This is from Billy Ho, a brown belt under Matt Serra and a great guy. He runs a website called TrainingForMMAFitness.com and there's a wealth of great info on there. Here's his article:
One day, a curious teenage daughter asked her mother, “Mommy why do you always cut off a third of the loaf of bread before baking it?” “Because that’s what you’re supposed to do,” responded the mom. “I just don’t understand why you can’t bake the whole thing,” said the young girl. “Well my mother is the one who taught me this. I’ll just call and ask her to settle this once and for all,” said mom. Ring. Ring. “Hello,” says a voice on the other end. “Hi mom. It’s me, your daughter. I just wanted to know why you’re supposed to cut off a third of a loaf (of bread) before baking it.” “Oh no sweetie,” her mother chimes. “You’re not supposed to. I just always did that because our oven was too small and I couldn’t fit the whole loaf. I wish I didn’t have to waste all that bread.”
It’s easy to fall into the same trap the mother in the story fell into with your fitness and martial arts training program. A training partner passes along an exercise or nutrition tip. Then you pass it on to several others. Before long the same tip gets circulated around the whole gym so you figure it must be true. But training mistakes and half-truths could be stopping you from reaching your full potential. Here are the Top 3 Mixed Martial Arts Fitness Mistakes and the Truths that can help save your workout plan.
Mixed Martial Arts Fitness Mistake #1- Kettlebells (or any other tool) are the “secret” you’ve been waiting for
Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoy training with kettlebells. They’re fun and are effective in many full body lifts. Kettlebell exercises also help develop grip strength which is crucial for martial artists and grapplers.
The problem occurs when something that is simply a “tool” becomes the end-all be-all. If someone tells you that their way of training is the only way to train effectively, run, don’t walk the other way. Don’t buy into it. This is nothing more than slick marketing. After all, if their way is the only way then you have no choice but to buy their product, right?
Check out this quote that I read on Ross Enamait’s blog that I couldn’t agree more with:
“Too many people in this world want you to believe that their way is the only way. Don’t buy into the nonsense. It simply isn’t true. There have been successful athletes who have engaged in an infinite number of training styles.
Almost anything that you do will work if you are passionate, diligent, and consistent with the work. Often times, it isn’t the individual workout that is most important, but how you attack the workout. How much passion and intensity do you apply to the work?”
I agree with alot of what he said, but you should get your base line cardio from your MMA training not your long distance running, especially as a heavyweight it is not worth the reward for the amount of damage being done....that being said I love running I used to run before test etc helped me concentrate
Unless someone is really serious about training, or has a lot of time on their hands, running is a waste of time. Better to spar, roll, heavy bag, sprawl drill or something. Running is like the last 5 percent you might add if you already train MMA twice a day. There are so many skills we have to learn, there isn't time enough in the day to do even more, unless you're a professional or something, but even then....
Think about Fedor. He runs. However he also spars, rolls, does circuits, does weights etc. I know which I'd cut first if I had his program.
Todd: great point about getting your base line cardio from your MMA training. That also comes back to the principle of specificity. If you're not sparring (and other MMA specific training) enough you can run all day long but you'll be fatigued easily in the ring or cage.
I do respectfully disagree however about running being a waste of time. Perhaps heavyweights should ease into it more and make sure their form is perfect. The rewards can prove to be extremely beneficial. With that being said, you are the professional and know YOUR body best so I'm certainly not telling you how to train.:) Thanks for the comment.
Phauna: For sure, as I mentioned in the article, running can be part of the entire picture. If time is that limited, focus on the most important things (sparring, rolling, etc.) but if you can push yourself to wake up 30 minutes earlier and do some cardio, you may find it to be helpful. To make sure you are also practicing skills, shadow box for 3-4 rounds during/after. Thanks for your comment also!
Road work is one of the factors that let heavyweights like Randy Couture and George Foreman win title fight duration fights in their 40s against much younger opponents.
Koga - Road work is one of the factors that let heavyweights like Randy Couture and George Foreman win title fight duration fights in their 40s against much younger opponents.
Not knocking road work, and I know that Big George pulled trucks up hills, but I think Foreman's late career stamina had a lot to do with how relaxed he was in the ring.