Lifting at the gym while doing martial arts training.

Hi fellow gainers!
I have trained in a gym before and i have trained martial arts before but i have never done it at the same time. I want to start competing (at an amature level) again and i really feel like i will have to strenght and endurance train beside the martial arts classes if im going to do that. My martial arts sheduale will look like this for the next 3 months
Mon - MMA. Tue - Muy thai. Wed - MMA. Thursday - Submission wrestling. Sun - Open mat.

I´am currently trying to bulk and im unsure of how often i should lift at the gym to still get results and when during the day i should be training to not destroy my gains with the martial arts classes.

Any help is appriciated and if any more info is needed im glad to provide it! Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    I'd recommend this video from mike isratel on how to balance weight training and martial arts (specifically bjj in his case) depending on your goals.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Vhi7SuFe8
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    edited May 2018
    fuzzylop72 wrote: »
    I'd recommend this video from mike isratel on how to balance weight training and martial arts (specifically bjj in his case) depending on your goals.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Vhi7SuFe8

    thanks for the video, it was an interesting watch indeed :smiley:
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    So this will probably be my scheduale after checking the video and looking around abit on the net.

    Monday - Chest and triceps in the morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday - Back and biceps in the morning and Muy thai in the evening
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - shoulders and abs in the morning and Submission wrestling in the evening
    Friday - Legs
    Saturday - Rest day
    Sunday - Open mat/HIIT

    This nets up to 9 training sessions per week and i will see how it goes to check if i need to remove a session or if i can add a cardio session at a later time. Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    So this will probably be my scheduale after checking the video and looking around abit on the net.

    Monday - Chest and triceps in the morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday - Back and biceps in the morning and Muy thai in the evening
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - shoulders and abs in the morning and Submission wrestling in the evening
    Friday - Legs
    Saturday - Rest day
    Sunday - Open mat/HIIT

    This nets up to 9 training sessions per week and i will see how it goes to check if i need to remove a session or if i can add a cardio session at a later time. Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas.

    You'd be better off getting off the bro-split and getting on a well designed full body routine. The thing you would really want to monitor is your ability to recover. If that struggles, you might have to tailor back on one of your routines to accommodate it.
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    There are a ton of pre-programmed routines out there. I’d use one that already exists that’s been professionally designed. And, I probably wouldn’t bulk. I don’t think any of them utilize a bro-split. The ones I have seen focus more on power and speed and look absolutely exhausting.

    As an example you might do jumping squats. Squat 135, or something, and power up out of the hole, and jump. Do that 10 times. Sled pushes / pulls, for power. Box jumps. Things like that.

    You want the exercise in the gym to enhance your martial arts training, not compete with it. I think body building or strength building may compete with the goal of fighting. For fighting, you want to train for power, speed, agility, and endurance. Strength certainly plays a role, so you need really intelligent programming for this purpose.

    If you’re serious, you might want to seek out a trainer that understands what you are doing and can create a custom plan for you. Or, google MMA training in the gym and see what pops up.

    The thing is i really need to add some mass. The lowest weightclass in many cases is 65.9 kg and the people i meet there are all bigger than me. Im currently weighing 65.6 and i weighed 63.8 before starting the bulk and then i could still have lost some fat. If i was going to go lean i would only be like 61 kg at my current lean mass and that is not enough. So thats why im bulking some now to add mass and then im going to transition into a more full body cardio focused routine. I should note that every single lift i do at the gym is with free weights i use 1 machine in total. Sadly enough i dont have the money to hire a Personal trainer to help me atm....
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If wanting to bulk then you need sufficient volume for that to be the max as muscle and not fat - I'd assume anyway, perhaps you do want more fat in general.

    That's why the comments against a bro-split of 1 body part a week - that's advanced level lifting after many years - which you don't have it sounds like.

    You need the volume - which just requires the 2 - 3 sessions weekly, and the sets/reps to get the volume up there.

    You could do an upper/lower split at the least to keep the session time short to fit it in, and to give more flexibility to allow recovery for the lifting.

    So does a full body cardio focused routine mean off the the heavy lifts - you could easily lose the gains you've made if you do that.
  • Sayhello2mami
    Sayhello2mami Posts: 17 Member
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  • Sayhello2mami
    Sayhello2mami Posts: 17 Member
    Hi fellow gainers!
    I have trained in a gym before and i have trained martial arts before but i have never done it at the same time. I want to start competing (at an amature level) again and i really feel like i will have to strenght and endurance train beside the martial arts classes if im going to do that. My martial arts sheduale will look like this for the next 3 months
    Mon - MMA. Tue - Muy thai. Wed - MMA. Thursday - Submission wrestling. Sun - Open mat.

    I´am currently trying to bulk and im unsure of how often i should lift at the gym to still get results and when during the day i should be training to not destroy my gains with the martial arts classes.

    Any help is appriciated and if any more info is needed im glad to provide it! Thanks in advance.
    Hi fellow gainers!
    I have trained in a gym before and i have trained martial arts before but i have never done it at the same time. I want to start competing (at an amature level) again and i really feel like i will have to strenght and endurance train beside the martial arts classes if im going to do that. My martial arts sheduale will look like this for the next 3 months
    Mon - MMA. Tue - Muy thai. Wed - MMA. Thursday - Submission wrestling. Sun - Open mat.

    I´am currently trying to bulk and im unsure of how often i should lift at the gym to still get results and when during the day i should be training to not destroy my gains with the martial arts classes.

    Any help is appriciated and if any more info is needed im glad to provide it! Thanks in advance.

    I will follow closely any advice you get here. That may be helpful for myself
  • Stockholm_Andy
    Stockholm_Andy Posts: 803 Member
    Have you looked at the stuff Ross Enamait does? He's a strength and conditioning coach for fighters.

    He's got some really good stuff on his rosstraining site. His books also have some really good advice on combining Strength/Conditioning work with MA training.
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    edited May 2018
    Have you looked at the stuff Ross Enamait does? He's a strength and conditioning coach for fighters.

    He's got some really good stuff on his rosstraining site. His books also have some really good advice on combining Strength/Conditioning work with MA training.

    Thanks i will go check it out :) Rosstraining sound intriguing XD

    Edit: AHHHH it actually was rosstraining i thought you had misspelled crosstraining ....
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    edited June 2018
    Had a talk with our head coach and i ended up changing my scheduale. The amount of trainig sessions were just about what i can handle so i will be keeping the number but switching up the training. My new scheduale will only have 2 gym sessions, one lower body and one upper body focused. I will lift heavy and explosive with a low rep range between 4-6 to develope my explosive power. My new sceduale looks like this...

    Monday - Upper body gym morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday: Muy thai
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - Muay thai and Submission wrestling
    Friday - Lower body gym
    Saturday - Active stretching
    Sunday - Open mat early and Stand up sparring in the evening.

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Had a talk with our head coach and i ended up changing my scheduale. The amount of trainig sessions were just about what i can handle so i will be keeping the number but switching up the training. My new scheduale will only have 2 gym sessions, one lower body and one upper body focused. I will lift heavy and explosive with a low rep range between 4-6 to develope my explosive power. My new sceduale looks like this...

    Monday - Upper body gym morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday: Muy thai
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - Muay thai and Submission wrestling
    Friday - Lower body gym
    Saturday - Active stretching
    Sunday - Open mat early and Stand up sparring in the evening.

    You'd still be much better to do 2 full body routines than one upper/one lower.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I guess progression on the bar may be very slow, but speed at which the explosive aspect is done could get faster, so a form of progression.
    I guess 2 forms of progression - when speed gets fast enough, try to increase that 1 rep. When at 6 reps and fast enough, drop to 4 and slower and increase weight finally.
    My bet (someone else's money of course) is soreness that would eventually go away when doing enough frequency, will remain with only 1x weekly, which could impact the desired focus workouts the next day.
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Had a talk with our head coach and i ended up changing my scheduale. The amount of trainig sessions were just about what i can handle so i will be keeping the number but switching up the training. My new scheduale will only have 2 gym sessions, one lower body and one upper body focused. I will lift heavy and explosive with a low rep range between 4-6 to develope my explosive power. My new sceduale looks like this...

    Monday - Upper body gym morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday: Muy thai
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - Muay thai and Submission wrestling
    Friday - Lower body gym
    Saturday - Active stretching
    Sunday - Open mat early and Stand up sparring in the evening.

    You'd still be much better to do 2 full body routines than one upper/one lower.

    Could you please motivate your answer? I have always had great progress with splits, what would be the benefit of doing a full body routine over a split routine?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Had a talk with our head coach and i ended up changing my scheduale. The amount of trainig sessions were just about what i can handle so i will be keeping the number but switching up the training. My new scheduale will only have 2 gym sessions, one lower body and one upper body focused. I will lift heavy and explosive with a low rep range between 4-6 to develope my explosive power. My new sceduale looks like this...

    Monday - Upper body gym morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday: Muy thai
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - Muay thai and Submission wrestling
    Friday - Lower body gym
    Saturday - Active stretching
    Sunday - Open mat early and Stand up sparring in the evening.

    You'd still be much better to do 2 full body routines than one upper/one lower.

    Could you please motivate your answer? I have always had great progress with splits, what would be the benefit of doing a full body routine over a split routine?

    In simple terms, what do you think is more effective: hitting chest, legs, back and shoulders once a week or twice a week?
  • andreascjonsson
    andreascjonsson Posts: 433 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Had a talk with our head coach and i ended up changing my scheduale. The amount of trainig sessions were just about what i can handle so i will be keeping the number but switching up the training. My new scheduale will only have 2 gym sessions, one lower body and one upper body focused. I will lift heavy and explosive with a low rep range between 4-6 to develope my explosive power. My new sceduale looks like this...

    Monday - Upper body gym morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday: Muy thai
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - Muay thai and Submission wrestling
    Friday - Lower body gym
    Saturday - Active stretching
    Sunday - Open mat early and Stand up sparring in the evening.

    You'd still be much better to do 2 full body routines than one upper/one lower.

    Could you please motivate your answer? I have always had great progress with splits, what would be the benefit of doing a full body routine over a split routine?

    In simple terms, what do you think is more effective: hitting chest, legs, back and shoulders once a week or twice a week?

    Well if i split it up i can hit the areas i train more effectively. Like upper, lower and the sides of my pecs. instead of just 1 of them. Same with my back, legs, shoulders and other bodyparts. Its hard to fit in more than 1 exercise per bodypart if you are going to do the entire body. I did a full body routine in case i felt like changing and its already 10 exercises.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    psuLemon wrote: »
    psuLemon wrote: »
    Had a talk with our head coach and i ended up changing my scheduale. The amount of trainig sessions were just about what i can handle so i will be keeping the number but switching up the training. My new scheduale will only have 2 gym sessions, one lower body and one upper body focused. I will lift heavy and explosive with a low rep range between 4-6 to develope my explosive power. My new sceduale looks like this...

    Monday - Upper body gym morning and MMA in the evening
    Tuesday: Muy thai
    Wednesday - MMA
    Thursday - Muay thai and Submission wrestling
    Friday - Lower body gym
    Saturday - Active stretching
    Sunday - Open mat early and Stand up sparring in the evening.

    You'd still be much better to do 2 full body routines than one upper/one lower.

    Could you please motivate your answer? I have always had great progress with splits, what would be the benefit of doing a full body routine over a split routine?

    In simple terms, what do you think is more effective: hitting chest, legs, back and shoulders once a week or twice a week?

    Well if i split it up i can hit the areas i train more effectively. Like upper, lower and the sides of my pecs. instead of just 1 of them. Same with my back, legs, shoulders and other bodyparts. Its hard to fit in more than 1 exercise per bodypart if you are going to do the entire body. I did a full body routine in case i felt like changing and its already 10 exercises.

    There is a good chance that you are not following an optimal program if you can't fit all the important lifts in a good full body routine. Hitting each body part (including every accessory for the smaller muscles) is not necessary or beneficial for a newer lifter, or one with goals of strength and muscle gains. Bro splits, are ok if you are either maintaining or on drugs. Considering muscle protein synthesis happens over a 36 to 48 hour period, hitting those major muscle groups only ones a week isn't optimizing the response.

    If you goal is bulking, than hitting the bigger muscle groups, at the expense of some of the smaller groups, is going to yield muscle greater results.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    This is my life every day. I perform MMA and/or Boxing (sparring) every morning and I lift every afternoon. My routine is: Day 1 shoulders, Day 2 back, Day 3 legs, Day 4 arms, Day 5 auto-regulation - I freestyle, usually legs again and accessory muscles and any other muscle groups that I feel need a bump. My MMA/Boxing sessions are Monday through Saturday - 60 minutes - 10 3-minute rounds with HIIT in-between. It's a lot and it's intense. The only real advice I have for you is to EAT. Eat to perform based upon your goals. Good luck!