I often wonder what it would be like to be immortal, how many books I could read and how good of musician and martial artist I would be if I had unlimited time to study my techniques and hone my skills if there was unlimited time and resources. The reality is that we only have time for a certain amount of training so we have to make the best use of it.
A very big part of fight training today is the athleticism, the Mixed Martial Arts fighters of this decade are proving to be some of the most diverse, well rounded athletes in any sport. To have the strength of a power-lifter, the flexibility and agility of a gymnast and the stamina of a tri-athelete is required to compete in this age. I have said before that the fighters in the first 3 U.F.C. were training in isolation; one guy with a 7th degree black belt, training only with other Karate students from his own dojo, relying on the one magic technique that would destroy his opponent. The days of the old man on the mountain, the grandmaster from whom all ninja wisdom doth rain down upon the lowly pilgrims is long gone and the fighter who adapts will be the most successful. Remember Maurice Smith vs. Mark Coleman U.F.C. 14, what looked like a miss-match in Coleman's favor turned out to be the beginning of a new phase in MMA as Maurice had been training in wrestling and submission grappling with Ken Shamrock at the Lion's Den and from this formed the first real MMA partnership called "The Alliance".
I want to take a look at the physical aspects of the fighter's training. Lets start with the idea that the old "roadwork" our coaches used to put us through for an upcoming boxing match is an outdated form of conditioning. Remember, you are not going for a light 20 mile jog while in the ring so jogging as a mode of training is pretty much a useless waste of time. It seams obvious that you would want to prepare the body for the ordeals it will be facing.
Picture the fight; multiple punches and kicks, grappling either standing or on the ground and lots of pushing and pulling.
1) A fighter needs to be strong in ever aspect of fitness starting with cardio. I am not talking about chronic, mindless treadmill humping with the magazine and the bottled water, I'm talking something like plyometric intervals interspersed with body weight exercises at the highest intensity possible for the duration of the rounds you will be fighting. Try this; alternate 10 burpees and 10 chin-ups non-stop for a 2 minute round, take a 30 second break and do it all at least 3 rounds. This approximates the feeling of brawling it out in a ring fight. Not a jog in the park right?
The action in a fight is unpredictable but never without physical demand, sometimes lots of clinching, sometimes flurries of combinations and then the adrenaline, if not controlled, will take your cardio capacity down about 10 notches! You train 12 hard rounds and feel like you are ready for your 3 round amateur bout then you get into the ring and after the first round you can't seem to get enough air into your lungs as hard as you try!
2) Another area we sometimes neglect is power training. It is not a bad idea to set yourself up with a personal trainer, get some instruction on Olympic lifting, power lifting (and while you got him there, some VO2 max testing). This type of exercise takes some instruction and supervision do learn it safely.
Here is my basic formula for getting a fighter physically ready for a match. This is only a guideline but it could help you to develop a better over-all regimen.
6 weeks
Periodization for fight preparation:
2 weeks; strength conditioning 620 protocol (6 seconds eccentric, 2 seconds hold and 0 seconds concentric)1 to 2 minute rest between sets.
Day 1 and 4
-squats. Three sets 3 rep max
-bench. Three sets of 3 rep max
-deadlift. Three sets of 3 rep max
-weighted chins. Three sets of 3 rep max
-dumbel incline bench. Three sets 10 rep max
-bent or seated row. Three sets of 3 rep max
-standing calf raises.
-dumbel incline bench. Three sets 10 rep max
-upright rows. Three sets 10 rep max
-dumbell bent row. Three sets 10 rep max
Day 6
0lympic-lifting
2 weeks of pylo-weight intervals:
Day 1 3 and 5
-20 raise the deads
-10 burpees
-10 10 10 curls
-20 alternating presses
-10 burpees
-50 pushups
-20 seated twists
-10 burpees
-side lateral raises
-20 squat press
-10 burpees
-reverse flys
-20 sprawl to rows!!!
-10 burpees
-20 alternating upright rows
Day 2 4 and 6
Padwork min. 5 rounds
Sparing min. 5 rounds
2 weeks of endurance conditioning
Day 1 3 and 5
Bag work:
All of these non-stop full speed working your endurance
Rnd 1-1212 (left jab, right cross)
Rnd 2-2323 (right cross, left hook)
Rnd 3-low - 3434 (left hook, right hook to the body)
Rnd 4-5656 (right uppercut, left uppercut)
Rnd 5- 20 left/ 20 right kicks (turning kicks 0r Te)
Rnd 6, 7 and 8 Skipping (double skips)
Wind sprints at a local track - Full sprint on the straight-aways and jog the curves - run 6 to 10 laps like this.
Day 2 4 and 6
Padwork min. 5 rounds
Sparing min. 5 rounds
Try this for your next fight and see what results you get.
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