Jun 23 2010

Jessica’s Journey and Conditioning!

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,muay Thai,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training — Rob @ 4:45 PM

Over the past few weeks I have been hitting the local high school with Jessica for some good ole speed, agility and quickness work.  The wonderful synthetic field also is fun to play on but let me get back to the article.  At the end of each session I have been working on a little conditioning with Jess.  Now I don’t have to go crazy with her. Because of her intense training schedule her conditioning is the last thing I need to worry about, but I do like to add it in and go above and beyond what she will encounter in a MMA or jiu-jitsu fight.  Having a higher intensity in a conditioning session than in what a fighter would see in a fight will only improve the fighters chances of winning.

The conditioning circuit in the video below consists of the the Dumbbell Matrix and Battling Ropes and lasts for 3:37.  The Dumbell Matrix is an idea I got from  my many years of research.  At the beginning of my strength and conditioning journey  of training combat athletes I came across J.C. Santana’s work.  One circuit I came across was the Dumbbell Matrix.  The Matrix helps improve shoulder strength as well as give you the ability to keep your arms up for an entire fight.  Within the Matrix there is a lunge series in which you will hit multiple directions, foward, lateral and backward.  All Positions in which your body can end up in in a fight.  After the Matrix she moves on to the Battling Ropes.  The ropes are a great tool when conditioning fighters or any athlete for that matter.  Best of all the fighters love to use them and they can only curse at me when they are done with them.  In this conditioning protocol I have Jess do only some of the basic movements with the ropes, but after the Matrix she is pushing through it hard.  Jess is going after Cris Cyborg’s belt and I have no reason to believe she won’t get it.  So if you have some dumbbells and rope give this circuit a run for it’s money.  Train Hard! Train Smart!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jun 06 2010

To Program or not to Program…

Category: Agility,Boxing,Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,Mental Training,MMA,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training,Striking/Stand-up,Uncategorized,Wrestling — Rob @ 7:51 PM

If you have been following my blog or know about my training philosophy, you will then know that I am al about having a solid program in place when you training. Some of the benefits of a program range from the motivational, knowing what you will be doing and hitting the gym hard, to just seeing the best results possible. I use my programs for my fighters to help increase their strength, power and conditioning in a progressive fashion. There is always a method behind the madness and it always works.
Even though I do not compete in MMA, muay Thai or Jiu-Jitsu fights I have always had a program that I have followed so I could get the best out of my performances in my martial arts training. Recently, however it has been tough to juggle the strength training, martial arts training on top of the strength and conditioning coaching and family life. At first this was driving me crazy not to be able to get to the gym and get some good strength and conditioning sessions in. Program, there was no program for a while as I tried to adjust the schedule so I could get everything in.
How did I solve this problem? Well first I put things into perspective. I had to think to myself what was the most important thing and of course family time came first without a doubt. I wanted to stay strong and powerful so the weight room was the next priority followed by the martial arts training. The only reason the martial arts training came last was because I am not competing or am not planning on competing I just love to train martial arts.
So what’s the program you might be saying? This is what I have done. I make sure to get two strength and conditioning sessions in. One session is in the gym, consisting of Olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, plyometrics, other accessory lifts and conditioning sessions. The other strength and conditioning session comes in the form of a speed, agility and quickness session. This session takes place with my fighter Jessica. While coaching her I train along side her. This has two benefits, one it lets me get in that extra strength and conditioning session and two it pushes both her and I to compete with each other in the drills. I have written about the benefits of “team” training in earlier posts.
Now for the martial arts training, I try to get in one session of MMA training in every week as well as a jiu-jitsu class and a muay Thai class. If I am lucky I get in another no-gi and muay Thai session on the weekends. On one of the nights I pull a double session, a gi jiu-jitsu class followed by a muay Thai session. Now there are some weeks where I get all the training in and some weeks where I don’t it all depends on the schedule at home. Another factor that plays into attending sessions is being in touch with how my body feels. If I am fatigued and my body is not doing well I will take a recovery day. You need to figure out what fatigue is. Being a little sore does not count. This will help you learn about your body and how to react to your body.
I have seen some great results with this program. I feel refreshed in my training. My body feels better than it has in a long time. I have had more energy. That being said I highly recommend if you are a competitor in MMA, jiu-jitu, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling or any other combat sport I highly recommend you follow a strength and conditioning program for the best results in and out of the cage, ring or mat. This way of training is good for those that train in martial arts for fun and also like to hit the gym and be strong and powerful. So yes programming is very important and I will get back on a program for the weight room once more time is available but until then, Train Hard! Train Smart!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 04 2010

World Championships, Here We Come!

Category: Agility,Jiu-Jitsu,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 9:59 PM

As of Monday we are four weeks out from the IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships or the Mundials in Long Beach, CA. Training Camp has started for Jess and Monday was our first session of the four-week cycle.  Since she has not been able to maintain a solid strength and conditioning program because of all the tournaments I am still using the same program I wrote up for her a few weeks ago.  I am also going to be adding a speed, agility and quickness day to her training.  We are going to turn her into super athlete.

The program I am using for Jess is based off the Canadian Ascending-Descending method.  To save time in the weight room I have changed it up a bit to get in out.  This program is perfect for Jess as it trains all different types of strength and power.  As you will see below I have combined both upper and lower body sessions together.  Day one we start heavy with the legs, deadlifting combined with explosive movement for the upper body.  The program descends into explosive movements for the lower body and heavier movements for the upper body.  Day two we reverse the order of exercises. As we start with heavier loads for the upper body and move our way down to more explosive movements and vice versa for the lower body movements.  As the program moves on the volume and loads increase during week two and three and then she deloads week four.  Here is the sample of day one and two of week one.

WEEK ONE/DAY ONE

1. Deadlift 4 sets 7 reps 75%-82%of max deadlift

1a. Depth Push-ups 4 sets 5 reps Bodyweight

2. Power Clean 4 sets 6 reps Be Explosive

2a. Medicine Ball Pass 4 sets 10 reps 10%-15% of max bench

3. Jump Squat 4 sets 10 reps 10%-15% of max squat

3a. Push Press 4 sets 6 reps Explosive

4. Broad Jumps 4 sets 5 reps Bodyweight

4a. Dumbbell Bench Press 4 sets 7 reps 75%-82% of max bench press

For Week One Day Two all we are doing is reversing the order in which we do the session.  So we will start with the Dumbbell Bench Press and move our way down to Depth push-ups and from Broad Jumps to the Deadlift.

Watch out World Championships, Jess is coming to get you!!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 29 2010

The Journey is Rocking!

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 9:37 PM

And so the journey continues and it is getting better and better as we move along.  As we all know Jessica is a 2010 Pan American champion but last week on a weekend visit to Chi-town it just so happened that there was a Naga taking place at the same time.  So what does any true Samurai do, they fight and that is just what Jess did as she once again took another tournament and continues her pace to becoming a great MMA champion.  This Saturday she will be competing in the New York Open jiu-jitsu tournament.

Look at that Samurai Sword!

The best thing about this is that after this tournament I have Jessica for a whole four weeks of strength and conditioning.  I am excited about this, as we have had to pull back a little on the strength training due to the fact that she was competing in tournament every couple of weeks.  I now have her for a full phase of training.

So here is what the program is going to focus on.  I am going to keep the same strength-training program that I had mentioned in one of my previous titled “What’s a Strength Coach Supposed To Do?  So she will follow that specific program two times a week with conditioning protocols at the end.  I will now be adding another day in there and it will focus on some different aspects of strength and conditioning.  The extra two days will focus on some functional exercise to help improve balance and mobility.  Along with that I am going to be adding speed, agility, quickness and reaction drills to these days.  I want to improve Jessicas athletic ability with this day.  We will be working on multi-directional work, cone drills and even some sprint work.  I know if I turn her into a better athlete that it will turn her into a better fighter.  This just goes to prove that not all strength and conditioning training for MMA fighters needs to be “sport-specific”.  Many times you need to take a step back and develop your fighters athletic ability it will only improve their fight game.  One thing that I am excited about testing and have been using myself is the reaction ball.  The way this ball bounces it is going to improve her reaction time on the mat and in the cage.  Look for my next post in the next day or so as I go through the progression of how I taught Jessica to snatch in out last session.  Until then Train Hard, Train Smart!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mar 04 2010

What can a Strength and Conditioning do for you? Part Two

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training — Rob @ 4:17 PM

If you did not read part one yesterday go back and take a quick read.  Basically, I outlined for you what a strength and conditioning program can do for your fight game.  Once again the three things that a great strength and conditioning program can do for you are:

  1. Improve you speed, agility, and quickness.
  2. Improve your strength, power, and conditioning.
  3. Improve your mental toughness.

I am going to start off with the improvement you will see in your speed, agility and quickness.  From this point on, however when I talk about all three I am going to use the acronym, SAQ.

I am going to start with some brief definitions of each component of SAQ. First on the list is speed.  Speed is defined as rate of performance or how fast you do something.  Next is agility.  Agility is the ability to rapidly change directions without the loss of speed, balance, or control of your body. Quickness is the athlete’s ability to execute a movement in a brief amount of time.

All three of these components improve your overall athleticism.  Fighters should be looked upon and should see themselves as athletes.  You are not just some bar room brawlers.  There is a lot of dedication that goes into your training no matter what combat sport you compete in.  So being athletic will only improve your skill level.  SAQ will do just that.

Increasing your speed will help in a couple of ways as you prepare to be the best you can be.  Working on your speed will help you become more efficient which will in turn save you energy and in turn will raise your conditioning level.  For example, if you are using 50meter or 100meter sprints to work on you conditioning, it would great to learn proper running mechanics in order for you to run faster than you normally would.  The more efficient you become at these sprints the more of them you will be able to perform, thus raising your level of conditioning.  I am not saying train to become an Olympic sprinter but the faster you get will have some benefits for you on the mat, ring or cage.

Agility is another important part into turning the fighter into a great athlete.  Using agility drills will teach the fighter to be able to control their body better.  Better control of your body leads to better performance.  If you are able to control your body in a fight and change direction at will without getting tired then you will find yourself in control of that fight more often than not.

Finally, quickness, being able to react quickly to a circumstance in any athletic competition is key.  For a fighter, being quick can be the difference between being knocked out or not in some circumstances.  Improving quickness works along with improving speed and agility as well as another factor called reaction time.  Reaction time is how fast someone responds physically to a stimulus.  In the case of a fighter, how fast they react to a jab being thrown their way, or how fast they sprawl from an opponent attempting to take them down.

So as you can see the right program that includes SAQ training in it will only help improve you as a fighter.  Part three improving strength, power and conditioning will come tomorrow.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Mar 03 2010

What can Strength and Conditioning do for you? Part One

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training — Rob @ 7:39 PM

This is a great question and one that I feel should be answered.  For many years, many martial artists who competed in various combat sports from jiu-jitsu to mma overlooked their strength and conditioning programs.   Many of these athletes thought two things; that gaining more muscle would make them slower and that they would get the conditioning they would need through sparring and training in the martial arts of their choice day after day.  As mma has exploded these ideas that were once held are no longer.

Now every top fighter has their own strength and conditioning coaches and many have credited those same trainers for taking their game to the next level.  Some examples B.J. Penn has raved about Marv Marinovich and what he has done for him.  We can all agree love him or hate him, Penn has really looked unstoppable.  Another fighter that comes to mind is Frank Mir, for his last fight he was in incredible condition thanks in part to Mark Philippi.  He packed on some lean body mass and looked faster and stronger than he ever has before.

With the explosion of mixed martial arts and grappling throughout the world it is essential to have all aspects of training covered.  A strength and conditioning coach or expert should not be a person you overlook.

So what can a strength and conditioning program do for a fighter?  Here are three things:

  1. Improve your speed, agility and quickness. Other wise known as SAQ.
  2. Improve your strength, power and conditioning.
  3. Improve your mental toughness.

Tomorrow we will get into more detail about how improvements in your speed, agility and quickness can be made in a solid strength and conditioning program.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

« Previous Page