More Than Just Roadwork: A Smarter Conditioning Approach
2-3 minute read
By Jason Lau
Roadwork has been a staple in combat sports for decades. Ask most fighters about their conditioning routine, and long runs in the morning are usually part of the answer. It’s been passed down from generation to generation—often without question.
And to be clear, roadwork has benefits. It helps build tendon stiffness, which supports force transfer and reduces injury risk. The repeated impact from running can improve bone density and even stimulate hypertrophy in the lower limbs. It also contributes to aerobic development, helping fighters recover between rounds, maintain pace, and handle high-volume training.
But as fights have evolved—and training methods with them—it’s worth looking at whether roadwork should still be the foundation of a fighter’s conditioning. The answer isn’t to eliminate it, but to understand where it fits and how to build around it.
Where Roadwork Helps
Roadwork still has a place in a smart conditioning plan—it just needs to be used with purpose. When done right, it offers benefits that support both performance and injury resilience. Here’s where traditional running can help:
Improves Tendon and Bone Resilience: The impact and repetition help strengthen connective tissue and improve force deceleration and acceleration.
Supports Aerobic Base: Long, steady runs support low-intensity energy system development, aiding recovery between efforts and sessions.
Lower Body Development: The calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes benefit from regular ground contact and push-off cycles.
How to Improve on Traditional Roadwork
The goal isn’t to replace it—but to improve the structure around your conditioning as a whole:
Manage Volume and Intensity: Conditioning should be programmed like strength work. That means monitoring how hard and how often you run, sprint, or perform high-output drills.
Use Conditioning Tiers: Break your sessions into different intensities:
Low-intensity aerobic work (e.g., tempo runs or recovery bike rides)
Moderate intensity intervals (e.g., 10x100m at 70%, 1:1 work:rest)
High-intensity intervals (e.g., 20s on/40s off sprints, med ball throws)
Progress Over Time: Conditioning shouldn’t stay the same week to week. Gradually increase output, density (work per minute), or resistance.
Blend General and Specific Work: Use tools like sled pushes, air bikes, or circuits that mimic fight energy demands but limit wear and tear.
What a Structured Plan Might Look Like
Early Camp: Build aerobic base (tempo runs, longer intervals), low-impact zone 2 cardio, and general strength
Mid Camp: Introduce higher-output intervals and moderate sprints, increase volume slightly
Late Camp: Emphasize sport-specific intervals (pads, bag circuits, ground-and-pound drills) and taper down volume
Each phase builds on the last, targeting different energy systems and reducing the guesswork that comes from “just run more.”
Why Roadwork Will Still Be Around
Fighters will always include roadwork—and that’s fine. There’s mental toughness in getting it done, and physical resilience from repeated exposure to impact. But it’s only one piece.
It doesn’t simulate the fatigue of clinch wrestling or flurries in a striking exchange. Other conditioning tools offer different targeted benefits—but they should complement, not necessarily replace, roadwork.
Roadwork still belongs in combat sports. But it’s not enough on its own. A smarter approach involves managing intensity, structuring phases, and integrating other modalities that reflect the chaos and demands of a fight.
If you want S&C coaching that makes sense for your style, your schedule, and your goals, apply for online coaching at Performance Purpose. We’ll build you a system that balances tradition with smart programming.