Here are a few of the moves UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre uses to get ready for a tear-up in the Octagon. “Since I injured my knee in 2011, I've changed my training,” says the champion. “I no longer lift heavy weights – they put too much stress on my joints. I now just do fun, functional moves like these because they maximise my athletic potential and keep me enthused about being in the gym.”
“Once you've mastered each move, put them together in different flows so you can create entire workouts from them,” says St-Pierre.
Gym ball body roll
Lie on your back holding the gym ball between your feet with your arms above your head. Lift the ball off the ground with your feet. Brace your core and roll over onto your front, without letting the ball touch the ground. Keep going in the same direction so you end up on your back again. Then roll back to the start, keeping the ball and your hands off the ground at all times.
Gym ball IT band twist
Start in a plank position with your arms wider than shoulder width apart and your thighs resting on the gym ball. Lift your right leg, bending it at the knee, and roll to the left on the ball, allowing your torso to twist and your right foot to hang down towards the floor. Return to the start and alternate sides.
Gym ball V-up pass
Lie on your back holding the gym ball between your feet. Keeping your legs straight, hinge at the hip, bringing the ball up and passing it to your hands. Take the ball overhead and then hinge at the hip, pass it back to your feet and return to the start.
Gym ball leg lift
Lie on your back with both feet on the gym ball. Drag your right heel towards you as you lift your left foot above your head, bringing your knee to your nose. Return your left foot to the ball and switch sides.
Gym ball compass drives
Lie on your back holding the gym ball between your feet, your arms wide on the floor. Lift the ball up and then over to the left, then the right, back to the centre, then up over your head and back to the start.
