Training During Fight Camp Weight Cuts
The last few weeks of a fight camp can be hectic, particularly if the athlete needs to cut a significant amount of weight. Every coach is trying to get their last bits of crucial training in, and make sure the fighter is fully ready to perform on fight night. The role of the performance coach during this point in camp, shifts from strength & 
conditioning coach, to solely performance management. The true High Performance Coach should be acting as an overall program manager, monitoring training loads, stress, and recovery throughout the camp. This piece becomes even more crucial as the fighter enters the final two weeks of preparation. Many coaches lose sight of the big picture here, and make a lot of mistakes during the final stages of camp, which can seriously impact the fighter’s success.
Mistake #1- Know Your Role
The biggest mistake many performance coaches make during the final weeks of fight camp, is in thinking it is our job to peak the athlete at the right time, through our training. Many strength & conditioning professionals have learned through the textbooks and literature, how to peak an athlete for competition. The problem with this approach, is that most of this information relates to Olympic style athletes, such as weightlifters or track athletes, whose sport revolves primarily around training, and therefore we can use weightlifting and sprinting to peak the athlete at the right time. In MMA, there are such a large number of skills practices, and skills coaches, throughout the week, that we have to take all of the other training into account, before planning a taper or “peaking” cycle.
Since the fighter has a whole team of coaches, it is crucial that the performance coach understands what every coach is doing, and how they are adjusting training volumes and intensities near the end of camp. In my personal experience, few are as conscious and intentional with their volume and intensity, as we would hope. Therefore, it is the role of the performance coach, to adjust the training volume and intensity accordingly in the weight room, as they both begin to increase during the final weeks of camp.
Mistake #2- High Intensity Conditioning
We must understand the basics of human energy systems and metabolism, to plan the training during a weight cut effectively. Many coaches take it upon themselves, to push the fighters with high intensity circuits, thinking they are peaking conditioning for the fighter to close out camp (see above- Know Your Role). Not only should the conditioning be done primarily in the specific training at this point in camp, (more on that later), but if the fighter is beginning a weight cut, high intensity conditioning could be detrimental to their performance.
Carbohydrate is the primary fuel source for high intensity activity (1). Many fighters begin to restrict carbohydrate intake, as well as total calorie intake, during a weight cut. If a fighter is in a caloric deficit, and he is restricting carbohydrate intake, he most likely will not have the fuel available to optimally perform high intensity conditioning circuits, nor will he have the energy balance available to recover from such training. Therefore, pushing a fighter who is in a weight cut, through high intensity training, can cause a serious hormonal cascade, and push them into a state of overreaching or overtraining, from which they may take days to recover. Add to this the fact that their other skills training is likely still being performed at moderate to high intensity, we can see that the role of the performance coach is certainly not to add insult to injury, and push the fighter further into an overtraining state.
Mistake #3- Over Taper
On the other side of the spectrum, there are coaches who begin to taper and deload too much during the end of camp, which can also have detrimental effects on performance. We know that there are specific windows of time, where the residual training effects (RTE) of specific motor abilities and physiologic adaptations can be optimized. Outside of these windows, the developed abilities will significantly begin to decline. That window for maximal speed, is only 2-8 days, before the performance decrement begins (2). Keeping that in mind, it is important that a performance coach, while monitoring and managing the speeds, intensities, and volume of other practices, ensures that the athlete is still receiving training to maintain maximal speed output, so those qualities transfer into the cage on fight night.
There is also another important caveat to the tapering effect for athletes, which can have a significant impact on physical performance. The psychology of the fighter is a large piece, and arguably the most important piece, of the metaphorical performance pie. Many fighters feel that they need to lift some heavy weights, or do some explosive sprinting or power work, as they get close to their fight. There are stories of NBA players, who felt they needed to hit a few reps of a super maximal squat, on game day, to feel like they were “turned on”. While this would not be the ideal recommended strategy from a physical standpoint, if the athlete feels that they need it from a psychological perspective, it may be an integral part of that athlete’s preparation. Many athletes rely on a specific process, particularly as the competition approaches, to feel that they are fully prepared (3). There are many variables that can influence a fighter’s psychology, either positively or negatively, and it is important that the performance coach takes all of these variables into account as the fight approaches.
Final Stages of Fight Camp Prep
The three mistakes above highlight a host of important variables that can significantly impact a fighter’s performance. We have discussed that a trainer or performance coach should know their role, be aware of energy balance and carbohydrate intake during weight cutting, and be cautious of over tapering during the final two weeks of camp. Keeping those in mind as the final weeks of camp begin, there are a few ways to approach training, to create optimal transfer and maximize performance on fight night.
The primary role of a performance coach, should be to monitor and manage training volumes and intensities, as well as recovery, to make sure the fighter is fully recovered, and skills or motor abilities developed during the camp are transferred into the cage. At this point, the specificity of training is the most important piece, as everything the fighter does should closely mimic the exact demands of the competitive event. Duration, pacing, intensity, and strategies in training should all be in sync with exactly what the fighter will see on fight night. This is not the time to be sparring 6 rounds, if the fighter is prepping for a 3 round fight. The pacing and fatigue experienced in 6 training rounds, is vastly different than that of a 3 round fight. Specificity is king at this point of camp, and all training should follow those guidelines.
That being said, the risk vs reward of full contact sparring, is highly debatable for an athlete who is relying on showing up healthy on fight night, to get paid for all of his hard work so far. It is of my personal opinion, that full contact sparring should be mostly eliminated at this point of camp. A professional fighter should have done all the full contact sparring necessary, to learn new skills, techniques, and improve sensorimotor abilities specific to what they might see in the cage on fight night, at this point in camp. It would be ridiculous to hear of a professional football player, or rugby athlete, practicing full contact scrimmages a week or two out of the most important competition of the year. However, this seems to be more than prevalent in the world of MMA, with many fighters pulling out of major fights (and therefore major paydays) less than 2 weeks out of the fight, due to injuries sustained in sparring. This concept seems absurdly obvious, that the risk is not worth the reward, but only begins to shed light on the machismo and tradition based mentality which is limiting the growth of MMA. That is a topic for a whole other article.
Along the same lines of specificity, the role of training in the weight room, is mostly complete at this point. Any exercises chosen should be very short duration, high velocity, high quality, and low volume. A few high quality reps, of high velocities, across a few movement patterns, should be all the athlete needs to maintain the motor abilities developed during and before training camp. Certain exercises or training loads may be selected for the psychology of the athlete, but should be done with caution, as an injury in the weight room during this point of camp is unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs.
Recovery is the most important factor for the athlete, as they approach the final stage of fight camp. Specific recovery or regeneration strategies, such as hot/cold or contrast therapy, massage, breathing, etc, that have been used during fight camp, should be implemented here to make sure the athlete is recovering and repairing any damaged tissue, and feeling his best on fight night.
If the athlete needs extra workouts to aid in weight cutting, they should be very low intensity, aerobic style workouts, preferably low impact, such a biking or pool work. These can help to burn calories and body fat, while minimized impact on joints, or overreaching into workloads that cannot be sustained or recovered from during the calorie and carbohydrate restriction.
Putting it All Together
Following this guide, a performance coach, trainer, or fighter, should be able to approach the final stages of fight camp prep, with a clear picture of what to avoid, as well as how to optimize training. Being aware of the potential speed bumps and pot holes, that could derail a fighter during the end of camp, and negatively impact performance fight night, will help create an intelligent approach to this pivotal stage of preparation. Know the role that training plays in the big picture of fighter preparation, stay on top of weight cutting strategies, fueling, and intensities, and make sure the fighter is getting everything he needs to feel prepared. Keep in mind the principles of specificity, the risk of injury, and the importance of recovery, as you create a plan for the final weeks of fighter prep. These guidelines will help ensure your fighter makes it to the cage on fight night, feeling great, mentally focused, and carries with him all of the motor abilities and skills developed during camp, to unleash them on his opponent.
References
- Loon, Luc J C van, Paul L. Greenhaff, D. Constantin-Teodosiu, Wim H M Saris, and Anton J M Wagenmakers. “The effects of increasing exercise intensity on muscle fuel utilisation in humans.” The Journal of Physiology. Blackwell Science Inc, 01 Oct. 2001. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.
- Issurin, V. (2001). “Block Periodization: Breakthrough in Sport Training.” New York, NY: Ultimate Athlete Concepts.
- Rotella, Robert J., and Bob Cullen. How champions think: in sports and in life. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2016.
