lifting and BJJ/mma

[rugbyguy]

Anyone out there,that does BJJ/mma? I'm training for a fight and wanted to know how to lift and train at the same time. I used to follow a standard body build wo, but I find it difficult to train hard core both in the gym and the mat. Any advise? Cheers

[Grizzly]

I have several ideas. One, you can find a routine I developed specifically for the purpose of enhancing my MMA game somewheres in this training forum.

Two, currently I'm spending more time on the mat than anything. As such, my lifiting is now 1X/wk. For that one time I do:

chins- 2 sets
Squats- 5X5
Flat bench- 5X5
Rows- 5X5
Deadlifts- 3X3

If you'd like more ideas, ask away. I'm just rushed right now.

[Bust-Out]

Hey bro keep the reps low. I prefer to always come off lifting completely 10 days before a fight. Try to take a great deal of rest time between sets, you are looking for optimum strength righ tnow, without poutting on all the akward mass.good luck

[rugbyguy]

Great info thanks. The hardest thing that I have to get over is the feeling of being "small". Since I don't lift as heavy or as intese I don't feel the same fullness,doe's that make sense? Cheers

[toyoda]

I am in the same situation right now & I train 3 days a week Mon, Wed, Fri
5x5 training. (sticky at the top of this forum "tribute"). I still want to look like I work out "so I can keep all the skinny fuckers from hitting on my wife when we are out" But with 5x5 I am actually making progress imagine that!!!

[scrappy]

If you can lift 2x/week have one session with basic heavy exercises and the other session focuses on the same major musles only you lift fast. Check out the west side barbell club at
www.elitefts.com there is a sport specific training forum that talks alot about mma

[rugbyguy]

I know this sounds gay(not that there is anything wrong with that) But I have a clinic in a gym that offers body pump classes. If I do the class 2-3xs a week will that help me maintain or even make gains? cheers

[scrappy]

Hmmm. Don't really know what the class is like but I think 2x a week would be better spent lifting heavy one session and FAST the other. Conditioning aside, power for MMA is built by keeping the weights heavy AND moving the weights fast. You will notice better mat performance if you start incorporating fast lifts. Most of those class type workouts are good for conditinoing probably. And you could probably do better condtioning drills on the mats and with a dragging sled and a track. Just my opinion. Anything else just ask

[Grizzly]

I tend to agree with scrappy. Basically, the "body pump" classes ARE GAY! LOL To be frank, you need 3-5 lifts. Cleans, rows, deadlifts, squats and bench. Right there is all you really need. The compound nature of all 5 will tax the whole body and be the most efficient workout(s) in a limited time frame.

Bust-out- Why refrain from lifting for 10 days?

[scrappy]

Griz makes a good point about stopping lifting. You don't want to lift high volume and get sore but you can do heavy/fast compound or olympic lifts much closer to the fight than 10 days. It will actually be good for the nervous system to lift the day of an event in some sports. I remember poliquin doing this. I tend not to have fighters lift on the day of the fight though.

[AnabolicAnimal]

just wanted to tip my hat to all you BJJ(or any MMA guys). i went to a class last monday night to check the place out(i have no prior experience in any martial art except a few months of boxing when i was a kid).i was mainly looking for a cardio like activity that doesn't involve a treadmill. i diffently found what i was looking for and learned a few things about myself in the process. 1. i am not nearly as flexable as i once thought i was. the basic streches and warm ups wheren't nearly as easy as i had thought 2. i am totally unconditioned (that dam glider(elypitical machine) at the gym seems rather deceving i sweet my ass off but i still get winded if i have to walk up a few flights of stairs). 3. BJJ isn't cheap. i'm not sure what the going rate is for a month's worth of classes but this particualr one chagres 110bucks a month for unlimated useage. like i said i dont know what normal prices are for classes like this but i found over 1200 bcks a year to be pretty dam expensive. after just 1 1/2 hour class i was completly beat, and i didn' t even participate in the last 1/2 hour ofclass where everyone paired off and spared(not sure what you would call it) with each other(both me and the instrocter aggred that me sparing would be rather useless and possablay dangrous considering i have no backround in martial arts and i'd only use my strenght to my advantage, there were no athleats in the class and i easily outweighted everyone by a good 40lbs or more). bottom line for me though is that anyone who can juggle working out with weight and something like that in the same week must be pretty dam motivated. wish it wasn't so dam expensive though cause i did enjoy what little experience i had, but for 110bucks i could joint a boxing gym for a whole year and still get my cardio out of it. by the way sorry for hijacking this thread with my experience just wanted to give you guys your props.

[scrappy]

Good to hear that you liked it. Yeah bjj/mma/boxing/thai are all workouts. I'm not huge by any stretch and that's why it's easier for me than a big BB. I love bjj and it is expensive, 110/month is a good rate in my experience. It's especially expensive now that I need neck surgery. But I truly love it more than boxing or any other sport. If you can, stick with it and get into different kinds of training like sled dragging and olympic lifts. You can only lift 2x/week if you do a lot of BJJ unless you have amazing recovery and time on your hands. If you do BJJ 2x/week then you can lift a lot more. When learning BJJ it's best to use the gi for a while and also train 4x/week. 1 or 2 of those can be without the gi if MMA/self defense is the goal....The gi builds some good basics and as you get better or decide to compete in no-gi or MMA matches you can lose it.

[rugbyguy]

Scrappy How Long Have You Been Training Bjj? I've Been Training Less Than A Year In Bjj. Have A Black Belt In Karate And Had Wrestled For About 10 Years. I Found That My Black Belt Is Useless! What A Waste Of Time And Money. For Striking I'm Using Muy Tai,which I Think Is So Much Better Than Karate. Thanks For All The Great Info,you Have Been Very Helpful. Cheers

[scrappy]

Well I've been screwing around with BJJ since 1995. I basically did 2 karates, taekwondo, san shoo, some aikido since I was about 8. Then I found BJJ and I was sold. Now I do BJJ, boxing, thai and some wrestling. I train most of the other stuff on my own and I'm not competitive but I train with many high level competetors. I have a neck injury that requires a surgery so I've been light training for a while. Like 3 years now. I'll have the surgery soon. Anyway, what I learned when I trained with Bjj guys, thai, boxing and wrestling is that these are competition based sports. There is no bullshit, yes there are rules, but you learn what really works against other well trained athletes in all of these. You develop because you are always testing yourself. Many other ma's don't offer this and offer theory and slowly practiced 'lethal' moves. They also stop after one technique scores a lot of times too which is bad. Bottom line is I just love bjj and mma and I feel like I wasted my time too but better to find out now than never. Any training questions let me know. I'm really into it and when I get my surgery I'll have time to write.

[toyoda]

I have been into bjj for about 4 months now, I am picking things up really quick.
I came from a boxing / kickboxing background BJJ is the most laid back but yet hardcore training I have done yet. For self defense I think mui tai /bjj is the most effective, I think everything stems from speed,suprise,violence of action (army delta force quote) when I heard that it just made sense. We roll Gi & no Gi.