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People that train MMA, kickboxing, and BJJ are extremely passionate about their training. It’s what they look forward to doing every week and always try to find time to go train.
Unfortunately though, we all get hit with the injury bug. It is unfortunate, but sometimes it just comes with the training.
Although a lot of times, we tend to make things worse than they really are. Making critical errors in our training and being forced to be off the mats for an extended period of time.
Here at Engage, we have put together this post to show you how to train consistently without getting injured. We’ll take you through common errors in training you should avoid and give methods to keep you in the gym.
There’s numerous errors practitioners make in their training that takes them out of class. Here are some of the most common errors people make and a description of each one.
There is this mindset for many MMA and Jiu Jitsu practitioners that you need to train through being hurt. Which is okay, because bumps, bruises, and sore muscles are uncomfortable, but not anything serious.
Being injured is a totally different story than being hurt. If you are injured that means if you try to do your normal activities it will make things even worse.
But a lot of practitioners will try to bite down on their mouthpieces and train through their injuries. The results of doing this are never good.
What would have been a short time off from training to heal turns into months or more off from training. Complete with a possible trip to the surgeon and probably some physical therapy after that. All because you made the mistake of trying to train through an injury instead of resting.
Some people love training so much that they become gym rats and you can’t get them off the mat. They are in every class everyday and maybe even going to multiple classes a day.
On top of this, they may be doing strength and conditioning on top of their technique training. This can be a recipe for disaster.
If you’re training at this frequency of training multiple times every day, your body may not be able to keep up. Your body could possibly shut down from the demand you’re putting on it.
Training frequently is great, but if you don’t know when to rest you can become a detriment to yourself. Very common for MMA hobbyists and athletes to make this mistake.
A combat sports gym can be quite a competitive place. You don’t want to get outworked and always try to keep the intensity at a high level.
Sometimes this can be a real detriment trying to go 100% all of the time. Especially if you are older and trying to keep up with the younger guys or even the pro fighters.
If you don’t understand that your physical ability can’t meet the demands you’re putting on it this can go bad. Going harder than your body can go always results in disaster.
Your body will shut down and you will probably be looking at some extended time on the injury list.
There are some people that train that don’t want to train technique or take it easy. Just go balls to the wall doing sparring like they are in a pro fight. Every day they go into the gym ready to throw down with anyone they’re matched up with
99% of practitioners don’t want to train this way and absolutely hate training with anyone that likes to. This is a really stupid way to train and isn’t sustainable.
Beating your body down every week by going to war in training always leads to severe injuries. If you do this you will either get severely injured or kicked out of the gym for being a bad partner.
Since combat sports like MMA are fast paced many think that means your strength and conditioning must also be. This type of thinking can have really bad consequences.
Going to a weightlifting gym and trying to match your MMA training intensity while doing compound movements won’t end well. Doing an exercise like heavy deadlifts as fast as you can for reps will likely end in a severe back injury. Putting you out of training and possibly out of work.
Or you could have really poor form and try to power your way through the movements. It isn’t smart and bad injuries often occur.
Diet and proper rest always seems to be taken for granted by many athletes.They think just because they train hard means that they’ll be okay putting anything in their body. Or they stay up all night and never get the proper amount of sleep.
Eventually if you do not take care of your body it will turn against you. It’ll take longer to recover and when it breaks down it will stay broken. A poor error many of the best athletes still make.
Many take their warmups for granted or even don’t do them at all. Just go into the gym, ready to go 100%.
What happens usually is your muscles aren’t ready for the demand and they strain or tear under the pressure. Not taking a few minutes to warm up can lead to months off from training.
The best fighters in the world realize to train with longevity, they need to alter their training. Making various tweaks to their regiments, so they can stay on the mat and be ready for fight night. Here are some methods you can implement, so you can train consistently without getting hurt.
You don’t need to go balls to the wall every time you step on the mat. Any good trainer will tell you going 100% all the time isn’t sustainable and more times than most results in injury.
Going all out every training will do more harm than good. Doing this makes it harder for your body to recover and you’ll always be training hurt and tired.
It takes time to understand that you need to find a happy medium of intensity for your training. To train with consistency, you need to keep the level of intensity between 50%-75%.
Training in this range lets you push yourself, while also being able to pull back when you need to. Some days you can go hard and push the pace and others you’re sore and need to tone it down.
Once you keep your intensity level between this range, you’ll get more out of your training. Your skills and health will increase drastically.
It’s not just about how you train, but also who you train with. Not everyone you train with may be the best partner for you.
Each person in the gym has a different personality and mindset. Some are more technical and work on their skills, while there are others that think every session is a fight.
If you want to be on the mat often, you must avoid the second type of teammate. The only things you will get training with this type of teammate is either they’re going to hurt you or themselves.
Chose to train with teammates that understand that MMA/kickboxing training is practice and not a fight. By training with smart teammates, you’ll stay on the mat and all get better together.
Many assume that since combat sports training is high pace, your conditioning training also needs to be this way. It is sort of true that you do need to work on your endurance for the sport.
But that doesn’t mean doing every exercise as fast as you can is a smart move. Especially when you are doing heavy compound movements like squats or deadlifts.
It is actually detrimental to do conditioning this way and you’ll end up seriously hurting yourself. Building up your endurance is a must, but you need to be smart when you are doing exercises to build strength.
Be more methodical when doing your conditioning training. Remember form is more important than doing exercises as fast as you can.
Taking 5-10 minutes to stretch before and after class can be the deciding factor if you stay on the mat. Stretching is overlooked by many, but it can be more important than the actual training.
With the physical demands that MMA and Jiu Jitsu puts on your body a warm up is a must. Especially if you are older.
Your muscles and tendons have to prepare for class and have blood flowing through them. Training with cold muscles can often lead to strains and tears.
Always take the time to stretch your body out before doing a high impact MMA class. Then after the class is done do some cool down stretches. You’ll heal your muscles and increase your flexibility.
There is a mindset in MMA and kickboxing training that you have to train no matter what. Even if you’re hurt or injured, you have to get on the mat and train.
While mental toughness is important for fighting, you really have to listen to your body. This type of training puts a high demand on your body and getting hurt or injured happens.
When you get banged up and aren’t feeling good, the best thing you can do is take time to rest. If your body is telling you to take a break, then you should take a break.
Training when you feel this way is counterproductive and more than likely ends in you getting seriously hurt. You could’ve just taken a few days off and felt better, but now you’re off the mats for months injured. Remember to take rest days when you need them and you’ll be recovered to hit training hard when you feel better.
What may be more important than what you do on the mat is what you do off the mat. Many take for granted the just how important sleep and diet is to your training and overall health.
With diet, there are a lot of practitioners that don’t take the time to educate themselves about how to eat properly. They eat like kids thinking as long as they train hard it doesn’t matter what they put in their body.
But it is extremely important, because when you eat like garbage, you train like garbage. Your body needs good carbs and proteins that keep you healthy and fights inflammation from training,
On top of this, you also need to sleep. Not getting enough sleep leads to numerous health problems and drastically decreases your productivity.
Remember that you need 6-8 hours of sleep or more every night. Maybe even 8-10 if you train at a high pace often.
If you follow the tips in this post then you will be able to train consistently without getting injured. Training smarter is better than always training hard and you’ll be able to stay on the mat with consistency.
Also, if you want anymore training tips or need equipment to train in, then check out our other posts. Here at Engage we are always here to help improve your training and have you looking good while doing it.
