There are two truisms in athletics/sports that are often overlooked, forgotten, ignored, or wished away.
Numero Uno-Size and Weight Matter.
Numero Dos-Specificity of Training Matters.
The first, anyone who tells you size and weight doesn't matter in a fight has either never truly tussled with someone much larger than them who wasn't cooperating, or hasn't paid attention to what happens when extremely well-trained and gifted professional athletes push too far above their weight classes.
Surely we can put this nonsense to bed, if not, we'll save that warmed-over rant for another day.
Today's exhortation is to kill the idea that all sports preparation training is somehow uniform, and to be honest I think most of us already kinda sorta know this but the popularity and widespread permeation of the CrossFit model seems to occasionally allow some to forget the fact (not opinion) of specificity.
First, allow me to say "Hold your horses, CrossFitters," this ain't no anti-CrossFit rant. The sort of randomized General Physical Preparedness (GPP) training advocated in the system may be just what the doctor ordered for emergency operators who have to respond to varying demands. I say may be instead of definitely, simply because I am such a believer in specificity that it seems that each emergency or combat operator has some sort of mission definition available that would allow for some form of tailoring. I'm just staying if my job is to be the best combat swimmer I can be, then perhaps countless reps of Wall Ball may be taking some valuable time away from my swim training and/or auxiliary conditioning that better reflects my needed movement scheme, say 4-count flutter kicks.
Where CrossFit excels is in bringing the facts of intensity to the masses and in providing an overall camaraderie or team mentality to add some "Ooomph!" commitment to showing up and doing the job.
So, this ain't no beef with an excellent way to condition overall, it is an observation that different missions require different approaches. Hell, I think that's obvious to all of us. One would not condition an offensive lineman and a soccer forward the same way, nor would one simply swap their specific conditioning regimens and expect them to deliver the same results as they attempt to transfer this change of conditioning focus to their respective sports. It would be ludicrous.
Now, here's where we the combat sports enthusiast have it somewhat easy, the sports mission is clearly demarcated by both rule sets and time limits. We are not called upon to be power lifters, we are not called upon to be marathoners, we are not called upon to be gymnasts, and we are not called upon to be masters of the handstand push-up. Of course, it would be nice to be great at many things but there is more truth to the adage "Jack of all Trades, Master of None" than we would like to think when it comes to conditioning training.
Combat Sports athletes have a mission before them to become the fastest, strongest, most powerful human being for 15 minutes tops (unless it's a championship bout) and even then there are two minutes of rest factored into that quarter hour of work.
This isn't to say that I am advocating one only has to train for 15 minutes a day and boom you're good to go. Of course not. It is to say that these competitive 15 minutes of activity are meant be full-speed, full-effort action-packed displays of intensity. With that in mind Workouts of the Day (WODs) that stretch out into the distant horizon allowing the athlete to settle into a less than intense "cruising above idle" pace do not reflect what the combat athlete will be called upon to do.
Also, WODs that aim to build a skill that is in no way reflective of what will be required in the cage or ring may be akin to busy work.
Ideally, WODs should be tailored to mission demands and not amorphous one-size-fits-all affairs. Again, no one doubts that a professional offensive lineman and a professional soccer forward both train with utmost intensity, but they also do so with the utmost specificity.
We, as combat athletes, optimally will keep our eyes on the demands of the sport/mission and hew closely as possible to movements, skills, and intensity patterns that match our needs. Street combatives trainers would be wise to follow the same protocol as the movement and intensity demands are similar, the engagement will (hopefully) be briefer, but in the end, a fight is still a fight.
One last thing, this isn't a call to jettison all Long-Slow Distance Training (LSDT), that is lots and lots of roadwork for weight control, or the occasional extended but lower key session to keep the system cooking while utilizing active recovery, but overall, we need to recognize this sort of approach should not be the main thrust of a fighter's regimen.
You are a fighter.
You are here to bang hard, bang fast, slam and jam like a beast, crank, torque, lock and roll like a jungle cat on meth.
With that mission statement in mind, always ask yourself, is this what a meth-driven cheetah would do or am I working like a long-range gazelle or a powerful but lumbering water buffalo?
Be that fearsome cat, Fighters.
BOXING FOR MMA
