MMA Strength Training Exercises
The sheer amount of strength and conditioning information available to the average MMA enthusiast is staggering. Ironically, the variety only go further to confuse us rather than give us a clearer, easier path to follow when designing a MMA workout protocol. The answer lies in having a core set of exercises and mix and match to best fit the type of workout you are planning for the day.
Basic Is Better
The rule of thumb with strength training exercises is "the more multi-joint, the better". This means the old stand-bys: Squats, power cleans, push-presses, bent rows, and deadlifts.. Bench presses have gotten a lot of bad publicity by a vocal minority of trainers, but they're still a good, all-around strength exercise. Just don't get too focused about having bench-centric workout.
Make sure to mix up the variety of equipment used (barbells, dumbells, sandbags) if possible. Although it's recommended to generally use free weights (for the benefits of using your stabilizers), machines still have their place. Just don't rely solely on them.
Bodyweight exercises can be added or substituted if you yet aren't particularly strong enough for high repititions. Chins, pull-ups, dips, pistols (single-leg squats) and handstand pushups are all excellent choices for lower-rep strength workouts.
As noted above, you should abstain from single-joint exercises...biceps curls, tricep extensions, shoulder lateral raises, to name a few, shouldn't be a part of your set of exercise choices. Each of the muscles targeted by these types of exercises are better served by their multi-joint counterparts.
In later articles, we'll explore the what a strength routine will look like, with reps, sets and splits.
