The intense physical demands of Mixed Martial Arts fighting has led to a variety of different strength and conditioning routines.  This article is not going to compare and contrast different routines in order to determine which is “the best.”  Rather it will focus on what are some of the most popular programs and some of the different philosophies behind them.

Probably the most common conditioning routines are what I call the “home made” routines.  Most amateur fighters, without proper guidance, have concocted a unique combination of routines from the internet, movies, and their friends.  This is the type of routine I see a lot of college students come in with at my Baltimore Mixed Martial Arts gym.This guy might run 5 miles once a week and also follow a bodybuilding weightlifting routine.  Another guy might only use body-weight exercises, doing 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats every morning and every night. 

Another popular fitness form is Crossfit.  Crossfit focuses on generalized fitness and generally has shorter, higher-intensity workouts than what most people are used to.  There is a lot of variability in their workouts – everything from rowing 10k to maximum weight squats.Their belief is that a truly "fit" athlete should be ready for a wide variety of physical tasks, whether the tasks are marathons or bench-pressing.  This style of conditioning has exploded in popularity in recent years and can be found in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts schools across the United States.

The other form of conditioning is very sports-specific.  Much like the NFL coaches work on making their players better football players (and all other sports be damned), some MMA coaches use routines that make their players better MMA fighters.This type of conditioning routine is intended to produce an athlete that is optimized for 3 5-minute rounds or 5 5-minute rounds, whatever the event requires.  These types of workouts will often mix isometric exercises with explosive ones to imitate the grappling and striking demands of UFC-style fighting.

It will be interesting to see where the MMA industry heads in the future.  Will it head towards more of a sports-specific routine like most professional sports?  Or are the demands of Mixed Martial Arts so variable that no routine can accurately mimic it?  Until then, MMA fighters should experiment with different workout regimens and find one that they can maintain and that produces good results.

Adam Delbrugge

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