Plainfield Fitness and Fight Training

My Eye!!!

2010-08-15T20:40:00.001-07:00

This is not my eye but mine probably looked pretty much the same last week. More on that in a little bit.

The last 9 days of training have gone fairly well, the only bump in the road was getting some rust flakes in my eye during my boxing workout last Tuesday. It was very hot that day and initially I just thought that I got some sweat in my eye. As the day continued it started to hurt more and I thought maybe I'd gotten a scratch on my cornea (it's happened before and usually heals in a day). Wednesday it was worse and by the end of the day I knew I needed to get it looked at.

Thursday my wife was able to get me into an Ophthalmologist and he found the metal in my eye. To get the flakes out I had to face the fear of having a needle in my eye (and for 10 minutes). The rest of the day it hurt even more than before (after the numbing agent wore off). By Saturday it was 90% better.

O.K., now on to the work I did over the past 9 days:

Sunday 8/8/10
Rest – but lots of yardwork

Monday 8/9/10
EDT 10min. PR
OH Squat (65lb.): 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 2
Push-ups: 15, 10, 10,10, 8, 7

Slip Line 2x3min/45sec
Maize Bag 2x3mn/45sec

Tuesday 8/10/10
Boxing
3x3min/1min for each of following: Speed bag, Top and Bottom Bag, Heavy Bag
Felt stinging in my right eye during workout but just thought it was sweat in my eye.

Wednesday 8/11/10
EDT 10min PR
Deadlift (185lb): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7, 5
Pull-ups: 5, 5, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Slip Line 2x3min/45sec
Maize Bag 2x3mn/45sec
Increase Deadlift to 205lbs next workout
Right eye much worse today – bad open or closed and very sensitive to light.

Thursday 8/12/10
Boxing
I planned to do 3x3min/1min for each of following: Speed bag, Top and Bottom Bag, Heavy Bag but had to take off due to eye (metal/rust flakes in right eye).

Friday 8/13/10
Eye is still very painful but getting better. Postponed workout until Sat.

Saturday 8/14/10
Eye is finally about 90% better. Planned on a 15 minute EDT workout of Cleans and Overhead Presses but due to a neck spasm did a 10 minute EDT workout of:
Pull-ups: 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3
Push-ups: 14, 12, 10, 8, 8, 8, 5, 5, 10

Sunday 8/15/10
Rest

Monday 8/16/10
EDT 15min PR
Cleans (85lbs): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 8, 8, 5
OH Presses (75lbs): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 5, 2, 4, 2
Increase cleans to 105lbs for next workout

Tuesday 8/17/10
3x3min/1min Top and Bottom Bag
3x3min/1min Heavy Bag

All in all going pretty well. I'll be doing measurements on this coming Sunday or Monday to see how I'm progressing toward my goals (I do know that I've lost about an inch on my waist (at belly button level).

Workout format

2010-08-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I rested in anticipation of doing the Bootcamp this morning but since I never got a call from the trainer confirming the time I didn’t go.

I’m switching my workout format to a more organized one. For my resistance training I’m going to use the EDT format (Escalated Density Training) on Mon., Wed., Fri. along with boxing skill training on those days. Tues. and Thurs. will be my heavy boxing days (Sat. we’ll factor in later).

I’ve decided to use the EDT format because: 1.) I’ve never trained that way before, 2.) It looks like a good training format. My first 3 workouts with it will be 10 minute routines, then up to 15 minute routines for the next week. I’ll judge then whether to add a second PR Zone to each of those workouts.

For those of you unfamiliar with the EDT format I’ll give a super brief explanation:

Each workout consists, generally, of 2 PR Zones each is 15-20 minutes long and each consists of 2 exercises. The weight is generally your 10RM for that exercise. You begin by doing 5 reps of each of the 2 exercises followed by a short rest and repeat until time is up. The objective is to do as many repetitions of each exercise as possible in the time allotted (you need to keep a record so you know what to beat when you repeat the workout).

I did my first EDT workout this morning:

10min. PR Zone

Cleans (75lb.): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
OH Press (65lb.): 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 5

Weights were a bit light so need to increase Clean to 95lb. OH Press to 75lb. for next Friday (when I repeat this workout but with 15 minutes).

Getting back in shape!!!

2010-08-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

My training this year has been sporadic to say the least. I lost my last training partners in the fall and winter due to my injuries and their job changes. Now it’s time to get going again. I’m motivated and I’ve already started to get myself back into fighting shape.

Over the next 6 weeks I am working hard to:

Cut the belly/body fat (back down to 15% from 20.8%)
Get back into fighting shape:
Cardio fit test from 32 down to 28
Max Push-up from 29 to 40
And the subjective measure of feeling comfortable with 4 full/heavy rounds on the heavy bag.

So far this week I’ve accomplished the following:

Monday 8/2/10

Superset 1 (5 sets)

Bench Press – flat, pause on chest, rep range 6-10, went up to 165lbs

Wide grip pull ups – min. 8 reps, last 3 sets with assistance

Superset 2 (3 sets)

DB Incline Press – 50lb dumbbells

Single arm bent Row – 60lb dumbbell

Tuesday 8/3/10

5 sets OH Squat working up to 125lb doubles

5 sets Snatch working up to 135lb singles

2 Supersets of 2 min rounds (no rest)

Maize bag, Slip line, Speed bag (1 round each lead)

2 x 3min/1min heavy bag (1 round each lead mainly working jab and distance, last 30sec each round continuous punching)

Wednesday 8/4/10

High fatigue today, ended up making it a rest day

Thurday 8/5/10

Fitness Testing:

Nordic Track Treadmill Fit-Test: 32

Max sit-up in 60sec: 35

Max Push-up: 29

Deadlift working to 1RM: 5x135, 4x225, 5x245, 2x265, 1x275, 1x285

Boxing

3x3min/1min Top and Bottom Bag (last 30sec each round keeping very busy)

3x3min/1min Heavy Bag (last 30sec each round continuous punching)

(Roman Chair sit-ups between all rounds: 10, 10, 7, 5, 5, 5)

Siniwali Drills

2010-07-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

I've had a few questions recently about some stickfighting drills. So, rather than re-invent the wheel by making a bunch of videos I thought I'd post some good basic ones that I've found that some others have made.
First, a good introductory series of videos.

I'll get some additional videos up on single stick (drills for the different ranges) as well as some knife and empty hand (hubud) drills.

Back to some standup work

2009-12-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

Back after a long holiday weekend, time to work off the feast. We had another mid-day workout on Monday. More focus on some the groundwork basics. We had to leave out some of the drills that we did last week due to Tony’s new tattoo, he got it on his shoulder and upper arm which prevented us from any work that might involve friction or grabbing those areas.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:
3 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 10 ring push-ups, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back (hip) extensions

Matt work (2min/1min each)

Knee running (forward, back then side to side)
Sit-out (from quarter position – alternating legs)
From knees to butterfly guard and back to knees – alternating sides

Defense Circuit 2min/30sec (2 circuits – 1 circuit each lead)

Maize ball
Rope line

Circuit 3min/1min (2 circuits – 1 circuit each lead)

Top and Bottom Bag
Speed bag

Heavy Bag 3min/1min

Left lead distance work (jabs, crosses and longer hooks)
Right lead distance work (jabs, crosses and longer hooks)
Inside work (hooks, uppercuts, crosses, etc)

Finisher (3 circuits)

75lb barbell clean 45sec
30 sec rest
Punch out on Heavy bag 35 sec
20 sec rest

Again we had to work around some limitations, Tony's shoulder and my foot, but we still got a great workout and some good quality work done. It was a relief to me to be able to do some actual work on the bags again even though I still have to watch how hard I'm pushing off my right foot (jumprope and some footwork drills are still out). Standup work definitely felt a bit awkward after so much time off.
Keep moving and stay healthy.

Grappling

2009-11-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

Intro
I haven’t posted here in awhile since the past 4 weeks have been a bit tough. About 6 weeks ago I developed severe Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot, pushing off from my right foot was very painful making footwork, punching the bag or mitts and even walking out of the question for a while.
After an injection in my heel about 4 weeks ago and now taking a course of prednisone it is finally calming down to where I’m not so limited in my training. But, I’m still trying to limit any push off with my right foot so it can heal and I can train the way I want to. It has been a challenge to keep training but I’ve kept up with the things I can do and focused on them.
Due to my foot problems I changed the usual focus of our workouts today to concentrate on some wrestling fundamentals. We pulled out the matt’s and below is what we did. Hope you like it.
Roll Call:
Tony and Mike
Warm-up:
3 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back (hip) extensions
Matt work (2min/1min each)

Knee running (forward, back then side to side)
Sit-out (from quarter position – alternating legs)
From knees to butterfly guard and back to knees – alternating sides
Mount escape across matt (hip slide out) – 2 rounds

Basic Pummeling (2 minute rounds - over and under hook – rest round on speed bag)

2 Round Robin circuits

Defense Circuit 2min/30sec (2 circuits – 1 circuit each lead)

Maize ball
Rope line
Shadow Boxing hands

Finisher (3 circuits of 45sec rounds no rest)

20lb squat clean (with medicine ball)
Pushup crawl across gym
Push out with rings (like ab wheel but with rings)
Rope climb (from sitting, feet out, to standing)

Closing thoughts
Injuries can happen any time and frequently they happen when you are most motivated. When they happen it’s not a time to stop training but to change your training. Injuries can prevent you from training how you like to but we all need to strive to adapt when they happen. Frequently injuries allow us to focus on our weak areas, right now for me that means ground work. In the past I’ve had other injuries that have forced me to change my training.
One injury in particular was breaking my right hand in practice on the punching bag (I wish I could dress it up and say it was in the ring but it wasn’t). After getting the bone set and a cast put on I kept up training one handed – heavy bag, speed bag, mitt work, and even limited sparing. The same thing happened a number of years later except instead of a fracture I blew out a disc in my neck and couldn’t use my right arm for about 6 months. Again I did what I could, that time focusing on my left arm and kicking skills.
The lesson is to keep working, sure you can’t do the things the same when you are injured but if you think and work at it you can find things you can do a be more rounded when you have recovered from you injury.Keep moving and stay healthy – and if you have an injury find a way to move and to help yourself to get healthy.

Mixed training

2009-10-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

Great training Saturday with Rick. We mixed it up a bit with boxing, kickboxing a bit of stick fighting work. Also had a visit from Brad, who we hope will come train within the next few weeks (he's got a good background in ground work - we'll finally be pulling out the matts).

Warmup: 3 min jumprope
Defense Circuit: 2min/30sec rounds

Maize bag - 1 round each lead
Slip line - 1 round each lead

Shadow Boxing: 3min/1min

1 round each lead

Mitt work: 3min/1min. We switched each round and cycled through to work each lead.

combination: lead roundhouse low - cross-hook-cross - lead roundhouse
offense defense: jab-cross - Feeder throws lead hook high - bob and weave under and return cross-hook-cross

Single Stick work: no formal rounds just worked the drills

long range 1-4-2 angles
mid range pattern
bridge range between mid and close quarter
work on breaking in and out of these 3 ranges

That was it, we did get a few stares from neighboors especially with the stick drills. Next Saturday we'll add some Greco Roman pummeling drills and some Silat leg sweep drills to the mix. During the week I'm going to start working some drills from Scott Sonnon's Grapplers Toolbox to prepare myself for adding ground work back in.

Update

2009-09-18T21:01:00.001-07:00

Wow, has it really been over 2 weeks since I've posted? Just finished cleaning a straightening my workout area for some new people to train with Saturday morning and really looking forward to meeting some new people interested in training.

I made a club bell after my last post and currently it weighs about 9 lbs (thats without the insert in the video). I've been doing some basic drills with it and like it. In addition I've been training wall climbing for the UrbanAthlon at a nearby park (they have a wall built that I can put my rope over as well as tires to practice that section of the course).

For one workout I did:

warmup run around 3 soccer fields
10 wall climbs
10 times through the tires

About a 25 minute workout but it left me sore and tired the next day (as well as busting up my shin getting over the 8-9 foot wall).

Homemade Clubbell

2009-09-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

I'm going to put one of these together this week to try out some of the exercises that Scott Sonnon uses. Looks pretty easy to make so I'll update you on how it goes.

Back Again

2009-09-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy summer but I'm still in action here, even though I haven’t posted in quite a while. First a little update on my 30 day challenge:

Below are my starting stats:

Weight 165lbs
Waist at belly button 36”
Snatch test 55
Pull-ups 9
Push-ups 25

My ending stats were:

Weight 163lbs
Waist at belly buttom 34"
Snatch test 65
Pull-ups 12
Push-ups 30

My next goal is the http://www.menshealthurbanathlon.com/

I have some new inspiration due to attending a seminar with the legendary Dan Inosanto last weekend, as usual it was a mental overload (in addition to it being a hard workouot, I'm still sore from it). He covered Indonesian Silat, Filipino stick and knife and JKD concepts. It's been probably 10 to 15 years since I've been to one of his seminars and I'm still amazed by how much knowledge one person can have. It's also amazing to see what a trained fighter/martial artist can do at 73 years of age - I also think of when I first met him and he was around my age now and his ability and conditioning then far surpasses mine now so now its time to knuckle down and get the work done.

More Maize Bag

2009-06-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

There are many designs for maize bags, just like for heavy bags.

Most people opt for a Maize Bag similar to the following video on FightChannel since this is what Mike Tyson was seen using and we all know how good he was in his prime for dodging punches and nailing his opponents.

This is a popular form of the Maize Bag and has great advantages since it’s easy and cheap to make (I used one on vacation made from a sandwich bag, some string and sand I got from the beach).

Another, less commonly seen, Maize Bag is the Traditional Heavy Maize Bag https://www.otiumlifestyle.com/shop/new_catalogue.php?departmentID=21&categoryID=91&catID=595
This bag weighs 66 pounds and has an 18” diameter and is 22” high (or long). Pretty close in dimensions to Reyes Wrecking Ball bag and Title’s Body Snatcher Bag. This is much different than the maize bags most of us see, which are much smaller and lighter. The advantages of this bag are that you have to really move to get out of its way (it’s bigger) and you can really hit it (most heavy bags are 75 to 100 pounds so this is pretty close) most maize bags are light enough that hitting them just sends them bouncing off the ceiling. Video of the Heavy Maize bag:

In the US the most commonly available Maize bags are from Title Boxing http://store.titleboxing.com/everlast-slip-ball.html (5”x 8”) and Ringside Boxing (an Everlast Bag) http://www.ringside.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MBW
Both these bags are the size of an extra small speed bag and weigh only a pound or so.

Regardless of the bag you use (and all are good) there are a few other variables to consider: Bag position and Length of the Chain or Cord.

Bag Position: some, like me, prefer the bag at a low position about chin or shoulder height while others prefer a higher position at nose or forehead height. Neither is right or wrong as long as you learn to slip and evade punches. Most fighters aim at the bridge of the nose but I like the safety margin of placing the bag lower (just in case).

Length of the Chain or Cord: this determines how fast the bag swings, the longer the chain the slower the swing and the shorter the chain the faster the swing. In my training I like to vary the height that I hang my bag from (10 feet down to 8 feet and sometimes in a doorway – each gives a different feel and speed). Below you can see training off a speed bag mount

I think I’m going to try hanging my 20 pound medicine ball from my 10 foot ceiling for a change of pace and I’ll put up video soon on that.

Get or make a maize bag and have some fun maizing, it’ll make you a better fighter.

(Please post any comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

2009-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

This year has been a tough one for me and probably most of you reading this. I’ve had many friends lose their jobs or forced to take lower pay for the job that they are doing. At the start of the year my clinic was in trouble, I thought I even might be forced to close and go work for someone else to make ends meet.

Due to all this stress I’d virtually stopped working out. I’m always motivated by the people I work out with…but…they weren’t coming any more because of financial and time problems (the same problems most of us are all facing). I was “in a hole” and knew I had to “Get myself back in the Game”.

I hate feeling I’m out of shape and now I am so… so I’m doing a 30 day health/fitness challenge and I’m using it as an example of what you can do for yourself following this basic format. Its pretty bare bones but that’s the point. I want it to be simple so anyone can do it. Getting back in shape doesn’t need to require much time you just need to do something active that you like doing – and keep doing it.

Walking, jogging, playing tag with your kids (this can be pretty tough), Wii Fit (it may not get you outside but it gets you moving and it includes some objective measures so you can see your progress).

What you DON’T need:

A gym membership
A fancy home gym or full set of weights
Spending hours a day busting your butt

If you have the time and money for these things then great but if you don’t then you needn’t worry. You can make great strides in a short time with minimal or no equipment.

What you DO need:

A living breathing body (yours)
A desire to feel better
About 30 minutes a day to get up and do something

A Guide for the 30 day challenge:

Find an activity you like doing AND DO IT 5-6 days a week (or you can mix up some different activities).
DO IT for ½ hour a day. Some of you may need to work up to this, that’s not a problem, just start with what you can do and keep it up. If you’re unable to do 30 minutes start with 5 and work up week to week. You will actually make much more progress in 30 days than those who find 30 minutes of activity easy, and you’re measurements will prove it.
Diet: focus on whole foods especially fruits and vegetables (at least a serving every meal). I’ll go into more detail week to week over the next 30 days with tips and tricks to help you reach your goals and be healthier.

To really make the most of this 30 day challenge you need to do 2 additional things (Set Goals and Measure them).

Set some concrete goals (these need to be measurable like: how fast you can cover a set distance, max pushups or other exercise or even just fitting into a pair of pants that you want to wear).
Make measurements, before and after so you can see how much progress you’ve made. Without some way to measure how far you’ve come it’s easy to get bored or discouraged

If you need some help with goals or how to measure them feel free to email me at meehantp@netzero.net just be sure to include “30 Day Challenge” in the Subject portion of your email.

I encourage all of you to post your goals, thoughts or comments under comments below.

My goals:

Lower my body fat – I can’t find my calipers so I’m using abdominal girth measured around the waist at the belly button.
Increased work capacity – I’m using the 5 minute Kettlebell snatch test for this and total snatches as my measure.

For the diehards – I’m not using an official snatch test, I’m using a 16kg kettlebell and switching hands every 10 snatches (the official test uses a 24kb kettlebell with only 1 hand switch). I have never done a 5 minute snatch test before and won’t be training specifically for it but it’s still a good measure.

Max Pull-ups and Max Push-ups.

In addition I am taking pictures and body weight measurements (I won't show you the pictures until this whole thing is done. My non-measurable goals are to get to where I feel comfortable in the ring again.

I started back last week with kettlebell and boxing training and I want you to see what you can accomplish in just one month of training. On June 1st I took measurements filmed my efforts and took pictures of myself.

Below are my starting stats:

Weight 165lbs
Waist at belly button 36”
Snatch test 55
Pull-ups 9
Push-ups 25

I’ll have video up soon, can’t find the charger for my camera so I can’t put up the video I have of my start until then.

Still in action

2009-03-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Intro
Our recent workouts have been a bit sporadic and mainly focused on mitt training (due to issues with the heavy bags – both are back up now). As the weather finally gets warmer we’ll be adding in some training with tires and farmer carries (we’ll be using 5 gallon water bottles filled with sand). We have been sticking to basic boxing training and focusing on technique issues (elbows in while punching, keeping hand up during combinations, etc.).

New instructional videos will be up soon, weather permitting (I have to rely on natural light).

Our last workout was as follows:

Warm-up:
2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats w/PVC pipe, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back (hip) extensions

Defense Circuit 2min/30sec (2 circuits)
Maize ball
Slip line

Offense Circuit 3min/1min (3 circuits)
Heavy Bag hands
Speed bag

Mitts/Pads
4 rounds (3min/1min)
We started with quick straight punches (hit as soon as you see the pad) and moved to hooks and defense. Defense work mainly consisted of maintaining cover after punches and then progressed to covers followed by punches. We are working a lot on sharpening hook and body punches (staying balanced, relaxed and covered up).

Finisher
3 sets of ten Ring push outs
Single ring set at waist level, 2 hands on top of ring, arms fully extended. Push out till your arms are overhead and pull back to start position. This is basically the same as a wheel push out.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below.)

Update

2009-02-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

Just in case you are wondering: we are still here working every week even though I haven't posted for a while.

I had hoped to have some new videos up but my heavy bag mount snapped of the ceiling yet again a few weeks ago. Since this is at least the third time in the past year that it has come down (no injuries this time or in the past) I decided to do some research on the subject (never having had this problem before). It's been very aggravating not having a bag up since it has limited my solo training to the shadow boxing, slip line and maize bag. Training others I've concentrated on the focus mitt's and thai pads, which has been a lot of fun.

Tomorrow, Satuday, I'm getting the bags back up. As a result of my research I've decided to hang the heavier bag using the mount pictured above with some additions. The first is attaching a heavy spring to absorb shock, something I've meant to do in the past. The second is to use a 3 foot 2X4 attached to 3 ceiling joists and attaching the mount to that to distribut the weight and shock. I haven't really had any problems with the lighter bag but I'm adding a lighter spring to the heavy eye bolt in the ceiling.

Check back later this coming week for some new videos.

Boxing Day (not the British Holiday)

2009-01-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

For our first day of training in the New Year we focused on basic boxing technique using a modified Boxers Workout format.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:

2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions, 10 Overhead squats with PVC pipe

(I continue to like the official Crossfit warm-up since it pretty much uses all the major muscle groups to get everything ready for action.)

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (2 circuits)

Maize ball
Rope line
Shadow Boxing

Mitts

We focused on low line counter punching (I got a new body shield for Christmas and just had to use it). We each did 2 rounds (3min/1min), first round focusing on countering the jab with an inside slip and low jab back (should be simultaneous), the second round we focused on jab cross defense with a jab catch followed by an outside slip and lead body hook. We did include other punching, as well as combinations, in these drills to keep it interesting but focused on the two drills mentioned above.

Heavy Bag/Speed Bag circuit
3 circuits alternating heavy bag and speed bag with 3min/1min rounds

Heavy Bag rounds

Round 1 Jabs and outside punches focusing on speed and accuracy.
Round 2 Outside combinations, mix of power/speed/accuracy (Jabs, Jab cross, Jab Cross Hook etc.
Round 3 Inside fighting power focus, primarily hooks and uppercuts.

That was it for our first day of training in the New Year, hope you like it (I know we did).

Alert: Look for new videos coming soon on using the Heavy Bag. I finally got a new, dependable, camera for Christmas and have a lot of videos lined up to shoot and post up here (I’m aiming for 1 a week and I have 9 set to go) so stay tuned.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to “Comments” below)

Basic Boxing Workout

2009-01-02T20:10:00.001-08:00

It a new year and I though I'd show you another basic boxing workout. You’ll notice the similarities to the other two that I’ve posted, basic boxing or wrestling workouts always follow a standard format though everyone has tweaks that they add to focus on different areas, and this is because this format has proven itself time and again. This workout comes from Brian Petty, RKC http://extonkettlebells.com/brianpetty.aspx . Brian and I used to train together back in college and continued to until I left the East Coast to move out to Illinois in 1999 to pursue a Doctorate in Chiropractic (which I earned in 2002 - I continue to run my office in Plainfield and train).

Brian currently runs Exton Kettlebells (in Exton, PA). http://extonkettlebells.com/default.aspx If you are looking for a trainer and live near there I recommend that you check him out.

Brian’s current focus is on bare knuckle boxing for self defense and conditioning.

The basic workout is as follows:
Goal is 3min work/1min rest each round (you may need to work up to that).

3 rounds shadow boxing
3 rounds jump rope
3 rounds speed bag
3 rounds mitts
3 rounds heavy bag

If you have anything left in you the workout follows with a bodyweight workout focusing on various pushups and sit-ups using a ladder format.

For more details (what to focus on in each round) refer to http://extonkettlebells.com/osboxing.aspx about 2/3 the way down the page.

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to Comments below)

Diet and new videos

2008-12-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

One week into Precision Nutrition . So far I feel great. It has been an adjustment; I am more accustomed to a lower carbohydrate diet with more fat (generally ketogenic levels). In addition, I’m more accustomed to fewer meals (usually 4 plus some low carb snacks), as well as a lot less vegetables and fruits (which everyone needs to eat more of). Currently I am eating 5-6 meals a day with a serving of vegetables or fruit with every meal and focusing on whole food (minimally processed). I don’t like very many vegetables so I’ve kept it to broccoli, cauliflower and spinach (trying to stay away from starchy veggies). My first day or two was a little tough since the volume of food was a bit to high for me – I’ve lowered my meal sizes to make it a bit easier (now I don’t feel so full all the time).

Some things I have learned – get your first meal early (don’t put it off, at the very least you’ll be over hungry later and be tempted to snack on bad stuff), keep up prepping food (cook enough brown rice, quinoa, chicken breasts, etc), keep fresh fruit around (just in case you feel the need to snack – better to eat real food than crackers, processed food, etc).

My weight is stable, currently between 160-165. Weight loss is not a goal for me, fat loss, muscle/strength gain and better energy are my goals, so the scale doesn’t tell me that much.

So far Precision Nutrition seems to be a great fighters diet, plenty of complete protein to sustain your muscle, and lots of micronutrients from whole food. I am still using supplements – 3 a day multivitamin, vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin D (it is cold and flu season and sun exposure is minimal) as well as plenty of fish oil.

My current supplemental workouts are focused on Rippetoe and Kilgore’s Starting Strength routine because my limit strength is low right now (and I miss focusing on the basic barbell exercises). I am taking a short break from the Crossfit WOD (Workout of the Day) to work on my strength base before going back to the WOD’s.

I am working on a 4 part video series, to be posted on this blog, on using the Heavy Bag as a Training Partner – in other words using it to develop your offense and defensive skills. Pounding away on the bag is a great workout but for fight training you need more than that – you need to train with the bag like it’s a live opponent and not just hit it mindlessly. Most people just use the heavy bag to punch away thinking it’s just a conditioning tool but it can be used for so much more. Stay tuned!

Open Training - Boxing

2008-12-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

We had our first true open workout, scheduled in advance on the blog. While I know there is interest in the area for training, it was a no show night. As a result I did a solo workout. Finally got the speed bag set back up, in a new spot, so I used that.

Roll Call: Just me tonight.

Warm-up:
2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders) – finally able to get 14 consecutive double unders
2 rounds – 5 rope pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (2 rounds)
Speed Bag – hand wraps only
Shadow boxing – with gloves

Grip Work – 54lb. kettlebell pulls with IronWoody Band (performed underhand with the band looped through the kettlebell while standing on a 22” box – grip the band, keep changing hands until the bell reaches hands and reverse going down – 3 sets).
Video below (from Zach Esh).

Unable to use the heavy bag tonight, I broke the attachment off the ceiling over the weekend during another workout (the other bag I’ve been using for groundwork and throws). Both bags will be back up by Wednesday night and ready for Thursday practice.

Thursday we’ll be focusing on Muay Thai work 6-7:30, again all are welcome. Please email or call ahead if you’re going to attend so I that I can prepare enough space to accommodate you.

New videos will be up shortly on using the heavy bag as a live opponent.

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

New Schedule

2008-11-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

This week we’ll be hosting open training in the Garage Gym from 6:00 to 7:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday. This means, any and all who want to come out we are training these day’s this week we'll welcome you. If you are late we still welcome you but you’ll miss some of the training. I’m still open for other times but you’ll need to call ahead so I can work you into my schedule. Tuesday we’ll focus on boxing fundamentals and Thursday we’ll focus on Muay Thai and kickboxing. Since it’s cold out the garage door will be down but don’t be afraid to knock, we’ll open it to let you in.

As a side note, I’m starting using Precision Nutrition as my guide for a training diet. I’ve read up on John Berard and found his strategies match my goals. More to come on that in future posts.

(Please post comments, questions or suggestions to "Comments" below).

Old School Boxing

2008-11-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

Here is another standard boxing workout. This one comes via Ringside and John Brown. For the full book from Ringside check out:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/256385/Boxing-Manual?page=13

Well here's the workout:

Warm-up 5 minutes – primarily stretching
3 rounds Shadow Boxing
3-4 Rounds Sparing (twice a week)
3 Rounds Double End Bag
3 Rounds Heavy Bag
3 Rounds Jump Rope
3 Rounds Mitt Work
3 Rounds Speed Bag
20 minutes abs and stretching

In this program rounds are 2 minutes with up to 1 minute rest. If you follow this workout its about 1 hour.

The changes I would suggest are to replace the stretching warm-up with dynamic activities like footwork drill (The Line) and general muscle warm-up like Burpees, Push-ups, Pull-ups, Sqauts etc. Also the end of the workout should consist of similar exercises at a higher intensity, including medicine ball work, powerlifting (as long as its safe, not to tired), etc.

For those working out on your own I would suggest the Slip Line and Maize Bag as substitutions for the Mitt work.

(Please post suggestions, comments, or questions below)

Changes

2008-11-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

I've made a few changes to the blog (don't worry, all the posts and videos are still here). To make finding things a bit easier I slimmed down my tags to 10:

Boxing (including any boxing training, equipment, techniques, etc.)
Jujitsu (wrestling, judo, catch wrestling, etc)
Conditioning (drills, strength, endurance, supplements to improve conditioning) - really almost all the posts are about conditioning but I only tagged those specific to it.
Health (nutrition, hydration, longevity, exercise in general)
Muay thai (including any kickboxing)
Jujitsu (all grappling training, judo, BJJ, catch wrestling, greco roman wrestling, etc.)
Inspiration (stuff that helps drive you to put more into training)
Video (those I've made as well as others I've posted)
Schedule (when we are meeting)
Misc. (humor, or other things I think you may find interesting - this post is listed under "Misc.")

Hopefully these changes will make it easier to find the information you are looking for.

I continue to get more calls from local people for training: I know that I turn up A LOT on searches for local (Plainfield, Joliet, Aurora, etc) boxing and MMA gym searches. Because of this I’m trying to nail down some consistent training times that would be open to all of you. My schedule is a bit in flux due to patient needs at my office but for all of you interested in training I’m going to post a survey on the blog to find the most convenient times for all of us to meet and train (give me a day or so to figure out how to do it). I’ll post it within the next few days so we can get to work.

Traditional solo boxing workout

2008-11-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

Many boxing gyms I’ve trained at had a standard workout that they posted. You followed it or didn’t and did your own thing. Unless you were under the direction of a specific trainer you were usually left to train on your own. Of course, most didn’t know that the trainers were still watching to see who had talent or qualities that they wanted to train – if you didn’t work then you didn’t get any special attention. At least this was how it was in some gyms, others they put you in the ring for some light sparing to see what you had and then decided whether to work with you or put you out on your own. Most boxing gyms I have trained at never had a specific course of training as a new be, except the general “Boxers Workout” posted on a sheet of paper on the wall (some didn’t have that). Many of the gyms I trained at were AC’s, or Athletic Clubs, and charges for membership ranged from $60 a year to $10-20 a month, quite different than the commercial training centers now that charge $100 plus a month for training. But, the commercial gyms now take a more active roll in training, even if it’s less personal.

For my solo training session today I went back to the general “Boxers Workout” format. What’s tried and true is just that. It’s basic, effective and no frills, just hard work with a purpose. I only had about 40 minutes to train so I made the most of it, adding some conditioning drills at the end. Here it is:

Warmup:

2x3min/1min jump-rope (last 30 sec double unders)
2x3min Maize bag

Heavy Bag 3min/1min

1 round jabs only (high, low, doubles, triples)
1 round mid range (jab, cross, hooks, etc)
1 round close quarter with hard punches

Conditioning

Kettlebell Swings – 3 rounds of 30sec swing/ 1min rest
Wheel rollouts from knees 3 sets of 10

The traditional “Boxers Workout” in many gyms I trained at was:
3 rounds jump-rope
3 rounds shadow boxing
3 rounds speed bag
3 rounds heavy bag (as above)
sit-ups and burpees

I changed it up a bit, I’m re-mounting the speed bag, and due to time constraints I didn’t do shadow boxing.

I hope to have some new videos out soon on a heavy bag tool to improve your defense, the "Bag Stick". This is a great tool for working your defense along with your offense on the bag. It used to be sold by Ringside but they don't seem to make anymore. I'll be showing how to use it as well as how to make yor own.

(Please post questions, comments or suggestions to "Comments" below).

Quick Boxing Conditioning Workout

2008-11-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

I’ve been so busy between work, my daughter and my wife that I have missed a lot of workouts recently. As a result I’ve been more irritable, I apologize to my family and friends for this. You’d probably be in a bad mood if you couldn’t do something you loved doing. Today I was finally able to fit in a quick conditioning workout during lunch. My goal: general conditioning, boxing fundamentals, running (I agreed to compete in a 5k the Sunday after Thanksgiving). My workout quick workout today consisted of:
1 minute each, continuous –

Single leg hop across line forward and back (switch legs each time back to start)
Double leg hop across line sideways
Forward crossover step
Side crossover step

2 rounds of:

10 pull-ups, 10 dips, Sampson stretch, 10 overhead squats, 10 roman chair situps, 10 back extensions on roman chair

15 minute interval workout running – I used the generic workout on the treadmill (it’s cold here today).

Total time about 30 minutes. It was quick but I kept it intense. When time is short focus on the fundamentals.

Bad scheduling

2008-11-11T21:35:00.000-08:00

Due to repeated scheduling conflicts our practices keep changing around and as a result my posts on here have been infrequent lately. For this I apologize to all who read this blog.

The good news is that I am still up and running: still working my boxing, muay thai and grappling (as much as possible training alone).

As a result I'll be posting more information on solo training for boxing, muay thai and grappling - regarding drills, conditioning and technique. I'm putting together a new video on the "Bag Stick - a lost training tool" as soon as I can rebuild mine. This is a tool I used to use back when Ringside Boxing sold innovative boxing equipment (they still have great stuff and I continue to use it but the tools they offer are more limited now).

I'll close with a great video on training and learning the left hook by a friend of mine in Australia, enjoy and learn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilhZdJHt9CU
(Click on the link to see the video).

I'll be posting a regular schedule for open gym training very soon, drop in's are welcome and encouraged. If I'm training alone, all the better. Love to see you here.

(Please post Comments, Questions or Suggestions to "Comments" below)

Getting back in the game

2008-11-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

After a layoff from formal workouts the past few weeks, due to schedule conflicts, we are back at it. We only had an hour today so we knuckled down and got right into it. Our focus was on boxing fundamentals.

Roll Call: Tony (Mike is still MIA)

Warm-up:
1x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 2min/30sec 2 circuits

Maize ball
Rope line

Glove Drills rounds were run continuously, 1 minute for each person as the aggressor (2 minutes work) followed by 1 minute rest.

Jab defense (2 rounds) – aggressor throws single jabs while moving around and defender catches, or slips jab and returns with single punch (jab high or low, cross high or low, body hook either side, etc). Focus is on correct defense as well as a quick return (same with the following drills).
Cross defense (1 round)– aggressor throws single cross to head and defender rolls with cross or slips and returns with single punch (cross, lead hook, low jab, body hook, etc.).
Jab cross defense (1 round) – aggressor throws jab cross and defender catches, slips, rolls etc and returns with single punch (cross, lead hook, low jab, body hook, etc.).

Finisher
Body impact conditioning: 2x1minute rounds of body punches with gloves on (opponent stands with hands on head, punching only as hard as your opponent can take). We do this to learn how to take body punches as well as condition the midsection – no punches to solar plexus and less force when punching the floating ribs. I'll be posting a video on this very soon, so stay tuned.

We didn’t have a lot of time but were able to focus on the fundamentals and got a great workout. It’s great to be back in action.

I’ll be resuming my local fight gym review next week with Jab Fitness.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to “Comments” below)

Workout time

2008-11-02T19:09:00.001-08:00

It's short notice, but we have a workout scheduled for Monday (11/3/08) at 1pm. Hope to see you all there. We are back up and running again after a short layoff due to schedule conflicts.

Here's something different

2008-10-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

I ran across this on youtube and had to share it.

This is definitely wacky stuff. Both people are tethered to the table and tied to the other person by the hand. Supposedly you can win by pinning the hand (arm wrestling) or knocking them out. This "sport" was started by one the people who started the original "Ultimate Fighting Championship". If you want more info or videos on this craziness check out http://www.xarm.com/

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

Beta-Alanine

2008-10-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Quick update on my Beta-alanine experiment. Due to a few injuries that I experienced during my three week trial I was unable to complete the full trial (I couldn't train or go all out while injured). I will offer a few insights into taking Beta-alanine:

Its easier to take the full dose all at once (not divided throughout the day.
The tingling sensation can be very annoying and may interfere with training.

My first few days I followed the recommendation of taking multiple small doses throughout the day to minimize the tingling sensation - didn't work (pills I had were 800mg) and I had the tingling feeling all day which made me rather irratable. When I changed to taking the full dose all at once - the tingling level was the same but only lasted a few hours as opposed to all day long.

While the tingling sensation is harmless it is annoying and may take your focus away from training or possibly during a fight.

I will be trying this supplement again in the future to give it a fair trial.

Basic mat work

2008-10-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

We are taking a step back in grappling and working primarily on position and transitions in positioning to get a better foundation. It is easy to over reach and immediately go for your final aim, in this case submissions. I appreciate the traditional Brazilian Jui Jitsu (BJJ) approach of learning positions, transitions and finally submissions (position before submission). A solid foundation is essential in any pursuit, building a house on shaky ground only leads to disaster. With that in mind we are working the basics to start, not that we won’t address the basic joint locks but our emphasis will be learning how to move and where to move to (positions and transitions).
After further searching I found a few videos that address these areas and we’ll be using the basic exercises presented in these videos (the initial video I posted is fantastic but too advanced right now, we’ll have to work up to the drills they presented). Most of this information I know but haven’t seen presented as actual drills – and they do an excellent job.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:
2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Our main focus today was on basic matt work as follows:
Upper position
Knee to chest (stomach) side to side with transition across/over body

Knee to chest (stomach) switching knees, staying on same side
Knee to chest (stomach) transition to mount, side to side
Knee to chest (stomach) circle other leg over head, switch to opposite knee
Mount – pop up – arm-bar
Standing guard pass to knee to chest

Working hip movement

Supine hip slide out (in mount or guard)
Wall hip slide out
Sit out drill

Position transitions

Side Control with bottom position working hip slide out to attain guard
Mount with bottom position working hip slide out to attain guard

I’m putting off my final Beta-alanine “Fran” test until Tuesday (sorry), I still have enough left to continue taking it until then and I want an open day to do the test.

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

Boxing, Muay thai, and ground basics

2008-10-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

We are continuing our basic/introductory training in ground fighting. My experience in teaching groundfighting is limited and as a result I'm learning as much about teaching it as Tony is in learning the basics. As a result I'll be including more warmup drills emphasizing movement on the ground starting with our next workout on Saturday.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:
1x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions
Continuous 1 min rounds

Single leg forward hop
Double leg side hop
Forward crossover
Hip twist

Defense Circuit 2min/30sec (2 each)

Maize ball
Rope line

Shadow Boxing 2min/1min

Boxing
Muay Thai

Heavy Bag 2min/1min
Hands only

Straight punches (high and low jab and cross)
Working to inside, emphasis on close quarter punching

Hands and feet

Thai kicks, singles and doubles
Punch then kick, kick then punch combinations

Mat Work

Standing under hook drill 2x1min/30sec

Mount: basic locks

Arm bar side to side. Start with drill on floor then with opponent. Side to side 10each
Figure 4 (Americana). Side to side, 15 each side.

Guard: basic locks

Kimura (reverse “figure 4”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-hyxTuh2YE Sit-up drill 10 each side alternating. Full Kimura 10 each side alternating

I had planned on working the arm bar in the guard but didn't want information overload. The sit up drill we used for the kimura was simply performing the setup for the kimura (trapping the wrist, sit-up and reach over to your own wrist, back down and repeat on opposite side).

The warmup drills we'll be incorporating involve some of the ones in the following video:(Post comments, questions or suggestions to "Comments" below)

Thursday practice

2008-10-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

We'll be holding a workout Thursday morning starting between 8:30 and 9:00 am. We'll start with boxing and Muay Thai and move onto introductory grappling work on the new mat's.

I'll be doing my final "Fran" test for the Beta Alanine experiment on Saturday (10/11/08). I missed a number of days due to injuries and want a good test (injury free).

Back in action

2008-10-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

Due to scheduling conflicts with trainees we have been off for the past few weeks. In addition to a few shoulder/neck injuries of mine – the first after doing heavy double and triple thai kicks on the bag and a week later doing heavy push jerks at the gym.

Our first workout back was fairly light and technique based. We worked primarily on the bob and weave and some basic grappling techniques on the new mats.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:

1x3min jump rope

2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 2min/1min (2 circuits)

Maize ball

Rope line

Shadow Boxing 2min/1min

Boxing

Muay Thai

Mitts

Continuous 1 min rounds (2 circuits each person)

Jab cross – left hook – bob and weave cross hook

Jab cross – right hook – bob and weave hook cross

Jab cross - alternating hooks – bob and weave return

Grappling

Stand up- Greco Roman Under Hook Drill

Mount - Introduction to:

Basic arm bar

Figure 4 arm bar

On our next practice we will work some more basic grappling techniques - from the mount and the guard. This is in addition, of course, to our standard boxing and muay thai.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to "comments" below)

New Mats

2008-09-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Finally, we've got mats. I lucked out a few days ago while looking through Craigs List (hoping I might find a Concept II rower) and came across a listing for wrestling mats - lucky me. We've been looking into mats for awhile and had decided on Zebra Mats, which would have cost around $500 for a 10x15 area (minimum order). The mats I found on Craigs List were 11x11, a little smaller but about half the price and no shipping to worry about.

We are going to start up some basic drills and technique practice for ground fighting during our next workout.

Thailand

2008-09-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

The insane training schedule of a pro Muay Thai gym.

I’ve had some questions recently about training in Thailand, a lofty but worthwhile goal. In the past, 10 years ago, I had a few training partners that went every year or so and they loved it. As result, I recently decided to look into training routines and costs for training over there, the first gym I thought of is Kaewsamrit Gym .

Morning Session 6 a.m.

10-12 kilometer run.
Pad session 3-4 (5 minute) rounds with one round focusing on boxing and elbows only.
Bag work 4 (5 minute) rounds
30 minutes of clinch and knee work
general conditioning work such as pull-ups, 300 sit-ups
light warm down (I’m not to sure what they consider light)
10 a.m. morning meal followed by rest period

Afternoon Session 3 p.m

skipping for 30 minutes
Pad work with trainer 5-6 (5 minute rounds) with 1-2 rounds focusing on boxing and elbows only.
Bagwork 5 rounds of 5 minute duration
Technical sparing 3 rounds of 5 minute duration
30 minutes of Clinch and knee work
light jog of 2-3 kilometers
300 knees on heavy bag and 100 kicks
general conditioning work such as pull-ups and 300 sit-ups.
Followed by light warm down.

They post at the end of the routine that “This is routine followed by the top Thai boxers in the gym and foreign students are not expected to reach this level straight away and are given time to build up to a level comfortable for them”.

The cost for training at Kaewsamrit is about 30 US dollars a day for the first 15 days. Pretty inexpensive for the hour of training.

Youtube Videos of Kaewsamrit

(Post comments, suggestions or question at "Comments" below)

Crossfit Will County

2008-09-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today I visited Crossfit Will County since they had an open house and I thought it would be a good excuse to stop by. Luckily the open house was during the only time today that it wasn’t raining. While Crossfit Will County (CFWC) is not a fighting gym I do feel Crossfit is the best approach for general conditioning for fighters and just to illustrate my point there was a wrestler and MMA competitor at the open house.

CFWC is owned and operated by John and Shannon Edmondson, and their affiliate is the only one in this area of Illinois (the next closest is in St. Charles) and I’m lucky enough to be fairly close to them. I first met John and Shannon earlier this year before they got certified and became an affiliate – John put me through a brutal workout consisting of 5 rounds of ring dips, tire flips, kettlebell swings (and 2 other exercises that I can’t remember since I can’t find my workout log for the first part of this year) – it wasn’t my first Crossfit workout but it was my first with another Crossfitter.

At the open house John did a great job of introducing the concepts and approach of Crossfit: fitness defined as “Increased work capacity over broad time and modal domains”, and Crossfit’s approach to attaining this fitness “Constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity”.

After introducing the concepts they put some lucky people through some abbreviated, but still tough, workouts. The first one was consisted of continuous 1 minute rounds of: rowing (on concept II rower), push press, air squats and ketttlebell swings followed by a 1 minute rest and repeated. The other mini workout I missed but know included Turkish Getups and Burpee’s.

If you want to greatly improve your conditioning, (enabling you to fight harder and longer), I encourage you to check out Crossfit Will County, you won’t be sorry.

To learn more about Crossfit check out What is Crossfit?.

For another brief review of the CFWC check out Trinity Training Group‘s blog.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

Beta-alanine

2008-09-12T10:46:00.001-07:00

Beta-alanine is a promising supplement for combat athletes, the research is encouraging but not a lot has been published so far. I am intrigued by beta-alanine and its potential for improving high intensity workouts, especially work capacity and that is the reason for this experiment. If it is able to significantly improve work capacity, by delaying fatique, it would certainly increase fighting capacity. As a result, I decided to be my own guinea pig. My experiment will run for 3 ½ weeks (limited by my supply of beta-alanine). To test whether it is effective at improving work capacity I’m using a benchmark workout from Crossfit –Fran which consists of back to back sets of Pull-ups and Thrusters at 21, 15, 9 reps per set and done for time. I did “Fran” this morning using 75 pounds for Thrusters and started supplements after the workout. After my 25 day trial I will perform Fran again and compare times. My diet and training will be no different than it is currently (low/reduced carb diet, and workouts of boxing, muay thai and Crossfit).

My supplements over the next 3 ½ weeks will be as follows:
Beta-alanine
4800mg/day, day’s 1-7
3200mg/day, day’s 8-25
Creatine
10g/day, day’s 1-7
5g/day, day’s 8-25

This is purely a “Case Study” since I’m the only subject and I’m not controlling for every conceivable factor (knowing I’m on the supplement I may push harder than usual and over train or just be more vigilant about my training and diet). It’ll be interesting to see the results.

Baseline “Fran” from this morning: 9:40 minutes
I’ll post final results on October 8th – after performing “Fran” again.

If you have any possitive or negative experience with beta-alanine and fight training share by posting to "Comments" below.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

Combat-Do

2008-09-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

I made my first visit to a local fight gym Combat-Do last Tuesday evening. I first heard about this gym from a neighbor friend of mine who is a High School wrestler – his wrestling club was using their mats for practice on the weekends. He gave me a big thumbs up about Master Bob and the grappling training at the school – that was enough to make me want to check it out. At that time, the location was new and it took me a few trips over searching for the address to find it (the location didn’t have its own phone number at the time). After finding the location I had to find out when they held classes – they didn’t list their Plainfield location until earlier this summer (I could have saved myself a lot of trouble if I had just called the Cicero phone number). Well, it’s taken me awhile but I finally got there last week for an evening MMA class.

Workout: Combat-Do is owned and run by Master Bob Schirmer a very experienced and dedicated instructor. I originally set out just to contact the school but missed everyone at lunchtime and after calling and reaching Master Bob I was set to come in at 6:30 for the MMA class. I have heard many good things about Master Bob by word of mouth and he lived up to all of it. He runs a tough class; we did literally hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups and flutter kicks. General conditioning also consisted of sprint work interspersed with push-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks, jumping jacks, etc. So, without a question you will get an amazing workout.

Trainers: The class I was in was run by Master Bob so I can certainly state that instruction was excellent. Other people who helped out the class at points were also effective and attentive instructors.

Equipment: The school has a boxing ring, MMA Cage, wrestling mats (that’s where the workout I attended was held) in addition to hanging thai heavy bags, focus mitts, thai pads, kicking pads, a large tire for flipping and sledgehammer work, etc. All in all a very well equipped gym.

Type of Fighting: Combat-Do does not focus exclusively on stand up or grappling, they train both but there is a concentration on grappling (jujitsu/judo etc.) at least in the MMA class I was in. In addition to conditioning a good portion of my workout consisted of low and high thai kicks on kicking pads, stand up Greco Roman wrestling drills, and Jiu-Jitsu throws and submissions.

Sparring: While we didn’t do any sparring in the class I was in they do spar at the gym (hence the ring and cage).

Competition: Not only do they encourage competition in judo/jujitsu (which is easier to enter into at my age group – there are enough competitors that age and experience level allows you to be matched with people of the same level of experience) but they also host competitions annually or semiannually the Combat-Do Fighting Challenge and the Midwest Jiu-Jitsu Tournament (which are both being held this month). The video below is from Combat-Do Fighting Challenge 9:

Cost for training: For MMA training costs range from $150 to $175 a month, which is comparable to other gyms I have been to. This covers you for any and all classes that you attend at either location as well as open gym time for training. If you have more than one family member training additional members are discounted.

In addition to MMA classes they also offer Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing and children’s classes (outside of training with me, this is where I really want my daughter Callie train).

If you live in Plainfield or Cicero this is a group you can really learn a lot from, I wholeheartedly recommend Combat-Do and intend on working out there in the future when my schedule allows it.

(Post comments, suggestions or questions to “comments” below)

Local gyms and upcoming posts

2008-09-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been away for a bit, both literally and figuratively, but I’m back and set to make up for it this week. Some upcoming things to look for:

Reviews of local gyms and trainers
New videos on focus mitt training and glove drills

In and around Plainfield we have a number of gyms that focus on fighting (boxing, kickboxing and grappling) and I’m set to visit them all and give you some information on their training methods, how they run workouts, open gym time (important if you want to work technique or conditioning outside of class using the gyms equipment), what their focus is (stand up, ground, competition, conditioning etc.) as well as information on their fees.
In reading my reviews I will be using the following list for giving you information on the gyms I visit:

A great workout/conditioning
Trainer’s – good instructors
Equipment – what they use to train. While this isn’t a pre-requisite for a good gym (many great gyms produce great fighters with minimal equipment) it is something that many people look for.
Type of fighting: Stand-up fighting- boxing, kickboxing, Grappling – wrestling, jui-jitsu, judo, etc.
Sparring – contact, light contact, non-contact, stand up, grappling
Competition – do they host competitions, train fighters for competition, competitive fighters train at the gym
Price: while there are inexpensive gyms most offer training at a premium price (you pay for the experience of the instructors). Schools that run strictly conditioning and those training competitive fighters run from as low as $30 up to $200 a month

Most gyms are able to fulfill #1 on the list above (workout/conditioning). While my concentration is preparation for fighting and I feel preparing for competition (whether you actually compete or not) is important since this is the best preparation for real combat – I know that many others prefer a different approach so I will strive to be clear in my reviews as to what different gyms offer.

If you wish me to feature your gym or training group please contact me via email (available at my "About Me" link on the side bar.
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Boxing and Kettlebells

2008-08-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning boxing workout. We continued our focus on developing the bob and weave counter against hooks. Our planned workout was to have more mitt drills as well as some limited sparing (lead hand punches only) but Tony's shoulder started to act up after the third round of mitt drills. After some soft tissue work on Tony's shoulder we finished with a review of the kettlebell swing - a fanstatic exercise for all athletes (whether done with a kettlebell or a dumbell). I provide some usefull links for learning this exercise at the end of the post.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (2 circuits)

Maize ball
Rope line
Rack

Footwork/Agility
Line work (1 minute rounds run continuously)

Forward step with alternating slip (slip to left with left foor step and to the right with right step)
Single leg hop forward and back (going across the line)
Double leg hop sideways (heels together hoping forward and back across the line moving sideways)
Hip/shoulder twist (hands on hips, full twist so elbow faces forward)

Shadow Boxing

1 x 3min round each

Boxing
Thai boxing

Mitts/Pads (2min/1min)

Quick response jab cross defending against jab
We used Bas Ruttens jab defense drill adapted to focus mitts.
Bob and weave lead hook after jab cross – return with cross hook
Bob and weave rear hook after jab cross – return with hook cross

Finisher

Review KB swing. The Kettle Bell Swing is an excellent exercise once you have learned it but proper form is difficult to learn and teach. I have neglected teaching this recently due to “so little time but so much to teach”. You may think, why should I learn this exercise but it teaches powerful hip drive that translates into harder punches and kicks (your power comes from your hips and legs whenever you throw a hard punch or kick and practice with the swing, dumbbell or kettlebell, develops this). In addition, high repetition interval swings are great for building stamina and endurance. A great resource for learning the Swing can be found at Perform Betters website under their Training Zone tab followed by their Kettlebell tab. Don’t forget, you can use a dumbbell for learning and performing this exercise (though, I feel it is easier to learn with a kettlebell due to holding it palm down). Anthony DiLuglio offers great instruction under “Swing Exercise Video’s 1-3” as well as “Kettlebell Training Clinic – Swing Part’s 1-3”

Crossfit WOD weighted pull-ups 7x1 (I had Tony sit this out to save his shoulder)

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A show to watch

2008-08-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Reality TV is not really my thing. I saw the end of season one of survivor years ago and was appalled by the scheming and underhandedness that was rewarded and was immediately turned off the whole idea. With that said, there are a few reality shows that I do like enough to watch on occasion – The Biggest Loser, The Contender, Ultimate Fighter and now The Contender Asia. These are all reality shows that actually endeavor to inspire people to reach for a higher level of health and illustrate the struggles inherent in getting there. They can all get a bit overly dramatic with people playing to the camera, the silly Challenges etc. but these few I think offer some positive messages to people. I haven’t watched much of any of these shows but did watch a recent episode of The Contender Asia yesterday – who can resist a show on Muay Thai. I liked how the fighters were presented, real people (trained fighters) with a goal of being great fighters having worked hard to get there. The contestants are all experienced fighters in Muay Thai and come from many diverse ethnic and national backgrounds.
Below is their promo video:

My main goal in watching any of these shows is to gain insight into training regimens, techniques and what motivates people to become champions as well as what they’ll do to get there.

For “Stand Up” fighting I feel that Western Boxing and Muay Thai are the best for fighters getting into the ring. The Contender Asia is a good illustration of the dedication and sacrifice needed to become a great fighter and you can see some great training techniques that you can take and use as well as some good fights to watch, it is broadcast on Versus.

The Ultimate Weapon is one other show I like for its illustration of different fighting styles and how they train (they also have some good Muay Thai footage, see below).

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Age and Training

2008-08-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

This video comes straight from Ross Enamait, I saw it on his blog and was so impressed I had to share it with everyone here.

So many times I here people say they are just to old to do this stuff, either going to the gym or working out at home. “Oh I’m just to old”, “I can’t do that kind of training anymore” are the types of refrains I hear almost daily along with “You must be crazy to do that stuff at your age” (I’m 41 now – 9 years younger than this women when she started training). I have only competed in one marathon – the infamous Chicago Marathon of 2007 where firemen forced me off the course with firehouses at the 22 mile mark due to the race being cancelled because of the hot weather. A marathon is nothing in comparison to an Iron Man Triathlon. Watch this video and be ready to put aside all your excuses for not training due to your age.

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Why I like training baseball and softball players

2008-08-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Baseball players, especially hitters show amazing rotational power. Take note of how baseball players generate batting power, this is the same as how you develop punching power – get your whole body behind the punch. The hips and legs are the key to power in throwing strong punches. Baseball and softball players know this because when you hit a ball with the bat you are using your hips and legs for power. For a great example of this watch:

Watch how the leg and hips move first, then the shoulder and finally the bat. That is how a power punch is thrown – the hand or fist is essentially the end of a whip that begins with the feet.

Jack Dempsey is thought by many to be one of the hardest punchers in boxing and much of his power came from working as a lumberjack. His work as a lumberjack gave him tremendous rotational strength and power for hook punches (hip rotation and power is easily seen in hooks but applies to all power punches: straight right, power jabs even uppercuts). Old school boxing training involved actually chopping down trees, not realistic now but there are way’s to emulate this.

Rotational throws with medicine ball

You can perform this exercise as a partner exercise (what I use since I don’t have a concrete or cinderblock wall). It’s not as fast but you can vary it with distance between partners (the further away the harder you have to throw but the longer the time) as well as weight of the ball.

Tornado ball

It may not look like a lot of hip torque but you’ve got to try it to feel it.

Sledgehammer training

Sledgehammer or bat training on a tire (a bat on a heavy bag is bad idea – I’ve tried it and the bag breaks down to fast, save your bag for punching)

Looks like the hammer was to heavy but I hope you get the idea.
The following video is another is another illustration (the video is rotated 90 degrees but again, I hope you get the general idea),

These are potential supplemental drills to hitting the bag. In the end bag work is best (if your time is limited spend it on actual technique training) but these other training methods can provide you with the “feel” – how it feels to develop power through the hips and leg for rotation so that you know how it should feel when you punch the bag.

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Quick Muay Thai Day

2008-08-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

We started at 8:45 this morning for our Muay Thai focus day. The weather has finally shifted back so we had a wonderful, sunny with 80% humidity, morning workout. I’m not what I’d consider a morning person but looked forward to the challenge. This morning’s workout was fast paced due to time pressure (I needed to get my daughter to school, then get showered and changed to get into work before my first patient).

The first round of our warm-up was jump-rope (3min), all other rounds following that were 2 min with a 30 second rest which we ran continuously. We had a few short breaks for introduction to technique for some new combinations. In the end, we finished on time, 45 minutes.

Jump-rope 1 (3min) round – last 30sec doubles
Thai footwork – up and back with most of the weight on rear foot 1 (2min/30sec) round
Hop back and forward 1 (2min/30sec) round
Shadow boxing thai kick 1 round with full spin 1 (2min/30) rounds
Hop back against rear kick to knee 1 (2min/30sec) round each
Pads evade rear thai – return rear thai 1 (2min/30sec) round each
Front kick (foot jab) on pads 1 (2min/30sec) round each
1-2-3 R and L kicks on pads (alternate after each series) 1 (2min.30sec) round each
Front kick (foot jab) defense (scoop) 1 (2min/30sec) round each
Pads front kick (foot jab) defense – return rear kick after scoop 1 (2min/30sec) round each

The challenge in many of these workouts is to keep it intense (the easier part), and fun (if it isn’t interesting only the most dedicated want to do it), all the while working on technique (you can have a super hard workout but without a focus on technique you may as well be doing Tae Bo – not to knock people doing Tae Bo but their focus is purely on conditioning while ours is on fighting).

In this workout we did a general warm-up, then some technique warm-up followed by application. We then continued by working on the elements of skill following with working its application. We also mixed in some direct technique/conditioning. The general focus of this workout was obviously on Muay Thai Training – but more than that it was on the fundamentals, technique, combinations and defense with counters. Conditioning (strength, power, endurance, agility – in this case) was automatically built into this workout.

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Bob and Weave

2008-08-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

We had just a short practice today due to my having to get back to office and my wife doing a photo shoot. As a result it was a focused practice, boxing basics with a focus on developing the bob and weave.

The Bob and Weave is an integral defensive technique in boxing and MMA (in MMA it can be used as an entry technique for a leg pick or takedown or just simply a punch evasion like in boxing). While it is a seemingly simple technique, putting it into practice in the ring is a different story. Work on the slip line to ingrain body mechanics helps tremendously and mitt and glove drills assist in putting it into context (defending against an actual attack – which is much less predictable than simply bobbing and weaving under the line). One of the common errors I see with trainers in training the bob and weave is that when they throw hooks with the mitts they “aim to miss” – going above where the trainees head was (or even still is) or angling the hook upward making it easier to get under. I feel it is essential that you “keep it honest” – hook to the jaw or ear level, the trainee should keep their hands up since their gloves should catch the blow if they don’t bob under. If your trainee fails to bob under they should be covered up and catch the blow on their glove, if they fail to bob under and you still sail the mitt over their head you have done them a disservice (they think they did it correctly and they’ll get nailed for real in the ring as a result). When I have my trainees hold mitts for me I always test them every a few times each round by failing to bob down – if they still miss they aren’t “keeping it honest”.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:
Quick 1 round warm-up consisting of 3 continuous 1 minute rounds of:

Forward single leg hop going across the line up and back, switching foot with after each return to start.
Double leg hop facing line going across line and back and traveling up and back down the line.
Shoulder/hip twist in stance going up and back down the line.
(for a video illustratio to these drills please refer to The Evaluation Line.)

Defense Circuit 3min/30sec
Maize ball – hung from 8 feet
Rope line
The Rack (see last post for a video link for this)

Mitts 3min/1min rounds
Working on the bob and weave
Bob under left hook

Under left hook followed with cross hook return
Jab cross – bob under left hook – return with cross hook cross

Bob under right hook

Started with bob and weave under right hook and returning left hook cross, progressed to throwing jab cross left hook – bob and weave under right hook – return left hook cross left hook

Alternating left and right hook

Working off the jab cross hook - holder throws either right or left hook and defender returns as above (cross hook or hook cross).

Tony is new to holding the mitts so I settled for practicing the defense for left and right hook in separate rounds only (skipped the last round of alternating right and left hooks).

This was a bare bones workout but we were able to accomplish what we needed to in the short time we had. We have another abbreviated workout scheduled for Friday morning (around 8 or 9am) but with a focus on muay thai instead.

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Short on Time?

2008-08-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

When you are short on time it is important to make the best use of what time you do have. This past week has been a tough one, my daughter has been ill the whole week which has lead to little sleep or free time for me. Even though my workouts have been cut shorter as a result I was able to film and edit the video for the Slip Line (while my daughter was sleeping actually).

To top off the week yesterday’s scheduled workout was a bit of a bust – Tony and Mike were unable to make it due to work and as a result I had to settle for a solo workout. I didn’t have a lot of time so I kept it brief and focused on essentials. When time is tight you need to focus on your goals, for Saturday my goals were to work on basic defensive skills along with strength endurance (think work capacity or general physical preparedness). With this in mind I did the workout below:

Basic Defensive Skills
1x3min round each of

Maize bag
Slip Line
Rack – I’ll be posting more on this tool later but for an introduction click on the following link Kenny Weldon's Rack

Strength Endurance
The strength endurance barbell complex I performed comes from Zack Esh.
3 rounds of 5 reps per exercise:

Hang clean and push press
Back Squat
Dead Lift
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Bent over Rows

Below is a video of this complex:

The objective is to perform the exercises quickly without putting the bar down between exercises. I did this with 85 pounds resting 1 minute between complexes.

If you are short on time look to focus on the essentials of what you want to accomplish - what are your goals for your workout (specific skill development, cardiovascular, strength, power, agility, etc.). Once you know your goal it is much easier to cut to the chase and focus your work on that.

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Next practice

2008-08-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday 8/16 at 8:30am. Yeah, I know its early but that's the only time that open for Saturday.

Slip Line

2008-08-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Finally finished the video on using the Slip Line.

The Slip Line (or Rope Line, as I refer to it in our workouts) is a great and inexpensive tool for working on footwork, slipping, the bob and weave etc. All you really need is a rope or string and something to tie it to and you're ready to go.
I routinely use the Slip Line and Maize Bag as part of our warmup in every practice and encourage everyone to use the same tools at home. The Maize Bag and Slip Line are excellent tools to use on your day's off from the gym, just work 1-3 rounds of each and when you get back to the gym you'll be sharper.

Great weather

2008-08-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

A great night for training – cool with little humidity, this is a respite from the summer heat that probably won’t last long, what better way to enjoy it than training. We rescheduled yesterdays training for this evening.

Roll Call:
Tony, Mike

Warm-up:
2 rounds on the line

1min Forward hop single leg alternate (hop forward crossing back and forth on the line, switch legs after each up and back)
1min Side hop 2 legs (face the line, keeping heels together hop forward and back across the line moving up and down the line)
1min Forward and back with hip twist
1min rest

These agility drills come from Kenny Weldon, its been a while since we’ve used them so I decided to make them part of the warm-up. You can see a video of these drills at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6h7BpjKviw

2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 8 ring push-ups, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (2 circuits)
Maize ball
Rope line
Speed bag

Heavy bag
Thai round kicks 4 x 30sec rounds of double’s, switching legs each round with a 30sec rest between each round.

Glove Drills
2 Round Robins (first time one person aggressor and the other defender, switch next round) 1:30min rounds

3 way jab
Double jab
Jab cross

Following this we worked on developing the right hook. This began with positioning – turned toward right with weight over the right foot. From that position we worked on the hip twist and weight shift by practicing with hands on hips and elbows out, starting in the above position left elbow faces opponent, twist from the hips and shift weight over to left foot – end with right elbow facing opponent. We did this for ½ round followed by working it on the bag and mitts with the actual punch to develop a feel for it.

Next practice I hope to have a “rack” made to practice footwork with the jab – don’t know what a “rack” is check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5rsQd1dPUY
My only change may be spacing it further from the wall – I like everyone to be able to get full extension on the jab.

(Please post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

Next Practice

2008-08-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday 8/10 at 11:00am.

Hot training

2008-08-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Aug. 5: 6-8pm

Our last workout (Saturday) was cancelled at the last minute but we made up for it on Tuesday night with some hard training. Hot night - heat index was 93.

Roll Call: Mike and Tony

Warm-up:
2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 rope pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions, 10 overhead squats

Defense Circuit 2min/1min (2 circuits)
Maize ball - first round hung from 10' second from 8'
Rope line
Speed bag

Heavy bag
4 rounds - Thai kicks doubles 30sec work/30sec rest - alternate leg each work round, total 1 minute work each leg.

Glove Drills
Round Robin drills (3 people working) - 1:30 minute rounds, alternate person each round - each person worked offense and defense for 1 round with the other 2 people for each drill.

3 way jab
Double jab
Jab cross

Finisher
Punch out on the heavy bag
4 rounds 30sec work/ 30sec rest each

Mike did a great job making use of his reach and controlling distance in the glove drills

Next Practice

2008-07-30T20:18:00.001-07:00

Next practice is scheduled for Saturday 8/2 at 11:00am.
Come join us!

Fun with the Heavy Bag

2008-07-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

We were a bit hurried today due to Mike being called into work after arriving here. As a result we cut the workout down a little while still covering the skills that we set out to cover (mainly working on round kicks with attention to doubles). Mike had to leave before the “Finisher” so I completed it on my own – the bag carry was a bit tough due to sweat making it slippery (had to squeeze harder as a result).

Roll Call: Mike

Warm-up:

2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)

2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 hip extensions (I changes the name of this to more accurately represent the exercise – back is kept in neutral and the hips extend – lumbar muscle work is more isometric/stabilizing)

Footwork/Agility

3 rounds (continous)

1min agility ladder
1min footwork with round and foot jab kicks

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (1 circuit)

Maize ball
Rope line (I'll have the video on the basics for this up within the week)
Speed bag

Heavy Bag 2min/1min (1 round each leg)

Double thai kicks (bag hung low) – 2 kicks thrown as fast and hard as you can separated by touching foot to ground

Thai Pads 2min/1min

Double kick work w/foot jab

Glove Drills

Low line kick defense (leg block)
Mid line kick defense angling away from kick
Mid line kick defense cut kick

Finisher

4 rounds Bag carry- bear hug 30sec work/30sec rest
After last 30sec rest followed with
4 rounds Bag throw - alternating shoulders 30sec work/30sec rest

You can see an example of the drills used in today’s “Finisher” in the video at the start of this post.

(Please post questions, comments or suggestions to "comments" below)

Maize Bag

2008-07-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Everyone is out on vacation this week and I’m left to train by myself. As a result I thought it would be a great idea to do a few videos on what I feel is the best equipment training to keep you sharp when you have to train alone. Everyone is familiar with the heavy bag (I would hope) and so I won’t cover that now. Instead, I’ll cover two drills that we use in almost every workout in the gym here – Maize (or slip) bag and the Rope Line. Today I’ll be showing the Maize bag. I’m not really sure where I first saw this used but with all the different boxing gyms I’ve trained at I can say it is not a standard piece of equipment, even though it is simple and cheap to construct (I even made one out of a sandwich bag, some sand and a piece of string when I was on vacation with my parents back in High School).

When training by your self you’re training is generally limited – shadow boxing, bag work, and general conditioning, which are all things you should be doing while training solo (or in the gym). When solo I like to also be able to practice my timing, being aware of distance and especially defensive skills. The Maize bag fits the bill for these things.

The Maize bag is simply a bag, hung from a chord or string, that swings back and forth allowing you to practice slipping, maintaining distance etc. The one I use in this video is made from an old Speed Bag filled with beans (to give it some weight).

Inspiration

2008-07-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

The IronMan Triathlon is a true test of endurance and perseverance. This father and son team present an amazing example of this.

Following is IronMan’s video of this father son teams journey to the race and their amazing accomplishment.

Hot and humid glove workout

2008-07-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Friday 7/19/08, 6pm (a hot an humid evening that really pushed our conditioning)

Another video for everyone who wonders how we actully train.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up: 3min jump-rope followed by -

3 rounds of

10 sprawls
10 situps
10 pushups

Defense Circuit 2min/1min (2 circuits)

Maize ball
Rope line
Speed bag

Shadow Boxing 2x3min/1min

Glove Drills 3min/1min

Jab
Double Jab
Jab Cross

These rounds were split in half, Tony on offense for 1/2 and me on offense for 1/2.

Offense Circuit 3min/1min (1 circuit)

Heavy Bag hands
Heavy Bag hands and feet
Top and Bottom bag

Glove Drills 3min/1min

Low line kicks
Jab cross hook rear kick – counter

Rounds split in half like earlier glove drills.

Finisher
Ring Rows and Thrusters
21, 15, 9 reps

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to"Comments" below)

Staying Hydrated

2008-07-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you want your workouts to be more enjoyable (easier) and perform at your best you will need to stay hydrated. A loss of just 5% of your body weight in sweat is enough to significantly decrease your performance (that works out to 7.5 lbs for a 150 pound person). Even a loss of 2% (3lbs for a 150 pound person) can result in a reduction in your performance, as well as placing greater stress on your heart. In addition, all of us remember the Gatorade advertisements stating that thirst is a poor guide for hydration.

Maintaining hydration is especially important when engaging in longer duration exercise in hot weather (greater than an hour) or even high intensity exercise for a shorter period of time. These are just guidelines – the harder you exercise the greater the sweat loss and the more you need to drink (water and electrolytes). Electrolyte replacement is especially important if you are a salty sweater (do you get white salt stains on your cloth’s? – then you need to replace more electrolytes, especially sodium).

The first step in staying hydrated during exercise is to stay hydrated during the rest of the day. As a minimum you should be drinking a half-gallon of water (or at least total fluid – not counting alcohol) over the course of the day. If needed, you can flavor water with sugar free drink mixes or mix juice half and half with water. Drinking flavored water has repeatedly been found to increase fluid intake (most of us can down a glass of juice or other beverage faster and with greater ease than the same volume of plain water). PowerBar now makes an electrolyte drink mix that is a good low carb alternative for the electrolytes that you loose in sweating (think Gatorade without the sugar). Chilling your drinks also helps increase consumption, especially on hot days.

It is actually better to drink small amounts over the whole day instead of drinking all your water in just a few sittings – this is because too much water at once just results in more of it being lost in urination.

I make it a practice to keep 32 and 16oz refillable bottles of water in my refrigerator at home and the office. Anything larger than that becomes warm before I can drink the whole thing (some people I know use just use 8 oz bottles).

Hydration during workouts:

Prior to your workout

When to eat – any meal should be eaten at least 2 hours before your workout, to soon before your workout and you could end up with cramps, nausea or worse vomiting. What you eat is something you’ll have to experiment with, as a general rule eat something light and easy to digest. – you will want to experiment with what you can eat before your workouts to find out what you can tolerate.
About 2 hours before your workout drink 17oz of water or sports drink.
Weigh your self as soon before your workout as possible and record it!

During your workout

Aim for about 8 ounces every 20 minutes. You may need to adjust this depending on weight lost during previous workouts as well as your opportunity to drink during your workout (between rounds have a bottle handy that you can drink from with your gloves on).
On workouts longer than one hour you also need to pay attention to electrolytes and carbohydrate.

Sports drink guidelines:

Max of 15g of carbohydrates per 8 ounces (any more and absorption slows down)
70mg Sodium per 8 ounces
After your workout

Weigh yourself at the end of your workout and compare to pre workout weight.

If you have maintained hydration you should weigh the same, if you weigh less after a long workout you didn’t drink enough to keep up with fluid loss (you aren’t going to lose pounds of fat in one workout). To replace fluid loss you will need to drink 23 ounces of water for each pound lost (eat some salty snacks with the water or consume a sports drink that has sodium).

If you want more detailed information on hydration during exercise I encourage you to follow the links below:

American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: Exercise and Fluid Replacement
http://www.acsm-msse.org/pt/pt-core/template-journal/msse/media/0196.htm

National Athletic Trainers Position Statement: Fluid Replacement for Athletes
http://www.nata.org/statements/position/fluidreplacement.pdf

Gatorade Sports Science Institute
http://www.gssiweb.com/

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to “Comments” below)

New Video

2008-07-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

For the first time we have actual video footage of our workout (had to use a Kodak Easy Share C613 to shoot it). It was a challenge, the camera kept turning itself off (I think I can correct that now), and a neighbor’s dog wanted to come in and play in the middle of out warm-up and then I found that instead of recording in avi format it recorded in mov format (not supported by Windows Movie Maker), finally after a few hours of work I figured how to convert and edit the video, just keep in mind that this is our first attempt and some of the really good stuff didn’t get recorded.
A couple of notes: you’ll notice in the warm-up that Mike makes a few errors, that I’ll correct next practice, knees to far forward in the overhead squat, not enough extension in the GHD sit-up and not full ROM in the pull-up. If it wasn’t for the video I might continue to miss these since I’m working at the same time as him.

Roll Call: Mike (Tony was stranded and couldn’t make it)

Warm-up:

2x3min jump-rope (last 30sec double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 1 round 3min/1min

Maize ball
Rope line
Speed bag

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min

2 rounds

Glove Drills 3min/1min (each round was split so one worked offense and the other defense for half a round)

3 way jab
Jab cross – slip to right with cross hook counter
Jab cross – slip to left with hook cross counter

Low line kick block and counter

Right low line kick with block followed by right kick
Left low line kick with block followed be left kick
Either kick followed by counter as above

Finisher

4 rounds of 30sec punch out on bag followed by 30 seconds rest.

(Please post comments, questions or suggestions to "Comments" below)

Gloves, Gloves, Gloves

2008-07-09T12:14:00.001-07:00

Our focus last night was on using the boxing skills we have learned so far in actual sparing – but first we did lots of rounds of glove drills to sharpen everything up.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up:
800 meter run – 400 forward, 400 meters backwards
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
2 rounds boxing/thai boxing

Glove Drills 3min/1min
Each of the below rounds was split in half so each person worked as aggressor.

2 rounds 3 way jab – this is a jab catch/slip drill (aggressor jabs, defender evades and jabs back followed by aggressor countering with another jab).
Jab cross – slip inside return cross hook
Jab cross – slip outside return hook cross
2 rounds Jab cross – either slip and return cross hook or hook cross
2 rounds in-fighting - toe to toe work aggressor throws hooks, uppercuts, etc defender works on covering and absorbing punches. We used a 1 foot square taped on the floor and we both had to keep our right foot in the entire round.

Our final rounds were done with both sides working offense and defense at same time.

In fighting – both sides punching and defending
Working on covering up on the inside – keeping chin tucked behind shoulder, head tucked behind opponents shoulder and moving side to side.
2 rounds free sparing

Tony did great with the free sparing – remained relaxed and kept moving and punching. Next we need to work on lengthening combinations and working more on the in and out (short attacks followed by moving out effectively).

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to “Comments” below)

Sled intro

2008-07-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of a late start today but still put in a solid 2 hours of training. We are continuing to include some ground fighting basics in the workout to keep things a bit more rounded. Today was a bit of a mix between skill and conditioning emphasis since we haven’t all worked together for about a week.

Roll call: Tony and Mike

Warm-up

2x3min Jump-rope

2 Rounds of: 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 OH squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Footwork/agility 3 circuits of 1min rounds

Sprawl – from squared feet at start and work in throwing combination to a sudden sprawl.
Ground drill – on back, bridge up and roll to side control, kick leg through to kesa-gutami, roll onto back and repeat. This is a basic flow drill performed as shadow wrestling.
Shoulder Roll – this is presenting a challenge to Tony and Mike since it is a new skill and different from anything else we have done

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits

Rope Line
Maize ball – 1st round 10’ 2nd round 8’
Speed bag

Shadow boxing 3min/1min

2 rounds

Mitts/Top and Bottom Bag 2min/1min

4 way hook
Slip jab and return with round kick (outside slip return right, inside slip return left)

Alternating rounds with top and bottom bag

Glove Drills

Jab – round robin, switch each minute (everyone had a round of offense and a round of defense with everyone else)
Jab Cross - round robin, switch each minute (everyone had a round of offense and a round of defense with everyone else)

The focus for these two drill was developing a clean defense and working on firing back after a block or evasion.

Finisher

3 rounds

Sled pull hand over hand to you with 150lbs in sled (50 foot pull each round)

KB swing 20 (using 16kilo)

Med ball throw supine single hand throw 10 each (4.4lb ball, throw as high as possible)

Grappling

2008-07-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday only Tony could make it practice and he was wiped from training at the firehouse. Because of this I scaled down the workout a bit (no finisher) and due to my having a patient due at my office we had to cut the workout a but short. As a result of these factors our workout was more skill based, with the focus on grappling basics

Roll Call: Tony
Warm-up
3 rounds of:
10 jumping jacks
10 sprawls
10 pushups

Footwork agility
Ground drill - solo drill focusing on pushing off an opponent in the mount to cross control
Shoulder Roll - see prior video, this took some time to get right

Ground work
Worked on getting the Kimura or "chicken wing" from the guard position.
Worked on getting the arm bar from the mount
Worked on the escaping the mount position

This was workout was only about an hour but served as an introduction to some of the basic ground techniques.

New Ceiling Fan

2008-06-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Fridays practice was postponed due to Tony and Mike being way to tired today from training and work at their respective firehouses. We were going to do a workout in the park due to a new driveway being put in by the garage but Mike did stick around and put in my new ceiling fan which will help keep workouts more bearable as it keeps getting hotter outside.
Due to our missed workout I did a scaled down version of the CrossFit WOD for today. I didn't do the 800meter runs because of my Mortens Neuroma in my right foot. The first picture above is of the setup I used to do the WOD, took me just over 16 minutes and I was smoked (probably due in part to my not getting it done until 9:30 at night).

The second picture is the setup I used for todays short workout - sled dragging and pulling. I attached my 20 foot rope to a winter sled and loaded it up with 90 pounds and did 6 sets of hand over hand pulls toward me (facing the sled) alternated with 6 sets of dragging it back to the starting position. After the sled work I immediately did 3 farmers walks with the 45 pound plates about 80 feet each. This was my first experience with a sled so I didn't push it to hard. I think I'll need to use about double the weight for the hand over hand pulls next time.

(please post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)

Skill Day

2008-06-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

We introduced some new skills and drills with todays practice, specifically the sprawl, body surfing, and 4 way hook drill. Since we are working toward incorporating some basic ground fighting and introduced a basic defense against takedowns (a sprawl) as well as some introduction to moving around once on the ground (body surfing).

Roll Call: Tony and Mike

Warmup – 2x3min/1min jumprope
2 rounds of - 10 pullups, 8 ring push ups, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats with PVC pipe, 10 back extensions, 10 GHD situps
Footwork/agility
1:10 rounds 3 times (10 sec used for change over to next station)
Basic sprawl – we did the straight sprawl and back up more or less from a wrestling stance instead of a kickboxing stance

Body surf drill – we used a medicine ball for this today, a physio ball is more comfortable and that’s what we’ll be using next time. We focused on just rotating around ball.

Shadow boxing
Rest for 1:10 between circuits

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Maize ball (1st round 10’, 2nd round 8’)
Speed bag
Rope line

Shadow Boxing 2 rounds of 3min/1min

Mitt drills 2min/1min 2 circuits

4 way hook – left low hook, right low hook, left high hook, right high hook. After each hook the holder throws the boxer returns with 2 punches (left hook and cross or cross and left hook).
Top and bottom bag

Glove Drills 2 round Robin’s for each of below each segment 1:10min (so each person had roughly 4 min of each drill ½ on defense and ½ offense)

Jab defense – slips, or catch
Jab cross defense – slips, catch, shoulder roll, or cover
High low – one person can jab high and the other can jab low (limited sparing)

(Please post comments, questions or suggestions to "comments" below)

2008-06-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Great workout on Saturday, our conditioning focus day. We did some new drills: box, mirror and a different take on pad training. Thankfully the weather has been cool since the ceiling fan isn’t up just yet. We were able to keep things rolling the entire time so no rest except between rounds.
Roll Call: Tony, Mike
Warm-up: 2x3min/1min jump-rope (last 30sec double under’s for each round)
2 rounds of 10 pullups, 3 ring dips, 10 overhead squats with PVC pipe, hip stretch, 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions
Footwork/Agility
Box drill 3min (2 steps forward, 2 steps to right, 2 steps back, 2 steps left – keeping it alive with punches, slips, bob and weave)
Mirror Drill 1:10 rounds 2 round robins (one person moves and the other follows maintaining distance entire round – each person worked with the other 2 as both follower and initiator)
Defense Circuit 2x3min/1min
Maize ball (1 round bag hung from 10’ next round from 8’)
Rope Line
Speed bag
Shadow Boxing 2x3min/1min
Anything goes for both rounds (we did do some focus on the foot jab and distance though)
Thai Pads 1x3min/1min
We alternated (Tony and Mike) lead foot jabs for 1st ½ round and the 2nd half we did foot jab thai round kick. This was something different, just to make it fun and mix things up.
Offense Circuit 2x3min/1min
Heavy bag hands
Heavy bag hands and feet
Top and bottom bag
Finisher
We did the “Big Wheel” routine with a basket ball performing 4 reps of each move 2 times per set and completed 3 rounds. A video of this can be found at http://www.medicineballs.com/education/videos/medleys/bigwheel.wmv
I would have used a light medicine ball but I have those at the office and not at my home gym.
Next week’s skill workout we’ll be adding the front roll and the sprawl as we start introducing some of the basics of moving to the ground for fighting.

(Please post comments, suggestions or questions to “Comments” bellow)

Workout change

2008-06-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

We are going more live in our workouts now, meaning more contact and reaction drills. Thursday we focused more on technique, this Saturday will be a greater focus on conditioning. Up to this point we have been alternating practices focusing more strictly on boxing with those focused more on Thai Boxing but since Mike and Tony now have the fundamentals down rather well we have shifted to more merging both together and will alternate a skill focused day with a conditioning focus day.

Roll call: Tony, Mike

Warm-up: 2x3min/1min jump rope

2 rounds of 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats with PVC pipe, 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Maize ball – first round with long chain (longer swing time), second with short chain (fast swing)

Rope line – greater focus on pivoting off line and back in

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min

Round 1 – focus on kicks
Round 2 – hand, foot, and hand and foot combinations as well as defense

Offense circuit 3min/1min

Heavy bag – hands only
Heavy bag – hand and foot
Top and Bottom bag – jab, double jab, jab cross, as well as slips and circling footwork

Glove Drills (worked in round robin fashion with 1:30min rounds – by finish each person completed 2 3min rounds with a 1:30 rest)

Jab defense – working catch and slips with a focus on counter attacking

Focus mitts 3min/1min

Alternated Mike and Tony hitting the mitts so each did 2 rounds, off rounds spent on the speed bag (they were given a choice of bags to work and both wanted to work the speed bag since we haven’t spent as much time using it).

Finisher

3 Rounds of:

10 Pull-ups

10 Burpees (no one likes these but they are a fantastic exercise)
wait time between stations was spent on jump rope.

The weather has held out well this week (fairly cool) but I’m sure that will change soon enough so I’m happy to say that we’ll be putting up a ceiling fan in the garage gym (it’s not air conditioning but it’ll certainly make it more bearable – thank you Laura for the thoughtful Father’s day present).

(Post comments or suggestions to "Comments" below)

Self Defense

2008-06-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

I mainly deal with training on this blog but I thought I'd write a bit about “self defense”. Self-defense isn’t just about being able to overcome an attacker (or multiple attackers) but mostly about being able to avoid confrontation when you can. Looking like a victim or an opportunity to those out for easy cash presents a great way to get into a confrontation. While working as a bicycle messenger in Washington DC I saw many messengers with ratty looking bikes, they were dirty, spray painted, etc but if you looked close they were good (think expensive) bikes. Whenever you made a delivery you always had to leave your bike outside and even with a kryptonite lock it could be stolen (I had mine stolen while it was locked with a kryptonite in the stairwell of a locked building). Part of the trick, I learned later, was to make your bike look like crap, if it looked like a valuable bike it was a target. The lesson here isn’t that you should look like someone living on the street with no money but not to look like an easy opportunity.

Too many people see fight training and self-defense as being the same, its not. Training to fight does prepare you better for when a confrontation takes place but true self-defense is realized in avoiding that confrontation. Many people who train want to show others that they can “handle themselves” in a fight and go looking for one. I, personally, don’t want my students to be like that – I want fighting to stay in the ring. I don’t mean to say that you should walk away from all confrontation since that’s not really possible – if you are truly threatened and can’t remove yourself safely, or a loved one is in danger then confrontation is unavoidable – but avoid confrontation or disarm a possible one when possible.

Tony Blauer is an excellent instructor in this area. He trains people to be ready for a fight and what to do to avoid it as well as how to react once it actually happens.
A recent video posted on Crossfit does an amazing job at illustrating how to avoid potential confrontation: http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_BlauerATMStrategy.wmv

Always be vigilant, know who and what is around you, sense the atmosphere.Avoid a fight when you can, the ring is a different matter since you are there to fight.

Heavy Day

2008-06-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

We worked it hard last night, I was actually to beat to write this up after the workout which is why I'm posting it now. My goal was to focus on basic training; as a result we did a lot of bag work on various bags.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warm-up: 2 x 3min/1min Jump rope (last 30sec of each round double unders)
2 rounds of – 10 pull ups, 8 ring pushups, 10 overhead squats, hip stretch, 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions

Footwork/Agility 2min/30sec

Forward and Back
Side to side

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits

Maize ball – working in and out, slips etc
Rope Line – bob and weave up and back
Heavy Bag – working distance and moving around the bag

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min

Thai round kicks with full spin (follow through)
Combinations – any foot, hand or hand and foot combinations we have worked

Offense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits

Heavy bag – kicking focus (foot and hand foot combinations – last 30 seconds each round continuous work)
Heavy bag – punching focus (hand combinations only - last 30 seconds each round continuous punching)
Top and bottom bag – we used a smaller and faster bag than in the past, focus was on jabs and jab cross, mainly just being able to land consistently

Finisher “Quarter Gone Bad”
3 rounds

15 sec 75lb thruster
45 sec rest
15 sec pull-ups
45 sec rest
15 sec burpee’s
45 sec rest

Just for the record here is how everyone did in the finisher:
Tony

Thruster 5-5-5
Pull-ups 8-6-6
Burpee 4-4-4

Mike

Thruster 4-3-3
Pull-ups 7-7-6
Burpee 6-5-5

Tom (me)

Thruster 5-6-5
Pull-ups 11-12-10
Burpee 5-5-6

This workout ended up being a rather brutal one – at the end everyone was ready to call it a day. By the time we were up to the finisher I gave Tony and Mike the choice of glove drills or the “Quarter Gone Bad” and neither wanted to do any more punching (our Offense Circuit was 6x3minute rounds of punching).

Our next practice is Saturday at 10am-Noon.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

Tyson and training

2008-06-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Everyone in boxing and fighting knows who Tyson is. Before his downward slide Tyson was known for his evasion of punches and speed, this video illustrates some of his Fight Camp training and the techniques used. Pay particular attention to the repetitious nature of his training – they keep drilling the same things over and over.

Some say that 1,000 good repetitions are needed to learn a technique or combination, others say 10,000. The take home message here is practice, practice, practice the basics. The Japanese Samurai who were involved in frequent combat only practiced a few select moves, over and over, they didn’t keep adding more and more complex techniques. Mastery of the fundamentals is what makes a truly great fighter, not flowery or complex techniques and once you have some mastery of the basics you have greater freedom to adapt and improvise.

Thursday Night Training

2008-05-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being a bit late in posting our workout on Thursday, I had every intention of posting this yesterday but time got the better of me.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2x3min/1min jump rope
2 rounds of – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, 10 overhead squats, hip stretch, 10 GHD situps, 10 lumbar extensions

Footwork/Agility 2min/30sec 1 circuit
Forward and Back footwork
Side to side
Forward crossover
Side crossover

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 1 circuit
Maize ball
Rope line
Heavy bag

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
Round 1 full spin Thai roundhouse kick left and right
Round 2 punching and kicking combinations – any we have used so far

Heavy Bag and Thai Pads 2min/1min
Tony and Mike alternated Thai pads and Heavy Bag for 4 rounds
Heavy bag

Round 1 lead thai kick-cross-left hook-rear thai
Round 2 – jab cross – lead/rear thai kick (working both combos)

Pads

Round 1 Jab-cross-lead thai- block rear thai- return rear thai
Round 2 – lead foot jab-rear thai-left hook-cross-left hook

Pads

Round Robin – 30 sec alternating double thai kicks (right-right, left-left) each person did 2 kicking rounds (including me)

Glove Drills
These were done as a continuous Round Robin, 1 minute rounds – 1st time through 3 people we switched aggressor and continued.

Left hook cover – both sides working (thrower focus on proper form for punch and receiver on keeping tight on the cover – also motioned the cross return)
Jabs – single jabs, defender working on slips to each side as well as the catch

Finisher

1 minute rounds rotate each minute to next station completed 2 full circuits

Wall ball – 20 pound ball held at chest-full squat and throw at 10 foot target-catch and repeat for full round
Sumo Deadlift High Pull – 65 pound bar – from deadlift to full hip extension with bar to chin- as many reps as possible for full round
Decline Ring Rows – on gymnastic rings perform as many rows in full round (body in reverse plank position).

Originally planned on 3 circuits for the “Finisher” but it was much harder than expected at the end of Thursday’s workout so we settled on 2 (I’m still sore today but it was much worse on Friday).

Killer "Fran"

2008-05-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tony, Mike and any other Firefighter's take a look at this amazing video on Crossfit's site. “Fran” is a grueling workout as is but in full gear it's truly amazing (I personally still scale it down just so I can complete it). Watch as he finishes off a 30 minute tank in just under 9 minutes.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitNorCal_FirefighterFran.wmv

Mixed training

2008-05-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Initially we were schedule to train Tuesday and Friday this week but due to my wife, Laura, coming down with a very serious case of strep throat we had to cancel Tuesday so I could care for her. Most of us have had strep throat at some time in our lives and sometimes are worse than others, hers was the worst - high fever with severe pain in her throat and her whole body (very frightening for me). Because of this I called off Tuesday's practice so I could help her. It's always difficult for me to see anyone in pain especially when there is so little I can really do to help. It's different when you can do something to remove the pain and a whole different thing when you just have to help someone you love bear it until it gets better (hopefully). I am so relieved that she is doing so much better today (it's her first day out of bed since this began). I ask all you reading this to look to the health of all of your loved ones and help them in their times of need, it can be difficult but caring for them and helping them get better makes life worthwhile.

With that said I want to dedicate this session to my Wife Laura who's 43rd birthday is tomorrow.

We combined our boxing and Thai fighting day to make up for our missed practice earlier this week.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2x3min jump rope (last 30sec of each round double under’s)
2 Rounds – 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead squats (5 foot long bar held overhead, keeping it in line with mid foot), 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 rounds:
Heavy bag – working distance, pivot, in/out on a swinging bag
Maize ball – slips, counter punching, timing
Rope Line – bob and weave, forward and back footwork, etc

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min
Full spin thai round kick both legs

Bag work 3min/1min
Jab-cross-hook-cross-lead thai round-cross
Jab-cross-rear thai- hook punch

Glove Drills with shin guards
Round Robin – 2:10 rounds with off round on the heavy bag
Lead mid level thai kick leg defense
Rear mid level thai kick defense
Defense against lead hook – cover (2 rounds each)

We finished (as usual) with a conditioning drill. Each person did a 2:30 round of alternating double thai round kick on the pads.

Left Hook

2008-05-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

The left hook (or lead hook) is an all important punch in boxing and mixed martial arts. The problem is it is difficult to learn and even harder too find good instruction in how to do it. I personally like to teach it from a bottom up approach, foot and hip torque before the punch is thrown since this maximizes power in the punch.

A very good instructional video on YouTube is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m8H9YEz888 I would embed this video but that feature is disabled.
This video does a great job in illustrating the importance of using the body in throwing the hook – a powerful hook is feet first then knees, hips, shoulder and finally the arm and fist. It helps to think of it as a whip like movement, the final snap of the whip is the fist moving and hitting the target.

Our next practice is Friday night at 6pm.

(please post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

One on one training

2008-05-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday's training focused on boxing. Mike was unable to make it due to some overtime work so I focused on technique with Tony.

Warm-up:
2 rounds 3min/1min jump rope (final 30sec of each round double unders)
2 rounds – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 squats, 10 GHD sit-ups, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Maize ball - slips and controlling distance
Rope line - slips, bob and weave while moving forward and back

Gloves 3min/1min

2 rounds slip practice – 1st round slip inside or outside against single jab, 2nd round double slip against double jab.

Mitts 3min/1min

Left hook - focus on technique, keeping the hook relaxed and hip and shoulder leading the punch
Left body hook - (angled at 45 degrees upward) began with just the hook then hook after slipping outside against the cross
Double left hook – body hook followed by head hook. Worked in isolation then against cross

Gloves 3min/1min

Working the left head hook cover 1st round just the cover, 2nd round cover to return cross
2 rounds Jab-cross-left hook – parry-slip-cover-return cross

In addition to the above we also worked on refining the hooks between rounds and introducing the right uppercut. My daughter Callie also joined us for part of the workout, I just got in gloves that actually fit her and she really enjoyed working covering up against light punches.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

Thai Fun

2008-05-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

We had an unusual warm-up today, my wife and I recently got a new jungle gym for our daughter and the parts all came today. When the jungle gym was delivered they left it at the end of the driveway, curb side delivery only, so all the boxes of wood and screws had to be moved to the back. As a result, our warm-up consisted of carrying everything from the driveway into the backyard; I like to think of it as a good “functional” warmup.

Roll Call: Tony and Mike

Footwork Drills 2min/20sec
Forward and Back
Side to Side

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits
Heavy bag – maintain distance with forward and back, side to side and circling footwork
Maize ball – working in and out and slips
Rope Line – working the bob and weave forward and back with punching

Shadow boxing 3min/1min
Round 1 – thai round kicks with full spin
Round 2 – jab cross rear thai kick

Heavy bag and thai pads 3min/1min
Round 1 and 2 rear thai kick – lead hook – cross – lead hook
Round 2 and 3 lead thai kick – cross – lead hook – cross
Each person did one round on the pads and one round on the bag for each combination. Prior to this we worked punch to kick combinations and I thought it would be good to focus on kick to punch combinations.

Glove Drills 2min/30sec
Combination: Attacker jab-cross-lead thai kick, Defender parry-parry-block-return rear thai kick-lead hook

With this drill we worked both offense and defense covering most of the major parry’s/blocks as well as the major attacks. We completed two circuits and did this as a round robin, I worked with Mike, then Tony, followed by Mike and Tony together. The off round was spent working technique on the bag. In addition, with Tony I had him finish his defense side with 2 slips avoiding the jab after his final punch.

Finisher
Mini “Cindy” 8 minutes as many rounds as each person could complete of:
5 Pull-ups
10 Push-ups
15 Squats
Everyone made it through about 4-5 rounds

We were all pretty spent by the end and looking forward to a good nights sleep. Next practice is Saturday at 11:00am, we'd love to see you all there.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

One on one training

2008-05-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

One on one coaching with Mike due to Tony being tied up with a Fire exam this morning.

Mike ran an 8k race this morning before coming for his workout (that’s 5 miles for the metrically challenged). He had forgotten about the race until today and as a result didn’t practice much for it but felt his conditioning here really paid off in the race. He finished in about 40 minutes and felt fresh at the end, another runner who finished with him said he was going home to rest and Mike told him he was heading to the gym for a workout (I just imagine the shock on the other runners face).

Since we worked one on one I focused primarily on technique, mainly slips and the left hook. We did skip the jump rope at the start since he had just come from a 5 mile run.

Warm-up:
2 rounds of 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 overhead body weight squats, 10 Roman Chair sit-ups and 10 back extensions on the Roman Chair

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec 1 circuit
Forward and back
Side to side
Double leg hop forward and back going across the line
Double leg hop side to side going up and back across the line

Before the defense circuit I had Mike do 1x3min round practicing slips against an upright pole – essentially the same as the shoulder bump drill.

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 2 circuits

Maize ball
Slip line – I had Mike add straight punching into his bob and weave to make it a more offensive drill as well as working on rotating the shoulders more with the weave. When he bobbed and weaved under to the right he came up and threw a jab and to the left he threw a cross.
Heavy bag – working distance and the pivot step

Glove Drills 3min/1min
2 rounds of slip practice – practice slipping to the left and right against a jab, first stationary followed by moving.

Focus Mitts 3min/1min

First round we focused on throwing the left elbow, emphasis on leg and hip torque with the shoulder moving just before the elbow.
Second round was the left hook, followed the same as for the elbow just a bit further away, he finished with a stronger more relaxed hook.
Third round – outside slip followed by left hook-cross-left hook, we also mixed in the jab, jab-cross, jab-cross-hook
Forth round – inside slip followed by cross-left hook-cross again mixing in the jab, jab-cross, jab-cross-hook

Finisher 4 circuits of:

40sec punch out on heavy bag
40sec 20” box jumps
40sec rest

Each round was separated by a 10sec break to allow moving to the next station.

After we were done I showed Mike some videos of Ross Enamaits training – truly impressive.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

Importance of Shadow Boxing

2008-05-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Shadow boxing is important in helping you practice techiques and working your mind. The technique benefit is obvious - the more more practice a particular punch, kick or combination the better you get at it. The mental side assists you in imagining your opponent and visualizing what he or she would do in different circumstances and what you response will be. I like to approach shadow boxing as an active form of visualization - you visualize an opponent and you actively practice techniques against him or her.

Thursday Thai Practice

This Thai practice my objective was to introduce more combinations and include more work with knees since our prior focus has primarily been on working the Thai round kick.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
We followed our usual full body warm-up
2x3min/1min jump rope (final 30sec each round double unders)
2 circuits – 10 pull-ups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 body weight squats, 10 situp on Roman Chair, 10 back extensions on Roman Chair

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec rounds 1 circuit
Forward and Back on the line with side to side movement (slips) with each step.
Side to side added using some bob and weave with puching
Hop back to front – Thai evasion defense (focus on being ready to return with a kick)

Defense Circuit 3min/1min 1 circuit
Maize ball
Slip line
Heavy bag

Shadow boxing 3min/1min
Round 1 - Thai round kicks with full spin
Round 2 - Front kick round kick combinations (lead front kick followed by Thai round kick - both left and right)

Pads and Heavy Bag 3min/1min

Rear knee
Front knee
Front angled knee with hold

We performed this with 1:30min rounds run continuously. One person on bag the other on pads, switch next round then a 1:30 rest followed by the next technique. The Forward angled knee with a hold was done either grapsing the bag with both hands or holding onto the neck of the Pad holder.

Heavy bag 3min/1min
Round 1 - Jab Cross Jab (or hook) rear round kick
Round 2 - Jab Cross front round kick

Finisher 5 rounds
30sec 20lb ball slam (lift up to behind head slam to ground and repeat)
30sec 75lb overhead press (clean once and keep pressing to lockout)
30sec Zercher Squats with 70lb bag
5 seconds between stations to get set

The ball slams were definitely the easiest but the squats and presses ended up being killers. I usually have a “Finisher” set before the workout but this one I thought up on the fly and it worked very well – we were all toasted at the end.

(post questions, comments or suggestions to “comments” below)

RIP and Farewell

2008-05-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

In a recent search I found that one great individual that I trained under at a good number of seminars (I even lent him my car at one seminar – that is another story though) died recently (actually last August). I have not been formally in the JKD community for a while (was an apprentice instructor in Lee Jun Fan Kickboxing and Filipino Martial Arts) but I have always followed its main concepts in my training.Below is an interview with Larry Hartsell, he trained with many of the greats (as well as being one himself) and was always learning and teaching what he learned to his many devoted students:

Shadow boxing

2008-05-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

This is a good video describing shadow boxing that I just found:

Shadow boxing -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

Check out the other videos by the same guy for some good advice on training.

Boxing day

2008-05-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Another great day - weather was perfect and even better no injuries.

Roll call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2 x 3min/1min Jump-rope (last 30sec of each round doubles)
2 Rounds of 10 pull-ups, 8 ring pushups, 10 squats, hip stretch, 10 situps, 10 back extensions

Agility/Footwork (2min/30sec)
Double leg hop going across the line forward and back
Double leg hop across the line side to side
Foreward and back
Side to Side

Defense Circuit (3min/1min - 2 circuits)
Maize ball
Slip Line
Heavy Bag (working on mainitaining distance - in/out/side/circle)

Heavy Bag (3min/1min)
Left hook - slip to outside then throw hook
Right cross - slip to inside then thow cross

Shadow Boxing (3min/1min) 2 rounds
I've neglected this so far but we focused on it today - it's always uncomfortable the first time you do shadow boxing (its much different than bag or mitt work).

The next 2 drills we did in an alternating fashion until Tony and Mike each completed 2 rounds of each.
Mitt Drills (3min/1min)
-Holder throws JAB - slip to inside and return cross, left hook, cross
-Holder throws JAB CROSS - catch jab, slip cross to outside and return left hook, cross, left hook
Heavy Bag (3min/1min)
Work jab, double jab, high low jab, jab-cross, jab-cross-hook

Glove Drills (3min/1min) 3 rounds
Working off the jab - slip inside, slip outside or catch

Finisher
We set the clock for 1:15 rounds for this one (needed the extra 15 seconds for change overs). Everyone completed 3 full circuits.
-Punch out on heavy bag (jab-cross-jab-cross - repeat until you drop)
-Kettlebell Farmers walk (we used one 24kg in one hand and 2 12kg in the other - keep walking for the entire round)
-Active Rest - hold bag

Everyones shoulders felt toasted by the end of this one.

Thursday 5/1

2008-05-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

This was our Thai day. The weather was great which meant the garage (gym) door was open and since people are now out walking we get more people stopping to stare and wonder what we are doing - if you happen to be one of them your welcome to stop in.

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:
2x3min/1min Jump rope (last 30sec doubles)
2 Rounds: 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, 10 squats, hip stretch, 10 situps, 10 back extensions

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec
Hop back and forward (Thai evasion defense)
Forward and back using Thai leg block/cover every few steps
Side to side (lateral footwork) with punch

Defense Circuit 3min/1min (1 circuit)
Heavy Bag - with swinging bag maintain distance while moving in, out and circling
Maize ball - slips with punching
Slip Line
I know that there are many of you who wonder how these drills are done and I thought I'd attach a few videos that show the basics:
An example of Maize Ball work

The Slip Line

Shadow Boxing 3min/1min (2 rounds)
Lead and rear thai kick with full spin

Heavy Bag
2 rounds of (1 round each leg):
30sec single round kick
1 min double round kick
30sec single round kick

Defense drill 3min/1min (2 rounds)
Rear thai to lead thigh - leg block - return lead thai to thigh (shin guards used)

Med Ball Drills
around body pass with partner (back to back), straight throws and twist throw with partner

Finisher
25 Burpees

We did have an injury today -during the defense circuit Tony pulled a groin muscle and I had him sit out the workout and ice it (better to lose one day of practice than a week or more because you want to "push through an injury)

Our next practice is Sunday at 11am.

Post any questions or comments to "comments" below.

A great fitness excuse the “Birthday Challenge”

2008-04-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

We shouldn't need any excuses to be fit but frequently having a goal helps by giving us a direction. A birthday challenge is a great way to keep motivation going – much better in my view than simply having a New Years Resolution. A birthday challenge gives you the goal not of completing something by your next birthday but ON your next birthday, the day of your birthday is the test day. Probably the most well known for this is Mark Madson with his wrestlers birthday challenge: your age in pull-ups, your age in dips, twice your age pushups, 2 climbs up a 16 foot pegboard, 1 true one arm pull up with each hand – all in 25 minutes.

He’s a bit of a showman but his physical abilities are very impressive. Other ideas for a challenge could be to do one of the “Girls” or “Heroes” workouts from Crossfit scaling the numbers for age and time: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#WOD0

Another great source is www.birthdaychallenge.com

Boxing day

2008-04-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday 4/26

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:

2x3min/1min Jumprope (last 30sec each round doubles)

2 rounds of 10 pullups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 squats, 10 roman chair situps, 10 back extensions

Footwork/Agility

30 sec rounds (continuous)

-single leg hop forward and back going across line (30sec right, 30sec left)

-single leg hop side to side going forward and back across line (30sec right, 30 sec left)

2min/1min rounds

-forward and back with jab

-side to side with jab

Defense Circuit 2 circuits of 3min/1min rounds

Maize ball

Slip Line

Swing heavy bag - practice maintaining distance

3 way Partner shoulder bump drill (close range hands up, both slip to inside touching left shoulders, then slip to outside touching right shoulders) - 2 times round robin, switch partner every 30sec

Glove Drills (3min/1min)

Jab - catch - return jab

Jab cross - catch then slip to inside

3 way Partner bob and weave drill (one holds left straight out - partner practices bob and weave under arm) - 2 tiems round roben, switch partner every 30 sec

Glove Drills (3min/1min)

Catch/block or bob and weave lead hook (2 rounds)

Finisher

Punch out drill

-3 person: 1 holds bag, 1 resting, 1 punching rotate each 30 seconds

-continuous hard punching for 30sec (mainly jab/cross)

-each person completes 5 total punching rounds (30sec punching, 1 min total rest each round)

Practice went smoothly today - weather was fairly good but cool enough and windy enough that we needed to keep the garage closed for the first hour. The Finisher was particularly tough today since we had all thrown so many jabs over the course of practice - starting at the 3 round the last 15 sec of punching was really tough on my left shoulder (no pain, just felt dead). Nerxt practice will be back to a focus on kickboxing/thai boxing.

The shoulder bump drill was added to reinforce body mechanics for the slip as well as provide practice for later infighting drill. The stationary arm bob and weave was done for a similar reason - helping reinforce body mechanics against a live target and building awareness of distance.

Thai Day

2008-04-23T20:27:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup:

2x3min/1min jump rope (last 30sec each round doubles)

2 rounds of - 10 pullups, 8 ring pushups, hip stretch, 10 squats, 10 GHD situps, 10 back extensions

Defense Circuit: 2 circuits 3min/1min

Maize ball

Slip line

Heavy bag - work on maintaining distance and circling

Shadow boxing:

2 x 3min/1min Front and Rear Thai round kick (working on full spin, keeping hip engaged)

2x3min/1min Front and rear Front Kick

Partner Drills:

2x3min/1min midline cover for Rear Thai Kick - cover and return Rear leg Thai Kick

2x3min/1min Lead Front kick defense (scoop to outside with lead hand)

Pads:

Rotation/round robin drill - one person holds, another kicks with rear leg and third kicks with lead leg - each round everyone moves clockwise. Rounds 1:30min, total rounds 3 (3min kicking for each person).

Finisher:

3 rounds

Heavy bag carry (bear hug) from garage to curb and back

5 knees to elbows on pullup bar

15 lumbar extensions

We moved through the workout at a good pace (about 1 hour 45 minutes total). Everyone was a bit tired to start and by the end very tired, if I'm any indication I can say I slept very well. Today was a bit rough, my back was sore for most of the day (it's fine now) and I was pretty fatiqued for the whole day. I'm thankfull that today is a rest day (at least from working out - still have to actually work).

Saturday we'll be focusing on boxing drills.

Evening Training - finally getting warmer out

2008-04-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

In an effort to add more practice time we are trying to meet at least 1 night at week - this week it was Thursday 4/17 from 6-8pm. With the weather finally warming up we are able to keep the garage open and use the extra space outside for jump rope and box jumps. Next week the plan is to have 2 workouts - one Tuesday night and the other Saturday morning. We are much smoother at running through the warmup, agility and defensive drills so we can now start adding in more dynamic one on one drill.

Thursday's workout:

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warmup: 2 3min rounds of jumprope - last 30sec doubles

2 rounds of – 10 pullups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 situps, 10 squats, 10 lumbar extensions

Footwork Agility: 2min/30sec

Single leg hops over line

Forward and back w/lead jab

Side to side w/lead jab

Defense Circuit 3min/1min

Maize ball

Slip Line

Top and Bottom bag

Heavy Bag - maintaining distance with a swinging bag (in/out, circle, etc.)

Glove Drills 3min/1min

Jab-catch-jab

Jab - catch - return low or high jab

Finisher: 5 rounds of-

30sec squat cleans w/20lb ball

30sec box jumps 20" box

30 sec rope undulations (look at http://www.artofstrength.com/ if you are curious)

(post comments, suggestion or questions to "comments" below)

Some Really Cool Stuff

2008-04-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Traveling Rings in Santa Monica – some people refer to it as gymnastics on crack.

Santa Monica Muscle Beach is well known for its tradition of physical culture and this is another element that many people haven’t seen (most of us only think of the bodybuilders or maybe the roller skaters/bladers along the beach). I can remember seeing these rings in a few movies and thought they’d be cool to try but I never dreamed of the kinds of things these people are able to do on them and they make it look easy (which it definitely isn’t). At the start of this video you may think its only men doing this crazy stuff – just wait.

Going Strong

2008-04-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Roll Call: Tony, Mike

Warm-up: 2x3min jump rope (last 30sec doubles)
2 rounds of – 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, 10 squats, 10 sit-ups, 10 back extensions, hip stretch

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec
Forward and back
Side to side
Forward crossover
Side crossover

Defense Circuit 2 circuits of 3min/1min
Maize ball
Top + Bottom bag
Heavy Bag

Bag Rounds 3min/1min
Jab- jab cross
Jab cross round kick – front and rear

“Quarter Gone Bad” 3 rounds
15 sec 75lb Thruster
45 sec rest
15 sec Pull ups
45 sec rest
15 sec Burpee’s
45 sec rest

Mike
Thruster 7, 6, 5
Pull ups 7, 6, 5
Burpee 6, 5, 4

Tony
Thruster 7, 6, 5
Pull ups 9, 6, 6
Burpee 4, 4, 4

Myself
Thruster 7, 6, 6
Pull ups 10, 10, 10
Burpee 5, 5, 5

Back to the cold again, there was actually a bit of snow coming down after the workout today. If all goes well we'll add an evening practice this week or next so stay tuned.

Back in action again Sat. 4/5

2008-04-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a few starts and stops with training but I’m optimistic that the improving weather will help. We were finally able to open the garage on Saturday for training – actual fresh air is always nice. I was hoping to have some more pictures now that I’ve got a camera with a timer but the batteries died after this one picture.

Roll Call: Tony

Warm-up: 2x3min jump rope (last 30sec doubles)

2 rounds of – 10 pull ups, 3 ring dips, 10 squats, 10 sit-ups, 10 back extensions, hip stretch

Defense Circuit 2 circuits of 3min/1min

Maize ball

Top + Bottom bag

Heavy Bag

Slip Line

Stick Basics

Grip – basic blocks – single stick largo mano and mid range

Double stick – largo mano and heaven six

“Fight Gone Bad”

1 minute rounds – ran through 2 times

20lb wall ball

54lb Sumo deadlift high pull

12” box jumps

75lb push press

Jump rope

Rest 1 min

As you can see we've added some basic stick drills into our usual mix of boxing and thai boxing and I'm hoping to start some groundfighting as soon as it gets a little warmer,

Out of town visitors

2008-03-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday 3/23 was a bust due to Easter – we planned for training but family commitments (and one injury) prevented attendance. We are slated to be back on track next Saturday.

Monday 3/24 some out of town guests for an introductory class on boxing and kickboxing. Nephews, Alex and Eric, as well as another friend are over for the week from Ireland and wanted a taste of the training we’ve been doing. Here’s what we did:
Warm-up
3 sets of 10 pushups and 10 situps

Footwork introduction
Stance on the line – forward toe lined up with rear heel on the line
2min each
Forward and Back
Side to side

Punching introduction
Left jab in the air 2 min
Left jab on the bag 2x2min on the heavy bag
Cross in the air 2 min
Cross on the bag 2 min
Jab cross on the bag 2 min

Kicking introduction
Front kick step to chamber only(making sure rear/support foot angled at 90 to direction of kick) 2 min
Front kick (step, chamber, kick) 2 min
Front kick on the bag 2 x 2 min

One on one training

2008-03-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are still in action.

Last week it was Tony and Frank and we ran through our Warm-up, Agility/Footwork Drill, Defense Circuit, then went on to Thai pad training and focus mitt training focusing on hook punches, knees and thai round kicks.

Roll Call: Tony – every one else out for reasons varying from hand injury requiring stitches to lost car keys, we’ll be running light on people the next few weeks

Warm-up
2 Rounds 10 pull-ups, 8 ring pushups, 10 squats, hip stretch, 10 sit-ups, and 10 lumbar extensions.

Defense Circuit 2 times 3min/1min

Heavy Bag - (forward/back/pivot maintaining distance)
Maize Ball – slipping w/punches
Slip Line – up and back w/punching
Top+Bottom Bag – jab and jab cross with single and double slip

New skills
Glove drills focusing on inside and outside slip for jab and jab cross with low jab and low cross counter.
Thai Round Kick defenses – mid line leg block and high line arm block.

May seem a bit short but we still filled 2 hours of workout time using the timer on 3min/1min rounds honing skills. When I’m 1 on 1 with training I prefer to use that time to focus on refining technique while still working hard (punches and kicks need to land “as if you mean it” or, if you will, keeping it real).

Lots of bag work with new bags

2008-03-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

Roll Call: Tony, Frank

Warmup
2 x 3 min/1min Jump rope – last 30 sec doubles
2 rounds – 10 pullups, 3 ring dips, hip stretch, 10 squat, 10 situps, 10 back extensions

Agility/Footwork 2min/30sec
Forward and back w/jab
Side to side w/jab
Forward crossover
Side crossover
Hip switch

Defense Circuit 2 times 3min/1min
Heavy Bag – forward/back/pivot step
Maize ball – slips (add punching)
Slip Line – up + back w/jab
Top and Bottom Bag – jab slip/in and out

Offense Circuit
Heavy Bag Hands – jab, double jab, low/high jab, jab cross, jab cross hook
Heavy bag Legs – foot jab, lead or rear thai kick, foot jab lead or rear thai kick
Speed Bag – back hands only (3 or 5 count – introduction)

Today was all equipment practice and conditioning – something you can do on your own with enough motivation. Our plan was to finish with glove and Thai Pad drills but time restrictions prevented us from completing it.

Next week will be a greater focus on leg techniques and hook punches.

Pullups at the playground

2008-02-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

These guys are amazing and no special gym equipment just a public playground (you don't need money to be fit). Of note, bodyweight exercises are generally easier for lighter individuals and this guy is a heavyweight and making it all look easy. Whenever pull-ups feel to hard I just think about these guys and what they can do.

Saturday's Workout

2008-02-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

Had a slightly late start due to a car in the garage and not being able to find a key to move it. Thanks to Tony we got the key and were able to use the whole garage.

Roll Call: Mike, Frank, Tony

Warm- Up
2 rounds -10 Pull-ups, 3 Ring Dips, 10 Squats, Hip Stretch, 10 Sit-ups, 10 Lumbar Extensions

Agility/Footwork Drills 2min/30sec rest

Forward + Back w/punch

Side to Side w/punch

Forward Crossover

Side Crossover

Hip Switch

Circuit 2 times through 3min/1min rest

Heavy Bag

Maize Ball

Mitts – focus on shoulder roll in defense of cross

Glove Drills 3min/1min

2 rounds

1min jab catch alternating sides

2 min jab cross – catch and shoulder roll

Thai Pads 3min/1min

Jab cross – rear round – jab cross – front round

Jab cross – front round – avoid rear round – return rear round

Finisher
Tabata Squats 6 rounds (20/10sec work/rest)

Squats per round:
Tony--Mike--Frank
15-----15-----16
17-----19-----17
12-----15-----13
12-----16-----14
12-----12-----11
12-----11-----16

Next week we’ll add a few new drills and equipment pieces to the workout.

Preparing for Saturday

2008-02-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

Getting all set for Saturday’s workout, we’re expecting a new victim to join us tomorrow. We’ll see how the garage handles 5 people jumping rope at the same time. It sure will be nice when it warms up a little – when we can open the garage door we can spill over to the driveway and that’ll make handling more people pretty easy.

I was hoping to have a video post of the finish of Saturday’s workout but I won’t have access to a digital video camera for about 2 weeks. See you all with a new post tomorrow night

Inspiration

2008-02-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

A fun video illustrating one fighters road to recovery, and back to the ring, after a neck injury.

Saturday Workout, the "Beginning"

2008-02-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

Warmup

2x3min Jump Rope – final 30 sec of each round double unders
2 rounds – 10 Pullups, 10 Squats, 10 Situps, 3 Ring Dips, 10 Lumbar Extensions, Hip flexor stretch

Agility/Footwork Drills 2 min/ 30sec rest

Forward Crossover step
Side Crossover Step
Evasion Step (Thai Round kick evasion)

Slip Line 3min/1min rest

Bob and Weave
Bob and weave with forward step

Circuit 2 times through with 3min/1min rest

Heavy Bag – hand and foot combinations, final 30 of each round continuous punching
Maize ball
Mitts – jab-cross-cover-return, catch jab-jab-cross-hook, low cover-return jab or cross, etc.

Glove Drills 3min/1min rest

Jab – catch – jab
Low jab – catch – jab

Offense/Defense 3min/1min rest

Defend against jab
Defend against high or low jab

Thai Pads 3min/1min rest

1st round

1min alternating round kicks
1 min jab cross kick (alternate kicking side)
1 min alternating round kicks

2nd round

1 min alternating round kicks
2 min jab-cross-rear round- evade rear round – return front round

(post comments, suggestions or questions to "Comments" below)