Training mma, how do I *not* gain weight?

[Bible_Belt]

I can see it being a matter of choice. We don't throw elbows as amateurs and it depends on the discrepancy of skills bjj vs striking that the two fighters have. Rolling with my purple belt instructor makes me feel as big and bad as a little kid. He can submit pretty much all of us from about any position, and he is only about my weight. I have seen bjj practitioners in ufc 'pull guard,' which is like a reverse takedown, pulling the other guy down on top of him. A tight guard takes the leverage off of punches, and every punch is an opportunity to either roll the guy or bar the arm that straightens out with the punch. Not that I am good enough to do this very well yet, but the weaknesses in trying to punch while in an opponent's guard are still there. And once again, I could see different fighters making different decisions in regard to standup versus the ground and respect that, but bjj is all about the ground game.

 

[wolf116]

BB, if you are progressing in weight training and MMAing you will will start to overtrain if you don't increase your meals to 6 a day. Everyone hates eating 6 meals a day but it works. The whole 6 meals a day thing started when boxes noticed that they would retain more muscle/strength while cutting if they ate small meals every 2.5 to 3 hours. EVERY meal needs to have whole protein even when cutting, in fact it will help you cut by raising your metabolism. Beans don't count.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Beans don't count.

dammit. Are eggs, whey shakes with milk, and fish good enough? I should eat more, no argument there.

 

[wolf116]

Yep they are all whole protein sources. It would be nice to have some red meat in there though.

Dropping weight is almost always the easiest option to give an advantage. Stick with your coaches advice.

 

[Chillisauce]

Yeah I've only competed in MT Bible belt, so i it might be different for mma matches. I have started doing a little BJJ though (want to compete mma when i come over to the US next year) and it seems to me that strength differences do count a fair bit for grappling too, although when one of them out skills the other significantly it doesn't matter so much.

Are your MMA fights really mostly striking? that would be awesome for me. The matches here are 90% bjj/ 'muay thai' fighters. The MT is really just cardio kick boxing in most of our mma gyms though, i was really disappointed when i tried one out. Don't worry too much if your striking skills suck in mma, just learn how to take a punch and your bjj should be sufficient.

Something else to consider is aesthetics, if you are only training for amateur fights it is not such a big deal which weight you fight at. I didn't like being a very skinny guy, sure i had a 12 pack but no one knows that unless you take your shirt off (still skinny but there is a big aesthetic difference between 160 and 175lb at my height). But if you think you'd be comfortable at a lower weight this is a non-issue.

Awesome that you want to compete though, best of luck with your training whichever weight class you decide to go aim for.

 

[wolf116]

Not necessarily, I'm doing Smolov right now and training MMA and I only eat around 4 meals a day. It depends on your work capacity.

Are you training for a fight or just training? there is a big difference.

 

[Chillisauce]

I do Muay thai Monday, Tuesday, Wed and weights thursday/saturday with 4-6 meals per day. Haven't had any overtraining problems i think mainly because i'm using HST, not a max weight per workout session program. About 3 weeks off finishing this program then i'll add weights on mondays too.

I see you guys commenting on over training in relation to meals/day, do the two even have a correlation? I thought overtraining was more of a CNS/muscle fatigue problem.

 

[wolf116]

I do Muay thai Monday, Tuesday, Wed and weights thursday/saturday with 4-6 meals per day. Haven't had any overtraining problems i think mainly because i'm using HST, not a max weight per workout session program. About 3 weeks off finishing this program then i'll add weights on mondays too.

I see you guys commenting on over training in relation to meals/day, do the two even have a correlation? I thought overtraining was more of a CNS/muscle fatigue problem.

A proper diet will significantly increase work capacity and muscle repair but yes your CNS needs time to heal no matter the food intake.

 

[BMX]

fish oil has kept my weight down. I stopped taking it a few days ago and I think that may cause me to jump up 4 or 5 lbs. again, just experimenting right now..

 

[SharinganUser]

Most of the hardcore trainers in MA that I have trained with are all slim because they are on a good diet. So unless you are using supplements and doing roids, I don't think you should be worried about adding weight. Just focus on getting in shape and laying a good foundation so you can do what ever you want with your weight later in your mma journy.

 

[MrS]

Don't eat a lot!
for 165 and training every day for 2 hours itense should be at 2500 calories to 3000.

 

[lookyoung]

I can see it being a matter of choice. We don't throw elbows as amateurs and it depends on the discrepancy of skills bjj vs striking that the two fighters have. Rolling with my purple belt instructor makes me feel as big and bad as a little kid. He can submit pretty much all of us from about any position, and he is only about my weight. I have seen bjj practitioners in ufc 'pull guard,' which is like a reverse takedown, pulling the other guy down on top of him. A tight guard takes the leverage off of punches, and every punch is an opportunity to either roll the guy or bar the arm that straightens out with the punch. Not that I am good enough to do this very well yet, but the weaknesses in trying to punch while in an opponent's guard are still there. And once again, I could see different fighters making different decisions in regard to standup versus the ground and respect that, but bjj is all about the ground game.

To be honest your best bet is to get real good at your take downs and end up on a side control postion being that none of these guys have a ground game. I would just use my top position to ground and pound. I think its very important for you to come up with a game plan. If these guys have no bjj once you get on top they are going to get gassed out pretty quick. They are going to be bucking for dear life. Just hold your postion and when your body senses they are tiring than you mount and start pounding them with the punches and elbows(if there legal at your matches.)

I could see how pulling guard would be a good idea being that you have long legs. But I would feel the guy out first and if you could take him down that go for it.

You should also understand that the gloves desensitize your hands. Next time you roll put on the mma gloves with your instructor its a slightly different feel.

I would not recommend lifting weights. If your going to lift weights do the rich franklin type of workout were you run from machine to machine. Weights put a lot of weight on. And if you want to keep your weight down your probably better off doing plyometrics.

Good luck and if you have a fight you have to show me the video. Btw do you train in the gi or without the gi? I would recommend to do gi till you get to bluebelt level than do both.

 

[lookyoung]

I STRONGLY advise letting your muscles grow bigger by eating enough instead of trying to curb this and fight in a lower weight class. Since you are tall at 155 weight you wont have half the hitting power of a 5'9 155 pounder

I disagree I would rather fight a guy 5"9 155 pounds. As funny as it sounds taller people are bigger people. Look at there hands... Look at there feet. There are exceptions to the rule but most tall skinny guys pack a punch. A guy that is 6"1 155 pounds has a lower body fat percentage than the 5"9 guy. He is the bigger guy.

I Rolled with a guy who is 6"5 190 pounds with a muy thai back ground and 4 years of highschool wrestling. He had about 40 bjj classes under his belt and he tapped me. It was a back and forth match but he got my back and body triangled me. We were hand fighting but he got me on a collar choke. I am 5"11 190 pounds but he is a bigger 190. I feel that his size played to his advantage.

I would rather be taller and lean for mma than vice versa. Although there are exceptions to the rule such as sean sherk and manny gynberian or whatever his last name is.

 

[Chillisauce]

I am one of the tall skinny fighters Lookyoung and while we do have advantages like reach, at equal bodyfat levels and technical skill the shorter guy is going to hit significantly harder.

'A guy that is 6"1 155 pounds has a lower body fat percentage than the 5"9 guy. He is the bigger guy.'

Going into a fight assuming the other guy is going to be a fat slob with poor skills is really the worst thing you can do. The 5'8 fighters are the same bodyfat % as the 6'2+ skinny guys in my gym.

Since this is about mma, strength plays a fairly important part in wrestling/takedowns doesn't it? Higher center of gravity and hardly any body strength (145 lbs at that height) might be a problem.

 

[MrS]

Don't eat too much!

 

[Bible_Belt]

My weight is still the same, although my girlfriend says my arms are still getting bigger. Lose fat, build muscle, same story. I'm now easily in the best shape of my life. When I talk with people about mma and cage fighting, sometimes they will out of the blue guess at what weight class I would fight. Most people guess about 180. I weighed 169 after a meal yesterday and 159 today after two intense hours of grappling, so I am just about the same weight as when I started this thread. However, I look very different, like I have been locked in a room with just a Soloflex for the past five months.

As far as diet, I am getting better about what I eat. I only eat when hungry and will always have a lean protein source with a meal, usually a piece of fish. Other than sugar in my morning coffee, I have cut back on fried foods, sugar, bread, pasta, and refined carbs. I still drink Gatorade after a workout, but fellow fighters have told me that is no big deal, given the massive calories that we are burning. Other than a couple Arby's roast beef sandwiches on occasion, I don't eat fast food. When I eat out at a restaurant, I usually eat fish, salmon if the place has it.

 

[mostwantedbabyfather]

I am gonna start training in bjj as soon as i find the right place so what should i look for when findind a good dojo/instructor? I think there is a thread on this but i cant find it.

Bible Belt did you ever compete and are you still training/