Making the Switch from Powerlifting to Fighting, Part II
By
Jude C. Hackett
This is part-two of a two-part series.
There’s no question that strength is a huge asset in any sport. In “Making
the Switch from Powerlifting to Fighting, Part I,” we established the carryover
of strength developed specifically for the platform. It can relate to fighting
in a big way. Clearly, there are changes that need to be made to harness this
strength and make it useful on the mat, in the ring, or in the cage.
As a powerlifter, I like to walk in the weight room and load a barbell with
45s and lift until I almost get stapled. I’ve done many versions of max effort
days, dynamic effort days, repetition days, volume routines, and pretty much any
other routine viable for strength training. I found that what worked for me was
to squat, bench, and deadlift heavy and often. I did lots of variations of these
exercises, using bands, different box heights, board presses, floor presses,
rack pulls, and pulling from a deficit. However, I usually got the best results
by going as heavy as my body would allow on that particular training day. If you
throw training in gear (squat/deadlift suits and bench shirts) in that mix, you
have lots of heavy weight and lots of variety.
Here’s an example of a normal training week when I was powerlifting:
Heavy squat day
Exercise 1: High box squats in briefs (work up to heavy single on a 16-inch box)
Exercise 2: Rack pulls (work up to 3 X 3 from just below the knees)
Exercise 3: Pull-thrus (3 X 8)
Exercise 4: Manual glute ham raises (no glute ham raise bench, basically a body
weight leg curl)
Heavy bench day
Exercise 1: 3-board press (full ROM raw to a moderately heavy single, add
boards, work up to a PR single)
Exercise 2: Dumbbell floor press (3 X 6)
Exercise 3: Weighted pull-ups (3 X 6)
Exercise 4: Dumbbell triceps extensions (whatever variation, 3 X 8)
Exercise 5: Dumbbell side lateral raises (3 X 8)
Light squat day
Exercise 1: Front box squats (3 X 5)
Exercise 2: Stiff-legged deadlifts (3 X 6)
Exercise 3: Dumbbell shrugs (3 X 10)
Exercise 4: Leg curl/leg extension superset (3 x 8)
Light bench day
Exercise 1: Flat bench (3 X 5)
Exercise 2: Push press (3 X 5)
Exercise 3: Barbell rows (3 X 8)
Exercise 4: Triceps pull-downs (3 X 8)
There’s nothing special about this type of routine. It’s just a typical week
outside of a meet training cycle. The rep scheme and exercise selection varied
depending on what I did in previous weeks and how I was feeling that day. If my
diet was on, I set PRs fairly often. I tried for 1RM PRs, rep PRs, PRs in gear,
or whatever I could get. As long as I was setting PRs, I knew that I was getting
stronger.
Like a lot of powerlifters, my cardio and GPP was hit or miss. I usually did
sprints one day a week on the street in front of my house. My powerlifting team
would meet up and do sled pulls and tire flips for GPP. My cardio was better
than average for someone who trained for strength, but it could definitely have
used improvement.
I walked into my first day of MMA training with a lot of lifting under my
belt and not much else. After grappling for a three-minute round, it became
obvious that I was going to have to add another dimension to my physical
prowess. In the gym, I lift, rest for at least a few minutes, wrap my knees, put
on my belt, and chalk up. Only after all that do I exert myself for a few
seconds at the most. In a fight, you’re using all of your strength, speed, and
motor function for several minutes straight. Then, you have a very limited rest
period. If you shoot your wad in two minutes, you’re nothing more than a
punching bag or grappling dummy for the rest of the fight.
A powerlifter gets stronger by addressing weaknesses. A very clear weakness
was identified and needed to be addressed. I had to design a template that would
raise my work capacity to new heights while keeping the base of strength that
I’d worked so hard for. I needed to lift in a manner that would simulate the
pace of a fight but also promote strength. I used three different types of
workouts that allowed me to accomplish these goals: 1) a lifting workout, 2) a
strength/conditioning for fighting workout, and 3) an MMA skill-based workout.
I was also used to having frequent rest days, which was necessary with all
the stresses associated with powerlifting. I knew I still needed rest days when
I was training to fight, but I theorized that I could get by with a lot less
because I didn’t have issues with the central nervous system that are associated
with heavier weight. I also knew that with all the other training I did, if I
lifted as often as I wanted, sometimes I would have to workout twice a day. I
had to adjust the volume and intensity on these days by trial and error. The
biggest challenge was figuring out when I could do a two-a-day and when I needed
to take a rest day.
This is the resulting workout program using the three different training
methods:
1. Lifting workout: This is the workout that mirrored my powerlifting
principles the most. Although I didn’t go in the weight room and do a straight
up strength-based powerlifting routine, the goal of these workouts was to move
some decent weight while learning to use it in a new capacity.
The plan was simple. I chose four exercises—three compounds and one isolation
exercise. I used a full body approach, training upper body and lower body
exercises on the same day. I performed these four exercises back to back in a
superset fashion with no rest between exercises. Then, after completing all
four, I rested for one minute. After warm-up sets, the circuit is repeated four
times. My weight and rep scheme varied, but I usually tried to perform at least
one of the compound exercises heavy in the 3–5 rep range. If I felt like I
hadn’t felt heavy weight on squats in a while, I might choose to do sets of
three on box squats that day or, if I wanted to press heavy, I may throw sets of
three on the bench press in the circuit. This allowed me to lift heavy while
keeping my heart rate up and without much rest. This was a lot different than
shooting the shit and wrapping my knees for ten minutes between heavy sets.
A typical lifting workout looked like this:
(No rest between exercises)
Exercise 1: Squats (set of 8)
Exercise 2: Bench (set of 5)
Exercise 3: Pull-ups (set of 12)
Exercise 4: Dumbbell shrugs (set of 15)
Rest 1 minute
Repeat
When I started this type of workout, I was lucky to complete three actual
work sets in the circuit. The first time around is always a warm-up set with
lighter weight, but then I raised the weight to work set level. I can’t tell you
how short those one-minute rest periods are. I was able to get better in a
relatively short amount of time, eventually increasing the circuit repetition up
to four and even five times some days. The exercises varied a lot here, too, but
I basically switched my old favorites in and out. I threw in a lot of presses,
dips, back squats, front squats, deadlifts, rows, and occasionally a biceps or
triceps isolation exercise. I usually did these workouts twice a week, which is
why I used a full-body template. Typically, these workouts were done in the
morning on days when I was grappling or boxing later on that afternoon. I found
that a good day in the weight room didn’t seem to bother my cardio when I fought
later on.
2. Strength and conditioning for fighting: The second type of workout
was a strength and conditioning workout designed to build up my work capacity
for fighting. These workouts didn’t involve heavy weight, but they were brutal.
I used a lot of body weight exercises, kettlebell exercises, and high intensity
cardio exercises. The plan was simple enough. Pick four exercises, perform each
exercise for a minute with no rest, rest for one minute after completing all
four, and repeat. This is also where I threw in my tire flips, sledgehammer
drills, and the like.
Here are a couple of examples:
Strength/conditioning circuit 1
(No rest between exercises)
Kettlebell clean and press (1 minute, alternating arms)
Tire flips (1 minute)
Body weight squats (1 minute)
Pull-ups (1 minute)
Rest 1 minut
Repeat
Strength/conditioning circuit 2
Sprint (as fast as you can maintain for 1 minute)
Kettlebell snatches (1 minute)
Kettlebell rows (1 minute)
Burpees (1 minute)
Rest 1 minute
Repeat
The possibilities for this type of circuit are endless. Pretty much any
exercise you can think of that sucks to do for one minute can be done. Some
exercises are very hard to do for a minute straight like push-ups or pull-ups.
For these, I used a rest pause type approach, knocking out as many reps as
possible. Then, I took a couple of breaths and knocked out more in increments of
10–5 reps until the minute was up. Each circuit should be designed with a good
balance of upper and lower body exercises, and often the exercise selection was
effected by what I had most recently done on my lifting days in the weight room
(you wouldn’t want to do a bunch of push-ups the day after you did bench).
Normally, when I did a strength/conditioning circuit workout such as this, it
was the only thing that I did that day. If I felt good, I took a five-minute
break after the circuit and did some heavy bag rounds or sledgehammer rounds. I
usually did the circuit four times after a warm up. When it was closer to fight
time, I increased the workload to five times. So, the workouts only took 20–25
minutes at the most, but it was truly 20 minutes of hell. These workouts are
designed specifically to increase work capacity for fighting, but the fat loss I
experienced when I added this training was clearly evident. I also noticed a
very clear carryover to my cardio during sparring and other MMA training.
3. MMA skill-based workout: The third type of workout that I did was
an MMA skill-based workout. Most of my hours consisted of me getting my ass
kicked in sparring, but I did a lot of things to build a skill base as fast as
possible. I spent many rounds hitting the heavy bag, jumping rope, hitting
mitts, and learning grappling techniques. These were some of the hardest
workouts that I’ve ever done in my life. I could take a beating before I ever
stepped in an MMA gym, but the level of fatigue and pain that I went through to
get in fight shape was an eye opening experience.
I remember days of splitting three-minute rounds by having a freshman diving
on me the first and last minute of every round. The middle minute was spent
jumping up and hitting mitts at a furious pace. When your freshman training
partner double legs you into side control when you’re already tired, you spend
your last wheezing minute of the round taking an ass beating. I also have some
not-so-fond memories of lifting in the morning, working a 12-hour shift, and
coming home to do ten rounds of heavy bag and sledgehammer work. It was hard,
but when that type of effort is put in, everything falls into place. I got in
insane shape, got leaner than I ever dreamed, and even felt better day to day
than I did when I was powerlifting. It’s amazing what pushing the limits can do.
So, how do you fit all of these elements in a week? This was definitely one
of the biggest challenges. Throw a family, a job, and a decade long college
career on top, and there’s not a spare minute.
A typical training week looked like this:
Monday: Weight room in morning, MMA in evening
Tuesday: Strength/conditioning workout
Wednesday: MMA
Thursday: Weight room in morning, MMA in evening
Friday: MMA
Saturday: Strength/conditioning workout
Sunday: Rest
Obviously, this schedule could vary quite a bit. If I needed to take an extra
rest day, I did. If I couldn’t get together with my training partners, I did a
lighter day of bag work or skill drills. There are many challenges when you have
to rely on your schedule and the schedules of other people, but when I look at
my training in hindsight, there isn’t a lot I would change. Just like hitting a
PR total at a meet, you go back and look at that training cycle and then you try
to figure out what you did that created success.
If and when I train for another fight, I will use this same type of training
regimen and hopefully build my capacity up even more. I’ve stuck to this routine
even though I’m not scheduling a fight anytime soon, making only minor
adjustments. I usually lift twice a week, do strength and conditioning twice a
week, and do MMA twice a week. I still have a day to rest.
Using this plan, I got in shape very fast, and I developed a good base for a
sport. I also improved my physique more than I ever thought possible. The
knowledge and experience I gained while training as a competitive powerlifter
was essential in this process. My opinion is biased, but I believe I developed a
program for myself that was better than anything any fitness professional in the
area could have provided me with. This is all because I’m a dude who likes to
lift heavy shit and read articles on the internet. The other part of the
equation, of course, was the diet. I was very successful with my diet.
In Part III of this series, I’ll lay out my exact diet, all the things that I
did correctly, and all the things that I did wrong. You have to diet to be the
complete package because we all know that winning a fight is a lot more fun when
you’re jacked with abs. Until then, stay strong.
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