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Conor McGregor explains reasoning behind weird warm-up

It makes him look like an inflatable tube man and spawned numerous imitations, but Conor McGregor claims there is method behind his seemingly mad shoulder exercise.

At his open media workout last week at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, McGregor’s warm-up attracted attention.

WBO and WBC light welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who seeks to unify on Saturday against IBF/WBA champ Julius Indongo, started a social media craze – ‘The McGregor’ afterwards.

On a recent conference call, McGregor explained how “it’s a shoulder-loosening exercise: you’ve got to do it correct though, “These are just age-old training methods.”

“That shoulder method you saw was made very popular by the great Rickson Gracie, one of the pioneers of mixed-martial arts.”

“With that skill-set, it’s how you can change a jab to a hook in the blink of an eye, or a jab to an uppercut. It’s the same thing as the hip-flexors for a kick. If I’m tight in the hips and can’t free my legs, I can free my shoulders like I showed.

The Dubliner has worked with movement coach Ido Portal in recent years, and is known for his unorthodox approach.

‘The Notorious’ also laughed off the parody videos, noting how “I’ve seen some videos, but it’s light-hearted, I don’t take it personally. If anything I see stiffness in every single one of them.”

gym trition

frayne carpentry

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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