Weight Lifting Question?

[eXampuL_oNe]

Aight, I lift freeweights (20 lbs. dumbells) as much as possible between Boxing/Muay Thai sessions (2 to 3 x's a week). My question is... How often is too often and how much is too much? I want to lift every day! If I go hard 3 days out of the week should I go light 2 days (like an on/off schedule)? Or should I just lift every other day? I have no clue here.. Im not big into lifting. I just want to sculpt my arms more. My workout usually goes like this (at home):

warm up (shadow box til I break a sweat)

10-15 Hammer curls
rest
10-15 Fly's
rest
15-20 Single arm curls
rest
25 push ups
rest

Start over

I do that until muscles fatigue/fail

After I usually stretch my arms for a little while then chase with a protein shake.

The thing I worry about is. If I am lifting to much I don't want to get sluggish with punches. So what would be a good routine to follow? How often a week? How much rest time?

 

[Formant024]

Do heavy weights slow (taking pressure on the muscle) and dumbells at speed (low weights ), aim for speed and puncture not muscle strength cuz to much beef makes you slow. I used to do a simple training, take a long stick (bo), hold the end and keep the stick like that horizontal untill the bi/triceps fatigue (and the rest of your body, youll notice).

 

[Ash Holmz]

u do get sluggish if u do it too much .... it really depends on your fight schedule u def dont wanna be lifting within 2 or even 3 days of a fight (official one i mean )... but besides that u should be aight as long as u dont kill urself... i was a highly comtetive athlete growing up and all through college.. i noticed that when i lifted extremely heavily (mostly offseason) , I was actually a bit slower / less reactive than when i went a little lighter on the weights.... i mean really .. howw many HUGE guys do u know that actually fight... most fighters are just solid, not bulky or anything. but i do like the fact that ur using light weights.. thats the key... light weights with "explosive, quick" movements will actually increease ur punching power and quickness. ur workout is pretty good just usequick moevments with mid to light weight.... like when ur doing ur push ups..etc .. try to do them as quick as possible but of course maintaining proper form. ......another technique is to do the negative resistance slow and positive fast ... for example when doing push ups go down slow and delibearte but pop up as fast u can each time. that kinda shit makes u quicker. also dont sleep on strecthing .. streching makes u way faster ... strech a lil bit before u warmup... alot after u warm up .. and alot after ur finished .. i think thats one of the main reason that i was a good athlete is cuz i was crazy flexible... being flexible also puts u at less of a risk to lactose buidups,cramps,hyperextensions, and strains. ..

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Aight, good lookin out fellas! This type of info helps me out alot and let's me know where im at and what to do.

@ Ash, yeah the light weights are better for training when u dont want to get bulky, I agree. At first I was going to the weight gym and doing all these heavy weight workouts. I didn't like that shit. My arms would be dead the next couple of days. I basically just want to tone the arms and chest a little more, in the areas that are hard to to with push ups and basic training (basically the biceps and the outside of the arm).

@ Form, u train in shotokan right? What types of heavy weights shoudl I do slow? Bar bell or freeweights?

 

[classic]

yea im a gym rat myself... if ur doing mui thai (which is dope) u defo wanna stick to the lighter weights to keep ur exploivenss.. you dont wanna bluk up tp much ... so i would do a lot of high reps with low weights maybe 3 days a week... I would susitute another 2 days with yoga and some cardio to maintain your indurance....and increase flexabilitity.. this along with ur thai traning should get u in some great fighting shape..

 

[Formant024]

correction; trained lol but both actualy, ligther weights are good to increase speed which says more than muscle strength unless you're going combo with something like pancras (bas rutten style), then i would build sessions with rapid training light weights slowly increasing weight since you must keep speed and form.

 

[Fade]

What you're doing is good but if you want to do more like you said you could always do the same weight lifting routine but do it twice a week. So for example:

Monday
Heavy weight, low reps + 2 minutes of rest between sets.

Thursday
Light weight, high reps + 30 seconds of rest between sets. (You'll be sweating buckets!)

There's plenty of bodybuilders that do this technique and I actually just finished doing this routine not too long ago. By throwing in your boxing too, you'll be good to go.

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Fade, when are we going to spar some rounds???? Do I have to come to canada and HUNT YOU DOWN!!?!?!! lol..

 

[Fade]

Anytime BITCH.

 

[KurtisRich]

shit i need to hit the gym again im out of shape

 

[x-squizet]

once i hit mtsu i am heading to guardian mma, I just plan on doing muay thai and bjj, more so muay thai. I need to loose 65lbs so i figure they will get me down with the proper diet.

Yea i stopped lifting heavy cause i was on a powerlifting routine. I got huge and stronger but sacrificed speed. So I just stopped and going to low weight and around 3 sets of 15, rather tahn a 5x5 routine and 3x3 routine.

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Anytime BITCH.

Im hopping on the plane now!!!

 

[The Bastard]

you should try eatin raw eggs at the ass crack of dawn and pounding raw meat

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Yeah, that seemed to work for ROCKY! I think i'll pass though. No e.coli or salmanella poisoning for me, no THANX!

 

[The Bastard]

Yeah, that seemed to work for ROCKY! I think i'll pass though. No e.coli or salmanella poisoning for me, no THANX!

ur sayin u train better than balboa?

 

[eXampuL_oNe]

Nah, lol... I just ain't going to risk my health in that way..

 

[RigorMortis]

word fuck all those comebacks!!

AAAAAAADRIEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!

 

[x-squizet]

This is the gym I am going to when i get to mtsu.....

http://www.guardianmma.com

 

[Hi-Lo]

man make sure you're doing alternating days of upper and lower body. its funny seeing these guys at the gym who lift upper body religiously and then have these skinny ass legs, shit does not look right. squats are the best single exercise you can do weight wise, so i'd say definitely give a lower body routine a try.

on the routine tip, you have to really change up what you're doing every 6 weeks to keep progressing. not just what exercises you do, but making a major change in sets, reps, or weight can really shock your body into putting on a lot of muscle. i just started doing whats called the 8x8 workout- 8 sets of 8 reps for each muscle group with only 15 second rests in between sets. its a serious workout, give it a try.

 

[JP hardboiled]

Hey Example 1 your routine sounds pretty solid, its' good you stretch as it'll decrease your chances of injury.

Before I did alot of working out, a different muscle group each day with one day off. ACSM the most popular personal training certification teaches to work out 2-3 times a week, so now I do that. I'm in the process of getting that certification.

Since I'm training more for health now, I'm trying to concentrate more on cardio, which you can do as much as possible. I'm kind of keeping in shape in case a match comes along or I feel like jumping the cage someday. So inbetween sets I hit the heavy bag or speed bag working on specific things.

For MMA I'd suggest what hi lo says if your getting into competitions. You want to shock your system alot so it learns to adapt quickly, for changing up exercises often I'd suggest consulting a personal trainer. If you're doing MMA for fun and not necessarily competition. I'd do more health related exercises/cardio. Biking, running, etc. Muscleheads are a strange breed, I used to be one. It makes more sense in the long run to work the muscle that matters most to your health, your heart.