Issue 062
May 2010
Throwing a punch, grappling, trading knee strikes and shooting for takedowns all have one thing in common: Their effectiveness can be improved by increasing your power.
Technique is the most important factor, but power is an area that is often neglected and can have a huge influence on a fighter’s success. When talking about power, many people will confuse it with strength. Strength is the ability to generate force – stronger people can generate more force. While strength is an advantage for a fighter, few aspects of MMA come down to absolute strength. Power is actually strength x speed. For a fighter, power is far more important than strength.
To increase power, fighters should focus on being explosive. Plyometric training is often used by athletes to improve their explosive power. When performing resistance training, exercises such as clean and jerk and snatches are well suited in developing power, as there is a speed element to them. Common gym exercises can be adapted to improve power; for example, when performing a squat, instead of coming up slowly, ascend at speed (the weight will need to be reduced). There are a whole host of training methods than can help to increase speed, strength and power.
When trying to increase power, appropriate nutrition should also be considered. Some of the key areas to consider would be:
Fuel
Increasing power is likely to be an additional session away from MMA-specific training. This means the body’s calorie demands will be increased as training sessions and, therefore, calorie expenditure increase.
Protein
Plyometric training and performing exercise at speed can, potentially, create more muscle damage compared to other types of training. Aim to consume around 2g of protein for every kilogram of bodyweight (an 80kg fighter, 80 x 2 = 160g protein) throughout the day. A rapidly absorbed protein source (such as whey protein) should be consumed immediately after training.
Recovery
Taking into account that additional training sessions are being undertaken, it’s even more important to be recovered and ready for the next session. This increases the importance of having rapidly absorbed carbohydrate and protein after training.
Creatine
Stored in the muscles, creatine is a high-intensity energy source. Creatine supplementation has been shown to increase power in many different sports. In a study on wrestlers, Kocak and Karli (2003) found that creatine supplementation increased power in elite wrestlers. Be aware that creatine can result in intra-cellular water retention – while this causes no problem, it’s something to know if you need to cut weight for a fight.
Beta alanine
A non-essential amino acid, beta alanine can help to increase resistance to fatigue by creating a better environment in the muscle (optimal pH). Beta alanine could be useful for high-intensity power training.
Joint support
Performing plyometrics and weights at speed alongside a fighter’s normal training can increase the strain on the joints. Glucosamine and chondroitin are well researched and provide nutritional support for joints.
Increasing power will have a number of different benefits for a fighter’s performance – try and incorporate some specific training and adopt some of the nutritional tips above to power your way to victory.
ASK THE EXPERT Q&A
One of the guys at the gym told me there is absolutely no need to eat carbs after 6pm. Is this true?
The ‘not eating carbs late at night’ theory is one that is often regurgitated. Looking at it from a common sense point of view, it’s at best generic. If person A gets up at 6am and trains at 8am, while person B gets up at 9am and trains at 9pm, it makes no sense that a ‘no carbs after 6pm’ rule fits both people.
For those that train in the evening, carbs are required for fueling and recovery. Undertaking an intense training session without fuel and without replenishing energy levels goes against all current sports nutrition research. Some research suggests that larger evening meals can help to maintain fat-free mass – which is important for a fighter. For those that train in the morning, have a majority of your carbs throughout the day; for those that train in the evening, consume carbs for recovery after training.
I often have trouble getting good quality sleep. Are there any supplements that can help me?
Before looking at supplements, your first step should be to consider the cause of your restless nights. Supplement-wise, 5-HTP has been shown to increase sleep time. Some studies suggest the amino acid tryptophan can reduce the time taken to fall asleep. There is research to show that vitamin B12 can increase sleep quality, due to increasing melatonin levels. The herb valerian has been shown to improve sleep quality. Magnesium also promotes sleep quality; anecdotally, many users of ZMA (zinc and magnesium) report a better night sleep.
