In November 2003 Ryan became interested in MMA. He began to observe guys in the gym grapple and box. Every now and then he would jump in and participate. He showed tremendous heart and toughness the first time I saw him grapple. He also displayed great balance.
Now, the question was how would he react the first time he got hit? I have seen many great athletes look like helpless little kids once they get hit. He was gun shy at first, but he handled it relatively well. Better than most I might add.
After playing around a couple months we decided it was time to get serious. Ryan began boxing and grappling 2-3 times per week. Before we decided to get serious his strength and conditioning program looked like everyone else's in the gym.
Obviously to maximize his ability as an MMA competitor we had to alter his conditioning regimen. I designed a 12 week program for Ryan in hopes of maximizing his performance in his first MMA bout.
Ryan's 12-Week Program
Below is a summary of his first 6 week mesocycle:
Jump Rope: 3 two-minute rounds
Dynamic Range of Motion
Hurdle Hip Mobility
Tumbling
Lying supine (get-up) 3 sets, 4 reps, rest 20sec
Quick hop box turns 3 sets, 4 reps, rest 20sec
Day 1:
Click here for a printable log of Day 1.
Day 3:
Click here for a printable log of Day 2.
Note: with the GPP circuit the goal was to increase the amount of repetitions we performed in each workout.
Day 5:
Day 6:
Non Weighted or Weighted GPP (methods vary).
Conclusion
Ryan performed the movements with very good technique within a couple of weeks. After about 3 weeks everyone training with Ryan paid notice to his increasing power, agility, quickness and endurance. His tumbling ability was excellent within a week.
An athlete's ability to tumble is usually a good indicator of his or her athletic ability. Ryan is one of the best tumblers I have ever met.
In addition to the basic tumbling drills emphasized in our training regimen he began performing back flips after about 4 weeks of training. This is an amazing feat due to the fact that he has never had any gymnastics instruction. After the first 6 weeks of training I could not have been more pleased with his progression. He worked hard and did everything I asked him to do.
Next week we will look at the final 6 weeks of preparation leading up to Ryan's fight.
jhale@halesoptimumphysique.com
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