Training Archives - Fightingsportslab

Superficially MMA might seem like a sport of brute force and strength. But in reality, it is far from it. Many people who are new to the world of MMA wonder, do MMA fighters lift heavy weights to improve strength? While some MMA fighters do indeed lift weights, almost all of them avoid heavy lifting. The reason is; while MMA fighting requires a lot of strength and technique, increasing muscle mass isn’t always necessary and sometimes even counterproductive. That is just the gist of it and there’s still a lot to unpack here. From the type of lifting actually helpful for MMA fighters to how they train in reality. All of which I will discuss in this article. So, keep on reading to get the full picture. Do MMA Fighters Need to Weightlift? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUgpkOBSjcA Weightlifting is a great way to improve strength and many fighters will indeed do weightlifting if they lack in that department. But that isn’t the way to improve one’s fighting capabilities. MMA fighters will usually train in other ways to improve their speed, mobility, fighting techniques, etc. to deliver heavier blows to their opponents faster. It is true that weightlifting helps you improve your strength and increases muscle mass. But that is not what most MMA fighters need. MMA fighters do not need to improve their lifting capabilities; they need to have fast reflexes and deliver decisive blows quicker. And there are a lot of other types of exercises that help them in that regard. MMA fighting is very diverse and each fighter is unique with their own style and move sets. Take a look at Conor Mcgregor style And they all require training regimens that fit their style too. But, in general; MMA fighting requires speed, agility, mobility, good reflexes, and most importantly, good technique. Difference Type Of Force Required For An MMA Fighter There’s a difference between the type of strength you need to lift a very heavy weight and the type of strength you need to punch someone effectively. In lifting your body is prepared and you push a large mass upwards, note that this is a pushing motion. While on the other hand, when you punch or land any other kind of fighting blow, you are not pushing like you would while lifting. You might be doing a thrusting motion, but the proper motions of punching are a snapping motion. While heavy lifting is a great way to increase your strength, it will not help in developing your blows. There are tons of other exercises that will. So, to put it in the simplest of terms, no, MMA fighters do not need to lift. Why MMA Fighters Usually Avoid Heavy Lifting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v49Q15Fxdc While lifting isn’t the most ideal exercise for MMA fighters, why do even the ones that need the strength increase avoid heavy lifting? The reason is that heavy lifting increases muscle mass. For MMA fighters, increasing muscle mass can mess up their techniques and can even make them unfit for their weight group which is not ideal. The way heavy lifting helps you increase your strength is that it increases your muscle mass. If you compare the physique of a professional weightlifter and an MMA fighter you will see that weightlifters are much larger and bulkier. Heavy lifting does that to you. While increasing your muscle mass is not a bad thing in general but it can be bad in the context of MMA. In MMA there’s a heavy emphasis on being speedier and more agile than your opponent. Fighters try to lose as much bulk as they can while retaining their strength to become faster. Increasing bulk poses two different problems for MMA fighters. First, it can decrease their speed and agility as more bulk can indeed slow a person down. Second, it can make them unfit for the weight group they are in, which can be a detrimental scenario for a fighter who is not prepared for advancing their weight group. Weight groups matter a lot in MMA, different weight groups have differences in how the fights go. And if a fighter decides to advance their weight group, there is a lot of training they need to do besides increasing their weight. For fighters who do not want to advance their weight group, heavy lifting can pose a lot of problems. What Kind of Lifting Do MMA Fighters Do? Some amount of lifting can help some MMA fighters. But that lifting is not heavy lifting. Lifting with high weights and low reps is not helpful for MMA fighters. Lifting with low weights and high reps can help MMA fighters build endurance and resistance. Lightweight compound lifting is what most trainers recommend for MMA fighters. These kinds of lifting exercises include lighter weights and more movement. They also require more complex movements that exercise multiple muscles without adding more bulk to them. These kinds of lifting don’t just improve lifting capabilities, they help build resistance and endurance. This can in fact help a fighter improve their agility and reflexes by building up a multitude of muscles. Compound lifts such as bench presses, deadlifts, squats, etc. build up multiple muscles at the same time and can be very helpful to MMA fighters. Light lifting that helps build endurance and muscle strength without adding bulk is the type of lifting that can help MMA fighters. Increasing bulk is something that MMA fighters almost need to avoid. Related : Why do MMA fighters need to cut weight? How Do MMA Fighters Train for Fighting? Every MMA fighter is different and they all have vastly different training systems. But in general MMA fighters tend to focus a lot on improving the martial art part. Sparring, improving techniques, building up core muscles, improving speed, agility, reflexes are all things an MMA fighter has to keep in mind while training. MMA fighting gets its varied and exciting qualities from the fact that fighters use a lot of different martial arts and you get to see different disciplines pinned against one another. Fighters have to train a lot to improve their martial art techniques. Practicing the moves, sparring with a partner, or trying them out on a dummy are all essential training. Other than the martial art part, usually, fighters tend to train and exercise to improve their strengths in sections they feel the need to improve in. Building up core muscles is also a great idea. Usually, the training differs a lot from fighter to fighter. There’s a tendency in MMA fighters to try out everything, so it is very common to see fighters train and exercise with a mix of many different training regimens. Every fighter is different and their training is different too. Fighters most of the time join a gym and train under a coach. A coach can help you determine which sectors you have lacking in and what training you can do to improve. But overall, your main focus needs to be on improving your martial art techniques first. Related : What do mma fighters eat before a fight You Might be interested : MMA fighter that use karate Conclusion While heavy lifting can help a small percentage of MMA fighters, for most of them it can be very counterproductive. Some amount of light lifting can be helpful, but there are a lot of other types of training an MMA fighter can focus on that can improve their mobility and technique. I hope this article was able to educate you on whether or not do MMA fighters lift heavy weights. If you are interested in MMA fighting and wish to pursue it then I’m sure that this article will provide you some insight on how MMA fighting is more than just simple punches and kicks. A lot of science and strategy goes behind each MMA fighter's training.