When formulating a MMA fitness plan, you need to know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise. If you do not understand this difference you may end up doing all of the wrong kinds of MMA training, wasting your time in the gym and doing nothing to turn you into a lean, mean MMA fighting machine. The skills and muscles needed to run a marathon are not the same as the skills and muscle needed to succeed at MMA.

Let's start with aerobic exercise, which means exercise "with oxygen." This means that during aerobic exercises your muscles rely on oxygen to get their job done. Aerobic exercises include long-distance running, jazzercise, rowing, or parkour. They are good for building cardiovascular endurance and burning fat.

But are they the best fit for a MMA fitness plan? Probably not, and here's why.

The key to MMA is muscular endurance and metabolic conditioning, which come from anaerobic fitness, not aerobic fitness. A MMA fitness plan should focus on high intensity metabolic conditioning.

What is "high intensity metabolic conditioning?"

This type of conditioning uses quick bursts of energy followed up with a resting period of either less intensive work or total rest. You are looking to create a debt of oxygen in your body, almost to the point where if feels as if your lungs will burst. Hill sprints are the most typical anaerobic exercise because you can do them almost anywhere, even if you do not live in the mountains.

How does anaerobic fitness help my MMA?

Basically, it works by creating a severe oxygen debt that your body does not like, so your heart rate increases, respiration speeds up and gets deeper, and your metabolism gets cranked up. In turn, your metabolism stays cranked up for 24-36 hours. That means you are burning through oxygen at a faster rate to reduce your body's oxygen debt. This whole process is called EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, and it is what will make the difference in the effectiveness of your MMA workouts.

What does anaerobic exercise do for MMA enthusiasts?

In short, it increases strength and builds mass. This reduces the chance of injury and gives you stamina to keep from gassing out in the cage. Anaerobic exercises make your body's muscles work harder, at the highest level of intensity possible, and as quickly as possible. This is what makes you a better fighter - being able to go at your opponent with bursts of energy they are not expecting.

Some examples of high intensity metabolic conditioning exercises include hill sprints,

body weight exercises such as pushups and pull-ups, dumb bell complexes, and track intervals. None of these require fancy equipment or lots of gym space. In fact, if you can get out to a local high school track or trail at a nearby park, you can do all of these anaerobic exercises outdoors.