• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Consistency and Focus (Athlete Journal 23)

With the New York Summer Open about a month away and an event in a few weeks, I've been spending a lot of time training.

James Kearns

Written by James Kearns Last updated on June 11, 2014

Everything is coming along nicely for the New York Summer Open next month. I got four solid training days in on the mat last week, including another training day up at Daniel Beleza’s Brazilian jiu jitsu school. I have been adding some more takedowns, set-ups, and passes with my coaches Brad Souders and Bobby Knotts at Tactical Combat Academy.

The pace has started to pick up during classes, and the coaches have started focusing on each competitor’s individual game plans for the upcoming competitions over the next several months. It’s still another six weeks to the next IBJJF event, so I will be competing at the US Grappling event on the 21st in Richmond, Virginia. It’s always good to get more mat time and they have a 215lb weight division, which won’t be too heavy for me while I drop down to heavyweight in preparation for New York.

I just completed week eight of my thirteen-week training program for New York. For this training program I will have my last training day on the Sunday before the competition, but when I add in an unscheduled tournament such as the one for US Grappling in three weeks, I won’t change any of my training days. I will continue on the same weightlifting program as normal, completing my last workout on the day before competition. Then I will compete on that Saturday and go right back to drilling on Sunday, not missing any of my usual training days.

My strength and conditioning program has continued to go well, also. My strength and power have improved, while my bodyweight continues to go down. This is actually the longest I’ve been able to follow a program without missing any days or weeks due to injury this year. I am nearing the end of my strength/sport-specific training phase and will soon begin my endurance/conditioning phase to finish out the last four weeks of training.

Sunday – BJJ

Competition Drilling

Monday

AM Training – Strength and Conditioning (S&C)

  • Vertical Jump 3×7
  • Plyo Push-Up 3×7
  • Barbell Pop-Up 3×7
  • Push-Offs 3×7
  • Cleans 110 kg x2, 112.5 kg x2, 115 kg x2, 117.5 kg x2, 120 kg x2
  • Dumbbell Bench Press 110 lbs 4×4
  • Overhead Dumbbell Extension 90 lbs 3×8
  • Core Work

PM Training – BJJ

Takedowns and Set-ups, Rolling

Wednesday

S&C

  • BB Squat 360 lbs x3, 365 lbs x3, 370 lbs x3, 375 lbs x3
  • BB Row 200 lbs 3×8
  • Hammer Curls 50 lbs 3×8

BJJ

Takedowns and Set-ups, Rolling

Thursday – BJJ

Drilling, Rolling

Friday – S&C

  • Vertical Jump 3×7
  • Plyo Push-Up 3×7
  • Barbell Pop-Up 3×7
  • Push-Offs 3×7
  • Hang Clean and Jerk 135 lbs x3, 160 lbs x3, 180 lbs x3, 190 lbs x3
  • Romanian Deadlift 315 lbs 3×8
  • Rope Pull-up 17, 13, 11
  • Barbell Shrug 275 lbs 3×8
  • Core Work

James Kearns is an active Brazilian jiu jitsu competitor and also trains and competes in Olympic weightlifting.Follow his journals here every week.

James Kearns

About James Kearns

James Kearns is a Brazilian jiu jitsu competitor and former United States Marine who began training martial arts in 2005. Starting in Taekwondo and boxing in his hometown of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, he would eventually begin training and competing in mixed martial arts. This is when James first started to train in no-gi jiu jitsu. Then, two and a half years ago, he reluctantly borrowed a gi and tried the Brazilian jiu jitsu class. James has trained in no other martial art since.

After successfully competing at the rank of blue belt for the last two years, earning six gold medals in IBJJF events and finishing the year with a gold medal in the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials adult division, James earned his purple belt in December 2013. Having set his goals high for 2014, he plans on competing six to eight times this year, including the IBJJF Masters World Championships.

Along with being an active BJJ competitor, James also trains and competes in Olympic weightlifting. Having a passion for the health and fitness industry, James is a certified personal trainer and the strength and conditioning coach at Tactical Combat Academy in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, where he focuses on individual and group program design for combat sport athletes. James is also a full time student, working on his B.S. in Sports Management.

Although training in Brazilian jiu jitsu and Olympic weightlifting, being a strength coach, and being in school keep James pretty busy, he still spends most of his time with his wife and four kids (who keep him even busier).

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

screenshot2014-12-30at113049am
Varying Squat Stance for Quad Development (Athlete Journal 121)
On the Other Side of a Belt Promotion (Athlete Journal 64)
screenshot2014-12-23at22546pm
Extreme Effort Is Only Temporary (Athlete Journal 120)
jess papi
Building Confidence as a BJJ Practitioner (Athlete Journal 63)

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Phillip Herndon Squats 412.7 Kilograms (910 Pounds) For New Massive Personal Record

Justin Medeiros Walks Through a Full Tour of His Home Gym Before CrossFit Season

Powerlifter Jimmy Kolb Logs 612.5-Kilogram (1,350.3-Pound) Equipped Bench Press World Record

The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About