MMA Conditioning Workout

Author: Derek Manuel

One of the most intense pieces of training equipment you can use in your mma workouts is the heavy sandbag. Just the other day I decided to defer from my regular leg training day and just do circuits with the heavy sandbag.



As I mentioned before, one of the greatest parts about mma workouts is that you can vary your training often enough to never get bored with your workouts - and there are all kinds of ways to train with the sandbag.



One of the best overall mma conditioning workouts you can do with the heavy sandbag is to perform circuits with it in the same amount of time as the rounds in a fight. Here is an example of 1 circuit in the mma workout I performed the other day. Take note that each circuit requires that you don't put the sandbag down the whole five minutes



MMA Workout w/ Heavy Sandbag Circuit (Round 1): 5 Minutes



1) Bear hug sandbag and walk for 1 minute



2) Shoulder sandbag and do 10 squats



3) Place sandbag across right shoulder and do 10 squats



4) Place sandbag across left shoulder and do 10 squats



5) Cradle sandbag in front of you and do 10 squats



6) Hold sandbag at arms length in front of you and walk for 30 seconds



7) Keeping same grip from previous exercise, do 20 stiff-legged deadlifts



8) Shoulder sandbag and walk for remainder of the time



Performing this circuit or one like it is a VERY good mma workout that carries over to the type of conditioning needed in a mixed martial arts fight, especially for grappling.



The reason being is that a heavy sandbag simulates an opponent because it is a heavy, awkward, unbalanced, and constantly shifting weight. Doing quick and explosive squats with the weight in different positions simulates the different positions and resistance when attempting to pick up your opponent and/or take him down.



By never putting the sandbag down, you train your stabilizer muscles as well as tax your isometric strength, strength endurance, and grip strength endurance (the fatigue you feel after a heavy sandbag workout is very similar to the fatigue you feel after an intense grappling match).



In terms of aerobic/anaerobic conditioning, heavy sandbag workouts can train both forms of endurance that transfers over very well to mma. If you wanted strictly an anaerobic workout, you can do interval training with the sandbags, such as quick sprints or as many squats as you can in a 30 second period followed by short rests periods. By doing circuits like the example I gave above - doing several circuits in 5 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest in-between them - your aerobic conditioning will come into play as you get into the fourth, fifth, and later circuits.



So if you want to change up your mma workout routine and get an intense full body strength and conditioning workout, incorporate some heavy sandbag training in your mma workouts.

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An MMA routine should develop movements, not muscle groups

Every workout routine from a standard gym trainer is always the same. Their routines are always about building your chest, shoulders, legs and arms all separately. But a good MMA routine develops muscles groups based on the movements that you use to strike, sweep and take down your opponents.

Every gym trainer always looks at the bench press as the holy grail of building and defining muscle and strength. Guys in the locker room always talk about how much they can bench, or how many reps they got in. But, when it comes to fighting, the bench press offers little in the way of really knowing how to deliver a punch. This is because the bench press has you laying down and only using the chest and shoulders in a up/down motion.

When you workout with a good MMA routine, you would be thinking more about the movements that you would need to throw that punch. That would not only include the chest and the shoulder muscles, but also the obliques and back muscles that torque your body for its full potential. When you are throwing a punch, you aren't standing in a completely straight up position (like the bench you would be laying on).

Now, to be sure, I am not discounting the bench press in any way. It is a great exercise for building strength and isolating your chest and shoulders for bodybuilding. But in an MMA routine, it would not be the best way to really develop the muscles used.

A different, better exercise would be to throw a heavy medicine ball or even a heavy bag to a partner. When you begin your movement of throwing the medicine ball, start the ball at your hip or on your side. This better reflects the torquing that your body does when you are delivering a hard punch. Raise the ball towards your chest and press it to your partner. In doing so, you are developing your chest and shoulders as the bench press, but it is in a more free flowing motion. You also should be standing, which develops your balance making you a more formidable fighter.

This is just an example of the unorthodox methods of developing muscles for movement, and not just to build. MMA routines are created around the thought of what movements should be isolated for each different strike that is done. That way, you compound the development to deliver the most powerful blow possible.

For more MMA routine information click here!

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - An MMA routine should develop movements, not muscle groups