Conditioning Workout with UFC Fighter, Alex Perez

by Corey Beasley

Alex is fresh off his win in Philadelphia and we wanted to give you a behind the scenes look at one of his workouts leading up to this fight. This conditioning for fighter was performed about two weeks out from his fight, so we were making sure he could repeat explosive efforts, while starting to taper the volume down as he began his weight cut. The goal here is to repeat the explosive effort throughout each set. We performed each drill for 5 sec ON, 10sec OFF for 16 rounds.

Workout with Alex Perez

Workout details:

Warm Up

Alex typically comes straight from jiu jitsu, so the warm ups are minimal. We will usually include some type of mobility drills for the hips and shoulders (not shown), then get him performing a few activation drills for the trunk.

Sand Barrel Isometric Holds

These are a staple for our athletes. We learned this exercise from John Brookfield and it quickly became one of our favorite tools. Tilting the heavy barrel challenges the entire body to stabilize while tilting the barrel to each side. This is a killer on the trunk.

Push Pull Holds

Using the CORE 44 bar from PurMotion, this simultaneous push/pull exercise challenges our ability to rotate, while keeping the shoulders and hips moving together as one. We pivot through the back foot, push with one arm, while pulling with the other.

Locomotion Drills

This series of drills finishes off our warm up and simply uses common locomotive drills like running forward and back, shuffling side to side, cariocas, butt kickers and skips. By using these every session it allows us to raise the body temperature, while performing lots of repetitions over time. This helps develop general athletic qualities that will help our guys perform.

Explosive Intervals

*5sec ON, 10sec OFF for 16 rounds on each drill

Drill #1 - Towel Taz

This unique Conditioning for fighter drill is simply a faster, more dynamic version of the Battling Rope Slams. Shake the moving blanket up and down, while quickly changing directions with the feet. The combination of quickly moving the hands and feet, provides great transfer for combat athletes.

Note: Move like a squirrel trapped in a room, quickly changing directions with the feet, while moving the hands as quickly and powerfully as possible.

Drill #2 - Switch Foot

Using a line for reference, you simply need to move the feet back and forth over the line, rotating quickly and driving the arms. This simple rotational drill challenges our ability to move quickly and transfer force through the entire body. I make sure to count the reps on each burst, to make sure we are maintaining quickness.

Note: Initially, as the athlete fatigues, you will notice that they lose coordination. This simple drill becomes challenging, so its a good learning opportunity for them to perform basic drills well, when they are fatigued.

Drill #3 - Battling Rope Sidewinders

This drill challenges the ability to stabilize through the whole body while sweeping the arms across the front of the body. This not only challenges him to stabilize through the legs, hips and trunk, but also forces him to quickly produce force, change directions and work the other way. Lots of disturbance that transfers well into the cage.

Note: We are looking for a good athletic position, knees bent, hips back, spine straight, eyes forward...throughout the movement. Exhale consistently on one side to keep your breathing in sync with your movement.

Drill #4 - Lateral Shuffles

Simple lateral shuffles are a common drill, but the main focus here is change of direction. Absorbing and producing force to change direction may seem simple but it is very challenging when done with intention. Many people will stutter step or change direction slowly, so count the amount of reps you can perform during each set and maintain that quickness!

Notice that we are challenging his ability to explode in various planes of motion (up/down, rotational and side to side). From my experience, athletes fatigue quickly when using the transverse (rotational) and frontal planes (side to side), so we make sure to tax the body from many different angles, moving in a variety of different directions.

Corey Beasley has been helping people get in shape and compete at their best for over 20 years. He has worked in small training studios, large corporate gyms, traveled to people’s homes, opened a couple gyms, taught certification courses/workshops and is the founder of Fight Camp Conditioning. Corey has experience working with wrestlers, jiu jitsu players, Conditioning for fighter and other combat athletes…from kids to aging adults.