edouble
31st March 2005, 12:58 AM
Leaning Out For The Mixed Martial Artist (Part 2)
by Jason Manwell
For full article please, click here. (http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue14/leaning.shtml)
In Leaning Out For The Mixed Martial Artist (Part 1), we covered proper nutrition and a sample diet plan. For the the first part to this article please click here. (http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue10/learning.shtml)
SECTION 2 - TRAINING
In this installment I will cover the different facets of training you should focus on in order to maximize your fat loss while simultaneously increasing strength, speed, conditioning, and maybe even adding a few lbs of lean muscle to your frame.
Over the last little while I have become a lot more diverse in the training methods in which I employ, and advise to others. If you would have caught me a year ago I probably would have fluffed off bodyweight training and callisthenic's circuits like they were beyond useless and said that weight training was the ONLY thing worth doing. But after having actually tried some of these methods, and deriving a more holistic approach in which I combine all the best training styles and try to keep an open mind, I definitely find value in things other than just weightlifting.
One of the things I advise you to do as well is to not get caught up in the “which is better, Bodyweight training or weightlifting” argument. It’s a waste of time and a pointless bickering because BOTH of them are equally beneficial and I think you should do each.
Remember that weight is weight, weather it is your bodyweight, a barbell an atlas stone, or whatever, don’t get caught up in the resistance medium.
What I’m going to do now is list off the categories of training that we will utilize in our workouts to achieve the desired results we are looking for, in this case it will be losing body fat.
http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue14/images/leaning1.jpg
Weight-training
Although there are 2 extremes of thought on lifting weights, one in which feels weights are the only way to train, and another mindset that thinks weights are the devil and should be avoided at all costs because you will be injured if you even look at a dumbbell, I find myself in the middle. You see when it comes to injuries, weightlifting is not the problem, it’s the weightlifter that’s the problem. Weather it’s trying to lift too much to impress someone and thereby not being able to use proper form, or getting sloppy with your form, or progressing in weight too fast, whatever it is, that’s when the injuries happen, and I’ve seen and experienced most of them.
My advice if you are a beginner is to progress in weight VERY slowly. It takes a lot longer for your tendons and ligaments to adapt than it does your muscles, so even if your muscles are capable of bench-pressing 300 lbs, if you progress too quickly your connective tissues may not be and your inviting injury, so progress slowly. You have your whole life to get to lift big weights, so don’t be stupid and sustain an injury that could affect you for the rest of your training career.
My next suggestion is proper form. I recently hurt my back squatting because I was being stupid and not focusing on proper form. Even if you have to drop 40 or 50 pounds off the bar, always make sure you can lift the weight in proper form!
Now that I’m done preaching J I will go over how we are going to lift during our fat-loss phase. Because we you also train MA, you simply cannot lift 4-5-6 days a week, but don’t worry, nor do you want or need to. We will be lifting 2 times a week and covering our whole body over the 2 sessions. Generally it will be one exercise per body part with 3-4 sets, and mixing it up between heavy training with low reps, and higher rep ballistic training. I will write down a complete one-week program at the end of this article, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but I just wanted to list a few basics for each training protocol to eliminate any confusion.
Bodyweight Drills
Bodyweight training is gaining popularity now days, and as well it should. On a properly designed bodyweight program you can gain strength, speed, endurance and flexibility all in one. Most people underestimate bodyweight exercises and usually think of regular push-ups and so on, and argue vehemently that you cannot gain strength with them. But if you do exercises such as 1 legged squats, 1 arm/1 leg push ups, handstand push ups, iron crosses on rings and so on, you will gain A TON of strength, despite what anyone says.
So we will also add bodyweight training. This can be done in 2 ways and you can decide which way you prefer. Either you can do 2 days of weights a week and 2 days of bodyweight drills, OR, you can do them in the same workout and mix them up. It’s really up to you and there is no wrong way. The only thing I advise is not to do too much to soon. The biggest problem people have when they start incorporating both methods of training into their program is over training. So just listen to your body and take a day off if you feel you need to.
Putting it all together
So now I will outline a sample training program you can use in conjunction with my diet recommendations to achieve the results you want. It won’t be easy, but if you truly commit yourself to this then I guarantee you will get the results you want. My only request is that you be realistic. Unless you are holding a lot of water weight, don’t expect to lose more that 3 pounds a week, this is unless you are carrying a lot more fat than you’d like.
I lost around 55 pounds in 5 months with this type of training + using the nutrition recommendations I suggested in the last article, and I lost absolutely no strength or muscle mass. But to be honest I didn’t gain any either, I was recovering from injuries I got from lifting improperly and couldn’t go really heavy.
So here we go…. In it I will add a typical MA schedule as well. For my sample week I will be mixing in bodyweight exercises with my weight training workouts, but you can do them on separate days if you like, whatever suites you.
SAMPLE / WEEK #1
Monday: Weight-Training (Chest, Shoulders, Upper back) / Bodyweight exercises (am) - MA training (pm)
(A.M workout)
1. Dumbell floor chest press: 3 x 5 (increase weight each set till you hit a top weight on last set)
2.1 arm dumbbell rows: 3x5 (same protocol as db floor press)
3. Military presses: 3x5 (“”)
4. Dumbell shrugs: 3x5
5. Speed push-ups on fists: Pyramid to 10 and back to 1
6. Dive bomber push-ups: Pyramid to 10 and back to 1 (unless you can do more!)
7. Pull-ups: Pyramid to 10 and back to 1
7. 200 sit-ups
8. Bar hangs: 1 x as long as you can hold
Tuesday: Take a good walk and do a full body stretching session. I recommend you walk a minimum of an hour a day, more if you can. Walking is the most underrated fat-loss method there is!
Wednesday: HIIT (am) – MA training (pm)
** Since today is a pure conditioning day, we will add a little more to out HIIT workout. However, if you feel that you’ve worked as hard as you can and had enough after your am session, then don’t do the second part.
1. Tabata sprints: Jog for 3 minutes to warm up, then sprint for 20 seconds, jog for 10, sprint 20, jog 10, etc…Complete 8 times and then walk for 3 minutes as a cool down.
2. Second conditioning workout: Circuit style workout: 50 high knees/10 Hindu push-ups / 20 sit-ups / 20 burpees / 30 squats / 1 minute rope skipping. Repeat 3 times.
Thursday: Just go on an nice long walk and stretch today; maybe you can also schedule your MA training session today as well.
Friday: Weight-Training (Legs, arms) / Bodyweight exercises.
1. 1 legged bodyweight squats to prime nervous system: 5 singles.
2. Overhead dumbbell squats: 3x5 (Increase weight each set)
3. Dumbell snatches: 5 singles with increasing weight each set.
4. Dumbell hammer curls: 3x5
5. Dips: 1 x as many as possible
6. Sit-ups: 200
7. Hanging leg raises: 4x25
8. Weighted side bends: 3x5
9. Grip work.
Saturday: If you feel energetic and feel like mixing up some bodyweight exercises into a circuit, or creating neural adaptations by picking some really tough ones and doing them a few times through the day then go ahead. Just make sure you are motivated to do them, if not then chances are you’ve already done enough. Possible MA practice as well.
by Jason Manwell
For full article please, click here. (http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue14/leaning.shtml)
In Leaning Out For The Mixed Martial Artist (Part 1), we covered proper nutrition and a sample diet plan. For the the first part to this article please click here. (http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue10/learning.shtml)
SECTION 2 - TRAINING
In this installment I will cover the different facets of training you should focus on in order to maximize your fat loss while simultaneously increasing strength, speed, conditioning, and maybe even adding a few lbs of lean muscle to your frame.
Over the last little while I have become a lot more diverse in the training methods in which I employ, and advise to others. If you would have caught me a year ago I probably would have fluffed off bodyweight training and callisthenic's circuits like they were beyond useless and said that weight training was the ONLY thing worth doing. But after having actually tried some of these methods, and deriving a more holistic approach in which I combine all the best training styles and try to keep an open mind, I definitely find value in things other than just weightlifting.
One of the things I advise you to do as well is to not get caught up in the “which is better, Bodyweight training or weightlifting” argument. It’s a waste of time and a pointless bickering because BOTH of them are equally beneficial and I think you should do each.
Remember that weight is weight, weather it is your bodyweight, a barbell an atlas stone, or whatever, don’t get caught up in the resistance medium.
What I’m going to do now is list off the categories of training that we will utilize in our workouts to achieve the desired results we are looking for, in this case it will be losing body fat.
http://www.ironlife.com/mag/issue14/images/leaning1.jpg
Weight-training
Although there are 2 extremes of thought on lifting weights, one in which feels weights are the only way to train, and another mindset that thinks weights are the devil and should be avoided at all costs because you will be injured if you even look at a dumbbell, I find myself in the middle. You see when it comes to injuries, weightlifting is not the problem, it’s the weightlifter that’s the problem. Weather it’s trying to lift too much to impress someone and thereby not being able to use proper form, or getting sloppy with your form, or progressing in weight too fast, whatever it is, that’s when the injuries happen, and I’ve seen and experienced most of them.
My advice if you are a beginner is to progress in weight VERY slowly. It takes a lot longer for your tendons and ligaments to adapt than it does your muscles, so even if your muscles are capable of bench-pressing 300 lbs, if you progress too quickly your connective tissues may not be and your inviting injury, so progress slowly. You have your whole life to get to lift big weights, so don’t be stupid and sustain an injury that could affect you for the rest of your training career.
My next suggestion is proper form. I recently hurt my back squatting because I was being stupid and not focusing on proper form. Even if you have to drop 40 or 50 pounds off the bar, always make sure you can lift the weight in proper form!
Now that I’m done preaching J I will go over how we are going to lift during our fat-loss phase. Because we you also train MA, you simply cannot lift 4-5-6 days a week, but don’t worry, nor do you want or need to. We will be lifting 2 times a week and covering our whole body over the 2 sessions. Generally it will be one exercise per body part with 3-4 sets, and mixing it up between heavy training with low reps, and higher rep ballistic training. I will write down a complete one-week program at the end of this article, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but I just wanted to list a few basics for each training protocol to eliminate any confusion.
Bodyweight Drills
Bodyweight training is gaining popularity now days, and as well it should. On a properly designed bodyweight program you can gain strength, speed, endurance and flexibility all in one. Most people underestimate bodyweight exercises and usually think of regular push-ups and so on, and argue vehemently that you cannot gain strength with them. But if you do exercises such as 1 legged squats, 1 arm/1 leg push ups, handstand push ups, iron crosses on rings and so on, you will gain A TON of strength, despite what anyone says.
So we will also add bodyweight training. This can be done in 2 ways and you can decide which way you prefer. Either you can do 2 days of weights a week and 2 days of bodyweight drills, OR, you can do them in the same workout and mix them up. It’s really up to you and there is no wrong way. The only thing I advise is not to do too much to soon. The biggest problem people have when they start incorporating both methods of training into their program is over training. So just listen to your body and take a day off if you feel you need to.
Putting it all together
So now I will outline a sample training program you can use in conjunction with my diet recommendations to achieve the results you want. It won’t be easy, but if you truly commit yourself to this then I guarantee you will get the results you want. My only request is that you be realistic. Unless you are holding a lot of water weight, don’t expect to lose more that 3 pounds a week, this is unless you are carrying a lot more fat than you’d like.
I lost around 55 pounds in 5 months with this type of training + using the nutrition recommendations I suggested in the last article, and I lost absolutely no strength or muscle mass. But to be honest I didn’t gain any either, I was recovering from injuries I got from lifting improperly and couldn’t go really heavy.
So here we go…. In it I will add a typical MA schedule as well. For my sample week I will be mixing in bodyweight exercises with my weight training workouts, but you can do them on separate days if you like, whatever suites you.
SAMPLE / WEEK #1
Monday: Weight-Training (Chest, Shoulders, Upper back) / Bodyweight exercises (am) - MA training (pm)
(A.M workout)
1. Dumbell floor chest press: 3 x 5 (increase weight each set till you hit a top weight on last set)
2.1 arm dumbbell rows: 3x5 (same protocol as db floor press)
3. Military presses: 3x5 (“”)
4. Dumbell shrugs: 3x5
5. Speed push-ups on fists: Pyramid to 10 and back to 1
6. Dive bomber push-ups: Pyramid to 10 and back to 1 (unless you can do more!)
7. Pull-ups: Pyramid to 10 and back to 1
7. 200 sit-ups
8. Bar hangs: 1 x as long as you can hold
Tuesday: Take a good walk and do a full body stretching session. I recommend you walk a minimum of an hour a day, more if you can. Walking is the most underrated fat-loss method there is!
Wednesday: HIIT (am) – MA training (pm)
** Since today is a pure conditioning day, we will add a little more to out HIIT workout. However, if you feel that you’ve worked as hard as you can and had enough after your am session, then don’t do the second part.
1. Tabata sprints: Jog for 3 minutes to warm up, then sprint for 20 seconds, jog for 10, sprint 20, jog 10, etc…Complete 8 times and then walk for 3 minutes as a cool down.
2. Second conditioning workout: Circuit style workout: 50 high knees/10 Hindu push-ups / 20 sit-ups / 20 burpees / 30 squats / 1 minute rope skipping. Repeat 3 times.
Thursday: Just go on an nice long walk and stretch today; maybe you can also schedule your MA training session today as well.
Friday: Weight-Training (Legs, arms) / Bodyweight exercises.
1. 1 legged bodyweight squats to prime nervous system: 5 singles.
2. Overhead dumbbell squats: 3x5 (Increase weight each set)
3. Dumbell snatches: 5 singles with increasing weight each set.
4. Dumbell hammer curls: 3x5
5. Dips: 1 x as many as possible
6. Sit-ups: 200
7. Hanging leg raises: 4x25
8. Weighted side bends: 3x5
9. Grip work.
Saturday: If you feel energetic and feel like mixing up some bodyweight exercises into a circuit, or creating neural adaptations by picking some really tough ones and doing them a few times through the day then go ahead. Just make sure you are motivated to do them, if not then chances are you’ve already done enough. Possible MA practice as well.