Tim Boetsch Interview Transcript

Tim Boetsch Interview - Training (Part 1) Tim Boetsch Interview - Fighting Technique (Part 2) Tim Boetsch Interview - Diet & Supplements (Part 3)     %s1 / %s2

FIN: This is Alex Alleman with FEEL IT NUTRITION. It is Wednesday, March 04, 2009. We are very glad to be able to spend some time with Tim Boetsch before his upcoming fight this weekend in Columbus, OH (UFC 96). Tim, how are you?

TIM: Doing real good, it’s getting close to the fight here. I think I’ve done everything right and I’m gonna get in there and rumble.

FIN: That is the big question, are you ready to step into the Octagon?

TIM: Absolutely, it’s been about six months since I’ve been in there, so I’m ready to mix it up.

FIN: We’ve certainly been anticipating this event and we know you are going to do really well. We have some questions for you in regards to you workouts and training, your fighting styles, and diet. You obviously are doing the right things Tim, so we’re glad to have a chance to sit down with you. When you have an upcoming fight, for instance, this weekend (UFC 96), how many weeks do you need to prepare in order to be at your top physical condition?

TIM: Well, I was fortunate in this one. I actually knew about this fight for about 15 weeks in advance, so that period of time gives you plenty of time to plan out different phases of training. Ideal that is what you are suppose to do, break it up into phases, the first phase being a Strength and Explosive phase, and move into condition, all the while continuing to work on technique the whole time. As the fight gets closer, you have to start thinking about what weight class you’re going to be in. I’m a light-heavyweight, 205lbs., normally I’m walking around somewhere closer to 225-230lbs., so there is some cutting involved in order for me to make light heavy-weight, so that plays a factor. It definitely helps to have the right people on board; I have a strength and conditional specialist, and a nutritionist. They’ve been very helpful in my camp. They’ve helped me plan out all the phases and my nutrition and supplementation for this fight.

FIN: We’d like to get into the specifics on that. Like you said, you do have some time to prepare for this weekend. This next question may bring back some memories of your debut fight, UFC 81, where you literally destroyed your opponent, with very little time before the fight to prepare. What is the minimum amount of time you would need to take on a fight and still feel confidant?

TIM: Well, the shortest fight I ever took was three days and I felt pretty confident going into that one, but it was at that point in my career I was anticipating fights coming up so I was keeping myself in a state of readiness and staying around my desired weight, 205lbs., so I didn’t get really far away from that, in that, if I needed to cut down to 205lbs., so I didn’t get very far away from that, knowing that if I needed to cut down to 205lbs, within a few days I’d be able to do it. But where I’m at in my career now, I’d like to have…4 weeks. Four weeks would give me plenty of time to get ready, to formulate a game plan, to go in there and do what I need to do to feel confident.

FIN: When preparing for any given fight, whether it’s four weeks or three days, how do you protect yourself from injuries?

TIM: Well, you need training partners you trust. Partners that you are comfortable working out with, that know your abilities, you know their abilities. A lot of times, guys will get injured when starting out at a new gym, working with different partners; you may not know the flow of how the other person has been training. That’s a big part of it is having training partners. And it occurs in all phases of training. I really trust the guys I’m lifting with, as far as spotting, and what not. They know what I’m capable of doing, so if I need pushed a little bit harder they can do that safely. Basically, staying injury free is a critical part of having a career in Mixed Martial Arts.

FIN: You mentioned those various phases to training...What is your main focus during your strength and explosive phase?

TIM: It’s at that point of the training where I’m trying to put on as much muscle mass as I can without hindering my flexibility. Flexibility is obviously and important thing for this sport. So it takes a critical balance there as I’m trying to put on the mass and increasing my explosive power, without hindering my flexibility. At the same time, I really work on building up my anaerobic capacity. There are a lot of points in a fight when you’re really going hard anaerobically, and you’ve got to be able to recover from that quickly. So, we implement training that improves that as well.

FIN: That leads well into the next question, Tim. When you’ve gone through your training phases and you’re getting closer and closer to the fight, how many days or weeks do you take before the fight to start tapering down your strength and conditioning programs?

TIM: Well, I wouldn’t say we taper down; we more change what we are doing. Normally, in the past, I’d stop lifting two weeks or so before a fight; whereas, for this one, with my new trainer, I was lifting weights up to a week before the fight. We’ve changed to much higher repetitions, where we are using a lot more machines that keep me stable, less risk for injuring a joint or something along those lines. The lifting intensity was still there, but we’re going through different means. It is much safer.

FIN: You’ve mentioned you have lowered the weight lifting the second to last week before the fight. What has this last week been like for you? What has your training schedule looked like for you during these final days?

TIM: Actually the last week leading up to the fight is very laid back. Our philosophy is to really cruise into the fight, make sure everything is healed up the best we can, nothing is broken down. We aren’t worried about any muscles needing any repair. So, there is no kind of muscle breakdown at all this week. I’m keeping the weight down, breaking a sweat every day. I’ll do a little bit of cardio, if needs be to keep the weight down, but this last week is really just a whole week of recovery and then by fight night my body should just be ready to explode.

FIN: You’ll be full of energy?

TIM: Yes, ready to let it all go!

FIN: Tim, once the fight is over, how long do you give your body to recover? When will you resume a full training schedule?

TIM: Ideally, if there is no broken bones or anything (laugh)…I’ll take another solid week off and then go back to the drawing board and see what worked the last training camp, what things didn’t work, what changes need to be made and then we’ll start back into our anaerobic and explosive, mass-building phase. Power-lifting and all that fun stuff will start back up again (laugh).

FIN: The next set of questions we have for you Tim get more into your fighting style. We’ll get into the nitty-gritty also. We’ll give you a chance to tell us more about your history and how you got into the fight scene. How long have you been fighting MMA?

TIM: My first fight in MMA I believe was in September of 2006. So, it will be like 2 ½ years coming up. I’m relatively new to the sport of MMA, but I’ve been a wrestler my whole life. I’ve been wrestling since the second grade, so I’ve been involved in some sort of competition my entire life, basically.

FIN: Wow, well for only 2 ½ years being in MMA, you’ve definitely made an impression.

TIM: Yeah, I’ve been very fortunate to take advantage of the opportunities that have been placed in front of me. Still learning to take those opportunities and grow. I’m excited about it.

FIN: You have a background in wrestling. What would you say is your main fighting style?

Tim: Well ah now I would say I’m more of a striker than a wrestling. When I first started, striking was definitely my weakness and I’m really focused on bringing that up to par. Now I actually think I’m more dangerous as a striker than I am a wrestler. I’m definitely using that to my advantage now.

FIN: Have you been learning any new fighting styles since your last fight?

Tim: Yea, I’ve actually had the opportunity to train up in Boston where Mark Delegratti, a world-renowned muay thai guy, gave me a lot of techniques and insight to the sport that few people if any have…he’s got some amazing abilities there great teacher and I fortunate enough to work with him for this one and definitely looking forward to showing those skill in the octagon.

FIN: Tim what is your favorite submission and can you go into it a bit?

Tim: Well for submission skills with my wrestling background find yourself in head lock position a lot times or guillotine choke where you cutting neck off or …choke where you cut the neck with your arm anyways that submission can come from a headlock position because of my wrestling background you know I’m able to pull guys underneath me and front and attack neck and arms those are some of my favorite submissions to use.

FIN: With your increase focus on striking and your skills which have increased in that area and with your background in wrestling would you rather stand up or go to the ground?

Tim: At this point in my career I want to keep the fights exciting I feel like keeping it on my feet and where we can trade some punches, keep it fast paced…those are the fights I want to be in. I want people leaving the fight taking about how exciting it was. So I want to keep the fight standing, keep it exciting for everybody.

FIN: Tim, have you ever knocked anyone out?

Tim: Yea I had quite a few knockouts that are technical knockouts. Referee stopped my first UFC fight with a TKO and my last fight with Michael Patt got him down with a straight right hand then finished him off with strikes from the ground. Yea, I’ve had a few TKOs.

FIN: What is your favorite knockout punch? Right hook? Upper cut?

TIM: I’ve done pretty well with the straight right hand and right crosses...done well for me in several fights...that is probably my favorite punch to land.

FIN: What fighting style in your opponent do you hate going up against?

Tim: I think…it’s hard to say there is so many styles out there. There’s not one style that scares me the most. I think the more the fighter and the complete package they bring and obviously the higher skills they have in all phases of the game makes them a more dangerous opponent. That’s how I’d answer that question. There’s no one style that scares me but once you pile everything together and the guy is good at everything then you start getting a little nervous.

FIN: Let’s get into a little bit more personal here. Have you ever been in any street fights and can you give us details?

Tim: Actually I’m a pretty mild manner guy. My personality isn’t very aggressive outside of the octagon. I’ve never been in a street fight. Kind of funny you mentioned that ‘cause when I first started fighting most people looked at me like “you’re doing what?” taken back because they didn’t think I had that kind of personality in me to get in there and fight someone...i’m a pretty laid back guy but in fact it is something I enjoy doing is fighting in the octagon and done pretty well at it.

FIN: You are definitely able to turn it on in the ring.

Tim: Yea, absolutely (laugh).

FIN: A few years from now when you’ve reached the goals you planned on reaching in MMA fighting and the UFC, do you plan on training people when you retire? Opening a school?

Tim: Yea, I’m looking to open a school here in about a month and a half. Get that going as soon as possible. I want to stay involved in the sport some way as long as I can.

FIN: Last question regarding you and how you feel about fighting. Golf has Tiger. Basketball has Lebron. Mixed Marital Arts? Tell us who your favorite fighter is and why?

Tim: Favorite fighter..i’ve got a couple…obviously Chuck Lidell a name that everybody knows…his style is one that I admire…he’s a former wrestler, guy with super heavy hands and definitely made a name for himself knocking out big name guys.

FIN: Well there’s some obvious similarities there. For sure

Tim: (Laugh) Well, I’d like to think so…that’s quite a compliment. I appreciate that. Chuck Lidell is definitely a name a comes to mind. Randy Couture he also is a former wrestler...he is just inspiration to every mma fighter…his aspirations to make a career out of it and be able to stick around and fight for a long time and then there Wanderlei Silva, just pure aggressive who is always on the attack always on the hunt to finish his opponent. That is also some qualities I admire. I think those are three of the guys that come to mind that who I want to emulate in the sport and if there is anybody that I can take after. In the end I want people to know me and my fighting style but those are the guys I look up to.

FIN: That’s great. And that leads us into the next segment of our questions for you Tim, this gets more into the technical side of diet and supplementation. As we’ve mentioned earlier, you’re obviously doing the right things, you are large, ripped, and cut. I’m sure a large part of that you would attribute to proper diet.

TIM: Definitely

FIN: What in your mind is the most important aspect of a good diet?

TIM: It’s funny, I actually brought my nutritionist with me for this fight, to make sure we are doing everything right during this last week. We were just talking about it earlier today. It comes down to what God put on this earth is what we should be putting into our bodies. It comes down to the clean, healthy foods and the produce and all those things…people are always looking for the magic pill, when in fact you have all this stuff already here that you need to make the building blocks, the foundation, of your diet. And then add all the other stuff on top, to really take it to the next level. The foundation, you know, needs to be the healthy foods, the fruits and vegetables, the lean meats. You know, I’m a big hunter. I eat a lot of wild game. I think that is a critical part of my diet. I know for sure mentally that helps me a little bit. The focus is eating a lot of solid healthy food from natural sources.

FIN: That’s great. You mentioned there being no magic pill. I think that IS the magic pill: a proper diet.

TIM: Oh yes.

FIN: Now along those lines in addition to your strict diet do you have a favorite supplement that’s part of your daily diet that you use?

Tim: Absolutely, like I said the natural healthy foods need to be the foundation. When you’re in a sport like MMA or if you’re a bodybuilder, or doing any type of extreme training it’s hard to maintain that training schedule and at the same time be able to take in all the nutrients you need from food. So that’s where the supplementation and knowing what you should be taking comes in. Because to train at the highest levels, we’re talking professional athletes and people that are looking to further their careers in athletics or whatever it may be, just to improve performance that’s where the supplementation comes in. That’s where I definitely am a firm believer in quality protein supplementation, especially with my training I can’t be walking around with a belly full of red meat all the time.

FIN: Deer meat is great but…

TIM: It doesn’t really help to eat a big steak an hour before a workout. (Laugh)

FIN: Absolutely

TIM: That’s where I am taking in my whey protein isolate. I try to take in 200g of protein a day when I’m really cranking hard. That’s a lot if I were to just be eating meat, that would be a lot of meat for my system, but that’s where the protein isolate comes in.

FIN: Absolutely

TIM: And then you know you need carb sources after you workout…To make sure you utilize and take in that insulin spike that occurs after you workout. That’s why I use some fruits for that, and there are some products out there dextrose to really take advantage of that insulin spike and those sorts of things. That all comes from working with my nutritionist; he knows all this stuff specific to my body type. That’s the other thing; everybody’s body is different and is going to react differently to different things. There’s a lot of trial and error involved.

FIN: There absolutely is. Now you have already given some great tips. If you had to give advice to someone just getting into MMA, just getting into the fight scene, what diet tips specifically would you share?

TIM: I would tell them to make sure there taking in plenty of fruits and vegetables. This camp is the first time I really focused on that and I felt a huge difference in my cardio vascular capacity. I’ve been able to train longer and harder and my recovery time is much shorter. I attribute that to the greens and fruits and stuff I’ve been taking in. So I would tell guys to really make it a point to focus on that. And then of course that water intake.

FIN: Absolutely

TIM: Bodybuilders traditionally take in a gallon and a half to 2 gallons and I thought that was absurd. This camp I started doing that and it’s made a huge difference, I’m a huge believer in that as well.

FIN: That’s some great advice. Now with you specifically Tim, in regards to supplementation and diet, how are you able to keep on so much muscle while eliminating as much fat as you can.

TIM: Again the ability to keep your protein high obviously when you’re training hard your body is going to want to break down a lot of protein and shift your nitrogen balance toward the negative…but a constant flow of protein coming in and then to shed the fat a lot of that is about carb timing. Obviously late at night right before bed you don’t want to hog down a pasta dinner, just because you’re hungry.

FIN: Exactly

TIM: Your body will explode on those carbs so I try to get a lot of mine within windows between the 20 minutes after workout when I really shovel in the carbs and then again within two hours I am eating carbs again. Like I said everybody is different and its metabolism wise will do different things with different amount. But I try to get as many carbs in after my workout as possible. You have to find that magic number where you’re not storing the fat but replacing the glycolic fuel for muscles.

FIN: That’s great

TIM: It is definitely a science trying to figure out your body.

FIN: We’ll Tim for a guy your size…you’re 6 foot and approaching 205 pounds right now as you get ready for this weekend. You say you train around 225 and 230. How many calories are you consuming in a day during peak training?

TIM: I am getting upwards of about 4000 during peak training. The traditional diet for someone my size is about 2500, but when you’re expending that much energy you want to prevent muscle breakdown. You don’t want to be losing muscle mass. That’s been the magic number for me. But obviously as we get closer to competition the calorie intake is dropped a little bit because I want to obviously lower my weight.

FIN: Absolutely

TIM: I have a nutritionist that helps me to dial in my protein and carbs and make sure I hit that magic number where I am losing the fat and not as much muscle. Obviously you will lose a little bit but you want to hold onto as much as possible the last few weeks. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that for this fight.

FIN: Well Tim these last two questions kind of deal with that protein/carb ratio. The first, what is your favorite high protein meal?

TIM: My favorite protein meal is a big steak…elk steak or beef steak it doesn’t really matter, definitely a steak lover. A high protein meal…it’s going to be a lean red meat of some sort.

FIN: Well being an outdoorsman I am sure you’re able to get enough of that. OK, what is your favorite high carb meal?

TIM: Favorite high carb is definitely going to go to the chicken parm with a giant plate of ziti.

FIN: That’s great, probably what you had tonight.

TIM: Actually I had salmon this evening (Laugh).

FIN: Last but not least Tim, who is your favorite sponsor?

TIM: Feel It Nutrition.

FIN: Great Tim we appreciate your time with us.

TIM: Thank you for helping me with my supplementation and helping me get closer to that dream of getting to the top.

FIN: Well we certainly wish you the best and we know you’re going to do well this weekend.

TIM: Thank you very much