MMA Conditioning - 3 Tips to Winning Fights That Go the Distance
If you're a mixed martial artist, striker or grappler and you've been in a fight that's gone the distance or been in a tournament, then maybe you know the terrible feeling of having nothing left to give with 2 minutes left in a round. And maybe you've lost a match because your condition lagged. If so, use the 3 tips in this article to make sure you're the one maintaining the pressure and imposing will - not your opponent.
Tip #1: Concentrate on sprints and intervals instead of long, slow runs. Combat athletics require explosive, quick moves and strength at various times through a 5 minute round or match. You never know if you'll be in a clinch, defending a shot, escaping the mount, or sinking in a triangle. One thing you do know is that you WON'T be jogging around the ring at a slow pace for half an hour. Training in this fashion will help you get your time down for your local charity run, but won't do anything to help you put your opponent down.
An example of a good sprint workout would be performing 5 forty-yard sprints where you gradually increase your pace from about 60% to 90%. Rest a minute, then do a 100 yard sprint, walk back to the start, and repeat for a total of 10 sprints. This workout will beat distance running hands down for its ability to improve your performance in the cage, ring or mat.
Tip #2: Take 1 recovery week off for every 4 weeks of conditioning.
Most fighters have a thing about working themselves to death - this mindset is what makes them tough, but also what keeps them injured and often overtrained, limiting performance in both training and competition.
You can help avoid these problems by taking 1 week off of your conditioning workouts. You still do your skill training and strength/power workouts, but let the really hard conditioning go for a week. When you get back to it, you'll be fresher and ready to take your conditioning up another notch.
Tip #3: Do more specific workouts in the 4 weeks leading up to the fight.
Drop the sprint, hill and interval running and instead perform jumps, sprawls, quick feet drills, core stabilization exercises and explosive push-ups - performed as quick and explosively as possible. These are all movements that are used in a fight.
Put these exercises in circuts or complex and perform these in rounds of five minutes with a goal of 4 complexes in a row with 1 minute of rest. So the closer you get to the fight, the more specific you want to get with your conditioning routine.
Use the tips in this article and you'll improve your conditioning.
Tip #1: Concentrate on sprints and intervals instead of long, slow runs. Combat athletics require explosive, quick moves and strength at various times through a 5 minute round or match. You never know if you'll be in a clinch, defending a shot, escaping the mount, or sinking in a triangle. One thing you do know is that you WON'T be jogging around the ring at a slow pace for half an hour. Training in this fashion will help you get your time down for your local charity run, but won't do anything to help you put your opponent down.
An example of a good sprint workout would be performing 5 forty-yard sprints where you gradually increase your pace from about 60% to 90%. Rest a minute, then do a 100 yard sprint, walk back to the start, and repeat for a total of 10 sprints. This workout will beat distance running hands down for its ability to improve your performance in the cage, ring or mat.
Tip #2: Take 1 recovery week off for every 4 weeks of conditioning.
Most fighters have a thing about working themselves to death - this mindset is what makes them tough, but also what keeps them injured and often overtrained, limiting performance in both training and competition.
You can help avoid these problems by taking 1 week off of your conditioning workouts. You still do your skill training and strength/power workouts, but let the really hard conditioning go for a week. When you get back to it, you'll be fresher and ready to take your conditioning up another notch.
Tip #3: Do more specific workouts in the 4 weeks leading up to the fight.
Drop the sprint, hill and interval running and instead perform jumps, sprawls, quick feet drills, core stabilization exercises and explosive push-ups - performed as quick and explosively as possible. These are all movements that are used in a fight.
Put these exercises in circuts or complex and perform these in rounds of five minutes with a goal of 4 complexes in a row with 1 minute of rest. So the closer you get to the fight, the more specific you want to get with your conditioning routine.
Use the tips in this article and you'll improve your conditioning.
