Fitness: How to train for a MMA body

Mixed Martial Arts is probably one of the most physically demanding sports and requires incredible overall fitness. Mixed martial arts fighters, or mma fighters, usually have a very ideal body shape. They are often well balanced, functionally strong, and aesthetically pleasing. They are not excessively bulky and impractical but are rather lean and athletic. A person striving for any level of fitness would not do wrong to attempt to achieve the body, inwardly and outwardly, of an mma fighter. Or course, the simplest way to do this is to adopt many of the same training principles that mma fighters employ. As we will see mma fighters usually have a very well rounded fitness plan that will be covered in this blog over a series of posts. Here is a general outline:

• Weight Training: For strength and muscle gain
• Cardiovascular Training: For endurance, speed, and fat loss.
• Circuit Training: For a combination of endurance and strength gains as well as speed gains and fat loss. Can be done with body weight.
• MMA specific Training: For fitness specific to fighting
• Nutrition routine: For overall health and recovery

Fitness: Circuit Training (Body Weight) for MMA

Circuit Training is a specific type of workout designed to promote fat loss and muscle endurance as well as overall fitness. The exercises are done in succession(with as little rest time as possible) in order to keep the heart rate high and create a cardiovascular workout that is very effective at burning fat, and at activating the muscles. Any one training in MMA can attest to the effectiveness of circuit training. It is perfect because it is a workout that emulates a type of workout similar to fighting. The following workout is a basic circuit workout, consisting entirely of body weight exercises, designed mostly for beginners. The exercises are as follows:

1. Jumping Jacks- the elementary school favorite, everyone knows this one. good for warming up and keeping the heart rate high. 20 repetitions.
   
2. Push ups- make sure to keep hands at chest level and to touch chest to the ground. activates the pushing muscles(chest and triceps.) 20 repetitions.
   
3. Sit ups- touch your head to your knees, and use a slow controlled movement. activates the abdominal muscles. 20 repetitions.
   
4. Squats- keep your back straight and your hands out in front of you. your legs should be at about shoulder width. squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. works the legs. 20 repetitions.
   
5. Pull ups-The only piece of equipment I recommend is a pull up bar.(can be found for fairly cheap at many stores, like walmart or cvs.) pull until your chin is above the bar. activates the pulling muscles(back and biceps). 5 repetitions.
6. Burpies- Start standing, squat down and place your hands on the floor. Kick your legs out straight behind you, and then bring your legs back to your hands. Next, explode off the floor, straightening up at the waist and jumping as high as you can. Land and bring your hands to the floor. this is one rep. 10 repetitions.

The idea is to do all 6 exercises for the listed repetitions with the minimal amount of rest between them. You do the entire workout four times so you will do each exercise for four sets. (You can add and subtract sets depending on your fitness level.) I recommend you do this workout three to four times a week or use it to supplement other types of training. A consistent routine, along with a good diet with clean foods, will help you build lean muscle mass and increase your overall fitness as well as shed fat.

Deren

Miscallaneous: Funny MMA Video

I found this MMA clip on youtube and thought it was good lighthearted fun. Silly fighters.


Deren

Fitness: Nutrition (Clean Foods) for MMA

First I'd like to begin by saying that proper nutrition is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of any workout routine whether you're trying to add mass, cut fat or make strength gains, and is something every MMA practitioner, or athlete should practice. Not to mention good nutrition is also important for your overall health. So do not skip this post if you're planning to train. (I'm not saying you can't see results eating crappy while working hard, because nothing substitutes hard work. You will see much better results if you're eating right however.)
With that said in this post i will list foods that fitness buffs consider "clean" foods in which are very healthy and perfect for any type of workout routine.
Protein: Needed for muscle repair and growth (Recommended 1g-1.5g of protein for each pound of body weight.) Good Example Foods:

1. chicken
2. turkey
3. red meat
4. tuna
5. peanut butter
6. cottage cheese
   
7. milk
8. nuts
9. egg whites
   

Whole Grains: High source of fiber, complex carbohydrates, and some protein. Important for digestion, and muscle repair and growth. Good Example Foods:

1. brown rice
2. oatmeal
3. whole wheat bread
4. whole wheat pasta

These two food groups are the foundation for any workout routine whether your trying to build lean mass or just gain mass in general(Which will be discussed in a later post as well as all thing about cutting and gaining weight.) However it is still very important to get in all of your fruits and vegetables, as they contain essential vitamins and nutrients. I also recommend supplementing your diet with a multivitamin and an omega 3 fatty acid pill, such as fish oil, as well as using a protein supplement, such as whey protein.( Supplements will also be discussed in more depth in a later post.) So go ahead and build your meal plan with these "clean" foods and reap the benefits.

Deren

Fitness: Strength Training

Lets face it a large part of Mixed Martial Arts is fitness. Guys like George St Pierre will always have an advantage over other fighters with less conditioning. Watch some of his fights the guy never gets gassed. With that I just wanted to post a routine(Weight Training) as the first part of my fitness installment that I have done myself and has been proven very effective by athletes and bodybuilders alike. I personally think it applies very well to MMA because it builds an incredibly strong base and is an effective way to pack on muscle mass. So without further a due:

• This workout is designed mostly for beginners and people returning to weight training but is still a very good workout for people more experienced. I got this workout mainly from Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strength which I highly recommend.
• It is recommended that you do not supplement this workout with other strength exercises until you are more experienced as to not create muscular imbalances. The workout contains all free weight, compound movements that are very good for building overall strength and muscle for your entire body.
• The workouts are each done for 3 sets of 5 repetitions at a weight that is difficult to do, but not impossible, for 5 reps. After a week 5 pounds of weight should be added to each exercise in order to keep the resistance difficult and to induce hypertrophy of the muscle(make the muscle increase in size.) They are as follows:

1. Squat
2. Bench Press
3. Deadlift
4. Standing Shoulder Press
5. Power Cleans or Pendlay Rows

• The workout should be done everyother day for 3 days out of the week and the excersices should be alternated to where 3 exercises are done a day.(2 and 4 can be substituted and 3 and 5 can be substituted.) So a sample schedule could look like this:

Day 1(Monday)
Exercises 1, 2 and 3
Day 2(Wednesday)
Exercises 1, 4 and 5
Day 3(Friday)
Exercises 1, 2, and 3
And then continue to alternate in the same fashion starting with the 2nd workout the next Monday.

For a more detailed explanation of the workout and exercises go here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

If done correctly this workout should produce fast muscle and strength gains and create explosive power perfect for MMA. However it must also be supplemented with the right nutrition to produce good results. I will get to the nutrition in a later post but for now happy strength training.
Deren

Fitness: MMA Fitness

Mixed Martial Arts is probably one of the most physically demanding sports and requires incredible overall fitness. Because of this it is hard to find a routine that covers all the angles and makes a fighter strong, fast and have never ending stamina. I have generally found that most fighters follow a similar general routine of workouts in order to get in MMA shape that consist of the following:

• Weight Training: For strength and muscle gain
• Cardiovascular Training: For endurance, speed, and fat loss.
• Circuit Training: For a combination of endurance and strength gains as well as speed gains and fat loss
• MMA specific Training: For fitness specific to fighting
  

This is a very basic outline and is probably not inclusive to all workouts that fighters do but each of these types of workouts are very effective and are generally seen throughout most fighters routines. In later posts i will go over each in detail and also cover nutrition needed to supplement the workouts so stay tuned to the fitness section.

Deren

MMA News: UFC 97 Predictions

UFC 97: Redemption is airing on April 18th and is a huge event for MMA. Its got some big fights that are sure to be exciting so go to your local sports bar and cheer on my big picks:

• Anderson Silva vs Thales Lietes: I like Thales and he's great on the ground but I don't think he has an advantage and i doubt he'll be able to deal with Anderson's striking. So I'll gladly go with Silva continuing his reign as champ. MY PICK: SILVA
• Chuck Liddel vs Mauricio Rua: Chuck Liddel has been on quite a slump and I haven't seen him look too confident lately, so I don't have much faith in him. Not to mention his oppenent Rua is one bad dude and more well rounded. Still I think Liddel might win in a slugfest and maybe has one more run left in him. So Liddel better bring his A game and if he wants to start that comeback I've been waiting for. MY PICK: RUA