UFC Fit Power Punch

The following is a review of UFC Fit Power Punch.

What is UFC Fit? UFC Fit is a workout system of 12 workouts on 12 DVDs. Led by Mike Dolce, the workouts are based on the training the MMA fighters use. So there are lots of punches, kicks, and other mixed marital arts moves in all the workouts. The included rotation is 12 weeks long and has you progressing the "strength"workouts every 3 weeks. I put strength in quotes as all the workouts have both strength and cardio components in them. It just depends what is emphasized more.

Who Mike Dolce ? He is a premiere trainer and weight management coach for MMA fighters. He was both a wrestler and a professional MMA fighter before becoming a sought after trainer. He won MMA trainer of the year in both 2013 and 2014. In the world of MMA, he is one of the most respected trainers out there.

Power Punch (45:10)

This is one of the "strength"workouts and focuses on the punching muscles such as chest, legs, back, and core.

Main Menu: Play, Options. Under options you'll be able to choose with or without music and subtitles.

Exercisers: Mike does the workout with 9 background exercisers, 4 men and 5 women. All are fit and are wearing athletic clothing. One or two of the men are not wearing a shirt. No one is noticeably mugging for the camera or acting in an obnoxious fashion. You will hear them occasionally after a round with a "woo', "yea', or clapping. Sometimes during a close up they talk to the camera about trying your best, keep going, dig deeper, etc. While you might think that 9 is a huge amount of background exercisers, the space is so big that it doesn't look crowded. One woman, Heather, is the designated modifier for all the workouts.

Setting and Music: The workouts were filmed at the UFC Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's a large, warehouse type gym with grey tones throughout. There's an octagon in the background as well as benches, posters, and a large UFC logo. The exercisers work out on a large cement floor on black mats. Mike Dolce uses the UFC mat that is available as an additional purchase.

Equipment: 2 sets of dumbbells (heavy, light), a mat. Water and a towel are recommended.

Warm Up (3:00): arm circles, jump rope, high knees, jumping jacks, alternating side lunges, front kick w/ toe touch.

Main Workout (39:10)

The main workout is divided into 8 rounds. A round consists of 3 exercises that are repeated twice through. The second time through you are often doing the exercise on the other lead. Each exercise is for 30 seconds so it's however many repetitions you can complete in the allotted time.

If the exercise uses dumbbells, I've noted if it's the heavy or light set in parentheses. I used 10s and 5s.

Round 1 : knockout squat (light), laying punch combo (light), cannonball sit up.

Round 2 : drop lunge, walk out/push-up, boxer sit up.

Round 3 : overhead squat (heavy), falling push-up/punch, 45 degree leg raise.

Round 4 : Muay Thai squat, over-under hurdle, squat/side kick.

Round 5 : L-raise lunge (light), jump squat/triceps extension (light), bridge/chest fly (light).

Round 6 : bow & arrow, Russian twist/dumbbell pass (light), ¼ crunch.

Round 7 : wrestler sit out, push-up/front raise (light), side ankle touch.

Round 8 (cardio round): jump switch, skater touchdown, mountain climbers.

Stretch (3:00): side stretch, chest stretch/forward fold, sumo squat, shoulder stretch, quad stretch.

Overall Impression: I really liked this workout! While I certainly got that it was a strength workout and you will feel your muscles, this workout also has a solid cardio component. It got the heart rate up and worked the muscles while keeping the exercises at a controlled pace. The workout was also really sneaky. No one move ever felt super hard and yet at the end my heart rate was high, I was breathing heavily, and was drenched in sweat. As presented by Mike I'd rate this workout as a high intermediate/low advanced. Even with the modifier I think true beginners, especially those not familiar with MMA moves, might struggle. However, a high beginner can make this workout work for them.