Fighters 3 Mile Time

[bowlie]

Ok - thats all brialliant and I am learning a lot. SO I have a question.

If I am training MMA/BJJ 4 times per week or so. And during that time I am doing a lot of sport specific training. Then on another 2 occassions I am strength training working on explosive movements or my squats, dealifts etc.

Im left with 1 maybe 2 training slots left and I cant go to class cause these times are outside of class.

What should I do? (I was using this time to run my 3 Miles)

I think either lift weights or cycle. Cycling because you can get the intensity low enough you can go for hours. I mean power walking is an alternative, and I think Jaunty used to power walk, but cycling is probably more stomachable for most people.

 

[TheeFaulted]

This thread brings up an interesting question. How do you bench mark with exercises without skill interfering? What I mean is someone that runs every day might increase their running speed purely through learning to run, and might think they are fitter as a result, when really they are just better at running. The same came up in my training. I wanted to increase my hamstring strength drastically, but if I took an exercise (say hamstring curls and tested my max, then tried to increase that isnt it possible I do so by getting better at that exercise, not by getting stronger?

Would the answer be to test yourself in something you never do? I.e. if running is your main form of conditioning, test yourself every month cycling?

Test another variable such as resting heart rate.

 

[Modern Warrior1]

I highly encourage devoting the time to getting yourself up to a ggod 5 k time. Under 20 minute or so. Because, once you get yourself to run at those kind of speeds, it's almost like your cardio never completely disappears, no matter how little you exercise, or how long you go without it. I am 44 years old, and usually weigh between 200 and 240 depending on the time of year and my mood. I am usually at my fattest around new years after all the Thanksgiving, Xmas, and New year gluttony. Even at 240 lbs and not having run for a couple of months, I can go out and run 3 miles in 24 minutes or so without a ton of fuss.

I've noticed this too.

 

[KILL KILL]

Just some thoughts:

I compete in amateur boxing and I never run 3 miles at a time. I know several other guys I train with that run that distance almost daily. Conditioning wise, I feel like I have done fine at the level I'm competing at. I should also mention I compete as a heavyweight.

I also spent many years wrestling, and still train with a college wrestling team. Running is a big part of the pre-season with wrestling, but we don't do as much running in season as we do in boxing.

In any point I think since you are competing in a combat sport and not a race, the distance or time you spend running is more important that your time/speed. This is because running is just a means to elevate your heart rate and build your conditioning threshold. (One of the other guys on here can explain this much better than myself.)

It's funny how training styles differ so much. When I wrestled, my coach had a philosophy about short, but super intense practices. the only running we ever did were sprints. Other than guys that needed to make weight, we never ran. All of our conditioning came from actually wrestling.

That being said, perhaps my conditioning would have been better had I run more. I honestly couldn't tell you. For bjj, I was at my best when I ran a lot. However, I spent a lot of time recovering from runs that could have otherwise been spent in the gym. Training is a tricky son of a bitch!

 

[LatFlare]

You will drop your 5k time more effectively by doing a combination of sprint or interval sessions and long slow runs i.e. 1hr or longer.

Try not running a 5k for a month, run 12k twice a week and do one session on a track or around a football field or something where you sprint half a lap, jog half a lap, repeat for 20 mins. Then try your 5k again.

 

[LatFlare]

I've noticed this too.

Yeah its pretty hard to destroy a solid aerobic base without making a conscious effort to do so like chain smoking all day.

 

[JauntyAngle]

I think Jaunty used to power walk

I did incline treadmill walks 3-4 times a week for a couple of months weeks last year, and I still do them every now and then. I like them. They are low impact and it's easy to get into what I consider the sweet spot for this sort of exercise- heart rate up, getting a good sweat on, but not too intense. If cycling was an option I'd probably do it, but it isn't an option here in Kabul, and even in Chiang Mai there would be a few issues.

 

[TheeFaulted]

It's funny how training styles differ so much. When I wrestled, my coach had a philosophy about short, but super intense practices. the only running we ever did were sprints. Other than guys that needed to make weight, we never ran. All of our conditioning came from actually wrestling.

That being said, perhaps my conditioning would have been better had I run more. I honestly couldn't tell you. For bjj, I was at my best when I ran a lot. However, I spent a lot of time recovering from runs that could have otherwise been spent in the gym. Training is a tricky son of a bitch!

Running is not a big part of our in season training, just preseason. For instance last night we had the guys do a timed 5 mile run. But once the actual season starts we only do sprints during practice. Most of our conditioning comes mainly from wrestling live in practice.

I was saying this is a big difference form when I box. Most of the guys there start their training everyday with a 30 minute run for their warm up.

 

[redaxe]

This thread brings up an interesting question. How do you bench mark with exercises without skill interfering?

This conundrum is the whole reason why Crossfit exists. They make you do a bunch of random shit so that you can never get very skilled at any one exercise, ergo you must be getting physically fitter in a generalized way.

It doesn't really work.

TS, 3 miles is not really an optimal distance to run if you're preparing for an MMA fight. If you want to mimic the intensity of an MMA match, I'd be more inclined to recommend running 1 mile 3 times with a minute of rest in between each mile.

But really, that should be extra conditioning on top of your skills training. You should never do conditioning *instead of* training. Do it when the gym isn't open. Most guys who aren't yet high level still get the most marginal benefit from more skills training, not from more conditioning.

 

[Ian Coe]

Can you run 3 miles in sub 15 mins? My current pb iw 24.50 so 15 mins for me would be an impossible task at this stage.

He's a heavy weight, how likely is it he can, or indeed train to a point where he can while remaining a heavy weight?


Or indeed want to

A 5 mninute mile, 12 mph. That's for a runner

 

[Ian Coe]

On topic, I would just train skills more during your MMA training, then do 1-2 LSD sessions as a recover method and to work on your aerobic capacity.

 

[JauntyAngle]

Once or twice a week, instead of a 3 mile run, do a half mile warm up run, stretch really well, and try and run 12 quarter mile intervals at a time of 1:40 each (That's a 20 minute 3 mile pace). Or perhaps 6 half mile intervals at 3:20. Resting maybe a minute between intervals. Then finish up with another slow half mile and another really good stretch.

Once you are able to do that, you have a lot of options to keep improving your 3 mile times. You can either continue the same intervals with less rest time between (that really ramps up intensity). Or you can keep the rest period the same, but set a faster target time for the interval. Or you can set a longer interval (say 4X 1 mile intervals at 6:40) with the rest period the same..

I do something like that. I will do 5 or so intervals, so far I have used 1km and 600m distance, a notch or two above my 5k pace. First time out, I may have walking rests of 2 minutes between each interval. Next time, 90 seconds, next time, 60 seconds or 75 seconds. Once I don't think I can shorten the rest any more, I will increase the speed a little and put the rest back to 2 minutes, then start working on getting the rest period down again.

When I was trying to get the my 5k time down, I would tend to do a couple of those and a couple of much longer runs, and on the fifth run, try my 5k again.