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Circuit Training For MMA Conditioning

April 22, 2011 at 8:46 am
filed under Strength & Conditioning
Tagged circuit training, conditioning, Conditioning Workouts, strength

When you think about individual sets of resistance based exercises, you don’t normally envision throwing up into a bucket, exhausted, worked to the max. A lot of guys I train find it surprising how tough just 3 sets worked back to back can be. Something as simple as bench press, followed by pull ups and then split squats, can have you gasping for air in less than a minute.

The idea with MMA circuit training is to progress from that whacked out state to a level of conditioning where you can train all out strength movements for up to 5 minutes non-stop, take a minutes breather, and then go at it again for another 3 to five circuits.

 

How To Set Up An MMA Conditioning Circuit

A standard MMA based circuit ought to entail a range of energetic drills aiming to train different muscle groups in a set arrangement. A workout traditionally includes the initial series of warm up drills to get the pulse raised, followed by completing as many reps as is possible in a certain period of time (or possibly a specified number of reps) at each individual station, along with a rest of 15-30 seconds in between each station, until finally an individual circuit is accomplished.

You can increase the conditioning potential of these workout sessions in various ways, including, reducing the time taken to finish each lap and also by increasing the amount of laps.

• Except in cases where you are doing a circuits program at a fitness center (i.e. in a group setting), there aren’t any set rules concerning how fast you should exercise. I recommend a 60:40 work to rest ratio for newbies, progressing to 80:20 for the more conditioned person.
• Spread out the leg exercises. It may be a problem to perform leg exercises one after the other, unless a weight-bearing exercise such as the Barbell Hack Squat is followed by a cardiovascular exercise such as skipping, as that will serve as active rest.
• To get the maximum benefit from circuit training, pick out exercises that echo the planes of motion of the sporting activity being trained for. An athlete training for the 110 metres hurdles, might for instance, complete a circuit to improve lower body strength and body fat levels. The MMA fighter needs to think about the way he moves, strikes, kicks and grapples.

For best results when training circuits, compound movements (like the dumbbell squat, clean and jerk etc.) ought to form the base of any type of productive weight training movement program because they will enable you to:

• build up your overall genetic potential for combat
• train in a way that stimulates a potent muscle building hormonal reaction
• simulate what actually occurs in competition. For example and zercher squat is much more like a pick up and throw down than a seated concentration curl. A one arm dumbbell press is much more like a punch than a triceps extension

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