How to Make You MMA Fit with Adaptive Resistance Training

Sports have been one of the most acknowledged American pastimes. Whether you actually play the sport or happy to be on the sidelines, watching your favorite team and players go at it makes your heart stomp, your adrenaline rushing, and your passion sometimes getting the best out of you. It brings the competitive spirit within you, and promotes discipline that you can apply in real life. Combat sports and martial arts included.

For years, there have been numerous disciplines that we invest in for self-defense. Karate, Tae Kwon Do, or even Boxing, are some of the sports we want our kids, or even ourselves to engage in just to survive in the concrete jungle. 18 years ago, a sport showcased the effectiveness of each martial art, pitting one discipline against another to see who the ultimate fighter is.

Fast forward to present day, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is the youngest mainstream sport today. And its flagship organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hasn’t even turned 20 yet. But its meteoric rise from holding 2,000 seats in Denver, Colorado back in 1993, to hosting an audience of 55,000 across the border, with millions of paying viewers worldwide.

What makes people get hooked on MMA? Is it the gore? Maybe a more dynamic combat approach compared to boxing? Is it the next best thing to a street fight? Or other interesting stuff we can learn in the cage? While other sports like basketball and football require lots of running, MMA has the best athletes in the world, with all muscles and aspects of fitness utilized during the match. 5 minutes of constant moving is more tiring than 10 minutes of running and stopping for a breather. You punch, kick, grapple, carry, slam, backpedal, sprint, twist, move laterally, jump, take a hit, and what not; MMA fighters can do it all!

Just like what UFC President Dana White would always say, “So you want to be a F*@#$&! Fighter?” Back then, people were too afraid to trai
MMA due to its no holds barred nature and a bloody nature. With athletic commissions implementing sanctioning bodies and more rules applied to make it mainstream, we now consider MMA to be fun, safe, a perfect fitness outlet, and can be used for self-defense outdoors.

While we spend tons of cash enrolling in MMA classes, it’s hard to deny that, with a busy schedule (unless you actually trai
MMA as a profession), it might be a difficult long-term investment to commit weekly sessions in local MMA gyms. Sometimes, we wish to improve our strength at home. However, do you really think you can improve punching power with a heavy pair of dumbbells, or even kick with dumbbells? Or how you can strengthen your chokes?

Actually, you don’t need dumbbells and barbells to improve your striking and grappling power. You can now train various disciplines through Adaptive Resistance Training (ART), a form of Functional Training. ART represents what really happens when you modify strength training for real-life functional application. For ART training, you need to work against resistance. Although free weights and other options are available, many are limited in what you can do with them, relying on gravity alone.

The equipment of your choice must be versatile enough to handle a great demand for ROM. It must have an adjustable cable attachments, depending on what type of strikes you need to develop. If you need to improve your punching power, make sure you adjust the pulleys near shoulder level. To increase your kicking power, position the pulley on ankle level, since you generate your kicks from the ground up.

Your power, technique and ease of movement in the cage will improve in no time, as your conditioning and confidence soaring big time. Now get that kick-ass equipment, train hard at home, and kick ass out there!