Most people will be surprised to hear how short a mixed martial arts workouts can be. This is probably because we are bombarded with gross exaggerations like “I train for 8 hours every day.” But in truth, an MMA workout does not have to last forever to be effective. In fact, even a one hour workout often isn’t necessary for MMA.
Here’s why:
Im not saying that mixed martial arts athletes at the top of the sport don’t train extremely hard. They train very hard. And many of them do actually train for eight hours every day, five or six days a week. Just like a full-time job. But the thing you must realize is that this doesn’t mean that an MMA workout lasts for eight hours, or even three hours, and sometimes even one hour. At least not in the way you might be thinking.
Mixed martial arts and other combat sports are very different from most mainstream sports. They require a huge variety of functional physical conditioning and training. Running alone will hardly yield the results you desire. Weight training alone won’t do the trick either. Neither will just wrestling and boxing.
Just as mixed martial artists cross train in the fighting arts, you also need to “cross train” in your physical conditioning.
Using a wide variety of exercises, drills and conditioning tactics assures that you become strong, well conditioned, have incredible muscle strength, stamina and endurance and also that your cardio is tip top.
Too often people get caught up in one exercise method versus another. Should I use machines or free weights? Should I use bodyweight exercises or weight train? Should I run long distances or short distances? Should I train with equipment or without?
Usually the best medicine for the combat athlete is to use anything and everything that improves your physical conditioning in a way that is useable for wrestling, boxing and fighting. Do not confuse what I am saying. All conditioning methods are definitely not created equal, but one method alone is not ever going to be a “cure-all” for your training.
All MMA workouts are not created equal
For example, pull-ups would be more preferred than lat-pulldowns. While they both focus on the same area of your body, pull-ups provide a more functional training approach since you practice actually moving your body through space, instead of sitting at machine and pulling some weights attached to a pulley.
Similarly, Hindu pushups provide a completely different way of conditioning your upper body than the bench press. During a bench press you are lying face up with your back on a bench. During a Hindu pushup, you are face down on the floor. The bench press has you lowering and pushing a weight up and down in a straight line. The Hindu pushup, on the other hand, has you pushing out from you chest in a circular motion.
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I am definitely not saying that you have to pick one or the other. What I am saying, is that benching pressing might nto be the most MMA specific workout tool out there.
Your mixed martial arts specific conditioning workouts should closely match the actually movements you use during an MMA fight. So while running is a pretty good exercise, it doesn’t really mimic a live combat situation. Former UFC champion BJ Penn noted in his book on MMA training that he doesn’t spend a ton of time running because it isn’t very fight specific. He would rather use his time conditioning for a fight in other ways.
Rickson Gracie said almost the exact same thing when talking about conditioning and physical training at one of his seminars.
That being said, almost all professional fighters, including BJ Penn and Rickson Gracie, use at least some amount of running in their training.
A Short MMA-Specific Workout
So let’s get back to the short MMA workouts I was leading up to earlier. What would a good example workout be?
The conditioning workouts that are probably the most widely used by mixed martial artists are short, but super intense, circuit training workouts.
When training in this fashion, you only need to set aside about 25 or 30 minutes of time. Afterall, a regular mixed martial arts fight only last 15 minutes. Simply pick a number of combat specific training drills and perform each one for 20-30 seconds at a time. Combine them into a continuous circuit so you can train for five minutes straight without stopping. Just like a real MMA fight.
You have to push yourself as hard as possible for the entire five minutes. After the circuit, rest for one to three minutes and start again.
When you first start out, even a five-minute continuous workout might seem very difficult. But as your conditioning improves, you will be able to increase the intensity of that five-minute circuit, thus increasing the intensity you can perform during a fight.
As you can see, these MMA workouts will be pretty short in comparison to lifting weights at the gym for three hours, and you will only need to perform them two to three times per week. But these fast and intense workouts should become a very important part of your mixed martial arts training.
More Mixed Martial Arts Workout Pages:
Mixed Martial Arts Workout Routines,
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Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning Workouts,
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