Running vs. a Sherk style routine

[CoconutsAreDeli]

I've heard a lot of people say running alone won't give you the same cardio that you need for a fight. Bas Rutten has said that "one time" a marathon runner came to train with them and he gassed pretty quickly after doing just a few matt exercises. My question is that do you guys believe that there is actually that much of a advantage one over the other. I ask this because I have had runners come into the gym and brand new they are already outlasting us. Their bodies naturally don't tapp anything anarobic and even though they may not go as quickly they always outlast. I think there are a lot of reasons Bas' one marathon runner person could have gassed. One could have been lack of physical strength to perform the specific matt exercises. I have noticed even people with crazy fast workouts always seem to fade if things don't go their way, I include sprints in here. A person like Matt Hughes who does slow runs from 30-45 minutes every mon, wed, and fri never seems to gass out. I think running gives you more overall awareness of your body. As in you know when to relax so not to overexert yourself. Sean Sherk with all his crazy techniques, you can see in the Nick Diaz fight he emptied the tank. Diaz's body however because of his heavy, heavy focus on running never had his body even enter the anarobic level. Long post, but I am very interested in Seano's opinion specifically.

 

[Gov]

I think a lot of people over think cardio too much.

Training should be mixed, with a decent amount of running, GPP and sport specific conditioning. Focusing on one type exclusively (even if it's sport specific like pad work) will leave you weaker than someone who has a well rounded training regimen.

Of course, some people just don't like running and that's their choice.

 

[Dustin Ashford]

I think a lot of people over think cardio too much.

Training should be mixed, with a decent amount of running, GPP and sport specific conditioning. Focusing on one type exclusively (even if it's sport specific like pad work) will leave you weaker than someone who has a well rounded training regimen.

Of course, some people just don't like running and that's their choice.

i agree. it's about mixing it up to many try and discredit running just because they dont like it. really to have great cardio you should do a mix of cardio training the more the better. and a good 45 min to 1 hour run a few times per week should not be left out of the mix.

 

[Anarkix]

I'm pretty sure it was on rossboxing.com that I read about some general athleticism rating thing, and basically there's a ton more stuff than simple cardio that goes into account when you're just starting any unfamiliar sport/activity (like your runner did).

He was probably just beastly though, because any form of cardio does not necessarily translate into ability in any other form of cardio. Look at Lance Armstrong, arguably the best cyclist of all time, clearly having amazing cardio, running a marathon in NY. He placed like 800-somethingth and said "It was the hardest thing he ever did."

Thus I'd say Sherk style conditioning is probably more beneficial because his training incorporates alot of the motions he'll be going through in a fight, while still keeping his BPM at an optimal level. I wouldn't be suprised to see Sean Sherk gas in an actual fight though just based on how hard it seems he does EVERYTHING. Alot of the fighters who don't gas are just super-pro at controlling their movements/tempo.

 

[BayAreaGuy]

A person like Matt Hughes who does slow runs from 30-45 minutes every mon, wed, and fri never seems to gass out.

I've Hughes' routine on his website and I wouldn't exactly call his running slow.

http://www.matt-hughes.com/blog/training-diet/

30 minute run on treadmill, start at 6 mph and every five minutes go up 1/2 mile per hour


That's pretty damn fast if you ask me.



Fedor is also known for doing long runs for cardio. He was asked what he does and it was something like 4-5 miles in 30 minutes or something. He also says he does grappling and hard training for cardio.




But Bas is right obviously , running and circuit training are two differnt animals. Obvious reasons, circuit training uses all your muscles groups one after the other and gets your out of breath quick because of all the oxygen your body's muscles need- which is closer to a fight than running. But of course fast running and sprints increase your wind and cardio.

 

[Mithra]

I'm a believer in training for the activity

For MMA, I would train intense for an interval and then slow down..

So 20 seconds of high intensity sprinting, burpees, padwork etc.. and then 10 seconds of "coasting" type exercise.

The time could be split up, obviously broken into 5 minute periods

 

[AJB789]

i hate running and maybe do it once a week i get my cardio in in other places like bike eliptical or rowing. i never really understood why people ran so much its boreing and im not training for a race

 

[BayAreaGuy]

i hate running and maybe do it once a week i get my cardio in in other places like bike eliptical or rowing. i never really understood why people ran so much its boreing and im not training for a race

You could also argue that you aren't training for rowing or an elilptical race. Same with weight lifting- these things help get you in shape at a much faster rate than just training.


Plus running is literally one of the oldest excercises in the books- if not the oldest.

 

[Treadly]

Damn. There are some really convincing arguments for both sides here.
Being someone who doesn't really have the time to train everyday like pro fighters I'm interested to know what's the most beneficial for those who are time-starved.

 

[Ian Coe]

i hate running and maybe do it once a week i get my cardio in in other places like bike eliptical or rowing. i never really understood why people ran so much its boreing and im not training for a race

Do you row on open water?
I can't even guess a real life 'out and about' interpretation of a eliptical machine.


Find a trail and run it and tell me its boring

 

[CoconutsAreDeli]

I have heard that running is often times about who has bigger lungs. I have heard that deep breathing will enhance your lung capacity. Then I have heard you can't increase your lung capacity. Then I have heard numbers on marathon runners lung capacity being bigger (i'm sure through long distance deep breathing involved in running it has to increase your lung capacity at least a little). I heard numbers on a website once stating that marathon runners have typically three times the lung capacity of a normal person. If running can stimulate your cardio and increase lung capacity through deep breathing wouldn't the ultimate routine be heavy deadlifts and running, followed up before a fight with muscular conditioning exercises. Boy am I trailing off...

 

[RedFox89]

Rocky Marciano in his prime ran up to 9 miles a day and did hill sprints. Granted he was a boxer, but his cardio was second to none.

 

[noobloser]

I've Hughes' routine on his website and I wouldn't exactly call his running slow.

http://www.matt-hughes.com/blog/training-diet/

30 minute run on treadmill, start at 6 mph and every five minutes go up 1/2 mile per hour

The part I found interesting on Matt's training log was that he's running prior to eating breakfast which is supposedly one of the most c.atabolic things you can do, but it seems to be working for him...

 

[BayAreaGuy]

The part I found interesting on Matt's training log was that he's running prior to eating breakfast which is supposedly one of the most c.atabolic things you can do, but it seems to be working for him...

Yeah, but I believe when he was on the Countdown show before the Royce fight, it showed him drinking a quick shake or something before his morning jog. Instead of having raw eggs like Rocky he had Xyience or something. lol



A lot of boxers including Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr also did long runs before breakfast. Always thought that was odd, but like you said, whatever works...

 

[WildCard]

If you train for MMA running is not enough.

Boxing it's not enough but I think the carryover is better

 

[ValeTudo08]

I've always heard that running in the morning, before breakfast, is the best thing you can do. Maybe thats just if you're trying to lose fat though?

 

[jerryseinfeld]

HIIT mixed with LSD is the best way to go.

 

[Gavriel**]

Without a good aerobic base your anaerobic endurance will suffer.

 

[Symphony-x]

I think you'd be pretty stupid to think of doing just running as a cardio if your a marial artist anyway. Why just do running when there are far more things that relate to your type of training?

 

[UrbanSavage**]

Do GPP, LSD and HIIT.