MMA Conditioning Training
Conditioning is an underappreciated aspect of MMA and it has become the new Jiu Jitsu, and even the new wrestling. What do you know about the two sports that I just mentioned? That’s right. Most of the champions have excelled in one of those. That’s because their opponents were unable to counter them; they didn’t have the same tools. Conditioning has become one of those tools.
Look at some of the best fighters in the world: GSP, Fedor, Anderson Silva, Jon Fitch, Rampage Jackson, Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, and Minotauro Nogueira. What do they all have in common? That’s right, they all have fantastic conditioning. MMA has gotten to the point where most fighters are able to neutralize eachothers skillsets because everyone trains the same thing. There are some fighters that are clearly better than others, but the deciding factor in a lot of fights has been conditioning and strength. Even fighters with inferior skills are able to overcome opposition by just being tough and having great heart.
Some of the benefits of having good MMA conditioning:
- You’ll be able to last longer in a fight, which means you’ll be dangerous throughout where your opponent most likely won’t.
- You will be more explosive. You’ll be able to power out of submissions, sweep, and reverse more easily.
- You will have more cognitive function and faster reflexes. This’ll give you a mental edge over your opponent.
- You’ll have a better chin. Recovery from strikes is directly linked to your conditioning. Look at the fighters I listed above. How often are they stopped from strikes and how difficult was it to stop them if they were? The numbers speak for themselves.
- You’ll be faster, which means it’ll be harder to hit you. You might not even need a good chin.
There are a few things you’re going to have to realize before you’re ready to take your mma conditioning training to a new level, however. The first thing is that you won’t be able to use the same training techniques as the pros. They’ve been doing this longer and their bodies are more prepared than yours. Not only that, but each person is different and their bodies react differently to certain stimuli. You also need to find out everything you can about conditioning training. The more information you have at your finger tips, the more dangerous you’ll become. Finally, you’ll need to work hard but get plenty of rest. You’ll end up overtraining and wearing yourself out if you don’t. That’s the last thing you want.
I recommend sticking to core exercises when you first start out. Isolation lifts are just used to gain mass, which is something you actually don’t want to do. I’ve had the best results with olympic lifts (the snatch, specifically) and heavy compound lifts, like the military press, bench press, squat, and deadlift.
About the Author
To find out how I learned to dominate my opponents in the fight game through proper conditioning, visit this site: MMA Strength and Conditioning.
