Mixing Martial Arts w/weight training w/o overtraining....

[Arith]

Hi guys. Ive been back to lifting heavy for about 2 months now and have made some very good, steady gains. My main goal is strength gain because i am a police officer and i feel it is important for my safety at work.

Last week i began training in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). An officer i work with runs a MMA gym called Straight Blast Gym and it has a great reputation. I began to train w/them because it is something that will get me into great shape and its also something that would be good for my safety at work.

The training sessions are incredibly intense w/live drills and full contact sparing and wrestling for 2 hours on tuesdays and thursdays. I also have been working out w/weights monday, wensday and friday. I had training last night and today i am very very sore. I dont want to overtrain or injure myself so i was thinking of doing weights 2 times a week. I figure my legs are getting enough of a workout during the training to maintain or gain strength in them. I was considering doing the following:

Monday: Chest/Shoulders/Tricepts
Tuesday: Mixed Martial Arts
Wensday:Rest
Thursday: Mixed Martial Arts
Friday: Squats and Back/Bi
Weekend Rest

Does this seem like a good schedual? The training i cannot change, those are the days its held but how does the weight trainign look? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[LAM]

you can't effective train the 2 biggest body parts legs & back in the same training session...

 

[Arith]

Ok, then what about eliminating legs altogether since they get worked very hard during martial arts training?

 

[LAM]

I've been taking MA for over 17 years and your legs don't get that much work not compaired to resistance training. especially if you are looking to add some size. MA training will not do that.

maybe something like this:

Monday: Back/Traps
Tuesday: Mixed Martial Arts
Wensday:Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Thursday: Mixed Martial Arts
Friday: Legs/Biceps
Weekend Rest

 

[Arith]

Thanks LAM. Im really not interested in size at all, just strength. Ill have to look into trying the split you describe and maybe try it. I was just worried about not having a break between MMA training sessions.

 

[LAM]

if your diet is in check you will have no problems recovering from your MA or resistance training sessions...

 

[miamiguns]

17 years in MA? You would surely know that fast effective kicks cannot be used with big legs. Remember that MA show that had that chubby chinese actor "Sammo"? He had a fat stomach but his legs weren't that fat and he could still move like a pro MA.

Arith, Check out some MA books for excercise ideas. I have Mas Oyama's Complete Karate Course book and it's a good start.

 

[LAM]

Originally posted by miamiguns
17 years in MA? You would surely know that fast effective kicks cannot be used with big legs.

lol ! you know nothing about muscle fiber recruitement.

 

[miamiguns]

I don't. Why don't you tell us how muscle fiber recruitement can lift a leg faster.

 

[Burner02]

well, look at a Olympic sprinters legs. These men are the fastest humans on the planet..and they have huge, very muscular legs.
If the muscles are stretched and have full ROM, size shouldn't matter, if trained for the use of kicking. (make sense?)


I don't follow UFC, so don't remember many names..but I do rememebr Ken Shamrock. He was pretty muscular. And quick. I would hate to get connected with that oak tree of a leg of his..

 

[darklight]

For the olympic spinters, power is needed! They do heavy lifting in legs training!

 

[maniclion]

To be an effective MA you need swift, powerful kicks much like a sprinter because you want to take your opponent out as fast as possible.

 

[IRONWARRIOR]

I have trained in Kyokushin karate for 20 years I started when I was 6, and yes You can have fast effective kicks with BIG MUSCULAR legs! But you must pratice all your kicks fast and stretch alot and never let up or you will slow down from lack of training..! ever see former K-1 champ and former kyokushin champion...the late ANDY HUG? he had very muscular legs and he could throw devastating! very very fast powerful kicks easily its all training..I also visited Venice beach about 8 years ago the summer I first got into bodybuilding and looked into the aerobics room to see a 250lb 'off season' body builder named 'Flex Wheeler' doing splits and kicks with ease....it can be done..I'am 5'9 220lbs and can throw kicks faster then some 150lb guys but mine also do alot more damage..Train hard!