[quote]cstratton2 wrote:
[quote]shallowseason wrote:
[quote]cstratton2 wrote:
[quote]shallowseason wrote:
I just started training martial arts (BJJ 3x/week and Muay Thai 2x/week) in addition to 5/3/1, and I’ve been trying to cut weight, so I don’t have any experience attempting to gain mass while also working on my martial arts training, but I can tell you from past experience that the Westside for Skinny Bastards upper/lower split worked wonders for my mass gains in the past. Again, I wasn’t training martial arts at the time, but I think you can make the gains you want on a four day a week split. The reason I prefer 5/3/1 is because going on the prescribed reps is optional, because it lays out percentages that are submaximal and because the assistance exercises are customizable/optional. As FightingIrish mentioned, there are only so many hours in the day, and you only have so much energy to give, so it helps to have a program that isn’t forcing you to put up new 3 rep maxes every week and is flexible.
So, I’d personally advocate for the 5/3/1 protocol, and you can customize accessory lifts to reach your mass gaining goals. And if you find that four days of 5/3/1 is too much to go along with your JKD and that you don’t want to sacrifice your time training JKD, you can switch to the 2-day/week variant of 5/3/1.
Just my two cents. Hope that helps![/quote]
It helps man, thank you for chiming in. To be honest in terms of energy and time I have space to do both in a day. The issue I was concerned about was overtraining. I only get together with my friend twice a week for the real JKD classes in Santa Ana. Other then that it’s really the technical training on my own.
Just working my punches, kicks, foot work, combinations, etc. (never full power or speed usually). I thought this didn’t sound too bad but maybe to others it seems like alot combined with the weights. Or I didn’t clarify enough on my original post.
I was going to attempt the 5/3/1 program again before in conjunction with the martial arts, just wasn’t sure if it was too much. After the responses here, I felt it was also wise to listen to others who do both as well.
Your martial arts schedule sounds a lot more cardio impacting then what I usually do though. You train 5/3/1 four days a week with assitance exercises doing all of that? How do you feel with recovery, and I know you said you just started but how long is that exactly?
Whether a person wants to gain or cut weight taking on a higher work load though seems simple. Just adjust calories to either gain weight, or lose. Making sure macros are met as needed, the diet is nutritious enough to give necessary micro minerals, sleep is optimal, mobility and stretching exercises are implemented strongly,using additional supplements if needed.
The challenge I guess is making sure you have enough balance that you are not over reaching too long, not turning the body catabolic, and having training between the two optimized that workload doesn’t create injury.
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I started at the end of January with Muay Thai and added BJJ in mid-March. I’d say I spend a combined total of 8 hours a week training the two arts, and I’ve managed to continue hitting the gym four days a week for 5/3/1 while cutting weight. This would all be way too much for me if I was going 100% in the gym though. I started with very conservative estimations for my maxes for 5/3/1 and add weight every two, sometimes even three cycles instead of one. But that’s mainly because I’m eating under maintenance and not because I feel overtrained. And if you only have two formal sessions of an art a week, I’d say it’d be hard for you to overtrain on 5/3/1 4x/week. [/quote]
Thanks for the information man. Seems like you got a lot on your plate and hope you see improvements with it all! Yes, I felt similar but again maybe I didn’t clarify enough on the original post so seemed more to others. I will eventually move into three classes a week. Typically an hour for tuesday and thursday, Saturday class is two hours. Still nothing too major. [/quote]
Thanks, man. I put in a lot of work, but the nature of martial arts and lifting means that we’ll always be rewarded for our efforts eventually.
I’d say you’ll do fine on a four day a week program. I agree with Aragon regarding high frequency protocols. Your body will much better adapt to lifting four days a week at a lower volume than it would a high volume, low frequency program. I also feel like your nervous system responds better to high frequency programs, but that’s just a personal hunch. So I’d personally recommend maintaining high frequency and adjusting your volume/intensity as needed.