Jogging truths for MMA

You NEED to Read This If You Are Still Jogging for Miles to Improve Your Conditioning – by Justin Devonshire

Its been tradition for years to run miles and miles a few times per week in order to become conditioned for combat. And on paper, its easy to see why and where this notion came from.

If we think back, boxers were most likely the first to use this method. Their thinking was that they could be on their feet for up to 12 rounds, or an hour, so being able to jog and stay on their feet for that time would prepare them for a fight.

However, times have changed, exercise science has moved on and the Rocky days are over. It is now known that training in this way has NO BENEFIT to martial artists, and in fact is probably making you slower and weaker.

Although I won’t argue that the cardio-respiratory system needs to be trained for the grualling demands of combat, it is important that you know what type of energy is best for combat. And to do this I’d like to explain to you the 3 Energy Systems of the body (And I will try to do this without getting too sciency and boring you to death)..

ATP is the substance that provides energy. There are 3 Energy Systems that work and they use ATP at different rates, depending on the task at hand.

The first system is the phosphagen system. This system produces the energy for the first 10-15 seconds of activity. (The first rep of a set, getting out of a chair, an entire 100 meter sprint etc).
This system uses the ATP that is stored in the muscles already, hence why it can give you great power so fast. The only thing is that this ATP won’t last longer than that 15 seconds so your power output falls after that point.

If you still need energy after that 15 seconds, the next system kicks in. This is the Anaerobic system. This provides a moderate to high power output for the next 3 minutes. It gets ATP by breaking down carbs / sugars stored in your muscles. Note that Anaerobic means “without oxygen”. (Oxygen cant be used to get energy quick enough so the body uses its carbs instead.)

After the 3 minute duration, the body is forced to slow down so the slower Aerobic System can take over. Aerobic means “WITH oxygen”. This system uses oxygen to break down fat to use as energy. Now the good thing is that there is plenty of fat to be broken down so the aerobic system can provide energy for long durations (hence why you can jog so far). The drawback is that the power output MUST STAY LOW for it to continue. (Hence why you can’t SPRINT so far!)

So basically, what the above tells us is that when he need high energy and power output, we can’t have it for long. When the energy and power demands are low, we can have it for as long as we want.

Now despite what many fitness professionals may tell you, MMA and combat is NOT an aerobic sport. It is entirely anaerobic in nature. Think about it – kicks, hooks, shoots, takedowns, holding a guard – are all high intensity, explosive movements that require as much power as possible. What this should tell you about conditioning for MMA is that fighters need high-energy, high powered bursts . This is why the traditional idea of jogging at a slow pace and a low energy level will not train your body for the demands of combat.

What is actually needed by fighters is not aerobic endurance, but Anaerobic endurance (or Power Endurance).

So, how is it that we can train out aerobic system to go on forever, but we can’t go on sprinting at a high intensity for ever, no matter how hard we try?

The reason is lactic acid, which is released when sugar is broken down for energy by the Anaerobic system. The lactic acid burns your muscles and eventually cripples them from contracting. The result? You get slow, weak and left unable to prevent being taken down and hammered.

However, training in the right way, in an explosive and high intensity manner will help your body cope with lactic acid. It is also a psychological adaptation, as you get more used to working with that ‘burn’ for long periods of time. This makes it less of a shock to you when you’re in a match.

Basically, the more you train intermittently at high intensity levels, the better you can mentally and physically tolerate the muscle burn of lactic acid.

But HOW are Distance Jogs Making You Weaker?

So excessive aerobic training doesn’t help you meet the demands of high powered MMA. But how is it actually making your fitness worse?

Firstly, your spending a lot of time and energy jogging that could be put to better use interval training or weight lifting, both of which will get you better conditioned in a fraction of the time.

Secondly, long distance running forces your muscle fibre types to change from high-force to low-force. Remember that your body will adapt to meet the demands of the exercise you put on it. If you train slow, you will perform slow. Simple as that. LSD will make you less powerful.

Thirdly, the high volume and repetitive curb stomping is bad for your joints in the long term.

Fourth, the more excess aerobic work you do the more your body will start using your muscles for energy. Think of a typical marathon runner, and then think of a sprinter. Marathon runners are the definition of aerobic athletes. Most of them are skinny, weak looking and soft. Sprinters on the other hand, seldom run for more than 20 seconds and are ripped, often have impressive shoulders and glutes. Which athlete would you more likely want to avoid in an MMA fight? This just goes to show that aerobic exercises is not worth your time at all.

There is nothing wrong with having an aerobic ‘base’ as they say, but most athletes should have a decent aerobic base already, so there’s no need to keep training it. I would say that if you can jog 2 miles within 14 minutes, you have an adequate base of aerobic energy. If you wish, you could perform this 2 mile jog in the time frame once a month. That should be all you need to maintain it. The rest of the time needs to be spent building up your lactic acid tolerance and training yourself to be able to use high bursts of power for the duration of your fight!

Here are a couple of well known, and basic methods of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) you can start using straight away.

Interval training involves using short, high-powered bursts of power, followed by a longer interval of recovery. This way, you can perform multiple rounds of high-intensity work without getting gassed out quickly.

Here is a simple method of HIIT you can follow immediately. You can do this on a bike, a rowing machine, sprints, or even by throwing strikes on a bag:

Perform 30 seconds at a high intensity (around 85% of your maximum power output)

Follow this with 60 seconds at a light pace / intensity. This can be as light as possible, you are simply using this time period to regain your energy so you can go all out for the next 30 seconds.

Each interval of High Intensity followed by an interval of Low Intensity is known as a Round. Start by performing 5-8 rounds, 2-3 times per week.

Each week, take 15 seconds off the Low Intensity Interval (from 60 seconds to 45 seconds etc). By decreasing your rest periods your specific conditioning for MMA will improve drastically.

Method 2: The Tabata Protocol

The Japanese Scientist Izumi Tabata discovered a form of Interval Training that allows you to increase your anaerobic endurance, but ALSO your aerobic capacity, in a very short time. Now known as the Tabata Protocol, the method is short and simple. But not easy…

Again using a bike, rower, other mode of your choice you simply perform for 20 seconds at maximum effort, followed by 10 seconds of low intensity. Repeat this for 8 rounds, for a total duration of just 4 minutes.

“How effective can a mere 4 minutes be for my conditioning?!”, I hear you thinking out loud. The tests carried out by Tabata found that those who used this protocol once 5 days per week increased their anaerobic capacity by 28%, and their aerobic capacity by 14%.

Those who performed LSD-type running for one hour, 5 days per week did not increase their anaerobic capacity at all, and only improved their aerobic capacity by 10%.

So, why run for an hour a day when you can exercise for just 4 minutes, and become significantly fitter for MMA in a fraction of the time? I sincerely hope by now you realise how pointless multiple-mile runs really are for MMA conditioning.

I would strongly advise you to cut out any distance runs and get on with a HIIT program instead. If you want further details on workouts and methods I use with fighters by all means PM me.

Thanks for reading this, everyone.

Justin

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Justin Devonshire, MMA-CSCC”