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Copyright © 2004 by Kobus Huisamen. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Pictures by John Yoo.
To the trainers who made the most impact in my career: Steve Kalakoda, Henk Pelser and Ivan Hippolyte.
Make sure that you balance your training to your own requirements.
Choose the programmes that you like and the ones that will benefit you most and tailor them to your unique needs.
Try everything; experiment with new things; do research and stay abreast of new scientific developments in the field of sports performance.
Then, keep the things that work for you.
If you’re a trainer, your biggest challenge is to protect your fighter from your own influence!
This is especially true for fighter-trainers – those trainers who are still competing.
If you’re a successful fighter, don’t try to make all your fighters images of yourself.
Remember, we are not in the cloning business. We are in the business of developing the fighter’s abilities and skill. You are to make him the best he can be – not what you want him to be.
The frequency and cycling of your programme
The frequency of your training will also depend on how close you are to a fight or not.
Fighters don’t have the luxury of an “on-season and off-season” – we fight all year round.
For the top fighters who train and fight full time, you may be able to work in less sessions per day away from a fight and more sessions closer to a fight – depending on your training style.
I like to cycle my training around my fight schedule and my injuries.
Work out your own schedule around your own needs.
If you are weak in kicks, add some more Plyometrics. If you have leg injuries, work more upper body and vice versa.
Something like this:
Regular training away from a fight:
Fight training includes hard sparring once a week, or every 10 days or whenever convenient.
| Morning (7am) | Afternoon (2pm) | Evening (6pm) | |
| Day 1 | Strength training | Stamina training | Fight training |
| Day 2 | Strength training | Plyometrics | Fight training |
| Day 3 | Stamina training | ||
| Day 4 | Rest | ||
| Day 5 | Strength training | Fight training | |
| Day 6 | Fun training. I choose anything I would like to do. Volleyball, rock climbing, swimming – anything to break routine. | ||
Training closer to a fight:
Fight training includes hard sparring two to four times a week or whenever convenient.
| Morning (7am) | Afternoon (2pm) | Evening (6 pm) | |
| Day 1 | Strength training | Stamina training | Fight training |
| Day 2 | Strength training | Plyometrics | Fight training |
| Day 3 | Strength training | Stamina training | Fight training |
| Day 4 | Rest | ||
| Day 5 | Strength training | Fight training | |
| Day 6 | Plyometrics, or stamina training | Fight training | |
| Day 7 | Rest | ||
Two weeks prior to a fight:
Fight training includes hard sparring daily, or as injuries allow.
| Morning (7am) | Afternoon (2pm) | Evening (6 pm) | |
| Day 1 | Strength training | Fight training | |
| Day 2 | Stamina training | Fight training | |
| Day 3 | Strength training | Fight training | |
| Day 4 | Stamina training | Fight training | |
| Day 5 | Strength training | Fight training | |
| Day 6 | Stamina training | Fight training | |
| Day 7 | Rest | ||
One week prior to a fight:
Some trainers like to train their fighters hard up to the day of the fight. I don’t think you’ll learn much more this week, in terms of techniques or gain any power or speed. I would like the body and any injuries to rest. Especially the previous weeks with hard sparring, many injuries may occur.
Rest them this week.
| Morning (7am) | Afternoon (2pm) | Evening (6 pm) | |||||
| Day 1 | Light stretching | ||||||
| Day 2 | Rest | ||||||
| Day 3 | Rest | ||||||
| Day 4 | Rest | ||||||
| Day 5 | Fight training | ||||||
| Day 6 | Very light fight training (Optional) | Fight day |
I like to work out lightly two days before the fight – just about 3 to 5 rounds on the bag and pads for a kickboxing fight. For an MMA fight, some light rolling for 10 minutes and some punching and kicking for about 3 rounds on the bag and pads.
The day before the fight, I won’t work out, unless it is about strategy and mental preparation.
Sleep
Sleep is an important factor in performance.
If the fighter doesn’t sleep enough, the body can’t recover. Injuries need extra recovery time. Fighters should sleep about 8 to 9 hours per night.
