Powering Through x Scramble and around the web

 What happens when you combine powering-through and scramble? some sort of Hyper Scramble that scrambles so powerfully it can break a Palhares leg lock and take your back quicker then you can blink... or at the very least an occassional blog post about S&C and for BJJ,MMA and grappling

For those of you that regularly read my blog, you'll be pleased to know you can read more of my electronic scribblings over on Scramble's Scramblog

This most recent can be read here "Are Kettlebells worth your time?" http://www.scramblestuff.com/strength-and-conditioning-advice-are-kettlebells-worth-your-time/ Look for more postings there in the future.

Gi reviews very own Brendan Hufford who is a user of my online training program took the time to write about his experiences of the program here How to be more Awesome part 1

Also look for an article by me in an upcoming issue of e-magazine Love 2 fight
 

Steve May, Me, Sean Carter, on our last strength session before they fight at UCMMA 28

Intergrated not Isolation exercises for a stronger core

Crunches, the oblique crunch and the laying extensions are looking increasingly like endangered animals. In a recent study Gotschall et al 2012 set out to record EMG data on isolation core work vs more intergrated exercises..

The EMG measurements Gotschall et al. recorded for healthy college students suggest that "integrated core exercises", rather than isolation exercises, are the most effective to stimulate your abs, your obliques and your lower back. They compared, mount climbers, side planks and birdogs to conventional crunches, side crunches and laying back extensions

Exercises like mountain climbers may do more for your abs than crunches

They concluded  "Our results indicate that activation of the abdominal and lumbar muscles was greatest during the exercises that required deltoid and gluteal recruitment. In conclusion, when completing the core strength guidelines, an integrated routine that incorporates the activation of distal trunk musculature would be optimal in terms of maximizing strength, improving endurance, enhancing stability, reducing injury, and maintaining mobility."

So it seems core exercises that require activation of the distal trunk muscles (deltoid and gluteal) elicit greater activation of primary trunk muscles, so when you integrate core work into your training look to integrate some integrated core movements!

Death Circuits and Why every wants on the MMA fitness bandwagon

Martin Rooney put excellently something I have been talking about for a while both to my clients and at seminars and lectures. That MMA style training that is currently in vogue is destructive and ridiculous. "The circuit of death" as Rooney puts it is the current trend for "beastings" "punishing" and vomit inducing workouts. In the past I have spoken about how "circuit training should not be the basis of athletic preparation" and that often well meaning PT's and MMA coaches who try to do their own thing with conditioning circuits don't consider the overall objective of the method that they are applying. All they seek is fatigue, because tired = good workout as far as the client and trainer are concerned. This is the danger of simplistic reductive thinking, MMA makes me tired so my training must do that too!

MMA fighters have become "the" fitness poster boy/girl more recently and I can understand why. They look athletic but athletic in such a way that is accessible. While other elite athletes don't present their workouts quite so readily, MMA fighters with media exposure give us glimpses into their programs. Often short compendiums of edited video's doing stuff with novelty training gear because it simply looks good. A video of a fighter hitting triples on deadlifts or presses doing some accessory work and going home Isn't interesting enough for youtube or TV. These glimpses are snap shots out of context with the greater program and should be taken as such by the viewer.

The other issue is a lot of these workouts require little for thought or modification of traditional circuit training which has been around forever. With the addition of some bag pummelling and wearing 4oz gloves the entire time and Huzzah! you have an MMA workout. Heck even the Les Mill folks have seen the rise of popularity of MMA and started having their instructors wear fight shorts and MMA gloves despite the workout being no different to their Body-combat "product" but with accessories it takes on that "MMA/Hardcore" mask to draw more people into doing it. Definitely vital to have the latest Tapout and Venum to do aerobics.

pssst... GSP does'nt actually do rush-fit

Martin put it well when he said "People value soreness, novelty and fatigue more than they value results". Roll on the next "thing" the industry hitches in wagon too. Crossfit anyone?

Adidas Powerlifts Review

Quick review on a lifting shoe I have been using over the past month or so.

Adidas have finally made a shoe that suits enthusiasts and athletes in need of a weightlifting shoe. Most of the athletes I work lift in flat soled shoes, barefoot or some sort of cross trainer. This nestles in nice as an intermediate weightlifting shoe before moving on to full on Olympic lifting shoes. For someone like myself who has a lot of diversity in my program they are a good compromise between the flat soled shoes I normally wear and full on Olympic lifting shoe. I got these from rogue fitness

http://www.roguefitness.com/adidas-weightlifting-shoes.php

The Stats

Release Date: 2011

Style: Low Top

Heel Construction: EVA

Heel Height: 0.60"

Weight¹: 14.8 oz / 419.6 grams

Colors: Black/Blue, Navy/Slime, Red/Black, White/Gold, White/Gray

It features a 0.60” heel made from a hard EVA, it has a leather upper with a fastening strap, I found it fitting alot like trainer. Its very light and available (in the US) at a much lower cost than its nearest relative the Powerperfect II. Mine came in Onyx and grey, although other colours are available. These are ever so slightly lower in the heel than most Oly shoes which usually run between 0.75-1.5”. There is some nice detailing on the shoe, with “training” on the lace ends, weightlifting on the insole and small dumbbells on straps. 

The shoe felt sold tight and gripped excellently when lifting, I have power cleaned 140kg (I can hear O-lifters snorting from their keyboards now) and front squatted in excess of 150kg in these and they felt very comfortable and solid. The fact they are EVA mean that very heavy lifting might cause them to deform under very high loads, but this has not been a problem for me. I normally deadlift barefoot and found the shoe pitched me very slightly too far forwards, however over-head lifts and squatting, lunging in part due to the grip felt very stable and solid.  I found the laces very short despite seeing other reviews saying they were too long, maybe Adidas tried to fix this with this batch.

Insole detailing

So if you are looking for a solid all around training shoe, that gives the height and stability similar to that of an olympic lifting shoe without breaking the bank, I would suggest giving these a try!

Pros

Great Grip

Light/fits like a trainer

Solid construction

Cons

Look else where if you Olympic lift exclusively

Laces very short

Rousimar Palhares in the gym

Fighter work outs always interest me and when one of my favourite fighters has a session recorded I can't help but be curious, keeping in mind this is one session a snap shot of a broader plan. Toquinho's workout starts worryingly with leg presses but picks up later with some heavy pressing later (looks like at least 1.5 x BW bench), despite potential form criticism he is clearly a very strong athlete.

NSCA "Strength and Conditioning for Grappling Sports"

NSCA is pretty much one of the "Gold Standard" resources in the strength and conditioning world, when they print something you should probably give it a read. In dec 2011 they put up a great "free" article on "strength and conditioning for grappling sports"by Nicholas Ratamess.

While it covers a lot of info you "powering-through" regular readers will already understand, its a great piece and well worth a read.

Briefly summarised.

• Don't carry excess fat, enhance lean body mass. 
• More successful grapplers are more flexible. 
• Grapplers need high levels of concentric, eccentric and isometric strength, training should reflect that.
• Program needs, explosive and heavy compound lifting (they list a selection of exercises) "Olympic-style lifts and variations may be periodized within a 1–6 repetition range, whereas basic strength exercises may be periodized within a 1–12 repetition range." Power training requires loads 40-70% of 1RM lifted explosively.
• Use Plyometrics but taper their use, done for higher reps they lose their power enhancement properties and become a power endurance exercise.
• Some Grapplers train endurance by running, but some question the applicability of this.
• HIIT appears to be the best way to condition for grappling.
• Static stretching is best performed at the end of a workout or practice session and can be performed daily.

Read the full article here http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Fulltext/2011/12000/Strength_and_Conditioning_for_Grappling_Sports.4.aspx

How much protein a day and after training?

Im going to need more meat than this...

A big debate in the fitness and strength training world is "how much protein should I consume post training?" We have swung from "make sure you get at least 2g/lbs of protein" to the conservative "more than 20g of whey are a waste of money" put forwards by dieticians today (lest your kidneys explode). On top of this is the how much protein should I eat a day question, which I am asked semi regularly. To state the science here is a summation of what we know according to evidence at the moment.

Current evidence suggests http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2012-091100 , Phillips 2004

• We need intakes higher than the RDA, to be precise, 1.2-1.6g/kg body weight a day
• An emphasis on leucine rich protein sources (Leucine sources)
• An additional protein shake immediately after your workout
• Multiple servings of 20-25g of protein spread equally across the day

A study by Yang (2012)  has shown the effects of different doses (10g, 20g, 40g) of whey protein alone or in combination with a single leg exercise on myofibrillar protein synthesis. While not keen on unilateral analysis they concluded that "Given the evidence that the muscle protein synthetic response following resistance exercise is blunted in aged muscle, our data and that of others suggest that consuming a relatively high amount of dietary protein after resistance exercise may, potentially, increase rates of MPS in the elderly to the same extent as in young adults."Suggesting that 40g doses resulted in higher protein synthesis than the 10 and 20g doses. So if in doubt go bigger post training.

Another study however suggested that 20g doses are adequate when having consumed a high protein meal in the 3 hours preceding your training. Jackman 2012 concluded "Our results are the first to show that when exercise is performed 3h following food intake there is a limit to the rate of post-exercise MPS following protein ingestion. Whey protein ingestion above 20g does not provide any additional benefit to MPS."

A reasoned approach would be to consume a fast digesting protein posting training and mixing 20-25g into your diet through out your daily feedings to achieve that 1.2-1.6g/kg of bodyweight target. For instance a 85kg athlete will need roughly 100-136g of protein a day to achieve muscle gain and body composition objectives, so our 4-5 servings of 25g of protein a day rings true.

While we know that protein supports, lean mass gains, weight loss, strength building, we have in the past risked over shooting and or undershooting what we need. As nutrition sciences gets a clearer picture of what we really need we can hopefully break away from dogmatic notions on protein consumption.

If you are interested in learning more I suggest reading Phillips 2004

Riliion Gracie Ireland Strength and Conditioning Seminar

Big thanks to Rilion Gracie Ireland for having me over to do a Strength and Conditioning Seminar. Hopefully everyone came away with a greater appreciation for Strength and Conditioning for MMA. We covered a wide array of topics including building strength and power, sprint and pre fight conditioning, peaking for competition and with only 4 hours, I could have talked alot longer on certain subjects! If you are over in the North West of Ireland I really do recommend dropping on Rilion Gracie Ireland in Letterkenny for a BJJ or MMA session.

Vintage filters make everything look good! Barney Coyle, myself and Stephen Coll

Only a week until The Strength and Conditioning for MMA Seminar in Letterkenny Ireland

 

http://www.facebook.com/events/310270255698119/

Charles Polquin: Training For MMA?

Nice short video of Coach Poliquin weighing on MMA training, he talks about training techniques for MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). He weighs in on the issues of "circus" training or what I call the the "youtube training porn" methods.