LIMMA Blog: An Interview with Tyler Mccray | Lost over 75lbs!
-Written by Cai O’Sullivan

Long Island MMA’s membership is full of diverse people with different backgrounds and stories. In this interview we were able to catch up with Tyler Mccray, LIMMA member of two years turned coach. Tyler tells us a little about his journey in martial arts and fitness including his amazing 75 pound weight loss!

An Interview with Tyler Mccray

How has training been going for you recently? 

“It’s been going great. At this point it’s more about being consistent, keeping your body functional and staying healthy”

How long have you been training and why did you start?

“I started training when I was 16 at Matt Serra’s gym doing muay thai. I trained there for two years before taking a break during college. That break ended up lasting till the end of college. When I came back two years ago, that’s when I started training at Long Island MMA. The reason I started when I was 16 was just because MMA was something new and it intrigued me. And for after my break, it was more about health reasons. In college I wasn’t really working out and I just wanted to be active again which was mostly the reason”

So now, what’s your normal training schedule?

“Training is usually a Monday through Saturday thing and I’m sticking to kickboxing classes for now.”

Do you train in the gym outside of the normal scheduled kickboxing classes?

“So normally I get here about an hour before class starts. That gives me time to stretch, hit the bag, and warm up that way. And then after class, I’ll head over to the gym area and do some lifting”

What is your favorite aspect of training?

“I think it’s just being able to change it up. That’s the one thing that annoyed me with just working out normally, it just tends to get boring with the same workouts. At least with kickboxing, you have a diverse set of moves and a variety of different techniques. Everyday is a little different so you never feel like you’re getting bored or stuck”

What do you think about the community here at Long Island MMA?

“The community here is great. I think it’s actually one of the main reasons people come here. It’s one thing to have good classes, but the classes are even better when you have great training partners and encouraging coaches. This sport is fun, but you can only do so much alone, so having that support group of people that come in frequently helps a lot.  You end up becoming good friends with people in and outside of the gym, I’ve made a lot of close friends since starting here.”

Do you have any future goals for training?

“At this point it’s just for longevity. I’ve pretty much hit my health goals and now it’s just a matter of continuing to learn as much as I can”

So you teach the Kickboxing 101 class on Fridays at 5pm, how did you start that change from just training to also teaching?

“Honestly it just came from talking to the other guys. There was some stuff they wanted to work on and so I felt there was this avenue for me to help them. I ended up asking Ryan if there were any spots to teach and he found them for me. It was really just a matter of asking.”

How long have you been teaching? Do you enjoy it?

“I’ve been teaching now for a little over a year. I actually started teaching a week before Covid started. I taught my first class and then the next Monday we were shut down for the entire summer. And then we started up around September or October and I’ve been teaching ever since then”

Were you any bit nervous to teach your first class? 

“There weren’t really any nerves in terms of knowing the guys. I mostly knew everyone who would be taking the class. My biggest concern was not being a boring teacher. I didn’t want to be the type of teacher that taught the same thing each week, so my biggest thing was just finding new lesson plans as things were going on.”

I’ve heard that you’ve been going on a weight loss journey. How has that been going?

“I started out two years ago with my weight being at 260 and now currently I’m around 185. It’s been a steady drop in those years, with peaks and drops. Over Covid, I obviously put on some weight. Luckily, once we reopened I’ve been able to drop that extra weight off as well. At this point, I’m just trying to stay as I am and continue to be healthy.”

Besides training, were there any other changes you made to your life to help with this weight loss journey?

“Starting last September, I became vegan for the rest of the year. Then in February, I switched over to being vegetarian and have been ever since”

Have you noticed any personal changes besides the weight in this journey?

“Besides the weight, I’ve definitely seen a change in energy levels. It might be a personal thing, but I’ve noticed that when I stick to a plant based diet and don’t eat meat, I have a higher level of energy. The energy is also sustained for a longer period of time. I also don’t get any energy crashes anymore. Besides that, there have been side effects of losing weight like better sleep, more flexibility, and other things like that”

Do you have any future goals when it comes to your health?

“Physically I don’t have any set goals, I’m pretty happy with where I’m at right now. I would eventually like to run a marathon, that’s probably my main goal. Besides that, all I want to do is just continue living a happy and healthy lifestyle.”

Long Island MMA is very proud of Tyler’s achievements and we are happy that we could be a part of his journey. If you would like to train with Tyler and experience what Long Island MMA has to offer, feel free to give us a call at 631-592-8339. We would love to schedule you a free introductory lesson and become part of your journey too!