training and nutrition by Marvin

Michele Antonelli

August 17th

“The beast completed the Stelvio pass on an empty stomach, without ever putting his feet on the ground”. A text message, an anecdote that could be enough to frame Marvin Vectors. “Some time ago, while training in Italy during a vacation, I received this message. It was from Marcello Peruffo, a more unique than rare artist in the customization of racing bicycles. that from a simple hobby the situation would soon get out of hand “. Laughs. Matteo Capodaglio, performance nutritionist of the fighter’s Mezzocoronasays one of the athletes to whom he is most attached: “Marvin is this. He lives in the south of California and is invited to events in Beverly Hills, but he is still that stubborn Italian boy, who when he gets something in his head does it. At all costs. “Vettori’s goal has been known for some time: to become the first Italian champion in Ufc. To give him a hand there is Dr. Capodaglio, the professional who helps him build muscles and strength through scientific programming, which a Official Active told the approach to the match of Paris versus Robert Whittakerof next September 3.

“Marvin is training following the usual pattern, with a morning session and an afternoon session. We usually try to never have two high intensity sessions on the same day, to give the body time to recover. Let’s talk about training of a technical nature, of sparring, where he confronts his teammates in the Mma or in other disciplines such as Bjjtrying to create situations similar to the match, and athletic preparation “.

How are rests managed?

“They are fundamental, also because it was up to him he would sleep in the gym. We try to stay away from training for at least 36 consecutive hours a week, from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning. Having reached the level of Marvin Vettori, it is necessary to realize that it is not necessary to always be in the middle of the fray. Sometimes, an extra day of rest can have greater benefits. The idea of ​​training without pauses is good for Hollywood movies, in the real world the professional gives recovery the same importance as training, also to reduce the incidence of injuries “.

For years he has been taking care of the power supply of Vettori.

“Even if we live more than ten thousand kilometers from our Triveneto, nutrition remains Mediterranean. When you train, we oscillate between 4,500 and 5,500 kcal per day. If we talk about macronutrients, the emphasis is on carbohydrate because it is the primary fuel when working at these intensities. Pasta, potatoes and rice abound on our table, but there is no shortage of animal and vegetable proteins and fats. First of all, the ones we define as good, such as olive oil. For micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, I prefer the approach food first, which consists in favoring food over supplements. So, fruit and vegetables at will “.

Is it difficult to keep the same eating habits away from Italy?

“I would say no. Spending a lot of time here at Los Angeles, I understood that it is not a utopia. I discovered excellent fishmongers and butchers that sell first fruits, the same goes for many local fruit and vegetable producers, who have developed farms that respect the environment. As for the unique Italian products, there is an excellent import network. The only downside is the price, sometimes more than doubled “.

How is the typical day of Vettori structured from a food point of view?

“I create a weekly plan that includes about five meals a day, but I am in constant contact with him to modify it. If a session was heavier than expected, call me and we try to integrate, increasing the caloric amount. Marvin lives in Orange County, between Los Angeles and San Diego, but he often comes to Los Angeles for boxing and BJJ training, and every now and then he stops to eat at my place. For some time now, we have been calling my home ‘Osteria da Capo’, because we often organize dinners with my athletes (laughs, ed) “.

In view of the match against Whittaker, will the plan undergo changes?

“It will be necessary to analyze the changes day by day. For this trip with my athletes during fight week, it is the only way to monitor everything in person. In general, the training volume will see a decrease, along with the income. caloric. I think that until fight week we will not drop below 3,200 kcal per day “.

“Marvin is crazy about pizza and sweets, for now he enjoys them a couple of times a week. We have to change the perception of the free meal, which often still has a negative connotation today. Planning meals that are not 100% performance oriented, but capable of fueling the sustainability of a plan, it is fundamental. The athlete deals with many elements of stress during a camp, the last thing we want is that he is waiting for months to eat his favorite dish. As is often the case, virtue lies somewhere in between. A few days ago, for example, Marvin was having lunch with me after a boxing session. As a textbook I should have prepared linguine with clams, but knowing his tastes I diverted to pasta with mushrooms and sausage. Then, of course, close to the meeting we will be surgical in our choices “.

A step back: against Costa, the rules of the game have changed in the course of construction. How did you react to the inconvenience in that situation?

“We tried not to let the negligence and bad taste of Costa and her entourage get into our heads. In the past, it has happened that athletes have missed the weight of a few pounds, but never with an excess of one category (about 20 lbs, ed). In any case, ours is a job and it is important to come ‘to the office’ prepared and without resentment towards colleagues and competitors. These kinds of feelings, if not controlled, can take you away from the goal of victory. We tried to group, joke, play chess, eat with taste and train until the moment of the match. Marvin knew exactly what to do and it was a delightful victory, made more beautiful by the cheering for us in the entire MMA community, disgusted by what happened on the scale. “

Weight cutting issue. How will it be dealt with in this case?

“Fortunately, sport is also changing in this respect, 10-15 years ago the weight was made with the idea that the more you cut the better, without any scientific notion. Today, instead, we try to do it in the least impacting way on athletes. , more and more educated on the subject. Over time, Marvin has matured in out-of-match management, avoiding excesses that lead to significant weight and fat mass fluctuations. In this way, we are relatively light at the beginning of the camp. The weight trend is passing all the established checkpoints, the goal is to get to fight week at 1 / 1.5% lighter than usual to balance the stress of 12 hours of flight and 9 time zones to go to France. We also have access toUFC Performance Institute, a gym-laboratory where we find the latest technologies in terms of measuring variables related to body composition and fitness level. Starting from the data, the athlete understands whether weighting will be a simple, difficult process, or whether it is better to move up / down a category “.

What are the feelings towards Paris?

“There are positive thoughts, Marvin is maturing as a fighter and is an important factor in view of the challenge against a veteran like Whittaker. Furthermore, as an emigrant who has not returned to Italy for four years, it is nice to know that we will soon be in front of a home crowd. It hasn’t happened since the last match in Venator in 2016, it would be great to hear some choirs in Italian. “