As of late i have been getting really burned out with the gym. I was lifting Westside style four days a week plus doing mixed martial arts three days a week. I ran myself into the ground real fast. I wasn’t sleeping well, was feeling unmotivated in the gym. So i concluded if i am going to focus on mixed martial arts i am going to have to lift differently. Ideally i would like to lift three days a week. I really need to pack on some mass, but i would also like to increase my functional strength along the way. I’ve been alot of Coach Davies’ stuff, but his programs are usually four to five days a week. If i could somehow condense the strengh portions of his programs into a three day a week thing, that would be great. If anyone has any suggestions or can point in the right direction it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
i know people who trainwestside three days a week. the next week is the last workout in the four day cycle. sounds like you need to train thatwayfor a while and give your body a break.
Cutting back to three days a week will be helpful. If you need some helping constructing a program based on Renegade Training, feel free to visit my web site (www.atlantic.net/~nathan/weights.htm) and email me. I have some of Coach Davies’ old workouts that he posted on T-mag that were three days a week.
Sounds like a classic case of overtraining. If you are going to make MMA your focus I would suggest cutting the volume WAY down on your weight training. Reducing the number of days is a good start but you might also want to cut down on the number of sets and reps during the workouts. Keep the intensity high however (i.e. big load or acceleration). Unfortunately, you will probably have a difficult time gaining mass on such a program. Choose from the big, multi-joint lifts (power clean, snatch, squats, deads, pullups, etc.) and let the MMA take care of your “functional” strength. Check your nutrition and supplementation, too.
Anton I too train on a westside type routine,and I also do a bit of cycling in the hills,a bit of renegade type stuff,sprints etc.I noticed my strength and energy seemed to benefit greatly by doing the weights 4x every 8-9 days rather than 4x a week.It was only a small change but it definitely made a difference.
Within all of my athlete’s program there are often 3 & 4 strength training options. Feel free to contact me and I am happy to assist. In faith, Coach Davies