Issue 046

February 2009

How to become super strong and why this is essential for fighters. By Paul McIlroy.

A fighter can never be too strong

Maximum strength is a weapon which needs to be in the arsenal of every fighter. In some cases a big enough strength advantage can negate the technical gaps that exist between two fighters. A prime example of this was seen in the recent UFC heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture. Most people would agree that Randy’s experience gave him a significant technical advantage, but the sheer size and strength of Lesnar was too much to compete with.  For those of you who remain unconvinced, let me pose a fictitious scenario. Imagine Fedor Emelianenko vs a silverback gorilla. Do you think Fedor could win if the gorilla truly wished to harm him?  

Power lifting’s relevance in MMA

Power lifting is a sport that involves the expression of maximum strength in three exercises; the squat, the bench press, and the dead lift. The ‘Big Three’ (as they are known) involve pretty much every muscle in the human body, but I would personally recommend adding chin-ups and military presses to tie up any loose ends.  

The squat and dead lift, in particular, both place the body in the ‘athletic position’. The ability to exert maximum force in this position is vitally important for the MMA fighter. Examples of this can be seen when fighters shoot-in for, or stuff takedown attempts.  

Strength on the bench press (although it gets a bad rap sometimes) is also useful in a fight. Most people believe the benefit of bench pressing in MMA is to increase punching power. Although punching power is improved to a certain extent when upping bench numbers, for me its primary benefit is when a fighter is bridging to escape bottom position.  

Bodybuilding and power lifting are two different things  

Although the tools of the trade may be similar, bodybuilding and power lifting are as different as apples and oranges. The goal of bodybuilding is to cause muscular hypertrophy (growth). Muscular hypertrophy can occur primarily in two different ways, either by myofibril growth (the thickening of the muscle fibres) or capillarisation (the increase of blood networking and cellular fluids within the muscle – this can account for up to 25% of an elite bodybuilder’s muscle mass).  

It is this capillarisation that is commonly associated with the notion of becoming ‘muscle bound’. In theory, any muscular weight that does not consist of contractile proteins can be viewed as dead weight, and can hinder maximum contraction speed (and therefore power).  

Top power-lifters are unlike bodybuilders, who train until muscular failure and use moderate weight and volume with moderate rest periods. Instead they rarely train to muscle failure, use higher intensity, much less volume, and much longer rest periods.

The power-lifting approach offers several advantages for the MMA fighter. Lifting to muscle failure has been shown to be inferior for building strength. It causes systematic burn-out among advanced athletes – leading to a reduction in strength! Top power-lifters view strength as a skill. Just like any other skill, perfect practice makes perfect execution. Ask yourself, “How would I improve my kicking technique”? Would you practice infrequently? Would you kick the pad until you were so fatigued that your technique had deteriorated to the point where it was barely discernable what move you were executing? Of course not! By using less volume and omitting muscle failure from their training, power lifters can practice the skill of perfect lifting more frequently, and literally teach their muscles how to contract more forcefully.  

Unless you’re a heavyweight, adding weight to your frame (even muscle) is undesirable. Because power-lifting training contains low volume and long rest periods, there exists very little growth stimulus. This allows lightweight powerlifters to gain inhuman levels of strength and remain the same body weight. Some power lifters weigh less than Kenny Florian and are nearly as strong as Brock Lesnar!

To compete as an MMA fighter, you must be the decathlete of combat sports. No other athlete has to have as many bases covered in terms of technique and holistic fitness components. This means that time is of the essence, and you’ll want to be getting maximum benefit from your investment in any given training. Power lifting consists of three different exercises (or five if you add chin-ups and the military press as I’ve suggested) which can literally be practiced for 10 to 20 minutes maximum!  

Increasing your strength the fastest (and easiest) way possible!

World-class power lifters use what’s known as ‘cycling’ weights to create maximum strength. This approach involves planning to reach a new peak in strength over the course of a few weeks. Cycling is characterised by starting with a weight that’s considerably lower than the maximum amount you’re capable of for the chosen repetition range used. This is where not training to muscle failure comes in, and it gives the athlete a running start towards achieving a new maximum. Try the following ‘wave’ cycle and watch your strength explode!  

Program for hitting a 100kg 5 rep max

• Day 1: Starting weight 70kg (1x5)
• Day 2: 72.5kg (1x5)
• Day 3: 75kg (1x5)
• Day 4: 72.5kg (1x5)
• Day 5: 75kg (1x5)
• Day 6: 77.5kg (1x5) 

Etc., etc.

This cycle starts at 70% of the athletes 5RM (5 rep max) and cycles up in this ‘two steps forward, one step back’ pattern until a new 5RM is reached by Day 36. The cycle doesn’t have to end there, you must continue until you peak.  

You can use this approach to great effect with the three power lifts (plus the addition of chins and military press) and a training frequency of three to five days per week, performing one set of three to five reps for each movement, and resting for three to five minutes between sets. Because the total volume is low and the rest periods are high, you’ll never get sore and it shouldn’t take up much time (reducing the risk of over training).

Paul McIlroy is a personal trainer and specialist in strength and conditioning based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A boxer, champion power lifter and avid follower of MMA, Paul can be contacted through his website www.paulmcilroy.com