This is a guest post by Luka Hocevar.


I've always been a big fan of mixed martial arts and even though basketball was my favorite sport and the one I ended up pursuing, I grew up taking judo, kickboxing and karate for years.

Apart from liking the arts, I also did it because I wanted to be a bad ass. I actually ended up getting into way too much shit where I thought I could use my skills. (Not recommended.)

Things have come full circle and not only have I picked up MMA training again but I also train quite a few MMA fighters and wrestlers. I've learned from some of the top MMA strength and conditioning coaches around the world and have put their methods to the test with my athletes and myself

I go to many local fights and watch most of the top-level leagues where I like observe what the best guys are doing, as well as watching the most common mistakes fighters make when it comes to strength and conditioning.

It's simply amazing how so many of the fighters perfect their craft but do not pay much attention to the conditioning, psychology, mental toughness, recovery and nutritional aspects of being a champion at their sport. I bet you're the same way in the gym.

Check out these five tips, learn just how similar MMA and weight training are, and use them to make yourself a better athlete and weight lifter.

Combat is abusive and training doesn’t need to add to the trauma.

Training should bulletproof the body, improve its performance and not tear it down past recovery.

This is why it’s important to plan training around recovery rather than the other way around. Training is the stimulus while recovery is when the body truly adapts. Very few fighters and regular gym-goes overtrain but many under recover.

MMA training requires strength, conditioning, speed, technique and tactics.

Most fighters focus only on a couple of these factors (mostly conditioning, technique and tactics) which iswhy they are short changing themselves and limiting their own potential in the sport. I bet you're doing the same thing by only focusing on strength when you should also consider flexibility and conditioning.

The majority of fighters I see need to improve their maximum and relative strength. This will improve speed and power and increase the potential for speed, power and strength endurance. If you do not posses those qualities but are conditioned, what are you really enduring? Low power and strength?  Good luck in the cage...

If you have a 3-round fight then don’t train for 10 rounds!

This is something I hear very often: “I train to fight 10 rounds so that 3 rounds seem easy”. If that’s your thought process then don’t be surprised when you get you ass beat in the first or second round when you gas out. If you have a 3 round fight then train to fight and perform at a level that no one will be able to match for 3 rounds.

That also means you have to train with a purpose, make the training session short, intense and that every action is done with full dedication. This is a lot harder to execute than you think, but it’s the best practice. You have to be careful of traditionalists who may extend their training to 3 or 4 hours, of which 10% may have a purpose. 

You should stay between 5 and 7 percent of your fighting weight all year round.

That means no huge bulking diets that just add fat! Unfortunately too many fighters and would-be fighters take longer breaks after fights where nutrition and training takes a back seat (sometimes waaaay back) only to bust their ass and drop weight for the next fight.
 
Become a strong and healthy fighter at your natural weight and let others be sick, weak fighters that drop to lighter weights.

To be a successful MMA athlete or hardcore weight trainer, you have to be a part of a good team.

That means befriending strength and conditioning coaches, sport coaches, therapists, and like-minded guys.

Everyone has to work together and communicate so that it's in the best interest of the fighter. I can’t tell you how many times there will be a split camp where the skills coach does his own thing and disagrees with the strength coach who goes against what everyone else is doing. This not only hurts the fighter but the team as well.


What other parallels can you draw between MMA athletes and regular guys who pump iron in the gym? Let us know in the comments!

Posted Jul 14, 2009 by .
This entry is filed under luka and guest post.