Important: Conditioning FAQ & Training Articles

[VanKid]

Dont forget the glutamine

[namesarehard]

Hey guys I'm wondering some good stretches so I can get a nice high kick.

[tutu2]

atm i take Muay Thai.. should I change to MMA or BJJ?

[SteveJorgensen]

Hey guys I'm wondering some good stretches so I can get a nice high kick.

Stretches that work the hip flexors.

atm i take Muay Thai.. should I change to MMA or BJJ?

It should be what you want to do, not what people on the internet tell you to do, if you want to compete in mma or bjj then yes you need to add that.

[dxVxb]

The best training for that is to get 3 wrestlers and wrestle the first one for 5 minutes, then rest about 90 seconds, then wrestle the next guy for 5, rest 90 seconds, then the last guy and rest 90 seconds, then go back and wrestle the first guy. They will be fresh, but you will be completely exhausted. It will build endurance and technique at the same time. We do it a lot in Bjj.

for muscular endurance do full body circuit training with weights. heres a good one to follow.

squats - 12 reps (the weight for all these excercises should be heavy enough that the last rep is difficult, but not impossible)
bench - 12 reps
lat pulldown - 12 reps
military press - 12 reps
shrugs - 12 reps
leg extensions - 12 reps
bicep curls - 12 reps
leg curls - 12 reps
tricep pushdowns - 12 reps

Do these excercises back to back with less than 30 seconds rest between each. When you do it all the way through it is 1 circuit. Then rest for two minutes, then do the whole thing again. start out with about 3, then each week add 1 circuit. the more you can do the better. aim for around 6-8. Good luck!

I always thought that for muscular conditioning you should go to failure, with something around 60-70% of your 1rm? isent working around 12 reps (with a weight you can only do 12 reps with) mostly for gaining muscle mass? (as opposed to a 5 rep weight which would give strength and a 20+ rep weight for definition)?

also i recently did the "Brock Lesnar" workout(just for a change of routine) they have posted here on BB.com and it was mostly in the 8-10 rep range, but had 5ish sets.

and what about speed? when i did that workout i tried doing all the sets with, at tops, a minute and a half break in between and at minimum, a 20 second break, but the weight i used was pretty much my 80% my 1rm but i still made sure i did it as fast as i could, and iv never had such a burn like that. It really made me realise that my muscular endurance sucks and iv been trying to figure out how too work on that, and other than just doing bodyweight exercises to failure, and fast reps of 60% to failure, haven't heard anything else.

[Chubzz]

Best way to build explosiveness in punches? I also have my spot reserved for varsity wrestling, what about explosive legs?

[SteveJorgensen]

Best way to build explosiveness in punches? I also have my spot reserved for varsity wrestling, what about explosive legs?

Practice punching more, make sure you use your hips. Some people use bands or weighted gloves.

I've found whats best for wrestling is doing the leg work portion in randy coutures workout and combine that with jump squats and regular squats.

[kevcox]

Plyometrics!! lots and lots o' plyometrics. This will condition you both physically and mentally. Do it at a minimum of 60 min with less than 10 sec rests between sets. When you realize you can do two or three sets without the 10 sec break, increase your speed.
Another important thing to train for wrestling is hip flexors, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Teres Major muscles. You can do this by doing reverse push ups. Training these muscles will help you push your opponent away from you. The more you can do this the better it is. If you can do 100+ controlled movements with NO momentum drive, then add 45 LB plate to your chest to do it. Every time you do a reverse push up immediately turn and do regular push ups.

MAC

Relative strength (how strong you are in relation to your own body weight) is vital . over using "plyometrics or "shock" training
can lead to a number of problems. One thing grapplers often omit from their training is isometeric training.

[kristen5412]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[battousai216]

Relative strength (how strong you are in relation to your own body weight) is vital . over using "plyometrics or "shock" training
can lead to a number of problems. One thing grapplers often omit from their training is isometeric training.

What sort of problems? Between bench sets I do clapping pushups, between weighted pullups medicine ball slams, squats box jumps ect ect. Just 3 reps of each ply moment immediately following my sets and have had great results. Measurably, my vertical went from 24 to 34.

For conditioning I think sprints are most important but also believe in aerobic training and swimming.

[wtwlly99]

Great post!

[bBeastp]

orite.. my first question is.. How do i increase strenth without increasing muscle mass?? Ive been a bodybuilding fan for years.. and my main goal was increase muscle mass and strenth didnt matter to me.. so if anyone can help out its appriciated..

Search CAmpbell Fitness DC training on youtube. the guy said a couple times he made increases constantly in strength but did not mention size at all which makes me think that he did not gain size in the 8 weeks that he did it. I am not sure though since I actually just watched the same video about it a few days ago.

[Zaneseed]

Great thread, especially the articles on forearm and wrist strength/conditioning.

I've worked my way up to a 3-finger pushup (both hands), got a while to go before I reach Bruce Lee status

:O

[gillG]

Good idea bro!

[SpiritFighter]

Best way to build explosiveness in punches? I also have my spot reserved for varsity wrestling, what about explosive legs?

Technique, technique, technique. There are training exercises you could do that will naturally build your explosiveness/power, but nothing compares to the increased power/explosiveness generated by improving your technique. Its an art using the power/torque generated from your lower body and transfering it to your punches. Once you get proper technique down, then you can move onto particular exercises to further develope your power and explosiveness.

Some people do dumbells when shadow boxing and such, if you do, DO NOT go above 3lb dumbells. Something light that you can comfortably control, and do not overextend. Personally, the only time i use dumbells in shadowboxing is when i do shadowboxing focusing on defense. Ill throw punches here and there as counter punches, but not going wild.

edit: technique + speed= you messin some people up. True for boxing/punching, and basically true for any sport.

[DearFall]

Any recommendations for body weight circuit training? I have to take about 25 days off and I've been doing really basic workouts. I'll stretch, shadowbox and then do something like this.

x amount of squats
x amount of pushups
x amount of lunge walking
x amount of bicycle (ab workout while laying on my back, not cycling)

I'll do that 3 times usually and then burn myself out with planks. I don't feel like I'm gaining anything as much as I'm just maintaining. I'd really like to incorporate more movement into what I'm doing, something that builds more functional strength. Also, any speed workouts I could do would be fantastic. Also, I have a heavy bag that I can add in.

Thanks in advance, man.

[sword_]

Sled dragging is great GPP for MMA.

From EliteFTS:

Benefits of Sled Dragging

- Increased level of conditioning and muscular endurance (general physical preparedness or GPP).

- Increased kinetic segment and joint stability

- Decrease DOMS or delayed onset of muscle soreness

- Increase or speed up recovery from heavy or high volume training sessions

- Concentric only training for rehabilitative purposes

When to Use Sled Dragging

- Before your workout as part of your warm-up

- After your workout as part of your recovery or rehab

- On an “off” day to speed recovery and restoration, and

- During the workout as a supplemental general strength training means

READ:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...96-mcd02.hydra

[HyphenZ]

I am a 150 lb young man with about 12% body fat. I run cross country and track and I wrestle. I have a solid base of conditioning after cross country and then wrestling starts 2 weeks after. I don't want to over train during cross country because I have a good chance at going to state, so I don't do any hardcore workouts besides practice and then on weekends I wrestle after my practices. Do you think that my running endurance will give me a good enough base so that after cross country I can start doing intense cardio for the two weeks before wrestling and enter the season in tip top shape, and do you have any tips or exercises that I can do during the weeks before wrestling to maximize my wrestling endurance gains. I am going to continue running after cross country.

[FBrown89]

Any recommendations for body weight circuit training? I have to take about 25 days off and I've been doing really basic workouts. I'll stretch, shadowbox and then do something like this.

x amount of squats
x amount of pushups
x amount of lunge walking
x amount of bicycle (ab workout while laying on my back, not cycling)

I'll do that 3 times usually and then burn myself out with planks. I don't feel like I'm gaining anything as much as I'm just maintaining. I'd really like to incorporate more movement into what I'm doing, something that builds more functional strength. Also, any speed workouts I could do would be fantastic. Also, I have a heavy bag that I can add in.

Thanks in advance, man.

Look up M100s on YouTube and give that a try. Other than that, try to do 3 sets of 12-15 reps of each of those if you're doing bodyweight only. You can always take that heavybag and incorporate it into your squats/lunges and instead of bicycling, I'd go with mountain climbers for abs.


Cool down and shadow box (with 2lb dumbbells if you have them) or you could always run a few rounds on the heavybag.

[m1sio]

Technique, technique, technique. There are training exercises you could do that will naturally build your explosiveness/power, but nothing compares to the increased power/explosiveness generated by improving your technique. Its an art using the power/torque generated from your lower body and transfering it to your punches. Once you get proper technique down, then you can move onto particular exercises to further develope your power and explosiveness.

Some people do dumbells when shadow boxing and such, if you do, DO NOT go above 3lb dumbells. Something light that you can comfortably control, and do not overextend. Personally, the only time i use dumbells in shadowboxing is when i do shadowboxing focusing on defense. Ill throw punches here and there as counter punches, but not going wild.

edit: technique + speed= you messin some people up. True for boxing/punching, and basically true for any sport.

Thanks for the informative answer brah, I had a similar question regarding improving punching--really helped^^

[SpiritFighter]

Some vids i thought id share

[PeoplesPerson11]

Shin conditioning- Kick a Thai bag. That's it. If you can, kick it 500 times a day with each leg. Many people like to start of kicking light and end kicking at full force. Maybe use pads to deaden the nerves, but do NOT smack yourself in the shins with sticks or other hard objects. It will cause damage to your tibia (shin bone). Everyone has heard the stories of people kicking trees to condition their shins. They kicked banana trees which are like an enormous version of a household plant when it comes to texture. They're much softer and have more give to them, unlike say an oak tree. If you think you're going to condition your shins by kicking something hard like an oaktree, which also has hard, rough bark surrounding it, you're in for a visit to the hospital.



Fists/ wrists- These are extremely important to condition. It's very easy to split your knuckles or break your wrist when throwing a punch. Make sure that when your punch lands, your wrist is not bent AT ALL. Human hands weren't designed to be weapons. If they were, we'd have claws. Elbows and knees are much better to strike with as they have fewer nerves, few bones and they're very hard and durable. However, if you're going to fight, chances are you're going to punch, so the risk is inevitable.

Two very easy things to do are push ups on your knuckles and push ups on your fingertips. That will strengthen the knuckles and wrists to a degree. Nothing can condition your hands to the point that they're unbreakable, but every little bit helps. It also helps to punch a heavy bag bare knuckled. When doing this, be very careful. A heavy bag is soft and has give to it, but it's still very easy to break your wrist if you throw a punch the wrong way. Don't go all out or you can easily damage your wrists. Try to go light and build up power progressively. This should help get you adjusted to the impact your hands will see in a real fighting situation.

Gloves are an interesting item. They protect our hands (not to mention our opponents) and as a result, we often neglect hand and wrist conditioning. However, even if we were to condition ourselves as much as physically possible, it would still be possible to injure our wrists or hands when delivering a blow. Don't believe me? Watch the first few UFC's. Many fighters had to drop out of the tournament due to hand or wrist injuries.

When I have more time, I'll post information or articles on other forms of conditioning.

hey soul sister

[PeoplesPerson11]

Some vids i thought id share

poooostains

[PeoplesPerson11]

I am a 150 lb young man with about 12% body fat. I run cross country and track and I wrestle. I have a solid base of conditioning after cross country and then wrestling starts 2 weeks after. I don't want to over train during cross country because I have a good chance at going to state, so I don't do any hardcore workouts besides practice and then on weekends I wrestle after my practices. Do you think that my running endurance will give me a good enough base so that after cross country I can start doing intense cardio for the two weeks before wrestling and enter the season in tip top shape, and do you have any tips or exercises that I can do during the weeks before wrestling to maximize my wrestling endurance gains. I am going to continue running after cross country.

dededeed

[PeoplesPerson11]

Good idea bro!

dededee

[bigbeast7]

Hi. I do BJJ 2hrs in the morning, weights in the afternoon for 2-3 hrs and Judo for 2hrs in the evening. I'm also cutting down weight. I feel really tired and I don't know which supplement to take. I'm currently taking Hydroxycut and Whey. suggestions please.

[markloffjerry]

Nice info thanks for sharing

[spcscr]

Hi. I do BJJ 2hrs in the morning, weights in the afternoon for 2-3 hrs and Judo for 2hrs in the evening. I'm also cutting down weight. I feel really tired and I don't know which supplement to take. I'm currently taking Hydroxycut and Whey. suggestions please.

I take bpi BLOX. Read up on it! I found it amazing, and the only supplement other than a multi I take(up to 3 times a day in some cases for recovery). I also use fiber to keep my body extra hydrated, but keep in mind you'll find that your multi won't be absorbed as much which I'm still finding out it not necessarily a bad thing. I've been on it since the beginning of the year and have had massive gains, and recoveries that allow for more training. I would also say cut the Hydroxycut. It's probably not doing much for you and actually hurting in the long run. I'd run, long runs 7-10 mi two or three days a week to cut, it only takes about an hour and much safer than stimulants.

gl

[RoccoTanno123]

here's an interview worth sharing regarding building GPP/work capacity: http://zacheven-esh.com/wp-content/u...ouieJune08.mp3

[Papapoopy]

When should I lift and how often?
I work until about 6pm everyday then I go to to either BJJ or Muay Thai practice which is from 7PM-8PM MON - FRI and 9AM-1PM on Saturdays so about 9 hours a week.
We do plenty of conditioning but nothing too hard during practice.
I want to start a weight training program but I'm clueless. I'm open to all suggestions if you have articles please link them I'm very interested.
My goals for weight training are to get stronger but also have tons of muscular endurance. I'm also debating if I should split or do full body