Training for fighting.
3 Types of Training for Fighting
Isometric:
Isometric exercises are tightening (contractions) of a specific muscle or group of muscles. During isometric exercises, the muscle doesn't noticeably change length. The affected joint also doesn't move. Isometric exercises help maintain strength. They can also build strength, but not effectively. This translates to controlling your opponent, some of the best ground fighters have AMAZING isometric strength.
Rotational:
This is exactly what it sounds like, when performing a rotational exercise the point is to rotate key structures to develop strength, muscle coordination and skill acquisition. Rotation will help develop power in punches, kicks, takedowns, and transitions on the ground.
Anti-rotational:
An anti-rotation movement is any movement that involves contracting your core and holding it completely still while keeping the rest of your body within just one singular plane, or direction, of motion. When performing anti-rotation you will fight a force that is trying to move you. This is great for defending takedowns or controlling an opponent in the clinch or on the ground.
These methods require minimal equipment, and should be done at all skill levels of lifting. These should be fundamental parts of your training program. Things you may notice about my thoughts on training is there is a lot of overlap and things can be combined.
Some of my favorite equipment for training:
Kettlebells: We can use the kettlebell for all three types of training. They are fairly cheap considering the amount you can accomplish with just a kettlebell. There are different styles of kettlebells that serve different purposes. One is the fat handle kettlebell. This kettlebell is great for increasing grip strength and overall strength and conditioning.
Steel mace: This piece of equipment is the oldest strength-building tools on the planet. And like the kettlebell can be used for multiple types of training. Also like the kettlebell, there are different types of mace, with different lengths and widths of the handles to attack different areas of concern simultaneously.
Bands. These are by far one of the most used tools in my coaching tool belt. One of the key benefits to bands is changing the strength arch, This means that the easiest part of your lift now becomes the hardest. Like the previous 2 training tools, bands are fairly cheap and are very easy to store.
Tools in action:
THE KB deadlift:
The KB deadlift is not something that is thought of as an isometric exercise but in the context of the core there needs to be sufficient isometric contraction to maintain neutral spine position. This is also a perfect exercise for athletes at all levels because the only joint at near end range is the hip.
3 major ques for the KB deadlift:
Keep your eyes fixed on something that is eye level at the start position. This will help keep you in a neutral position throughout the entire movement.
Core tightness, imagine Mike Tyson was going to punch you in the belly. Maintain that same level of tightness throughout the entire hinge movement pattern.
Split the ground with your feet, imagine you trying to tear the ground under you use your toes and along with heel to stay rooted in into the ground, Become immovable
This is a movement that is very easily scaled up or down.
The volume will be moderate 4 sets of 8-10
The Steel mace
The rotational uppercut:
This pattern is great for multiple reasons, we are attacking several plains of motion while adding movement patterns that directly affect fighting/grappling. Something that we should focus on is where the rotation is coming from. We are rotating in the hips so when performing the rotational uppercut we should be doing so on the balls of the feet.
3 major uses of the rotational uppercut:
Keep your eyes fixed on the top of the steel mace. Your body will follow your eyes. This movement requires much more movement than your standard patterns so take your time.
Rotate on the balls of your feet. When we are throwing punches or rotating on a take down our feet lead the dance so this pattern needs to be the same.
Keep the cheeks tight! When doing any rotation we sometimes rotate too much in our lumbar spine. To avoid this we need to keep our glutes tight, this holds true for almost all movement patterns.
Scalability is moderate because it is a rotational pattern. If this needs to be scaled to a large scale we will change the implementation all-together.
Volume should be moderate to high 4 sets of 10-12 on each side
The banded PALLOF press.
The Pallof is one of my absolute favorite ANTI-ROTATION movements. I primarily use this movement as a preparatory exercise for athletes that are not rehabbing. But we can absolutely scale this pattern to make it more challenging for athletes at all levels.
3 major ques for the PALLOF press:
When letting up your band, ensure good positioning. You should be in direct line with the band, so when setting up make sure the band is in a straight line from your torso and the rack/rig.
Make sure there is an adequate level of tension in the band. The band tension should be heavy enough that you're feeling a pull toward the rack/rig.
Keep the glutes and core tight. This tightness will ensure that there is a limited amount of movement in the system.
Scalability is very high. This is an anti-rotation that we can make very hard very quickly.
The volume will vary on what the goal is in training. Generally 3-4 sets of 10/10
