Conor McGregor has been the topic of a lot of controversy in the last week or so BUT we are not here to discuss that. What we are here to understand is, why Conor McGregor ditched the running shoes in place of the spandex bibshorts for his training.
Conor has been working with former Irish road cycling champion Julian Dalby whom is now part of the medical staff. Whilst in McGregor’s corner with his medical skills and strength and conditioning techniques, Dalby has also helped the Dublin fighter introduce cycling into his training regime. McGregor says he was determined to examine his training to see how it could improve, and Dalby getting him on the bike has been part of that process.
“I’ve been doing a lot of endurance work on the rowing machine, sprints on the treadmill; I’m doing everything cardio-related,” he said of his work in ensuring he stays strong over the full length of a UFC fight.
“I’ve been supplementing my rounds on rounds with cardio work. And this is one of them,” he added as he headed out on the bike with Dalby on a highway through the Nevada desert near his Las Vegas base.
“We do a specific heart rate at a specific wattage. For endurance it’s good because you’re not pounding the roads,” McGregor, who has had knee injuries in the past, said of cycling.
“If I was to run; you’re pounding the roads and it’s not good for the body."
“So I do the sprints on the treadmill and on the rowing machine. And then I do my endurance on the bike.”
“you flush out the legs and get a bit of endurance work."
“And it’s not bad on the body; it doesn’t damage the body at all."
Even though running burns more calories per minute than cycling in general, cycling is a non impact sport which is more forgiving on the knees and other joints. It is a great way of training to maximum capacity whilst lowering the impact on your joints.