Bas Rutten Workout

 

 

 

MMA conditioning

A nice example of MMA conditioning and how it paid off in a match. The fighter is Paulo Thiago.

 

where to find the time

Low Tech Combat has an excellent post on how to maintain your skills and fitness even with the conflicting demands we all face in todays busy society.

Training When Busy

Training can mean different things to different people. For readers of Low Tech Combat it will generally mean two things. Strength and conditioning training along with martial arts or fight training. Either or both of these areas will be neglected as we become busier as priorities are juggled around. In today’s day and age, the requirement to be able to fight off an attacker can seem far fetched and is really a luxury and past time that is easily dropped for many people.

For those who really enjoy training, when we skip sessions, we often feel really bad about it and can regret the decision later. Obviously, this is not really healthy. What I intend to do is list some things which make it easier to maintain our training when going through some busy periods in our lives. We can cut back on the time spent training whilst maintaining the benefits or even improve ourselves with less time!

Another good post over on Low Tech…check it out.

 

flipping out

 

Something I was exposed to at the FBINA was the tire flipping workout. Flipping  large tires is an explosive movement that emulates many combative movements. I used to do 440 sprints (some were simply “jogs” I admit) followed by 10 chins and 5 flips in series. Other workouts include flips followed by jumps into and out of the tire. Some folks include a sledgehammer and mix in flips with hammer striking. I would like to continue doing them but a large tire in the backyard killing the grass isn’tsomething the wife or neighbors are going to be prone to approve of. If you have the opportunity to give them a try I highly recommend them. Start out right though, if you bite off more than you can chew you can wind up hurting yourself more than helping.

 

the front squat

The Front Squat. Most people avoid doing them, as I did until recently. They are awkward, painful and you cant lift as impressive an amount of weight with them, but they provide some benefits that the back squat cannot. The major benefit of the front squat is the fact that your stomach and back muscles are engaged in order to hold your upper body upright. This is part of the pain and fatigue that scares people away from the exercise, but once you begin to get stronger in this particular lift, you are strengthening your core musculature almost as much your legs. A  “more bang for your buck” benefit that makes this exercise worth a closer look.

 

ultimate combat conditioning

Here’s a little clip of a video offering from Paladin Press.

 

combat fitness basics

Almost everybody is familiar with the basic components of fitness; muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, power, speed and agility. These traits are all important and need to be addressed by the combat athlete. The issue is “how”?

One definition of “fit” is someone who is strong and has cardiovascular endurance…a person who lifts and runs. Another would be simply “raw power”, hes the guy who couldn’t catch you in a foot chase but god help you when he gets his hands on you…he’s lifting a ton of weight in the gym and looking to lift more. There is the “greyhound” type who can run forever but would have issues when he catches his quarry…hes the one running miles and miles every day. There are also the bodybuilders who are focusing on size and composition, functional application is a nice benefit but its not the focus.

An alternate  definition of “fitness” focuses on becoming a “jack of all trades”. It wont make you “world class” in any individual component, but it will allow you to “hang” no matter what is thrown at you. This approach focuses on what is called “metabolic conditioning”. Metabolic conditioning looks at training the systems that provide energy to the body vs. approaching each individual component that was listed above.

There are three metabolic pathways that drive all biological human activity. Most people are familiar with the concept of aerobic or anaerobic exercise. In a nutshell, “Aerobic” means “with air” and “Anerobic” means “without air”. Marathon running…aerobic. Wrestling and fighting a BG into handcuffs….anerobic.

The aerobic pathway is also known as the oxidative pathway. It fuels exercises lasting longer than several minutes. Examples of activities that utilize it are; running a mile or 26, walking, and normal/routine physical activity.

Anaerobic activity can be divided into two categories. One is called the phosphagen pathway. It provides energy for activities that last from 0-10 seconds. Examples of this are maximum effort lifts, sprinting all out across a yard to catch a guy, and that initial contact with an opponent where you are trying “all out” to get him under control. Most popular fitness programs ignore this pathway, focusing instead on long distance jogging and the typical 3X10 weightlifting protocol.

The second anaerobic pathway is called the glycolytic pathway. It fuels activities that last between 10 seconds and 3 minutes. Examples of activity that fall under this category include situations like; pushing a stalled car down the street, chasing that bad guy a block or two and jumping a few fences on the way and when that initial attempt to gain control fails and the “fight is on”. Again many programs fail to address this pathway. This is where some of the General Physical Preparedness (GPP) programs shine. CrossFit, Rosstraining and others are great examples of programs that address this.

Like many other things in life, focusing too much on one thing means sacrificing others. Heavy areobic training will burn fat and increase aerobic endurance but  it will also decrease your muscle mass. You will be able to chase that bad guy into the next county but unless its a 10 year old kid you may have a problem taking him down and putting him in cuffs. Conversly, a proper anerobic program can be a win/win proposition.  It too burns fat and increases aerobic capacity BUT  it also increases strength, power, and speed. Unlike the “running fool”- strictly areobic focused- marathoners, it also increases muscle mass and anaerobic (“fight”) endurance. So while your cardio conditioning wont be as great as an aerobic focused athlete (you wont be posting world class marathon times), anerobic training will give you enough cardiovascular conditioning to grant signifigant health benefits, plus all those other great traits.

So, by all means still mix in some long distance runs and work on bench pressing your pick-up, but heap on those sprints and GPP workouts.

 

old school fitness

 

Ross Enamait is a hardcore “old school” trainer with a large following in the boxing community. Anything of his is worth checking out. Take a look at Rosstraining.com.

 

best exercise nobody does

 

 

CrossFit exposed me to an exercise that I had never thought of attempting before, the overhead squat. The overhead squat is a demanding, whole-body exercise. It builds strength and flexibility in the shoulders and core, especially the lower back, as well as the legs. It improves balance and coordination.

You won’t need much weight to start with. Just a bare Olympic bar might be too heavy as you will find. A dowel or PVC pipe can make a good substitute. The issue isn’t as much the weight as it is technique and flexibility. With a wide snatch grip, press or jerk the bar overhead and lock your elbows. Assume a wider than shoulder width stance, with your toes pointed out. The wider stance and pointed-out toes should help you keep your torso upright, which reduces the load on the lower back and shoulders.

Now, keeping the bar roughly over your heels, squat down as far as possible, then stand up. This is one rep.

The depth of your squat may be limited by your shoulder flexibility. In order to keep your weight balanced, you’ll have to rotate your arms back as your torso leans forward. If you aim for a little more depth with each workout, your shoulders will get more flexible.

The woman in the above photo is Nicole Carol of CrossFit fame. That lady could “smoke” many guys I know in physical competition. Bodyweight overhead squats…Id be lucky to be able to reach one rep.

 

embrace the suck

 

 

“Embrace the suck”: Translation: The situation is bad, but deal with it.

“Embrace the Suck” is a term used by soldiers to describe how they deal with difficult situations. You put your head down and drive on. There is a lot to be said for that mindset. Many people have perished or failed because they simply didn’t drive on that one extra second that their opponent did. The ability to do this is physical and mental. Anybody who reads this blog knows that I believe that fitness is an important aspect of what can be called “the warrior lifestyle” and not just for the improvements it makes in your body. As Mark Rippetoe said “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people and more useful in general“ and I agree 100%. Where I may or may not agree with Mr. Rippetoe is why this is so. 

I’ve always believed that the real benefit of exercise is in the persons mental development rather than the physical results. Size, genetics and other issues outside ones immediate control will limit the physical advantages you can gain over an opponent through training. Where we all start out on a level playing field is between our ears. Intense exercise, the type that makes your internal dialogue start telling you “this sucks, I cant go on anymore, just slow down, just stop, just quit”…but you don’t…that type of exercise sows seeds that you will reap later when you are fighting for your life and are approaching exhaustion. When your opponent is approaching that same threshold the person who quits is going to loose and reaching that quitting point almost always originates from the mind. Hard exercise, the type that approximates the exertion of a fight will give you a “stress inoculation” that makes all your training effort worth the time.

Military trainers learned this long ago. The point of basic training is part “whipping recruits into shape” but a larger part still is showing them that they can push beyond their self-imposed limitations. A lot of “kids” joining the military have never really been pushed to the point where they have to keep going when their mind is telling them that they cant make it.

I am by no means belittling the “bottom line” importance of measurable improvements in physical strength, endurance or stamina. The body and the mind are a unit and the mental/physical benefits of training cannot be separated and measured. But, if you are pushing yourself to the mental breaking point and following proper exercise and diet protocol, the physical improvement will naturally follow. What I am saying is train hard, but focus on that mental toughness aspect of your training rather than the cosmetic improvements.

Push yourself. REALLY push yourself on occasion. I don’t mean just get sweaty or breathing hard. I mean a “I cant do one more rep, lungs burning, gonna die, mommy I wanna quit” push. You don’t have to do it every workout, but if you are coasting you are cheating yourself. Its not only your body that will benefit, it builds mental toughness that translates directly to fighting.

Change things up. If you are happy and comfortable with your current program, you are likely not getting much out of it anymore. If you hate running, run. If you hate lifting, lift. Change up what you do once you get into autopilot with your exercise.

This opinion of mine is what first attracted me to CrossFit. Instead of the familiar 3 sets of 10 three times a week in the “same old, same old gym”, CrossFit throws some intense GPP style workouts at you mixed in with maximum effort lifts like squats, overhead presses and deadlifts. While I am by no means at the level of people you will find on the CrossFit website, I have noticed measurable improvements in my fitness and I am in my 40’s when improvements begin getting harder to come by, so that’s saying something. Another “embrace the suck” workout is the 100 burpee workout. Even just deciding to do it once you know what you are in for is a mental effort.

So get out there and “embrace the suck”. Next to sparring, its the best thing you can do to improve your martial arts training. It can change your whole outlook on life and your opinion of yourself.  It could be the best decision of your life.