Anyone here lift heavy and fight

[squatmonster]

I ama powerlifter and looking to return to the sport of MMA. I have been gearing up for close to a year to return but at the same time still love to compete in powerlifting. I have a 3 lift meet at the end of March then the next weekend my return to MMA.

I was just wondering how many others out there do both either powerlifting or bodybuilding and MMA. I have been lifting for 18 years so its nothing new, my main deal is keeping my cardio up while training so heavy , its been a challenge so far .

I use lot of supplements to help with recovery and I use a squat suit but bench and deadlift raw. So with the gear for the squats I can save my lower back somewhat , however i have been sore for well over a week from a meeet and other times not sore at all .

Anyone else here done both ??? if so how did that work out for you .?

[Rodja]

You can't do both and expect to be competitive at both. That doesn't mean you can't train heavy or implement PLing principles (I incorporate 5/3/1 into my lifting).

[AntonG42O]

yea cant really compete well in both. just supplement your MMA training with heavy lifting like Rodja said.

[squatmonster]

Thanks for the input

[SeniorXJ]

-I have done both but if u wanna be at the top of ur game then u have to pick one & take a back seat to the other. I see ur 5'7" & weigh 230, so ur at a serious disadvantage for fighting at heavyweight!! Just watch Jeff Monsen VS Tim Silvia & u'll understand that comment!! U also said uve done this for 15 years but didnt say which one nor a mention of ur record & fighting styles being studied.
-Like i said ive done both, but when i started to make the transition at 6' 285, my coaches wouldnt even let me compete till i dropped down to a 240 range!! It took me a bit to figure out why but let me just tell u that the big bad muscle guys just cannot "scientifically" & "physically" keep up with even a 225 heavyweight!!!! The pure cardio aspect scientifically will tell u how much harder the heart needs to work to keep feeding all that extra muscle & that expended energy is just wasted on un-needed muscle!!
-Besides, ive seen some lightweights deadlift in the 550 range!!!! Hope that helped.

[squatmonster]

-I have done both but if u wanna be at the top of ur game then u have to pick one & take a back seat to the other. I see ur 5'7" & weigh 230, so ur at a serious disadvantage for fighting at heavyweight!! Just watch Jeff Monsen VS Tim Silvia & u'll understand that comment!! U also said uve done this for 15 years but didnt say which one nor a mention of ur record & fighting styles being studied.
-Like i said ive done both, but when i started to make the transition at 6' 285, my coaches wouldnt even let me compete till i dropped down to a 240 range!! It took me a bit to figure out why but let me just tell u that the big bad muscle guys just cannot "scientifically" & "physically" keep up with even a 225 heavyweight!!!! The pure cardio aspect scientifically will tell u how much harder the heart needs to work to keep feeding all that extra muscle & that expended energy is just wasted on un-needed muscle!!
-Besides, ive seen some lightweights deadlift in the 550 range!!!! Hope that helped.

I agree with you , back when I fought 1996-2000 I wasnt powerlifting or as heavy as I am now. I weighed in at 160 and was 6-0 in MMA and 11-1-1 in submission matches. It was my entire life and well back when I was fighting finding a fight in 1996 was through word of mouth and so on .

Now there are tons of fights every weekend somewhere so I can pick and choose. I have been involved with MMA since 1995 but havnt fought since 2000. I was a wrestler and studied submission fighting in Chicago for over 2 years before my first fight . I have been weightlifting since I was 18 and powerlifting since 2001.

I do understand the disadvantages, but what I see at alot of these local shows is what is making me wanna step back in the cage. nothing against the true fighters , but they are few and fgar between at alot of these smaller venues. I mean whenever an MMA event rolls into a town its like everyone and their mom from the local trailer park is a fighter.

I have watched the sport I love turn into a side show with these smaller events . Haymakers and lack of any real wrestling skill is the usual show. That and 120# fighters are what is making me sick to my stomach . Nothing against the smaller fighters but when the entire card is made up of them , well cmon and then their Heavyweight comes out with this huge belly and the crowd loves him because they know that finally there will be some more haymakers but this time with some force behind them.

I have been training seriously for a return to the sport of MMA for about 8 months. I am in no hurry since I am still doing Raw Bench Shows and well with my work schedule its hard as I work a rotating 12 hour shift. I still squat heavy and deadlift heavy but nowhere near a 1 rep max. I stay with sets of 5 and speed sets of 3 reps . I also have a rep day of 3 sets of 20 , but with all this heavy work I have always done plyometric work .

I guess with my training the main thing I have trouble with is recovery . I am big into supplements and so on to help out and eat like a madman . I was just wondering if there were any others out there in my same boat ...