Sledgehammer MMA Workout

When you think of hardcore or old school training methods to develop raw strength and power, usually the picture of some bad-ass looking dude wielding a sledgehammer like it was Thor’s Mighty Hammer and slamming it on an old monster truck tire comes to mind.

Although this exercise goes back decades, to this day it is still a vital one to throw in your mma workout program. On top of the many physical benefits, it just feels damn good to swing a thick wooden stick with a big chunk of iron at the end with all your might.

It brings to the wielder a feeling a raw power and animalistic aggression that smith machines and sissy looking stability ball exercises simply can’t provide (nothing against these exercises, of course; they have their time and place).

For mma fighters, this is a great exercise to include in your mma workout program from time to time, whether it’s in the form of circuit training or one of your main strength and power development programs.

Sledgehammer training has many benefits that transfer over very well to mma fighters and combat athletes, depening on how you structure your mma workout program.

The main benefits of sledgehammer training are:

• Grip strength and endurance
• Core strength
• Rotational power (key for striking, kicking, and throwing power)
• Muscular endurance
• Full body strength and muscular coordination

Grip strength is key for both strikers and grappler’s. Executing the exercise correctly will also develop your core strength and rotational power, which is the basis for developing knockout power in your kicks and strikes as well as explosive and powerful throws.

If you follow a mma workout program that emphasizes repetitive slams with the sledgehammer, this will develop your muscular endurance, especially in your back, shoulders, and arms – muscles that are all used heavily in combat sports.

And finally, since this movement requires major movement muscles and stabilizer muscles from your entire body, it trains your body to coordinate movements into one powerful technique, rather then isolated movements that train your body to work as separate units.

In other words, in case you’re wondering what the hell that means, it just means that it develops your body as one unit, or one weapon, which develops maximum power output –  ideal for mma fighters.

Here’s a sledgehammer routine that you can add into your next mma workout program:

Round 1

• 10 seconds vertical slams from the right side
• 10 seconds vertical slams from the left side
• Rest 10 seconds

Round 2

• 20 seconds vertical slams
• 10 seconds rest

Repeat rounds 1 and 2 without any additional rest in between for a total of 8 rounds, making it a total of 4 grueling minutes. Add this to one of your mma workout programs and you’ll notice considerable gains in your rotational power within weeks.

Train hard, fellow fighters and fans.

Derek Manuel
MMA Workout Program