Fighting and weightlifting, a dillema

Hey Everyone,
I’ve been thinking about alot of stuff lately, so i am just going to talk. Feel free to chime in with your opinions and thoughts.

I recently started training in a combination of boxing and muay thai. Its alot of fun after being out of the martial arts for a few years. Up until now i have been lifting Westside style, been doing it about two monthes, havn’t started the lower part of it yet, still working on healing my back with reverse hypers. Anyways, the Westside program has been fun, i like going heavy and have noticed increased mass in my back and triceps/shoulders. However, I havn’t seen a whole lot of progress in my bench. I’m not a big guy, 5’10" 150, and my best bench is 200. So i started thinking today, is what i bench that important? I’m not a powerlifter, though i do like setting goals and trying to break PR’s. I want to bench more, my dad benched 300@150lbs when he used to lift, so i would at least like to reach that. But it seems like i am trying to use the bench to bolster my ego. Now that i am learning how to fight perhaps i should worry more about excercises that will carry over to that.

I recently read something by Coach Davies where he said something about people being to concerned about numbers in the weight room, placing to much value on them in relation to functioning on the field. Maybe i am falling into that trap. I mean, a 350lb bench doesn’t carry over into ass kicking ability. I mean, it can’t hurt, but maybe i should be worrying more about function training than bringing my bench up. After reading about the Westside style of lifting, i chose it because it seemed like a nice blend of absolute strength, yet i hoped i might gain some mass too. Perhaps now that i am fighting i need to consider a different training regimen.

thanks,

anton

Look , you have basically answered your on questions , Change the fucking routine if you are nto getting what you want, your a martial artist right !!! well why don’t you get a martial arts training programm!! Coach davies sells an exellent one even if you can’t spring for that i feel , NO infact i know that you would do alot better on a renegade type programm! Also with the bench i think you hit the nail on the head it is an ego thing!! i’d be alot more impressed if you could clean 300lbs rather than bench it ! even deadlifting that would have a more positive effect!! Get some research done, FFB :slight_smile:

I love the wsb system. I just recently added some cardio and renegade type stuff (GPP, Jump Rope). My bench actually fell 10 lbs to 275. OUCH…

Well I started thinking bad things about coach davies theories. I thought I was over training. Then on both of my dynamic days I was getting crushed by the weight.

I had a lightbulb moment right then and there. Dynamic effort is about speed, so I adjusted the percentages down to 50% and felt more explosive.

My very next max effort days I set a new PR on the Bench at 295 (up 10) and squat at 575 (up 20) whilst losing 7lbs of fat (down to 200).

Moral of the story... The wsb system is not cut and dry. It almost can not fail. You're basically finding your weakpoint and strengthening it. Also never think bad things about Coach Davies. I'm a big believer in him and WSB.

In my case I was too slow and had to focus more on speed and adjusting the percents down helped fix that.

BTW My davies GPP is more focused on agility and conditioning(been doing this for a month before) and I also had started running
IMO I think the jogging was not making me weak but rather making me slower

Just honestly assess yourself and adjust your program accordingly

Alex

First of all, I tend to think you received good advice from both, FFB & Alex. And I also thank you for your kind words. By the way, Alex if you like to discuss GPP to enhance your power, feel free to email me. Anton - your post is really a lot more deeper topic than most consider - because it involves self-assessment and goal achievement. Thus you need to find your weakness for your skill and look to strengthen it. That of course is more difficult than it seems because you need to decide what your ultimate goal. I will be pleased to discuss more. In faith, Coach Davies

Coach Davies,

You saw what i had a hard time trying to explain in my post. You’re absolutely right, i need to assess myself and reconsider my goals. I’ve done some thinking over the past two weeks and I think i am going to start working towards functional strength, speed, and power. I think they would better serve my goals as a fighter than the West Side Barbell program would. I am currently studying what is basically boxing/muay thai. Its alot of fun, i can’t wait to get my leg kicks up to speed. They are such a simple, deadly, and unexpected weapon. So anyways, i emailed Nate Dog and he sent me all the Renegade Training programs he had put together. They should keep me going for at least a while. Thanks for your input.

anton

Anton, based on what I have read, you’ll probably want to do a more sprot-specific routine than the one Nate has compiled from info here on the forums. Those are great workouts, but aren’t “specific.” Right now I’m going through one of the Renegade martial arts routines and it is fantastic. Very specific to my goals.

Just do what you like best. So what if a bench press doesn´t have a great carry-over to martial arts. (I persume you don´t earn your money with martial arts) It should be fun and if you like shattering PR in the bench then just go and do it. Sports is supposed to be fun, and like you said yourself it can´t hurt.