Issue 065
August 2010
Paul McVeigh is a sports scientist and professional fighter, and is ranked the number one bantamweight fighter in Europe. He trains fighters out of The Griphouse gym in Glasgow, Scotland.
I’ve been pretty open about my beef with the conditioning culture within the MMA community. A year-long experiment on myself and several other fighters has reinforced my belief that you really do not need as much conditioning work as you think you do, provided that skill training is done at an appropriate level. I then mentioned a few scenarios in which supplementary conditioning work may be appropriate and mentioned my two favorite protocols – let’s look at them in more detail.
The Tabata Protocol
Do something hard for 20 seconds, and rest for ten seconds. Repeat seven more times and that is it! The modality you use is up to you – I have an affinity for incline treadmills, Aerodynes and kettlebell swings. You may prefer rowing machines, burpees or barbell complexes; whatever modality you use, ensure you are familiar with it before playing with the Tabata protocol. If you have never been on a treadmill, now is probably not the time to crank up the incline and speed (unless you enjoy nipple surfing).
The key to the effectiveness of the Tabata protocol is in the maximal effort. It is common to hear people talk on Internet forums about having done four or five Tabatas after a workout. What these guys are doing is using a 20:10 work to rest ratio with sub-maximal intensity – doing one Tabata with 100% effort is all you will need (or want) to do.
As with all things strength and conditioning, progression is key. Below is a six-week program building up to Tabata awesomeness. Using sets of short duration helps you determine what 100% intensity feels like – there should be no pacing in this workout.
Week 1 Work 10 seconds / Rest 20 seconds 6 Sets
Week 2 Work 10 seconds / Rest 20 seconds 8 Sets
Week 3 Work 15 seconds / Rest 15 seconds 6 Sets
Week 4 Work 15 seconds / Rest 15 seconds 8 Sets
Week 5 Work 20 seconds / Rest 10 seconds 6 Sets
Week 6 Work 20 seconds / Rest 10 seconds 8 Sets
The Fight Circuit
To me the fight circuit blurs the lines between sparring and supplementary conditioning. You are getting fight-specific conditioning without the heightened risk of injury associated with hard sparring. The fight circuit also allows you to prioritize the weak areas a fighter can work around when sparring, e.g. a fighter’s takedown defense is so good that his training partners cannot exploit his vulnerabilities on the ground. If a coach spots a weakness, the chances are it is going to be a part of the fight circuit.
The first stage in developing the circuit is to analyze the fighter’s strengths and vulnerabilities. Next we look at the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Doing this gives us an idea of how the bout may go and what sort of skills will need to be sharpened to increase the chance of victory.
Here is an example for a striker vs a grappler:
Striker
Strengths
Boxing – particularly jab, left hook and footwork
Good Thai clinch and upper body wrestling
Great at returning to the feet from half guard and turtle
Sweeps from half guard
Taller than opponent – superior reach.
Weaknesses
Vulnerable to shots set up with strikes
Closed guard is not effective
Needs work on back escapes.
Grappler
Strengths
Heavy hitter – not a technical striker but dangerous and uses it well to set up takedowns
Great single leg takedown
Awesome takedown defense
Solid ground ‘n pound from all top positions
Takes the back and finishes with a choke in most fights.
Weaknesses
No lateral movement – comes forward the entire fight
Wild striking – is vulnerable to counters
Pretty lost in bottom positions – vulnerable to ground ‘n pound.
In our theoretical matchup our striker will look to use his jab and counter left hook to hurt his opponent, and use his footwork to stay away from the bombs and the single-leg. If he is taken down we will be looking for him to get half guard and work sweeps or the stand up. If his back is taken, he will try to escape to top position and finish his opponent with ground ‘n pound from the top.
So with all this in mind our fight circuit might include some of the elements below:
Focus pads concentrating on jabbing off the back foot and stepping off on the hook
Single-leg defense drill – alternate between standing and on the mat
Transition from guard to half guard and sweep or stand up while partner strikes
Back defense drill – look to end up on top position or in half guard
Ground ‘n pound on a bag
Partner simulates opponent’s striking – look to counter and move
Mount defense drill
Sprawl defense
Power combinations on bag.
All of these elements can be incorporated into a conditioning workout that makes strategic sense. Build up to doing four six-minute rounds – I like changing up the activities every 30–45 seconds so you’re constantly breaking the rhythm. This physically grueling form of conditioning is second only to sparring when it comes to getting fit to fight.
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