How to Develop MMA-Specific Strength Article

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For those of you who are serious about MMA training, here's an awsome article written by Chad Waterbury that covers pretty much all aspects of strength training as applied to mixed martial arts.

Preview from T-Mag:

Welcome to the first installment of the Hammer Down training program for Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fighters. MMA events such as UFC, Pride, and K-1 are quickly rising to mainstream status, so it's not surprising that many people have become interested in learning how a MMA fighter trains. Specifically, what fitness qualities must be developed to help them transform into more effective fighters?

To address this question, I've written a three-part MMA fitness program. My intent isn't to show how others have trained; my intent is to unveil the methods I've found most effective for MMA fighters. So I've created three different training systems to develop strength, endurance, and mobility that coalesce into the Hammer Down program.

For simplicity's sake, I'm using these three fitness terms very loosely:

Strength: Most strength qualities fall under three primary types:

1. Static strength (isometric contractions)
2. Dynamic strength (concentric contractions)
3. Yielding strength (eccentric contractions)

Strength training exercises for MMA fighters should develop all of these types of strength, but some are more important than others. Unlike a sport such as powerlifting where maximal strength is king, MMA fighters must develop a vast number of strength qualities.

One of the most important strength qualities for an MMA fighter is explosive endurance strength. This is the ability to repetitively execute explosive efforts. (Think of Vitor Belfort's early round punching when he shows up in top shape.)

Endurance: MMA fighters must be able to perform at a high intensity for a prolonged period of time. Most MMA competitions are organized with durations that range from 15 minutes (UFC non-championship fights) to 20 minutes (Pride fights) to 25 minutes (UFC championship fights). So the 15-25 minute endurance range must be developed to the highest level. Of course, some fights end in significantly less time, but you must train to perform at a high level for the entire fight.

Jogging for 60 minutes won't help since it's challenging aerobic metabolism (the long duration energy system). In fact, long-duration cardio will hurt your efforts since you'll likely lose maximal strength and muscle mass while causing a muscle fiber type shift away from high-force power toward low-force endurance. Therefore, the intermediate energy system, anaerobic glycolysis, must be developed to build endurance strength (more on this in the next installment).

Mobility: This is the fitness quality I'll use most loosely. What I'm referring to by mobility is, of course, the ability to move freely. You're going to enhance mobility by developing dynamic, static passive, and static active flexibility (again, more on this in the last installment).

Read the rest here