S&C for mma should i do circuit training?

[ironkhan57]

Hey so i've lifted weights before, i've gotten a little bigger from that im the past 3 years, and i use to do circuit training alot, but i stopped for some reason because i wasn't able to lift for a while. So now i'm trying to get back in it but i don't have any money for a S&C coach so thats why i'm training myself, and i have friends who are amatuer mma fighters and they say circuit training is the only way to get stronger so should i circuit train everytime i go to the ymca or should i just do a normal workout routine? I'm trying to build explosive power in my punches, kicks knees and elbows. And can you guys give me a few exercises to help with explosive power, i know theirs the clean and jerk, theirs box jumps and jump squats and snatches, but what else is their should i do battle rope exercises, also? And should it be a different set of exercises everytime?

 

[Kiwi Tricker]

You should read the FAQs. You have a million and one questions, and I guarantee almost any strength and conditioning questions you have, especially big, broad ones like this, can be answered in the FAQs.

Read, absorb, learn, then come back if you have any actual specific questions.

 

[ironkhan57]

You should read the FAQs. You have a million and one questions, and I guarantee almost any strength and conditioning questions you have, especially big, broad ones like this, can be answered in the FAQs.

Read, absorb, learn, then come back if you have any actual specific questions.

I did read the facts they never said anything about circuit training or how it should be.

 

[j123]

I did read the facts they never said anything about circuit training or how it should be.

Yes it does

A: Circuits can be useful for saving time when training for strength/hypertrophy/local muscular endurance, easing into training after a lay-off, and can even have cardiovascular benefits (look up PHA circuits for more on this). But when it comes to picking a random bunch of exercises and bundling them together into a circuit that feels hard and makes your muscles burn, you need to take a step back and ask yourself: "what are my goals and how is this going to help me achieve them?"

Also, you're a beginner, use this as a basic guideline

Building your Conditioning from the Ground Up

A very general blueprint for conditioning training progression of an average beginner athlete starting from point zero could look like the following:

1. a lot of lower-intensity work (ideally, this phase is carried out in developmental stages of young athletes): long-lasting structural adaptations towards a greater SV, local adaptations in the slow-twitch fibers (greater capillarity, more powerful mitochondria)
2. some lower-intensity + some higher-intensity work (threshold training, or intermittent training slightly above AT): possible adaptations towards maintaining max SV at higher heart rates, local adaptations in the slow-twitch fibers, local adaptations in some faster-twitch fibers
3. some lower-intensity + some very-high-intensity work: maintaining the previous long-lasting adaptations, building up the ability of the entire local aerobic system component to support all-out anaerobic efforts (both slow and fast-twitch fibers), building up anaerobic power

 

[ironkhan57]

Yes it does



Also, you're a beginner, use this as a basic guideline

ok the third quote i didn't understand so can you explain it to me? like what is a twitch fiber and a capillarity and a mitochondria.

 

[Kiwi Tricker]

ok the third quote i didn't understand so can you explain it to me? like what is a twitch fiber and a capillarity and a mitochondria.

Skeletal muscle is composed of a couple different types of muscle fibers, fast twitch and slow twitch. Fast twitch (Type II) muscle fiber is more employed during shorter, more intense efforts, as it is more powerful but lacks endurance. Slow twitch (Type I) muscle fibers on the other hand have more endurance, but are less powerful. There are also Type IIA muscle fibers which, simply put, have some characteristics of both.

A capillary is the smallest blood vessel in your body. If fresh blood is push out from the heart, first it travels through arteries, which then branch off to arterioles, then into capillaries which deliver the blood to the body and retrieve the waste products. Simply put, greater capillary density in a muscle means it can get more fuel (oxygen) and recycle substrates quicker, which increases endurance of it.

Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell.

We can give you all the copy-paste answers you want but none of it will actually help you, because you don't understand the "why" of it. If you want a decent and basic introduction, I recommend reading Ross Enamait's stuff, especially the books Infinite Intensity and Full-Throttle Conditioning. FTC doesn't deal with any strength training stuff (which Infinite Intensity does), but it gets a little more into the details around conditioning, and you'll learn a fair bit from reading it.

When you've wrapped your head around the ideas and concepts in those books well enough, then I would highly suggest reading some of Joel Jamieson's work. He's a bit more in-depth than Ross in terms of the science he presents in his material, but that makes it all the more worth reading. Ross's books are an easier time learning, and introduce some things fairly well, which is why I recommend them to you first, but it's definitely a good idea to build upon the knowledge you get from those books with others.

Learning and understanding will also be good for you in that it will prevent that wishy-washy, programme-jumping tendency that kids have- and from my understanding, based on the gist of your posts, you're still pretty young. Learn. Absorb. Understand. You should be concerned at wanting to know how to do things right, and what makes doing those things doing it the right way, as opposed to just wanting to be told what to do. If you are responsible for your own S&C then take responsibility for it and learn something- don't just fumble around in the dark, hoping to bump into what you need.

 

[Deleted member 429137]

Hey so i've lifted weights before, i've gotten a little bigger from that im the past 3 years, and i use to do circuit training alot, but i stopped for some reason because i wasn't able to lift for a while. So now i'm trying to get back in it but i don't have any money for a S&C coach so thats why i'm training myself, and i have friends who are amatuer mma fighters and they say circuit training is the only way to get stronger so should i circuit train everytime i go to the ymca or should i just do a normal workout routine? I'm trying to build explosive power in my punches, kicks knees and elbows. And can you guys give me a few exercises to help with explosive power, i know theirs the clean and jerk, theirs box jumps and jump squats and snatches, but what else is their should i do battle rope exercises, also? And should it be a different set of exercises everytime?

Google Istvan Javorek's complexes. He basically created the modern complex and he used them for his wrestling team, so if complexes are the way you want to go then he's a great example to follow.

If I were you, I'd follow the Dan John Simple Strength method: lift for strength, using a few key lifts for 2x5 so there's little fatigue build-up, and use your sport for conditioning. Conditioning can be emphasized in the weight room when you're prepping for a fight.

I see a lot of people on here recommending full weightlifting / bodybuilding programs (usually 5-3-1 or Starting Strength) and I don't understand how they do it because those programs are taxing for people who are ONLY lifting weights. Training MMA should take priority, imo.

but I'm not an expert, so whatever.

 

[Tosa]

A typical 5/3/1 program (Because there's like a billion variations, so I'm not going to try and make a blanket statement covering every iteration) should definitely not be too taxing for someone who is training MMA. For people who's primary activity in strength training, they typically find the a typical 5/3/1 program is too little work, so they either do a variation that adds in significantly more volume, or they switch to another program that has more significantly more volume. (That said, I'd actually suggest the Juggernaut Method over 5/3/1).


If you want to improve power, circuits are one of the last things you should be doing.

 

[ironkhan57]

A typical 5/3/1 program (Because there's like a billion variations, so I'm not going to try and make a blanket statement covering every iteration) should definitely not be too taxing for someone who is training MMA. For people who's primary activity in strength training, they typically find the a typical 5/3/1 program is too little work, so they either do a variation that adds in significantly more volume, or they switch to another program that has more significantly more volume. (That said, I'd actually suggest the Juggernaut Method over 5/3/1).


If you want to improve power, circuits are one of the last things you should be doing.

Whats the juggernaut method, and the 5/3/1, and what do you mean circuits are the last thing i should do?

 

[Tosa]

The juggernaut method and 5/3/1 are both common, and straight forward, strength training programs, that can work well for people who have athletic priorities other than strength training. Rather than me trying to explain them in detail, I would suggest just googling them, as I'm not going to be able to explain them any better than what's already been written about them.

Fatigue limits power - that is, producing as much force as possible, in a limited amount of time. So when training for power, whether you're doing sprints, jumps, throws, olympic lifts, etc - you want to be as fresh as possible for each set, and each set to be brief. That way, you'll produce as much power as possible during each repetition. I could go into some of the physiological details, but the simple explanation is that the body is going to primarily adapt to whatever stress is greatest from a particular training session, so if you do a circuit, the stress is going to be primarily endurance/conditioning, so that will be what you improve on, with improvements to power being modest to negligible.

Now, for some skill work, and as you get closer to a fight, you might control rest times, and increase repetitions, to train some power-endurance, but during the majority of your training you should be training power and conditioning separately. This means at least separate training sessions, and at a higher level, you might even have separate training blocks focusing primarily on one or the other.

 

[JauntyAngle]

^ To re-iterate what Tosa says: you get what you train for. If you want to move quickly and with great force, you need to do training where you move quickly and with great force. When you do circuits you are huffing and puffing, dragging your ass from one station to the next, forcing yourself to keep going even while you are obviously slowing down. That ain't "quickly and with great force".

 

[ironkhan57]

The juggernaut method and 5/3/1 are both common, and straight forward, strength training programs, that can work well for people who have athletic priorities other than strength training. Rather than me trying to explain them in detail, I would suggest just googling them, as I'm not going to be able to explain them any better than what's already been written about them.

Fatigue limits power - that is, producing as much force as possible, in a limited amount of time. So when training for power, whether you're doing sprints, jumps, throws, olympic lifts, etc - you want to be as fresh as possible for each set, and each set to be brief. That way, you'll produce as much power as possible during each repetition. I could go into some of the physiological details, but the simple explanation is that the body is going to primarily adapt to whatever stress is greatest from a particular training session, so if you do a circuit, the stress is going to be primarily endurance/conditioning, so that will be what you improve on, with improvements to power being modest to negligible.

Now, for some skill work, and as you get closer to a fight, you might control rest times, and increase repetitions, to train some power-endurance, but during the majority of your training you should be training power and conditioning separately. This means at least separate training sessions, and at a higher level, you might even have separate training blocks focusing primarily on one or the other.

So what do you mean power, you mean when i'm in my muay thai class i should focus on power or do you mean focusing on explosive power?

 

[Tosa]

So what do you mean power, you mean when i'm in my muay thai class i should focus on power or do you mean focusing on explosive power?

When you're in your Muay Thai class, you should train as you're being coached to. Assuming you have a good coach, I wouldn't try to tell you to train Muay Thai any differently. What I can tell you is how you to train athletic qualities, like power, or conditioning, that contribute to Muay Thai, but are often trained separately.

Explosive power is redundant. When people talk about being explosive, they mean being able to produce as much force as possible in a limited amount of time. And in the context of athletics, that's the same thing as power.

 

[ironkhan57]

When you're in your Muay Thai class, you should train as you're being coached to. Assuming you have a good coach, I wouldn't try to tell you to train Muay Thai any differently. What I can tell you is how you to train athletic qualities, like power, or conditioning, that contribute to Muay Thai, but are often trained separately.

Explosive power is redundant. When people talk about being explosive, they mean being able to produce as much force as possible in a limited amount of time. And in the context of athletics, that's the same thing as power.

Ok so for muay thai and mma should i do the 5/3/1 method? Or should i just do a circuit?

 

[Tosa]

I would recommend 5/3/1 over a circuit, yes. And juggernaut over 5/3/1.

 

[ironkhan57]

I would recommend 5/3/1 over a circuit, yes. And juggernaut over 5/3/1.

Ok i looked up the 5/3/1 method and it told me to do waves like wave 1 would be 5 reps each set, but isn't it suppose to be 5 then 3 then 1? And does it have to be squats overhead press bench. Press and deadlift?

 

[Tosa]

Ok i looked up the 5/3/1 method and it told me to do waves like wave 1 would be 5 reps each set, but isn't it suppose to be 5 then 3 then 1? And does it have to be squats overhead press bench. Press and deadlift?

Wave 1 is 5 reps each set, wave 2 is 3 reps each set, wave 3 is one set of 5, one set of 3 and one set of 1. With the last set being potentially a rep out set, or the possibility of joker sets, down sets, etc. There's many variations.

The lifts don't necessarily have to be those lifts, but they should be basic compound lifts, where that training approach makes sense. And you should have at least some kind of squat, some kind of heavy pull off the ground, and some kind of pressing exercise. However, 5/3/1 would not be a suitable approach for any olympic lift.

 

[ironkhan57]

Wave 1 is 5 reps each set, wave 2 is 3 reps each set, wave 3 is one set of 5, one set of 3 and one set of 1. With the last set being potentially a rep out set, or the possibility of joker sets, down sets, etc. There's many variations.

The lifts don't necessarily have to be those lifts, but they should be basic compound lifts, where that training approach makes sense. And you should have at least some kind of squat, some kind of heavy pull off the ground, and some kind of pressing exercise. However, 5/3/1 would not be a suitable approach for any olympic lift.

Ok is it suppose to be 1 of those exercises a day? When i looked it up it said to do one of those exercises a day. And would dumbell exercises be good or does it have to be barbell exercises? And i normally don't do bench press because it slows down my punches.

 

[ironkhan57]

Wave 1 is 5 reps each set, wave 2 is 3 reps each set, wave 3 is one set of 5, one set of 3 and one set of 1. With the last set being potentially a rep out set, or the possibility of joker sets, down sets, etc. There's many variations.

The lifts don't necessarily have to be those lifts, but they should be basic compound lifts, where that training approach makes sense. And you should have at least some kind of squat, some kind of heavy pull off the ground, and some kind of pressing exercise. However, 5/3/1 would not be a suitable approach for any olympic lift.

Am i suppose to do 1 week wave 1 the next week wave 2 and the next week wave 3 and the next week wave 4?

 

[Tosa]

Ok is it suppose to be 1 of those exercises a day? When i looked it up it said to do one of those exercises a day. And would dumbell exercises be good or does it have to be barbell exercises? And i normally don't do bench press because it slows down my punches.

It depends on the variation of the program. For MMA, you might not be lifting weights as often, so you might arrange it as:

Day 1: Squat, Bench, supplemental exercises
Day 2: Deadlift, Overhead Press, supplemental exercises

The problem with using dumbbell exercises is that is doesn't translate well to a percentage based program, or gradual progressions. You can still do dumbbell exercises as supplemental exercises.

What makes you think bench press slows down your punches?

Am i suppose to do 1 week wave 1 the next week wave 2 and the next week wave 3 and the next week wave 4?

Yes.