Those of you who have been following Train Better Fitness have hopefully stopped by our main site www.trainbetterfitness.com once or twice. When I began the site and this blog, I had a plan to merge the two into one location.

The good news is that this has finally been accomplished. The bad news is that this blog has been moved to the main site.

All of the old posts from this blog have been moved to TrainBetterFitness.com and all new posts will go there as well.

Please update your bookmarks and RSS Readers with this location. Jumping between this blog and our main site is a thing of the past! Thanks to everyone who has supported us!

www.TrainBetterFitness.com

Definitely read this post, download his comic and absolutely be sure to stop by his site.

Fight-training Gurus on the Net

by Kira Clarke

Intro

There are a lot of different opinions about strength and conditioning for fighters—especially on the internet. So I thought I’d put together a list of the top five fight-training gurus I’ve managed to find online. Now whilst some of these guys are/were skilled fighters in their own right, they made this list because of their abililty to get their fighters stronger and fitter, i.e. they’re Strength & Conditioning experts. And—more importantly for you—they regularly put out quality content online.

Format

Okay, so I didn’t actually do ‘a list’. I decided to spice things up a bit and do a downloadable comic instead. Just click on the image above to get the download link. Why a comic? Well, writing an article bores me, and I didn’t think you’d appreciate a sonnet. And besides, comics are so retro-chic at the moment! Now I’ve included clickable links in the comic and they should work on 99.9% of readers. But knowing my luck, someone who downloads the comic will be using a pdf reader that isn’t compatible. If that’s you, then download the latest free version of adobe reader here and then your clickable links will magically work!

Lazy?

So you can’t be bothered downloading my kick-ass comic, eh? Lazy Bastard! Here’s a simple list for you …

• Martin Rooney
• Steve Maxwell
• Ross Enamait
• Rob Pilger
• Will Heffernan

Anyway, that’s me done. If you’ve got any questions feel free to contact me on Twitter, Facebook or my Website. If you have any complaints, feel free to bitch to Chris in the comments section below! Enjoy

Most people are intimidated by the concept of programming, and rightly so. There is so much talk of different periodization models, rep max percentages, overtraining, undertraining and so much else that it’s hard not to be at least a little intimidated. The truth, however, is that effective programming doesn’t need to be overly complicated – especially for the casual gym member. Sure, a full-time, elite athlete is going to need a more in-depth program in order to continue to perform at the elite level, but most of us don’t need to implement complicated training programs to see results. Quite the opposite in fact – for most people the simpler the program the better. The main point of what I’m trying to get across here is to have a plan.

An effective plan for your training can reap huge dividends for your results. Establish the goals you want to reach and put together a way to reach them. Want to get strong? Put together a plan that will get you strong. Don’t just go into the gym and try to toss around heavy weight in random exercises. Lay out in advance the exercises you are going to do, with what weight, for what reps and sets. That doesn’t mean you have to follow that plan to every detail, but at least now you have an idea ahead of time. Don’t be that guy standing around trying to figure out what exercise to do next.

Think about it this way: you can have no plan, and maybe you’ll see results by coincidence, OR you can have a good plan in place and see results because there was no other option; your program meant you were going to see results as long as you did it right. The choice is yours.

Need a program designed for you? Have a professional design one specifically for you with Train Better Fitness Online Training

http://www.straighttothebar.com/v2/showthread.php?p=11203#post11203

Please take this time to make sure you update your bookmarks and RSS feeds.

America is built on speed. Every aspect of our lives has become a competition to see who can get it done the fastest. The fast food industry has taken control over a majority of the population’s caloric intake and waistlines based on their ability to serve an entire meal in less than sixty seconds. Every other commercial plays into the ongoing debate of which is the fastest wireless carrier. Even the Oakland Raiders choose their first round selection in the draft each year based on the player’s forty yard dash time. Speed has become ingrained into our culture, from production of cars to the development of the athlete. We all want to find the quickest way to complete something. We have adopted the idea, “the faster, the better”.

As strength and conditioning coaches, we are no different. Let’s face it; speed is the most desired facet in athletics. We are constantly reinforcing the idea of moving the bar as fast as the athlete can through compensatory acceleration. We incorporate explosive movements that best translate onto the field of play. Various amounts of movement training are integrated into our programs to meet the demands of the athlete’s sport. The importance of speed in competition coupled with the athlete’s desire to shave a tenth of a second off their testing times has triggered the neglect of fundamental abilities needed in elevating one’s performance. This one important and overlooked aspect is deceleration training, the act of no longer accelerating or maintaining speed.

We must learn how to slow down and not get caught in the rush our lives force us into. You may be asking how can one afford to slow down in a world that is constantly focused on the finish line? The general population and athletes alike can all take the time to learn how to slow down. Find pleasure in the simple tasks in life. Take the time to breathe. Find appreciation for what you have. However, when taking the time to slow down, we must all still give all our efforts every second of each day. We must try our hardest both mentally and physically even when slowing down. Slowing down is just not an excuse to become lazy or stop working, instead it is a way to become better. Just as we must learn how to walk before we can run, we must learn how to slow down before we can speed up. By learning how to slow down, whether to enjoy life or become a better athlete, the quality of the needed speed in our lives can be greatly improved.

With such emphasis on speed, particularly within the sport specific setting, it is essential that athletes learn how to control their bodies at high velocities. After all, an athlete only has their body and particular equipment on the field of play. As strength coaches, force reduction should be a utilized component of training. Athletes should be taught how to absorb and reduce force efficiently before the application of maximal force production. Picture when you’re driving. You’re at a stop sign and not rolling through like most of us are guilty of. In order to accelerate, what must first be done? You have to take your foot off the brake first to step on the gas. In sports, we must teach our athletes how to absorb and reduce force (the brakes) in order to initiate and increase speed and put the pedal to the metal.

The ability to quickly decelerate, or slow down, separates elite players from the great. Whether in and out of a cut, jumping up only to come down, or getting past a defender, athletes must constantly partake in force reduction and absorption. The better an athlete can accelerate into each of the planes of movement, then stop or briefly hesitate through deceleration, and quickly produce that maximal speed again, the better that athlete will perform. Most athletic injuries occur while attempting to reduce force as well. A perfect example is the injury (a torn ACL and MCL) sustained by Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker while attempting to change direction.

The main goals in a successful strength and conditioning program are to reduce injuries and enhance performance. Therefore, the inclusion of periodized deceleration training, first and foremost, is an essential and commonly overlooked aspect in programs. Training should include force reduction in all three planes (frontal, sagittal, and most importantly, transverse), an emphasis on eccentric and isometric contractions, and stabilization through balance. This can be achieved through multiple approaches such as plyometrics, agility drills, and reactive techniques.

Deceleration training accentuates mainly eccentric and isometric contractions in order for one to be in control of their own body and stop forces from either gravity or produced by oneself. Force reduction can be applied to both the lower and upper extremities in order to meet the demands of sport specificity. For example, baseball players, particularly pitchers, can train the musculature of the shoulder and scapula that is needed to decelerate on the follow through of a throw. In return, this training will allow the shoulder to reach faster and faster arm speeds. In basketball, the players must constantly perform maximal to near-maximal vertical jumps. Following each of these jumps, the athlete must land. The inclusion of deceleration training such as altitude drops along with the teaching of a correct landing position will reduce injuries and possibly increase individual’s vertical jump height. (Note: Due to the constant impact players face during the in-season portion of their sports, most deceleration training should be implemented and practiced in the off or preseason.) Check out this video for some examples of force reduction training that you can implement into your program today!

Here are some other ways to include deceleration training into our athletes or own training.

Hurdle Jumps: Set up 3 to 5 hurdles, the height depending on the athlete’s level and goals. Have the athlete jump over the athletes and land in a correct position. Emphasize landing soft and sticking the landing. Don’t allow the athlete’s hips to descend during the landing. Therefore, once the athlete’s feet make contact with the ground, the athlete should try to control their body and fight gravity to remain in an athletic position. The intensity of this technique can be increased by the use of a single leg.

Mirror Drill: Must have used or seen this training method that utilizes two athletes. Pair two athletes within a set of cones set apart at 8 to 10 yards apart. Facing each other, one athlete is assigned to control his movement while shuffling from one to cone to the other in anyway. The other athlete must mimic or mirror the other player’s every movement. Emphasize correct positions of staying low with the chest up and neutral spine. (Depending on the level of the athletes, linear movements can be added with the lateral.) This drill allows deceleration training to occur due to the multidirectional movements and is a great way to motivate athletes through competition. Keep the duration of the drill within the sport specificity.

“If you can dodge a wrench” Drill: In this application of deceleration, the athlete is stationed in a set area. Staying within this area, the coach must use cones (not wrenches) to throw at the athlete. The athlete must move around and avoid being hit by the cones. Count how many cones the athlete gets hit by in the air to make the drill into a competition or punish the athlete with burpees or pushups.

Now it’s your turn. Be creative. Make your own drills that are both fun, create competition, and emphasize the point of deceleration training. Any drill can include deceleration training by having your athletes immediately come to a halt. Include cues that will signal the athlete to completely come to a pause at any moment during an exercise.

Like our parents always told us to slow down while we were driving, maybe we should have listened after all. Learning how to slow down in a fast-driven world can be extremely difficult, but in the long run, we will be able to reach speeds that others never could. By taking the time to relax and enjoy life, the quality of our living will outweigh the quantity. In athletics, by learning how to slow down and properly decelerate, we will be increase our performance and take our game to the next level. We can become the competition by slowing down to speed up.

I’m not totally discrediting low intensity exercise. It has its uses. It’s great for active recovery, watching TV while you stroll on the treadmill, wasting time and generally being boring as hell. If any of those sound like your goal (or lack thereof) then, hey, I’ve got great news! Low intensity exercise is your golden ticket.

If you happen to be one of those strange people who want to see results and don’t mind putting in a little work to get them, then high intensity work (can low intensity exercise even be called “work” anyway?) is the way to go.

The debate over high vs. low intensity exercise has been raging for as long as people knew about high and low intensity exercise. The low intensity people say that you burn more fat doing low intensity exercise. While this may be true, it’s not the whole story. Ok, I’ll concede that you do burn more fat during low intensity exercise. That’s because at lower intensities your body relies primarily on fat for fuel because it the most convenient source of energy for that level of activity.

Now this is where the low intensity group loses their momentum. Sure you burn more fat when you are working out at low intensity, but as soon as you stop working out, you stop burning those calories. This is where high intensity work comes in.

When you work out at high intensities not only do you burn calories while you workout, but after you’re done you actually raise your metabolism for the rest of the day. So now you’ve burned all those calories from working out, plus a whole lot more calories that you wouldn’t have burned if you did low intensity work without doing a thing. The result? Grand total calories burned for the day is higher from doing high intensity work.

The benefits of high intensity work don’t stop there though. In addition to this metabolic boost you increase your work capacity, anaerobic fitness, aerobic endurance and, depending on the exercises you choose, your strength and power as well.

So why don’t more people work out with high intensity? Quite frankly, it’s hard. That’s just the nature of the game. Remember, though, that “high intensity” is a relative term. What is high intensity for you may not be high intensity for me. Just remember that you need to push yourself to your own limits. That’s what makes something high intensity – it’s hard for you. Don’t go and try to push yourself to someone else’s limits. That’s a surefire way to get injured. Only you know what your body is capable of doing. Once you know that, you can push yourself to those limits. This takes some mental toughness, but in the end it is worth it.

Here is a simple workout that you can easily adjust to your own “high intensity level”.

3-5 Sets of:

Sprint 1/4 Mile

15 Pushups

10 Pullups

The sprint should be done at a fast pace for you. This can be any speed – for some it may be a 6 on a treadmill, for others it may be an 11. Find what’s right for you. Adjust the pushup/pullup numbers as necessary. Keep the numbers relatively low compared to your maximum – trust me it will still tire you out.

For those who are looking for more of a general workout/conditioning:

20 Bodyweight Squats
15 Pushups
10 Lunges (each side)
25 Crunches

Do as many circuits as you can in 15 minutes. Work hard!

For those of you who are a little more advanced, or want a more strength oriented workout:

5 One arm pushups (each side)
5 One legged squats (each side)
10 Handstand pushups
25 Crunches
15 Lying leg raises

Do 3-5 sets, then finish off with a 30-60 second plank hold. If you have access to a pullup bar (or anything to do pullups from) then add in 10 pullups after the handstand pushups.

There you go. Now you have no excuses not to workout if you can’t get out to the gym. Enjoy!

Don’t try it. Do it.
  
Go exercise. Eat better.

Is it easy? Hell no. But then again, I never said it wasn’t going to be hard work.

My apologies for the slow activity (or lack thereof) over the past couple of weeks. Like most people, I’ve been mobbed with all sorts of different stuff that has kept me from updating. The good news, though, is that most of that stuff is done with now and I’ll be back to posting some good stuff soon.

Here’s a look at what’s coming:

• Why low intensity exercise sucks
• One Arm Pushup Progression
• A better way to improve flexibility
• Reviews of various programs/books/e-books

That’s just what I have planned out. If anyone has something they want to see a post about, feel free to contact me using the e-mail to the right.

Explosive Conditioning for Mixed Martial Arts