MMA Training Critique

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hey guys I just wanted to get a critique on my training. I’ve been getting much more powerful and explosive but I want to make sure I’m not over doing it. I’m currently not taking any MMA classes but I will be very soon and I want to be as prepared for it as I can. I currently teach karate on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays for about 5 hours a night. I also spar for 45 minutes wednesday night after class. Anyway here it is, what do you guys think?

Monday - Squat, Bench, Powerclean, Curls. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Tuesday - Barbell Complex - Rows, Hangclean, OH Press, Good Morning, Lunges, Squat, Deadlift
Wednesday - Sparring
Thursday - Deadlift, OH Press, Towel Pullups, Close Grip Bench. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Friday - Hill Sprints
Saturday - Body Weight Circuit - Clap pushups, Body Weight Rows, Dips, Chins, Leg Raises. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Sunday - OFF

2

[quote]selfmade wrote:
Hey guys I just wanted to get a critique on my training. I’ve been getting much more powerful and explosive but I want to make sure I’m not over doing it. I’m currently not taking any MMA classes but I will be very soon and I want to be as prepared for it as I can. I currently teach karate on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays for about 5 hours a night. I also spar for 45 minutes wednesday night after class. Anyway here it is, what do you guys think?

Monday - Squat, Bench, Powerclean, Curls. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Tuesday - Barbell Complex - Rows, Hangclean, OH Press, Good Morning, Lunges, Squat, Deadlift
Wednesday - Sparring
Thursday - Deadlift, OH Press, Towel Pullups, Close Grip Bench. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Friday - Hill Sprints
Saturday - Body Weight Circuit - Clap pushups, Body Weight Rows, Dips, Chins, Leg Raises. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Sunday - OFF[/quote]

That sucks, what are your current stats?

3

5’7, 165 10% bf. Bench - 195 x 6, Squat 275 x 6, Deadlift 315 x 6, Powerclean 185 x 6

4

more info would be good, i think you are doing too much weights and not enough skill work

5

oh, we typed at the same time :wink:

6

More fighting. Less lifting.

7

So would you think it would be a good idea to just cut it back to 2 lifting days and 1 conditioning day and then alot of heavy bag work until I can start taking some muay thai / bjj classes?

8

[quote]selfmade wrote:
So would you think it would be a good idea to just cut it back to 2 lifting days and 1 conditioning day and then alot of heavy bag work until I can start taking some muay thai / bjj classes? [/quote]

Depends on what kind of conditioning you want to tackle. Aerobic, Anaerobic, Muscular Endurance. Generally speaking though, one day of conditioning won’t do much. Two days should be good enough for lifting though. Look at the Texas method, or any of the Rippetoe articles on here. Joe D. also had a two day template for mma.

9

I do BJJ 3 times a week, not MMA but… Personally all I do in the gym is strength work. I get a decent amount of conditioning sparring hard for 2-3 rounds two or three times a week. I’ll admit, back when I was doing complexes, they seemed to help too, but not as much as actually rolling.

10

No MMA classes? Than it will not matter what you lift. Go join a school.
end thread.

11

[quote]rundymc wrote:
I do BJJ 3 times a week, not MMA but… Personally all I do in the gym is strength work. I get a decent amount of conditioning sparring hard for 2-3 rounds two or three times a week. I’ll admit, back when I was doing complexes, they seemed to help too, but not as much as actually rolling.[/quote]

period.

12

You should run more.

13

[quote]krazylarry wrote:
No MMA classes? Than it will not matter what you lift. Go join a school.
end thread.[/quote]

That’s pretty much it. Nothing is going to get you ready for it except actually doing it.

If you’re going to be striking, you can do more heavy bag work, more shadowboxing, etc. but then you may be forming some bad habits doing it alone… although not like it matters because MMA is filled with fighters who can’t punch for shit, but that’s besides the point.

Get into class. Complexes and all that shit just aren’t going to cut it and you’re still going to gas out terribly until you really get used to fighting.

14

Hey Johnny, weren’t you training Muay Thai back in the day? How are things going?

15

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Hey Johnny, weren’t you training Muay Thai back in the day? How are things going?[/quote]

Hey!Yep I fight professionally now.Been busy training and fighting so haven’t posted on here in a long time.Injured my ankle and knee last month so bored and posting on forums more now.
How’s your training/fighting going?

16

Other than the Karate, do you have any standup fighting training?

I ask in all seriousness because, not knowing much about your personal karate school, most karate students are only developing bad ring skills when they do bag work.

I’ve seen plenty of karateka who can hit a bag really hard. Far less who can move their feet, work on position, keep their chin tucked with their guard up, throw a decent hook, throw more than a two punch combination, or snap their punches back anywhere near as quickly as they send them out.

Again, not saying that’s you, but if any of it is your best bet may be to just join a cheap boxing gym for a few months for your aerobic workout.

17

[quote]selfmade wrote:
Hey guys I just wanted to get a critique on my training. I’ve been getting much more powerful and explosive but I want to make sure I’m not over doing it. I’m currently not taking any MMA classes but I will be very soon and I want to be as prepared for it as I can. I currently teach karate on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays for about 5 hours a night. I also spar for 45 minutes wednesday night after class. Anyway here it is, what do you guys think?

Monday - Squat, Bench, Powerclean, Curls. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Tuesday - Barbell Complex - Rows, Hangclean, OH Press, Good Morning, Lunges, Squat, Deadlift
Wednesday - Sparring
Thursday - Deadlift, OH Press, Towel Pullups, Close Grip Bench. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Friday - Hill Sprints
Saturday - Body Weight Circuit - Clap pushups, Body Weight Rows, Dips, Chins, Leg Raises. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Sunday - OFF[/quote]

what kind of karate do you teach? how long? and how long before you plan on training MMA?

in all honesty, i think the most important thing to develop prior to MMA training is endurance and flexibilty, and not go in injured. i think you’re still gonna gas at first, until you get used to the different style of fighting, but having a solid cardio base will do the most for you. also, BJJ in particular is hard on people with limited mobility, so i’d suggest checking out Youtube for some stretches to do. i stretch 15-30 minutes daily (have for about 15 years), and i find it gives me a lot fo advantages when rolling.

i would suggest a schedule like this:

day 1: long run
day 2: bodyweight circuit
day 3: sprints
day 4: barbell complexs
day 5: off
repeat… and stretch a lot afterwards.

depending on your style of karate, the transition mgiht be easy for you, or it might be harder, since you’ll be used to moving and striking in a different way. i would almost suggest not training until you get in to MMA classes, and just work on the conditioning.

my .02, and good lcuk!

18

^^ Thanks bush, I was really just looking for something like that. But to answer some other questions I teach American Kempo Karate… Yes I know not great for MMA but it at least allows me to stay active and I’m stretching constantly. I am really flexible and can almost do a full strattle and split. I would sign up for classes today if I could, I just need to settle some things financially first. I will be signed up within 2 - 3 weeks though… My next question is once I am signed up (let’s say it’s 2 BJJ and 2 Muay Thai classes per week) how should I continue my training outside of class? Similar to what Bush posted?

19

[quote]cycobushmaster wrote:

[quote]selfmade wrote:
Hey guys I just wanted to get a critique on my training. I’ve been getting much more powerful and explosive but I want to make sure I’m not over doing it. I’m currently not taking any MMA classes but I will be very soon and I want to be as prepared for it as I can. I currently teach karate on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays for about 5 hours a night. I also spar for 45 minutes wednesday night after class. Anyway here it is, what do you guys think?

Monday - Squat, Bench, Powerclean, Curls. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Tuesday - Barbell Complex - Rows, Hangclean, OH Press, Good Morning, Lunges, Squat, Deadlift
Wednesday - Sparring
Thursday - Deadlift, OH Press, Towel Pullups, Close Grip Bench. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Friday - Hill Sprints
Saturday - Body Weight Circuit - Clap pushups, Body Weight Rows, Dips, Chins, Leg Raises. Then heavy bag and ab work.
Sunday - OFF[/quote]

what kind of karate do you teach? how long? and how long before you plan on training MMA?

in all honesty, i think the most important thing to develop prior to MMA training is endurance and flexibilty, and not go in injured. i think you’re still gonna gas at first, until you get used to the different style of fighting, but having a solid cardio base will do the most for you. also, BJJ in particular is hard on people with limited mobility, so i’d suggest checking out Youtube for some stretches to do. i stretch 15-30 minutes daily (have for about 15 years), and i find it gives me a lot fo advantages when rolling.

i would suggest a schedule like this:

day 1: long run
day 2: bodyweight circuit
day 3: sprints
day 4: barbell complexs
day 5: off
repeat… and stretch a lot afterwards.

depending on your style of karate, the transition mgiht be easy for you, or it might be harder, since you’ll be used to moving and striking in a different way. i would almost suggest not training until you get in to MMA classes, and just work on the conditioning.

my .02, and good lcuk![/quote]

Doesn’t that seem a little too mixed for there to be good results.

20

[quote]selfmade wrote:
^^ Thanks bush, I was really just looking for something like that. But to answer some other questions I teach American Kempo Karate… Yes I know not great for MMA but it at least allows me to stay active and I’m stretching constantly. I am really flexible and can almost do a full strattle and split. I would sign up for classes today if I could, I just need to settle some things financially first. I will be signed up within 2 - 3 weeks though… My next question is once I am signed up (let’s say it’s 2 BJJ and 2 Muay Thai classes per week) how should I continue my training outside of class? Similar to what Bush posted? [/quote]

is that the similar to the style that Jeff Speakman did? if so, your footwork is prolly good, as well as timing and speed.

as far as your training down the road, it’s hard to say… it depends how your recovery is from your training, and where you need work. i generally suggest that poeple take the extra training easy at first, until they get used to MMA and figure out what they need to work on…