Should I Do Weightlifting and Wing Chun Together?

Let’s talk about weightlifting and Wing Chun!

I lift weights and do Wing Chun. Does it affect my Wing Chun? I don’t think so.

Before I continue, I just want to mention that I am not a personal trainer or fitness professional and everything I discuss or recommend is based on my own results and experience.

I think the common misperception of lifting weights and Wing Chun is that “If I lift, I’m going to get too big and I won’t be able to do my technique correctly.” The problem with this thinking is that the assumption is lifting weights will immediately transform you into The Hulk. This isn’t true because I started lifting weights at 135lbs, and I’m 150lbs now. I didn’t gain 15lbs overnight, it took 1.5 years to get there. Also, I didn’t really get much bigger than when I was 135lbs. I think unless I eat as much as a bodybuilder, I’ll probably retain my regular size without getting bigger.

I think the misconception comes from starting weightlifting without prior experience in heavy weights. The body needs time to get used to these exercises before it can normalize. This is the same with Wing Chun techniques, you can learn them now but it takes time before the form is correct and everything is in the right place. It doesn’t happen overnight.

Once the body is familiar with something, it becomes easier to do. For exercising I would say it’ll take about 3-4 weeks before the body is used to it and until then, I don’t think it’s fair to have any input on how it affects your Wing Chun training.

I think doing any physical exercise goes well with Wing Chun because ultimately, the goal is to utilize the body to it’s best potential.

I hope that this will help you consider including weightlifting in your routine or if you were discouraged before, I hope you’re more open to giving it a try now. So if you do, let me know how it goes for you in the comments.

Note: The workout program I follow is Stronglifts 5×5, for more information you can visit their website here: https://www.stronglifts.com.