MMA Boot Camp Training – Is It Right For You?
Fitness boot camps have become very popular in recent years among busy, highly motivated people who have the determination and dedication to kick their training into a very high gear in a very shot period of time. They achieve their goals in other areas of their lives using fast, aggressive approaches. When they decide fitness in their new primary goal, they tackle it using an all-out engrossing approach – and they get results! They train and learn all day, and develop some new (good) habits quickly.
Many people who have been casual mixed martial arts enthusiasts for some time are beginning to embrace the idea of MMA Training Boot Camps. They dedicate one day, two days, and sometimes even a week to completely immersing themselves into the MMA training, drilling, supplementing, dieting and recovering lifestyle, in hopes that they will see very fast personal MMA growth and develop keen understandings of MMA processes – while getting into amazing shape very quickly. Let’s take a look at a sample MMA Boot Camp, to see if it is right for you!
7 am – Getting Started
Start your day by being smart on the two days BEFORE the boot camp begins. Eat and sleep wisely in the days before your boot camp is to begin. Keep starches and fats to a minimum so you’re light on your feet. You want plenty of energy for both physical and mental focus, so stack up the lean carbs in the day before and be sure to go to sleep early. You’ll want to get your money’s worth, and being groggy while living on coffee all day is not the way to achieve that!
8am to 9:30am – Early Cardio
Your morning at MMA Boot Camp will often begin with a moderate cardio session to help you break a sweat, get your body in gear, and push your cardiovascular system. You want the blood flowing, as you are going to be using both your physical and mental powers to the max during today’s session. Don’t push yourself to absolute failure to impress/intimate those around you. At the same time, you shouldn’t be slacking either. Push yourself to perform at a solid level while reserving adequate energy for the rest of the tasks you’ll be facing today.
10am to 12 pm – Education & Drills
Just as schools for children tend to place high emphasis upon the educational work early in the day when students are at their freshest mental states, many MMA Boot Camps will dedicate their early sessions to learning better technique and practicing these techniques with drills. Focus and concentration are keys for this area, as the goal is really more mental than physical. You’ll likely have a highly skilled instructor teaching you takedowns, striking, grappling, kicks and more. Learn everything you can, and don’t allow any distractions to detract from your flawless execution of the moves, every time.
12pm Lunch
Eat strong, light and healthy. You want enough calories for your afternoon gym session, but you also don’t want to be stuffed and slow. Stick with lean meats, vegetables, and plenty of water. Toss in some fruit for the sugars you need and you’ll be in great shape for the afternoon session.
1:30pm Lecture and/or Film
Some boot camps will use the post-digestion window of your day for some sit down, mental time where you can learn the higher level aspects of mixed martial arts. Philosophy and goal-setting might be mixed in with film analysis from past fights at the professional level. Come prepared with a notepad/tablet, and ask plenty of questions. You may learn a few items here which can really bump up your fight preparation and execution to the next level.
3pm – 4pm Circuit Training
Your brain is cooked. Your body has faced the cardio and the drilling. Now it’s time to wrap up your day with a few MMA Circuits to fully torch the core muscles of your body. As with any boot camp, your instructors will be right on top of you, delivering motivation and really pushing you to complete every repetition with good form, a focused intensity, and all out effort. Your brain might be tired from the thinking, but your body has had a few hours to recover from the morning drills, so you should be quite ready to wreck things in the weight room.
Most trainers will have your move thru a series of 3 to 5 exercises, with no rest in between, known as a Circuit. You will then rest for one minute, and complete another circuit. The total amount of time spent in the weight room will be well under an hour, but your intensity levels will remain constantly high during this time. You’ll move from weights to plyometrics to medicine balls and more – and you’ll do it quickly. Try to remember everything you can about this training session, and save any training routine paperwork you are given.
The goal of an MMA Boot Camp is to kick your capability and progress into the highest possible gear – fast. Make today your #1 priority, leaving distractions in the car for the day. You’re paying good money to learn from the best and to push yourself to be the best, so you will want your focus and concentration to be at the highest level possible. Often, a big name fighter or very advanced guru will be brought in for the day. Absorb everything you can, from the way the instructor warms up to the moves and small adjustments he/she shows you. There are many little things you can learn from keen observation that you would never pick up from a YouTube clip or training manual. Observe everything, push yourself and you’ll progress faster than you could ever imagine thanks to MMA Boot Camps!
