Alan: Question Regarding MMA, BBing and Diet

Beowulf

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Hey Alan,
I'm psyched to have you aboard here. Welcome!

I saw that one of your interests is MMA, so I'm wondering if you have any basic guidelines for a diet conducive to maximizing performance and recovery in MMA training, while also pursuing bodybuilding goals. I had a crazy summer and haven't lifted weights in about a month, but my schedule (though still hectic) has normalized a bit.

My current training:
Mon: Muay Thai
Tues: Upper Body--DC Style
Weds: Muay Thai and BJJ (1 hr each)
Thurs: Lower Body--DC Style
Fri: Muay Thai and BJJ (1 hr each)
Sat: Muay Thai
Sun: Upper Body--DC style
Mon: Repeat with upper/lower flipped

I have a good handle on diet for lifting and low-intensity cardio, but MMA is necessarily high intensity. I love training MT and BJJ, but I still want to pursue physique development. :bb2:

I am a h.s. teacher, so I work long hours in addition to this. I wake up at 4:30am and get to sleep by 10pm (hopefully). I include this info in case you think this is a recipe for rapid overtraining.

Any input is greatly appreciated.
 
Rodja

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I think that training Muay Thai four times a week is a little too much IMO. Cut one of those sessions and substitute a condioning session, which is basically MMA circuit training w/ shadow boxing, sprawls, shoots, etc.
 
Beowulf

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I think that training Muay Thai four times a week is a little too much IMO. Cut one of those sessions and substitute a condioning session, which is basically MMA circuit training w/ shadow boxing, sprawls, shoots, etc.
You're not Alan...:run:


JK, bro. I've heard you mention Bas' conditioning drills before. Should I look there? I have The Big Book of Combat 1 and 2. Should I start with that stuff?
 
Rodja

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I absolutley love Bas' conditioning drills. I haven't read any of his books, but his DVD's can be found on the net. Think of it as interval cardio without the monotony of running or other traiditional forms of aerobics.

Also, you may want to have stretching sessions where you stretch the muscles from all angles. Flexibility is not usually discussed, but I think that it is extremely important, especially on the ground. The areas to really focus on are hip flexors, adductors, and hamstrings.
 
Beowulf

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My hips are sore as hell right now from working on high kicks. I definitely want to find some good stretches for hips.
 
Rodja

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The most annoying injuries are hip flexors; they take forever to heal and they affect everything in MMA training. I usually do explosive step-ups to build power and I stretch afterwards. I am almost able to do the splits vertically abd I have been able to do them horizontally for years now. Like I said before, flexibility is so important to reduce injury and increase explosion.
 
alan aragon

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Hey Alan,
I'm psyched to have you aboard here. Welcome!

I saw that one of your interests is MMA, so I'm wondering if you have any basic guidelines for a diet conducive to maximizing performance and recovery in MMA training, while also pursuing bodybuilding goals. I had a crazy summer and haven't lifted weights in about a month, but my schedule (though still hectic) has normalized a bit.

My current training:
Mon: Muay Thai
Tues: Upper Body--DC Style
Weds: Muay Thai and BJJ (1 hr each)
Thurs: Lower Body--DC Style
Fri: Muay Thai and BJJ (1 hr each)
Sat: Muay Thai
Sun: Upper Body--DC style
Mon: Repeat with upper/lower flipped

I have a good handle on diet for lifting and low-intensity cardio, but MMA is necessarily high intensity. I love training MT and BJJ, but I still want to pursue physique development. :bb2:

I am a h.s. teacher, so I work long hours in addition to this. I wake up at 4:30am and get to sleep by 10pm (hopefully). I include this info in case you think this is a recipe for rapid overtraining.

Any input is greatly appreciated.
MMA & fighting training in general is highly calorie-consuming. The problem that I generally run into with MMA trainees is that they have a tough time keeping weight on. This varies with the individual, and of course it will vary with the weight class you're trying to reach or maintain. Some questions for you: What are your bodybuilding goals? Current & goal stats? Do you have a greyhound metab, or is it more like jabba the hut? How long have you been on this current regime, and what have your results looked like so far?
 
Beowulf

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I just started the current split. I was doing manual labor all summer, so I had to take a breather from the gym, unfortunately. I was unable to recover and work was unbearable.

Right now, after some body decomposition, I'm about 190 lbs and 13-14% bf. I would like to be 195-200lbs at 7-8% bf. I am patient, and realize that will probably take a while.

I would say that I'm an ecto, except that I gain abdominal fat very easily. Though not so bad anymore, I had some serious chicken legs before I started lifting. Arms weren't much better, and chest did not exist. I was probably14-15% bf and only weighed 145lbs.

Thanks for getting back to me,
Beo :wave:
 
alan aragon

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I just started the current split. I was doing manual labor all summer, so I had to take a breather from the gym, unfortunately. I was unable to recover and work was unbearable.

Right now, after some body decomposition, I'm about 190 lbs and 13-14% bf. I would like to be 195-200lbs at 7-8% bf. I am patient, and realize that will probably take a while.

I would say that I'm an ecto, except that I gain abdominal fat very easily. Though not so bad anymore, I had some serious chicken legs before I started lifting. Arms weren't much better, and chest did not exist. I was probably14-15% bf and only weighed 145lbs.

Thanks for getting back to me,
Beo :wave:
If you just started the regime, you gotta see what the effects are for about a month in order to gain any real point reference. But more importantly, with the goals you have be prepared to be dedicated for at least a year before you begin to see the goal.

By the numbers, it looks like you're looking to gain about 18lbs of LBM & lose 11lbs fat. That's some serious sh1t. If you can pull that off by September of 07, you should be VERY proud. Any sooner would be a bonus. Since you've already put on 45 relatively lean lbs as an adult, lean gains of 1-2lbs/month would be pretty spectacular if BF didn't tag right along with them. You have a long, hard - but glorious road ahead. My hunch is that you'll need to make carbs your friend. Position the bulk of them around your training bouts, & taper back elsewhere. No need to cut them clear out when you're just sitting on your ass, but merely scale back. You can translate extra carb calories into lean gains as long as you tighten up the supply-demand relationship between food & training. Beginners can keep things pretty linear & do quite well for a long time. Sometimes with the less gifted &/or more advanced guys who want to push things a little further, nonlinear dieting & worrying about timing is the next step. Watch for signs of overtraining &/or undereating. I suggest taking appx every 10th-12th week off of "formal" anal retentive BB-type dieting & training.

Everyone wants the holy grail of net gains in total size while melting the fat off.. It takes time & lots of it. Excuse the rambling, I just wanna try to put things into perspective & offer you what I see as the bigger picture.
 
Beowulf

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Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that I was right about 200lbs and 10% bf in early july. Working out doors made me a carb-whore, and I had trouble chomping down enough protein in the hot weather. So my baseline is probably much higher than where I am right now. I've just gone to crap in the last 5-6 weeks. I'm back on track now, and I'll check back in a month or so. I anticipate (perhaps incorrectly) some rapid recomposition, rebounding from my recent DEcomposition :(

Thanks again, Alan
 
alan aragon

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Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that I was right about 200lbs and 10% bf in early july. Working out doors made me a carb-whore, and I had trouble chomping down enough protein in the hot weather. So my baseline is probably much higher than where I am right now. I've just gone to crap in the last 5-6 weeks. I'm back on track now, and I'll check back in a month or so. I anticipate (perhaps incorrectly) some rapid recomposition, rebounding from my recent DEcomposition :(

Thanks again, Alan
Hell, in that case, you should bounce back to that within a few months - granted you can keep away from enough flying elbows & knees! Your goal is definitely within pretty short reach (no pun intended).
 
Beowulf

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:toofunny: There is an MMA forum here at AM. It is much better than the more popular MMA forums; just a handful of more knowledgeable guys (myself being at the very bottom of the knowledge scale). Pop in if you have some time.
 

Popa Murph

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You have a scheduled BJ every Wed and Friday! :woohoo:


edit: I know what BJJ is I just couldn't pass that up!
 

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