Stick around the fighting community long enough, and you’ll find one thing most everybody adheres to…

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Boxer or a Wrestler, a Jiu Jitsu Player or a Muay Thai Fighter…heck, even an old-time 20th Century Karate or Kung Fu guy!

Though it seems like they can never agree on anything, they all agree on this one thing: 

They hate Bodybuilding! 

But is their hatred deserved?

THE BOOK AND IT’S COVER

What I’m about to say is blasphemy to the fight world…but it is true nonetheless! 

The Bodybuilders have taught me a lot since I started learning from them in the last 6-9 months. 

I first got a Bodybuilding Magazine in August 2022. I got it because I realized that I had missed the boat on certain bright ideas in the past due to unexamined dogma.

You see, I used to be part of the Bodybuilding Haters Club…until I started doing research for The Knees Over Toes Guy, Ben Patrick in October 2019. 

Through him, I learned some wonderful lower body strengthening exercises that he derived from Bodybuilding to successfully conduct knee rehab. 

The best of these was the Sissy Squat, or as he rebranded it, the KOT Squat (“Knees-Over-Toes Squat”), for strengthening the Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO). 

The Sissy Squat got rid of the lingering problems I had from a past Grade 2 MCL Tear! 

That instance taught me not to judge a book by its cover, especially in the Fitness and Fighting World. 

So in August 2022, I bought my first Bodybuilding Magazine. I followed this up with buying Dr. Jim Stoppani’s masterful Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength in December 2022 on my day off from 6 days-a-week, 10-12 hours-a-day hurricane clean up in Florida. 

Just what exactly did I learn in these forbidden tomes? 

VMO, FHL, KOT…OH MY! 

The Fighters don’t have it all right…there are some things that Bodybuilding really excels at!

What Bodybuilding is is really heroic physical therapy. They rebuild muscle tissue along the aesthetic lines of the Ancient Greco-Romans. 

Whether for rehab or show, they understand the process of getting blood flow to muscles, tendons, and ligaments…thereby making them all stronger and bulletproof. 

They are not afraid of any kind of knees-over-toes training. In fact, they love it to make the aforementioned Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) grow. 

This is because the size and definition of the VMO, known to Bodybuilders as the “tear drop shaped muscle”, is a critical part of the Bodybuilding world’s aesthetic judgment criteria. 

Likewise, they are also masters at training all manner and variation of FHL Calf Raises and KOT (“Knees Over Toes”) Calf Raises. This is because the size and definition of the Calves are prized in the competitive judging arena of the sport, just like the VMO. 

And of course, they know how to get the upper body big too!

But do they get everything right…and do the fighters get everything wrong? 

THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

The truth is, Bodybuilding’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness…and this fact is what the fighting community latches onto like leach.

And justly so!

Within the sport of Bodybuilding, the competition judging criteria is all about  giant shoulders and a narrow waist. 

Consequently, Bodybuilders avoid any kind of hip rotation exercises like the plague because it will thicken their torso, throwing off the wasp waist illusion garnered from the giant shoulders. 

Likewise, Bodybuilders avoid any kind of neck work because it will take away from the top line of their T-Shape prized by their giant shoulder deltoid muscles. 

And as you can imagine, this is a major problem…

A BAD NAME 

This lack of hip rotation exercises and neck work is terrible for Fighting and all Sports.

As I have written about extensively, all Combat Sports from Striking to Grappling revolve around Internal Hip Rotation. Without it, you can’t fight, period! 

Likewise, one of the most vulnerable body parts in the fight game is the neck…you’ve got to have a thick one padded with muscle to keep from getting knocked out in Striking, and to throw your opponent over your shoulders in Grappling! 

Consequently, this gives Body Building a very bad name in the Fight World. 

And I can’t blame the fighters for it. 

THE BIG PICTURE 

Well there you have it. The truth about Bodybuilding and Fighting revealed, straight from the horses’ mouth, dogma free. 

Bodybuilding has a lot of things to offer the Fight Game…from its heroic physical therapy strategy, to its wonderful rehab and strengthening exercises for the lower body. 

However, its judging criteria as a sport leaves a lot to be desired for the fighter’s critical movements and body parts.

If you’re a fighter, you’ve gotta train Internal Hip Rotation and the neck if you want to survive…let alone thrive in the fight game!

So whether you’re a Boxer or a Wrestler, a Jiu Jitsu Player or a Muay Thai Fighter…heck, even an old time 20th Century Karate or Kung Fu guy…the big picture is:

Take what works from Bodybuilding, and forget the rest!

Sincerely,

Richard Barrett

05-31-2023, 06-24-2023 

Written at 9:52 PM, somewhere in the USA…