Issue 199

September 2023

Dean Garnett is a headline fighter for European promotion, Hexagone MMA, and manages and coaches at the gym he owns in Liverpool, the Aspire Combat Sports Academy, which trains everyone from kids to international professionals. Garnett’s students include fighters Liam McCracken, Marlon Jones, Callum and Tom Mullen, Tim Barnett, and UFC signee Muhammad Mokaev.

Well-versed in the science behind fighting, Dean holds a Bachelor’s degree in sports coaching from Liverpool John Moores University. He encourages the same academic ambition in his students through the government-recognized, sports-industry BTEC certificate that Aspire offers in conjunction with full-time training. 

A dedicated family man, Garnett is too familiar with the struggle of achieving the ideal work-life-training balance. Here, Dean shares his advice on conditioning workouts for combat sports athletes and how to maximize sessions when time is limited.

How important is conditioning for a combat athlete, and how is it adapted during different training phases?

MMA is an extremely dynamic, intermittent high-intensity sport. This makes conditioning one of the critical factors in being able to cope with the physical demands of competition. 

To achieve peak performance levels, come fight night, you need a periodized comprehensive training program that covers all the necessary energy systems needed for you to outwork your opponent. It's important to focus on the foundations during your off-season. This means consistent strength training and regular lower intensity, longer duration aerobic work like running, cycling, or skipping.

Coming into a fight camp with a solid base will set you up for more intense forms of conditioning or sparring and will aid recovery between intermittent bouts of high or maximum intensity by lowering the heart rate quicker. 

I like to think of it as 3 types of energy system training:

1. 30–90-minute periods of low-intensity aerobic work at 40-65% effort
2. 30-90 second intervals at 70/80% effort (lactic system) – Lactate conditioning helps buffer lactate out of the muscles to delay the onset of muscular fatigue which aids your average power output during repeated high-intensity bouts of output. 
3. 10-30 second intervals of 100% effort (anaerobic work/A-lactic system) – As opposed to lactic, the A-lactic system focuses more on peak power output rather than average output by improving your A-Lactic capacity. This enables you to use maximum power output repeatedly during a fight. 

You're a busy man with a lot of responsibilities. How do you manage and adapt your conditioning workouts when you have limited training time?

The beauty of conditioning for me is that my sessions are short and sweet. As much as it’s a session I never look forward to, at least I know it’s over fairly quickly and isn't too heavy on cumulative fatigue despite its intensity. It's a session I can do using gym equipment like an Airdyne bike, or rower. I can use bodyweight exercises, such as burpees or sprawls, or even use a training partner in sport-specific scenarios, such as attacking or defending a single leg. 

What are the benefits of short sessions versus longer sessions, and what can you maximize better in each?

Training camps need to strike a fine balance between achieving maximum training adaptations and offsetting physical fatigue. Training load is calculated using intensity (how hard), volume (how long), and frequency (how often) of training. By tweaking these variables, we can change the focus of each training session to target different energy systems while also considering technical and tactical development. When we train for longer periods at lower intensities it allows us to build our aerobic base and to focus on skill development. With shorter more intense sessions, like MMA sparring, we aim to recreate the chaos and intensity of competition as closely as possible.

What does a sample 15-minute workout look like?

12 seconds’ work, 48 seconds’ rest. Repeat 12 times using Airdyne sprints, making sure to exhibit maximum effort (A-lactic energy system).

Before intense workouts, it’s important to spend a few minutes warming up to break a sweat and mobilize joints. After the session, take a couple of minutes of light activity to cool down followed by stretching off the major muscle groups used during the workout.

What does a sample 25 mins workout look like?

40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest circuit. Repeat 15 times with 70/80% effort (Lactic energy system) using the equipment listed below.

Example Gym Circuit:

• Treadmill 
• Battle Ropes
• Spin Bike 
• Row 
• Ski Ergometer

When you don't have access to equipment what adaptations can you make?

When we think of conditioning we need to focus more on the intensity and rest intervals than we do the equipment used. You can do it in your living room with burpees or using other bodyweight exercises. As long as you can time your intervals, you can complete this style of workout practically anywhere with no equipment. A heart rate monitor is a great way to measure your performance and subsequent progress by tracking your maximum heart rate and the length of time it takes to drop down again during rest periods. 

How important is spacing between conditioning sessions and what's your recommendation for frequency and rest days?

Ideally, space them out evenly across your training schedule, two or three days apart for better adaptations. I usually avoid conditioning on days that involve intense sparring or heavy lifting to avoid overloading my central nervous system. Rest is the catalyst for our effort spent on the mat or in the gym translating into performance gains. During a taper week, athletes are happy to lose a small amount of their fitness level to offset fatigue and maximize their preparedness and peak performance levels come fight night. It is paramount that you reduce your training volume whenever you significantly increase its intensity in order to minimize risk of over-training, reduce the chance of injury and stay healthy while optimizing performance.

If you have to miss a couple of sessions, how much gains do risk losing and how do you get back on track?

Fitness levels decrease far faster than they increase, but it is important not to overcompensate and do too much. Missed sessions provide an opportunity to get some vital rest, so just try to pick up where you left off and be adaptable. You might push up the intensity or volume slightly in the next few sessions, but ultimately a well-periodized and consistent training program that is reviewed and adapted regularly will best lead you to your goals in the end.