Mixed Martial Arts nutrition plays a vital role in training.
By admin on Sep 27, 2006 in Nutrition
MMA training without a good Mixed Martial Arts nutrition program is like driving a car without gas. You will not get very far.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why diet and nutrition play such a big role…
- Proper nutrition keeps you healthy. If you are constantly getting sick then you will be missing important training sessions and/or fights. That or having to train and fight when you are sick.
- Diet plays an important role in recovery. When you train hard, your body breaks down and you need to be able to rebuild it. The only way to do that is to have the right raw materials. A Mixed Martial Arts nutrition program will supply those.
- A good diet helps you manage your weight. This is a sport with weight classes, so you may need to do some weight cutting to get into the right one. Or maybe you want to pack on some pounds to go up one weight class. The right mixed martial arts diet will let you do it.
- Good nutrition improves performance level. If you have the right fuel in you, then you can train more intensely and fight harder.
So you can see just how vital nutrition is to your success.
Now let’s look into what a good Mixed Martial Arts nutrition program needs…
- The right types of calories in the proper amount.
- The vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy and train hard.
- The proper supplements to help you reach your goals faster.
With these elements in place your nutrition program should be a success.
Further Reading
If you would like to take a closer look at nutrition and how it relates to athletes, this article by J. Anderson and L. Young is perfect.
Learn why conditioning is just as important as your mixed martial arts nutrition program.
25 Comment(s)
By James on Nov 21, 2007 | Reply
I am in need of gaining about 30-40lbs to get where I wanna be, any advice on how to do this safely?
By luke on Dec 30, 2007 | Reply
im 13 and wiegh 175 pounds need to lose 20 pounds and stay strong while i do it
NEED HELP
By Me on Jan 2, 2008 | Reply
Grilled chicken, tuna (in spring water) straight out of the can, fruits and vegies and absolutely no fast food. Diet alone wont work, cardio and circuit training are importaint in cutting weight.
By BIG MIKE on Jan 2, 2008 | Reply
NEED A DIET PLAN TO DROP WEIGHT
By MMAISMYGAME on Jan 6, 2008 | Reply
Ok, i need real help. I’m a female fighter in need of dropping 20 to 25 lbs. to get into the 125 lb. weight class - how can i do this with leaving only very little weight for the Sauna ;)?? Please HELP!
By Greyd on Jan 29, 2008 | Reply
i weight 227 im 5′10 full of muscle training in BJJ but i have that stubburn belly fat. I lift weights alot and have tried diets and some conditioning but I really want to get down to be able to compete in the middleweight range what kind of info on nutrition or conditioning regimne can you give me to help me accomplish this goal.
By Marks on Jan 30, 2008 | Reply
Comletely agree with you, when you say the right typr of calories in the proper amount. All to often people think that eating grilled chicken breast and veg is good, NO MATTER HOW MUCH. Of course this is wrong. eating even to much of this can be bad. good article!
By MuayThaiStriker on Jan 30, 2008 | Reply
30-40 lbs. is a lot of weight to gain… To safely gain that kind of weight without steroids will take a couple years of hard work and good diet. Set smaller goals, like 5 lbs. increments. You are more likely to accomplish your final goal this way. I weigh about 225 and used to weigh 165, it took me about 4.5 years to put on that much weight. So keep training, and eat as much protein as you can every day. Good luck.
By Kelainefes on Feb 6, 2008 | Reply
It depends a lot on what kind of weight you need to loose.
Muscle or fat?
If it’s fat, one suggestion could be to cut all the crap food (snikers, fast food, fried stuff), use as little oil and butter as you can, never forget to eat your veggies but don’t exagerate with fruit (it’s got sugar),
pick fish and white meat over red meat, drink milk with reduced fats.
Eating more than three times a day (without increasing the total calories) also helps loosing weight.
Ask suggestions to your doctor regarding your diet, he can probably help you more than us.
For your training, cardio should be the way to go, but remember that humans usually start burning their fat DIRECTLY only after at least 40 mins (when your sugar reserves run out) of nonstop aerobic activity such as running, swimming etc..
So it doesn’t really matter if you go real fast, the really important factor is time.
Most important of all, be patient and don’t rush things with crazy and stressing dieting/exercising programs, results obtained slowly are kept easier.
By erik on Feb 6, 2008 | Reply
How fast did you need to cut the weight? Is that the weight you will consistently fight at or is this a one time thing?
By nick on Feb 11, 2008 | Reply
Breakfast: Oatmeal fruit, wheat toast.
If you drink coffee have it black, or mainly drink lots of water.
Lunch: Grilled Chicken with black beans.
Snack: Apple or Orange.
Dinner: Steak with vegetables. Or grilled chicken again. If you don’t want to over due chicken substitute tuna fish for your lunch or even have fresh Salmon.
Stay away from sodas, juices, breads, rices.
You must do 4-6 days a week at the gym. Start off doing 15-20mins on the eliptical with about 15-20 mins of strength training. 2 weeks in do 25 - 30 minutes of eliptical training. And make your strength training 25mins. Keep it up and you’ll lose the fat and gain muscle.
By Mani Sharplin on Feb 12, 2008 | Reply
Hi, I am a mma fighter bassed in Jiu Jitsu and have been fighting in light heavy weights for quite a while and would like to move up to heavy weight to super heavy weight quickly. Which means I will need to gain at least 7 kgs. Maybe my eating plan and training program needs tweaking??? Thanks. Mani.
By Joe on Feb 20, 2008 | Reply
Im 14 5′5 and 132 pounds
I need to drop about 10 to 15 pounds before i start fight training. What should i be eating to get down to this wieght. i use circuit training to burn the calories. but what should i eat to help loose the weight
By philly on Feb 25, 2008 | Reply
I agree with Kelainefes. The only way to lose weight is through healthy carb cutting and cardio. It doesn’t matter how many crunches you do in a day, you are not going to see those abs until you preform long lating cardio exercises.
People have said that running on an empty stomach say in the early morning is a safe bet but nothing works for everybody. You are the only one who knows your body and if you do cardio on an empty stomach (4hrs without food) when you are done you need to take in some calories, and for the old school athlete who doesn’t partake in the whey protein shake after a workout, a safe bet is always white bread (yes white) and chocolate milk within 30 mins of a workout .
On the other hand, never weight train on an empty stomach, always eat something light sometime before hand
Results don’t come quickly, but if you stick with your training regiment, eat smart, and listen to your body you should do fine
By colton on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
i am new to fighting and Mixed Martial Arts i need help in dropping some pounds like 5o or so how came i do this safely
By Tapout on Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
i am 12 years old and want a good training facility in Michigan and if anyone knows of a place i would say aroug detroit that would help i am training with my self and i would like better help
By Tapout on Apr 13, 2008 | Reply
I am brand new to mixed martial arts and would like to lose like 10 pounds and get stronger so if anyone knows how could they help me
By mormma on Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
hey im 19 5″10 and fluctuate between 180 and 170, first is this normal and secondly, how can i drop down to 155-165 lbs while still keeping and gaining muscle? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks
By Cason24BJJ on Apr 30, 2008 | Reply
A good way to drop weight it to keep your matabalism up, eat about 5 times a day
breakfast - fruits oatmeal
snack - protien bar
lucnh - tune nuts
snack - protien bar
dinner - boneless skinless chicken breast veggies
drink lots of water all day long
recipe for protien bar:
2 scoops of you favorite whey protien
peanut butter
nuts
oatmeal
favorite fruits
blend all together
bake in oven on 350
cut into bars wrap, and store in freezer
i read this quote on another MMA forum
“your matabalism is alot like a furnace, if you pile a bunch of wood on it at once, its not going to burn right, but if you feed it small amounts regularly its going to burn strong.”
made sense to me.
By Kalvin on Apr 30, 2008 | Reply
Im 16 and weight 50 im under weight and trying to build my body up..
How do i do this?
I am currently eating all the right foods and am on a protein shake and go for runs in the morning and goto gym after school…
Please help
By Sage on May 8, 2008 | Reply
First, I hope you have some time to safely “lose” weight before the fight.
Assuming you are a young female, I recommend the following:
Work out a minimum of four days per week.
Definately lift weights; especially compound movements, (i.e. squats, bench press, power clean.) DON’T WORRY, YOU WILL NOT GET BIG!!
You’ll only gain lots of mass if you kick up your protein consumption. I have lifted with many female bodybuilders who struggle to gain weight while eating 200 plus grams of protein per day AND juicing!
Mix your cardio up as far as what you do: bike, run, eliptical
Always, Always do cardio first thing in the morning prior to eating OR right after lifting as this assures you are burning fat, not muscle or your carbohydrate energy stores.
Eat only protein prior to going to bed to so your body does not consume its precious muscle.
Eat 6 or more very small meals every day (even on off days. This will kick your fat burning into high gear and supply your new muscle with energy to burn the fat.
Eat around 1 gram of protein per body pound spread out over your 6 meals:
Assuming you weigh 100 lbs;
6 meals x 16 gms protein per meal=
96 grams protein.
That’s only 1 half can of tuna per meal!
It’s easy as long as you have discipline.
I know you do!
Please let me know that this helps.
Sage
By nick on May 26, 2008 | Reply
i heard eating pasta is very good for gaining “good/proper” weight…my fav is probably spaghetti or pasta salad
By joe on Jun 4, 2008 | Reply
im just starting training today and i cant get myself on a diet. can you tell me how to become a good mma fighter. i cant get to a mma school because there too far and to expencive for me
By rob on Jun 4, 2008 | Reply
im 15 and i want to start mma fighting i weigh 210 pounds and need to get down to 170 can you help meget on a diet to help me reach my goal?
By Chris on Jun 12, 2008 | Reply
hey whats up im 15 6 foot 165 pounds and ive been practice boxing and wrestling since i was about 11 i got jumped in my hometown i run track and play football anyways if u want to gain some wieght quick i would advise eating alot of protien and working out with heavy wieghts and if you want to lose wieght run your ass off and eat low calorie foods with alot of fiber the lighter you are the quicker you are but you have to have muscle to back that up belive me i love fighting and have been practicing my whole life one day ill be in mma or ufc and you can to ya just gotta reach high and work for your goals and dream and never quit hard work and dedication is all it takes good luck getting into shape!