Any more talks regarding this past topic, please PM me if there is any concern and we can discuss it in depth respectfully. I would like more solid and hard evidence rather than one article. Even ask a health professional too. I'm very curious as to what they would say. Let's just all be respectful adults here as we are ought to be. This topic should only be for people who need help weight cutting and training advice in Mixed Martial Arts.

hey bro i ran across this topic. im very curious and would to speak to you more indepth about some of your ideas and advice.

shoot me a pm when u get a chance.

I am happy to reply via private message. Though, it is best to inquire for advice here if you're comfortable in doing so. Not a problem, happy to help in any way!

Hey Weltherweight,

I will be coming back to BJJ this Monday after a long break from it; I will also be starting boot camp for the US Marines in about 2-3 months. I am very thin for my height and usually apply a "lazy jujitsu" style to my BJJ game... and my endurance is like that of a 40 year old chronic smoker.
I'm looking ways prepare myself without going to the gym, so if there are any outside activities that you enjoy doing that would help please let me know. Anything on bulking and staying focused would greatly help also!(would prefer personal experience for this)

P.S. I will be getting a bicycle to ride to BJJ classes; it is about ~15miles or 24km one way.

Edit: Forgot to add: What to eat and how to deal with irregular sleep patterns.

Goals:

• Weight gain for strength
• Speed
• Endurance
• Explosiveness
• Flexibility

This post was edited by eSSS on Jun 20 2013 06:21am

Hello there! As I give advice for weight cutting and training, I can also give advice for weight gain and strength increases as well, since I've had an array of experiences in nearly every weight class.

Now, what is your height and weight? Being thin and lanky has its advantages for stand-up fighting along with being on the ground and focusing on grappling/submissions; it's what is most comfortable for you.

I am going to start off by giving you a lecture on 'Endurance', because this is one of the most important attributes for someone who is serious about mixed martial arts; especially with Brazilian Ju Jitsu...I know well enough that endurance is very much required.

When I started weight lifting, my endurance was horrible. I weighed 220 lbs (100 kg) and for my high index of strength, my repitition to max ratio was not good at all. In order to successfully improve on your endurance, you will also need good cardiovascular gains, which I will emphasize first. Along with biking for about 30 miles, I recommend running long distances to improve your cardio. The tricky part is gaining weight while you do this, as we all know long distance running attributes to high calorie loss. Your primary focus should be endurance and running. Even if the running is 3 miles a day continuously when you start a regimen. Make it a goal to run every other day for now with small increments and then build up slowly each week. Make it a goal to not stop and go your own speed when you do run. You need to train yourself this way so you can familiarize your body with the intensive struggle in ground grappling. If you have no cardio, you will wear out and fail at offensive submission attempts along with defending submissions while you're in the defensive ground position. If you are in the defensive ground position to successfully defend, you will definitely have to focus on being in the full guard at ALL times until you can find an opportunity of reversal. In order to do this, you must have good endurance and wear out the offensive ground grappler and capitalize on a mistake he makes. Take this from my experience while facing a 10-year BJJ veteran who was 170 lbs at 6'1" vs my 155 lbs at 6'0", along with being 7 years older than me at that time. Wearing him out took a long time while being in the defensive full guard and eventually the offense giving up to repeated failure to submit and gain a more offensive submission; kimuras didn't work, armbars didn't work, as it took extensive amounts of energy to perform.

What I recommend is running M/W/F for now. Treadmill or outside. Focus on the distance and a speed you're comfortable with, but also making sure your heart rate is in the "Cardio Zone". When I trained I loved being on the edge of 150 bpm++ and 170 bpm at times continuously. As you progress, you can come back to me and we'll assess the next step.

As for weight gain and strength, during all days you work out (which should be 5 days a week), you need to focus on high weight/low reps for strength gain. I recommend doing 3 sets of 5-6 with heavy weights with every work out you do, along with a high calorie intake. We will discuss diet later on. You will also need to focus on being explosive; when you do running, sprinting the last .25 miles is a start. Or randomly increasing the speed when you feel comfortable; just don't wear yourself out. Plyometrics are also great for working on stand up defense and takedown prevention. (Look up plyometric box jumps for more information), along with the standard jump rope routine is highly recommended as well.

For week 1, do high weight/low reps. For week 2, do high reps/low weight. Week 3, repeat Week 1 as you repeat Week 4 from Week 2 if this makes sense. When doing high reps/low weight, you'll give yourself the chance to work on your muscular endurance while working on your cardiovascular endurance. You will have to increase your calorie intake as this is most critical for weight gain; lean protein foods! Focus on grilled chicken and tuna. Carbs such as bread and pasta should be limited but take as needed, as you'll be running distances and will need the energy for stamina training. As for Protein, try cycling (4 weeks on/1 week off) a good quality protein, try Syntha-6 or anything recommended at GNC currently. ISOMass is also a good mass gainer to help with the weight gain. Just know that your protein intake should be 1.5 times your bodyweight in pounds. (2.2 lbs=1 kg)

Now that we had a brisk walkthrough on strength, endurance, cardio, explosiveness; I will briefly touch up on flexbility, as this is important. Before doing anything, always ensure you are well hydrated and have good stretch sessions before AND after working out. Stretches to focus on are doing the 'Sit n Reach', lunges, leg stretches such as hamstring stretches (will help prevent soreness from running/leg lift days), doing the 'Bridge' stretch (check youtube for example) and any other stretch you feel that will help you. By doing this before and after work outs, your elasticity will improve. If you have access to a dry sauna, it will feel better while you do this and may seem a bit easier too.

Let me know what your current diet is and with any questions you have!

My diet is anything but fast food or with a lot of carbs. My height is at 67inches or 170cm; my weight is 130lbs or 59kg. My current workout routine is ~2 hours of d3 daily...
Really, I haven't done anything workout since I was injured, just sketching. And I have never done any type of routine workouts other than what I do at my BJJ gym, I usually hike hills a lot and rock climb.

Questions: What do you think about using kettle bells? What are they good for?

The use of kettle bells is necessary. Many work outs can be done while using the kettle bells, a few to mention are (videos available via YouTube):

*Dead snatch
*Hang snatch
*Split snatch (reviewed below)
*Double kettlebell snatch
*Alternate kettlebell snatch

They are good for many things; strength, explosiveness and endurance. The reason for the boost in kettle bell training is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional and whole body fitness. Kettle bells require the focus on whole-body conditioning because lifting and controlling a kettle bell forces the entire body (especially the core) to contract as a group, building both strength and stability at the same time. Kettle bell workouts engage multiple muscle groups at once. By doing this, they are a great option for getting a whole body workout in a short time.

Most MMA fighters utilize these for training and I do too. They also help with coordination which is from the stability training. Just realize that safety must always be a main concern when training with kettle bells. Start off with light weights and work your way up. The most common mistake is using a heavier weight before knowing how to control it, which can cause serious injury to your spine, back and neck.

180 lbs now
goal is 170~
Age: 20
Height: 180~ dont know the exact number
working at a restaurant, 5 eating a day with healthy and vitamin full meals. No sugar or salt of any kind.
Drinking 4-5l water a day with lemon.Practicing box and working out at home, running after/before workout.

Need workout and eating advice. Gym is not an option due to my work days.

This post was edited by Namechange on Jul 13 2013 03:59am

Hello I am looking to pick up MMA as a hobby I dont plan to take it too far just to blow off some steam and exercise

-What is your weight? 300 goal weight 260
-What is your height? 6'3
-What is your age? 22
-Are there any pre-existing health problems? (i.e. high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc) no
-More information on diet; (how many meals per day? what is consumed per day?) I need to improve this mostly.

I am looking for a diet routine and tips into what i should look to learn first not knowing anything about the ground game. if im missing any info lmk

180 cm is about 5'11". Being 170 lbs at this height is considered healthy and you'll be lean while having strength.

Lemon water is actually a good method to help with weight loss. The pulps of the lemon and the volume of water give you that feeling of fullness, so your calorie intake in your next meal will be far less than without lemon water. Working at a restaurant, I can imagine how much walking and moving around you would be doing.

The good news is, you are able to find the time to spare to have a solid cardio work out along with boxing workouts.

Continue to drink lots of water and limit any "empty calories" such as sugars in desserts.

To start you off, I am recommending:

*Running three days a week at a minimum. Focus on your cardio along with endurance. So for each time you work out, attempt to do about 3 miles at a good speed that is comfortable for you. If you can get your target heard rate to about 140 bpm, this would be good. I normally cruise around 179 bpm consistently when I start off with 5-6 mile runs at the gym. Using a treadmill is fine, just make sure to be consistent with your speed and keep that heart rate up. If you don't have access to a treadmill, then running outside is a good alternative and try to find a terrain that is flat.

*Doing jump rope/push ups/sit ups; this is an easy work out to help you increase your speed along with endurance.

*If you have a heavy bag, stick do doing 5 minute drills of upper body striking, then using elbows, mid-kicks, etc.

A simple start: (Example)

1st drill: Hook punches/Straight punches/Uppercuts/Jab set up
2nd drill: Close range (Inside hook punches/muay thai elbow strikes [horizontal])
3rd drill: Jabs/Punches/Lower and Mid-bag kicks

The objective is to first start with basics, and then later on I'll help you with more detailed and advanced techniques.

For your diet, you are following a good path. Minimizing sugars and salts is a benefit not only to your physique, but to your health also. Having sugars and salts in extreme moderation is needed. Your diet should consist of low fats, moderate carbs and high protein. Lean chicken breast, fish, and low fat meats are good. Avoid red meats (beef), as they contain the most fat out of any other type of meat. Carbohydrates should be in moderation, which means, you should have these when you are going to have a big running day the next day, a cup serving of rice is acceptable. Keep taking your multivitamins, as extreme cardio routines can drain your body of essential nutrients, so it is important to replenish after each work out with food and vitamins in the morning with food. Most important of all, avoid sugary drinks.

Next we'll focus on fiber. Get plenty of leafy green vegetables such as beans, broccoli, and spinach. Avoid any starches such as potatoes and corn. Important Note** Celery is a vegetable that helps you burn calories when you digest it. The important part of this diet is to include all healthy elements, but also being mindful of your calorie input/output. If you want to cut weight fast, you'll have to burn more than you take in. If you can run five miles a day, you can burn approximately 650 to 700 calories depending on the slope intensity, and providing that with clothes, you'll weigh about 183 lbs. If you add an intense session of calisthenics and intense boxing sessions for thirty minutes, you'll be burning about 1,200 calories on the days you work out. Just be sure to keep your heart rate up at all times to keep that intensity up. Start off with the information I have provided you. If there's any more questions, don't hesitate to ask! Just reply in this topic and I will get back to you.