But the pendulum swings in the other direction, too. There are many sport fighters who believe that what they teach is self-defense, as well. This lacks critical thinking, objectivity and nuance. Training for a fight isn’t necessarily training for self-defense. 

As a krav maga instructor, most people walk in the door of my club thinking they are going to learn self-defense or how to fight by training a bunch of physical techniques to deal with being assaulted. I tend to challenge that thinking quite quickly.

What Is Real Self-Defense?

Self-defense happens when a confrontation cannot be avoided. There is no consent, and there also doesn’t have to be a reason for the assault. There is no preparation period. There are no weight divisions, protective gear, mats, rules of engagement, or referees. You can’t just tap out, take a knee, get an eight count, throw in the towel, or have the referee call it off. Multiple opponents and weapons are the norm, not the exception. Losing balance and going to the ground can be fatal.

In a real self-defense situation, there is no winner or loser, like on the mats or in the ring. You either survive, or you don’t. And if you do, there are medical, legal, and psychological ramifications that may need to be dealt with.

All these things are in direct opposition to sport fighting.

The same problem of applicability is found in fight training as in martial arts. The root of that problem is in practitioners being delusional about what it is they are training for.

An Ounce of Prevention

Your success or failure in most realistic self-defense situations is determined by what you do at the earliest possible stage. One of the most important things to realize about real personal safety training is that it starts way before anyone lays a hand on you. Before things become physical, self-defense has already started, in what is commonly called the pre-confrontation and pre-fight stages of a conflict.

If you are unlucky enough to be ambushed by a predator that has attacked you out of the blue, then these stages can be bypassed and things can get physical straight away. But in most situations, there is a build-up, like an emotional pressure cooker, until things kick off.

The pre-confrontation stage occurs when the likelihood of an assault is greater than normal, or where danger is present. It might be the feeling someone is watching or following you, or there is a group of drunken guys walking down the sidewalk towards you. Awareness and avoidance of any confrontation is our best strategy here.

The pre-fight stage is where things haven’t become physical yet, but it could include eye contact, a verbal exchange or posturing. This stage could last only a few seconds, or in the instance of a work dispute, it could have lasted years. Our strategy here is de-escalation and defusing.

In both of these stages, the goal is the same: no violence. This means our aim is to not let any confrontation go beyond the first two stages.

Threat Response Choices

In any given threat situation, we have a number of potential threat responses that include one of or a combination of:

• Flight or escape
• Defuse, de-escalate, or negotiate
• Comply
• Posture, threaten, feign compliance etc.
• Fight (including control and restrain)
• Freezing (unwanted)
• Hypervigilance (unwanted)

Most people go to a fight school to learn just one of the five preferable responses to a threat situation: the fight stage. This is fundamentally flawed. Correct tactical training should also encompass the other preferable generic responses. They can all be crucial to survival. As such, real self-defense training should always include:

• Preventative and pre-emptive material (including pre-emptive striking), role playing and scenarios
• Working various timelines (including pre-confrontation and pre-fight)
• Various force options at each stage of the timeline
• Situational awareness
• Assertiveness and boundary setting
• Active scanning to find exits, weapons, and further threats
• Finding and using common objects for shields, distractions and weapons.

It should be automatically assumed that the assailant has supporters, is under the influence, and is armed. In this day and age, you can also be fairly sure you are being recorded.

Learning how to outwit predators, not just outfight them, is part of any realistic self-defense training program. It’s not just physical, but psychological warfare too. In order to train the other generic responses to a threat situation, other than just fight, your training must be inclusive of this material. This is all in addition to techniques, aggression drills, stress inoculation, sparring, and contact.

When It Comes to a Fight

Let’s be straight: if a fight is “fair,” it’s because your tactics suck. If a realistic situation becomes physical, then tactically, it ought to be on your terms. Think a little like Sun-Tzu and The Art of War. You go there on your terms, not the opponent’s. If possible, you pick the time, the place, the target, and the terms, not your opponent.

That said, if you think you’ll be able to talk your assailant into some sort of stylistic duel between two practitioners for a number of 2-3 minute rounds, you may want to think again.

It is crucial to be proactive wherever possible, not reactive. Taking the initiative is everything. This does not mean I am advocating violence. What I am saying is that once you have exhausted all other options, have attempted to not let the situation go past the first two stages, and feel that the only outcome is a physical one in order to remove yourself or a third party from a situation safely, then ending the situation strongly and swiftly before it escalates out of your control with appropriate but adequate force is a better strategy than waiting to be assaulted. Pre-emptive striking and other strategies should be trained.

This is not what is taught in most self-defense schools. Instead, for hundreds of repetitions, they allow themselves to be assaulted, before they respond with their technique. In essence, we are training people in self-defense classes to be victims, as they let someone assault them over and over. What a great idea. While real self-defense training should involve pain, fear, surprise, and working from the worst possible positions, it also needs to address not getting there in the first place.

Options of Force

I see many fighters and martial artists who style themselves as “self-defense experts” that teach the only solution to every situation is to strike the offender. This is socially and legally irresponsible. Would you really belt a slightly drunk family member or friend being an ass at a party? Context is everything. I would agree that a balanced, agile fighter, throwing strong straight blasts down the barrel from a tight guard is awesome once things kick off, but sometimes a softer option is appropriate to deal with a lower-level violent threat.

I am a big believer in stress inoculation, aggression training, sparring, and contact. I think it is imperative to the overall development of the real-world self-defense practitioner. So please don’t misconstrue my points here. But if striking is the only self-defense technique you practice, you’ve only scratched the surface of the skills you may find yourself needing.

Learn All of Self-Defense

I have trained both fighters and martial artists for more than 16 years now. On average, most fighters are far more adequately equipped physically, technically, and psychologically to deal with real self-defense situations than many traditional martial artists. They have forged their iron in the heat of gladiatorial battle.

That said, fight training still is not as specific to real world self-defense as we would like it to be. As such, it has limited utility, just as it is for traditional martial artists. There are much bigger dynamics at play. So the 6-million-dollar question is, if you are an instructor or trainee and are training and teaching real-world self-defense and violence prevention, are you teaching all of it? Or just the sexy parts?

If there’s no chaos in your training, it isn’t worth much:

Train for Uncertainty: It’s Guaranteed

The post Sport Fighting Won’t Teach You Self Defense appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Over the past several months, I’ve reposted a number of videos on my social media accounts from well-known mixed martial arts (MMA) competitors and their strength coaches. These clips portray the athlete performing unique but dangerous and ineffectual exercises, such as the following example I’ve picked for illustration purposes. Please have a quick watch and then I’ll rejoin you below:

Jon Jones:

I initially assumed the first video was a spoof, but am now convinced it is not. I don’t know where to start in terms of analysis. Assuming that Silva is trying to train his legs here, if you were to list the 10,000 different ways you could train legs, ranked from best to worst, this maneuver would be #10,000. If he ditched the mask and didn’t smash his knees on the floor on every rep, I’d be willing to upgrade it to 9,999. Almost any leg exercise you can think of would be safer and more effective than this – even split squats while standing on a BOSU.

In the second video, Jon Jones is doing weighted sit ups, a debatable exercise right from the start. To make a bad exercise many orders of magnitude more dangerous, he’s holding a barbell behind his neck, with a wide grip. This places incredibly destructive forces on the shoulders, and for what benefit? 

How do coaches come up with this nonsense, and why do their athletes buy into it?

What Is That Coach Thinking?

Addressing the first question, most coaches feel an almost overwhelming need to differentiate themselves from their competitors. On its own, this isn’t a bad thing. But in their efforts to stand out from the crowd, some of these coaches resort to strategies and methods that are unique for the sake of being unique.

In other words, uniqueness, rather than effectiveness, becomes the overriding goal. As you’ll see when I outline the approach I would take with combat athletes, effective and unique don’t usually share a lot of common ground.

Why Do Athletes Go Along With It?

Why do top-level athletes get suckered into bad coaching environments? Lots of reasons.

Most significantly, world level athletes are people too, just like you and me. Often they don’t have the proper context to recognize superior coaching when they’re exposed to it. So they might lean on recommendations from other athletes, which seems reasonable enough at first glance.

Problem is, as we saw above, many top-tier athletes have terrible strength and conditioning programs. Because they are innately talented with strong work ethic, these athletes succeed in spite of the strength training they do, rather than because of it. Bottom line: even smart, savvy people need to check their instincts when shopping for a strength coach.

How I Would Train a Fighter

First, all ancillary training modalities, including strength training, must improve athletic characteristics that the athlete’s sport practice doesn’t adequately address by itself. If the athlete’s sport training leads to strong leg muscles, as an example, I’m likely to avoid leg training in the weight room.

Second, we can’t always say for certain if a strength training exercise will benefit the athlete. But we do know for sure that it will come at a cost, in terms of energy, time, injury risk, and so on. In my opinion, too many coaches do not appreciate the costs of auxiliary training methods. This point underscores the need for maximum economy in the strength training program. Get in, do 2-3 drills that address the athlete’s weakest links, and get out so he or she can recover for the main activity.

Third, auxiliary strength training drills must be general in nature in order to facilitate maximum positive transfer to the athlete’s sport skills. They also need to be low-skill activities. I don’t see the point in teaching an athlete how to do one sport (Olympic weightlifting, for example) to get better at another sport. If a strength exercise has a significant learning curve that must be navigated, it’ll be quite some time before that exercise can be loaded to the point to where it will actually benefit the athlete. Why not use something like a hack squat machine instead, which has a low skill component and injury risk?

Auxiliary strength training should never come at a cost to primary sport training.

From the above three principles, here is a hypothetical strength program that I’d propose for a “generic” MMA athlete:

Day 1: 

• Pull ups
• Barbell hip thrusts
• Weighted push ups

Day 2: 

• Weighted push ups
• Machine rows
• Hack squats

The exact exercise menu would depend on the athlete’s unique needs, and the above example serves only to illustrate the principles I shared earlier. Note the decided lack of Olympic lifts (too much of a skill component and low transfer), stability drills (injury risk, no transfer), or “fad” drills and equipment, such as using altitude masks and hitting tires with sledgehammers.

Most strength training innovations have already been developed. While there will inevitably be advancements in the future, that curve is rapidly flattening out as time goes on. In other words, we already have this stuff pretty much figured out.

Why Don’t Many Coaches Take This Approach?

Good question. It’s probably because the exercises listed above seem unremarkable and unimaginative. They lack marketing appeal. Often, however, the most sophisticated, effective approaches seem fairly ho-hum on the surface. The current marketing milieu demands sizzle, not steak. If you don’t stand out in some type of memorable way, you’re unlikely to thrive, no matter how effective you might be.

I have one suggestion for anyone looking to become an effective coach or athlete: Be more enamored with results than the tools or methods that lead to those results. If your goal is to add 30lb of muscle, or to have stronger punches, or to get to 8 percent body fat, and you accomplish that using “boring” tools or methods, does that in any way lessen the accomplishment?

And finally, to repeat a theme I’m always pushing over here, don’t blindly copy the training or nutritional habits of your favorite athlete. Like all of us, the greats make mistakes. Instead, seek to identify the productive aspects of that athlete’s regime, and also the less productive ones. Then, you’ll know what behaviors to mimic, and which ones you’re better off dismissing.

This Week’s Training:

Volume: 71,086lb (Last Week: 65,324lb)

Significant Lifts:

• Low Bar Squat: 315×5
• Bench Press: 215×5
• Deadlift: 440×5
• Military Press: 130×4

Happily, this has been another productive week of training, with a handful of rep PRs and near PRs, and no orthopedic complains whatsoever.

I’ve only been doing lower (5’s) reps for a few weeks now (following about 8 weeks of 8-10 reps) and I’m quite surprised how strong I’m feeling right out of the gate.

I should mention that I haven’t done any running or kick practice in a bit, mostly because I haven’t had the time and energy to pursue everything I’d like to do simultaneously. With that said, I am developing a fondness for the Concept2 RowErg, partly because it feels safe and productive for me, and also because I like the fact that its display monitor tabulates my stats (see pic below).

I’m a big fan of activities that can be measured and quantified, and the C2 rower is great for that.

I’m also slowly dropping bodyweight. My average weekly weight is 199.2, compared with 200.2 the previous week, so that’s another plus for the week.

I’m guessing that after another few weeks I’ll drop down to sets of 2-3 and see if I can hit some new PRs in that bracket, and then after that, back up to the 8-10 range again.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Bodyweight: 200.8lb

Volume: 21,560lb

Goblet Squat

• Set 1: 35lb × 10
• Set 2: 55lb × 10
• Set 3: 75lb × 10

Low Bar Squat

• Set 1: 45lb × 5
• Set 2: 95lb × 5
• Set 3: 135lb × 5
• Set 4: 135lb × 5
• Set 5: 225lb × 5
• Set 6: 315lb × 5
• Set 7: 275lb × 5

Toes To Bar

• Set 1: 5 reps
• Set 2: 5 reps
• Set 3: 5 reps
• Set 4: 5 reps

Seated Calf Raise

• Set 1: 90lb × 8
• Set 2: 90lb × 8
• Set 3: 90lb × 8
• Set 4: 90lb × 8

45° Back Extension

• Set 1: +140lb × 8
• Set 2: +140lb × 8
• Set 3: +140lb × 8
• Set 4: +140lb × 8

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Bodyweight: 199.2lb

Volume: 12,073lb

Bench Press

• Set 1: 45lb × 5
• Set 2: 95lb × 5
• Set 3: 135lb × 5
• Set 4: 185lb × 5
• Set 5: 215lb × 5
• Set 6: 205lb × 5
• Set 7: 185lb × 5

Incline Dumbbell Press

• Set 1: 100lb × 8
• Set 2: 120lb × 8
• Set 3: 120lb × 8

TRX Inverted Row

• Set 1: 5 reps
• Set 2: 5 reps
• Set 3: 5 reps

EZ Bar Curl

• Set 1: 65lb × 8
• Set 2: 65lb × 8

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Bodyweight: 199.2lb

Volume: 17,055lb

Deadlift

• Set 1: 135lb × 5
• Set 2: 135lb × 5
• Set 3: 185lb × 5
• Set 4: 225lb × 5
• Set 5: 285lb × 5
• Set 6: 325lb × 5
• Set 7: 375lb × 3
• Set 8: 440lb × 5 (Video Below)

Hack Squat

• Set 1: 45lb × 8
• Set 2: 90lb × 8
• Set 3: 115lb × 8
• Set 4: 140lb × 8
• Set 5: 160lb × 8

Seated Calf Raise

• Set 1: 90lb × 8
• Set 2: 90lb × 8
• Set 3: 90lb × 8
• Set 4: 90lb × 8

Friday, February 5, 2016

Bodyweight: 198.4lb

Volume: 20,398lb

Military Press

• Set 1: 45lb × 10
• Set 2: 65lb × 8
• Set 3: 88lb × 6
• Set 4: 110lb × 5
• Set 5: 120lb × 5
• Set 6: 130lb × 4
• Set 7: 110lb × 5

Bench Press (Dumbbell)

• Set 1: 100lb × 10
• Set 2: 140lb × 8
• Set 3: 170lb × 8
• Set 4: 190lb × 8
• Set 5: 160lb × 8

Pull Up

• Set 1: 5 reps
• Set 2: 5 reps
• Set 3: 5 reps
• Set 4: 5 reps
• Set 5: 5 reps

Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension

• Set 1: 70lb × 8
• Set 2: 70lb × 8
• Set 3: 70lb × 8
• Set 4: 70lb × 8

Dual Cable Low Cable Curl

• Set 1: 100lb × 8
• Set 2: 100lb × 8
• Set 3: 100lb × 8
• Set 4: 100lb × 8

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Bodyweight: 199.6lb

Rowing

• Set 1: 0.5 km in 0:01:58
• Set 2: 0.5 km in 0:01:58
• Set 3: 0.5 km in 0:01:58
• Set 4: 0.5 km in 0:01:58

More Common Sense Training Strategies

• The 4 Undebatable Fundamentals of Training
• How to Make Your Best Progress by Lifting Every Day
• When Too Much Choice Is Bad for Your Training
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

Photo 2 courtesy of Charles Staley.

The post No-Gimmick Training for Fighters (and All Athletes) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are not many matches with truly evenly skilled opponents. At both the high and low levels of competition this may be true, but for everyone else the reality is that skills win matches and fights.

Skill is what wins matches, so make sure your strength training leaves room for skill work.

That’s not to say strength training for a martial artists is a waste of time, because it isn’t. But because most martial artists and fighters don’t really have either an in-season or an off-season, their training can tend towards being easily misdirected. It’s easy to push too hard in the gym when it isn’t vital and leave yourself too smoked for skill work. At the same time, in can be hard to kick it up a notch when it is time to get serious before your competition or fight.

Mistake #1: Too Much Conditioning

The first mistake I see martial artists and fighters make is too much time spent on conditioning. Yes, you need to be fit. No, you don’t need to be in perfect competition shape all year round. In fact, trying to do so is holding you back from gaining in skill and overall strength.

“Anaerobic endurance is the most fickle of all fitness qualities. It can be built seemingly in weeks – usually three to four for most people – but will evaporate almost overnight if left alone for even a short period.”

When it’s not competition time, you will gain enough fitness from regular training alone. Trying to add in extra conditioning work of the variety needed for match fitness is a quick path to burnout or injury. While you do need some anaerobic endurance work, you probably need less than you think.

Anaerobic endurance is the most fickle of all fitness qualities. It can be built seemingly in weeks – usually three to four for most people – but will evaporate almost overnight if left alone for even a short period. But if you keep one workout a week devoted to it you will maintain the feel for it, so when you return to devoting large amounts of time to it again pre-fight you won’t suffer unduly.

Mistake #2: Poor Exercise Selection

The second big mistake I see fighters routinely make is wasting time on the wrong exercises. The goal of strength training is to get strong, not to add size. Adding size is the goal of hypertrophy training and there is a specific way to go about that. Most martial artists will be better off working on strength and minimizing mass gain so that their power-to-weight ratio improves.

“[W]hen it comes to adding raw brute strength, there are some exercises that are better than others. The deadlift is probably king of these.”

When it comes to exercises that build strength, look for exercises that allow you to use large loads. I’m not disparaging isolation exercises like bicep curls, as even these have a place as functional strength exercises for grapplers. But when it comes to adding raw brute strength, there are some exercises that are better than others. The deadlift is probably king of these. It’s simple to learn and allows massive loads to be used. But exercises like the squat, bench, power clean, and jerk all have their place.

The deadlift is one of the best exercises to build raw brute strength.

Mistake #3: Core Neglect

One final area that often gets neglected is the midsection. Fighters need abs that will handle support strength to fight off takedowns. That means they should include exercises that allow the use of heavy loads or have the feel of having a high load, such as the dragon flag.

 “I believe boredom is one of the main reasons people don’t do more ab work.”

Fighters also need muscular endurance to help slip punches and continually twist to punch or initiate throws. This means incorporating age old movements like sit ups and med ball throws. A great way to combine these and prevent boredom is use of the circuit format. I believe boredom is one of the main reasons people don’t do more ab work.

Making the Most of Training Sessions

The serious BJJ competitors I’ve worked with all train five or more times per week on the mat. MMA fighters will likely do more as they have more skill sets to work on. That leaves precious little time and energy to push hard in the gym. The biggest key I can give you in terms of your assistance work is to look for the best return from the least expense of energy and time.

“Dan John believes you have about ten good reps in you for each big exercise. Use them wisely.”

In other words, instead of doing two or three exercises for chest, like you would in a bodybuilding split type routine, do one. If you have found pushing strength to be an issue, use the bench press or weighted dips. The same goes for legs – pick one big exercise each time you go in the gym, such as front squats or the deadlift, and do a few sets using as much load as you can handle.

In terms of reps, the magic number is likely quite low. The closer you get to competition, the lower this will become. Ian King has said the number of reps needed to gain strength is somewhere between one and 100 – but it’s a lot closer to one than you think, he adds. Charlie Francis used to drop the number of reps in Ben Johnson’s strength work to about 60% as events drew closer. The lower reps still allowed the body to work hard and get the message to activate lots of muscle. At the same time, the reduced reps minimized fatigue and soreness, leaving Ben fresh to perform at his best. Dan John believes you have about ten good reps in you for each big exercise. Use them wisely.

What About Conditioning?

Conditioning in this building phase should be minimized. Runs can be done at a relaxed pace to build the aerobic base, using nasal breathing as a guide. Beyond that I would advise no more than ten minutes of hard anaerobic, but I would do this using equipment like rowing machines, the Airdyne, or ski erg because they have been shown to have a better effect on fitness than a metcon using load. Remember, our goal is best effect for minimal time. Lift for strength, not for fitness.

Save the all out anaerobic work for closer to your next event.

Sample Program

This means our program should consist of one or two big exercises done for around ten reps, along with some assistance abdominal work, and then a short amount of anaerobic training. The workouts will be short and sharp, leaving you fresh and wanting more. Save that for the few weeks before your fight so you can really turn it up close to your event. Here’s how it might look:

Day 1: Strength focus

• Power clean – 3 sets of 3, increasing weight each set with the final set an all out set of 3.
• Deadlift – 2 sets of 5 with one used as a warm up and a single all out set of 5.
• Heavy rack carry/ Ab wheel – use a sandbag if possible. Aim for 30-60 seconds of carrying. Pair this with the ab wheel where you’ll perform sets of 5 reps at a time.
• Row – 4 x 500m with rest equal to the length of your work interval.

Day 2: Assistance work

• Use today to work on injury prevention – focus on shoulders and hips as well as flexibility and grip work.

Day 3: Anaerobic endurance

• Perform 5 double kettlebell front squats, followed immediately by a rack walk for 10m. Repeat the process for six rounds. Try not to lower the bells at all.
• Perform 15 burpees and then row 500m. Rest 60 seconds and repeat. Perform 10 total rounds.
• Cool down with 200 reps of unloaded abdominal movements.

Don’t be scared by this minimal plan. Recovery is the key to gaining strength, not trying to fit as much as possible into your week. If you feel the need to add extra conditioning at this point of the year, stick to aerobic-only easy runs. Leave yourself fresh to work on your skills and you’ll have a bigger payoff at fight time as you’ll have more weapons to use.

More Like This:

• Strength Training for the Fighter
• What Fighters Know That You Don’t: 5 Facts for Losing Fat
• 3-Day Strength Program for Kickboxers, MMA Fighters, and Grapplers
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos 1 and 3 courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

Photo 2 courtesy of CrossFit Empirical.

The post 3 Training Mistakes That Leave Fighters Too Smoked for Skill Work appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

One of the most important pieces I have learned from speaking with Mike is that you don’t always train as you fight. Designing your training based on the length of your rounds is important, but it is not the only way to train. In fact, if we can build the other energy systems, we will make the conditions of the fight seem even easier.

Squeezing the Glycolytic Window

Recently, I also spoke with Peter Park, who is Lance Armstrong’s strength and conditioning coach, about Lance’s offseason conditioning. He discussed building the alactic system and the aerobic system to “squeeze” the glycolytic window. This means much of Lance’s training was done below a specific heart rate to avoid involving the glycolytic system.

“We can’t forget that we have three energy systems and we need to train all three. By enlarging the capacity of the two outer systems, we don’t tax our glycolytic system as much.”

Part of the reason to squeeze the glycolytic system is to reduce neuroendocrine stress. In the long term, neuroendocrine stress causes adaptations that may break down the body. One reason we see short-term success in high-intensity gylcolytic programs might be stress-related weight loss. The stress hormones can stimulate fuel consumption in the short term. But in the long term, stress hormones can lead to breakdown in mitochondria. For long-term success, we want to shrink the time we use the gylcolytic system. We want to save it for competition or competition prep.

Thus, the goal of our offseason training is to:

• Help develop the alactic system (i.e., get stronger) and…
• Become more efficient at replenishing ATP through aerobic conditioning.

Prerequisites for Training the Energy Systems

One prerequisites to train the energy systems in the manner described below is that people have a general level of conditioning. Mike Perry tests all athletes with an all-effort one-minute cycling test. In this test, a strange anomaly occurs with many fighters in that they can’t pedal long enough to reach a max heart rate. Mike explained:

You would assume that if someone’s going all out on a bike for a minute that they’d probably get pretty darn close to maxing their heart rate out. Every once in a while what will happen is we’ll have them do that assessment and at about the twenty-second mark, their legs are gone. They can’t pedal anymore and they can’t even drive their heart rate any higher than maybe 150… They start pedaling and their legs just go. They have very poor lower-body muscular endurance and that’s a limiting factor in training their cardiovascular system.

Right there it tells me, we’re not going to be able to go into this really in depth energy system program. We just need to get them stronger. We’ll spend the first month literally hitting the basics. Deadlifting, squatting, split squat, all that stuff. We do a lot of work with long duration, (slow) sled pushes, long duration sled push drags. Often times we’ll work them up to eight to ten minutes straight of doing that. Where they’re really working a lot of time under tension, but it allows us to get the eliminating factor out of the way. Initially when they started it was lower-body muscular endurance. Their legs just gave out and then we really couldn’t train their cardiovascular system whether we wanted to. A lot of times we have to take that off the table, then we can really start to train and do their energy system work. That happens more often than you would think.

Phase One: Alactic and Aerobic Work

In an ideal situation, Mike starts his training with focus on alactic and aerobic work. I say ideal, because many times, fighters will come to him only five weeks before their fight. In those situations, he just crams in as much energy work as possible.

In phase one, strength and conditioning training is composed of three main activities:

1. Strength training – Strength training is emphasized in all phases as an adjunct to training, but not the end goal.

2. Short sprints followed by long rests – The temptation for many people who try this type of training is to shorten rest intervals. We are led to believe we need to suffer for success. But in this type of training, we need to avoid the glycolytic burn. Push for only a short interval (alactic) and then rest. This allows our aerobic system to replenish the ATP. A six-to-one rest-to-work ratio usually fits. Feeling the burn and working through it is not in this phase of training. Be repetitively explosive with these drills.

3. Aerobic conditioning – We build our aerobic conditioning in this phase. Keep your heart rate to a level where you are not tapping into gylcolytic training. There are complex heart rate formulas to figure out your maximum heart rate, but a simple one is to take your age and subtract it from 180. I like to use the simple “talk test.” You should be able to hold a conversation while you do this type of aerobic conditioning.

Here is how Mike describes this phase:

Phase one would be focusing some alactic power and some aerobic work. Maybe we do some sled pushes that are six to eight seconds in duration. We’re going to rest for maybe sixty to eighty seconds and do repeats. We’re working on just getting them repetitively explosive. At the same time at the tail end of that workout we’re going to do some aerobic based stuff. Maybe they’re going to do a circuit where they’re keeping their heart rate from anywhere from one thirty five to one fifty five. They may be doing rope slams or bike sprints or whatever that may be. We always try to pair them up. We start off with a lot of alactic and aerobic work.

Phase Two: Gycolytic Capacity

Working the alactic and aerobic systems is ideal for most people, and unless your sport or job demands it, it is probably best to train phase one templates most of the time. So, most of us won’t venture into this second phase. Phase two is only for pre-competition and competition time periods. In this phase, you will work the glycolytic system and push its capacity. In Mike’s words:

As we progress we will add in more alactic capacity work. Once they develop that base, then we’ll get into lactic power and then lactic capacity down the road. That’s really the template that we use. We rarely introduce lactic power and lactic capacity right away because it’s pretty miserable stuff. What I’ve found is we’ve got this continuum. We’ve got your lactic power work which is … Let’s just say it’s sub eight seconds. Got your capacity work which is maybe eight to fifteen seconds. Depending on the athlete we may just continue up that time scale. Maybe they’re going lactic at the fifteen to eighteen second mark. Who knows? We know that a lot of the research says lactic power is anywhere from twenty to fifty seconds, etc. From what I’ve found it’s a basic continuum. If you work on their alactic capacity, eventually you’re going to get into their lactic power. You’re going to try to work their lactic power for as long as you can, then into lactic capacity. The biggie is really just taking your time and not destroying them. Making sure that when you are doing power work, you’re being repetitively explosive with whatever you’re doing. Whether it’s a sprint. Whether it’s a sled push. Whether it’s battling rope slams. Whether it’s bike sprints, whatever. We want to make sure that we’re getting their power work in, then their capacity second and then we just move onto the next system.

We do their lactic system and finish up the alactic capacity work. You have to be careful with the amount of total volume that you throw at them because they’ll burn out really quickly. … For example, if you dive right into lactic power work for example, without doing any alactic work and without having a good aerobic base. After about three weeks we noticed that they can just no longer go anymore. We just noticed that we get a plateau in their performance. We just don’t get that same power up, but hopefully over time we’re slowly getting jumps in power up if we’re doing things right.

One thing that I’ve noticed and the mistake that I’ve made to be quite honest is that if you go and you try to do high intensity work all the time, too early, without having a good aerobic base, they end up just stalling at the three to four week mark. We have to often times go back and clean up the mess of not doing the aerobics stuff first. It’s really easy to burn these guys out and they’ll get tired. They’ll just be exhausted all the time so you really have to be smart with the amount of volume that you throw at them.

Conditioning and Skill Development

One important component of conditioning work is to combine it with skill development as much as possible. Most MMA fighters are already doing some conditioning as they practice skill development. Mike’s job is often to fill in the gaps of their conditioning. In other sports, conditioning can be a big part of skill development. Mike explained:

You can do a boatload of skill development in an aerobic setting. For example, a soccer, lacrosse, or whatever field athlete. You can do acceleration drills. You can do multi-directional movement. You can do jump training. You can do landing, etc. That can all be done in an aerobic window that is not in a super non fatiguing environment, but will allow young athletes to acquire skills. It’s sort of in an aerobic setting.

As you start to increase their proficiency in movement, you can start to say, “Okay now we’re going to take this drill, we’re going to do this sprint for eight seconds and then we’re going to recover slowly.” We’ll guess what? That’s an alactic power template, but it’s also going to help with your speed. I think that there’s a way that you can take the energy system stuff and teach people how to develop athlete skill set.

Summary

Many new athletes train using intervals that are similar to the fight. For example, doing a “Fight Gone Bad” CrossFit-style protocol. However, building the alactic and aerobic base before pushing the glycolytic system works more effectively in the long run. We can’t forget that we have three energy systems and we need to train all three. By enlarging the capacity of the two outer systems, we don’t tax our glycolytic system as much. Relying too much on the glycolytic energy systems leads to neuroendocrine stress. In the long-term, too much neuroendocrine stress can cause cellular damage.

By following these protocols, you can go from a “first round hero” with nothing left in the tank to the person with your hand in the air at the end of a long bout.

More Like This:

• Conditioning for Fighting with Mike Perry, Part I: Energy Systems 101
• Why Does BJJ Make Me So Tired?
• Energy System Optimization With Joel Jamieson
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Skill of Strength.

The post Conditioning for Fighting with Mike Perry, Part II: Aerobic Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Day 1

A1. Barbell front squat 3×3
A1. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep) 3x 3

B1. Weighted chin 6-8 reps
B2. Suspended pushup 6-8 reps
B3. Single leg deadlift 5 reps

Perform circuit 3 x

C1. KB rack carries alternated with farmer carries 4x, as far as you can go in good form

Day 2

A1. Broad jump 3x 1 – full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk 2-4-6 3x
C1. 1-arm KB swing 5+5 each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total

Day 3

A1 Barbell front squat 3×3 same weight as day 1
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep) 3×3 same bells

B1. Weighted chin 6-8 reps
B2. Suspended push ups 6-8 reps
B3. SLDL 5 reps

Perform circuit 4X

C1. KB rack carries alternated with farmer carries 4x, as far as you can go in good form

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 2

Day 1

A1. Broad jump: 3x 2 – full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk: 2-4-6 4x
C1. 1-arm KB swing: 6+ 6 each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total

Day 2

A1. Barbell front squat: 4×3- increase weight 5-10lbs
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-4×3 same bells

B1. Weighted chin ups: 6-8 reps
B2. Ring push ups: 6-8 reps
B3. SLDL: 5 reps
Perform circuit 4X

C1. KB rack carries alternated with farmer carries: 5x as far as you can go in good form

Day 3

A1. Broad jump: 3x 2 – full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk: 2-4-6 4x
C1. 1-arm KB swing: 7+7 each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 3

Day 1

A1 Barbell front squat- 5×3- increase weight 5-10lbs
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×3 same bells

B1. Weighted chin- 6-8 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-6-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 5 x

C1. KB rack carries alternated with farmer carries- 5x as far as you can go in good form

Day 2

A1. Broad jump- 3x 3 – Full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 5x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -8+ 8each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total

Day 3

A1 Barbell front squat- 5×4- same weight
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×4 same bells

B1. Weighted chin- 6-8 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-6-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 5 x

C1. KB rack carries alternated with farmer carries- 5x as far as you can go in good form

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 4

Day 1

A1. Broad jump- 4x 3 – full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 -8 3x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -9+ 9 each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total

Day 2

A1 Barbell front squat- 5×5- same weight
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×5 same bells

B1. Weighted chin- 6-8 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-6-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 5 x

C1. KB rack carries alternated with farmer carries- 6x as far as you can go in good form

Day 3

A1. Broad jump- 4x 3 – full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 -8 3x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -10+ 10 each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 5

Day 1

A1 Barbell front squat- 3×3 + 15-20lbs from last workout
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-3×2-3 move up 1 set of bells

B1. Weighted chin- 6-reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 3X – increase weight across sets

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go into farmer’s carries without putting bell down (3 sets)

Day 2

A1. Broad jump- 5x 3 – full recovery
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6-8 4x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -5+5 each on top of each minute – 10 minutes total-heavier bell

Day 3

A1 Barbell front squat- 3×3 + same as day 1
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-3×2-3 same weight

B1. Weighted chin- 6 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 3x-increase weight across sets

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go into farmer’s carries without putting bell down (3 sets)

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 6

Day 1

A1. Depth Drop- 3×1
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6-8 5x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -6+6 each on top of each minute – same weight as last day

Day 2

A1 Barbell front squat- 4×3 + same as previous week
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-4×2-3 same weight as previous week

B1. Weighted chin- 6 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 4x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go into farmer’s carries without putting bell down (4 sets)

Day 3

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 7

Day 1

A1. Barbell front squat- 5×3 + same as previous week
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×2-3 same weight as previous week

B1. Weighted chin- 6 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 4x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go into farmer’s carries without putting bell down (4 sets)

Day 2

Day 3

A1 Barbell front squat- 5×3 + same as previous week
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×2-3 same weight as previous day

B1. Weighted chin- 6 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 4x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go into farmer’s carries without putting bell down (5 sets)

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 8

Day 1

A1. Depth Drop- 4×3
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 -8-10- 3x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -9+9each on top of each minute – same weight as last day

Day 2

A1. Barbell front squat- 5×4+ same as previous week
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×3-4 same weight as previous day

B1. Weighted chin- 6 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 5x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go into farmer’s carries without putting bell down (5 sets)

Day 3

A1. Depth Drop- 5×3
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 -8-10- 4x
C1. 1 arm KB swing -10+10 each on top of each minute – same weight as last day

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 9

Day 1

A1. Barbell front squat- 5×5+ same as previous week
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×3-5 same weight as previous day

B1. Weighted chin- 6 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-8 reps
B3. SLDL-5 reps
Perform circuit 5x

C1. KB rack carries: as far as you can go, then transition into farmer’s carries, then into 1 arm farmer’s carry without putting bell down until 1 arm carry (put weak side down first)(3 sets)

Day 2

A1. Depth Drop to 15 yard sprint- 3×1
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 -8-10- 4x
C1. 1 arm KB snatch 5+5 each on top of each minute – same weight as week 1 KB swing weight

Day 3

A1. Barbell front squat- 5x5increase weight 5-10lbs
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×3-5 same weight as previous day

B1. Weighted chin- 7reps
B2. Suspension push ups-9reps
B3. SLDL-6 reps
Perform circuit 5x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go, transition into farmer’s carries, then into 1 arm farmer’s carry without putting bell down until 1 arm carry (put weak side down first)(3 sets)

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 10

Day 1

A1. Depth Drop to 15 yard sprint- 3×2
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6-8-10- 5x
C1. 1 arm KB snatch 6+6 each on top of each minute – same weight as week 1 KB swing weight

Day 2

A1 Barbell front squat- 5×3 increase weight additional 5lbs
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×4-5 same weight as previous day

B1. Weighted chin- 8reps
B2. Suspension push ups-10reps
B3. SLDL-7reps
Perform circuit 5x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go, transition into farmer’s carries, then into 1 arm farmer’s carry without putting bell down until 1 arm carry (put weak side down first)(4 sets)

Day 3

A1. Depth Drop to 15 yard sprint- 3×3
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 x 3 increase bell size
C1. 1 arm KB snatch 7+7 each on top of each minute – same weight as week 1 KB swing weight

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 11

Day 1

A1. Barbell front squat- 5×4 keep weight the same
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×4-5 same weight as previous day

B1. Weighted chin- 9reps
B2. Suspension push ups-11reps
B3. SLDL-8 reps
Perform circuit 5x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go, transition into farmer’s carries, then into 1 arm farmer’s carry without putting bell down until 1 arm carry (put weak side down first)(4 sets)

Day 2

A1. Depth drop to 20 yard sprint- 5×2
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 x 4
C1. 1 arm KB snatch 8+8 each on top of each minute – same weight as week 1 KB swing weight

Day 3

A1. Barbell front squat- 5×5 keep weight the same
A2. Double KB clean and press (only clean on first rep)-5×4-5 ( strive for 5×5)

B1. Weighted chin- 9 reps
B2. Suspension push ups-11reps
B3. SLDL-8 reps
Perform circuit 5x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go, transition into farmer’s carries, then into 1 arm farmer’s carry without putting bell down until 1 arm carry (put weak side down first)(4 sets)

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 12

Day 1

A1. Depth drop to 20 yard sprint- 3×3
B1. Double KB clean and jerk – 2-4-6 x 5
C1. 1 arm KB snatch 9+9 each on top of each minute – same weight as week 1 KB swing weight

Day 2

A1. Barbell front squat- either increase weight to top set of 5 or test 1rm
A2. Double KB clean and press –try for 5 clean sets of 5 or test 1rm

B1. Weighted chin- 10-12reps
B2. Suspension push ups-12-15reps
B3. SLDL-8 reps
Perform circuit 2-3x

C1. KB rack carries as far as you can go, transition into farmer’s carries, then into 1 arm farmer’s carry without putting bell down until 1 arm carry (put weak side down first)(5sets)

Day 3

A1 . Double KB clean and jerk –Take old bell size and test RM. Strive for 10% of bw- (For example: 170lbs = 17 reps)
C1. 1 arm KB snatch 10+10 each on top of each minute – same weight as week 1 KB swing weight

The post A Well-Rounded Fitness Plan for MMA and BJJ Athletes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

*Chin ups and presses are performed as a ladder. For example: perform 2 reps of chin-ups and 1 press each side, then perform 3 reps of chin ups and 2 reps of presses each side.

Week 1, Day 2

Week 1, Day 3

*Chin ups and presses are performed as a ladder. For example: perform 2 reps of chin-ups and 1 press each side, then perform 3 reps of chin ups and 2 reps of presses each side.

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 2, Day 1

*Chin ups and presses are performed as a ladder. For example: perform 2 reps of chin-ups and 1 press each side, then perform 3 reps of chin ups and 2 reps of presses each side.

Week 2, Day 2

Week 2, Day 3

*Chin ups and presses are performed as a ladder. For example: perform 2 reps of chin-ups and 1 press each side, then perform 3 reps of chin ups and 2 reps of presses each side.

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 3, Day 1

Week 3, Day 2

Week 3, Day 3

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 4, Day 1

Week 4, Day 2

Week 4, Day 3

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Phase two builds on phase one and starts to work in a bit of conditioning. Again, brute strength and overall work capacity are challenged to establish a base.

There are three workouts per week, each preceded by a movement prep session which remains the same throughout the twelve-week cycle.

Week 5, Day 1

*Perform the KB swing, then rest for double the number of breaths as reps of the KB swing.

For example: 1 swing=2 breaths, 2 swings=4 breaths. Focus on breathing nasally.

Week 5, Day 2

Week 5, Day 3

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 6, Day 1

*Perform the KB swing, then rest for double the number of breaths as reps of the KB swing.

For example: 1 swing=2 breaths, 2 swings=4 breaths. Focus on breathing nasally.

Week 6, Day 2

Week 6, Day 3

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 7, Day 1

*Perform the KB swing, then rest for the same number of breaths as reps of the KB swing.

For example: 1 swing=1 breaths, 2 swings=2 breaths. Focus on breathing nasally.

Week 7, Day 2

Week 7, Day 3

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 8, Day 1

*Perform the KB swing, then rest for the same number of breaths as reps of the KB swing.

For example: 1 swing=1 breaths, 2 swings=2 breaths. Focus on breathing nasally.

Week 8, Day 2

*Perform the KB swing, then rest for half the number of breaths as reps of the KB swing.

For example: 2 swings=1 breath, 4 swings=2 breaths. Focus on breathing nasally.

Week 8, Day 3

*Perform the KB swing, then rest for half the number of breaths as reps of the KB swing. Perform as many reps of the ladder as you can while maintaining this 2:1 swing:breath ratio.

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 9, Day 1

A1. Deadlift 6X1 @ 80%, rest as needed

A1. Suspended plank 6 X 20 seconds each

B1. 1-arm kettlebell clean and press 3X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5RM, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 3X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5RM

C1. Double kettlebell front squat 5 sets with 10RM, 30s on/30s off

D1. Double kettlebell swing 10 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 9, Day 2

A1. Barbell Zercher squat 5X5 @10RM, rest as needed

A2. Suspended mountain climber 5X6, done slowly

B1. Double clean and push press 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @15RM, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @ bodyweight

D1. Double kettlebell swing 12 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 9, Day 3

A1. Deadlift 8X1 @ 80%, rest as needed

A1. Suspended plank 8 X 20 seconds each

B1. 1-arm kettlebell clean and press 4X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5RM, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 4X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5RM

C1. Double kettlebell front squat 5 sets with 10RM, 30s on/20s off

D1. Double kettlebell swing 15 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 10, Day 1

A1. Barbell Zercher squat 5X6-8 @10RM, rest as needed

A2. Suspended mountain climber 5X6, done slowly

B1. Double clean and push press 2X 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @15RM, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 2X 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @ bodyweight

D1. Double kettlebell swing 18 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 10, Day 2

A1. Deadlift 10X1 @ 80%, rest as needed

A1. Suspended plank 10 X 20 seconds each

B1. 1-arm kettlebell clean and press 5X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5RM, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 5X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5RM

C1. Double kettlebell front squat 5 sets with 10RM, 30s on/15s off

D1. Double kettlebell swing 20 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 10, Day 3

A1. Barbell Zercher squat 5X5 @10RM+10lbs, rest as needed

A2. Suspended mountain climber 5X8, done slowly

B1. Double clean and push press 3X 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @15RM, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 3X 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @ bodyweight

D1. Double kettlebell swing 10 sets with the next KB size up from last week, 15s on/15s off each set

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 11, Day 1

A1. Deadlift 6X1 with +10-15lbs over last week, rest as needed

A1. Suspended plank 6 X 20 seconds each

B1. 1-arm kettlebell clean and press 3X 1, 2, and 3 reps with the next larger KB over last week, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 3X 1, 2, and 3 reps with 5-10lbs more than last week

C1. Double kettlebell front squat 5 sets with the next larger KB over last week, 30s on/30s off

D1. Double kettlebell swing 12 sets with the same KB as last time, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 11, Day 2

A1. Barbell Zercher squat 5X6-8 @ same as last time, rest as needed

A2. Suspended mountain climber 5X8, done slowly

B1. Double clean and push press 2, 3, 5, 10 reps with next larger KB over last week if possible, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @ bodyweight, add weight if necessary

D1. Double kettlebell swing 15 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 11, Day 3

A1. Deadlift 8X1 @ same weight as last time, rest as needed

A1. Suspended plank 8 X 20 s each

B1. 1-arm kettlebell clean and press 4X 1, 2, and 3 reps with same weight as last time, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 4X 1, 2, and 3 reps, add 5-10lbs

C1. Double kettlebell front squat 5 sets with same weight as last time, 30s on/20s off

D1. Double kettlebell swing 18 sets the same weight as last time, 15s on/15s off

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week 12, Day 1

A1. Barbell Zercher squat 5X5 with +5-10lbs, rest as needed

A2. Suspended mountain climber 5X10, done slowly

B1. Double clean and push press 2X 2, 3, 5, 10 reps with a heavier KB than last time, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 2X 2, 3, 5, 10 reps @ bodyweight, add weight is needed

D1. Double ketllebell swing 20 sets @10-12RM, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 12, Day 2

A1. Deadlift 10X1 @ same as last time, rest as needed

A1. Suspended plank 10 X 20 seconds each

B1. 1-arm kettlebell clean and press 5X 1, 2, and 3 reps with same weight as last time, rest 90-120s

B2. Chin up 5X 1, 2, and 3 reps with same weight as last time

C1. Double kettlebell front squat 5 sets with a bigger KB than last time, 30s on/15s off

D1. Double kettlebell swing 10 sets a bigger KB than last time, 15s on/15s off each set

Week 12, Day 3

A1. Barbell Zercher squat work up to a 5RM max

B1. Double clean and push press max reps

B2. Chin up, bodyweight, max reps

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

The post Build Strength and Increase Work Capacity in the MMA Off-Season appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Rousey led the way in the women’s bantamweight division and due to the success of that endeavor, a new strawweight division has been introduced with an exciting inaugural match between Claudia Gadelha and Tina Lahdemaki. The Ultimate Fighter 20 will be the first all-female cast for the show, and the winner will be crowned the UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion.

But First, Say Hello to Kailin Curran

But the UFC isn’t the first promotion to feature the strawweight women. Kailin Curran and Kaiyana Rain led the way for female fighters in Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) 36 as the first women to enter the cage for that promotion.

And Kailin Curran plans to make her UFC debut here in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 4, 2014. In our recent interview, she described her journey to the Octagon, which began with her first amateur fight on March 6, 2010. Her amateur career included four wins, one no-contest, and one loss.

But since then, she’s been on a roll. Kailin explained, “I was signed to PXC in March 2013. I won all three of the fights that I was given and I think they all showed that I am an exciting performer and that I can go the distance. I am contracted four fights with the UFC.”

How Kailin Curran Trains for the UFC

Kailin wrestled for six years before she branched out to kickboxing, and these days, she likes to keep it standing. Said Kailin, “I would have to say that I am a technical striker. I love to stand and strike, but if the fight gets taken to the ground I wouldn’t mind some ground and pound.”

And Kailin’s ground and pound is relentless. She dominated the dangerous Kaiyana Rain in the first round of their fight in PXC 36, shrugging off submission attempts and raining unanswered shots from the mount and in the guard. She’s great at setting the pace, controlling the cage, and getting into positions that leave her opponents unable to block her strikes.

Kailin is on a quest to develop a well-rounded game and she described a typical week of training:

I train six days a week, from Monday to Saturday. On Monday, I focus on my ground game, with wrestling twice that day and jiu jitsu in between. Tuesday, I spar and work on my Olympic lifting. Wednesday, I work on my muay Thai in San Diego, with wrestling in the afternoon. Thursdays, I have private lessons in wrestling and stand-up, with jiu jitsu in the afternoon. I spar on Fridays, and on Saturdays, I do Olympic lifting. Sometimes we add on to this schedule, it depends on how my body is feeling.

Some of the women in the strawweight division have to cut weight to get down to the 115-pound limit, but Kailin struggles to keep her weight high enough. With her grueling training schedule, she has to be sure to eat enough of the right foods to ensure she stays competitive.

My diet is pretty normal, lots of protein and carbs because I naturally walk around close to 115. I am working on adding more meals a day to my diet so that I can keep my weight up. Considering most the girls in my weight class carry ten-plus pounds, as they cut down to the weight.

Kailin surfing in her free time.

The State of Women’s MMA

Some people have said that the level of technical skill and athleticism in the UFC women’s divisions is not on par with the men’s divisions and that it’s easier for a woman to be signed at this point in time. For example, in the women’s bantamweight division, critics complain there aren’t any women at Ronda Rousey’s level to challenge her. I asked Kailin what her thoughts were on the subject:

I would have to agree that right now it is a bit easier for woman to be recognized because we are fairly new to the sport, which means that we have to build up our weight classes to keep things interesting. I would have to disagree to some extent that it is “easier for woman to be signed at this point” because I believe that we who are signed and get our chances have shown talent, therefore we earned the fights.

Kailin added that women bring “femininity, strong character, cattiness, beauty, athleticism and, I’ll speak for myself on this one, heart and passion” to the Octagon.

Kailin training at the gym.

Kailin’s goal is to be the best in the world and she will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. She intends to continue on her current path, adapt to changes, and take on whatever comes her way the best way that she can. “Right now I am extremely focused on fighting Paige VanZant, only because she is in the way of me finding out whom I’d potentially like to fight next.”

But with VanZant currently in physical therapy for a spine injury and unable to train, it’s up in the air as to whether Kailin’s first UFC fight will proceed as scheduled for UFC Fight Night 54. We’ll keep our fingers crossed, hoping to see what could be one of the most exciting fights of the night.

Follow Kailin on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay informed of what’s happening in her career. Best of luck to all Kailin and all of the new UFC women’s strawweight roster.

Photo 1 courtesy of Eric Williams.

Photo 2 courtesy of Dominique Labreque.

Photo 3 courtesy of Jenson Young Si.

The post Kailin Curran and the New UFC Women’s Strawweight Division appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are three workouts per week. Plan on a taking at least one rest day between each workout.

Week 4, Day 1

Dynamic warm up

Dynamic Warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam Roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Begin your cutting protocol here

Week 4, Day 2

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam Roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 4, Day 3

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 30 minutes at 130 bpm

Foam Roll only as necessary

Stretch lightly

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

More information on the BJJ/MMA Training Program

During each phase of this year long MMA/BJJ conditioning program, we will cover each facet of the major attributes needed by combat athletes, including strength, flexibility, and endurance. The third cycle focuses on increasing strength and power. The final phase will be a month-long weight cutting program to help prepare for a fight or match.

Once the program is done, you will have achieved your foundational physical needs, which you can maintain while focusing on your skill from that point onward. You will also be able to prep for competition successfully, including getting down to the weight you need to be at.

If you want to learn more about this program, you can read the full explanation here.

The post BJJ & MMA Workouts: Cycle 5 (Weight Cutting) – Week 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are three workouts per week. Plan on a taking at least one rest day between each workout.

Week 3, Day 1

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 3, Day 2

Dynamic Warm up

Squat 5 x 7 with 10 rep max

Pull up – 5 x 5 with 7 rep max

Overhead press – 5 x 5 with 7 rep max

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 3, Day 3

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam Roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

More information on the BJJ/MMA Training Program

During each phase of this year long MMA/BJJ conditioning program, we will cover each facet of the major attributes needed by combat athletes, including strength, flexibility, and endurance. The third cycle focuses on increasing strength and power. The final phase will be a month-long weight cutting program to help prepare for a fight or match.

Once the program is done, you will have achieved your foundational physical needs, which you can maintain while focusing on your skill from that point onward. You will also be able to prep for competition successfully, including getting down to the weight you need to be at.

If you want to learn more about this program, you can read the full explanation here.

The post BJJ & MMA Workouts: Cycle 5 (Weight Cutting) – Week 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are three workouts per week. Plan on a taking at least one rest day between each workout.

Week 2, Day 1

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 2, Day 2

Dynamic warm up

Squat 4 x 7 with 10 rep max

Pull up – 4 x 5 with 7 rep max

Overhead press – 4 x 5 with 7 rep max

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 2, Day 3

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

More information on the BJJ/MMA Training Program

During each phase of this year long MMA/BJJ conditioning program, we will cover each facet of the major attributes needed by combat athletes, including strength, flexibility, and endurance. The third cycle focuses on increasing strength and power. The final phase will be a month-long weight cutting program to help prepare for a fight or match.

Once the program is done, you will have achieved your foundational physical needs, which you can maintain while focusing on your skill from that point onward. You will also be able to prep for competition successfully, including getting down to the weight you need to be at.

If you want to learn more about this program, you can read the full explanation here.

The post BJJ & MMA Workouts: Cycle 5 (Weight Cutting) – Week 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There are three workouts per week. Plan on a taking at least one rest day between each workout.

Week 1, Day 1

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill, or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 1, Day 2

Dynamic warm up

Squat 3 x 7 with 10 rep max

Pull up 3 x 5 with 7 rep max

Overhead press 3 x 5 with 7 rep max

Roadwork, treadmill, or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

Week 1, Day 3

Dynamic warm up

Roadwork, treadmill or elliptical 60 minutes at 150 bpm

Foam roll

Stretch

Monitor weight: Keep on track for weigh in

More information on the BJJ/MMA Training Program

During each phase of this year long MMA/BJJ conditioning program, we will cover each facet of the major attributes needed by combat athletes, including strength, flexibility, and endurance. The final phase is a month-long weight cutting program to help prepare for a fight or match.

This is a workout preparation schedule for the month before a fight when a fighter needs to make weight. The program focuses on cardio to help keep conditioning strong and to reduce weight if needed. More cardio on off days at a heart rate of 130-150 beats per minute is acceptable. The final week is a light week. The fighter’s focus should be finishing up any technical and tactical preparation and cutting weight if necessary.

Once the program is done, you will have achieved your foundational physical needs, which you can maintain while focusing on your skill from that point onward. You will also be able to prep for competition successfully, including getting down to the weight you need to be at.

If you want to learn more about this program, you can read the full explanation here.

The post BJJ & MMA Workouts: Cycle 5 (Weight Cutting) – Week 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

During each phase of this year long MMA/BJJ conditioning program, we will cover each facet of the major attributes needed by combat athletes, including strength, flexibility, and endurance. The third cycle will focus on increasing strength and power. The final phase will be a month-long weight cutting program to help prepare for a fight or match.

Once the program is done, you will have achieved your foundational physical needs, which you can maintain while focusing on your skill from that point onward. You will also be able to prep for competition successfully, including getting down to the weight you need to be at.

If you want to learn more about this program, you can read the full explanation here.

Week 12, Day 3

Dynamic Warm up

Overhead Press 5 x 9 with 7 rep max

Partner Weighted split squats – both shoulders 3 x 6 each leg

Power takedown practice 15 minutes

Heavy bag clinch work 15 minutes

Road work, treadmill or Elliptical 30 mins @ 150 bpm

Stretch

The post BJJ & MMA Workouts: Cycle 3 (Strength & Power) – Week 12, Day 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.