Over the last few years, I’ve experimented with hundreds of drills, tried various types of equipment and spent hours researching the best ways to condition my fighters.
When I look back through my programming, I see a pattern. There are a handful of tools that I always use with my fighters.
There’s a ton of equipment available for athletes of these days, but I found that certain pieces of equipment are simply better than others.
Here are my favorites when it comes to MMA Strength and Conditioning Gear!
Kettlebells
They are versatile, virtually bulletproof and can be used for various exercises. Whether your goal is strength, strength endurance, or conditioning the kettlebell is a vital tool.
I’m a huge fan of the Rogue kettlebells. They are fairly priced, the shipping isn’t astronomical and the quality is excellent!
Battling Ropes
These have become very popular over the last few years and for a good reason. There are several different exercises that can be performed with battling ropes. They are pretty joint-friendly, easy to use and have an incredible metabolic conditioning effect.
I buy my battling ropes from Perform Better. The quality is excellent, the ropes are durable and the customer service at Perform Better is the best in the business.
Schwinn Airdyne or Assault Bike
Before I go any further, I must say that I haven’t actually use the Assault bike yet, but everyone says they are fantastic. Word on the street is that they are like the Schwinn Airdyne on steroids.
The beauty of these machines is that they are very simple, relatively inexpensive and pretty much bulletproof. If you’ve ever performed a :30 sprint at max effort on one of these, you know exactly why these need to be bulletproof.
These bikes are my go-to machines when it comes to lactic power and capacity work. They are also great as a recovery tool.
Perform Better carries both of these and again, nobody is better than Perform Better!
Sleds
There are several different companies that make sleds these days. I currently use the Rogue Dogsled and the rogue butcher. Both sleds are built like a tank. I can’t imagine they will ever break.
If you want to perform a lot of high-speed work, I would suggest purchasing the butcher. It’s also great for loading up with a very heavy weight and doing a lot of pushing work in general.
If you want to incorporate a lot more strength endurance on your training, the dogsled is a better choice. It’s perfect for performing push/drag combos. You can still perform high-speed work but due to the design, you have to push lower on the handles or the sled will tip.
Either way, both sleds are tremendous conditioning tools. You can’t go wrong purchasing either one.
Trueform Runner
I just purchased this treadmill a couple months ago. I was pretty hesitant to pull the trigger on a treadmill that is $6,000. However, after trying it out, I was sold. It’s incredibly smooth and forces you to run correctly. Let’s face it, there is nothing better than sprinting when it comes to conditioning.
I decided to purchase the performance model. This is great because it has a tethering unit on the back, which allows my fighters to perform maximal speed work. It’s ideal when performing alactic capacity repeats.
The folks at TruForm are top notch and Jeff Vernon is as good as it gets. He’ll answer any questions you have about the treadmill.
Once again, Perform Better is the place to buy these. The company is located in Rhode Island so they are very easy to get if you are in New England.
Concept 2 Rower
Concept has been around forever and as far as I know, nobody can even come close when it comes to competing with Concept.
These rowers are joint-friendly and low-impact, but they provide one heck of a conditioning workout. To be honest, performing sprint work on the rower is hell on earth.
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Well, there you have it, my favorite tools of the trade. Hopefully, this helps you out, if you have any questions, please ask!
As always, train smart and train hard!
If you are interested in purchasing anything from Perform Better, ask for Vin Ceraso, he’ll take good care of ya! Just be sure to tell him that Mike Perry from Skill of Strength sent ya!!
* I was not compensated for writing this post and all opinions are my own. I just wanted to share the tools I think work best for MMA Conditioning.
Hello,
If you could only purchase one cardio machine, would you chose the assault bike or concept2 rower? Is there a major reason to pick one over the other?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
John