Why Do So Many People Say Running Is Detrimental to MMA Training?
I’ve only been training MMA for 5 months but I’ve noticed that a lot of people, including my coach, believe that you shouldn’t do any running apart from sprinting or short high-intensity running.
Am I right in saying they are all wrong?
Since aerobic energy is all that is avaliable to perform exercise once your anaerobic (etc.) energy has been depeleted, wouldn’t it make sense to increase your aerobic capacity as well as your anaerobic capacity?
And isn’t running for 30 – 60 minutes at moderate to high intensity the best way to improve your aerobic capacity?
In my mind you should do both, because if you run for 30 minutes, and then do sprints for 30 minutes your going to benefit alot more than if you just run for an hour. You need the high intensity because that’s what your going to be doing in the fight, your going to have quick spurts of intensity, your not going to have a steady pace fight.
Most people approach training for MMA the same way they would approach training for a boxing match. They immediately think "roadwork." Distance running isn’t detrimental to MMA, but it just doesn’t translate the same way it does to boxing. We’re all so conditioned to boxing, we should really break away from that mindset.
In a boxing match rounds are three minutes long, with one minute rests. There can be 10, 12, 15 rounds. Boxing is a prolonged, drawn out effort. Besides that, the entire fight takes place in the standing position. There are no level changes, clinch fighting, grappling, ground work. Your breathing rhythm is pretty consistent in boxing, so running for long periods of time translates perfectly. When you run long distances your breathing rhythm is steady, and you’re building endurance at a medium pace over a prolonged period of time. Works great for boxing.
MMA is different. It’s much more explosive, fights take place on several different levels, and your breathing rhythm is constantly interrupted. Not to mention fights last 15 minutes, 25 for a championship bout. It’s not the same kind of long, drawn out battle. For Mixed Martial Arts, you really need to train for recovery and that’s why so many trainers insist on interval training, (That’s where your sprints come in.) You exert 100% effort, gas yourself out basically, and train your body to recover as quickly as possible. This breaks your breathing rhythm to prepare you for when that happens in a fight. You’ll be up and down, clinching, grappling, striking… You’ll be exerting maximum effort for short periods of time, recovering briefly, and continuing. Interval training translates much more efficiently to mixed martial arts than distance running.
That’s not saying you shouldn’t run for distance at all. I’m in favor of mixing it up. If I’m training for a fight, I really mix up my cardio routine. I’ll swim, sprint, and once a week go for distance run. Usually four miles just to keep a solid aerobic base.
When it comes down to it though, for MMA, you’d be much better off sparring at 100% than running mile after boring mile.
I don’t the answer to your question, but I wanted to toss in my opinion…
You are doing the right thing, research! Get lots of advice (but get it from qualified people) and then make your decision.
Good luck!