Training MMA into middle age?

vancitybb said:
Hey friends,

I've trained in martial arts, in some form or another, throughout much of my life. Most recently I was doing MMA (Muay Thai and BJJ) back when I lived in Vancouver.

However, it's now been at least 10 years since I've stepped on the mat, I'm approaching 50 yrs old, and find myself eager to get back into it.

Can anyone relate? If I'm not mistaken, @Bagua you are a martial arts guy of somewhat "advanced" age? I think I just need someone to tell me this isn't a ridiculous idea.

What should I look for in a gym/instructor? I don't want to join a hyper-aggressive gym, nor a "McDojo".

Anyhow, I'd love to hear about similar experiences, both positive and negative.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Better to wear out than rust out. If you lift, are getting older, and want to train any form of self-defence, depends on what your goals are. Cardio, fun, or to keep sharp.
If there was a gym with a bunch of 'tough guys' who wanted to go overboard sparring - typically they get kicked out, or they spar with the best in class and get their ass handed to them. I will always train a few times a week, but after a torn meniscus had to turn back on a few of my favourites. Helps with balance, coordination, and if you ever have to defend yourself or family, chances are if you lift weights and do any form of MMA, there is no hesitation and your training kicks in.

When I mention wear out, I mean keep active - not push yourself to the point of injuries as you won't heal like you did when you were 22.
I found it easiest to do both when I added low dose script HGH as I was able to hit the heavy bag, spar or whatever after weights as I have limited time.
I would jump in and make sure you sure you work on flexibility and mobility so you don't end up with a torn tendon like @Hussell. Even once a week training is more than 99% of the population and is fun especially if with guys who are friends who have no interest in pushing the limits.
Best of luck whatever you choose.
 
Goldenrod said:
Better to wear out than rust out. If you lift, are getting older, and want to train any form of self-defence, depends on what your goals are. Cardio, fun, or to keep sharp.
If there was a gym with a bunch of 'tough guys' who wanted to go overboard sparring - typically they get kicked out, or they spar with the best in class and get their ass handed to them. I will always train a few times a week, but after a torn meniscus had to turn back on a few of my favourites. Helps with balance, coordination, and if you ever have to defend yourself or family, chances are if you lift weights and do any form of MMA, there is no hesitation and your training kicks in.

When I mention wear out, I mean keep active - not push yourself to the point of injuries as you won't heal like you did when you were 22.
I found it easiest to do both when I added low dose script HGH as I was able to hit the heavy bag, spar or whatever after weights as I have limited time.
I would jump in and make sure you sure you work on flexibility and mobility so you don't end up with a torn tendon like @Hussell. Even once a week training is more than 99% of the population and is fun especially if with guys who are friends who have no interest in pushing the limits.
Best of luck whatever you choose.
Click to expand...
I've never run HGH, but I know a lot of older guys do. Maybe it's something I'll look into if I'm having issues with recovery, though I'd probably start by adjusting my routine first.

I've got a tour lined up at the gym I'm interested in, so if everything goes well then I should be starting classes soon. I'm really looking forward to it.
 
vancitybb said:
I've never run HGH, but I know a lot of older guys do. Maybe it's something I'll look into if I'm having issues with recovery, though I'd probably start by adjusting my routine first.

I've got a tour lined up at the gym I'm interested in, so if everything goes well then I should be starting classes soon. I'm really looking forward to it.
Click to expand...
Lifting and training are great complementary activities. The trick is finding the right route where you recover adequately to get the most out of both.

Just go slow at first. You can get over excited when there, do too much and tweek stuff. Hard to do but ramp up the intensity once you give the tendons, etc time to acclimatize
 
Id say a push pull split or even full-body
Example mon push Tuesday mma Wednesday pull Thursday mma Friday legs sat/sun rest or Monday upperbody Wednesday lower body and any days inbetween for mma. Thats just an idea but what I do is pack as much weightlifting into each session as I can so the next two days or so are rest and mma in whatever order you prefer but I wouldn't do a bro split, no extra cardio, no weights on same day as mma and try for two rest days in a row. Just some ideas to bounce around
 
I went and toured the gym I'm interested in today, and it's got me excited. Seems like a great spot, and they've got some older guys that train there.

Speaking of being older, I wonder if any of you old timers can relate to something: I've got arthritis on the last knuckle of a few of my fingers. I'm realizing this will be a problem for BJJ; It'll be painful to grab and pull on my training partner's gi. I'm scheduled to get surgery next year (fusing the joints), but in the meantime I'm wondering if I should tape those joints or something before rolling. Has anyone faced a similar situation?
 
vancitybb said:
That's mostly what I'm looking for: a good cardio regime in the form of combat sports. I'm not planning to get in the ring or anything, just get fit through punching, kicking, and rolling.

Hearing that you're starting back at 52 does make me feel better.

Are you worried about injuries? I'm pretty good at taking care of myself in the gym, and working within my limits, but I swear I get hurt in the strangest ways after turning 40 lol.
Click to expand...
Had a few small injuries like sore wrists and elbows. But take a day off from kickboxing and everything returns to normal.
 
Bigbear said:
Id say a push pull split or even full-body
Example mon push Tuesday mma Wednesday pull Thursday mma Friday legs sat/sun rest or Monday upperbody Wednesday lower body and any days inbetween for mma. Thats just an idea but what I do is pack as much weightlifting into each session as I can so the next two days or so are rest and mma in whatever order you prefer but I wouldn't do a bro split, no extra cardio, no weights on same day as mma and try for two rest days in a row. Just some ideas to bounce around
Click to expand...
I appreciate this advice, thanks! I'll use some variation of the push/pull split. I will only do MMA for 2 days/wk (for now), so that leaves me lots of time for lifting and resting.
 
vancitybb said:
I appreciate this advice, thanks! I'll use some variation of the push/pull split. I will only do MMA for 2 days/wk (for now), so that leaves me lots of time for lifting and resting.
Click to expand...
I lift short high intensity 3 times a week and typically kickboxing 3 Times a week. You should be fine. Really don’t seem to interfere with each that much.
 
vancitybb said:
I went and toured the gym I'm interested in today, and it's got me excited. Seems like a great spot, and they've got some older guys that train there.

Speaking of being older, I wonder if any of you old timers can relate to something: I've got arthritis on the last knuckle of a few of my fingers. I'm realizing this will be a problem for BJJ; It'll be painful to grab and pull on my training partner's gi. I'm scheduled to get surgery next year (fusing the joints), but in the meantime I'm wondering if I should tape those joints or something before rolling. Has anyone faced a similar situation?
Click to expand...
Due to fingers and neck issues I teach the no gi classes most of the time now snd my gym business partner teaches the gi. Obviously no gi is way easier on the fingers.

When i trained gi regularly all my finger joints were severely swollen and painful. Taping helps. Get actual finger tape. Tape above snd below the joint and crossover in an X on the inside of the hand.
 
Oldguyjiujitsu said:
Due to fingers and neck issues I teach the no gi classes most of the time now snd my gym business partner teaches the gi. Obviously no gi is way easier on the fingers.

When i trained gi regularly all my finger joints were severely swollen and painful. Taping helps. Get actual finger tape. Tape above snd below the joint and crossover in an X on the inside of the hand.
Click to expand...
This gym offers no-gi classes, but I feel I should attend the gi class if I want to work on fundamentals first. Is that misguided?

Yeah I was planning on buying some actual finger tape. Not sure how helpful it'll be. This is my right hand, palm-up. The finger tip is crooked. My left hand is worse, with the index and pinkie fingers affected in the same way.
1000007178.jpg
 
vancitybb said:
This gym offers no-gi classes, but I feel I should attend the gi class if I want to work on fundamentals first. Is that misguided?

Yeah I was planning on buying some actual finger tape. Not sure how helpful it'll be. This is my right hand, palm-up. The finger tip is crooked. My left hand is worse, with the index and pinkie fingers affected in the same way.
View attachment 98361
Click to expand...
I’m a huge advocate of training both gi and no gi. Your fundamental techniques should remain the same whether it’s gi or no gi. It’s just the grips that change. Just avoid overly relying on submissions that overly rely on the lapel.

When you’re training against someone in the gi, you have to learn to deal with the grips and when you’re training without the gi, you have to learn how to stay tight, not having those grips.

As an older athlete, I do find no gi is easier on the joints, less herky-jerky from the gi grips.

Tape will provide a measure of support. The finger tape tends to be the right size for spacing, it’s consistent versus buying hockey tape and having to cut it down to size.
 
Bagua said:
I train every day. Luckily, I have an Internal base which allows me to go soft a couple of days a week. Wing Chun fits nicely into the Soft stuff, and at my age, Forms are the mainstay of my Martial Arts.
Click to expand...
The equivalent in jiu-jitsu is doing drills and situational sparring with a partner. I still spar most classes, but only with other black belts or senior belts. For many its counterintuitive, but with other black belts you can go hard and fast without being herky-jerky, its less risky sparring with other high skilled guys
 
Last edited:
Oldguyjiujitsu said:
I’m a huge advocate of training both gi and no gi. Your fundamental techniques should remain the same whether it’s gi or no gi. It’s just the grips that change. Just avoid overly relying on submissions that overly rely on the lapel.

When you’re training against someone in the gi, you have to learn to deal with the grips and when you’re training without the gi, you have to learn how to stay tight, not having those grips.

As an older athlete, I do find no gi is easier on the joints, less herky-jerky from the gi grips.

Tape will provide a measure of support. The finger tape tends to be the right size for spacing, it’s consistent versus buying hockey tape and having to cut it down to size.
Click to expand...
I've actually only ever done gi classes, so I really should get some no gi exposure too. I'll try to mix it up.

I have no experience with finger tape; I'm looking for a way to stabilize those joints so they don't move in awkward, painful ways. Will tape alone do the job?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your insights!
 
Oldguyjiujitsu said:
The equivalent in jiu-jitsu is doing drills and situational sparring with a partner. I still spar most classes, but only with other black belts or senior belts. For all this counterintuitive, but you would get it thatyou can go hard and fast without being herky-jerky with other high skill partners
Click to expand...
Herky jerky? Love it.
 
vancitybb said:
I've actually only ever done gi classes, so I really should get some no gi exposure too. I'll try to mix it up.

I have no experience with finger tape; I'm looking for a way to stabilize those joints so they don't move in awkward, painful ways. Will tape alone do the job?

Thanks again, I really appreciate your insights!
Click to expand...
No gi is way faster than so more cardio and i find easier on the joints…so yes mix it up.

I don’t know if the finger tape will fully protect you… I think it looks pretty messed up but it definitely does provide a measure of support and stability that you will not have without.

Try no gi first… that is 100% easier on the fingers
 
It's fascinating how, in Kali, we have hundreds of combinations that we train regularly—both Solo and with a partner. Kind of neat fancy stuff, but when it comes to sparring, most of us use three strikes, give or take. Most beginners are headhunters and are predictable with their moves, but every so often, they do something that is not supposed to work, and you get caught. Before I stopped sparring, I was going for the hands and arms—pretty simple stuff.
 
Had my first Muay Thai class today and it went great! I'm definitely feeling my age, but the muscle memory was still there, if not the speed.

Thanks for the encouragement from everyone who replied in this thread!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top