Many grapplers and martial artists lift weights to make them stronger, faster,

and more explosive. It is widely accepted that weight training complements and

improves good technique. Being stronger, faster, and more explosive is a good

thing, but the best reason to pump iron is to increase resistance to injury.

So much training time is lost to injury that anything you can do to cut down

on injury time will have a dramatic effect on your skill level. Lifting weights

strengthens the muscles, bones and connective tissue. This makes your joints

much more injury resistant.

Some people worry about lifting weights because they don’t want to get bigger

and ‘muscle-bound’. Don’t worry about this. Really. For 99% of people getting

significantly bigger requires a remarkable amount of work. From 1998 to 2000

I went through a phase of trying to ‘bulk up’, and eventually put on about 20

extra pounds of muscle. It was a lot of work: 4 or 5 days a week of weightlifting

and eating a tremendous amount of food every day. Rest assured that lifting

weights once or twice a week isn’t going to turn you into a bodybuilder from

the pages of Muscle and Fitness anytime soon.

I still weight train now, but my approach and my goals are different. I pump

iron one or two times a week to maintain strength and prevent injuries that

would prevent me from training. It’s interesting that people are more willing

to do physiotherapy AFTER an injury than preventive strengthening BEFORE an

injury. Isn’t it best to avoid the injury in the first place, not to mention

all the other benefits of weight training?

Read my article on basic weight training for martial arts and grappling