We haven’t done this in awhile, but back in the day we used to promote websites and companies that we really like. I think it’s safe to say that I talk to a lot of businesses about them promotion from my site, but I don’t just want anyone. I only go for quality companies with quality people and that’s why MMA UK has given Fight Scienceour stamp of approval.
If you live in the UK and you’re interested in getting some MMA training or even getting fit then definitely check out the site . The trainer is Nick “Headhunter” Chapman, an up and coming UK Light-Heavyweight and a man who definitelyknows what he’s doing!
Michael Bisping has always claimed he has knckout power, yet the only time we’ve really only seen it was with a TKO victory over Denis Kang, where he simply overpowered his opponent. Bisping faces Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120 on Saturday and there’s no doubt it’ll be a tough fight.
Akiyama is also known as “Sexyama”, but really his nickanme should be “The Japanese Zombie” as he can take one hell of a beating and continue you to come at his opponent. However, after seeing this training video we might see that knockout power that Bisping claims to have come to fruition.
Strength and Conditioning coaches are divided about the optimum way to condition for an MMA fight, some believe that you should just do pure strength and power work, whilst others believe in doing only metabolic circuits.
I am in both camps, both are important to the combat athlete. As I covered in my last article power is important for throwing the knock-out punch or delivering a devastating slam. But on the other hand being able to go non-stop for 3-5 5 minute rounds is equally important.
As a coach I believe that an athlete should aim to do both strength sessions and metabolic circuits, you should aim to at least 2 strength and power sessions and 1 metabolic circuit, the reason I only recommend 1 circuit is because the rest of your training e.g. boxing, wrestling, jiu jitsu should take care of your conditioning as well.
In the strength and power sessions you want to focus on compound moves such as cleans, squats and dead lifts etc. Focus on heavy weight low reps for example 3-5 sets of 1-6 reps.
Sample Program:
Cleans
Squats with Box Jumps
Bench Press with Plyo Push ups
Pull Ups
Push Press
Bent over row
Dead lift
For the Metabolic Circuit you want to aim to do 3-5 5 minute rounds with a minute rest between rounds to mimic fight situations (depends on how many rounds your fight is.) Metabolic Circuits is a form of what Robert Dos Remedious, CSCS calls Cardio Strength Training or high intensity interval training. It is also great at shedding fat and getting lean during the weight cut.
A great training video of No1 contender for the UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez training at AKA. There’s a rumour about Velasquez where his manager was unable to find fights for him due to his huge potential. Fighters were actually scared to face him. I suppose I can see why from this video…
Ian Frood is a friend of mine who is a strength and conditioning coach, who is also really interested in MMA. We were lucky enough that he submitted a really awesome article to help those are interested in getting explosive power from their workouts. Check it out!
A question often asked of Conditioning coaches and trainers is “How can I punch harder?” or “How can I slam someone?) The answer is simple. Build explosive power.
Well it sounds simple to me, but I already know how to do it. Getting strong is easy, just lift heavy things and eventually you will get stronger. But how do you get more powerful? This is where the science comes in,
Power= Work (mass x distance) / time
“Work is defined as the product of an objects mass (weight) times the distance the object is moved. Work is divided by the elapsed time involved, which produces a unit of power, measuring the rate at which work was performed.”
To apply the description to a gym environment this means the weight (mass) of the Barbell, the distance it travels (for example arms length), and the amount of time it takes to travel there.
There are two types of training you do to increase your power and they are Olympic weightlifting and Plyometrics.
Olympic weightlifting can be defined as
“Olympic weightlifting tests ballistic limits (explosive strength) with smaller weights, such that the lifts must be executed faster and with more mobility, because of a greater range of motion during the lifts. However, parts of the lift, especially in the clean and jerk, do test for absolute strength, as power is not an issue in executing that part of the lift.
While there are relatively few competitive Olympic lifters, the lifts and their components are commonly used by elite athletes to train for explosive and functional strength.”
Plyometrics can be defined as
“Plyometrics (also known as “plyos”) is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities.”
Examples of Plyometric exercises include Jump squats, Box Jumps, and Clap Push ups
Below is an example of a strength program for MMA incorporating both Olympic lifts and plyos.
(NB please seek advice from a qualified Strength and Conditioning coach before attempting this program. It is meant for those with a lot of training experience.)
Raymond Ho is a legend – Fact. This man is my training yoda. If you enjoy going to the gym as much as I do, then his blog ZenMyFitness is a fantastic read. He mixes the spiritual and mental aspect of working out with the physical to give you a a complete and satisfying outlook on your training regime. Raymond is pretty new with MMA, but has an interesting, unique outlook on MMA.
Check out this fantastic entry…
Once you enter the Octagon there is no turning back!
Sounds very dramatic doesn’t it?
Don’t take it lightly nor should anybody else who decides to enter the ring without serious consideration of what might occur. Train all you like, have a few bouts but the cage is where your mind journey begins by acknowledging the outcomes and its consequences of this brutal sport.
An Essential Sport?
Yes, to us mere mortals it looks just like a brawl. However, to a fighter on stage it expresses not only a basic extinct to survive but as an MMA fighter they see it as an opportunity not to fear pain but to embrace it. Something not all of us possess but we can get a snap shot of how MMA fighters think.
Only the slightest twist of thoughts and we turn one of the fastest growing sports in the world into an Art. We could create analogies with respect to Lao Tzu’s “The Art of War” or give it a Zen spin of words but I think its best not to follow the obvious.
I prefer to have a different understanding of the possible outcomes and no better than to look out of the same corner of a “Cut-man”. A cut-man is a person responsible for preventing and treating the physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a full contact bout.
The rules of full contact sports stipulate that these injuries can cause a premature match stoppage, which counts as a loss to the injured fighter. The cut-man is therefore essential to the fighter and can be a decisive factor in the outcome of the match.
These cut-men (not the ringside Doctor) typically handle cuts like swelling, nosebleeds and lacerations. A famous cut-man is Jacob “Stitch” Duran who has patched up many fighters in his time. His career experience ranges everything from Thai Boxing to the current MMA.
A quote from Stitch “… MMA is far bloodier than boxing. These guys will have multiple cuts to the middle of their forehead or their scalp. Head cuts bleed a lot. And the cuts are deeper, because of the elbows and knees. It’s bone on bone!”
So let’s look at some of the outcomes through Stitch’s eyes. In a match where Corey Hill broke his leg in two against Dale Hartt. Firstly, a cut-man could not do anything anyhow. All Stitch could do was comfort him.
Corey’s leg was literally separated in two, his foot going another way. It even freaked Stitch out, a veteran of the game. The psychology and fighters mind-set is extremely important to live and breathe every day for him to succeed. It’s not just something you turn off or on.
Corey looked at Stitch while lying there and says “Stitch, I almost had him”.
Now that’s the mind-set of a warrior and you need to carry that throughout a fighter’s life. Battle scars can be expected and even immortalised. Forest Griffin took a cut right between the eyes in a match against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Blood everywhere but Stitch waved his magic and the blood disappeared and enabled Forest to continue his epic battle. It was a great fight to watch, it got the point where they both had little energy left and barely could keep their hands up for guard.
Watch this video and you can see even though their attempts to bludgeon each other with hands, feet and elbows they still manage to carry this surprising respect for each other throughout the match.
An unbelievable frame of mind when somebody is trying to knock port holes into you.
In fact if you look at the cover of the video game “UFC 2009 Undisputed” it clearly shows that head cut.
Is MMA just a hybrid mixture of wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, boxing and kick boxing or could it really be an Art? Apply the right amount of philosophy and thought into it and not only is it a meaningful test of skill and strength but most importantly, you develop a modern day warrior’s mind-set.
The team here at MMA UK would like to thank Raymond for contributing such a fantastic article to the blog. You can check out more of his insightful views at Zenmyfitness
A lot of people think they can be a fighter, as all they see is two men (or women) getting into a cage and beating each other until there is a winner. However, they don’t see the immense training that these warriors have to go through. For those don’t know and think it’s this easy. Check out a training video that was taken of former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ “The Prodigy” Penn.
You’ve got to bare in mind that Penn wasn’t training properly during his earlier fights. He was unfocused and unprepared, yet he was still winning the majority of his fights. However, there are some losses on his record that he might’ve won if he’d of trained properly. In 2010 BJ is still arguably the best lightweight in the world, simply because he’s now focused and training hard.
Take a look at this video of BJ at work before a fight
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