I know that hypertrophy and being as huge as possible will have diminishing returns if you want to combat sports. But bodybuilding has been a hobby of mines since I was young, so I really don't want to give it up.

I am a huge MMA fan but don't really have much experience and want to start to learn how to fight, maybe possibly compete as an amateur or pro in the future.

For the brahs who do both MMA or any other combat sports, as well as bodybuilding, do you excel at both? I will set the bar higher for bodybuilding, but I want to also do decently well in MMA.

I was thinking of getting as huge as possible, and then lifting just twice a week to maintain muscle and then focusing mainly on learning about fighting and studying.

What do you guys think of this? Its $300. Does it look legit??

https://expertboxing.com/secrets-to-punching-power

“Secrets to Punching Power”
BUY IT NOW FOR $295
8 HOURS of video – nearly 480 minutes of technical instruction broken down into a 30-day intensive training program. Learn the secret techniques and over 100+ punching techniques to improve your punching power!
42-page workbook – all the punching variations, exercises, and tips conveniently listed in a helpful PDF. Print it out, follow along, and make notes.
NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NECESSARY – it’s most ideal to have a punching bag or a partner holding mitts in order to feel the difference, but you can still learn even if all you have is your body and nothing else.
THIS IS A DIGITAL PRODUCT – no physical items will be shipped. You will instantly receive a member login in your email after purchasing. The videos can be viewed online, downloaded, or converted to other media.

Personnally i do strength training/powerlifting kind of training + boxing (been lifting seriously for 4-5years and boxing for 11 years on/off). and i'm kind of good at both

i'm not huge and not small by any means.

My peace of advice is before starting MMA you should excel in atleast one form of martial art, preferably two (ground/standing). so train for a few years in boxing and/or wrestling/grappling before going in.

Don't buy any of these books or videos/whatever. you can watch thousands of these and still be sht. Practice makes perfect, punching power, technique, cardio are more practical than theoretical. join a serious gym with a serious trainer who will teach you basics and see from there.

in terms of weight lifting, you should always be lifting. combat sports or not. i find full bodies in a 3-6 rep schemes are more optimal for combat sports, you don't get that huge but you get strong(er) but i could be wrong, hope someone with more experience can tell you more about it. but to be honest getting huge will get you more tired during spars and will make you slower (unless you have a huge amount of type2 muscular fibers).

Thank you so much for the advice. Yeah my plan is to learn boxing first (I currently hit the bag daily) but I want a proper coach who can give feed back, people to spar with etc. I want to continue lifting heavy but I am afraid too much mass will sacrifice speed, which is just as crucial as punching power (as well as technique)

bodybuilding will help with the grappling aspect of mma but for striking bodybuilding will actually make you retarded

if you wanted to fight mma and be well rounded you will need to stop w the bodybuildig and focus more on powerlifting , singles doubles triples

yup, joining a good gym is crucial if you want to learn martial arts. a bag will never hit you back/set you in your natural state of fighting but it's a good start.

i also don't think it's a good idea to be "huge" while training combat sports but you can still be "big" naturally and have good boxing skills (see Mike Tyson, A. Joshua or even most Middleweights and+ in MMA).

If you're going to put bodybuilding over fighting, then don't bother trying to compete, even at an amateur level. You will have guys who lift once a week but train 7 times a day (yes even in the amateurs) for 4+ hours a day who will just destroy you, and your strength/size will not help you because of the difference in technical ability.

Now, if you put fighting first, this is how I use to train:

Initially when starting off (first 3 years) I would ONLY train and do calisthenics and running. The reason? I wasn't on gear, so all of my recovery was dedicated to training so I can get the technique down. I would run for 1 hour in the morning and then 30 minutes in the evening. I would train muay thai about 5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. This will get you extreme results.

After you've already learned the technique and mastered it for the most part, I would say this happens after 5-7 years(where I'm at now) you can add in lifting one day a week, two days max, only hitting bench, squat, deadlift, and weighted pull ups. Do all of them in 1 day, once or twice a week. The reason you should add weight training at this time is because any technical gains that you make are going to be really, really phucking small. After your technique is in the upper echelon, it is only harder and harder to refine it to be picture perfect. At this point, even though technique is still the primary thing (remember you're only lifting 2x week max) the strength gains that you make will help give you that extra edge.

This comes from someone doing boxing 10 years, muay thai 7, and grappling for under 1 year. I'm currently waiting on surgery so I'm taking time off but yeah. Don't bother competing if you're going to put anything before training that wont let you train technique at least 5 times a week for at least 3 hours minimum a day. Else you will get wrecked even in the amateurs.

also dont buy those chitty dvds. They will not help you. Join a proper gym. If you're in the country or suburbs a MMA gym is your best bet, start off with MMA. if you're in the city, every single city has at least one decent boxing gym, look it up and find it. If you can't find this gym for some reason (even though it does exist for sure if you live in a city) call the police department (srs) and ask them about their boxing program. Every police team in a city has an at least DECENT boxing program. Might not be the best but will teach you enough of the basics that you can start competing.

Join a gym.

Pick one of the following: boxing or muay thai
and one of the following: wrestling, sambo, or Brazilian jiu jitsu [I'd recommend BJJ]

Lifting has to be secondary if you're going to succeed in MMA... I know a LOT of fighters. There are some who do lift, but none who lift more than 3 times a week--they can't possibly accommodate their fight training and still be in there 6 days a week doing body part splits.

Books and videos are great if you want to waste your money!

Wanna learn a combat sport you actually have to go to someone and practice with them.

Currently not training bjj due to a neck problem but normally lift and bjj.

Which one would a strength advantage come in more handy, BJJ or wrestling? I am 100% certain I can out lift most bjj guys/wrestlers in my weight class ( no brag). In my first wrestling class I was put in a bad position but literally just pushed the twink off of me srs.

Obviously the more experienced guys will be bigger and have 100x better technique, but im sure 10 years of lifting will help

Yeh this, maybe take it easy with bodybuilding and focus on powerlifting.Did BJJ for lil while after lifting heavy for 4-5 years. Most guys who had trained a similar amount of time in BJJ as me, I would be able to out muscle em pretty easily, esp if they were a non lifter. Crazy how weak the average person is (n-n-no disrespect). I think strength advantage would come in handy more in wrestling imo. Perhaps someone with more experience in wrestling can shed some light.

Yes lifter and Street fighter
Its a fear tactic. Unpredictability. The flow of hand to hand combat it predicated on patterns. When you break that pattern without losing footing you gain an advantage. However small any advantage it a good one. When you gain the advantage, showing that you have the ability to close the distance in a rapid fashion you show them that you may have something else hidden. Even if it's not true, 1/2 the fight is mental. 1/4 is training. last 1/4 is follow through.

If you get into a street fight, the best thing to do with someone who is going all out wholloping you putting every last bit of energy into the first couple salvos, just cover your face and head as best you can, stay on your feet, and weather the storm. Once he takes a step back to recover, take your time. You'll be hurting, but you have the upper hand now. Even if you know you can't throw a proper punch, strike with an elbow, a knee (Be careful though that you don't get grabbed) a palm in the face. Don't strike with your knuckles if you have never punched anyone or anything before. Especially in the face. Bone on bone is bad. BARE KNUCKLES IN THE STOMACH, elbow to the face, palm to the nose.

NEVER! I REPEAT NEVER! Use bare knuckles on someones face in a street fight. You will break a knuckle(s) and you will leave the fight with a medical bill as long as your arm if you want it to heal right.

Yes, a strength advantage is definitely more important in wrestling than it is in BJJ.

Be mindful, though, that strength does not determine the outcome of any given fight. If you focus on wrestling, BJJ players will be able to scramble to your back and take advantage of the relative shallowness of the wrestling floor game.

There are examples of BJJ athletes who are super strong powerlifters. Dante Leon comes to mind. He's awesome and very athletic, but Garry Tonon still owned him last weekend in a grappling match, not due to strength, but due to tactical superiority.

Yes, I do love them both.

Let the body talk.





Spoiler!

Depends how much time you have in a week.
Definitely apply the 80% , 20 % rule here, meaning, spend 80% of your available time training mma and 20% lifting.

Video was made with bjj in mind.

However his max recoverable volume formula and balancing weight training with a combat sport is pretty much what you are looking for.