MMA Workout Schedule – How Do You Organize Your Training Every Week?
by Corey Beasley
Organizing your mma workout schedule can be a bit confusing.
Boxing, muay thai, wrestling, jiujitsu, strength and conditioning, etc. There are a lot of things to incorporate. Not to mention work, family and the rest of your life. In order to stay effective, we must have a plan of attack, stick to the plan and adapt as we go.
The biggest problem that I see these days is that people train too much and with too much intensity. They want to roll, wrestle and spar almost everyday. This is very common and leads to burn out, poor performance and injury.
This "Go Hard or Go Home" mentality is counterproductive.
In my opinion, people need time to:
- improve their skill (drilling)
- become strong and athletic (strength and conditioning)
- test themselves against others (live situations, sparring, competition)
In order to fine tune this, you will need to discuss with your coach, your team and figure out what will work best for your situation. Workout intensity and duration should vary throughout the week. Again, there are many ways to lay this stuff out, but the main focus is to avoid overtraining, improve skill and create better athletes.
Different schools practice, drill and spar on different days, so the following example is simply to educate and provide a sample week.
MMA Workout Schedule
Monday
AM - Drilling/Technique
PM - Mitt/Pad/Bag intervals
Tuesday
AM - Live Situations, Rolling, or Sparring
PM - Strength and Conditioning
- Foam Roller, Trigger Point work - 5-10min
- Dynamic Warm Up - 10min
- Strength Work - 30-40min
*Our 'work' changes depending on our time frame and ability level of each athlete. If we are 12 weeks out, our main focus is to correct imbalances and get as strong as possible. If we are 4-6 weeks out, we are focused on increasing power endurance. 4 weeks or less and we are transitioning into more sport specific work.
Wednesday
AM - Drilling jiujitsu/wrestling
PM - Mitt/Pad/Bag intervals or OFF
Thursday
AM - Live Situations, Rolling, or Sparring
PM - Strength and Conditioning
- Foam Roll, Trigger point work - 5-10min
- Dynamic Warm Up - 10min
- Strength Work - 30-40min
Friday
AM - Drilling/Technique or low intensity cardio (swim, jog, bike or similar)
PM - OFF
Saturday
AM - Live Situations, Rolling, or Sparring
PM - OFF
Sunday
OFF
This is just one example of how to lay out your week. There are many schools of thought and a lot of ways to mix up your schedule. The main thing to consider is how each session taxes your body. Wrestling, rolling live or sparring take their toll on your system and should be done sparingly throughout the week. Our bodies need time to recover between these intense sessions. That being said, we can spend that time learning new techniques, drilling and improving our skill between these sessions.
It may take some trial and error for you to find out the ideal schedule for you, but it is well worth the time. Creating a solid schedule will allow you to train hard, make progress and avoid overtraining and injury. Talk with your coaches, ask questions, listen to your body and be proactive about improving your nutrition, sleep and recovery.
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