As you age, especially in the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you learn quite a few things. First, despite your age, you can still train extremely hard. Second, if you opt to do that with high frequency, you’re also looking at time away from the mat due to injury. So how do you find the balance?

All of it simply comes down to training smarter, not harder. With that in mind, here’s my take on training jiu-jitsu for the masters athlete.

Whether you’re swinging a fist, a leg, or leveraging your body against an opponent, combat sports require not just brute strength, but a precise control and balance of that strength. This brings us to the unsung hero of the training world - unilateral training. Let's delve deep into why every combat athlete should be incorporating this into their regime.

Though many sports have a traditional off-season, combat sports are the exception. The time between fights can be unpredictable, making it difficult to plan in a macro cycle approach.

Typically, during “down time” the focus shifts toward skill acquisition with lower intensity to promote more frequent sessions so the athlete can improve significantly between fights.

One aspect that shouldn’t be overlooked at this time is the development of aerobic capacity/endurance.

Minimal Essential Strain (MES): MES refers to the minimum amount of stress required to stimulate the growth of new bone formation. In the context of mixed martial arts, it is important to incorporate training methods that promote bone health and remodeling.

In the virtual training space, there are a few principles, as I see it, that each coach should be adhering to in order to ensure their athlete(s) are getting the coaching experience they deserve. So, below are my big four that every online personal program should be following.

The Conquer MMA program is developed alongside my training of the fighters from FAA CT (Fighting Arts Academy). Over the years, we have built a program that allows these fighters and practitioners to train on and off the mats in a way that compliments the other.

Conquer Athlete has developed a MMA Fitness Program that will build combat sports athletes up, increase their strength, power and conditioning, and allow them to show their skills in the cage or ring.