17 Kettlebell Workouts for MMA Fighters that Enhance Performance

If you practice or compete in MMA then these kettlebell workouts for MMA fighters are for you.

Kettlebell training is the perfect tool for MMA fighter workouts because it can offer such a diverse collection of benefits from improving your strength and power, to better endurance and injury prevention.

Using kettlebell training correctly will enable you to strike a balance between enhancing your explosive power while at the same time stretching your cardio capacity.

Kettlebells offer a truly practical solution to improving your performance in the ring while at the same time avoiding burn out and stopping niggling injuries often related to overtraining.

Let’s dig deeper into how MMA fighter workouts should be utilised.

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What Your MMA Workouts Need to Achieve

MMA fighting is a huge multidiscipline sport, fighting workouts need to cater for stand up fighting, takesdowns, takedown defence, grappling and groundwork.

There are different energy systems used during a fight which enable you to last the full duration of the fight while at the same time generating explosive power for punches, kicks and throws.

Movements used during an MMA fight are very mixed including: balancing on one leg, split stances, jumps, core rotations, floor scrambles, and uncomfortably forced mobility positions.

MMA fighters also need to stay lean and not carry any worthless muscle mass that would stop them from making competition weight or slow them down during combat.

The good news is that kettlebell training can achieve all of the above, just by using the correct kettlebell exercises, weights, rep ranges, rest periods and programming schedule.

Kettlebell training, unlike bodybuilding, relies on full body, integrated movements that will connect head to toe through your kinetic chain, great for generating kicking and punching power along with grappling strength.

Plus if you use the correct kettlebell exercises you can also better stabilise and mobilise your joints to prevent injury and generate better strength through your full range of movement.

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How to Use these MMA Kettlebell Workouts

Below I have included 4 workout categories: Preparation, Cardio Endurance, Strength and Explosive Power.

1. 1. The preparation phase will help build a basic platform and improve both stability and mobility of the joints. Beginners should spend at least a few weeks alternating between these workouts taking 2 – 4 days rest per week.
   2. The cardio endurance phase will develop your aerobic capacity and anaerobic threshold, meaning you can last for longer and tolerate more lactic acid when the going gets touch. These workouts can be performed by themselves to replace a regular cardio session but with the bonus of adding more transferable benefits.
   3. The strength phase will condition your full body using the MMA fighters natural movement patterns. You will develop practical strength that you can transfer to all movement within the ring while at the same time reducing injury potential. These workouts should be used 3 – 4 times per week depending on recovery times.
   4. The explosive power phase will add speed to your strength enabling you to deliver powerful blows, throws and grappling. Explosive workouts for MMA need to be used carefully because they have the potential to cause injury if overdone or with a weak strength base. Depending on your other training they should be used only a few times per week.

A word of warning: many fighters overtrain reducing their appetite for combat and causing niggling and debilitating injuries. If in doubt take an extra days rest.

As you approach a fight you should back off the strength and power workouts and add in more rest to increase fighting appetite.

Finally, all workouts should be preceded by a good warm up mainly focusing on the movements included within the workout. For example:  heavy squats should be warmed up with bodyweight squats.

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1 Kettlebell Workouts for MMA | Preparation Phase

The ability to stabilise your body during movement is paramount for the mixed martial arts fighter.

For example when you punch, kick or throw your opponent you will have to rely on balancing and transferring your weight from one leg to the other.

The stronger your single leg stability the more powerful and injury resilient you will become.

Mobility is also important for the fighter because a full range of movement means a longer reach, more power and a reduction in injury.

The two preparation workouts below are designed to get the most from your stability and mobility:

The objective of this kettlebell workout is to introduce you to a series of movements that will challenge your single leg stability, shoulder mobility, and rotational core strength.

Want more? Everything You Need to Know About the Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift

Your hip mobility, shoulder stability and core integration will be improved with this workout. Take your time with this workout and focus on mastering the movements slowly focusing on muscle activation throughout.

Want more? 4 Logical Progressions of the Kettlebell Windmill

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Kettlebell Workouts for MMA | Cardio Endurance

MMA fighters need good cardio to last them the duration of each round and the fight.

As most MMA movements involve 100’s of muscles at a time the unconditioned fighter will get tired very quickly.

Focusing purely on running has a limited cross over to fighting endurance.

It is possible to use a combination of kettlebell and bodyweight exercises that will not only enhance your aerobic capacity and anaerobic threshold but also have transferable skills for MMA fighters.

As most MMA fights are scheduled for 5 minutes and a potential of 15 to 25 minutes with a 60 seconds rest, cardio training should be scheduled in the same way.

The two handed kettlebell swing will develop your triple extension, hips, knees and ankles, along with full body condition. The breakdancer push up will open up the hips, improve shoulder stability and dynamic core strength.

Want more? Ultimate Guide to the Kettlebell Swing

Your grip strength, shoulder stability and full body condition will be developed with the one handed kettlebell swing. Squat thrusts will improve core strength through flexion and stabilisation while at the same time ramping up your heart rate.

Want more? Are you ready for the One Arm Kettlebell Swing

This kettlebell workouts for your endurance uses the kettlebell swing to strengthen your hip extension, the bob and weave to improve your lateral movement skills and burpees to ramp up the cardio effect.

Want more? See all 52 Kettlebell Exercises with Videos

A fun kettlebell workout that involves some major changing in positions from lunging, to rolling and finally front stabilisation. The changing in positions from standing to being on the floor will quickly increase your heart rate while at the same time strengthening your body in the various movement patterns.

Want more? 16 Kettlebell Lunge Variations

This highly cardiovascular workout mixes the kettlebell thruster with the high velocity bodyweight high knees exercise. The kettlebell thruster will develop full body condition from head to toe while the high knees exercise increases speed.

Want more? How to Master the Kettlebell Thruster

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Kettlebell Workouts for MMA | Strength Phase

The objective of the kettlebell strength phase is to build a solid strength foundation through all of the movement patterns used in MMA.

For example an MMA fighter requires the ability to move in all 3 planes of movement: forwards and backwards, side to side and through full rotation.

A solid strength foundation also means a reduction in injury along with an increase in potential power production.

This kettlebell workout will develop your strength in squatting, pulling. deadlifting and pressing. An aggressive full body workout that requires the use of two kettlebells.

Want more? 10 Kettlebell Exercises for the Back

For this kettlebell workout you will improve your single leg strength as well as pulling, pushing and forward flexion. The sit and press exercise is an excellent exercise for improving your ground work strength.

A challenging kettlebell workout that will build solid dynamic leg strength as well as core stability, and pulling strength. A real favourite of mine this one.

You will develop solid single leg strength as well as pushing and pulling strength with this workout. Pistol squats are very demanding but they can be practiced using just bodyweight and holding a TRX or band in order to assist the movement.

Want more? Guide to the Kettlebell Overhead Press

For this kettlebell workout you will master lateral strength with the side lunge as well as flexion strength which is great for groundwork. The inverted row exercise will help improve pulling strength and balance out all the excessive pushing that is often performed in the gym.

Your single leg strength will really be investigated with this exercise as you develop your hamstring eccentric strength. Your core muscles will equally be challenged as the overhead lunge connects upper body to lower and the renegade row works on stabilising strength.

Want more? See 52 Kettlebell Exercises with Videos

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Explosive Workouts for MMA | Power Phase

The final phase of these kettlebell workouts for MMA fighters is enhancing explosive power.

Power is basically producing strength as quickly as possible, which is ultimately what all MMA fighters should be looking to achieve.

The biggest concern with power training is the increased risk of injury. Those who fail to build an adequate strength foundation or lack stability or mobility can easily get hurt.

Please ensure you perform a good warm up and practice the movements without a kettlebell first.

Each exercise should be performed as quickly as possible through the concentric phase, when the muscles are shortening.

For example: with Squats you would lower slowly with control, pause at the bottom and then explode as quickly as possible to the top.

During this kettlebell workout you will develop explosive legs, hips and upper body. The kettlebell jump squats should involve a 3 second lower, 1 second pause at the bottom and as fast a jump as possible.

Want more? 7 Kettlebell Squat Variations

Here we have 3 full body kettlebell exercises that will all improve your explosive power. The double kettlebell clean and press involves 2 power phases, the clean and the overhead press. Be sure to master the kettlebell jumping lunge without a kettlebell before adding it to your workout.

Want more? How to Master the Kettlebell High Pull

Watch the Kettlebell High Pulls exercise below:

The kettlebell snatch is a very explosive exercise that takes the kettlebell from ground to the overhead position as quickly as possible. All three exercises: the Snatch, Double Swings and Cleans will overload and increase your hip extension and pulling power.

Want more? Ultimate Guide to the Kettlebell Snatch

One of my favourite single arm explosive power kettlebell workouts involves 3 exercises that focus on the deadlift movement pattern. You should feel the flow as you move from swing to high pull to snatch. Perform all three kettlebell exercises one side before changing hands.

Watch a video of the Kettlebell Snatch below:

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Conclusion of Kettlebell Workouts for MMA

Above I have listed 17 kettlebell workouts for MMA fighters and those interested in improving their performance inside the ring.

These workouts are divided into 4 phases: preparation, endurance, strength and power.

The MMA fighter should first use the preparation phase to develop stability and mobility, then the endurance phase for improving cardio capacity, the strength phase will enhance practical strength while the power phase will develop explosive blows, throws and groundwork.

Using the above workouts will enable the MMA fighter to simultaneously develop strength and power while improving cardio and endurance.

Best of luck and take care!

To see more posts about sports performance workouts and advice, go here.

Have you tried any of these MMA Kettlebell Workouts? Let me know more below:

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