Do Not Confuse Strength With Conditioning



By Ross Enamait - Published in 2004




A recent trend in the fitness industry has been a newfound interest in
developing maximal strength. While improved strength is surely
beneficial and encouraged, I caution you (as a fighter) against
devoting too much energy towards strength training.

Strength training is not the same as conditioning. As a fighter, you
will need superhuman work capacity to succeed. Strength is useless if
you are out of gas after one round of action.

Consider the Ferrari that runs out of gas. The powerful engine is
useless without the fuel necessary for travel. A fighter’s strength is
equally useless without proper conditioning.

Conditioning drills such as burpees and interval running are far from
enjoyable. These activities will challenge you physically and mentally.
It is these activities however, that are essential to an aspiring
fighter.

You must experience fatigue while training, and then learn to fight
through the fatigue. Many conditioning drills are not popular for one
simple reason, they are extremely difficult. When you begin to enter
the “vomit zone”, your mind begs you to stop. Unfortunately, when an
aggressive opponent is throwing punches in your direction, you do not
have this option.

You must prepare yourself for battle by raising the bar on your
conditioning routine. Target the anaerobic energy systems with high
speed conditioning drills.

A few examples include:

• Hill sprints
  
• Interval training
  
• Burpee conditioning drills
  
• Punch out drills on the heavy bag
  

Find time for conditioning or make time for losing.



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About the Author - Ross Enamait is an innovative athlete and
trainer, whose training style is among the most intense that you will
find. Ross is committed to excellence and advancements in high
performance conditioning and functional strength development. He has a
sincere interest in helping today's athlete in their quest for
greatness.

Ross has authored several training manuals, and is available for private training in the New England area. You may contact him directly at





ross@rosstraining.com
http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/strengthvsconditioning.html