Jon Fitch is in the main event at UFC 127 going against BJ Penn. Fitch is known for his outstanding wrestling and many have called him boring for his lay and pray style. This time around I don’t think laying on BJ Penn will be such a good idea.
But I am not here to critique anyone’s fighting style, I am here for some strength and conditioning and that is what I am going to give you. In this video just like the title says you are going to see Jon Fitch performing jump squats with the barbell. The string type thing that you see attached to the barbell is called a accelerometer and it measures the speed of the bar as you jump with it.
He then moves into jump squats without the barbell. Jump squats are great for becoming explosive using your own body. You need to be explosive however and once you hit the floor you need to be jumping, this is the way to build that explosiveness.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Feb 26 2011
Jon Fitch MMA Training
Feb 24 2011
Bisping MMA Training
Another fight that will be taking place at UFC 127 is Michael Bisping taking on Jorge Rivera. Searching the You Tube archives for some training footage, I was able to find this great video of Bisping training at Strength and Performance in the United Kingdom. This is one of the best training videos I have found in a while.
In the video you will see many of the movements that I have been preaching to add into your strength training programs for about a year now. You will see as he performs a variation of box jumps but using tires to develop lower body power. Plyometrics are essential for enhancing your performance as an athlete. He then moves on to Zercher Squats to build strength in the lower body as well as increase his core strength. With the Zercher squat, you hold the barbell against your chest, which makes the squat a little awkward at first. In order to keep from not falling forward you need to “tighten” your core. Bisping then moves into jump shrugs which help develop power in the athlete.
You will also see how he uses the sled to perform explosive pulls with handles attached to it. In this video I actually learned a new movement as he uses the barbell across his waist to do hip ups. This movement will help with explosive power in the lower body and mimics using your legs to bridge out of a move.
Like I said earlier this is one of the best training video’s out there as it shows many of the movements I have been telling you about. Once these movements are programed the right way, you will be getting strong in no time.
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Feb 22 2011
Ross Pearson MMA Training
On Saturday UFC 127 will take place in Australia. The main event will feature BJ Penn going up against Jon Fitch. In another matchup that night up and coming star in the 155 pound division, Ross Pearson will be taking on veteran of the cage Spencer Fisher. This fight can turn out to be a stand-up war as both men like to throw their hands.
In this segment of of video of fighters training we will take a look at Pearson as he uses old car tires to train. In the first part of the video you will see as Pearson uses the tire to develop explosiveness. Old car tires are great tools that can replace medicine balls for many exercises. In the video you will see Pearson using the tire to perform chest passes as well as overhead throws.
Now to point out the obvious, the chest pass will work on developing explosive power in the chest and the overhead throws will develop power in your back. However, looking at both of these movements you will see that they are total body movements. If done properly, you will use your entire body to explode and throw the tire.
In the second part of the video Pearson uses the two tires to run up stairs. Stair climbing is grueling enough, add some tire carries into it and you have taken it to another level of conditioning. Your heart rate will rise and you will be increasing your conditioning level.
So if you want a cheap effective workout, head to the junkyard pick up some old tires and start training. No excuses!
Train Hard! Train Smart!
Jan 01 2011
Frankie Edgar Training Hard
The lightweight champion is back at UFC 125 on New Years Day, as Frankie Edgar looks to defend his title against the only man to beat him Gray Maynard. Yesterday we took a look at Maynard putting the Battle Ropes to the test. Like I said both of these fighters are always in great shape come fight time.
Today we will take a look at Edgar training for this fight. In this video you will see all the different types of training Edgar does in preparation for a fight. There are agility ladders to improve his footwork. As we saw in his last two fights against BJ Penn we saw that edgar had great footwork. Using the agility ladder in training has helped him improve in that aspect of his fight game. You will also see him using hurdles to develope lower body power. Having an explosive lower body helps in all aspects of the fight game from punching and kicking to takedowns. We also see him using a stabilty ball to help improve dynamic flexibilty and core strength. The sledge hammer also makes an appereance, just another tool that produces power as well as core strength. Kettlebells which many combat athletes have now incorporated into their strength and conditioning also make their way into his training. Turkish Getups with a kettlebell is a great movement to add strength to the entire body. Give them a try and let me know what you think.
Now remeber when looking at this video be aware that there is a plan or program for what he is doing. This could be one session where each of the exercises you see stand alone and is not a conditioning protocol. Many fighters out there see these things and just go out and try and perform them without knowing where it fits in their training. By looking at the date on the video this is more than likely a General Preparation Session, which is used to get the athlete ready for the work that is to come ahead in the training for the months ahead.
Happy New Year! If you are looking to take it to the next level I do offer online training at a discount for the New Year. Make the investment in your career and make 2011 your year.
Train Hard Train Smart!
Comments Off
Nov 19 2010
Quinton Rampage Jackson Training
Detroit look out UFC 123 is upon us and it should be a fun and exciting card. There are some exciting match-ups. I will be a wedding but will have the fights taping so when I get home I can watch them.
Earlier this week I put up a video of Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis working on his explosiveness through hurdle hops as well ad his agility by using the ladder. Coming by footage of some of these UFC fighters performing their strength and conditioning is tough at times. I like to show you what some of the top fighters in the world are up to.
The video below is of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson performing a weighted conditioning session. Rampage takes on former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 123. This video is something he did for Men’s Fitness so I don’t know how true this training session really is cause I feel at times they are showing off for the camera but it looks like something he may perform,. Anyway the video only shows small segments of each movement that he performs and gives the sets and rep scheme for each one. This circuit looks like a conditioning protocol. Within the protocol you will see that his quickness, strength and power are all put to the test.
The thing is with these conditioning protocols is to be creative and challenging. Now when I say challenging some will take that as they have to puke or it’s not good. Never understood this. I never try to make my athletes puke, if they do they do but that is not the objective of training. But to get back to it try designing your own protocol and if you want to shoot it by me I will give it a run for my money. You know where to find me.
Well enjoy the fights everyone. GO BJ PENN!
Nov 18 2010
Phil Davis Agility Training
Once again another UFC event is upon us. UFC 123 in the Motor City where Quinton Rampage Jackson will take on Lyoto Machida and completing their trilogy will be Matt Hughes and BJ Penn. The card looks like it should be a good one unlike UFC 122 where I felt it was like the Superbowl some years where the commercials were better than the fights. Well all the cards can’t be winners lucky for us all it was free. One fight I am interested in seeing is Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis take on Tim Boetsch. Davis is one of those fighters that is very athletic. Lucky for us all there is some video of Davis doing some of strength and conditioning training.
Agility is a great skill to have not only in the sport of MMA but just in regular life. Having good agility can help protect you from injury. In this video you will see Phil Davis and Dominic Cruz doing some hurdle hops as well as using the agility ladder to improve their athleticism. You have seen me using agility drills to help improve my fighters speed and agility before. This just proves my point that creating athletic fighters is the way the sport is heading and in reality is already there. So if you are not training for speed, agility and quickness then you better get on it! Enjoy the video! Train Hard! Train Smart!
Aug 30 2010
UFC Expo
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the UFC Expo in Boston as well as UFC 118 and let me tell you it was a great time. I headed up a day early to Boston to do a little sight seeing in this city with such rich American history. Boston is where the American Revolution started, which could be one of the biggest upsets in the history of fighting. So Thursday we checked out all the cool historical sites.
Friday morning I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning and the UFC did not disappoint. Going into this weekend I had one mission and that was to get my picture taken with Wanderlei Silva. Right off the bat I jumped in his line and accomplished my mission anything else the rest of the weekend was icing on the cake and boy was that icing delicious.
The UFC did a great job keeping their fans happy all weekend. There were great autograph sessions, with some of the top fighters in the UFC. From Renzo Gracie, Bas Rutten, And Vitor Belfort to Uriah Faber, Thiago Alves and Anderson Silva, all greats were out in full force for the fans. They also put on some training and development seminars hosted by some of the top fighters and trainers to help improve your game.
All the top sponsors and vendors were there, promoting their products, we had access to all of this great stuff with some great deals. We also had an opportunity to step into the Octagon and take a few photos. One of the highlights did not even happen at the Expo, it happened as I walking back to my hotel and I ran into Shaq. Now I am not a basketball fan but meeting Shaq was pretty cool.
A great fight card then topped off the Expo for UFC 118. Randy Couture showed the world why mixed martial arts is superior to boxing by defeating James Toney. Frankie Edgar proved the first fight was not a fluke as he defeated BJ Penn to retain the lightweight championship of the world. Fight of the night honors however went to Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis. Diaz put on a striking clinic and finished Davis off by choking him out. The whole weekend was a blast from top to bottom. Hopefully once MMA is legalized in New York there will be and Expo held at Madison Square Garden for all to enjoy.
Aug 24 2010
Frankie Edgar Strength Training
UFC 118 is upon us as is the long awaited rematch between the UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn as well as Randy Couture taking on James Toney. As you all know I love to give you a taste of how some of the top fighters/athletes train for fights. Now it’s hard to find recent video of strength and conditioning sessions for upcoming fights, so I just dig into the past.
In this video you will be taking a look at the current UFC Lightweight Champion of the World Frankie Edgar. We all know in the first fight Edgar was able to push the pace on Penn. He was able to use a lot of constant movement to squeak out a victory to win the championship.
How was Edgar able to keep this pace throughout the fight? It had to do with the type of conditioning sessions he was putting himself through. Edgar performed circuits that mimic what a fight would be like. The way to make these circuits work for you is to make them harder than the actual fight. When doing conditioning sessions prior to a fight you need to make sure that those sessions are going to be harder than what you will experience during the fight. The point is when you get in the cage you will be able to push the pace because your body has adapted to going harder in training.
So here is the Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar as he performs a pretty brutal conditioning session using circuit style training.
