Nuno C. de Salles MMA Strength Conditioning Coach

You often hear many athletes discussing how detrimental strength training is to a Martial Arts routine.

"Why?" you may ask. The myths that have been repeated over and over again are: it makes you big and slow or it takes away from your dynamic flexibility. Now, I've analyzed these myths and I've found that these athletes are basing their beliefs on the results of the Body Building routines they chose. Furthermore, for some reason Powerlifting routines and Body Building routines have been thought of as providing the same outcome ... your going to be big and slow. Now look at it from this perspective, the strongest, most explosive athletes in the world are without doubt Olympic lifters. What do they use to train? Weights! Are they big and slow? No! They are lean and athletic. Among all the Olympic athletes, they are the ones with the best vertical jump. For that reason, Strength Training is beneficial to a Martial Artist.

We have to recognize that strength training is a tool, not an end for an amateur Martial Arts Athlete (MMA, Grappling, Thai Boxing etc ...).
The biggest mistake I see young athletes making is weight training for sports using Body Building routines. I am not here to bash Body Building. However, the objective of this sport is not performance-oriented. If you need to look muscular for a movie role or a photo shoot, there is no better way than to be on a Bodybuilder's program. On the other hand, when it comes to competitive sports, nobody cares if you have a six-pack when you are incapable of performing at your best. Thus, it is important to choose the type of weight training routine for your specific objective.

I found that many athletes training in Martial Arts often underestimate the advantage of being stronger. Keep in mind ... Power & Strength is an edge that is always going to benefit an athlete. Imagine you have two competitors with the same skill level. Who is going to come out on top? The one who is more conditioned naturally. Now the biggest mistake I see are individuals working primarily on their endurance, paying no attention to explosive strength, power, etc ... If you are that much stronger, you will expend a great deal less energy to perform the same task. On top of that you will be able to dominate a weaker opponent. I have often witnessed higher skilled Grapplers being overwhelmed by an adversary who was much stronger and more explosive. I am not saying that proper conditioning is enough to make you a great fighter! That would be foolish. However, it could become an amazing "tool" if used properly.

This brings me back to my original point. You can improve your strength and power without an increase in body weight. Just think about it! You are the same size yet, faster and stronger.

"How is this possible?" You may ask yourself.

"If you go heavier, you get bigger, right?"

Absolutely untrue! I have trained numerous athletes who have improved their Power & Strength and still competed in their weight class. Remember it comes down to the training program you choose for yourself.

I will not get into program design specifics since; this will depend on strengths and weaknesses of each individual. However, the point I would like to convey is that Strength training can be a powerful tool if used properly. It can make you a stronger grappler, it can give you that knock out power, and it can make you more explosive when you need to take an opponent down. If you are serious about working out and especially if you want to have that edge, Power Training is not a "technique" to be overlooked.

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Congratulations Mark!

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