MMA and Lifting?

Also, I've wrestled for 5 years throughout middle and high school, and I heard BJJ was similar in the ground knowledge area of combat, will this expirience in martial arts benefit me, or hinder my progress because I fight on the ground using a different martial art?

Depends what else you have going on in your life OP. BJJ will get you knackered. Doing it 2-3 times a week saps you of energy/motivation to lift. If your schedule is light enough to permit adequate sleep and some lifting thrn you certainly can expect to build SOME muscle. Obviously guys in the UFC dedicate their entire lives to the sport so it is possible yes but unlikely if you're living a normal life. I wrestled through high school do BJJ and kickboxing now (compete nogi in BJJ) and I can tell you it's damn near impossible. Muay Thai is what's really killer though. One martial art and lifting is manageable but TWO especially with one being Muay Thai, don't expect to see much. You'll have to give at least one thing up anon, and lifting will br the first to go.

>>42302260
Well I'm starting college, I have Sunday, Saturday, and most of Tuesday and Thursday off. I figure I can find an hour or two a day to go to the gym and practice whatever martial art I choose, and desu lifting has gotten boring to me, I like being strong but I've always been kinda chubby with my muscle, I'd like to be tone. How does doing BJJ and kick boxing compare to practicing wrestling in high school for you?

>>42302343
Get a feel for your schedule first and go from there. As for wrestling comparing to the other two? Well wrestling feels like a sprint, it's explosive and quick. That's not to say the other two aren't but you know what I'm talking about. BJJ works your hips and back more and it feels like a marathon in comparison. It's much more fluid and training is muuuuch more relaxed. You have to be in tune with your body and make sure every movement is precise and fluid, so for the first month or two you'll likely just be learning movements and how to set them up. Look up videos on how to warm up/exercise, they're beneficial. Watch plenty of BJJ videos actually. As for kickboxing it's completely different (obviously lol it's striking as opposed to grappling). The best advice I can give you is no matter how good your cardio is, work on it. Run hard, run long. Improve your breathing. Even if it's good it's the best thing you can do.

Also have lots of sex. All seriousness it helped me with my body and getting my motion more fluid.

>>42302399
My last year of wrestling in high school, after a typical two hour long practice, even a high drilling type practice (you know the one where your coach is in a bad mood and if anyone screws up you do sprints) I'd usually out on sweats and a hoodie and jog about a mile on the track, sprinting one or two laps at the end, is this sufficient enough? Before my last season to get in shape and my endurance up, 4 days every week I'd do two miles on an elliptical, then run a mile on the treadmill (albeit gripping the sides and holding it alot). I noticed I wasn't really tired at the end of practices anymore, and that I found myself wanting to do more like running, but it took alot out of me and wasn't much fun.

>>42302437
Is there such a thing as having too good of cardio? I don't know you, your body, what your BJJ school is like but it never hurts to do more cardio. Other than that there isn't much to say. You'll do fine just relax and remember you're there to learn- no one likes the training partner who only cares about looking good and treats practice like it's life and death. Oh and don't be the guy who never taps out because they try to be badass, common sense stuff.

>>42302480
See the whole practice thing is where I get hazy. In wrestling practice you could go 100mph, it was expected actually, and you really had to try to take down your partner, and that was practice. But we were testosterone fueled teenage boys who knew each other, so do I go like 50% or what? I know on drilling to relax a bit but what about sparing?

>>42302522
When I started in the beginner class we would start practice by doing some shrimping, reverse shrimping, etc. then our instructor would demonstrate a technique step by step explaining what to do and why. Then we pair off and practice it. Everyone learns different and this is where you don't go 100%. You practice getting it right. Take your time. Two times doing it then you and your partner switch. Rinse lather repeat. Another technique, same deal. For about a month or two you won't spar, you'll just watch others. When you do eventually start sparring you'll go harder but you won't go 100% for a while. Not until you learn to get everything down and can competently roll. Eventually you'll move up to the advance class which is a whole different beast.

>>42302627
Also not sure if you're doing it through your school but BJJ is full of a diverse selection of individuals. Old people, people getting off work, kids, etc. Thr environment is thus different from a bunch of teen boys going all out