# Weightlifting...



## MuayThaiGuy (May 21, 2006)

Hey everybody.  I have heard so much conflicting information on weightlifting to supplement Muay Thai (or any other martial art for that matter) and I was hoping if some of you can clear it up.  

I'm 6 foot, 180lbs with about 10% bodyfat (a lot chubbier than 2 months ago).  I am going to be done with school in a couple weeks and I will have the summer (finally!) to really step up my Muay Thai training.  I stopped lifting about 3 months ago so I could concentrate what was left of my free time on Muay Thai.  I started noticing some muscle loss after a week or two and my body fat started to rise too (up from 6% in Feb.), even though my Muay Thai skills and endurance have greatly increased.  Any thoughts on how I can get some of that muscle back while training Muay Thai 4 days a week?  I heard lifting and training during the same time period can slow your results in both areas.  Thanks in advance!


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## green meanie (May 21, 2006)

MuayThaiGuy said:
			
		

> Hey everybody. I have heard so much conflicting information on weightlifting to supplement Muay Thai (or any other martial art for that matter) and I was hoping if some of you can clear it up.
> 
> I'm 6 foot, 180lbs with about 10% bodyfat (a lot chubbier than 2 months ago). I am going to be done with school in a couple weeks and I will have the summer (finally!) to really step up my Muay Thai training. I stopped lifting about 3 months ago so I could concentrate what was left of my free time on Muay Thai. I started noticing some muscle loss after a week or two and my body fat started to rise too (up from 6% in Feb.), even though my Muay Thai skills and endurance have greatly increased. Any thoughts on how I can get some of that muscle back while training Muay Thai 4 days a week? I heard lifting and training during the same time period can slow your results in both areas. Thanks in advance!


 
Hi. Quite often the reason you'll get conflicting info is because there isn't really a 100% 'right' answer to question. The simplest answer I can give you is so long as you lift correctly and give yourself time to recover you're going to see size and strength gains. What routine is right for you to make this happen is hard to say. Everybody responds to the training just a little differently. Although there are some 'core' excercises to get you on the right track the fine tuning needs to be done by you or a personal trainer who can monitor your progress. The hardest part is every time you feel like you've got your routine working your body adapts to it and you have to mix it up again. And, again, only you or a good personal trainer will be able to tell when that's happened. The only way I can see the Muay Thai training and weight lifting together being detrimental is if your body isn't getting an opportunity to recover. You'll just have to keep an eye on it and see if you feel like you're overtraining. I think if it's handled carefully and correctly you should be able to put a routine together that will allow you to do both. Good Luck!


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## MJS (May 21, 2006)

MuayThaiGuy said:
			
		

> Hey everybody. I have heard so much conflicting information on weightlifting to supplement Muay Thai (or any other martial art for that matter) and I was hoping if some of you can clear it up.
> 
> I'm 6 foot, 180lbs with about 10% bodyfat (a lot chubbier than 2 months ago). I am going to be done with school in a couple weeks and I will have the summer (finally!) to really step up my Muay Thai training. I stopped lifting about 3 months ago so I could concentrate what was left of my free time on Muay Thai. I started noticing some muscle loss after a week or two and my body fat started to rise too (up from 6% in Feb.), even though my Muay Thai skills and endurance have greatly increased. Any thoughts on how I can get some of that muscle back while training Muay Thai 4 days a week? I heard lifting and training during the same time period can slow your results in both areas. Thanks in advance!


 
Anytime you stop an activity, ie: weight lifting, MA training, etc., for a long period of time, its pretty much a given that some of those gains will be lost.  Green Meanie had some good advice...get in touch with a trainer so they can help you with any questions.  There are so many different workouts out there, you really would want to find the one that would benefit you the most.

Mike


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## JB* (May 21, 2006)

If your bf% is going up, and your lbm is dropping then thats a worse case scenario and you need to sort it straight away. If your training MT 4 times a week thens its gunna be close to impossible for a normal person to train heavy weights during that week as well as recover. Your best bet is to do your training and some light weights on the same day. Only do core excercises to, ie, bench, squat,military etc etc. Choose a weight you can lift 20 times, then lift that weight ten times, for ten sets. Combine this with a diet of high protien, carbs such as green leafy veg/brownrice & bread  etc and it should hopefully limit your muscle loss, significantly drop your bf% and start to switch your muscle fiber type to more suit MT. This is what has worked for me personally, but this is just my advice and opinion. Im no expert


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## wanttofight (May 21, 2006)

The truth of the matter is, you need weight lifting to burn fat. If your at a higher percentage (which your not) such as 20-30 percent. Doing mainly cardio is ok. But when your losing your last 5 percent, you have to pick up the pace. I know the muay thai classes cover cardio, hell its probably the best cardio workout around. But weight lifting also burns alot of fat aswell. If you can manage, have a short weight lifting session before your muay thai workout but make sure you dont work to muscle failure or else your muay thai session is going to be hell.

Also, like JB said, nutrition is extremely important. The more muscle you have the more fat you burn. So protein consumption is the key here.

Best of luck.


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## MuayThaiGuy (May 21, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies so far guys.  I will consult a trainer for sure tomorrow but I'm not sure he/she would know what workouts are best for Muay Thai.  I saw that 10 reps with weight that I can do for 20 reps, I think I might try that. 

What weightlifting routines do you guys do?

Thanks again.


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## Shirt Ripper (May 23, 2006)

Weight training can be of huge benefit to a martial artist.  It can also be disasterous.  It is all in how it is managed.  You suspicions of whether or not a PT will understand your needs are well justified.  Unfortunetely that section of my field is a bit...um...underqualified in a lot of instances.  There are a lot of good ones too, however, and having someone else's input may be just what you need.

I don't know much of your training history but here is a thought or two...

Your endurance needs will be well met during you practice, so I would utilize "weight room" time to work on some power and perhaps simple strength.  I would never call it hard and fast that way but it's a line of thought I would run with.  I would pay attention to several strength properties; strength endurance, speed strength most prominently.

Since you asked, I am a thrower (hammer, weight mostly) and a strongman so whatever image you got in your head of my training is probably correct (i.e. tires, rocks, cars, etc.).

Thank you for your time and I hope this gave you _something_...


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