MMA Forum

Sup guys, firstly thanks to anyone who's willing to give advice.

When it comes to training and nutrition i'm an utter noob at it. I measure 6ft exactly in height and currently weight 13st 3 and have been at the gym regularly for the past couple of weeks, at least twice a week. not that much but it's something.

From this i've been told alot of different things. I've been told to concentrate on bulking up, from others, burn body fat and put on lean muscle but personally i feel if i was to get down to roughly 12st i'd be able to then tone up without much of a problem and must easier than i could now.

As i say, i'm completely clueless on which direction to take training wise.. I've just been doing 5mins on the bike as a warm-up and from there i usually move onto bench, pull ups etc... Usually finish off with a 5 minute, sprint 30 secs, rest 1 min, sprint 30 secs etc. I'm thinking i should decrease the rest period though by at least 20/30 secs.

I've no idea how i'm coming across here but nonetheless, advice would be very helpful and appreciated

forgot to add in, any help on nutrition would be helpful too.

Hi Dave im not an expert on these things but I ll give advice on my experiences.

For a start, I think for your height your about the right weight. I dont think losing any weight will be worth while, you dont wanna be tall and skinny, I would just concentrate on getting a good work out 3 times per week, I think you need to be doing at least 30 mins cardio each day, what i tend to do is work two muscle groups at a time. So for instance on a monday you could do chest and bicepts , wednesday you could do back and tricepts and fridays legs and shoulders. This will give your muscles time to recover between each visit to the gym and means you can spend a bit more time on each muscle group rather than trying to fit every mucsle in one session at the gym. I would recommend 3 sets of 10 on each machine/free weight and try and do say 3 different machines for each muscle. Also on each set start with a light weight and increase on each set till you basilcally cant lift/ finish the last set.

I think its different for everyone but thats what i have done and I have really noticed a difference. Also why not join a local MMA/Muay Thai class or something? Thats what i do as I cant stand running on tread mills for 30 mins so I mix the gym with MMA and that gives me my cardio and teaches me how to kick arse!! lol

Like I said im not an expert but hope that helps.

If I can help anymore or if anyonemore experienced has anything to add please let us know.

Good Luck Mate.

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MMA NEWS

Hello fella.

Just a quick question to start with, but why do you think you should lose weight? Do you know your BF (bodyfat) %?

If you can take a few pics and put them up so I can try and help fully. One front, side and back.

If you do need to "CUT" as you have the unwanted BF then it's easier than most people make it out to be.
- Workout with weights 3 times a week.
- Drink about a gallon of water each day.
- Eat at least 1g protein / lb of lean body mass a day.
- Eat some fruit, veggies/salad, and some essential fatty acids (EFAs) every day.
- Above that eat whatever you want, preferably a wide variety of foods.
- Adjust your food intake so that the desired rate of weight change is maintained.
- The rate of weight change should not be above 3lbs/week, 1-2lbs/week is recommended.

You need to firstly calculate your daily caloric requirement for your weight. Bodybuilding.com - ISSA - Nutrient Ratios & Caloric Needs!

It's averaged that 3500 calories is equal to 1 gram of fat so if you reduce your daily intake by 500 then you should lose that 1lb of fat in a week. It is hard to not lost a little muscle on a cut so protein consumption is so important.

Now, I only do weights over 2 days and then my Thai Boxing, BJJ, general bag work etc on others. I have at least one day if not two days off a week. The most important thing I say to everyone is listen to your body!!!!!! Don't overdo it and build it up slowly.

On the other side of the coin, if want to get bigger then you need to consume an extra 500 calories a day and 1.5g to 2g of protein a day.

Remember, have a cheat day (or at least a cheat meal) once a week to keep your sanity as you do need to be strict. I use an Excel page and update it 3 times a day with calories, protein and carbs. After a while you will know your calories and don't have to keep typing or writing it down.

Also, I generally have a break every 8 weeks where I still eat averagely healthy where I consume high amounts of protein but also eat pretty much what I want.

I have protein drinks daily to reach my daily needs as it's easier and with milk gives me over 60g of protein so onto a winner there.

Any other questions then just type away.

For quick results i would suggest going up to 4 times a week, so here is a router i wrote up for another member i hope it helps you

Monday

Exercise
Squats Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Behind Neck Shoulder Press Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Upright Row Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Wrist Curl Sets 3 Reps 6-10
Crunches Sets 3 Reps 6-10
Tuesday

Tuesday

Exercise
Bench Press Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Shoulder Width Lat Pulldown Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Close Grip Seated Pulley Row Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Standing Calf Raise Sets 5 Reps 6-10

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday

Exercise
Deadlift Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Dumbbell Shrug Sets 5 Reps 6-10
Reverse Wrist Curl Sets 3 Reps 6-10
Crunches Sets 3 Reps 6-10
Friday

Friday

Exercise
Tricep Dip Sets 4 Reps 6-10
Close Grip Bench Press Sets 4 Reps 6-10
E-Z Bar Curl Sets 4 Reps 6-10
E-Z Bar Reverse Curl Sets 4 Reps 6-10
Seated Calf Raise Sets 5 Reps 6-10

I like the exercise choices and the set up but IMO way too much volume. Everyone is different but I would recommend more like the following:

MONDAY - Back, traps and delts
Pull ups - 3 x 10
Barbell Rows - 1 warm up, 2 heavy sets to failure at 6-10 reps.
Clean and Press - 1 warm up, 2 sets to failure at 10 reps.
DB lateral raises - 2 x 15.
Behind the back shrugs - 2 x 10.

Wednesday - Chest and arms
Incline DB press - warm ups, 2 sets 6-8 reps.
Incline flyes - 2 sets 10-15
Flat Bench - 2 sets 10-15.
EZ bar curl - 2 x 10
Alternate Hammer curls - 2 x 10
French Press - 2 x 10
Overhead rope pressdowns - 2 x 15

Friday - Legs
Leg ext - 2 x 20
Leg curls - 2 x 15
Walking lunges - 2 x 20 steps.
Squats - 3 x 20 at max weight for 20. Very hard.
Stiff legged deadlifts - 2 x 10

Its an unorthodox routine but its perfect for this. On Monday you're using basic movements for back thickness and width, then training speed and power using lower back, traps and delts with clean and press. Then laterals for medial delt width.
Wednesday you're targeting your upper chest before doing bench as a last exercise which will really mix it up and pump your chest out. Good solid heavy arm movements to finish off.
Friday you're pre-exhausting the legs by machines and lunges first before your squats. Its cuts the required weight in half and saves your back for your other training like MMA etc. Plus its very effective for massive legs. 20 rep squat sets with as much as you can are the hardest thing in the world. You feel like you're done at 12 but can push on rep by rep for what feels like an eternity!

Of course there is more to it than that. You need to learn to use the target muscles correctly and there are techniques you cant write in a post, you have to be there to show, but its good volume and will be more than sufficient. It worked for me at that volume anyway.