First off, I hope this is the right place to post this. If not, I apologize up front.
I’m looking to strip away this fat I’ve gathered up over the last year, and I’m considering doing it by training with an MMA group here in town. A little background about me: I’m fresh out of college. Always played sports through high school (football, wrestling, baseball, a little judo), and I love to hit the iron. In the last year though, I’ve become a lard ass. Between getting engaged, being accepted to medical school, and killing myself first at school and now at work, I’ve let myself go. I’m 5’11, 230 lbs, and probably 20% BF or more. I feel terrible, I’ve developed acid reflux, my blood pressure is high, I’m a slob. I just started lifting again, and thankfully I’ve retained much of my past strength. My stats:
Squat: 465
Bench: 235 (weak I know)
Deadlift: 335
Not great numbers, but I could definitely be worse. My natural weight is between 170-190 lbs (I wrestled at 174 in high school). I hate running, so I’m thinking about doing MMA pretty much just to lose weight. Is this a good idea? I have no desire to get in a cage for real and fight, but I want a good way to exercise and strip this fat off. I have no desire for someone to try and take my head off (I’ve been hit enough there, lol). But, the workouts, the standing skills and grappling skills, and the intensity all interest me a lot and seem like a great way to lose fat. Is it worth it to do this? I think losing weight would help me really get rid of the acid reflux and just be healthier. My future wife deserves more than my current slob self. Or should I look for another hobby and leave the MMA for those who want to fight? The owner seems fine with me wanting to do it for weight loss, but he does train fighters as well.
Yeah, martial arts are a lot more fun way to get exercise than running on a treadmill or doing exercises on your own. Having good training partners and coaches to push you is a fun way to get in shape.
I will tell you that when I started training for Muay Thai, I went from 205 (at about 12%- decent definition but not full 6-pack visible) to 195 (below 10, by my estimation, all abs clearly visible) and in a couple of months and I wasn’t really even trying to lose weight.
It’s a ton of fun and if you go to a good school you will go through 1-2 hour classes where you will expend a shitload of energy while having fun at the same time. That’s the easiest way to lose fat, IMO.
You can train for MMA and be fat (look at Roy Nelson for proof.)
There are plenty of guys in grappling schools and MMA schools that are overweight and stay overweight, there are also some people in amazing shape.
If you are really looking to get in physical shape I would actually say Muay Thai is better.
Depends a lot on the training, the trainer and the trainee. What I can say is that MMA training is a lot of fun and is an amazing stress reliever. This can help you to keep motivated in your training when other types of training might fall to the wayside due to family or work commitments.
[quote]Cockney Blue wrote:
You can train for MMA and be fat (look at Roy Nelson for proof.)
There are plenty of guys in grappling schools and MMA schools that are overweight and stay overweight, there are also some people in amazing shape.
If you are really looking to get in physical shape I would actually say Muay Thai is better.
Depends a lot on the training, the trainer and the trainee. What I can say is that MMA training is a lot of fun and is an amazing stress reliever. This can help you to keep motivated in your training when other types of training might fall to the wayside due to family or work commitments.[/quote]
I missed the memo on fat loss myself…lol.
I’d imagine, the most important thing will be to eat right though.
[quote]WildcatsDoc wrote:
Or should I look for another hobby and leave the MMA for those who want to fight? The owner seems fine with me wanting to do it for weight loss, but he does train fighters as well.[/quote]
Why would you want to train MMA for fat loss? I mean, seriously, dude, there’s better ways. Every minute you spend on technique (be it grappling or standup) will not seriously add to your fat-loss effort. That’s a whole lot of minutes (aka time) you could use for tabata, complexes or cooking, all of whose will have a huge impact on your body fat levels.
If you enjoy MMA, go for it. Be aware, though, that you risk injury and take a less-than-optimal approach to fat loss. Being a martial arts instructor myself, I’ve decided to offer specific conditioning classes (kettlebells, jumping rope, medicine balls, etc) at my dojo for all those mainly interessted in body comp changes (of course all my fighters partake in them as well).
Of course, padwork, heavy bag work and sparring will do a lot for you, but then boxing or some other standup-only style probably suits you better. Please don’t forget the fact that most MMA today revolves around groundfighting - now if you take a closer look at (amateur level, since that’s where you’d be playing) Judokas, most of them aren’t exactly ripped.
Bottomline: If you love MMA and can handle some pain, go for it. For fat loss, there’s better alternatives. You can find them right here on TMuscle.
With the right instruction, MMA is a great way to get in shape, lose weight, make friends, and get some excercise for fat loss. I’m not talking about getting in the cage with Brock Lesnar, but working the pads, takedowns, jumping rope, jiu jitsu, drilling, repetition, circuit training, and everything involved with the strength and conditioning will help you lose weight while having fun. I know lots of people that have lost weight just by training jiu jitsu consistently on a regular basis, including myself.