Squats for Mma

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ali137

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I heard squats are pretty good for mma and do you guys know how many should someone do them a day or any squats programm for strengh in legs for mma etc
 
Smolov.

(Jk)

It would be better to have your current stats to explain more about squats and when/how to.
There is no one correct answer.
 
Any of the standard 5x5 programs sound like they would be up your alley. Google Starting Strength, Stronglifts, or just check out the FAQ for this subforum.
 
It depends what your goals are. Are you doing it for conditioning? strength? balance?
 
ali137 said:
I heard squats are pretty good for mma and do you guys know how many should someone do them a day or any squats programm for strengh in legs for mma etc
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You should consult a personal trainer. Squatting with improper form with a lot of weight can hurt you. A personal trainer will help you obtain your workout goals while teaching you the basics and keeping you safe. For right now, I suggest a body weight squat exercise off YouTube. Just google proper form before hand and your good to go.
 
Starting strength novice program as long as you can, then a heavy light medium program works really well when you stop progressing on the novice. I know some people have a problem with the way rip teaches squats, but he’s extremely through in his book and there’s countless resources for videos, form checks, etc.

If I were to do it all over again I’d do starting strength novice lp as long as I could, especially during the time off for the pandemic, then switch to hlm. But that includes buying the books and doing them as written, not some half assed internet variation. Stronglifts 5x5 is stupid and a shit program by the way, but the guy who made the webpage is an excellent marketer and web designer
 
Smato_rules said:
Starting strength novice program as long as you can, then a heavy light medium program works really well when you stop progressing on the novice. I know some people have a problem with the way rip teaches squats, but he’s extremely through in his book and there’s countless resources for videos, form checks, etc.

If I were to do it all over again I’d do starting strength novice lp as long as I could, especially during the time off for the pandemic, then switch to hlm. But that includes buying the books and doing them as written, not some half assed internet variation. Stronglifts 5x5 is stupid and a shit program by the way, but the guy who made the webpage is an excellent marketer and web designer
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it looks good but i dont have any weight to do that programm
 
Mate. That is a very good thing to bring up. I personally, from several of my fight camps have noticed that squats alone do not work for me too well. I like to add variation and make them more challenging. Some of the variations I can recommend include Jumping squats, pistol squats, sumo squats, and lunge squats. I think this also helps mix up your spectrum, add to your overall agility, explosiveness, and are generally also very functional exercises. Try it out and let me know what you think. Stay safe and healthy mate!
 
Smato_rules said:
Starting strength novice program as long as you can, then a heavy light medium program works really well when you stop progressing on the novice. I know some people have a problem with the way rip teaches squats, but he’s extremely through in his book and there’s countless resources for videos, form checks, etc.

If I were to do it all over again I’d do starting strength novice lp as long as I could, especially during the time off for the pandemic, then switch to hlm. But that includes buying the books and doing them as written, not some half assed internet variation. Stronglifts 5x5 is stupid and a shit program by the way, but the guy who made the webpage is an excellent marketer and web designer
Click to expand...

Interested in your opinion here. What makes Starting Strength superior to Stronglifts 5 x 5? I've never done SS but isn't the novice program the same except with power cleans subbed in for bent over rows? I count myself among a lot of other people who've had great results with 5 x 5.
 
Smato_rules said:
Starting strength novice program as long as you can, then a heavy light medium program works really well when you stop progressing on the novice. I know some people have a problem with the way rip teaches squats, but he’s extremely through in his book and there’s countless resources for videos, form checks, etc.

If I were to do it all over again I’d do starting strength novice lp as long as I could, especially during the time off for the pandemic, then switch to hlm. But that includes buying the books and doing them as written, not some half assed internet variation. Stronglifts 5x5 is stupid and a shit program by the way, but the guy who made the webpage is an excellent marketer and web designer
Click to expand...

How is it that SL is stupid and shit, but SS is great? Appears to me that the two programs are too similar to be considered that differently.
 
ChickenBrother said:
Interested in your opinion here. What makes Starting Strength superior to Stronglifts 5 x 5? I've never done SS but isn't the novice program the same except with power cleans subbed in for bent over rows? I count myself among a lot of other people who've had great results with 5 x 5.
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Starting strength is 3 sets of 5 across, stronglifts is 5 sets of 5 across. The real difference between the two is how they progress into the advanced novice and intermediate stage. Starting strength has you do 3 sets of 5 across then eventually switch to drop sets of 95-90% of your first set for the next two. So you’d be doing 1 set of 315, 2 sets of 95-90% of 315. That is a very short period, then you switch to an intermediate program such as Texas method, heavy light medium, or 5/3/1, and yes starting strength guys do actually recommend 5/3/1 sometimes.

Stronglifts has a novice lifter do 5 sets of 5 across, which is extremely taxing, especially since a novice has not built up any work capacity. Once you can’t do 5 sets of 5 you drop to 3 sets, then 2, then 1 set of 5. This is all written on the stronglifts website.

The problem with stronglifts is that it makes a novice lifter lift with their highest volume when their progress is easiest, then tapering down volume when it’s actually needed. A novice does not need to do 5 sets across to get stronger, and it’s counterproductive because they will not recover doing that three times a week. You need to increase volume as an intermediate to get results, but dropping volume to only one set of five at advanced novice stage is stupid.
 
Smato_rules said:
Starting strength is 3 sets of 5 across, stronglifts is 5 sets of 5 across. The real difference between the two is how they progress into the advanced novice and intermediate stage. Starting strength has you do 3 sets of 5 across then eventually switch to drop sets of 95-90% of your first set for the next two. So you’d be doing 1 set of 315, 2 sets of 95-90% of 315. That is a very short period, then you switch to an intermediate program such as Texas method, heavy light medium, or 5/3/1, and yes starting strength guys do actually recommend 5/3/1 sometimes.

Stronglifts has a novice lifter do 5 sets of 5 across, which is extremely taxing, especially since a novice has not built up any work capacity. Once you can’t do 5 sets of 5 you drop to 3 sets, then 2, then 1 set of 5. This is all written on the stronglifts website.

The problem with stronglifts is that it makes a novice lifter lift with their highest volume when their progress is easiest, then tapering down volume when it’s actually needed. A novice does not need to do 5 sets across to get stronger, and it’s counterproductive because they will not recover doing that three times a week. You need to increase volume as an intermediate to get results, but dropping volume to only one set of five at advanced novice stage is stupid.
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Starting a novice lifter with 5x5 vs. 3x5 is a fair argument. But if you start with light enough weight (Stronglifts website recommends starting with just the bar), I think the extra sets can be useful to build muscle memory around and reinforce correct form. In my case I started doing 5x5 after 20 years doing upper body lifts (BP, bent over rows, landmine, etc) in conjunction with combat sports and lots of running. My BP and BOR were probably at advanced novice level but my squats were f'ing embarrassing. My ego wouldn't let me start with just the bar but I started much lighter than I could handle (I think 155) and the extra 2 sets were great to help me internalize proper squat form until the weights started feeling heavy around 225.

When I started doing BJJ again 3 years ago, my body couldn't sustain all that cardio and still recover between 5x5 sessions, so I switched to 3x5. But at that point I had already milked my linear gains anyway and wasn't making regular progress. I had previously progressed through 5x5 to 3x5 to 3x3 (as Stronglifts site recommends) but I found 3x3 wasn't enough volume for me to progress unless I started lifting heavier, ate more, got more sleep and cut out the extraneous cardio and other exercise.

In short, I think either 5x5 or 3x5 can be a valid way to get to intermediate level. At that point, unless they're in a pure strength sport most athletes will probably be in the upper third of their sport as far as strength and can decide their own personal trade off between more strength focus or sport specific training.
 
ChickenBrother said:
Starting a novice lifter with 5x5 vs. 3x5 is a fair argument. But if you start with light enough weight (Stronglifts website recommends starting with just the bar), I think the extra sets can be useful to build muscle memory around and reinforce correct form. In my case I started doing 5x5 after 20 years doing upper body lifts (BP, bent over rows, landmine, etc) in conjunction with combat sports and lots of running. My BP and BOR were probably at advanced novice level but my squats were f'ing embarrassing. My ego wouldn't let me start with just the bar but I started much lighter than I could handle (I think 155) and the extra 2 sets were great to help me internalize proper squat form until the weights started feeling heavy around 225.

When I started doing BJJ again 3 years ago, my body couldn't sustain all that cardio and still recover between 5x5 sessions, so I switched to 3x5. But at that point I had already milked my linear gains anyway and wasn't making regular progress. I had previously progressed through 5x5 to 3x5 to 3x3 (as Stronglifts site recommends) but I found 3x3 wasn't enough volume for me to progress unless I started lifting heavier, ate more, got more sleep and cut out the extraneous cardio and other exercise.

In short, I think either 5x5 or 3x5 can be a valid way to get to intermediate level. At that point, unless they're in a pure strength sport most athletes will probably be in the upper third of their sport as far as strength and can decide their own personal trade off between more strength focus or sport specific training.
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Sure that makes sense, but I think it’s a bit of a waste too. I just think starting strength is a more logical approach, with an extremely clear path and how to manage any setbacks. We will have to agree to disagree on the 3 or 5 sets, but any program that has a novice squatting three times a week will gain results, that we both do know
 
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