Ask any bar-room expert which sport produces the fittest athletes and you’ll likely get a great many perfectly valid answers: Decathletes are great all-rounders, triathletes have amazing cardiovascular fitness, weightlifters are the strongest…it’s a hard question to answer.
I am going to throw my hat into the ring and say that I believe that mixed martial artists are the greatest fitness all-rounders in sports.
The sport of MMA is relatively new and has seen some interesting changes recently. Not so many years ago, MMA was more about seeing which fighting style was best and boxers fought judo players, karate experts fought kung fu experts and sumo wrestlers fought Thai boxers.
Current MMA fighters often come from one specific martial art but now train in multiple arts so that they possess the best fighting techniques available. The same is true of their fitness training. MMA requires a high level of all the components that make up physical fitness.
Aerobic fitness
Not just the reserve of runners and cyclists, fighters need good lung and heart conditioning too. Bouts may often be over in just a few seconds but, if an early knockout does not happen, a fight may last 10 minutes or more. This sustained effort requires a high level of aerobic fitness.
Anaerobic fitness
MMA bouts are fast and furious. Periods of aggressive attack are often balanced by periods of recovery. This is especially true for bouts fought in rounds. Anaerobic fitness describes your ability to work at a high level of intensity while managing the burning fatigue that builds up in your muscles during hard efforts.
Being aerobically fit means that you will move into anaerobic energy production later than someone who is less fit. Anaerobic fitness encompasses local muscular endurance.
Strength and power
Punching, kicking, blocking and throwing an opponent requires strength and power. Strength is your ability to generate large amounts of force while power is your ability to generate that force quickly. Overcoming the mass of your opponent, especially if he outweighs you, requires optimal development of all your major muscles.
Flexibility and mobility
Flexibility is the range of movement of your muscles while mobility is the range of movement of your joints. Both are inter-connected and essential in MMA.
High kicks, keeping a low center of gravity, and being flexible enough to make joint locks less effective all require a good level of flexibility and mobility. And, as we all know, flexible muscles and mobile joints are less prone to injury.
Coordination, balance and proprioception
Having a strong, fit body is one thing but you need to be able to move well and respond to the actions of your opponent if you want to be successful – both in MMA and in life. Robotic, stiff movements are easy to read, anticipate and counter. MMA fighters know how to use their body as a synergistic unit and not as a bunch of individual body parts that fail to work harmoniously.
As there are many MMA fitness components, there are also many MMA training methods. An MMA fighter’s workout schedule will encompass a huge number of training styles with no single method more prevalent than another. For many, this means two or more training sessions per day.
For us mere mortals, it is possible to adopt some of the methods used by MMA fighters to achieve a similarly broad level of fitness, minus the danger of getting punched and kicked! (If you’re more interested in the look, here’s how to build a fighter physique.)
The MMA 3 Minute Round Workout
This workout is a circuit that lasts three minutes – just like a boxing round. The idea is to spread the exercise stress around your body over that period so that you can maintain a high work rate and avoid any local muscular fatigue that would otherwise cause you to slow down or stop.
As each round is three minutes long, you will be working your high-end aerobic system as well as your anaerobic system while developing muscular endurance. All in all, it’s an effective and time-efficient way to train.
Perform each of the following exercises for 30 seconds. Work as hard and as fast as you can but never at the expense of good technique. Do not rest between exercises but take a 60 second break on completion of the final station.
Feel free to change the exercises to suit your current fitness level or make adaptations to the exercises so that you can perform them safely and with good form. Perform three to six laps of the circuit according to your fitness level and always warm up before and cool down after.
| Exercise | |
| Burpees | |
| Skipping rope | |
| Kettlebell swings | |
| Push-ups | |
| Half V sits | |
| Medicine ball slams |
Exercise Descriptions
Burpees
One of the best whole body conditioning exercises around, burpees will quickly elevate your heart rate while working your arms, legs and core.
- Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides
- Squat down and place your hands in front of your feet
- Jump your feet back into the push-up position
- Perform one push-up
- Jump your feet back in and under your body
- Leap up into the air
- Land on slightly bent knees and repeat
- For an easier version, leave out the push-up and/or the jump
Skipping rope
Skipping rope improves foot work, eye/hand/foot coordination and also improves aerobic and anaerobic fitness. If you can’t skip, perform jumping jacks instead.
- Skip as fast as possible using a “running on the spot with high knees” style if possible
- Make sure your rope is the right length to make skipping as easy as possible. Stand at the middle of your rope. The handles should reach your armpits. If the rope is too long, tie a couple of knots in it. If it is too short, discard it and get another
Kettlebell swings
Hip and lower back power is essential in MMA for throws, kicks and punches. Kettlebell swings will improve the power of your hips and also elevate your heart rate. If you don’t have a kettlebell, use a single dumbbell instead.
- Grasp a kettlebell with both hands
- Bend your knees slightly, lift your chest and keep your lower back flat
- Hinge forwards from your hips and lower the kettlebell between your knees
- Drive your hips forward and use this momentum to swing the kettlebell up to just above shoulder-height
- Let the kettlebell swing back down as you simultaneously return to your starting position
- Try to establish a powerful rhythm and stick to it for the duration of your set
Push ups
This classic exercise targets your chest, shoulders, triceps and core. If you need an easier option, bend your legs and place your knees on the floor. Fitness studs should elevate their feet or perform clapping push-ups instead.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor with your fingers pointing forwards and around shoulder-width apart
- Walk your feet back until your shoulders, hips and heels form a straight line
- Lift your chest, tense your core and bend your arms. Lower your chest to the floor
- Drive your body back up to full arm extension
- Do not allow your lower back to sag during this exercise!
Half V sits
Ab conditioning is a big part of any MMA fighter’s exercise routine. This exercise involves all aspects of the abs as well as being a complex exercise which will keep your heart rate elevated.
- Lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms extended at shoulder level. Your body should resemble a T shape when viewed from above
- Sit up and simultaneously lift one leg up toward the ceiling. Reach up and across and touch your foot with your opposite hand
- Return to the starting position and then perform another rep to the opposite side
- Continue alternating sides rep by rep
Medicine ball slams
Your final exercise will make you dig deep and unleash your inner MMA fighter! Medicine ball slams work your entire body in a very explosive fashion. For best results, use a minimal bounce medicine ball and not a gel-filled ball as these are prone to splitting.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding a medicine ball in your hands
- Raise the ball above your head, stretching up onto your toes
- Slam the ball into the floor in front of you as hard as you can, bending your knees and hips as you throw
- Catch the ball as it bounces up (or pick it up), and repeat
Push yourself on every round, rest, and go again. Do this workout 2-3 times a week alongside your regular training, and you’ll be in fighting shape in no time – without anyone having to punch you in the face!
