This Sunday the UFC will be live on Versus. In the main event Rick Story will be taking on Nate Marquardt. In this segment of mma strength training, Story and his coach are working on agility using the agility ladder and a band. The agility ladder is a great tool to use, well for agility. Actually there are a couple more uses for the agility ladder. One being in preventing injury, especially in the feet and ankles. I recommend if you use the agility ladder to train with it barefoot as it will help strengthen your feet and ankle.
There a re a few more ways in which the ladder can improve your athletic performance. Using the agility ladder as a warm-up is a great way for an athlete to get their heart rate up, loosen up their muscles and get your central nervous system firing for the training that is to come. Another way to use the ladder is as a conditioning tool. For example preparing one of my fighters for her last fight, I had her doing ladder drills for nine minutes straight which was the amount of time her fight was. Now she choked the girl out in the first round but the ladder really did improve her conditioning.
In the video below Story uses the ladder not only for agility but with his coach pulling on his waist while performing the drill it also forces Story to use his core to stabilize himself as he goes down the ladder. The progression here would be to get the drill, which is a jumping jack down the ladder down first then add the band into the mix.
Jun 23 2011
Rick Story Agility MMA Training
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Jun 21 2011
Matt Mitrione MMA Strength Training
UFC Live on Versus is this Sunday and with a pretty good card to boot. Since I have not written for the site recently, this week I will feature some of the fighters MMA strength and conditioning training. The first person I will feature is Matt Mitrione. Mitrione takes on Christian Morecraft in a heavyweight battle. This TUF alum has really made a name for himself and is proving he belongs in the UFC. With each fight he has you see great improvement in his game.
In the video below produced by none other that Mitrione you will see how explosive this combat athlete really is. His strength coach combines plyometric hurdle hops with the twenty yard shuttle. Using track hurdles you see lower body explosiveness out Mitrione as he jumps over six hurdles. These hurdle hops help Mitrione generate force off the ground. Being able to generate alot of force of the ground will help combat athletes become more powerful strikers and help them have explosive takedowns. As soon as he finishes the hops he sprints to a set of three cones for the 20 yard shuttle. the 20 yard shuttle helps all kinds of athletes with their agility.
Separately these two exercise are great, when combined it adds a little conditioning element to it. My recommendation is to not go out and try this short combo of movements but to train them separately. work on your power using the hurdles but remember in order to do the hurdles you need to develop some kind of strength. As for the agility make sure when performing agility drills to get ample rest in between sets. They are agility drills intended to work on your agility not your conditioning.
May 04 2011
Agility Ladder Circuit
By Cat Rivera
Training for an event like the Metro Dash does something to your thought process. With all the mental and physical preparation that takes place in your quest to attain such a goal, you begin to clearly see how internal competition, mental toughness and willingness to go through obstacles are so prevalent to so much of our lives. How complicated we as people make so many things in our lives like change, yet how simple we accept other things like failure.
Along with these things that can “throw you” or “grow you”, come the ability to actually put into better perspective the small things that often derail us. The Dash has allowed me to push my own limits as to what I expect from myself mentally and physically. It has also allowed me to shake off more easily the nay sayers and negative people who really mean they feel they can’t when they say that I shouldn’t. Accomplishing physical feats in the recent months has only strengthened my resolve to overcome my own self inflicted limitations.
One activity that favors an athlete’s ability to change quickly, deal with mishaps fast and without the luxury to harp on small failure that Combat Trainer has implemented as a vital part of our Dash training is the agility ladder sequence. This is when you follow your partner through a sequence of agility drills designed to make your feet and mind fast. Synchronizing movements and then having to quickly regain composure at your quickest speed in order to keep going is important in all sports and life. No time for self doubt or to harp on a small mishap. Get back in step and catch up. There is also something therapeutic about following someone on their heels and knowing that they will be right behind you too.
A 10 minute round of constant movement during these agility activities will indeed work up a sweat and condition you as well. Cycling through high knees, icky shuffle, bunny hops, even adding sprawls will make you faster in footwork, build leg and knee stability and leg power as well as mental responsiveness. These activities in repetition look deceptively easy but are fun, fast and important in training both in general and for the Dash.
So, move forward in your training always, keep quick in mind and body, follow a good leader, don’t harp on small mishaps in footing or life. Do not make failure simple or success complicated, just keep it moving!
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Mar 16 2011
Kurt Pellegrino MMA Training
UFC 128 is coming your way on Saturday night. Mauricio Shogun Rua is taking on one of the most exciting young fighters in the MMA world Jon Jones. The card is stacked once again with some really exciting fights. If you are new to site, first welcome and enjoy, you will notice that the week leading up to a fight I will search out the fighters on the cards performing their strength and conditioning routine. This helps those that are new to the sport or trying to learn new ways to train to get stronger and in better condition. Just a word to the wise. Some of the routines you see are designed as part of a program. This is not the only type of training that the fighters perform. So it is wise to do some research on strength and conditioning or ask a professional like myself.
In this video you will see Kurt Pellegrino and Miguel Torres performing a five minute conditioning circuit. Pellegrino, who is taking on Glieson Tibau has a great strength and conditioning coach in Jon Chaimberg. The five minutes mimics the time in a round. The circuit consists of many different exercises. You will see sprints, plyometrics as well as medicine ball work and bodyweight exercises. The circuit is designed to raise the athletes heart rate the way that it would in an actual fight. This is a real tough workout so if you do give it a try make sure you work up to five minutes. Meaning maybe instead of doing it for five minutes the first time you try do a similar circuit but start at three minutes. Watch within a week or two you will be rocking and rolling at five minutes.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Rob DeCillis (CSCS)
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Mar 13 2011
The Jab in MMA
As MMA grows the evolution of boxing in the sport has also evolved. With the rise of wrestlers in the sport and the chances of getting taken down as a stand-up fighter is very likely. A lot of kickboxer and muay Thai fighters games has been negated because of the strong likelihood of getting taken down. Because of this we have seen boxing become one of the most effective ways to end fights. With the size of the gloves it is easier than in a boxing match to knock someone out.
Wilson Pitts, Combat Trainer boxing expert, developed a great video on how to effectively use the jab in MMA. Before he shows us this great technique for the use of the jab, he gives a brief history lesson on how George Benton trained his boxers to use the jab. Having a love for history, I loved watching this short piece and I picked up a lot of pointers on using the jab in my training.
The technique Wilson shows will help you slow down an opponent that likes to shoot and help you keep your distance to prevent it. So check out this great tutorial by Wilson Pitts, one of the best boxing trainers.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
By Wilson Pitts:
Feb 22 2011
Ross Pearson MMA Training
On Saturday UFC 127 will take place in Australia. The main event will feature BJ Penn going up against Jon Fitch. In another matchup that night up and coming star in the 155 pound division, Ross Pearson will be taking on veteran of the cage Spencer Fisher. This fight can turn out to be a stand-up war as both men like to throw their hands.
In this segment of of video of fighters training we will take a look at Pearson as he uses old car tires to train. In the first part of the video you will see as Pearson uses the tire to develop explosiveness. Old car tires are great tools that can replace medicine balls for many exercises. In the video you will see Pearson using the tire to perform chest passes as well as overhead throws.
Now to point out the obvious, the chest pass will work on developing explosive power in the chest and the overhead throws will develop power in your back. However, looking at both of these movements you will see that they are total body movements. If done properly, you will use your entire body to explode and throw the tire.
In the second part of the video Pearson uses the two tires to run up stairs. Stair climbing is grueling enough, add some tire carries into it and you have taken it to another level of conditioning. Your heart rate will rise and you will be increasing your conditioning level.
So if you want a cheap effective workout, head to the junkyard pick up some old tires and start training. No excuses!
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Feb 11 2011
Fedor Emelianenko Training
Tomorrow Fedor Emelianenko will be taking on Giant Silva in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament. Coming off his loss to Fabricio Werdum it will be interesting to see how Fedor responds. I am thinking that he will be coming out to destroy Silva convincingly.
When I though about putting up some of Fedor’s training video, I was very surprised to see that there was actual stuff out there. Thinking about how he leads a pretty much private lifestyle I though it would be harder to come across some training material. But lucky for Combat Trainer I was able to find some!!
In this video you will see Fedor using different types of training to get stronger and more powerful. By the looks of things it looks as though Fedor had an outdoor training facility constructed for him and his team. I definitely would not be surprise if they used this strength training playground year round, even in the cold weather.
If you have never done any strength training outside, then this spring you should really get on it. I began incorporating a lot of outdoors training into my own training and it has not only made me stronger but it is also a lot of fun to train outside. So if you are looking to spice up your training get outdoors as soon as possible and train like Fedor.
Jan 30 2011
Wilson Pitts Footwork for MMA
Coming from a Muay Thai background. I was always taught to move forward. This has led to some not so fun combos to the face. As I have been working on my stand-up game I have begun to add some more footwork into my game. This has helped tremendously in my sparring. If you are a frequent visitor to the site you have noticed that I have some other trainers from specific disciplines posting tutorial on my site. One of those trainers is Wilson Pitts.
Wilson specializes in boxing. He is a great trainer of the sport and really knows his stuff. Wilson has been adapting the boxing style to MMA and it is worth your time to take a look at what he has to offer. I asked Wilson if he could do a tutorial on adapting footwork from boxing to MMA. Wilson came through and produced the video below. I am finding more and more as I watch MMA that footwork is becoming key in many fighters victories.
So check out the video below by Wilson Pitts. If you want to contact Wilson he can be reached vis email at wilsonpitts@yahoo.com and on Twitter @pluguglyboxing. Enjoy the video!
Jan 20 2011
Cole Miller Strength and Conditioning
The UFC is brining a free card on Saturday night with the Fight for the Troops 2. One fighter I am looking forward to seeing is Cole Miller as he takes on Matt Wiman. Now the reason behind wanting to see Cole Miller is simple. I want to see how well his strength and conditioning holds up. To be really honest I know that his conditioning on Saturday night will be there. The reason I know is because I know that he trains at the Institute of Human Performance down in Florida with JC Santana.
When I first got involve in training combat athletes it was really because of Santana. I was reading an article in Grapplers Magazine and came across some his and his partner Rhadi Ferguson’s methods on training combat athletes.
I had the great opportunity to go and learn from both JC and Rhadi down at IHP in their Intocombat Mentorship Program. The week I was down there they taught me everything they knew about preparing a fighter for combat. It was a great learning experience and I use many of the things I learned with my fighters today. Both JC and Rhadi push the envelop on training combat athletes.
So Saturday night look for Cole Miller to showcase his hardwork. I would also like to thank JC Santana and Rhadi Ferguson for teaching me and taking me under their wing during the time I spent with them. So check out this video of Miller training at IHP.
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