Like with all weeks leading up to the big UFC cards I am on the prowl for some good training video’s from the fighters that are on the card.  I have been on the lookout for some good George St. Pierre training video but instead came across a great interview done for UFC.com.

Since I am out to help many of those trying to break into the sport or those looking to get to the next level I pulled a few key points from this interview that will help with your fighting career.  When you want to be great at something you look to the best and figure out what they are doing and how they prepare, Take the knowledge you gain from these top notch people and then tailor it to you.

In this interview with GSP for his upcoming fight against Josh Koscheck he talks about using the knowledge he gained and putting it all together.  There are a couple of important messages to take from this interview.  One was getting out of your comfort zone.  Many fighters continue to train with the same team and with the same training ideas fight in and fight out.  This may work for a while but eventually it will fail a fighter.  The more often you take yourself out of comfort zone the more likely you will succeed in a fight.  In a fight there is no comfort zone so the more you are used to being out of it in general the better fighter and person you will become.

Another important point I picked out is all the different people he trains with.  This gives him an advantage because he is now a wealth of knowledge and he knows how to put it all together.  GSP invests in himself and his pursuit for greatness.   This investment in himself has made him the dominant fighter he is today.  So if you are an amateur trying to make it or you are trying to get to the next level in your career, then make the investment and watch how successful you will become.

UFC 121 is upon us and once again we will be seeing heavyweight champion Brock Lesner in the Octagon taking on number one contender Cain Velasquez. If Brock Lesner comes out victorious in this fight we could be witnessing one of the greatest, if not the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. Let’s take a look at this for a moment, if Velasquez can not stop him which heavyweight in the world will be able to. There are not many left. You have heard it throughout the UFC Primetime show that Lesner is getting better every time he prepares for a fight. As time goes on he is still reaching his peak in the sport.
Plain and simple Lesner is a super athlete. I have said it before and I will say it again, the more athletic the fighter the better they are in the cage or the ring. The likes of Lesner and GSP are leading the way as combat athletes. The sport of MMA is going to new levels. Why am I talking about this, to teach those that are getting involved in the sport of mixed martial arts that you too should not only focus on becoming good at fighting but becoming a better athlete all around. There is one thing to know how to fighter and there is another to being a professional fighter. So start becoming more athletic and watch your fight game excel.
I know the last three weeks you have seen lots of footage of Lesner training for this upcoming fight. Here I am posting some video of him training for his last encounter with Frank Mir. Check out some of the differences Brock and his coaches have made to the training. Boys and girls we can be witnessing the greatest heavyweight ever, like it or not!
Train Hard! Train Smart!

On my journey to give you the best strength and conditioning information in the world I cam across video of George St. Pierre, Dennis Kang and David Loiseau training with strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Chaimberg.  Chaimberg is one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the world.

In the video you will see how Chaimberg runs his programs with his fighters.  The key here is to watch how he couples strength exercises with an explosive movement.  In the clip Chaimberg explains that doing this will increase the power endurance of the fighter. I use this coupling system in my programs at times as well as in my own training.  Some other simple examples are going from a heavy squat into vertical jumps or box jumps.

You also see Chaimberg use the TRX Suspension Trainer with Denis Kang.  Many of you have heard of suspension training and it works well with athletes as well as for the regular person trying to get strong and fit.  One thing I loved from the video is the use of the ropes and the sled.  You see David Loiseau pulling the sled hand over hand with the rope.  This builds incredible grip strength as well as endurance in you arms and back.  The thicker and longer the rope the worse it will be.  One variation I have trained with is a 100ft rope 2 inches in diameter pulling it up hill and or for distance.  Let me tell you it was brutal but if you are a fighter it will be great for your gripping.  Yes he is wearing gloves but if you have ever pulled without them you know that you will get splinters and that sucks.

So take a look at this video it has some good ideas that you can include in your program to help you get stronger and more powerful. Remember…Train Hard! Train Smart!

Another gorgeous day this past Thursday and the boys from Staten Island, New York made it out for another training session. If you remember Mike Savarese is an aspiring MMA star and is currently training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Almeida at RABJJ.
Last time I met with Mike we hit the weight room and then headed to the field for some speed and agility work.
After our first session I knew that Mike would be a future star in MMA. He is dedicated and trains hard with no complaints. And we all know in this day and age athletes like to complain. For this session we headed out to the field to train. Our focus was speed, agility and conditioning.
The first thing we started with was some speed drills. These drills are designed to place the athlete in accerleration position and to generate force off the ground. How does this transfer to MMA you may be asking, well after you are done with this post check out my post titled Usain Bolt v.s. GSP Part 1 and 2 http://bit.ly/cVCQTO http://bit.ly/au0RP After we hit the speed work we moved onto some agility drills, the first time I trained Mike in these drills he was not as fluid as I wanted him to be. He was very tense up top almost robotic. In this session he looked looser, his arm action when moving was vastly improved. Like I have been saying, I train my fighters to become better athletically and that will transfer into into being a better all round fighter. We also hit some work with mini-hurdles and there is more to come on that in a later post this week.
Finally we came down to the conditioning portion of the session. To start we worked some kettlebell swings into 100 yard sprints for three sets. And as his brother Patrick said while Mike was running, :Who knew he was that fast?” After the three sets we moved onto a circuit using, Battle Ropes, sledgehammers, and Medicine Balls. This time I increased the time on the circuit by thirty second, the last training session we had we did a three minute circuit. Increasing it slowly will increase Mike’s work capacity and increase his level of conditioning. So check out the video below, let us know what you think! Oh yeah sorry about the shaky movement of the camera I was trying to get down the field. Train Hard! Train Smart!

So yesterday I was supposed to go to the gym in the morning and getting a lifting session in but as my life has been lately things changed and I had to go to the Long Island Pride Jiu-Jitsu tournament earlier than expected. So heading there I was thinking of how to get a training session in later on in the day and I decided that I would hit the local high school for some sprint conditioning. Of course to my delight after getting home it finally began to rain after days and days of the weather forecast calling for showers. So I sat on my couch for a while and then said you know what “Screw it, I am going to sprint in the rain.” So I headed to the local track to get a good conditioning session using sprints.
During my conditioning session I noticed one very important thing, while I was sprinting I realized that I was able to train for a longer period of time. Now using sprinting, as a conditioning tool is very taxing on the body. Why was I able to train longer? My sprint mechanics or sprinting technique has been vastly improved. Using proper sprinting technique made me a more efficient runner, which in turn helped with my conditioning.
Let me relate this to MMA and other combat sports, which require good if not great technique. Let’s say for instance you are looking to take your opponent down. Most times the first shot is not a successful one, unless of course if you are GSP, after multiple shots your body begins to tire and you start to develop a lazier and lazier shot until you are totally gassed out. If your technique on takedowns is lacking then you will get tired much faster. The same goes when you use sprinting as a conditioning protocol, if you have poor technique your body will be taxed quicker and you will more than likely either slow down dramatically during conditioning or you will be to tired to continue.
In the book “Training for Speed, Agility and Quickness” by Lee Brown and Vance Ferrigno they speak about three elements that help with speed mechanics. First they speak about posture. If you have read my blog in the past you have seen speed drills that will help make you faster and also develop an explosive takedown. It was a two-part article titled, “Usain Bolt v.s. GSP” check them out http://bit.ly/anJ7dY and http://bit.ly/derl2w During a sprint you should have two different postures, at the beginning you should be in the acceleration phase, where your body is at a 45-degree angle. You can see some of the drills to help you out in the articles mentioned above.  The other is coming upright during the sprint to about an 80-degree angle, this is known as max velocity. The second element is leg action. The extension of the knee, hip and ankles are key in this element and should be one coordinated motion. Stride frequency and stride length are also components of leg action. Finally arm action is important. I have heard some say that when you run you are only using your legs. Oh really? Well those people are dead wrong. Arm action is important in sprinting and I have found that help when you are getting tired. Here are some quick pointers on how to use your arms properly while sprinting. First keep your hands open, do not make fists. Then as you run pull your arm back at your shoulder do not just move your arm at the elbow. The arm should be kept at a 90-degree angle at the elbow. Second when you are running you want your hands to go cheek to cheek. That means your hands should swipe down by your butt cheek and come up to your face cheek.
These are some of the things that will help your sprinting out and when I train my fighters I teach them proper sprint technique. Now I don’t go over this with them to make them world-class sprinters but to help make them faster and more efficient athletes. As you see the world of MMA is turning out athletes that are taking the sport to the next level. Future articles will show some more drills to clean up your sprint technique. Train Hard! Train Smart!

Ok so in my last post I showed you two pictures, one of Usain Bolt the World’s Fastest Man and one of George St. Pierre, who has the world’s fastest takedown in MMA. I spoke about how speed training can transfer over well into developing a faster takedown because of the positions a fighter is in is similar to the positions sprinters are in at the start of the race.
The phase of speed training that I am going to focus on is the acceleration phase. Acceleration means going from standing still or close to standing still to your maximum speed in the shortest amount of time. When a sprinter is in the acceleration position he or she wants to be at a forty-five degree angle when they come out of the blocks. The same can be said for a fighter as he or she goes in for a takedown. They end up in a forty-five to sixty degree angle as they shoot in. You want to make sure to focus on driving the knee forward when doing all acceleration drills. Both types of athletes end up in full extension at the ankle, knee and hips.
Below are three basic acceleration drills. The first is the Wall Drill. The Wall Drill can be done by using a wall, the side of your house a chained linked fence. Stand with your hands against the wall and your body at a forty-five degree angle. When you begin the movement you start with one-leg up. You then drive the other leg up,driving your knee through high. Remember to keep your toes pointed up.
The next drill is the Falling Start. Stand with your hands at your side. Fall forward until you are about to lose your balance. As you lose your balance start to drive your knee forward and sprint. This drill will also place you in that forty-five degree angle that is necessary to improve your speed.
Finally the last drill is the Get-Up Start. This is one of my favorite and it’s very basic. It really puts you in the position you need to be in. Start off by laying down on the ground. Pop up to your feet as fast as you can driving your knee forward and staying in that acceleration position for as long as possible.
These basic drills will help strengthen the positions you will need to be in as you take an opponent down in wrestling, jiu-jitsu or MMA. Remember fighters are athletes and in athletics or sports speed wins. The same goes for a fighter, a faster fighter equals a better fighter and in the case of GSP an unstoppable fighter.

We all know that speed is a necessity in all sports. In MMA speed is essential. Takedowns are one aspect of MMA, jiu-jitsu or wrestling that speed will kill your opponent. The more speed you have in your takedown the more likely you will be able complete a takedown. So where does speed training come into play in developing a fast takedown?
Let’s start by taking a look at two pictures and look at the position of these two elite athletes.

The first picture is of the World’s Fastest Man Usain Bolt as he leaves the blocks at the beginning of the 100M dash. Bolt will stay in this accelerated position for as long as possible making him run faster. He has work on drills that has helped him maintain that position. When he explodes out of the blocks he is producing incredible amounts of force from the blocks which in turn increase his speed.

The second is of George St. Pierre in the middle of a double leg takedown. He said to have the best takedowns in the sport of MMA, and he is generating the same type of force Bolt does when he initiates the takedown. If you look at both pictures you will see that both athletes are in full extension, meaning that their hips, knees and ankles are fully extended. If you can improve a fighter’s acceleration you will improve their takedown.
Essentially what you want to do is to improve your fighter’s ability to generate force. It is imperative to have your fighter develop strength and be able to transfer that strength into power. If an athlete is unable to transfer their strength into power then it is useless. That being said there are a few acceleration drills you can have your fighters do in order to help improve the speed. A faster fighter is a better fighter.
When we talk about the acceleration position we want to place our fighter at a forty-five degree angle. When they explode off the mat you want them to achieve triple extension just like a sprinter out of the blocks. This full extension and production of force will make your fighters takedowns unstoppable. Look for Part Two as I will show you some drills that will help with putting your fighter in the right position. Till next time, Train Hard, Train Smart!