Josh Barnett on Lifting for MMA

The work in question here is not 9 to 5, clerical, labor, busy or normally classified as work in general. The work I'll ramble about today is work in the gym or lifting weights. Oh, so because you do BJJ, Kickboxing or some other "Martial Art" you have now put-off or even perhaps shunned weight lifting or strength training? What's that? Your Sensei/Professor/Sifu/Guro/Swami has you do ancient martial breathing and a few body weight exercises so you don't need to lift weights? Same "Amazing Kresskin" says, "Lifting weights will make you big and inflexible and less able to deflect chi attacks"? All of that is shit and when push comes to shove being bigger, stronger and faster always means something. Always.

I here so much talk about technique conquering all and to practically sacrifice athleticism for technique in sparring. While I can certainly agree that technique is a very crucial and vital aspect in martial arts, I always preach: "Technique within strength." This means that if you lack the strength or athletic ability to make said techniques work, then you are bound to fail. I have witnessed and been subject to countless times when the more skilled technically athlete is unable to execute simply because they were not strong enough or fast enough or both.

This is were strength training becomes vital and by strength training I don't just mean hopping into your local iron works, doing some bodybuilding and thinking you're building the foundation for success. I mean building raw, usable, explosive power that you can execute over and over again throughout a match without tiring. It also means gaining size in lean mass and dropping excess fat

 

Good read!

 

Great find. Any link to the source?

 

He posted it on his MySpace, I actually found out about it from another thread in The Contenders - but over there they only posted half of the article so I went to his MySpace and got the whole thing and dumped it on here.

 

Thanks dude!

 

Josh barnett agrees with us, knew there was a reason I liked the guy.

Nice find, thanks for posting.

 

Josh is the man. Just when ou think you can like the guy any more than you already do, BOOM, there it is. He is my new mancrush now.

 

Thanks for the article man.

 

Barnett is a pretty cool guy, and that is an awesome piece.

*wishes Josh posted in S&P*

 

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=43407027&blogID=379902803

Link for those who want it.

 

Nice read. Thanks.

 

Very nice. I'd never really been a big Barnett fan, but am a lot more now.

 

Edit that link into the OP. vince, and can we get this put into the FAQ? That was awesome. I like how he says that isolation movements are good, but don't focus on them and he emphasized the power and oly lifts.

War Josh!

 

Fucking finnaly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Great read. I do Muay Thai and lift weights, from my personal experience Josh

 

Josh Barnett is a lurker here?

 

It always blows my mind watching Josh fight, he looks big and slow, and he moves *fast*.

 

FAQ is over max post length for the forum, only way for me to redo it is to pull the post, break it up and post in multiple posts in the same thrread, will get done, but I need to be in the right mood. Besides josh basically just agrees with the whole faq there.

 

How can you not like Barnett? He knows his shit, is always helping teach others, and doesn't takes himself too serious. The Elephant Man line he dropped after the Pride OWGP had me in stitches.

 

Excellent.