Haven't seen this posted yet, hope it's not a repeat. I thought it was cool what he had to say.
Anyways, here's an excerpt Troy Polamalu of the Steelers did with Complex Magazine discussing his training and MMA....
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Complex: Can you tell us a little about your barefoot training regimen?
Troy Polamalu: If your feet are strong, the rest of your body doesn’t have to compensate. I train with a gentleman by the name of Mark Marinovich, and his training philosophy centers around creating an environment that is more correlated to athletic movement. People aren’t going to bench slowly on the field, they’re not going to squat a perfect 45 degrees when you’re in the middle of the play. We train in a way that works the nervous system and the body to react in an athletic motion. The barefoot component of my training is about strengthening the toes. Mark compares it to a dog on a hard floor vs a cat on a carpet, having your toes strong and your nervous system trained.
Complex: What specifically do you do?
Troy Polamalu: I work barefooted on balance plates. I do explosive squats on balance surfaces that your body has to use muscles it’s not used to. It’s all kinds of exercises that your body isn’t really used to, and it tricks your body into getting stronger every time.
Complex: Are there any sports that you watch when you’re not focused on football?
Troy Polamalu: MMA. I really enjoy the individual sports. With great fighters, it’s not just what’s God given. Lebron, James? There’s a lot of God-given talent there. In MMA, the fighters are raised into it. You’ve got 6-foot guys, you’ve got short heavy guys. Fighters are raised into MMA. It’s more about what’s internal, not what’s God given. When you have a great fighter like Rickson Gracie or Fedor Emelianenko-they’re greater than the others because they have an internal spiritual being that separates them from the rest in their craft. They have the warrior spirit.
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Source:
http://www.complex.com/blogs/2009/05/15/troy-polamalu-talks-surfing-nike-and-training-regiments/
cool
I love that of all people, he chose Rickson & Fedor. Respect.
very cool.
Not to be picky but what has Journalism come to when they can't even get a name right. Troy trains with MARV Marinovich. Todd Marinovich's father.
I trained with Marv all through high school and he is considered as either a genious or a certifiable waco... I personally think he is just always two steps ahead of conventional sport training. He is pure genius. Marv is intense and obsessed with performance based training and always, ALWAYS pioneering new concepts and methods at acheiving better results.
That being said I went to college with Troy and there is not a greater person who deserves more. He is one of the most hard working, humble and genuine people I have ever had the privilage of knowing. He deserves all his success. He's always loved MMA and has completely respected our athletes.