Can I bulk while doing MMA?

Chilli_Con_Cancer · 2021-06-06T08:56:39+00:00

Bro, I'm going to be real with you. If you're getting full into MMA, at some point, you're going to have to make trade-offs and it really depends on what you're looking for. If you've only been hobbyist lifting up until this point, you're going to learn very quickly that Muay Thai and especially BJJ are incredibly taxing on your body and if you don't go in with a solid plan, you're at severe risk of being injured.

Me, personally, I'm a fit, healthy and reasonably athletic dude in my early 20s and after 6 months of trying to juggle BJJ and lifting, I almost did irreparable damage to my knees, almost tore my rotator cuff and fucked up my toes multiple times. If you want to hear more horror stories of what BJJ alone can do to your body, go visit the BJJ subreddit and look up injuries. The reason I (and most people for that matter) got injured was because my had unrealistic perceptions of what I was physically capable of and didn't understand how easy it was to get injured.

Though it's not all doom and gloom. Depending on how long you've been lifting here are my biggest tips:

1) Strengthen your rotator cuff.

One of the biggest problem areas is the shoulders. The reason for this is because alot of training programs do not incorporate enough internal rotation of the shoulders and causes big muscle imbalances between the front and rear delts. This impedes the shoulder's ability to stabilize and (couple this with incorrect form when shoulder pressing) severely weakens the shoulder.

2) If you want to be a good grappler, stop skipping leg day and work on your glutes.

The amount of gymbros who I've run into who couldn't properly activate their glutes and always get lower back pain when squatting and deadlifting is astonishing. Depending on where you're weak, you'll want to start incorporating glute bridges and other accessory work into your routine. I really like glute bridges in particular since the movement is practically fundamental in BJJ moves. However, a few more you might want to look into are: split-squats, farmer's carries and banded chair squats (this is where you rap your knees together with a resistance band and squat while pushing your knees against it, this targets your glute medius and corrects any weakness you might have - but don't go overboard with the bands).

3) Lift before you go to training.

Another easy way I've found to fuck yourself up is to do some hard rolling in the morning and then try to lift later on. When you're starting out in BJJ (and even later on), it's hard to tame yourself in knowing when to hold back. Thus, you'll have times when you put your body in weird positions or don't tap soon enough and then later on, you'll go to bench your usual weight, your arm caves and BOOM big injury, you can't do anything for 3 months. Instead, it's better to lift, get all your muscles tired and open the way for learning good technique.

4) Start eating above maintenance and start doubling down on supplements.

Your original question involved bulking, however, I can guarantee you that you'd be shooting yourself in the foot if you weren't at least a little bit above 10 or even 15% BF. I don't know how good your diet is, but if you don't get that in order just realise that every month which you don't eat properly is extra energy that you could have spent lifting/refining your MMA. Also, invest in some simple carbohydrates (I use maltodextrin) along with: creatine, beta-alanine and whey protein.

5) If you're serious about MMA, quit lifting.

Alot of people have the perception in their heads that lifting is a must if you're serious about being a fighter, but this couldn't be further from the truth. While it is important to build-up a baseline level of strength, the longer you spend lifting the more your body will slowly acclimate to the activity of lifting, whereas, the more time you spend sparring the more your body will acclimate to the demands of MMA. Further, getting too big will actually negatively affect your cardio, range of motion (though this is more a concern for steroid-abusers) and punching power. At a certain point, if you are happy with your physique and are serious about MMA (or just have a greater passion for it), I'd recommend using solely MMA and BJJ especially to maintain your muscle mass and stop lifting all together.

There's alot more I could say, but I'll leave you with two resources which helped me alot:

Firas Zahabi (head MMA coach at Tristar Gym), "Fitness and Nutrition for Martial Arts": https://youtu.be/DOCH-Q4L52w
Dr Mike Isratel (Fitness/Weight Training Specialist and BJJ enthusiast), "Balancing Weights and BJJ": https://youtu.be/f8Vhi7SuFe8

Best of luck.

fourwindsgold · 2021-06-06T07:05:57+00:00

Yes just eat more until the scale moves. And working out 3-5 a week is easily sustainable

CancerCamper · 2021-06-06T06:05:42+00:00

Why are you asking us? Do what YOU want. are you doing mma just as a hobby? Then work on aesthetics. Are you trying to get pro fights? Ask your coach how you should develop your frame for whatever weight class you’re in.

HeungMinSwan · 2021-06-06T08:23:08+00:00

im trying to get into MMA but im a complete beginner with no prior training in anything. are MMA gyms friendly to new guys?

jus_anotha_throwaway · 2021-06-06T15:06:39+00:00

Google and find a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator and track your weight and calories for a few days. That will give you your daily TDEE calories. Add 300 to that number and you’ll be bulking. Bulking = more calories in than out

Ethman2k9 · 2021-06-06T07:34:29+00:00

Why not so strength / myofibrilliar hypertrophy as opposed to sarcoplasmic. Do like 3x3 and compliment your mma

Title	Can I bulk while doing MMA?
Author	CollectorOfBreesh
Upvotes	10
Comments	40
Date	June 6, 2021 5:40 AM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/nteo43/can_i_bulk_while_doing_mma/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/can-i-bulk-while-doing-mma.780388 https://theredarchive.com/post/780388

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