Strength and conditioning for fighters #2

This is the tl;dr version. I am in no way qualified for the advice I'm repeating here and would advise working with a professional s&c coach and consulting a medical professional before starting anything related to this kind of programming.

That said, here’s the basic framework I’ve learned so far:

The body relies on multiple energy systems, and different types of conditioning train different systems.

A good starting point is building a solid aerobic base first. Better baseline cardio improves recovery between rounds, between exchanges, and even between training sessions. It essentially gives you a bigger “engine” to support everything else.

You can start with 3x 8 minutes with one minute of rest between rounds. And work your way up to 3x 15 minutes of your preferred zone 2 cardio. (Jogging, biking, swimming, assault bike, bag work, ...)

Once that base is established, you can start developing:

Lactic capacity → the ability to sustain hard efforts while dealing with fatigue and acid buildup
Alactic capacity/power → short explosive bursts with high output and relatively low fatigue accumulation

You can train these systems with tools like:

Assault bike
Row machine
Elliptical
Treadmill

Personally, I’d prioritize them roughly in that order because they tend to give a strong conditioning stimulus with lower impact and lower injury risk compared to a lot of road running.

One concept that really changed how I look at explosiveness is understanding the ATP-PC system. The body can only sustain maximal explosive output for roughly 6 to 10 seconds before those immediate energy stores are largely depleted. After that, power output drops and the body starts relying more heavily on other energy systems.

That’s why true explosive training often uses:

Very short bursts
High quality output
Longer rest periods than people expect

The goal is not just “being tired.” It’s training the ability to repeatedly produce high power while recovering efficiently between efforts.

For the lactic session:

15 seconds of high intensity (70%) followed by 45 seconds of active rest. Repeat for 4 to 8 rounds after your strength session.

For the alactic session:

Treat this as your third S&C session of the week.

You can achieve this by starting with a short warm up (3-5min) and then going all out for 5 seconds. Next you actively rest for 40ish seconds and start building tempo up for the next all out 5 seconds. Do 8 rounds and progressively overload by adding one round per session.

Combat sports are interesting because they constantly shift between these systems:

Explosive exchanges
Sustained scrambles
Lower intensity movement and recovery
Repeat efforts under fatigue

So conditioning is not just about suffering longer. It’s about building the right engine for the demands of your sport.

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