Strength and Conditioning

Considerations for
Female Mixed Martial
Artists
Monica G. Schick, MS, CSCS,1 Lee E. Brown, EdD, CSCS*D, FNSCA,2 and Evan E. Schick, MS, CSCS1
Department of Kinesiology, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio; and 2Department of Kinesiology, California State
University Fullerton, Fullerton, California

SUMMARY
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS (MMA) IS A
COMBAT SPORT THAT COMBINES
BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (BJJ), MUAY THAI
KICKBOXING, AND WRESTLING.
ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE CAN BE
ENHANCED BY THE APPLICATION
OF A TRAINING PROGRAM SPECIFIC
TO MMA, WHICH IS A PHYSICALLY
DEMANDING ACTIVITY THAT USES
BOTH ANAEROBIC AND AEROBIC
ENERGY SYSTEMS. THERE IS NO
PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH
REGARDING THE BEST POSSIBLE
TRAINING METHODS FOR A FEMALE
MMA FIGHTER. THIS ARTICLE WILL
ASSESS THE PHYSIOLOGICAL
DEMANDS OF MMA, EXAMINE THE
NEEDS OF FEMALE COMBAT ATHLETES, DISCUSS PEER-REVIEWED
RESEARCH ABOUT COMBAT SPORT
TRAINING METHODS, AND SUGGEST PROPER SPORT-SPECIFIC
TRAINING STRUCTURES THAT WILL
OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE AND
REDUCE THE RISK OF INJURY.

INTRODUCTION

ixed martial arts (MMA) is

a new combat sport that
combines boxing, Muay Thai
kickboxing, wrestling, and Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). The growing sport of
MMA gained mainstream attention on

M
66

November 12, 1993, when Royce

Gracie, an accomplished BJJ expert,
dominated the Ultimate Fighting
Championship (UFC) in Denver, Colorado (61). Gracies opponents during
his tenure as 3-time UFC champion
were practitioners of other styles of
martial arts such as boxing, shootf ighting, kickboxing, karate, judo, and taekwondo. Competitors during the early
days of the UFC were specialists in
their trade and, unlike today, did not
train in other martial arts. The introduction of MMA into mainstream
consequently attracted countless participants in the United States (61).
Although the majority of mixed martial
artists are male, there are also female
athletes who train and compete in this
male-dominated combat sport. The
number of participants in womens
MMA is continuously growing partly
because of 2 reasons: first, MMA is
a means for female wrestlers to participate in combat sports after their
collegiate wrestling careers. Second,
the implementation of Title IX in 1972
led to a large increase of female
participation in sports at the high school
and collegiate level (11). According to
a longitudinal study, the number of
women in high school sports increased
by a factor of 9, whereas the number of
women in college sports increased by
more than 450% since Title IX (11). In
fact, according to a 2011 report by the

VOLUME 34 | NUMBER 1 | FEBRUARY 2012

National Federation of State High

School Associations, the 201011 wrestling season saw womens participation
increase 19.8 percent from the previous
year (33).
Male and female mixed martial artists have different needs to address
regarding physical fitness and athletic performance. Although men and
women increase strength at the same
rate, performance can be enhanced by
the application of a female-specific
training program that addresses physical limitations while being contoured
to the unique sport of MMA. Two
areas that must be emphasized when
designing resistance training programs
for women are increasing upper-body
strength and preventing injuries, especially in the knee. MMA is physically
demanding and uses both anaerobic
and aerobic energy systems. There is
limited peer-reviewed research regarding the best possible training methods
for the MMA f ighter and none on the
subject of women f ighters. The aim of
this article is to assess the physiological
demands of MMA, discuss available peer-reviewed research concerning combat sport-specific training
methods, and suggest proper training

KEY WORDS:

females; combat sports; strength;

performance; conditioning

Copyright National Strength and Conditioning Association

structures that will optimize performance and reduce the risk of injury for
female f ighters.
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING
CONSIDERATIONS FOR FEMALE
MIXED MARTIAL ARTISTS

Designing a program specifically for

female MMA f ighters is essential
because of the physiological and anatomical differences between men and
women. One of the most significant
physiological differences is the disparity in testosterone. This lack of testosterone explains why men have a
greater amount of lean body mass
(LBM) than women. Testosterone
plays a significant role in determining
the extent to which the body adapts to
strength training because it is perhaps
the most potent promoter of cell
growth and muscular hypertrophy
(57,58). For example, an average male
between 20 and 29 years has 15.9%
body fat, whereas his female counterpart has 22.1% (45). Women in combat
sports need to focus on increasing
LBM because of its direct relationship
with strength and anaerobic capacity,
to physiological measures that women
tend to lack compared with men
(21,30,31,37). Female combat athletes
must improve their anaerobic power
because it is an essential component for
technique execution (39). Furthermore,
Kubo et al (41) investigated the sport
of Judo, which is a common discipline
in MMA, and found that across all
performance levels, judo athletes
(judokas) with greater LBM had a
physical advantage over their opponents.
Female f ighters can increase LBM
by following a structured weight
training program that focuses on
increasing circulating testosterone (59).
Testosterone release can be manipulated by performing multijoint lifts
(squat, power clean, deadlift, etc.),
decreasing rest periods in between sets,
increasing the number of sets (at least
3), and increasing intensity (10RM
range) (16). Multijoint and power
exercises must be completed before
single-joint lifts because they stimulate
circulating testosterone serum level
throughout the workout (12).

METABOLIC COSTS OF MIXED

MARTIAL ARTS

Strength and conditioning professionals must design a training regimen

that accurately reflects the metabolic
demand of the sport. A womens
MMA f ight is typically made of three
3-minute rounds compared with mens
nontitle f ights of three 5-minute
rounds. All 3 bioenergetic pathways
(phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative)
can be taxed within a full 9-minute
f ight (42). Exercise intensity is the
most important variable in determining
which energy system is activated the
most to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for muscular work (12).
Each f ight contains periods of recovery
and rest between intermittent bursts of
high-intensity movements. For example, f ighters may actively rest on the
mat after a successful takedown or
circle each other after a series of strikes.
The ATP-phosphocreatine and glycolytic energy systems produce ATP
anaerobically at a very high rate and
are the predominant sources of ATP in
an MMA f ight when the f ighter
attempts a quick movement like a takedown (12). These high-intensity movements are counterbalanced by lowintensity periods that allow a f ighter to
actively recover. During these periods
of recovery, the supply of ATP to
previously active tissue must be slower
and more continuous. In these instances ATP is produced aerobically,
allowing the anaerobic energy pathways to restore for the next highintensity energy movement (12). Thus,
the more aerobically fit the athlete, the
better she will be able to recover
quickly between rounds and between
high intensity bursts.
INTERVAL TRAINING

The principle of specificity states that

sports training must be similar and
appropriate to the activity to produce
a positive training effect (47). Because
MMA is both anaerobic and aerobic
in nature, interval training needs to be
implemented to mirror the demands
of the sport. Since the metabolic
demand of the training sessions must
be similar to the f ight, female MMA

f ighters should partake in 3 sets of

high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
for 3 minutes followed by rest for 1
minute. HIIT is characterized by
alternating high-intensity exercise
bouts with relatively longer active
recovery periods (23). Benefits of
HIIT include increasing V_ O2 max
while delaying muscular fatigue (60),
improving body composition, increasing anaerobic power (38), and increasing oxidative capacity in skeletal
muscle faster than continuous exercise
(23). Compared with traditional circuit training, which is done at a lower
intensity at a greater total volume,
HIIT must be performed at a minimum of 90% of V_ O2 max (24).
An example interval workout could
include a circuit where the athlete
would cycle through stations and
perform exercises back to back without
rest (Table 1). She would perform
a predetermined number of repetitions
of jump squats, medicine ball slams,
kettle bell swings, push-ups, medicine
ball rotations, and shoulder presses
consecutively until all exercises have
been completed. An example of a HIIT
workout could include MMA-specific
exercises (Table 2), where the work and
rest periods replicate a competitive
fight. For example, the fighter can
shadow box for 1 minute, kick the
heavy bag for 30 seconds, do takedown
drills with a partner for 1 minute,
perform a shrimping drill for 30 seconds
(Figure 1a and 1b), and finish with
guard passing drills for another. The
fighter will then rest for 1 minute before
starting the circuit again because rest
periods in between sets reflect
the duration used in a real fight. The
magnitude of acute growth hormone
responses in strength-trained women is
greater with shorter rest intervals
between sets compared with longer rest
periods (8). Interval training in the form
of HIIT and circuit training would be
extremely beneficial to mixed martial
artists because it is both metabolically
and biomechanically specific to MMA.
STRENGTH

Static strength is essential in MMA

because f ighters use isometric muscle

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Strength and Conditioning for MMA

Table 1
Circuit weight training session
Exercises

Repetitions/duration

1.

Jump rope

1 min

2.

Barbell reverse lunges

1012

3.

Push press

46

4.

Bent over row

810

5.

Hang clean

46

6.

Deadlift

68

7.

Medicine ball jump squats

68

8.

Barbell reverse wrist curl

1215

9.

Medicine ball slams

68

10.

Medicine ball rotations

20

11.

Kettle bell swings

1012

12.

Plank

1 min

Performed at maximal intensity, with no rest between exercises. Perform 3 sets of this circuit
and rest 6090 seconds between sets.

actions constantly during the course of

a f ight. They use static strength when
holding each other in position on the
ground to maintain control, grasp
opponents above and below the waist,
and to pin down their opponent on
the mat after a takedown. It is also
imperative in kickboxing when the
f ighters perform a clinch (2 hands
behind opponents neck) when throwing knees. Female MMA f ighters can
implement isometric exercises in their
strength training routine by performing
isometric push-ups (lower body half
way down and hold the position for
1030 seconds), isometric squats (back
against the wall with hips at or below
90 degrees, hold for 1030 seconds), or
performing pull-ups with a towel
to develop grip strength (Figure 2).
These exercises will develop isometric
strength and endurance, vital abilities
f ighters must have in MMA.
McGuigan et al (44) examined the
relationships between isometric maximal strength (PF), rate of force
development (RFD), and 1 repetition
maximum (1RM) strength with other
variables that contribute to successful

68

performance in college wrestling. Eight

division III college wrestlers participated in the study and were tested for
PF and RFD using isometric mid-thigh
pull exercise, 1RM using squat, bench
press, and power clean exercises as well
as vertical jump for explosive muscular
power. Results indicated strong correlations between measures of PF and
1RM (r = 0.720.97). According to
McGuigan, RFD may not be as
important as maximum strength for
collegiate wrestlers because he did not
f ind any correlations between RFD
and measures of strength and performance. Female MMA f ighters, like
wrestlers, may benefit from heavy
strength training to increase isometric
maximal strength. Although heavy
strength training benefits isometric
maximal strength, because of the
principle of specificity, the best way
to increase isometric maximal strength
is to regularly perform isometric
strength exercises.
Mixed martial artists are required to
have exceptional cervical muscular
strength due to the loads placed on
the cervical spine. The neck is

VOLUME 34 | NUMBER 1 | FEBRUARY 2012

constantly under strain when being

pulled down in a clinch or when the
f ighter is in a contorted position on the
ground. MMA f ighters must bridge on
the neck to escape an unfavorable
position from the bottom. For instance, in executing a technique called
the can opener, which is performed
when the f ighter is in their opponents
guard (opponents legs wrapped
around the waist), the f ighter grabs
her opponents head and pulls hard to
force the opponent to submit. The
nature of MMA places athletes at risk
for cervical injury because of the
unnatural contorted positions (36);
therefore, having a strong neck reduces the risk of injury and decreases
the level of discomfort for the athlete.
Neck exercises should target all major
motions including neck flexion, extension, and lateral flexion. Female MMA
f ighters can add isometric neck exercises, bridges (Figure 3), or a face
down/face up plate neck resistance
exercises to their routine in addition to
concentric and eccentric exercises.
Upper-body strength is paramount to
the physically well-rounded MMA
f ighter because much of the sport
involves engaging by striking or holding the opponent with the upper
limbs. Women lack strength compared with men particularly in the
upper body (21,31,37), thereby making it a necessary area of focus in
strength training. Upper-body lifts,
such as bench press, bent-over rows,
lat pull-down, and shoulder presses,
must be a regular part of the training
routine. Women can incorporate these
exercises into their HIIT, circuit
training, and strength training programs, placing focus on the multijoint
exercises at the beginning of the
workout. When completing a heavy
strength training day, female MMA
f ighters will benefit from large multijoint exercises like the military press,
bench press, push press, and weighted
pull-ups done at high intensity (75
85% 1RM). The female f ighter can
also integrate a number of upper-body
exercises into their warm-up by completing a set number of push-ups and

are used to specifically damage an

opponents knee (3). Accordingly,
female MMA f ighters need to develop
explosiveness and proprioceptive
awareness to avoid injury in training
and competition (48).

Table 2
Specific HIIT training for female MMA fighters
Duration

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Exercise

30 s

Shadow boxing

30 s

Takedowns on grappling dummy (GD)

30 s

Guard passing drills (GD)

30 s

Ground and pound (GD)

30 s

Arm bar submission drill with partner (P)

30 s

Triangle submission drill (P)

30 s

Kick heavy bag

30 s

Sprawls

30 s

Punch heavy bag

30 s

Knees in clinch (P)

30 s

Elbows drill (GD)

30 s

Shrimping drill

30 s

Kickboxing with pads (P)

30 s

Tie ups (P)

30 s

Knees in clinch (P)

30 s

Sprawls

30 s

Isometric bridge

30 s

Ground and pound (GD)

One-minute break in between rounds.

GD = grappling dummy; HIIT = high-intensity interval training; MMA = mixed martial arts;
P = partner.

pull-ups before martial arts practice.

Thus, women MMA f ighters will gain
an advantage over their opponent
through incorporating intense upperbody training.
LOWER-EXTREMITY INJURY
PREVENTION

Jarret et al (36) evaluated the data

of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association Injury Surveillance System on collegiate wrestling to report
musculoskeletal issues. The knee,
shoulder, and ankle were the most
commonly injured regions. The mechanism of injury was the rotation
about a planted foot, one of the main
causes of anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL) injuries in female athletes. Previous literature has shown that a

neuromuscular training program using

plyometrics and speed, agility, and
quickness (SAQ) training can improve
athletic performance and reduce the
risk of injury in female athletes (17,4850,53,55). Women are up to 8 times
more likely than their male counterparts to injure their ACL in the same
sport (2). Combat styles that involve
striking, like boxing (7) and kickboxing
(22), have been shown to have a higher
incidence of injury compared with
grappling styles (36), possibly due to
giving and receiving high velocity
blows. Notwithstanding, grappling also
poses a high risk for women because
of the distorted positions the limbs can
be forcibly placed in (36). There are
also many submissions used in MMA,
like the knee bar and heel hook, which

Myer et al (51) examined the effects of

a comprehensive neuromuscular training program on measures of performance and lower-extremity movement
biomechanics in female athletes. Fortyone female basketball, soccer, and
volleyball players underwent 6 weeks
of training that included plyometrics,
core strengthening and balance, resistance training, and speed training. At
the end of the protocol, subjects were
able to improve measures of vertical
jump, single-leg hop distance, speed,
bench press, squat, knee ROM, and
knee varus and valgus torques compared with their pretrained values and
control group. The improvements were
statistically (P . 0.05) and clinically
(functionally) significant, displaying up
to a 92% improvement (51). Hewett
et al (28) used the same neuromuscular
training program and evaluated the
effects on serious knee injury rates and
female athletes. Results demonstrated
that plyometrics supplemented with
resistance training reduced serious knee
injuries in adolescent volleyball, soccer,
and basketball players.
Mandelbaum et al (43) investigated
whether a neuromuscular and proprioceptive performance program was
effective in decreasing the incidence of
anterior cruciate ligament injury within
competitive female soccer players.
Soccer is transferable to MMA because
both sports require athletes to quickly
change direction, pivot, and perform
intermittent explosive movements. All
844 female athletes participated in
either their traditional warm-up or
a sports-specific training intervention
over a 2-year period. The intervention consisted of education, stretching,
strengthening, plyometrics, and sportsspecific agility drills designed to replace
the traditional warm-up. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries decreased by
88% compared with the control group
in the following year. In the year after,

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Strength and Conditioning for MMA

Figure 1. (a) Shrimping, beginning position. (b) Shrimping, end position.

there was a 74% reduction in ACL

tears in the treatment group compared
with age- and skill-matched controls.
Hence, the neuromuscular and proprioceptive program was effective in
decreasing ACL injuries in female
athletes.

Figure 2. Isometric towel hang.

70

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Neuromuscular training protocols

that combine plyometrics and dynamic balance exercises can significantly improve biomechanics and
neuromuscular performance and reduce lower-extremity injury in
women. Myer et al (49) compared
the effects of plyometrics versus
dynamic stabilization and balance
training on power, balance, strength,
and landing force in female athletes.
Nineteen high-school female athletes
trained 3 times a week for 7 weeks,
either in the plyometric or in the
balance group. The results of the study
suggest that both plyometric and
balance training are effective methods
of increasing neuromuscular power
and control and must be combined to
maximize its effectiveness. Women
combat athletes are at high risk of
lower-body injury from kicking, decelerating, pivoting, abruptly changing
direction, and having their joints in

direction and decelerate (15,48).

Decreased ability to decelerate and
control dynamic knee valgus may be
related to the muscular imbalance of
the hamstrings to quadriceps in females
(29). Thus, drills such as shuttle runs,
speed ladder drills, speed skaters
(Figure 4) and dot drills are beneficial
for female athletes to develop dynamic
leg strength while increasing knee and
ankle strength and stability.
ERGOGENIC AIDS

Figure 3. Bridge.

compromised positions (6). They will

benefit from a combination of power,
balance, and SAQ training (Table 3).
Proper conditioning will help female
mixed martial artists remain injury-free
in training and competition. Women
have specific anatomical characteristics
that contribute to the increased risk of
injury: larger Q angles (46), excessively
valgus knee angles (28), narrow femoral
intercondylar notches (52), and an
inability to optimally activate hamstrings
during deceleration (15,48). Incidences
of noncontact ACL injuries are greater in
women than men in the same sport (55),
but the risk of injury can be considerably

reduced with proper power, balance, and

posterior chain training. Since strength is
the basis for power, athletes are required
to be adequately strength trained before
undertaking a power-based training
program (12).
SAQ training uses speed, agility, and
quickness drills to develop straight
ahead speed, lateral speed, change of
direction, and deceleration. Strength
and conditioning coaches design SAQ
programs to improve their athletes
ability to execute precise movements at
high speeds. Female athletes are known
to have anatomical and biomechanical
issues that impair their ability to change

Table 3
Injury prevention training
Exercises

Sets

Repetitions

Rest

Figure eights

3045 s

3090 s

Lateral skaters

3045 s

3090 s

Single-leg bounds

68

3090 s

Lateral hops over cone

68

3090 s

Single-leg deadlift

23

1012

12 min

Single-leg squat on Bosu

23

1012

12 min

Single-leg medicine ball throw on Bosu

23

1012

12 min

Single-leg balance with opposite arm reach

23

810

3060 s

Nutritional ergogenic aids are useful

tools for female athletes to enhance
performance, speed recovery, and
reduce fatigue. Although some ergogenic aids can be harmful, there are
many that are safe and have a positive
effect on performance (9,10,14,34,35,62).
Supplements that would be beneficial
for female fighters include whey protein
and creatine. Whey protein is a thoroughly researched supplement that has
been shown to be effective in building
muscle and decreasing recovery time
(32,35). Also rigorously investigated,
creatine is primarily used to improve
power and performance during short
bursts of activity (4,40). Whey protein
and creatine may be functional instruments to boost the female fighters
performance.
Many studies suggest that ingestion of
protein and branched chain amino
acids after strength training can
enhance skeletal muscle hypertrophy
in response to chronic resistance
training (1,5,9,10,14,26,34,62). Supplementation with protein can also reduce
postexercise muscle soreness after
high-intensity workouts (32). Hoffman
et al (32) examined the efficacy of preexercise and postexercise protein
ingestion on recovery from an acute
resistance training session. Fifteen male
strength/power athletes were randomly divided into a supplement
(SUP) or placebo (PL) group and were
tested for maximal strength. Blood
draws occurred at baseline, immediate,
and 15 minutes postexercise to determine testosterone, cortical, and creatine kinase (CK) concentrations.
Subjects reported back to the laboratory 24 and 48 hours later for a baseline

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Strength and Conditioning for MMA

(12). Effective supplementation may

allow the female f ighter to retain
muscle and recover faster during this
strenuous weight loss process.
PERIODIZATION

The purpose of periodization is to

transfer a variety of performance
variables (power, strength, and endurance) to their highest rate of development with the goal of peaking at the
right time while avoiding stagnation,
injury, and overtraining (19). The 2
major models of periodization are
linear and nonlinear (undulating) (56).
Linear periodization (LP) is characterized by slow but progressive increases
of intensity over time, whereas non-LP
is varied and includes large daily
fluctuations in intensity (56).

Figure 4. Speed skaters.

blood draw and to perform 4 sets of

10 repetitions with 80% of 1RM for
squat exercise. As a result, CK concentrations were significantly (P , 0.05)
elevated at the post24-hour blood
draw for both groups but continued
to elevate (P , 0.05) at 48 h for PL
only. These results indicate that protein
supplementation before and after a
resistance training session significantly
contribute to recovery 24 and 48 hours
postexercise.
Creatine is most commonly used to
improve power and performance during
short bursts of activity. It is a naturally
occurring nitrogenous compound made
in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas and
found in red meat. Creatine supplementation may enhance the effects of
intense interval endurance training
(38) and has been shown to increase
muscle strength, power output, and
muscle mass (4,18,40). It is most useful
in high-intensity short-duration exercises because it may enhance
intramuscular phosphocreatine synthesis, thereby improving the cells potential for rapid ATP production (20). Cox
et al (13) observed that acute creatine
supplementation improved elite female
soccer players performance in repeated
sprint and agility tasks. Creatine has
been shown to improve anaerobic
working capacity in both men and
women (18) and is a viable option for

72

female mixed martial artists seeking to

increase anaerobic power.
In addition to losing large amounts of
important minerals during a menstrual
cycle, research shows that female
athletes often display poor dietary
behavior (27). Since MMA is a weight
classbased sport, f ighters usually
undergo a drastic weight-loss process
that can be detrimental to performance.
Female mixed martial artists can benefit
from consuming whey supplementation immediately post-workout to
increase muscular hypertrophy and
reduce the effects of delayed onset
muscle soreness, and creatine will be
useful in increasing power output.
Since whey protein can enhance muscle hypertrophy response to resistance
exercise in healthy adults (10,34,35,62)
and decrease muscle damage and
soreness (32), female mixed martial
artists can benefit from consuming
whey supplementation immediately
post-workout to increase muscular
hypertrophy and reduce the effects of
delayed onset muscle soreness. They
must consume a proteincarbohydrate
beverage immediately post-exercise,
which can be easily accomplished by
drinking chocolate milk infused with
whey protein after practice. Recommended daily whey protein consumption is 1.52.0 g/kg of body weight to
increase LBM and anaerobic capacity

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A properly periodized program can

prevent the risk of injury by altering
intensity, exercise selection, and volume,
effectively increase strength and LBM
and prevent plateaus from occurring
(54). Successful female MMA fighters
devote countless hours to MMA training because of the sports multifaceted
qualities, consequently spending ample
training time in several different martial
arts styles. Female fighters will benefit
from a properly structured training
program that clearly presents detailed
workouts that allow sufficient recovery
time in between. Periodization will also
allow the female fighter to gain muscular strength, power, and endurance
simultaneously (25).
Undulating periodization is more beneficial to MMA f ighters than LP
because it has been shown to induce
greater increases in maximal strength
than the linear model (54,56). Since
a disadvantage of LP is the increased
chance of training stagnation (54),
MMA f ighters need to vary their daily
intensity and volume variations to
maximize strength increases. For
instance, she may perform sets of
1215RM on Tuesday and 68RM
on Friday (Table 4). Tuesday strength
training workouts should be performed
6070% 1RM with rest periods of 45
seconds to 1 minute and Friday workouts performed at 8085% 1RM with

Table 4

Monica G.
Schick is a doctoral student in the
Exercise Biology
Laboratory at the
University of
Toledo.

Example Training Schedule

Day

AM

PM

Monday

MMA HIIT training

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Tuesday

Strength training (light)

Muay Thai

Wednesday

Injury prevention training

Boxing

Thursday

Circuit training

Wrestling

Friday

Strength training (heavy)

MMA sparring

Saturday

Rest

Rest

Sunday

Rest

Rest

Lee E. Brown is
a professor of
Strength and Conditioning and
director of the
Center of Sport
Performance at
California State
University,
Fullerton.

HIIT = high-intensity interval training; MMA = mixed martial arts.

rest periods of 24 minutes. Manipulating rest period, exercises, volume,

and intensity can vary circuit training
workouts. A lower-intensity circuit
training workout will contain longer
rest periods between exercises and will
not use plyometrics or power movements. An effective training program
will gradually increase training intensity and decrease volume while
including daily and weekly fluctuations
in both variables. This will prevent
the neuromuscular system from fully
adapting to training by continuously
changing
physiological
demand,
thereby placing greater stress on the
neurological components of the
neuromuscular system.
When a female f ighter trains twice
a day, it is important for her to
recover adequately to decrease the
chance of overtraining and getting
injured. A full day of rest in a week
would be beneficial especially when
workouts are strenuous and intense.
The most strenuous workouts, such
as HIIT training, must be performed
after a full day of rest so the athlete is
properly recovered. Since most MMA
f ighters condition in the day and train
martial arts in the evening, it is best
to pair the light conditioning day
with the more physically demanding
martial art.
SUMMARY

Designing strength and conditioning

programs for mixed martial artists is

challenging because of the complex

and diverse nature of the sport.
Women clearly have physical, anatomical, and biomechanical differences
from men and must consider those
distinctions when training. Strength
and conditioning for female MMA
f ighters must consist of HIIT and
sport-specific power exercises, with
a focus on SAQ training and posterior
chain development to prevent injuries.
Special attention must be directed to
increasing upper-body strength and
developing total body explosiveness.
The training program must be periodized in an undulating fashion for
maximal physiological benefit and
to be best prepared for last-minute
f ights.

Evan E. Schick
is a doctoral student in the Exercise Biology
Laboratory at the
University of
Toledo.

REFERENCES
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

 Take 2 full days of recovery between

heavy resistance training days
(Table 4) to avoid overtraining
 Incorporate circuit training (Table 1)
and HIIT (Table 2) into workouts
with low rest periods
 Design programs in a nonlinear
periodized fashion to anticipate
a last-minute f ight and avoid
overtraining
 Incorporate lower-extremity injury
prevention training (Table 3) that
contains agility, balance, and proprioceptive neuromuscular exercises
 Consume 1.52.0 g/kg daily of whey
protein and 35 g of creatine to
increase LBM

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