Sunday, November 10, 2024
| Updated 11/11/2024 08:53h.
“Mindset and discipline can change everything.” Doctor Aldo Martínez is faithful to a mantra that he repeats daily and from which he is inspired ‘Optimize yourself: The only impossible thing is what you don’t try’ (Ed. Kitaeru), a book that those who act as the brain of Ilia Topuria‘s training , a fighter who has conquered the UFC and new star of Spanish sports, presents in society to help everyone who reads it to be their best version.
“The psychological aspect is what differentiates a number one like him,” points out who presents himself as one of the key pieces in the rise of the Spanish-Georgian champion to the top of mixed martial arts, in charge of writing the prologue of this construction site. «There is a symbiosis between the two. Accompanying him on his path I have lived my dream, which is to make someone who puts themselves in my hands become a legend and manage to revolutionize a sport like he has done,” reveals the coach and double master in high sports performance, who coordinates everything. which is related to the physical and mental preparation of the undefeated fighter.
“My figure is a new profile within the sport, and sooner or later different entities will begin to copy it,” he points out in a talk with this medium. Aldo accompanies Topuria in everything, and implicitly there is the psychological and motivational support that the athlete needs. “As soon as I arrived from the fight against Alexander Volkanovski last February in California, an elite soccer team came looking for me with interest in me working with them,” he tells as an anecdote before maintaining that his book can help everyone, including to Real Madrid: “It would be good for him to obtain one more plus in terms of sports psychology, and thus overcome some of the adversities he has been experiencing in recent times.”
The person in charge of physically and mentally preparing the UFC featherweight belt works with other well-known faces in the sport such as soccer player Raúl Albiol or Olympic boxer José Quiles. «There are a series of stories, apart from mine, of well-known people, others less known, but they have also had to overcome adversity, some obstacle in their life. Each person who reads it can identify, if not with one story, with another. It will give them tools to correct, to alleviate, to be able to find their way and be able to move forward, which is what life is all about,” he says.
In each chapter, Martínez explains his method, something that he claims is “available to everyone.” Three keys? “Determination with what one wants to do, discipline, which is above talent, and being focused on the objective without any type of distraction,” responds the man from Alicante, who recognizes that positive psychology has become a new religion as well as happiness is in fashion. «Crying is just as relevant as smiling, it is an escape valve for our body and sometimes it can make us feel better. Without tears it is impossible for you to reach the top,” he reflects while remembering that without all the work behind it, what is not seen, nothing would be possible in the success of Topuria.
A genetic test
«At the age of 8 he was already cutting weight in his country when he did Greco-Roman wrestling. He has had extraordinary discipline since he was very young, and since I knew him a decade ago he has always had the mentality of being a champion. Think about working with dedication until you achieve the goal. “His psychological aspect is decisive, and his intelligence is out of the ordinary,” says the trainer, who delves into the fact that turning the fighter’s house into a high-performance center has been a key factor in his preparation both to knock out Alexander Volkanovski first. , and then defend the champion title against Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi. That has been just one part of the process. Everything is measured to the millimeter.
«We did a genetic study of his body in which we saw that if there was any risk of injury it would be in ligaments or tendons, so from there he takes some supplements to affect collagen and with this he corrects this small deficiency. I say it clearly, it has no weak point. From one fight to another he improves his records, his maximum strength records and the races we do at different distances. What’s more, in tests of reaction capacity and eye activation he has better data than many Premier League goalkeepers,” he says.
The featherweight monarch of mixed martial arts has a surprising routine thanks to the introduction of science and technology at the hands of his trainer, using cryotherapy or heat machines to recover, a hyperbaric chamber at a certain pressure where the levels oxygen levels increase by 50%, strobe glasses to improve reflexes, a helmet with sensors that target the vagus nerve to influence coordination, or for example brain waves through a HeadSeat helmet to maximize your rest during training camps to which he submits. «There are aspects that improve it physically but have a psychological impact, such as when we undergo a three-minute session at minus 140 degrees Celsius before having breakfast. This already strengthens us mentally, and gives us energy to start the day, the same as when we subject ourselves to the heat inside a sauna. Of course, this is not for everyone,” points out who considers himself a “sports engineer” and has the goal of getting the best possible performance from his athletes.
