Issue 173
Any given day in your town you can bet there's someone predicting the end is nigh. It could be disease, earthquakes, war, aliens, zombies or a d**k-swinging amalgamation of them all. Yikes! Being an MMA athlete means you already have 90% of the conditioning you need to survive and will probably come out on top of the food chain. But if you haven’t paid for your spot in a nuclear bunker then there’s no reason to take any chances.
This guide to surviving the apocalypse – based on The Zombie Survival Guide – will tell you where you’ve fallen short and show you how to be the last man standing at the end of the world.
FULL WORKOUT
Do all the moves listed below in the order shown for a full-body survivor circuit.
TASK A: SAVING PEOPLE FROM FALLEN DEBRIS
At the world’s end things are going to come tumbling down and this is how you’ll get yourself or your friends out from underneath anything.
MMA Training: Power Cleans
1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes beneath a barbell. Grab the bar with an overhand grip by bending at the knees and fully extending your arms.
2: Yank the bar towards your shoulders by quickly straightening your back and knees. Pull with your arms and keep the bar as close to your body as possible.
3: When the bar is just below your chin – dip underneath it and rotate your elbows around the bar so your palms are facing away from you.
4: Pause, rotate your elbows back and slowly lower to the start position. Do five sets of five reps.
MMA benefit: “This will improve the power of your takedowns while giving you the leg and back strength to fend off attempts to take you down,” says MMA strength and conditioning specialist Brendan Chaplin.
TASK B: LAND-BASED EVASIVE TACTICS
You may be able to hit a bag for 30 minutes straight, but even the movie Zombieland knows that cardiovascular fitness is what will help you dash away from danger when it views you as a Big Mac. Here’s how to test if you’re fit enough.
Use the Coopers 12-minute run test to see where you stand by running as far as you can for 12 minutes. Compare your score to the chart below to see if you need to improve in this area.
COOPERS TEST
Distance run - Rating
2700m+ - Excellent
2300-2700m - Good
1900-2300 - Average
1500-1900 - Below average
Under 1500m - Poor
MMA Training: If you’re below average in the running category do this interval-based workout two to three times a week, and one long run, to make sure a pack of zombies is no match for your wheels.
Step 1: Jog slowly for four to five minutes.
Step 2: Sprint for 10 seconds then jog for 20 seconds. Repeat 12 times.
Step 3: Walk for three minutes to cool down.
MMA benefit: "This circuit is a powerful fat burner that'll boost your aerobic fitness in and out the octagon," says Chaplin.
TASK C: GETTING YOUR TEAM TO SAFETY
Burning buildings, broken legs or the apocalypse striking in the middle of serious drinking session might require you to pack-horse your loved ones over your shoulder to safety. Here’s the moves you’ll need to build the strength to do the fireman’s lift.
MMA Training: Farmer's Walk
1: Hold a pair of heavy dumb-bells at your sides.
2: Pick a spot in the gym and walk there and back to the starting position. Use a weight that only lets you to walk for about 45 to 60 seconds. Do this five times.
Clean and Jerks:
1: Rest a barbell on the floor and grab it with an overhand grip.
2: Stand up while hoisting it to the fronts of your shoulders then press it overhead. Do five sets of three to four reps.
MMA benefit: “These exercises will teach you to transfer power from your lower body into your upper body while improving your lower-body endurance,” says Chaplin.
TASK D: LANDING SAFELY
Running from danger will see a few obstacles in your path, so jumping over them and landing injury-free is essential if you want to keep escaping from flash-eating zombies or free-probing flying aliens.
MMA Training: Two-footed long jumps
1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bring your arms down and behind you as you bend at the hips, knees and ankles.
2: Explode up and try to jump as far forward as you can. Upon landing, quickly explode out of the first jump. Do six sets of three to four reps.
Jump squats:
1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and bend your hips and knees to lower yourself as far as you can while keeping your heels on the ground.
2: Explode upwards so that your feet leave the ground. Aim to jump as high as you can. Land with bent knees. Do five sets of three to five reps.
MMA benefit: “These moves create explosive power in your legs which you can use to improve the quickness of your kicks and blocks,” says Chaplin.
TASK E: CLIMBING TO A VANTAGE POINT
Whether you’re forced to break into abandoned houses or scale cliff faces, high places keep you safe. Here’s the best move for gaining that strength.
MMA Training: Overhand pull-ups
1: Grab the pull-up bar with an overhand grip that’s shoulder-width apart.
2: Hang at arm’s length then bend your elbows to pull yourself up until your chin crosses the plane of the bar.
MMA benefit: “This develops upper-back strength that will help you pull your opponent off balance and dominate him in the ground positions,” says Chaplin.
