Most Effective Exercises for MMA

Here are some tips for aspiring MMA fighters

 
• Schedule recovery first. Recovery is priority number one. Always build your schedule around it, not training.
 
• Clean up the diet. Everyone thinks they eat better than they really do. Peri-workout nutrition is top priority.
 
• Get 8 hours of sleep a night. Humans are the only species that get up when they aren't supposed to and go to bed when they aren't supposed to. You can't perform if you're tired.
 
• Drink a gallon of water a day. You hear this a hundred times a day, but how many actually do it? Double your water intake and you'll feel better, perform better, and get leaner.
 
• Add strength training into the program. Circuit training is useless if you're weak. You must develop strength first.
 
• Sprint three to four days a week. Sprints not only lean you out, they build significant hamstring mass and power. Plus, look at sprinters — who wouldn't want to look like those guys?
 
• Fit circuits in only around the other MMA training. With circuits, a little goes a long way. As the technical demands of MMA training go up, things like circuits need to be scaled back.
 
 
The Heavy Stuff — Weight training exercises every MMA fighter and average dude should be doing and why.
 
• Deadlifts: These could be the best exercise going, and definitely the most misunderstood. For fighters and weekend warriors alike, it's extremely functional. What's more functional than picking up a heavy object — like a gassed opponent?
 
• Single-arm farmer's walks: Most sports are unilateral. This exercise transfers well to the kicks and takedowns exhibited in MMA.
 
• One-arm dumbbell row: Vertical pulls like chin-ups are important, but for MMA, the horizontal pull is crucial. You need to pull your opponent towards you to control him.
 
 • Floor press: This is an exercise that's crucial for MMA. If you're on your back, you need good pushing power to get an opponent off you and pass guard.
 
• Jump squats: Great exercise for developing lower body power. Sets of six reps are ideal.
 
• Hamstring curl or glute-ham raise: To control an opponent, you have to be able to recruit the hamstring by flexing at the knee. Hip extension movements like deadlift variations are not sufficient.
 
• Sit ups: Trading spinal flexion for anti-rotation and plank variations is the trendy thing to do, but most submissions in MMA require some degree of spinal flexion. It's a mistake for fighters to leave them out completely.
 
• Neck harness: The neck is the pillar of the body, but nobody trains the neck at all these days. The top guys all have extremely strong necks; to compete with the big boys, neck training is essential.