Beneficial or Hinderence?

[sensei8]

Check out the link...(Please scan thru the link for other pics)

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dronnie%2Bcoleman%2B%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501-s%26ei%3Dutf-8%26x%3Dwrt&w=238&h=269&imgurl=www.bodybuildingpro.com%2Fronniecoleman_front.JPG&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodybuildingpro.com%2Fronniecolemanjan2005.html&size=15.3kB&name=ronniecoleman_fr...&p=ronnie+coleman&oid=9f0413428bc855b4&no=1&tt=14797&sigr=11orklb46&sigi=11f3rsr6p&sigb=12s33m2t6

and this link...

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dronnie%2Bcoleman%2B%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501-s%26ei%3Dutf-8%26x%3Dwrt&w=250&h=261&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F28%2F57209722_15456d09ae.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2F64406299%40N00%2F57209722%2F&size=26.7kB&name=bigbeachsm&p=ronnie+coleman&oid=2acf40d9599a9166&fusr=throughthewa...&no=15&tt=14797&sigr=11jt37jer&sigi=11ce9in60&sigb=12s33m2t6

Would this be beneficial/hinderence to doing the Martial Arts?

[sperki]

You mean being absurdly jacked?! Well with that much muscle you should be able to have a very explosive strike - so if you connect it could be one shot knock-out. And steroids can be beneficial for recovering faster. But flexibility tends to be a bit limited. Even if these guys stretch regularly the sheer mass of muscle can be an impediment to having full range of motion!

Of course if the point of MA is to protect yourself on the street, being the last guy around anybody would pick on is a pretty successful way of staying safe. And biceps bigger than my thigh say, "don't mess with me!"

[tallgeese]

Mass, and due to that, strength, is a great attribute to have in a sd encounter. Flexability will only be impacted signifigantly if one fails to train it until you're at truly olympian proportions.

That said, to get to enourmous sizes like that you need: 1) fantastic genetics, 2) years of highly diciplined, highly specilized training 3) chemical enhancment to a signifigant degree.

You'd have to figure if it's worth it. That being said, focused weight training for size, strength, and power to a degree that it's done for the enhancement of your ma training is invaluable.

[joesteph]

When I did weight-training, Ronnie Coleman took the Mr. Olympia to an incredible level. What we're looking at, though, is skeletal muscle. What long-range effect the chemicals needed to induce such size (genetics, weight-resistance, and muscle recovery are the base, but the chemicals are imperative for this size and precise proportion) will have or are having on the internal organs.

When Schwartzenegger reigned as "The Austrian Oak," what was taken was still oral (e.g., dianabol), not yet injected, and not as powerful or varied (e.g., human growth hormone--HGH) as today. Still, though, when he was asked if all that muscle mass were healthy, he responded, "Do you want to be healthy, or do you want to be a champion?" I learned that years ago about him and never forgot it. When you seek such muscularity, flooding the body with chemicals far beyond what nature dictates, you take your body on a "trip." Just because it isn't lysergic acid, which affects the brain and so takes the mind on one, doesn't mean the body can't be on a trip of its own, maybe a bad one (kidneys, liver, cholesterol level, etc.) in the long run.

[bushido_man96]

I would be that if you talked to Schwarzenegger today, you would probably see that his view on health vs. "champ" have changed a bit. He has been a health advocate for children especially, with his annual fitness days in Ohio, I believe.

On another note, I am don't feel that strength is ever a hindrance in being able to defend yourself. Many people will be quick to point out that he wouldn't be flexible, but we have seen many threads posted here by us Martial Artists having problems gaining flexibility; and we are supposed to be good at this kind of thing. So I don't buy into that.

Look at Billy Blanks; that guy is a monster, and he was big into weight training. So was Joe Lewis. He's still quite large. In the end, it all comes down to making sure that you train both strength and flexibility at the same time.