Do you lift ?

cjsmommy7

Have been training in kick boxing and have recently started mma and muay thai, most of the training is cardio with resistance was just interested to know if you use weights and if you need to use weights or if own body resistance is enough. Thoughts please ???

rstoliker

I just recently started the BODY BEAST program by beach body. LOVE IT. personally, it's fits my routine/goals rather well for my judo/jiu jitsu training.

wellbert

I did Starting Strength alongside Muay Thai.

x_JT_x

I do Tae Kwon Do rather than Muay Thai but I can tell you that lifting is making a difference for me. I started lifting about a month ago and can already see a difference in the strength of my roundhouse kicks.

Tyrone_S

Yeah I lift for martial arts and it helps a lot.

Just be a bit careful on how you go about it, a lot of people say that getting big will make you slow, it's not necessarily true but it can be. Suggest you read up on Strength training, power/explosive/ training and hypertrophy training. Most body-building and fitness articles focus on hypertrophy only.

Power = speed x strength. So strength training helps power and explosive training (increasing speed) helps power. In terms of a vertical jump research has shown that both are just as important, training one or the other will improve your jump height (ie power) by pretty much the same amount, but training both is even better. Strength training raises the maximum force that your muscles can exert in a contraction, speed or explosive training generally allows you to reach maximum force in a contraction more quickly.

Slow movements in the 8-12 rep range that cause hypertrophy (make your muscles bigger) are not necessarily useful. However research has shown that muscles that have been worked in hypertrophy training are more receptive to strength training.

So basically strength and explosive training will help you the most. If you want to get bigger you might do some hypertrophy type training to put on the mass, but make sure you back it up with strength and explosive training so that your power is proportionate to your size.

If you only trained for size and did medium weights in the 8-12 rep range and slow movements you would likely pack on the size, but this is where you can fall into that big = slow stereotype.

Annnnnd... now I've gone and got all technical.

JephaMooi

I'm a lifter! Rare is the day you'll see me without weights in my gloves.

Suggestion: Running with weights with your hands in blocking position. That'll teach you to keep them babies up! lol

bushidowoman

I was lifting up until about a month ago and will go back to it after baby arrives.
Remember that women will typically not get big like guys from lifting heavier weights. Personally...after I added weights, I dropped another size, increased my strength, and added power to my punches and kicks. My sensei noticed the difference when holding the bags for me and asked what exercises I was doing.

rachmass1

I lift a bit but have also started using battle ropes for very bad shoulders (aikido can cause misery to shoulders). The ropes are great for strength training AND cardio.

peuglow

Yes. I go balls to the wall 3x a week lifting. Heavy weights. I also run 3x a week, do some type of plyometic work 5x a week, and get in a day of muay thai, a day of wrestling, and a day of BJJ each week.

JBuck1914

I do the SL 5x5 and I do Krav so, it's a nice balance. I find that lifting also helps me when I roll because of the core work. I also noticed I take a shots a little better too and that helps also. I was already a nice striker so, I say the weights help with the power some too. I think strength training will help your overall conditioning (muscle endurance).

Motleybird

Internal stylist here, so I was told (in general, not me specifically) not to lift weights. I think that advice is geared towards males in a normal healthy strength range. Personally, I'm a bit behind the curve so I have to work just to bring myself up to standard. The chronic problem with my shoulders proved that to me. To make up the difference I've gone back to practicing with a sword. I deliberately got one that's heavier than a competition blade.

They say if you do lift weights, do lots of stretching to make up for the loss of flexibility. Usually we just do body weight and internal resistance exercises. (I'm not sure if 'internal resistance exercises' are a thing, but that's what I'm calling them.)

And yet there are exceptions to every rule. I have seen a few exercises that involve weights, though the weights are not actually being used for the purpose of increasing muscle.

catbrand

I've just started NROLFW, I was a little worried that it might slow me down if I started lifting, but I'm eating at TDEE to fuel my lifting and I feel like I've got loads more energy for my kickboxing sessions, but then I have literally just started lifting. I have been playing with kettlebells for a while though.

It was amazing the difference the extra calories seemed to make at my last session (maybe I've just got loads better suddenly) but my balance was much better on my double kicks and I felt much more confident with other stuff

bigknight78

I lift 3 times a week. I work using Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 to improve my max strength. But do alot or dynamic work to make sure that I still remain fast/explosive. So for that I make sure that every lift is done with correct technique and maximal force applied so the bar is always moving fast. Add in some jumps and med ball throws/slams you cover all the bases.

I try to live by the motto "no one ever lost anything by being too strong"