MMA Conditioning Part 4

MMA Conditioning Part 4

In the previous instalment of our MMA conditioning series we looked at increasing power production. In this instalment we’re going to focus on rest & recovery.

My personal stance on rest & recovery boils down, very basically, to one phrase – You’re unlikely to over-train, but you can easily under-recover. What that means is, whilst overtraining may exist in the form of too much exercise, it’s more likely that a lot of exercise is not being offset by enough rest. Research is somewhat unresolved on the issue, overtraining having never been truly comprehensively defined or researched conclusively, but from what can be seen it would appear that the way in which to stave off or recover from overtraining is with rest (Halson & Jeukendrup, 2004). I recently heard an eminent doctor say ‘the best treatment is prevention’, and in this case I tend to agree – if you ensure adequate rest, regardless of your volume of training, you will probably not fall prey to overtraining.
Overtraining is preceded by overreaching, a phase that is marked by a decline in performance, feelings of fatigue, elevated heart rate (general), and even a reduction of appetite. Generally speaking, if you notice these symptoms then simply resting for 2 weeks will clear your slate and give you a good reset, allowing you to go back to training without succumbing to overtraining (Halson & Jeukendrup, 2004). Previous research has even indicated that overreaching can be strategically used to improve performance due to a mechanism known as ‘super-compensation’. Overtraining itself, however, can take well over 4 weeks to get back to baseline training (Rowbottom, et al., 1995), whilst some researchers have hinted at months or years (Halson, et al., 2002; Jeukendrup, et al., 1992).
I’m not going through this stuff to scare anyone, or suggest that this sort of thing is an almost constant scourge for the recreational athlete, because it’s not, but it is always worth keeping in mind the necessity for rest & recovery when embarking on a programme with a higher training volume.

In terms of training, the full programme will obviously need rest & recovery timetabled into it. My general recommendation, and you’ll see this in the programme itself, is that a high intensity/demand training day should be followed by either a complete day off, or a day of far lower intensity/demand & impact training – something not too taxing on the CNS (central nervous system). A good option for recovery is through the utilisation of active recovery – recent studies have shown that utilising active-rest can be as effective, if not more so, than traditional rest days (Suzuki, et al., 2004). Active rest days include simple low-resistance LISS that does not directly cross over with the previously trained activity (for instance, a runner should not run on a treadmill as an active rest activity, such as the stationary bike or rower). These active rest days hold the benefits of aiding lactic acid removal and speeding recovery via increased blood circulation (Ahmaidi, et al., 1996; Micklewright, et al., 2003).
Additionally, for the more advanced mixed martial artist who trains twice a day, workouts should be paired in a taxing/non-taxing format, such as strength training in the morning and flexibility training, or pad work, in the evening.

I don’t want to stress this point too much, because it is pretty straightforward – don’t train too hard and rest too little. Utilising the correct types of rest helps to ensure your safety, your long-term health, and your ability to keep training and keep getting better at winning those fights!

I guess that about wraps that up - I’ll be putting up the next, and final, article soon enough, in which I’ll be tying it all together with an example of how to make a training schedule for your athletic conditioning goals!

See you next time…

References

Ahmaidi, S., et al., 1996. Effects of active recovery on plasma lactate and anaerobic power following repeated intensive exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 28, pp.450-56.

Halson, S., & Jeukendrup, E. 2004. Does Overtraining Exist? An Analysis of Overreaching and Overtraining Research. Sports Med, 34, pp.967-981.

Halson, S., Bridge, M., & Meeusen, R. 2002. Time course of performance changes and fatigue markers during intensified training in trained cyclists. Journal of Applied Physiology, 93, pp.947-956.

Jeukendrup, A., Hesselink, M., & Snyder, A. 1992. Physiological changes in male competitive cyclists after two weeks of intensified training. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 13, pp.534-541.

Micklewright, D., et al., 2003. Blood Lactate Removal Using Combined Massage and Active Recovery. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35, pp. 436-440.

Rowbottom, D., Keast, D., & Goodman, C. 1995. The haematological, biomechanical and immunological profile of athletes suffering from the overtraining syndrome. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 70, pp.502-509.