Jan 01 2012

Sprint Your Way into MMA Conditioning Shape

Category: Conditioning,MMA,MMA Training,Power Training,Recovery,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 9:27 PM

I believe I have said this once before but sprinting is one of the best if not the best conditioning tools a MMA fighter can use to increase not only their anaerobic conditioning but at the same time get leaner, stronger and more powerful.  Most people forget about this easy to use and most natural tool we have.  Fighters and their coaches love to put their athletes through different types of “MMA specific” circuits and use that as their only mode of conditioning.  I have caught myself doing this as well but as I grow wiser and grayer in the beard I have come to love and appreciate the art of sprinting.

Sprinting is a full body training session.  If you have not sprinted in a while then you will definitely have some muscle soreness in the following days.  Besides getting in a great conditioning session and increasing your stamina, there are a few more benefits from getting out and sprinting.  Sprinting will also help to cut off excess pounds and around this time of the year, who doesn’t need that.  With the loss of fat comes the increase of lean muscle mass, which will not only make you a better athlete and fighter but also make you look good, a definite bonus for you single fighters out there.  Sprinting will also help increase power while activating those Fast-Twitch muscle fibers necessary in fighting.  The benefit that I find to be very useful especially in the fighting world is the fact that a sprint session is very short.  With all the training that fighters need to go through to get on the mat or in the cage, shorter sessions in the strength and conditioning world will save you and your body from excess wear and tear.

If you have not put sprinting into your training this may be a great time to do it.   Check out the sprint program that I posted a few months ago, this will be a great place to start.  From there you can get into some more intricate and hit me up for a program to improve your strength and conditioning training.

Finally I will leave you with an awesome sprint session that I completed on New Years Eve.  After each sprint, make sure you get sufficient recovery time.  What I do is I gauge by my heart rate, once my heart rate drops between 30-40 beats I then complete the next set.  This is a basic ladder scheme, start off with a 100m sprint followed by a 200m , then a 300m and finally a 400m sprint.  I know I said finally but you are not done yet.  Once recovered from the 400m sprint, which for some can take minutes as you gather yourself, you then embark down the ladder starting with 400m, then 300m, 200m and finally 100m.  After a good solid warm-up, the sprinting should not take any longer than a half hour to complete.  Rest intervals will determine how long the session takes.

So get out to the track and get your sprint training on, because your conditioning will thank you in the end.

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Nov 23 2011

Thank You Thanksgiving Training

Category: Conditioning,Power Training,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 10:06 PM

I want to first start off by giving thanks to all my followers and people that have supported me in the past years. The next few months will be huge for Combat Trainer. Every year around this time people’s diets start to drift and extra pounds are packed on.  Don’t let the holiday season kill a years worth of hard work in the gym.  Now we all know Thanksgiving is a day in which majority of us will be eating non-stop all day.  Most experts will tell you to go for a nice brisk walk after your turkey day dinner.  That may be fine to get the blood flowing again but there is no way you are losing all the calories that you have just put into yourself.

Now i understand that there is not a lot of time to train on a holiday, but I am here to give you a nice short training session that will not only help build muscle but will also allow you to burn calories and allow yourself that extra piece of Sweet Potato Pie.  The first training session that you can do that will crush those calories and at the same time turn you into a beast is a variation of the Litvinov Workout.  You may have read about some of these workouts in previous posts and boy do they get the job done.  Now the video you will see below is the Litvinov using a hundred pound kettlebell.  Yes, I know you may not own a kettlebell that size but you may own a smaller one or even a pair of dumbbells.  Since the kettlebell is a heavier one you will only see me swing the bell for a handful of reps.  If you have a lighter bell you can swing for up to thirty reps.

Now you are not just swinging the bell and stopping, after you are done swinging you must drop the bell and take off in a full speed sprint.  How many sets you may ask, well if done right between four and five sets will be good enough and then you can call it a day.  This short training session will help develop power as well as burn off calories during and after the training session and allow you to give a little extra thanks at the dinner table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Jun 09 2011

Spartan’s! Prepare for Glory!

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Mental Training,Power Training,Quickness,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 8:09 PM

Over the last few years I realized that I was missing something in my training.  Now I was training hard and seeing results but there was one component that was missing.  The thing that was missing was actually training for a purpose.  In my mind that meant some type of competition.

So I was always looking for something to compete in.  Then in December while I was on Facebook I came across an ad for the Spartan Race.  So I clicked on it read that it was a three-mile race with obstacles and I was instantly hooked.  I signed up as fast as I could.  Finally I found something that I could train for that really interested me.

So last week I took the Spartan challenge in Tuxedo, New York.  Did I do as well as I thought I would?  Not a chance.  So while I was in the middle of the race I just kept thinking about two things.  Finishing the race and not quitting and how I could change up my training to do better the next time out.

When you try something new in your life especially something physical like this you quickly realize your weaknesses.  Let me restate that, your weaknesses smack you in the face.  My main weakness was my aerobic capacity.  Running up and down a ski slope can make you realize this quickly.   Now those of you that know me, I do not run long distances, just not my thing.  So in my training I tried to run the least amount, plus the aggravating shin splints also restricted too much running.  While running up those hills and crawling under barbed wire I was reminded of another weakness that I have known about but been avoiding.  My hips were so tight, in other words I need to increase my hip flexibility.  Running up hill as your hips tighten up, not so pleasant.

So after rinsing all the mud off of me and walking to the car for the hour drive home, I just kept thinking about the ways to fix these problems as I train for the next Spartan Race.  So as I gear up for the Spartan Sprint in Massachusetts I am making the minor adjustments in my training.  I will be adding a lot more single legwork in my strength training for my hips and adding some running to the program.  But most of the running will be going uphill pulling a sled behind me.  With these adjustments in training I will see better results.

If you are interested in competing in one of theses obstacle races and would like to know how to train for one please contact me.

Train Hard! Train Smart!

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May 17 2011

Team Combat Trainer at the Metro Dash

Category: Agility,Conditioning,Power Training,Quickness,reaction time,Speed,Strength Training,Strongman,Uncategorized — Rob @ 10:15 PM

“Six A.M. may be too early for me to handle you,” Combat Trainer snarls in a less than chipper tone.  From the back, of the car chimes in my husband who states, “She can be a lot for most people.”  I dismiss them both and continue being a mixture of anxiety and sheer joyous excitement.

8:30 is the start of the Metro Dash NY/NJ leg and we are en route to The Meadowlands Arena.  I am a person who functions very well on very little sleep.  Oddly keeping very alert and enthusiastic especially when nerves or new adventures are ahead.

Once at the Dash I am suddenly quiet and observant.  A dynamic warmup and preview, a few pee breaks and a quick walk around the perimeter of the course later and our “heat” begins.  Luckily, I find three woman athletes who welcome me as the fourth in their group.  I insisted to not be in the same go around as Rob so our friendship does not hinder his competitive streak.  It worked out well as he was finishing I was just beginning.

Much of the Dash in afterthought is a blur.  I can however, fully recall all my areas of weakness.  As a competitor I find my success often is short lived in exchange for trying to improve what I deem as weaker points or failure.  The 16 foot cargo stands out as the largest nemesis of the day, followed by the 8foot wall climb and monkey bars, gasp.  I climbed my Combat Trainer clad ass up all 16 feet to only find myself unable to throw myself over the top to descend back down.  Fear of falling and thudding onto the gym class mat below as a previous athlete in an earlier heat had done as well as the fear of kicking my heat mates in the face proved to be overwhelming.  My own thoughts deafening me, making me unable to from hearing shouts of advice and encouragement from below.

The Dash itself was fun.  The obstacles a good mix of expected and “oh shit”.  My upperbody mocked by rope climbs and monkey bars, my legs pleased by climbing and carries.  My finishing time 18:25 with three sets of penalty burpees.

On the way home all I could think of was that I wanted to turn back and do it again, immediately, and what I could do better.  I was also reminded of what my husband had said on the ride in, using the words “most people”.  I was never so happy to not be “most people”.  The “most people” who were still asleep in comfort as I fling myself over wooden walls, banging my shins on sledgehammers, swinging kettlebells, and dragging sleds in the dark at my trainer’s house for late training sessions.  Nine months ago I may have been “most people” but all I know is at this time, stronger, fitter, thinner and a warrior feels good and I will take it because I will do what most people won’t!

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Apr 27 2011

Stadium Stairs for MMA Training

Category: Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,MMA,Power Training,Quickness,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 7:06 PM

When it comes to strength and conditioning training in MMA many people are always looking for the best way to be conditioned for a fight.  There are so many conditioning protocols out there that will help, from bodyweight circuits to sprinting.  Both of the conditioning tools as mentioned above are free and who does not like free ways to train and get well conditioned as a fighter?

So here is another great way that you can train for free and get a great conditioning session in.  Now all of us have a high school around us.  Get in your car drive to the local high school.  Walk out to the main field and look up at the stadium stairs.  Running up and down the stadium stairs is a great way to work on your conditioning.

This is a simple but effective way.  The stadium stairs will work on your conditioning but will increase your muscle endurance in your legs as well as develop power in the lower body. Fighters have used running the stadium stairs for years to train.  So the other day while training I decided to take the stadium stairs and add a little spice to them.  Instead of just running up them I decided that it would be a great idea to bring my two twenty-five kettlebells for the ride.  We all know you need good grip strength for MMA, and walking up and down stadium stairs with two kettlebell will definitely help with the grip training.  I can tell you my forearms were on fire.  So if you want to add a little spice to your stadium stairs add some weight to it.  Dumbbells, kettlebells , a weighted vest can all help add some extra strength and conditioning to your basic run up the stairs.

Train Hard! Train Smart!

Rob DeCillis CSCS

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Jan 17 2011

Sprint Conditioning Program for MMA

Category: Conditioning,Jiu-Jitsu,Mental Training,MMA,muay Thai,Power Training,Speed,Uncategorized — Rob @ 6:56 PM

Back in high school I competed in a couple of sports throughout the year. In the fall I played soccer, winter was wrestling season and in the spring it was track and field. The best part about both wrestling and track and field was the fact that they are pretty much individual sports. In order to win you need to depend on yourself to get yourself the victory. Sports like these can teach you a lot about yourself.
Well the one sport I want to discuss in more detail is track and field. You all thought I was going to say wrestling since yes this is a combat sports training website. But there is a lot we can take from track and field that can help us in our training as combat athletes.
As a track athlete I competed in two events, the 100m dash and the 400m. These all out sprints are some of the most grueling events I competed in high school. Yeah it’s one thing to get crossed faced on the mat and get a bloody nose while your mother looks on in horror and it’s another thing to sprint as fast as you can for 400m. The 400m has been said by many one of the hardest races and of course I picked it.
While training for these events I ended up sprinting a lot in practice. Back in those days I was not what you call a very athletic looking lad. That started to change a bit when I began to sprint nearly everyday. As a puny little high school kid I began to see some changes in power I had as well as the musculature in my legs. I was explosive and in great shape.
When I first started to train combat athletes I would use in my conditioning a lot of the circuit type training that “mimics” a fight. These circuits work very well and I continue to use them in coaching of fighters. Looking back though on how I felt after sprinting 400m and how I feel after some sparring I noticed the two feelings were very similar. Sprinting like many combat sports including MMA are anaerobic sports. So that being said I began incorporating sprinting into my fighters programs as well as in my own training and the results have been great.
With my fighters I also make sure that I coach them in proper sprinting mechanics. Now I know they are not going to be world-class sprinters but rather world-class fighters but teaching proper mechanics makes the athlete sprint not only faster but more efficiently. A more efficient sprinter will be able to last longer during conditioning and maximize there time in training.
For those of you that like to sprint or even want to give sprinting a shot to increase your conditioning I am going to give a four-week program below to help you achieve that goal. Each week there will be two sprint sessions. You will be surprised that these sessions are short and sweet but are very effective.

Week 1
Day One
6 sets 50m sprints
Day Two
4 sets 50m sprints
2 sets 100m sprints

Week 2

Day One

5 sets 100m sprints

Day Two
3 sets 100m sprints
2 sets 200m sprints

Week 3


Day One
5 sets 200 m sprints
Day Two
1 set 100m sprints
2 sets 200m sprints
2 sets 400m sprints

Week 4


Day One
1 set 200m sprints
4 sets 400m sprints

Recovery
As for recovery if you were training to be a track star then full recovery would be necessary. As forgetting ready for a fight I tell my combat athletes to sprint when they are ready. This affords them the opportunity to sprint when ready and recover but push themselves on there own pace. As they become used to the sprinting they adapt to the stimulus and take shorter and shorter recovery times.
Train Hard! Train Smart

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Dec 27 2010

Snow Sprinting

Category: Conditioning,MMA,Power Training,Speed,Strength Training,Uncategorized — Rob @ 3:49 PM

When I was a kid snow was so much fun, well that is until my dad put us to work and I was old enough to shovel.  I never did get to use the snow blower instead I was always the one with the shovel.  I remember going around the neighborhood making a few bucks on the side shoveling driveways.  Now I get kids coming to me, as I am about to finish shoveling asking me if I need help.  Get up early buddy and I may have used your help.

Another great thing about the snow besides the fact that we had some days off from school was building forts and having neighborhood snowball fights.   Building the fort was some great exercise as was shoveling.

That brings us to today, getting hit with snow is not as fun as it once was.  Shoveling takes hours and by the time I am done half the day is gone.  But I will tell you that you can turn a snowy day into a great training session.

Take shoveling for instance, now I don’t own a snow blower so I end up shoveling out.  Now to save my lower back from extreme pain later on in the evening, I use split-squatting and deadlifting technique to shovel the snow.  Anyone that has ever shoveled knows that when shoveling you are in a staggered stance, so in that stance I get down and get a nice amount of snow on the shovel, then I pick it as if I am deadlifting.  Now it’s not the same exact movement so please spare me the comment that it’s nothing alike.  You are however using very similar movement patterns as well as the same muscle groups.  Depending on the amount of snow you get you can be doing rep after rep and getting a nice little training session in.  Another thing you can add to the shoveling is throwing the snow explosively.  This will work on the power aspect.  You can throw the snow laterally or overhead.  Overhead is my personal favorite but be aware if it’s windy I do not advice it because you will get that snow right back in your face.

One aspect of a great snow day and I got this from the movie Rocky IV is running in the snow.  Instead in my case I headed to the backyard and sprinted in the snow.  Snow sprinting is very similar to sprinting with a weighted vest or dragging a sled behind you.  It is great for the development of lower body power and in many case a great conditioning tool as it will improve your anaerobic capacity.  My next venture is to head out to the local high school and sprint on the field in the snow over the next day or so.  So next time you get a big storm make it a fun day of training.  Just remember drink a ton of water because it’s easy to become dehydrated.  Check out the video of some snow sprinting.  There is a great blooper highlight in this so enjoy, but remember when you fall get back up and finish.  Too bad the wife turned off camera and did not show me finish the set.

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 24 2010

Pre-Thanksgiving Training

Category: Conditioning,MMA,Power Training,Speed,Strength Training,Strongman,Uncategorized,Wrestling — Rob @ 6:45 AM

Well the holidays are officially upon us.  Thanksgiving is only a day away and we sure have our fair share of football to watch but not enough MMA.  Like many in the United States you can drown your sorrows in a nice piece of whatever pie you choose.

Every Thanksgiving for a couple of second’s, I think back to high school and being on the wrestling team.  Now I was not a big fan of cutting weight back then, not that I am now, but in order to eat a lot on Thanksgiving I would do a morning run.  Yeah, you heard or read me right I ran and for long distance like two miles before I would sit down to feast.  I would head to the basement jump on the treadmill and go for a little jog.  Now looking back at that I think to myself, “What the hell was I thinking?” Oh yeah that’s right I had no internet and access to some of the best strength and conditioning coaches so I did not know much but to listen to my wrestling coach.

So that long distance run did not do too much on the calorie burning side but it sure made me hate running long distance.   Should of just stuck to some sprinting would have been a lot better.

So on this Thanksgiving I am giving thanks for the knowledge I have gained through the years.  And to celebrate this knowledge I have gained I will share the end result of it with you.  I am giving you a great way to burn calories for a many hours as well as build your strength, power and conditioning.

You all have seen the Litvinov workout now to take it to another level and follow Dan John’s awesome advice I present to you Litvisleds.  I am also thankful for running into the writings of Dan John for he has given me many ideas to share with you.  Here is the basic premise.  Grab a kettlebell do a bunch of swings and then sprint with the sled attached to you.  Sprint yardage will vary depending on your fitness level, 30-50 yards seems to work well.   Sounds simple enough.  Now if you own a sled do not load it so it takes forever for you to bust out into a sprint.  Remember you are trying to develop explosiveness and not being able to sprint with the sled will not help in that aspect of the training.  If you do not own a sled get out there and go find a spare tire.  Drill a hole in that bad boy attach a harness and bang you have something to drag.  If you do not own a kettlebell try a dumbbell.

And if you want to keep it simple try any of the other Litvinov workouts I have spoken about or just get out to the track and do some sprinting.  Here is one that may work, it’s an old school sprint workout but still works wonders and it is one I picked up in my wrestling years.  Sprint the 100m straightaway, jog the 100m turns, do this for about a mile or mile and a half and call it a morning then go get you turkey on.

As you will notice I am not the only one in the video this time, I am honoring former Marine and training partner Carlos Del Valle as he takes a run at the Litvisled workout!!

Another thing to look for is my Online Training Program will be going on SALE starting Friday, November 26, 2010.   This sale will run until Christmas Day and will be a steal for you fighters looking to take it to the next level.  And if you are not a fighter and just looking to increase your performance take a look!!

Happy Thanksgiving enjoy the day with whomever you are spending with!

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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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