Mma Ripped Training Camp Guide

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Brief Intro

The workouts in the MMA Ripped Training Camp are based on my experience analyzing, testing
and training UFC and pro mixed martial artists.

I’ve spent years in the trenches figuring out what they need and what they don’t need to be at
their physical peak inside the octagon.

Some of the stuff that I used to do I’ve stopped because it didn’t work or was replaced by
something that worked better.

I’ve also learned a ton because one of my values is to constantly learn and improve and my
programs have evolved as I’ve evolved and you’re now about to benefit from this evolution.

Now although all of the methods and exercises used in this program are used with my pro
fighters, they are not used in exactly the same way when I’m training a fighter for a fight.

The order of exercises, sequencing of training methods and progression are different because a
fighter has many other things to focus on and develop during any given week.

What I’ve done here is take the best methods from my training experience and adapt them to
your goals of getting a fighter’s physique as fast as possible.

Plus, you’re going to be more athletic than ever, being more powerful and explosive, more agile,
quicker and have cardio that will make you feel like you can go forever.

So let’s go through the methods behind the madness and you’ll see exactly what’s in store!
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Training Camp Overview

The MMA Ripped Training Camp is organized into 3 sections:

1. Pre‐camp – this is where you establish your baseline measures through the assessments
2. Training Camp – this is where you do the work
3. Fight Week or Post‐camp – this is where you reap the rewards!

If you’ve followed the Quick Start Checklist, you know what the Pre‐camp is all about and you
should have all of your assessments either finished or at least scheduled.

The training camp is organized by week and your first week of training is actually called 8 Weeks
Out (8WO) because when you’re training for a fight, it’s a countdown towards the fight and this
countdown helps you stay focused on your goal.

You will be working through 4 separate blocks of training, each lasting 2 weeks.

Although the entire program is focused on fat loss, each block will have a specific focus, which we
will discuss later when we talk in more depth about the actual workouts.

Each week, you’ll be performing 4 workouts: 2 strength and cardio workouts where you perform
your strength training followed immediately by cardio, 1 technical sparring session and 1 live
sparring session.

Now you might be curious about the sparring sessions. Well these are workouts designed to
mimic what it’s like to train for a fight – you’re not actually required to go to an MMA club and
jump into the cage with their best fighters. We’ll talk more about that later.

Finally, fight week arrives and you’ll be testing yourself again to see just how far you’ve come and
by sticking with the program, I know you’ll be excited and proud of your results.

Schedule Overview

Week Key Sessions (Recommended day given in brackets, assuming week starts on Sunday)
Pre‐Camp 7 Day Priming Phase Diet (Sun‐Sat)
Body Composition Assessment (Sun)
Fitness Assessment #1 (Sun, Mon or Tues)
2 days after Fitness Assessment #1 perform Fitness Assessment #2

8WO →3WO Strength & Cardio Workout #1 (Mon)
Technical Sparring Session (Tues)
Strength & Cardio Workout #2 (Thurs)
Live Sparring Session (Sat)

2WO Strength Workout #1 (Mon)
Technical Sparring Session (Tues)
Strength Workout #2 (Thurs)
Live Sparring Session (Sat)

1WO Live Sparring Session #1 (Mon)
Strength Workout (Tues)
Technical Sparring Session (Thurs)
Championship Sparring Session (Sat)

Post‐Camp Day 1‐7: Priming Phase Diet (Sun‐Sat)
Day 1: Complete body composition assessment (Sun)
Day 1, 2 or 3: Complete Fitness Assessment #1 (Sun, Mon or Tues)
2 days after Fitness Assessment #1: Complete Assessment #2

MMA Ripped Training Principles

The following principles are those that I follow when I’m training my athletes in the gym. By
reading through this list and memorizing it, it’ll be as if I’m beside you training you in the gym.

 FORM – stop a set if you cannot maintain good form; if you cannot achieve the reps
outlined without sacrificing your form, lower the weight

 PREPARATION – look over your workout before you get to the gym so you know what’s
in store, as well, if it’s the second time you’re doing the same workout, look at what you
did last time so you can beat it this time

 PROGRESSION – when you repeat a workout, make it your intention to do a little bit
more than last time to force your body to adapt and improve; for the Deadlift and Bench
Press, simply hammer the last Max set, for the other strength exercises, improvement
means doing more reps, adding a bit more weight, or improving your form

 FOCUS – keep your mind on what you’re doing, leave your cell phone in the locker or car
and don’t allow yourself to get distracted by wearing headphones and looking
unapproachable; if someone starts talking to you and your rest time calls for 1 minute,
politely interrupt them and tell them you have to get back to your set when your minute
is up

Follow these 4 principles and get ready to have the best workouts of your life and get in the best
shape of your life.

Now we’re going to get into the specific program design elements used to create each workout as
well as the nutrition guidelines to follow for each week.

Program Design Overview

Strength Training

Strength is the foundation from which to build a solid body and strength is one of the pillars of
this program.

The 2 big compound exercises that you’ll be focusing on each week of this program are the
Deadlift and the Bench Press.

Each session includes one of these exercises, where you perform a few warmup sets, then for
your last set your goal is to perform as many reps as possible with the weight prescribed.

The Deadlift is vitally important in developing a body that is strong and works together
functionally, since it requires you to be strong through your entire chain, from your feet to your
hands.

The Bench Press is the king of upper body strength exercises and it’s an easy one to lift intensely
with and thus make superior gains.

By combining these 2 exercises, you’re working your lower body and upper body pulling muscles
in the Deadlift along with your upper body pushing muscles with the Bench Press, developing
balanced maximal strength.

Both of these exercises will be following a very specific set, rep and weight scheme that is based
on your assessment results so that you’ll get maximum gains over the 8 week training camp.

The rest of the exercises that make up the strength training routine we’ll refer to as assistance
exercises.

These exercises will ensure that your body develops in a balanced way, as each week you’ll be
performing exercises for each major movement pattern.

The major movement patterns are the Bend, Squat, Lunge, Twist, Push and Pull. Additional
movement patterns include accessory movements (single joint movements) as well as core
stability exercises.

You’ll also be performing many unilateral exercises for the upper and lower body to ensure the
stabilizers in your hips and shoulders are working properly to keep your joints healthy.

As well, you’ll be engaging in some ‘challenge’ style training, such as density training protocols,
where your goal Is to perform a set # of reps in as short a time as possible.

Cardio / Sparring Sessions

The straight cardio workouts will be performed after strength training sessions for the first 6
weeks of camp.

You’ll be progressing through various cardio training protocols, which will be explained in greater
depth when we get into each week’s program design.

A big problem with many people in terms of cardio is that they’ll perform the same type of cardio,
whether it be steady state or interval training.

The key to making consistent gains in your cardiovascular fitness is varying the protocols you use,
which is exactly what you’ll experience in the MMA Ripped Training Camp.

The sparring sessions also train the cardiovascular system through full body circuits, which
simulate the demands that are placed on your body in an MMA fight.

Weekly Structure

As I mentioned before, each week includes 2 strength training workouts, 2 cardio workouts, 1
technical sparring and 1 live sparring session

The cardio workouts will be performed after the strength workouts, because performing cardio
before strength training tires your muscles out, thus limiting the amount of weight you can lift and
strength you can build.

However, the muscular fatigue that will occur due to your strength workouts will not negatively
impact the results you’ll get from your cardio workouts on your heart and lungs.

The technical sparring session is basically practice of movements, exercises and flows, so that you
can go all‐out during the actual sparring session and you won’t have to think about form as much
or what exercise comes next, you can simply focus on going hard.

The sparring session is where you’ll but your muscular endurance and power endurance to the
test. You’ll be going through multiple exercises for the whole body and working on explosiveness,
quickness and every aspect a mixed martial artist needs to dominate in the cage.

These workouts will challenge your muscles, nervous system and cardiovascular system, making
for intense workouts that might leave you feel completely gutted when you’re done.

Now that you’ve got a general overview of how this program is put together, let’s get into
specifics…
PRE‐CAMP

The Pre‐Camp week is designed to get your assessments in and focus on the Nutrition Priming
Phase.

You’ll be performing your body composition assessments and physical fitness tests to see exactly
where you’re at.

Be sure to follow the Assessment Guidelines precisely to get accurate results.

Body Composition Assessment

The key to this is to perform it at the same time for each assessment.

The best time to do this would be first thing in the morning after going to the washroom but
before eating.

This will ensure consistent hydration levels and accurate results.

Physical Assessments

I also recommend that you do the physical assessments at the same time of day, so pick a
convenient time, jot it down on the Assessment Worksheet and do the same thing when it comes
time to re‐assess your progress during the Post‐Camp.
8 WEEKS OUT / 7 WEEKS OUT

Strength

The goal of the first 2 weeks of camp are to build a solid base so that when we get into the more
intense protocols, your muscles, joints and mind will be ready to go.

Each strength training session will include a 6 minute set where you perform either as many
Pushups or as many Inverted Rows as you can.

This protocol is termed ‘density’ training and your goal will be to improve upon what you achieved
the first time.

Cardio

The cardio protocol for the first 2 weeks are Aerobic Power Intervals. Aerobic power intervals
include a work period of 30‐60 seconds and an easy period of 60‐90 seconds.

The goal of these intervals is to reach get your heart rate to max during the work portion, thus
sufficient but not too much rest between work intervals is prescribed, so that the muscle get a
chance to recuperate so they can go hard and get your heart rate back up to max for each
successive interval.

Aerobic power intervals will make your cardiovascular system stronger and more powerful, so
that your heart can pump more blood with each beat by contracting more forcefully.

Sparring

The initial sparring sessions are relatively low volume and include standard exercises that you
know and love so you can focus on muscular endurance and pushing your limits, not
co‐ordination or form.

But because they’re focused on muscular endurance, you may feel the lactic burn happen and
you’ll have to fight your way through it, which will build your mental toughness.

Each round will last approximately 2 minutes and the entire workout will be less no more than 30
minutes, including warmup.

Don’t worry if it seems short, it’s meant to be and this is because you’re building your base and
you’ll be progressing the volume and intensity from week‐to‐week.

Trust me, once you get 3 weeks out, you’ll wish you were doing these workouts instead. :)


Strength

You’ll be adding in some combination movement patterns; the Reverse Lunge and Twist exercise
combines the Lunge and Twist movement patterns while the Primal Pull combines the Pull, Lunge
and Twist movement patterns.

These exercises not only challenge your strength, but they also challenge your whole body
co‐ordination and balance.

You’ll also be performing isometrics here, which challenge your lactic system as well as your
mental toughness because these exercises will BURN!

Cardio

The cardio workouts are based on a protocol called Threshold Training. Threshold Training is a
steady state protocol where your goal is to hold a steady pace, albeit an intense pace, for a set
duration.

The term threshold is used because this pace will be close to your Anaerobic Threshold, which is
the point at which your body changes from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. Basically, when
you’re in anaerobic metabolism, fatigue will accumulate and you won’t be able to sustain this
pace for long.

Threshold Training works on increasing this Anaerobic Threshold point so that you can maintain a
higher pace at the same level of exertion.

Sparring

The sparring session changes from muscular endurance to power endurance, with fewer reps per
exercise, but more exercises total, in a straight circuit style.

Each round will last approximately 3 minutes and will include many new exercises that you may
not have performed before.

Each set of each exercise is 10 reps, which will last approximately 10 seconds.

When you perform an exercise for 10 seconds, you are generally going to be working your
Anaerobic Alactic energy system, which is the ‘explosive power’ energy system.

Your goal with these exercises is to move as fast as possible, if you’re jumping your goal is to jump
as high as possible.


Strength

The Deadlift and Bench Press continue to progressively get heavier while the assistance exercises
continue to vary, targeting new muscles and areas of your body.

For these 2 weeks, you’ll be introduced to another variation of a challenge set, where you’ll be
aiming to complete 50 reps as fast as possible.

Having this rep goal will motivate you to work more intensely and take shorter breaks than if you
have, say, 5 sets of 10 reps.

Cardio

You’ll be performing a mode of intervals that I call Short Burst Intervals (SBI). If you’ve ever
performed Tabata’s, you know what SBI are all about.

However, Tabata’s are limited because most trainees never progress to or beyond them, instead
opting to stay at the set protocol of 8 reps of 20 hard, 10 easy.

While it makes for a challenging workout, proper progression of reps, work and rest times periods
make for a more effective program.

SBI will really focus on the ability of your muscles to recover from these short, intense burst of
movement.

I use them with fighters to enhance their ability to recover from a flurry of punches or kicks.

Sparring

You’re going to be introduced to a ‘light’ version of my famed NRG System Complexes, that my
fighters both hate and love me for.

They hate me for them because they are intensely challenging and demand that you be on you’re
A‐game when you step into the gym, but they love me because when they step into the cage, they
feel fresh and powerful for fights that go the distance.

The difference between NRG System Complexes and a typical bodyweight circuit, which you
performed in the previous block of training, or maybe you’ve performed before when you’ve done
a circuit with timed (30 second) stations, is that you’re targeting in on the endurance and recovery
of the Anaerobic Alactic system more than in a straight circuit.

This is important because it simulates a fight where you throw a flurry of strikes, rest a bit, then
throw another flurry of strikes, engaging the same muscles.

NRG System Complexes also include quickness and core stability exercises, which many other
circuits lack.

Each round will last approximately 4 minutes.

2 WEEKS OUT / 1 WEEK OUT

Strength

The strength training for the last 2 weeks of camp decreases to one session per week, because the
focus is on speed, power and endurance, which are more specific qualities to an actual fight.

However, you don’t want to lose any strength going into a fight, which is why you’ll be working
with the Complex Method, which is an excellent method for maximizing your explosive power and
maintaining your max strength.

The Complex Method is when you perform a heavy exercise such as the Deadlift or Bench Press,
rest briefly (30‐60 sec) then perform a lighter exercise at a much higher velocity for the same
muscles/movement pattern, such as the Swing or Plyo Pushup, respectively.

Lifting the heavy weight will get your nervous system used to maximal recruitment of muscle
fibres, then when you go to lift the lighter weight, all of these fibres will be primed already and
the weight will feel extremely light and you’ll be able to move it with a high velocity.

You’ll also be performing 2 of my top core stability exercises to make sure your core is rock solid
and your back stays healthy during all of the intense training you’re going to be doing in your
sparring sessions.

Cardio / Sparring

It’s almost time for the fight, so your conditioning training focuses on getting you ready to go the
distance in terms of both volume and intensity.

That’s why you’ll be working through the full NRG System Complexes that will be super intense
and result in an immense amount of fat burning, both during and after the workout!

Each round will last approximately 5 minutes and is meant to simulate a super hard round in an
MMA fight.

The first Live Sparring session is 4 rounds, in preparation for the final workout you’ll perform,
which is the Championship Sparring workout.

The Championship Sparring workout is a 5 round monster of a workout designed to get you ready
for battle and challenge your conditioning, both physically and mentally.

The first couple of rounds will be grueling, but persevere mentally and you may find that you’ll get
your second wind in the Championship rounds – rounds 4 and 5.

Everything you’ve been doing up to this point was to prepare you for this, so your goal is to move
as explosively as possible, transition from exercises rapidly all while maintaining good form.

Once you’re done the Championship Sparring session, it’s all about resting up and hitting the
scales for your weigh‐in and re‐assessing yourself to see how far you’ve come. I’m sure you’ll be
pleasantly surprised and excited at all you’ve achieved in just 8 short weeks.


POST‐CAMP

The Post‐Camp week is designed to get your re‐assessments done and give your body a well‐
deserved DELOAD week.

Deload weeks are important to stay healthy and ensure consistent progress – you may be fired up
to keep training hard, but don’t, take this week to focus on your assessments and nothing more –
no weight lifting, no sparring, no cardio.

Be sure to follow the Assessment Guidelines just like during the Pre‐Camp to get accurate results.

Body Composition Assessment

Remember when you did it the last time and replicate the situation and testing protocol.

Again, the best time to do this would be first thing in the morning after going to the washroom
but before eating.

This will ensure consistent hydration levels and accurate results.

Physical Assessments

Get ready to amaze yourself! Increases in the Deadlift of 70‐80 lbs are not uncommon, guys have
tripled the # of Chinups they can do, losing 2‐3 lbs of fat per week is not abnormal and overall
positive changes to your body and fitness levels are expected, so get ready to feel GOOD about
yourself and how far you’ve come! Don’t forget to post your results in the Forum following the
guidelines I’ve set out for you in the Assessment Worksheet.


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