A Guide To Structuring Your Training: MMA Prep Course

Breakdown of the training

This training system is adjusted for people who are training alone and don’t have a lot of time, and here are the examples of how to structure a 30-minute and a 45-minute training sessions.

30-minute training session:

Warm-up: 5 minutes cardio (running, rope skipping…), 5 minutes of joint lubrication.
Main part (technical training): 10-15 minutes
Strength and conditioning: 5-10 minutes

45-minute training session:

Warm-up: 5 minutes cardio (running, rope skipping…), 5 minutes of joint lubrication.
Main part (technical training): 25-30 minutes
Strength and conditioning: 5-10 minutes

Stretch after the training is over.

Warm-up

Warming-up is important because it: 

- Raises your body’s temperature, 
- Lubricates the joints and improve your range of motion, 
- Reduces the chance of injuries, 
- Prepares you mentally for training, 
- You get to practice some MMA-specific skills (depending on the warm up type).

It consists of the general and specific parts.

General means non-MMA-related exercises.
Specific means MMA-related ones.

General warm-up consists of an aerobic section and lubricating/stretching.

Aerobic = running, rope skipping, Russian shadow boxing, jumping jacks, etc...

While there are many ways to warm up, I usually combine the general with specific exercises.

For example, if we’re doing a striking session, I might do:

- 5 minutes of light running with some kind of general exercises (ex. Squat-stretch, sideways running...),
- 5 minutes of stationary joint lubrication (head circling, shoulder circling, stretches...),
- 5 minutes of shadowboxing.

Sometimes I just do two of the three (joint lubrication + shadowboxing, or light running + joint lubrication).

Sometimes I can do a specific warm-up:

 - 3 rounds of 5 minutes striking flow.

When it comes to grappling, the preparation exercises within the course are your main part of training, as you are practicing solo.

It's ok to get a little bit tired during warm up, especially if you’re not in shape. But warm up is not a burn up. You shouldn’t be exhausted.

In that case you will not be able to learn and execute techniques well. 

The main part of the training

This is the „meat“ of the training. Here is where you practice your techniques, drill, and spar.

Whatever the subject of the session is, stick to 1-3 new techniques. So 1-2 new techniques is more realistic.

If you’re continuing from the last session, revisit the techniques you’ve covered, drill them again, and add a new one. Or you can just spend time reviewing.

You shouldn’t always learn new stuff.

Always go from less complex to more complex, from fewer elements to more elements. You start with simple and add more as you progress.

Let’s say you’re learning jab and the cross today. This is usually the first-ever striking training. Here is what you’ll learn (in this particular order):

- The proper fighting stance.
- How to move forward, backward, left, and right.
- Movement drill: direction changes on the coach’s command.
- Stationary jab (simplest)
- Semi-stationary jab: front foot steps forward during jabbing and back (a little more complex)  
- Jabbing while continuously stepping forward (more complex)
- Stationary cross (simplest)
- Semi-stationary cross: executing a cross after you finish stepping with the rear leg (more complex)
- Cross while continuously walking forward (even more complex).

Depending on the student’s ability to absorb the techniques, I might do less (maybe not even do the cross the first training).

Not every training is the same and the coach must adapt to the student. Or in your case, you must adapt the training to your specific needs and abilities.

So do fewer techniques if you feel it’s too much for you.

Here is how you structure the main part of the training:

- Practice individual techniques first. 1-2 techniques.
- Put them into a drill lasting 3-5 minutes. For example: 
 * 1 round of semi-stationary jabs only to the bag. 
 * 1 round of semi-stationary crosses only to the bag. 
 * 1 round of moving around the bag and doing individual jabs and individual crosses.
 * 1 round of jab-cross combo while moving around the bag.
- Do several rounds of the drills (until the time allotted for the main part is done).

Strength and conditioning

You will finish the training with some kind of strength and conditioning exercise, or exercises. Here is the list of the most common ones that I do in training:

- Burpees for time (60 in 5 minutes for example)
- 10 squats, 10 pushups – 5 sets with no stopping
- Core workout: 15/30 sec hollow body hold, 30/60 sec back extension hold – 5 sets with only 5-second rest in between exercises.
- 40 pushups for time (or less if you cannot make it). Try to beat the time every training.
- 10 kettlebell swings, 10 pushups – 5 sets with no rest.
- 6-10 uphill accelerations (rest by walking or jogging back),
- Running back and forth in your gym or a court for time and reps (one length = 1 rep),
- Babing exercises: 10 knee-to-chest jumps, 10 crunches, 10 back extensions, 10 pushups, 10 burpees: 2 sets with no break.
- Pushup pyramid: from 1 to 6 (or more and back). You rest 2 seconds on your knees between pushups.
- Medicine ball crunches.
- „Throwing the legs“ raises.
- Partner rows.
- Chelsea WOD: 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats – every minute on the minute for 5 minutes (reduce the reps in all exercises if necessary).
- 10 pushups + walk the length of your gym with lunges, and reverse too. Rest 30-60 seconds. 3-5 sets. If the gym is long, just do the pushups and lunge forward without the lunging in reverse.
- 1 set: max reps of: pull-ups. 3-5 minutes rest. 1 set of Bulgarian squats (5-12 per leg). 3-5 minute rest. 1 set of max reps of pushups.

Depending on the time you have available near the end of the training, you can either do one or more of these.

There are strength & conditioning exercises you could do, but these are enough and will cover most if not all of your needs.

Stretching

Stretch after training.

 Consistency beats intensity

You might be tempted to train every day or longer. It’s up to you how much time you’ll dedicate to training, but if you feel you are getting overwhelmed or that this is imposing too much on your schedule, reduce the number of sessions, or even the time of the session.

It is better to train 3 x week for 30 minutes for years, than 4 x week for 1.5 hours and quit after a month.

Find your sweet spot and stick to it.