Bear crawls is a great mma conditioning exercise

Circuit training has been around for a long time. It is a staple in exercise routines for developing cardiovascular endurance and muscular conditioning.

As the sport of mma becomes more and more popular and the standards for mma fighters strength and conditioning continues to increase, mma conditioning workouts need to be more refined and sport specific then ever.

Traditional circuit training had trainee’s doing typical “old school” exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups.

Although these will continue to be staple exercises for any athlete, fighters and combat athletes need more sport specific mma conditioning workouts and exercises.

One limitation in traditional circuits is that typical bodyweight exercises do not overload the muscular system sufficiently enough to increase strength and power.

Though it is very important for mma conditioning workouts to condition a fighters body to move it’s own weight efficiently, it is also important that they include added resistance to really build tolerance to lactic acid build up that occurs in mma type movements.

Another limitation traditional circuit training has is not enough exercises that stress pulling movements, overhead movements, and side to side or lateral movements.

For a fighter to be in top condition, they must follow mma conditioning workouts that include exercises that work all of these movements.

Pulling is key for grappler’s pulling in the clinch or guard, overhead pressing important for building endurance in the shoulders for striking and other movements, and lateral movements are absolutely vital for developing power in striking along with core strength.

MMA conditioning workouts must include both bodyweight exercises, resistance exercises covering all planes of motion, and some type of power or plyometric exercise to really be complete.

Some examples of good bodyweight exercises to included in a mma conditioning workout circuit are:

• Push-ups
• Handstand push-ups
• Pull-ups
• Bear crawls
• Rope climbing
• Parallel bar dips

Examples of some good resistance exercises in a circuit are:

• Kettle bell swings
• Sandbag exercises (presses, squats, deadlifts, etc)
• Barbell complexes (every heard of the “Randy Couture workout?”
• Tire flipping
• Weighted sled

And finally, a complete mma conditioning workout will also include a few power or plyometric exercises, ususally in the beginning of the circuit and with just a few reps to focus on explosiveness and technique rather then fatigue.

Some examples of good power/plyometric exercises are:

• Box jumps
• Hurdle jumps
• plyo-push-ups
• Medicine ball throws (front slams, side toss’s, chest pass’s, etc)

Circuit training, like many other forms of physical fitness is constantly evolving. With the UFC and other big mma fight promotions becoming more and more popular, mma conditioning workouts are helping with this evolution to create the perfect athlete, whether in combat sports or otherwise.

For mma conditioning workouts that include the above exercises and more in complete and comprehensive programs specific for mma fighters, be sure to check out reviews of the top mma conditioning workouts here.

Train hard, fellow fighters and fans.

Derek Manuel
MMA Conditioning Workouts