July 31, 2009

Mixed Martial Arts is exploding in popularity all across the country, and locally it's growing at a rapid pace.

While fighters may be the first thing to come to mind when one thinks of the sport, the program also includes a killer workout. In this week's, Make Dan Sweat, Dan found out first hand, you don't have to be a fighter, to get in fighting shape.

"[MMA] offers an amateur level fighters cardio, " said Dave Morris, Owner, MMA Institute. "We work muscle explosion. We basically work muscle stamina and wind stamina all at the same time."

Dan learned right out of the gate that Morris knows what he's talking about. Morris leads this hard-core cardio workout for guys like Adrien Yarboro, who he trains like a machine. Yarboro just had a big fight last weekend.

"The trainers here, the guys I train with, they're great," said Yarboro. "It's a big family, having somebody to constantly push you."

And according to Dan, they push you. From lifting your partner off the ground, to kicking the pads as fast as you can, the exercises are "too hard-core to explain."

This 32-minute workout is tough. However, it's not just fighters who work out at the MMA Institute. Out of the 170 members, less than 20 compete in actual fights.

Women also attend the Institute to drop some pounds. According to Morris most women drop 30-40 pounds.

Morris is always pushing his fighters to keep pushing. "In case you can't tell, Dave pushes you," said Jake McLean, fighter. "I think if you took too long at the drive through, Dave would yell at you."

Morris says that's the way it's supposed to be, "I know they're going to hate me while they are on the mat, but when they get off the mat, they'll come off, and look and tell me thank you man."

And Dan agrees saying, during his workout, he wasn't always thinking the nicest thoughts about Morris. However, when it was over, he felt close to his training buddies and got a great workout.

Morris said before Dan left that Dan did "better than most people who come in here."

We welcome you to check out a link to the MMA institute of Charlottesville.