training regime help

[jamesleaves]

Im in the process of trying to make my training regime more mma specific, im thinking of doing 3 sessions per week, Week 1 and 3 of the month as heavy weights and weeks 2 and 4 cardio (running, light weight based circuits and bag work).
This will be aswell as 2 technique/sparring sessions a week.
Would like to do more technique but having a wife, child and full time job make this very difficult.

Im a lightweight so dont want to get massive of weights does this look like a sensible way of doing things or should i incorporate cardio and weights in the same week and have the circuit span 2 weeks as opposed to one?

Thanks for your help

[colonel]

Its pointless doing heavy weights every other week as you'll constantly be starting from square. You need to lift consistently to get consistent gains.
Are you preparing for a competition or just looking to improve your physical attributes in general?
Also, stay away from running. Its a good way to damage your joints, lower your metabolism & it has no practical carry over whatsover to MMA (unless you plan on making your opponent chase you).

[GreekGod]

Also, stay away from running. Its a good way to damage your joints, lower your metabolism & it has no practical carry over whatsover to MMA (unless you plan on making your opponent chase you).

Running isn't good for MMA? haha that is a joke..so ii will even reply to that

&& no that's a MYTH!!.. there have been MANY recent studies show that running actually really good for you and your bones/joints..

1: example
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285--12232-0,00.html

[d0ugbug]

Would like to do more technique but having a wife, child and full time job make this very difficult.


Being a new dad myself I found shifting the last 2 stone of fat I needed to shift really hard latley so I've worked my routine around my daughter I look after her during the day.

I squat while holding the baby arms out straight i do around 250 reps one heck of a work out and now shes putting the weight on it only gets harder!

I also found shadow boxing while holding her (just focusing on the footwork) helped allot and got her to sleep in the night

If none of that takes your fancy its worth reading "Training for Warriors (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Training-Warriors-Ultimate-Martial-Workout/dp/0061374334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266053742&sr=8-1)" gave me some good work out ideas.

[colonel]

So that artical is saying 2 things that i can see.
1. a group "elite" marathon runners had better joints than a group of people with the same BMI age & gender.
BMI is redundant & has no real relevance to anything & any study that uses it without taking into account bodyfat %, lean mass & height is flawed right from the start. Did the non runner group have similar exercise histories, ethnic backgrounds, injury histories or even a family history of problems. What about there diets or supplement regime, are they the same? There's to many variables unaccounted for that to be a study worth taking any notice of. What about the average marathon runner, why are only the "elite" runners used? Does the fact that there "elite" mean they are genetically gifted & physically more suited to running than the average person? Who knows. Taking a broader group of runners would have more relevance & possibly answered that question.

2. Running is perfectly safe as long as your joints are in perfect alignment & not even out by 1mm.
So who has perfect allignment? Maybe the "elite" do. I know I dont. I have performed many biomechanical & postural assessments in my time & am yet to come across someone with perfect allignment. If you have the time, money & inclination to get a full assessment & do the corrective exercise prescribed with it, then go for it. Run. If you do go through all that effort just to run then maybe you should actually take it up as a sport instead of MMA.

Plus we have all the added oxidative stress, elevated cortisol & suppressed testorone that comes with regular running. Sprinting is anabolic though so if you really have to run thats a better choice. Assuming your joints aren't out @ all.

Leave running to the runners, its a sport in its own right.

[SuperKlinch]

Sorry but saying running is a complete waste of time is just stupid it builds endurance, reduces fat, builds muscle, improves breathing, which does carry over into MMA, if it was me I'd do the sprints exercise because I like pushing myself to the limit. but hey if you hate running ride a bike!

[1inchPonch]

If you want to make your training more MMA specific why don't you just do more technique and sparring sessions?

[colonel]

The endurance from running is not the same as being mat fit, they're 2 different things. MMA is of an intermittent nature & needs to be trained accordingly. Unless you are actually sprinting then the elevated cortisol produced from running or any slow steady cv for that matter, will just eat into your muscle which in turn will lower your metabolism, which is the total opposite of building muscle & burning fat.
Its been known for a long time in strength & conditioning circles that sort of exercise is innapropriate for improving sports performance.

[jamesleaves]

If you want to make your training more MMA specific why don't you just do more technique and sparring sessions?

I have a gym in my house so it is very easy for me to workout for 45mins before or after work or while my daughter is asleep it isn't quite so easy to convince my wife to let me out for another 3 hours.

Basically trying to find a way to keep a good work/home/training balance and working on strength and conditioning at home is a good compromise, but i want what i do to be as specific as possible

[colonel]

Bodyweight exercise are a great way to go, dumbell over barbell work, single limbed work wherever possible. Avoid singlejoint exercises such as bicep curls & try to make it movement based.
You could split it into push, pull & lower body days as you have 3 days a week. Do that for 4 weeks then change it to circuits for 4 weeks, maybe power circuits or a functional strength phase. There's a lot of possibilities to what can be done @ home.

[SuperKlinch]

Look into plyometrics that sounds like the sort training you need like colonel said bodyweight exercise is a good way to go

[colonel]

plyometrics are excellent but its not something you can jump straight into. You need to have good base strength & stability before moving up to that or injuries can occur. Also rep ranges & proper rest periods need to be tkan into consideration when doing any kind of strength work

[Justin Devonshire]

Im in the process of trying to make my training regime more mma specific, im thinking of doing 3 sessions per week, Week 1 and 3 of the month as heavy weights and weeks 2 and 4 cardio (running, light weight based circuits and bag work).
This will be aswell as 2 technique/sparring sessions a week.
Would like to do more technique but having a wife, child and full time job make this very difficult.

Im a lightweight so dont want to get massive of weights does this look like a sensible way of doing things or should i incorporate cardio and weights in the same week and have the circuit span 2 weeks as opposed to one?

Thanks for your help

I think Colonel has given you the best advice here and you'd do well to follow it.

I would just add that you may want to consider how far away you are from a match (or even if you have any scheduled matches upcoming or not).

The reason being, if you have at least 10 weeks before a competition, you'd be best served developing strength in your weakest movement patterns / muscle groups and strengthening any injury-prone areas. Keep it simple. Push something, pull something and deadlift. Then do some simple mobility and core stability exericses in-between.


The closer you get to the fight is where you need to get more MMA-specific. I actually see little benefit in training for endurance in the weight room for longer than 10 minutes, once or twice a week MAXIMUM at this point (10+ weeks out). Let your conditioning come from your skills sessions. Focus on your maximal strength and some power (whichever is most lacking)

When the fight is approaching with 6 weeks or less, then start uping the intensity of your endurance work (but still keep the duration specific - i.e - if you are preparing for a match of 2 rounds at 5 mins each, then train for that time. Going for 30 minutes plus will not be effective). This is also the period where your strength exercises get more specific to meet the demands of the competition.



PS - I can't beleive people are STILL arguing over running for MMA? I'm sorry, and this may be out of line for me to say, but if all the science and anecdotal evidence from the top coaches in the world still hasn't convinced you that long distance running is in-effective compared to other forms of training, then I dont know what will.

[colonel]

Thanks justin.
There will always people that are closed to new ideas. Change creates fear & fear closes the minds of many people. I'm open to arguement & debate, if someone proves me wrong then thats great, it means I've learnt something new.

[jamesleaves]

Thanks, this is all very helpful.
Running wise, i was doing 4 minute rounds of 20 secs sprint then 10 seconds rest and then repeating for 3 rounds.
Really really didn't help with grappling endurance, have found weight based circuits best for that, usually do 10 push ups, 10 bent over rows, 10 squats, 10 sumo deadlifts with lightweights at high speed repeated for 4 minutes and then repeated 3 times with a minute rest between rounds, that definately felt like it helped.

[Justin Devonshire]

Thats definately a better plan.

My philosophy regarding endurance is that 80% of it should be done under resistance (bodyweight training / exercise circuits like you mentioned / barbell complexes etc).

If you think of MMA, most of the energy-sapping demands come from intense muscle contractions - you often spend most of the time pushing, pulling, or holding your opponent (who weighs a resistance roughly equal to your own bodyweight in kg).

What does running, or rowing, or cycling have to do with this at all?

Anyway, thats a topic for a different thread so I'll stop there before I open another can of worms. Im soon to write a post expanding on my above points for my website and MMAUnltd.com very soon, which will clearly explain my position of loaded endurance training (or strength cardio, or whatever the hell you want to call it).

[colonel]

try increasing the weight so its your ten rep max, that'll give you an extra boost

[taffdragon]

try increasing the weight so its your ten rep max, that'll give you an extra boost

i was just gonna ask that now.

i do giant sets just for general conditioning and help with weight control.

bench press / deadlifts / assisted chins x 5
military press / cleans / close grip press ups x 5

using 8 rep max weights (after a couple of sets the reps start coming down a bit) with a minute rest between sets. and done twice a week. do you think this sounds ok?

[colonel]

Personally if I was using an 8 rep max, thats how many reps I'd want to get out.
You could change the order & stick both sets together so it becomes a heavy circuit. maybe start with the deadlift so that bench press & press ups aren't next to eachother, or order it by alternating a push & pull.
You can afford to have a little longer rest unless your close to a fight.
Its very goal dependent & depends on the training phase. That just an idea for you to play around with, see how you get on.

[taffdragon]

Personally if I was using an 8 rep max, thats how many reps I'd want to get out.
You could change the order & stick both sets together so it becomes a heavy circuit. maybe start with the deadlift so that bench press & press ups aren't next to eachother, or order it by alternating a push & pull.
You can afford to have a little longer rest unless your close to a fight.
Its very goal dependent & depends on the training phase. That just an idea for you to play around with, see how you get on.



thanks for that. ill do as you advised and let you know

[jamesleaves]

After doing alot of reading around and taking some advice of this bored, ive decided to do 3 routines a week, 1 heavy session including deadlifts, squats bench press etc, 1 bodyweight circuit and 1 pylometric circuit plus 2 technique sessions a week.
This will be my base level work and then 3 weeks pre fight reduce the heavy wight session and add 2 weights based cardio circuits.

Does this seem reasonable?

[colonel]

If you want to get the most out of your big lifts, ie squat & deadlift then you need to seperate them or they'll be taking awat from eachother & you wont get the whole benefits.
For me those days you described would actually be 3 different training phases. If you pick what phase you want to work on, then concentrate on that for 4-6 weeks before moving on. For instance if you wanted to do strength then split your big lifts into days with some complimetary exercises & focus on them, if you want explosive power phase then the plyo's would come in & the conditioning would come from the circuits. focussing on 1 area & periodisation in the key

[NEANDERTHAL]

colonel, hasn't standard periodisation been tarnished in recent years with the rise of westside & conjugated methods? surely strength and explosive power can & should be trained in the same session (eg. squats then box jumps)?

[colonel]

Thats a valid point. There are many ways to periodise. Strength & power can be trained together or seperate, its an individual thing. I do use the contrast/complex method of strength & power development with many of my clients but I always make sure there is some sort of strength base 1st before I transition into strength & power together.

[GreekGod]

PS - I can't beleive people are STILL arguing over running for MMA? I'm sorry, and this may be out of line for me to say, but if all the science and anecdotal evidence from the top coaches in the world still hasn't convinced you that long distance running is in-effective compared to other forms of training, then I dont know what will.

LMFAO! you and Colonel make me laugh ii have to be honest..


You're this 'Certified MMA coach' which is complete BULL to start off with..

so ANYTHING you say ii shall completelly disregard.. as you've proved nothing in the world of MMA so how can you coach MMA for people?

However.. a person that has made a huge contribution to MMA is: Erik paulson, whom i've trained with and train with every year.. Erik being Brock lesnar and Josh Barnett's coach, also having coached Ken Shamrock, Sean Sherk .. amongst others.. and even advising a lot of the UFC fighters INCLUDING receiving phone call for advice from BJ Penn on his fight against Diego Sanchez the days leading up the the fight. Erik says running oughta be a part of your training.. As do a lot of the UFC fighters including BJ Penn/ Fforest Griffin/ Wanderlei Silva/ Rich Franklin/ ii dunno probably all UFC fighters.. so i'll believe him and them rather than some forum troll..


BTW: i'm not saying that you oughta be running 10miles at a time.. nothing of the sort. Personally i'm pro sprints and especially Interval running.. in all honesty the most ii tend to run is about 5km up mountain but sometimes i'll add on sometimes up to 10km to that.. but it will be broken up into 1km rounds after the inital 5km with; 5km, rest, 5 x ((1km then calisthenics)) then 10 x ((100m sprints then 100m 50% jog))..


anyways ii probably won't reply to this thread anymore it's mostly pointless information from pure randomers, I know ii can get my queries and advice from top quality sources so i'm happy to rely on the information of the likes of Erik Paulson, Rick Young, Dan Inosanto ..amongst others..





GG

[colonel]

If you want to come back with a convincing counter arguement then you'll have to de better than name dropping & playground antics.

I have nothing but respect for erik paulson & the contributions he's made to MMA & the martial arts world as a whole. But he is a technical coach & I wouldn't go to a technical & tactical coach for advice on strength & conditioning. Just as I would not go to a strength & conditioning coach for technical & tactical advice. Its like going to butcher for your veg, they're 2 seperate things.

Just because a fighter does something a certain way doesn't mean they're aren't more efficient ways to do it. MMA is young sport & evolving all the time. It has some catching up to do with sports science. Most other sports understand the value of getting there strength & conditioning from a source that specialises in that area & not in the skill section.

Feel free to come back with an intelligent relevant arguement, i'm willing to take on board what you have to say & maybe even change my opinion. I'm an open minded guy & wont let my ego get in the way of learning new things. That is, after all how we evolve as people & as a sport.