MMA Strength And Conditioning: Strength Training At It’s Best!

There is no doubt MMA strength and conditioning is an absolute must in today’s competitive arena if you are looking to compete in the world of fighting.  Lets face it, fighting is one of the hardest physical acts a human being can do. This is why I wanted to talk a bit about MMA strength and conditioning and it’s importance to your success.  Take a minute to tune in and continue reading this article.

MMA Strength and Conditioning:

First of all, as a strength and conditioning specialist I have had the fortunate opportunity to work and train an array of professional fighters.  Its no secret that the physical demands of competitive mixed martial arts can challenge an athlete in the most extreme manner. Depending on your martial arts sport or competition some bouts can challenge an athlete by ranging for them having to compete in three 3-minute rounds, three 5-minute rounds, and some championship MMA bouts can go for five 5-minute rounds.  This means that an MMA fighter has to have a tremendous level of conditioning in order to be successful in the ring.  Just being able to survive this particular work to rest ratio can be challenging much less trying to perform at a high level.

The key to formulating a successful strength and conditioning plan for a fighter must involve an array of different things. First of all, he or she must be sure that they are good with their mobility.  Mobility and movement based drills are essential for an MMA athlete to be successful. Whether you are being tied into a pretzel by a grappling specialist or on your feet blasting off kicks you have got to have good mobility.  In addition to this a fighter must work on intensifying this mobility through the act of resisted movement. Being strong and powerful through certain movements is essential in making sure that you don’t get hurt and that you allow your competition to shoulder that burden.

A fighter’s work capacity is yet another key element in him or her being successful in the ring.  Even though a fighter is not technically “all out” throwing punches and kicks “nonstop” for an entire 5 minute round they are still throwing a bunch! Because of this an MMA fighter must have the work capacity to work longer and harder than his or her competition.  This is where the work capacity comes into play for these elite level athletes. MMA fighters have got to have their strength and conditioning program dialed in to help them to be their best if they expect to win.  This is something that takes careful planning and consideration by someone like me to make sure it happens.  The key is starting off with the basics.  Without learning good sound lifting technique and mobility drills a fighter might as well not train.  Remember that most any fighter can train hard, but only the champions train smart my friend.