Just look at many MMA heavyweights. They lift a lot, and last a long time. Heavy weights and proper cardio can go together. You will never reach your maximum strength potential, but that's not what you are aiming for anyway. Moderate and light weights are pretty pointless compared to what you could be doing. Incidentally, there was a topic on t-mag about some guy who started his girlfriend deadlifting twice a week instead of using lame light weights - you should have seen her behind after a few weeks! Awesome!
I'm still not sure why so many people think that doing a bunch of light weights will bring up your endurance. That's like saying if you run for miles and miles and miles everyday you'll have great endurance and I think we've seen that this is not the type of endurance that a martial artist needs. The way endurance works best is with strength behind it, we then have strength-endurance. Light weights can be used to increase endurance when used in conjunction of a power periodization block, accelerative type lifting, or ballistic lifting. The best way to harness endurance is to use maximal weights and very short rest periods. Matt Wiggins talks about this at his site www.workingclassfitness.com and here is the article http://www.mmaweekly.com/this_week/weekly_columns/columns-08-03.html#strength. Go down to the one titled Strength-endurance training.
Not really pointless. Look at a guy like Royce who uses moderate weights. Top bloke, top fighter, no heavy weights. Admittedly others look better in speedos, but their you go. I personally do not WANT a load of bulk - mobile bulk or otherwise - so for me mid-level weights suit my fitness goals. 10-12 reps as opposed to 8 seems to work very well. I am not saying heavy weights are no good, just no good for what I want. A different slant on the angle, I followed the "Farmer" Burns program using light weights and I enjoyed it so much I incorporated it into my personal schedule. The worry with light weights is when people start using the like they ae heavy weights - now that is when you get poor results. 50 pounds lifted a 10 times is more use to me than 500lbs lifted once
Ironically, your 10-12 reps will lead to sarcoplsamic hypertrophy (read: big, fluffy muscles) rather than functional hypertrophy. The ones with the load of bulk are the ones doing the higher rep ranges that you are doing as opposed to the guy that lifts 500 pounds once. So, you gain more weight but have less strength than you could to carry it and that makes for a slower, weaker fighter or person sparring. Let's take two individuals that both weigh 200 pounds. One does low reps, heavy weight; the other does high(er) reps and lower weights. One is going to be much stronger and faster than the other one. I still don't get why we're assuming that lifting weights alone is going to lead to someone being a behemoth.
I love an analogy Arnie once gave, ever heard someone go to Tiger Woods and ask him to teach them how to play golf, but not that they get good enough to be a professional?
Exactly. Hannibal - Maybe you need to open your mind a little to this. Heavy weights do not have to make you big if you train the right way. Check out Blessed_Samurais post for an explanation. Yes, Royce might use moderate weights but I'm pretty sure his success is down to his skills rather than anything he's got from weight training. Heavy weights do not mean huge muscles.
I am pretty open Adam! I follow two types of routine at the moment - the Royce Gracie "Superfit" one (which I find is giving me very good results) and callisthenics a la Furey/Enamait et al My "moderate" is a weight i can shift for 10 reps per set, but struggle on my last set. That is what I have found gives me the best results. When I lifted heavier and lower I was shifting more and was a lot bigger but I was also more injury prone. Now my stretching and other routine stays more or less constant so it is not a case of "not doing enough flex". For me, the heavy weights did not work as well. An example, I currently do a dumbell bench press using 2x22kgs. This is not that heavy but gives me good results for what I need. I find that complimented with Hindus/pushups etc I am acheiving my fitness, combative and cosmetic goals AT THE MOMENT. (as an aside, anyone who says they do not want to look good by going to the gym is a damn liar in my book!) I am not a power lifter so I do not need to powerlift. If you get good results from that type of training I am happy - but I did not and it was on a structured program. I just do not respond well to that form of training. My muscles are not that big and are certainly not fluffy. They are damn effective though at pounding out when they are needed - and I need them more than most And yes I am sure about the 50lbs 10 times thing - it is a touch of bathos, but gets my point over.
As Bewater and myself constantly repeat - there are good, better and best ways of training. What you are doing is good because you are actually doing something and it appears to be contributing. However, if you were to start using a protocol more like the classic 5X5, you would see a very good increase in strength and power. Injuries are mostly down to poor form or an imbalance of some sort, and if you addressed any of these possible factors, you would be much safer. Also, if you were to keep the rest down between sets, you would be working on your strength-endurance, which it seems you really want to develop. You seem to be rather attached to this Gracie book, obviously relating it to his success. Great an athlete as he may be, he is evidently not the best strength coach around simply because of the protocol that appear to be promoted by his book. 10 reps are kept for bodybuilding, not strength training. Remember, his training might be good, but it doesn't seem to be the best! Why spend time in the gym gaining half as good as you could be doing using better methods? There are many better coaches around who train pro MMAists and I suspect if they trained Mr Gracie back in the day, he would be even better. Matt Furey talks his stuff up to sell a product. That is all I have to say about him. The bodyweight exercises he uses have value, but once you can do 15-20, there will be little increase in strength after that. High rep calisthenics is also a poor way of increasing endurance. Interval training via your cardio of choice is far better, especially if you were to use the heavy bag. The 50lbs lifted ten times is not as useful as the 500lbs lifted once. If you can only lift 50lbs ten times, you are weak. If you can lift 500lbs once, you are strong. If you train properly, you can be this strong, and also be in good enough shape to last longer than other, weaker people.
Dunno how relevant this will be but: The way the pro BB'ers do it is they build strength for a period of time, 6*4 pure strength. Low reps high sets or a 5*5 routine. They build a large amount of strength but then train for ypertrophy and the results are fantastic
Ads, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this! I do accept that you actually know more than me about the weights side of things - like I said I am no expert. But Royce's book was written in conjunction with James Strom who is a recognised strength coach so - with full respect - I suggest he may know more than you I have had far better results with the bodyweight stuff than any weight program - period. That is for me PERSONALLY, like I said before. With weights I use quite strict form and only 30- 45 seconds rest between sets. Usually I aim for 3-4 sets because any more than that and I start to lose form. Periodically I work to failure for a bit of a "kickstart". Equally I said the "50/500 ration was bathetic (yes that is a "b"). It is an exagerrated way of saying I will take endurance over strength as that works better for me. My cardio consists mainly of bagwork and rope - I have started on the treadmill again as a personal challenge because I HATE running. I generally prefer training that reflects how I fight. I do still remain open, but after 16 years in the arts I have kind of got used to what my body tells me, and right now this routine works very well indeed. As an interesting aside I also use an old "bullworker" - now that is great fun! Currently I weight 190lbs with 12% bodyfat. That is about normal for me. In "fighting shape" (which I haven't been in for a while) I weigh in at around 180bs with 8% bodyfat - but I look like a tandori chicken.
yes but all the countless strength coaches who trained WORLD-class strength athletes for sure know more than Royce and James. Have you even tried a pure strength oriented weight training before? The excitement of beating your previous PR is just one of the great aspects of strength training.
Yep - like I said it worked, but not as well as my current routine(s). That does not of course mean it will not work for others. I think it is a case of horses for courses - right now what I do works well for what I want. At the risk of turning this into "Hannibals training schedule" thread I suggest this effectively ends my contribution. I did take all comments on board - no honestly! As a complete aside, my wife prefers how I look right now too - and there is not a thing ANYONE in the known world will be able to do to alter that. I am a lover as well as a fighter you know!
