Should I be weight training?

[Kapanda**]

Yes, I am.

The thread starter is new to lifting, though. Powerlifting and weightlifting are distinctly different, and the kid does not know the difference. It is our responsibility to, even if we cannot provide incredibly useful advice, to at least not give him wrong information.

And often for noobs, it is better to learn the lifts from the top down than from the bottom up. I have no problem allowing that this depends on the individual, but can wind up being fairly significant.

point taken.

ditto

 

[thewhiteSRR]

Synthetic test has helped almost every aspect of all the various martial arts I've done in my life. Get on it.

this

 

[belph]

this

Try harder.

 

[Poseylifts]

i didnt really read any of the replies. but ive made amazing gains since i was 15 and started mixed martial arts. im 21 now, and i weight 158 lbs on average, i fight at 145, and im 511.
in my opinion, start with 2 25 lb dumbells, and a barbell and some weights.

do these workouts on one day. 4 sets times 7-10 reps. explode up, go down slow. before you do this workout, shadowbox(or do the bas rutten tapes!) for 25-30 mins, as well as LEARN HOW TO JUMPROPE. and then start your lifting.


dumbell curls+hammercurls(5each, do a curl and hammer curl on one arm, then the next;thats one rep.

barbell shoulder press+bent over row(do 5 shoulder press, then without dropping the weight, 5 bent over rows.

bench press+elevated push ups(5 bench, five push ups, you get it.)

dumbell overhead squat+barbell deadlift

dumbell lunge+dumbell box step up

finish the day with some STRETCHING and a light run or some more shadowboxing or pad drills. take 50 grams of protein an hour before, and 50 grams 30 mins after. aswell as once when you wake up. id recommend one more rep or some kind of pre workout, but dont start drinking it til your down with the cardio at the beggining. inbetween your sets, wait a minute and a half. keep it simple like this and after 2 weeks youll understand your body enough to know what to look for next.
good luck. hope you try it out.

Don't do this. Ever.

SS, Stronglifts, 5/3/1 with more aggressive weight jumps, go with one of those. Don't do some bullshit "Functional" training with KBs or all DB routine or all BW routine that you probably see a lot of people doing of you want to get strong.

 

[Captivate]

i didnt really read any of the replies. but ive made amazing gains since i was 15 and started mixed martial arts. im 21 now, and i weight 158 lbs on average, i fight at 145, and im 511.
in my opinion, start with 2 25 lb dumbells, and a barbell and some weights.

do these workouts on one day. 4 sets times 7-10 reps. explode up, go down slow. before you do this workout, shadowbox(or do the bas rutten tapes!) for 25-30 mins, as well as LEARN HOW TO JUMPROPE. and then start your lifting.


dumbell curls+hammercurls(5each, do a curl and hammer curl on one arm, then the next;thats one rep.

barbell shoulder press+bent over row(do 5 shoulder press, then without dropping the weight, 5 bent over rows.

bench press+elevated push ups(5 bench, five push ups, you get it.)

dumbell overhead squat+barbell deadlift

dumbell lunge+dumbell box step up

finish the day with some STRETCHING and a light run or some more shadowboxing or pad drills. take 50 grams of protein an hour before, and 50 grams 30 mins after. aswell as once when you wake up. id recommend one more rep or some kind of pre workout, but dont start drinking it til your down with the cardio at the beggining. inbetween your sets, wait a minute and a half. keep it simple like this and after 2 weeks youll understand your body enough to know what to look for next.
good luck. hope you try it out.

Great post. Make sure to exactly wait 90 seconds in between sets. This is VERY important. In fact, this is more important than the Earth being round.

I also like the "keep it simple like this" part.

You're 16, Starting Strength is a fantastic program for beginners. /thread.

 

[Gingervitis]

TS, whatever you do don't do what theswan says. Most everything has already been said but just to add: read through the faq, there's a lot of good info in there especially for beginners. If you want to get strong, pick a proven routine like starting strength or stronglifts and follow them. Also if you don't want to get bigger but still get stronger then don't eat a caloric surplus (or a very small one) and you'll stay at your weight.

Couple last things:
- don't let your ego make you do more weight then you can do with proper form (weight training is a marathon, not a sprint so no need to rush)
- that said make sure you learn good form with the lifts, if you take form check videos and post them here a lot of the experienced guys can give you good feedback

Good luck with your lifting.

 

[TheOnz**]

Make sure to exactly wait 90 seconds in between sets.

how bout no... especially if your encouraging SS

you rest as long as necessary between sets... DO NOT compromise your performance

-SS wiki

 

[EchoBoomer]

I put a 14 year old wrestler on starting strength for about six months. Once he started squatting heavy he actually started growing taller. When he started he was around my height, 5'7", by the time we were done he was 5'9.5"!!! I am not bullshitting, nor am i saying squatting alone did this, i mean at fourteen he probably had a growth spurt. However, i do believe that squatting might have triggered his growth spurt.

Also, if weightlifting stunts your growth, why are all the football players and top strength athletes so godamn big???

 

[theswan]

Don't do this. Ever.

SS, Stronglifts, 5/3/1 with more aggressive weight jumps, go with one of those. Don't do some bullshit "Functional" training with KBs or all DB routine or all BW routine that you probably see a lot of people doing of you want to get strong.

for mma, and someone that is small and wants to have functional strength, not looking good or beefing up, my routine works fine. if the kid wants to lift some heavy shit and get bulky and big thats all fine, but at the weight i fight at, i cant afford to have huge muscles. especially when im standing at 511. im just as strong as most people in my gym and i stayed pretty lean when i was following this.

 

[Eric Brown]

for mma, and someone that is small and wants to have functional strength, not looking good or beefing up, my routine works fine. if the kid wants to lift some heavy shit and get bulky and big thats all fine, but at the weight i fight at, i cant afford to have huge muscles. especially when im standing at 511. im just as strong as most people in my gym and i stayed pretty lean when i was following this.

Good thing diet does not play a role in bulking up. Or, of course, that minor things like learning how to squat properly (with a barbell) actually helps build things like strength, vertical jump and explosive power (note correlation between squat strength, vertical jump and sprint speed in many athletes).

And, of course, the simple (and supported) point that things like the squat (using a barbell) is superior to the lunge, or pretty much any exercise for leg development (basing this of EMG analysis of multiple exercises over decades).

Or, of course, that a simple routine, such as SS, formed around compound lifts will actually teach good technique on the main lifts from day one, build a solid foundation from which he can build, and strengthen important muscle groups.

Nah, he is better off doing curls and other crap. Relatively minor things like using a barbell lift to increase inter- and intra-muscular coordination, motor unit recruitment and rate of force development are all secondary to doing a DB overhead squat where you are limited in the weight you can use by your ability to balance dumbbells. Of course, using a barbell allows you to use more weight with less risk of injury, but I suppose that is not important either.

 

[theswan]

Good thing diet does not play a role in bulking up. Or, of course, that minor things like learning how to squat properly (with a barbell) actually helps build things like strength, vertical jump and explosive power (note correlation between squat strength, vertical jump and sprint speed in many athletes).

And, of course, the simple (and supported) point that things like the squat (using a barbell) is superior to the lunge, or pretty much any exercise for leg development (basing this of EMG analysis of multiple exercises over decades).

Or, of course, that a simple routine, such as SS, formed around compound lifts will actually teach good technique on the main lifts from day one, build a solid foundation from which he can build, and strengthen important muscle groups.

Nah, he is better off doing curls and other crap. Relatively minor things like using a barbell lift to increase inter- and intra-muscular coordination, motor unit recruitment and rate of force development are all secondary to doing a DB overhead squat where you are limited in the weight you can use by your ability to balance dumbbells. Of course, using a barbell allows you to use more weight with less risk of injury, but I suppose that is not important either.

im not worried about limiting my weight by balancing, because my core should be strong enough to balance it out, which is just as important for strength. i wasnt trying to tell the dude how to diet ect, he didnt ask for that. he asked if he should be strength training, i told him what worked for me.

 

[Eric Brown]

im not worried about limiting my weight by balancing, because my core should be strong enough to balance it out, which is just as important for strength. i wasnt trying to tell the dude how to diet ect, he didnt ask for that. he asked if he should be strength training, i told him what worked for me.

It is not the core that limits your ability to balance dumbbells overhead. If this is the case, well, your abs, obliques and lower back are so weak you might be better served by taking a yoga class. For seniors.

The ability of the external rotators and small muscles around the shoulders limit your ability to both stabilize and maintain the proper position of the dumbbells overhead. Which means that your legs are once again not getting worked effectively. And, of course, there is an increased risk of injury when using dumbbells due to the instability of the process (and if anyone tries to bring it up, if you state that an unstable overhead squat is superior to a barbell overhead squat, you may wish to support that).

So the only real leg work you are getting is lunges, which suck in comparison to squats. So your routine is top-heavy, curl-heavy, with increased risk of injury in comparison to a solid, balanced routine.

And, of course, lifts such as the squat, deadlift and overhead press all work your core (using this term for simplicity, even though it is stupid).

 

[TeddyRoosevelt]

for mma, and someone that is small and wants to have functional strength, not looking good or beefing up, my routine works fine. if the kid wants to lift some heavy shit and get bulky and big thats all fine, but at the weight i fight at, i cant afford to have huge muscles. especially when im standing at 511. im just as strong as most people in my gym and i stayed pretty lean when i was following this.

You, sir, know very little about strength training, or the correlations between strength training / nutrition / bodyweight and body composition.

Your routine worked "fine" for you; another routine would probably have worked better, and you would have an increased BW/strength ratio.

 

[theswan]

You, sir, know very little about strength training, or the correlations between strength training / nutrition / bodyweight and body composition.

Your routine worked "fine" for you; another routine would probably have worked better, and you would have an increased BW/strength ratio.

well, i cant say something else wouldnt have worked better cause i dont do the same stuff now. but to be quite honest, i havent changed a whole lot haha. and to the guy above you, i do squats now, but i hated them back then, and ive always had strong legs so i didnt do them. and when i started back it sucked haha. but yeah man. maybe i have good genetics? i also eat pretty well. the 5/3/1 thing seems interesting. but to be honest i havent tried that either. i usually lift once a day, and do sprints, sled drags ect once every 3 days, and i do jiu jitsu every morning and spar every other night. i guess im probably wasting my gym time then. haha

 

[Eric Brown]

and to the guy above you, i do squats now, but i hated them back then, and ive always had strong legs so i didnt do them. and when i started back it sucked haha. but yeah man. maybe i have good genetics?

This is what everyone who does not squat very much seems to say. Care to post a vid of your squats? Should not be a problem, what with your legs being so strong and all. As someone who has worked to improve his squat for decades, I am always interested in seeing the awe-inspiring prowess of people with superior genetics that allows them to develop strength above and beyond what mere mortals can accomplish toiling away in the squat rack.

i also eat pretty well. the 5/3/1 thing seems interesting. but to be honest i havent tried that either. i usually lift once a day, and do sprints, sled drags ect once every 3 days, and i do jiu jitsu every morning and spar every other night. i guess im probably wasting my gym time then. haha

Yeah, you probably are.

 

[WitchCraft]

I think 16 is the perfect age to start.

I agree! I wish I could go back in time and start lifting at 16.

TS, I'm a girl and we're about the same weight. PLEASE start lifting

 

[theswan]

This is what everyone who does not squat very much seems to say. Care to post a vid of your squats? Should not be a problem, what with your legs being so strong and all. As someone who has worked to improve his squat for decades, I am always interested in seeing the awe-inspiring prowess of people with superior genetics that allows them to develop strength above and beyond what mere mortals can accomplish toiling away in the squat rack.





Yeah, you probably are.

yeah man ill post it up tomorrow for ya.

 

[Captivate]

Grabbing popcorn.

 

[Eric Brown]

I agree! I wish I could go back in time and start lifting at 16.

TS, I'm a girl and we're about the same weight. PLEASE start lifting

Um, ouch.

TS, you really need to lift.

 

[triangle killer]

I agree! I wish I could go back in time and start lifting at 16.

TS, I'm a girl and we're about the same weight. PLEASE start lifting

Well I guess I have to now