Tire flips, bro! Sledge hammers! You know what? Just pick any part from any training montage in Rocky IV. Let’s do that.

You know what? Let’s not. Not today.

I’m a fan of old-school, no-frills training. I have a particular appreciation for how it applies to MMA conditioning. So what’s my problem today? Even more than old-school training, I’m a fan of proper program design and good technique. You can’t get around it . . . No matter how many cool-looking exercises you do.

It’s like this: core movements will always be the foundation of a good training program. And when I say core, I don’t mean crunches. I’m talking about the fundamentals: squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and Olympic lift variations. However, just like so many other fundamentals – eating and sleeping, for example – people often try to skip right on past them. I blame their lack of inclusion into fast-paced reality TV sequences.

Tire flips, sledgehammer strikes, kettle bell stuff . . . these are all “advanced” movements that come closer to simulating sport-specific movements. They also look super bad-ass. So why can’t we just go right to them? Won’t we automatically be advanced? Well, no.

If you were a boxing coach, you wouldn’t throw a new guy in the ring for hard sparring. And you certainly wouldn’t believe that making him spar a pro would mean he was sparring at a pro level. You’re not that silly. Instead, you would ensure that his fundamentals were in place. You would know from experience that technique breaks down in stressful situations. You would build enough of a technical base to help ensure a minimum standard of good form under pressure.

In terms of what we do at Bang Fitness, a good technical base not only consists of movement, but strength. Core lifts bring you back to an unambiguous benchmark for both. Due to their biomechanical advantages, they also allow you to load your body in a way that far exceeds any other type of movement. Regardless of the specifics of a given sport, anyone who wants to push the boundaries of their own strength will return to the fundamentals again and again.

So when do we get to the cool stuff? When it comes to our personal training clients (even the pro fighters), it’s after we can ensure a few things are in place. For the sake of their safety (and training longevity), we need to know that — even if form breaks down somewhat during explosive, multi-planar movement – it won’t be so much that athletes will injure themselves through undue stress on their joints – particularly the spine. That’s the minimum requirement, but it’s far from being the only one.

In addition to base criteria for dynamic exercise, we also have to utilize a periodized approach. Conventionally, this will begin with mobility and correcting movement dysfunction. From there, we’ll establish a base in strength with core movements. This foundation will determine how much weight can be utilized in power development during later stages of training. As a major competition (or the competitive season) approaches, weights will decrease and movements will progressively begin to resemble those of the athlete’s sport. That’s the quick and general version.

In practical terms, the same things that make MMA so interesting (from a training perspective) also make it challenging to prepare for. In the context of sport-specific movements, we need to look at the particular things we’ll be emphasizing for an athlete’s next fight. One important point is that they will not dominate the program. Their placement will be where timing allows for maximum output in terms of practical use. To start training them too early would be to sacrifice maximal power, while starting them too late means limiting carryover. It’s a delicate balance.

Coming back to unconventional lifts, such as tire throws, bag slams, etc. one of the major problems is that most gyms are not going to have, say, a rack of differently-weighted tires. That means that the 200-pounder with a 370 lb. bench press is utilizing the same object as the sprightly 135-pounder with a dodgy shoulder. Who’s using the appropriate weight? Could it be right for both? It could be; the odds are against this, though.

Naturally, there are many adjustments that can correct the individual level of difficulty for old-school lifts. A good strength coach will make these automatically. However, let’s not forget that there’s a reason people built the new school. Applying the same cookie-cutter approach to athletes with different attributes and technical requirements is not the way to go. And that, ladies and gentleman, is my problem today. Don’t make it yours.

Geoff