What do you guys feel is the best type of cardio training for MMA?

[Dave_19]

I'm wondering, what do you guys feel who are involved with MMA, what is the best type of cardio practice to increase your cardio endurance for the event of a fight? aI have heard sprints, swimming or hitting the heavy bag. Is it real world practice? sparing w/ a partner grappling?

Anyway my cardio has gone to shit since turning my back on it. I have recenetly paired up with one of the gracie cousins and he plans to whip my cardio in shape and take me down from a lean 217-> a ripped 195. My biggest obstical is cardio I have found, I cannot hit the heavy bag for more the 60 seconds w/o extreme fatique. i have my work cut out for me. I will only be training with him tue/thur/sat so on my normal training days Im free to do cardio training of my choice. Thats why im trying to figure out whats the best type of cardio to do on my own time.

 

[Classy_Cojones]

Before the last fight, I was doing 5 three minute rounds on the heavybag with one minute pauses. I was also doing three 5 minute rounds sparring.

On my off days, I would go and swim until I felt something between bliss and exhaustion. That would be 40-50 laps, different strokes.

Running is good for stand-up and clinch, swimming is good for all-around MMA, sparring also - obviously, and bag work is extremely important.

Basically, everyone gets tired. Doing 5*3 on the heavy-bag I'd get to a few sticking points, but you have to push through and if you do, your body will find new resources.

 

[b-boy]

I'm wondering, what do you guys feel who are involved with MMA, what is the best type of cardio practice to increase your cardio endurance for the event of a fight? aI have heard sprints, swimming or hitting the heavy bag. Is it real world practice? sparing w/ a partner grappling?

Anyway my cardio has gone to shit since turning my back on it. I have recenetly paired up with one of the gracie cousins and he plans to whip my cardio in shape and take me down from a lean 217-> a ripped 195. My biggest obstical is cardio I have found, I cannot hit the heavy bag for more the 60 seconds w/o extreme fatique. i have my work cut out for me. I will only be training with him tue/thur/sat so on my normal training days Im free to do cardio training of my choice. Thats why im trying to figure out whats the best type of cardio to do on my own time.

hey dave i don't know if i can answer your question or not, but here are a few things i learned when i use to box! first when hitting the heavy bag, people tense up and try and kill the bag, this will wear you out faster than anything. relax and breath with your shots, trust me it is sooooo diff. fighting when you are relaxed than when you are hyped and nervous. you don't breath when your all hyped up, when your relaxed you breath soo much easier. for boxing we did a lot of road work, but i also use to wrestler in highschool and let me tell you nothing can prepare you for intense wrestling except for intense wrestling, so sparing both hand work and ground work i think prepares you the best.

 

[haze324]

LIVE SPARRING!!!

I'll try to find some links and PM them to you about the cardio that some guys from Brazilian Top Team, Chute Boxe and from Gracie Barra do. Theres a video of Mario Sperry where these guys do one huge circuit - sparring, then focus mitts, then hit the bag on the ground, then shooting in, then back to the mitts, etc and these guys just keep going. I've read where a lot of them say they don't run. They just train to get into fighting shape.

Starting off I would do a combination of sprints, long runs, circuit training and sparring - only because if you are not in good cardio shape now you can easily get into decent/good shape now without burning yourself out and going live everyday.

 

[Dave_19]

thanks for all the good advice. Im already do sets on the heavy bag,but I have just been going until Im out of gas inbetween sets. I'm going to get a stop watch so I can focus on making progress with the duration of sets I think.

 

[haze324]

Good clip of Babalu training

**broken link removed**

I would think workouts like this where you are going thru a circuit of drills, combined with some running, sprinting and jogging would be your best approach.

 

[Classy_Cojones]

thanks for all the good advice. Im already do sets on the heavy bag,but I have just been going until Im out of gas inbetween sets. I'm going to get a stop watch so I can focus on making progress with the duration of sets I think.

You need to do 3 minute rounds. It doesn't matter if towards the end, you're throwing a punch every 6 seconds, just do it.

Also, you should alternate speed combinations with power shots.

 

[babygetoboy]

Pick up the bas rutten mma workout cd's, they will get you into great shape cardio wise, do the mma workout cd, incorporates sprawls, punching combos and knees/kicks. Trust me, it'll work.

 

[BigBoyJ]

Good clip of Babalu training

**broken link removed**

I would think workouts like this where you are going thru a circuit of drills, combined with some running, sprinting and jogging would be your best approach.

This is similar to the drills I've been doing. Son of a bitch, it's hard, but it works. Just gotta get past that nasea and dizziness, especially when you add a minute of forward rolls in there.

 

[haze324]

This is similar to the drills I've been doing. Son of a bitch, it's hard, but it works. Just gotta get past that nasea and dizziness, especially when you add a minute of forward rolls in there.

Yeah almost forgot the BAS RUTTEN Cd's are VERY good. But the set is like 80 bucks!!

BBJ - yeah man, it doesn't look like much - but your whole body is moving. You can get as creative as you want to when doing circuit drills and it doesn't always have to be doing actual MMA drills - you can do a the forward rolls like you said, then do 20 sprawls, suicide sprints, some more rolls, one of the drills Cro Cop does is he lines up 3 punching bags and jumps side ways over them then sprawls after the 3rd one, get up jump back 3 times and sprawl again - then you could do some more sprints, rolls, shadow box, etc. You get the picture. You can get as creative as you want.