In the last few months I’ve been adding strength and conditioning work to my martial arts training. I feel great, and my martial arts performance has improved. Guest writer Richard Bennett, coach and trainer for combat athletes and martial artists, shares his expertise on how you can create a strength and conditioning practice that enhances your martial arts performance. If you would like to contribute a guest article for Little Black Belt, please review the guidelines here.
Strength & Conditioning for Combat Sports & Martial Arts: Train Smart to Fight Easy
Combat sports demand it all: strength, speed, power, endurance, and resilience. Whether you’re a boxer, judoka, or martial artist, you need the ability to go the distance and explode on command.
However, many fighters still equate “harder” with “better.” More rounds, more circuits, more fatigue. But strength and conditioning (S&C) isn’t about doing more work — it’s about doing the right work. A smart programme builds the physical foundation that allows your skill and technique to shine.
Prioritise Your Discipline / Sport
Your S&C training should always support & not replace your martial art. If you want to box better, box. If you want to grapple better, grapple. Technical practice is irreplaceable.
That said, fight training alone doesn’t develop every quality you need. That’s where S&C fills the gaps: improving strength, power, speed, mobility, and durability so you can perform your skills at a higher level for longer.
Strength is the Foundation of Power
Power = Force × Velocity. To hit harder or move faster, you need to produce more force and that starts with getting stronger.
Proper strength training doesn’t mean bulking up. It means improving your nervous system’s ability to recruit muscle fibres quickly and efficiently. That leads to faster, more coordinated, and more powerful movement. Strength also builds resilient tissues – stronger muscles, ligaments, and bones that resist injury.
All else being equal, stronger is better.
Speed and Multi-Directional Movement
Strength sets the stage; speed delivers the result. Fighters not only need to produce force but need to express this force rapidly. Ballistic movements, medicine-ball throws, plyometrics & sprints teach your body to apply force fast.
And don’t just move forward and back or up and down. Most gym work happens in this sagittal plane, but in action fighters & martial artists largely move through the transverse (rotational) & frontal (side-to-side) and planes. Training movement in all plains improves agility, balance, and rotational power – key ingredients in strikes, sprawls, and throws. Rotation and anti-rotation drills, lateral bounds, and single-leg work all help convert raw strength into usable fight-specific movement.
Conditioning That Transfers
Conditioning isn’t simply random high-intensity chaos. It’s about developing energy systems that let you repeat efforts without fading. Effective fight conditioning works across multiple intensities:
Low Intensity – Build the Engine
Steady roadwork or low intensity steady state cardio improves aerobic capacity and recovery ability. You’ll last longer and recover faster between exchanges.
Moderate Intensity – The Grind
Tempo intervals at medium intensities develop your ability to maintain pace under fatigue and buffer lactic acid for sustained efforts or exchanges.
High Intensity – For High Intensity Bursts
Short sprints, or bouts of intense activity (near to your max heart rate) sharpen your top-end power and finishing ability.
Each zone serves a purpose. Great fighters build and stack all three.
Mobility: The Friend of Longevity
Mobility keeps your movement smooth and efficient, reducing “energy leaks” that waste power. Tight joints restrict range and increase injury risk. Key areas for every fighter:
- Spine: Enables rotation for punches, throws and defensive movement.
- Ankles: Support quick, reactive footwork.
- Hips: Drive power through punches, kicks, and throws.
- Shoulders: Stay mobile and stable to avoid common injuries (especially for arts involving punching)
Consistent, focused mobility can improve technique, longevity, and power transfer.
Structuring Your Week’s Training: The High-Low Method
Fighters love to push hard every session, but that approach eventually kills performance. The High–Low Training Method, made famous by sprint coach Charlie Francis, offers a better structure.
Alternate high-intensity days (heavy lifting, sprints, sparring) with low-intensity days (mobility, aerobic conditioning, technical drilling). This rhythm gives your nervous system time to recover so you can perform at full output when it matters.
A simple example:
- Mon: Strength & Power (High)
- Tue: Conditioning & Mobility (Low)
- Wed: Sparring/Rolling & Explosive Work (High)
- Thu: Core & Mobility/Recovery (Low)
- Fri: Max Effort Lifting &/or Pad work (Mitt work) /Randori (High)
- Sat: Shadowboxing &/or Light Aerobic Work (Low)
- Sun: REST DAY
This allows for a more productive weeks training with quality sessions instead of subpar sessions due to fatigue.
Recovery: where adaptation occurs
No adaptation happens without recovery. Sleep, nutrition, hydration, and rest days are as vital as your workouts. Over time, fatigue hinders progress. Manage your load, take deload & taper weeks.
The Takeaway
There’s no magic exercise or quick fix. Great fighters master the basics — and do them with intent.
- Build strength to support power.
- Train speed and direction change.
- Condition across all intensities.
- Stay mobile and resilient.
- Recover properly.
Do that consistently, and you’ll fight sharper, move better, and stay in the game longer.
Because at every level of combat sports & Martial Arts – strong is never wrong.
About the Author
Richard Bennett is the founder of Calibre Performance Coaching, providing Strength and Conditioning, Boxing Coaching & Personal Training in Redditch, UK. With 15+ years of coaching experience and a strong background in combat sports, he’s worked with professional fighters including professional boxers and competitive judo athletes, amateur athletes and general population clients. https://www.calibreperformancecoaching.co.uk
