'Functional Strength'

Mark Rippetoe once famously said that being strong makes you harder to kill. And advocates of powerlifting programs like Starting Strength boast about the 'functional strength' they develop.

But do squats and deadlifts really have much carry over to the real world? How often do you do those specific movements IRL. In my opinion being able to run fast or do a muscle up seems to be much more beneficial in the real world than being able to do heavy barbell lifts.

Not to mention having a lot of muscle actually makes you a lot easier to kill. It makes you slower and less flexible. Pic related could kill any powerlifter on here in a minute despite probably not even being able to bench 2 plates.

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  1. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Sissy Boy Rippetoe* may not necessarily have been referring to making you harder to kill *in a fight*. He may have just been saying that building muscle and getting physical stronger makes you more durable and less frail, and thus you're less suspectable to serious injury or death in accidents etc (within reason, of course).

    *I'm referring to him as Sissy Boy Rippetoe as he was once "exposed" on the forums for having a fetish for wearing women's underwear.

  2. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Tell that to Mike Tyson

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      Tyson never lifted weights he just did cardio and calisthenics cope more powesharter

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        There are videos on youtube of iron moik lifting so shut your drooling mouth

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        kill yourthelf you dumbath homie

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          There are videos on youtube of iron moik lifting so shut your drooling mouth

          Oh also
          >inb4 but when am I going to have to lift something that weighs 350 pounds? You won't, but if you can deadlift 350, when you have to pick up something awkward to carry that weighs 100 pounds, it will be easy, when a random normie has to he will struggle or not be able to do it.
          [...]
          Jon Jones
          [...]
          Tyson started lifting after he went to jail.

          According to research I've done, Mike Tyson did almost no weightlifting whatsoever and his workout consisted mostly of doing high reps of situps, press ups, dips and running/cycling. He also stated that his punching power came only from his heavy bag work.

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            This was his workout before prison. Then he went to prison, started lifting weights with the friends he made in there, then continued lifting after he got out. Calisthenics are great and work, but the idea that Mike didn't lift period is just a myth.

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            Your research is shit and wrong.

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            Your ability to punch with power and speed is largely genetic. Most successful boxers and fighters got to the top of their local pile within 6 months - 1 year of starting, if they weren’t doing it as kids.

            • 12 months ago
              Anonymous

              >Your ability to punch with power and speed is largely genetic
              thats my point, thats why building muscle just slows you down and makes you less flexible

              if you actually want to be a dangerous badass train cardio and footwork technique

              doesnt matter how strong you are if you cant slip in for a combo or gas out after a round

              • 12 months ago
                Anonymous

                >thats my point, thats why building muscle just slows you down and makes you less flexible
                No it doesn't, this is just video game logic. Sprinters are all jacked lmao
                >if you actually want to be a dangerous badass train cardio and footwork technique
                Correct. Nobody is saying that if you can lift you can fight.
                >doesnt matter how strong you are if you cant slip in for a combo or gas out after a round
                Now what happens when you take a guy who can fight and isn't very strong, and you put him against guy who can fight but also benches 300, squats 500, and deadlifts 600? You get Jon Jones ragdolling the entire UFC heavyweight division.

              • 12 months ago
                Anonymous

                Most fighters do lift weights but its hardly a point of emphasis for them, and even if a lot are strong its mostly just a byproducts of having elite genetics rather than from actually training

                Jones has god tier genetics and could probably pack on a LOT more muscle if he really wanted to, but he does just enough to be beneficial without sacrificing any speed or agility

                So yes he does train for strength and is extremely strong, but is nowhere close to his ceiling for strength and could be much stronger if it was actually a point of emphasis for him

                His training is probably like 40% cardio and bodyweight exercises, 40% sparring, and then 20% lifting, lifting is basically just an off day for fighters when they want to take it easy

              • 12 months ago
                Anonymous

                >he hit a 300 pound bench without even trying
                lol

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            Your research is shit

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            he also has black people genetics

  3. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Slowness kills, if a powerlifter did plyometrics and reflex work he would mog the shit out of pic related.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      then why do no powerlifters succeed in mma?

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Jon Jones powerlifts
        >BUT IS HE A POWERLIFTER???
        No obviously someone who's trying to be a full time UFC fighter isn't going to master an entirely different sport that's only tangentially related to fighting. The point is that being strong helps and the three main powerlifting lifts are a generally efficient way to gain strength in the muscle groups they target.

        https://i.imgur.com/ou5MMaO.jpg

        Mark Rippetoe once famously said that being strong makes you harder to kill. And advocates of powerlifting programs like Starting Strength boast about the 'functional strength' they develop.

        But do squats and deadlifts really have much carry over to the real world? How often do you do those specific movements IRL. In my opinion being able to run fast or do a muscle up seems to be much more beneficial in the real world than being able to do heavy barbell lifts.

        Not to mention having a lot of muscle actually makes you a lot easier to kill. It makes you slower and less flexible. Pic related could kill any powerlifter on here in a minute despite probably not even being able to bench 2 plates.

        >In my opinion being able to run fast
        Good fricking luck training this to any meaningful extent. If you're slow you're always going to be slow. You can get a little bit faster maybe but springing speed is one of the most genetic things in all of sports.
        >or do a muscle up
        Muscle ups are a useless party trick unless you're trying to do gymnastics

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Weight classes, a true powerlifter could probably perform in heavyweight where most of the guys are just morons who are really big at this point, they just usually aren’t built for high cardio activities like that when they have their typical build for competitions

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          Brock Lesnar had a pretty good run especially considering his age

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          >a true powerlifter could probably perform in heavyweight

          have you seen the mountain or brain shaw try to box??

          IRL they would actually gas out after throwing a slow telegraphed haymaker and then fall over and collapse while the opponent wins by TKO

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            Hence why I made it clear they probably would need to change their build from their typical powerlifter body style. It’s also genetics too, Thor does not have the twitch muscles that make for good boxers. It’s usually found in Celtics as far as Europeans go; Alexander Gustafson is probably one of the all time greatest UFC fighters though and he was a Swede with a boxing background

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            >yeah I can't bench 60 kg, and yeah that actually makes me more of a sleek dangerous killer look at this vid of strongmen trying to box

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Cause they're powerlifters not mma fighters moron

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        No cardio

  4. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    >Not to mention having a lot of muscle actually makes you a lot easier to kill. It makes you slower
    Video game logic
    Sprinters are fricking jacked for a reason
    >But do squats and deadlifts really have much carry over to the real world?
    Yes, but there's diminishing returns to it
    Bringing your squat up from 135 to like 250 and your deadlift up from 185 to 350 is useful, but bringing your squat from 250 to 400 and your deadlift from 350 to 500 is pretty pointless

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      Oh also
      >inb4 but when am I going to have to lift something that weighs 350 pounds? You won't, but if you can deadlift 350, when you have to pick up something awkward to carry that weighs 100 pounds, it will be easy, when a random normie has to he will struggle or not be able to do it.

      then why do no powerlifters succeed in mma?

      Jon Jones

      Tyson never lifted weights he just did cardio and calisthenics cope more powesharter

      Tyson started lifting after he went to jail.

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        There are videos on youtube of iron moik lifting so shut your drooling mouth

        tyson in his prime (pre prison) did only high rep calisthenics
        you can google his workout

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          and what i said is he started lifting after he went to prison, u fricking autist
          why do u reply to my post as if this was some epic gotcha

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            maybe because PRIME tyson had no need to lift?

            • 12 months ago
              Anonymous

              still has nothing to do with my post

  5. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    prime BJ Penn was such a fricking lion, man. truly one of the GOATs. it's such a shame that his lazy work habits and CTE caught up to him

  6. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    >Pic related could kill any powerlifter on here in a minute despite probably not even being able to bench 2 plates.
    And yet when it came time for him to display his incredible UFC skills in an actual street fight he got knocked out by a fat drunk.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >40, out of shape, and CTE
      before that pic, he offered the dude a free punch. he just got surprised that the dude threw two instead, and even then he got up and beat the dude's ass while he was drunk out of his mind

  7. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    >do squats and deads really have much carry over in the real world
    are you fricking moronic?

  8. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    >But do squats and deadlifts really have much carry over to the real world?
    Lifting up a piece of luggage is the "real world." A cage fighting match isn't. When Mark talks about being "harder to kill" he's talking about literal old people who are at risk of death if they get frail, not UFC fighters or military commandos or some shit.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >Lifting up a piece of luggage
      And then carrying it for a distance which is practically a farmer's carry at that point. The piece of luggage likely doesn't weigh more than 100 lbs (easily within normal lifting range). Of course, whatever you're lifting is going to be an odd shape so it's nothing like the barbell, so your motion is going to deviate significantly from the DL/Squat motion due to that alone. You're probably going to have to use a lot of your biceps, triceps, forearms, and shoulders to lift and stabilize it too because of that than you would in a DL. But if you follow rippetoe's program, you won't develop those because they're "vanity muscles." Besides any scenario where you need to constantly lift and put down objects, you're not going to be doing more than 100 lbs and you're going to be doing it for the equivalent of high reps. So endurance is more important than STR in that case.

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        This
        The most "functional" lift you can do in the gym is the Zercher squat yet I don't see Rippecultists coming out in droves to put a sandbag between their arms

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          The point of lifting is to make your muscles strong, not to mimic certain movements.

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          >Lifting up a piece of luggage
          And then carrying it for a distance which is practically a farmer's carry at that point. The piece of luggage likely doesn't weigh more than 100 lbs (easily within normal lifting range). Of course, whatever you're lifting is going to be an odd shape so it's nothing like the barbell, so your motion is going to deviate significantly from the DL/Squat motion due to that alone. You're probably going to have to use a lot of your biceps, triceps, forearms, and shoulders to lift and stabilize it too because of that than you would in a DL. But if you follow rippetoe's program, you won't develop those because they're "vanity muscles." Besides any scenario where you need to constantly lift and put down objects, you're not going to be doing more than 100 lbs and you're going to be doing it for the equivalent of high reps. So endurance is more important than STR in that case.

          I can zercher 4pl8 and farmers carry I don't know how much but a lot despite not really programming those exercises because of my general strength from doing other compound lifts. Compound lift A vs compounds B, C, D etc is just splitting hairs. The squat, bench, press, clean, pull up and deadlift are great compound lifts. There are other compounds that work well too. Yes, you should be doing iso work top of those lifts. No, you shouldn't be running Starting Strength forever. However if you're just starting out a Starting Strength type program is a sensible entry point to strength.

  9. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Knowing how to fight is much more important than being strong but being strong gives you an advantage over someone of equal skill/experience.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >being strong gives you an advantage over someone of equal skill/experience.
      take an average 200 pounds person who goes to them gym and runs on a treadmill a few times a week and a powerlifter who trains heavy of equal weight (200 pounds)

      the powerlifter will be at a severe disadvantage because all the extra muscle will slow them down and ruin their cardio

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Most fights last less than a minute
        "Cardio" in fighting has more to do with staying calm than how much jogging you do

  10. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Didn't read the thread
    Strength is massively important IRL not just for fighting but for all physical endeavors
    Just because you can find some weak people who do ok at them means nothing
    There's nothing better you can do for your physical wellbeing than get strong

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      then why do no professional atheltes follow a powerlifting program?

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Because "powerlifting" is a sport. Lots of athletes lift heavy.
        Why are most professional athletes big and strong? Why do professional athletes take steroids?

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        for almost all sports, and especially at the professional level, there are strength & conditioning programs the athletes go through

  11. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Reminder brian shaw broke the punch power machine at UFC PI a few months ago

  12. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Fighters are also small because of weight classes. If UFC removed weight classes they would all be trying to get as jacked as possible in order to compete

  13. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Bunch of morons ITT. If you want to be good at fighting you should go to a martial arts gym and start training and sparring with the help of a coach. Then you will get better at fighting, simple as. All this muh weight lifting, Mark Redditoe, strength training, cardio, and all the other autistic talk is bullshit.
    /thread

  14. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    >Bunch of morons ITT. If you want to be good at fighting you should go to a martial arts gym and start training and sparring with the help of a coach. Then you will get better at fighting, simple as. All this muh weight lifting, Mark Redditoe, strength training, cardio, and all the other autistic talk is bullshit.
    >/thread

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >B-But I do my bicep curls, I can definitely beat these guys. Martial arts don't mean shit, and when I get angry, it's over for them!!!
      moronic bodybuilder cope thinking he can actually fight

  15. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Anecdotal. I started BJJ before Covid, unsurprisingly lose to everyone in club. During covid did the Stronglifts and Madcow programs for almost two years. Come back to BJJ, still lose to everyone but now find grappling easier and less tiring and get complimented on strength.

  16. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    ITT: fat morons thinking they can beat professional fighters because they outweigh them with 40lbs of questionable body mass arguing with dyel morons that are mildly interested in combat sports with 0 pro or amateur fights that claim le skill is everything. We've seen shit like Bob Sapp beat an all time great kickboxer like Hoost purely on moron strength, for the flip side we've had Pudz lose fights to morons like Tim Sylvia despite being 4x WSM. Honestly out of every muay thai or bjj gym I've visited there's at least a handful of regulars (going a year + for generals class a few times a week) that I would bet money against if they were fighting an average 16 year old, I'm also willing to bet that they're the type of homosexual to come to IST and make shit threads like this.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      Pretty bad post, hard to follow and boring

  17. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Calisthenics manlet cope

  18. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    you got it twisted Black person, of course a profesional fighter will be able to destroy a non fighter, but it doent have to do with muscles. You take 2 pro fighters, the more muscular one has more chances to win

  19. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    It's funny because you guys always post roided up motherfrickers as your fighter inspo, as if they're not strong (from the roids.) When I say, get strong, I don't mean quarter rep a bench press at 300lbs bodyweight. It means just have an adult level of strength so you're not like pic related, who I can assure you cannot kill me.

    Even a 155er (they walk around at 180 and above when they're not cutting weight) can easily squat 3pl8 if they just focus a bit and stop doing sixteen trillion variations on a 6 day a week lifting routine. It doesn't even need to be barbells just stop being a fricking wimp!

    MMA strength and conditioning is probably the lowest quality in any sports. Only the dumbest motherfrickers floated to the top in MMA while NFL runs circles around them.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      Oh and I just remembered. Go watch that physical 100 show to see how bad MMA is. They got blown the frick out by a snowboarding instructor.

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