MMA Circuit Workouts

MMA, or mixed martial arts, is a combat sport made popular by organizations such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, created by Rorion Gracie and Art Davie in 1993. It is commonly described by UFC president Dana White as the fastest growing sport in the world. Whether you are looking to be a future world champion, or just want to get fit or learn to defend yourself, the complex demands of MMA are perfectly suited to circuit training.

Purpose

MMA circuit training needs to cover a lot of ground because of the demands of mixed martial arts bouts. Not only do you need explosive speed and agility for striking, but you also need raw strength for wrestling and grappling. In addition, you need to have endurance for either an explosive back and forth striking match, a grinding grappling match or any combination of the two. Strength, speed and endurance need to be built alongside technique.

Features

Some exercises are a staple of MMA training, from MMA, boxing- or wrestling-oriented movements, to pure strength training exercises. Renowned strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Chaimberg, trainer of UFC champion Georges St. Pierre, recommends building your workout around stations based on time or repetitions, taking into account sport-specific movements and available equipment. For example, you might spend a minute hitting the heavy bag before doing a set number of pushups and chinups as part of a circuit, or mix shadow boxing with a short weights circuit.

Sample Workouts

MMA legend Randy Couture popularized the barbell complex, where you perform a series of exercises with a barbell without stopping for rest. With a light weight, you perform seven different exercises for eight repetitions each; bent-over row, upright row, shoulder press, good mornings, lunges, front squat with push press, then deadlifts, before resting and repeating. Chaimberg recommends a mix of short timed stations of MMA, boxing and wrestling drills, interspersed with low level repetitions of intense plyometric exercises, giving you a mix of power, agility and technical work along with endurance.

Considerations

The general approach to circuit training espoused by many MMA strength and conditioning coaches is to work fighters incredibly hard, reasoning that if you can push them harder in training than they would have to work in a fight, the actual fight is easy in comparison. MMA conditioning coach Martin Rooney recommends using this approach sparingly, with occasional circuits mixed with pure strength and technique work to avoid burning out your central nervous system and risking injury.