By Samuel Van Der Wall
If you want to be an MMA fighter, you'll have to train like one. This means you will have to learn the elements of an MMA workout. Although martial arts has been around for hundreds of years, the sport of mixed martial arts is still in its infancy. Mixed martial arts is growing leaps and bounds with the increased popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter.
There are many facets to designing a good MMA workout for anyone looking to become a professional fighter, or for someone just looking to get in shape. A good workout includes training in some, or all, of the following areas, conditioning, striking, grappling, wrestling, or submission skills. These skills can be both offensive and defensive in nature.
Professional MMA fighters are world-class athletes. The skills and conditioning that are required for mixed martial arts is vastly different than that of other sports. Many athletes from other sports have attempted to cross-over into the MMA arena with little or no success. This is because skills in another sport, such as football, baseball, or basketball, do not necessarily translate well into MMA. One of the most notable cross-over athletes is Brock Lesnar, a former college and professional wrestler.
There are many other athletes that have attempted to make the cross over into mixed martial arts. Many of them have met with limited success. Part of this is due to the fact that conditioning for an MMA is highly demanding. Many other sports simply do not have the cardiovascular conditioning required to compete at a high level in an MMA fight.
Two sports that seem to translate well into mixed martial arts are wrestling and boxing. College and Olympic wrestlers seem to have a solid base to begin training for the sport of mixed martial arts. This is probably due to the fact that the workouts for each sport are fairly similar and the conditioning required for both is very high. Boxing also seems to translate well for strikers because boxers are trained to give out and absorb a lot of punishment to their bodies. When designing an MMA workout, one can often look to wrestling or boxing as a good start. However, neither sports are the end-all be-all to a good mixed martial arts workout.
One final component to MMA training and conditioning is the mental portion. It is very important that fighters of all disciplines be mentally prepared for their sport. Just like any other muscle, the brain grows stronger each time it is challenged. There are many tips and techniques out there in training mentally for a fight. This mental training goes hand-and-hand with any physical MMA workout.
There are many facets to designing a good MMA workout for anyone looking to become a professional fighter, or for someone just looking to get in shape. A good workout includes training in some, or all, of the following areas, conditioning, striking, grappling, wrestling, or submission skills. These skills can be both offensive and defensive in nature.
Professional MMA fighters are world-class athletes. The skills and conditioning that are required for mixed martial arts is vastly different than that of other sports. Many athletes from other sports have attempted to cross-over into the MMA arena with little or no success. This is because skills in another sport, such as football, baseball, or basketball, do not necessarily translate well into MMA. One of the most notable cross-over athletes is Brock Lesnar, a former college and professional wrestler.
There are many other athletes that have attempted to make the cross over into mixed martial arts. Many of them have met with limited success. Part of this is due to the fact that conditioning for an MMA is highly demanding. Many other sports simply do not have the cardiovascular conditioning required to compete at a high level in an MMA fight.
Two sports that seem to translate well into mixed martial arts are wrestling and boxing. College and Olympic wrestlers seem to have a solid base to begin training for the sport of mixed martial arts. This is probably due to the fact that the workouts for each sport are fairly similar and the conditioning required for both is very high. Boxing also seems to translate well for strikers because boxers are trained to give out and absorb a lot of punishment to their bodies. When designing an MMA workout, one can often look to wrestling or boxing as a good start. However, neither sports are the end-all be-all to a good mixed martial arts workout.
One final component to MMA training and conditioning is the mental portion. It is very important that fighters of all disciplines be mentally prepared for their sport. Just like any other muscle, the brain grows stronger each time it is challenged. There are many tips and techniques out there in training mentally for a fight. This mental training goes hand-and-hand with any physical MMA workout.