Program Minimum For MMA; Six Weeks In and A Long Way From Fighting Form

Jeff Martone

Taking a small break from the body of politics to see how my training has affected my body. Six weeks into the variation of the Program Minimum for MMA program designed by Steve Baccari, and I am displeased with my progress as far as stamina goes. It did increase from what I have started with. The first week was 35 swings one day and 50 later in the week for no more than a minute and a half. By the end of the six weeks, my best day was 115 swings in 3 minutes, and I have stayed at 3 minutes. I will have to note that I started swinging the 53lb kettlebell in the beginning and switched to the 44lb after reading a post at Science of the Swing about ‘bell size and goals.

“To wrap it up, increasing the load can only contribute to the power out point to a certain extent. Once above about 30% of body weight the increase in power output is very nominal – so if power output is the goal heavy isn’t better. Speed is king. Now, if power is your ULTIMATE GOAL – the swing might not be the best choice in exercise. WHAT?!?!?! The swing isn’t the best tool – sorry, but no. There is another KB drill that with the same load that results in significantly more power. If you are at Level II right now, you are about to be introduced to the drill – if not, go with what you’ve got, the swing.”

From his test results, the best option for me is 30%of my bodyweight or the 44lb kettlebell for my swings. 3 minutes of swings left me 9 minutes to jump rope and jog. With a Cool-Down of walking for 3 minutes with my 53lb kettlebell locked out overhead. For now, I manage to hold it for thirty seconds. To improve my conditioning I will add a day of Man Makers on Wednesday (12 minutes of swings, jump rope and jogging) in addition to my Monday and Friday sessions.

Now for the Strength portion. I love the progress. I used my RKC Brad’s routine for Turkish Get Ups of five reps instead of 5 minutes alternating in the beginning with my 30lb kettlebell for three reps and my 44lb for two. Now I am up to three reps with the 44 and two with the 30. Next week I begin with four reps with the 44. Three weeks later, I plan to be up to five reps with the 44. The Crush Curls are between 4 to 5 reps with whatever kettlebell I performed I used during the TGU. So let us see what this has accomplished.

Fitness Progress Report:

Body Composition

Body Part Before After -/+

Neck 14.35 14.20 -.15

Shoulders 43.25 44.80 +1.55

Chest 38.75 38.00 -.75

Waist 32.25 32.50 +.25

Biceps 12.25 12.40 +.15

Forearms 10.85 11 +.15

Thighs 21.25 22.1o +.85

Calves 13.5 13.8 +.30

Weight 150.2 lbs 153.8 +3.6 lbs

Body Fat % 14.4% 15.2% +0.8%

Lean Body Mass 128.50 lbs 130.50 +2.0lbs

Minor loss in my neck and chest and the three biggest gainers in mass was my shoulders, courtesy of the TGU’s and Overhead Kettlebell Walk; my thighs and calves thanks to the swings and jumprope. Arms went up due to the crush curls. I predict in six weeks I’ll even out and be more symmetrical. My body fat went up by almost a percentage point along with 2 pounds of muscle. Back up to my post 53lb ROP plus a little more lean body mass. I did predict the fat would drop, and I was wrong. Still in my comfort zone. We’ll see!