Best Weight Lifting Exercises for Fighters

Movability, strategy and stability play major roles in defeating an opponent in just about all forms of fighting. We’ve seen so many fights in MMA, boxing, martial arts and more result in an unlikely win by a fighter who simply outsmarts the other.

The same can be said for fighters with loads of power as a single blow could send a fighter down. Naturally, power has a lot to do with who wins the fight, but those combining the strategies and strength tend to be the ones at the top of the sport, taking home the world titles and remaining legends.

While technique and strategy take time and practice, getting your strength where it needs to be can be done with the most basic equipment. Let’s look at some of the easiest ways to boost your strength with just a couple of minutes away and see how much easier it becomes to take down opponents with powerful punches and incredibly strong grips.

The difference with weight lifting for fighters is balance being introduced. Instead of aiming to build huge muscles, you’ll be using smaller weights and introducing specific techniques that allows you to improve in all possible ways.

Snatches

Getting all your muscles to work together is the best place to start. A dumbbell snatch is one of the most important weight lifting exercises for fighters as it helps with faster and more powerful responses.

Take the dumbbell in one hand at a time and let your arm hang down in front of you as you stand up straight. Crouch down and allow the dumbbell to touch the ground and then jump up and bring your arm up and reach for the stars with a dumbbell in your hand. Back on your way down, use your free hand to help catch the dumbbell and reduce the risk in hurting yourself.
To perform this properly, warm up beforehand and start with a weight that allows you to do three sets of 10 reps.

Shadow Boxing

We all know that just making a fist and getting into a fighting stance while punching into thin air could become a rather intense workout all by itself. However, it takes a bit longer to get the burn doing and to show real improvements with your strength, which is why we recommend using smaller weights and holding them in your hand while doing shadow boxing. Keep moving around and change your position as your shadow box with weights in your hand as this would give your entire body a workout.

Once again, start with smaller weights and don’t do too big as you’d want the exercise to last longer for the best results. In fact, we recommend starting with at least 5 minutes at a time, which is sure to get your shoulders in fire before the workout ends. Making this part of the exercise would yield great results and powerful punches.