As you may know, many people in the world rank Fedor Emelianenko as the #1 heavyweight fighter in the world. How does he train and what does he do to get to that level? Affliction posted some information on how where Fedor trains, how he trains and who he trains with. Check it out.
“Trainers
At 12 years old, Fedor’s family could not afford to buy him the Judo suit and training shoes he needed for class, so his first trainer, Vasiley Gavrilov, bought them for him.
Fedor remains loyal to his earliest trainers, such as Vladimir Voronov, who has trained him since he was 12 years old, long before his MMA career began. Voronov specializes in Sambo and Judo. In 1997, he was training Fedor for the Russian national Judo team, in preparation for the Olympics. Since amateur athletes in Russia at the time received no economic support from the government, many fighters would work as hired muscle for the mafia. So in 2000, Voronov and Fedor decided to focus on MMA.
At that time, Fedor enlisted Alexander Michkov to be his second trainer and striking coach. Michkov is a “Master of Sport” in boxing, the highest level a boxer can achieve in Russia. He has been with Fedor and Voronov since 2000.
Fedor often travels to Holland to train with Yogan Vos and Lucien Carbin, two more reputable members of his training circle, who focus on developing his Muay Thai skills.
Stary Oskol- Russia
Stary Oskol is a small mining town in the Belgorod region of Russia, located 385 miles south of Moscow. The city sits on one of the largest iron ore deposits in the world. With more than eight million tons of iron ore mined there per year, most locals make their living in the mining industry in one form or another. The population of about two hundred twenty-five thousand live eight thousand feet above sea level. At this time of year, Stary Oskol is in the dead of winter and covered in a thick layer of snow. Although there is a small airport in the city, it is rarely used throughout the year, and never in the winter. Everyone in the town knows Fedor and praises his signature humility. Locals say that the 235 pound powerhouse is the most humble person they know, despite his great talent and success. Fedor still lives in the same apartment and drives the same Toyota given him by town officials in honor of his achievements.
Temperature
A typical day for Fedor in the camp is marked by extremely cold temperatures. The highs throughout camp are in the mid-teens (Fahrenheit) and the lows are from negative four to negative eight degrees. It snows around 11 hours each day, and today left an additional 2.6 inches of snow on the ground. Tomorrow there is a 70% chance of snow. Fedor loves the challenge of these training conditions, because it gives him strength and perseverance.
Training Regimen
Fedor trains twice a day-once in the morning at 10am and again at 5pm. He first does cardio before every training session. Then he works on technique and strength training for a couple of hours. He finishes with some grappling and sparring.
Living Accommodations While Training
Fedor’s living accommodations are very basic when he’s training in Stary Oskol. The team lives in small rooms near the training facility where everything is simple and clean. There are no big training machines, no treadmills, or other complicated equipment common to all gyms in the U.S. Fedor prefers to use the resources of his natural surroundings for training. He loves to exercise and run outside, even though the winters are very cold, and he makes a point to do certain exercises outside in the elements to get his blood flowing. The simplicity helps Fedor become creative, adaptable and train harder.
Training Partners
Fedor’s training partners from the M-1 Global and Red Devil stable of fighters are a combination of both youthful athleticism and veteran skills. The Red Devil Academy is in St. Petersburg, Russia. It consists of a team of MMA fighters who compete on a regular basis. Fedor and his brother, Aleksander Emelianenko, both belong to the Red Devil Academy. Fedor also works out with long time training partner and fellow M-1 Global fighter, Roman Zentsov. Zentsov is a veteran fighter who has competed in over 30 professional MMA fights. He fought Andrei Arlovski in an M-1 cage in September of 2000, losing by TKO. His specialties are boxing and wrestling, and he has been a sparring partner of Fedor’s for several fights.
Fedor also trains with his protoge, Kiril “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov. Sidelnikov is a 20-year-old phenom, who will be appearing on the Affliction M-1 “Day of Reckoning” card against Paul Buentello. Most recently, Sidelnikov led the Red Devil team into the finals of the 2008 M-1 Challenge. Sidelnikov is a very talented fighter with great stand up and grappling skills.
Nutrition
Fedor does not have a cook or a specific diet, but sticks to eating three meals a day. While he strives to eat healthily, he does not go out of his way to limit himself. Mostly, Fedor’s diet consists of meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. He also takes in as much liquid as he can, such as fresh juices and herbal teas. Fedor tries to stay away from soda, french fries and candy-some of his favorites when not training. He also refrains from drinking alcohol when he is training.”