes during a fight

Just my opinion folks and an angle I havent seen proposed


*TLDR

McGregor needs to do more running for the appropriate cardio required to fight

I agree road work is the most effective for conditioning combat athletes. The flip side is 95% of people run incorrectly and a need to be taught the proper running mechanics. If the goal is to build stamina and endurance but the athlete has terrible running mechanics, making the athlete do predominantly road work will most likely result in the athlete getting injured. Instead, train the cardiovascular system with other things besides running like rowing and cycling. Dr. Galpin trains many MMA fighters and explains some of the training and nutrition the fighter goes through.

 

[basedgodfedor]

Jump rope Is excellent cardio too

 

[paddy_da_pikey]

Jump rope Is excellent cardio too

Yeah another example of how cardio doesnt transfer, i can run for an hour comfortably but jumping rope for 5 mins straight is tough, there is definately something to impact on muscles effecting endurance.

When I was doing cross country MTB cycling I remember suspension shock absorbsion just coming into the sport in the early 90's and the talk was about how much it positively effected endurance in a race to remove the impact and shock going through your body over rough terrain

 

[RafaelDosSantos]

Conor may be able to go 5 rounds, but after 2 he's ineffective

 

[cevo]

Swimming >>>> Running

for cardio and your bones and joints

Swimming cardio and running cardio are completely different though, wont translate well. Running makes much more sense for martial arts.

When it comes to Conor I think it's genetics and possibly injuries. The guy has enough money to hire anyone he wants, so he's probably training as effectively as he can.

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

He needs to train with gsp abit as gsp the only guy i see with alot of muscle for his frame who has a gr8 gas tank.

Pre USADA everyone that had muscles had a great gas tank. Heck, even Big Rigg was shredded and had a gas tank.

 

[LongDongSilver]

swimming pool , stairs , bike, and long long runs .. and don't forget to have a recovery strategy

 

[ArtemV]

Maybe, or maybe he just can't handle the pace that he wants to put on.

 

[lecter]

Well iv watched all behind the scenes access, embedded shows, all access and MacLife for all recent fights and thought of something...
All of McGregors cardio training is off his feet. I mean literally he does no road work or at least none evident, not even a treadmill for running.
We see him rowing, aerodyne, out cycling, pad and bag work but no running, no miles not ever

If that's accurate, there's a lot of truth to the "Kavanah is the Irish Edmond" meme.
If he truly *can't* run and this is indeed his problem (plausible), I think he's fucked.
He won't put away every opponent in the first 8 minutes, his cardio issues are pretty obvious by now and it seems like he slowly turns into a punching bag when he's gassed.

 

[Koro_11]

Iv been thinking about McGregors ongoing Cardio issues or should I say recent Cardio issue

It appears McGregor has about 10-12 minutes then fades. 4 good paced rounds (12 minutes) against Mayweather, 2 solid rounds (10 mins) against Diaz, before alternating the final 3 rounds with a very tough 3rd (10th - 15th minutes) with Diaz

So why does someone who trains so hard have a difficulty with such prolonged cardio into the deeper rounds?

Well iv watched all behind the scenes access, embedded shows, all access and MacLife for all recent fights and thought of something...

All of McGregors cardio training is off his feet. I mean literally he does no road work or at least none evident, not even a treadmill for running.

We see him rowing, aerodyne, out cycling, pad and bag work but no running, no miles not ever - why?
In fact the only time we ever saw him 'running' was at the UFC performance institute in a specialised underwater treadmill to avoid impact and very slow paced which leads me to my point.

As someone who has cycled internationally and ran for my county I can tell you now the cardio for one movement doesnt transfer to the next. You will get a base level of fitness that will give you something to build upon when changing disciplines but I can tell you from experience just because I could comfortably do a 60 - 80 miles cycle didnt transfer to fitness for running a 10k for example and vice versa even though they both use 'legs'

Why? Impact! The impact of being on your feet and bounding and dealing with the gravity of carrying your own weight around is a very different type of fitness than non weight bearing cardio (the examples of which he prefers as outlined above)

Conor does not run and there must be a reason for this as to why he stays in his comfort zone as his 'legs going' as the boxing pundits would describe it or jelly legs if you've ever felt it is what McGregor concedes to when fights go into that 15 minute + time frame.

Keep in mind boxers or stand up fighters are notorious (no pun intended) for their road work, the early morning runs, the 5 miles a day (35 - 40 minutes = to fight duration of 12 round fight) the getting up at 5am or in Mayweathers case the 2am night time runs in the cooler Vegas weather - but they all put the miles in except McGregor?

So what is the reason?

Well his first and last 3 rounder was against Holloway this was a very fast paced fight and while McGregor hurt his knee he did not drop the pace or did not appear affected by Cardio in this fight at all

Therefore there are 2 reasons why McGregor doesnt do the road work required to have the 'on feet' impact level fitness required to compete 15 - 30 minutes

1) He is lazy, soft and doesnt want to work out of his comfort zone as he doesnt enjoy running

2) He has joint issues (knee, hip, ankle) or potentially his reconstructed knee following Holloway fight simply will not allow him to run and put in the miles expected in order to get himself through a training camp and has thus sourced other cardio methods as previously mentioned, in fact making reference to the underwater treadmill when I googled it, it is designed exactly for NFL athletes recovering from injury to avoid heavy weight bearing on the joints - this is the ONLY time we say McGregor run in any of the build ups in previous fights


I dont believe it is Number 1, he is tough, he does have heart fighting through a knee injury to get decision over current FW champ holloway, he doesnt look to stay in comfort zone challenging himself immediately wanting a rematch at 170 against the 185 - 190 Diaz who had 'strangled him on live TV' months earlier. He moved up in weight class, fought every opponent in front of him and challenged the P4P no 1 and TBE in Mayweather. This isnt dick riding, thats just a list of facts so its not number 1

So in my opinion (I said opinion not fact) it must be Number 2 which is a fucking shame that he must have had to find a work around for cardio post knee injury as cardio was never an issue previously, he played football as a youth but since that injury... no running, every other form of cardio but weight bearing running.

And this is why I believe McGregor will always struggle to have the fight level fitness required to compete in later rounds as his legs simply cannot cope with the demands of the type of grinding road work necessary to get himself into that condition to be on his feet for 30 minutes during a fight

Just my opinion folks and an angle I havent seen proposed


*TLDR

McGregor needs to do more running for the appropriate cardio required to fight

He got finished twice inside a minute, and Nate got him in just the second round. Cardio is not his only issue.

 

[Robbie Corleone]

I think the fact he enjoys to party plays a big part. He likes to enjoy himself between fights.

 

[TrainHard]

Good read. I can support your arguments anecdotally as well - I can do 50+ miles on a bike without breaking sweat, but after a couple of miles jogging (which I rarely do) I am out of breath.

And the small number of times even trained boxing I was very surprised how it wasn't the arms that gave out, but the legs.

Again, from personal experience I also agree with the poster who said that even putting on 5-10lbs of muscle can really affect cardio. If anyone wants an extreme example of this, watch strongman Pudzianowski in his fight against Tim Sylvia - his entire body turns beet red because his muscles are demanding so much oxygen.

 

[GraveyardFilla]

Bad lungs from inhaling asbestos all those years he was a plumber.

 

[paddy_da_pikey]

Good read. I can support your arguments anecdotally as well - I can do 50+ miles on a bike without breaking sweat, but after a couple of miles jogging (which I rarely do) I am out of breath.

And the small number of times even trained boxing I was very surprised how it wasn't the arms that gave out, but the legs.

Again, from personal experience I also agree with the poster who said that even putting on 5-10lbs of muscle can really affect cardio. If anyone wants an extreme example of this, watch strongman Pudzianowski in his fight against Tim Sylvia - his entire body turns beet red because his muscles are demanding so much oxygen.

I watched this fight, the guy turned purple it was bad