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This thread is designed to point new lifters towards the information they need to get
themselves started. It is not supposed to be an exhaustive list of everything you need
to know, but should instead point you in the right direction. The best thing you could
do to start with is to read Carnal's Treatise on The Lifting of Heavy Iron and
then Read This
Please PM me with and errors, omissions or general abuse (if Im no longer here then
just PM a mod).
Table of Contents
Post 1: General Questions
- How do I get stronger?
- How do I specifically get stronger for BJJ/Judo/MMA/Thai boxing/Russian Bear
Wrestling?
- Why did my thread get closed?
- Why do you guys hate machines?
- I thought technique was more important than strength. Is lifting heavy weights really
important for MMA?
- Wont lifting heavy things make me really slow and inflexible?
- Can I just do 200 reps with the pink, 2lb, foo-foo dumbbells? After all that gives me a
wicked awesome pump and my arms feel really tired.
- Why do so many of your links seem to be aimed at powerlifters and Olympic
weightlifters, surely this isnt what I want to help my MMA training?
- Do I have to do Squats/Deadlifts?
- How do I get more explosive/powerful?
- I want to lose/gain/maintain weight, should I be lifting weights?
Post 2: Routines, Exercises, Programming
- What kind of routine should I follow?
- A lot of routines only have a small number of exercises done three times a week: is
this enough? Can I do these routines but add more days and more exercises?
- How do I do exercise x?
- I've got some questions about the Olympic lifts...
- Where can I find some information about Strongman training?
- The training program says I should do an assistance exercise, whats that?
- I only have a barbell at home, and no power rack or squat stands, what can I do?
- Whats periodisation and how do I do it?
- How do I add 50lbs to my bench/squat/deadlift?
- What are the best ways to develop rotational core strength/core strength?
- How do I make my hands stronger?
- When should I deload? How should I deload?
- What do I need to make a home gym?
Post 3: Miscellaneous, Useful Links
- ****ing *******, that hurt. I just tore a piece of the rough skin off my hand. What
can I do about it?
- Ive heard a lot of people mention kettlebells, what are they and are they worth
getting?
- What/who is crossfit?
- What do you think of P90x? Why the hate for P90x?
- I have bad posture/muscle imbalances what can I do to fix it?
- What are some simple mobility/flexibility routines for upper and lower body?
- When should I wear a belt? What type should I get?
Post 4: Interesting threads and Links
Post 5: A Reasonable Approach to Strength Training by Glenn Pendlay
------------------------------------------------------------Q: How do I get stronger?
A: For almost everyone, the best way to do it is through compound barbell exercises;
either exercises like the squat, deadlift, overhead press and bench press, or the
Olympic lifts (clean, snatch, and jerk), or both. You do these exercises with weights
that are heavy (for you) for fairly low numbers of repetitions (most of the time) and
you do them progressively (always trying to add more weight to the bar or do more
reps). You do a limited amount of extra work, because what makes you strong is
getting stronger in the big movements.
The rest of the FAQ explains a lot the details of this but as a starting point
read Carnal's treatise on the lifting of heavy iron and
then http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/read-886282/
Q: How do I specifically get stronger for BJJ/Judo/MMA/Thai boxing/Russian
Bear Wrestling?
A: You get strong. Too many people fall into the trap of thinking there's some magical
exercise that will make their training somehow more applicable to their art, bollocks.
Strength is strength, go train heavy and hard and you'll find you get stronger on the
mat or in the ring. One leg squats on a gym ball while avoiding a stick swung by an old
man with a Fu Manchu moustache won't help.
Q: Why did my thread get closed?
A: Check the forbidden threads sticky, the chances are that it contravened these rules
and thats why it was shut down. Forbidden Topics
Q: Why are you anti-bodybuilding in this forum?
A: We're not. We simply believe that, if you are an athlete (strongman, powerlifter,
fighter, wrestler, football player, etc.), then there are innumerable training methods
superior to bodybuilding, which is aesthetic-oriented rather than performance-oriented.
That is not to deny that hypertrophy has its benefits nor is it to close the door entirely
on any and all questions/interests in hypertrophy or even bodybuilding. For the nonathlete interested in aesthetics more than performance, this thread is for you.
Q: Why do you guys hate machines?
A: Machines require no stabilization of the weight and will often force an unnatural
path of motion, that can lead to injuries. This doesn't apply to machines without a
fixed path (e.g. cable machines). Compound freeweight movements are infinitely
superior to machines, especially those that are used for isolation movements. A select
few machines can be useful due to their specific function, like the reverse hyper or the
glute-ham raise. Isolation machines do have uses for rehabilitation and correcting
some imbalances, but the majority of your routine should be done on freeweights.
and immediately jumping onto another box is plyometric, because the force from
jumping off the box assists the exercise. Plyometric exercises are best used sparingly,
because (1) They are especially high impact, and (2) Using them more frequently, or
in greater amounts doesn't significantly increase results.
Last edited by DrBdan; 01-10-2013 at 09:10 AM.
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/te...lifts-1212904/
Q: I've got some questions about the Olympic lifts...
A: peep this thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/sh...hread-1121258/
Q: Where can I find some information about Strongman training?
A: Here's some places to start:
Muscle and Fitness training LIFT LIKE A STRONGMAN
Strongman Strength Training Routine by Tom Mutaffis | Total Physique Online
Q: The training program says I should do an assistance exercise, whats
that?
A: Assistance exercises are designed to help improve a weak point on a main lift,
a weak point in general, or to help towards injury prevention. Examples include
using close grip bench presses to strengthen your triceps and therefore improve
you bench press and using pause squats to help you with coming out of the
bottom position of the squat. Forum member Madmick started a thread on
assistance exercises for the powerlifting big three - link
Q: I only have a barbell at home, and no power rack or squat stands,
what can I do?
You can do deadlifts, cleans/power cleans, clean the weight and do front squats,
clean the weight and do overhead presses/push presses, bent over rows, or do
dead stop zercher squats (Google them).
If you have a bench, you can use that to do bench press, or you can do floor
presses (you can even use some planks to lie on and create greater ROM in your
floor presses). You can use saw horses and do bottom squats, or otherwise
improvise to create some type of platform/stands for the weights to rest on.
You can also practice your olympic lifts.
Q: Whats periodisation and how do I do it?
A: Periodisation is how you manage the weights you lift each workout, here are
three links to different approaches to it.
Linear Periodization - T NATION | Periodization Bible - Part 1
Conjugated Periodization (Westside Method) - T NATION | Periodization Bible Part 2
Undulating Periodizatoin - T NATION | Holiday Program
Q: How do I add 50lbs to my bench/squat/deadlift?
A: If you want to be better at a lift the first thing to do is sort out your form,
here are Dave Tates articles on correctly performing the big three:
The next thing is to work on wrist strength, the two best things for this are using
a wrist roller and sledge hammer levering. A wrist roller can easily be made out
of 2 diameter PVC pipe wrapped with cord with weights on the end, you then
twist the pipe hand over hand to winch up the weight. Do this both ways round
(working both the back and front of your forearms). For more on levering check
out this thread:Lever Shot!
The last part is support grip, that is the ability to keep your hand closed with
something pulling it open e.g. a heavy barbell during deadlifts or trying to keep
your grip on your opponents gi during BJJ. Some good ways to train this are
barbell holds (just hold your last deadlift rep as long as possible or pick it up out
of a rack and hold it) and towel pull-ups.
Check out this thread too: You All Have Pussy Hands v2.0
Q: When should I deload? How should I deload?
A: You should deload if you've been experiencing symptoms of overtraining, or
have been consistently feeling especially "beat up" from your training. Also you
may benefit from having a regular deload week, every 4-8 weeks.
There are many different ways to deload. Options include: Taking the week off
entirely, just doing a combination of active recovery, light conditioning, mobility
work, corrective exercises, lifting similarly to what you'd do regularly but with
less intensity(lower weight) and/or volume(lower total reps), or doing different,
less intense exercises, for a week (e.g. lunges instead of squats). Some routines
will tell you specifically how to deload when following them (e.g. Starting
Strength, the Wendler 5/3/1, Smolov), if that's the case, follow those instructions
unless you have a convincing reason not to.
Q: ****ing *******, that hurt. I just tore a piece of the rough skin off my
hand. What can I do about it?
A: That's called a callous, when doing some exercises, particularly deadlifts, you can
tear the top layer of skin off and it can be really annoying. Here's a good thread on
callous maintenance - link
Q: Ive heard a lot of people mention kettlebells, what are they and are they
worth getting?
A: Kettlebells are an alternative to a dumbbell, they have the handle placed away from
the centre of the weight and this means they handle differently from a conventional
DB. They can place a higher emphasis on grip and wrist strength and require greater
coordination than doing the same movement with a DB.
They are much more expensive than a normal weight set and a lot of people argue
that although there are benefits to their use they are not worth the ridiculous prices
charged for them. Nor do they deserve the hype which surrounds them. To sum up
these are a useful tool but are not the super, ultimate, all-singing, all-dancing solution
to all your problem that some people claim they are. This article talks about the hype
Here is a great post by Glenn Pendlay outlining "a reasonable approach to strength
work for MMA"
Quote:
4) The vertical lift, best if with thick handled dumbells. This is easy, just bend down
and pick up the dumbells with fairly straight legs, hoist them to your shoulders and
with little or no hesitation, put them right on up over your head. Same rule as with
KB clean and jerks, start with a weight you can do about 50 times, get heavier
dumbells when you can do them 100 times in 10 minutes.
5) Farmers walk. Whatever implement you can use, keep track of total ditance
covered in 10 minutes. If you dont put them down more than once or twice in 10
minutes, use heavier implements. A great implement for this exercise is 5 gallon
buckets with rubber garden hose slid over the wire handle. They are awkward and
hard to walk with, which makes them perfect for your purposes. Use sand to add
weight.
6) Kettlebell snatch. Do just as you would KB clean and jerk.
7) "Freestyle" complexes. My Olympic lifters do these once in a while. Take a
barbell, a light one, and keep it moving without setting it down for 10 minutes. Do
whatever you can think of. squats, presses, cleans, good mornings, push presses.
Just keep it moving and do not set it down. Try to make it hard on yourself. On tis
one there is no need to keep track of anything, just do work for 10 minutes.
8) Shouldering a sandbar or other awkward object. A stump or log would work, as
would a large stone. Take it from the ground to one shoulder, drop it, then take it
from the ground to the other shoulder. as many as you can in 10 minutes. When
you get over 100, get a heavier object.
9) Turkish get ups. As many as you can in 10 minutes. Kettlebells work best for this,
but you can do it with a dumbell.
10) Loading a log. Tie a piece of rope at waist height between two objects. Take a
sandbag, log, or big rock and place it on the ground on one side of the rope. Pick it
up and toss it over. Now duck down and crawl under the rope, stand up and pick the
rock back up and throw it back to the other side. Repeat for 10 minutes. When you
get more than 100 reps, get a bigger log.
11) Flip a big tire. You all already know what this is. Go for 10 minutes and aim to
increase either number of flips or distance covered.
12) Make up your own. Got access to some ground that no one cares about and a
50 gallon barrel? Get a shovel and see if you can fill the barrel up with dirt in 10
minutes. Can you lay hands on some old telephone poles or logs? buy and ax and
see how many 2" lengths you can chop off in 10 minutes. Use your imagination, but
work your ass off for 10 minutes doing something strenuous and hard.
If you use a system like this, it is very easy to adapt when you get close to a
competition. Simply drop 20lbs or so off of your poundages on your strength
workout, and put a stop watch on your workout. Try to get through it quickly, and
quicker as time goes by. And add on another conditioning exercise. Start with a 10
minute break between your first and second conditioning exercise, as time goes by
decrease this rest period till you are going straight from your strength work to your
first conditioning exercise and straight from your first to second 10 minute
conditioning session.
Another adaptation that will be useful when going from "off-season" to preparing for
a fight might be to lower the reps and raise the weight on the conditioning if you are
far away from a fight and more worried about getting stronger than increasing
conditioning. For example, when doing the vertical exercise, you might want to
move to a weight you can only get done 20 times in 10 minutes, and stick with that
weight till you can do 40 reps in 10 minutes. This example can be applied to most of
the other examples of conditioning drills that i mentioned. When your attention
turns to conditioning as a fight gets closer, continue with the same drills, but go to a
weight that allows more reps and more continuous movement.
For a lower level fighter or combat athlete, sport specific mat work and conditioning
work plus 3 workouts a week like this should have you in good enough shape to
compete. For a higher level athlete, of course the mat work will increase, but, you
will eventually do more than 3ea 10 minute sessions after your strength session,
and eventually start adding in single then multiple sessions on the days you have off
from strength training.
This is, IMO, a reasonable approach to strength work for MMA. It has the variety of
movements that are appropriate to a sport where you can find yourself in any
position and must be strong in all of them. It has an appropriate amount of strength
work for an athlete who is training for a difficult sport on top of doing the strength
work. It also has just enough structure, if you repeat the same list of conditioning
movements in order, to determine if progress is being made. This is important,
because it allows you to compete with your own performance 10 or 12 days before
every time you do a conditioning exercise. You push harder when you have a
number to compete with. It also has a reasonable approach to switching from "offseason" work to getting ready to compete.
Some of you who are looking for workouts or conditioning plans might want to give
something like this a try. No, its not the best plan around for a big bench or a huge
squat, but I think you would like how good of condition it would get you in for a
combat sport like Judo, MMA, or wrestling.
-----------------Here is the original FAQ. It doesn't contain anything that isn't in the new FAQ but
there might be other interesting ideas in the 180 or so responses to it.
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/st...q-read-436935/
__________________
"It's always heaviest before a big PR"
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