Powerlifter transitioning to MMA

L

Lofteren

White Belt
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First, I think a little history is required. I have been thinking of transitioning to mma from powerlifting and strongman. I have done kyokushin karate, judo and bjj in the past and competed in all of them but that was 10 years ago. Since then I have been competing in powerlifting and strongman meets. During that time I have kept my striking skills somewhat from doing bag drills as a means of conditioning. I have never fought in MMA and, from what I understand, it is quite a different beast than standing or grappling alone. I have about 40-50lbs to shed before I am at a body composition suitable for stepping in the cage but I would like to maintain as much muscle mass and strength as possible. This would put me at around 250-260 fighting weight. I put together a training plan and would like some of you more experienced guys to critique it for me.

Sunday: Rest

Monday:
AM: Sprints (400 meters, I will periodize these)
PM: MMA Class

Tuesday:
PM: Deadlift and Overhead Press + some back work(I will keep the rep/set scheme similar to what a strongman would do. I will also cycle lift variations.)

Wednesday:
AM: Sprints (100 meters, I will periodize these)
PM: MMA Class

Thursday:
PM: Bodyweight workout (push ups, sit ups, pull ups for time)

Friday:
PM: Squat and Bench Press + some back work(Same as deadlift and ohp)

Saturday:
MMA Class

As for diet, I have recently lost 45lbs and managed to maintain all of my strength and actually PR a couple lifts so I'll probably just keep the diet the way it has been. I will modulate volume and intensity on all of the strength and conditioning work so that I train in 20 week blocks. I figure I'll be ready for my first match after 2 years of training this way (trying to be realistic here).

I spoke with some fighters on a different forum and they recommended a couple changes so it would look more like this:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: MMA Class
(Add a LISS session in the AM after a month or two of training. Start small and work up in distance/intensity)

Tuesday: Deadlift/OHP/Accessory lifts and maybe a little heavy bag work or shadow boxing if I'm feeling good

Wednesday: MMA Class
(Add 400 meter sprints after a month or two of training. Start with lower volume and work up)

Thursday: MMA Class Calisthenics

Friday: Squat/Bench Press/Accessory lifts and maybe a little heavy bag work or shadow boxing if I'm feeling good

Saturday: MMA Class

They also recommended that I do a lot of shadow boxing which I could add in on any day that I had some extra time.

Sorry for such a long post but I wanted it to be detailed. Thanks in advance for your input.
 
Looks good, but I would recommend shifting your Monday training to Sunday and take Monday off. That way, you will be well rested before your deadlift day. I would also go light on Thursday and not burn myself out before a squat day.

I've trained BJJ/Muay Thai and powerlifting in the past with decent results but not without some making rookie mistakes at the beginning of the training. Numerous times, I wasn't smart about the planning and would burn myself out, overtrain, and not make progress in all three training. The key is to periodize and not go hard at every training or you will overtrain. Come competition time (about 4 weeks out) and I would usually deload on all my lifts so I can train harder on BJJ/Muay Thai. Hope this helps.
 
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Thunderkopf said:
Looks good, but I would recommend shifting your Monday training to Sunday and take Monday off. That way, you will be well rested before your deadlift day. I would also go light on Thursday and not burn myself out before a squat day.

I've trained BJJ/Muay Thai and powerlifting in the past with decent results but not without some making rookie mistakes at the beginning of the training. Numerous times, I wasn't smart about the planning and would burn myself out, overtrain, and not make progress in all three training. The key is to periodize and not go hard at every training or you will overtrain. Come competition time (about 4 weeks out) and I would usually deload on all my lifts so I can train harder on BJJ/Muay Thai. Hope this helps.
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Yea, I'm sure I'll have to move things around here and there with the ebb and flow of my training just like I did with powerlifting. It's a work in progress :) Thanks for the input.
 
Just be glad you are not a crossiftter asking about transitioning to MMA. God help a CFer who comes around here asking about that.
 
I suggest you read the articles about Tim Sylvia. I wish you well, which means I hope you are smart enough to stay away from MMA.
 
emax said:
Just be glad you are not a crossiftter asking about transitioning to MMA. God help a CFer who comes around here asking about that.
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Not to mention that crossfit is gay.
 
emax said:
Just be glad you are not a crossiftter asking about transitioning to MMA. God help a CFer who comes around here asking about that.
Click to expand...

Trying to explain to a Crossfitter the benefits of periodization is like trying to explain to a religious fanatic the theory of evolution and that the world is not 4000 years old. It ain't gonna work out.
 
Plan looks good. Do as much MMA skills training as possible basically.

Use shadow boxing as a warmup for lifting. Every second counts.
 
Thunderkopf said:
Trying to explain to a Crossfitter the benefits of periodization is like trying to explain to a religious fanatic the theory of evolution and that the world is not 4000 years old. It ain't gonna work out.
Click to expand...
I get that you're trying your best to be funny but if you're going to make claims against ignorance its best not to come off as ignorant yourself.
 
Bludshed said:
I get that you're trying your best to be funny but if you're going to make claims against ignorance its best not to come off as ignorant yourself.
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Couldn't have said it better myself. People's willingness to turn every conversation into a political or religious debate never ceases to amaze me.
 
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Bludshed said:
I get that you're trying your best to be funny but if you're going to make claims against ignorance its best not to come off as ignorant yourself.
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It's just a joke. And jokes aren't meant to be taken seriously.
 
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