DarkHorse

I don't really run but if you want a lifting/martial arts buddy let me know!

Hey Jon, whereabouts in the UK are you located? Would be happy to be your training partner if you're around London :), mainly do Muay Thai but tapered off that due to an injury and have been focusing on my strength and conditioning while rehabbing my ankle.

I don't do TKD but I'd say the general kicking mechanics are similar to Muay Thai. What I found most helpful were unilateral leg work, plyometrics and core stability (particularly anti-rotational). Is there any reason why you'd limit your conditioning to bodyweight exercises, or are you also open to using some free weights?

The simplest answer would be: Stop when you feel awesome and good about yourself :). Don't worry about BMI as that's an ambiguous standard that doesn't account for muscle mass. Plenty of lean athletes will be considered overweight using that standard. Once you've decided to go into maintenance, gradually increase intake, observe weight changes per week, and adjust accordingly.

I think it totally depends on the individual. IF is a great way to decrease your food intake, but if not careful can create cycles of intense hunger and food craving that will result in overeating during your meal times. So first things first, do you tend to stay satisfied with small meals throughout the day, or are you the type that enjoys having bigger meals?

Hey Adolfo, not too familiar with alcohol addiction but I did have issues with meth/cocaine addiction in the past. A fitness programme will definitely help, as it gives you an incentive to take care of your body and physical health. However, what helped me most was shifting my mindset after seeing a counsellor/psychologist to dig deep and find the reasons why I resort to drugs as a coping mechanism in the first place. Have you considered speaking to a mental health professional?

Hey jmoore312, Congrats on all the progress you've made so far! So you've finally hit a plateau after 4 months of stellar results. The most significant thing I've noted according to what you've said is that "Nothing has changed as far as my eating or exercising." And that might precisely be the issue here. Now that you're down 23 pounds, your body also require less calories to maintain its weight. Meaning the smaller you get, the more calories you need to cut in order to create some sort of a caloric deficit for weight loss. What I recommend is maintaining your protein intake, and start cutting the portions of either your fat or carb intake. Fat is great in moderation but calorically dense (9 calories per gram), so you may have to watch out this, especially in when you dine out or cook with too much cooking oil. Fruits are amazing for you but again, can rack up in calories (Opt for berries!). Hope this helps!

Depends on your goals. Whatever time you spend in the weight room is time taken away from sparring/drilling/practicing technique in martial arts. I keep my strength training to 3 times a week, mainly big compound lifts with mobility and prehab work. Even that, I find it difficult to juggle with all the styles I want to train in (Muay Thai, BJJ, HEMA). I find training for hypertrophy takes a fair bit more volume unless you're genetically gifted.

Sorry about that, might have been exaggerating a bit with the cancelling out part. What I really meant to say was that people largely overestimate their caloric expenditure from exercise and underestimate their caloric intake. As for calories being burnt after strength training (I assume you're talking about EPOC or the afterburn effect?), there has been research that shows that it's effects only play a minor part in weight/fat loss. I think it may have been a presentation/seminar that I watched by James Krieger. In my opinion the biggest benefits of strength training is about muscle retention and improving joint health rather than caloric expenditure.

Hey, love your enthusiasm and drive for change. Like the others said, small and CONSISTENT changes generally prevail over drastic, short term changes. Secondly, changing your food choices is great, but first and foremost you must create a caloric deficit (Consume less than you expend) in order for any weight loss to happen. What I find is that we mostly UNDERESTIMATE the amount of food we eat. I find it is helpful to jot down a detailed, 2 week food log using a food scale to document how many calories you're actually taking in. Note that this is NOT something you'll have to do for the rest of your life, but merely a great way to educate yourself about food portions. You'll be surprised how the most minute things can really pile up your calories in the long run. Peanut butter on toast, these photos look nearly identical but the one on the left has 10g of peanut butter and the one on the right has 50g of peanut butter. Your eyes can be deceiving!

Hi Chelsea, If you don't mind, could you better detail your circumstances as to why you can't choose what food you have? What do you mean when you say that food is provided for you? Also, what methods are you using to keep track of your food intake? (food diary, adhoc, pictures, myfitnesspal etc?) As for calories, how much are you cutting on a daily basis? Are you cutting predominantly carbs, fats or protein? When you say crash diet, I'm assuming you go on fairly restrictive diets? What I find is that the more restrictive you are, the more it becomes unsustainable and leads to the extreme fatigue that you're talking about, especially when you're going for drastic cuts. As for increasing activity, think of it as something that is COMPLEMENTARY to a good, healthy balanced diet. What I recommend to most is increasing your NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis), which is basically a fancy way of saying move more in the forms of house chores, walking, standing, and anything non gym related. The thing with adopting the mindset of increasing exercise as a primary means to lose weight is that many people would go through an intense workout and then sit at home in recovery from exhaustion, thus cancelling out the energy expenditure by being sedentary post workout.

Issues with thoracic and shoulder mobility, along with core strength may also impede your progress in the OHP. Here's a great in depth article on that: http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/05/01/the-scapula-and-thoracic-spine-a-classic-love-story-to-improve-your-overhead-position/

So I've been training Muay Thai for 8 years and was hoping branch out and get into some BJJ (ground game) and HEMA (weapons). For those who train in MMA or multiple styles, how do you normally manage your training time (on top of work, strength training, and other obligations in life)?

Learn to relax and pace yourself. Do some thai style sparring (50% or less power, but full intensity and speed), and just get used to the idea of "playing" with your partner instead of seeing it as a competition. As you learn to become more fluid in your movement, THEN try to up the power a bit if you're prepping for competition or a fight.

Oh yeah for sure, just the fact that you get to eat, sleep and breathe Muay Thai (4 months for me in Chiang Mai) really ups your level in technique and physical conditioning. It's also extremely humbling to get thrown around in the clinch by teenagers :P.