Elitefts SPP: Martin Rooney Interview - a podcast by Mark Watts

Martin Rooney is an internationally recognized pioneer of strength and conditioning for the martial arts. He holds a Master of Health Science and Bachelor of Physical Therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science from Furman University.

Martin was a four-time All Conference, and four-time MVP performer in Track and Field at Furman and a member of the United States Bobsled team from 1995-1997, 2000. Following his exposure to MMA in the mid 1990s, Martin began training with Renzo Gracie and started training fighters shortly afterward. Since the foundation of the TFW system, Martin has traveled as far as Brazil, Finland, Mexico, Japan, Russia, England, Holland, Sweden, Thailand, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Middle East to train, compete, and conduct seminars and help prepare world class athletes for competition. Martin has been the martial arts consultant to the NY Giants and the NY Jets for over 5 years and a coach on the 2007 IFL World Team Champion New York Pitbulls. Martin is currently a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under UFC fighter Ricardo Almeida and a black belt in Kodokan Judo under Olympian Teimoc Johnston-Ono.

Martin has lectured for the American College of Sports Medicine, the College Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the UK Strength and Conditioning Association, the Finnish Coaches Association, American Fitness Professionals and Associates, Perform Better and has been commissioned by Nike to run speed testing camps at a number of major universities. Martin has also presented for numerous companies on leadership and teamwork including Fortune 500 companies such as Marriot International and Hasbro.

Martin and his training have been featured on ESPN, ESPN2, Spike TV, Sports New York, Fox Sports Net, Fox Fight Game, the NFL Network, HDnet, NBC.com, Bodybuilding.com, tmuscle.com and in the New York Times, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, The Sporting News, Stack Magazine, FIGHT!, Fight Sport, Fighters Only, Grappling and Sports Illustrated for Kids.

He has written five books called “Train to Win”, “Success Patterns”, “The Team Renzo Gracie Workout”, “Training for Warriors”, and “Ultimate Warrior Workouts”, the latter two published by HarperCollins. Martin is also on the editorial council of Brazil’s Gracie Magazine and a regular contributor to Men’s Health and FIGHT!. Martin has also produced a 10-part DVD series on the Parisi Training Method and a 2-part series entitled “The Secrets of GameSpeed”. In all, these products have sold in excess of 100,000 copies to date.

In addition to training many world champion martial artists, Martin has also been a speed and conditioning consultant to the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona State University, University of Alabama, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, Montana State University as well as other athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA and numerous top Division I colleges across the country. He has also trained numerous Olympians including one gold, four silver medalists, and one US Olympic Trials champion.

Over the last 11 years Martin has also developed one of the top NFL Combine training programs in the country producing the fastest athlete at the 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006 NFL Combine and first place finishers at ten different positions, including five all-time records. 130 athletes Martin has trained have been drafted to the NFL including the #2 pick overall Chris Long in 2008.

Martin Rooney is an internationally recognized pioneer of strength and conditioning for the martial arts. He holds a Master of Health Science and Bachelor of Physical Therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science from Furman University.

Martin was a four-time All Conference, and four-time MVP performer in Track and Field at Furman and a member of the United States Bobsled team from 1995-1997, 2000. Following his exposure to MMA in the mid 1990s, Martin began training with Renzo Gracie and started training fighters shortly afterward. Since the foundation of the TFW system, Martin has traveled as far as Brazil, Finland, Mexico, Japan, Russia, England, Holland, Sweden, Thailand, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Middle East to train, compete, and conduct seminars and help prepare world class athletes for competition. Martin has been the martial arts consultant to the NY Giants and the NY Jets for over 5 years and a coach on the 2007 IFL World Team Champion New York Pitbulls. Martin is currently a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under UFC fighter Ricardo Almeida and a black belt in Kodokan Judo under Olympian Teimoc Johnston-Ono.

Martin has lectured for the American College of Sports Medicine, the College Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the UK Strength and Conditioning Association, the Finnish Coaches Association, American Fitness Professionals and Associates, Perform Better and has been commissioned by Nike to run speed testing camps at a number of major universities. Martin has also presented for numerous companies on leadership and teamwork including Fortune 500 companies such as Marriot International and Hasbro.

Martin and his training have been featured on ESPN, ESPN2, Spike TV, Sports New York, Fox Sports Net, Fox Fight Game, the NFL Network, HDnet, NBC.com, Bodybuilding.com, tmuscle.com and in the New York Times, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, The Sporting News, Stack Magazine, FIGHT!, Fight Sport, Fighters Only, Grappling and Sports Illustrated for Kids.

He has written five books called “Train to Win”, “Success Patterns”, “The Team Renzo Gracie Workout”, “Training for Warriors”, and “Ultimate Warrior Workouts”, the latter two published by HarperCollins. Martin is also on the editorial council of Brazil’s Gracie Magazine and a regular contributor to Men’s Health and FIGHT!. Martin has also produced a 10-part DVD series on the Parisi Training Method and a 2-part series entitled “The Secrets of GameSpeed”. In all, these products have sold in excess of 100,000 copies to date.

In addition to training many world champion martial artists, Martin has also been a speed and conditioning consultant to the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona State University, University of Alabama, Oregon State University, Rutgers University, Montana State University as well as other athletes from the NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA and numerous top Division I colleges across the country. He has also trained numerous Olympians including one gold, four silver medalists, and one US Olympic Trials champion.

Over the last 11 years Martin has also developed one of the top NFL Combine training programs in the country producing the fastest athlete at the 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006 NFL Combine and first place finishers at ten different positions, including five all-time records. 130 athletes Martin has trained have been drafted to the NFL including the #2 pick overall Chris Long in 2008.