An MMA Specific Dynamic Warmup
One of the most important changes over the past 20 or so years in the field of exercise has not been a scientific discovery, but rather a transition towards a dynamic warm-up before strength training or rehabilitation sessions. Despite the dynamic warm-up having been a part of many sport practices for years, the presence of a treadmill or stationary bike in a gym seemed to have facilitated a step backwards in preparing our athletes for a training session. Fortunately many S&C coaches and trainers have moved in the right direction, and not only has it led to more variability in activity during the warm-up (multiple movements in multiple directions), but also, as a function of that variability, much more sport-specificity. This is especially true for court and field sports, but less so for sports such as wrestling, Jiujitsu, and mixed martial arts. There should be no misunderstanding here; a well-designed typical dynamic warm-up is a vast improvement over the stationary bike, but for these athletes there is an opportunity for further improvement.
Consider the goals of a warm-up: Increasing tissue temperature and blood flow, raising heart rate, improving mobility, and preparing the neuromuscular system for more powerful actions. An additional goal should be to prepare the body for movements similar to the activities being trained. While there is some overlap between typical dynamic warm-up drills in standing (a carioca is similar to a crossover step, a shuffle is similar to a defensive slide) and sport drills, I believe grappling athletes can be more specific without excessively blurring the line between the warm-up and technique drills. Below is a sample progression of floor-to-standing warm-up activities for a strength and conditioning session for the grappler, martial artist, or other athlete looking to for variability. The program begins with simple, floor based activation exercises before moving into movement patterns utilized in martial arts.
Chin Tucks in sagittal plane. These are followed with single plane cervical rotations, then side bends with the head floating slightly above the floor and the chin remaining tucked.
Warm-up goals include postural stability and cervical activation, ROM and motor control.
Supine, using only one lower extremity to roll to prone from supine, then back to supine from prone. Goals include segmental mobility and motor control, postural stabilization, abdominal strengthening and hip activation.
Supine hip rotations with one leg rotating clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. Repeat in both directions.
General Purpose: Hip rotator mobility and motor control
Grappling Specific Purpose: Circling the Feet Inside
Bridging to alternating shoulders with feet close to hips and driving up through the balls of the feet rather than the heels. The first exercise adds a cross-body reach and palm touch over the opposite shoulder to enhance thoracic rotation; the second variation includes an imagined trapping of an opponent's arm for the bridge and roll.
General Purpose: Glute activation and thoracic mobility
Grappling Specific Purpose: Bridge and Roll
Pivoting from right to left hip, with the front elbow contacting the up knee. Additions shown here include a low kick incorporating a single leg bridge, and a combat get up.
General Purpose: Progression from lying, gentle Thoracic and Shoulder mobility and stability, with options for glute activation and hip mobility.
Martial Arts Purpose: Silat Style Kicks from the Ground/Tuklaw, Return to Standing
General Purpose: Rotational Mobility of the Hips, Gluteal and Anterior Core Activation
Martial Arts Purpose: Shin box, such as with an Omoplata
First a Sit Out from hands and feet. For warm-up purposes the hips remain just above the ground. Non-weight bearing arm should be overhead but a variation can be with elbow tight to chest. An addition could include a quick fake followed by a sit-through to the other side.
General Purpose: Abdominal engagement, Thoracic and shoulder Mobility, Hip and scapular activation.
Martial Arts Purpose: Sitting out/through from all fours with an opponent on your back and facing you.
One leg starts bent and the other extended before rocking forward into a half-kneeling position, switching the legs and "windshield-wipering" the down knee to a neutral position.
General Purpose: Abdominal strengthening, hip flexor and rotator mobility.
Martial Arts Purpose: Sweeping a standing opponent from the ground.
Most warm-ups should include some sort of tumbling, as it is a highly effective and neglected way to teach body awareness and movement skills. Forward and backward rolls, cartwheels etc can be used, but this is a nice specific maneuver for martial arts. Rolling shoulder to shoulder, stay off the neck and head.
General Purpose: Stimulating the vestibular system
Martial Arts Purpose: Preparing for inversions from a supine or quadruped position.
There could be any combination of flowing exercises here that might be used. The sprawl is included as it is an important movement in grappling sports, and is also familiar to many athletes as a component of burpees. The breakfall cues the neck flexors to activate during a posterior fall, and the Combat Get Up is used for the return to standing.
General Purpose: Spinal Extension Mobility, Scapular stabilization, Cervical Motor Control, Hip Mobility
Driving the hips forward and rising onto the ball of the stance foot.
General Purpose: Hip flexor stretch, hip extensor activation, single leg balance
Rear Foot Jabs from Traditional and Southpaw Stance followed by forefoot jabs from traditional and southpaw stance.
General Purpose: dynamic hamstring stretching, single leg balance, hip flexor stretching
Each of the above exercises can be performed 5-10 times per side as a general rule and adjusted as necessary to emphasize certain qualities. Though the above exercises are clearly designed to imitate movements used in the martial arts, many of the drills should be considered as an alternative for field and court warmups as well. Bridges are already part of many warm-ups, but consider how the other drills above might provide variation for your athletes: the kicks are effective at creating separation at the hips by lengthening the hamstrings and contralateral hip flexors simultaneously (like a knee-to-chest walk), shin boxes mobilize the hip rotators (walking leg cradle), Sit-Outs from quadruped engage the anterior core and force the scapula to stabilize (similar to crawling). All are comfortably performed on turf if mats are not available. Always remember the goals of a warmup as outlined in the article, and remember also that the more variations of movement one has practiced, the more options an athlete has in competition.