Home Bodyweight Workout for MMA Explosiveness, Power, and Muscle

Want to increase MMA performance, improve explosiveness, build your power, and pack on some muscle?

That’s what today’s home bodyweight workout for MMA is focused on. This isn’t about working for the sake of burning calories or getting “toned”… We’re working on raw power, explosiveness, movement quality, and other qualities that will help you dominate your competition.

This bodyweight workout is perfect for athletes who may not have access to weights at all, are on vacation, or don’t have access to a gym for some other reason. Whatever the reason, lack of access to the right equipment isn’t an excuse anymore, because you can still get a kick-ass, performance-enhancing workout with bodyweight alone.

I’m about to show you how it’s done.

Because the focus of this bodyweight workout is on explosiveness and power, you’re not going to be performing a ton of reps. Instead, we’re going to stack up lots of sets with low reps. The idea is to rest adequately in between sets, get recovered, and perform every rep with quality.

That’s what it takes to build elite explosive power.

Before we jump into the workout, I wanted to give you a heads up that this workout is similar to something you’d find in my Body Armor program. Body Armor is the only combat sports bodyweight training program on the market. And it contains methods used by elite fighters like Dustin Poirier, Kelvin Gastelum, Junior Dos Santos, and many more.

You can grab it here for a blog reader discount.

Let’s dig into the workout:

Exercise #1: Skater Bounds

Skater bounds are a bodyweight plyometric exercise that work the lateral sling system – particularly the glute medius, and the adductors. This plyometric movement will increase your ability to produce power laterally, and has many benefits that carry over to MMA. For example, this movement will increase your ability to move laterally around the ring or cage.

You will perform 12 sets of 2 reps on each side for this home bodyweight workout for MMA, resting 45 seconds between each set.

How to Perform Skater Bounds:

1. Start on one leg
2. Load up the hip and bend the knee slightly
3. Push out laterally and slightly vertically
4. Land softly on the opposite leg
5. Quickly recover and jump back to your original position as quickly as possible
6. Repeat on both sides for desired reps

Exercise #2: Reactive Broad Jumps

The next movement in this home bodyweight workout for MMA is the reactive broad jump. The reactive broad jump is a plyometric movement that develops your ability to absorb force rapidly and quickly react or rebound in the desired direction. In this case, you’ll be broad jumping, making contact with the ground, trying to spend as little time on the ground as possible, and exploding out again.

This has many carryovers to MMA in that you need reactive force production in many different scenarios.

You’ll perform 8 sets of 2 reps with 30 seconds rest in between sets.

How to Perform Reactive Broad Jumps:

1. Start with the feet hip width
2. Load up the hips and bend the knees slightly
3. Extend the hips and simultaneously swing your arms up to generate as much force as possible
4. When you land, try to spend as little time on the ground as possible as you explode out into another successive broad jump

Exercise #3: Plyometric Push-Ups

Plyometric push-ups are a plyometric exercise that develop explosiveness in the pecs, shoulders, triceps, and even the core. In this case, we’ll be performing plyometric push-ups rapidly, exploding up and lowering down as quickly as possible. This will work to bring power and explosiveness into your punches, and maybe add a little bit of knockout power as well.

You’ll perform 9 sets of 3 reps with 30 seconds of rest in between.

How to Perform Plyometric Push-Ups:

1. Start in a push-up position
2. Lower down to the ground as quickly as you can
3. Quickly rebound from the bottom position and explode up with as much force as possible
4. When your hands make contact with the ground again, repeat.

Exercise #4: Sprinter Sit-Ups

The next exercise in this home bodyweight workout for MMA is a core exercise. The sprinter sit-up is one of my favorite core exercises to develop core rotation and flexion. This movement develops the oblique sling, the obliques themselves, the hip flexors, and many other muscles of the core.

Perform 4 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds of rest in between.

How to Perform Sprinter Sit-Ups:

1. Lay on your back with your legs straight, arms by your sides
2. Pop one knee up towards your chest
3. As you do, lift the whole back off the ground and lift the opposite hand by your check as you would when sprinting
4. Lower back down and alternate sides
5. Repeat for desired reps

Exercise #5: Supermans

Supermans are a powerful, but often overlooked, exercise. Supermans develop the commonly underdeveloped muscles of the posterior chain, including the glutes, erector spinae, low back, and mid and upper back. This movement can play a role in supporting strong posture as well as well-rounded performance.

You’ll perform 5 sets of 20 reps, then go right into the next movement.

How to Perform Supermans:

1. Start on your stomach, arms extended out in front of you, chin tucked
2. Lift the chest off the ground, raising the arms with the chest
3. Simultaneously squeeze the glutes to lift the legs off the ground
4. Hold for one second at the top position then lower back down
5. Repeat for desired reps

Exercise #6: Russian Twists

The final exercise in this home bodyweight workout for MMA is the Russian twist. Russian twists are another movement that work the obliques and rotational ability. In this specific version of the exercise, you’ll be sitting with the chest up tall, so you’re also supporting strong posture while building your rotational power.

Perform 5 sets of 20 reps, going back into Supermans when you complete your set.

How to Perform Russian Twists:

1. Start with your heels on the ground, toes up
2. Pick the chest up tall, hands on the middle of your chest
3. Lift the heels off the ground, keeping that tall posture, and rotate your elbows towards the ground
4. Repeat on both sides for desired reps

Recap of The Home Bodyweight Workout for MMA

Here’s what your workout should look like:

1. Skater Bounds – 12 sets, 2 reps, 45 seconds of rest in between
2. Reactive Broad Jumps – 8 sets, 3 reps, 30 seconds of rest in between
3. Plyometric Push-Ups – 5 sets, 3 reps, 30 seconds of rest in between
4. A. Plyometric Push-Ups – 4 sets, 3 reps
5. B. Sprinter Sit-Ups – 4 sets, 10 reps, 30 seconds of rest
6. A. Supermans – 5 sets, 20 reps
7. B. Russian Twists – 5 sets, 20 reps

And that’s all she wrote.

If you want more training like this, I want to invite you to try out my most popular program, Body Armor, for a half-off discount. It contains the exact exercises, methods, and modalities you need to develop strength, muscle, power, explosiveness, and cardio without fancy equipment.

Plus, you could end up looking like Adam here:

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