Strength & Conditioning

Next Workshop: Strength and Conditioning for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

Squats, bench presses and biceps curls do little to prepare the body for the physical demands of BJJ. The  success of a strength and conditioning program , without exception,  requires improvement of attributes relevant to a sport’s performance. Attributes relevant to all sport performance include:

  • skill
  • strength
  • speed
  • flexibility
  • endurance
  • recovery
  • psychology

Sports and other physical activities differ in terms of the expression of these attributes. BJJ has its own (very) specific needs! Most attempts at strength and conditioning for BJJ fail due to lack specificity. Exercises and stretches emphasize the wrong muscles at incorrect speeds for inappropriate duration. Non specific programs result in compromised recovery, poorer technique and low self-esteem!
By taro

Martial Artists Don’t Get It

Brazilian Jiujitsu is a sport which demands a lot of energy. Some adapt extremely well to the demands and their bodies become better able to express energy – both in the short term (strength) as well as the long term (endurance). Others adapt less well. Poor adaptation can stem from many causes. Oftentimes, the demands of ordinary sport participation ((practice and competition) are insufficient. These “deficiencies in demand” can be corrected by adding “supplemental” forms of training. Strength and conditioning is not a sport. It is a special form of supplemental training that targets deficiencies in demand for the purpose of fulfilling an athlete’s potential to express energy. 

To maximize the benefits of strength and conditioning, it is useful to understand that strength and conditioning is supplemental and it is meant to correct deficiencies. This mental reference should encourage the careful addition of training stress. Some parts of an athlete’s body will be severely overtrained (short-term potential fulfilled) while others may be significantly undertrained (short-term potential unfulfilled). Most often, I see martial artists being smashed by extensive whole-body programs that simply wreck recovery and discourage participation. If an athlete’s stress tolerance only has room for additional grip and neck strengthening why are they doing squats, deadlifts, box jumps, HIIT, bench presses, kettlebell snatches and monkey contortions? Most programs for martial artists have zero benefits – only drawbacks. A weight room and strength equipment are a massive benefit as they allow training to be precise and predictable. For example, it is possible to measurably increase an athlete’s grip strength while completely avoiding stress to areas that may be vulnerable (such as their lower back, neck, knees shoulders etc.).

Exercises which bear no resemblance to BJJ abilities simply amount to more soreness and injuries with zero benefit

The whole point of strength and conditioning is to improve performance via increasing the potential to express energy. You want more energy at your disposal when you execute BJJ specific abilities like arm bars, grip breaking, chokes, framing, over-hooking, under-hooking, escapes, takedowns etc. etc. Always keep in mind our bodies will only enhance the energy expression capabilities of the systems that receive the demand. Clearly, strengthening your butt will not result in an improved ability to  finish a rear naked choke. Strength and conditioning exercises must match abilities in terms of posture, muscle use, speed, duration and force output. This requirement for “specificity” is very nuanced – few athletes and coaches get it! For now, please consider that if the exercise you are performing (or contemplating performing) doesn’t look or feel very similar to the ability you want to enhance it is likely worthless. Consider as well that anyone teaching strength and conditioning for BJJ must be an expert in BJJ techniques. If they can’t demonstrate the techniques how can their exercises be relevant? BTW specificity also applies to flexibility as well – primal movement classes are a whole lot of work which will never improve BJJ abilities such as re-guarding. 

The ability to meat hook, the ability to overhook and the ability to keep locked ankles are examples of BJJ abilities that use specific muscles and energy systems

If you are an experienced, hard-training athlete that wants to increase the amount of energy that is backing your martial arts skills consider supplemental strength and conditioning. One or two exercises are fine – you don’t need to commit to “buckshot” workouts. Determine which abilities you want to work on and look for exercises that match. At the very least do not  participate in completely unrelated sports like Crossfit, gymnastics, olympic lifting, bodybuilding, powerlifting  or acrobatics.  

Time to get it
By taro

Build Your Yoke

Bodyweight Neck Exercises

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By taro

Kill Zone Strength

SPECIFIC Strength and Conditioning For Grappling

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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

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

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.

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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

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!
By taro

How To Find a Good Personal Trainer

A personal trainer can have a profound impact on your quality of life. Exercise is the best medicine – capable of improving and maintaining physical and emotional health. Unfortunately, personal trainer quality varies tremendously. Luckily, good trainers leave clues. Due diligence begins by following the steps below!

STEP 1 Drop Your Biases

Physical Bias: Try not to immediately gravitate toward the prettiest or best built male or female in your gym. While this can be tempting, remind yourself that great genetics (and chemicals additives) can easily mask horrible training practices. Less spectacular looking specimens often have to fight tooth and nail to achieve moderate results. Genetically challenged individuals cannot make mistakes in their training and are intricately connected with methods that work.

Academic Bias: A degree or diploma does not automatically qualify someone as the best trainer for your goals. Even a trainer with a post-graduate degree may have little practical experience in your field of concern. Fitness and health information is evolving rapidly – trainers must keep their knowledge contemporary. Without maintenance, a degree quickly becomes obsolete! Balance your perspective and consider the tremendous value of experience as well as passionate, self-directed learning.

STEP 2 Observe

If you want to choose a trainer within your current gym environment, take some time to watch him or her in action. All behaviours give clues and you should take note of the following:

Professional Behaviour: How the trainer behaves with clients. Try to answer the following:

– Does the trainer arrive on time?

    • Are they preapared?
    • Are workouts preconceived or improvised on the fly?
    • Are observations and results documented?
    • Is their posture alert and attentive?Disqualify trainers that are consistently late, sitting, laying down, texting, preoccupied with themselves or their surroundings. Trainers should be active and engaged with their clients, either spotting, assisting with stretching, taking notes, mentoring or managing equipment.

Leisure Behaviour: How the trainer behaves when not with clients. Good trainers can often be seen doing the following:

    • working on fitness blogs (!)
    • creating programs
    • reading to improve their knowledge base
    • experimenting with exercises
    • managing their businessDisqualify front-desk flirters, perpetual phone-scrollers and general lollygaggers.

STEP 3 Interview

Speak to a few of the prospective trainer’s clients. Find out how long they have worked together and their general impressions. Good trainers have long-term relationships with many of their clients.

Most trainers will offer a free, initial consultation. Use this session to ask the following questions:

  1. Do you perform an assessment ? (to determine a client’s state of physical readiness, prescribe a course of action and to document starting statistics)
  2. What fitness skills and certifications do you have?
  3. How do you keep your knowledge current? (a great indication of a good trainer is an immediate ability to name several inspirational authors, fitness leaders and publications)
  4. Have you worked previously with someone like myself? (in terms of goals, attributes and circumstances)
  5. What are your goals for the future? (keen trainers have clear, industry related ambitions – half hearted trainers can’t wait to move on to becoming real estate agents, insurance brokers or interior designers)

STEP 4 Weigh Personality Wisely

Beware! First impressions are performances and the best performers are often miserable.

Even though your personal training candidate survived the first three steps of scrutiny make sure their personality suits yours. Throughout the years I have defined several trainer personality types:

  1. The Narcissist: Narcisists are drawn towards becoming personal trainers. They can be quite astute in their fitness knowledge but have the character of an overgrown baby. When you form a partnership with someone make sure there is at least one adult.
  2. The Cheerleader: These are the trainers which spew a continous loop of baseless, positive drivel. If you can tolerate a lack of meaningful insight from your fitness leader then the simplicity offered by this relationship is bliss!
  3. The Drill Sargeant: The type most featured in media, Drill Sargeants can be great motivators. However, constant shouting and dirision gets tiresome – you will probably want to drill the sargeant in the head after a couple of months. Great choice for short-term bursts of intensive fitness.
  4. The Fitness Nerd: Ususally underdeveloped trainers who compensate by having vast knowlege. Knowlege is great but if its application failed to render results in the Nerd it may also fail to render results in clients. Consider a nerd if all you want is a few sessions of basic, exercise information.
  5. The Believer: These personality types buy into every new trend and gadget that hits the fitness market. They love rubber, magnets, vibration, inflatables, electronics and other gizmos. Unfortunately, few trends stand the test of time and followers lose time, money and dignity.
  6. The Adaptive Personality: The very best trainers adjust their personality to best suit the changing needs of the client. They can be tough, gentle, loud, quiet, personable or professional. Their character and mood are consistent from day to day and workout to workout. The best personality for most.

Without regulating bodies or standards the responsibility of finding a high-quality trainer is entirely up to the consumer. Use the steps outlined above to cut through the fluff. Don’t commit to a large number of sessions at first and try several trainers. Look for honest referrals. Never underestimate the value of a good personal trainer!
By taro

Program: Volume and Intensity Cycling

Good old VIC. Volume and Intensity Cycling programs have existed since people started counting reps and sets. VIC has been called many names – Heavy/Light, High Reps/Low Reps and even Oscillating Intensity Training. Regardless of name the basis remains the same; that is, alternating workouts of low volume and low tension (or low intensity) with workouts of high volume and high tension (or high intensity). While VIC is old, it can still kick the butt of most fancy pants programs out there. Adding advanced methods to the basic template make VIC invincible. Volume and Intensity Cycling is highly effective for several reasons:

  1. It frames a desired performance level. Let’s use sprint training as an analogy. Improving 100 meter time necessitates addressing aspects of endurance and strength. A sprinter would therefore train both 120 meters (to address endurance) and 80 meters (to address strength). Applied to resistance training, if your goal is to improve the amount of weight you can lift on an exercise for 8 repetitions, you would frame that goal by training aspects of strength (using 6 repetitions and relatively heavy load) and aspects of endurance (using 10 repetitions and relatively light load). With both high rep days and low rep days included every week, VIC addresses both ends of the performance enhancing spectrum!
  2. VIC uses multiple pathways to build muscle and strength. VIC causes metabolic stress, improves motor skill and imposes high tension on muscle fibre.
  3. By alternating long, heavy days with briefer, lighter days VIC smashes muscle yet facilitates recovery.
  4. VIC eliminates guess work. Every muscle has an “adaptive niche” – responding better to either higher repetitions, lower repetitions or a combination of both. Since all levels of repetitions are addressed with VIC, your target muscle is guaranteed to receive optimum stimulation (at least part of the time).

BELOW is a basic VIC program dedicated toward developing the quads, lats, chest and biceps. This example should be integrated into a properly periodized program.

MONDAY – Legs, Back

(Group A) – 3 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Squats 10 reps

Pull ups 10 reps

Hamstrings Stretch 30 secs

(Group B) – 3 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Belt Squats 10 reps

Pullovers 10 reps

Calf Stretch 30 secs

(Group C) – 3 sets each, 30 seconds between sets

Calf Raise 30 reps

Rear Delt Raises 30 reps

Pec Major Stretch 30 secs

TUESDAY – Chest, Biceps

(Group A) – 3 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Barbell Bench Press 10 reps

Dumbbell Standing Twist Curls 10 reps

Rear Deltoid Stretch 30secs

(Group B) – 3 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Dumbbell Bench Press 10 reps

Dumbbell Preacher Twist Curls 10 reps

Lat Stretch 30 secs

(Group C) – 3 sets each, 30 seconds between sets

Shrugs 15 reps

Laterals 15 reps

Wrist Curls 15 reps

WEDNESDAY – Off

THURSDAY – Legs, Back

(Group A) – 6 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Squats 6 reps

Pull ups 6 reps

Abdominal Stretch 30 secs

(Group B) – 4 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Belt Squats 6 reps

Pullovers 6 reps

Coracobrachialis Stretch 30 secs

(Group C) – 3 sets each, 30 seconds between sets

Calf Raises 30 reps

Rear Delt Raises 30 reps

Pec Major Stretch 30 seconds

FRIDAY – Chest, Biceps

(Group A) – 6 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Barbell Bench Press 6 reps

Dumbbell Standing Twist Curls 6 reps

Rear Deltoid Stretch 30 secs

(Group B) – 4 sets each, 60 seconds between sets

Dumbbell Bench Press 6 reps

Dumbbell Preacher Twist Curls 6 reps

Lat Stretch 30 secs

(Group C) – 3 sets each, 30 seconds between sets

Shrugs 15 reps

Laterals 15 reps

Wrist Curls 15 reps

***Repetition speed should reflect the goals, abilities and status of the athlete. In general, strive for a tempo which allows maximal strength expression while maintaining good technique.

On paper, VIC may not seem very novel or impressive. It is an old program, which (like an old friend) reappears every once in a while. Don’t take VIC for granted, however, as it is powered by very important muscle and strength building concepts. Frame your performance goal, target multiple growth pathways and be aware of muscle specific adaptive niches – your ambitions will become achievements!

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