Strength Training for Combat Athletes
CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. Strength on injury risk reduction
3. Programming considerations for performance and injury prevention
4. Program design
5. Case study + sample program
6. Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
It’s no secret that the fight game is tough and gruelling. You could have an awesome week of training and still get steam rolled at sparring. Or even a great fight camp for it to not show in the ring.
But those 1%’ers over time, and that hard work will eventually pay off. Every detail matters. So, it’s important that you can confidently check these four things off:
1. SKILL
2. CONSISTENCY + overall work put in over time
3. Having the right ATHLETIC/PHYSICAL QUALITIES
4. MINDSET
So how does a strength program fit in to this equation?
STRENGTH WORK ON INJURY RISK REDUCTION
It’s no secret that STRONGER people are harder to break down. A systematic review (a study of multiple studies) by Lauersen, Andersen & Andersen in 2018 showed a dose-response relationship between strength training and sports injury rates.
This basically means the more strength work completed = the LESS INJURIES would occur
So what does having less injuries mean? More training.
Essentially, strength training can keep your body healthier for longer to train consistently, and therefore sharpen those sports-specific SKILLS through repetition.
If we look across other codes for example: How many major injuries have guys like Lebron James and Cristiano Ronaldo had? Not many. That’s a big part of why they are where they are and still performing beyond their prime.
Okay, so we’ve ticked off points 1 & 2. How else can a strength program help me?
PROGRAMMING CONSIDERATIONS FOR PERFORMANCE AND INJURY PREVENTION
Let’s revisit this point number 3:
Having the right ATHLETIC/PHYSICAL QUALITIES
Logically, you wouldn’t give a bodybuilder a golfer’s program. Sure, there may be some exercises that crossover, but each sport will have different physical demands, which means programs will look different.
So, when we are looking at strength and injury prevention for combat athletes, we need to think about two things:
1. What unique movements/ positions are required for the discipline?
2. What injuries are common/ specific to that discipline?
For simplicity’s sake, let’s split this up into grappling and striking:
PROGRAM DESIGN
When we are dealing with the fighters it is better (and easier!) to program in terms of movement patterns rather than muscle groups. A traditional bodybuilding program will not transfer as well for our athletes. Why? They require movement proficiency over muscle size and shape (sorry bodybuilders!).
Our movement patterns can be categorised as follows:
This will form the bread and butter of your program. Make sure your program ticks off all these boxes.
Now the art of it is individualising it to the athlete based on:
1. Athlete physical profile
2. Demands/ KPI’s of the sport
CASE STUDY + SAMPLE PROGRAM
Sandra is a boxer who struggles to get into position to hold the bar from a traditional barbell squat. She feels especially tight in the shoulders and wrists from training. Sandra also suffered a minor wrist sprain last year and a hand fracture 3 years ago.
She’s in her off-season and would like to minimise the risk of another sprain and fracture.
What could you do to individualise her program?
1. Get the athlete to perform shoulder and wrist mobility exercises before getting under the bar and keep the same exercise if this helps the athlete perform the exercise more easily. This also helps address that tightness in her shoulder.
2. Lateralise and change the exercise which creates the same adaptation without excessive strain on the shoulders and wrists
- E.g. hatfield squat, leg press, rear foot elevated split squat with DB?
3. For injury prevention, add in some extra wrist and hand strengthening exercises at the start and end of her workouts. We must also consider the risk of concussion and its effect on an boxer’s career. Neck strengthening should also be included.
4. Countermovement jumps correlate to punch force. It would be great to add for sport specific performance!
DAY A
DAY B
CONCLUSION
Adding a strength program into your program can be big key piece with putting a stop to those niggles as well as making sure your physically in top shape to prepare for battle.
MINDSET
The more prepared you are the more confident you are. Remember:
CONFIDENCE= PERFORMANCE
If you have experienced or want to prevent injury, please contact The Club Physio for a detailed assessment and exercise program.
For any additional information feel free to contact us:
☎️: 0432 332 131
✉️: info@theclubphysio.com.au
Fax: 8088 4338
🌍: www.theclubphysio.com.au
REFERENCES:
1. Andreato, L., Lara, F., Andrade, A., & Branco, B. (2017). Physical and Physiological Profiles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Athletes: a Systematic Review. Sports Medicine - Open, 3(1). doi: 10.1186/s40798-016-0069-5
2. Dunn, E., Humberstone, C., Franchini, E., Iredale, K., & Blazevich, A. (2020). Relationships Between Punch Impact Force and Upper- and Lower-Body Muscular Strength and Power in Highly Trained Amateur Boxers. Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research, 36(4), 1019-1025. doi: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000003585
3. Hinz, M., Kleim, B., Berthold, D., Geyer, S., Lambert, C., Imhoff, A., & Mehl, J. (2021). Injury Patterns, Risk Factors, and Return to Sport in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: A Cross-sectional Survey of 1140 Athletes. Orthopaedic Journal Of Sports Medicine, 9(12), 232596712110625. doi: 10.1177/23259671211062568
4. Lauersen, J., Andersen, T., & Andersen, L. (2018). Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis. British Journal Of Sports Medicine, 52(24), 1557-1563. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099078
5. Loosemore, M., Lightfoot, J., Palmer-Green, D., Gatt, I., Bilzon, J., & Beardsley, C. (2015). Boxing injury epidemiology in the Great Britain team: a 5-year surveillance study of medically diagnosed injury incidence and outcome. British Journal Of Sports Medicine, 49(17), 1100-1107. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094755
6. Lystad, R. (2015). Injuries to Professional and Amateur Kickboxing Contestants. Orthopaedic Journal Of Sports Medicine, 3(11), 232596711561241. doi: 10.1177/2325967115612416
7. Ruddock, A., Wilson, D., Thompson, S., Hembrough, D., & Winter, E. (2016). Strength and Conditioning for Professional Boxing. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 38(3), 81-90. doi: 10.1519/ssc.0000000000000217