Author: taro
By taro

Why Cross Training Sucks (BJJ oriented)

BJJ enthusiasts are obsessed with the idea of improving their success in the sport. In the hind regions of their brains are memories of individuals with athletic backgrounds having a distinct  advantage on the mats. With these memories as motivation, BJJ students will try any physical activity that inspires visions of glory. Popular choices include cross fit, gymnastics, rock climbing, bodybuilding, powerlifting, functional training and olympic lifting. Unfortunately, instead of glory, the result of cross training in other sports is always more fatigue, more injury and greater poverty. Cross training, or the participation in a sport for the sake of improving another sport, sucks for many reasons. Chief amongst these reasons is lack of specificity, superfluous strain and disregard for individual needs.

Specificity is a term more BJJ students need to become familiar with. Physical activities, are distinct because of their specialized muscular, metabolic and movement demands. These demands are far more specialized, or specific, then most people realize. For example, many BJJ students believe powerlifting or other basic strength training programs are valuable in regards to improving their strength on the mat. Unfortunately, these activities will give little return on invested effort. For starters, most lifting programs are based on muscular efforts which expose the core. Lifts like deadlifts, cleans, bench presses, overhead presses and squats result in the exposure of BJJ’s most valuable real estate – the space between our hips and armpits. BJJ fighters actually exert a lot of muscular effort trying to cover the core. We pull our knees to our chest to battle guard passers and we squeeze our elbows tight into our ribs to stop underhooks, chokes and arm attacks. The ability to squeeze our limbs towards our core is also critical for finishing chokes, armlocks and for controlling the back. Bodybuilders, power lifters, cross fitters and other strength training enthusiasts come to the dojo with great general strength and power but have gross deficiencies in regards to performance factors specific to BJJ. 

Cross fit attracts many BJJ enthusiasts as it is a sport which values the development of a fuel tank which matches muscular horsepower. Unfortunately, any return on invested effort would be minimal and likely masked by overtraining. While some BJJ students find the ten to fifteen minute WODs help with stamina, WODs are preceded by a variety of  exercises which are specific to cross fit and not grappling. Additional hours of weekly training (with irrelevant exercises) is not desired by bodies already strained by full time BJJ training. 

Yoga is another activity popular with BJJ students. Most hope to become lethal contortionists with improved posture and recovery. Unfortunately, Yoga is dedicated to its poses and movements – not with BJJ positions and movement. My BJJ student John, joined a Yoga class in hopes of gaining more flexibility for his rubber guard and butterfly hooks. John soon discovered Yoga instructors are in the dark in regards to the guard game. Some yoga poses actually do stretch the specific muscles required for John’s BJJ ambitions but the class did not spend enough time focusing on them. Yoga has hundreds of other poses to prioritize. BJJ students will find it hard to address their posture and pain issues in a yoga class. Not everyone has the same posture type or the same issues. It is impossible to accommodate the needs of the individual in a large group. 

Specificity guarantees that most sports and physical activities won’t match the demands of BJJ practice or competitions. The primary reason people with a sporting history often excel at BJJ is that they are gifted athletes. They are naturally able to adapt to physical activity and have high movement intelligence. Some of us are not as naturally gifted and require more effort to excel at a sport. Supplement deficiencies in your ability to express energy with strength and conditioning. Strength and conditioning is not cross training. It is physical activity dedicated to improving a chosen sport and is not a sport itself. A strength and conditioning program for BJJ is designed to focus on BJJ muscles, BJJ energy systems and is customizable to the needs of the individual athlete. High energy governed by maximum efficiency is unbeatable.
By taro

Tips For Summer Fat Loss Success

Without fail, at the change of season, hysteria grips the population. The removal of winter clothes triggers Extreme Self Consciousness Syndrome. The most common symptoms are the sudden urge to control calories and begin exercise. During this time of hysteria sufferers are especially vulnerable to gimmicks and gizmos. Follow the tips below and thrive while others suffer.

 

Commit to your mission:   

 Without fail, as soon as anyone sets a goal for themselves obstacles appear. Anticipate the usual setbacks; social occasions, travel, injuries, illness, stress, haters and saboteurs. Those whom are prepared will prevail! Instead of pacifying yourself with food deal with the important issues of the day and be confident in your ability to surmount adversity.

 

Limit the damage:

The first step for many clients is to limit their eating to between 2 pm and 10 pm. This strategy is effective for a number of reasons:

  • Food cramming (squeezing a day’s diet into eight hours) causes fullness yet results in fewer calories being consumed.
  • The body is given a longer period of time in a fasted state which has a number of benefits including improved insulin function
  • Impulsive, unproductive grazing is eliminated
  • When the opportunity to eat is restricted, people automatically become aware of every morsel that enters their mouth. This results in a well ruminated diet with consistent food choices and portions – the basis of a successful diet! 

 

Base your diet on protein:

Protein is the fundamental food of  choice for these reasons: 

  • During metabolism, 20 to 30 % of protein calories are lost to heat production (only 15 to 20% and 2 to 5 % for carbohydrates and fats respectively)
  • Protein is more satiating than carbohydrates or fat
  • A high intake results in simultaneous muscle mass increase and fat loss
  • Nutrients (Vitamin B12, heme iron, zinc, carnitine, carnosine, glutathione, creatine, EPA, DHA, BCAAs etc.) derived from meat, fish and whey protein are vital for vigour and performance.

Recent evidence indicates .8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight is not enough. Target between 1.6 and 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight daily.

 

Target Glycogen Not Fat 

Encourage your body to burn glycogen and it will respond by storing more glycogen. Encourage your body to burn fat and it will respond by storing more fat! Fat burning aerobic exercise reduces metabolic rate and diminishes muscle mass and power. Glycogen burning anaerobic exercise boosts metabolic rate and increases muscle mass. It also diverts calories from fat storage (in belly fat, hip fat etc.) to glycogen storage (in biceps muscle, butt muscle etc.). To ensure that your workout is burning glycogen and not fat keep exercise intensity above what can be sustained for two minutes. Take breaks that are both frequent and long enough to ensure maintenance of this intensity level. Activities conducive to anaerobic training include: sprinting, rowing and strength training.  

 

Get Into Cyclical HIIT Training

High Intensity Interval Training rips fat off the body but sustaining peak volume is impossible. To avoid premature HIIT burnout, program your weekly volume progressively. Build to maximum levels and then reduce to beginning levels. Repeat this cycle according to tolerance. Below is an average example of this concept:

1 set is composed of a 30 second maximal or near maximal sprint followed by a 30 second walk. Make sure to warm-up prior to your first set!

 

Week 1           Week 2         Week 3         Week 4          Week 5         Week 6

6 sets              7 sets           8 sets           9 sets            10 sets         11 sets

    Week 7           Week 8         Week 9         Week 10        Week 11       Week 12        

12 sets           13 sets         14 sets          15 sets           6 sets            7 sets

ETC!

 

Do a lot of strength training:

Your muscles are sponges saturated with calories. Squeeze them dry and they will suck calories away from fat cells. Squeeze them too much, however, and their calorie sucking ability will be impaired. Maximize calories sucking ability by draining as many muscles as possible rather than pummelling a select few. The usual split of chest and triceps Monday, quads and abs Tuesday, back and biceps Wednesday, shoulders and traps Thursday, lower back and hamstrings Friday is inadequate. Far too few muscles are being drained of their glycogen. A more sophisticated program of sufficient variety looks like this:

 

Monday: 

Back (Scapular Depressors)

Chest (Lower Fibres and Pec Minor)

Elbow Flexors (Supinators)

Triceps (Long Head)

Tuesday:

Quads

Adductors of the thigh

Calves (Supinators)

Wednesday

Shoulders (Medial Rotators)

Abs (Upper Fibres and Obliques)

Neck (Flexors) and Traps

Thursday:

Back (Scapular Retractors)

Chest (Upper and Mid Pec)

Elbow Flexors (Pronators)

Triceps (Lateral and Medial Heads)

Friday:

Low Back/Hamstrings

Abductors of the thigh

Calves (Pronators)

Saturday:

Shoulders (Lateral Rotators)

Abs (Lower abs and Hip Flexors)

Neck (Extensors)

 

Cook Enough for Leftovers

Pasta, rice and potatoes change molecular structure after they have been cooked and then allowed to cool. A large (10 to 50 percent!) portion of the original carbohydrate content gets converted to undigestible resistant starch. Monday’s pasta dinner, despite being of equal portion size, will have less fattening impact when consumed Tuesday night. Cooled foods can be reheated without affecting the molecular transformation.

 

REFERENCES

Keenan, M. J., Zhou, J., McCutcheon, K. L., Raggio, A. M., Bateman, H. G., Todd, E., … & Hegsted, M. (2006). Effects of Resistant Starch, A Non-digestible Fermentable Fiber, on Reducing Body Fat. Obesity, 14(9), 1523-1534

Layman, D.K.(2009). Dietary Guidelines should reflect new understandings about adult protein needs. Nutrition & Metabolism, 6(12), Lemon, P. (1998). Effects of exercise on dietary protein requirements. International Journal of Sports Nutrition, 8(4), 426-447.

Westerterp, K.R. (2004). Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutrition & Metabolism, 1, 1-5
By taro

Strength and Conditioning for BJJ – The Anti Kimura Muscles

Your arm is able to rotate outwards. It can do do this from a variety of positions and angles. The muscles that perform these functions are known as the external (or lateral) rotators of the humerus. BJJ aficionados should call them “anti-kimura” muscles. Regardless of name, they are crucial in a variety of situations: 

1. They allow us to feel more confident when countering Kimuras, omoplatas, monoplatas or baratoplatas.

2. They give our shoulders stability when using a straight arm to pass, recompose the guard or post on the floor.

3. They reinforce the integrity of arm-frames when creating space against partners or posting on an elbow against the floor.

The biggest issue in regards to strengthening the lateral rotators is their complexity. Muscle fibres run in myriad directions to allow for a diversity of functions.  Miss a muscle fibre in your strengthening program and your body will be missing a function. To get started, however, keep things simple and try the following three exercises.  

 

1. Classic lying 90 degree raise (emphasis on the external rotators which also move the arm away from the body)

Essential cues:

  • Elbow bent at 90 degrees
  • Arm pivoting above ribs with neither forward or backward movement of humerus
  • Do not rest the elbow on the ribs

2. Planted elbow raise (emphasis on the external rotators which also move the arm towards the body)

Essential cues:

  • Humerus supported slightly in front of the body and slightly below parallel to the floor.
  • Press the arm down into the support (firmly but not near maximal effort) as the humerus is being externally rotated

 

3. Multiple plane posting

Essential cues:

  • Start in a perfect pushup position with the spine rock solid and the non working arm behind the lower back. Plant both hands on the floor if one is too difficult. 
  • Shift the whole body to move the shoulder carefully beyond the borders of the planted hand.
  • Start with a shift behind the hand. Then in front, to the outside and to the inside.  Hitting all four positions counts as one repetition. 

***This is an advanced shoulder stability exercise and should not be performed more than twice a week. Only include it in your program for a four to six week period.

Feel stable and buy time (to find solutions) in bad situations. The anti-kimura muscles, while near invisible, are a major key to making BJJ fighters totally tenacious!  
By taro

Plight of the Pussycat (a brief allegory)

A brief allegory.

Continue Reading
By taro

Six Revelations Towards a Solution for Elbow Pain

There is a lot of confusion in regards to elbow pain. Every purveyor of health products and services  has a different perspective. Don’t be confounded by all the clamour. Read the following six revelations and get on the path to clarity.

1.  The primary cause of most elbow pain is muscular overuse. Muscular overuse causes muscles to get tight. Tight muscles are vulnerable to inflammation (known as tendonitis or golfer’s/tennis elbow), cramps, strains and tears. Tension also pulls the skeleton out of alignment which can cause arthritis and/or neuropathy.

NOTE: While your case of elbow pain is most likely the result of overused muscles, always get a proper diagnosis from a medical doctor!

2.  Overuse injuries are caused by weakness.  Working muscles assist each other to create movement. Should some muscles within a group become weak, their lack of work has to be  assumed by those which remain strong. The burden of compensating for weak muscles causes strong muscles to become overused!

3.  Strength is the most powerful solution for overuse injuries:  End the burden of compensation by strengthening weak muscles and overused muscles recover. Recovery is fast and profound! Most people will feel an immediate reduction of pain and tightness. Often only two or three strengthening sessions are required for complete resolution. Strengthening weak muscles also increases tone helping to balance tension around joints. Improving skeletal alignment with strength is critical when managing arthritis, pinched nerves and ligament health. Strength is more powerful than stretching, myofascial release or rest! (however, the ultimate intervention combines all four).

4.  Weak muscles lie adjacent to the strong. If you have an overused elbow flexor its weak partner will also be found within the elbow flexor group. Likewise, if you have an overused elbow extensor the muscle you need to strengthen will also belong to the elbow extensor group. No need to venture far from overused muscles to find weak partners or synergists.

5.  Your left side must be trained in a manner opposite to your right side: If you are unlucky enough to have pain in both elbows – what you stretch on the left must be strengthened on the right and vice-versa. For example, if your extensor carpi radials is tight on your left it will be weak on your right! It does not matter if the pain feels identical. Only a very precise assessment can determine the exact needs of individual muscle fibres. Tarodo stretching actually isolates the individual heads within a muscle. The muscular needs of your body vary from front to back as well as side to side.

6.   Blame posture: Posture is the placement of bones to compensate for the effects of gravity. For a bone to move (and remain in position) some muscles need to be active while others need to be inhibited. Active muscles become strong muscles and inhibited muscles become weak. Stop blaming yesterdays workout for your pain! Postural stress is relentless – continuing even as we sleep. Gravity never ceases – victimizing our backs, necks, shoulders, hips, knees, elbows, hands and feet.
By taro

Seven Reasons Why You Can’t Build Muscle

Some people have a very difficult time developing muscle. Hardgainers, despite their greatest efforts, yield little progress. Conversely, “growers” reap amazing results despite what seems like minimal effort. The disparity between the two is often ascribed to genetics but the typical hardgainer has flaws in their approach to building muscle.  Below are ten of the most common.

  1. Conflicting Goals: Most of the hardgainers I meet want to build muscle and lose fat. While successfully addressing both goals at the same time is possible (especially for those new to exercise and gifted), the potential for change is smaller in comparison to addressing the goals separately. Maximum muscle growth requires increased calorie intake and minimal activity (especially aerobic activity) outside of muscle-building workouts. Maximum fat loss, conversely, requires reduced calorie intake and high levels of activity outside of muscle-maintaining workouts. To avoid nullifying their efforts, hardgainers need to go hard in one direction at a time. For example, they should focus solely on building muscle for three months and then switch to focusing on fat loss for three months. Separating goals into distinct periods of time (known as periodization) should be the foundation of all programs.

2.  Having a phobia of gaining fat. Clients often jeopardize their muscle building efforts to pacify their fear of gaining fat. Closet cardio and fatty food abstinence are common, highly counterproductive behaviours. The key to building muscle is to support your body’s anabolic drive. Aerobic exercise is catabolic and fats (as well as other nutrients) contained in meat, fish and whole eggs are necessary for a vigorous metabolism. Your self-esteem needs work If the thought of gaining half a percent body-fat frightens you. Favour the identity of a goal assailing beast as opposed to a pretty (and procrastinating) princess.

 

3. Pusillanimous Exercise Choices: If you need to find a group of hardgainers in your gym, just venture over to the functional trainers and inflatables – preoccupy yourself with these devices and just maintaining your physique will be a major victory! Pusillanimous exercises have common traits:

a. They occupy the extremes of the stability continuum. That is, they are either too unstable (involving wobble boards and balls) or too stable (involving machines). Too much instability limits target tissue strain by sacrificing load. For example, most reasonably strong people (with their feet well based on the floor) can strain their biceps with a curl equalling fifty percent of their bodyweight. However, if that strong individual compromises their base by standing on a wobble board their ability to curl will drop to pusillanimous poundages. Someone with good balance might be able to tax their biceps with twenty percent of their bodyweight – lifting toddlers requires more strength than that! (note: never lift toddlers while standing on an unstable surface) Too much stability, on the other hand, limits whole-body strain which is important for eliciting a general physiological response (the release of testosterone, growth hormone etc.). Machines, which feature benches, supports and guided resistance eliminate much of the muscular engagement necessary to control posture, base and movement.

b. They feature plastic or rubber.

c. Are often unilateral. The best leg exercises for muscular mass use both legs and both arms at the same time. Single limb leg exercises simply do not support enough load for hardgainers. Less load means less tension on postural and target muscles. No legitimate hardgainer will satisfy their need for leg development by using lunges, step ups, split squats or pistol squats.

Effective exercises also have common traits:

a. They occupy the middle of the stability spectrum (neither too unstable nor artificially rigid). Free weight and bodyweight exercises place an enormous demand on muscles. Maximal muscle engagement is required to support posture, base, movement and load. The high level of whole-body strain triggers a big physiological response. With little practice, effective exercises allow the use of functional loads – loads stimulating enough to cause growth in target muscles.

b. They feature bodyweight and iron.

c. Are usually bilateral. As mentioned above, static leg exercises should be supported by the optimal placement of both feet. You are most stable when you can support the most weight. Bilateral barbell deadlifts and back squats are the most important exercises for the hardgainer. There exists no other alternative.

 

4. Horrendous Technique: A hoisted weight does not mean successful stimulation of the target muscle. I am amazed at the ability of some individuals to complete a repetition despite completely bypassing the appropriate musculature. Watch out for inappropriate leg drive, swinging, bouncing, kipping, non-existant negatives and minimal change in target joint angle. The vast majority of exercisers need to reduce the amount of weight they are using and slow their tempos until they improve their technique.

 

5. Piss-poor programming: All muscles have an adaptive niche. That is, a specific level of stress that causes the greatest result. For example, the lats respond best to fairly frequent training featuring low reps, heavy weights and multiple sets. Don’t settle for the generic prescription of 3 sets of 10 reps. Find the adaptive niches for your muscles through careful planning, observation and documentation. These programming “sweet spots” will greatly accelerate your results.

 

6. Inconsistency: Gifted exercise responders can miss workouts, swing from program to program and still build an awesome body. Hardgainers, without consistency, will achieve nothing. If you are a determined hardgainer, missed workouts must be rare. Plan on having to grind (with joy) on effective programs for a long time before making a switch. Hardgainers, trying to build muscle, have to battle just as hard as overweight people trying to lose fat.

 

7. Lack of Aggression: The gym is society’s most important emotional outlet. Challenge heavy barbell and body-weight exercises. Dig out your life’s bane and use it to ignite fury just prior to your most demanding lifts. Stop interrupting your drive and focus with moments on the phone as well as social dilly-dallying. Not only will your results improve – your mind and spirit will thank-you!

 

Compared to those gifted, it is very challenging for hardgainers to change their appearance. However, every hardgainer I have worked with has built major muscle after addressing the flaws above. Have patience, be methodical and you will persevere!
By taro

The Most Overlooked Muscles in MMA

All the glorified MMA conditioning videos and articles have one thing in common – none of them make an in depth attempt to properly train the hamstrings or calves. The knee flexors are crucial for striking and grappling performance as well as career longevity. Consider the following muscular functions:

 

– Drives the hips and propels the body forward
– Provides the mass necessary for impact and knockouts
– Powers the legs ability to clamp and squeeze opponents in a wide variety of grappling situations
– Lowers the centre of gravity
– Reinforces and aligns the knee

 

Every striker I have ever spoken to repeats “you hit with your hips”. Despite this mantra no one considers what is responsible for snapping the hips forward. Enlightenment only occurs after a fighter suffers an injury to either a calf or hamstring. Pain at the back of the leg completely inhibits hip drive and punches as well as kicks become anemic. Fighters often lament how increased muscular bodyweight makes them feel slow and sluggish. This perception won’t occur with appropriate ankle training. Powerful, well conditioned calves will make you feel light on your feet.

 

Strikers rely on the weight of muscles as much as they rely on their ability to generate strength and power. Would you rather get hit by a eight ounce bat or a thirty eight ounce bat? Calf mass provides the momentum that converts head kicks into knockouts and leg kicks into shock. Leg mass also serves as an anchor from which it becomes possible to accelerate the hip. Momentum and inertia are terms from fundamental biomechanics that should be familiar to all fighters.

 

In grappling, the legs are an awesome tool for controlling opponents. The hamstrings and calves are heavily relied upon to squeeze out any space behind the knee and clamp down on legs, necks, hips and torsos. Imagine trying to take and maintain back control without knee flexors. Attempts at arm-bars and triangles would be fruitless! For Judokas, hamstring and calf development is a major asset. If your uchimata is impotent, training the back of your legs provides an edge.

IMG_0509IMG_0510

 

For a world champion, Marcelo Garcia has a physical structure that seems relatively unremarkable – until you see his calves. It looks as if fifty percent of his bodyweight is below the knee! Like those punching bags which right themselves (thanks to a heavy base of sand), Professor Garcia’s low centre of gravity makes him hard to sweep. Marcelo always returns feet to floor. Muscle provides more than strength and power, it can be used to strategically distribute weight.

 

Both the hamstrings and calves have muscular heads which cross the knee joint. These muscles directly influence the strength and alignment of the leg. To minimize the chance of knee injury it is imperative to have a high strength to length ratio. Long legs which are narrow and weak will be prone to injury. Physics favours those with strong, thick and short legs. Size and strength, however, do not guarantee good knee alignment. Good alignment helps prevent the occurrence of injuries by evenly distributing stress. Poor alignment concentrates stress and structures that bear the greatest burden become vulnerable. If you want your knees to support a long martial art career you had better learn how to manage (stretch and strengthen) your hamstrings and calves!

 

Haphazard performance of deadlifts, hamstring curls or kettlebell and sled exercises will not improve your martial art performance. Proper hamstring and calf training demands an in-depth analysis of movement and muscle function. The right muscle fibres have to be targeted with effective exercises and programs. Any errors and your efforts will be fruitless. Hopefully this brief discourse inspires more coaches and athletes to comprehensively contemplate the calves and hamstrings!
By taro

On the Path To the Most Effective Leg Workout

It’s all about the deadlift. If you struggle to build leg mass your only hope is to hoist heavy weights from the floor. Squats alone aren’t enough – they need to be potentiated by weekly deadlifting.

The deadlift is key for several reasons:

  • Deadlifts are the ultimate stressor. If you disagree with this statement you have too little horsepower to tax your fuel tank. Using your whole body to lift gland busting weights is guaranteed to trigger adaptation. Your metabolism will boost muscular growth and your nervous system will become more powerful. Deadlifts make you more capable at all physical tasks.
  • It is the ultimate spinal erector exercise. A weak back will limit the development of massive legs.
  • Deadlifts feature a low centre of gravity. This facilitates greater stability. Stable exercises allow greater loading then unstable exercises. Greater loading means higher levels of tension within target muscle tissue.

Complete muscle activation is another major key to leg growth. Always stretch the antagonists of target muscle tissue prior to a set. The increase in activation will result in better growth and muscular balance. For the quadriceps, try stretching your calves prior to sets of squats. Although most believe the hamstrings are the only antagonists of the knee extensors, if the heads of the gastrocnemius are tight they will also impede quadriceps contraction.

Add maximum mass to your thighs by including this routine in your program:

 

Monday

A1. Perform a lateral gastrocnemius stretch for 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds.

A2. Perform a set of full squats with your heels on the floor for 10 reps. Rest 3 mins before repeating A1 and A2 three more times.

B1. Medial gastrocnemius stretch 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds.

B2. Perform a set of 3/4 squats, with your heels elevated by 1 to 1.5 inches (omit the top 1/4 of each repetition), for 10 reps. Without rest, repeat B1 and B2 three more times.

 

Thursday

A1. Perform an Iliacus, psoas or abdominal stretch for 30 seconds. Rest 30 seconds.

A2. Perform a set of bent-knee deadlifts for 5 reps. Rest 4 minutes before repeating A1 and A2 six more times.

 

Insert this routine into a complete, periodized program. While it is very simple it is also brutal – requiring very high dedication to recovery. Avoid spine extension intolerance. If you survive, it will provide the greatest gains possible.

 

Old timers will tell you. The gains were greatest during the glorious days of the deadlift!
By taro

Five Revelations Toward a Knee Pain Solution

Knee pain is the achilles heel of many sport, work, exercise and armchair warriors. Typical (and often unsuccessful) treatment consists of the big three: strengthening the vastus medialis, prescribing orthotics and taking anti-inflammatory medications. When they fail, consider the revelations listed below.

  1. Weak muscles cause most cases of knee pain! Weak muscles require strong muscles to compensate for their lack of function. This extra work causes strong muscles to become tight. Tight muscles can be painful and their tension changes joint alignment. Misaligned knees are prone to ligament and meniscus damage as well as arthritis.If your medial knee pain is being caused by a tight vastus medialis, the solution is to find out which of the remaining three quadriceps heads are weak and strengthen them. The vastus medialis will recover and lengthen once the burden of compensation is removed. Furthermore, strengthening weak muscles counters the pull of strong muscles and alignment improves.
  2. Your knee pain may be caused by tight hamstrings. Tight hamstrings, wrongfully associated with back pain, are too often overlooked in regards to knee health. An overworked lateral head of the hamstrings (biceps femoris) is often the origin of lateral knee pain. Tight hamstrings also shut down opposing muscles within the quadriceps and hips. This initiates the cascade of issues associated with compensation. Again, strengthening the weak heads (without affecting the strong heads) within the hamstrings group will reduce pain and dysfunction. As an aside, stretching the hamstrings as a group is a waste of time – each head must be isolated. The heads of the hamstring have very distinct functions!

3) Knee pain can originate at the hips. Their distance from the knees often precludes the hips from consideration in issues regarding knee health. However, a tight gluteus minimus or tensor fasciae latae can radiate pain far from their origins – extending all the way down the leg to the knee. Strengthening weak weak synergists as well as corrective loading restores hip balance and alignment. Using the foam roller on the IT band is a (less than) half-assed solution. Strength is the key!

 

4) The calves are a major key to knee health! Somehow health practitioners have forgotten that gastrocnemius crosses the knee joint. The calves directly affect knee health! Tight gastrocs alter knee alignment and reciprocally shut off heads within the quadriceps muscle group. Try stretching your medial and lateral gastrocs prior to squats or leg extensions and you will notice a significant improvement in strength – this practice alone can eliminate knee pain.

 

5) The look of your legs lends clues. Postural tendencies such as bow legs or knocked knees are part of the knee health puzzle. From the shape of your legs you can deduce which muscles will be strong and which will be weak. Ligament and meniscus stress is also predictable. Legs that tend to be knock kneed, for example, will feature a weak vastus medialis (a chief “anti-valgus” muscle) and will be prone to ACL and lateral meniscus injury. Postural tendencies are the result of the body balancing itself over its base. Corrective loading, which moves our centre of gravity, is crucial to the management of leg appearance.

 

The above revelations have their basis in very simple logic. What is obvious is very often overlooked. However, with fundamental knowledge in functional anatomy anyone can start to see the connections. If you want to learn more stay tuned to tarodo.com or connect with me via tarokurita@hotmail.com. Seminars and certifications are coming soon!
By taro

Strength and Conditioning For BJJ – Five Points to Ponder

The concept of strength and conditioning is misunderstood by the majority of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu   practitioners. This misunderstanding is resulting in injuries, wasted effort and jaded athletes. Below are a few points to help define the role of strength and conditioning in your quest to improve as a BJJ warrior.

POINT ONE

Strength and conditioning for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is not bodybuilding, powerlifting, olympic lifting, gymnastics or crossfit! These are all sports that are only concerned with their distinct physical activities. Their intentions are definitely not to improve BJJ performance! A strength and conditioning program for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is specifically designed to condition BJJ muscles and BJJ energy systems.

POINT TWO

A strength and conditioning program is not just lifting weights. A program may address several fitness components including strength, power, general endurance, muscular endurance, muscular balance and mobility. Tools used by a strength and conditioning coach include barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, bodyweight, rubber bands, gymnastic rings, resistance training machines and more. Exercise choice is based on effectiveness and is not limited to any particular discipline. Exercises associated with gymnastics, olympic lifting, calisthenics or even yoga can be part of a strength and condtitioning program provided they are relevant to the sport and athlete.

POINT THREE

Strength and conditioning is not about skill development. The primary concern of strength and conditioning is the development of the body’s energy systems (muscles and metabolism). Some exercises may resemble actual BJJ techniques but the intent is to strengthen the muscular system. Skill work is ALWAYS best addressed  in actual practice under the supervision of a qualified BJJ coach! Unless a strength and conditioning coach really knows jiu-jitsu, mimicking movements in the gym may ingrain bad habits or simply be a waste of time.

POINT FOUR

BJJ training is a complete workout which improves strength and cardiovascular fitness. Serious practitioners do not need the additional burden of an extensive strength and conditioning program. Most will benefit from a program that is limited to a short list of specific needs. For example, poor grip endurance, bridging power or hip mobility may be hindering an athlete’s success. To address these needs a  strength and conditioning program would only require an hour of extra work per week. Bear crawls, burpees, Tabatas and agility ladders won’t be necessary!

POINT FIVE

The intent of strength and conditioning is not to turn BJJ athletes into untechnical goons. Efficiency should always be the ultimate goal of jiu-jitsu athletes. However, having a high reserve of energy is a definite asset in practice or competition. Furthermore, consider the unpredictable realm of self- defence. Outside the dojo, battles are not controlled by weight classes and time may be limited to milliseconds. You may need a big burst of energy to compensate for imperfect conditions and imperfect technique. Going into battle, all warriors need to be as prepared as possible. Arm yourself with an astute strength and conditioning program!

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