Why do fighters still bother to run for "cardio"

[Fioretti]

This is covered in the lessons from Terry Silver:

"If you can't breathe, you can't fight."

Basic shit.

 

[HunterAcosta]

I think jump rope is better tbh for fighters and would help many with their shitty footwork and for just general leg endurance and strength?! Hill walking or treadmill fast walking with incline is a killer low impact workout. I used to see(when gyms were open) this middle aged asian lady at gym with HUGE legs like Chun Li who would be at a ridiculous incline walking hella fast while holding the treadmill for like 90 minutes it seemed. Hella workout. And low impact on knees. Think it would be great for fighters.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

This is covered in the lessons from Terry Silver:

"If you can't breathe, you can't fight."

Basic shit.

Ok and why would running teach you better "breathing" than practicing your own sport?
And why running and not swimming for instance?

 

[mcf4]

This is so wrong.


There are only two proven ways to get superhero level cardio.
1. Running through Philly followed by crowds of fans.
2. Racing Apollo Creed on the beach.

 

[londonzizou93]

Because running distance gives your leg strenght and cardio where your legs dont feel heavy when moving. Its hard to substitute leg training which is running with other forms of cardio. The best do it for a reason.

 

[Ancient Warrior]

Notice I have said that IMO it made more sense to run as a boxer than it does as a MMA fighter
2) Floyd runs, yes, but was it that who made him great? How much of a role did running played in his greatness?
3) No I'm not kidding and many intelligent dudes say the same thing, like Zahabi or Bazzoka Joe

There is nothing wrong with running from time to time, especially when you have to cut weight, but running 6 miles a day as an mma fighter is nuts IMO

Can you please tell us about your training credentials that allow you to override experts who train fighters on a daily basis?

 

[Fioretti]

Ok and why would running teach you better "breathing" than practicing your own sport?
And why running and not swimming for instance?

Have you watched or participated in any of Terry Silver's classes?

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

Because running distance gives your leg strenght and cardio where your legs dont feel heavy when moving. Its hard to substitute leg training for cardio. The best do it for a reason.

That's the most broscience I've ever heard... Why would legs feel heavier when kicking or shadowboxing than they do when running?

Not all the best do it. GSP did sprints, but no distance running. I don't think Anderson did run for hours either. Have never seen a single picture of Jones running either (excepts after the burglar). You also have to take into consideration fighters are often big guys who can't afford running too often if they don't want to mess up their knees.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

Can you please tell us about your training credentials that allow you to override experts who train fighters on a daily basis?

So you basically have no idea why running is better than other things for cardio so you resort to "if some high level guys do it, that must be the right thing". And, again, not every great fighter runs, and not every great coach tells his fighters to run.

 

[Ancient Warrior]

So you basically have no idea why running is better than other things for cardio so you resort to "if some high level guys do it, that must be the right thing". And, again, not every great fighter runs, and not every great coach tells his fighters to run.

I’m not a top level trainer and neither are you.

And it’s not “some” high level guys doing it, it’s most high level guys. Until the system is revamped, I’ll stick with it being more beneficial instead of making baseless claims.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

I’m not a top level trainer and neither are you.

And it’s not “some” high level guys doing it, it’s most high level guys. Until the system is revamped, I’ll stick with it being more beneficial instead of making baseless claims.

Again, have you ever seen Jones, Anderson or GSP run long distance.
The only Goat candidate that was known to run a lot is Fedor.
It rather is a conditionning method from people who don't know better I think.

 

[Mebetter]

The Diaz bros do triathlons and they have the best cardio in their divisions. Tony Ferguson also does a lot of road work, and his cardio is top notch. If you don't have the cardio to run a mile in less than 8 minutes, you don't have the cardio to constantly fight in the octagon for 25 minutes. Fat sloppy Hw's like dada 5000 probably couldn't run a mile under 8 minutes without having a heart attack which is probably why they gas first round 80% of the time.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

The Diaz bros do triathlons and they have the best cardio in their divisions. Tony Ferguson also does a lot of road work, and his cardio is top notch. If you don't have the cardio to run a mile in less than 8 minutes, you don't have the cardio to constantly fight in the octagon for 25 minutes. Fat sloppy Hw's like dada 5000 probably couldn't run a mile under 8 minutes without having a heart attack which is probably why they gas first round 80% of the time.

All those guys have more slow twitch fibers, and that's maily genetic. This is also the reason why they never flatlined anybody in their whole career.
Diaz bros are a good example of what I try to say. Imagine how further those 2 would have gone if they took the time they put into doing triathlons to learn wrestling and kicking instead? Not saying they should completely cut off long distance running, but doing that much of it is just nuts.

 

[Syndrm]

When you run, you focus better on the mental side of endurance.. like a meditation for adapting to suffering.. or like a game of keeping weak thoughts away

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

because you need cardio and running is one of if not THE best things for cardio? you alright?

 

[west42]

They probably don't read sherdog, ergo-they lack cutting edge knowledge of how to built cardio.

 

[runjay]

Hey guise, This guy (op) is an elite, Bangkok-ready fighter. Not to mention an alfa manly athlete. He knows best

 

[Herwald]

Ok great but where are the studies showing that running improves your cardio more than hitting the bag for 45 minutes non stop?
Especially when you add kicks who take so much of energy...

Personally, I'm not all that intrigued in knowing "why", it just works that way. Feel free to spend a ton of time & energy by taking a giant research & discussion circle, but you'll just find yourself right where you were - that cardio is the way to go. For other sports as well. You want better cardio - you run. That's all there is to it.

And considering Bisping had the best cardio in the business, he probably knows more about this shit than anyone else. And, yeah, you'll ruin your knees but no professional sport is good for your health. There's a give and take to everything.

 

[D'z]

This is so wrong.


There are only two proven ways to get superhero level cardio.
1. Running through Philly followed by crowds of fans.
2. Racing Apollo Creed on the beach.

I'm from Philly, and have a Rocky tattoo. I can vouch for every bit of this being fact.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

I mean, I get that running is important in boxing where they fight longer and where there isn't as much to learn as in mma anyway, so they have time for that, but can somebody fucking explain to me why MMA fighters are still running?
They have so much things to work on technically, there is noone in the world who has elite level boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and bjj at the same time, so why don't they try to work more on technique.

And as far as cardio goes, there are so many better/more specific ways to work on that.
Bjj drills, non stop flow wrestling, high intensity Dutch drills on the bag, if done correctly, those things will ramp your heart rate up as much as running, in addition to developping your technique and not putting wear and tear on your body as much as running does.
Grapplers don't run (not speaking about wrestlers but about jitters, Adcc guys). Some intelligent kickboxers, like Bazooka Joe, don't run either, for the very same reasons I just enounced. So why in the world would guys who have such big holes in their game as far as technique goes (which is normal, you can't be good at everything) still waste time with running?


Btw, I'm of course speaking about long distance running, not speaking of short sprints, which can be useful, though not indispensable

Road work is king, not only is the best way to build cardio it builds mental toughness because running sucks as its only you and the thought of stopping.