 “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime” I can’t think of a more apt quote to describe Joel Jamieson’s book. As someone who has struggled with their conditioning (and weight!) for a number of years, I’ve read all kinds of books, tried all kinds of routines and followed all kinds of fads. Joel’s book doesn’t tell you which exercise to do on what day, it educates you as to WHY you’re exercising and what benefit it’s going to give you.
I’ve spent a number of years training first TMA, then MMA, boxing, muay thai and jiu-jitsu. I’ve always been very strong and explosive but been big, overweight and had no ‘cardio’ – or at least what I understood was cardio. I diligently read magazines, internet forums, listened to different guys at the gym and despite genuinely working my ass off I never really got to where I wanted to be.
The problem was I never had an overall understanding of what I was doing; I was simply trying to ape what I saw other people doing on You Tube or at the gym. Joel’s book is the first I’ve read to give me as an average guy the knowledge to understand my own body, my strengths and weaknesses and then design a successful training program.
Now instead of trying and failing to improve all areas of my conditioning at once, I have intelligently periodized my training and structured it to compliment my MMA classes and I’m making real improvements. I’ve lost over 10 pounds and reduced by resting heart rate from the 70’s down to 60 and falling. More importantly I’m not gassing on the mat anymore.
If you’re prepared to invest a little time and effort to really understand conditioning, the rewards you get will be more than worth it. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. |
“Success Story!”
“Another Success Story!”
“10 National Champions in 2 Years!”
You’ve been groping in the dark, but now not only is the light switched on, but you have a GPS system to know exactly where you are and how you can get the fastest to your destination! Detailed overview of the energy systems? Check! Detailed overview of methods to develop each part of these systems? Check! Blueprint to put together a customized program? Check! With the inclusion of this information Joel created much more than just an MMA manual, it’s an educational material for anyone wishing to effectively increase their physical performance. You will learn what currently trendy methods are misguided; what old school methods are actually still valuable despite being out of fashion and so on… With this book and the availability of the author on his forum, you can’t go wrong!
As the strength and conditioning coach of the Canadian National Kickboxing Team and the personal strength coach to 4x World Middleweight Kickboxing Champion, Muzammal Nawaz, it is a struggle to find in depth, science based, applicable books to further my knowledge. Luckily, I stumbled upon Joel’s book awhile back and I was blown away with the information it had. Not only did it cover the basics, but it went into such great detail about energy system training, exercise breakdown and everything you need to know to design a MMA program. The best part about it for me was that it was also backed by hard core research and application. I can tell that Joel did his homework on this one!
For the last 25 five years and more than 200 books later I still train 6 days a week and commit myself to find the best possible quality information to enhance my karate. I wish I would have had Ultimate MMA Conditioning when I first started. The quality of the information is second to none, especially the chapters on energy systems. I have tried and tested the principles on this book and they certainly work. No doubt. So far my conditioning has improved dramatically and I can’t wait to follow the comp section as my conditioning template to compete at nationals next year.
After I heard that Joel will do a book about conditioning that relies on a scientific approach, I was highly interested in it because until now conditioning was always my weakest part in my game. His book is written in English that is easy to understand, even for someone like me who doesn’t have English as their native language. I liked the fact that this book gave me a clear blueprint on how to build my own conditioning program, which other programs don’t. It explains also the benefits of the different programs and shows how to put them all together.
My favourite part was the explanations of how the different energy systems related to athletic performance and especially MMA. I think this information will dramatically change my training. It is a very interesting read that will definitely help with my conditioning and I highly recommend picking it up.
Before reading Joel’s book, I was the kind of fighter who thought training was all about “go hard or go home.” After reading his book, I have seen my endurance improve a lot just over the last few months. In the book, he explains the roles of the body’s three energy systems and gives specific exercises and methods to improve them. He also gives tests to track progress, and at the end gives you his own system of preparing for a fight 8 weeks out. I have always taken my conditioning seriously, but any fighter will benefit from this book because Joel has truly found the precise conditioning formula to put you in the best shape possible come fight time. Thank you Joel!
I have been fighting and training other fighters for the past 9 years in this sport. I have always taken pride training extremely hard in preparation of fights. This book has taken my training and abilities to a new level. It not only lays the ground work for any fighter to have success in the cage through their training, but it backs up the workouts with the science behind the workouts you will perform. In just 4 short weeks of use before my last fight, I saw a ridiculous improvement in my cardio and I am convinced that using this book while training for my next fight will put me on another level as a fighter.
Ultimate MMA conditioning has helped me grasp where my game is lacking and how to once and for all address those weaknesses. By showing multiple ways of improving each energy system I believe this is the most comprehensive no nonsense training book I have ever read. My main sport is not MMA or fighting, but Olympic Handball. By reading up on the roles of the different energy systems the body uses I feel that I can better comprehend the ways in wich my body tires in the end of games and what I need to do in order to correct that deficiency. I highly recommend Joels book to anyone with an interest in their own programming.
I’m always looking for new and interesting perspectives on fitness and conditioning, I visited Joel’s website and decided to purchase his book, Ultimate MMA Conditioning. Joel made me really understand the true definition of conditioning and how to properly achieve it. At our training center we get our clientele in shape using combative arts like boxing, kickboxing and MMA. We have no professional fighters, just regular folks; I’ve used the methods and concepts outlined in Joel’s book to great success in both my group and private classes.
There is none of that all-show-no-go type of junk in this book. Joel shows you how to improve the physical attributes that you, as an individual, need to improve as a fighter. This book gets to the heart of what physical attributes really influence performance in the fight game and what you can do to improve them. I haven’t found any other book that addresses physical training for fighting that is based on sound science. I bet you won’t either for two reasons: either A) the author has no background and/or long term study of physical sciences, or B) even if they do have a strong background in science, they have little to no experience with what it takes to get someone ready for a fight.
Ultimate MMA Conditioning is different than any book I’ve ever read on training. It explains in detail what the purpose of conditioning is, how to assess your conditioning needs, how to plan a training program that will increase your performance, and how to integrate your conditioning with your martial arts training. Joel’s book has given me the tools to take my conditioning to the next level, and I’m more excited about my training than I have been in a long time.
After months of trying to put together a conditioning training plan with info found left and right on the internet, I finally decided i had enough of all the mambo jumbo and bought Joel’s book. The book is just amazing. Joel not only explains the science behind his training in a clear and concise way but he also helps you put together a plan tailor made to improve the weaknesses in your conditioning (whether it be endurance, strength, explosiveness…). After a month of working on my endurance following the book’s strategies, my heart rate went down from 62 to 58 at rest. I have seen tremendous improvement in my cardio and couldn’t be more satisfied with the book. I’ve never come across anything like it. A must buy for any martial art practitioner!
The book is fantastic! It is a MUST read for all coaches no matter what their sport discipline is. I read it cover to cover this week and could not put it down. The book was extremely informative and PRACTICAL, which is hard to find these days. I have already implemented some of your methods with my athletes. I have always been interested your work. Thank you for shedding some light on these concepts and making it available to coaches around the world.
“Ultimate MMA conditioning forms a very useful basis for physical conditioning in order to be a competitive MMA fighter at the highest level. Joel provides a unique perspective to physical conditioning. He provides the road map for how to effectively develop a competitive individualized training program that is specifically targeted for the sport of MMA. This book radically changed my approach to training and dietary health, and has resulted in significant improvement in my overall physical stamina and performance. Ever since I started training, I have been looking for the one thing that I could control that would set me ahead of the competition. I have found it with this book. It has forever changed my training habits and the way I approach training in the sport.
As a man who is almost forty, when it comes to combat conditioning, I don’t have time to waste on meaningless training and ridiculous concepts. You want to get the most out of your training and that is what Joel’s book does. It provides the reader with the proper methods and understanding on how to achieve this. Since starting this book I find myself with more energy and power during my training which is what I need especially with the younger guys. Great stuff Joel!!!
Joel’s book “Ultimate MMA Conditioning” definitely lived up to the lofty standards I placed on it. I have read numerous fitness books and magazines ranging from obscure to periodicals in the supermarket and have done various workouts, and Joel’s book has given me the greatest enlightenment. It is thorough and efficient, much like the methodology he brings to training fighters. My training before reading this book wasn’t haphazard, but it was definitely aimless. Joel’s book justifiably expounds the virtues of invidualizing your training needs because of how different each person is from one another.
In June of 2009, three very significant events happened to me, I turned 40, I quit smoking after 20 years and I started training MMA. After one jiu jitsu class I quickly discovered how badly out of shape my sedentary lifestyle had left me. I had to get into shape, and fast so I could keep up! I did a ton of research online and discovered Joel’s book Ultimate MMA Conditioning. If you want to really understand how to get the most from your training, then get this book and get it now!
It’s funny, fighters have traditionally used the methods the methods Joel talks about, but the recent school of thought has moved away from it. Now it’s come full circle again. Having studied some of Fedor Emilianenko’s training, I see how many of the traditional methods have always made perfect sense, especially the need for an aerobic base in preparing a fighter, especially for some of the longer bouts. Joel makes a very strong case for laying down an aerobic base. Like many others out there, I didn’t consider grappling an aerobic sport and so shunned the aerobic base as more or less unnecessary. Joel’s explanation of the importance of the different energy systems definitely changed my way of thinking.