Combat sports include judo, boxing, karate, kickboxing, wrestling, tae kwon do and mixed martial arts (MMA). Participants must have a variety of physical fitness components--including aerobic and anaerobic fitness, flexibility, muscular endurance, power and strength--for success. Strength, endurance and power can be developed using weight-training exercises.
Strength
According to the National Association of Strength and Conditioning, strength is your ability to generate maximum force and is crucial in combat sports. Your strength is directly related to your capacity to overpower your opponent, especially in the grappling arts of judo and wrestling. Training for improved strength requires you to lift heavy weights, using multiple muscle groups and low repetitions.
Developing Strength
The dead lift is an effective exercise for developing strength. Stand in front of a barbell, with your feet hip-width apart. Keep your feet flat on the floor, and bend down to grasp the barbell just outside your legs. With straight arms, use your back and legs to lift the barbell off the ground; then, ensuring that your lower back doesn't round, stand up, fully extending your hips and knees. Pause in this contracted position for 1 or 2 seconds before pushing your hips back, bending your knees and returning the barbell to the floor.
Muscular Endurance
Good muscular endurance will allow you to perform more work without tiring. Muscular endurance is improved by performing higher rep sets of 15 to 20, with short rests of 30 to 60 seconds between sets. You ability to slow the build-up of lactic acid, tolerate it and then clear it out all contribute to your muscular endurance.
Developing Muscular Endurance
The alternating dumbbell bench press is an effective muscular-endurance exercise for your chest and triceps. These are the muscles you use when punching. The alternating movement used in this exercise makes it more sports-specific. Lie on an exercise bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand at arms' length. Keeping your right arm extended, lower your left arm until its dumbbell lightly touches the outside of your shoulder. Immediately press the weight back to arms' length. Repeat the exercise for the right arm. Continue this alternating pattern until you have completed all of the desired reps for both arms. This exercise is harder than traditional the dumbbell bench press and will require you to use less weight than normal.
Power
Power is your ability to generate a lot of force in a short period, and it is crucial for the punching and throwing arts. To overcome the mass of your opponent, you must move quickly and with strength, and this ability commonly is referred to as power. To develop power, you must perform exercises explosively.
Developing Power
The power clean is a standard exercise to develop full body power. Stand over a barbell, with your feet hip-width apart. Keep your feet flat on the floor, and bend down so you can grasp the bar with your hands outside your legs. Keeping your hips low, your spine arched and your arms straight, use your legs and back to explosively lift the weight from the floor. As the bar approaches your hip height, begin pulling with your arms until the bar is almost level with your chin. Roll your hands under, catch the bar at shoulder height, then return the bar to the floor by reversing the process. This exercise should be performed with speed so the bar travels from the floor to your shoulders in one movement.
References
- "Training for Warriors: The Ultimate Mixed Martial Arts Workout"; Martin Rooney; 2008
- "Boxing Fitness: A Guide to Get Fighting Fit"; Ian Oliver; 2007
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