Why isn't olympic type lifting incorporated more in MMA strength training?

Straightcross

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No other lifts have increased the power and explosiveness of my punches as much as the clean + strict press have. It's not only the strength increase but also an increase in coordination and the ability to use my entire body as a chain. I know olympic lifting puts a lot of strain on the shoulders and it might lead to injuries from overuse since hitting pads/bags/sparring/drills also involve a lot of shoulder work but is there another reason?
 
Olympic weightlifting is one of the primary types of strength training done by fighters and other athletes.
 
^ Sure about this? Weight lifting for sure, but Olympic style?

I would think that if an athlete is not already proficient in those lifts, his coach might not think it's worth spending time on learning technique and proper form, when more basic lifts like squats etc. will certainly build enough strength for MMA..
 
Squats, cleans (usually a power variation), and presses are pretty standard in most athletic programming. Are you looking at data that suggests fighters are not doing them?
 
The full olympic lifts are 1) Relatively high skill to practice
2) best expressed when the athlete has relatively low accumulated fatigue.

MMA athletes have a very wide berth of skill practice needed for minimum competency to begin with, and may have limited time, as a very small percentage of the athletes have the budget to be able to train full time compared to say professional football players.

If a given athlete has a lot of money and free time, and individualized coaching, or learned a high degree of competency in the lifts from youth athletics, then a smart coach can probably incorporate them more easily.
If an athlete doesn't already have high proficiency in the lifts, and has a part-time job, then it would probably be wiser to use lower-skill means like med ball throws and plyometrics, as well as sprints for power development, and the power lifts for strength qualities.
 
I've seen many mmartists doing the Oly lifts...just usually in the Crossfit circuit fashion.
 
They do, but form is awful. Doesn't matter because they are trained to fight.
 
A simpler variation like the power clean or power snatch will do most of the work you'd want for a fighter's strength programming. Doing the true lifts is of course great, but might require more work than is optimal.
 
They do, but form is awful. Doesn't matter because they are trained to fight.

Form wasn't great, but better than I expected. He muscled up most of them, but still looked like he was trying to generate most of the power from triple extension. And his OH squat looked better than most.
 
The full olympic lifts are 1) Relatively high skill to practice
2) best expressed when the athlete has relatively low accumulated fatigue.

MMA athletes have a very wide berth of skill practice needed for minimum competency to begin with, and may have limited time, as a very small percentage of the athletes have the budget to be able to train full time compared to say professional football players.

If a given athlete has a lot of money and free time, and individualized coaching, or learned a high degree of competency in the lifts from youth athletics, then a smart coach can probably incorporate them more easily.
If an athlete doesn't already have high proficiency in the lifts, and has a part-time job, then it would probably be wiser to use lower-skill means like med ball throws and plyometrics, as well as sprints for power development, and the power lifts for strength qualities.


Great point.

I think the best lift a fighter can do is probably the power clean. It's not too technical to learn like a full snatch or clean and jerk, and it really gives some great gains. Finding the time to do them isn't too terrible. You really only need to do a few sets of low reps to reap the benefits. You don't need a full olympic program. In my cycle right now, I do hang cleans from the hip crease after I do squats.
 
As mentioned above they have a high skill level (meaning hours spent just praticing form) MMA fighters need to be in and our of the weigh room ASAP. Bang for you buck. Making Basic Deads, Squats, Bench and Press a better alternative.

Also IMO olympic lifts are higher risk. It only takes one bad rep of throwing weight over your head explosively to rip your shit up. Add in that fighters are ussually already fatigued from grueling fight camps and its not worth the risk.
 
@OP, where exactly are you getting your information on this? It seems like you're making assumptions, which for the most part are pretty untrue.
 
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