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MMA INTERVAL TRAINING TIPS & TECHNIQUES
If you’ve been working out for any length of time,as I have been, it’s a safe bet that you’ve used interval training as a part of your conditioning and/or overall fitness regimen ans rightly so at times,if done properly and continually changed up to meet your specific needs at a given time,which are also always changing.
Countless articles have been written over the last several years touting the benefits that can be seen with their use – many citing supporting various pieces of research to back up their claims.
While there is no doubt that intervals can be extremely effective tools to improve the fitness and overall conditioning of combat athletes and recreational trainees alike, lost amidst the endless discussion of their benefits has been the reality that all intervals are not created equally. The truth is that, despite what you may have read, there is no one single ideal interval or some magical work to rest ratio that should be used at all times or for all purposes.
Just as different forms and aspects of striking – those from Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, traditional martial arts, etc. – each have unique advantages and disadvantages and need to be utilized appropriately in an MMA fight, there are also many different forms and effective applications of interval training. In this article, I’ll present you with four different methods of interval training that I’ve successfully used over the last seven years with more than thirty top pro fighters.
Each interval method has a different purpose and application and I guarantee each can help improve the effectiveness of your training program.
Tempo Intervals
Goal: speed up recovery, improve aerobic fitness and work capacity
Fight Application: the more you can train, the more you can improve. Tempo intervals help you spend more time in the gym longer without overtraining.
Every combat sport athlete knows just how grueling training in the gym day in and day out can be. Because of this, it’s often important to use training methods that can improve conditioning without putting any additional wear and tear on your body. Made popular by the late Charlie Francis, tempo intervals fit this bill perfectly and are one of the best ways to build aerobic fitness and work capacity at the same time without the added risk of injury and stress that comes along with some of the higher intensity interval methods.
Francis used to have his sprinters – some of the most explosive and powerful athletes in the world – perform what he called “tempo runs” on lower intensity training days. These tempo runs generally consisted of short sprints of 12-15 seconds at 75% or less of their maximum speed with about 1 minute or so of rest between sprints. Even though the short sprint events Francis coached were extremely explosive and anaerobic in nature, he believed these lower intensity aerobic intervals played a key role in building work capacity and improving speed.
For combat sports, tempo intervals can be applied in many different forms, ranging from general activities like the sprints that Francis used, to more specific drills such as hitting the heavy bag or doing pad work. The important thing is that the intensity of the work intervals is kept at 75% or less of your maximum with the duration no more than 12-15 seconds. You can rest between intervals for 1 minute or until your heart rate comes down to 130-135, whichever comes first.
Tempo intervals can be performed on days when you’re not in the gym or as a second workout of the day to help speed up recovery between intense training sessions. Once they include tempo intervals in their program, many athletes report having more energy for their hard workouts and a noticeable improvement in their conditioning.
Reactive Power Intervals
Goal: increase repetitive explosive power output
Fight Application: throwing explosive combinations and being able to rapidly change directions are essential to inflicting damage, finishing fights, and good defense
Every fighter understands the value of explosive power in combat sports and many believe that interval training is a great way to this sought after quality. Although this can certainly be true if the right interval methods are used, many of the most commonly used interval methods – Tabata intervals in particular among them – are not the most effective tools for this specific purpose.
Repetitive explosive power is largely a function of the nervous system’s ability to rapidly recruit muscle fibers, the percentage of these fibers that are fast-twitch, and specific elastic properties of the muscles themselves. If you think of muscles as somewhat like rubber bands in their ability to stretch and contract, this last quality refers to how fast the muscles recoil when they are stretched and this is a quality that can be enhanced through training.
Almost everyone is familiar with plyometrics and the entire paradigm of plyometric training was designed largely developed to serve this exact purpose. Reactive power intervals are an effective blend of plyometrics and intervals and while most interval methods fall short in improving explosiveness because they are often performed in a constant state of fatigue, reactive power intervals take a unique approach and produce far better results.
One of the main keys to performing reactive power intervals correctly is selecting the right exercises for the method. Exercises that are commonly used for plyometrics like hurdle, box jumps or broad jumps, medicine ball throws into a wall, explosive push-ups and pull-ups, etc. are the most appropriate for this form of interval. The primary requirement is that the working muscles are actively stretched under load and then rapidly recoiled to produce maximum force.
Regardless of the exercises you choose, you’ll need to perform 6-8 seconds of maximum intensity work – in other words, be as quick and explosive as you possibly can – followed by at least 90 seconds or more of complete rest. You should not feel fatigued when using this method as it’s vitally important to use as many of the fast-twitch fibers as possible during each and every rep and fatigue is a clear sign that they are no longer producing force. Along these lines, make sure to rest at least a full 5 minutes between different exercises when using this interval method for best results.
If you’ve been working out for any length of time,as I have been, it’s a safe bet that you’ve used interval training as a part of your conditioning and/or overall fitness regimen ans rightly so at times,if done properly and continually changed up to meet your specific needs at a given time,which are also always changing.
Countless articles have been written over the last several years touting the benefits that can be seen with their use – many citing supporting various pieces of research to back up their claims.
While there is no doubt that intervals can be extremely effective tools to improve the fitness and overall conditioning of combat athletes and recreational trainees alike, lost amidst the endless discussion of their benefits has been the reality that all intervals are not created equally. The truth is that, despite what you may have read, there is no one single ideal interval or some magical work to rest ratio that should be used at all times or for all purposes.
Just as different forms and aspects of striking – those from Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, traditional martial arts, etc. – each have unique advantages and disadvantages and need to be utilized appropriately in an MMA fight, there are also many different forms and effective applications of interval training. In this article, I’ll present you with four different methods of interval training that I’ve successfully used over the last seven years with more than thirty top pro fighters.
Each interval method has a different purpose and application and I guarantee each can help improve the effectiveness of your training program.
Tempo Intervals
Goal: speed up recovery, improve aerobic fitness and work capacity
Fight Application: the more you can train, the more you can improve. Tempo intervals help you spend more time in the gym longer without overtraining.
Every combat sport athlete knows just how grueling training in the gym day in and day out can be. Because of this, it’s often important to use training methods that can improve conditioning without putting any additional wear and tear on your body. Made popular by the late Charlie Francis, tempo intervals fit this bill perfectly and are one of the best ways to build aerobic fitness and work capacity at the same time without the added risk of injury and stress that comes along with some of the higher intensity interval methods.
Francis used to have his sprinters – some of the most explosive and powerful athletes in the world – perform what he called “tempo runs” on lower intensity training days. These tempo runs generally consisted of short sprints of 12-15 seconds at 75% or less of their maximum speed with about 1 minute or so of rest between sprints. Even though the short sprint events Francis coached were extremely explosive and anaerobic in nature, he believed these lower intensity aerobic intervals played a key role in building work capacity and improving speed.
For combat sports, tempo intervals can be applied in many different forms, ranging from general activities like the sprints that Francis used, to more specific drills such as hitting the heavy bag or doing pad work. The important thing is that the intensity of the work intervals is kept at 75% or less of your maximum with the duration no more than 12-15 seconds. You can rest between intervals for 1 minute or until your heart rate comes down to 130-135, whichever comes first.
Tempo intervals can be performed on days when you’re not in the gym or as a second workout of the day to help speed up recovery between intense training sessions. Once they include tempo intervals in their program, many athletes report having more energy for their hard workouts and a noticeable improvement in their conditioning.
Reactive Power Intervals
Goal: increase repetitive explosive power output
Fight Application: throwing explosive combinations and being able to rapidly change directions are essential to inflicting damage, finishing fights, and good defense
Every fighter understands the value of explosive power in combat sports and many believe that interval training is a great way to this sought after quality. Although this can certainly be true if the right interval methods are used, many of the most commonly used interval methods – Tabata intervals in particular among them – are not the most effective tools for this specific purpose.
Repetitive explosive power is largely a function of the nervous system’s ability to rapidly recruit muscle fibers, the percentage of these fibers that are fast-twitch, and specific elastic properties of the muscles themselves. If you think of muscles as somewhat like rubber bands in their ability to stretch and contract, this last quality refers to how fast the muscles recoil when they are stretched and this is a quality that can be enhanced through training.
Almost everyone is familiar with plyometrics and the entire paradigm of plyometric training was designed largely developed to serve this exact purpose. Reactive power intervals are an effective blend of plyometrics and intervals and while most interval methods fall short in improving explosiveness because they are often performed in a constant state of fatigue, reactive power intervals take a unique approach and produce far better results.
One of the main keys to performing reactive power intervals correctly is selecting the right exercises for the method. Exercises that are commonly used for plyometrics like hurdle, box jumps or broad jumps, medicine ball throws into a wall, explosive push-ups and pull-ups, etc. are the most appropriate for this form of interval. The primary requirement is that the working muscles are actively stretched under load and then rapidly recoiled to produce maximum force.
Regardless of the exercises you choose, you’ll need to perform 6-8 seconds of maximum intensity work – in other words, be as quick and explosive as you possibly can – followed by at least 90 seconds or more of complete rest. You should not feel fatigued when using this method as it’s vitally important to use as many of the fast-twitch fibers as possible during each and every rep and fatigue is a clear sign that they are no longer producing force. Along these lines, make sure to rest at least a full 5 minutes between different exercises when using this interval method for best results.
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