The sport of mixed martial arts places tremendous demands on athletes. To succeed, athletes must develop high-level techniques in multiple martial arts styles while also improving their special strengths and athletic traits. Combining disciplined sports training with an optimal strength and conditioning program allows fighters to reach their full athletic and competitive potential. 

Considering the demands the sport of mixed martial arts places on an athlete, the Conjugate Method is the most efficient and effective way to develop fighters' strength and conditioning. Over the last four decades, Westside Barbell has utilized the Conjugate Method to help fighters take their sports performance to the next level. 

Since the early days of MMA, Louie utilized the Conjugate Method to improve the strength and conditioning of professional mixed martial arts competitors.

While many know Westside Barbell for powerlifting, our methods have also been successfully applied to sports for many years. This success has helped prove that the Conjugate Method is the best choice of training methods for all athletes, not just strength-focused athletes. 

Utilizing our training methods allows a fighter to improve the speed and power of their strikes, takedowns, and submission holds. Additionally, we implement properly regulated cardiovascular training to ensure athletes have the endurance to perform at a high level, no matter the time or round limit. 

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Below, we will discuss how Westside Barbell utilizes the Conjugate Method to improve the sports performance of amateur and professional mixed martial arts fighters. 

The Unique Physical Demands of MMA

Training for mixed martial arts can be demanding. When working with any athlete, we must find a way to develop a strength and conditioning program that cooperates with sports practice. Considering the demands of MMA practice on an athlete, the Conjugate Method is the best way to deliver meaningful training stimulus while accounting for accrued fatigue from practice. 

During a mixed martial arts training session, athletes perform multiple styles of strikes while perfecting multiple styles of grappling techniques. Not only can this training be rather fatiguing, but it is also very stressful on the joints and soft tissue. 

Athletes must improve their strength and conditioning to continue improving and move up to higher echelons of sport. Using the Conjugate Method, we can improve the athlete's absolute strength, explosive power, speed, and work capacity. Additionally, through both training density and cardio-specific exercise, we can enhance the cardiovascular capacity of athletes as well.

This training will help improve bone and tissue density, strength and durability, and an athlete's overall physical capability and mental fortitude. In a sport where only the best trained survive, utilizing a training method as effective as the Conjugate Method makes sense. 

Foundations of MMA Training

At Westside, we utilize three training methods when training athletes: maximal, dynamic, and repeated effort. These methods each develop specific strengths and athletic abilities and combine to build an adequately trained athlete. When training is dialed in, athletes rapidly become stronger, faster, and well-conditioned. 

Max effort training will allow us to enhance the athlete's absolute strength. This means we improve the total amount of force an athlete can produce. While many sports coaches avoid max effort training, we understand that for all other physical capabilities to improve to the most significant degree, we must improve absolute strength.

Absolute strength is the King of all special strengths. As an athlete's absolute strength improves, so does their capacity for improvement with other types of strength, such as explosive strength and speed. To accomplish this, we must implement max effort training, which requires training to exceed 90% intensity for 1-3 reps during a top set. 

Dynamic effort training helps athletes improve explosive strength and rate of force development. While max effort training improves the total amount of force an athlete can produce, dynamic effort training helps athletes reach max force production in a shorter time. This results in an explosive athlete capable of throwing powerful kicks and punches and executing violent takedowns. 

Repeated effort training provides athletes with the training volume necessary to enhance work capacity and improve overall physical composition. We can also use our repeated effort training to target specific muscular weaknesses, leading to improved performance both in the gym and during competition. 

When training is correctly designed and organized, and all special strengths are properly trained, athletes can expect to perform at a high level while remaining capable of efficiently recovering from tough training sessions. 

Sample MMA Strength and Conditioning Program

At Westside, the fighters we work with follow a modified training template. Typically, a Conjugate Method training plan will include four training days, two for max effort upper and lower and two for dynamic effort upper and lower. With the three-day plan, we execute max effort lower on Monday, max effort upper on Wednesday, and a combined dynamic effort day on Friday or Saturday. 

Keeping training relegated to three days of weight training helps to ensure athletes achieve meaningful levels of training stimulus responsible for improving special strengths while remaining able to recover from both training and sports practice. Here is what a week of Conjugate Method mixed martial arts training looks like:

ME Lower:

Box Squat – work up to a top set single

Romanian Deadlift – 5 x 5

Goblet Squat – 4 x 8-10

Reverse Hyper – 4 x 15-20

Standing Abs – 4 x 20-25

Sled Drag – 12 trips, 40-60 yards per trip, moderate to heavy barbell. 

ME Upper:

Close Grip Bench – work up to a top-set single

One Arm Rotational Landmine Press – 4 x 10 each arm

Rolling DB Tricep Extension – 3 x 10-12

Hammer Curl – 4 x 12-15

Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown – 3 x 12-15

DB Lateral Raise – 3 x 15

Zercher Walk – 12 trips, 40-60 yards per trip, moderate to heavy barbell. 

Combined Dynamic Effort 

SSB Box Squat – 12 x 2 @65%

Speed Deadlift – 6 x 2 @60%

Speed Bench vs minibands – 9 x 3 @45% + minibands

JM Press – 4 x 8-10

Reverse Hypers – 4 x 20

Rolling DB Tricep Extension – 3 x 12-15

GHD Sit-Up – 4 x 20-25

Belt Squat Shadow Box/Grapple - 6 rounds, 1-1.5 min each

As you can see, we execute our max effort training as usual and then escalate the training volume on our combined dynamic effort training day. Training should be scheduled to ensure athletes have enough energy to complete all exercises to standard. We want to avoid going directly from MMA sports practice and attempting to execute a training day. 

If an athlete plans on lifting and practicing on the same day, we recommend training in the morning and attending sports practice in the evening. The scheduling of training days will always depend on the athlete and should be strategically planned to ensure adequate energy reserves are available both in the weight room and on the mats. 

Plyometrics

Plyometric training is another option for helping athletes enhance their explosive power and speed. Properly executed plyometrics can also help the limbs and joints become better prepared for the dynamic movements and impacts experienced during mixed martial arts competition. 

When implementing plyometric training, we will typically execute these exercises on our max effort lower and combined dynamic effort training days. Most often, our plyometric work will focus on the lower body, but we also include some upper-body plyometric exercises, such as plyometric push-ups or medicine ball slams. When training plyometric exercises, we will limit exposure to forty total repetitions. 

Here is an example of a lower-body plyometric workout:

Bounding – 2 x 10

Lateral Bounding – 2 x 10

Or

Pogo – 1 x 10

Box Jump – 10 x 1 to the tallest box possible

Single-Leg Bounding – 2 x 10

Here is an example of an upper-body plyometric workout:

Plyometric Push-Up – 4 x 10

Or 

Plyometric Push-Up – 2 x 10

Medicine Ball Slam – 2 x 10

Implementing plyometric exercises will help fighters improve their explosive power and speed. Additionally, athletes will become more efficient at absorbing force and improving their dynamic movement capabilities. 

Endurance and Conditioning

While developing special strengths is a crucial part of improving mixed martial arts performance, a fighter's foundation is their level of endurance and overall physical conditioning. With a sport as grueling as MMA, fighters must improve their conditioning to reach the next level in the sport. Without proper conditioning, fighters will gas and become incapable of displaying the strength and skill they have developed. 

At Westside, our fighters perform at least one conditioning-focused exercise each training day. This provides adequate stimulus to further develop an athlete's conditioning. However, a large part of the level of conditioning an athlete can achieve will depend on their output at practice and their ability to recover based on their current strength training schedule. 

If athletes put significant effort into practice and their strength training plan is appropriately scheduled, their conditioning and recovery rates will improve. While we want to focus on conditioning training in the weight room, we want to ensure it is regulated to avoid overly fatiguing the athlete. The idea is to introduce an optimal level of conditioning-focused programming without incurring any negative side effects related to energy levels of recovery. 

Flexibility and Mobility

For an athlete to become prepared for the demands of mixed martial arts, we must ensure the athlete possesses a healthy range of flexibility and mobility. Considering the various dynamic movements and the unpredictable nature of a fight regarding positioning, an athlete must be prepared to move in different ways. 

To ensure the athlete is prepared and avoids injury, we must ensure flexibility and mobility are on point.

Fortunately, much of this work for martial artists will be accomplished during sports practice. The many different kicks, punches, and grappling positions experienced during weekly practice will help significantly improve athletes' flexibility and mobility. However, we can also take steps in the gym to further improve these abilities.

Plyometric exercise can help improve an athlete's ability to move dynamically and absorb force when moving dynamically. Additionally, by performing full range of motion exercises, we can further enhance an athlete's strength and durability at various joint angles. 

Exercises such as Cossack squats, lunges, box jumps, depth jumps, plyometric push-ups and various other movements can help prepare the joints and soft tissue for the different range of motion demands experienced during mixed martial arts competition. 

Mental Conditioning 

While we're not experts in mental conditioning, it's worth noting that mindset plays a crucial role in mixed martial arts. Unlike other sports, where the worst outcome is a loss, MMA introduces a higher level of physical risk, making mental preparation essential.

Maintaining discipline in training and using tools like visualization can help build the confidence needed to perform under pressure. However, finding what works best for you is key, and seeking advice from experts in this area can be invaluable.

Insights from Coaches and Professional MMA Fighters

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the most important strength exercises for fighters?

A: Variations of the squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift are most important. 

Q: How can mental toughness be developed through strength training for MMA?

A: By approaching training with proper discipline and output, athletes can improve their resilience and tolerance of mental and physical stress. 

Q: What common mistakes should fighters avoid in their strength training?

A: Fighters should avoid strength training plans that do not appropriately train absolute strength. 

Q: Will max effort training cause injury?

A: While almost any exercise can cause injury, properly regulated max-effort training is no more dangerous than plyometric or lower-intensity exercise. It is up to the coach or athlete to make the right decisions regarding training weights and to know when to stop max-effort training for the day. 

Q: Will focusing on strength training negatively impact the mobility and speed of a fighter?

A: No, actually, quite the opposite. Appropriately trained fighters will experience improvements in mobility and speed. 

Conjugate for Fighters

The Conjugate Method has helped many fighters and athletes improve their sports performance. What makes our training methods so effective is our ability to adapt and build a program that cooperates with an athlete's practice schedule and properly develops all special strengths and athletic traits. When it comes to training athletes in the gym, the Conjugate Method is the ultimate training method.

Our training methods ensure athletes possess significant absolute strength, explosive power, work capacity, speed, and physical conditioning. Training can be adjusted on the fly to target specific weaknesses, improve specific skills, or reduce escalated levels of fatigue. 

No matter the circumstance, we can design a training approach to take an athlete to the next level of performance. 

Whether an athlete is just getting started with their MMA career or preparing to fight in a top-tier organization such as the UFC, a properly designed Conjugate Method training plan will ensure the athlete shows up in the best shape possible. Not only has this been proven over the past four decades, but it continues to be proven today as we consult and work with some of the best combat sports athletes in the world. 

If you are looking for the best method to improve the strength and conditioning of mixed martial arts fighters, look no further. The Conjugate Method is the answer.

Sources:

Simmons, L. (2007). Westside Barbell Book of Methods. Westside Barbell.