Issue 135
December 2015
Elite strength and conditioning coach Jake Bonacci has the workout to build your power without burning you out during training camp
Training to unleash destructive knockout power ironically involves a very delicate balance of intense physical training and technical work. A fighter has to make sure they don’t push their body past its limits in the weights room because if they’re burnt out, their striking and grappling sessions are going to suffer. But if the balance is right, they’ll enhance their MMA abilities with explosive results.
Just ask Jake Bonacci, a top MMA strength and conditioning coach based at the Jaco Training Center in Boca Raton, Florida, who has helped to hone the destructive forces that drive the hands and feet of some of the sport’s biggest hitters, including Anthony Johnson and Vitor Belfort.
He’s shared one of his workouts that helps to prime their bodies, but leaves them with enough in the tank for their daily technical sessions that constantly progress their concussive combat skills.
“This workout is designed to focus on pulling exercises with the lower body and pushing with the upper body,” Bonacci explains. “It’s a full-body workout that I would typically use when a fighter is in camp.
“This style of programming allows the athlete to get quality work in, but not tear down one individual muscle group, which is counterproductive for when they step on the mat for their MMA training. When the fighter is in camp, it’s important for the trainer to administer the proper intensity and volume to avoid overtraining.”
THE WARM-UP
When you’re doing any kind of S&C session, it’s always important to prepare your muscles for the workout. Stretching, jogging and using a foam roller will help to get you ready.
SUPER SETS
Do a set of one exercise directly after the other, without taking a rest. It’s all about intensity!
Barbell hang clean
4 sets of 5 reps
Hold the bar with a shoulder-width, overhand grip at arm’s length. Keep your back straight and inclined slightly forward. Aggressively extend through your hips, knees and ankles, and shrug your shoulders at the same time.
Once you’re at full extension, flex your elbows up and out, then pull yourself down and rotate your elbows so they’re under the bar and catch it in the front squat position. Keeping your elbows up, drive through your heels to stand.
3 SUPER SETS
Barbell floor press
8 reps
Set a weighted barbell on some risers. Lie underneath the bar and grab it so your arms are perpendicular to the floor. Press it up, away from your body, then slowly back to your chest.
Medicine ball throw
5 reps
Stand holding a medicine ball facing a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Rotate your torso away from the wall then back to release the ball. Pivot with your feet as you do this exercise.
3 SUPER SETS
Kettlebell drop lunge
5 reps each leg
Use a goblet hold to carry a kettlebell in front of your chest. Step forward with one foot and bend your knee to 90 degrees while stretching your other leg out behind you.
Single-leg lateral hop
5 reps
Line up five cones and stand on one leg with your knee slightly bent. Hop between the spaces from one end to the other, then hop back to the start on your other leg.
3 SUPER SETS
One-arm dumbbell row
8 reps each arm
Kneel on a flat bench, bend forward from the waist so your body is parallel to the floor. Use one hand for balance and grab a dumbbell with your opposite hand. Pull it towards the side of your chest, then lower it back down.
Single-leg ball slam
5 reps each leg
Grab a medicine ball and stand on one leg. Raise the ball above your head and lift your free leg up towards your stomach. In one movement, kick your leg back and slam the ball to the ground at the same time.
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