"Slam Like a UFC Champ (UFC Workout)"

(originally published at MMA Weekly.com)

This past week was one of the biggest in UFC history. Their Light Heavyweight Champ, Chuck Liddell was on the cover of ESPN's magazine and had been in HBO's Entourage. The UFC was on the cover of Sports Illutrated. The UFC - mainly Chuck Liddell - was all over ESPN. Coverage for this UFC was huge, and it was looking like, if Chuck could avenge his loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, he was distined for even more superstardom.

Well, we all know what happened - Rampage came out and KO'd Chuck in less than two minutes. 2007 continues to be the year of the upset...

Seeing as how there are a lot of new MMA fans out there, and, with all the coverage, I'm sure a lot of folks who had never seen the UFC (and certainly had never seen Pride), I'm sure many of them wanted to find out more about Rampage Jackson. I wonder just how many times Rampage's name was typed into Google and You Tube this past weekend?

Anyway, if you're new to the sport - or at least had never seen Rampage fight - you were in for a treat with a bunch of those fight clips. Slams-a-plenty were there for your viewing pleasure. Probably Rampage's most famous slam was when he "power-bombed" Ricardo Arona in Pride. When you want to introduce someone to Rampage, that's the clip you show them.

But Rampage isn't the only one slamming guys out of their minds, though. Former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes is also known for his slams. Need proof? Take a look at his slams of Sakurai, Trigg, and him winning the title from Carlos Newton.

There are others, too. UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk has slammed more than one opponent. Former UFC Lightheavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz beat Evan Tanner when he slammed him, knocking him cold. It was in a losing effort, but Kevin Randleman suplexed Fedor right on his head (too bad Fedor is made of 22nd-century cyborg technology, or it might have broken his neck...ha!). Former Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva slammed Kazushi Sakuraba, injuring his shoulder. And for all you "TUF noobs" out there, if you want some "old school" slamming, get a copy of UFC 4, and watch Dan Severn suplex Anthony Macias into the next county, or a copy of Extreme Challenge 22, and watch Travis Fulton literally chokeslam Jeremy Bullock. (That one still makes me shudder.)

If you were around a few years ago, during my first stint with MMA Weekly, you may remember that I wrote an article about training to slam your opponent. Well, with all the new readers, and with Rampage's title win (and eventuality of seeing him slam somebody in the UFC), I figured it was time to revive and update the article.

There are a few ways to train if you want to be able to slam your opponent, but the first thing you're gonna need is some plain old brute strength and power. Slamming - at least the way Rampage, Hughes, and many others do it - isn't as much technique as it is just outmuscling your opponent. (I guess I could insert an argument about how good it is to be strong enough to dominate bodyweight, but I think I've made my point in the past, so I'll let that one go.) It's time to get you strong.

Weights are great for strength training, but in many (not all) instances, I prefer odd-objects - mainly the sandbag. I've touted the effectiveness of sandbag training for years now. I won't get into all the arguments as to why it's so good - just take my word for it. If you think you're tough, strong or powerful, a heavy sandbag will humble you in a hurry. Sandbags are also perfect for slam training.

There are two main exercises you should focus for your slam training - the Sandbag Shoulder and the Hug Morning.

The Sandbag Shoulder is pretty simple (notice I didn't say "easy"). Stand with the bag in front of you - just between your feet. Squat down, and grab the bag (depending on how your bag is shaped, you can set it up on one end if you like). Plant your heels into the ground. Your butt should be down, back flat, head up, and chest spread. In one movement, stand up with the bag, and muscle it to your left shoulder. When doing so, focus on driving with the hips. Many think that the kind of strength you need is that of the lower back. While this is true to an extent, it is hip strength and hip drive that allow you to pick up that opponent and slam him. Drive forward with the hips, and your whole body will come up. DON'T LET YOUR BUTT COME UP. You will then be lifting solely with your lower back, and are asking to get hurt. This is a no-no. Drive with the hips. You will use your upper body to continue the momentum (or lack thereof) of the bag to get it all the way to your shoulder. Once there, drop it to the ground, and repeat to the other side.

The Hug Morning is a variation of the Good Morning. This is another one that will build incredible lower back strength, and hip strength/drive. The first thing you have to do is get your sandbag into a Bear Hug (i.e. holding the bag around the center, vertically against the front of your torso). You can do the beginning part of a Sandbag Shoulder to get it there. Once you're there, dip your butt backwards and lean forward. Your butt should go pretty far back - as if you're going to sit in a chair. The lean of your upper body will mostly be as a result of your butt going back. At the "end" of the movment, your upper body should be roughly parallel to the ground (don't force it there - as far as it goes is as far as it goes - forcing it to parallel can put your lower back in a potentially dangerous position), and your knees bent anywhere from 45-60 degrees or so (more or less 1/4 to 1/3 squat position). From there, drive the hips forward as forcefully as you can, straightening the body. Once again, don't let your legs stay straight and butt in the air. Make the butt go back so that you have to drive the hips forward to straighten your body.

Once you get good - and strong - at these two exercises, you can try a few variations. You can morph either into a variety of suplexes, and you can see if you can Hug Morning with enough force to get the bag all the way up to your shoulder.

If you don't have a sandbag, well, that's no excuse. They're easy to make (takes less than an hour) and cheap (you can have one for under $20). But, a water-filled keg or heavy punching bag could work, too.

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.