Issue 020
January 2007
By Barry Gibson
If you find yourself without a training partner to spar with then you can always use your kettlebells to beast yourself into shape. There is no shortage of routines out there for you to try, and a simple search of t’internet will bring up a myriad of drills, exercises and workouts to drag your backside into awesome physical condition.
Some examples include Stan Pike’s 20/20 routine, the Secret Service Snatch Test, Crossfit’s “Fight gone bad” to name but a few. For MMA however, we need a more realistic carryover in terms of our training. Don’t get me wrong, these routines are tough, but they are just one part of the puzzle. For combat training, intervals are king! Intense bouts of activity need to be punctuated with periods of active rest and/or isometric contractions to correctly mirror the conditions of a fight.
What follows is an example of three rounds worth of 5 exercises that is not set in stone!! Feel free to mess around with them and invent your own.
Round one
• Kettlebell snatches – 1 minute - change hands at 30 seconds.
• Burpees – 1 minute.
• Hold a wrestler’s bridge – 1 minute.
• Kettlebell swings – 1 minute.
• Sprawls – 1 minute.
Round two
• Shadow boxing – 1 minute.
• Kettlebell cleans – 1 minute.
• Thrusters (see issue 17 for description)
– 1 minute.
• Sprawls – 1 minute.
• Plank hold (go into the start position for a press up, engage your core and remain there) – 1 minute.
Round three
• Pummelling with partner – 1 minute. (Note - you could pummel for 15 secs and then pick up your partner, then return to pummeling)
• Kettlebell jerks – 1 minute.
• Sprawls – 1 minute.
• Kettlebell snatches – 1 minute.
• Hold a wrestler’s bridge – 1 minute.
Any rest here should be active rest only, e.g. jumping jacks, shadow boxing or pummelling. This is very hard to get through and you need to make it as intense as possible to simulate fight conditions.
For the super fit or masochistic, if this is not enough then as a finisher you could try this during your recovery periods; Clean two heavy kettlebells to the rack position and walk around. This adds extra stress to the respiratory system as you’re already breathing hard from the rounds, so your recovery is that much more difficult!
Remember, when you’re training for combat you need to be as real as possible. Specificity is key in getting your body accustomed to the rigours of MMA.
For more details check out www.grapplefit.com or mail me with any questions [email protected]. Take care and train hard
and smart!!
