MMA Conditioning Vs Cardio
One of the greatest misnomers in terms of MMA conditioning is definitely the difference between "conditioning" and "cardio." When Taekwondo fighters new to this subject first opt to put in a strength and conditioning program to their training, in many cases they take whatever they know already from general fitness and bodybuilding and feel that increasing their bench press, doing a bunch of curls and running several miles every single day will virtually get them in good shape to get a fight.
Obviously there is lots more with it then this. A great deal more to it. I can go on and on about the types of conditioning and strength MMA fighters need to optimize their performance in the ring or cage, but I want the focus of this article to clear up the difference between MMA conditioning and cardio.
Cardiovascular fitness, or cardio in short, is essentially the capability of the heart and lungs to provide oxygen for your working muscles. The general types of cardio you can develop are aerobic endurance and anaerobic endurance. Aerobic, which literally means "with oxygen," identifies slower but longer paced exercises, including jogging; whereas anaerobic, or "without oxygen," identifies high intensity training where the muscle don't rely on oxygen to contract your muscles.
In Boxing, both aerobic and anaerobic endurance are incredibly important. The higher your aerobic endurance, the faster your heart will be able to supply your muscles with oxygen, which means the faster it is possible to recover your wind, or "catch your breath." The greater your anaerobic endurance, the more it is possible to execute intense exercise without gassing out.
However, this is where most people think MMA conditioning stops. But if you decide to reach the point where you can jog 5 miles plus non-stop no problem And you could do lots of wind sprints inside a short amount of time, and that's ALL the "conditioning" you did, I guarantee you may still gas outside in a higher intensity MMA fight. Why? Because although your cardio may be in great shape, your conditioning will still be lacking.
"What exactly the hell is the difference, Derek! ?"
I was thinking you'd never ask. Conditioning for Boxing , unlike conditioning for non or low contact sports such as soccer or basketball, requires that you not only have excellent cardio or wind, but that you have muscle/strength/power endurance as well. Let me explain the main difference. In basketball, players are constantly running and jogging forth and back, hence aerobic and anaerobic endurance is important so that they can continue to do this through the whole game without reducing or hindering there performance.
Inside a mixed karate bout, often times fighters will engage in the clinch, shoot in and fight for a take-down (or fight against one) and then exert their muscles both explosively and then for prolonged times (such as trying to have a submission). Furthermore a fighter require great cardio, but he must also condition his muscles (arms,legs and shoulders, etc.) so that you can contract for a relatively long time as well. You'll know what I mean if you've ever got caught struggling for a take-down for several seconds after when you are already tired. This is a form of conditioning that you simply won't get from just running over a flat surface repeatedly a week.
This kind of conditioning requires a certain form of resistance training, whether it's with weights,sandbags and sleds, or what have you ever. It is important to remember that conditioning your muscle mass is unique then just weight lifting such as the general fitness or bodybuilding industry suggests. If you have poor MMA conditioning, the ability to exert maximumstrength and power, and endurance for an extended amount of time, then after 30 - 60 seconds of battling in the cage or ring then you probably won't have enough strength left to bench press 100 lbs, although you may be able to bench press 400 lbs.
MMA conditioning is a complex subject, primarily because MMA, unlike any other sport, requires virtually EVERY type of physical attribute we have, AND each attribute must be maximized for optimal performance. Only one piece of the puzzle in terms of MMA conditioning, although but at least now you know that running around your neighborhood everyday is great for your cardio.
