Do any of you guys that work out ever do circuit training?  It seems to be a pretty big thing at my MMA school, but then again Lloyd Irvin wrote a book about it so naturally an associated school would follow his book.

I was doing Ross Enamait's basic bodyweight workout prior to having my gall bladder removed and felt like I was making pretty good gains in strength, endurance, and conditioning.

I adapted my own to use with dumbells at work a couple of weeks ago:
2 times through with no rest between exercises, 5 minutes between circuits, 3 times per week:
Lunges, Calf Raise, weighted side bends, bench press, skull splitters, concentration curls, stiff legged deadlift, upright rows, pullovers, crunches, arnold presses, and wrist curls.

I'll add a third time through in a few weeks once that much is easy, before I advance the weight of dumbbells I'm using.

I almost always do a circuit of some sort. On a whim today, I did an isolated chest and arms workout, but even then it was sort of a mini circuit. Usually I'll do 3 to 4 circuits of 10-20 reps of anywhere from 5 to 12 different exercises, depending on how much time or energy I have.

I'd say an average workout for me would be just over an hour. I'll warm up with 15-20 minutes of cardio (usually on the elliptical cuz my feet/shins/knees suck so extended running is painful), then do 40-45 minutes of lifting, often interspersed with 1 or 2 minute sprints/jogs on a treadmill. In a 45 minute lifting session, I'd say I average about 3 circuits of 6 or 7 different types of exercise. I stop between sets only to wipe my face off and take a swig of water (I carry a water bottle around with me and refill it as needed). I usually do the aforementioned treadmill runs in between circuits, and rest maybe 3 minutes before starting the next one (usually involves a water-refill - I sweat a LOT and drink a whole lot of water to compensate).

We don't really do circuit at my MMA camp, we do two solid hours of kickboxing one day, two solid of grappling, and two solid of full contact alternatively.

I tend to sweat out 2-4 pounds a day. I never really knew what it was like to lose and regain water like that in one day.

If I'm training by myself then:
10-30 minutes on bike or treadmill

Then (each of the below is one set of 8-12 reps):

Leg Day
Squats - Abs - Squats - Abs - Squats - Rest
Dead Lift - Abs - Dead Lift - Abs - Dead Lift - Rest
Seated Leg Raise (3 reps, with rest)
Leg Press (3 reps with rest)
Abs

Upper Body Days
There's no fixed pattern, I do 2 sessions of upper and one legs per week. I have a mix of lifts I do for things like chest, shoulders, lats/back, arms... and I pretty much rotate through on a whim, or whatever I haven't been doing lately. I really should get a notebook and train to a proper plan.

I don't do circuit stuff, mostly because the sports I play (Golf, Cricket and Baseball) are non-contact and largely non-running. Also I train at lunchtime, and I need to be able to function for the rest of the day. What I do however is restrict breaks between different weights to a minimum to keep my heart rate up the whole time through.

The guys who compete typically train ~2 hours a day with BJJ and/or Muay Thai and do a few circuits a week at my school.  Of course, there's one guy training for professional MMA - all he seems to do is train or teach.



I like to nap in my car on my lunch break.  A solid 20-30 minute nap seems to make the afternoon go by faster and I don't feel sluggish when get home sometime between 4 & 5.

Check out Randy Couture's workout, it's pretty intense.

Randy Couture trains for Brock Lesnar training routine UFC 91

His workout does look really good and really intense.  I've got an Olympic bar in the basement where I workout, so I'll have to give it a try. 

Thanks.

The last time I got into workout mode I gave it a go a few times and it's a real ass kicker. There's a lot of legs and back involvement, so there should be a good ammount of fat burning involved.

I used to do this so I wouldn't have to go outside in the rain for P.E.

S'alright. Better than most things.

Nobody trains like Randy. That guy is a freak of nature.

He used to run the Eco Challenge in his late 30's.

Although I did enjoy watching him run around in that giant balloon fort for his training for Lesnar.

Man, did you and your MMA guys ever try the Bas Rutten workout audio tapes? It's like he's trying to kill you.

I've got his dvd's of combat, and it includes a bonus dvd of his bachelor party.

Motherfucker can booze till 5 A.M. and get up at 7 A.M. to run up a mountain.

I think I read somewhere that he has over twice the testosterone of a normal man.

I just did the Randy Couture circuit 6 times with just the 45 lb bar.  That workout is awesome.  Done in under 30 minutes, but intense even with just the bar.  I could definitely have seen myself puking at some point if I had tried it with more weight.  The circuit I was doing wasn't nearly as intense - probably in no small part to having exercises in there that worked just small muscle groups, which really were a chance to rest.

I think maybe that + MMA + biking & running would be more than enough to get me to my fitness goals.  Oh, and using these dumb things at work: http://www.gripprotrainer.com/

I just did the Randy Couture circuit 6 times with just the 45 lb bar.  That workout is awesome.  Done in under 30 minutes, but intense even with just the bar.  I could definitely have seen myself puking at some point if I had tried it with more weight.

No shit! I'm not at all sure I could do six of those circuits in under thirty minutes, even with just the bar.

That Bas video was fucking awesome. I still watch his self-defense video every so often, he's hilarious.

When I was fucking around with Randy's routine I had an olympic bar with 25 lb plates on each end and after three sets I was fucking done with that shit.

I've gotten two in this week - hopefully I'll get in one on Friday, too.  If I can do three in one week, I'll worry about adding weight next week. 

I would really like to compete in some tournaments eventually, so I've got plenty of motivation.

Muay Thai or Grappling?

I'd like to do both, presuming I can consistently excel in the sparring in classes.  Muay Thai is further off, though.

I have to get to a weight class where I can be competitive for either.  At the ~223 lbs I'm at now, I'd have to go up against some real monsters.  I'd want to be somewhere in the ~180 range.

How tall are you?

5'-10"

With your frame I think 180 is probably a good target.

You guys aim way higher (probably the wrong word) than me. I'm 5'10, about 225 now. Ideally I'd weigh about 200ish. Less than 190 or so seems like a long time ago, and seems like I'd have to starve to get there.

6'2" - 190lbs

Eat your veges, kids