Awesome Pre-Fight Training Routine For MMA Fighters Called "The Machine"

We are witnessing firsthand the evolution of sport. In times passed, elite athletes strived to reach goals of Olympic glory or professional status. Today, the most recent phenomenon in sport is mixed martial arts. MMA continues to grow in talent and popularity. The stars formed from it are the new super athletes. With the demand continuing to increase, the fighter must be a fine tuned machine to keep up.

Of course, this starts in the

gym. Skill and strategy are important but they can't replace conditioning. When skill fails and courage fades the body must still be able to perform like a machine. For the human body to allow this, one must follow a good training program. 　The following is a general outline of such a program. I call it the machine workout. To obtain maximum efficiency and control over the human body, the fighter must understand how the body responds to change. A great athlete needs strength, speed, agility, flexibility, and endurance to perform to the peak of their potential. Furthermore, an even balance of all of these attributes is required for efficiency in any situation. Any imbalance or weakness in any of these areas results in a weakness in the game of the athlete. To an MMA fighter, if there is a weakness, it will be exploited. Too much power training and you slow down. Too much speed training and you start to lose power. Even too much stretching can result in loss of explosiveness. So, while training for fights, the fighters and coaches should carefully monitor how much work is done in each area to keep the body from literally fighting itself. The best way to do this is Periodization or, separating the parts of the training goal into set amounts of time. These time periods can be a few days to several months depending on individual goals. This machine workout program, as I have nicknamed it, is specially formatted for MMA fighters. This is a general overview of the pieces and not descriptions of exercises for a workout. Before beginning the program, all the exercises that will be used for each period should be written down. An alternative to writing out the exercises is simply to work with a coach who can guide the fighter through each workout at a steady pace.

I have broken the mentioned physical attributes into four workout periods. A block for flexibility training is left out because it should be included in every period to maintain full range of motion through the growing process. Endurance training is the first step to becoming a great athlete and a great fighter. Ideally it should be done for about 6 weeks followed by a rest period of at least 3 days. Isolating this type of training is helpful for many reasons. The world of competitive fighting is a crazy and unpredictable place. Fighters often take fights on extremely short notice. At the amateur level, some even agree to a match the day of the event. Dedicating a training period solely to endurance, when there are no upcoming fights, allows the fighter to already be in shape and compete on short notice. The key to endurance training is variety. In my own experience, adding swimming to my workout rapidly improved my stamina. There are so many demanding activities, so choosing many different types should be easy. Important things to ensure are that the risk of injury is low and that it is fun for the athlete. This allows for less mental stress and the ability to not focus on fighting. Rather to take a break from it and come back refocused.

Power training is next and should be done only after fully recovering from the endurance phase. About 4-6 weeks should be dedicated to gaining strength, size and explosiveness. This period consists of heavy weight lifting as well as plyometric and isometric exercises. Assuming the athlete does not have to lose weight this is when any size gains should be made. These exercises should be done with close to maximum effort for 3 sets of 4 to 6 repetitions. Following changes in muscles size and ability, a period of stabilization training allows the body to adjust to the changes and increase total control. This period consists of any exercise done in an unstable environment and should be done for about 2 weeks. Balance balls, foam rolls, and balance boards are just some examples of equipment that can be used. Other techniques are, exercises done on one leg or one arm, or training in sand where there is a give in the training surface.

Once a powerful and stable body is achieved, it is time to make it move fast with speed and agility training combined. This period should last 3 weeks and consists of running and light plyometrics. However, all moves that will be done in the fight should also be drilled at 100 percent speed while maintaining a relaxed feeling. Relaxing allows for more speed by keeping antagonist muscles from tensing up. Precision is also a major factor in this period and is the final adjustment before the fight. The whole program, excluding the separate endurance phase, lasts 12 weeks. However, six weeks is a fairly common time allowed for fight preparation. If six weeks is all the time you have, adjust the power phase to 3 weeks, 1 week for stability and 2 weeks for speed, and shorten rest periods. After completing all of these periods with proper flexibility training and sufficient rest, you should feel like a machine. The goal is not to make it to the bell, but to perform to the greatest of your potential, at every second.

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