Why do fighters still bother to run for "cardio"

Because, unlike boxers, they do not fight face to face like real men do, but rather have a tendency to turn their backs and run away when in danger.

Tell Mayweather that. If he turned his back in an MMA fight like he did with Conor, he'd get taken down and subbed (or maybe RNC'd from a standing position) in a heartbeat.
 
If your cardio training is close to real fight you get more injuries. If its too safe you learn bad habits.

There is limit how much you can learn daily

You can rest your mind with "boring" cardio. I love gym bike: I can keep up with data and push myself and its safe af. I think you recover faster too when you use your legs only.
 
Of course, there is a state where you will become so proficient from a technical standpoint that you will no longer benefit a lot from working on your technique. If you're Floyd and do the exact same sport since you are 5, you ain't becoming much better from a technical standpoint, so work more on your cardio. But when you have to be good in wrestling, bjj, fence wrestling, kickboxing, muay thai and boxing, I don't think you can afford that to that extent.

You cant work on technique all day(after a while your mind will lose focus) and you cant run all day. so do both to get the benefits.

Also you dont have to be good in all those things. Usually mma dudes are just wrestlers with a blind overhand right. If anything you should combine them all into one(very few mma artists do this from a young age).

There I win.
 
Man, this thread reeks of fat guy, who's trying to convince themselves that they don't need exercise, to lose weight.
Cardio is key for any and all physical activity. Looking over the history of man, you'd believe that running is in our DNA.
 


According to Firas Zahabi, cardio is at least partly genetic and guys with KO power like Conor tend to have low VO2 max hence the propensity to gas. That said, they still need to train cardio (whether its running, exercise bike, whatever) to maximize their own individual potential just like every other athlete out there.

Jan 2015, pre-USADA, you could see veins running down McGregor's torso:
Conor-McGregor.jpg


Jul 2015, post-USADA, he lost the definition in his abs and gained some love handles:
chad-mendes-conor-mcgregor-mma-ufc-189-mendes-vs-mcgregor-850x560.jpg
 
You have to develop muscle and adapt the connective tissue to the stress and stretching will do nothing for that. You really believe someone can start running 10K every other day and not get injured by just stretching?

How old are you?

If they're mildly athletic yes.
 
Man, this thread reeks of fat guy, who's trying to convince themselves that they don't need exercise, to lose weight.
Cardio is key for any and all physical activity. Looking over the history of man, you'd believe that running is in our DNA.

Yep
 
You have to develop muscle and adapt the connective tissue to the stress and stretching will do nothing for that. You really believe someone can start running 10K every other day and not get injured by just stretching?

How old are you?

How many miles per week do you run, what do you weigh? Why should I listen to you what's your experience?
 
You have to develop muscle and adapt the connective tissue to the stress and stretching will do nothing for that. You really believe someone can start running 10K every other day and not get injured by just stretching?

How old are you?

How long is a comprehensive stretch session in your routine? Gotta get an idea of where you're at. Most people have zero experience in what this takes so I gotta check.
 
You have to develop muscle and adapt the connective tissue to the stress and stretching will do nothing for that. You really believe someone can start running 10K every other day and not get injured by just stretching?

How old are you?

I'm 29 I was a marine corps doc and run 10 miles a day on average. How old are you buddy?
 
This thread made realize how much I miss running, I have doing crossfit the entire year and I'm starting to feel the wear.

Seriously fuck covid and fuck running with mask
 
To all the pussies claiming I'm obese and therefore hate on running or whatsoever, my first boxing trainer had us running a lot and I was pretty good at it, but my footwork was still the weak part of my game, I sometimes gassed a bit, and I had knee pain sometimes.
Now that I have switched gyms (it's been a few years now, did it for professional reasons) I mostly do shadowboxing, lader drills, swim on a regular basis because I love it, occasionnnly run, and my cardio has never been better, and my footwork is starting to become decent because I learned how to move in a more efficient way.
There is nothing magical about running long distance, it's just cheap and convenient, but if you can maintai your heart rate in the 140-150 BPM for 45 minutes doing non stop shadow boxing, wrestling drills, bag etc., I think it's fine.

Trying to speak about something like running here is like trying to speak about squats on a bodybuilding forum. You can have valid points and post some studies, you get a bunch of guys who don't even read what you post and just tell you to not be a pussy lol
And you know what? Most pro bodybuilders quit squatting, if you can have better gains doing something else (and less injury), you should do it, and not listen to guys just because they are old (Mike Perry is gonna be old some day, and gonna act like he knows everything about mma, think about that...) or to other guys who are pussies who don't even train who tell you you're a wimp on a fucking forum lol


Last but not least, at least 80% of hobbyist and 40% of amateur competitors (whether it's MMA of bjj, it's a bit less for boxing though) never run and are happy to make it to the gym 5 times a week, so considering at least half of the thread have never trained in their life, we are left with very few people who follow a strict running regimen, so stop acting like you all go full Mayweather every day, it's pathetic
 
You have some good points. I played soccer and never felt as tired or felt my cardio be as good as when I picked up grappling and MMA

That being said Nick Diaz is probably top 3 in cardio across all MMA and he does triathlons.

Also everyone's body is different at that high of a level those minute differences can make or break so knowing your body and how it responds to different cardio trainings is probably the most important part
 
I think you wrote a lot and there is some validity to the little bit I read--not the argument against running though, the argument FOR the other things I accept.

Running is a low injury risk activity if done correctly and it is a lot easier to measure your energy output without the aid of a fitness tracker (how far did you run, how long did it take). And it allows you to do something the other activities you mentioned don't, wake up and just go before your brain warms up, without a partner to train with or anything else. It is incredibly efficient, you can do it any time, and there is more to running than just cardio gains:

Running longer distances is all about crossing the mental hurdle and not quitting. It's easy to take one more step but your brain tells you to quit because running is hard. Break it down to 1 step at a time and keep going, don't quit.

What more powerful lesson when pushed and challenged late in a fight? Don't quit. Ever.
 
My trainer made all his fighters run sprints because when he used to give them a choice the fighters that did not do the sprints gassed in their fights.
 
True but
1) You can get tremedous cardio by working on sport specific things, like wall walking, Dutch drills, flow wrestling, bjj drills, etc
2) The more proficient you are at something, the less tired you get. Put the Marathon World Champ, who must have a 30 BPM resting heart rate, and incredible VO2 max etc. against your typical out of shape UFC fighter, and I bet you he is gassing before the UFC guy, regardless of getting his ass kicked
 
Back
Top