Matt Thornton
Amateur Fighter
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2004
- Messages
- 1,890
- Reaction score
- 1
Alright. For anyone who's new to the powerlifting forum, I am in no way a big contributer to this thread. My strength needs some work. So whenever I'm on here, I either have my mouth shut (err... more like hands tied; I'm not really talking am I) and listen, or I ask questions. So Urban, Carnal, Coach D; whoever, I could totally be wrong on this. So of course feel free to give your 2 cents.
So. Bodyweight exercises. From what I understand, there's a bit of a debate on these. They've sometimes gotten a bad reputation because of guys like Matt Furey. To me, they're not a replacement for lifting weights, but they still serve an important purpose in a Combat Athletics program.
If you're wondering what bodyweight exercises will do for you, don't think they will make you as strong as lifting weights. "I can do 400 straight pushups! I'm really strong!" While that's an incredible feat to accomplish, 400 pushups straight is more an indication of your muscular endurance, which really is not a determining factor in pure strength or power.
I'm also a little tired of hearing "They make you control your own body weight." If you weigh 210 pounds, you weigh 210 pounds. Plain and simple. The difference between a 210 pound man doing a handstand pushup, and doing an overhead press with 210 pounds, is that the pushup takes a little more balance.
But, what they WILL do for you, is 2 things that are very important, not just in Combat Sports, but sports in general: mental discipline, and muscular endurance.
Mental discipline. This is one of the main things I pulled out of Ross Enamait's "Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness." If you don't have this book, definitely check it out. It's a total No-B.S. approach to training. It basically tells you to suck it up, stop being a pansy, and get your ass training. The thing I've found with exercises like pushups, is you can do a lot more than you think you can. The average person will stop doing pushups when they feel pain. The warrior will keep cranking them out. When you continue to push yourself with lots of pushups and sprints and bodyweight squats, you're building mental discipline. You're teaching yourself to ignore pain and fatigue, and to keep going, and this is a determining factor in victory, especially in combat. I can't tell you how many guys I've rolled with, who in the first 3 minutes, will be kicking my ass, because they have 2, 3, or 4 years compared to my 4 months in No Gi BJJ, but if I can defend those submissions for the first 3 or 4 minutes, I've actually beaten them, because they got tired and gave up.
Muscular Endurance. It's something else that's really important. For those of you who do MMA, we do a tough sport to condition for. Because we're combining stand-up fighting, wrestling, and ground fighting, our bodies demand different types of training. I see it like this: for stand-up fighting, your body is going to rely more on explosive strength. Plyometrics are key to giving you faster, harder punches, quicker and more powerful kicks, and fast takedown shots. Once you reach the clinch range (whether you're in the Thai clinch, Greco clinch, or you're grabbing his legs driving for a takedown), this is where strength comes more into play. Powerlifting is important for the strength you need to dominate in the clinch. When you hit the ground, while strength and explosiveness are important, you're going to need muscular endurance. Bodyweight exercises, IMO, are really good for this. Anyone who's wrestled at a meet or competed in a grappling tournament can attest to how tired your muscles get. Muscular endurance is something you really need, and sometimes it's neglected.
Don't get me wrong. Plyometrics, powerlifting, and bodyweight exercises aren't strictly confined to one area of MMA. You need speed, strength, and endurance in all areas of fighting. Plyos are also great for an explosive takedown, as well as an explosive bridge in Jiu-Jitsu. And powerlifting will help you in whatever you do.
I just see it like this. If you're a competitive athlete, especially a combat athlete, these 3 types of exercises are equally important. While a lot of people just stick with Plyos and Powerlifting (mostly because they're just more fun), I think bodyweight exercises play an important role in giving you both muscular and mental endurance, which is something that's really going to help you in the long run.
So. Bodyweight exercises. From what I understand, there's a bit of a debate on these. They've sometimes gotten a bad reputation because of guys like Matt Furey. To me, they're not a replacement for lifting weights, but they still serve an important purpose in a Combat Athletics program.
If you're wondering what bodyweight exercises will do for you, don't think they will make you as strong as lifting weights. "I can do 400 straight pushups! I'm really strong!" While that's an incredible feat to accomplish, 400 pushups straight is more an indication of your muscular endurance, which really is not a determining factor in pure strength or power.
I'm also a little tired of hearing "They make you control your own body weight." If you weigh 210 pounds, you weigh 210 pounds. Plain and simple. The difference between a 210 pound man doing a handstand pushup, and doing an overhead press with 210 pounds, is that the pushup takes a little more balance.
But, what they WILL do for you, is 2 things that are very important, not just in Combat Sports, but sports in general: mental discipline, and muscular endurance.
Mental discipline. This is one of the main things I pulled out of Ross Enamait's "Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness." If you don't have this book, definitely check it out. It's a total No-B.S. approach to training. It basically tells you to suck it up, stop being a pansy, and get your ass training. The thing I've found with exercises like pushups, is you can do a lot more than you think you can. The average person will stop doing pushups when they feel pain. The warrior will keep cranking them out. When you continue to push yourself with lots of pushups and sprints and bodyweight squats, you're building mental discipline. You're teaching yourself to ignore pain and fatigue, and to keep going, and this is a determining factor in victory, especially in combat. I can't tell you how many guys I've rolled with, who in the first 3 minutes, will be kicking my ass, because they have 2, 3, or 4 years compared to my 4 months in No Gi BJJ, but if I can defend those submissions for the first 3 or 4 minutes, I've actually beaten them, because they got tired and gave up.
Muscular Endurance. It's something else that's really important. For those of you who do MMA, we do a tough sport to condition for. Because we're combining stand-up fighting, wrestling, and ground fighting, our bodies demand different types of training. I see it like this: for stand-up fighting, your body is going to rely more on explosive strength. Plyometrics are key to giving you faster, harder punches, quicker and more powerful kicks, and fast takedown shots. Once you reach the clinch range (whether you're in the Thai clinch, Greco clinch, or you're grabbing his legs driving for a takedown), this is where strength comes more into play. Powerlifting is important for the strength you need to dominate in the clinch. When you hit the ground, while strength and explosiveness are important, you're going to need muscular endurance. Bodyweight exercises, IMO, are really good for this. Anyone who's wrestled at a meet or competed in a grappling tournament can attest to how tired your muscles get. Muscular endurance is something you really need, and sometimes it's neglected.
Don't get me wrong. Plyometrics, powerlifting, and bodyweight exercises aren't strictly confined to one area of MMA. You need speed, strength, and endurance in all areas of fighting. Plyos are also great for an explosive takedown, as well as an explosive bridge in Jiu-Jitsu. And powerlifting will help you in whatever you do.
I just see it like this. If you're a competitive athlete, especially a combat athlete, these 3 types of exercises are equally important. While a lot of people just stick with Plyos and Powerlifting (mostly because they're just more fun), I think bodyweight exercises play an important role in giving you both muscular and mental endurance, which is something that's really going to help you in the long run.