confused about s&c training and cutting weight

[coleman.sensei]

please could someone help me. i need to lose about 17 kg and increase strength for mma. would it be more beneficial to lose the weight then focus on strength or try and lose weight and gain strength at the same time ??????:confused:

[Shaolin Exile]

I don't know the exact answer but you need to know much of your total body weight is fat. If you're carring 17 kg of excess fat you defintely need to lose weight for health reasons.

I'm about 72kg, 19kg ( around 27%) of which is fat. No-one should be more than 20% fat and if you want to compete in MMA you need a much lower percentage than that

[Shaolin Exile]

Woke up this morning and remembered that females can have a slightly higher fat content and still be healthy, Can't remebmer the figures though

[EdRobinson]

I always advocate training for strength and muscle development while trying to lose fat. Particularly if you have been sedentary or not training recently. If you have been sedentary for a long time then its best to start slowly, basic bodyweight exercises in a circuit for a couple of weeks. A simple bodybuilding/ hypertrophy type set and structure may be suitable for a couple of months just to get you used to weight training and to allow your muscles to develop. Something like 3 sets of 10 reps of 2 main exercises every other day. Stick to deadlift, squat, bench press, press, pull ups and bent over rows as your main exercises (not all on the same day and make sure your technique is good before progressing to heavier weight). Add a few extra's movements as you see fit.

You must get your diet correct to reduce bodyfat (1000 kcals deficit per day). keep a log of your bodyfat weekly in order to log your progression. 2lbs per week fat loss is managable and will limit muscle atrophy. Remember it is body composition that you want to change.

Key things:
Be consistent
Be patient (17kg fat loss = 18 weeks if you get everything spot on)
Eat regularly and healthily (keep a food log for a couple weeks)
Train Hard, rest hard too. (keep a training log) ((could be in the same as the food log))
Dont stress, it'l come.

Remember your focus should be building a good base on which to build for the future. Start slow, make sure you a recovering between sessions and build on your work bit by bit. If you have any questions, or if I havent written this in a legible way please feel free to contact me on edsfitness@live.co.uk

[Jamie Taylor]

Sound advice by Ed.

Pretty sure the supposed healthy ranges are :

men - 8-20%

women 21-33%

That was from acsm guidelines over ten years ago mind, could possibly have changed a bit since then. I remember reading for women it's a risk going below 10% as it reduces the chance of becoming pregnant.....or something along those lines ?