Strength & Conditioning training (part 1)
If
you are an MMA athlete (or a surfer, a cyclist, anything) and you
take it seriously, chances are you are doing Strength &
Conditioning (S&C) training to improve your performance in your
sport. In this article I will be sharing my views on the PITFALLS of
S&C training - basically where it goes wrong, or how it is used
incorrectly/inefficiently. I will use MMA as a running example in
this article.
1
- spending too much time on S&C.
S&C
training is there to improve your sports performance. It is not there
to replace it or overtake it. S&C workouts are great, and the
rush of getting stronger and better conditioned can become addictive,
but remember, whatever you chosen sport is, is what you do FIRST. If
you are an MMA athlete, you should be spending most of your workout
time on the mat, honing your techniques. Your S&C is there as an
add-on, a small percentage of your time will be carefully spent on
specific drills designed to improve targeted areas of your game.
Don't be the S&C guy who 'also' does MMA... Remember what your
focus is.
2
- Doing the wrong exercises.
Why
are MMA athletes still benching pressing and doing barbell bicep
curls? The biggest advantage you will likely get from those 2
exercises is the ability to intimidate your opponent (which is
unlikely. He's also an MMA athlete). Bodybuilding-style training for
athletes just means you don't know what your doing. In your sport,
your body is working as a complete unit, moving in several planes,
and often with your weight predominantly on one leg. Squats &
deadlifts are great exercises, huge bang-for-your-buck in terms of
strength. But will the grinding strength of these lifts help you if
you lack rotational power? Exercises should be sport-oriented and
athlete-specific.
3
- Training too hard.
Yes,
it is possible! Just because tire flipping, sledge hammer strikes and
rope undulating are great exercises, it doesn't mean you should flip
the tire 2,000 times, then hammer it with a 20kg sledge for 20
minutes and then undulate a 3" thick 30m rope for 10 minutes
straight. Any idiot can 'design' a tough workout. A tough workout,
just for the sake of tough, won't produce good results. Try 1,000
burpees - see? It's easy to come up with a tough workout. Your
training should be designed to produce better results in your sport,
not just make you throw up at the end of it. Some workouts will be
gruelling, others can actually be relatively easy. Designed properly,
the performance results will follow.
4
- Not addressing the athlete.
(This
excludes group sessions where the training is sport-specific) When
you train on your own, your training should be sport-oriented, but
tailored specifically to YOU. If squatting strength is required in
your sport, and you're already a beast on squats, your S&C
workout should focus in other areas - specifically your weaknesses.
That might be overall strength, it might be movement. It might be the
ability to move with strength, or purely acceleration. When I
train an athlete I don't enhance his strengths. There is no need -
he's already strong there. I find his weakness and bring that up to
be as good as his strengths. If you have a weakness it can be
exploited. Train to eliminate your weaknesses.
Stay
tuned for part 2...
Alex Kay Grimmer
Contact me for Kettlebell classes and Personal Training in Southend-on-sea.
Contact & location details are on my website: BODYQUESTPT
