General physical conditioning plays a key role in a combat athlete’s success, but greater strength and more training do not automatically translate to better performance. At the European Combat Sports Festival, world powerlifting champion and longtime coach Kaido Leesmann will explain how to develop the strength, explosiveness, and endurance a fighter needs without overloading the body.
As part of the festival’s free educational program, taking place October 20–24 at Unibet Arena, Leesmann will focus on how to build a combat athlete’s physical conditioning so that strength training supports performance in the ring, in the cage, and on the mat.
Strength training must be tailored to the needs of the combat sport
Combat sports place diverse demands on the body. In addition to strength, an athlete needs speed, explosiveness, endurance, mobility, and the ability to maintain a high level of performance even as fatigue sets in. Therefore, strength training must be tailored to the needs of the specific sport and the athlete and cannot be limited solely to lifting the heaviest possible weights.
In addition to strength, athletes need speed, explosiveness, endurance, mobility, and the ability to maintain high performance even as fatigue sets in
At the seminar, Kaido Leesmann will discuss how to plan strength training and integrate it with other combat sports training. Attention will also be paid to why a higher training volume does not always lead to better results and how to avoid a situation where developing physical capacity begins to hinder technical training and competition performance.
Results Also Depend on Recovery
In addition to developing strength, explosiveness, and endurance, the seminar will address the importance of recovery and training timing. A well-planned distribution of training loads helps athletes reach peak form at the right time, reduces the risk of overtraining, and lays the groundwork for a longer athletic career.
A well-planned training load helps athletes reach peak form at the right time, reduces the risk of overtraining, and lays the groundwork for a longer athletic career.
The seminar will be led by Kaido Leesmann, a world champion in powerlifting, a long-time coach, and head coach of the SK Reval Sport gym. Combat sports athletes, coaches, and sports enthusiasts who wish to better understand how a wisely structured strength training program can help achieve better results are welcome to attend.
- Kaido Leesmann’s seminar, “General Physical Preparation and Strength Training for Combat Athletes,” is part of the free educational program of the European Combat Sports Festival, taking place October 20–24 at Unibet Arena.