Train Like an MMA Fighter
What you need to do to train like an MMA Fighter
If you're interested in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) at Kings please check out our
MMA Page
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters are some of the toughest athletes in the world. To win fights, or even make it through one, two or up to five rounds, fighters must possess a huge range of abilities. Outside of being well-rounded, highly skilled martial artists, MMA athletes must also have a combination of incredible endurance, strength, and power.
If one day you’d like to step into the cage and see if you have what it takes, you're going to need to train for it. Heck, even if you're not planning to step into the cage, you can become a leaner, meaner, more awesome you by implementing MMA training into your fitness regimen. It’s training that’s hard to beat for achieving results!
Regardless what your goal is, here are some tips and recommendations you need to follow before you decide to compete!
1. Focus On Your Discipline
You can't just kick and punch a heavy bag for a couple of weeks and think you'll be successful in a fight. Competitive MMA fighters, are, by definition, excellent marital artists. MMA gyms usually offer martial art classes like Brazilian jiujitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing and Wrestling along with MMA Skills and Sparring classes. You’ll need to start with the Skills classes and work your way up to Sparring.
If you don't have an MMA gym near you, start training in a specific martial art. Choose choose a striking style like Boxing or Muay Thai that can help you learn how to block, weave, kick, and punch. Good MMA athletes are also proficient at defending and attacking their opponent when the fight transitions to the ground, so you may also want to look into a local Brazilian jiujitsu club. But if you find a quality MMA gym make sure you take advantage of having all the training under one roof!
Regardless what options you have available or what you decide, get instruction from an expert and learn the proper technique.
2. Increase Your Endurance
To fight and fight well you'll need be able to sustain power throughout each round. Having the ability to punch or kick hard, then perform takedowns, escapes, or reversals and repeatedly over 3-5 minutes is no easy task. Power endurance training, which is the capacity to perform repeated explosive movements near maximal exertion, is tough, but it is essential to your success in the ring.
Train your power endurance by performing explosive exercises of a moderate load for about 30-45 seconds (or 15-20 reps), resting for 30 seconds, and repeating for 5 rounds. This is known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Circuit training is another great option. But it's critical to remember that your intervals should be at least 30 seconds long. After all, you'll goal should be to make it through at least a least one three-minute round! As you progress you can move into Tabata training where the rounds are 20 seconds long, the breaks are 10 seconds and you’ll do a set of 8-10 rounds at full intensity. There are not many more exhausting forms of training. Tabata will test your mental fortitude along with your physical ability.
It’s recommended increasing your aerobic endurance as well. Train your muscles to use energy more efficiently by going for long runs or increasing the length of your cardiovascular training. This builds your base endurance. You then build off your base endurance with your HIIT workouts.
3. Implement Plyometrics
Plyometric training is great for MMA because it will help increase your explosive power and quickness. Good fighters can change directions almost instantly and hit with force by exploding through their hips or drive through an opponent with an explosive takedown.
For the best results, try 2-3 plyo sessions per week along with your resistance-training regimen. Just make sure to give yourself about 48 hours of rest in between plyo sessions to allow for full recovery. It’s also important to ensure you have a good strength base before trying plyo. You shouldn’t be jumping into a plyo workout if it’s your first time training otherwise you risk injury. Some great plyometric exercises for MMA fighters include plyo push-ups, single-arm throws, side throws, jump squats, bounding, and lateral high hops.
The best practice for doing plyos is to warm-up well before you do them. It's also smart to do them on a softer surface like a mat or turf. Jumping on concrete can be really tough on your back and knees.
4. Train Your Core
There's a lot more to core training than lower back extensions and sit-ups. The amount of power behind your kicks, punches, and throws depends on the strength of your core. This is why MMA training should be packed with core-strengthening exercises.
The core works as one unit, stiffening to protect the body and to transfer force from our lower body to our upper body during athletic movements. The core is also the most important factor for transferring explosive power. When your core muscles are weak, then your nervous system puts a HALT to any explosive movement as a protective mechanism to support the spine.
This means if you are throwing a strike or a kick, your energy will not make it into your strike. Also, when you have insufficient core stability, it will set you up for injury and limit your mobility.
If your core is strong when your fist lands, the force of your strike will transfer through your opponent. Generating a knockout punch, thanks to the strength of a stable core. The force generated from the legs and through the core during a Judo throw, is one example of this.
A strong and stable core also allows the body to function as an integrated unit and compete the throw with force. If the core is weak, the bridge will collapse and the extremities will, in turn, be weak.
A Muay Thai clinch is another move where core stability is vital. Your goal being to deliver knees, elbows, and throws to keep your opponent in check. You need to develop your core stabilization strength to better take advantage of this position.
Having good rotational and anti-rotational core strength is important as well. Let’s take grappling for example, when your opponent wants to pass your guard by throwing your legs to the side, if you have good core strength, it can help you prevent the guard pass.
Rotational strength will also help with striking when you rotate from your hips and shoulder to add extra speed. A Strong Core Improves Athletic Performance.
The muscles of the trunk and torso stabilize the spine from the pelvis to the neck and shoulder, they allow the transfer of power to the arms and legs. All powerful movements originate from the centre of the body out, and never from the limbs alone. You need to develop a stable spine before any powerful, rapid muscle contractions can occur in the extremities.
Basically, every athletic movement that a combat athlete needs to perform needs the use of a strong core.
5. Ditch Your Bodybuilding Split
As a fighter, the size and shape of your biceps isn't going to matter in the slightest. Instead of training for aesthetics, you're going to be working on your performance. Being a better overall athlete and a stronger fighter means your workouts should include multi joint exercises like back squats and chin-ups. These exercises are commonly referred to as functional training. Movements that train more than one body part at a time.
Each exercise you perform in the gym should relate to what you're going to do on the mat. If the exercise does not simulate related movements, replace it with an exercise that does.
For example, leg curls are not as beneficial as straight-leg deadlifts because deadlifts help increase the strength of your takedowns. Close-grip presses are more effective than triceps kick-backs because they can increase the power behind your punches.
Hopefully that has given you a good insight in what’s needed to train like an MMA Fighter. The best way to achieve this is to find a quality MMA Gym in your area and head down and start training. The only way to get results is to put in the effort. The longer you wait, the harder it gets! In the end the decision is yours and success is in your hands alone.
If you're interested in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) at Kings please check out our
MMA Page
One of the most important skills an MMA Fighter will learn is Shadow Boxing:
Learn why Shadow Boxing is so important!
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Kings Academy is the home of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the Liverpool, Sydney area. Kings Academy of Martial Arts is the Premier Martial Arts Academy servicing Liverpool and the Greater Western Sydney Region
