Mixed martial arts is a combat sports that involves a variety of martial arts techniques that are most often performed in a caged octagon. It's highly necessary to be physically and mentally fit in this competitive sport, so being successful involves training up to six days per week so your strength, cardio and technique are top-notch for fight night.
Strength And Cardio
For participants of MMA, strength training should typically be done three times per week, but if you're nearing the date of a scheduled fight, you should cut back to two days, according to Fight Authority. Strength training exercises that can be performed with or without weights are: squats, bench presses, lunges and deadlifts. According to Body Building.com, performing isometric exercises can also enhance your ground fighting ability, stability and endurance. Your strength training goals in MMA are not to bulk up like a bodybuilder, but to increase the strength of large muscle groups to enhance your fighting performance in the octagon. For cardio training, a MMA fighter will benefit more from practicing striking methods on bags and pads rather than aerobic activities, such as running or cycling, according to Body Building.com.
Circuit
Circuit training is a popular way to train for MMA since it incorporates aerobic and strength building exercises. During circuit training, exercises are performed one after another with minimal rests between sets. A fighter should customize their routine to mimic the time spending and resting during an MMA fight, according to MMA-Training.com. If you are scheduled for a five five-minute rounds with one minute rests between each round, you should do circuit training for five minutes, then rest for a minute and repeat this four more times. On MMA-Training.com, Ultimate Fighting Champion Randy Couture demonstrates his circuit training routine with a barbell, which includes a fast-paced workout with some of the exercises mentioned in the strength training section.
Sparring And Practice
Sparring usually involves wearing protective headgear and equipment to practice mixed martial arts techniques on other fighters outside the octagon. Sparring is the closest thing a fighter will get to the real thing, so it's an important aspect of mixed martial arts training. Mixed martial arts involves stand-up techniques, such as kicking, punching and elbowing; clinches; and ground work, such as jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling. During MMA training, you must be ready for anything so all these areas must be thoroughly trained so you can show explosiveness while also defending yourself against your opponent. Only having knock-out power will not help you if you're brought to the ground by a trained wrestler.
Considerations
Wear your mouthpiece while training for MMA because it helps you become accustomed to this type of restricted airflow which affect your stamina during a fight, according to Body Building.com. If you've been training with your mouthpiece you will already be prepared for this disadvantage. Flexibility is another important aspect of MMA training, so be sure to stretch major muscle groups before and after you train.
Member Comments