The ultimate fighting fat-loss workout: use fight conditioning to burn off fat and increase endurance

Men's Fitness, Dec, 2007 by Zach Even-Esh

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A fighter's greatest fear isn't having his teeth knocked out or landing facedown on the canvas in front of an audience of millions--it s getting tired. A lack of endurance is as much a danger to your quest for a leaner, stronger body as it is to a UFC fighter (although you probably don't risk suffering a beat-down if you punk out).

If you can't catch your breath after a set, or if you're too fatigued to hit the exercises in the late stages of your workout with intensity, you'll sacrifice strength and the number of calories you burn. Simply put, you won't lose much fat. But MF is in your corner to help you turn things around with a fat-burning, endurance-bolstering program inspired by routines the world's top mixed martial artists use to keep in fighting shape. (For more about their training, see "Clash of the Fittest" on page 94.)

While you may never venture into the Octagon to wage combat, training like a fighter is a fun and challenging way to get a lean, athletic look, not to mention plenty of functional strength. Every exercise you perform is a compound movement, meaning it will work lots of muscle at multiple joints, helping increase your energy expenditure remarkably. As a result, your body will continue burning calories--mostly from fat--at an accelerated rate for up to two days afterward. To accomplish that, the workouts here keep rest periods to a minimum while the weights you lift will be brutally heavy. You'll also do plenty of old-school fight-training exercises, such as the clean and press, medicine-ball situp, and jumping rope--all of which will help give you the staying power needed to fight off fat and go the distance in future workouts and sports activities.

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DIRECTIONS

FREQUENCY

Perform each workout (I, II, and III) once per week, resting at least a day between each session.

HOW TO DO IT

Perform the exercise pairs (marked A and B) as supersets, resting 60 seconds after the second exercise in each pair. (So you'll do one set of A, then immediately do one set of B, and then rest before repeating the process for all prescribed sets.) Perform the exercises in Workout II (which are marked only by letters, not numbers) as a circuit. This means you'll complete one after the other without resting in between. (So you'll do one set of A, then one set of B, then C, and so on.) Afterward, rest 60 seconds or less. That's one circuit. Repeat the circuit two times for a total of three circuits (three sets per exercise).

WEIGHT

Use the heaviest weight that allows you to complete all the sets for each exercise. Remember that the goal here is to increase conditioning, so don't choose a weight that tires you out early.

WORKOUT 1

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1A CLEAN AND PRESS

Set a barbell on the floor, crouch down, and grab it with hands shoulder-width apart. Your lower back should be in its natural arch [1]. Explosively stand up and shrug the bar, coming up onto the balls of your feet. As the bar rises to chest level, flip your wrists over so that your palms face the ceiling and your upper arms are in the bottom position of a shoulder press. Allow your knees to bend as you absorb the force of the bar at your shoulders [2]. From here, press the bar straight overhead [3]. Reverse the motion to return the weight to the floor. That's one rep.

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1B MIXED-GRIP PULLUP

Grab a pullup bar with one hand overhand and the other with palm facing you. Hang from the bar [1]. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, and pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar [2], then lower yourself back to the starting position. That's one rep.

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2A FLOOR PRESS

Lower the supports on a power cage to a few feet above the floor, and place a barbell on them, Lie on your back on the floor underneath the bar so that the bar lines up with your eyes. Reach up and grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip (your arms should be fully extended), and lift it out of the rack so that it is above your chest [1]. Lower the bar toward your sternum until your triceps touch the floor [2]. Pause for a moment, and then press the bar back to the starting position. That's one rep.

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WORKOUT I

2B ONE-ARM DUMBBELL ROW

Grab a dumbbell in one hand, and rest one hand and one knee on a bench. Let your arm hang straight down [1]. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, row the weight until it touches your side [2]. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. That's one rep. Perform all your reps with one arm first, then switch arms and repeat.

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3A MEDICINE-BALL SITUP

Hold a medicine ball against your chest, and lie on your back on the floor. Bend your knees 90 degrees, planting your feet flat. Tuck your chin slightly toward your chest [1]. Keeping your feet and butt on the floor, explosively raise your torso off the floor and toward your thighs, coming up as far as you can (it's OK to let your lower back come off the floor) [2]. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position. That's one rep.