MMA Conditioning

MMA conditioning is much different than the martial arts and boxing conditioning of the past. In the past boxers and martial artists when on long road runs and did endless other cardiovascular exercise. Strength training played an almost non-existent part in conditioning a martial artist or boxer.

This sort of conditioning was inaccurate and non-specific to the fighter. Sure, a fighter needs cardiovascular conditioning but the kind being practiced in the past was not specific to their needs.

Here we will look at MMA conditioning from a specific perspective. For those who don’t know, MMA stands for mixed martial arts. MMA is now a popular sport and is the kind they do in competitions like UFC and Pride. MMA is a sport, the fighters are elite athletes. They need to be conditioned like athletes and it needs to be specific to the task at hand.

Physical Demands of MMA Fighting

MMA fighting has specific demands like any other sport. As a result there is a need for specific MMA conditioning.

MMA involves rounds of usually five minutes duration. During that time the fighter may need to throw many punches, kick, dodge, block, take down the opponent and fight from the ground. This sort of activity requires the use of the entire body. There are periods of maximum exertion and periods of continued stress. For this reason the MMA fighter needs to have a high amount of strength, muscle endurance, cardiovascular endurance, speed, agility and just about every other physical fitness aspect.

Structure of an MMA Conditioning Regime

An MMA conditioning regime requires a lot of variety, however it cannot be hit-and-miss and hope for the best. Simply running and generic strength training is insufficient for this kind of athlete. Why? Well how often does an MMA fighter run in the ring? Never! So why should running play any part?

Athletic conditioning involves the training of specific movement patterns and energy system demands that will be expected in the actual sport. MMA conditioning needs to take into account the primary demands in the ring.

Progressive conditioning for an MMA fighter…

• First things first, the MMA athlete needs to build a solid base. This base should be developed with the energy system demands expected in a fight. The best approach to building a solid base is to train major movement patterns in strength training with a varied repetition range. This means cycling low reps and higher reps. During this time the athlete should concentrate on strengthening weak links. Also, the anaerobic demands of the MMA fighter are huge. Anaerobic, high intensity intervals should be employed utilising movement patterns that are varied as opposed to a single modality like running or swimming.

• Once the MMA fighter has a significant base of strength and conditioning, he/she needs to start getting specific to the task at hand. From here the movements in a fight need to analysed. Take a look at the demands during a fight. Notice the duration of various levels of exertion. You need to train specifically for the movements used and the duration and intensity. If you have a lot of technical skill on the ground then physically condition yourself to cope with the energy demand to back up this technical skill.

• After the base has been developed and some specific movement patterns are trained, the MMA fighter needs to keep improving both. This is why our Peripheral Adaptive Endurance Training methodology is superior to fighters. The workouts need to be structured to mimic the movement patterns required. Workouts, both strength and endurance, should involve energy demands such as all-out effort for a five minute round and all-out effort for shorter durations with little rest between transitions.

Sample MMA Conditioning Program

FREQUENCY: Five days a week.

INTENSITY: High.

SPLIT: Strength x 2, HIIT x 2, PAE x 1.

Day One: Strength

Back Squat 5 x 5

Bent over row 5 x 5

Pull-ups 1 x max

Day Two: HIIT

Five x Five minute rounds of the following…

Power-clean x 5

Squat jumps x 10

Push-ups x 20

Complete as many of the above as you can for five minutes. Rest one minute and repeat for a total of five rounds.

Day Three: Strength

Bench press 5 x 5

Overhead press 5 x 5

Push-ups 1 x max

Day Four: HIIT

Repeat day two workout.

Day Five: PAE

Peripheral Adaptive Endurance is a methodology I developed to condition strength, speed and power over a longer, continuous duration. On this day you might perform something like the following or take a workout from our workout section.

Complete three rounds of the following for time…

10 metre shuttle sprint x 10

Burpees x 10

Pull-ups x 5

Push-ups x 10

Back bridge crab walk x 10

Single leg squat x 5 (each leg)

After day five rest for two days then repeat.

Of course this is just a basic overview of MMA conditioning. The point to take away from this is that it needs to be somewhat specific to the task at hand. MMA is not like running a marathon. Instead there are varied movement patterns and energy demands that cannot be easily predicted. As a result the training needs to match that need and condition the athlete to cope with those demands.

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