Training Smart

Check out this video of UFC fighter Rich Franklin. I’ve seen few workouts this intense. Hit the pause button at 0:56 into it and you’ll see the structure. Having put myself through this progression 4 years ago, I can tell you it’s ridiculously intense. In fact, I liked the kind of shape I was in after 8 weeks on this cycle so much that I went back to this type of training last week. This workout is difficult…VERY difficult. It takes a few weeks to adjust and be able to make it through an entire hour long session with no breaks. And those weeks are anything but fun!

Despite the positive results I experienced on this plan, I question its relevance in the sport of MMA. Is Rich Franklin (or anyone who does this) in great shape? Mentally tough? Strong and well conditioned? Yes, yes, and yes! Very much so! However, think about the way a UFC fight is set up. In a non-title fight, there are 3 five minute rounds. When a championship belt is on the line, five 5 minute rounds are fought. That means a fighter’s body must be able to go hard for 5 minutes - not 60 minutes - before getting a 1 minute break. Then 5 more minutes and a break. Then anywhere from 1 to 3 more rounds in this format. Mike Ferguson, Franklin’s coach, is quoted in the video as saying his philosophy is to have Rich “ready to go 10 five minute rounds, so that he never, ever gets tired.” A tenacious approach and it makes sense in theory.

So let’s pretend for a moment that a 60 minute fight existed in the UFC. There is little doubt that Franklin would be more prepared than anyone. In fact, unless someone out there trains the with same volume, Rich is easily in the best shape for this type of outing.

Now let’s go back to the way the UFC is actually set up: no more than 5 five minute rounds.  Despite how ridiculously awesome this workout is for the guy who wants to push his body to the limit, it’s simply not the best way to train a mixed-martial artist confined to 300 seconds of fighting. Here’s why: the body cannot go as hard for 1 hour as it can for 5 minutes. Oh sure, you can train your body to do a great many things. But who is going to be more ferocious within 5 minutes: the guy who trains as hard he can for 5 minutes or the guy who trains as hard as he can for 60? Our bodies have limits, and a trained person will always be able to push the pace harder for a short amount of timed.

All this to say, I don’t want to challenge Rich Franklin to a fight. Nor do I want to call out Ferguson. Once a marine, always a marine - and I’m no marine. I simply want to emphasize that no matter what your sport, focus on what you are training for. If you are a fire fighter, train wearing heavy equipment in the blazing heat. If you are a soccer player, train yourself to keep going for 45 minutes at a time. For tennis, train for change of direction sprints, rotational strength, and balance. And if you fight in the UFC, teach yourself how to punch, kick, wrestle, sprawl, and grapple as hard as you can for 5 minutes at a time. Training smarter is more important than training harder. For the mixed-martial arts game, there is certainly a mental toughness aspect that would be improved through Ferguson’s approach. Unfortunately, when a shin bone connects at full speed, even the toughest minds have no choice but to temporarily shut off. Its called unconsciousness.

Bottom line: figure out what your sport/job/hobby/life physically requires, and train in such as a way as to make you specifically better at those demands.