Training to add more mass while being focused on another sport.

Adding more muscle to your frame can be difficult. It’s even more difficult when you’re doing it next to practicing another sport.

I’ve been training MMA and BJJ for many years and also have a bodybuilding background. I still lift weights, train every day and compete regularly, going up and down a weight class all the time. I know it’s difficult, but not impossible.

Adding muscle when you’re burning a ton of calories doing another sport is not ideal, it can be done if you are disciplined and follow a few simple principles.

Don’t get distracted:

If you feel like adding a bit of muscle will help you get better at the sport you’re practicing, the first thing you should do is getting your priorities straight. This is going to take a lot of will power and motivation. So cut out all other distractions because you will probably only have time to left to lift weights, go to training, eat your meals, go to work or study and sleep. All other things won’t help you reach your goals so it’s best to just forget about them and focus on your goals. I know it’s fun to party all weekend long but no one ever got huge and better at their sport at the same time doing that Mickey Mouse stuff.

Put in work:

Of course, the most important thing is, put in the work. Usually, the formula is very simple. Putting work in equals result out. It is not complicated at all. The more work you put in the greater the result. It works every time.

When you want to put on muscle mass while doing a lot of anaerobic exercise requires you to focus on one thing more than the other. You have to make a choice and commit. In this case you choose putting on muscle mass. So that’s what we will focus on.

Of course, if you are looking to gain muscle you can not exhaust your body by doing too much anaerobic exercise. So, for your sport you will need to start focusing more on the technical aspect of the game. Maybe train super hard once a week. All other days should be light sessions. The rest of your time you should be focused on a bodybuilding type workout. I wouldn’t do long lifting sessions either. Usually, it’s like a 15-minute light warmup, followed by 40-45 minutes of heavy lifting. To build muscle I usually lift in pyramids.

So, for example I’m training BJJ for two hours a day. That’s two hours of just sparring usually. If I want to focus on gaining muscle mass, I will reduce the hard sparring to only one day a week. All other days I still spar, but I will go very light and only focus on the technical part of the game. Almost no strength should be used in those sessions. All days I will also do a bodybuilding type workout. During those sessions you shouldn’t be shy, go all out, lift as much as you can!

A bodybuilding type workout would be a schedule where you will work separate muscle groups every day. For example, on Monday you will train legs, Tuesday you will work your chest etc. Of course, there are many programs out there that will be very effective for you. For me it always works best to split it up as much as possible, do my sets in pyramids starting with high reps, lowering the number of reps every set while simultaneously increasing the weight.

Get enough calories:

Gaining muscle mass will make you need to eat a surplus of calories. Getting in enough protein is most important for recovery. But overall calories should be at a surplus too. This will probably be the hardest part actually because you will have to get this right every day. That means eat when you really don’t want to a lot of times.

In my opinion the surplus of calories doesn’t have to be that big. If you eat 200-300kcal too much every day that should do the trick, if you get in enough protein. If you eat a lot more, you are likely to gain some extra body fat as well. It will take some practice to get the number of calories right though. How many calories exactly is also a bit personal so it is going to take some trail and error.

If you find it difficult to eat the correct foods while also following a busy schedule like this, I would recommend to prepare all your meals in advance. It’s a great way to save time and money. You can buy everything in bulk and prepare it all on one day and just take your Tupperware with you all the time.

This type of planning will make sure you’re going to be successful. It’s always the people that are not prepared that will end up at MacDonald’s or Burger King when they get hungry. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a little fast food sometimes and it’s perfectly normal to eat whatever you can get when you’re hungry. But it doesn’t get you the results you want.

Skipping meals, eating fast food will actually make proper recovery more difficult. Less recovery means less work to put in the next session. Less work in equals less result out! So, get your diet in check to maximize results!

Get enough rest:

I would recommend doing this 5 days a week and take two days off. Remember you will actually make gains during your time off. During those two days just focus on getting your meals in, maybe do some active recovery. It’s when your body is relaxed and recovering when you’re putting on the pounds.

I know we said, work in equals result out. That result will be there and develop when you rest though. Too much work in will get you diminishing returns and that usually translates to injury in these cases. If you’re in the game for the long run, take your rest serious! My advice to you is to take it easy for all us sinners during the weekend.

Conclusion

Being focused on these simple principles will definitely get you results. Just cut out all distractions and put all your attention on one thing. If that thing is gaining more muscle mass, make sure you don’t forget to eat enough protein, sleep like a baby and most importantly, don’t forget to put in the work!

Any questions please feel free to send us a message at contact@essentialrecovery.info or start a thread on the forum.