Training to Train, Part II: Ultimate MMA Conditioning Program Design & Review

In Part I of this two-part article, I expounded on the virtues and shortcomings of the training programs I used for my first three Krav Maga instructor training courses. In Part II, I will focus on the program I put together for Expert Series I using Joel Jamieson‘s Ultimate MMA Conditioning.

For those looking for a program laid out in sets and reps, this is not it. If you’re looking to buy a new book and start training next week, stop reading this and get to work, ’cause you’ve got some studying and planning to do. This program is not Durden-approved; we’re all unique and beautiful snowflakes. Joel’s view is, “The only way to see dramatic and continuing results from your training efforts is to build a program based on your individual needs, goals, and abilities. Following a generic training program, not designed around these factors, will never lead to the best results. In fact, these types of programs can even do more harm than good.”

Knowing this, keep in mind that the specifics of the program as detailed here were tailored to my specific needs. Your mileage may vary greatly. It should also go without saying that this training would not have been as effective without the proper recovery and nutrition. Refer back to Part I for my nutrition guidelines. Recovery involved that nutrition, 8+ hours of sleep whenever possible, and foam rolling.

The Shortest Rundown on the Energy Systems in the History of Sports Science

Joel defines conditioning as “a measure of how well an athlete is able to meet the energy production demands of [his] sport.” Energy (ATP, specifically) is produced via three systems, each of which provide different results and are optimally trained with different methods. There’s some fairly dense sports science in Ultimate MMA Conditioning, and while it is not necessary to commit it all to memory, I’m not sure that you could build an effective program for yourself without having an understanding of the high points.

It’s been on my to-do list for—no kidding—years to write an article on how the energy systems are used in Krav Maga. I haven’t abandoned it, and this is certainly an apt place for it, but I’ll avoid the temptation to engineer a verbal turducken, cramming a meaty sub-article into one that’s already quite plump. So, I must live up to the promise of the heading and summarize the energy systems in a sentence apiece:

• Aerobic: Requires oxygen in order to produce ATP; capable of providing hours of energy and “refueling” the anaerobic systems.
  In combat sports, this system provides the “gas in the tank” to keep you running through the entirety of the fight/event.
• Anaerobic
  • Anaerobic Lactic: Produces ATP in the absence of oxygen by breaking down blood sugar and stored sugar (glycogen) with a byproduct of lactate. (Lactate is not lactic acid, and neither is the cause of muscle soreness. Get the book for a full explanation.)
    In combat sports, this system provides energy for roughly 60 seconds or less of high power output actions (e.g. striking and grappling).
  • Anaerobic Alactic: Produces ATP in the absence of oxygen when phosphocreatine donates a phosphate molecule to ADP.
    In combat sports, this system provides energy for 10-12 seconds of the highest power output actions (e.g. TKO flurries and takedowns).

The energy systems do not exist separately, and there is no defined point where one stops providing energy and another begins to. Often, and especially with the unique demands of combat sports, all the systems are concurrently supplying energy at some level.

The BioForce Performance Fitness Assessment

Knowing what the energy systems are and roughly which activities they support is great party trivia, but the goal is to improve their function, and we can’t improve them if we have an undefined starting point. Separate but perfectly integrated with Ultimate MMA Conditioning is Joel Jamieson’s BioForce Performance Fitness Assessment. This initial test “not only shows where you rate in several different areas of fitness specific to combat sports, [it] is able to quickly and accurately pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses and then select the appropriate training program accordingly.”

After taking the test, you submit the results through the website, where you also enter your weight and specific sport. You then receive a Fitness Report via e-mail. The truly unique feature of BioForce is that your scores are added to a database of other combat athletes, and the resulting BioForce Performance Index you receive is literally a direct comparison of your scores to the those of other amateur and professional athletes. Each component of the test is scored 1-10 where “a 10 on the BioForce scale represents a result equal to those at the highest levels, the best of the best in that particular area of physical fitness.” The scale and standards are also relative to your bodyweight.

The test consists of the following:

1. Maximum Breath Hold
2. Push-ups in 10 seconds
3. Triple Jump
4. Maximum Push-ups
5. Sit-ups in 2 minutes
6. Maximum Pull-ups
7. 5RM Back Squat
8. 3RM Bench Press
9. 1.5-mile Run
10. Recovery Heart Rate (after run)

Says Joel:

I designed the assessment using a very specific algorithm so that each of the indexes, i.e. aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, muscular endurance, etc. are generated from the results of several tests, not just one. This makes it far less likely that your entire report will be inaccurate because you scored poorly on one particular test.

What all this means is that while no testing system is ever going to be perfect and there will always be some variables outside of anyone’s control that may influence the results to some degree, if you follow the protocol… the report will accurately represent your fitness profile. If you have a high level of aerobic fitness but lack explosive power, the report will show that. If your muscular endurance is poor but your max strength is off the charts, you will see that as well.

Just as Joel’s disclaimer states, some of my individual tests were very good, some were average. The one standout, surprisingly, was the back squat. Maybe MMA fighters are terrible at squatting, because the back squat I’ve never been particularly proud of scored World Class. (I won’t be trading 16-oz gloves for a squat suit anytime soon…) My blended score was in the high-level amateur range.

The good news I learned from the BioForce test was that I was at least above average in all qualities. The bad news was that being well-rounded meant I had room to improve on just about everything. It honestly would have been easier to design a program had there been a glaring deficiency. I obviously couldn’t train all athletic qualities simultaneously, so I had to focus on those I really wanted to improve and cross my fingers that the others wouldn’t atrophy.

And this is, at its core, the exact purpose of this type of programming.

Assemble the Frankenprogram!

With a grasp on the energy systems and my current levels of fitness as related to them, the next step in creating my program for Expert Series I was blocking out the time. I wanted an initial 4-week block to focus on explosive strength and long-and-slow aerobic conditioning. Following this, I built the program on the guidelines of the 8-week fight prep in Ultimate MMA Conditioning. My priorities were skills training and recovery, and I created the following framework with that in mind:

M: AM or early PM – S&C workout; PM – Krav class or skills training
T: AM – BJJ class, TT* on heavy bag; PM – skills training
W: AM – S&C workout; PM – Krav class
Th: AM – BJJ class, TT* on heavy bag; PM – skills training
F: PM – MMA class
S: AM – S&C, skills training
Su: REST

*Threshold Training. See below.

Here’s the 8 weeks of workouts that were overlaid on the framework:

• Week 1
  • High-Intensity Continuous Training (HICT): Maximum resistance at low speed, heart rate 150-160bpm, 2-3 sets of 10min work / 5min rest. My exercises of choice were box step-ups on a 24-in plyo box or a drag sled.
  • Explosive Repeat (ER): 1 series per upper/lower of 10 sets of 10s work / 60s rest. For both upper and lower body I did 5 sets of a heavier barbell movement and 5 sets of a lighter movement. Lower body exercises were barbell back squat jumps (155-185#) and 24-kg kettlebell goblet squat jumps. Upper body exercises were dynamic barbell bench press (75-95# + mini band) and plyometric push-ups.
• Week 2
  • HICT
  • ER: 12s work / 40s rest
  • Aerobic Plyometrics (AP): 2 sets of as many reps as possible (AMRAP) in 5min of 10 reps / 10s (lower) or 20s (upper) rest. Lower body exercises were knee tucks or squat jumps. Upper body exercises were plyometric push-ups or medicine ball (20#) rebounding (a partner stands over you lying on your back, your partner drops the med ball over your chest, you receive it and throw it back up as fast as possible).
  • Week 3
    • HICT
    • ER: 14s work / 30s rest
    • AP
  • Week 4
    • HICT
    • AP
    • Cardiac Power Intervals (CPI): 10 sets of maximal heart rate in 60-120s, rest 2-5min or to HR 120-130bpm. Exercises were circuits of calisthenics or “specific” movements like sprawls, sit-throughs, band-resisted punch blitzes, etc.
    • Threshold Training (TT): Maintain a heart rate +/- 5bpm of the approximated anaerobic threshold for 3-6 sets of 2-5min. The way to approximate the threshold was to take an average heart rate over 3 rounds of pad/bag work. It seemed obvious that the workouts should be rounds on focus mitts or a heavy bag.
  • Week 5
    • CPI (specific drills)
    • TT x2
    • Strength-Aerobic (SA) (moderate volume): 3 heavy sets of 3-5 reps of a compound movement followed by 3 sets of 8-10 reps at a pace of 2 seconds concentric/eccentric. Exercises: back squat, bench press, pull-ups. (This really sucks!)
    • HICT
  • Week 6
    Average heart rate should be 160-170bpm, dropping to 130-140bpm within 60-75s.
    • CPI (specific drills)
    • TT x2
    • SA (lower volume)
    • HICT
  • Week 7
    Drills, skills, and sparring at “fight” pace.
  • Week 8
    Drills, skills, and sparring at “fight” pace. Begin deload.
  • Week 9
    Active recovery, light skills training.

The program by itself may not look like anything that unique. It’s very important to note, however, that every element was added for a specific purpose to enhance a specific quality at a specific time leading up to The Event.

Next to skills training and recovery, the most vital elements of the program were a heart-rate monitor and mouthguard. I used a heart-rate monitor for every workout and whenever possible in classes and skills sessions so that I could quantify progress. This was the first time I had used one in a methodical way, and it was an incredible tool. Aside from tracking changes, I think the greatest benefit was learning how to strategically adjust breathing and concentration to lower my heart rate seemingly by sheer will. I also wore a mouthguard during workouts to recreate “fight” conditions. If you don’t think a mouthguard has an effect on your breathing, you’ve never trained hard with a mouthguard!

Lessons Learned, or What to Do for Next Time

I think I know what you’re looking for in this section: a second BioForce Assessment after the completion of the program. Yeah, I agree it would have been a great conclusion to see my BioForce Index raise into the Pro level after 8-12 weeks of training. I’m sorry to disappoint; I didn’t do it. I didn’t have the energy to spare before Expert Series, and the only thing I had on my mind to do after was nothing. I can only offer a qualitative assessment of the results: I felt strong and well-conditioned for what I had to do. Despite having impaired breathing through a broken nose, I had gas left in the tank by the end of the very demanding four-hour test. More importantly, I didn’t just pass by the skin o’ my teeth, I did very well.

The most important factor in the workouts—and where I’ve gone so wrong before—was that they became more specific to my “sport” the closer I got to the event. Early on, the workouts were very general and had little semblance to fighting or Krav Maga. This is where “lifting weights” and “running” go. As the program developed, general workouts were dropped for specific training like sparring, pad/bag work, and self-defense drills, though these sessions were made to conform to a particular work/rest scheme or target heart rate so that skills were blended with training a particular facet of a particular energy system.

I may not employ this exact program for my next test, but I will use this same method for creating a program. In the meantime, I plan to use the big-picture approach of block periodization and macro cycles to work on my goals. My interests in strength and conditioning are widely varied, and not all of them compliment each other. What Joel Jamieson’s methods have finally proved to me is how to properly create a program. As his BioForce Training System states, the best method for progress is:

TEST→ASSESS→PROGRAM→TRAIN→TEST→ASSESS→PROGRAM→TRAIN…

Keep in mind that there are no hard-and-fast rules with this stuff. Very talented trainers and athletes are always discovering new things or re-discovering old things, all of which work well for the right population. There are certainly proven methods and foundations, but history is full of athletes running the gamut from average to elite, and most have completely unique—and successful—programs.