| Fighters are the best conditioned athletes in the | | | | to include the technique work and the "in the |
| world - and they have to be! The nature of their | | | | trenches" sparring and grappling against resisting |
| sport offers no forgiveness. If they fatigue, they get | | | | opponents. |
| knocked out. If they don't get knocked out, they | | | | There's a lot that needs to be considered when it |
| may end up with a broken limb. Both options aren't | | | | comes to designing MMA workouts and it goes well |
| very appealing so you can bet that the MMA | | | | beyond the scope of a single article. However, that |
| workouts these guys go through are as intense as it | | | | being said, here's one of my MMA workouts that I |
| gets. | | | | was doing in order to prepare myself before coming |
| So how do you go about training for such a | | | | to Thailand. |
| demanding sport? Well, first things first - you need to | | | | Sample MMA Workouts - Workout #1 - Intermediate |
| analyze the demands. Fighting occurs at a high | | | | Circuit |
| intensity - or at least it should. Of course, every now | | | | *Can be performed in the aerobics room at your |
| and then you get a "snooze fest" where the fighters | | | | gym* |
| are timid to engage. A high intensity sport requires | | | | 1. Skipping (medium-to-fast pace) for 2 minutes. |
| high intensity training. You need to increase your | | | | 2. Box Jumps (5 boxes) for 2 minutes (lateral |
| lactate threshold because if you're unable to deal with | | | | movement) |
| the accumulation of lactic acid - you'll likely end up | | | | 3. "Burpies" for 25 repetitions |
| puking in your spit bucket between rounds. | | | | Rest for 1 minute |
| Interval training is a must for your MMA workouts | | | | 4. Sprints (wall-to-wall) for 2 minutes |
| because that's exactly what the rounds are - high | | | | 5. Shadow boxing for 2 minutes |
| intensity intervals. Of course, well structured MMA | | | | 6. push up plyometrics onto aerobic steps |
| workouts should include pretty much everything. You | | | | Rest for 1 minute |
| need to work on flexibility, increasing your lactate | | | | 7. Jumping lunges (30 repetitions) |
| threshold, increasing your aerobic capacity, increasing | | | | 8. Medicine ball rotary tosses (done with partner) |
| your strength, your power and your strength | | | | 9. Hammer slams. Usually done with a sledgehammer |
| endurance (all different). You have to work on your | | | | and a tire but you substitute for a small barbell a pile |
| speed and of course, your MMA workouts also have | | | | of mats. |