26 MEN’S HEALTH
Lay the smackdown on boring
gym routines with high-impact
training tips from British WWE
superstar Tyler Bate. You will
make belly fat submit for good
BECOME KING
OF THE RING
HOW I
BUILT MY
BODY
H
idden on an industrial estate
in Enfield, London, is the UK’s
WWE Performance Centre.
Here, superstar wrestlers
hone their skills while waiting for the
call-up from across the pond. There’s
no rickety ring, no bloodstained crash
mats – instead, you’ll find slick, black turf
for pulling sleds, and rows of squat racks
and lifting platforms. The athletes move
through dynamic warm-ups of plyometrics
and animal flow. The only obvious
difference between them and Premiership
rugby players is the PVC briefs.
Among them is Tyler Bate, the first
winner of the WWE United Kingdom
Championship. “Training here is intense.
We’re not powerlifters, bodybuilders,
gymnasts or performers – we have to do
it all.” But it hasn’t always been that way
for Bate. “I was a gymnast between six and
- I’ve always known how to
control my body,” he says. “But
when I started going to the gym,
I just ate as much as I could
and lifted as heavy as I could.”
It’s a mistake that many of us
can relate to. “My body began
breaking down. For the past
four years, I’ve had to work on
fixing all my imbalances and
training as a professional
athlete.” It’s a high-impact
sport, too, so a lot of self-care
goes into preparing for each
session. Before shifting any
heavy metal, Bate focuses on
myofascial release –
rolling out his feet and
legs with a lacrosse ball
to target any painful knots –
and mobilising his joints
with 90-90 hip switches.
Bate is a very modern
athlete, so it’s somewhat
unsurprising that he has
been a vegan for three years.
“I feel lighter and move my
body better. And I sleep more
deeply. My energy levels are
higher all day,” says Bate.
And the perennial question
of protein? “I don’t think
about it. I focus on eating
good food, and if I want
to get bigger, I eat more,”
he says. It’s a tactic that
seems to be working.
Many of you won’t have
watched WWE since you were a kid.
Like you, it’s done a lot of growing up
since then. Still not convinced? Step
into the ring – go on, we dare you.
THE MOTIVATOR
Midlands-born
Tyler Bate won
the first WWE UK
Championship at
the age of 19 in
- Learn from
his methods.