Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov had specific and detailed views on how training sessions should be structured according to his 2020 book that was released posthumously. His approach combined military-style discipline with carefully planned programming that left nothing to chance.
“06:00. Wake up. 06:30. Morning lineup. 06:30–07:45. Morning exercises.”
He continued detailing the routine:
“Next the people on duty set the tables, we have breakfast. After this comes cleaning of the camp for 10–15 minutes.”
“After breakfast and cleaning comes an hour of rest. Then we do 40–45 minutes of tactical preparation, followed by morning training.”
“It should be ‘to the summit,’ meaning an ascent. The first three days we walk, all subsequent days – running. If you weigh 132 lbs (60 kg), you carry 13 lbs (6 kg) of stone weight; weight 176 lbs (80 kg) – 18 lbs (8 kg). That is, 10 percent of your weight you carry additionally.”
He described what happens at the summit:
“At the summit, without lowering the stone to the ground, you work with it for half an hour: squatting, doing strength exercises. You descend 700 meters, then back. Now you move on your hands, do technique, then free shadow work – whoever can.”
“There is such an option: you do 15, rest 15 and repeat again. This is only at the beginning, to get into shape. For example, youth do 15 seconds of speed exercises, then rest 15. Such a special regime for the young. And adults usually do 30 on 30, because they can do better, they are already at another level.”
He described the physical layout:
“For this in the forest there is an inner circle of 12 stations and a large one of 24. Youth inside, adults outside.”
“Rest until 16:30. At 17:00 training again, which goes until 19:00. Dinner usually from 19:30 to 20:00.”
He noted evening activities:
“In the evening there is free time. Adults, as a rule, at 22:00 go down to drink tea with gingerbread, candies.”
The day concluded strictly:
“Lights out at 23:00 so that the next day there is again wake-up exactly at 06:00.”
“Pull-ups not less than 30 times. Push-ups not less than 100 times. On parallel bars – not less than 60 times. Leg raises – from 50 times. Muscle-ups – 70 times. Lift your weight on legs two times more. Bench press – 1.5 times more than weight.”
“Morning run 2–3 miles (3–5 km). 15 minutes without stopping – bands, rubber, ankle work for speed. Pull-ups. Leg raises. Rope. Parallel bars. Push-ups. Jumps. Arm wrestling in stance.”
Evening requirements included:
“Warm up for 15 minutes. Play basketball 30 minutes. Conduct two grappling sessions. ‘Strike’ in stance three rounds.”
“Five to ten minutes is consistently allocated to the educational part. Any session that I conduct begins with this – otherwise it’s impossible.”
“Somewhere it is necessary in the literal sense to force doing what is necessary for the result…About an hour before the mixed martial artist goes out for the match, I always try to talk about his advantages over the opponent.”
This methodical approach to structuring training sessions, combining physical conditioning, tactical preparation, and character development, formed the foundation of Nurmagomedov‘s legendary coaching system that produced numerous world champions.
