Ever wonder how these guys keep going even after 1 good round? When you’re in the cage endurance is the most essential element. It helps you weather things like, a barrage of punches, defending from your back while a 200 pound maniac is lying on you and trying to knock you out, and it keeps your legs fresh while circling your opponent looking for an opening to finish the fight.

What’s the secret to being able to last 3 rounds or more? Keep reading…

Did you know that instead of doing the traditional bodybuilding workouts that were popular 40-50 years ago, you can get a full body workout in about half the time while simultaneously getting your cardio in shape? This is what mixed martial artists have found out by focusing on functional training rather than traditional bodybuilding and weight lifting.
True fitness is more a science rather than just going through a weight lifting routine. MMA training focuses on the function and no just the lifting. Let’s take a look. For starters, there are 6 major functional movement patterns that a mixed-martial artist is really concerned with. They are the Squat, The Deadlift, The Lunge, The Push, The Pull and The Twist.
In addition, there are a couple of minor movement pattern that come into play also, but they can actually be combined with the major ones. These are the Isolated Accessory Movements such as bicep curls that only involve movement at one joint. And then there is Core Stability. You need this when you are doing most of the major movements and so it’s sort of included in them.
The trick to getting a total body MMA workout with this approach is simply to make sure each of these movement patterns is worked each week. By approaching your MMA workout in this way, you will increase your absolute functional strength and every moment spent in your workouts will be productive with no wasted time or energy.

Eric Wong is a MMA strength and conditioning coach. He has been in the Octogon with many fighters. In fact, some call him their “secret weapon”. His tips on exercise and conditioning are straight to the point and easy to follow. The videos on this page are just a sample of how he trains his fighters. Enjoy!!

MMA Workout Exercises for Punching Power

Add these 2 killer exercises into your MMA workout to totally stabilize your knee and hips so you can throw big bombs!

Amazing Abdominal Exercise for MMA Fighters

Training the core is all about function – what you want to do and why. One of the most important concepts to understand and train is your ability to activate your hip flexors  and psoas while maintaining core stability.

Breaking Down the Lunge using the Bulgarian Split Squat as Demo

The Lunge is an underused and very valuable exercise for a Mixed-Martial Artist. It develops balance in the hip and leg muscles and helps you with moves such as big takedowns.

Isometrics for MMA Part 1: Pushup

If you want to find out more about how Eric Wong Trains MMA fighters you can follow the image link below. Plus, you can get a free copy of his “Never Gas” MMA aerobic training guide that will show you how to stay fresh for 3 rounds and avoid the tapout.

Top photo credits: photo credit: uncagedphotographer