"Generally
Speaking...” (orginally published at mmaweekly.com)
I recently received an email from a trainee who had bought my
workout programs. He wanted to know if the workouts I'd designed
would help him increase his kicking and punching power, as he
trained in only kickboxing. (He's from Holland, and there isn't
much, if any, MMA to be had there.)
The answer to his question was pretty simple - "Absolutely
they'll help you increase your kicking and punching power."
Now, the reason for this is two-fold. First, because the workout
programs I design and sell are kick-ass. (hehe ;-) Second, because
while the programs I design are kick ass, they are designed
with "general" strength & conditioning goals in
mind - not specific ones.
S&C training is really just a form of what is called GPP
- General Physical Preparedness. What is GPP? GPP is essentially
- in a very general sense - overall physical preparedness. How
strong are you? How fast are you? How powerful are you? How
is your muscular-endurance? What about your cardiovascular endurance?
What about your agility? What about your work capacity? (And
the list could go on.)
None of this measures directly into your MMA training, nor
how strong/powerful/conditioned/etc. you are at certain elements
of MMA. All GPP is, is how ready you are overall.
Think of it this way - say you're trying to build a building
that is very tall. GPP is part of that foundation. It makes
your game strong (like a strong foundation can make a building
strong), but by stacking it high, it can give you a higher point
to start from. That is sort of what GPP can do.
We've all heard the debates of "strength vs. technique."
Why everybody thinks it has to be one or the other astounds
me. Why not have BOTH? But anyway... Say you're fighting a guy
with very little technique. Now, say that guy is just your average
person. He's nothing extraordinary from a physcal perspective.
And say that armbars are your specialty. This guy has rolled
once or twice, but very little. Are you going to have a tough
time armbarring him? Probably not - you should be able to secure
it very quickly.
Now, let's say that your opponent, instead of your average
person, is multi-time World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski.
Do you think you're going to go right in and armbar him? Highly
unlikely. The guy is just too damn strong. Now, can you grapple
with him some, try to wear him out, wait until he makes a mistake,
leaving that arm wide open, and then sink on the armbar? Sure
you can. Even then will it work? Probably - but with how strong
and powerful a guy like Pudzianowski is, it's going to take
some amazing technique to do it.
Now, let's add another twist to the equation - say (all other
things equal) that you were three times as strong and powerful
as you are now. Everything else is the same - your level of
technique is the same, your conditioning, your size, everything
aout Pudz, etc. (I know, it's not rational, but just humor me
for a minute.) Do you think you'd have such a tough time armbarring
him? I highly doubt it. Why? Because your technique has just
become that much more effective with superior strength.
Let's look at a non-MMA example. Steroids have become a major
issue in baseball in recent years. What was one of the big things
that drew this attention? All the home runs being hit. How are
these guys hitting so many more home runs? Because they're just
that much stronger. They're swings (i.e. technique) are the
same. They're probably still going after the same type(s) of
pitches. And the pitching is relatively still the same. So how
are they hitting so many more out of the park?
Easy - with the increased strength, the ball goes further.
Before, they only had the strength to (let's say) average a
300 foot shot with less than optimal technique. That's a fly-out
in many parks. But now, with all that added strength, the exact
same swing on the same pitch is sending the ball 340-350 feet.
That fly-out just became a home run.
Well, that's the kind of effect that increased strength (as
well as power, conditioning, and all other aspects of GPP) can
have on your MMA.
Now take note - we're not talking about specifically designed
exerices for MMA (that would consitute SPP - or Specific Physical
Preparedness - a subject for another article). This isn't finding
a way train the specific muscles you use when you shoot in for
a takedown, in the same motion(s) when you shoot in for a takedown.
Rather, this is about getting your squat higher. Making your
legs more powerful. Increasing your relative strength and power
(i.e. strength/power to bodyweight ratio) so that you can move
your body quicker. What all this does is not to instantly make
your shoots quicker, but rather to give you the potential for
quicker shoots.
So, once you have this increased GPP, how do you apply it to
your MMA (or in the case of the email I got, kickboxing)? By
doing your skills training. Hitting the gym and drilling and
rolling and sparring. This will make you a better MMAist. As
they say, "skills pay the bills."
Having more powerful legs won't (necessarily) in and of itself,
give you better shoots. But drilling takedown attempts with
more powerful legs will.
Increase your GPP, and increase your overall physical abilities
and capabilities. You'll find yourself a better MMAist because
of it.
Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.
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