Issue 076
June 2011
Train hard fight easy mentality only works when the program around you is quality along with quantity
Paul McVeigh
Sports scientist and pro fighter
Paul McVeigh is a sports scientist and professional fighter ranked as the No. 1 bantamweight in Europe
Things are looking up in the world of strength training within MMA. With guys like Jon Chaimberg and Ollie Richardson leading the way, more and more fighters are beginning to focus on becoming monster strong and powerful. Every few months another fighter is giving credit to his new strength coach for a revitalized performance. Unfortunately the world of MMA conditioning is not undergoing a similar renaissance.
Throwing science to one side, fighters appear to be looking for the hardest, most brutal conditioning regime they can find. The thinking appears to be, if I do something harder than you I will have a mental and physical edge come fight time. ‘You run up a mountain eh? Well I run up that same mountain wearing a gas mask being chased by angry spider monkeys while on fire! I am so gonna kick your ass.’
It’s not just fighters, there seems to be a blatant masochistic streak that runs through MMA fans and combat sports enthusiasts. If you can crush them in a workout they will love you forever – even if it does nothing to improve performance.
The Problem
My issue with these sorts of programs is that they are not a productive use of time and energy. Doing this stuff will get you fitter in a general way but if it’s replacing sparring you still leave the possibility open for gassing out. The law of specificity needs to be respected. Want to get in shape for tennis? Then you should probably play a lot of tennis. And the same idea holds true with regards to MMA. There is no single conditioning tool or protocol that is better than doing sparring rounds with high-level guys who want to see you throw-up.
There are tons of ways to spend your day training MMA: you could spar wrestling, Muay Thai, boxing or jiu-jitsu; you could hit pads; smash up a bag or do some positional drilling. All of these are hard on your energy reserve and condition in an effective way. Do you really have the time or energy to do the circuit of puke. If you do then you probably haven’t been sparring at the correct intensity. For MMA conditioning, sparring is king.
The Problem Solver: Dinky Ninjitsu Conditioning
Our approach to conditioning is pretty simple. It goes like this:
MON - General sparring
WED - Pressure rounds
FRI - Team sparring
General sparring involves straight rounds of MMA sparring with different partners. In week one we start off with two rounds at a solid pace versus partners who can replicate the style of your opponent. As the weeks progress the number of total rounds increases and the rest periods gradually shorten. For title fights this can be as much as eight five-minute rounds with 30-second rest periods. These rounds tend to be at fight pace and the athlete can use his footwork to stay out of trouble.
Pressure rounds are a nightmare. This form of conditioning happens at a pace that is higher than that of the fight. Elements of the gameplan are broken down into timed portions to make up a five-minute circuit that contains nothing but drills common to the sport of MMA.
Round 1
Focus pad power combinations
Double-leg along cage
Stand up along cage
Kick shield: Jab/left hook to Low kick
Escape Mount
Finish single-leg
Ground ‘n’ pound bag
Clinch against cage look for strikes
Bang through four to seven of these bad boys with a bunch of mean-spirited, technically gifted training partners and you have conditioning, technical development and a gameplan run through at a pace only the most insane fight will ever replicate.
The team sparring sessions at our gym have achieved almost mythical status. This is another conditioning tool that can be categorized as being above fight pace. In this protocol we place one plucky fighter into our lovely 18-foot cage. This compact version of most cages ensures a lot of clinching and engagement. There is no space to work a lot of footwork so the fighter is urged to push the pace at all times. The small cage forces the fighter to get used to wall work and getting back up after a takedown – two elements that are notorious for fatiguing normally well-conditioned fighters.
Oh, and to make matters worse, we’ll switch up the partners every two and a half minutes. If you do five rounds, you have just competed against ten fresh partners. Nothing gives you confidence like this: knowing that it takes a veritable army of guys to put a dent in your conditioning. Come fight time you cannot help
but think, ‘Sweet, just one guy and a big cage to play with.’
This is the foundation of our conditioning program; our other sessions, while still physically demanding, tend to be more technical in nature and designed to reinforce the gameplan.
It’s important to add that the conditioning effect of this program is largely dependent upon the quality of your training partners. If you can school all of your training partners and do not get a conditioning effect from your sparring, additional conditioning work may be required. In the long run a change of gym may be in order. If you are not getting pushed then you are simply not developing.
