Grappling Tips Newsletter

Many grapplers and martial artists lift weights to make them stronger, faster,
and more explosive. It is widely accepted that weight training complements and
improves good technique. Being stronger, faster, and more explosive is a good
thing, but the best reason to pump iron is to increase resistance to injury.

So much training time is lost to injury that anything you can do to cut down
on injury time will have a dramatic effect on your skill level. Lifting weights
strengthens the muscles, bones and connective tissue. This makes your joints
much more injury resistant.

Some people worry about lifting weights because they don’t want to get bigger
and ‘muscle-bound’. Don’t worry about this. Really. For 99% of people getting
significantly bigger requires a remarkable amount of work. From 1998 to 2000
I went through a phase of trying to ‘bulk up’, and eventually put on about 20
extra pounds of muscle. It was a lot of work: 4 or 5 days a week of weightlifting
and eating a tremendous amount of food every day. Rest assured that lifting
weights once or twice a week isn’t going to turn you into a bodybuilder from
the pages of Muscle and Fitness anytime soon.

I still weight train now, but my approach and my goals are different. I pump
iron one or two times a week to maintain strength and prevent injuries that
would prevent me from training. It’s interesting that people are more willing
to do physiotherapy AFTER an injury than preventive strengthening BEFORE an
injury. Isn’t it best to avoid the injury in the first place, not to mention
all the other benefits of weight training?

Read my article on basic weight training for martial arts and grappling

Labels: conditioning, Injuries