If you’ve ever felt torn between bench-pressing your way to Hercules status or working on your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques, you’re not alone. Finding the right balance between strength and skill training is one of the biggest challenges fighters face.
Spend too much time lifting weights, and you might notice your skills aren’t up to par when you compete. Don’t spend enough time weight training, and you might find yourself getting overpowered by less skilled fighters.
Weight training for fighters isn’t about bulking up like a bodybuilder; it’s about striking the perfect balance between strength, endurance, and speed. That’s why you can’t just follow any weightlifting routine because you like the aesthetics they create. Bodybuilders might be the biggest people around, but they’re definitely not the strongest.
This article will discuss how to create a weightlifting program that complements your skills training.
Customizing Your Weight Training Program For Combat Sports
Let’s explore how you can create a weightlifting program that will make you stronger without slowing down or negatively impacting your combat training.
Why Weight Training Is Essential For Fighters
Balance is key—your weightlifting routine should support, not compete with, your fight training.
Think of strength as your armor in combat sports; your endurance is your engine, speed is your secret weapon, and skills are your primary weapons. Weight training can help to enhance all four aspects when done correctly.
Overloading your routine with heavy lifts can slow you down, while too much cardio could drain your energy.
The goal of any weight training routine created for fighters should be to develop functional strength that improves your ability to impose your will on opponents.
Weight training also helps to strengthen your muscles and connective tissues, reducing the risk of sprains and strains during tough sparring sessions. Think of weight training as an investment in your long-term durability.
Designing Your Routine
Your weightlifting routine should complement your combat sports training, not compete with it. Some principles to keep in mind when building your training routine include:
1) Prioritize Compound Movements
Your weight training routine should primarily focus on multi-joint exercises that mimic the movements you use in your martial arts training. You can never go wrong with exercises like deadlifts, squats, pull-ups, and bench presses since they help build functional strength, improve coordination, and engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
2) Balance Push And Pull Movements
Creating a balanced routine helps prevent muscular imbalances, so add the same amount of pull and push movements. For example, every bench press set should be balanced with a set of pull-ups. You don’t need to perform the same number of reps, but every push day in your training routine should be balanced with a pull day.
Keeping your muscle growth balance helps to prevent imbalances that lead to poor posture, which makes you more vulnerable to injuries.
3) Focus On Explosive Movements
This is arguably one of the most under-discussed aspects of weight training for all athletes. Explosive muscle strength leads to all the stunning athletic feats we’ve all seen, like a 5’6″ Spud Webb winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, while most people his height can’t jump high enough to touch the rim.
Incorporating plyometric exercises like box jumps, medicine ball slams, or power cleans into your training routine helps to train the fast-twitch muscle fibers that power explosive movements like knockout strikes, blasting out of bad positions, or shooting quickly for takedowns. You can also increase your explosive power by training conventional exercises like bench presses explosively.
4) The Weekly Schedule: A Sample Plan
Here’s an example of a weight training routine that meshes well with combat sports training:
Day 1: Strength
- Squats: 4 sets of 5 reps
- Bench press: 4 sets of 5 reps
- Pull-ups: 4 sets to failure
- Farmer’s carry: 3, 30-second sets
Day 2: Combat Sports Training Session 1
- Focus on learning new techniques, refining what you know, and sparring.
Day 3: Power And Speed
- Deadlifts: 4 sets of 5 reps
- Medicine ball slams: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Box jumps: 3 sets of 12 reps
- Kettlebell swings: 3 sets of 15 reps
Day 4: Rest Or Active Recovery
- Light mobility work, stretching, or Yoga.
Day 5: Endurance And Conditioning
A three-round circuit that consists of:
Day 6: Combat Sports Training Session 2
Day 7: Rest
Our sample plan keeps your weight training routine aligned with your goals as a fighter while ensuring you have enough time to recover.
5) Don’t Neglect Conditioning
Your gas tank is just as important as how much power you can generate in combat sports. Add exercises that help to improve muscular and cardiovascular endurance into your training routine.
High-reps, low-weight circuits are an excellent way to improve your muscular endurance, while exercises that push your lungs to their limit, like sprints, enhance your cardiovascular endurance.
Pro tip: Consider using a heart rate monitor to ensure you stay in the optimal zone of about 70 to 80% of your max heart rate when performing cardiovascular exercises.
6) Work On Your Mobility
Mobility and flexibility are equally crucial for martial artists. A rigid body is a slow one, so dedicate at least 15 minutes to stretches and dynamic mobility drills. Activities like Yoga once a week can also help to keep your muscles relaxed and ready for action.
Recovery: The Secret Sauce
Proper recovery is just as important as training.
Recovery isn’t something you should only prioritize during rest days; it should be an everyday practice. Some of the things you can do to ensure your body recovers from all your hard work in the weight room and dojo include:
- Aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily. Your muscles repair themselves and grow while you sleep.
- Consume adequate amounts of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Consider protein shakes for quick delivery of essential nutrients after your training sessions. Studies show those who consume protein and carbs within an hour after workouts enjoy the most gains from weight training.
- Drink plenty of water, particularly after sweating at the gym. Sprinkle in fruits like bananas and sports drinks to ensure your body has all the necessary electrolytes.
Add Weight Training To Your Training To Reach Your Full Potential
Weight training for fighters is all about balance. Remember that you’re training to be the most agile, durable, and powerful version of yourself, not to lift cars or impress bodybuilding judges.
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