MMA Workout Routines

MMA fighters train hard in pursuit of one main goal; victory in the ring. A body that is powerful yet dexterous is needed to execute moves and maneuvers.
You’re going to have to first get your stamina up to workout hard and long. Start with jogging, then move up to running for at least an hour, five days a week.

Simple exercises like pushups, situps and lunges should be done as well to tone and strengthen muscles, then add some hand weights to your routine to push your body to the limit.

You might be very pleasantly surprised to see how much your body can change by doing a lot of cardiovascular mixed with some light strength training.

If you try to start grappling or dead lifting without the right strength or stamina, you won’t like the results.

So don’t sell yourself short and get to sweating it out.

So hopefully you’ve managed to build up your endurance and strength, but how tough are you? By that I mean have you actually sparred or done any grappling with a human opponent? Even if you have, you will need to further your current training routine by doing some serious work.

You can do this in one of two ways; lengthen the time you workout, or add more intense techniques to your current regimen.

If you’ve been running two miles a day on a track, start running uphill.

Lifting 20 pound dumbbells? Crank up the weight to 30 pounds on each side.

You’re not trying to kill yourself, but your opponent isn’t exactly going to take it easy on you. Each time you set a physical goal for yourself, see if you can set the bar just a little higher.

If you follow MMA, you already know all about Frank Mir’s trouble rise to the top including a near death motorcycle accident and subsequent loss to Brock Lesnar. After taking some time off to evaluate his training strategy, Mir has put on substantial bulk as a result of a completely re-hauled workout plan.

Some of the basic changes made was to cut out the focus on bodybuilding and light conditioning many fighters choose to work with. In it’s place, Mir has added the principles of strongman strength training to add both strength and size to his arsenal.

The physical results are hard to deny as Mir is now a well defined powerhouse. How all his hard work will play out in the ring, no one yet knows. It is worth mentioning that some of the most successful fighters have followed this same plan.

Basically, strongman training focuses on lifting heavy weight in short reps many times over. Forget about just doing dead lifts and arm curls, the strongman technique will involve turning over tires, pulling cars and sending kegs barreling over your head.

Traditional strongmen aren’t necessarily known for their strength, but with Mir combining endurance building exercises and getting rid of most of his body fat, he will definitely be a formidable force in the ring again.

Cristiane Santos might very well be the most recognizable female star in MMA. The women’s division is on the move, so being champion was no small feat for Santos. As a member of the renowned Chute Boxing Academy in Brazil, Santos participates in a workout regimen that is intense, but yields phenomenal results. Based on the principles of Muay Thai kickboxing and Brazilian Jui-Jitsu, the Chute Academy trains their fighters to be notoriously aggressive and explosive in the ring.

Santos practices the basics of grappling, take-downs and strikes while incorporating them with aggressive strength training. She slams a sledgehammer on a tire in both standing and kneeling positions, turns over a huge tire and pulls her trainer with a bungee cord as she sprints.

Much of her cardiovascular work comes from these explosive and dynamic techniques developed by her experienced trainers both in and out of the gym. Swinging a sledgehammer takes a lot of energy, and alternating from a standing to a sitting position will give your muscles a burn never felt before. Using martial arts as a base, Santos focuses on several fighting styles a day with a focus on building endurance.