How Jon Jones Bulked to Become a Heavyweight.
In March of this year Jon Jones entered the heavyweight ranks when he fought Cyril Gane in UFC 285. Despite Jones’ fighting prowess there was a lot of money wagered on Gane in the pre-fight online betting odds.
Anyone who did back Cyril Gane to come out victorious in this clash was left red-faced after a newly stacked Jon Jones dismantled Gane, winning the fight in the first round with a guillotine choke submission.
What was perhaps most stunning of all though was Jon Jones transformation from the 220lbs fighter we had last seen in the octagon to the new hulking 250lbs monster that stood face to face with Gane at UFC 285.
In this article we take a look at the lengths that Jon ‘Bones’ Jones had to go to in order to bulk up and become the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
New Coach – Stan Efferding
One of the first things that Jon Jones did when he committed to making the step up to heavyweight and bulking up was employ Stan Efferding. The 55-year-old from Portland, Oregan is also known as “The White Rhino” and is a professional bodybuilder and powerlifter.
Over the course of his career, Efferding has held the all-time raw world powerlifting total without knee wraps of 2,226.6lbs. He can squat 854lbs, bench press 606.3lbs and deadlift 794lbs which just in case you’re unaware is a hell of a lot.
Jon Jones didn’t just want to bulk up to make heavyweight, he wanted to bulk up to become the biggest, baddest and strongest man in the heavyweight division so selecting Stan Efferding as his coach made a complete sense.
But beyond providing inspiration, what exactly did Stan Efferding do to help Jon Jones become bigger and stronger?
Stan Efferding squatting the equivalent weight of a fully stocked vending machine on his 50th birthday
Diet
Stan Efferding didn’t become the world’s strongest bodybuilder by accident, he became it through dedication, hard work and a scientific approach to his diet. He is the creator of ‘The Vertical Diet’ which has been helping people achieve their weight loss or weight gain goals for years and he used those principles to come up with a tailored diet plan for Jon Jones.
During training Jones would be eating anywhere between 4,000 to 4,500 calories a day with the latter taking place on heavy training days. His meal plan consisted of healthy fat sources like eggs and avocados and a lot, and we mean a lot, of protein.
The minimum that Jones was aiming for a day was 220g of protein, which meant that almost every snack or meal he ate had to consist of a protein source. Efferding ensured that those protein goals were met through either shakes or clean, organic sources of animal protein.
Because Jones was such a hard trainer, Efferding also made sure to incorporate a lot of complex carbohydrates into his meal plan to ensure that the fighter had the right amount of energy to call upon when he was in the gym.
Stan Efferding used all of his experience to put together The Vertical Diet and used many of the principles in that plan to design a meal plan for Jon Jones.
Lifting
Stan Efferding wasn’t just employed to provide diet guidance, he was also there to share with Jon Jones the secrets of powerlifting that he had learned throughout his long and illustrious career.
In Jones, Efferding found someone who was not only willing to learn but also willing to push past the perceived limits of endurance and fatigue to unlock his true potential.
Under Efferding’s guidance, Jon Jones was quickly benching more than 300lbs in his training sessions, deadlifting 640lbs and squatting 500lbs and was well on his way to becoming a beast.
Mindset
You often hear that mind set is the basis of everything, with a simple change in mind set you can go from viewing hardship and suffering as negatives to challenges and something to overcome.
Key to Jones’ transformation has been a subtle mind set shift that has seen him take the attitude of ‘show, don’t tell’ to his body transformation and his training regimen. In the build up to his fight with Cyril Gane relatively little was known of his training plan or his body composition.
In the octagon however he made sure that no-one was in doubt as to his ability to cope at heavyweight level, flying out of the blocks and demolishing his opponent. This attitude of quiet and dedicated adherence to a training plan has allowed him to focus on what he can control and become a better fighter as a result.
What do you think of Jon Jones’ transformation? Could you see yourself sticking to a similar calorie goal? Is there anyone in the heavyweight division capable of stopping the new and improved Jon Jones? Let us know in the comments section below.
