The ULTIMATE Balancing MMA and Gym Guide

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In this video, we go over how to balance mma and the gym or how to balance mma and weightlifting. Many people want to look aesthetic, but also want to be good at fighting whether its muay thai, kickboxing, or bjj. We teach you how to create your aesthetic workout plan or you fighting workout plan so you are able to balance mma and gym.

[@Coach_MarioRios]

Go to my sponsor aura.com/mariorios to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold

[@tl23_basketball62]

Do a plyometric workout video

[@rudythicc8995]

By any chance you got any certs? Cause I got a bachelors in exercise science with a concentration in pre professional and clinical studies cause I’m trying to be a ATC and DPT. And everyone knows that you can’t do much with a exercise science degree besides be a personal trainer and even then you probably don’t even need to go to school to be a trainer, just pay like $300 and take a test

[@kyinh8427]

hey mario so i got a question if i do martial art at night from 17:30 to 20:00 can i possibly weight lift after that time like from 20:30 to 21:30.Would be great help thx u❤

[@josuepico753]

And that’s why Mario Rios has the most aesthetic physique

[@teekay4142]

actual vid starts at 5:33

[@Shadow-pm4nd]

thanks

[@kyro7679]

Thank you for saving 5 and a half minutes of my life

[@lukeanil1336]

U dropped this 👑

[@TheReaperL]

learnt myself the hard way lmao. holy fk this guy can malevolent ramble

[@motief7104]

We finally got the collab we were all waiting for.

[@leonkanca6235]

What Collab he’s by himself

[@vantagepoint3563]

@@leonkanca6235I think they meant like strength training x mma collab

[@DoseOfRiffs27]

I train Muay Thai Monday-Thursday, hit the gym Friday-Saturday. Everything works out perfectly

[@conehead2222]

isn’t 2 days it lifting a week not enough?

[@dxofficial8738]

@conehead2222 as long as there’s enough volume in those gym workouts, 2 days is enough.

[@senorbonbon]

Currently I train boxing, wed-Friday and weight lift sat-Monday so 3 & 3 for each with one rest day, is this optimal?

[@silvervodka4884]

Hey Mario, thank you for uploading this vid. I have been struggeling to do kickboxing and to gym at the same time. And you helped me ❤

[@samcollins5638]

Mario you really motivate me to workout and start mma 🙏🏻

[@conorthompson943]

bro over the last few months i been tryna improve my life, working out more etc, I've made two youtube playlists one called 'MMA' and one called 'GYM' and kept saving vids to either of the playlists, this vid has been saved in both! Double value! Much respect bro thanks for the info

[@user-he3mu9fh8f]

Finally the 2 bros we have been needing since the dawn of the Fitness Matrix

[@survivalkiller9003]

I started mma couple days ago while lifting weights at the same time. This video came at the right time.

[@ExplainingHealth]

Mario, I have watched all of your shorts and long-form content (not all but a lot). I have been keeping track of everything that you said in a notes app and my god is it good. I have at least 5 pages (could easily get way more) of amazing fitness advice. This will help me make my fitness program and help others with their fitness journey/programs. I'm really happy you provide this information for free as people like me with no money can get amazing advice that matters. Now I can help other lifters achieve their goals and be happy. Thanks, Mario!

[@therealsushi423]

thank you for all the content mario ❤

[@enigmaticspider]

Very informative video man, I do boxing and cardio every morning and I lift at night. Thanks for the tips

[@ZachOddBJJ]

This is so helpful mann, I train jits/wrestling 4-6 times a week and muay once so i find it difficult to balance mma, strength training and studies

[@shonwamcfeckerty7363]

Doing too much man. In 10 years there’s a high probability you’ll be bound to a wheelchair. All the best 👍

[@Marko-ij4vy]

Dont do push pull legs like this clown suggests then. Do upper lower split or full body and dont lift weights more than 4 times per week. When youre combining other sport with weight training the recovery is even more crucial because weight training and martials/sports can interfere each others recovery. Which is why its dumb to lift weights 6 times a week while concurrently doint mma. Youd also probably be better off doing lower volume during weight traning. Weight training 3-4 times per week max and conditioning/sports specific training for the rest.

[@ZachOddBJJ]

Thanks, I have decided I will focus on preventing the damage from grappling arts to the body through mobility work and deep ranges of motion as opposed to building strength as I already see the effects training has on me only a year and a half in and as I would like to compete more often I need to stay healthy.

[@jiyarb7199]

You're literally my favorite KZbinr

[@SuperDarkmatter11]

if this guy is your favorite you need help

[@jiyarb7199]

@@SuperDarkmatter11 nah fam. I Think you need help when you look up to these steroid head bodybuilders

[@SuperDarkmatter11]

@@jiyarb7199 lmao you are braindead bro. I never said who i look up to but it certainly is not this idiot

[@NoRockinMansLand]

​@@jiyarb7199 u got him lol

[@_god_of_devilgaming7455]

Bro came in clutch ❤❤

[@marcuskentner1574]

You are making the best content on KZbin right now

[@michaelmckinley2185]

The video I needed

[@WebbsFitness]

Mario and Martin are inspirational 😃💪

[@shonwamcfeckerty7363]

Martin can’t fight for shite

[@KeithMooreStrength]

Great video! I completely agree most of the people making videos on this topic haven’t trained any martial arts for an extended period of time & have never actually fought before. Strength & conditioning should complement your martial arts training. 💯🥊

[@MiguelGonzalez-qd2nl]

Crazy how things work, was barley looking for a guide and ran into your page

[@blaze.11]

I lift on Sat, Sun, Mon. I do MMA on Tues-Fri. I do rest a day when I need it. I am currently doing a clean bulk to help me pack on some more muscle now that I’m not cutting for wrestling anymore. I thank Mario for helping me with my lifting style and focusing on free weights. I’m currently in school so I am lucky to have more time than most

[@xilent1333]

Why are you yelling so much bro ?

[@grantjones199]

I was thinking the same thing

[@vandammethebest2714]

He's crazzy 🙊🙊

[@franciscoreis3717]

if this app really works this gotta be the best ad ive ever seen

[@reusabletin9918]

Thanks Mario I needed this because I do wrestling and I don’t know how to balance them out.

[@rishikrishna8904]

Finallyyy thankyou mario. You guys inspired me to start martial arts too

[@Cmon_]

It’s been so hard to manage mma, roadwork, building my body while tackling uni and work. Hopefully this works

[@Rakotino]

Thats good! I am personally trying to balance weight lifting and karate. They also combine very well like mma

[@Sen2kl]

I’m a teen and love ur content keep it up man💪

[@irvinghebossytnot6188]

2 legends in one video 😮

[@vymfernando]

hey mario, nice video, i been doing muay thai for a few months and i been balancing it with weight lifting rn i do 2 days muay thai and 5 days of weighlifting with a bro split, i been wondering if theres a better split i could do, i also saw a video from Jeff Nippard talking about doing full body 5x a week ❤ thx for all ur advice btw

[@Jac0bspeaks]

great video bro, just started training and been tryna balance weight training in the morning and boxing in the evening but brooo burned me out lol. I wasnt eating enought thio

[@OmsanMMA]

Mario Rios, what would your recommendations be for breaking from taekwondo (also 1st degree black belt) into mma, like what martial arts and areas should I look to improve

[@austinb2177]

I go to an MMA gym in Florida that has 9 and 10 AM classes for everything. Boxing, Muay Thai, BJJ, Wrestling, etc. Pretty lucky. But yes - the nighttime lifts absolutely 100% affect the morning MMA sessions. I had to switch from PPL to 4x a week U/L because my recovery was so trash. Maybe I’ll give your “pull push legs” a try

[@Coach_MarioRios]

I also have full body which might work better

[@danielalizadeh2439]

I've been doing Kickboing for a couple of weeks and I'm loving it. Imagine bodybuilders doing MMA 😂😂😂

[@urstruelytarun3845]

bodybuilder compares with martial arts is biggest disrespect to martial arts 😊

[@joshifymartialarts]

I mean it’s been done before, Paulo Costa is a great example.

[@voltthehegehogstopmotions1951]

Thanks Mario thanks to your advice and athletic bodybuilding i now kick harder than anyone my size and i cripple people bigger than me

[@DarkLeoPlays]

Mental game is a big part of mma and fighting in general

[@JdogLAC]

Hey Mario what type of stud/piercing do you have in your ear. I'm thinking of copping new ones and yours are fire

[@georgesotiriadis2763]

hey great video and at a time i needed it the most, can i do 3 times a week gym and 2 times a week mma?. Thank you in advance.

[@SS.LiuRyan]

renaissance periodization has a great video on this. he is a brown belt in bjj and a doctorate in exercise science

[@conner9219]

Do you guys think its a good idea to do MMA on Mondays Tuesdays and Thursdays and do lower body on friday and upper body on saturday and rest on sunday and wednesday? is there a better gym split to do to give me enough recovery to work a physical job and also do MMA?

[@Kaizen671]

Any suggestions? I normally train Muay Thai & Jiujitsu 2-3x per week each. A sample week would be: Monday: Muay Thai + Jiujitsu Tuesday: Muay Thai + Jiujitsu Wednesday: Workout (Full-Body Moderate) Thursday: Muay Thai or Jiujitsu Friday: Muay Thai or Jiujitsu Saturday: Workout (Full-Body Intense) Sunday: Rest I found that after a few months, regular two-a-days burnt me out.. messed with my recovery.. and lead to me being more injury-prone... typically from hard spars 1-2x per week and maybe 1-2 hard rolling days.. The above schedule has been towards the top-end for long-term sustainability for me in terms of recovery and time-commitment. Open to suggestions on improving this split/program

[@randomkid8909]

Exactly what I fucking needed,thanks

[@sailezu2206]

Good video! Youre pitch is very intense however and i would advise to be more chill. Keep going 💯

[@KeeseanWay2P]

So should we be in a slight surplus like 200-300 kcals?

[@DonkeyTate]

As a donkey that is joining a mma gym I needed this.

[@TaylorTiger]

i do muaythai/mma mon wed thursday and do full body weightlifting fri sat sun and its going well. tue is normaly chirpractor days or rest days but if i feel im slackin ill use tues to do muaythai or lift

[@Xaviier9090]

Hey Coach Mario how do you tell if you have short arm?

[@SS.LiuRyan]

2:36, yes you can tap to strikes. GSP one of the greatest fighters of all time did it

[@dorito8995]

How would I balance grappling striking and weightlifting

[@officiallolbg]

I ask what would I do without you? Thank You man, btw does this work with other Sports as well?

[@Coach_MarioRios]

Yes actually.

[@signout932]

no where to do MMA in my home town, but there is a BJJ gym and a muay thai gym could i balance like my weight training sessions and then my "mma" sessions just go half BJJ and muay thai? aware there are other parts to MMA but just what is in my home town, i not trying to compete or anything just a psychically be capable man, i kind of bad at all atm i stopped training for 2 years, i had lifted the last 8 weeks, just took up BJJ and well i did do muay thai for a few years a long time ago i also considered just trying to balance weights with BJJ first as i have no idea what i am doing on the ground, just had my first class

[@owenwright4927]

I do Muay Thai and don’t have access to weights so I use kettlebells + Calisthenics working well so far should put on some muscle when I start the bulk

[@Zoro-fn5ev]

What's your weekly routine

[@paperisacut]

does this apply to other sports too????

[@Sports_fan.]

Yo mario I play soccer it's my passion and I workout in the gym also to help my aesthetics but I want to start boxing too so can u help?

[@WapplesWaffles]

8:13 mario practicing optimally balancing leon edwards between him and Martin

[@LokiColdAf]

Will I stunt my growth working out 5 times (2 days boxing 3 weightlifting ) at 15

[@chunkyzamboni8407]

I see that Super Mario showed up before you when you looked up your name. Does he have an aesthetic and athletic physique?

[@nihalbhamrah4726]

I played football ⚽️ and went to gym last year but its was really exhausting and difficult so i had to quit football 😢

[@stefanosx908]

You should program your football and your training better i also play football and im going to gym (im goalie)

[@andremagano6150]

I box 3 x a week and PPL 3 x a week also, i find this schedule works for me because i used to do full body 3 x weeks and my body is so sore the day after, specially when i have boxing session the day after, and when I’m in camp for a fight i box 6 x a week and lift and box in 3 x

[@lilnico4877]

I have Muay Thai on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Should I stick Gym in between so do a PPL Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then I rest on saturday? Or how else would I structure it, Lmk.

[@user-bg6yw1oy8s]

Mario. Can you make a video on the best kickboxing gear to buy for under $50?

[@glory4nem]

you should prob ask an actual kickboxer

[@user-bg6yw1oy8s]

@@glory4nem do you kickbox by any chance?

[@ZachOddBJJ]

I am not an expert in kickboxing by any stretch but have trained Muay Thai along BJJ for about a year and I find RDX gloves to be quite good for the price, also I recommend gel wraps as they are easy to clean and quick to use. For shinguards I would say avoid sock-like shinguards as they provide minimal protection and go for bulkier/ tougher shinguards. For mouthguards any boil and bite will do but I really like Sisu mouthguards. Hope this helps.

[@mattc4266]

Mario why is it that you can’t do a tornado kick despite being a black belt in tae Kwon do

[@tl23_basketball62]

Do a plyometric video

[@zacharystull9017]

If you’re trying to be a lifter who is a has a hobbie of martial arts then sure 2-3 days of martial arts and 4-6 days of lifting sounds great. But if u want to be a fighter, u need at least 5 days of martial arts and 2-3 days of supplemental lifting that is focused on your martial art. You also need to prioritize running and other cardio.

[@yuvrajverma629]

Bro is the king of yapping

[@user-hl8ze9dx3o]

bro please make logging in easier on the site

[@user-we4vc8ix4z]

Mario my friend wants to fly you out cause he wants to box, he doesn't like you. Also thanks for the channel iv made bigger gains since watching your channel so thanks. Also id pick you in a fight.

[@potato-ie2nw]

5:33

[@damesnabi5112]

Mario quick question...i want to prioritize boxing so i think i will go with a 3x per week full body split...so how should i structure my workout so that i can implement compound lifts bcz it might be too taxing to do all of them In a single session..thnx

[@paradise9151]

Just don't do 3 full body workouts. Just do a PPL split 1 once a week, but go hard everytime. That's why i do, and it gives me massive results. If ur really training as hard as possible, it's takes you like 2-3 days to recover fully anyways

[@damesnabi5112]

@@paradise9151 ah ok man...i think that's optimal for my goal cuz i just go to the gym for improving my boxing performance...thnx

[@lilnico4877]

@@paradise9151 I have Muay Thai on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Should I stick Gym in between so do a PPL Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then I rest on saturday?

[@paradise9151]

@@lilnico4877 Bro that's exactly what i do except the other way round 😂😂what a coincidence. I train Muay Thai on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I do PPL Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and rest Saturday. Hahhah. Yes bro, it works amazing for me and it should for you. If you're new to lifting weights then ur muscles will be very sore for your Muay Thai sessions at the start, but after 2-3 weeks your body should get used to the intensity. Prioritise sleep a lot and you'll make insane progress in fighting and lifting G

[@lilnico4877]

@@paradise9151 Frr what a coincidence, and damn yeah that seems like a decent plan. Do you have discord or some social media by any chance where I could contact you? How has training been so far? and how long u been doing it.

[@smithcubs]

Bruh what are your stats, like weight, squat, bench and deadlift?

[@600DoubleRR]

Cool video, was looking for something like this, but why are you yelling at the camera for 10 min straight lmao

[@SairajDattagupta]

I have a question as a teenager should I start lifting or mma cuz I don't have the money to do both

[@orco23]

Lifting👍🏼

[@thisis3379]

INSIDE VOICE KUYA PLS 😂

[@custardyboi6951]

Bro just roasted Jack Hopkins☠️

[@gedbookings2328]

Great info….Any particular reason as to why you’re yelling?

[@SeedlessBurgerzz]

I think it’s just his thing 😂

[@Yansko-san]

I do boxing not mma but can it work as well for me?

[@Coach_MarioRios]

Yes

[@Yansko-san]

​@@Coach_MarioRiospog

[@user-zq7or5rn6t]

Can you do fotball ⚽️ and gym

[@Imneithergokunorvegeta]

Does this apply to boxing as well?

[@johnjones4387]

I don’t see why it wouldn’t

[@JBJMMA]

Yeah boxing is a Martial art too

[@legendarydragonwarrior]

Who shares videos of Leon Edwards training athletically and his training routine?

[@bruhmeme7313]

Bro really called out jack Hopkins who is actually a licensed pro fighter now. He would knock you out

[@Coach_MarioRios]

You clearly didn’t watch the fight

[@bruhmeme7313]

​@@Coach_MarioRios I did at least he gave his best. What colour is your professional fight? Oh you don't have one

[@bruhmeme7313]

​@@Coach_MarioRiostaekwondo as a pro fight doesn't count. Tell me your professional fights in your semi consistent muay Thai and MMA. don't talk down on jack when he is more qualified then you

[@Bushidodread]

Even if he could, it wouldn’t change the fact that the training structure he’s offering could be flawed. Plenty of fighters reach incredibly high levels without really understanding training. They do as they are told and rightfully so, it’s understandable.

[@ivanptrv123]

Ok

[@douleyy4706]

W video

[@savanthsajil7857]

(. ) keeping you big as hell

[@simpsbelongtothegulags3702]

1:02 AYOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@_Man_000_]

It’s Jiu Jitsu grow up

[@elumayo4090]

Leon edwards biggest glazer

[@kyinh8427]

You are cool

[@Jqllr408]

Yap yap yap

[@custardyboi6951]

Is 8% bodyfat unhealthy?

[@parvesh.5_357]

I didnt listen to connor mcregor and jon jones. I listened to sean strickland podcadt

[@Poisoner_montages]

Mario I just want to thank u for saving me from being a bodybuilder

[@DRGxTOHRU_CODM]

Make the same type of video but use no gym equipment, limited equipment or no equipment at all

[@jairoodjais]

Bro said Leon Edward’s 2.0

[@marresmeijer2158]

yo, very good video. But try not to scream in the camera, just talk instead of constantly kinda screaming this will make it look way more proffesional and nice to listen to you

[@Kzombie]

Bro I saw you spar… it’s like you never stepped a foot in an mma gym

[@edwardgaiennie8956]

I want to like you Mario. I’m glad you train and all but your takes are wild. BJJ definitely takes mental toughness. Not just that tho, a lot of arrogance with you. I don’t like hating but man chill out

[@abedth5710]

Skip to 5:44

[@nikolaynikolov4279]

Gotta love how every vid is an ad for his worthless workout programs

[@StopandThinkMedia]

The truth: hated but is fact.

[@nikolaynikolov4279]

@@StopandThinkMedia he ran out of content so he just spams some nonsense claims and hopes they blow up

[@nawabsingh9610]

Half video in and still no strategy

[@requenz_]

why are you screaming?

[@averyhubert8303]

Good video but why are you yelling

[@markquadros8186]

Bro, why you speaking so fast? Chill. You fine. Breathe