Hi everyone,

Just a few quick questions. I've been weight training now for about two months (3xWT a week + 3x cardio) and am 16lbs lighter and have lost 3 6/8 inches from my waist and I'm lifting much heavier weights and have noticed an increase in muscle mass.

Anyway the first question is about increasing the amount of weight you lift while trying to lose weight as I seem to have hit a plateau with my bench press, I was increasing about 5kg every 2 weeks for the last 2 months but have become stock at 57kg for the last 3. Is it likely that my beginner gains are over and that if I want to lose fat I will likely stay at this 57kg (more or less) while I continue on a calorie deficit diet - 2000 cals?

The second question is about mixing Thai boxing and weight training. Are they compatible. I've done a bit of kickboxing before and I remember loads of push ups. If I did this on the cardio days is this going to ruin the chance of building any extra muscle? I already have a decent amount of muscle mass but once I've lost some more fat I'd like to add some more muscle. What I'm worried about I suppose is that if I do all those push ups, they'll make me weaker on WT days and that I not only won't gain any muscle mass in the area that push ups work but I could also lose some.

Any opinions welcome, but would be especially interested to hear from someone who has any direct experience with this.

Anyway I'm off two see if this weekends rest means I'll be able to lift a couple more reps on my bench press sets.

Cheers

Ben

Hey Ben, I'm also a Ben.

I have trained muay thai off and on for the last year (plagued with injuries). Tonight I am starting back at traditional boxing to give my ruined left foot a rest (broke it and walked on it for 2 months - awesome).

There are two things I want to share here. First, you should think of pushups less as a weight training exercise and more as an endurance exercise. There are giant musclebound dudes out there who can probably not do more than 50 or 100 pushups, and I can guarantee you there are flat chested, tiny little Thai kids who can bang out over 150. It will take time, but your body will acclimate to doing things like that. In fact, that would be the important thing I'd emphasize about MT: your body will adapt to any of the conditioning drills, but it will take time, and it will affect your lifting at first.

As for the whole fat loss/muscle gain thing: when you start regularly at MT, if you are also doing the other workout stuff, the only way you'll continue to see real muscle gain after you've worked your way down to a solid base is by eating more. Possibly lots more. I would start looking into articles by John Berardi (t-nation.com) about the timing of meals (eat carbs mostly after workouts, eat lots of protein - okay nevermind, I summed it up). If you are training hard at muay thai several days a week, you'll be burning through all that energy pretty quickly.

I'll be thinking about these issues more in the coming weeks. I have been out of MT since July, but I think I will be able to stay relatively injury free at boxing, and I'll be doing it 6-7 days a week. I am trying to cut down just a few more percentage points of fat, and then I'll be trying to slowly build some muscle. It's going to be a challenge, and I'll be sure to check back and share my thoughts here.

So to sum up: your body will adjust to pushups, etc, but you will definitely feel it for a few weeks. You want to get bigger while doing one of the most exhausting martial arts on earth, you'll have to eat bigger and smarter.