Med Ball Madness

In keeping with a "minimalistic-no-excuses" stance, I'm giving you some options with med balls.

Tabata or interval style workouts will give you some great returns in terms of fitness and body composition.

Your med ball will not cost the earth but there are several "how-to" sites on the Internet that show you methods of making them on a budget.

The beauty about these short routines is that you get a massive carry-over to your fight game. Lactate tolerance is the order of the day, you need to be able to cope with the build-up that causes your arms and legs to feel like lead and slows your fight game to a snail's pace!! These two circuits will provide that. Your body will be able to buffer the lactic acid away more efficiently than by running the streets at 5am. Also it'll really bulletproof your mid-section! So let's get into it:

Use the Tabata format that suits your level of fitness, 20/10, 15/15, 10/20, where the first figure is the work interval and the second figure is the rest interval in seconds.

Ensure that you complete a full Tabata interval (four mins) on one exercise before moving onto the next one; this will be fun!! Perform the following back-to-back:

Circuit 1:

Overhead Squat

Power overs/Walk overs

Med ball slams

Overhead crunches (hold the ball overhead while performing the crunches)

Circuit 2:

Med ball swing jump squat

Med ball slams

Close-grip push-ups

Squat/push

Each circuit will take you 16 mins, and you'll feel like you've been dragged through a ringer when you're done. Try to work as fast and intensely as possible or you won't get much out of it. If you work as maximally as you can, you'll be convinced that you don't need time to work out!!

Medicine balls AGAIN!!

This article is follow-on from a previous article, which focused on an upper body workout consisting of four exercises. Due to popular demand and their convenience, I've put together another little set of med ball drills that will develop anaerobic capacity and local muscular endurance.

You may recognise one of the drills from last time, as it's a very relevant movement for fighters. The others will be less familiar.

Perform the following in a circuit format:

Med ball jumping swings - Start in a deep squat with the med ball on the floor, almost like the bottom of a kettle bell swing. Explosively jump as high as possible taking the ball overhead in an arc similar again, to the swing. Repeat for the desired rep or time scheme.

Med ball slams - Start by holding the ball in an upright position. Beware that if you use a rubber med ball, this will rebound quite severely. Obviously, leather balls are a better option for this drill. If you do use a rubber ball, grass or even a crash mat are good alternatives. Bring the ball overhead and come right up onto your toes, as forcefully as you can slam the ball down onto the ground (be aware of the rebound). Catch the ball and repeat.

This movement is the opposite one to the jumping swings.

Push offs - Place one hand on the ball and the other on the floor. The hand on the ball is the working hand. Lower the body down as in a normal push-up, then explosively push off (see what they did there?) the floor with the non-working hand. The hand on the ball stays put until you've finished your reps for that side. Then change and work both sides evenly.

Med ball Pull-ups - Grab the pull-up bar and hold a med ball between your knees while pulling the knees up to your abs. Perform pull-ups with the knees in this flexed position. This hold makes the drill much more relevant to MMA and grappling by mimicking the guard position.

In terms of reps go for 10 jumping swings, 15 slams, and 10 push offs (5 per arm), 5 pull-ups. You could use this as a type of dynamic warm-up by doing three to four sets. But if you want it as a main body routine make sure you increase the number of sets. Go for ten sets without rest. Or set a timer for 10, 15 or 20 mins and get as many rounds as you can. This routine pretty much hits everything you need and is great for work capacity.