"I know how to recover well from MMA workouts," says Renda of Clash of the Stars!

To be able to make the transition from bodybuilding to MMA is very hard, especially when you weigh 120kg... The former sparring partner of professional bodybuilder Honza Turek, Renda Blahovsky, knows about it. And today, in a short interview, we'll take a look at how difficult the transition from bodybuilding to MMA was for Renda and what he was able to implement from bodybuilding into his training and preparation for MMA fights at Clash of the Stars.

Hi Renda in the first question I would like to ask how hard/easy was it for you to transition from bodybuilding style training to MMA style training.

Well, it was obviously very hard... I was just recently watching the 1st training session I had with Carlos when I started. Well, it was really horrible with so many muscles to work. I think the hardest part was getting my muscles pumped up so fast. I was getting cramps in them early...

When you started doing full MMA did you mind and do you still mind the pile of muscles you had and still have?

Of course it used to bother me, it still kind of bothers me, but it's not so bad anymore. When I had a lot of muscles, they would get pumped up early when I was running or airbiking for example. I used to get muscle cramps early on. Now I've burned off a good portion of those muscles. I've burned about 20 pounds since I started, but just mostly muscle. When I started I was about 120kg, now I'm about 103kg.

But even now, of course, the muscles still bother me. I just don't want to burn them anymore because I still want to look like I did bodybuilding, I want to keep those muscles. I like Karlos, for example, you can see the bodybuilding base in him.

Do you still incorporate any elements from your bodybuilding training into your MMA training now?

Of course, mainly the strength ones, like deadlifts, benches and squats. I do those exercises every week. But the biggest thing I incorporate from bodybuilding is diet. I think that's where I have a big significant advantage over those other wrestlers, I just know what and how to do with diet and recovery. That helps me a lot in my workouts, because I can recover well.

I suppose MMA fighters have to have a huge physicality, wasn't this a problem for you in the beginning?

Well of course it was the most "hardcore" thing for me in the beginning... But even today I have to say that the physique is still not good, but it's much better and Karlos himself said that I did a lot of work in a short time and that not many people can do it. As you know, I was training with Honza Turk and those workouts were really hard too...

Can you imagine doing MMA and bodybuilding at the same time? At the amateur level, of course.

So, depending on what you think of as amateur level, if you mean like doing bodybuilding and maybe twice a week go knocking, then of course I can imagine that. I don't think it's bad, you're not going to burn your muscles in two workouts a week, but if you're training for a bodybuilding contest in the spring and then an MMA fight in the fall and then do it again, you definitely can't do that, or you could do that, but you're not going to make any muscle progress...

I'm doing like 10 to 11 workouts a week right now, and if I imagine I'm supposed to do bodybuilding and get ready for a contest in the spring, I don't know what I'd have to eat to maintain muscle or even gain some muscle... I just can't do that, but of course, like I said, if you wanted to maybe get ready to slap on some weights now for the spring and go 1-2 a week, I think that's cool.

When you switched from bodybuilding to MMA how did your diet change?

Diet and training is what I haven't mentioned the most. I used to eat something like 8-9 meals a day and now I eat maybe 3 or 4 meals a day at most and it's a big break and a big relaxation for me in not having to eat every two hours.Like at the beginning I underestimated it a lot, I didn't eat almost at all, to which Karlos told me that it was a big mistake, that I just had to cram those calories in. But as I said, compared to when I had to eat 8-9 meals a day, it's a great comfort now.

We know that you and Karlos Vemola are sponsored by Extrifit, do you have any top three products that you can't imagine training without?

First of all, I would like to put on record that I am not on the Extrifit team (I'm not there yet). But I hope that sooner or later I will officially belong there. Of course, I'm just kidding right now... Extrifit is still helping me, but luckily. We have an agreement with Pavel Vacko that every month I can send him a list of supplements and he will give them to me.So I don't have any contract with Extrifit yet, I'm just arranged like this, which I really appreciate and I would like to thank them.I've been taking Extrifit supplements since the beginning of my bodybuilding career and I'm very happy that they help me like this and that I can be part of them alongside Karlos.

Now about the three supplements. My favourite supplement is definitely the instant BCAAs, I drink them during every workout, I just can't imagine training without them. That's my routine. Number two is definitely the CFM protein, I drink that 2-3 times a day - for breakfast or after training. And the third one I would say either FLEXAIN for joints and tendons or V52 multivitamin, but now that I think about it, I think V52.

I have more of these supplements of course, but these are the Top 3-4.

How has your supplementation changed since you were a bodybuilder?

Well it's changed for me, but again not in a major way. Like I said BCAAs in training are routine for me now. Protein during the day is also essential for me. When I'm tired I'll take Trainox, now after Christmas I'm including Fatal for burning. I also give glutamine after my workout and now I'm going to include creatine.

So it has changed for me, but not that significantly. I used to use a lot of citrulline or arginine I don't use those now because the pumping during training is more to my benefit.

Renda, thank you very much for the interview, take care and have a good day.

Thank you, too. Osss