How Do Pro MMA Fighters Find Time to Train?

superpunch

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I'm considering joining a gym and was looking at the schedule with the intention of becoming an amateur fighter. In between that and just working even part time to support myself, there's not a lot of time to be able to meet class schedules. And you know 99% of fighters aren't making enough to live.

I work just 20-30 hours a week and might be able to fit in like 4-5 classes a week that don't fuck with my work schedule. There's no way you're going to become a pro taking 5 classes a week.

How are guys in amateur and 90% of pro fighters doing this?

It almost seems like the biggest advantage in MMA isn't athleticism or natural ability but just somehow having enough money to train full time.

What kinds of jobs do these guys work?
 
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They all train in the hyperbolic time chamber from DBZ
 
It's really simple. Stop being a lazy ass who makes excuses. You work 40 hours a week.

You have 168 hours in a week.

168-40 = 128 hours of free time.
 
Kimbo's advice on hard training and fighting said very eloquently "a :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: gotta eat" ! Also keep in mind "I needs my bread!"
 
It's really simple. Stop being a lazy ass who makes excuses. You work 40 hours a week.

You have 168 hours in a week.

168-40 = 128 hours of free time.

Minus 42 - 56 hours for sleep. Minus travel time to and from the gym/work. Minus time to shop for, prepare and eat food, etc...

I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you're post was an oversimplification
 
I'm considering joining a gym and was looking at the schedule with the intention of becoming an amateur fighter. In between that and just working even part time to support myself, there's not a lot of time to be able to meet class schedules. And you know 99% of fighters aren't making enough to live.

I work just 20-30 hours a week and might be able to fit in like 4-5 classes a week that don't fuck with my work schedule. There's no way you're going to become a pro taking 5 classes a week.

How are guys in amateur and 90% of pro fighters doing this?

It almost seems like the biggest advantage in MMA isn't athleticism or natural ability but just somehow having enough money to train full time.

What kinds of jobs do these guys work?

It's

Their.

Damn.

Job.
 
It's really simple. Stop being a lazy ass who makes excuses. You work 40 hours a week.

You have 168 hours in a week.

168-40 = 128 hours of free time.
Yeah, this is 2017, who needs sleep anyway
Idiot
 
One possible means of being able to afford, and find time for, training is to get sponsors to help you out. I don't have any personal experience at that so you'll need to find people to ask that can tell you how it is done.
 
Plenty of UFC fighters are or were part time fighters who work normal jobs.
 
I'm thinking they get to a level where they don't bother with classes and just train open gym with other amateur/ pro fighters? Because there's no way they're having enough time to make classes that are scheduled in 1 hour blocks.. they'd always be like 30 min- 1 hr late due to other commitments.
 
most pro fighters dont take your typical franchise gym level mma class for soccer moms and out of shape 40 yr olds, and the large majority grew up doing some type of martial art so competition is their life. the few who didnt made it on pure talent or grittiness: guys like rich franklin, joe lauzon, chuck liddell, etc who all have degrees or jobs outside mma were just born to fight. It isnt for everyone, thats for damn sure
 
I'm considering joining a gym and was looking at the schedule with the intention of becoming an amateur fighter. In between that and just working even part time to support myself, there's not a lot of time to be able to meet class schedules. And you know 99% of fighters aren't making enough to live.

I work just 20-30 hours a week and might be able to fit in like 4-5 classes a week that don't fuck with my work schedule. There's no way you're going to become a pro taking 5 classes a week.

How are guys in amateur and 90% of pro fighters doing this?
I'm an amateur fighter and I do two classes a day Monday Through Friday. Classes are grappling at 11am followed by Muay Thai from 12pm to 1:30.

I work 4pm to 10pm so I have a break from 1:30 to 4. During this break I usually go to another gym and just do open mat (strength training, jump rope, bag work).

I average about 3 hours of training a day Monday through Friday. Saturday I take off and Sunday I do a two hour grappling open matt followed by an hour of sparring.

If I had a wife or kids theres no way I could do this. My entire life (especially during the week) is either training or at work
 
Get a different work schedule.
 
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Don't compare your current work output to theirs, it takes years to build yourself up to train 10 times a week.

I would start off in a BJJ class 2-3 times a week before you even think about walking in an MMA gym. Get a blue belt(1-3 years of training) Then mix in some boxing and if you go to a good BJJ gym, then you should be getting some form of wrestling and clinch knowledge.

Their schedules are going to differ by style, how deep they are in a camp or out of camp. Fighters tend to work on S&C farther away from fight night and get more sport specific as they get closer to the fight.

For now, build up a good cardio base, get decently strong, then go to a camp. Even if you are willing, you will wreck some shit in your body if you haven't built it up or ever trained before. You can get pretty good at BJJ without taking much damage if you are lucky and have good training partners. You WILL take shots in Boxing/Kickboxing before you ever get good at it. You WILL get taken down wrestling before you ever develop it at a high level.

Consistency is a key, you will start off training twice a week and that will be a struggle physically, but you will soon adjust. Eventually you will be doing it 4 times a week without much struggle or soreness unless you push extra hard. Don't go balls to wall and burn yourself out, start off slow. Trust me


Many pro fighters work(ed) full time jobs in their early days, then often move full time once they have established themselves. Go to amateur shows, and most of them train 3-4 times a week, thats it. Pro fighters often have 2 sessions on most days, and then they have 2 days or so of one a day. They actually train 5-6 days a week, but not everyday is going to be 4-5 hours. Some days they might only do 2-3 hours. It just depends on their physical condition and goals.

Jason Brilz, Ivan Menjivar, Jared Cannonier, Stipe and more all made it to the UFC while still working full time jobs. Its about quality training, not always quantity.
 
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I'm thinking they get to a level where they don't bother with classes and just train open gym with other amateur/ pro fighters?
This is what the top guys in my city do (couple of which are in the UFC). They do do an hour or so of open mat in the morning (usually before work: focusing on jump rope, bag work, and maybe some strength training) and when they get off work they go to the MMA gym and spar/grapple with the other fighters for about 2 hours.

Consistency is the key. You don't have to train a billion hours a day if you keep your conditioning/weight in check and you are consistent with sparring/grappling
 
Minus 42 - 56 hours for sleep. Minus travel time to and from the gym/work. Minus time to shop for, prepare and eat food, etc...

I'm not saying you're wrong, just that you're post was an oversimplification

42-56 hours of sleep? What are you, unemployed?
 
42-56 hours of sleep? What are you, unemployed?
Thank god I don't have a morning job. I get about 65 hours of sleep a week (but to be fair, with my training schedule I have to or else my body will shut down).
 

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