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Archive for the ‘Physical Strength’ Category

There is A LOT of information on MMA strength & conditioning training out there – especially on the internet.

One of the things I try to pride myself on is being fairly “down to earth”. I can’t stand these people who spend so much time trying to sound intelligent that the message they’re trying to convey gets totally lost in translation.

You see this a lot in the fitness industry. Hell, there is one strength coach that has a Q&A on a fairly well-known strength/athletic training website that I refuse to even read, because his dialog is full of ‘two-dollar words’ that have ’10-cent meanings’. It drives me nuts.

And I’ve been told that I’ve got a gift of taking complex or technical ideas and concepts and putting them into simple language so that us ‘regular folk’ can understand them better.

So, I figured I’d take a lot of the terminology for needed concepts that gets tossed around out there, and put it into plain language. At the same time, I want to delve into how these concepts are needed for MMA, and how you can train for them.

Terminology & Concepts

Strength

Strength is essentially a measure of force – how much force can a body produce in a given range of motion. Strength can be measured in many ways, the most common being “RM”, or “rep maximum”. This is the most amount of weight you can lift for a given number of reps. So a 1RM would be the most weight you could lift once. A 3RM would be the most you could lift 3 times, etc.

There are various types of strength, which I’ll get into next.

How and why strength is important to MMA should be pretty self-explanatory. There are several ways to increase strength, but the one constant is that heavy weights must be used for your given rep range.

Absolute Strength

This is actually what most folks probably think of when they think “strength”. Absolute Strength is a measure of maximal strength…how much force one can develop in a single effort, neglecting all other factors. If you can squat 450 lbs once, and I can squat 500 lbs once, I have more absolute strength than you.

Again, the importance of absolute strength should be self-explanatory. To increase absolute strength, one must train with heavy weights in low rep ranges, with medium sets and overall volume. It is usually best to restrict (or at least minimize) other types of training (endurance, cardio, etc.) if you really want to focus on increasing absolute strength.

Relative Strength

Relative Strength is absolute strength when compared to one’s bodyweight – essentially your “strength:bodyweight” ratio. I said before that if you could squat 450, and I could squat 500, that I had more absolute strength than you. However, if you can squat 450, but only weigh 185 lbs, and I can squat 500, but weigh 260 lbs, you have more relative strength than I do. I can squat more, but the ratio of my squat max to my bodyweight is less than yours is.

This is much more important in MMA than absolute strength. We know that you need to be strong, but MMA is a game of weight classes. If you can be strong for your weight, that gives you an advantage. And if when gaining strength, you can’t do it without putting on weight, then you give up a possible advantage to your opponents.

Relative strength is increased in one of two ways. First, you can increase your strength the same way as mentioned for absolute strength – you just have to be sure not to add any bodyweight. More strength at the same bodyweight = higher relative strength.

The other way is to maintain your current strength level, but to lose bodyweight. The same strength at less bodyweight = higher relative strength.

Starting Strength

Starting strength (and no, I don’t mean the book by strength coach Mark Rippetoe – haha) is a measure of strength when you don’t have any bounce or reversal of momentum.

When squatting, you generally unrack the bar, lower, reverse, and come back up to standing again. Well, imagine setting up the rack so that you’d have to climb under the bar in the bottom position of the squat, and start the movement from there. You, more than likely, wouldn’t be able to use as much weight. This would be a measure of starting strength.

This isn’t as important in MMA, as you won’t find many situations in which you’re stretched to an extreme ROM (range of motion), and have to “muscle” your way out of it. You might have this happen if your opponent is attempting to lock a submission on you, but getting out of it should be more an issue of correct technique – not trying to muscle it out.

Starting strength can be increased by practicing movements from the “bottom position”. Like the squat mentioned above, don’t start in the standing position – setup the rack so that you have to start at the bottom. Same would go for the bench press.

Many exercises start out in this position anyway – overhead presses, pullups/chins, rows, and deadlifts are all examples.

Reactive strength

Reactive strength is the strength gained from the reversal of momentum in a given movement. It’s the strength that is taken out of the movement when training for/measuring starting strength.

This is much more important to MMA, because it can help dramatically increase power (more on power in a minute), and make certain movements much more effective. “Loading up” before a punch (e.g. – before throwing a right cross, you twist slightly to the right, then forcefully to the left whilst throwing the punch – the twist to the punch “loaded up” the punch, and used reactive strength to do it), or dropping just before shooting in for a takedown are both examples where reactive strength comes into play.

Reactive strength can be developed by using short-ROM drills that are usually fast in nature. Hops, pogo jumps, etc. are all examples. Many plyometric exercises also go a long way to increasing reactive strength.

Strength-Endurance

Strength-endurance is the ability to exert strength (preferably higher levels of strength) repeatedly over a given period of time.

This is the most important element of strength yet, as there is very little rest in the sport of MMA – either during the fight itself, or between rounds. Unlike other sports, you don’t exert a (near) maximal effort, then get a chance to rest and recover. You might very well have to keep repeating that effort. You’re going to have to have strength-endurance in order to ensure that your efforts continue to be at a high level. Everybody is strong at the beginning of the fight. Those fighters still strong at the end of the fight are the ones with an advantage.

Strength-endurance can be increased in a few fashions. Increasing your absolute strength will have a direct carryover to strength-endurance, as the more weight you can lift, the more times you should be able to lift a weight lighter than your max. For example, say your squat 1RM is 300 lbs, and you can squat 275 lbs, 10x in 3 minutes. If you increase your squat 1RM o 400 lbs, 275 lbs is now a much smaller percentage of that 1RM, meaning you should be able to squat it more times. Another example would be that the more weight you can bench press, the more pushups you should be able to do.

Because increasing 1RMs can take time fighters don’t always have, I developed my “Singles & Doubles” method of training. This method is takes sets of 1-2 reps, and uses more and more weight with decreasing rest periods.

Physical therapy may involve walk training, range of motion, restorative therapy, therapeutic exercises, and home programs to improve strength and independence. Consider a boy named Marc. He injured his knee on a soccer game. He placed a cold icy compress to his injury immediately afterwards but the pain persisted. He visited his doctor and found out that he had torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament, the tissue that connects the two major bones of the knees. He underwent surgery to treat his injury, yet after which Marc would still need a physical exercise home therapy program for full recovery. This shall help him rebuild his muscle strength and recover the range of motion in his injured knee, and so Marc could heal properly, and completely. Yet how does or should a physical exercise home therapy program work?

First is to look for the right physical therapist. The PT must have a master’s or doctoral degree in physical therapy and must be licensed by your state to practice. You should also know that physical therapists have specializations in different areas. A particular therapist may work mostly with sports injuries, for example, while others may be experts in head injuries, or in children, babies, the elderly, or those with particular illnesses. So you should find one who suits your case. The recommendation of a doctor may not be enough to earn your confidence so you should ask questions to your prospective PT. You should ask about his expertise in such conditions like yours, his therapy plan for you as well as needed physical therapy equipments, also ask how relevant are those in your case or are the equipments necessary to assist implementation of the program; finally ask the exact length of each therapy session and the frequency of the therapy exercises. You can also your school coach for physical therapist recommendations or contact your state’s physical therapy association for names of licensed PT’s in your area.

Now you’re ready for your physical exercise home therapy program, but not so easy. You should remember to stick to the plans of your physical exercise home therapy program. Follow your PT’s directions sternly. Listen to your PT to know your body so you’ll realize how an affected area functions so you can spot problems or avoid further injury in the future. And also talk to your PT; he’s always there to help, and to join you in celebrating your success.

Though recovery can feel frustrating and slow, take a moment to appreciate the difference that a physical exercise home therapy program can make. In time you’ll have increased strength, endurance, flexibility, better postural alignment, pain relief – and confidence.

If you want to become a better Soccer player, you will have to work on your Strength & Power. Without it you will never be able to reach your full potential as a Soccer player. This article has been created to give you a sample workout that you can do in the comfort of your own home to improve your Strength & Power.

Most people think you have to go to the gym and lift heavy weights to become more physically fit. But really, all it takes is a small space and a little bit of hard work.

Here are 5 exercises you can use to improve Strength & Power. I would recommend doing this circuit for 3 sets (12 reps for the 1st three exercises and 30 seconds for the last two). After this becomes too easy you can always increase the amount of reps and sets. Remember though, when it comes to work outs harder is better than longer.

1) Squat Jumps

As suggested in the title, you simply squat (the lower you can take your bum the better – you want to make at least a 90 degree angle with your knees and bum facing the floor). After you squat, explode into a jump. The higher you can jump the better.

2) Clap Push Ups

You may want to start with a regular push up if these are too difficult. Proceed to do a push up once you reach your chest to the floor, instead of simply pushing up into a plank position, force your hands of the ground and make a quick clap before landing back in the plank position.

3) Lunge Jumps

These are similar to the Squat jump except you will be doing Lunges instead of Squats. Start in a Lunge position, proceed to jump and switch your lunge to the other side. So if you started in a lunge with your left foot forward, you would jump, then land in a lunge with your right foot forward. The higher you can jump the better.

4) Side Bridge

There are two variations to this move. The first one is the beginner move, place one elbow and forearm on the floor as well as one foot on the floor (other foot on top). This should forum an acute angle with your body and the floor. If you want to try the advanced simply remove your elbow and forearm from the ground and use the palm of your hand to prop your body up.

5) Front Bridge

Similar to the side bridge there are two variations. You can start with both forearms and feet on the ground, facing forward. Make sure your body is in a straight line, your bum down, and back straight. If this is too easy, move into the plank positions, similar to the position you would end up in at the top of a push up.

In its most general meaning, physical fitness is a general state of good physical health. Obtaining and maintaining physical fitness is a result of physical activity, proper diet and nutrition and of course proper rest for physical recovery. In its simplest terms, physical fitness is to the human body what fine-tuning is to an engine. It enables people to perform up to their potential. Regardless of age, fitness can be described as a condition that helps individuals look, feel and do their best. Thus, physical fitness trainers, describe it as the ability to perform daily tasks vigorously and alertly, with left over energy to enjoy leisure-time activities and meet emergency demands. Specifically true for senior citizens, physical fitness is the ability to endure, bear up, withstand stress and carry on in circumstances where an unfit person could not continue.

In order for one to be considered physically fit, the heart, lungs, and muscles have to perform at a certain level for the individual to continue feeling capable of performing an activity. At the same time, since what humans do with their bodies directly affects the state of mind, fitness influences to some degree qualities such as mental alertness and emotional expression.

Physical fitness is often divided into the following categories in order for people to be able examine its components or parts. Particularly, physical fitness is judged by:

1. Cardiovascular endurance: This is the ability of the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove wastes over sustained periods of time.

2. Muscular strength & endurance: Strength deals with the ability of the muscle to exert force for a brief time period, while endurance is the ability of a muscle, or group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue to apply force against an inert object.

3. Flexibility: This denotes the ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion.

4. Body composition: Considered as one of the components of fitness, composition refers to the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue, and organs) and fat mass. Actually, the optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness. Performing the right set of exercises can help people get rid off body fat and increase or maintain muscle mass.

Without doubt MMA fighters are some of the fittest athletes on the planet. As a fighter you need good performance for every physical quality: strength, speed, endurance, skills and flexibility.

If you are not well conditioned as a sport player or a single event athlete you may lose games, your opponents will score goals and points over you; if you are not fit and participate in MMA competition you will get your own dear ass kicked.

The single main goal of martial arts is to defeat a stronger opponent. If you can not achieve this, there is no point in training martial arts; just improve your strength and impose your will on your adversaries. If you are not fit enough the you may often fail to achieve this single most important goal of martial arts; you will get beaten by less skilled, but better conditioned opponents.

I have seen many athletes who overlook physical conditioning training, thinking that just skill is important. If you want to know the importance of physical prowess just think about women martial artists fighting men. It is extremely difficult for women athletes to triumph over men, mostly because of physical conditioning level.

What physical qualities do you need to improve as a MMA fighters and what drills you can use?

Strength

You need to consider more aspects of strength:

Maximal general strength

Maximal general strength is the basic for every other aspect of strength. To develop maximal strength train with heavy weights (1-5 RM 85 – 100% x 1 RM) and low repetitions (1 – 5 reps).

KB drills for maximal general strength:

- Standing KB press
- Windmill
- KB pistol squat
- Bent press
- Turkish get up (TGU)
- Gladiator row

Explosive strength

Power is king in every athletic discipline. The ability to apply maximal strength in shortest time possible makes the difference between great strikers and novices.

To develop power you need to practice explosive drills. You can train with very heavy weights and maximal acceleration for low reps (1-5 RM for 1-5 Reps).
You can also use lightest weights (30 – 70 % x 1 RM), and use maximal acceleration for 6 – 15 Reps. Stop the drill when you begin your explosiveness begins to drop.

KB explosive drills for power: (you can practice these drills using one or two KB)

- KB swing
- KB snatch
- KB clean
- KB jerk
- KB clean & jerk

KB throws outside on the sand or other soft terrain: two hands overhead behind, two hands forward, two hands up, one or two hands with torso twisting, etc.

Strength endurance

If MMA combat rounds would be just 30 seconds you wouldn’t need strength endurance, but with multiple rounds of 3 to 5 minutes you need.

For developing strength endurance use 60 – 70% x 1 RM loads for sets of 15 – 30 reps. You can tie different drill together for an extended circuit up to 3 – 5 minutes. Maintain a moderate tempo of execution.

KB drills for strength endurance:

- Turkish get up
- KB standing press
- KB bent press
- KB pistol squat
- Double KB squat
- Two hands anyhow
- Gladiator row
- Farmer’s walk

Explosive strength endurance

If you watch beginner amateurs fighting you will notice that punching turn into pushing by the end of the rounds. If you want to maintain your whip and snap until the end of the fight, you need specific training.

Use explosive drills performed for time 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes. Use the heaviest loads you can handle for the period of time and maintain a moderate pace.

KB drills for explosive strength endurance

- KB snatch ( aim for 100 snatches in 5 minutes; you can change hands as you wish)
- KB swing
- KB clean @ jerk
- Double KB jerk

MMA specific strength

Fighters need especially good strength for the core muscles, forearm muscles, hip muscles and shoulder joint muscles.

Core strength

The real power behind the punch comes from your big and strong hip and leg muscles. Lower body strength transmits to the fist through the core; that is one of the reasons you need good core strength.

Almost all kettlebell drills train the core. Some drills are especially good for core strength:

- TGU
- Windmill
- Bent press
- Double KB squat (with KB on rack position)
- Double KB standing press
- Gladiator row

Forearm strength

When you grab the opponent with a strong grip it is scary for him. Strong grip is especially important for wrestling and grappling.

Because the KB center of gravity is away from the handle when you grip the KB you need to use your forearm strength to maintain a good wrist alignment. When performing ballistic drills, because of the inertia, the stress upon you gripping muscles is very high, so all ballistic drills are great grip strength developers.

The most challenging KB drills for your grip are:

- Snatch
- TGU
- Clean
- Farmer’s walk
- Bottom up standing press and awkward grip press (with the body of the KB inside the wrist, left or write side)

Hip strength

Your most powerful muscles should be your hip muscles which stand behind your hip thrust.
When you learn to punch and kick using your hips, no matter your body size, you will be a threat for any opponent, even much bigger than you.

The best KB hip strength drills are:

- KB swing
- KB snatch
- KB pistol squat

Shoulder strength

In MMA the shoulder is one of the most vulnerable parts of your armor. If you get caught in a lock or if you fall on your hands, your shoulders might get hurt. Training with kettlebells, your shoulder muscles, tendons, ligaments and articular capsula will all get tougher.

KB drills work your shoulders in almost every possible angle and range of motion.

- TGU works your shoulders starting with the hand extended in front of your body when you lie down, finishing with the arm above your head in line with your body.
- Windmills train your shoulders on the side plane
- Shoulder press, floor press, gladiator row train your front, middle and rear of your shoulders

Cardiorespiratory endurance

If you got no “wind” by the end of the round you are in major danger. Great MMA fighters are able to keep the same pace from the beginning, until the end of the fight; the greatest fighters are even able to fight multiple contest during the same night.

Some athletes train with long runs for improving the cardiovascular ability; long runs do not make too much sense for fighters training program because they are aerobic and do not have enough intensity. The fighters energy during combat is assured mostly through anaerobic energy delivery pathways with often maximal bursts of effort.
If the athletes train long enough on long running, they might even hinder the peak power ability, because the body will adapt for long time, moderate intensity efforts; they might as well change to another discipline, maybe cross running.

The best and most specific way of training for cardiorespiratory endurance is prolonged power effort and circuit training.

KB training for cardio power

- KB swings ( start with rounds of 1 minute and build up to 5 minutes rounds; increase the kettlebell weight when you can easily complete 3 rounds of 5 minutes each)
- KB snatch – perform 100 reps within 5 minutes. If you can do it with a 20 kg KB you are good, with 24 kg you are very competitive, with 28 kg you are one of the best, with 32 kg you are world level. I have not heard of any heavier than this.
- KB clean & jerk – do them at a faster pace

Flexibility

Even if flexibility is not the main goal of KB training, because of some KB drill range of motion, your specific flexibility will improve.

KB drills which improve flexibility

- Windmill
- KB swing
- KB side press
- TGU

Example of weekly conditioning training cycle for MMA fighters:

First I write the sets number and after the reps number( ex 5 x 8 means 5 sets x 8 reps)

Training A

1. KB pistol squat 5 x 5 ( left and right leg)
2. KB shoulder press 5 x 5
3. KB heavy swing 5 x 8
4. TGU 4 x 3 ( each set is performed like this – one rep right hand, one rep left hand, one right, one left, one right, one left)
5. Snatch 5 min 100 reps

Training B

1. KB gladiator row 5 x 6 ( each hand 6, 12 reps in total per set)
2. KB floor press 5 x 5
3. KB windmill 5 x 5
4. Double KB jerk 100 reps (try to do these 100 reps using the least possible number of sets)
5. Swing 3 sets x 3,4,5 minutes each ( between 3,4,5 minutes choose the duration you can sustain)

Training C

1. Clean & jerk heavy 5 x 4
2. Bent press 5 x 5
3. Two hand anyhow 4 x 2
4. Passes between legs 3 x 2 min
5. Circuit: Swing 2 hands 15, Swing left hand 15, Swing right hand 15, Snatch left 15, Snatch right 15 2 sets x 3,4,5 minutes

Training D

1. Double KB squat (rack position) 5 x 6
2. Double KB Clean and press 5 x 5
3. Double KB one leg deadlift 5 x 5
4. KB snatch heavy 5 x 3
5. KB Swings 500 reps (perform them within the fastest time possible; you can rest briefly)

You can arrange these sessions as you like:
A, B, C, D, A
D, A, C,D, C
Etc

Train at least 2 times a week, with a better frequency of 3 – 6 times per week.
Every session should take less than 60 minutes.

Advance your MMA ranking by doing conditioning training with kettlebells.

Alex Moisescu

People in the present age have realized the importance of physical fitness and how to be physically fit. People have become aware of the fact that they have to take part in some kind of physical activity on a regular basis. Most of the people are now joining fitness classes and some of them are trying to get some kind of exercise equipments at their homes. This noteworthy concern in fitness bases from various research studies and their publications. The research proves the tremendous health benefits which can be got from a more eminent level of fitness. These studies have also established the danger of health troubles and death from diseases. As the fitness level of a person improves the risk of being attacked by heart disease, cancer, polygenic disorder, and apoplexy decreases.

There are four components of physical fitness. They are as follows:

o Muscle strength and survival

o Tractableness

o Physical composition and fat

o Cardiovascular survival

To achieve a good degree of fitness, your physical fitness acts should concentrate on each of the above mentioned areas. Each and every part of physical fitness is linked directly to the health and his/her ability to do the day’s actions without getting too exhausted.

Significance of fitness to ripening adults

The areas of fitness mentioned above are all crucial to a healthy lifestyle. If the body has to move as expeditiously as possible and prevent those enfeebling diseases you have to make sure that all four parts of fitness are worked out on a weekly basis.

Muscle intensity and survival is needed to discharge the day to day activities. Daily activities may include climbing stairs, carrying groceries or even lifting boxes etc., and doing all this depends on your muscle strength and endurance. Once you start aging, your physical strength decreases and doing your daily routine becomes difficult. Experts believe that muscle intensity and its survival is crucial to fitness for older adults. So in order to gain muscle strength aged people will also have to do some sort of physical exercise to keep them fit.

Exercising as a daily routine keeps your circulatory system that is the heart, blood vessels and lungs in a fit condition. Good cardiovascular survival also gives lots of energy so that you do not become tired while you carry out your house hold tasks.

Flexibility means the ability to be able to stretch the connective tissues in our body. The connective tissues are the muscles, tendons and ligaments. Aging leads to rigidity of the body due to lack of physical activity. Thus to a avoid this you have to adopt physical exercise as a regular part of your daily work.

Physical composition is the 4th part of fitness and it is the amount of fat that your body stores. Actually body fat is a dead weight and as it increases it takes most of your energy and you find it difficult to do your routine activities. So to reduce your body fat as you grow older you have to keep a track of your physical exercise.