Cardio respiratory endurance is your heart and lungs’ ability to supply oxygen to your body during periods of continuous physical activity. And MMA is definitely a continuous physical activity.You’re on your feet, moving constantly, and exerting yourself excessively. So if you don’t want to end up gasping like a fish out of water, here are some tips to help boost your cardio.

And since we’re practicing for MMA, why not kill two birds with one stone, and increase our cardio while enhancing another aspect of our training as well? Great idea! So here are a couple of examples to get you started.

Jump Rope

Jumping rope is one of the most effective ways to increase your endurance. It’s more than 3x as effective as running. And its plus MMA benefit is that it makes you stay off your heels. In the ring, you’re going to be hopping and jumping around. It’s imperative you be able to do that without difficulty. Just 20 minutes off jump rope everyday will help you do that more effectively.

Run

Not as great as jumping rope, but it’s still important. While it may not be quite a quick at building cardio, it does help make your legs stronger, a big plus when your sport of choice involves repeated kicking. It also forces your muscles to have more stamina. Running with resistance, like through sand or water, is a great way to get your cardio up, and improve your kicking.

Get Better Technique

Then again, the better you are, the less cardio you need. If you get in position for a choke, and don’t sink it in right, you’ll expend a lot of energy trying to make it work, thereby “using up” your cardio. If your technique is good, and you can sink that choke in perfectly the first time, then you’re not struggling, and your cardio ability will be enough.

The real trick here is to have a consistent, daily training schedule. Cardio comes naturally with time and an effective workout routine. If you’re looking to improve your cardio, come down to the Easton BJJ, for the best MMA training in Denver.