Former UFC champion Miesha Tate has revealed the extreme training habits she has left behind, sharing a candid reflection on the mindset shifts that now define her approach to fitness and performance. The 39-year-old mother of two, who boasts over two million Instagram followers, detailed five key practices she has abandoned after years of competing at the highest level of mixed martial arts.
Tate's Evolution in Training
Tate, a pioneer in women's MMA and former bantamweight champion, admitted that for much of her career she believed 'more was always better'—harder, longer, and heavier training sessions. However, she now acknowledges that this approach eventually stopped working for her. 'It worked until it didn't,' she explained in a social media post, adding that she had to unlearn several deeply ingrained habits.
The Five Habits She Left Behind
First, Tate no longer pushes through every single day. She once viewed rest as a sign of weakness but now recognizes that 'rest is actually where your body gets stronger,' a lesson she learned the hard way.
Second, she rejected the idea of training the same way every week regardless of circumstance. The body is not designed to perform identically day to day, and resisting that reality, she said, cost her years of progress.
Third, Tate no longer measures sessions solely by intensity. She now values recovery markers such as sleep, energy levels, and how she feels the next day, understanding that output alone does not tell the full story.
Fourth, she admitted to spending years ignoring her body's warning signs, believing that overriding them was discipline. 'It wasn't discipline. It was just noise,' she wrote.
Finally, Tate has moved away from training systems designed for male physiology. Once she began training with her body instead of against it, everything changed.
A New Approach
Now focused on helping women train in line with their biology, Tate frequently discusses cycle syncing, hormone health, and performance optimization. Her current emphasis on recovery, adaptation, and listening to the body contrasts sharply with the grind-heavy culture of her fighting career. 'Now? I train differently. I recover differently. And honestly… I'm stronger because of it,' she said.
Tate's reflections come as she contemplates her future in the sport, recently hinting that her fighting career may be nearing its end after more than a decade at the elite level. 'I am not making any final decisions,' she stated. 'It remains to be seen whether I will fight again or not. I'm not going to clarify either of those because I think there is no right or wrong answer.'
