5 Aspects of Creating an Athletic, Strong, Powerful MMA Fighter

By Corey Beasley

MMA is a new sport and continues to evolve every month.  Fighters must change and adapt to keep up with the sports rapid growth.  The days of being good at one aspect of the game are over.  Simply being tough is not enough anymore.

Powerful MMA Fighter are quickly becoming high profile athletes and if they wish to go down in the history books, they must adapt habits of a top athlete.  I believe that starts with the process of developing that athlete.

We overestimate the event and underestimate the process.  Every fulfilled dream ocurred because of dedication to a process. – John Maxwell

As a strength and conditioning coach I see a ton of different fighters come through my gym.  Most of them are tough guys and gals that have had some success in the ring because of their will to win…but in order to rise to the top of the sport, fighter must adopt an intelligent strength and conditioning game plan.

Here are some guidelines that serve as an outline for your Powerful MMA Fighter workout plan:

1. Mobility - how well can you control your movement?  How well do your joints move through full ranges of motion?  Having control through extended ranges of motion can help us get in and out of positions efficiently. 
2. Stability - How well can you stabilize n handle low intensity loads in your feet, ankles, knees, hips, core, shoulders, neck, elbows and wrists?  We all typically have some weak links, but we can solidify and stabilize those weak links. 
3. Strength - Strength is a big grey area...some people may need some simple bodyweight work, others may need to challenge themselves with heavy loads.  The key is systematically overloading basic movement patterns over time and improving our ability to move under load.  
4. Power - Power is defined by how quickly we can move a lighter load. Developing speed and power provides athletes the ability to move quickly, react efficiently and deliver offense  faster than the opposition.  This is commonly done by sprinting, jumping and throwing type drills. 
5. Conditioning - A good conditioning program addresses the physical demands of the competition and allows our body to become efficient and producing energy and shuttling waste, so we can perform longer and at a higher intensity than our opposition.

Remember, developing a strong, powerful body takes time and it is a process.  Skipping steps and rushing ahead will hurt you in the long run.