22-year-old Molly Lindsay is an English MMA (mixed-martial-arts) fighter from Essex. She holds the European bantamweight title for Battle Arena and has recently become a mother. She tells us about herself, her rigorous training schedule, juggling life with a baby and how she recovers.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your sport and your recent results
I made training for MMA my sole focus around three years ago. I quit university and decided to commit to pursuing a career in MMA. I'm currently competing on two of the UK’s top amateur/semi-pro shows. I hold the European bantamweight title for BattleArena and am in line to fight for the Cage Warriors Academy SE title.
How did you get into MMA?
Whilst taking a break from competing in the horse world, I thought I should keep fit. After trying out boxercise, some wing chun and muay thai, I finally found and fell in love with MMA. It’s the kind of sport that chews you up and spits you back out, but because the lows are so low, the highs are indescribable.
What does MMA mean to you?
Obviously fighting isn’t the most common sport for women to pursue. But for me, it’s the kind of environment in which my personality thrives. I fight for the times I should have fought and didn’t, I fight for those who don’t feel strong enough to fight, I fight to break stereotypes, I fight to challenge norms, to show myself what I’m capable of. Fighting means so much more to me than just winning the fight.
How do you manage to juggle a young family and progression in professional sport?
I’ve had to accept that I won’t be perfect in terms of juggling motherhood and sport. I have to compartmentalise and prioritise my time very efficiently. When I’m feeding or playing with my baby, I make sure I’m present; no phone or distractions. When I’m training, I’m focused on whatever technique I need to work on and pretty much ignore my baby blowing raspberries at me from across the gym. I have to choose between a training session or a nap and housework or baby cuddles. It’s chaotic, arguably selfish and incredibly challenging.
I have every reason not to be laying the foundations for a professional fight career right now, yet I’m still putting in the hours every day. Balancing family and athlete life is showcasing my character.
What is involved in a usual training session?
We train for hours every day, study opponents, work on our strategy, refine our technique and work very closely with our coaches. Outside of the gym, we are dedicated to rest, recovery, nutrition, extra cardio and managing our weight.
How do you recover from your intense training sessions?
At the moment, I’m using the NuroKor mibody to aid in my recovery. I can’t say that my recovery in between training sessions is optimal right now. With a teething, breastfed baby, there isn’t exactly a lot of sleep going on in my household! But instead of waking up incredibly sore and tired, I’m just waking up tired! I put the mibody on aching muscles whilst I’m cooking, cleaning or working. It comes everywhere with me.
I’ve also found that with breastfeeding my shoulders are more rounded, which has lead to tension pains up my neck. I put the MiBody on my traps whilst I’m nursing my baby and I find the whole feeding experience more relaxing and comfortable.
What are your main goals in the short and long term as an athlete?
My short term goals as an athlete are to continue to focus on recovering from pregnancy and birth. To rebuild my strength and fitness and to use this recovery period as an opportunity to improve on the areas I wouldn’t usually have time to focus on, such as mobility, posture and the intricate details of particular techniques. My long term goal is the same as most fighters- to become a UFC Champion.
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Molly continues to be an inspiration to young girls across the world, encouraging others to follow their dreams and not let anything stop them from reaching their full potential and goals. You can see Molly’s training journey, motivation and determination in the below video.
Follow Molly’s journey on her Facebook page or on Instagram. To keep up to date with all our NuroKor Ambassador stories, you can follow @NuroKor on FB, Instagram & Twitter.
