Avoid Over-training in Your Fight Camp

Fight camps for MMA fighters usually last from 10 to 12 weeks and during this timeframe a fighter will put everything that they have both physically and mentally when they are training for an upcoming competition. This is also the time when many will end up with an injury or come down with a cold and it has nothing to do with bad luck, those are symptoms of over training.

Fighters and trainers alike need to know the signs and symptoms of over training so that they cut back on the training. Severely over training in fight camp is when the fighter is not being given enough time to sufficiently recover and their bodies will not be able to fight off any illness or injury that is more then likely to happen to them.

There are many signs and they can vary from person to person and it can happen in fight camp as well in their normal work out regimes. Some of the many signs are fatigue, decreased performance, and increase of injuries, muscle loss, chronic muscle soreness and the list goes on.

MMA fighters that are in fight camp are there for training and they train, train, train and then some and they will do so without giving their bodies the proper rest that it needs to recover. There are so many areas that a fighter needs to focus on when it comes to training they will feel that if they allow themselves more then a day to rest from training that they are only going to give their competition an edge in the cage.

It is very common in MMA to over train because they want to be able to push their limits whether it is by lifting heavier weights or sparring a few extra rounds. Whether a person is in fight camp or just going about their normal training, goals need to be set to be able to be in the best shape they can possibly be, however when it comes to over training a fighter will only do more damage to themselves then good.

Over training can effect the nervous system by increasing the resting heart rate, increased blood pressure, weight loss as well as a loss of appetite, irritability and an early onset of fatigue which are all negative symptoms of over training and the trainer and the fighter should immediately evaluate the training routine.

Hormones are vital in building muscle and over training can lead to a decrease in the testosterone and thyroxin levels while increasing the cortisol levels. Simply put, when there is a combination of increased cortisol and a decrease in a fighters testosterone it will lead to the loss of muscle tissue.

Too many times in fight camp the intensity of the work outs are increased without giving sufficient time for the body to rest. There needs to be a balance between the work outs and rest and recovery.  It is important to train hard but being able to train smart so that you can rest according to what the body is telling anyone that is in a fight camp will enable a fighter to come back to training even stronger. By determining the correct volume and intensity of training and eating the right foods while giving the body the right amount of rest for recovery all need to be put into consideration when training at fight camps.