First MMA class starts on Monday - Need help with diet/exercise/suppliment program

[PYGMY]

Hi everyone,

Like I said in the thread topic, I will be starting to train in MMA beginning tomorrow July 9th.

The class is held Monday thru Thursday 7:00pm-9:00pm and Saturdays 11:00am-1:00pm. The first hour is strictly BJJ with Gi. The second hour of the class is MMA with an assortment of training styles (Freestyle BJJ without Gi, Muay Thai, Boxing, Submission grappling, Judo).

Im 25 years old. 5'6" 180lbs at around 17%BF (Tested myself with one of these Fattrack II calipers http://www.accumeasurefitness.com/pr.../fattrack.html. Not sure how accurate they really are, but by the way I look right now I'd say its about right).

My measurments are as follows -
Arms-14.5"
Forearms-12.5"
Chest-42"
Thighs-23"
Calves-14.5"
Neck-16"
Waist-35.5"
Wrists-6 3/4"
Shoulder Circumference-48"
Shoulder Width-19"

I would like to someday compete in local grappling matches and MMA fights at 155lbs. I figure if I drop anywhere from 15-20lbs through diet and exercise while maintaining all the muscle I possibly can I could cut the rest in a sauna before weigh-ins.

I want to let the class itself be the only cardio I do to drop weight for now as it is pretty intense from what Ive seen and from what Ive been told.

I thought a maintience type of diet would be best since the cardio I get from the class along with lifting weights in the gym would throw me into a calorie deficient state.

I would like the weight loss to be slow and gradual so that I can maintain as much muscle as possible and also so I have plently of energy to train in the gym and the dojo.

I work Monday thru Friday from 6:30am-3:00pm. I get up for work at 5:30am, and starting July 9th Im going to try to be in bed by 9:30pm-9:45pm.

Ive never really lifted weights seriously for any length of time. And right now I eat like apsolute shit. Taking in anywhere from 2-3 meals a day of whatever I can get my hands on, along with a snack or two consisting mainly of sugar or salt.

If someone could help me with a diet/lifting/supplimentation program designed around the info I gave above I would be forever in your debt, and greatly appreciative.

Thank you all.

PYGMY

 

[mister69]

if doing mma --switch over to a basic 2 day routine with weights (lots of bench\deads\squats you need to get that functional strength that you can bring to the mat. Get yourself a sled to bring up GPP\conditioning. Eat 5-6 meals a day, and some of those meals i am sure are giong to have to be whey shakes becuase of the timing of BJJ classes and the fact that you dont want to throw up. Make sure to keep fluids through the roof and drink half gatorade half water.

Grip work is key to bjj and should be done as well. Stretch before and after workouts and you should be great. BJJ gets you flexible just doing it , but more stretching should help.

I would def not starve yourself considering the amount of work you are goin to be doing between BJJ\judo\wresting\boxing etc. Make sure to keep protein high and carbs adjust to your training schedule.

Hope this helps--there are lots of great knowledgable mods on this board that will chime in aswell .

 

[PYGMY]

Thanks for the reply mister69. I will definitely be taking your advice to heart, and implementing it into my routine.


PYGMY

 

[jackcity10]

i would just work out like a mother fucker. train hard and then harder and then...harder. Pretend someone who can order you around just keeps yelling at you and pissing you off telling you to do more. Push yourself to the limit. Sit down for 3 minutes, then work for another hour at least. For me, Ive realized that if I want to change my body I have to go a lot further than I think as in dont just go oh ok ill work out for 1.5 hours, take days off if I feel sore, etc. Fucking work, work harder, and keep working. And if you think youre over training just keep working, eventually youll get used to it(note; I wouldnt say this for someone lifting and looking for strength, but for MMA you want to be able to work 100% for 5 minutes(1 round) or even longer so you need functional strength, not one rep maxes, or even 8 or 15 rep maxes. you gotta be able to move weight for hours on end.). And forget about diet, you shouldnt even have room to think about that. Just eat when youre hungry and dont over eat, thats all. Dont go to classes for cardio, go running. hill sprints kick ass, youll get buff ass useful legs as well as a cardio workout. Different hills are different too, like shallow slopes will be mostly cardio, steep mostly muscle. You will notice either your legs or your lungs give out first. judge assistance cardio based on this(if its legs, work legs harder in the gym, if its cardio do more treadmill/bike work to get your lung capacity or working heart rate up).

My philosophy is dont even think about specific things ie routine, numbers, weights, and times. Just work your ass off and see results. If you start making routines, being concerned with weights, you start thinking more that youre working. You are limiting yourself by saying, OK its in my routine to do 5 hill sprints. no, no, no. if its in your routine to do 5 hill sprints you have to do at least 7. And then youre a fucking bitch if you dont do 8. You are looking for some serious changes and its going to take some SERIOUS work. Proper form in the gym is very important, so is knowing which excersizes to do and which ones are pointless (example - machine preacher curls are pointless. So is just about every other machine work. dumbell curls are pretty gay, so arent preacher curls, hammer curls, whatever other stupid names there are for curls. Pull-ups, chin-ups, bent over dumbell(DB) rows, bent over barbell rows(on an incline bench, on your stomach - i forgot the name), even deadlifts and just carrying plates around the gym are all good ways of working biceps) dont do pussy shit in the gym because you wont see results. But youll learn which excersizes give results and which dont over time, dont be afraid to ask a lot of questions at the gym, thats how you learn(and reading on here). My whole fuck overtraining atitude is something That I know works for me and it has worked for me for things like sports and mma training, but you could be different. Do a lot of reading and trying out different things, eventually youll learn a lot about your body and you wont have to think about the little specific things like counting calories, carbs, reps in the gym. No need to worry about all of that, just put in work. but you gotta learn first.

 

[PYGMY]

Thanks Jackcity. Good advice.


Little update for anyone that cares. I dropped 6 pounds of water in the first 2 days. Ive got mat burns all over my fingers and toes. I think my jaw may be off center a little. And when I wake up in the morning I feel like Ive been hit by a mack truck. All in all everything is going really well. I already love it.


PYGMY

 

[PYGMY]

Thanks Gimp.


PYGMY

 

[Swellin]

I was trying to powerlift when I started heavily training mma. I dropped the powerlifting immediately. My body could not stand the abuse. You will find that overtraining is a HUGE problem with mma and weight lifting. You benefit greatly from weight training, sled pulling, hill sprinting, weight vest work, swimming, plyometrics, and all the other fun stuff. But it is very easy to overtrain. I speak from experience.

The number one thing you can do right now is to get your diet in check. Everything else is secondary at this point. Open a fitday account (free) and log your diet. Do some research and figure out your macros, then monitor it on fitday. Get in plenty of protein, quality fats, and low GI carbs. Drop the sugars and junk. Increase the frequency of your meals and decrease the volume.

As for your weight training and all other training, log what you do. keep up and set goals. Just random madness is exactly that...madness. You won't find anybody at the top of any athletic game that does things that way. You have to push yourself, but keep up with what you are doing and set goals. Beat those goals and change them. Of course, you can't train that way all the time, or you overtrain and burn out. Your have to cycle your training.

I am currently four weeks out from a fight, so I am ramped up pretty hard right now with my cardio and with all my training. I cycle my training so I stay fresh and healthy. While not prepping for a fight, I train heavy. While prepping for a fight, I do speed work. After a fight...nothing for a week or two. As it gets closer to the fight time, I spar heavy as hell and get banged up. I have to ramp my cardio so that I am always pushing. I set goals and log the results. I match my goals to my progress.

One of the best fight prep cardio workouts I do is wear a weight vest and work thai pads for rounds. I also work in the ring with a resistance band and harness setup, throwing combos in the air and then sprawling. When it gets serious, I add the weight vest to this and get my ass handed to me....that's where I am now in this cycle.

Clean up your diet and experiment with training that works for you. Forget isolation junk that is for bodybuilding and use compound movements for total body strength. bench, squat, dead, power cleans, leg press, military press....don't forget to blast calves.

As mister69 said, functional grip strength is key. checkout Ironminds website and some of the grip strength training devices they have. Grippers are cool , but pinch grip is very important for bjj, so don't neglect it.

IronAddict helps me with my diet and training. He is fantastic. If you really want to dial it in, give him a shout.

 

[ManOfMuscle]

My advice: do exactly what Swellin says.

 

[mister69]

Damn swellin me and you always see eye to eye---

What you think about jardine chuck---lol

Also got 6th row IFL tickets today---2.5 weeks baby!!! hopefully i can meat Pat Militech and Ken.

I was trying to powerlift when I started heavily training mma. I dropped the powerlifting immediately. My body could not stand the abuse. You will find that overtraining is a HUGE problem with mma and weight lifting. You benefit greatly from weight training, sled pulling, hill sprinting, weight vest work, swimming, plyometrics, and all the other fun stuff. But it is very easy to overtrain. I speak from experience.

The number one thing you can do right now is to get your diet in check. Everything else is secondary at this point. Open a fitday account (free) and log your diet. Do some research and figure out your macros, then monitor it on fitday. Get in plenty of protein, quality fats, and low GI carbs. Drop the sugars and junk. Increase the frequency of your meals and decrease the volume.

As for your weight training and all other training, log what you do. keep up and set goals. Just random madness is exactly that...madness. You won't find anybody at the top of any athletic game that does things that way. You have to push yourself, but keep up with what you are doing and set goals. Beat those goals and change them. Of course, you can't train that way all the time, or you overtrain and burn out. Your have to cycle your training.

I am currently four weeks out from a fight, so I am ramped up pretty hard right now with my cardio and with all my training. I cycle my training so I stay fresh and healthy. While not prepping for a fight, I train heavy. While prepping for a fight, I do speed work. After a fight...nothing for a week or two. As it gets closer to the fight time, I spar heavy as hell and get banged up. I have to ramp my cardio so that I am always pushing. I set goals and log the results. I match my goals to my progress.

One of the best fight prep cardio workouts I do is wear a weight vest and work thai pads for rounds. I also work in the ring with a resistance band and harness setup, throwing combos in the air and then sprawling. When it gets serious, I add the weight vest to this and get my ass handed to me....that's where I am now in this cycle.

Clean up your diet and experiment with training that works for you. Forget isolation junk that is for bodybuilding and use compound movements for total body strength. bench, squat, dead, power cleans, leg press, military press....don't forget to blast calves.

As mister69 said, functional grip strength is key. checkout Ironminds website and some of the grip strength training devices they have. Grippers are cool , but pinch grip is very important for bjj, so don't neglect it.

IronAddict helps me with my diet and training. He is fantastic. If you really want to dial it in, give him a shout.

 

[PYGMY]

Dam guys. I dont know what to say. Thanks for all the help. It really means alot to me that you guys would take the time to give me a hand.



PYGMY

 

[mister69]

Hows the training going bro?

any updates?

 

[Mudge]

Lifting makes MMA really tough, it has to take a back seat a little.

 

[mister69]

traditional 2 day split is what works best IME---Pullinbig has posted pics of his guys that he has trained on 2 day splits that were black belts in particular martial arts.