Generally speaking, athletes dedicated to hand-to-hand combat are normally very strong, the need for marked muscles is a very common theme in the world of martial arts, but many of us know that lifting heavy things does not necessarily mean that you will have exceptional movements.
As the UFC and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu have become the sports of choice for many, some coaches have helped things change slowly, but not completely. Many martial arts practitioners choose to do more cardio than other types of exercises, despite supplementing with something that applies strength.
We could say that there are cases of bantamweight fighters in MMA who despite being in good shape, in a strong training session they could not lift 135 pounds even or do a few decent push-ups, it could be the height of a fighter, but it is totally true.
Reasons why a martial arts fighter should gain muscle
You will see that gaining muscle will bring you certain benefits for combat, which will significantly change the way you perform, such as:
More strength and power
An athlete of this ilk should prioritize being strong and powerful, with the muscle being partly responsible for achieving this. Being stronger will bring you some strength over your opponent in any aspect of the fight, be it hand-to-hand with braces or striking.
We can take as an example the fight between George St-Pierre versus Nick Díaz, in which Georges due to his strength and ability to apply keys was able to dominate Nick, preventing attempts that were unsuccessful to turn the result of the fight from 5 to 0 rounds in your favor.
Improved Knockout ability
When you start to gain muscle , you have a better chance of knocking out your opponent. Many people due to their methods to be more muscular tend to have a greater possibility of giving their opponent a sudden fall, athletes such as Hector Lombard, Junior Dos Santos and Johny Hendricks are the clear example of what we talk about.
Less chance of being knocked over
For MMA, Judo, Jiut-Jitsu practitioners, more muscle will bring you fundamental strength to make it harder to knock him down and easier to knock down your opponent. Increased muscle mass in the lower body will bring greater support and center of gravity to your body, giving you a chance of where the fight will take.
Reduced risk of injury
Think that your muscles are your shield that will protect you from the strongest injuries. The more muscle you have, the more protected you will be. Despite not being invincible, we assure you that your strong muscles will protect organs such as your kidneys, compared to someone who is less muscular.
We can say that simply having more weight on your muscles, on fight night you will not be able to skimp on the number of pounds of difference from your enemy, so being stronger will bring you your remarkable and irrefutable advantages.
There are certain things to consider when gaining muscles.
We will consider some aspects of the “Flex Magazine” and Phil Heath’s health programs.
There are certain rules that you must follow so as not to go overboard with your kilos that you want to gain in order to translate it into strength. Remember that your goal is to make the fight better and you must take into account certain things.
Be careful with excesses.
More is not better as many claim and have as a dogma today, it is something that will not go out of style despite the fact that many of us disagree. An athlete who already enters the gym with highly formed muscles the last thing he needs is a program to increase muscle mass, this can even decrease his performance in fights.
Distribute your exercises well
You must take into account which are the areas that need more benefits, remember to exercise everything symmetrically (Legs, shoulders, back, other parts.
Do not exercise too much, at least if necessary.
Take care of your performance, adding extra weight to an athlete close to a fight will give him a disadvantage for not knowing his body. Any change in the body will be noticed and is something that the fighter will have to get used to, proceed wisely in your exercise program.
Think about how you maintain your weight relative to the weight of the division where you compete.
It is obvious, you must have control regarding our exercises and control of our weight. For example: If a fighter wants to move to a lower weight category, he cannot arrive exhausted on fight night just because he has been doing strong exercises.
Jump from weight class with time to your advantage.
It is another advice, you do not intend to reach a higher weight category by being the lightest of all, since you could have a bad night. An applicable tip for MMA, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo or Muay Thai.
Make sure that when you need to gain muscle you do it in a sensible way and do not make the most general mistakes in this area. Remember these tips and start to forge them into your routine and you will see how you will have immediate effects reflected on the tatami.
