Jan 01 2011

Frankie Edgar Training Hard

Category: Agility,Conditioning,MMA,Power Training,Quickness,reaction time,Strength Training,Strongman,UFC,Uncategorized — Rob @ 11:35 AM

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!

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Dec 25 2010

Christmas Presents

Category: Conditioning,MMA,Power Training,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 1:37 PM

Christmas is a time of giving, so on this Christmas Day, I am going to give you three tips that will help kick start your strength and conditioning training to the next level. Add these simple training ideas into your strength and conditioning and you will reap the benefits of your hard work.

Gift Number 1:

Add power movements into your program.   What do I mean by power movements?  Well what I am talking about are exercises that require you as the athlete to move a force quickly.  That force can either be your own body weight or an object such as a kettlebell or barbell.  Incorporating suck power movements/exercises such as plyo-metrics or the Olympic lifts in your program is essential to taking you to the next level.  Now you don’t have to rush out and learn the Olympic lifts immediately.  Break them down into the different variations like the push press or jump shrug.  These movements alone will allow you to become more powerful.   A side note, when adding these power movements into your training, start with them first then move onto movements that require more strength.  So get moving fast and reap the benefits to your power development.

Gift Number Two:

Gift number two is one of my favorites.  Start adding sprinting into your training.  Not only as a conditioning tool but also as an overall training method to help you become stronger and more powerful.  Sprinting will lead to better body composition and fat loss as we know can benefit any combat athlete looking to cut weight as well as develop more power in the athlete.  Sprinting is a power movement and as a result of adding them into your training you will become more powerful.  As for the conditioning side of sprinting you will see great results on the mat in your conditioning level after adding sprint into your program.  Some of the sprint protocols I like to use with my fighters are 300-yard shuttles and 100-400 meter sprints.

Gift Number Three:

If you are serious about a career in MMA then you know how much training goes into it.  There are several training sessions during the week, which include all sorts of sparring as well as the time spent in the weight room.  All of this can lead to overtraining in combat athletes.  When you become overtrained you will not see the results you are looking for.  Gains physically and mentally will slow down.  Fighters are notorious for overtraining.  So my final gift to you on this Christmas Day is tell you to cut back on your strength and conditioning training.  I have heard of many fighters not only training in the specific disciplines for MMA but also talk about how they are in the gym five days a week as well.

Here is my advice cut back to 2-3 times a week in the gym.  As I prepare my fighters for a fight I do not have them training with me for more than three days.  Most of the time they train twice a week with a focus on their strength training.  This has worked wonders with my fighters as they have shown more energy and better gains in and out of the gym.

So quickly here are your gifts, one, add power to your training, trust me you will be throwing opponents in no time.  Two, sprint your ass off, if anything it will help you avoid the neighborhood dog on the loose.  Finally don’t overtrain yourself in the weight room.  Cut back your session and make those few sessions you have hard.

Merry Christmas from Team Combattrainer.

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Nov 30 2010

Sled Training for MMA Fighters

Category: Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,Power Training,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized,Wrestling — Rob @ 6:16 AM

Winter is almost here and I can smell the first snowstorm is lurking around the corner. That means is that it will be time to dust off our sleds and head to the hills for a little sleigh riding.  Looking back when I was a kid my dad used to take us to this fancy golf course in the rich neighborhood and we used to go sledding for hours.  We had a blast doing so.  When we were really young my dad would drag the sled back up the hill with us after going down sometimes with one of us in tow.  Once we got a little older we had to start dragging the sled up the hill ourselves usually with my sister whining behind us that she had to walk up the hill.

So there we were complaining first about going up the hill and second having to drag the sled up.  Remember sleds were a little heavier back then and I was a wimp back then so dragging it was a pain.  Little did I know that forcing me to drag this sled up the hill was making me stronger.  I knew nothing then about strength back then but if I had a Delorean I would definitely hop in it with my Hoverboard and head back to 1985 to drag that bad boy up that hill for hours.

But there is no time machine that I know of, however lucky for me I own my own sled.  Now it’s a little different from the sleds we go down hills on but it is still fun nonetheless.  This sled I am talking about can and will improve strength, power and speed if used the right way.

In the sports of MMA or in combat sports in general it is important to have strong legs as well as strong pulling muscles.  Yes people that would be your back.  Being strong and powerful in those areas is not enough either, those same muscles need to be well conditioned as well so you can continuously use them within a fight.  The following sled training will help in all aspects.

The sled on the video is loaded up to 165 pounds.  You will see two videos, the first being of Carlos as he pulls the sled explosively for ten yards then drags the sled for ten yards all the way to the fifty-yard line.  The pull is done explosively as you will see the kettlebell falling off.  Next time a little more control will be better but what the hell it’s Carlos and he goes 110% everytime.  The second video is of your good friend, me doing the same exercise back the other way for fifty yards.  I will let you know the quad burn on the walking backwards drag is great.

Now many are saying but I don’t own a sled, like I have said before, you have some options.  Grab a used tire, drill a hole and pull and drag that.  Or going back to my original story when it snows volunteer to drag the neighborhood kids back up the hill on their sleds while they are still sitting on them.  Let me know how you feel during and after that training session.

Train Hard! Train Smart!

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Nov 18 2010

Phil Davis Agility Training

Category: Agility,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,Power Training,Speed,UFC,Uncategorized — Rob @ 8:25 PM

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!

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Nov 08 2010

MMA Agility Part 2

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,muay Thai,reaction time,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 8:19 PM

In a MMA fight a fighter must be aware of where his body is at all times.   We have seen many fights won in a scramble and the fighter who has been able to control their body the best has usually been the one that has come out on top.  In my coaching I have been working on finding new ways to work what is called kinesthetic awareness.  A few months ago I posted a video with Martin Rooney discussing the use of gymnastics to increase kinesthetic awareness.  In that video Rooney shows us three gymnastic movements that will help improve this critical component in combat sports.

Another thing that I have been working on in my coaching laboratory is combining two components of athleticism while training.  Obvious many of you know about combining strength sessions with power and or conditioning within a training session.  What I have been doing is combining gymnastic movements within agility drills.  Here is what I am doing in my coaching.  I start off with basic agility drills such as a box drill and have the fighter perform the drill.  This gets the fighter using his body the right way. After completing 3-4 sets of the standard drill I then add some new move into the drill.  Using basic gymnastic movements like forward rolls and cartwheels help with kinesthetic awareness within the drill.  Finally I also add a MMA specific movement into the drill, like a punch combo, a knee or a defensive move.  I have found that this is helping the athletic ability of the fighters and as the sport evolve’s athletic fighters will be taking over the MMA world.  So give the drill below a try.  Train Hard! Train Smart!

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Oct 27 2010

MMA Agility

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,muay Thai,Power Training,Quickness,reaction time,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 5:48 AM

Being agile in MMA and many other combat sports are very beneficial.  Training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai has made me realize how important being agile really is.  That is why when I train my fighters we work on agility drills to make them better.

As a kid free playing outside was the agility drill.  Playing touch football out on the street and having water gun fights with all the neighborhood kids we all learned how to be agile without even realizing it.  I remember playing “Kick the Can” crawling under bushes, rolling across the grass, running for cover before you were called out by the person that was “it” even cheating at times when you were so caught but never admitted it.  Yes, people cheat to win and always will, no big surprise there. There were countless games that we played that being able to change direction at a moments notice helped win and let’s be honest who does not like to win, I know I do.

The problem today is that many of these children do not have these opportunities to play like this.  Actually let me rephrase that many of these children choose not to participate in these activities for whatever reason.  I am not going to get into the lazy child rant now I can go on for days about that.   The thing we need to learn though is that these many of these children are growing up and wanting to become MMA fighters.  With the growth of the sport we are seeing more and more children leaning that way.

So now back to the point here.  In MMA and many of the other combat sports out there we need to train to become more agile.  Many times in a fight we find ourselves in scrambles, or using our footwork just to get out of the way of a punch or set up a devastating attack.

Agility drills are also easy and fun to set up.  Easy meaning they are easy to find a place to train them by no means is it easy to actually do them.  Find an open field or your backyard if it’s big enough, buy yourself some soccer cones or if you can’t manage that use some rocks, just don’t fall on them and go!  Let me say this though about agility, speed or quickness drills, they are meant to work your technique and make you build on those qualities not as a conditioning session.  So make sure to get a good recovery time in between sets.  This is not to say that the drills are not challenging.  The drill in the video below was challenging and worked my heart rate a bit as well as my muscle endurance.

As you will see in this video I use multi-directional work as well as MMA specific moves to create an agility drill.  You will see in the video as I begin to slow down but at all times try to keep proper posture and technique on all the movements.  Being able to move fast from one movement to the next and maintain control of your body is another key to the drill.  So give this one a try on your way to becoming a combat athlete.  Who knows maybe a good game of “Kick the Can” will start on the block and you can school all the young bucks with your newfound agility.

Train Hard! Train Smart!

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Sep 27 2010

Saturday Training Session 9/25/2010

Category: Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,muay Thai,Power Training,Strength Training,Strongman,Uncategorized — Rob @ 5:08 PM

Instituting the strongman type training into my overall training has helped tremendously with my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai.  In BJJ my grip strength has improved and has saved me from some armbars while rolling.  I can feel that I have more control over partners while rolling.  This control has led to me being able to pull off more and more sweeps.  As for my Muay Thai, the training of my legs during these strongman sessions has given them incredible conditioning.  Since I have been using a lot more footwork during our sparring sessions, I have needed my legs a great deal more.  Usually when using footwork to dodge an opponent your legs begin to fatigue quicker.  Once your legs begin to fatigue then you begin to get slower and slower and that is when you start to get caught with shots.

So this past Saturday I met up with one of my weekend training partners for a pretty intense session.  This is how we conducted the training session:

Dynamic warm-up

Good warm-up opened up the hips and activated the glutes and hamstrings.

Sprinting 6 sets 100 yards working up to 80% of our max speed.

Prepared the legs for the heavier sprinting that was to come.

Kettlebell Work

Kettlebell Squats with two 72 lb Kettlebells

Five to ten squats right into a 100-yard sprint for four sets.

Recovery was the walk back to the Kettlebell

Prowler Training

Fifteen-yard Prowler push with 144 lbs loaded on it.  Once the fifteen yards was done ten reps of pulling the Prowler backwards.  Squat down grabbing the thinner handle on the Prowler, take a frog hop back and pull the Prowler using your lats and legs.  Once done with the ten-rep push the Prowler back for the remaining yards back to the starting position.

Playground Finisher

6 pull-ups into 12 dips

5 pull-ups into 10 dips

4 pull-ups into 8 dips

3 pull-ups into 6 dips

2 pull-ups into 4 dips

1 pull-up into 2 dips

As you can see the leg work in this training session helps with not only the conditioning of your legs but helps with the strength and power development as well.  If you have read my posts in the past you know I am a big proponent in using sprinting to help produce power as well as for conditioning purposes.

Train Hard! Train Smart!!

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Sep 22 2010

Frank Mir Strength and Conditioning

Category: Conditioning,Power Training,Strength Training,UFC,Uncategorized — Rob @ 2:24 PM

This week is another fight week leading up to UFC 119 where Frank Mir will take on Cro Cop in the main event. Well at least we are hoping for that if Cro Cop gets cleared come Saturday. But as usual since I love strength and conditioning so much you know I will always go out and find as much video of the fighters on the upcoming card training.
This video will feature former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir as he prepared for Cheik Kongo at UFC 107. Yeah the video is older but the training is what we are focusing on. This video was from the countdown show prior to that event.
Mir’s strength and conditioning coach for that fight was Mark Philippi. When interviewed he said one thing that I liked a lot and that was “My philosophy to get stronger, you have to lift some weight. You have to put a bar on your back…” Phillipi goes on to talk about how Mir was lifting heavy for that fight doing performing squats, cleans and deadlifts.
Mir looked in top peak physical condition for that fight. He went out to defeat Kongo and looked explosive in doing so. For Mir to keep up with the monsters in the heavy weight division he will have to continue to train in a similar fashion. Well no matter what division he decides to fight in he needs to continue training like this it will only help him become an overall better athlete.

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Aug 19 2010

Sleds and MMA

Category: Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,Power Training,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 10:02 PM

I know winter is only a couple of months away but I am still going to have a discussion about sleds.  Not the sleds you ride down a snow covered hill on in the middle of winter but the sled that will turn you into a well conditioned, powerful fighter.

Sleds can be used for different reason’s, sleds can increase strength, power and can be used for conditioning purposes.   Another great reason to use the sled is to help with the development of speed in sprinters.  The sled forces the athlete to maintain the posture needed in the acceleration phase of a sprint.  This phase in a sprint is almost similar to when an athlete in MMA, Jiu-Jitsu or wrestling takes a shot for a takedown.

The sled pull in the video below is to teach my fighter how to drive off the ground and use the force off the ground to develop speed.  I was not working on sprint mechanics I was trying to make the fighter stronger in a position that she will find herself in.

As you will see I loaded the sled up with a good amount of weight to force Jessica to really drive off the ground.  This not only developed strength in the range of motion needed it also worked on her conditioning.  This is the first step in using the sled to develop a faster shot for a takedown.  Step two will be to lower the load and have my fighters sprint with the sled and the last step is going to be having my fighters take actual shots with the sled with a light load.  This is one of my field studies to see if I can develop much faster shots with my athletes.
Train Hard! Train Smart!

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Aug 11 2010

Power and Agility for MMA

Category: Agility,Conditioning,MMA,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Uncategorized — Rob @ 7:26 PM

Speed, agility and quickness are key essentials in any fighters program. These types of drills to improve speed and agility can turn the average fighter into a better athlete. So adding these drills into any program is a must.
Here is the thing and coaches out there should be careful especially with fighters. Fighters in my experience feel that every drill has to be conditioning. This is not the case especially when training speed, agility and quickness. You must make it clear to the athlete that these drills are designed to improve these different aspects of training. They are not meant as conditioning drills. Of course if you want to make them into conditioning protocols by all means reduce the rest time in between drills and go for it, no one is stopping you. Usually when I tell a fighter to perform the next set when they are ready they go to fast, so to combat this I now wait about two minutes before I tell them to perform the set.
Another thing that a coach or if you are training yourself that you want to be aware of is to perform these drills if possible before you strength and power work. So before you hit the weights perform your speed and agility drills. You want to make sure that you are a fresh as possible when performing the drills, this way you are fresh. You will move a lot faster than say if you lifted first and then performed the drills. These are just a few pointers to help fighters understand and learn how to train effectively.
In the drill below you will see one of my fighters Mike Savarese perform a drill using a hurdle. Mike jumps over the hurdle forward and backwards as quickly as possible, which helps with his quickness and agility and power. As an added bonus, Mike performs a sprawl after landing on the backend of the hops. This makes Mike have to react quickly as he lands off the hop and go right into a sprawl. Just a small way for the fighters out there to add a little combat sport component to this drill. In this video you will see normal hurdle hop followed by the MMA style hurdle hop.
Train Hard! Train Smart!

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