In combat sports, the human body is pushed close to the limit and sometimes beyond. It’s an arena that very often takes no prisoners, and any lack of performance is punished with the opposing side being the victor. Even if you’re mentally stable, your lack of fitness and strength can prove the old saying of ‘the mind is weak, but the body is willing’ shamefully wrong. Fighters don’t just put on mass and muscle to make the desired fight weight or to add power to their strikes; the fact is that shredded muscle under a thin layer of fat behaves like a suit of armor. The body may be made of soft flesh and flexible bones, but it’s able to absorb an obscene amount of punishment and can dish it out too. Football is a gladiatorial sport; always has been, always will be. Only the strongest will survive, and often it’s those who are strong, fast and brave.
Sustainable mass building
Putting on size isn’t easy, you can’t just go to the gym and start lifting. It requires knowledge of how the human body works to get the best results. Bodybuilders often say to ‘go heavy or go home’ and to that adage, this is true. The key for every workout that’s planned to put on mass is to employ a medium number of reps, a short period of explosive movements and keeping the range inside four sets for each exercise.
The weight you life should be around 70-80% of what your muscles determine to be too heavy. Too heavy is subjective but a general rule to follow is, a weight which you can only manage 4-5 reps of. For example, a weight for your bicep curl that is too heavy might be 15kg, and then you should drop this to around 10-11kg. The rep range should be kept inside of 12 but always above 8. If after 6 months of pushing yourself, you still don’t see satisfying results, get a medical check up with someone like lowtmedicalclinic.com, who can monitor your natural growth hormone levels.
Activating the nervous system
Often when you start a regime of building mass, your nervous system is caught off guard and your body will start to fight against the stresses you’re putting on it. This can result in joint aching, muscle twitches, and an irregular heartbeat. If you’re coming back from an off-season or just starting out for the summer trials, you must have your compound lift game right. Compound lifts like the Olympics test the competitors with such as the clean and press are used to get your whole body into a unified motion.
A strong will
Your mentality is going to be a weapon which you can harness to achieve your aims. Football is a sport where you need to backup your brawn with brains. Tactically you’ll learn how to read the enemy and how accurately deploying men can turn a battle into a steamrolling victory. But first, you must conquer yourself. When you go to the gym, you’ll be putting yourself through pain and mental anguish. But don’t give in to that little voice inside your head that cries out for no more. You need to push through the barriers in your mind to where only your goal of achieving the physique you want matters. Everyone has this nagging voice to just sit at home and not go through hardship, but without stringent activity, your body will never change; ever. If you’re serious about football, you need to first, defeat the enemy within; and that enemy is the voice of defeatism. Winning isn’t about being the best on the night; it’s consistent dedication to your craft which will get you that trophy and not just the odd weekend match win.
