NPursuit

Hello all,

I've been searching around for a good MT/MMA forum and it looks like I found one. I spend most of my time concentrating on bodybuilding and I moderate quite a few boards. I look forward to learning all that I can from you guys.

Take it easy,
N

Tom Yum

Welcome aboard. As a moderator, I'm sure you're aware of the lunies and trolls fo the forum world...lol. There are a lot of good regulars here, so you are in the right place.

A question to you about body building (actually strength training). What would be a good split routine for an athlete to bump up his strength.

Do you think it is possible for an in shape athlete to make significant strength gains without adding additional body weight?

__________________

Love it, leave it or fix it.

NPursuit

Thanks for the welcome. Yes there are plenty of freaks and trolls on the boards.

This is a great routine for strength training. I can't stress though how important form is. Always concentrate on form over anything else. This routine was put together with a friend of mine who spent the first 6 years of his training career focusing solely on strength. If you have any other questions I would be glad to help.

Day 1: Back (Compound exercises)
1st ex. 5 set's of Barbell row's...first 2 set's light warm-up's (8-12 rep's) then 2 or 3 working set's (6 rep's, 4 rep's then 2 rep's)
2nd ex. 4 set's of Clean's all 4 set's same weight (medium/heavy) at 8-10 rep's. (these really blast the upper back well!)
3rd ex. 4 set's of Dead-Lift's....first set 12 rep's then 8 rep's, 6 rep's, 2 rep's. keep increasing the weight with each set.
You could also perform some grip exercises such as Farmer's walk and rope twirl's.

Day 2: rest

Day 3: Legs
1st ex. 4 set's of Barbell squat's (increasing the weight with each set)
2nd ex. Leg Press 5 set's increasing the weight with each set (20 rep's for the first 3 set's) then for the last 2 set's use ungodly weight to get no more than 4 rep's.
3rd ex. Hack squat's 4 set's (medium weight in the 8-12 rep range.
4th ex. Stiff Leg Dead-Lift's 4 set's all 4 set's medium weight in the 8-12 rep range.

Day 4: Chest (barbell's ONLY!)
1st ex. Flat benches 4 set's (first set warm up 14 rep's) second set 6 rep's, 3 rd and 4rth set's 1-3 rep range (heavy ass weight)
2nd ex. Decline benches same rep and weight scheme as flat benches.
3rd ex. Weighted dip's 4 set's all the same weight (6-9 rep range) ( medium/heavy weight).

Day 5: rest

Day 6: Repeat day 1 (Back) with the exception of One arm D.B. row's instead of Barbell row's.

Day 7: Repeat day 2 (Leg's)

Day 8: rest

Reapeat cycle from here.....

Tom Yum

Thanks. That seems like a good program, especially the back and legs portion.

When a shin kick comes slamming into your side, you can feel your ribs shake and your backbone absorbs some of the shock. I think strengthening up the back would be great for reducing injuries. The back routine looks like it'll increase the density of the back too.

Same with legs, if you take a particularly hard punch to the head, that you didn't see coming and feel your legs start to give sometimes you can tense up your legs and force yourself to keep standing - I suppose this is where additional leg strength comes into play.

I think strength training is great for helping you minimize injuries, since the stronger you are the better off you are after taking some damage. Strength training obviously increases the force you can generate.

As martial arts or contact athletes, we like to be able to apply maximum force rather quickly and over a long period of time.

Forgot to ask, are you currently practicing any MAs?

__________________

Love it, leave it or fix it.

NPursuit

I will be starting Muay Thai next week. This is my first shot @ a MA. I've wanted to take a MA for years, and I spent the better part of a year trying to find a MT school in my area. There is definitely no lack of Karate schools around here, but I'm not exactly in a hot zone for MT.

Tom Yum

I think you'll love it. The work ethic that you have from bodybuilding will come in handy in muay thai.

muay thai is way different than body building as far as conditioning is concerned, but its a great sport.

__________________

Love it, leave it or fix it.