MMA fighter Jessica-Rose Clark is celebrating a milestone in her fitness journey. Clark, 36, shared a video of herself wearing shorts and a black shirt, doing a strength training session at the gym. “When you hit a PR and celebrate too early then you can’t stop laughing and totally mess up your remaining reps š¤¦š¼āāļøš¤¦š¼āāļøš¤¦š¼āāļø Thank you @abekhalil79 for training me today, excited to hit more PRs and actually be good at exercising as well as fighting,” she captioned the post. Here’s how Clark stays fighting-fit and ready for action.
Clark started CrossFit training during the pandemic lockdowns, and wishes she had tried it earlier. “A big part of that was what I was doing on the CrossFit side,” she told CrossFit.com. “I felt like maybe athletically I would have progressed a little quicker if I had been more open to doing it earlierā¦ It made me so explosive and powerful and mobile, which in a sport that involves moving someone else, physically lifting someone else ā¦ pushing 135 lb off you dynamically ā¦ there’s so much correlation.”
Clark revels in teaching MMA and Muay Thai, especially to kids. “I just love it. I love seeing the look on someone’s face when they understand what you’re trying to show them,” she told UFC.com. “Or maybe they’ve been having difficulty with a particular technique or a particular move, and just being able to find a way around that difficulty or helping them solve whatever the problem is, it’s fulfilling. If I’m not training, I’m teaching. It’s the other half of my job. I’m not just a fighter. I’m going to be in this sport for a long time, and I’m going to help other people evolve in it as well.”
Clark was introduced to the world of martial arts through her then-boyfriend. “I’ve been training for 12 years and fighting for 10,” she told ICON Meals. “I was dating a guy who took me to kickboxing one day, and just fell in love with it! I legitimately never looked back. It was the first thing in my life that I ever truly fell in love with.”
Clark is supported by a fantastic team. “I’m in a position now where I can really tailor my camps to how I need them, which is a big thing for me,” she told UFC.com. “Instead of just training with whoever I can find, now I can bring people in to help me train. I brought in a black belt to help me with this camp, which has been huge. I’ve got high-level strikers working every day with me as well. Previously I couldn’t afford to pay people to come and help me out. I had to take what I could get.
Clark has immense self-confidence and focus. “This is probably going to sound conceited, but honestly, I inspire myself,” she told ICON Meals. “It’s been a long and arduous journey, not just through my career but through life. I don’t need to turn to what someone else has done, in order to inspire me to keep going. I don’t believe in balance. My UFC career is my only priority. It is what allows me to keep a roof over my head and my dogs fed. Everything else comes secondary.”Ā