I was running around the other day, busy as a madman, driving to and fro, but I needed to get a workout in.
Because I wasn’t near my gym, I drove to the local YMCA and bought a day pass.
Sure, it was $15, but when it comes to my personal fitness, I take it seriously.
Those thoughts of, "Is this worth it?" are quickly erased when I look back and think of all of the times I’ve spent $15, or much, much more on things far less important than my fitness.
T-shirts that don’t fit right. A couple of beers at a bar. ONE beer at a baseball game.
Long story short, I bought the pass and had one of the BEST workouts in a while.
For most of us in North America, beach season is now officially over. I experienced this first hand with the chilly downpour I was trekking through yesterday.
I also know this to be true because I get less and less questions like, "How do I get ripped abs?"
It’s not only the regular population that asks me these things, but also the pro and amateur fighters I train.
Well the short answer to the question is – eat clean. Super clean.
So clean that Mr. Clean feels like he hasn’t showered for 3 days.
Do that long enough and you’re bound to have a chiseled mid-section worthy of washboard status.
But with respect to exercise, training the core is all about function.
One of the most important concepts to understand and train is your ability to activate your hip flexors (psoas/iliacus) while maintaining core stability.
This becomes especially important when you’re throwing knees or kicks.
This may very well be my first trilogy of articles/videos on this site!
And because the weather has been phenomenal and I’ve been insanely busy, you’ve had some time to put what I showed you in the previous video in this series into action, so you should now be ready for the advanced exercises in this video.
That was another way for me to say ‘sorry for the lack of contact lately’… đ
If you haven’t implemented the foundation exercises, shame, shame, double shame!
But it’s better late than never, so check this video out for the final chapter in developing knee stability for explosive, knockout punching power, then go back and work on the previous exercises and come back to these when you’re ready:
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And, if you’re not following the Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioning Program, you’re missing out on tons of knockout power and cardio you can count on… So get to it:
I call this the ‘best’ hip mobility exercise for mixed martial artists because it targets 3 areas that are often tight in fighters (and dudes in general):
Hip flexors
Hamstrings
Adductors (groin/inner thigh)
It not only mobilizes and lengthens these muscles, but it also improves your balance, co-ordination and strength at challenging ranges of motion.
Plus it takes the femur through a good rotational range of motion in the joint capsule – something that we don’t do often and doing so with this exercise will help keep the capsule from tightening up and limiting your kicks.
OK , so maybe you won’t get THISÂ mobile, but if you can do this exercise in perfect form, you’ll be pretty good and you’ll have healthy hips.
Here’s a killer med ball drill I use to train specifically for explosive MMA takedowns.
Of course, you want to do takedown drills doing actual takedowns too, but this drill will develop your raw physical ability to pull them off and you can push yourself without fear of hurting your partner or yourself.
Before we get into talking about the physical abilities needed to execute takedowns like these, you’ve got to learn perfect technique.
So learn the technique perfectly, then drill it over and over until you don’t have to think about it.
Once you’ve got the technique down, your physical ability will determine whether you’ve got the speed and power to pull it off in the cage or if you’ll be stuffed.
Here are the 3 keys you need to focus on for maximum takedown power.
You hear a lot about the lactic energy system for MMA.
It’s important for being able to endure tough wrestling or grappling exchanges and get out of those types of situations and still be able to throw your hands.
Some trainers will tell you that it’s the most important system to develop if you want top fight conditioning.
But this one-sided stance is wrong and could set you up to gas faster than you should.
So we’re going to take an in-depth look at the lactic system and see how and when to train it for optimal results.
I also know this to be true because I get less and less questions like, "How do I get ripped abs?"
