My take on Strength & Conditioning for Beginners

Hello everyone,
Needless to say 'I am new to these forums'. However, i would definitely like to mention i am not here to wage a comment-war with anyone. I am here to learn new stuff and share whatever knowledge i have accumulated over the past five years teaching MMA. Lets get to the point now.

I, like most others, believe in bodyweight exercises are the simplest and most effective tools when it comes to building your body for any type of combat sports. I do not reject the effectiveness of weight training because, simply, that'd be stupid. However, if you are a beginner you need to start your training by mastering the basic bodyweight exercises simply because they are natural movements and the results attained from body weight exercises last longer (comes from personal experience). The exercises mainly fall in three categories;
*Push ups
*Pull ups
*Squats
(Core strengthening is done in every routine so not specifying it here.)

Below is a list of exercises i started with and now i teach every beginner and even the pros;

FOR GRAPPLING:

• Hindu Squats
• Hindu Push ups
• Reverse Lunges
• Finger Tip Push ups
• Towel Pull ups/Chin ups
• Palm Push ups (with elbows tucked in)
• Hyper Extensions (lower back)
• Plank
• Neck Raises
• Neck Bridge (for time)
• Jump Squats
• Jump Lunges

FOR STRIKING:

• Knuckle Push ups (elbows tucked in)
• Wide Squats/Sanshou Squats
  (because Sanshou practitioners use them the most)
  Calf & Toe Raises (Press with the ball of the feet and raise your calves, drop em flat and now raise your toes, keeping your knees straight. Good for building the muscle adjacent to the shin bone.)
• Pull ups
• Jump Squats
• Chin Ups
• Explosive Push ups (palm and knuckle both)
• Ab Crunches
• Leg Raises (for lower abs)