The Importance of Interval training for MMA with the Owner of Gymboss.com

by Kyle Kaiser of mma-underground.com

How do you get a leg up on your opponent? Whether you are in front of a sold out crowd as the main event, or in your friend's basement trading shots, as an MMA fighter you had better find a working solution to this question. Everyone has an answer. A smart fighter can mesh numerous solutions, workouts, training methods, and techniques that will mentally and physically prepare them for war. But knowing what to do is merely half the battle. You need to have the heart, determination, and a driving force to push yourself past your comfort zone if you want to see the light of day in this game. I had the pleasure of talking to Gary, the owner of Gymboss.com timers about my training methods and his product that has greatly helped push me through some grueling workouts.

For me, interval and round training is the method of choice when getting into fight-ready shape. It's just a no-brainer. In a fight you have rounds. Intense bursts and barrages of attacks, mixed in with short rest periods and well planned counters. Gary's timers take out all the guesswork when frankly, you should be to tired to care. I asked Gary what he enjoyed about the sport of MMA.

"It's the ultimate in anything goes. You better be versed in more than one fighting style, and you better be in the best shape of any athlete there is! Technique, speed, strength, endurance, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning are all key to survival. It's also good to see new up and coming guys?not just the Tyson's, Ali's, etc. of the boxing world, This sport is quite wide open with talented newcomers... except for the repetitive replays on the VS. network (he joked)".

Somewhere down the line every athlete has heard, "train like it's the real thing". MMA is no exception to this rule. If the first time you ever get hit is in front of a crowd of onlookers, it's going to be a long night (or a short one, depending how you look at it). So I put the Gymboss timer to work. I've never seen so many options on such small device. I set my round times, break periods, intervals, and was ready to go. There is no cheating this thing! After a few of rounds of full-fledged heavy bag work, the one minute break periods I had set just wasn't cutting it. But the good thing was that I wasn't stopping. When time came around again for action I found myself pushing the pace, determined to stay at it until my break period came. I almost had to pause to laugh at myself. I'm trying to impress an inanimate object! But that was what I liked. If you are ever on your own training, you need one of these. End of story. It's then when I remembered what Gary told me.

I get many remarks back from MMA guys telling me that, they "hate it". It keeps them honest and kicks their ass in the gym. So basically it's the worst and best $20 you can spend on exercise equipment.

Here is a workout that I recommend to my friends and other fighters. Whether it be hitting a bag, mitts, sparing, or grappling, training with rounds will get you in shape the fastest, while still serving a function. Start off as a "beginner" until you feel as though you are ready for a longer round. Learn to utilize breaks, recover quicker, and breathe properly. If you can compete for a full 5 minutes and completely recover after a one minute rest period, you are considered to be in pretty decent "fight shape". Set goals and reach them. It may take you quite a while until you feel as if you are where you need to be, but it will come. Have patience.

Beginners

2 minute rounds- 1 & 1/2 minute break

3 minute rounds- 1 minute break

4 minute rounds- 1 minute break

5 minute rounds- 1 minute break

5+ Advanced

The last Question that I had for Gary was who his favorite fighter was in which he replied...

I would have to say Carlos Condit (of the WEC). His look is not threatening out of the cage, but he has some great talent. He appears to be training more effectively and I think it will help him a lot. Also he's not a loud mouth like some of the others.

So as I continue to train and better my MMA skills and conditioning, there are still days in which I want to throw my Gymboss timer through the wall. The product you hate to love... at least I know it's doing it's job.

Thanks Gary for the interview.