Conditioning for the MMA Fighter

Conditioning for the MMA Fighter: Is Traditional Aerobic Training Necessary? by Mark Ginther (First appeared in Full Contact Fighter magazine, 02/02) For information on a personalized conditoning program click here:

Home Profile Testimonials Services Articles Links Contact Training methods are often based on tradition rather than reason, and fighters and other athletes will often spend hours per week, or even per day jogging, using stair machines, and performing other such aerobic training in an effort to improve their stamina in the ring or on the playing field. But how much will the development of aerobic conditioning transfer to the arena, are aerobics really necessary, and at what point can aerobic training hinder performance rather than help? Endurance is defined as the ability to bear fatigue and can be enhanced by either developing the aerobic (with oxygen) or anaerobic (without oxygen) energy pathways. There are two major sources that produce energy in anaerobic metabolism, the adenosine triphosphate-phosphacreatine (ATP-PC) system and glycolysis, and one source by which energy is produced aerobically, oxidative phosphorylation. Though less efficient than aerobic metabolism, ATP-PC, and then glycogen (carbohydrate stored in the muscles and liver), both of which are readily available in the muscle, have much greater power capacity. However muscle stores of ATP-PC and glycogen are limited and are rapidly depleted during intense work. Compared with the two anaerobic energy sources, the aerobic source is the least powerful, and cannot produce enough ATP per second to allow performance of maximal intensity exercise such as a 40-meter sprint, though it can supply an virtually limitless supply of energy over a long period of time.

The longest an all out anaerobic effort can be sustained is about a minute, the length of the 400-meter dash (ATP-PC, glycolysis), and maximum output for less than 10seconds, the 100 meters (ATP-PC). In the ring, combinations of punches and kicks, throws, take-downs, or nearly any other explosive technique of high intensity and short duration is going to be anaerobic in nature. In fact, anytime muscular effort exceeds 50-percent of maximum, muscular tension blocks off the flow of blood in and out of the working muscles making impossible to satisfy the muscles energy requirements via aerobic metabolism. Before designing an effective conditioning program one first needs to determine the importance of endurance, particularly in combination with the other biomotor abilities: strength, and speed. And then establish how much of that endurance is derived from aerobic metabolism, and how much from anaerobic metabolism. For an intensive loading period of 3-5 minutes duration, roughly half of the energy is supplied by anaerobic metabolism and half from aerobic metabolism. Since this is the typical length for a round, one might conclude that 50-percent of one's training should be aerobic, but this assumes that the entire 5-minutes is spent at a constant rate of energy expenditure. In reality the tempo of a fight changes, and energy expenditure varies greatly. To determine how much of your energy comes from aerobic metabolism, consider how much time in a given round is spent exerting less than 50percent of maximum muscular effort. For the typical fighter (and this will vary depending on style) the dominant energy systems are anaerobic alactic (ATP-PC), anaerobic glycolytic and aerobic, and the limiting factors will be power-endurance (high degree of power applied repeatedly) and medium to long-term muscular endurance. This would suggest that developing anaerobic endurance should be the primary focus of a fighter's conditioning. In fact, there are several compelling reasons that over emphasis of aerobic conditioning should be avoided: 1. Aerobic training stresses the slow-twitch endurance muscle fibers, rather than the fast-twitch, speed/power fibers. Consider the vertical jump ability of elite endurance athletes. These athletes often have mere 4 to 6 inch vertical jumps. 2. According to a recent study muscle necrosis (tissue death) and inflammation can be observed in the calves of marathon runners 7 days after a race. 3. According to Dr. Marc Breehl, a leading anesthesiologist specializing in cardiac surgery, the enlarged hearts of aerobic athletes are weaker, not stronger than those with anaerobic backgrounds. Does this mean that one should forego aerobic training altogether? There is no clear consensus among the experts, though many do advocate the developing of an "aerobic base" particularly in the preparatory period of training, as appropriate aerobic training can improve circulatory processes and facilitate recovery. How then to develop endurance for the ring? For many years, research has shown that development of endurance is associated with the functional specialization of the skeletal muscles, particularly enhancement of their strength and ability to use

oxygen, rather than improvement of cardio respiratory ability. Other research has also revealed that strength training leads to greater ability of the muscles to utilize oxygen than 'aerobic' training. Russian work has also shown the possible benefits of plyometric training, motor education and technical skill on improving endurance performance. This means achieving a high level of technical skill and coordination, strength training, and sport specific drills are superior for the development of endurance. With regards to strength training, the greater the amount of external resistance to be overcome, the more developing maximal strength will improve muscular endurance. In movements that require 80% or more of maximal strength, only by increasing maximal strength can endurance be enhanced, conversely muscular endurance requiring less than 30% of maximal strength shows only negligible improvement through improvements in maximal strength. This suggests that maximal strength training will be more important for grapplers than for strikers in improving muscular endurance, and should be given greater priority. In addition to maximal strength training, strength-training methods aimed specifically at improving power-endurance can be employed. Such training requires using loads of 50-70% of maximum repeated explosively for up to 20 to 30 times nonstop. The speed of performance must be dynamic and explosive otherwise the training effect will be bodybuilding, not power-endurance. Because repetitions must be performed explosively, rest intervals between sets will be long, 5 to 7-minutes, and the number of exercises will be few, 23. Also of benefit is performing sprint-type activities interspersed with varying rest intervals. An all-out-effort lasting between 6 and 90 seconds will improve anaerobic capacity, increasing ATP-PC, and glycogen storage in the muscle cell. These adaptations allow the athlete to be quicker, stronger, and more explosive while decreasing the rate of fatigue. Since training adaptations are highly specific, endurance training that utilizes the actual sport movements is highly beneficial. Shadowboxing, bag and pad drills, and sparring are particularly effective. This is no secret, and most fighters already make liberal use of these methods, yet many make the mistake of habitually training to exhaustion. Neuroscientists have known for half a century that if you stimulate a neural pathway and the outcome is positive, that action will be easier in the future. (Hebbian rule) in practice Olympic weightlifters and powerlifters, when training for strength, do not regularly train to muscular failure, stopping a few reps short. If one is able to lift a given weight for 5-reps, he would only perform 3-reps. It shouldn't be a question of doing as much of a given exercise as you possibly can, but doing enough to elicit the proper physical adaptation. The same principle applies to training for endurance. Since a fighter will often need to fight until exhaustion, (and beyond) training to exhaustion is sometimes warranted, but consistently training to exhaustion will promote sloppy technique, overtax the body's ability to recover, and lead to overtraining. The nervous system will remember the last movement performed, so it is important to finish strong, and sharp. Continually increasing the number of solid strikes per round is more productive than throwing round after round of punches or kicks that are little more than pushes.

Putting it all together. In my previous article, Strength Training for the MMA Fighter, I discussed the concept of planned variations in training know as periodization, which should encompass all training, not just strength training. This is important because when strength and endurance training are done concurrently, it is difficult for the body to adapt simultaneously to the conflicting demands. The solution is to conduct sequential strength and endurance programs, focusing first on strength, then on endurance, as it is less efficient to proceed in reverse. While focusing on a given motor ability, maintenance training can retain the motor ability that is not dominant during a given training cycle.