Get Intense

By: Ken Vick

Although I've watched it for years, it never ceases to amaze me how many athletes train without real intensity. Sure they might workout for hours, upon hours and then some more, but they never get intense.

When I hear an athlete say they train 8 hours a day, I already know they are probably wasting 2 to 4 of them. “When its fight time I give 110%” they say. Translation: most of the time I train at only 75% effort and never really push it intensely.

How can I be so sure? Because if you put any kind of intensity into the workouts you can't train that many hours a day. I've worked with professionals in a multitude of Olympic and professional sports. Weightlifters, football players, hockey players, MMA fighters: none of the champions train for that long. Not even the endurance athletes are stupid enough to try training 8 hours a day, day in and day out. Yeah, they may train a lot, but they also train with intensity.

In MMA today, far too many athletes drill for multiple hours with moderate intensity. They do a lot of cardio work by running or sitting on the bike. Maybe some strength training, too. Can this feel hard? Yes! Is this training with intensity? NO! What happens when they get in the ring for a fight against an intense opponent? They crumble.

Intensity is different. It's different physically and mentally. If you aren't facing this in training, you're going to have a problem. On the physical side you're energy systems are going to need to produce energy in a way you haven't been working them. On the mental side, you'll create a downward spiral to defeat.

Why train your system to run for 30 or 45 minutes at a steady pace, when you are going to go for 2-5 minutes, rest and do it again 3-5 times? Why sit on a bike and keep a moderate pace, when you are going to be on your feet, knees and back, moving, swinging, kicking, and grasping all at 100%?

Long cardio and moderate pace training DOES NOT tax your muscles and system metabolically the same as high intensity combat. Your body has to produce high levels of energy and clear the waste out of your cells rapidly. Only training with intensity will do it.

It can be frightening to push yourself like that. Any competition can increase tension and anxiety for athletes. A fight is even more so. So you never train with that intensity, but now you're going to try to fight with intensity? Think again. Few athletes can do something in competition that they've never faced in training. As the physical side wears quickly, it gets even worse.

So, by now it should be completely obvious that I am a proponent of training at higher intensities. If you're thinking this might make some sense, what do you do next? First rethink how you're conditioning. Second, look at your overall volume of training. Finally, think about a regeneration plan to keep your body healthy and performing.

First and foremost in your conditioning has to be your actual MMA training. If you do all of your training, be it grappling, boxing, kicking, wrestling, and so on, at a moderate pace, Stop. Somewhere in there you have to train intensely, specifically with combat. You better be able to go 100% for as long as your rounds and as many as you need. This only comes by doing it. Not running, not biking, not jump roping or anything else.

For added conditioning, uphill sprinting, loaded sprinting, high intensity, whole-body circuit training, and explosive weightlifting combos are all options. You get little benefit, but a lot of wasted effort from high rep bodybuilding exercises or long moderate runs.

As a second step, get more out of less. Look at your training time and figure out how much of it you actually work at. How much is spent talking or sitting around? Yes, as a MMA athlete there are many things to train. Is that fourth boxing session what you really need before this fight, or would working on something else be more useful? Make sure each minute spent training is productive.

If you are going to get intense, it's going to get uncomfortable. It takes a lot out of your body in fuel and resources and puts a lot of stress on you. This is part of what it takes to be a champion. It is also what will shorten your career if you don't focus on regeneration.

You'll have to refuel better with proper nutrition. You'll need to help you muscles repair and adapt. You must recharge your mind and spirit. This is regeneration. If you hope it will just happen, think again. To train intensely, you have to plan regeneration methods for your body and mind.

Intense training is not for everybody. Some people are best settling for moderate training and staying in that comfort zone. Intense training is for the tough competitors. It's for professionals. It's required of champions. You choose.

Ken Vick is the CEO of Integrated Performance Systems and an Athletic Development Specialist in Southern California. Organizations including the LA Kings, Nike Basketball, LA Clippers, Michael Jordan's Senior Flight School, Nike Hockey and hundreds of professional and Olympic athletes have relied on his expertise to improve performance. He works with many members of the RAW team, bringing scientific experience and practical experience to their training. Ken is available for coaching and consulting and can be reached at tpestrngth@yahoo.com .