What type of workouts should a fighter stick to ? And what do you think is better, Endurance or Strength ?

Question

I'm a police officer and in all the fights,wrestling matches, and scuffles I've been in, I believe better endurance beats strength any day of the week. I used to do alot of bodybuilding type workouts until I got in my first big fight that lasted a good 5-7 minutes and I almost got my a** handed to me.

Heres the workouts I stick to :

tire flipping, slege hammer strikes on a tractor tire

jump rope, wieghted 40 lbs vest jogs, uphill runs, heavy bag ,speed bag, double end bag, judo tube pulls,

Which workouts do you think I should stick to.

Answer 1

Already sounds good, Sparring is always be it striking or grappling because the human element can make you use some muscles that might otherwise not get a workover. I see good cardio improvements when the get to go at it with real fighters in a protective gear sparring session vs. without.

Answer 2

have you tried resistence training? it helps with both endurance and strength. Qigong (or ch'i kung) is very good at this. I would also include maybe yoga or pilates to keep you flexible, and running to keep you trim.

I think your current workouts are focusing too much on physical strength, atleast in an imbalanced way. but its impressive what your doing, but in my opinion, you'd benefit from the above techniques.

Answer 3

This man is a police officer and is professionally responsible to subdue and arrest people. So it isn't an unlikely event that if he must arrest an athlete and/or fighter that it will take a few minutes to gain and maintain control.

If you're pressed for time and need to drop some things from the workout the speedbad and double end bag can be dropped from a few of your workouts. Your workouts will give you strength that you can apply during an altercation and as long as you maintain the intensity that strength will endure when you need it.

Because you are drilling resistance bands mimicking judo throws I assume you have training and hopefully are currently training in judo. There probably is no better martial art that can be applied to a person's job than judo for law enforcement.

Keep up the good work!

Answer 4

I go with you on cardio and plyometrics over weight lifting.  I've seen guys who can bench press 300 lbs and can't fight to save their lives, which is something you need.

I would add a few ab exercises some Pull ups and dips.  No fight should last 5 - 7 minutes, your fight should be quick and decisive, the longer the fight, the more danger you place yourself in.

For you, I could see Combat SAMBO which is very weapons oriented (disarming) and locking joints for escorting the person, or some other practical system.  Combat SAMBO was designed for Russian Special Forces, KGB and Police.  They have explicit escorting techniques, in Krav Maga we concentrate more on incapacitating the opponent.

I like your workout routine, just adding a little combat art training will help you for sure.  Bodybuilding looks cool, period.

Good luck

I and some friends give LEO seminars in Krav Maga and Combat SAMBO in our area, find out what gives in your area.

Answer 5

I'd think about some flexibility training, too. In a short scuffle, you are very likely to be forced to make a sudden, explosive movement outside of your normal range of movement. If you don't have good flexibility, that can cause some significant injuries.

Answer 6

I think both have their place in the martial arts arena. Endurance will keep up your strength if you have it to keep up. remember that it is not endurance  alone that wins a contest, it 's skills and strength. Endurance gives you a fighting chance and is kin to strength.

Endurance without strength is like  air without oxygen. I personally wouldn't choose one over the other.

Answer 7

I agree that endurance wins over strength,but dont forget the mental strength ie: the will to continue on regardless which not a lot of people have in real situations :)***