Good work out schedule for MMA?

Hi guys,

just wondering if this is a good work out schedule to stay in good shape and be pretty good at MMA or should I add more or modify it possibly? My whole goal is to be good at it because I always liked MMA, not though to be a competition professional MMA fighter.... I dont like being hit nor want to compete.

- Jogging for about 1 hour every day (except weekend).
- Weight lifting for 30 minutes 2 times. Just random kind of lifting for strengths since I know nothing about WL.
- 3 hours of kenpo /krav karate a week.
- 2 hours of BJJ.

what would you recommend adding or changing possibly?

Thanks,

Chris

Way more cardio. I would do spring/jog, since MMA is stop and go. Also, lifting is very important. Maybe mix some wrestling in there too. The more style variety the better

if you are tryin to fight i say about 4 more hrs of BJJ

thanks guys will try for 2 hours of cardio a day then.

5 hours of total combat training time per week is just not enough for MMA, you need a lot of time going into the stand up and your ground work. 5 hours a week will leave you deficient in each field.

I only do Muay Thai, since I have no interest in being an MMA fighter, but before I go into a fight I plan on doing at least 6/7 hours a week in training sessions with my team, and a few more at home working the pads with my brother (also a fantastic Thai boxer, its good to have an identical twin as a training partner!) so I'll probably doing 11 hours a week, and that just sparring, drills and padwork.

Add another 8 or 9 hours of Cardio a week on top of that and thats about right, but thats just an example of how its going to work out for me. 11 hours of stand up training a week, and thats just stand up. Granted we go much further and into much more detail and depth than is nessacary to get by in MMA, but you see what I mean.

I would have said (time allowing) that 7 hours BJJ and 6 hours of Stand up a week would be enough,If you did it in two hour blocks it could work out like this.

Monday: 2 hours Ground + takedowns
Tuesday: 2 hours Stand up
Wednesday: 2 hours Ground + Takedowns
Thursday: 3 hours stand up
Friday: Day off (everyone needs rest days)
Saturday: 3 hours Ground + Takedowns
Sunday: 1 hour Ground Takedowns, 1 hour stand up


That said, you might not have that much time available, if so, you can still do well. It's all about dedication and heart. You could have all the time in the world, but if you only put 50% into it, it doesnt matter. If you only have limited time to train then really throw yourself into it and get everything out of it that you can. You will learn more in 3 really focused hours than you will in 12 hours where you arent completely into it.

At the moment I can only train once a week with my Team, so I make sure I'm on the ball at all times, I don't let a single thing get by me. You might think "I do go 100% each session", but trust me, you can always run a little bit faster, skip with your knees a little bit higher, throw a few more punches, or hold on a little harder on the ground.

For success, follow this simple forumla

More Time + More focus = perfect training

Man I feel so motivated right now. I want to do some Thai pad work, but its nearly midnight here and my kicks will wake up my neighbours

There's more learned guys on here when it comes to the actual training so I'll just make suggestions regarding your Cardio/weights/nutritional plan(or lack thereof)
1....Make sure you get plenty of rest...or you're going to end up overtrained and hurt

2..Follow a nutritional plan..this is far more important that alot of people will have you believe....making sure to eat something (HEALTHY) every 3 hours to keep your metabolism up as its going to be taking a beating...no gimick diets work....If I were to recomend something to invest in....it would be Precision Nutrition which is a website by Dr John Berardi....he makes designing a nutrition plan simple and easy to follow depending on your goals.....and you dont have to have a PHd in Human Nutrition to follow it....you can also find articles by him on the web if you're looking for free info

2 Key nutrition points I'd like to make are
(A)NEVER miss breakfast....as its just that...breaking from a fast, which is why its called the most important meal....and NO coffee and a muffin DO NOT COUNT.

(B) Make sure you have something in your stomach going to bed....people will tell you otherwise but by chosing a food thats digested slowly, you'll actually be doing your body good....a great food that fits this bill is Cottage Cheese as its Full of Casein and takes time for your body to break it down.

3....the training
As far as cardio goes?
A good goal?
You should be able to run a 12 minute 2 mile, if you want to last a round in the ring.
The actual Training
When doing Cardio High Intensity Interval Training(Or HIIT, as you might have seen before) is far more effective for both burning fat and building your stamina than steady State Cardio. This involves as someone pointed out jogging with sprint breaks in between....so, it would look something like this
WARNING though...you CANNOT do something like this every day or you WILL burn out

Week 1
Jog 5 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 4 times

Week 2
Jog 4 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 4 times

Week 3
Jog 3 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 5 times

Week 4
Jog 2 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 5 times

Week 5
Jog 1 Minute....Sprint 1....repeat 9 times....this is Hard...I do NOT suggest doing it unless you've actuall worked up to it

As for how a week of cardio might look?
we'll go with a Monday to Friday Split just cause its a typical week

Monday — Interval Training

Wednesday — Fast Paced — perform 20 minutes of continuous activity at 75-80% of your heart rate max.

Friday — Continuous Low Intensity — perform 50 minutes of continuous cardio at 60-70% of your heart rate max.

Forget the Jogging except on that last day of the week as it can be actually very counterproductive in the long run.

I hope that helps some

Now As for Weights?

I DO NOT suggest hitting the weights until you can at least do the following
50 uninterupted pushups
25-50 Pull ups
10, 1 legged squats.....dont worry if you cant though....I've trained some guys that can do the 2 leg version with 300 pounds and cant get a single one legged one.....just try

As for actual Weights?
I personally Like the Motto Keep It Simple Stupid (or KISS)
I'm not telling you to do weight/not to do weights but they can be very beneficial to your training.....the only thing being, you want someone that knows what their doing when it comes to lifting to show you how to do the lifts properly, as you can get seriously hurt performing cleans/squats/deadlifts....hell even the bench press as alot of the time ego beats out a persons wanting to do it correctly and they flare their elbows and hurt their shoulder.


Some things to keep in mind being....think about your goals....do you want to cut weight?Gain Weight? Maintain Weight but go up in strenght? because all are possible depending on how you organize your schedule

Another thing to think about is you want to be working out like a fighter....using sport specific workouts (generally full body workouts) is going to be far more beneficial to you than following a bodybuilder's program....no matter what your friend or the local personal trainer(whose getting paid to keep you as a customer....NOT to make you see results...making you think your work is done and wanting to leave) may say to you


Kinda hard to give anymore weightlifiting advice on here feel to email me as I have a bunch of workouts for strength related sports on my computer...I just dont want to post whole spreadsheets here.....but again....I really cant emphasize not starting serious weights without someone that knows proper form to show you how to get the maximum benefits out of every lift....no matter what magical program you have ....

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Posted by dP

There's more learned guys on here when it comes to the actual training so I'll just make suggestions regarding your Cardio/weights/nutritional plan(or lack thereof)
1....Make sure you get plenty of rest...or you're going to end up overtrained and hurt

2..Follow a nutritional plan..this is far more important that alot of people will have you believe....making sure to eat something (HEALTHY) every 3 hours to keep your metabolism up as its going to be taking a beating...no gimick diets work....If I were to recomend something to invest in....it would be Precision Nutrition which is a website by Dr John Berardi....he makes designing a nutrition plan simple and easy to follow depending on your goals.....and you dont have to have a PHd in Human Nutrition to follow it....you can also find articles by him on the web if you're looking for free info

2 Key nutrition points I'd like to make are
(A)NEVER miss breakfast....as its just that...breaking from a fast, which is why its called the most important meal....and NO coffee and a muffin DO NOT COUNT.

(B) Make sure you have something in your stomach going to bed....people will tell you otherwise but by chosing a food thats digested slowly, you'll actually be doing your body good....a great food that fits this bill is Cottage Cheese as its Full of Casein and takes time for your body to break it down.

3....the training
As far as cardio goes?
A good goal?
You should be able to run a 12 minute 2 mile, if you want to last a round in the ring.
The actual Training
When doing Cardio High Intensity Interval Training(Or HIIT, as you might have seen before) is far more effective for both burning fat and building your stamina than steady State Cardio. This involves as someone pointed out jogging with sprint breaks in between....so, it would look something like this
WARNING though...you CANNOT do something like this every day or you WILL burn out

Week 1
Jog 5 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 4 times

Week 2
Jog 4 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 4 times

Week 3
Jog 3 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 5 times

Week 4
Jog 2 minutes...sprint 1....repeat 5 times

Week 5
Jog 1 Minute....Sprint 1....repeat 9 times....this is Hard...I do NOT suggest doing it unless you've actuall worked up to it

As for how a week of cardio might look?
we'll go with a Monday to Friday Split just cause its a typical week

Monday — Interval Training

Wednesday — Fast Paced — perform 20 minutes of continuous activity at 75-80% of your heart rate max.

Friday — Continuous Low Intensity — perform 50 minutes of continuous cardio at 60-70% of your heart rate max.

Forget the Jogging except on that last day of the week as it can be actually very counterproductive in the long run.

I hope that helps some

Now As for Weights?

I DO NOT suggest hitting the weights until you can at least do the following
50 uninterupted pushups
25-50 Pull ups
10, 1 legged squats.....dont worry if you cant though....I've trained some guys that can do the 2 leg version with 300 pounds and cant get a single one legged one.....just try

As for actual Weights?
I personally Like the Motto Keep It Simple Stupid (or KISS)
I'm not telling you to do weight/not to do weights but they can be very beneficial to your training.....the only thing being, you want someone that knows what their doing when it comes to lifting to show you how to do the lifts properly, as you can get seriously hurt performing cleans/squats/deadlifts....hell even the bench press as alot of the time ego beats out a persons wanting to do it correctly and they flare their elbows and hurt their shoulder.


Some things to keep in mind being....think about your goals....do you want to cut weight?Gain Weight? Maintain Weight but go up in strenght? because all are possible depending on how you organize your schedule

Another thing to think about is you want to be working out like a fighter....using sport specific workouts (generally full body workouts) is going to be far more beneficial to you than following a bodybuilder's program....no matter what your friend or the local personal trainer(whose getting paid to keep you as a customer....NOT to make you see results...making you think your work is done and wanting to leave) may say to you


Kinda hard to give anymore weightlifiting advice on here feel to email me as I have a bunch of workouts for strength related sports on my computer...I just dont want to post whole spreadsheets here.....but again....I really cant emphasize not starting serious weights without someone that knows proper form to show you how to get the maximum benefits out of every lift....no matter what magical program you have ....

---

Out of everybody's suggestions this is probably the best. I would add plyometrics and have to agree with adding more grappling to your game.

Thanks guys. That kind of puts things in perspective for me. Otherwise I really was kind of lost on the work out's and such.

your cardio should be fine. you don't need to run or strictly do cardio to make it better, a couple hours of INTENSE grappling will surely do the trick.

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Posted by bayonetxwork

your cardio should be fine. you don't need to run or strictly do cardio to make it better, a couple hours of INTENSE grappling will surely do the trick.

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Actually this is where people fall short on their conditioning. Truthfully grappling doesn't do much for cardio. It's a anerobic workout rather than cardio. The conditioning program called crossfit has probably the best laid out conditioning course for mma that I've seen although I use my own.