Gym or MMA - Shape for Summer

TheAlkaline

I have a dilemma,
I am looking forward to summer holidays and I want to be in the best possible shape as fast as its possible.
Right now I have a membership in gym, but I was thinking about swapping it to MMA.

My main target is to loss the fat from the stomach (I don't have too much of it though:)), Get toned, Gain bigger muscles, and gain as much weight as its possible without getting fat (keeping it quite toned).

I have about 6 months to do it, and I wonder what is the best way to achieve it?

There are pros and cons for gym and mma, but I don't know the fitness topic well enough to tell which is more effective for this target.

I know that MMA would be really good for cardio, loosing weight, and getting toned muscles. But what about gaining weight and getting bigger muscles?

I really need an advice. And any information that you think would help me are really appreciated.

(Thread also added to Health&Fitness section)

manga_10

Specifics would be good such as height, weight etc, background in fitness

TheAlkaline

manga_10 wrote: »

Specifics would be good such as height, weight etc, background in fitness

178cm, 73kg, used to train MMA for a year of time, had a year break due to back injury. Right now I'm signed in the gym and been going for a month of time.

Be like Nutella

Yeah MMA training will lose ya loads of weight.... there'll be loads of core strength work for your shtomach and plenty of explosive exercises and you'll get really fit if ya put in the work (in fact even if ya dont:).... just pick a club that suits and throw yourself in. Ya won't get beat up or anything and if ya can do some classes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu AND ALSO in Striking (Muay Thai or MMA Striking) you'll get really fit! BJJ is really tiring so gets ya fit quite fast and it's fun as fuk : ). If you have no experience in martial arts - even better : ). Give it a lash!

this link shows clubs round Dublin

http://kevinly.yore.ma/mmaclubs.html

might be missing SBG in the City which is on Excheqeur St... and is awesome.


personally I reckon MMA fitness is the kind of fitness anyone should want... strength, explosive movement, cardio, agility, reflexes etc you need it all in MMA so they train it all.

http://sbgireland.com/index.php/sbg-city-centre

danlen

TheAlkaline wrote: »

I have a dilemma,
I am looking forward to summer holidays and I want to be in the best possible shape as fast as its possible.
Right now I have a membership in gym, but I was thinking about swapping it to MMA.

My main target is to loss the fat from the stomach (I don't have too much of it though:)), Get toned, Gain bigger muscles, and gain as much weight as its possible without getting fat (keeping it quite toned).

I have about 6 months to do it, and I wonder what is the best way to achieve it?

There are pros and cons for gym and mma, but I don't know the fitness topic well enough to tell which is more effective for this target.

I know that MMA would be really good for cardio, loosing weight, and getting toned muscles. But what about gaining weight and getting bigger muscles?

I really need an advice. And any information that you think would help me are really appreciated.

(Thread also added to Health&Fitness section)

The majority of your success in achieving those goals is going to come down to diet. However, as you asked about training, I feel that;

If bigger muscles are your priority, do a good quality hypertrophy program.

If MMA is your priority, do MMA.

If you just want to generally get in better shape, pick whichever place you prefer.

TheAlkaline

Be like Nutella wrote: »

Yeah MMA training will lose ya loads of weight....

In fact, I don't want to loose weight only get to lower % of fat, so I will have to eat **** load of food

Be like Nutella wrote: »

there'll be loads of core strength work for your stomach and plenty of explosive exercises and you'll get really fit if ya put in the work

That's great, But is MMA training going to be good for gaining muscle mass? I don't really care about strength right now, muscle size for the looks is what I am looking for.

Be like Nutella wrote: »

Ya won't get beat up or anything

Where is the fun then?

TheAlkaline

danlen wrote: »

The majority of your success in achieving those goals is going to come down to diet.

What diet would you suggest?

danlen wrote: »

hypertrophy program.

What is this?

Be like Nutella

ah I was just being all 'tryin to get you into MMA' like

but if ya just want to look good then... I dunno.... prob not for this forum but I'd say cross fit is your only man. That and a clever mix of supplements and proper rest and you'll be sexy n ya know it by summer.

If you really want to put on muscle mass get 'Serious Mass' - 1250 Cals per drink - by 3 a day plus also get Gold Standard 100% Whey - do a couple of those per day as well while you're at it - lift heavy ass weights as often as you physically can... heavy weights bench/squat/deads/pulls/curls + often + 100% whey + serious mass = bigger stronger musclier you!!

tip: Gold Standard 100% Whey is cheapest in the supplement shop in the Ilac Ctr - as far as I can see... near the Moore st entrance - 50 quid for 5lb tub... just sayin

El Guapo!

For proper advice on what you're looking for, I'd suggest you head over to the Health & Fitness forum. Good bunch of lads (and lassies) in there that will definitely help you out and give you proper, detailed advice.

TheAlkaline

Be like Nutella wrote: »

ah I was just being all 'tryin to get you into MMA' like

but if ya just want to look good then... I dunno.... prob not for this forum but I'd say cross fit is your only man. That and a clever mix of supplements and proper rest and you'll be sexy n ya know it by summer.

If you really want to put on muscle mass get 'Serious Mass' - 1250 Cals per drink - by 3 a day plus also get Gold Standard 100% Whey - do a couple of those per day as well while you're at it - lift heavy ass weights as often as you physically can... heavy weights bench/squat/deads/pulls/curls + often + 100% whey + serious mass = bigger stronger musclier you!!

tip: Gold Standard 100% Whey is cheapest in the supplement shop in the Ilac Ctr - as far as I can see... near the Moore st entrance - 50 quid for 5lb tub... just sayin

Hahahah this is the best answer ever!
And btw. I never heard about "cross fit", is that it:

MrStuffins

Why not both?

MMA is great exercise, but it sounds like you want to look good on the beach.

So, why not use MMA as your cardio work (it will also be great for strength depending on what you're doing in class) and then suppliment it with some gym work?

It's nowhere near as easy as to say "I'll do MMA and become Adonis" though. You need a mixture of a great diet, adequate exercise (both cardio & strength) sleep/rest and hard work.

Although i'm no expert, i've been "getting fit" for a little while so i've been doing a bit of research.

Mellor might be the best guy to ask about this around these parts though.

Dave 101

train 5 days per week (2-3 MMA, 2-3 in the gym), eat enough calories and protein to support muscle growth, check out taining for warriors by martin rooney for weight program etc

TheAlkaline

Hmmm.. In my local MMA club we have really small gym. Which involves basic equipment like bench and few weights.
I can't do both MMA and go to proper Gym as it would cost me way too much.
I could join that MMA club, do 2-3 days of MMA and 2-3 days of that weights they have there, but I wonder if that gym they have is going to be enough? What equipment will be the most essential?

Mellor

The difference between full spectrum MMA training, and a balanced gym program is minimal, at least in terms of what you are looking for. Ultimately your diet will be far far more significant. This will prob be pointed out repeatedly in the H&F thread. Might be easiest to keep discussion to one thread.

Clive

The best thing for you to do is to forget about MMA - while it might move you somewhat in the direction of your goals, it's not the best bang for your buck.

The kind of change you want in your body comes from the kitchen and the weights room.

Read the stickies on the fitness forum, they have all the basic information you need.

Dave 101

go to the mma gym 4 times per week, 20 mins before class start, do 10 rounds of pull ups x 5, press ups x 10, goblet squats x 15, 30 secs rest after each round

TheAlkaline

I think that I will stick to the Gym and get a new program.
Involving 1 Day Cardio and 1 Day weights.

Clive

TheAlkaline wrote: »

Involving 1 Day Cardio and 1 Day weights.

One day of cardio and one day of weights isn't going to make a huge change to your bodyshape. There are plenty of solid basic plans out there to bulk up, or you could get a few sessions with a good personal trainer.

darced

This post has been deleted.

cowzerp

Do Mma to get fit and functionally strong, for vanity get into a gym and lift heavy stuff while eating well, clean and adequate calories

As said before Mma could be your cardio workout, you'll certainly gain strength but muscle gain will be minimal, won't score you any Birds in Santa Ponsa.

Good luck.

danlen

As was mentioned earlier in the thread, if gaining muscle mass is your only goal, then I don't see the benefit in trying to fit in MMA sessions as well. They are only going to slow recovery from weights sessions and cause you to expend a lot of calories. The food you would need to take in just to overcome those obstacles would be huge.

Get a decent weights program where you are lifting maybe 3-4 times a week, and eat a lot of good quality food. Check your weight each week, if the numbers on the scale aren't going up; you need to eat more.

Mellor

I think you need to be clearer in your goals. You've talking about losing fat, but also mentioned bulking to 80kg. The diet for each is very different.

danlen

TheAlkaline wrote: »

In fact, I don't want to loose weight only get to lower % of fat, so I will have to eat **** load of food


I don't really care about strength right now, muscle size for the looks is what I am looking for.

_

TheAlkaline

danlen wrote: »

_

I meant that I want to get bulky but not fat.

cowzerp

TheAlkaline wrote: »

I meant that I want to get bulky but not fat.

Get doing a weights program and eat lean foods and a good quantity, if you are gaining weight and not getting fat then you're doing well, if you're getting fat then your calorie intake is more than necessary-as seen as Muscle is your real goal i'd go to a gym, do weights and gain weight-Fat will most likely be gained too, Then when you are bulked up keep at the gym too maintain your muscle and do MMA to start losing fat weight, Diet is key in both goals.

danlen

TheAlkaline wrote: »

I meant that I want to get bulky but not fat.

Yeah I know what you meant. I was responding to the post above mine.

Mr. Loverman

It's actually quite tricky to gain mass without gaining fat. Certainly it is achievable (lots of people achieve it) but it takes a bit of tweaking to get right.

When I used to be big I didn't really care about putting on weight -- I ate 5,000 calories per day (all clean/healthy food) and lifted three times a week, with a week off every five or six weeks. I got really big and strong really fast, but I also got a bit fat. (Not fat by average Irish man standards, but fat by "look at my abs" standards).

But my goal was to see how heavy I can lift. (I was into weight lifting rather than body building, but I did get pretty huge in the process).

Previous to this I went for the lean and muscular look, but I found this to be much harder for a variety of reasons, but here's the ones that stick out in my mind:

1. It's takes a lot longer to get bigger, because the cardio would make me lose weight/burn too many calories. Again, this can be tweaked, but it takes quite a while to get it right. You only have six months.
2. Although there are ways to make cardio fun (such as MMA), for me personally nothing came close to the feeling I got after doing something like a deadlift.
3. Forget about the misery that is maintaining abs, trying to simply get them isn't fun. Your diet is too restrictive and you start losing some of that muscle mass you worked so hard to gain. For a couple of days for a photo shoot - great. But as something you have when you walk around - horrible life! I'm in my 30s though and I admit with sadness the younger you are the easier it is...

So basically it's all about balance. You can have it all but expect to do a lot of experimenting and expect your diet and life to be very restrictive.

Also, and this is perhaps controversial, I've noticed (and I am guilty of this too) that guys who lift generally don't realise how big they've gotten, and most women don't actually like huge guys. It is likely just by being fit and in shape you will be quite attractive and quite big according to the average woman...

TheAlkaline

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

It's actually quite tricky to gain mass without gaining fat. Certainly it is achievable (lots of people achieve it) but it takes a bit of tweaking to get right.

When I used to be big I didn't really care about putting on weight -- I ate 5,000 calories per day (all clean/healthy food) and lifted three times a week, with a week off every five or six weeks. I got really big and strong really fast, but I also got a bit fat. (Not fat by average Irish man standards, but fat by "look at my abs" standards).

But my goal was to see how heavy I can lift. (I was into weight lifting rather than body building, but I did get pretty huge in the process).

Previous to this I went for the lean and muscular look, but I found this to be much harder for a variety of reasons, but here's the ones that stick out in my mind:

1. It's takes a lot longer to get bigger, because the cardio would make me lose weight/burn too many calories. Again, this can be tweaked, but it takes quite a while to get it right. You only have six months.
2. Although there are ways to make cardio fun (such as MMA), for me personally nothing came close to the feeling I got after doing something like a deadlift.
3. Forget about the misery that is maintaining abs, trying to simply get them isn't fun. Your diet is too restrictive and you start losing some of that muscle mass you worked so hard to gain. For a couple of days for a photo shoot - great. But as something you have when you walk around - horrible life! I'm in my 30s though and I admit with sadness the younger you are the easier it is...

So basically it's all about balance. You can have it all but expect to do a lot of experimenting and expect your diet and life to be very restrictive.

Also, and this is perhaps controversial, I've noticed (and I am guilty of this too) that guys who lift generally don't realise how big they've gotten, and most women don't actually like huge guys. It is likely just by being fit and in shape you will be quite attractive and quite big according to the average woman...

I got your point, and you are right. Being lets say 120kg tank doesn't seem to be right for me. I am looking to be about 80kg with my 178cm height (at least for now :rolleyes:)