MMA star Kayla Harrison is showing off her acrobatic skills in a new social media post. Harrison, 33, shared a video of herself wearing black leggings and a camo sports bra, performing an impressive kip-up on the mat before landing in a fighting stance. “I take training seriously. 😜 #sporty #sportyspice #fitnessgoals #mma #mmatraining #ufc300 #kaylaharrison #teamkayla,” she captioned the post. “Looks like something out of Mortal Kombat 🔥🔥🔥🔥,” a fan commented, to which Harrison responded with a ninja emoji. Here’s what her diet, exercise, and training regimen looks like.
Harrison treats her workouts like her job. “I usually do 2-3 workouts a day, and it can include grappling, sparring and various drills,” she told Women Fitness. “I see my strength and conditioning coach twice a week, do one light technical workout on Saturdays and then Sunday I rest. In terms of dealing with stress, being a fighter is like putting yourself in the most stressful situation possible and finding ways to cope with it. There’s nothing more stressful than locking yourself in a cage with someone who is trying to fight you.”
Harrison starts cleaning up her diet three weeks before a big fight. “No more pizza, no more ice cream and stuff like that. I eat as much as I want, but just really good, wholesome food,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “Nothing processed. Simple and straightforward proteins with lots of veggies and fruits if I feel like I need the sugar, and that’s it. I also have single mom status, so I eat when I can [laughs], but I think I have got it down to a science, and my body feels really good.”
Harrison relies on visualization techniques for stress management. “I don’t try to find exercises to relieve stress, I try and find ways to become better at dealing with the stress,” she told Women Fitness. “This includes breathing exercises, visualization activities and positive thinking. Every night I train my brain, just like I do my body. I’m visualizing success, I’m visualizing being the best MMA fighter in the world, I’m visualizing arm barring someone or landing that perfect cross…and I repeat it repeatedly.”
Harrison knows that nutrition will absolutely impact her recovery. “Nutrition is definitely something that I have taken more seriously as I have got older,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “When you are 20 years old, you recover easily, no matter what, versus when you are 30 years old and you just don’t recover the same. So, nutrition is a big part of recovery.”
Harrison is a creature of habit and routine. “I grew up in a routine,” she told Muscle & Fitness. “I woke every morning, I’d make my bed, I got my clothes ready the night before, for school, and as I got older, I woke up every morning and went for a run or I lifted. Afterward, I would have either cross-country practice, or wrestling practice, or strength and conditioning, and then I would go from there to judo, doing my homework in the car, then come home, sleep, repeat, and do it all over again.