How often should MMA fighters run?
All Combat Sports fighters have their individual preparation process.
And every single professional fighter has their style and training methods.
Running is one of the best exercises, which has a bunch of benefits.
Running is also a part of just about all martial arts conditioning training.
But even more so for combat striking styles such as Boxing, Muay Thai and Kickboxing.
But for MMA fighters especially, there are a lot of skills to learn and even different martial arts to train regularly such as Boxing, Muay Thai, BJJ and Wrestling.
There twice a week is normal for an MMA fighter to be running about 3-5km each run, building up to 5-8km each run.
We discuss more below.
Benefits of Running for MMA
The main benefit an MMA fighter can get from running is increased cardio and stamina.
And another very crucial benefit of running for MMA is to strengthen of the legs and especially the feet, calves in addition the upper legs.
Since footwork is such an important aspect or all combat styles – running should also be part of an MMA fighters training for sure.
MMA Fighters Have Different Styles to Train as well as Strength & Conditioning
A lot of the styles that MMA fighters train also help to train and increase cardio.
And as more time could be spent recovering from one training session and preparing for the next.
Minimum efficient running should be the focus for an MMA fighter.
As time also needs to be dedicated for building strength through resistance and weight training.
More focus be spent in the Dojo or gym/Academy actually training MMA over hours on roadwork.
How many times per week should MMA fighters run?
Running for MMA does increase stamina and strengthens the muscles of the legs.
But if fighters do not enjoy this process, they can replace it with another exercise.
Still, running twice a week at a minimum is a good average for most MMA fighters to maintain whether in fight camp or just doing regular training.
This kind of twice a week running for MMA can focus on long slower steady state cardio to build up and maintain the aerobic cardio system.
The aerobic cardio system is also used to fuel the anaerobic cardio system.
Anaerobic Running for MMA
But the focus of MMA running should not always focus on longer time or longer distance.
If fighters prefer to work with shorter more intense sprints, this can be another valuable training tool.
A sample more anaerobic focused type of workout could be :
- 4-5 KM uphill (more difficult over a flat surface)
- 300 meters distance, at maximum speed (focus on repeat bouts of the power of the explosion).
This type of training also helps to increase the aerobic cardio system for sure.
Twice a week for these type of sprints should be ideal to increase to peak for a fight or maintain over longer term training.
How long on the treadmill or how many km’s on the road?
For an MMA fighter:
- maintenance of 30-45 mins minimum per week (Aerobic training)
- 5-8kms per week on the treadmill or road
It is a known fact that running on the road could also not be the best for knee health when done repeatedly over longer periods of time..
Fortunately, today sports shops offer us different kinds of sports shoes, which have thick base layers and decrease the damage as much as possible.
But running 5 to 8km, twice a week is a solid goal to set and kepp to maintain cardio.
Running uphill with more intense bursts can also be really beneficial and could also increase efficiency.
Running for Boxing vs Running for MMA
It is tough to compare two sport’s athletes in general.
For some fighters running is something like meditation.
They enjoy running every day and prohibit this exercise on fighters is not correct.
Some fighters hate it, and they are preferring to spend most of their time on the matt or ring to increase their stamina while sparring sessions, working on the pads, or working on the punching bags.
But it is the fact that boxers are running way more than MMA fighters.
For example, it is known that Lomachenko is runs 15 kilometers, 3-4 times a week at least.
But it does not mean that it is the recommended.
It also depends on how much time you take to run 15 kilometers. For MMA speically there are many other areas of MMA to train so time and efficiency is of importance.
It is better to run 3-4 kilometers in 10 minutes than running 15 kilometers in 1 hour and a half.
Running for Muay Thai vs Running for MMA
Kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters are run a lot, just like Boxers.
Some Muay Thai fighters run twice a day every single day.
Once in the morning before training (3-6k) and once before evening training (another 3-6km).
But it is not just because of Cardio.
Muay Thai gyms in Thailand are known to say “no run – no fight”.
This shows how much they value running as part of training to make the fighter “stronger”.
Running especially is helpful for strengthening the muscles used for Muay Thai kicks and fighting footwork.
Muay Thai uses a lot of kicks in fighting, so running long-distance, regularly helps in making their legs, hips, feet and ankles stronger for kicking and footwork.
In addition to running it is also important tp traning muscle endurance for the striking limbs as well.
This could involve punch burnout drills on the heavy bag; shadow boxing and drilling with hand weights or even repeated kicks on the Thai pads.
But, running alone is excellent to develop the lower limbs for footwork and striking in MMA and combat arts.
How Often Should MMA Fighters Run? Wrap Up
Running is a training method used by virtually all martial arts.
Running develops cardio, endurance and leg strength, stability and balance in footwork.
So just how often should MMA fighters run?
For an MMA fighter running 5-8km twice per week is a good target to shoot for and maintain. And this can be longer slower aerobic cardio or more anaerobic shorter intense cardio.
For an MMA fighter there are a lot of different training required such as striking, wrestling and BJJ.
Training in these martial arts will also develop a lot of the benefits from running for an MMA fighter.
So it could be better time spent training MMA and also increasing sport specific cardio rather than many hours on roadwork which is not necessary for an MMA fighter.
