Fighters Only

Issue 156

July 2017

Recruit some stability training to give you the strength to compete

Kevin Kearns

Boston’s S&C guru has helped 15 fighters prepare for the Octagon. Visit burnwithkearns.com for more ways to get fighter fit

The theory behind instability training is simple. Train in an unstable environment and become more stable in a stable environment. When you train in an unstable way, you have to recruit and activate muscles you didn’t know you had to help stabilize you. That’s great for your muscle memory, which I believe goes all the way down to the joints, tendons and ligaments.

Given the nature of MMA, stability is so important. In the cage, you’re hardly ever stable and often not even on two feet. Your balance and core strength have to be on a whole different level than your average Joe.

One of my favorite pieces of kit for this is a suspension trainer. I have seen many athletes seriously challenged in them. They are awesome tools that you can use to keep reinventing training movements and strengthen your core muscles, including your abdominals, lower back and hips. You will also work your neutralizing muscles, which cancel out undesirable movements and keep joints balanced by holding motion along a desired path.

Athletes and coaches adapt quickly, but you can change things up without reinventing the wheel by adding a twist to suspension training and introducing an instability factor.

Get ready

Take your suspension trainer and add some level challenges.

Level 1: no instability.

Level 2: hands on the flat side of a Bosu.

Level 3: hands on a hard medicine ball.

Level 4: hands on a stability ball.

Pick your level, but make sure you’re physically capable.

Make sure your fingers are facing straight down to the ground at level 3 and 4.

Do 3 sets of 10-20 reps.

For each exercise, put your feet in the stirrups and hands on the ground/instability equipment.

The workout

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