UFC Fan? Killer MMA Training Interview

By Vince On February 3, 2009 Under Fat Loss Training

I have a confession to make.  Despite being a pretty muscular guy, I don’t have a clue how to fight. I understand the concept but I’m not exactly sure how to finish.

During my running days I figured I had the best form of self defense – I could run!  And now that I’m fairly muscular, a likable guy and a pretty smooth talker I have never been in the position to have to fight, and I hope that it stays that way…

In 29 years I’ve only been in two fist fights, and I’ve concluded that it is much more fun to watch than to be the one being watched.  Hey, give me a break, I’m a better lover than fighter so I focus on my strengths.

The only motivating reason I would want to train like a fighter, especially a mixed martial arts fighter, (besides the fact that they are bad ass) is to look like a MMA fighter and say I’m a MMA fighter. I used to always want to be a professional soccer player, but after watching George St-Pierre smoke BJ Penn like a peace pipe Saturday night, I might change my mind.

Even though I’ve been following the UFC for the past two years, like everyone else since it exploded, I was astonished by GSP’s level of conditioning, his 5% body fat level, his muscularity and his athleticism.

I started to think, “What could I learn from these MMA fighters to help YOU and I get more ripped, and to build more muscle on our own bodies?”

So I decided to ask my friend (and Hamilton, Ontario local) Eric Wong, who is an MMA Performance Coach and trains with UFC-vet Jeff “The Inferno” Joslin, and up-and-comer Ray “The Hitman” Penny, a few questions about MMA training and his new MMA book called MMA Ripped.

–http://www.MMAShredded.com

Vince: Your abs are shredded! What is your number one training secret to getting an eight pack?

Eric: Thanks bro, although it feels better coming from a hot girl, it’s still nice to know that people notice your hard work.

Now we know there’s not just one thing that will give you chiseled abs, unlike what the ab gadget infomercials will have you believe. But if I had to boil it down to one thing that most people aren’t doing when it comes to abdominal training, I’d have to say that they’re not attacking the abs hard enough in a stabilization role in different planes of motion.

A lot of guys are doing crunches and oblique crunches and cable crunches, which are dynamic movements. Some guys are doing planks, which trains stabilization in the sagittal plane. But very few people are training for stabilization in the transverse and frontal planes of motion, and almost no one is doing exercises that force the body core to stabilize in multiple planes of motion at the same time!

An example of an exercise that trains the stabilizers in all three planes of motion is the 1-arm tripod row, the video of which is on my website. Even though it’s not a direct core exercise, it forces the core to work differently and harder than it’s used to, helping to develop the six-pack and the obliques at the same time.

Basically, doing an exercise like the 1-arm tripod row for the core versus doing a plank is like doing barbell squats instead of leg extensions for your lower body – just way more bang for your buck so you get much better development of the abs.

Vince: What are the physical characteristics of a top MMA fighter? How much muscle do top fighters need?

Eric: The reason why I love training fighters is because physically, they need pretty much everything. They need to train all 3 of their energy systems. They’ve got to be strong, explosive, quick, fast, agile, have great balance, be co-ordinated and flexible, and have endurance in all of these characteristics. They also need to be strong in different positions (standing, on their backs, kneeling) and be able to execute powerful movements in all planes of motion. These guys truly are the ultimate athletes because they have everything.

In terms of muscle, top fighters need to have as much muscle as possible for their weight class and no more. Muscle not only gives the athlete a greater potential for power (if they train properly), it also helps to protect them like armor. To test this, punch yourself in the bicep when you’re flexing and not flexing and you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about.

The other thing that being more muscular helps with is that it allows a fighter to cut more weight. Because muscle holds lots of water compared to fat, they can lose more water weight then come back in heavier than if they weren’t as lean. Now, because MMA is based on weight class, to maximize the amount of muscle they can carry at their weight class, they’ve got to have a low body fat percentage. So staying lean is crucial for pro fighters.

Vince: Describe the strength training portion of a fighter’s program that builds muscle. What type, how much, what exercises to do and not to do, and anything else.

Eric: Fighters need to work on building muscle when they’re farther out from a fight. If it’s close to a fight, say 10 weeks out, training to build muscle isn’t conducive to being explosive and developing unlimited cardio. However training for explosiveness does include some heavier lifting, which will definitely maintain muscle mass and give the dense, hard look. So when I have lots of time until a fight, I’ll put my athlete through what I call a Structural Phase, which basically builds up the soft tissue structures including the muscles. In these phases the first few exercises of a workout will be big compound movements like squats, presses, and pull-ups, then the later exercises in the routine will be more isolated exercises, using rep ranges from 6-15. The key however is progression – every workout, you’ve got to do another rep, add a bit of weight, add more sets – just something that makes your workout a bit harder than your last one. That’s how you’ll grow, get stronger, or improve in whatever it is you’re working on.

Vince: Describe the conditioning portion of a fighter’s program that gets them ripped. How does it vary from the strength training portion, or is it just diet?

Eric: Getting ripped is a function of all 3 components: diet, strength training, and conditioning work. If you’re missing one thing, it will be difficult to look the way you want.

Now the most effective fat loss that my fighters experience comes in the 4 weeks leading up to a fight. This is because they’re really paying attention to their diet so they make weight, and because we’re now doing heavy conditioning work twice a week. The conditioning workouts generally involve 8 – 12 different exercises in circuits that last about 5 minutes. We’ll rest about one minute between rounds and go for up to 5 rounds to simulate a fight. The circuits train the entire body and involve lots of explosive movements and core work. These circuits are extremely intense and much more demanding than standard interval training on a stationary bike, which helps to melt fat from the body.

The other reason why fighters are so lean is because they get physical activity daily. MMA classes, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing – everything contributes to being lean and ripped. So get out there and move! Do something on a daily basis and it will really help you get and stay lean. I prefer to do sports or train MMA instead of riding a bike for 40 minutes, but do whatever you can.

Vince: Golf has Tiger. Basketball has Lebron. Mixed Marital Arts? Tell us who your favorite fighter is and why?

This is a tough one. I’d have to say I have two – Anderson Silva and GSP, for different reasons. I’ve been a fan of Silva’s since he was fighting in Pride and he’s just the most technically gifted fighter around in all aspects of the game. He makes everything look so fluid and easy, and he never wastes energy. I don’t think he’s even been hit in the face in the UFC yet!

Now GSP is a bit different; he’s the pure athlete, and seeing his development over the years has been a treat. I think GSP has the potential to be a better overall fighter than Silva because of his athleticism and dedication to his strength and conditioning, but right now, I’d have to say Silva is the better pound-for-pound fighter.

Vince: Do your programs involve lots of punching and kicking? What is one tip for improving your punch and kick?

Eric: When I’m training fighters, I don’t work their MMA skills with them, because I leave that up to their martial arts coaches. But when I work with regular joes, I definitely get them doing different MMA skills from boxing, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu. If they’re UFC fans, they just enjoy learning these moves and will work hard without even knowing it. All of the MMA Interval Circuits in my http://www.MMAShredded.com program include different MMA skills including punches, kicks, combos, and jiu-jitsu movements.

In terms of punching and kicking, one tip I can give them I got from Jeff Joslin, which is to think of your hand (or foot) as a ball and the arm as a chain. In order to get a powerful punch, you want to whip the fist out keeping your arm relaxed and smack your opponent instead of pushing through him with a stiff and tense arm.

Also think of when you’re smacking someone with a towel – it hurts a lot more if you whip them with it instead of throwing the towel at them with all your might. Most people, when they strike, try to throw the towel instead of whip it. So keep a tense fist but loose arm and whip it out there and bring it back quickly along the same path it went out.

Vince: How can you improve a fighter’s fitness with intervals, cardio, sprints and other creative methods? Provide a sample circuit that you may do.

Eric: The way I structure a routine uses different combinations of these methods, and more at different times depending on when the fight is. In terms of intervals, a sample interval circuit I’d do would be a simple medicine ball circuit. All you need is an 8 – 12 pound medicine ball and a wide open space. For 1 minute, you’d throw the ball using a side toss, chop toss, or back toss, sprint to get it, throw it again, and repeat. Rest a minute, then do 6 – 10 total intervals. This circuit improves upon standard intervals on a cardio machine because now you’re involving the core with an explosive movement that’s directly related to developing knockout strikes and shredded abs – both of which are necessary when stepping into the octagon.

Another good way to use intervals would be with a partner. Both guys grab a stick (being a Canadian I always have a hockey stick around) while facing each other. One guy pushes the other guy, leaning right into it, while the other guy slows him down. You don’t want to stop him, just make it hard for him to move. One partner pushes for 30 seconds, then the other partner pushes for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds, and repeat again for 6 – 10 intervals.

Vince: What is a common myth about MMA fighter physiques and how they train?

Eric: I think a common myth is that they’ll just do one type of training and that’s all it takes. A while back the Randy Couture workout came out and everybody thought that was all you needed to be champion and have a fighter’s body. Then there are the sledgehammer guys, and the tire flippers, and the CrossFit junkies.

The truth is that there are many different tools and many different ways to use these tools. The key is to have a program that’s laid out before you that includes everything you need to get to where you want to get to so you don’t get distracted and jump from one system to the next. If you jump around, you won’t get any results from anything, so find a program that you believe in and enjoy, and stick with it.

Vince: Describe the core and abdominal type of workouts that an MMA fighter would perform. Do they do lots of crunches like boxers?

Eric: Crunches are useful but not the be all end all of abdominal training. I’ve found that boxers are the least knowledgeable athletes about proper strength and conditioning for their sport – there are a lot of misconceptions they hold on to simply because of dogma. For example, they’ll tell me that they don’t lift weights because it’ll slow them down, but they do chin-ups. Just because you’re moving your bodyweight doesn’t eliminate the fact that you’re still lifting a weight! So I think boxers who do hundreds of crunches are just stuck in the old days of Rocky and they need to elevate their game plans.

I already mentioned a few exercises that train the core: the 1-arm tripod row and medicine ball side and chop tosses. I also like 1-arm dumbbell presses on the ball, 1-arm planks on the ball, and cable woodchops. Pretty much every workout my fighters do involves the core in some way – but I don’t do core or abdominal only workouts.

Vince: Let’s not forget about my guys trying to build muscle. Can MMA workouts build muscle or are they better for losing fat?

Eric: MMA workouts won’t give them the fastest results for muscle building, but they will build muscle doing them. By following my MMA workout program for non-fighters, on a 12-week program, about the 4 week Structural Phase is dedicated to muscle building, where they could put on about 2-3 pounds of solid muscle. During the 4 week Metabolic and 4 week Peaking phases, they could expect to put on another 2-3 pounds of muscle.

But they do excel at shedding fat and getting really ripped. Because when you’re carrying less fat, the muscle you do have looks a lot more impressive, so guys often don’t need as much muscle as they initially think to get to their desired body.

Vince: Who is the perfect candidate for MMA style workout? Would they be ideal for my ladies and beginners too?

Eric: I would say the perfect candidate would be the MMA fan who thinks that fighters have some of the best physiques of any athlete. They’ll not only get great results with the program, but because they’re learning and practicing MMA skills at the same time, they have more fun doing the workouts and work a lot harder without noticing it.

I’d say the same criteria apply – if they’re MMA fans, they’ll love doing MMA workouts. I’m currently training a bunch of girls who are into MMA on the program at my gym and they’re loving it because the workouts make them work hard and do different exercises than they’re used to.

The first phase in my program is the Foundation Phase which teaches absolute basic MMA skills and only uses bodyweight or ball exercises. These routines, while still hard, are less demanding than the subsequent phases in the program and will build the foundation necessary to succeed with the rest of the program, so beginners who are into MMA aren’t left behind.

END OF INTERVIEW

If you enjoyed this interview, you can read more about five secret training techniques that professional MMA fighters use to get a rock-solid, chiseled body and six-pack abs at

–http://www.MMAShredded.com

Eric just released his new book MMA Ripped, yesterday, and I highly recommend it as your top resource for introducing MMA style workouts into your training program – especially if you want to look and train like a UFC fighter.  Don’t count on me ever making a program like this – like I said, this is not my area of specialty so I confidently recommend making Eric your new fighting coach!

Vince

Muscle Building