MMA Strength Training Vs Power

Article by Derek Manuel

When it comes to MMA strength training, a lot of martial artists are confused on how to perform resistance training to reach optimal performance for fighting. Some fighters still mix up strength with power, but the real confusion fighters have and half the time don’t even realize is that strength is the foundation of power.

Furthermore, it takes much more time to develop strength then it does to convert strength into power, and increasing your strength will increase your overall power more then just increasing your speed. Knowing just these three pieces of information alone, one can conclude that MMA fighters should actually spend more time developing their strength then they do there power, even though power is more important to have when fighting then strength.

Let me explain in another way. Just for the sake of understanding, think of power as an advanced form of strength, or the second phase of strength. When it comes time for a fight, it is always more important that the fighter focuses on developing their power the closer the fight gets. However, the more strength you have, the more power you can produce, since power essentially equals strength x speed. Like I said earlier, it takes much less time to increase the speed of yours strength then it is to actually develop new strength. Therefore, the more absolute strength a fighter has the more potential for power he can produce.

One of the biggest mistakes fighters make in their MMA strength training is because they know power is more important then just absolute strength in the actual fight, they think they should spend more time training power exercises. Though that actually sounds like it makes sense, it is actually more important that the fighter takes the time to develop his/her strength first, and then when it comes close to the fight, he can (relatively) quickly convert that strength into power.

But if all you do is train moving the same weight faster and faster, with power exercises such as cleans, snatches, or plyometrics, but never really increase the weight, you will be undercutting the potential power that you will actually be able to produce.

However, if you spend most of MMA strength training workouts developing absolute strength, and then the last month or two before your fight you train your power (moving that new heavier weight quickly) your power will increase MUCH more then just trying to increase the speed of movement with the same weight.

In summery, fighters should understand that increasing absolute strength is much more effective to increasing potential power then just speed, and because strength takes longer to develop then speed, the majority of a fighters MMA strength training workouts should focus on developing new levels of strength until a couple months before the fight, in which they then should convert that new strength into power.

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