What Is MMA Conditioning and Why Is It so Important?
In order for any modern athlete to excel at their respective sports discipline, they must be physically fit. Building up strength and endurance are the two key processes this effort is comprised of. Building endurance is especially important in martial arts, such as MMA. Fighters must have remarkable stamina that they achieve through conditioning training but what exactly is MMA conditional training?
Building up strength
Although strength training might not seem like an essential part of conditioning, it lies at the basis of becoming a great MMA fighter. Strength is more than the sheer power a fighter can punch the opponent. In fact, you have to be strong to repel an attack as well.
In order to show off his strength, an MMA fighter first must be able to endure the mandatory 3×5 minutes in the ring or cage. The stronger the fighter, the less energy the will exert to throw a punch or block a kick. This means they can save precious energy and divert it to moving fast around the ring.
Speed is a major factor
Even if you can throw a hard punch, it still needs to be quick enough so it doesn’t get blocked by the opponent. The factor of speed is especially important in matches where both opponents have a similar level of strength, fitness, and endurance. In these cases, it is the speed of throwing a pinch that decides the winner.
Since an MMA fighter is the most vulnerable when they’re on the attack, they need to be able to deliver the blow quickly and return to their original position to block a counterattack. Hand to eye coordination and reaction time are, therefore, as an essential segment of conditional training.
Gearing up for the fight
As far as protective gear is concerned, spectators usually see only a fraction of the gear MMA fighters use when training. Shin guards, boxing bags, and gloves are just part of the gear MMA fighters use during conditioning training sessions.
Since these sessions include a lot of running, this equipment is of great value for an aspiring contender. If you want to find more about the full range of training equipment, you can find it online here and see if there’s anything interesting you’d like to try out.
Endurance training
One cannot enter the ring unless they are powerful and they will soon leave it if they are too slow for their opponent. However, the very core of an MMA fighter is his endurance, which is the very goal conditional training is all about. In fact, if there isn’t a KO in the first couple of minutes, the fighter with greater endurance level is likely to win, regardless of his strength.
There are countless athletes who willingly disregarded this aspect of conditioning and ended up losing in the second round because their opponent simply wore them down. In this sense, endurance is trained differently when it comes to striking and defending. Furthermore, fighters must engage in special conditions to be able to have grappling stamina. The more a fighter is able to develop all of these types of endurance, the better he or she will be.
Basically, endurance is a weapon just as a fighter’s fist or foot. A fighter that takes his condition training seriously can literally tire out the opponent out by pacing around the ring. For instance, both of the Diaz brothers love this style of fighting; engaging the opponent all the time without the need to throw big punches or strike particularly fast.
Essentially, strength, speed, and endurance form the core of condition training in MMA. Once you add the right gear to the equation, you realize how building upon conditioning is the goal of every MMA fighter.
