Mixed martial arts is a great sport for those people who enjoy a mixture of various combat sports used in competitions or even for self-defense. At times, it’s also referred to as a cage fight, and there are multiple types of fighting styles in this sport, making it more exciting to watch and even train yourself into, like taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, muay Thai, and more.
The special thing about this sport is that it doesn’t only prepare you for intense cage fights but is also a great workout as it activates a person’s whole body. So, for those who are aspiring to be an MMA fighter or just want to train, here are a few essential tips for trying out MMA training:
Take Supplements
Have you watched UFC fighters in a cage fight? Most of the time, these athletes go in cages and compete with their bodies fully conditioned for the fight. All thanks to the coaches, training, diet, and supplements they take, it helps them to reach their best possible health state.
Some supplements, such as pre-workout supplements, Vitamins, whey protein powder, creatine, and more, are allowed for MMA athletes, especially during training. It allows their body to recover easily from training, maintain greater water retention, improve their focus, and even for muscle growth.
Sometimes doing workouts alone could make the body feel exhausted. Thus, there’s no problem in taking some essential supplements like growth supplements. Growth Supplements are essential if you’ll take MMA training because it helps promote tissue building, stimulate growth hormones, and, most importantly, improve one’s immune system. But, if someone is diagnosed with an illness, it’s always best to consult your medical health provider first to ensure your safety.
Communicate With Your Coaches
Since MMA training is not limited to doing cardio workouts, strength training, and more, you can expect that most MMA athletes have coaches for various training. That being said, you must know how to communicate properly with every coach you train with. Lack of communication is one of MMA athletes’ common mistakes, resulting in some coaches leaving other athletes unmonitored and athletes becoming exhausted and stressed by performing too much without coaches knowing about it.
So, if you’re going to start training in MMA, ensure that you can communicate with your coaches properly and they are concerned for your wellness to be able to do the conditioning drills and strength exercises they require in the safest possible way.
Practice Takedowns
Takedowns are a major part of MMA fights and training. If you’re a beginner, make it a priority to learn about the few takedown techniques until you fully master them. In MMA, you can defeat your opponent while standing, but takedown techniques could provide you with points in a close, hard-fought round if you want to score higher than your opponent.
Remember to learn the proper pose when doing a takedown, improve your strength, increase your endurance, improve your balance, and you’ll last longer in the ring than your opponent. Takedowns aren’t easy to learn, and they can sometimes be frustrating. However, don’t lose hope and keep on tracking your progress, and you’ll surely achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself.
Review Some Fight Videos
Working on your physical strength will prepare your body for training and competitions. But, you must not neglect the aspect of sharpening your IQ too. IQ plays a huge role in how efficient and how you can strategize once you’re ready to face an opponent.
A great way to increase your IQ in MMA fights is by watching past fight videos. If you can watch high-level fights, that’s a better option, so you can observe different athletes play against each other and how they react in different situations.
Past video performances are necessary because it allows you to see scenarios that are likely to happen if the time comes and you become the one to play in competitions. Also, it gives you an idea of the kinds of training famous MMA athletes go through to condition their bodies and maintain their strength and endurance.
Always Start With Dynamic Warm Ups
With every workout or training you participate in, never forget to start a quick warmup, especially if you’re going to perform strength exercises. In MMA, dynamic warmups are recommended instead of static warm ups, wherein a person holds positions for a while to increase their flexibility.
Dynamic warmups are preferable for MMA training as it helps your body warm up before exercising and stretches the joints and muscles in a full range of motions. Also, doing some warmups help wake up your central nervous system and prevent injuries. So, next time before you start your training, take a few minutes to do some warmup exercises to help you.
Final Thoughts
Mixed martial arts training provides a total body workout, helps increase one’s strength, and is good cardio exercise. You’ll surely enjoy this sport from punching, kicking, wrestling, and more, especially if you’re into workouts requiring high endurance and strengthening core muscles. But, before you start training, read the details to provide a quick guide when training in MMA.