Just a quick update.
I'm on holiday with my family at the moment so training has taken a bit of a backseat. I've brought resistance bands with me and there's some awesome hills and stairs to run/climb. Also, there's a gym here that runs MMA training sessions that I might go and try. If I do, I'll post a review.
Although it's not fun to admit, as a thirty-eight year old it takes longer and more effort to recover from strenuous training than it did when I was twenty-five or even thirty.
This was brought home to me in a serious way last weekend when twenty-four hours after a session of power-cleans and deadlifts I was struggling with fatigue, so much so that I decided to read up on it in order to prevent feeling so shitty again.
For about 36 – 48 hours after the lifting session I was experiencing all the hallmarks of central nervous system fatigue – tired, low mood, low motivation, low foolishness tolerance, reduced motor skills. It ruined a perfectly good weekend for me and made me difficult to be around for the family.
So how to prevent it?
Be aware of volume and intensity of training. I personally cannot train optimally if I'm lifting heavy and intensely three times a week.
Nutrition: Ensure that food and hydration are sorted. Last weekend I missed my whey shake post training and didn't eat well prior to training. Branch Chain Amino Acids are crucial for preventing fatigue.
Rest: I did not get to bed early enough or for long enough last week.
On to the physical plane..
Now, more than any other time in my life, warming up, stretching and foam rolling is a key part of not getting injured and not feeling like crap the day after training.
Before every session I warm up with shadow thai boxing, stretch (especially hip flexors, shoulders and hamstrings) and foam/hockey ball roll. Foam and ball rolling have been a revelation, helping with back tightness, shoulder pain and even sciatica. I strongly recommend checking out Joe De Franco's 'Agile 8' and 'Scarecrow' routines.
Another idea that I'm very keen on and feel to be important is active shoulder health. The bench press is well documented as leading to shoulder problems, particularly with the rotator cuff, and Jo DeFranco recently came out against the military/overhead press as an exercise that is in direct opposition to the structure of most trainees' shoulders. With this in mind I do ALL my main pressing movements with a swiss bar. This requires some adjustment and experimentation but I feel that it's worth it – since doing so I've had no shoulder problems. Add in to this full range dumbbell work and band work and I'm feeling good!
Here's to staying healthy.
It's been a while since the last update....
Things are going well in terms of training, strength is increasing (weight lifted is going up) and condition seems to be getting better. How do I know? Training in terms of conditioning is getting easier whether it's sled dragging, Bas Rutten workouts, complexes or circuits. I've upped the work in terms of the Bas Rutten workouts doing thai boxing 3 min rounds instead of 2 mins, and doing the all round fighting 2 minute rounds. Throwing sprawls & sit-throughs in to the mix on top of the knees, kicks and punches really tests the heart and lungs.
Some notable numbers from the lifts:
Deadlift, 10 x 131kg
Bench, 11 x 77kg
Trapbar, 5 x 171kg
Nothing huge but it's all still heading in the right direction and feeling remarkably comfortable.
The next post will be about something essential to the older athlete – recovery. Also, I'm working on a compilation video.....
This has been a hectic week with what little training I have managed sandwiched between work, family-life, meetings, etc. On the good side I have 'created' a bit of time on occasion by getting up earlier to pull the sled – Hopefully this is the positive start of a way forward. So training this week has consisted of:
Sled dragging:
'Pushing' using a Blast Strap-type arrangement, holding the handles out in front and pulling the sled behind. Really felt this the next day in my lats. Also pulling the sled behind by holding the strap handles behind me. Both of these are way tougher than using a harness. Also, pulling forwards and backwards. The grass in the meadow where I drag the sled is getting long now and pulling through some sections of grass three feet high ain't fun but wonderful when it ends.
5/3/1 weights:
This is a '3' week which has seen me augment the standard press, bench, deadlift & trapbar lift (substitute for squatting) with DB bench, DB row, hanging leg raises, swiss bar rows and power cleans. Numbers are looking ok and strength seems to be hanging in there.
As I say, I've had very little time and skill training has been limited to one session of heavy bag work, though this went well with power in the kicks especially good.
Looking forward to a good weekend of conditioning work.
Check out the videos of the recent FightUK event in Leicester. Leicester Shoot put on their usual good performance and of particular interest to me due to their weight category was the fight between Chris Miles and Adam Corbett. It's a good fight too.
Not really about training this one, but hopefully it'll be of some interest...
My original training was in kickboxing, starting out with the PKA (I'm not posting a link for them, they make enough money without any help from me) back in the late 1990s and as such I've been through quite a few pairs of boxing gloves over the years. With this in mind I thought I'd share some of my experiences of gloves.
Back in the day with the PKA, you had to buy equipment sanctioned and provided by them. This was a great way for instructors to make money and, you would hope, a way for the student to benefit from economies of scale that the PKA were able to tap in to. Not sure if this was ever the case as gloves, pads, etc. always seemed expensive compared to other brands that you could buy. Anyhow, this is how I, and countless others, ended up with T-Sport artificial leather 10oz gloves. In fairness we were training in 'Light-Continuous' kickboxing and maybe these gloves were up to the job. However, I wouldn't use them for anything else and training two-to-three times a week, plus bagwork, they soon gave up the ghost. I ended up getting mitts to use for bag and pad work, had to be T-Sport again of course, and soon moved on from these as the padding was woefully inadequate.
When I began training at Leicester Shoot Fighters the club gloves were all Blitz. Even though the gloves were used communally and took a hell of a pounding they lasted well and remained comfortable for hitting and being hit. It was based on this experience that I got myself a pair of the Blitz 14oz leather gloves. These are great gloves. The foam is solid but with plenty of give for sparring partners. The fit is fairly snug but feels supportive and secure rather than constrictive. I have quite wide hands but could still wrap my hands and get them on – wouldn't get a knuckle pad in as well though. They wear in nicely and without needing too long and also last well. My first pair were with me for about two years bag and pad work 3 – 4 times a week. I liked them so much I bought a second pair.
After the Blitz gloves I felt that it was time to invest in some proper muay thai gloves and dived in for a pair of Twins. Without doubt these are my favourite pair of gloves of all those that I've used. They are a little more expensive than generic/store brands but the quality is excellent – leather, stitching, padding, velcro all good quality giving the gloves great longevity even after plenty of abuse on the heavy bag and large maize ball. The fit for the Twins is good for wide hands like mine. As a heavy chap who hits fairly hard I like to use a gel knuckle pad under my wraps and the 14oz Twins accommodate this with no problems. Again I bought two pairs and still use a pair now.
The final pair I'll mention are my Fairtex 16oz leather. These are a different shape to the Twins but of a similar quality. If anything these are wider that the Twins and as such accommodate my hands + wraps + pads nicely. At present I've only used them for bagwork and they've stood up well to this. When I need new gloves it'll be a toss up between Fairtex and Twins.
I think with boxing gloves the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' runs true, buy nice or buy twice.
