"Traditional" Weight-Lifting Application For MMA

systema

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I'm going to keep this question as straight-forward as possible: I recently bought a set of kettlebells (12kg, 16kg, and 20kg) and have been swinging and goblet-squatting with those for a while. I have noticed that because of the lower weight of the kettlebell I'm able to rack up a ton of repetitions. Is this the type of strength and conditioning training a typical MMA fighter would do? I've lately felt the need for some more resistance so I bought a 300 lb olympic barbell set over the holiday from the local sporting goods store and have been bench-pressing with that. What's disconcerting with the bench is that it totally isolates the front part of your shoulders and chest, hardly a "full body" effort that is apparently required for martial arts...Is there a better way of going about using my barbell? I have been using the k.bells and pull up bar for some time now but I want to increase strength without unnecessary hypertrophy...
 
1)If the Bench Press is being trained for Strength rather than hypertrophy, then it is a full body exercise. You will tighten your core and drive with your legs, while keeping your arse on the Bench.

2)Don't worry about developing a specific type of strength for MMA. Just get stronger. Period. Then apply that strength through the skill set of your chosen sport.

3)If you wish to focus on strength rather than hypertrophy, use low reps(1 - 3)and heavy weights. Take plenty of rest between sets.

4)If you wish to significantly increase your overall strength, then you will need to start Squatting and Deadlifting as well as Benching. If you don't have the space for or can't afford Squat Stands, I would strongly recommend you join a good Gym.

Happy New year, and good luck.
 
What's disconcerting with the bench is that it totally isolates the front part of your shoulders and chest, hardly a "full body" effort that is apparently required for martial arts

You go do a set of 3 with 90% of your 1rm on the bench and then tell me whether it's a full-body exercise or not.
 
Start doing power cleans, front squats, deadlifts (and deadlift variations), bent over rows, and standing presses. You can get a great workout with those exercises. Front squatting what you can clean won't build your strength and 1 rep max back squat as quickly as squatting heavier weights off a rack will, but it will still build strength. Keep weight heavy, reps low, and rest between sets at least 3 min to focus on strength.
 
Your kettlebells are really light. It's usually recommended you start with a 16kg bell and move up to a 24kg bell.

If you have an Olympic weightlifting set and you want to lift full body (which is great), look into deadlifting, squatting (or quad-dominant alternatives you can do without a rack), overhead pressing and bent-over rowing. If you get strong at those four moves you're going to be a real beast.
 
get a 24kg and a 28kg kettlebell and do some really high rep shit, like 500 swings.

the 16kg is good for snatch specific stuff like V02 max training. A guy here turned me on to a program for V02 max with a KB and its 0retty amazing.
 
Is there a better way of going about using my barbell?

Yes.

Bench. Squat. Overhead press. Row. Squat. Deadlift.

You want full-body strength, then train your whole body. A barbell is a useful tool, and you can strengthen your whole body with one if you use it correctly. No need to turn into a bench monkey.
 
If you don't want to put on weight don't raise your calories. I wouldn't worry so much about the rep range, for continued strength gains you'll want to lift low, moderate and even high reps at times. If you want to really keep your weight down keep the leg training to a minimum, many fighters seem to do this, although I'd at least do deadlifts and only do it to keep at a weightclass I can barely make (Tibau style for instance).
 
I'm going to keep this question as straight-forward as possible: I recently bought a set of kettlebells (12kg, 16kg, and 20kg) and have been swinging and goblet-squatting with those for a while. I have noticed that because of the lower weight of the kettlebell I'm able to rack up a ton of repetitions. Is this the type of strength and conditioning training a typical MMA fighter would do? I've lately felt the need for some more resistance so I bought a 300 lb olympic barbell set over the holiday from the local sporting goods store and have been bench-pressing with that. What's disconcerting with the bench is that it totally isolates the front part of your shoulders and chest, hardly a "full body" effort that is apparently required for martial arts...Is there a better way of going about using my barbell? I have been using the k.bells and pull up bar for some time now but I want to increase strength without unnecessary hypertrophy...

MMA is a really young sport without a centralized team system, government sponsorship, or effective means of establishing and spreading best practices. There's very little that's typical compared to say boxing or wrestling.
 
I'm going to keep this question as straight-forward as possible: I recently bought a set of kettlebells (12kg, 16kg, and 20kg) and have been swinging and goblet-squatting with those for a while. I have noticed that because of the lower weight of the kettlebell I'm able to rack up a ton of repetitions. Is this the type of strength and conditioning training a typical MMA fighter would do? I've lately felt the need for some more resistance so I bought a 300 lb olympic barbell set over the holiday from the local sporting goods store and have been bench-pressing with that. What's disconcerting with the bench is that it totally isolates the front part of your shoulders and chest, hardly a "full body" effort that is apparently required for martial arts...Is there a better way of going about using my barbell? I have been using the k.bells and pull up bar for some time now but I want to increase strength without unnecessary hypertrophy...

As a side note. Good purchases. With that and a decent pair of running shoes, you can target damn near any strength quality or energy system.

Do you have any sports you're preparing for/goals?
What's your training history like?
 
As a side note. Good purchases. With that and a decent pair of running shoes, you can target damn near any strength quality or energy system.

Do you have any sports you're preparing for/goals?
What's your training history like?

Thanks man. I bought all that gear based on stuff I've read from trainers and fighters. I don't practice martial arts but my philosophy is that if I am going to strength train and be serious about getting fit I'd like my approach to be similar to how a fighter would go about getting in shape.
 
get a 24kg and a 28kg kettlebell and do some really high rep shit, like 500 swings.

the 16kg is good for snatch specific stuff like V02 max training. A guy here turned me on to a program for V02 max with a KB and its 0retty amazing.

I have a 20 kg, didn
 
No, its a good weight. Do swings and turkish getups with it. I actually use a lighter KB for high rep snatches, I usually use a 16kg but Im just recently getting serious about the KB snatch and using a v02 max protocol and I like to do things like 200 rep KB snatch challenges.

That
 
No, its a good weight. Do swings and turkish getups with it. I actually use a lighter KB for high rep snatches, I usually use a 16kg but Im just recently getting serious about the KB snatch and using a v02 max protocol and I like to do things like 200 rep KB snatch challenges.

Is the KB snatch really a good conditioning exercise though? Doing them for high reps would seem to lose the explosive benefits of high weight snatches as well as unduly tiring the CNS. Personally I use KB's for warmup farmers carries before I transition to the trap bar (loaded with my bodyweight) for conditioning so not speaking from experience here, just seems like quite a convoluted exercise to try and grind away for high reps.
 
It's kind of similar to rowing. Lots of muscles moving through a large range of motion with a significant relaxation period. Nothing works better than running (much as I hate to admit it), but snatching can be done in place in a relatively small area without making a lot of noise or going outside.
 
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