Twitterchat 41 - Training for Combat Athletics

[birdy]

This week we'll be having an open discussion on the many ways to train for MMA, boxing or a martial arts tournament. The required mix of skill development, conditioning work and strength training.

Whichever approach you favour, if combat's your thing then this is the perfect place to be.

See you there.

Details -

Who : Strength-training fans
Topic : Training for Combat Athletics
When : Wed Nov 25, 9pm EST (1am UTC)
How : include #sbgym in your tweets

To see when it's on in your timezone, head over to the twitterchat calendar.

[birdy]

Thanks to @StayKYStrong, @thefightgeek, @Ogedai, @TrainBetterFit and everyone else who joined today's twitterchat on Training for Combat Athletics. It really was a fascinating discussion on the combination of skill, strength and conditioning work.

A few highlights :

• I like to start with power cleans, whether KB or barbell, to really prime the neuromuscular system.
• Skill and conditioning should be done daily... strength training every other day or three non-consecutive days per week.
• For strength we focus on the big lifts (Squat, deadlift, presses etc.) 4 conditioning we focus on burst & repeat burst.
• I think the best thing about strength training (re fighting) is it helps minimize training related injuries.
• We use the 'spider' test to give us a basic idea of conditioning levels ... And specific numbers for strength lifts.
• Long slow distance (LSD) only twice a week on carb up days... i want body comp to stay low but not too much of this.
• We're different to standard muay thai ... we do skill work only once a day and either strength or conditioning once a day.

Overall it was a great discussion. Got a question we didn't get to? Post it below. In the meantime, here's a bit more information on just a few of the many things we discussed :

• Learning the Power Clean and Push Jerk
• Sandbag Training for Fighters
• SttB Guide to Sledgehammer Training

Next week : next Wednesday we'll be discussing one of my favourite forms of strength training. For details, and to suggest future twitterchat topics, grab the Strength & Fitness Newsletter. Absolutely free.