How To Build Muscle and Strength as a Fighter/Martial Artist

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WHO AM I?

I'm Ben. I am a scientist from the UK studying neuroscience, exercise science, and nutrition. My mission is to make young men into forces of nature by training their physical strength and fitness, educating themselves, and developing noble character.

[tristiandavis]

“I’m not training to be a bodybuilder I’m training to be a f*cking weapon”

[ajcarlo]

Hey guys, I train boxing twice a week (Monday, Wednesday) and lift for hypertrophy 5 times a week (Sunday-Thursday) with 2 rest days (Friday, Saturday). I occasionally train jujitsu at Sundays, Tuesdays or Thursdays (when i don’t have boxing) and it’s safe to say that, for me, it’s normal and it doesn’t take a heavy toll at the body, but it’s very important to sleep for at least 8 hours each day. Basically, i’m saying that it’s possible to lift weights for body building and train martial arts in the same day (even back to back), but i’d recommend to lift before you do your martial arts session since it’s easier to push as hard as you can, and in the martial arts session it’s you vs your willpower. Not all people can adapt this schedule, but good luck to everyone that does!
Height: 172cm
Weight: 65kg
Age: 17

[Boxingfan]

I’m genuinely surprised by how helpful this video was I just started training boxing and Muay Thai and I’ll definitely try to implement the running and lifting into my schedule

[Kul]

Nice and refreshing to see young guys pushing out real educational stuff like this. Very informative and very very good advice 🙏

[vincentregan]

I think this has been the most clear and enlightening video I've ever seen on YouTube and has really helped me gain a better understanding of my whole situation, Thank You!

[dylanwagstaff]

Been training muay thai and weights for a while, only thing I’d add to this is stretching as my hips have become super tight from squatting and blasting pads :)

[Illcobalt]

You are a great channel: rich with information with no unnecessary bloating. Keep up the good work!

[Marc-hsye]

i think people do not understand how good this video and other videos on this channel really are

[marshallmaia]

Personally the split I've been experimenting with for Muay Thai with competitive goals in mind is:

Mon: S&C Strength Focus (first two sets are warmups then 3 working sets with the same weight.)
Squat 5x5
Deadlift 5x5
Pendlay Row 5x5/3x8
Pull Up 3x5-8
Bench Press 5x5
Incline Bench Press 3x8
OHP 5x5
Lu Raise Superset Reverse Fly 3x8
Tricep Exercise Superset Bicep Exercise 3x8
Hanging Leg raise Superset Inverted crunch 1x to failure (I do my crunches on an inversion table)

Neck Harness Training 1x to failure
Forearm wrist roller 1x to failure

Tuesday:
Muay Thai Training

Wednesday: S&C Power+Speed Focus
Squat 3x5 Superset Jump Squats 3x5-10
Stiff Leg Deadlift to Row Complex 3x5 Superset Inverted Row 3x5-10
Incline Narrow Grip Bench press 3x5 Superset Dumbbell Flys 3x10 (Or plyometric pushups)
Dumbbell Hammer Curl to Push press 3x5 Superset Dips 3x10
Hanging Leg raise Superset Inverted crunch 1x to failure (I do my crunches on an inversion table)

Neck Harness Training 1x to failure
Forearm wrist roller 1x to failure

Thursday:
Muay Thai Training

Friday: S&C Endurance focus
Elevated Heel Goblet Squat 3x10
Bench Press 3x10 Superset Dumbbell Row 3x10
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x10 Superset Chin up 3x8-10
Tricep Exercise Superset Bicep Exercise
Hanging Leg raise Superset Inverted crunch 1x to failure (I do my crunches on an inversion table)

Neck Harness Training 1x to failure
Forearm wrist roller 1x to failure

Saturday:
Muay Thai Training with emphasis on freestyle flow training since fights are usually held on saturday evenings

Sunday:
Active Recovery. Massage gun, foam roll, Mobility, Static stretching, maybe light Jump rope and Shadowbox.

Personally I think this routine is the most scalable for me since I can just lower the amount of sets if needed. But Monday session is not comprimisable, the other 2 sessons I can do 1-2 sets instead of 3 if my CNS is fried.

[haseebiqbal]

Thanks for the video. I'm doing lifting 4x a week and Muay Thai 2x a week so this video really helped me out on what I should be doing.

[briandelgado]

When I’m the marines I did there morning cardio and weight lifting in the afternoon. Then do boxing 1 or two times a week and grappling 1-2 times a week . Body was destroyed at times but if you don’t go to crazy on the cardio and lifts you’ll be ok

[tmoneyofficial]

Nice one. I’ve been boxing since age 13 but currently the priority now is hypertrophy and gaining more muscle. So that’s the main focus for now until I get to a desired point then I can return to the ring fast, explosive but also bigger which would make me a machine.

[Milkra]

Decided to start going to wrestling because I want to up my jiu jitsu game. The first thing the coach said to me was “you’re too weak, you need to run and lift more weights” in his thick accent. Will take this advice to heart 🫡

[qwertyslove]

This helped a lot I will take every word to heart and push to my very best

[JerelMcCollum]

This is a great video! It explains everything very well and luckily I’m doing something like this now: Weight training M, W, F morning. Jiu jitsu M & W night and Saturday afternoon. Rest days on T & Th. Saturday morning Yoga & hard Rower workout. Sunday - rest but I’m thinking of doing a long walks now. Thanks again.

[vineqar]

I’ve been doing boxing for a year, fun little sport gotta say

[gabrielcabutotan]

I love how without fail these "How to balance lifting and martial arts" videos always have Mike Tyson in the thumbnail despite the fact that he doesn't lift and never did during his career.

[beastmodex]

amazing video! Would you do a video on the nutrition side for building muscle and strength as a fighter?

[benjthewhite]

Great video, very informative! I did a lot of strength sports before starting martial arts which gave me a great advantage in this regard. It also means I don’t need to spend so much time on weightlifting because I already have a high level of strength and don’t have much further to go but still enjoy a weight session!

[kizfrpe]

The timing of this video is impeccable, I've been rocking with TB Green Protocol with fighter template. Where/How would you fit mobility training into this? I've made solid strength and endurance progress but I'm still quite lacking in flexibility. Appreciate the effort you put into the vids, bro🤙