Lifting for MMA

I mentioned some weight training in my previous article, titled "MMA Conditioning Training," but I'm going to go more in depth for this one. If you've ever watched an MMA fight, you'll probably realize that strength plays a pretty significant part of who will win the fight. Look at Brock Lesnar, for example. In just four fights, he's beaten several top fighters. That said, weight training is not the end all for mma, but it is an essential part of your routine. I'll do in depth as to how weight training can help you and how you can achieve great results.

The benefits of MMA weight training:

* Provides more functional strength if done properly, which'll allow you to control your opponent better on the clinch and on the ground.
* Your strikes will carry more power and you'll be more likely to KO your opponent.
* Strong neck muscles will make it harder to torque your head, which'll also make you more difficult to knock out.
* You'll be able to power out of or into submissions, enabling you to avoid defeat or secure that much-needed win.
* You'll need to exert yourself less to control your opponent, which means you'll tire out more slowly if you can pace yourself.

Now that you know why you want to do MMA weight training, you probably want to know how to achieve it. The first thing you'll want to realize is that MMA is not bodybuilding and having a good looking body does not necessarily mean you'll be good at MMA; in fact, you want to avoid gaining weight as much as possible. The purpose of weight training in MMA is to gain more explosive strength and endurance while maintaining the same weight.

In order to maintain your weight and gain strength, you're going to need to stick to explosive exercises and heavy compound lifts. Olympics lifts are some of the best for MMA and are really underutilized. The only downside for them is that you need to learn proper form which can take away from your skill training. The strength and conditioning that you get from them, however, will help you much more in the long run. This little bit of knowledge will prove useful throughout your entire career. Aside from Olympic lifts, you'll want to focus on plyometrics and bodyweight exercises. I recommend the push up and pull up, most of all. These are two of the best exercises in the world.

If you're serious about MMA, remember that weight training is one of the most important things you can do. You just need to do it properly and make sure you don't gain weight (or gain as little as possible) and keep your flexibility.