How would you train to be in top fighting condition?

Question

How would you train to be in top fighting condition?

Answer 1

well before a fight i would run alot to increase stamina and also work alot on the bag practicing my techniques and ask my instructor for any tips or opinions. i'd also do lots of skipping everyday. eat 2 hours before training and 1 hour after training and also eat alot of fruits that way my body gets the nutrients, vitamins and energy it needs. I would do this everyday and to top it i would sparr as much as i can and try to spar atleast 20 rounds a week. But don't forget your body also needs rest so take a day or two  for rest.

Answer 2

Technique is the most important aspect, so practicing sparring is the most important goal.  

Beyond that it does depend somewhat on the style of fighting.

That said, fighting requires a moderate amount of aerobic endurance, and a high degree of anaerobic endurance.  Its not so much that fighters get out of breath as they get 'heavy limbs' when they gas out. Running long distances won't help with that, they're better off, assuming an aerobic base, focussing on anaerobic endurance.  Complexes are a good way to do that - the idea is to do something like 8 deadlifts, 8 cleans, 8 curls, 8 overhead, 8 squats .... without putting the bar down.  Obviously, less weight than your max!  That trains your body to handle the kind of energy needs you'll have.

Besides that kind of conditioning, you'd like to work on explosive strength.  This is done via plyometric work.  The idea here is to fire off your fast twitch muscles and improve your nervous system's ability to recruit muscle tissue.  Drills I've seen to do this typically involve moving a very heavy weight 2 or 3 times, then doing an explosive move with the same muscle group.  I.e. 2-3 heavy dumbbell bench press, followed by throwing a medicine ball up from that position 7 or 8 times, as hard as you can.  Squats followed by box jumps, etc.

Answer 3

Cardio and recovery are HUGE - you need to train your body to recover quickly (you have 1 minute between rounds typically).  So train that way... As above poster mentioned, plyometrics and complexes or circuit training are great, but straight up cardio is good too, especially interval training.  

Intervals train your heart to go at top output, then recover quickly, saving your energy/oxygen reserves, and keeping you in the fight longer.  An example of intervals is sprinting as hard as you can for 1 minute then jogging 1 minute then sprint for 1 minute, and recover 1 minute.  This simulates a 3 minute round with 1 minute of recovery.  

Another consideration is conditioning your body all over instead of just the running intervals I mention.  So you do weighted punches, drop and do 20 pushups, pop back up and hit heavy bag with punches, knees/kicks, drop for situps, etc. as hard and fast as you can for 3 minutes then rest for 1 min.  Do 5 rounds and you'll see how tough this is. It changes your breathing pattern and puts the energy shortage in various muscle groups, which simulates your body's needs during a fight - your body will eventually learn to conserve energy when it can and use energy where necessary, again keeping you in the fight longer.

Of course you need technique, sparring time, strength training, and conditioning to take a punch, but if you're too tired to use technique, you'll lose the fight every time. Guaranteed.