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SHOULD FIGHTERS WEIGHT TRAIN ? Another great read:
By: Skip "Disturbed" Hall
As a career fighter, martial artist and ex-baseball player, I was told by nearly all of my trainers and instructors along the way specifically not to weight train! "It will take away from your flexibility. You'll become muscle-bound. You'll always be plagued with pulled muscles, tendons and ligaments. You need explosive strength and not brute muscle strength." Now, many years later myself and hundreds of athletes know that every one of them was wrong!
At 59 years of age and dedicated to strength training through a 5 time-a-week weight training regiment, I'm proof that they all were very wrong. First, none of the old myths are true with me or anyone else that I know who trains intelligently. I'm flexible enough to do the full splits and I can still use all of my extremities to perform normal body functions. While I've added significant muscle to my body through weight training and proper diet, I don't think I've even approached being muscle-bound. Since I've been weight training (and powerlifting) for the past seven years continuously, I've had absolutely no pulled muscles, tendons or ligaments. As a matter of fact, I had more injuries when I wasn't weight training. Today, I'm considerably stronger than when I started weight training and my strength is noticeably more explosive and enduring. As a matter of fact, the reason I started weight training was because I was being overpowered by the ambitious younger (and stronger) fighters and my speed alone wasn't enough to keep me winning my fights.
I fight in the most extreme type of fighting in the world and perhaps the most extreme sport in the world - Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or No Holds Barred (NHB) cage fighting. MMA/NHB fighting requires both stand-up fighting and ground fighting skills. Fighting skills that require both upper and lower body strength. Fighting that needs muscles with both explosive and endurance-type muscle strength. And, I'm still able to compete in powerlifting at a world class level. So, even if you don't factor in my age as being the oldest active no holds barred fighter in the world, weight resistance training is important to fighters. How?
First, many studies indicate that weight training increases bone density, helps reduce muscle injury, increases muscle efficiency and is the best way to stimulate both slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Those same studies prove that muscle size does not determine whether or not you will be slow or fast. That would be the same as saying that lifting weights slowly will make you slower and lifting them faster will make you faster and we know from common sense that isn't true. Weight training is strength training and strength training makes a fighter stronger because stronger muscles are capable of producing more force. Fighters are definitely athletes and weight training is simply good for an athletes overall health and fitness. It is as simple as that.
Secondly, many fighters overlook the fact that muscle strength for our sport requires what I term "range-of-motion" strength. I specifically mean that a fighter must have significant strength both at the extended and contracted end of his muscle's range. An example is that a fighter must be as strong with his arms when he strikes an opponent with a punch as he is when using those same arms to hold an opponent tight and close to avoid getting punched. Another example is that a fighter's legs must function on the extended end of the range of motion so that he can kick an opponent (the leg is outstretched) but the same legs must also be as strong when being used to keep an opponents body close when the opponent is trying to escape from underneath you on the ground. Both of these examples show the real need for weight resistance training for a fighter, because without working some specific weight training exercises for these needs a fighters body will suffer a weakness with the range-of-motion extremes.
Finally, a fighter needs a combination of the two types of muscle strength - endurance and explosive strength. This is a type of muscle strength that I've termed "Explosive Endurance Strength." The type weight training that fighters do should employ an explosive type exercise while using specific schemes to capitalize the endurance of that muscle strength. As an example, heavy weight with low repetitions are used for explosive strength training and lower weight with high repetitions are typically used for endurance type muscle strength. I use a split approach in my weight training to optimize the benefits of both type exercises but rather than do two different sets of exercises for the same muscle with varying amounts of weight, I simply change the type repetition I'm doing. An example is for leg strength. I use "timed squats" for building both type muscle strengths. I will use a long count (say 4 to 6 seconds) going down to a parallel position, a slight pause then an explosive fast movement to the top of the squat position. On the next set, I vary that exercise by dropping quickly to the parallel position, pausing slightly at the bottom, then using a long count of 4 to 6 seconds going back up to the top of the squat position. On the third set, I'll use a long count going down, slight pause on the bottom, and a long count going up. Finally, I'll start a set by going all the way down fast, slight pause at the bottom of the squat, then a slow 4 count up but this time I go only about one half of the way up, then return to the bottom and do the next rep. The result is both explosive and endurance type muscle strength. I do similar exercises for all body parts. It works for me and it will work for you.
The point of this and other types of weight exercises for the fighter is that you can not get this type strength without doing weight resistance training. You can run until you puke your insides out. You can do crunches until your tongue hangs out. Push-ups until your hands hurt, but you'll never realize your full and true potential until you add weight resistance training to your training routine. Don't take my word for it, take the look of the guys that are in their 20's that I beat then tell them that weight resistance training hasn't worked for me. Not only has it worked, but it is a large part of why I believe I'm still successfully fighting and in excellent shape at 59 years old.
By: Skip "Disturbed" Hall
As a career fighter, martial artist and ex-baseball player, I was told by nearly all of my trainers and instructors along the way specifically not to weight train! "It will take away from your flexibility. You'll become muscle-bound. You'll always be plagued with pulled muscles, tendons and ligaments. You need explosive strength and not brute muscle strength." Now, many years later myself and hundreds of athletes know that every one of them was wrong!
At 59 years of age and dedicated to strength training through a 5 time-a-week weight training regiment, I'm proof that they all were very wrong. First, none of the old myths are true with me or anyone else that I know who trains intelligently. I'm flexible enough to do the full splits and I can still use all of my extremities to perform normal body functions. While I've added significant muscle to my body through weight training and proper diet, I don't think I've even approached being muscle-bound. Since I've been weight training (and powerlifting) for the past seven years continuously, I've had absolutely no pulled muscles, tendons or ligaments. As a matter of fact, I had more injuries when I wasn't weight training. Today, I'm considerably stronger than when I started weight training and my strength is noticeably more explosive and enduring. As a matter of fact, the reason I started weight training was because I was being overpowered by the ambitious younger (and stronger) fighters and my speed alone wasn't enough to keep me winning my fights.
I fight in the most extreme type of fighting in the world and perhaps the most extreme sport in the world - Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or No Holds Barred (NHB) cage fighting. MMA/NHB fighting requires both stand-up fighting and ground fighting skills. Fighting skills that require both upper and lower body strength. Fighting that needs muscles with both explosive and endurance-type muscle strength. And, I'm still able to compete in powerlifting at a world class level. So, even if you don't factor in my age as being the oldest active no holds barred fighter in the world, weight resistance training is important to fighters. How?
First, many studies indicate that weight training increases bone density, helps reduce muscle injury, increases muscle efficiency and is the best way to stimulate both slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Those same studies prove that muscle size does not determine whether or not you will be slow or fast. That would be the same as saying that lifting weights slowly will make you slower and lifting them faster will make you faster and we know from common sense that isn't true. Weight training is strength training and strength training makes a fighter stronger because stronger muscles are capable of producing more force. Fighters are definitely athletes and weight training is simply good for an athletes overall health and fitness. It is as simple as that.
Secondly, many fighters overlook the fact that muscle strength for our sport requires what I term "range-of-motion" strength. I specifically mean that a fighter must have significant strength both at the extended and contracted end of his muscle's range. An example is that a fighter must be as strong with his arms when he strikes an opponent with a punch as he is when using those same arms to hold an opponent tight and close to avoid getting punched. Another example is that a fighter's legs must function on the extended end of the range of motion so that he can kick an opponent (the leg is outstretched) but the same legs must also be as strong when being used to keep an opponents body close when the opponent is trying to escape from underneath you on the ground. Both of these examples show the real need for weight resistance training for a fighter, because without working some specific weight training exercises for these needs a fighters body will suffer a weakness with the range-of-motion extremes.
Finally, a fighter needs a combination of the two types of muscle strength - endurance and explosive strength. This is a type of muscle strength that I've termed "Explosive Endurance Strength." The type weight training that fighters do should employ an explosive type exercise while using specific schemes to capitalize the endurance of that muscle strength. As an example, heavy weight with low repetitions are used for explosive strength training and lower weight with high repetitions are typically used for endurance type muscle strength. I use a split approach in my weight training to optimize the benefits of both type exercises but rather than do two different sets of exercises for the same muscle with varying amounts of weight, I simply change the type repetition I'm doing. An example is for leg strength. I use "timed squats" for building both type muscle strengths. I will use a long count (say 4 to 6 seconds) going down to a parallel position, a slight pause then an explosive fast movement to the top of the squat position. On the next set, I vary that exercise by dropping quickly to the parallel position, pausing slightly at the bottom, then using a long count of 4 to 6 seconds going back up to the top of the squat position. On the third set, I'll use a long count going down, slight pause on the bottom, and a long count going up. Finally, I'll start a set by going all the way down fast, slight pause at the bottom of the squat, then a slow 4 count up but this time I go only about one half of the way up, then return to the bottom and do the next rep. The result is both explosive and endurance type muscle strength. I do similar exercises for all body parts. It works for me and it will work for you.
The point of this and other types of weight exercises for the fighter is that you can not get this type strength without doing weight resistance training. You can run until you puke your insides out. You can do crunches until your tongue hangs out. Push-ups until your hands hurt, but you'll never realize your full and true potential until you add weight resistance training to your training routine. Don't take my word for it, take the look of the guys that are in their 20's that I beat then tell them that weight resistance training hasn't worked for me. Not only has it worked, but it is a large part of why I believe I'm still successfully fighting and in excellent shape at 59 years old.
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