Mixed Martial Arts in DC News Blog

Danny Farrar coordinating training

Staying fit in the month of December is no easy task. Danny Farrar, owner of the Strength and Conditioning company “SoldierFit”, keeps his clients working even over the holiday season. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters and people that just want to get in shape come to Area 51 at Evolve Academy, where the training classes and 5:30 AM boot camps are held.

“I started out at 300 lbs before I went into the army,” stated Farrar. As a former paratrooper in the military, Farrar got interested in exercise and eventually pursued personal training at a local gym. 10 years of experience in the fitness industry and winning his first amateur MMA fight at 149 lbs afforded him an opportunity to train the MMA fighters at Mike Moses’ Evolve Academy in Gaithersburg, MD.

For new clients, his approach is to be realistic with them, and help them set their goals. Customers are helped with their diets and training schedules, and coaches help them push themselves through the classes. Having a fun time by making the workout dynamic is an important part of the training. “What I really get are people that just don’t want to do the status quo…They aren’t going to come to SoldierFit to get stuck on a machine and do a workout on a machine. You are gonna come here and grab sandbags, tires, ropes, and that’s how they are going to get their workout,” said Farrar.

A typical training class for a new student would be 10-15 minute warm up, followed by dynamic stretches (e.g. squats), a 30-40 minute session of circuit training (e.g. rounds), and 10-15 minute cool down period. “Where a lot of people make mistakes is they do static stretching…because it elongates the muscle and sends a signal to the brain that it is time to cool down and it weakens the muscle. A lot of people do that in the beginning and they end up hurting themselves,” said Farrar.

For fighters, Farrar sets more rigorous standards for goals in strength training, muscle endurance, dieting, and getting the proper amount of rest. When fighters come in, part of the incoming process is to assess the fighters’ current state of strength and conditioning. Training plans for reaching goals are developed. For weight loss, Farrar keeps it down to a science, and doesn’t leave anything left to speculation.

Using his military background, Farrar wanted to implement a system that uses “non-linear” type training. Helping mixed martial arts fighters was something that Farrar always wanted to do. “I really care about them and I want to see them all do good,” said Farrar.

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