Weights Programme for fighting

[WCR]

Was just after some advice on a weights programme. I trained weights a little to bulk up in my early 20's, but stopped a while ago - just do press ups + chin ups etc now. I train Muay Thai and am looking to step up MMA training. Please advise / comment on this potential programme (just put together from asking mates, listening to guys in the gym etc). Also, what sort of reps/sets and weight would you recommend i start at? i am 27yrs, 6ft 2in and about 90kg.

Was thinking of doing this twice a week:

Dead Lifts
Squats
Lunges

Bench Press
Shoulder Press
Chin ups

Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!:)

[Smiler]

Hi!

What are you looking to gain from it?

Increased size?
Increased strength?
Increased power?
Increased weight?
Increased endurance?

Each require slightly different techniques...

Let us know, and we'll be able to give more accurate advice...

Best regards,

Smiler

[Leigh]

Looks pretty good to me :)

[WCR]

Hi Smiler,

I'm not looking to increase size or weight. I would like to improve my strength and power for fighting.

Thanks again.

[WCR]

Hi Smiler,

I'm not looking to gain size or weight. My goal is to gain strength and power for fighting.

thanks again.

[ocuana]

continued of Mr Turner's post -

When you say "thinking of".

what sort of reps and weight are you thinking of?

Those exercises can be used for many different weight training processes.
Explosive strength, compound strength, bodybuilding etc.

[wagon]

chins
squats
deadlift
cleans
benchpress

curls a few weeks before holidays:D

[Smiler]

Hi!

Too many people get it really wrong. Its not about the exercises you select, although there are obviously better ones, it is instead all about how you execute that exercise.

Strength is the most that your muscles can lift under load.

Power is how quickly you can get that weight moving.

They are both different, and utilise different types of muscle fibres, and require differing neuroligical firing.

Both require two different applications, whichever technique you chose.

In respect to MMA, I would suggest the following:

Strength:
Dead slow execution of techniques. I mean 10 second to raise, squeeze hard for 3 seconds on peak contraction, then 10 seconds to lower. Trust me, working like this and your strength for MMA will rocket.

Power:
Power is the force x the objects velocity. Speed, speed and more speed. Or weight, weight and more weight. The way of increasing your power is either to 'accelerate' the weight as fast as you possibly can, while keeping control and good form, or move as much weight as possible, again with good form. Or a combination of the two.

It doesn't matter what exercise you select, if you want strength, I would recommend the first, if you want power, I recommend the second.

If you want both, include both in your programmes.

Hope this helps!

Smiler

[warren]

totaly agree with above , i do 1 day strength and 1 day explosive training with 2 days conditioning here is my rouine, some may think its not that good but i like it ad kills me every week

mon - strength

all 5x5

squat
bench
shoulder press
deadlift

tue - conditioning

all to failure with light to moderate weight and performed fast, this is 1 circuit repeat 5 times

pull ups
dips
decline russian twists with 10kg
snatches
decline sit ups with 10kg
standing bb shoulder press

after 5 circuites

5 mins of 15 sec skipping norm 15 sec skipping max pace then 30 sec off

wed off

thurs - explosive day

all done with modetly heavy weight and explosivly, all 5x3

1 leg weighted box steps (box around 2.5ft)
squat jumps
snatches
clap press ups
med ball switch hand press ups
clean and press

skipping 1 min on 1 min off untill failure


fri - conditioning

same as tuesday.



hope this helped

[Alex Gold]

It doesn't matter what exercise you select, if you want strength, I would recommend the first, if you want power, I recommend the second.

Anyone that has heard me rant about methods being more important than means, this is what I'm talking about! I totally agree (in terms of general training - it becomes harder to seperate the more specific training becomes)

[Smiler]

Hey Alex, you know you're right!

Too many people miss out on the point - the science is the science, and that doesn't change.

Smiler

[WCR]

Thanks Smiler, and thanks everyone else for your input.

That's helpful - (and that 10 seconds thing sounds hardcore) Looking forward to getting on it, let you know how it goes.:)

[Smiler]

No sweat, any time!

The 10 seconds means that you don't miss a single muscle fibre, and you are working the type IIB muscle fibres, the ones with the greatest capacity for load, strength and growth...

The advantage is that you don't need much weight to get the load as it is surprising how much momentum normally takes place on a movement, and with this removed, its just you and your muscles working, fibre to fibre...

After doing this and working the muscles 'properly' you'll be surprised at how many people you see in the gym working inneficiently, and 'hunking' weights around for lessor effect.

It is not a way of working for people with egos, lol, as the weights will be quite small. But this also means a lack of injuries....

Try doing it strictly with an exercise, doing 10-15reps (failing on the last one or two) as warmup, then waiting 4mins, then doing a heavier (but no less strict!) set of 4-6reps...

Interestingly, Alan Wells, respected Olympian and strength and conditioning guru, says the same, as I found out last week...

Smiler

[peterm]

Gary,

That's a tantalising reference to Alan Wells. I believe that he used to be coached by his wife Margot who may be coaching at Wasps. I am fairly certain that Danny Cipriani made reference to her recently.

I did not know that Alan Wells was coaching. What exactly did he say and in what context if not made to you personally?

If he or both of them prescribe the above routine then it is a fairly radical departure from the mainstream. Superslow has been around for sometime and if it were that effective you might have thought that its use would be far more widespread simply on pragmatic grounds.

[Smiler]

Hi!

Margot does more than coach, she does nutrition too...

The reference came from an ex-pro rugby player I know who has been sitting in on the training sessions given...the training described was almost exactly what my research had been telling me and I'd been practising...and not just in relation to superslow...I also know sprinters who are trained by Margo and have heard the same from them also...

What my research has shown is that the science of the body is the science of the body, and the mainstream seem to ignore the basics of how the body works.

And this goes with so much to do with the body.

Superslow is, from my research and practice and coaching, that effective. I put the lack of its widespread use down to ego - its pretty boring due to the time taken, and the weights are very light in comparison to using momentum, which misses most of the fibres and only stresses part of the muscle. And its not been that talked about either, never gained in popularity.

Part of the reason is down to how people guage their strength for example. I've had a good discussion on a judo forum where I've suggested that there may be a better set of exercises for judo strength than just squat, deadlift and bench. The 'experts' said they are the best, but when questioned, I was informed the 'strength' was measured by how well they squatted, benched and deadlifted...but they've missed the point - the point was 'strength for judo', not strength for power lifts...

Of course, superslow is only one piece of the puzzle...there's more to conditioning than just one element...

But then,

Thats my opinion...

Smiler

[peterm]

Gary,

I joined in with that Judo forum post but having done so you promptly disappeared and my views were not well received. My essential point was that merely improving lifting performance with no lean tissue gains had no particular carryover to strength on the mat. In other words increased neurological efficiency in a specific lift, assuming no hypertrophy, was of no significant benefit to strength expressed in a different activity.

A regards superslow if you are finding it to be a superior method of training then I would be the last to dissuade anyone from trying it. My concerns however would be;

1. There is no clear science in support of superslow over more traditional methods.

2. The strength athletes –Olympic lifters and power lifters – who would benefit the most as far as I am aware do not use it and I don’t find it convincing to assert that they do not adopt an allegedly superior method due to ego. If the method produced superior performance then results alone would dictate use. I think the same applies to athletes in general.

3. We do not contract our muscles in a superslow manner in the real world and while there may be sense in lifting in a more controlled fashion, eliminating momentum limits the amount of weight used which means that the nervous system is not accustomed to lifting heavy weights or firing rapidly.

4. I am not sure about the science behind your assertion that the use of momentum fails to recruit type IIB muscle fibres and only stresses “part” of the muscle. I do not know what you mean by “part” but the recruitment of muscle fibres is according to intensity in hierarchical fashion. Lifting heavy as fast as possible or with that intention clearly engages the type IIB fibres. Lifting a light weight slowly may not do so.


The above are of course theoretical concerns and I encourage everyone to explore what you say and report back.

[Mike Bishop]

good post - interested to hear more. I'd never heard superslow advocated before so hope this debate develops

[Smiler]

Hi Peter!

Yeah, that judo forum post was a funny one! I was suggesting that the actual exercises bench deadlift and squat may not be the most appropriate for strength gains for judo, and kinda got shot down a bit lol!

Looks like we were kinda saying the same thing, just you more eloquently...and with more science! I was looking towards more sport specific moves for the reasons you state, hoping someone would come back with some more reading or a new direction for me to further my knowledge...I should have stuck around!

To further the discussion of your points, firstly although we are calling it superslow, I've not come accross that training term before, although it does explain the method well.

1. I've found quite a few papers online, but they were read and digested, then discarded, I didn't keep a good document audit trail. But they were hard to find. I'm tight for time at the mo, getting married next week and all that pressure, but I'll have a look again when I've got time...

2. If I was training the strength athletes of which you speak, I would get them to incorporate some dead slow training. Its a supplementary method, not the whole story, and should as a piece of the puzzle. For these athletes I see the benefits being stronger at the start and end phases of the lifts, more stable, and less prone to injuries.

When consulting with football players I've suggested the dead slow training to help strengthen their bodies overall, for injury prevention, to help them when being tackled and taken out of their usual movements.

3. Mechanics and physics come into play here, where removing momentum and leverage aid in providing increased loads on the muscles, stressing them. Again though, superslow is part of the puzzle, not the complete picture.

In respect to the real world, I think grappling is one time in particular where superslow comes in very handy in increasing sport specific strength. Our bodies need total strength in these situations, as we are often out of alignement and with muscles stretched or compressed or under tension while being required to move with strength. Think of the 'dynamic static' strength required when attempting to hold someone in a hold for example, or slowly working to break a grip to put on an arm bar. I actually think that grappling is a major example of a real world direct application of superslow.

4. With momentum at the start and end of the movements, not all the fibres in the muscles, especially connective tissues, are stressed. As a generalisation only the muscles in the mid part of the move receive complete stress. Going dead slow means that the tissues at the start and end of the move get fully stressed too.

Lifting a lighter weight may not engage the type IIB's, unless the load can be achieved. Of course, I fully agree that speed and weight is the quickest way to engage the type IIB's, but this can come at a cost to not working the muscles completely, in particular at the start and end of movements where momentum provides the movement. Therefore I believe that dead slow training is a compliment to the other forms of training.

MMA engages all muscle fibres, and so I do a mix of work in my training, from dead slow, to explosive and plyometric, static, smooth, with different weights and applications to ensure that I am fully conditioned for my sport. The exercises I use aren't, but could be, the same accross the whole range of training, just with different execution of the exercises for different effect.

I welcome your further questions to keep the discussion going, and I realise my explanations above aren't the clearest!!!

I also think that your last statement is one of the most constructive I have seen on the forums, and is one I definately subscribe to...

Best regards,

Smiler

2.

[Smiler]

Oh - just a thought!

Very different but very related...(?!)

I've had several coaches use a form of dead slow in kick training, to 'ensure that the kick is strong throughout the entire movement'. They got me to throw my kicks in a dead slow manner, removing momentum, so my body was better balanced and stronger throughout the entire range of a kick...

Just 'popped' into my head...

Smiler

[peterm]

Gary,

The reason you have not heard of Superslow is I am afraid simply a reflection of our respective ages.

Although references to slow training can be found earlier, the term “Superslow” derives from the work of Ken Hutchins in the US. Initially associated with Arthur Jones and Nautilus training he popularised in the early 1980’s a system of performing each rep with a ten seconds positive and a ten seconds negative which he designated as “Superslow.”

“Superslow” is thus the trade marked system of Ken Hutchins but is more generally used to describe lifting with a deliberately slow tempo usually but not invariably of 10/10.

I think that in the training world there are essentially two camps. The first is essentially encapsulated by the phrase “lift fast to move fast” and its converse “lift slow and move slow”. The opposing view is that which you have spelled out i.e. remove momentum so that the muscle performs the work and is thereby fully stimulated.

To crudely summarise a lot of the criticism is based on what is perceived to be teaching the muscles to contract slowly when in real life/sports quick contraction is what is needed. Of course when for example you are squatting a heavy weight the speed of contraction will be slow but it is the intention to move quickly which is important for training the neurological system.

As with Nautilus and their variable resistance cams, I think that superslow is probably best carried out as a machine based activity preferably with accommodating resistance in so far as any machine can be accommodating. By avoiding momentum you are inevitably restricted to failing at the point of which you have the least mechanical advantage and to that extent you are not fully taxing the muscle. Of course the cam on the Nautilus machines was invented to overcome this very problem but the leverage point does I think represent a valid criticism of Superslow.

That notwithstanding I think you are absolutely right that on some occasions the emphasis should be taken away from lifting the heaviest weight possible and instead concentrate on making the muscles do the work. As is clear from the judo forum the general emphasis seems to be on improving performance on the lifts rather than looking for the effect of the lifts on performance.

Congratulations on your wedding- belatedly if it has already taken place.

[Smiler]

Peter, you are indeed our very own wikipedia! Thanks for your info there!

Your second to last paragraph summed up my frustration!

I use the 'superslow' personally to improve my strength, but also use it in cojunctions with explosive moves, plyometric moves, smooth moves...I use it as an important, but not complete, way to train.

I also use it with some of my clients. The main advantage for the non-sporty types I get here is maximum gains in the safest possible manner. And with sporty types I get the reduced injuries by working stabilisation of the joints and strength across the full range of joint movment.

I've just read your second to last paragraph again - I agree with it sooo much! As an experienced sportsman, I look to produce the best effect in my sport - after all, thats why I train!

Thanks for the congrats! Its this saturday, and I can't wait!!!

Best regards,

Smiler

[Malcontent]

The muscle soreness (DOMS) that I get from lifting weights make it unworkable for me to combine fight training and weights.

Some seem to be able to combine the two, but I think most fighters would be better off focusing purely on sparring, high rep bodyweight exercises and high intensity cardio training (intervals). Leave the weights to the bodybuilders in my opinion.

[Smiler]

Hi,

Just a note, I was covering the weights issue with the army lads at the PT school today, the Army PT mates of mine, the boxing coach and the judo coach.

We all agree that appropriate resistance training is of prime conditioning importance in support of the sparring and technical work. The key word is appropriate.

DOMS is a different matter, and not everyone suffers it either...

Smiler

[stapes360]

Leave the weights to the bodybuilders in my opinion.

Sorry mate, but this statement is pretty ridiculous IMO.

A fighter's objective should be to reach his 'peak' for his fight. In order to do this all aspects of his athletic ability MUST be addressed as part of his training programme. A good coach will periodise the fighters training in a way that will address this. Strength training will be/should be one of the primary objectives in an early phase of fight prep. Weight/resistance training IS one of (if not the) best ways of devloping strength (im not talking about body building). Any fighter that does not involve strength training as part of their regime will struggle at the higher level of the sport.

Obviously, as i put in another post, all the 'gym work' you do is to improve your athletic performance, it cannot and will not replace fight specific training IE pads/drilling/sparring etc....

Im pretty sure i read a good article on Alex golds site about periodisation for fighters

[Jamie Taylor]

The muscle soreness (DOMS) that I get from lifting weights make it unworkable for me to combine fight training and weights.

Some seem to be able to combine the two, but I think most fighters would be better off focusing purely on sparring, high rep bodyweight exercises and high intensity cardio training (intervals). Leave the weights to the bodybuilders in my opinion.



It's a shame you feel that way mate. Doms when training for mma can be worked around with a bit of experimentation. Think of it as a little strength training is better than no strength training.

I used to suffer badly with doms ( but was only doing bb type workouts ie 8 -10 sets of say 8-12 reps ). I would be sore for days and would constantly wonder why I got it so bad. My volume was pretty low compared to others who were doing more like 12-15 sets per large muscle group and they never got sore !!

After a while I realsied that I was training a LOT smarter than most people smooth controlled reps and slow cadence ( generally 2-3 secs on pos and neg with a 1 sec pause in between ). I started to slowly reduce the volume until I got to the point where I found 6 sets on my chest would be about right for me and would have me sore for about a day, any more and I'd be in agony for days messing up maybe my back workout as when doing chins etc my pecs felt like they would tear off the bone. if I was doing mma at the time I wouldn't have even made it to the gym the day after say a chest or leg session. I could barely move let alone spar / conditioning stuff.

Point being, if you're doing weights for mma find the limit your body can handle without being in agony for days. ( Oh and of course dont train like a bb ) :) Sure if you really feel the need to then you could increase volume as time goes by but don't feel you have to do x amount of sets because thats what your PT / instructor / mate gave you. Everybody is different.

I find when I'm doing strength work ie 4 x 4 with long rest periods I'm hardly ever sore but get very good strength gains and can train other things no problem. Just get that nice light soreness for a day or 2 after . The doms I got from training for hypertrophy was like an agonising burn with severely decreased rom especially in the chest / hams.

Little rant there but I thought I'd just chime in with my experience of doms.

[Sports-Select.co.uk]

DOMS often only occurs the fist 1-2 times a new workout is tried or returned to after a layoff. Once you are training regularly it stops being an issue for most.

[Kaan Sencer]

Hi,

Just a note, I was covering the weights issue with the army lads at the PT school today, the Army PT mates of mine, the boxing coach and the judo coach.

We all agree that appropriate resistance training is of prime conditioning importance in support of the sparring and technical work. The key word is appropriate.

DOMS is a different matter, and not everyone suffers it either...

Smiler

really? some people dont get DOMS at all, well i get it but only after a hard session of x mainly in the calves and such, but after some consistent training i dont get it i mostly get it when returning to the gym.

a good way to get rid of DOMS pain is a foam roller, does this mean doms causes a buildup of myofascial stuff in the muscles or am i just jumping to conclusions and making uneducated guesses

[Malcontent]

I suppose it depends what you mean by "appropriate resistance training".

For me appropriate resistance training could just mean high tempo, high rep bodyweight exercises, which is an excellent way to build muscle endurance and explosive power.

Combine this with plyometrics, High intensity interval cardio, and regular sparring and I feel that most fighters have all they need to reach their physical peak, without the muscle soreness and potential injury that can come from regularly lifting weights.

I come predominantly from a boxing background, and am fairly new to grappling arts, but personally, I have found that for the most part, the training principles are the same.

[Kaan Sencer]

I suppose it depends what you mean by "appropriate resistance training".

For me appropriate resistance training could just mean high tempo, high rep bodyweight exercises, which is an excellent way to build muscle endurance and explosive power.

Combine this with plyometrics, High intensity interval cardio, and regular sparring and I feel that most fighters have all they need to reach their physical peak, without the muscle soreness and potential injury that can come from regularly lifting weights.

I come predominantly from a boxing background, and am fairly new to grappling arts, but personally, I have found that for the most part, the training principles are the same.

in a way yes, but you need a lot of grip strength for grappeling, also a strong neck and really strong lower back, hips and biceps,

[Smiler]

Hmmm.

Bit frustrated here...resistance training is not necessarily just weights training...

Bodyweight exercises and plyometrics are forms of resistance training for starters.

The appropriate work I would carry out, and again supported by my esteemed and scarily educated (good old Bath University connections for the army!) army colleagues above, is that 'appropriate' resistance training will be that which increases joint stabilisation, connective tissues, power, strength, static strength, dynamic strength, endurance...all in a sports specific focus.

We were actually talking about how stuck in the mud most boxing trainers are, how they do the same as they've always done, even at the highest level, and as such their fighters are often missing out on being even better as a result. Science and its application moves on, and we would be foolish not to keep current and try for ourselves if we want to be the best.

Not as a substitute for all the necessary sporting practice, resistance training is necessary for all sportspersons to reach their full physical potential, and therefore be the best they can be.

In respect to DOMS, science is still not fully agreed as to its cause. Some think its due to lactic acid build up, some research points to it being as a result of swelling that is caused locally by the repair process putting pressure on nerves, and studies seem to show that eccentric contractions seem to produce the most DOMS.

Smiler

[stapesmk1]

I approach weight training as a tool, a means to an end, not an end in itself and using weights certainly doesnt limit you to the training goals or responses of a bodybuilder.

One mans javelin is another man's spear if you get what I mean. 1 object, 2 outcomes.

The protocols you use ie. how you use the weights, alongside proper R & R protocols, a synergistic program of specific sessions for each component of athletic performance and ideally a perioised schedule all play an important role.

Training with weights is one excellent mode of training for strength, explosiveness and metabolic endurance.

Functional modes like Sandbags, Kettlebells, TRX, Olympic Rings, Tyres, Sledgehammers, Bodyweight exercises, Indian Clubs are all excellent ways to improves the various components of athleticism. The important thing is how you use them.

As stated a few times by various people on this and other threads, as far as fight conditioning and being "fight fit", nothing is more specific than hard and fast sparring at a high intensity for the same length of time or longer than your planned fight.

But resistance training using any of the above modes, when used correctly, can isolate and then improve a component, so that it can be demonstrated and used in more specific fight training ie. sparring, pads, bagwork etc.

Stapes

[Malcontent]

To each their own. I'm here to learn, not to teach. I'll freely admit that MMA and grappling etc is new to me.

However, I have nine years of amateur, and two years of professional boxing experience behind me, and whilst that doesn't make me a world authority on how to train fighters, it does make me a world authority on how to train myself.

Lifting weights does not work for me, it never has, and I doubt it ever will. Which is a shame, as I thoroughly enjoy it.

I know that I'm far from alone in feeling this, and (sorry to keep banging on about boxing on an MMA forum) but fighters from Jack Dempsey to both Sugar Rays to Mike Tyson prove that you don't need to lift weights to be a great fighter.

In fact it's often said that Tyson became a far worse fighter when he started to do so. This is probably just a coincidence, given his turbulent private life, but it is also a fact.

Ultimately, it's for the individual to try things out and decide for themselves what does and doesn't work for them. Myself personally, I think that if a fighter chooses to do weights, they should only make it a very small portion of the time they allocate to training.

By the way, does anyone have a good all round weights routine to build muscle endurance?

[Smiler]

Hi,

Sorry you feel like that, I believe that you are missing something that can really help you improve...I do however fully agree that the resistance training should be in support of the technical sporting work, and not the other way round...

Perhaps if you seek out an experienced local strength and conditioning coach, experienced in the application of resistance training to sports, you could gain a better understanding of the techniques and methods and find that it actually does work...

In respect to endurance, its not so much the routine, but as I and Stapes ahve said many times it is the method that counts...look to the high rep range for endurance, the exercise? You could pick from any, but personally I like hybrid and complex moves for this to make it more sports specific, especially if using 'raw' techniques such as with sand bags for example...

Smiler

[Jamie Taylor]

Malcontent. Your post is a bit strange. You say lifting weights has never worked for you and prob never will, you then go on to say how you dont need to use weights to be a good fighter and how it has negatively effected other boxers etc..and then you ask for a weights routine ? :confused:

That question itself shows how uneducated you are on the subject, maybe you just need to learn a bit more about resistance training and make it work for you.

Lifting weights correctly can increase speed, strength, power, endurance not to mention strengthen ligaments, tendons etc...Name one fighter who wouldn't want that ???

I have a few friends who box regularly at aba level who have never done weight training as their coaches say it will slow them down. I did a bit of training with them for a few month, mainly speed / strength work with dumbells, a bit of plyometrics and hiit work here and there and they now know how much they have been missing out on.

The lack of knowledge with a lot of boxing coaches these days astounds me. I'm sure a lot of them are up to date with the latest research but some still think pure aerobic work and a few hundred sit ups is all a boxer needs !

[Malcontent]

Malcontent. Your post is a bit strange. You say lifting weights has never worked for you and prob never will, you then go on to say how you dont need to use weights to be a good fighter and how it has negatively effected other boxers etc..and then you ask for a weights routine ? :confused:

That question itself shows how uneducated you are on the subject, maybe you just need to learn a bit more about resistance training and make it work for you.
!

I don't think it shows how uneducated I am on the subject. It merely shows that I'm still open to giving weights a go. Which I am.

I have yet to find any weights programme/routine/approach, that has not been detrimental to my overall performance as a fighter.

Perhaps I've not explained myself very well. When I talk about weights, I'm mainly referring to the standard compound lifts such as deadlifts, squats, rows, military press etc. I think that regardless of the rep set range you choose to do, most fighters will gain very little from this type of lifting. Whereas I fully accept that doing Tabata hill sprints with a 30 kilo sandbag in your arms would be of great help to a fighter.

Some good advice in this thread though. Lots to ponder.

[Smiler]

Hi Mal,

Me and several others on here have said this loads of times...its not necessarily the exercise thats important - instead it is the way that you execute that exercise.

For example, you can do a classic bench press many ways...suggestions...
Slow motion reps.
Fastest possible reps.
Static lifts.
Negative lowers.
Positive lifts.
Plyometric lift, allowing the weight to leave your hands, absorb the force as you lower, and explode the weight up again.
Heavy weights.
Light weights
High reps.
Reps to failure.
Low reps.
Short breaks between sets.
Long breaks between sets.
Supersetting.
Drop sets.
Increase weight sets...

All just as an example...

The exercise is basically the same...but how you do that exercise changes...and that change totally changes the effect on your body.

Although I consider there are probably better ways of doing the weights than the 'standard' lifts, even with these standard lifts you can achieve incredible sport specific conditioning gains...

Its definately worth you investigating more...I did many years ago, and I'm still learning so much now...a couple of weeks ago one of the army guys (Mas) showed me a whole new way of resistance training I hadn't seen before...

Smiler

[Leigh]

I do heavy compound movements and they make very strong. This strength translates well to the cage cos I spar a lot

[Ben_Hutch]

Gary's such a nice guy, it's no wonder they call you The Smiler :)

[Malcontent]

Nice one Smiler, definately lots there to try.

Whilst thus far I haven't found the right weightlifting approach for me. I'm certainly open to trying new stuff, to not be would be limiting oneself unnecessarily.

The tips and guidance in this thread from yourself and others is much appreciated.

[crashanburn]

What would be a good starting point for super slow sets and reps, 4*4 at 10 sec+ and 10 sec -??

[funkdizzle]

Great read guys. Some good stuff i'm looking forward to trying now.

cheers