Back in the saddle

I'm getting back in the saddle, making training more consistent.  As you can tell from the infrequency of the posts, time has been in very short supply so training has been pretty minimalistic making training efficiency essential.

Strength training has been sticking with Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 template, training twice a week.  Following my back spasm I had to take the numbers right down and work back up.  In most lifts I've regressed a year in terms of the numbers!  Most recently:

Swiss bar press 65kg x 5
Deadlift 114kg x 10
Swiss bar bench 72kg x 10
Trapbar deadlift 133kg x 10

Everything's progressing and, hey, it's not a sprint right?  The assistance exercise choices have been power clean (5 x 82kg), dumbbell bench (10 x 32kg each hand), dumbbell row (20 x 32kg each side), trapbar RDL (8 x 65kg), leg raises, ab wheel & landmine twists.

Conditioning-wise, my mainstays have been fight inspired circuits, typically 30 seconds each followed by 10 seconds change over, e.g.

Heavy bag punching
Sprawls
Sandbag shoulder
Sit throughs
Dummy G 'n' P.
Dummy suplex lift
Plank
Band resisted shots
Sandbag bear hug
Heavy bag punching.

This gives a really good mixed workout that staves off boredom.  Anyway,going to try to keep this updated a bit more.  Gotta go....

It's been a long time....

A lot has happened since the last update.  Just over a month ago, whilst working on my car, my back went in to spasm, OWWW!  After a week off work and mostly whacked out on muscle relaxants and codeine I started to gently train again - bad move.  Another spasm, this time whilst driving, convinced me to take things even easier.
The first thing that went was strength training of any sort, my 5/3/1 strength programme was right out the window.  No striking against resistance (no heavy bag, no maize bag), no kicking of any sort.  This left me with the question of what I could do.  First up, walk. Yes, really.  Walking a couple of miles at a reasonable pace with the dog was a way of feeling more confident doing anything that made me break sweat.  After this I moved to carrying our Bas Rutten's boxing workout with no resistance, then the thai boxing workout and finally the all round workout.  Before anything I was warming up properly and carrying out DeFranco's Agile 8 and scarecrows religiously. This has made a big difference.  I've also put goodmornings in to my training in order to build the lower back.
The injury really focused me on conditioning, something that I should do more anyway, and hopefully has begun to instil the habit in me.  I've certainly enjoyed doing more circuits, more boxing and more bodyweight exercises.  I have started strength training again but I've reduced my numbers in a big way.  I've also been hitting the bag with regularity again.
Hopefully I'll stay injury free and be able to update more often.

FIGHT UK AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2

Once again Leicester Shootfighters smashed it at a Fight UK event.  Check out the crisp striking from heavyweight Chris Miles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sByBdwcMqeg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Training at Fighting Fit Martial Arts

Whilst on holiday a couple of years ago I came across Fighting Fit Martial Arts in Cromer, Norfolk. At the time I had no gumshield or box so even though I wanted to train I didn't feel that I could.

However... heading back to Cromer this year I made sure to pack box, mouth guard, gloves & anklets. I dropped in to the gym one evening and had a quick chat with John Mezzetti the owner and head coach. He seemed very friendly and I decided to train the following night.

John hasn't got a massive space at the gym but he makes great use of it. Most is matted with a cage wall. There're also bags plus a cardio area and a weights room.

We started with a warm-up that included sprawls before moving on to a drill/game in which you had to tap your partner's foot with your own and then knee-taps. This led in to an arm drag drill, similar to the drag that Marcello Garcia teaches first in his DVD series. It had been a long time since I last grappled and it really showed in a lack of co-ordination. I think perhaps John & his students expected more of me as they knew I'd trained at Leicester Shoot.

We moved on to some punching and punching to takedown drills which progressed nicely to sit-throughs. The final 15-20 mins were spent in groundwork sparring. This was great and even though I got tapped to a triangle I should never've got in to in the first place, I really enjoyed myself .

So what did I learn?

That John is a great teacher and a genuine bloke. Very friendly and really knows his stuff. John's guys are also friendly and a real credit to his teaching.

That my conditioning is f**ked and I need to prioritise it in a biiiig way.

That tapping to a rear naked choke isn't always a forgone conclusion.

A new Kimura escape (cheers John!)

That I really want to get back to regular training at Leicester Shoot.

If you're in the Cromer area of Norfolk on holiday drop in and see FFMA, I'll be training down there on my next visit for sure.

Free Ebook at Elite FTS!

There's something special that sets Elite FTS apart from other equipment suppliers.  It's not the quality of their merchandise, though be in no doubt that by buying from them you'll be buying nice, not twice.  It's not that their website is cool, although there's a whole lot more on there than just a very comprehensive catalogue.

No, it's all about the attitude, not a bad ass "we lift more than you so you suck", but a willingness to share experience and learning, to motivate and educate, to drag you along and help the aspiring athlete to be the best they can. And to do it for free.

Nothing has summed up this desire and drive to share knowledge better than the recent release of 'The Vault' a FREE ebook downloadable after signing up to the Strength Club.  There really is so much in this book that it's impossible to list it all here. Suffice it to say that it contains specific lifting advice/coaching, motivational texts and guiding principles.  Did I mention that it's also FREE - why would you not get it.

Dave Tate has outdone himself with The Vault, many, many websites would try and sell you this for a princely sum ... and it'd be worth it!  So thanks a lot Dave, it's your sharing attitude that keeps us coming back to Elitefts, long may you prosper.

Go to Elitefts.com and look for "The Vault" to get yours.

Holiday, celebrate...

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.

Injuries, injuries.....

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?

1. Be aware of volume and intensity of training. I personally cannot train optimally if I'm lifting heavy and intensely three times a week.

2. 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.

3. 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.