Weights.. is it an essential part of training??

[Hitman]

Should kickboxers be pushing weights?? i say yes. peoples opinions??

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

[GoGo]

Yes all athletes should the benefits are proven and many !

Don't take a knife to a gun fight! So train harder than the next guy

[Hitman]

what kind of benefits.. ko power?

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

[Hot Sizzle]

It's not required but it does help. Thai's don't go doing heavy weights but are still strong as hell....yet Zambo does alot of weights and he's strong as hell too.

Depending on what kind of weights you're lifting you shouldn't really be doing weights 3-4 weeks prior to a fight though.

It's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have.

http://www.myspace.com/hot_sizzle213

[Micko]

Weights are good, helps in grapple when you can manouver your opponent to land good knees, you will punch more solid. 3sets 6 reps of bench, upright rows, pull downs, armcurls, heavy weights. You will gain strength and not bulk too much.Thais dont do weights but the aussies always have harder punches.

[coming storm]

are weights essential? depends.....

for fighters....

if you head to the gym and are willing to feel pain, and sweat hard and grind out endless reps till you reach the point of failure over and over again, with no real plan in place. and you arent happy unless you get a good pump and feel the burn, and need that biceps peak, and lat spread, and pec thickness and delt width etc and believe that you need 7 days to recover and that supplements work and that weights advice from a magazine is as good as gold, then your most probably wasting your time in the gym


if you are willing to forgoe aesthetics, and are aware that the best fighter wins, not the prettiest, and understand that weight training for a fighter is best suited for developing strength and power, not conditioning or 'bringing up lagging bodyparts' then yeah, weight training is essential


too many guys grind themselves into teh ground with stupid bodybuilderesque training programs that for teh most part dont even work for bodybuilders unless they are gentic freaks and juiced to the gills

and no im not a kettlbeel guy or swiss ball guru, those are just as stupid

[Kiwi Sting]

The one thing many fighters make mistakes with is how they use weights. Fighters are not bodybuilders so shouldnt train like body builders. Strength and bodybuilding movements are not the same thing.

I still push alot of plyometric exercises with guys, the power exercises and even ballistic training in the smith machine but not really any bodybuilding exercises.

I do get the swiss balls out for alot of base exercises too but never used kettle bells, and I still cannot find great factual evidence supporting its quality over modern equipment and theories.

-----------------------------------
Accept the things we cannot change and have the courage to change the things we can.

[coming storm]

plyos are ok, but should be used sparingly. most kickboxing training is plyometric in nature so adding in more plyo work willy nilly is a great way to overload joints (not saying that you throw in plyo work willy nilly kiwi sting, but ive seen plenty of guys do it)

swiss balls have their place, mainly in rehab/prehab - again ive seen heaps of trainers using them just for the sake of it, or they give me the 'it works stabilty' or 'it works the core' bull**** if i question them... kickboxing training itself works stability and the 'core' (hate that word), rolling around on a swiss ball makes you better at .... rolling around on a swiss ball

kettlebells are just a bad joke

[iceman]

Kiwi Sting, I bought a smith machine, Schwinn Rower, heaps of dumbbells, Bars and weights for my boy, You mention Ballistic training with your smith machine, could you give me a run down on what you do please. OSU! RTR