MMA fighter Miesha Tate is an incredibly tough competitor in the ring, which is no surprise when considering her typical training routine, which she shared on social media. Tate, 37, posted a video of herself wearing gray workout pants and a black tank top, doing an intense gym workout that included low-impact cardio and battle rope exercises. “Them: Why do you do it? Me: Who else is gonna? #workhard #dontquit #dontgiveup #listentoyourheart,” she captioned the post. Here’s what Tate’s health and fitness regimen looks like.
Tate is happiest when she’s outside in the sunshine. “I’m passionate about jiu-jitsu because there’s so much to learn—it’s a never-ending story,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “I continue to evolve in wrestling, but that’s where I came from—it’s my base… I’m an outdoorsy person. I love being in the water, whether it’s on a boat or just relaxing, and I love inner tubing. I also love camping or just being in the sun, enjoying life!” Training for title fights is a little more intense. “We train two to three times a day, up to six hours in the gym a day. I start at 10 a.m. with strength, conditioning, and technique. Around 4 p.m. I focus on mixed martial arts [MMA] training. Some days are more about grappling, others striking, but it all incorporates MMA.”
Tate is an accomplished baker and loves to make cakes and cupcakes. “I want to have a bakery of my own someday. That’s a goal of mine,” she told Complex. “I consider myself a bit of a cupcake connoisseur. I always like to go around and try cupcakes wherever I travel, and I just love them. They are one of my favorite things to eat post-training or post-fight… I’ve always been into cake since I was a little girl. I used to bake a lot with my mom and decorate cakes. It’s just one of my biggest hobbies. They really became popular these last couple years, so there’s been a lot more access to them.”
Tate eats plenty of red meat to fuel her workouts and competitions. “I like to eat red meat—it helps me keep my iron levels up,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “I also eat a lot of veggies. If you’re low on calories or missing something in your diet, you can definitely feel it when you’re pushing your body to the limits. Whatever you put into your body is what you’re going to get out of it.”
Tate is passionate about training her mind as well as her body. “Being present, it’s such a difficult thing to do, right?” she told UFC.com. “We run around, and we have all these demands, and then we have computers and phones and all these things that are constantly inundating our brains with being anywhere else but right here, right now. And this is a skill set that I feel like I’ve really acquired and worked really hard for over the past year. I’ve never been better in the moment than right now.”
Tate has learned it’s important to train smarter, not harder. “Doing this sport for so long, I know my body really well,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “I’ve had fights where I have definitely overtrained and didn’t give myself enough rest between fights or during training camp. I typically use a heart-rate monitor to track my recovery each morning to see where I’m at, and if it’s a day to push really hard or take it a little lighter. I also use it when I’m sparring to make sure my heart rate’s getting up high enough. After workouts, I’ll often take an ice bath to speed recovery.”