skip to Main Content
5 Athletic Strength Exercises For Fighting

5 Athletic Strength Exercises For Fighting

  1. Are you competitive in martial arts, or MMA and looking for a way to build more athleticism? 
  2. Do you have an interest in speeding up your performance for your martial arts practice? 
  3. Are you looking to build strength to improve your strikes and/or grappling skills? 
  4. Are you interested in building more athletic strength to enhance your coordination and reaction time? 

Whether you’re a martial arts practitioner, or looking to get seriously competitive in MMA you need to hone a good portion of your strength exercises to develop your athleticism. Consequently, without the added development of coordination and speed you may end up being somebody’s punching, or kicking bag during a tough sparring session. So today I’m going to provide you with some strength exercises to make your striking and grappling skills much tougher for your opponent.

Athletic Strength Exercises For Fight Performance

1) Box Jumps: This dynamic strength drill is as close to idiot proof as you can get in terms of technique although there are a few things to consider before trying to execute the box jump. So dynamic strength exercises such as this are great for developing some serious leg power to enhance your kicking power, speed, and agility.

Black and white image of Brandon performing a single arm kettlebell swing and transitioning hands with the kettlebell during the movement.

Learn how to apply strength exercises to take your training to the next level. Jump on my 90 Day MMA Strength & Conditioning program here. Just click the image.

Before executing the box jump you want to take about stride length back away from the box. Therefore, you want to hinge your hips and bend your knees while performing a counter movement with your arms. This is to forcefully aid you into the descent of the box jump before forcefully jumping and ascending out of the hinged position.

As you jump make sure to jump as high as you can, but land as softly as you can with your feet equal distance apart in the center of the box. Consequently, make sure to land flat footed absorbing your landing. From here stand all the way up and then step down off of the box to set up for the next repetition. Most importantly, don’t jump off the box back to the ground after a completed jump. This defeats the purpose of the box jump which is to negate compressive forces on your ankles, knees, and hips.

2) Single To Double Leg Box Jump: This is the next progression of the standard box jump. Here you will set up to execute this movement the same exact way as you would the standard box jump. The obvious difference here is that you’re going to be jumping off of one leg and landing on both on top of the box.

You still want to accomplish the same thing as the standard box jump. Therefore, jump hard off of one leg and land softly on both feet. Imagine landing on a glass surface. So once the jump is completed step down from the box and switch legs to perform the next jump.

3) Rotational Medicine Ball Slams: These are clearly going to ramp up your striking and grappling intensity. As you can see by lifting this soft jam medicine ball up over your head and pivoting your feet to forcefully slam it into the ground you are training for rotational speed.

The key is to make sure that you bend your knees and hips as you drive the medicine ball into the ground on each slam. So transition the ball from one side to the other by bringing the ball up and over your head before driving it into the ground. Slam it on the opposite side of your body.

You want to perform these by keeping in mind the speed and intensity of the slams. You want to perform the slams in continuous succession like a machine gun.

4) Sit Through: This strength exercise is commonly seen in Jiu-Jitsu, but is a great strength movement to perform for any form of fighting. Therefore, the sit through is a legit fight strength exercise because it will challenge your strength and coordination in order to pull it off.

You want to start sitting on the ground with your leg facing in line with your chest and shoulders placed on the ground out to the side of you. From here you want to use your grounded hand and opposite grounded leg to start pushing your body up off of the ground to switch positions placing yourself in the exact same position with your opposite limbs on the ground in the same position as you initially started.

Firstly, start out slow and focus on getting the movement pattern down first. So then you can worry about speeding up the execution of the movement. Make sure to perform these in continuous succession.

Black and white image of a fighter wearing headgear and focusing on his coach before a fight.

Learn how to systematically apply the strength exercises you need to take your MMA fitness and performance to the next level. Just click the image to order my 90 Day MMA Strength & Conditioning program now.

5) Plank To Push Up: I’m not going to lie to you this one requires a hell of a lot of strength. So this movement sort of represents a plyometric push-up. This is the case as you’ve got to generate enough force production to power your hands up off the ground.

With that being said this one is still much more challenging because you’re starting from the plank position. Therefore, you have to rock forward on your forearms bringing your shoulders over your forearms and fists. This particular part of the movement is a countermovement to help you create just enough momentum with a very short ROM. As a result, you have to go from the plank to spring up onto your fist.

So once you’re up on your fist you want to perform a push up. From here drop back down onto your forearms into the plank position. Lastly, you just want to continue to repeat the process until you complete the designated number of reps.

Athletic Strength Exercises For Fighting: The Takeaway

Commit to a strength program to improve your fight performance. To sum it up, you need to execute strength movements that mimic speed, agility, and power that is inherent in the sport of fighting. In conclusion, this is known as specificity of training.

Are you currently committed to a strength program to improve your fight performance and fitness? 

What strength movements are you incorporating to enhance your fight athleticism? 

Post up and share in the comments here below. 

To help you organize your strength exercises make sure you take advantage of my killer training programs here below! The first is my new 30 Introductory HIIT Workouts training program. The second is my 90 Day MMA Strength and Conditioning Program.

Introducing Brand NEW Product! 

Click Here To Get My 30 Introductory HIIT Workouts

Or Click On Image Here Below

Brandon Richey Fitness ghost man logo for HIIT Workouts

For a more comprehensive program make sure you jump on and get some of my new 90 Day MMA Strength and Conditioning Program. Trust me this one has been a game changer for all of my fight athletes.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER MY 90 DAY MMA STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PROGRAM!!!

It’s changing lives already!

Related Articles:

Top 5 Plyometric Drills For MMA Fitness

How To Enhance Your Fitness And Physical Work Capacity

3 Top Conditioning And HIIT Workouts For MMA And Combat Fitness

4 Point Hip Stretch Series: Squat Prep Your Hips

5 Unique Strength Drills To Enhance MMA Performance And Serious Fitness


Are you having trouble staying on top of your nutrition and all the supplements?

Therefore, get on the Reliv supplements below…

Reliv Now Here

Essential Nutrition

Your health is worth more than a bulk multivitamin pill. You deserve Reliv Now. Made with LunaRich, Reliv’s epigenetic superfood, and loaded with vitamins, minerals and super-powered antioxidants, Reliv Now is built on the latest findings in nutrition science.

Its uniquely effective formula delivers a balanced array of the most advanced ingredients to give your body what it needs to thrive. Why settle for ‘fine’ when you can feel ‘great!’? Get your health up to speed with Reliv Now.

Cutting-Edge Science: Study shows potential of Reliv Now® + LunaRich X™ to support weight loss, heart health and metabolic wellness.

Are you looking to enhance your performance, recovery, and muscle mass development? 

If so then get on the

Reliv ProVantage

Performance Nutrition

Most of us don’t come close to consuming the nutrients we need to keep our bodies performing at their peak. ProVantage meets the nutritional needs of physically active people and athletes to improve performance, endurance, recovery, and repair.

Powered by LunaRich, Reliv’s epigenetic superfood, this patented formula delivers 13 grams of muscle-building soy protein, plus other advanced ingredients like Tonalin®, MCTs, Creatine, CoQ10 and supercharged amino acids. ProVantage marks a major advancement in the science of sports nutrition.

It’s the edge you’ve been looking for.

 

 

 

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestFacebooktwitterredditpinterest

Brandon

I'm a Certified Strength And Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and author. I have had over 17 years experience in MMA fitness, strength and conditoning, and athletic performance for most every sport. As an author and specialist I've written close to a million words on fitness and strength. I'm also a Muay Thai practictioner and enjoy helping others to reach their peak potential through fitness and performance.

Leave a Reply

Back To Top
Sign Up To Get All The Latest Deals And My BRF Strength Newsletter!

Brandon Richey Fitness Will Never Share Your Information With Anyone
Free Innovative Conditioning Guide!

Just Enter Your Name & Email & Access My Guide