MMA Conditioning Misconceptions

You might have watched the most recent The Ultimate Fighter episode where a football player, Wes Shivers, gassed in the first couple minutes of a fight. You also might have wondered how this was possible, especially since he played football, where conditioning is incredibly important. And that's where you made your mistake: conditioning for football isn't the same as conditioning for MMA.

In most sports, running is the best way to build up cardio and endurance. That's because you'll be moving at a pace that allows aerobic metabolism. You won't be working at an anaerobic level throughout most of the fight. That's not to say that all of MMA is anaerobic. If you watch a fight, you'll probably realize that a lot of fighters get tired after they grapple for a good amount of time. That's because grappling is almost entirely anaerobic.

MMA requires multiple approaches to conditioning, although the basis should be muscular endurance and anaerobic capacity. Explosive lifts are your best friend, especially ones with multiple components. The clean and jerk, for example, is probably one of the most relevant lifts when it comes to MMA. A lot of fighters don't bother with the Olympic lifts because they are difficult to master. While this is true, they will also pay dividends when you're in the ring.

When training MMA strength and conditioning, I recommend you follow this basic outline:

1. 30% of your workout week should focus on Olympic or explosive lifts. I like to add at least one explosive lift to each workout, although I've recommended that some fighters do more and they've seen great results. When doing Olympic lifts, you should work in the 3-5 rep range and do 2-3 sets. I suggest doing them in the beginning of a workout, so you can get the most out of them. You won't have enough energy at the end.

2. 50% of your workout week should focus on heavy compound lifts. It's important, when doing these lifts, that you work with a weight you are comfortable with and able to handle. It is never a good idea to throw on extra weight just for the sake of competition. The best lifts for MMA are the squat, deadlift, bent over rows, and shoulder press. These will build great core strength and allow you to excel both in striking and grappling. You'll want to decrease the frequency in which you do these lifts as you approach fight time, since you will gain mass with them. You should completely stop doing these lifts about four weeks out, if possible.

3. 20% of your workout week should focus on moderate cardio training. This will help you in the slower parts of a fight where you'll need to pace yourself. Having good aerobic capacity will help you "replenish" your body during downtime in corners or when your opponent just isn't doing anything. It'll also increase how much oxygen is in your blood, which is good for staying in good mental health and recovering from strikes. Just make sure you don't overestimate this aspect - it's less important than muscular endurance.