There are a number of ideas to keep in mind when developing your MMA workout plan. Obviously, changes must be made if you don't have certain pieces of equipment listed in the MMA workout plan you've decided to use. As a result, lots of times people just skip the exercise all together or trash the program in search of a new one. Unfortunately, because most of the common workout facilities are standard commercial gyms, MMA fighters end up missing out by trashing a program all together, and as a result, their performance suffers. For instance, I have all of my fighters squat with a Safety Squat Bar for a number of reasons (less stress on shoulder, design of bar teaches user to arch more, easier to learn how to use, etc.). However, most commercial gyms won't have this type of bar.
Before I get into substitutions that may need to be made I want you to first visit a website to see if you can't find a more suitable gym for the type of training you're going to be doing. Go to Powerliftingwatch.com. On the left side of the homepage you'll see a "Navigation" tool bar. About halfway down from the top you'll see a link for "Powerlifting Gyms." Click on that and begin your search for gyms around your area. This is about the only place you're going to have any luck finding a gym that will have a lot of the equipment written about in good MMA workout plans. As these types of gyms generally cater to a small, select, niche crowd they tend to be tucked away in strange areas and not on prime time roads with big glowing signs out front. For instance, before I moved my gym, it used to be behind a Meineke Muffler and we didn't have a sign out front. Everything was word of mouth among the serious lifters throughout the Binghamton area. Even now in the new location, my gym still isn't in a high profile area. Instead, it's in a small, local plaza with a bar, a Honda motorcycle shop, and of all things, a church! If you can't find anything on Powerliftingwatch.com go to Elitefts.com and post a Q&A asking if anyone knows of a hardcore gym in your area. As I've mentioned before, Elite is also where you can buy any of the equipment that I use with the fighters I train.
Anyway, on to the MMA workout plan. Because I want to give you the tools to develop a personalized plan that won't have you guessing as to how to replace and switch out certain exercises, I'm going to introduce to you the basic templates that I use with my MMA fighters when planning their workouts. From there, you'll be able to see the skeleton from which I worked to get a better understanding of how you put together your own MMA workout plan.
Day 1
Superset 1: Box Squat Variation and DB Side Bend
Superset 2: Deadlift Variation and Flexion Abdominal Movement
Superset 3: Single Leg Movement and Hamstring, Glute, Low Back Movement
Day 2
Superset 1: Bench Press Variation and Weighted Chinup Variation
Superset 2: DB Press Variation and Row Variation
Superset 3: Overhead Press Variation and Upper Back (Rear Delt, Trap) Movement
Day 3
Superset 1: Lower Body Plyometric Variation and Rotational Power Variation
Superset 2: Clean Variation and Ab Wheel Variation
Superset 3: DB Olympic Variation and Hamstring, Glute, Low Back Movement
1-2 Strongman/Odd Object Exercises
Basically what I did for this is look at Week 1-3 of the Base Building MMA workout plan I have my MMA fighters perform. By categorizing the exercises you're able to identify the true function within the program. For instance, I always start my MMA fighters with a bench press, but after a few weeks I rotate it out usually with a reverse band bench press. It's still working the same movement, but the reverse bands provide a different stimulus thereby preventing a plateau from occurring. Once you are able to categorize MMA workout programs like this, you can then make substitutions as needed based on the equipment you have access to and/or what you know will have a positive carryover to your performance in the cage. Obviously, following a program to the letter is going to give you the best results. However, when you don't have the option to, understanding how to make the necessary adjustments will do nothing but enhance your MMA workout plan and performance.
Below is the actual MMA workout plan I used from the template I introduced above. Compare the template to the actual workout to get a better understanding of how to categorize exercises so you can better understand the thought behind a good MMA workout plan.
Day 1
Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
a. SSB Box Squat (4x5)
a. DB Side Bend (4x10)
b. #3 Pin Pull (4x5)
b. GHR Situp (4x10)
c. Split Squat (3x10)
Day 2
Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
a. Bench Press (5x5)
a. Weighted Chinup (5x5)
b. DB Bench (3x10)
b. Chest Supported Row (3x10)
c. Single Arm DB Overhead (3x10)
c. DB Upright Row (3x12)
Day 3
Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5
a. Med Ball b/w Leg Toss (4x4)
a. Sledge Hammer (4x4)
b. Log Clean (4x3)
b. Ab Wheel (4x10)
c. DB Push Press (4x3)
c. GHR (4x5)
Tire Flip (4x8) Sandbag Shouldering (3x3ea)
Dickie White is a 2006 graduate of the Clinical Exercise Science BS program at Ithaca College. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Most recently (Fall 2009) he completed his MBA at Binghamton University. He is the co-owner of Ironworks Gym in Binghamton, New York where he trains a number of MMA fighters including former UFC Welterweight Tamdan "The Barn Cat" McCrory. For more information on how to improve your MMA performance with strength and power training visit his blog at Wrestler-Power.com.
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