Benefits of Including Cardio Into A Strength Training Routine

Admitting to your mistakes is the first step to self-improvement. In the personal training, performance and nutrition industry, you either learn and adapt, or you get left behind. As a trainer and coach, there are many things I've gotten wrong in the past. This series will cover topics I've been wrong and misinformed about, how I changed my stance, as well as how my practical recommendations and advice have evolved over the past months and years in light of newer information.

Cardio Training

Avoid cardio at all costs.
The treadmill are for cardio bunnies.
Cardio will make you smaller and steal your muscle and strength gains.

When I first started to strength train more seriously, these were the quotes I saw all over the internet. The young lifter that I was, I followed this advice and worst of all, I bought into the anti-cardio mindset. During my time powerlifting, I even read some advice from a big name saying something along the lines of: "The best thing you can do in terms of recovery from powerlifting is sit on your ass, the more time you spend resting, the more strength you'll gain". Ridiculous right? Well, at the time it didn't seem too ridiculous to me. 

I grew up practicing martial arts, I ran track in elementary school, I was an explosive, high energy athlete as a kid. My whole life I didn't believe I was good at prolonged low-intensity cardio, so I did everything I could to avoid it. I didn't leave my comfort zone, simple as that. After injuring myself through powerlifting, I wasn't able to do what I loved. I knew the rehabilitation process would take a long time. Something had to change.

If I truly wanted to become the best personal trainer and the best coach I could be, why am I neglecting cardio? Why am I neglecting the science of endurance training and conditioning? A lot of people call themselves strength & conditioning coaches, yet only know how to strength train; I didn't want to be one of those people.

That's when I bought my first bike. I put in the hours on the pavement, flats, uphill, downhill; I fell in love with endurance training and the challenges that come with it. Taking time off strength training and putting more emphasis on conditioning helped me grow as a trainer, and as a strength & conditioning coach. It taught me how to be unbiased when designing a training program, and how to take the best pieces from each modality of training (strength training and endurance training) while discarding the misinformation, myths and negative mindsets that come from the strength training-only and the endurance training-only cultures.

it's all about the mindset

As someones who's been through it AND studied the science, I get where this anti-cardio mindset comes from. Strength athletes are still not buying into the benefits of cardio. I understand there are other ways of improving general work capacity other than jumping on an elliptical or stationary bike. But the biggest problem I see is that many recreational strength athletes and so called "fitness coaches" are neglecting cardio all together, and it's a shame. Not only is this anti-cardio mindset detrimental to the physical and the cardiovascular health-related attributes of an athlete, I have seen it manifests itself in the form of mental weakness and laziness; lifters that complain about 8 rep sets, lifters that embrace the unhealthy and overweight strength training lifestyle, lifters that have to demonize other forms of exercise to feed their own ego. If you're a fitness trainer and you preach an anti-cardio minset, you're not taking client's health seriously. 

Over the last few months, I've realized muscle mass, strength and conditioning are not mutually exclusive, and you should as well. I've taken inspiration from some of the best MMA fighters, "hybrid athletes" like Alex Viada to top level Crossfit athletes.

Low-intensity cardio training is a lifters best friend. Here are some benefits:

• Increased blood flow into working muscles for recovery in between lifting sessions

• Great for cardiovascular health (low intensity training induces adaptions in the heart that high-intensity training simply can't)

• Act as an anti-depressant and improves mental health and short term memory

• Can be used as a form of active-meditation

I'm not telling you to hop on the elliptical for a 2 hour aerobic training session, just perform some type of steady state training 1-2x a week and acclimitize your mind to longer, prolonged efforts of physical activity. 

Practical Recommendation and Takeaways

Perform 30-60 minutes of steady state low-intensity cardio on rest days to improve blood flow and muscle recovery.

Feel free to use several modalities, you don't have to just stick with one. Here's an example:

• 1 Modality Training
  Stationary Bike - 45 minutes at low-intensity, conversational pace

• 3 Modalities
  Stationary Bike - 15 minutes
  Skip Rope - 15 minutes
  Incline Treadmill Walk - 15 minutes

Much like strength training, progressions can be planned, intensity can be undulated throughout the week. Here's an example from 1 week of training

• Workout #1 Moderate steady state
  5 minute easy warm up, 45 minutes at 75% of your maximum heart rate, 5 minute easy cool down

• Workout #2 Easy steady state
  70 minutes at 65% of your maximum heart rate.

Steady state aerobic training can improve your mental game and mindset more so than your physical performance. Get comfortable with uncomfortable situations, be humble and be willing to do things out of your comfort zone to grow and improve as an athlete, no matter what the sport.

If you’d like to learn more about how to mix strength and cardio training together. Read my popular article on concurrent training here.

MMA Strength and Conditioning: Endurance and Energy System Training for MMA (Part 2)

WRITE BETTER PROGRAMS WITH THIS FREE CHAPTER

Chapter 7 of the eBook, “The Sport-Specific Trap - Revisiting Dynamic Correspondence for Combat Sports” talks about key concepts to consider when selecting exercises to enhance combat sports performance and some common mistakes coaches make.

read PART 1 here

Part 2: endurance and metabolic demands of mma

In this part of the series, I will give you guys an overview of the body's energy systems, discuss the metabolic needs of an MMA fighter, and then lay out different training methods to improve endurance specific to MMA.

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Energy system overview

Strikes, takedowns, grappling, submissions. A wide variety of physical capabilities and a diverse range of martial arts skills are required to excel in the sport of MMA. Don't forget the power and the endurance needed to pull off fight-finishing techniques or to last the whole duration of the fight. We are capable of all these movements thanks to our 3 energy systems: aerobic system, anaerobic system and alactic/phosphogen system. The intensity and duration of our movements is what dictates which energy systems are used, and which substrates are used to fuel that energy system. Each energy system takes a different substrate (fuel) to create energy molecules called ATP (energy currency of our body) that is then used to contract our muscles so we can move. As you can imagine, the energy demands of a sprinter and marathoner have completely different energy demands.

3 energy systems are used in the human body: Aerobic, Anaerobic and Alactic.

The AEROBIC system (also known as the oxidative system) is the slowest acting energy system in our body, yet it is capable of creating the most energy. At rest, around 65-70% of your energy comes from the utilization of fat, 25-30% comes from carbohydrates, while less than 5-10% comes from amino acids (protein). As intensity increases, these percentages shift - carbohydrates become more important because of its quicker availability in the body. That's why you need adequate blood sugar (carb) levels when exercising or doing intensive activity. The aerobic energy system is the predominant system involved in exercise lasting 2-3 minutes, to hours and even days. The aerobic system (aero meaning air) requires oxygen to utilize fat stores (body fat) and carbohydrate stores (in your muscles and liver). 

The ANAEROBIC system (aka the glycolytic system), is a faster acting system that can produce ATP even in the absence of oxygen. The downside to this faster ATP-production rate is that it can only breakdown carbohydrates as fuel and it creates a significant amount of lactate (commonly known as lactic acid). Lactate is correlated with exercise and performance fatigue, but the concept is often misinterpreted in the MMA and strength & conditioning world (more on this later). Exercise bouts of moderate to high intensities, lasting upwards to 2-3 minutes are mainly fueled by the anaerobic energy system.

The ALACTIC system (aka the phosphagen or phosphocreatine system) is the energy system capable of producing the most energy within the shortest amount of time. A fight-ending flurry or combination uses this energy system. The alactic system is different to the aerobic and anaerobic system in that it produces energy by directly breaking down the ATP molecule, bypassing the conversion of fats, carbohydrates or protein into ATP. However, our body has limited stores of ATP, therefore the alactic system is the quickest to fatigue and can only produce large bursts of energy for up to 10 seconds. Fully restoring phosphocreatine and ATP stores takes around 5-8 minutes; this restoration time can be influenced by strength & conditioning training, as well as the level of development of the aerobic and anaerobic system.

One misconception about energy systems is that each energy system completely turns on or off during various intensities and durations of exercise. Instead, all three energy systems contribute to energy production during all modalities and intensities of exercise. The relative contributions of each will depend on the velocity and force demands of the exercise bout or sport.

Another misconception is that the aerobic energy system is not used during mixed-type and pure anaerobic sports, when in reality the aerobic system can supply anywhere from 30 to 65% of the energy used in an exercise bout lasting up 2 minutes (800m running event for example). 

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Endurance and metabolic demands of mma

Professional fights are 3 x 5 minute rounds with 1 minute rest in between rounds and Championship bouts are 5 x 5 minute rounds with 1 minute rest in between rounds. Amateur fights are slightly shorter, generally 3 x 3 minutes or less. A 15 minute or 25 minute fight then, requires a full spectrum of endurance capabilities. A respectable aerobic energy system must be developed to last the whole duration of the fight, while the short, repeated bursts of high-intensity action require a degree of anaerobic capacity and neuromuscular-alactic power.

It's widely known that fights often end before their allotted time limit, either via a knockout (KO) or technical knockout (TKO) by strikes, or by submission (SUB). This differs from other sports such as hockey or basketball where the players are required to play the whole length of the game. In MMA, fighters have the unique ability to control how long the fight lasts. This has huge implications on training strategies as well as damage and concussion mitigation. A fighter could technically never train their conditioning and achieve all their MMA wins by first round knockout... But... we all know that strategy does NOT work against equally-skilled opponents; even the most brutal knockout artists can be taken into deep waters. Professional MMA fighters must have the appropriate amount of conditioning to last at a minimum, 15 minutes. Failing to do so will prevent you from competing at the highest level of the sport.

Let's dive into the details.

MMA consists of intermittent bouts of high-intensity actions, followed by periods of moderate to low-intensity movement or disengagement. By compiling data from other combat sports, Lachlan et al (2016) categorized the metabolic demands based on 2 categories, grappling-based demands and striking-based demands.

Grappling-based sports like judo and wrestling appear to have a work-rest-ratio of approximately 3:1 with work phases lasting an average of 35 seconds, while striking-based sports like kickboxing and Muay Thai have a work-to-rest ratio ranging from 2:3 and 1:2, with work phases lasting around 7 seconds on average. MMA sits in-between these values, with a work-to-rest ratio between 1:2 and 1:4 with work phases lasting 6-14 seconds, which are then separated by low-intensity efforts of 15-36 seconds.

Work-to-rest ratios describe the amount of time exerting energy vs. the amount of the time disengaging and "taking the foot off the gas pedal". The more intense and long the work is, the more rest is needed to restore energy.

It should be noted that the structure of a typical professional MMA bout has a true work-to-complete rest ratio of 5:1 (5 minute rounds, 1 minute breaks), while the work-to-active rest ratio inside each 5 minute round is determined by the tactical strategies and the skill set of the MMA athletes. Fighters described as "grinders" such as Michael Bisping or Nick Diaz will display a much higher work-rest ratio than more "explosive" athletes like Jose Aldo or Tyron Woodley.

There is clearly a tradeoff between power/explosivity (lol Dada 5000) and the ability to perform optimally for the whole duration of the bout.

The best fighters in the world like Demetrious Johnson or GSP are not only in peak physical performance in terms of power and endurance, but have a high enough fight IQ to determine when to engage or disengage during a fight, when to perform a fight finishing flurry, or when to back off.

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debunking conditioning myths in mma

"MMA matches only last 15-25 minutes, therefore high intensity interval training is the only way to improve endurance and conditioning"

The most common training mistake amongst fighters. In order to build elite level conditioning, fighters must have a solid aerobic base with a well-developed capacity for anaerobic efforts. As I mentioned earlier, the aerobic energy system is responsible for re-synthesizing ATP after periods of high intensity bursts, therefore influences how fighters recover in-between rounds AND in-between fighting exchanges. Since the aerobic system is developed through low-intensity cardio training, many coaches and fighters overlook this critical piece because it is, incorrectly, seen as inefficient. Oddly, fighters will perform an unnecessary amount of high intensity training along with their MMA training; a recipe for overtraining, sub-optimal recovery and increased risk of injury.

There are multiple contrasting studies on whether the addition of more frequent high intensity endurance training yielded any performance improvements. Some researchers found athletes that don't respond well to high volume low-intensity training showed greater improvements when they increased their frequency and volume of high intensity training. However on the contrary, the benefits of performing more high intensity training in already well-trained athletes, are limited.

What seems to be more important is the sparing use of these high intensity intervals outside of MMA training. By the way of training periodization, and the principle of specificity, the majority of the high intensity intervals should be performed few weeks out before the fight. Performing a high volume of high intensity training year round hinders a fighter's ability to improve their skills and stay injury-free.

Less is more sometimes.
 

"Being inefficient with your energy in the cage/octagon results in lactic acid build up in your muscles, causing a fighter to gas"

There's definitely some truth to this statement. When fighters "blow their wad" (a la Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar), they're unable to recover, even with the 1 minute break in-between rounds. Why?

During moderate to high intensities, lactic acid and hydrogen ions begin to accumulate as the supply of oxygen does not match the demands of the working muscles - this is the byproduct of the anaerobic energy system. However, another byproduct of this energy system is lactate (mistakenly called lactic acid by the general population). Lactate is closely correlated with fatigue, however: correlation does not imply causation. Lactate is the 4th type of fuel that can be used to restore energy, primarily happening within the mitochondria of cells - the same location aerobic metabolism takes place.

Another common myth is that lactate doesn't form until you perform high-intensity exercises. Lactate actually forms even during lower intensity exercise (because the anaerobic system is still active to a degree). The amount of lactate produced is very minimal; we are able to shuttle this lactate into our mitochondria via the Cori-Cycle and effectively reuse it as energy. During the later round of a intense brawl however, the rate of lactate clearance simply cannot match the rate of which it is produced, this is called the lactate threshold. The figure below shows how lactate is recycled as energy after being produced as a by-product of fast glycoglysis (anaerobic metabolism).

The lactate threshold also represents the switch from using predominantly aerobic metabolism, to anaerobic metabolism. This is where the mental toughness and resilience of a fighter becomes more important. The fighters with the ability to push through the pain while maintaining their martial arts technique, will likely be the winner. In order to effectively delay the onset of muscular and mental fatigue, the goal of every fight should be to increase their lactate threshold.

While a well-developed aerobic base is needed, specifically training around lactate threshold is what will most effectively increase a fighter's ability to perform anaerobic work.
 

"That fighter has a lot of muscle mass and looks jacked, he will definitely gas out or probably has poor cardio!"

Holding a massive amount of muscle mass can negatively affect endurance, but not always. More often than not, jacked fighters possess poor conditioning due to a combination of poor energy utilization/strategy during fights, and neglecting lower intensity work in the off-season or fight camp. Fighters that put on muscle quickly most likely have focused too much of their time on hypertrophic training methods like heavy squats, deadlifts, presses, etc.

Each muscle is covered by capillaries that provide it blood and energy. Fighters that neglect endurance work crucial for increasing mitochondria density and capillarization of these muscles will have poor conditioning. Muscle mass and elite level conditioning are not mutually exclusive. Fighters who have focused on increasing muscle mass over the long-term while concurrently using training methods to increase capillarization will achieve the best results.

Fun fact: Yoel Romero (despite the blatant cheating) who looks like a Greek god, has 5 third round finishes in the UFC. Fans are quick to point the finger at jacked fighters and call them out for having poor conditioning when it's not always the case.

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TRAINING variables & METHODS FOR IMPROVING ENDURANCE IN MMA

Training Variables

Conditioning work outside the MMA skills training revolves around the principles of intensity, volume and frequency.

Intensity represents how hard or how close to maximal effort one is working. Maximal heart rate, lactate threshold, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and power output can all be used to gauge endurance training intensity. Prescription of low, moderate and high intensity workouts are based on a percentage of these baseline or max values. 

To make things simplier, intensity can be categorized into different training zones. In the chart below, training intensity zones are based off of a percentage of an athlete's maximal heart rate OR a percentage of their lactate threshold. Heart rate is well-known to have a linear relationship with exercise intensity, in that when workload or intensity increases, heart rate will also increase to supply the working muscles with blood. 

Since lactate threshold represents the switch from aerobic to anaerobic energy production, using an athlete's lactate threshold is a more accurate method of prescribing conditioning work. For amateur fighters that may not have the access to equipment necessary to measure lactate threshold, heart rate is the next best option.

Volume indicates how much total work is being put into endurance training. In sports like running, cycling and swimming, volume will be represented by the total distance travelled during training. In team sports and sports like MMA, training volume is measured by using the "time in zone" method. How much time per training day or training week are we spending in each training zone? This will give us an idea on how much rest an athlete needs, or whether we need to push them harder to achieve the level of conditioning we're seeking.

Lastly, frequency indicates how often we are performing endurance training. Specifically, how many times a week we use a specific training method.

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Breaking Down The Training Zones

Low Intensity

Zone 1 is commonly called warm-up or active recovery. This intensity is not hard enough for any surmountable enudrance to be developed, but enough to promote blood flow and therefore recovery to the working muscles. Training in Zone 1 primarily uses fatty acids for energy production.

Zone 2 is called base endurance or extensive endurance training. This represents the lower limits of the aerobic energy system and still uses predominantly fat as fuel. Training in this zone will promote higher cardiac output (heart pumps more blood), as well as the capillizarization of muscle fibres I talked about earlier.

Zone 3 is called tempo training or intensive endurance training. This zone challenges the upper limits of the aerobic system. Lactate production starts to ramp up at this Zone, however, there is no significant accumulation as intensity is still relatively low and clearance levels are still high due to the adequate of supply of oxygen to the muscles.

Moderate Intensity

Zone 4 is called threshold training. As the name implies, this training zone occurs near an athlete's lactate threshold (95-105% of lactate threshold). This intensity cannot be held for long, as hydrogen ions begin to accumulate. For this reason, training in this zone will improve an athlete's tolerance to pain/the burning sensation and will directly increase their ability to produce force and energy during muscle and mental fatigue.

High Intensity

Zone 5 often called anaerobic or VO2 max training, is considered true high intensity training. Training in Zone 5 is responsible for increasing an athlete's ability to produce force in a metabolically acidic environment. Paired with the large amounts of perceived exertion, the duration of which this intensity can be held is severly limited compared to lower and moderate intensity training.

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Time In Zone

As alluded to earlier, the time in zone method is used to assess training volume. These are training times specific to improving an MMA fighter's conditioning

Zone 1 (Active Recovery) - Any where from 30-60 minutes to promote blood flow, joint flexilibility, muscle recovery. Multiple times a week, pre or post MMA training.

Zone 2 (Base Endurance) - 45-90+ minutes to improve the lower end of the aerobic energy system, increase muscle capillarization, improve aerobic enzymes, etc. 3-4 times a week.

Zone 3 (Tempo) - 30-60+ minutes to improve the higher end of the aerobic energy system. 2-3 times a week.

Zone 4 (Threshold) - 20-40+ minutes to increase lactate threshold and increase tolerance to muscle and mental fatigue. 1-2 times a week.

Zone 5 (Anaerobic) - 10-20 minutes in the form of high intensity intervals (work rest, work rest, repeat) to improve top end work capacity and power. Work intervals in this zone can last anywhere from 10 seconds to 90 seconds. 1-2 times a week.

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PRactical training methods

Example Max Heart Rate: 200 BPM
Example Lactate Threshold: 165 BPM

Because I know my own lactate threshold, I'm basing my training zones off of that number.

Improving The Aerobic Energy System (60 minute workout - Low Intensity)

General Workout - 60 minutes total in Zone 2

• Freestyle Swimming (20 minutes @ 115-140 BPM) *I like to aim for the middle of these ranges

• Versa Climber (20 minutes @ 115-140 BPM)

• Stationary Bike (20 minutes @ 115-140 BPM)

MMA Specific Workout - 60 minutes total in Zone 2 and 3

• Shadow Kickboxing (15 minutes @ Zone 3 (141-150 BPM))

• Skip Rope (15 minutes @ Zone 2 (115-140 BPM))

• Takedown/Sprawl Drills (15 minutes @ Zone 3)

• Rowing Machine (15 minutes @ Zone 2)

In both workouts, I'm using the most underutilized form of low intensity training - low intensity circuits. Instead of picking only 1 modality, let's say running, we're able to change the stimulus and muscles worked by switching exercises every 15-20 minutes. As long as we keep our heart rate in Zone 2, aerobic adaptations will be made. If we to only choose running, the endurance of our shoulders and arms would be neglected - not ideal for an MMA fighter. 

The general workout is considered "general" because of it's lack of MMA-specific exercises. However, this is completely acceptable to do in the off-season. The MMA-specific workout can be utilized when a fighter comes closer to fight night. This shift from general to specific training is often seen in a well-designed, periodized training program.

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Improving Lactate Threshold (30 minute workout - Moderate Intensity)

General Workout - 30 minutes total in Zone 4

• Airdyne/Assault bike (10 minutes @ Zone 4 (156-173 BPM))

• Active Rest - 2.5-5 minutes @ Zone 1-2

• Versaclimber (10 minutes @ Zone 4)

• Active Rest - 2.5-5 minutes @ Zone 1-2

• Rowing Machine (10 minutes @ Zone 4)

MMA-Specific Workout - 30 minutes total in Zone 4

• Heavybag Stand-up Work (10 minutes @ Zone 4 (156-173BPM))

• Active Rest - 2.5-5 minutes @ Zone 1-2

• Partner Grappling/Clinch Drills (10 minutes @ Zone 4)

• Active Rest - 2.5 - 5 minutes @ Zone 1-2

• Heavybag Ground n Pound (10 minutes @ Zone 4)

Threshold training can be done continuously, but because of the reasons stated above, I like switching it up and using a circuit style of training.

The name of the game here is pacing. It is easy to go a bit too hard on the heavybag or with grappling drills. Have a training partner monitor your heart rate so you stay in Zone 4.

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Improving Top End Anaerobic Power (Multiple Intervals @ High Intensity)

General Workout

• Hill Sprints or Prowler Push (4 x 20 second work: 2 minute complete rest) (1:6 work-rest ratio)

• Active Rest - 5 minutes @ Zone 1-2

• Airdyne/Assault Bike (4 x 60 second work: 2 minute complete rest) (1:2 work-rest ratio)

• Cooldown - 5-10 minutes @ Zone 1

MMA-Specific Workout

• Heavybag All-Out Combinations (4 x 20 second work: 2 minute complete rest) (1:6 work-rest ratio)

• Active Rest , Footwork - 5 minutes @ Zone 1-2

• Heavybag Takedowns into Ground n Pound (4 x 60 second work: 2 minute complete rest) (1:2 work-rest ratio)

• Cooldown - 5-10 minutes @ Zone 1

A wide variety of exercises could be used here. Get creative with your general and MMA-specific drills. The focus here is to work at 85-100% of maximal effort, and getting in a few minutes of complete rest. Power, explosion and the ability to end fights quickly is built here.

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MMA Strength and Conditioning: The Role of S&C For MMA (Part 1: Introduction)

Write better programs with this free chapter

Chapter 7 of the eBook, “The Sport-Specific Trap - Revisiting Dynamic Correspondence for Combat Sports” talks about key concepts to consider when selecting exercises to enhance combat sports performance and some common mistakes coaches make.

Introduction/Part 1

I spend a lot of time thinking about fitness, about strength & conditioning, about nutrition and about mixed martial arts (MMA). For those who don't know, MMA has been my favorite sport for the last 8 or so years. I love how raw the sport is, the amount of mental and physical preparation that goes into training and competing, as well as the movements and the culture itself. This series will not be as structured as I would like it to be, this is just a platform for me to elaborate on variables and methodologies I believe are crucial in creating a strength & conditioning program for fighters; some of which have been covered already, some of which, perhaps, haven’t been. I'll be providing sources and peer reviewed articles whenever necessary. With that said, lets dive into a brief history of martial arts and the creation of modern MMA. 

Brief History

Practiced as a form of competition and for close combat conflicts, martial arts have existed for thousands of years. Professional modern mixed martial arts (MMA) however, has been in the mainstream eye for only ~20 years. Compared to professional ice hockey and football leagues (created almost 100 years ago), it is safe to say that MMA is still a young sport.

MMA initially exploded onto the scene thanks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and their earliest competitions, pitting martial artists against each other from different disciplines to find out which martial art reigns supreme. Royce Gracie and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu proved to be the most superior at UFC 1, the first ever MMA tournament held by the UFC. After the famous, The Ultimate Fighter Finale fight between Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, MMA started to gain traction in the mainstream media. However, MMA hasn't been received all that nicely by all demographics. And you know what, it'll never be, seeing 2 athletes punch each other in the face or put each other in submission holds aren't for everyone. To this day, critics call the sport "barbaric" and liken it to "human cock-fighting". Ironic, because boxing was also once looked down upon for its aggressive nature and violence. It was not until the mainstream media and spectators learned more about to sport that it started to be called the "sweet science".

Compared to other sports, MMA's skill ceiling is ridiculously high. The skills of MMA fighters have drastically improved thanks to more education in the sport, and the growing community of fighters and coaches.  We’re starting to see well-rounded martial artists and athletes and we're starting to witness techniques we used to see in old martial arts movie, like the karate-kid front kick, spinning heel kicks, and spinning elbows. 

With the growing popularity of MMA, I really hope the sport will be more appreciated in the years to come. 

Now, let's get down and dirty with the training side of things.

The Role of the Strength & Conditioning Coach

This is no longer the MMA of 1993, skills from many different disciplines of martial arts are needed to become a Top 3-5 fighter in any weight class. Strengths must be maintained and improved throughout a career, while weaknesses must be eliminated, or reduced enough to allow your strengths to shine. Positions, movement patterns, combinations and techniques that can be used in an MMA match are limitless.

Because of how novel strength & conditioning is in this sport, coaches are still trying to figure out the best exercises and training methodologies to build the best MMA athlete. Traditional endurance training modalities like running, or strength exercises like squats and power cleans may not always transfer well into the performance of a full contact athlete. The body types and skills in MMA differ greatly from fighter to fighter, there are no one-size-fit-all strength & conditioning protocols. Endurance and power drills must be tailored to the individual and must be prescribed in a way where it does not interfere with the skill acquisition of the athlete. A high performance coach must not forget that strength & conditioning training is only one piece of the puzzle. At the end of the day, MMA skills are the backbone of success in this sport.

The Goals of a S&C/Physical Preparation/High-Performance Coach:

1) Do not cause an injury to the athlete

2) Ensure the athletes physical attributes are peaked and tapered correctly going into a fight

3) Improve athlete-specific performance measures over time

4) Selectively pick exercises and training protocols that compliment the specific skill-set of the mixed martial artist

The Importance of Strength & Conditioning for MMA Athletes
 

Touchbutt, anyone?

Why do MMA fighters need strength & conditioning?

To develop physical capabilities that would otherwise be neglected or missed when exclusively performing MMA drills and sparring. 

How does strength training improve performance?

The biggest benefits that come from strength training are increased force production and power, as well as injury prevention. I will be specifically talking about force production and power in a later part. Right now, I'll just dive into injury prevention.

Many muscle injuries come from the inability to decelerate a certain limb, or the inability to tolerate the forces produced when a muscle undergoes an eccentric contraction (EC). An EC happens when an external force is applied to a muscle, while the muscle fibers lengthen. Think of the lowering portion of a bicep curl, the deceleration/ground impact portion of a vertical jump, or the feeling in your quads while walking downhill. As long as we perform full range of motion resistance exercises and progressively overload them, we increase our ability to handle larger magnitudes of forces, especially at longer muscles lengths (where we're most susceptible to injury).

One of the most common injuries in professional sports are hamstring strains. Occurring in athletes from sports such as rugby, football, soccer and any other sport that requires running/sprinting. While the demands of MMA are much different and small strains and nagging injuries are bound to happen from rolling (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) or sparring (striking), fighters can still learn from the modifiable risk factors involved in hamstring strains that are so prevalent in other sports in order to reduce chances of injury while training. These modifiable risk factors include sub-par functional muscle lengths, poor posture, strength and muscle imbalances and muscle inflexibility amongst others. Strength & conditioning practices should revolve around addressing these issues first, before focusing on increasing strength, power and endurance.

Isn't MMA practice enough for conditioning?

Yes and no, it depends on what training plan the head MMA coaches put their fighters through. Unless the head coach is knowledgeable on concepts such as heart rate monitor training, lactate threshold, cardiovascular training methods and periodization, a fighter's conditioning and physical preparation should be overlooked by a high performance coach. Much like how strength training should fill in gaps and address the weaknesses of a fighter, specific-conditioning work must be performed to optimize a fighter's gas tank on fight night.

Without getting too in-depth into the metabolic and endurance demands of MMA (I will cover this later in the series), conditioning must be done at the right intensity, at the right time, with the right amount of rest in order to induce the changes we want in a fighter. 

Strength & Conditioning is useless?

Some MMA coaches don't believe in strength & conditioning outside of the skills training and sparring that fighters already perform. This may stem from stubbornness or undying tradition, I'm not quite sure. There are even elite fighters like George St. Pierre coming out and saying "I don't believe in strength & conditioning... I lift weight for looks". Ironically, GSP is known for being a pioneer in how fighters perform strength & conditioning routines. He was one of the first successful fighters to train in Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics during his fight preparation. I have a feeling these training modalities have contributed to increasing his power development, core stability and movement quality; although I could be wrong.

There is still some truth to what GSP is saying, however. Strength & conditioning should not be prioritized over skills training. A bigger, stronger, and more conditioned fighter does not always win, and we're reminded of that at almost every UFC event. Strength & conditioning is simply a platform and a preparation strategy that allows a fighter's skills to shine and allows them to develop those skills effectively and safely in training.

That's it for now. I'm interested in what you think, if you have any questions, opinions or insight, feel free to comment down below or contact me! In the future, I'll be writing about topics such as the metabolic/endurance requirements of MMA, how much hypertrophy and muscle mass plays a role, individualizing training strategies, training over-specificity, nutrition and more!  See you guys in the next part!

PART 2 HERE

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An Evidence-Based Approach to Hamstring Strain Injury (2009) by Mathew Prior et al.

Injury rate, mechanism, and risk factors of hamstring strain injuries in sports: A review of the literature (2012) Hui Liu et al.

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Most Effective Way To Improve Lifting Technique

MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE LIFTING TECHNIQUE

In strength sports, lifting technique is one of the most important traits in creating a strong, injury-free athlete. Lifters of all levels and experiences will benefit from improving technique. 

If you've ever lifted heavy, you'll notice at a certain % of your 1RM, your form starts to deteriorate. Let's call this the technical breakdown threshold (TBT).

For example, if your 1 rep max on the barbell back squat is 315lbs, and your form starts to breakdown significantly when you lift weights over 250lbs (~80%). 80% is your technical breakdown threshold.

Generally speaking, beginner and intermediate lifters will have a lower TBT compared to more advanced and experienced lifters. Case in point: Have you ever noticed that some top level lifters look relatively calm and controlled during 1 rep max attempts? While less-experienced lifters will show more form break down during 1RM attempts. 

So how do we use the TBT to help us improve technique? Here's how to do it:

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Volume Progression Right Below Your TBT

To improve technique and form over the long term, we must start right at, or right below your TBT. For most of you reading this, I recommend using a load 5% lower than your TBT and progressively overloading at that intensity by either increasing sets, or increasing reps over the span of a training cycle.

Using the same example above (315lbs 1RM), and a TBT of 250lbs (~80%), an 8-week training cycle might look like this:

Week 1: 3x5 @ 235lbs (75%)
Week 2: 3x6 @ 235lbs
Week 3: 3x7 @ 235lbs
Week 4: 3x8 @ 235lbs
Week 5: 3x5 @ 245lbs
Week 6: 4x5 @ 245lbs
Week 7: 5x5 @ 245lbs
Week 8: 1xTechnical AMRAP @ 250lbs

*technical AMRAP means performing as many reps as you can with acceptable form, be honest with yourself.

Let's Break It Down (No Pun Intended)

During Weeks 1-4, you'll be working with 5% under your TBT, which is 235lbs (75% of current 1RM). Each week you'll be adding 1 rep to each set. This slight increase in volume over the span of 4 weeks will allow you to practice and dial in your technique.

During Weeks 5-7, you'll be working with a weight JUST under your TBT (245lbs). By now, your form should have improved drastically (hopefully) enough to perform sets at 7-8 RPE at a weight thats near to your TBT. The goal here is then to be able to maintain proper form over the increasing number of sets.

On Week 8, you'll be performing a technical AMRAP @ your TBT (250lbs). Put the number of reps performed into a 1RM calculator... This will be your new max.

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INCREASING FREQUENCY

Increasing frequency is another good way to increase volume of the lift you're trying to improve. For example, if your squat needs work, I recommend increasing your frequency to up to 3 times a week. You can work at different rep ranges on each day, but keep the intensity low. The more quality reps you can perform and the more bad reps you avoid, the better.  Using the same 315lb 1RM in the examples above, 1 week of training may look like this: 

Day 1: 3x6 @ 235lbs (75%)
Day 3: 3x12 @ 190lbs (~60%) 
Day 5: 4x3 @ 235lbs (~75%) 

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The philosophy

These are only examples, as there are other strategies that can be used here. However, the overarching philosophy of this method should be:

1. Consistently working with a sub-maximal weight that you are comfortable with.
   

2. Keeping intensity relatively the same (below your TBT) and progressive overloading by increasing reps or sets, NOT intensity (weight).
   

3. Spending plenty of time performing reps at the same intensity will make you more aware of technical changes and improvements from week to week.
   

4. Use this early on in your lifting career or ASAP if form breakdown is an issue for you.
   

5. Use this in the "off-season" and not as preparation for a powerlifting meet.

Please note that the set and rep schemes listed above are specific to the % of 1RM at which technique breaks down in the example I used. 

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Amazing Feats Of Strength

We, as trainers and trainees in the fitness industry sometimes have a really biased and skewed perspective of what is considered "strong". With the rise of barbell sports like Crossfit, powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, it can be easy to forget other forms of strength, beyond the barbell, beyond just numbers.

I get it, lifting a massive amount of weight/external load is impressive and it shows how far our humans neuromuscular system can be pushed. However, one must not forget that strength is specific and involves other variables such as coordination and timing. With that said here are some amazing displays of strength, ranging from powerlifting, all the way to martial arts.
 

Powerlifting: Ray William's 1005lb Squat

Three white lights for the heaviest raw (belt + knee sleeves only) squat of all time. For any licensing requests please contact licensing@break.com

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Olympic Weightlifting: Alexey Lochev's 582lb Clean & Jerk

Strongest Weightlifter in the world: A new world record of 264 kg (582 lb) was set by Alexey Lochev of Russia at the World Weightlifting Championships 2015. This beats the old record of set by Hossein Rezazadeh 11 years ago. "I could never have done it without the support of my parents.

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Strongman: Mariusz Pudzianowski's Plane Pull

Mariusz Pudzianowski in the Plane Pull event of the 2009 World's Strongest Man competition. Click here to SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1a7GqHc Created in 1977, The World's Strongest Man™ has become the premier event in strength athletics. For over 30 years, the strongest men on the planet have come together in a series of unique and amazing tests of strength to determine The World's Strongest Man.

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Strongman: Haftthor Bjornsson's 640kg Log Lift

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! We have been trying to get the license to our video back from #Jukin Media since December, but no luck there. Bad service, no money, and loss of income from 1 000 000 views is some of the bad things we have experienced with them. KEEP AWAY FOLKS.

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Wrestling: Aleksandr Karelin

Click for Video

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Gymnastics: Yuri Van Gelder (Rings)

Подписка на наш Youtube канал: http://youtube.com/user/shagyar1 Подписывайтесь на наш паблик: http://vk.com/mimotivation Описание: Нарезки из выступлений одного из самых сильный кольцевиков планеты Ури Ван Гельдера.

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Rock Climbing: Alex Honnold

http://www.alexhonnold.com/

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Mixed Martial Arts: Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier flips 6'4'' Alexander Gustafsson.

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How To Maintain Strength And Muscle Mass While Losing Weight

Many competitive strength athletes and recreational lifters are under the impression that strength and muscle loss is inevitable when losing weight or undergoing a fat-shredding phase. This is often NOT the case, as strength can be easily maintained or even improved when proper dieting and training adjustments are made. Here are 2 nutrition and 2 training tips to implement the next time you plan on losing fat:

Conservative Calorie Deficit

Whenever muscle and strength retention is of concern during periods of weight loss, a conservative calorie deficit should be used. The idea is that rapid bouts of weight loss created by large calorie-restrictions hinders our ability to perform hard training sessions and our ability to recovery from them. This may result in a loss in lean body mass and subsequently, decreased performance.

In 2011, a group of researchers studied the effects of 2 different weight-loss rates on male and female athletes' body composition and sporting performance. The slow weight loss group lost ~0.7% of their body weight per week while the fast weight loss group lost ~1.4% of their body weight per week.*  At the end of this weight loss period, it was found that the slow weight loss group retained more muscle mass and performed better on upper body strength tests compared to the fast weight loss group. This could have been from consuming more calories for muscle repair and recovery and lower mental stress from dieting more conservatively, which results in a smaller disruption to their bodies' homeostasis. 

Simply put: a slower weight loss rates helps maintain muscle and strength. 

Using the example study above (0.7% bw loss per week), most people will want to lose no more than 1lb of bodyweight per week to better maintain their fitness and performance.

*it should be noted that both weight loss groups lost the same amount of the weight. The slow weight loss group dieted for longer to achieve the same weight loss as the fast weight loss group.

Protein Timing and Distribution

Granted you're already consuming an adequate amount of protein to support recovery and muscle growth, implementing good protein timing and distribution practices is the cherry on top of the sundae. 

Effective protein timing and distribution practices revolve around the concept of the touted "anabolic window". The anabolic window concept states that there is an optimal time period where our muscles are more sensitive to protein intake, where protein consumption during this time will result in better recovery, and increased muscle growth. While the importance of the anabolic window is sometimes overhyped by the bodybuilding and supplement industry, it DOES exists. Hours following a hard training session, when our muscle's receptors are hypersensitive and there's a surge of hormones and growth factors. This hypersensitivity returns to baseline anywhere from 12-36 hours and is dependent on several variables:

• Volume and intensity of training

• Duration of the training session

• Modality of training (resistance training will induce more micro-tearing of muscle fibers and a greater hormonal response vs. endurance training)

• Training status of the individual

It's because of this anabolic window that many fitness professionals recommend drinking a protein shake immediately post-workout. While this is a good practice, many nutritionists and trainers forget or simply do not put enough emphasis on pre-workout nutrition.

Why worry about pre-workout nutrition if the anabolic window exists post-training? Protein transit and digestion time. 

A serving of protein consumed prior to training will still be in the process of digestion and absorption HOURS following a training session. In order to fully take advantage of the anabolic window, an adequate amount of protein (>25-40g, more if you're heavier or possess more muscle mass) must be consumed pre-workout in conjunction with a post-workout shake. 

Why does this matter and how does it affect muscle retention?

Our body is in a constant state of building, and destroying, anabolism and catabolism. During a calorie-deficit, its crucial to keep net positive muscle protein synthesis (where total protein synthesis > total protein degradation) in order to facilitate proper muscle repair and growth. Evenly distributing your protein intake around the clock helps increase protein synthesis. Think of it as stoking a fire, constantly feeding the fire fuel or wood. Again, none of this will be effective without consistently hitting your daily protein needs (total amount of protein per day).

Increase lifting frequency

Let's get into the the training side of things.

An unwanted side effect from losing weight (for strength athletes anyways) is a change in leverages and biomechanics. When you lose thickness in your thighs and hips, squats, cleans and lower body movements feel different. When you lose thickness in your lats or chest, bench pressing and overhead pressing feels a bit different. Whether its from an altered stretch-reflex or reduced proprioception, losing weight can negatively affect lifting technique, often resulting in a loss of strength.

To combat this problem, I recommend increasing your lifting frequency. Does your squat feel a bit different after losing 20lbs? Start squatting more frequently. Does your overhead press feel a bit iffy since your weight loss? Start overhead pressing more frequently. Much like the stoking the fire analogy used earlier, the more frequently you spend practicing a movement under your new biomechanical circumstances, the more improvements you'll make. Increased frequency and exposure to an exercise will do wonders in terms of motor learning and familiarity. 

stick to your training plan

Aside from increasing training and lift frequency, nothing else should really change.

Lifters often take unneeded preventative measures when dieting by overhauling their whole training plan. If you're losing weight via a conservative calorie-deficit, there is no good reason to significantly decrease volume or intensity of training. You should still be able to perform and progress on your training plan despite eating 200-300 calories less each day. 

For athletes looking to rapidly lose fat however, the best line of action would be to slightly reduce training volume by either reducing the total amount of sets and reps BUT maintain or even increase intensity. Lifting heavy (relative to your own strength levels) is crucial for stimulating your high-threshold muscle fibers responsible for maximal strength production. Many studies have shown that high intensity training can help maintain muscle mass and strength weeks and even months after detraining/periods of reduced volume.

Ultimately, have trust in your training plan and stay consistent. Don't let dieting stress prevent you from training and avoid the nocebo effect or any preconceived notions that you'll be weaker and smaller after your weight loss diet. Use these 4 tips, train hard, and train smart. Good luck!

Studies discussed:

"Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes." Garthe et al. (2011).

"Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?" Aragon & Schoenfeld (2013).

"Less Is More: The Physiological Basis for Tapering in Endurance, Strength, and Power Athletes." Murach, Kevin, and James Bagley. (2015) 

"Physiological and Performance Responses to a 6-Day Taper in Middle-Distance Runners: Influence of Training Frequency." Mujika, I., A. Goya, E. Ruiz, A. Grijalba, J. Santisteban, and S. Padilla. (2002)

"The Effects of Tapering on Power-Force-Velocity Profiling and Jump Performance in Professional Rugby League Players." Lacey, James De, Matt Brughelli, Michael Mcguigan, Keir Hansen, Pierre Samozino, and Jean-Benoit Morin.(2014)

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What Type Of Dieter Are You?

Weight and fat loss can be achieved using different styles of dieting depending on your personality, eating habit, tendencies as well as how much knowledge you possess about nutrition and dieting itself. Are you a trainee motivated by quick results or are you a person that likes to take it slow and ensure sustainable weight loss? 

1. The Shotgunner - Quick Weight Loss

The shotgun method is what I like to call diets that start out with a large calorie deficit, with that deficit decreasing as bodyweight drops. Why did I name this the shotgun method? Because like a shotgun, the initial blast is strong (large calorie deficit - ensures initial weight-loss) and can hurt the person if they're ill-prepared to handle the consequent recoil (junk food temptations, binge eating, etc).

This method works well for people who are motivated by quick results and find it difficult to adhere to a more conservative approach. For example, a person looking to lose a large amount of weight (eg: 30lbs) will start off with a 500+ calorie deficit (daily) and slowly reduce that to a 400, 300, 200 calorie deficit as the weeks progress and as body fat is being lost. As I believe protein intake should stay at an adequate level, most of the reduction from calories should come from partial elimination of carbohydrates and fats.

Pros

• Very effective for short term weight loss
• Initial stages can be very motivating for some individuals and help them adhere to future weight loss diets

Cons

• Large calorie deficits can be very mentally stressful
• Initial low energy and decreased performance in the gym or at a physical job
• The chance of the rebound effect is much higher, some dieters will use the initial weight loss to justify stuffing their face the following weeks... AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS!

2. The Turtle - Slow And Steady

One of the more popular methods used in the past few years due to increasing research on food intake habits, willpower and weight loss sustainability. In contrast to the "shotgun" method, this style of dieting employs a conservative calorie deficit throughout the entirety of the weight loss period.

The caveat here is that dieters must be aware of their maintenance calories (I've talked about how to find out that number through estimations or tracking right here under section #3: Learn How To Count). So what's a conservative calorie deficit? A daily reduction of 200-300 calories coming from carbohydrates has worked well for me and my clients. Depending on your metabolism, expect to lose about 0.5-1lb per week. Trainees who employ this diet must be persistent and consistent with their calorie intake. If weight loss stagnates, consider increasing the amount of physical activity you do or further increasing the calorie deficit.
 

Pros

• The conservative calorie deficit allows dieters to lose weight without feeling the initial low energy that comes with large calorie deficits
• A small calorie deficit can sometimes be unnoticeable given the composition of your meals are healthy and based around nutritious and satiating, whole-foods.
• Paired with adequate protein intake, this style of dieting ensures maintenance of your hard-gained muscle!

Cons

• May not be suitable for beginners new to counting calories and portion controls
• Tests dieter's patience, weight loss may not occur for the first weeks either due to inaccurate tracking or using the wrong maintenance calories as a baseline

The Bottom Line

Both types of dieters can see success as long as they plan out their diet and adhere to it. Don't be quick to dismiss large calorie deficits and diets like the "shotgun method". While it doesn't always fit the modern dieting narrative that everything should be done conservatively to ensure long-term success, I've seen first hand that people can succeed with more daring weight loss methods. Pick the right dieting style that suits your goals and current level of experience with nutrition. Good luck!

How To Pack On Muscle - Diet Tips For The Hardgainer

Forget those gross weight-gainer shakes that taste like concrete. Fuel your muscle-building workouts by eating lots of whole foods and developing dietary habits that are sustainable for YOU. Here are 5 tips to help you create good eating habits to pack on size. 

1. first, Create A relationship with food, not numbers.

You can count calories and protein all you want. As a matter of fact, I'll teach you how to do so later in this article. But first, you need to create a good relationship with food or your journey to being jacked will not be a sustainable one. What do I mean by "creating a relationship with food?" I simply mean:

• Enjoy the foods you're eating - One of the easiest ways to eat more is to eat delicious foods. Even if you're a "picky eater", there's no excuse. Find the foods you love eating, eat them often.

• Learn how to cook - There's nothing like a home-cooked meal made by mom but when you're trying to become self-sufficient and take control of what nutrients go into your body, learning basic cooking skills and recipes is a must (plus it saves you money!!). Youtube and find easy recipes to make at home. Use ingredients you're familiar with but don't be afraid to try new things.

Create a good relationship with food before worrying about calories. Gradually eat more, your exercise and activity should fuel your hunger. If you already have a good relationship with food and have done all of the above, then its time dive into the details like maintenance calories, and optimal protein intake levels.

2. Rethink The Term "Hardgainer"

“A hardgainer is an arbitrary label that describes a person who practices bodybuilding but finds it challenging to develop musculature regardless of the amount of effort put in.”

— Wikipedia

There are most likely no genetic factors preventing you from putting on size, nor are there anyone stealing your muscles overnight. The term hardgainer really just means your appetite and the amount of calories you consume day to day is not up to par with your metabolism. In other words: YOU'RE EATING LESS THAN YOU BURN. Simple as that.

Aside from height and weight, our metabolism is dependent on the amount of physical activity we perform and our NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Any energy we expend outside of exercise is considered NEAT: How much are you walking a day? Do you have an active or sedentary job? Are you doing chores around the house?

All of these factors contribute to the amount of calories you burn in a day. These are factors we can control. 

3. Learn how to count

The amount of calories it takes to maintain your current bodyweight is often referred to as maintenance calories. We can find out what this number using 2 methods:

Estimation: The Calorie Maintenance Level Calculator

Enter your weight, height, and activity level to instantly receive an estimate of your maintenance calories. While this method may be quick, it may be  inaccurate for some. Which leads to the second method:

Tracking: Using MyFitnessPal (or similar app)

Weigh yourself in the morning everyday for one or two weeks. At the same time, eat your regular diet and input all your food into the MFP app. Granted you've maintained the same body-weight, find your average calorie intake by adding up all your days and dividing by 7 or 14 (days). Congrats, you've found your maintenance calorie level. 

I recommend using the tracking method right off the bat, and comparing that number to the calculator's estimation. Unless you have abnormal levels of physical activity or have tracked your food inaccurately/inconsistently, there shouldn't be a huge discrepancy.

Now that you've found your maintenance calories, increase your calorie intake in order to see bodyweight changes and muscle gain. I recommend increasing your intake by ~300-500 calories (start off at 300 and keep it consistent for several weeks and go from there). There are 2 ways to increase calorie intake:

1) Increase Meal Frequency: Add a meal to your current dietary habits. Whether its a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a protein shake, or eating an extra lunch, the point here is to eat more often.

2) Increase Portion Sizes: Maintain your current number of meals, increase the portion size for 1 meal or all your meals/snacks.

Increasing calorie intake does not mean stuffing your face with whatever you see in front of you. Where will those ~300-500 calories come from then? For most of you, a combination of high quality carbohydrates and protein.

4. Increase protein intake to 0.8g+ per pound of bodyweight a day

Proteins are the building blocks of our muscles, and the nutrient responsible for repairing our muscle tissues after exercise. The current protein recommendations set out by health organizations and our government target sedentary populations so if you're looking to build muscle, increasing protein intake is a must! I wrote a detailed article on optimal protein intake for people looking to pack on muscle, read it here.

For the beginner trainee and the hardgainer, increasing daily protein intake to 0.8g/lb of bodyweight while eating ~300-500 calories above your maintenance calories is a fail-safe method of gaining weight and packing on muscle. For a 145lb person, aim to consume ~115g of protein a day.

While carbohydrates ultimately fuel our work outs, there should be no shortage of carbs in your diet. Like I alluded to earlier, the extra calorie surplus should come from high-quality carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, rice, bread, pasta  and high-quality protein like egg, whey (milk), chicken, fish and red meats.

5. Acknowledge personal preferences

While meal distribution, protein intake frequency and other minutia may be important, its not a detail a hardgainer should be worrying about.

Whatever schedule allows you to more easily and more enjoyably consume the food required for you to reach your health or aesthetic goals, is the schedule you should stick to. For me personally, I like to backload my calories: eat most of my big meals in the evening and night. I'm simply just not as hungry in the day, and you know what? That's okay, it's not the end of the world if you skip breakfast. It may become a problem if you struggle with maintaining proper energy levels and it impedes your ability to stay productive in your work, school or social life. Address those issues if you run into them.

For now, stick to the basics:

1. Create a good relationship with food
2. Learn how to cook and become self-sufficient
3. Increase calorie intake and protein intake
4. Prioritize whole foods and high-quality nutrients before you satisfy your sweet tooth or dive into that box of cookies.

Happy gaining!

Medicine Ball Throws For Fitness and Power

There are few sounds as satisfying as a medicine ball slamming into a concrete wall. Whether your goals are to burn fat, increase your fitness or improve your sport performance, the use of medicine balls is a fun way to get you there.

I created this video showing you how many variations you can use. The non-rotational exercises will challenge your core strength while the rotational throws will blast and sculpt your oblique abs.

Add these to your circuit training or strength & conditioning routine and try them out! Enjoy!

The Stubborn Powerlifter

Powerlifters are some of the nicest, hardworking, passionate, yet stubborn athletes you’ll ever meet. Despite the bad rap that powerlifting receives for being non-functional or unsustainable, there are many fixes and ideas a powerlifter can implement to become big and strong without being mentally and physically broken down.

Problem #1: Over-Specificity
 

We all know “that guy”. You know, the one that thinks he has more muscle mass than he actually does, the one that hops on specialized programs like Sheiko or Smolov Jr. three months into lifting. I knew that guy, well... I WAS that guy. Not only am I speaking from experience, but there are several good reasons why over-specific powerlifting programs can be detrimental for new lifters.

One of the biggest mistakes new lifters can make is exclusively performing the powerlifts (squat, bench press, deadlift) and ignoring other compound and isolation exercises. Don’t get me wrong, I know practice makes perfect, an aspiring powerlifter must practice the competition lifts but including a variation of exercises in your program as a lifting nooby is the best thing you can do. I can only count on 1 hand the number of lifters I know personally that can progress by only performing the big 3 day in and day out. Most of them have had an extensive training background in track&field / football as well as experience in the weight room prior to powerlifting.

The Fix: Building The Base

Besides improving technique on the Big 3, the top priority for an new lifter is to… pack on muscle. And I believe including a good variation of exercises is the best way to do this. To developed a well-balanced, stable, and resilient body, a mixture of unilateral, bilateral, compound, and isolation exercises should be included into a training program. This is what I like to call building the base:

• Build an appreciative amount of muscle mass

• Slowly increase bone density and muscle tendon strength to reduce future injury risk

• Practice multiple movement patterns

• Develop that mind-muscle connection (important for when you decide to target lacking muscles, or want to utilize internal powerlifting technique cues)

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Problem #2: putting Too much emotional and financial investment into equipment Too early on
 

“Hey how many lbs does the new SBD sleeves give you?”

“Hey did you hear about the new lever belt?”

Equipment can definitely help and at the national and international level, it may be the difference between a podium finish and not placing at all. However, many powerlifters get too caught up with the equipment too early on in their lifting career. Obsessing over the newest knee sleeves, belts, shoes and wraps is a waste of time and money if you don’t already have a solid foundation.  Avoid making equipment a mental crutch by becoming too dependent on it and avoid overlooking potential negatives that may occur if you're always using equipment.

The Fix: Change the Mindset

Powerlifting is a poor man’s sport, if you have that much money for equipment, maybe you should go play golf or tennis instead. Kidding… KIDDING.

The fix here relates to what I said earlier. Build a solid base/foundation before depending on knee sleeves and belts. Change your mindset. You can be strong without all the equipment. See equipment as a supplement to your training, not a necessity.

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Problem #3: Constantly complaining about things and not doing anything to fix it

How many times have you seen people complain about having a #povertybenchpress? It's one thing to joke about it, it's another thing to post constantly complain on Instagram or Facebook telling your followers that your bench sucks. If you think your bench sucks, do something about it. Shut up and bench more, put some mass on your chest, put some mass on your triceps and shoulders.

The Fix: outline priorities and work on them

Using the bench press example: many people struggle to increase their bench because they have insufficient upper body muscle mass (I was and am one of those lifters). Most big benchers LOOK like they can bench a lot. Either that or they have a ridiculous arch + range of motion and they bench 5x a week. Speaking from experience, putting on muscle mass should be your first option. Leave the very high frequency training (4x a week +) for when you’re a more experienced, advanced-level lifter.

When it comes to putting on muscle mass to improve your bench press strength, periodize your training in a way so you train the bench 2-3 times a week.

2x a week might look something like this

• 1 strength focused session (1-5 rep range, long rests, focusing on bar speed and consistency)

• 1 hypertrophy focused session (5-12+ rep range, shorter rests, include lots of accessories like dumbbell bench press, incline presses, shoulder presses) don’t be afraid to bro out!

3x a week will consist of the workouts above + a low volume technique-based day that can be done in the same workout as squats or deadlifts.

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Problem #4: Too afraid of Time-off

I get it, you want to be competitive. You want to keep up with the rest of the lifters in your division. BUT… continuing to train when you’re mentally and physically exhausted is a recipe for disaster. Mental burnout and increased risk of injury are common outcomes of not spending enough time-off and can hinder your progress in the long-term. Even the veteran lifter should take some time off their normal training routine and dabble in other forms of exercise or at least include a wider variation of exercises.

The Fix: a proper deload

I’m not talking about a one-week planned deload. I’m talking about 3-4 weeks of reduced-intensity lifting. For many powerlifters, this comes in the form of “bodybuilding”, while others will play a different sport or join a recreational sports team. The key here is NOT to completely eliminate all thoughts of powerlifting, but rather shift your focus elsewhere so you’re more refreshed the next time you enter a hard training cycle.

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Interested in Powerlifting Programming and Coaching? Feel free to contact me!

How Functional Is Movement Training For Fitness & Performance?

With the rising emergence of “movement training” in both the fitness industry and high performance athletics, it begs the question… Does movement training actually produce results?

Here’s why you should probably take the hyped up movement training trend with a grain of salt, especially if you are focused on improving fitness and function. There are better ways to get fit, fast, strong and powerful, and they don’t involve becoming a functional training guru.

Defining The Un-Definable “Movement Training”

In order to clearly evaluate the benefits and pitfalls of movement training, we must first define the term. Unfortunately, there is no conclusive answer. The definition of movement training will differ from coach to coach, trainer to trainer, and athlete to athlete. Some may consider movement training the motor patterns and exercises specific to their respective sport, while others consider it the ability to express your body freely by adopting a multitude of complex movement patterns.

One of the most polarizing movement training specialists is of course Ido Portal, coach of UFC superstar Connor McGregor. So, what does he have to say about movement training? Ido describes movement culture as a “contemporary paradigm shift in physicality, moving us away from main culprits in movement and fitness as well as the separation between health, aesthetics, performance and art”.

Athlete and former UFC Interim Champion Carlos Condit has also been working with MovNat post-ACL injury. MovNat, much like the Ido Portal Method, believes in a “mindful approach to the full range of natural human movement abilities”.

Lastly, Naudi Aguilar from Functional Patterns is another name I can think of that falls under this category of “movement training”. I think we all know Naudi’s name by now after his explosion onto the scene after a rather fire filled exchange with the glute guy Dr. Bret Contreras a few short years ago.

Why’s Movement Training So Damn Popular In The First Place?

Movement training is becoming more and more popular in athletic performance and fitness mainly because:

1. Trainees are getting bored with traditional weightlifting exercises such as the squat, bench press and deadlift and seek more variation in their training

2. Trainees and the general population are buying into the touted benefits of movement training

3. Trainees have been convinced that traditional resistance training and rehabilitation exercises are “nonfunctional”

4. Let’s admit it. It looks pretty cool. People are drawn to ideas that are polarizing, different, flashy.

The Truth About “Functional” Training

Although it’s unfair to group the Ido Portal Method, MovNat and Functional Patterns together, they do have one thing in common. They do not believe that the current paradigm and landscape of movement is sufficient for sport performance and health.

The principle of specificity always plays a role when discussing anything performance or health related. Gurus who preach that movement training is all you need and anything in the sagittal plane sucks, is most likely trying to sell you a product by downplaying their competitors.

Many traditional weightlifting and bodyweight exercises (squat, presses, deadlift, cleans, snatches, pushups) all occur in the sagittal plane, but have been shown to be very effective for muscular growth and strength. In addition, these gurus often claim that these exercises are not “functional”.

This naturally leads us into the discussion of functionality, and the question…

What is functional? Do we really need to be rolling around on the ground or balancing on a wobble board?

Too many times have people defined functional training as exercises on a Bosu ball or on a balance beam. While these exercises may serve a function, functional training should be defined as exercises that meet the demands of a specific goal.

Balancing on a bosu ball may be functional to one population, while completely useless to another. For example, balancing exercises on unstable surfaces have shown to be effective for developing stabilizer muscles in injured populations or post-stroke patients. However, may be completely useless to a power athlete looking to improve strength and power as exercises done on unstable surfaces actually reduces force output and does not carry over to the field, court, or platform.

As Mel Siff once said “There is no such entity as a truly functional exercise, except for the actual sporting or daily movement that we are trying to enhance by training”.

So why train at all? The answer is improving skill transfer.

The point is to perform exercises that have a high amount of transfer to the movement or quality we are looking to improve, whether it be biomechanical, neuromuscular or metabolic. With that said, let’s evaluate how well movement training transfers to different populations, which populations can actually benefit from movement training and which populations should stay away from movement training.

Movement Training In Sports Performance

Athletes must practice and be able to perform a variation of movement patterns in order to prevent over-use injuries, and to develop weaknesses to improve sport performance. While I’m a believer that athletes should aim to progress beyond the traditional lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, power cleans, power snatches), I’m not convinced exclusively performing movement training is the perfect solution.

The amount of movement variation that is required by an athlete depends on factors such as previous and existing movement base, type of athlete and type of sport. As an athlete, how much time should be allotted to movement training (if any at all…) and how much time should be allotted to sport-specific training and traditional strength & conditioning.

Optimizing sport performance is about pushing the human body and mind to the upper limits, as well as experimenting with different training methods. It would be foolish to state that movement training is completely useless or has no place being performed alongside a smart strength & conditioning protocol.

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Contact Sport & Mixed Martial Arts Athletes

Running as a form of recovery or long slow distance (LSD) training is often utilized in various sport performance programs. However, the large eccentric component of running unnecessarily stresses the lower body joints and can hinder recovery. This is especially true for athletes in contact sports like MMA and rugby, or in sports that already have a large running component to them, such as soccer.

For this reason, water-jogging/running, swimming, cycling and other activities with concentric-dominant muscle actions are preferred over running. In this case, I propose that: movement training can replace road-work (running) as a form of integrated aerobic and mobility training.

Here’s How To Implement It With This Population: 

Use a heart rate monitor (chest-strap preferred). Find or develop your own bodyweight movement routine that focuses on low-impact, and mobility-focused exercises (deep lunges with a chest-stretch/opener, Spiderman/alligator crawls, shoulder rolls, transverse plane rotation drills, etc)

Keep heart rate at 50-70% of your Max Heart Rate, for most people this is a heart rate of 100-135BPM (lower end for recovery, higher end for aerobic adaptations).The key is to keep heart rate under lactate/anaerobic threshold.

Perform this for 30-60 minutes, 1-2x a week. After training sessions and/or on rest days.

In this application of movement training, heart rate and work output is low enough not to interfere with recovery, all while challenging proprioception and putting muscles through a full range of motion. Movements utilized do not have to be specific to the sport, as we are only aiming to improve general aerobic adaptations and promote recovery.

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Strength Athletes: Powerlifting, Olympic Weightlifting, Strongman

Powerlifters need enough mobility to hit depth on their squats, be able to bench press and deadlift safely. Olympic weightlifters need a good amount of mobility and flexibility to be able to catch barbell snatchs and clean & jerks in a deep squat position. Strongman competitors need enough hip mobility to pick up heavy stones as well as possess decent shoulder mobility to overhead press safely and effectively. Outside these exercises, strength athletes are not required to practice a plethora of movement patterns. Because of this, movement training can come in the form of maintaining joint and muscular health.

Here’s How To Implement It With This Population: 

Movement specialists Max Shank and Hunter Cook have great routines for post-lifting or on off-days, which is comprised of taking all your body’s joints through its full range of motion.

Since the goals of strength athletes are so specialized – pack on muscle, improve strength and power on the main lifts, performing movement training may be a waste of time.

When it comes to cardiovascular conditioning for strength athletes, low intensity cyclical aerobic training like cycling or the elliptical machine may be the better option. MetCons can also be utilized for Olympic weightlifters and Strongman competitors.

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Endurance Athletes: Triathletes, Runners, Swimmers, Cyclists

Many endurance sports are cyclical in nature, therefore implying low movement variation in competition and in training. Rather than utilizing movement training, endurance athletes should perform resistance training in conjunction with their endurance training program.

It is a common misconception that resistance training is detrimental for endurance performance or it somehow adds unneeded muscle mass to endurance athletes. However, it has been shown that resistance training can improve peak power output for short-event, anaerobic-endurance athletes as well as improve average power output and movement economy in longer-event, aerobic-endurance athletes.

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General Health and Fitness Population

On the other hand, improving physical health and fitness is about reaching or maintaining a healthy lifestyle in a safe and efficient manner. I stress the term efficient because people who fall under this category most likely are not professional athletes, therefore training needs time-efficient. Can movement training improve bone density, blood lipid profile or other health markers? Yes. Can movement training improve these measures as effectively as traditional resistance and cardiovascular training? I’m not sure it can.

For populations looking to improve overall fitness, lose fat mass and put on muscle mass; movement training exclusively, will likely not yield the same results as performing a combination of resistance training and cardiovascular exercise. Stick to multi-joint, compound exercises, while carefully selecting isolation exercises to improve your weaknesses or fix muscular imbalances.

Here’s How To Implement It With This Population: 

The following movement patterns should make up the bulk of a well-designed resistance training program:

• Hip Hinge Pattern (Deadlift, Kettlebell Swings)

• Squat Pattern (Back Squat, Split Squat)

• Lunge Pattern (Forward lunge, Lateral Lunge)

• Horizontal Push (Bench Press, Push Ups)

• Vertical Push (Overhead Press, Landmine Shoulder Presss)

• Horizontal Pull (1 Arm Dumbbell Row, Bent Over Barbell Row)

• Vertical Pull (Pull Up, Chin Up)

• Loaded Carries (Farmers Walk, Sled Pull/Bear Crawls)

• Isometric Core Exercises (Forearm Plank, Side Plank)

• Anti-Rotation Core Exercises (Pallof Press, Bird Dog Variations)

Performing variations of these exercises will help you develop stability, muscle mass, strength as well as build a well-rounded physique. Familiarize yourself with these movement patterns, progressively overload them, and form a solid base before dabbling in more complex movements like muscle-ups or dragon pistol squats.

When it comes to cardiovascular conditioning, 30-90 minutes of steady state aerobic training at 50-70% of your Max Heart Rate (100-135BPM for most individuals) as well as 10-20 minutes of moderate to high-intensity intervals can greatly improve cardiovascular health and aid in fat loss while performed in conjunction with a resistance training routine.

I say in conjunction because I believe everyone should strength train. Strength training puts on muscle mass. Muscle mass plays a role in whole-body protein metabolism, preventing pathologic conditions and chronic diseases such as sarcopenia, and is associated with longevity and lower mortality rates.

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The Bottom Line About Movement Training

In terms of building muscle and strength, and improving overall fitness: progressive overload is king. The lack of clear cut progressions in movement training, the inability to load certain movements safely, and the inconclusive definition of the term itself makes it hard to implement effectively in populations seeking to improve general health and fitness.

Should we as humans aim to improve our flexibility, mobility and movement? Yes of course.

Should we spend time touching butts at the park (movement training reference) at the expense of exercises like squats, presses and deadlifts that have already proven to be effective for fat loss, muscle gain and strength? Probably not.

Movement training should be reserved for populations that already have an athletic base, whom are looking to promote recovery, improve mobility, balance and overall movement variation whether it be out of personal interest, or part of a strategically designed strength & conditioning program. For trainees looking for a safe and effective method of increasing their fitness and improving their health, stick to the basics.

Great Core Exercises You're Not Doing #1

Core training is very popular in the field of fitness and strength & conditioning. Along with popularity, comes a lot of misinformation. Core training is more than just doing 1000 sit-ups or crunches hoping your 6-pack will show up the morning after. When core training is done properly, it can be a great way to alleviate lower back pain, reduce chances of injury during sports or daily living activities, as well as give you a strong and resilient mid-section.

I’m sure you’re familiar with planks and hanging leg raises… so what other core exercises are there? I’ll show you a few!
 

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Front Rack Holds

Front rack holds, aka standing planks (that’s what I call them anyways…). Tired of doing regular planks? Try these out.

Tips to consider when performing this exercise:

• Use a cross-arm or Olympic-lifting grip
• Keep arms and elbows parallel to the floor
• DO NOT flare your rib cage or chest out
• Tighten your core, engage your glutes and grip the floor with your feet
• Hold for time, take deep breathes intermittently

The great thing about this exercise is being able easily control the load to your liking. The down side is that beginners might find this position uncomfortable on the collar bones or upper chest. In that case, a goblet hold may be a better variation.

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Suitcase deadlifts

Yup, this exercise is what it sounds like: picking up a very heavy suitcase. As opposed to a trap bar deadlift where both sides of your body are loaded, suitcase deadlifts challenge unilateral core stability. The goal of this exercise is to prevent your torso from leaning to one side as you lift the weight up. Along with challenging your oblique abdominal muscles, it’s a great way to strengthen your grip.

Tips to consider when performing this exercise:

• Hip hinge and squat down to grab the weight
• Control the weight on the way up and on the way down
• Don’t allow your torso to lean excessively to any one side

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Uneven farmers walk

If the farmers walk and the suitcase deadlift had a baby, this would be it. The goal of this exercise is to walk straight and to avoid excessive leaning as we are trying to improve core stabilization.

Tips to consider when performing this exercise:

• Start off slow to develop stability, increase the walking speed after a few workouts/weeks
• DO NOT flare your ribcage or chest out
• Tighten your core, engage your glutes and grip the floor with your feet with each step
• Pick a larger weight differential (between the 2 kettlebells or dumbbells) to make this exercise more challenging

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Tire clean and hold

While this exercise does not exclusively work the core, the core is still very active in preventing your torso from collapsing during each rep. Unconventional, but fun.

Tips to consider when performing this exercise:

• Pick a lighter tire if you’re a beginner trainee
• Tighten your core, engage your glutes, push into the floor with your feet
• Hold the position for 3-5 seconds
  
   

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Assisted Razor Curls

Is this an ab-rollout variation or is it a hamstring curl variation? Well, actually it’s both! I love this exercise, especially for hamstring injury prevention. As well as challenging your core, you’re putting your hamstrings on blast and working on that eccentric strength. You’ll need a partner to help you out with this one but it’s worth it. (Idea taken from Australian Strength Coach Lachlan Wilmot, thank you!!)

Instagram: @performancecoach_wilmot

This is one of the more difficult core exercises to perform, so here are some pointers to keep in mind:

• Start the movement off with a hip hinge
• Progress this exercise by reaching further out or hold the position for time (isometric)

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Give these exercises a try. Got any questions or feedback? Visit my Facebook and Instagram page down below and leave a comment!

Coaching vs. Programming: Is There a Difference?

initially a note post on my Facebook Page

Wait, if you’re programming for an athlete, aren’t you coaching them? I don’t see it that way.

Programming is writing out a specific training or nutrition program to cater to an athlete’s goal, whether it be improving their powerlifting total or body composition, etc. A knowledgeable exercise physiologist or personal trainer will be able to control training parameters well enough for their athletes to reach their goals effectively but a coach’s role extends beyond that.

Along side programming skills, a coach must be able to:

• Work WITH the person, not on.
   
• Dictate the training process and outline process-oriented goals
   
• Ensure that the athlete is tune with the process. So much can be learned working with a coach compared to jumping on a cookie cutter template program... HOWEVER, it is not uncommon for athletes to perform better on a cookie cutter program (over-individualization is problematic, more on this in another article).
   
• Effectively communicate with the athlete; this means communicating in a way the athlete can best understand what you expect out of them and what you’re teaching them
   
• Create curiosity in athletes, encourage questions and appropriately answer them (not just a “I’m the coach, you’re doing this cause I say so”)
   
• Understand that training and performance is multi-factorial, and that your athlete experience multiple stressors out of your control
   
• Care about their athletes. If you don’t give a shit about your athletes or clients, just write a training template and sell that. Simple as that.

A Lifter's Best Friend [PART 2]

This is PART 2 of last week's blog, READ PART 1 HERE.

3. Quality Training Partners

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together" - African Proverb

Lifting and strength sports are as much team-based as they are individual. While training partners can't help you on the platform or in competition , they can be a great asset to your training. The perfect training partners will

Offer additional external motivation  

Admit it, no matter how much internal motivation you have, there are some days where getting up to train is difficult. When you're sore and tired, it feels good to have a training partner pick you up and motivate you (granted they are also probably sore and tired)

I've written more in-depth about this topic in my article Surprising Reasons You're Not Reaching Your Fitness Goals. Specifically, how you can use partner training and other environmental cues to get out of your comfort zone and sustain a healthy exercise habit.
 

Be able to check and critique your form

Even if your training partners are less experienced than you, training together will benefit everyone. You can hone your teaching and instructional skills while they can learn via observation)
 

Keep you on track

Taking too long of a rest? Skipping out on your range of motion on certain exercises? A good training partner will probably let you know
 

Have similar goals and aspirations as you

Work together, succeed together.

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4. Training Tracker/software

This may seem obvious, but are you really tracking the right variables? While a good ol' notebook works for many athletes, utilizing a tracker or some sort of software to analyze your poundages and training data will take your training to the next level (well only if you know what to do with the data!)

Training Metrics

Since most programs are prescribed on the microcyclic level (week to week), tracking variables such as: Average Weekly Volume, Average Weekly Intensity, Peak Volume, Peak Intensity, will give you a better overview on your overall training stress and how progress in the upcoming microcycles. How do you know if you're progressively overloading or if you're peaking for your competition correctly if you don't track these variables?

Graphs and Charts

Written numbers give you a general idea of your training volume, intensity and stress, however, graphs and charts are often a better way to beautifully present and analyze your training data. Many of us are visual learners, and unless you're a tech-savy individual or Excel worksheet genius, creating your own graphs and pie charts may be too time-consuming or out of your scope of practice. Luckily, there are websites/softwares such as MyStrengthBook that do all the work for you. If you're even semi-serious about tracking your training, I recommend you check it out.

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5. Mobility Tools

Dedicated training requires dedicated recovery. The bigger and stronger you get, the more you have to pay attention to recovery modules like sleep and mobility.

Not All Strength Sports Require The Same Degree Of Mobility

While I don't believe that strength athletes should aim to be as mobile as a yogi or gymnast, I believe they should be able to maintain or reach a certain level of flexibility (and stability) in order to effectively and safely perform their sport-specific movements. The degree of flexibility and mobility required by a Powerlifter differs to that of a Strongman or Olympic Weightlifter. 

Tools For A Healthy Body

Foam rollers, lacrosse balls, thera canes, resistance bands. All of these devices and toys have been popularized over the year in the fitness industry to fix all your mobility issues, aches and nagging pains. From anecdotal evidence and personal experience, these tools have helped my clients and I manage pain and increase muscle range of motion among other benefits. However, the underlying mechanisms are still being discovered. The science behind foam rolling, the human fascia and manual therapy are still being researched and developed. For example, foam rolling is technically NOT considered myofascial release, but there are still benefits to foam rolling. I urge you not to neglect flexibility and mobility work, but I'm also not a proponent of spending too much time rolling or stretching, which can take away from your sport-specific training.

Use all these tools effectively and soon you'll be getting bigger, faster, stronger all while reducing your chance of injury. Please like and share if you found this article useful, check out my Facebook page and Instagram below!

How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

Protein is an essential macronutrient used to build, maintain and repair tissue in our body. There are different recommendations on protein intake, this article will touch on the factors that should be considered when determining an "optimal" amount.

The current Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.36g/lb of bw (equates to 0.8g/kg of bw). Following these guidelines, a 185lb person is only recommended to consume 67 grams of protein!! Quite far off from the 1g/lb of BW recommendation we often hear from the fitness industry.

The RDA for protein was created for non-exercising individuals to consume enough protein for bodily functions and overall tissue health. However, this amount is not sufficient to meet the needs of athletes undergoing rigorous training . There are several variables involved in calculating protein intake values:

• Body composition (total body weight, especially lean body mass)
• Mode of training (strength vs. endurance vs. mixed)
• Frequency, intensity and volume of training
• Specific body weight goals (losing weight vs. gaining weight)
• Dietary Preferences

For The recreational and Dedicated Strength/power Athlete

Strength athletes want to consume adequate protein for one main reason: to maximize muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in order to to increase muscle mass (hypertrophy). Another benefit of protein consumption is to promote recovery in between training sessions. Supplying enough amino acids to repair our damaged muscle fibers from training is essential to health and making short and long term progress in the gym and on the platform.

Often in the strength training circle, we hear about being in a "anabolic state". What this really means is a positive net protein balance. A positive net protein balance is achieved when dietary protein consumption is greater than protein loss. For strength athletes, many lifters have success with anywhere from 0.8-1.5g of protein per Lb of bodyweight (some even higher, we'll touch on this in a bit). This means a 185lb lifter will consume anywhere from 148g to 278g of protein a day.

So why the large range? It really comes down to dietary preference, training age and current lean body mass. 

Dietary Preference: Lifters that love steak, chicken and fish among other protein sources will have no problem consuming these foods on a regular basis. Their protein intakes will be high, by habit/dietary preference.

Training Age & Current Lean Body Mass: The more experienced of a strength athlete you are, the more likely you'll have greater amounts of muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more protein you'll need to consume to match the demands of you body. A muscular, lean, world-class strength athlete may grativate towards the higher end of protein intake recommendations (1.5g/lb of bw), while a beginner trainee on starting strength or other beginner programs will make great progress consuming 0.8g/lb of bw.

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High Protein Diets

This naturally leads us to the question, are high protein diets safe? Opponents of high protein intakes will argue high protein diets impair kidney function and decrease bone density. However, it is found that high protein intakes are not detrimental to kidney function in individuals with healthy kidneys to begin with and high protein diets are actually positively correlated with increased bone mineral density (elderly).

There is a series of research studies carried out by Jose Antionio et al, on the effects of the very high protein consumption on health and body composition(1.5-2g/lb of bodyweight). They conclude that there is no evidence a high protein diet is harmful, and that they were favorable for body composition goals and body fat control (even at a calorie surplus; very interesting).

Link 1
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"I'm already consuming protein at 1g/lb of bw, in what scenarios should I further increase my intake?"

Periods of Moderate-Large Caloric Deficits

For most lifters in a 300-400+ kcal deficit, I suggest increasing daily protein intake slightly, perhaps to 1.25g/lb of bw. (please note these numbers are far from concrete, these can vary from individual to individual). Doing this will help maintain lean body mass while losing weight/body fat.

Increasing Satiety During Caloric Deficits

Protein is known to be more satiating and has more of a thermogenic effect (takes more energy to digest) compared to carbs and fats. After a high protein meal, individuals usually feel fuller for a longer. For individuals that struggle with hungry during calorie deficits, eating a plentiful amount of protein-rich sources (and a huge salad of course) may be your answer.

Enhanced Recovery

Do you struggle with muscle soreness, and decreased recovery time in between training sessions? Try increasing your protein intake. 

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The protein - carbohydrate trade off

More protein in your diet means less room for carbohydrates. Luckily, recreational lifters and dedicated strength/power athletes do not require a high amount of carbohydrates to fuel performance; with the exception of high-volume training. Before you increase your protein intake, consider the following:

• Is your current carbohydrate intake adequate for performance?
• Do you have to prioritize performance in the gym or do you need to improve your rate of recovery in between sessions?
• Are you in a isocaloric state (maintenance)? Are you in a calorie deficit? Calorie surplus?
• *Can you afford to decrease your carbohydrate or fat intake in order to increase protein intake?*

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the bottom line

Benefits of protein

• Support overall health
• Support muscle growth
• Repair muscle tissue in between training sessions and in times of muscle injury
• Hunger control and satiation
• Controlling body composition and body fat
   

0.8 - 1.5 grams of Protein per pound of bodyweight is sufficient

• The lower end 0.8-1.0g/lb of BW for:
  Beginners and (maybe) Intermediate Strength athletes
  Recreational Lifters
  General health and fitness (if you partake in strength and cardio training)
   
• The higher end 1.0-1.5g/lb of BW for:
  Intermediate and advanced athletes
  Hunger control and satiation
  Athletes in a caloric deficit
  Athletes with a dietary preference for protein sources

Protein Distribution 

• Multiple meals consisting of >20-30g of protein from high quality sources (whey, egg, beef, fish, soy protein)
   
• Aim for protein sources with high amounts of Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), this is often what determines protein quality (optimal amount is 3-4g of Leucine)

Any questions? Comment down below or reach out to me on the Facebook page

Guilt and Shame: Motivation For Exercise and Gym Attendance?

Photo Credit: Psypost.org & U.S Pacific Fleet

Today, I came across this article: http://www.psypost.org/2016/09/mens-hidden-guilt-shame-body-fat-can-fuel-gym-attendance-study-finds-44867

Body image, expectations and attitudes towards exercise is usually a topic for women in mainstream media. However, this article/study examines how feelings of guilt and shame in men affect their exercise habits and gym attendance. These are my thoughts:

"The researchers found that men worried about body fat were more likely than others to undertake spontaneous, unplanned work-outs – and warned that these ‘sporadic’ exercise patterns tend to be difficult to sustain over time."

Sporadic exercise patterns are better than no exercise at all. Some people/trainers may say: there is no harm in feeling a bit guilty for not hitting the gym, whatever gets you up and moving. I generally agree with this. In my experience, many guys need a little kick in the ass to get them started. Whether these exercise patterns can be sustained should be addressed AFTER someone has already started exercising. It is then a matter of habit formation, support systems (friends, family, workout partners) and most importantly whether they're seeing results or not.

"With the recent growth of ‘selfies’ and the return of muscle-bound Hollywood hero icons like Vin Diesel and Hugh Jackman, there’s a real risk that males may be more influenced to attend the gym more regularly and workout to a point where it becomes dangerous or detracts from their wellbeing."

Looking and feeling like Superman is a "real risk" I believe people shouldn't be afraid of taking. How many people do you know where their well-being is being threatened by regular exercise? Please note that many middle-aged celebrities are on some sort of testosterone-replacement-therapy. A guy in their teens, 20s or even early 30s can build a healthy physique and improve their health and well-being naturally. Exercise is also about balance. How can you fit exercise into your life without detracting too much from other areas such as work and family?

For others that have struggled with their body image and their fitness, I urge you not to take the role of the victim. Find a trainer, watch some Youtube videos, ask a friend to go to the gym with you. For the first few weeks, its okay to let the feelings of guilt and shame motivate you to get in the gym, on your bike, in your running shoes; or whatever gets you moving. Those feelings will go away as you start to change your perspective on exercise. A lot of people seem to forget exercise improves mental health as much as it does physically. What starts out as a sporadic exercise schedule will develop into what I hope to be, a healthy habit. 

Thanks for reading!

Link to the study mentioned in the article:  http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2016&issue=09000&article=00024&type=abstract

P.S. One of the best articles I've ever written is on habit formation, and how to take advantage of your environment and support systems to reach your fitness goals. This article has a special place in my life as it combines my experiences with science to demystify the motivations and steps required to form a healthy exercise habit. Its all about stacking the odds in your favor.

Check it at my fitness colleague's website:

 http://www.fitnesspollenator.com/2015/10/surprising-reasons-youre-not-reaching-your-fitness-goals.html

A Lifter's Best Friend [PART 1]

Picture courtesy of Crossfit Fanatico

Whether you're a bodybuilder, powerlifter, Crossfitter, Olympic weightlifter or strongman, there are always tools to help you reach your goals more effectively. Aside from perfecting your technique and consistently training hard and smart, the following is a list of the best sidekicks/pieces of technology that can make a lifter's life easier and their training process more fun and effective.

1. A Coach

It doesn't matter if you're new to strength training, or if you're a seasoned lifter. Hiring a coach can eliminate any biases your own program may have. Even if you're well-versed in programming, having another coach adjust your programming variables or monitor your progress can add some objectivity and accountability to your training.

Benefits of working with a coach:

• Objectivity, accountability in day to day training

• Planned progression --> know when to go hard, know when to back off

• Ability to learn from your coach --> pick his/her brain, don't be afraid to ask questions!

2. Cardio/Endurance Training

I'm very well aware cardio has been a controversial and often joked-about topic within the strength training community. Specifically, many lifters believe that performing any amount of endurance training will significantly hold back their powerlifting total and steal their hard-earned muscle mass gains: to the point where any mention of cardiovascular/endurance training in a strength training program can't be taken seriously among strength training circles. I'm not sure if this stems from laziness, a social stigma in strength sports, or just a case of misinformed lifters (I'd like to think the latter).

Without getting too much into detail about endurance and concurrent training in this post, the truth is: cardio will not steal your gains when done at the correct intensity and at the right time in your microcycle. 

So how will cardio/endurance training help a lifter? Some benefits include: 

• Increased general work capacity --> which means less fatigue over the course of a training session, more sets and reps can be done in each training session over time

• Quicker recovery in between sets

• Great for promoting blood flow and recovery after training --> cooldown

• Most importantly: mental health and cardiovascular (heart/blood vessel) health --> cardio can also be a form of active meditation (it is for me)

2.1. Heart Rate Monitor

As I mentioned above, cardio will not steal your gains when done at the right intensity. Similar to how weight on the bar is used to gauge intensity in strength sports, heart rate (beats per minute - BPM) is used to gauge intensity during cardio/endurance training. For a serious strength athlete looking to optimize muscle mass, strength, and power, LOW-INTENSITY steady-state cardio will be the best for maximizing aerobic adaptations without interfering with strength adaptations. Hard 30 minute runs or multiple sets of high-intensity intervals simply detract too much energy that could be used for strength training. Also, the recovery costs are also too high when performed on top of a dedicated strength training routine.

A heart rate monitor either in a watch-form or chest-strap will be useful for helping you pace/limit your intensity during cardio. The number to aim for is 55-70% of your Maximum Heart Rate for anywhere from 30 to 180 minutes (please note these values may change slightly depending on your level of fitness or any endurance sporting aspirations). The goal here is to work well below your anaerobic/lactate threshold; in layman's terms, work at an intensity where you can hold a conversation with the person beside you, and where you don't feel the burn in your muscles, as this may cut into your strength training recovery. 

2.2. Bike/Rower

Ah, the bike and the indoor rower, the two things I like to call a lifter's best friend next to barbells and freeweights. The bike and rower are a much more favorable modality of cardio/endurance. training as they have less of an eccentric muscle action component to it compared to running. While running, the ankle, knee and hip joint take much more of a beating due to contact with the ground with every step you make. This stress from having to decelerate your whole body is potentially problematic, especially for larger lifters. Biking and rowing has less of a recovery cost compared to running and won't cut into recovery from your lifting session to a significant degree. However, if running is preferred, I recommend starting off at a slow pace for a short distance, slowly increasing distance as your running technique and joint health improves.

-- In Part 2, I will talk about :

personalized intensity charts for each of your lifts,

the value of good training partners,

as well as other tools to help track your progress and to aid in recovery --

Any questions? Comment below. While you're at it, feel free to give me a follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Random Thoughts On Training: Accessory Work

I've been noticing a couple of things watching people lift on Instagram: bodybuilders (or trainees that have spent more time doing a wider variety of exercises) who transition into powerlifting or Olympic lifting tend to 1) Have larger muscle mass 2) Have better form on their "accessory" lifts.

In the world of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, accessory lifts are exercises done to supplement the core movements (Squat, bench press, deadlift in PL) (Snatch, Clean & jerk in OL), particularly to bring up weak/lagging muscle groups or to maintain muscle/joint health in order for the core movements to progress further. However, this is only true if the accessory lifts done CORRECTLY to begin with. I see lifters try to put size on their lats/back in order to bench press more but fail to perform a proper chin up or pull up. I see lifters attempt to increase their hamstring strength but put themselves in an unfavorable position during Romanian deadlifts, or fail to target their hamstrings to the full extent during lying hamstring curls.

So this is a reminder: Make it a goal to improve your technique on "accessory exercises", you'll see your weaknesses improve and your core lifts progress more effectively.

Adversity Creates Perspective: Dominick Cruz

The last WEC bantamweight champion and the first ever UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, has been through hell and back (athlete's hell). Name another athlete that has had 3 ACL surgeries and a torn groin, and still come back to their sport and perform at the highest level. If you've been following the lead up to the TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz fight, you might have seen several of Cruz's interviews. Hes gone on about how hes changed his mindset after experiencing multiple career-ending injuries: he worked diligently on his rehab, he also decided to improve himself in other areas of the sport, by becoming a fight-analyst for FOX (with perhaps one of the highest fight IQs in the sport, I see Cruz being a great coach). 

When discussing the growth and evolution of the sport, many people attribute it to more conditioned/stronger fighters, more accurate strikers, higher level grapplers, and a general increase in the skill ceiling of fighters. Its easy to forget that the mind set of fighters also evolve (at least it needs to). Arousal levels, self-efficacy, and self-doubt all play a role in sports performance. How fighters deal with adversity, and how they react to devastating losses and injuries can make or break his/her next performance. On top of that, MMA is a rather unforgiving sport, getting tapped out or knocked out in front of millions of people can damage one's ego beyond repair. Most fighters think they're prepared for it... until the moment actual comes.

What has the champ Dominick Cruz learned from his injuries and his time off?

The greatest moment in my life was realizing that I didn't need a belt to be happy
- Dominick Cruz, post-fight

The way Dominick acted and his expressions before the split-decision announcement by Bruce Buffer made me believe hes really telling the truth. When you realize everything that comes with success in sport can be taken away from you by an injury, you start to appreciate life more. I'm sure that Cruz's mindset has been very much process-oriented and driven by small improvements in all aspects of his health and fight game. This, paired with his high skill level and ability to read his opponents, in my opinion, makes him one of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport. He's ahead of his time, like how GSP was ahead of his time (incooporating gymnastics training, olympic weightlifting, well-roundedness), like how Anderson Silva was ahead of his time.

I don't care if you scored it 3-2 for TJ or 3-2 for Cruz. What Dominick Cruz did on Sunday night was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen, especially given the circumstances he was in.

So what can we learn from Dominick Cruz?

1. Adversity creates perspective
You see things differently when you're put into positions you're not comfortable in, circumstances you've never been in before. Don't take losses as the end of the road, keep on improving. The best fighters have been created following losses (GSP vs. Matt Serra, Anderson Silva vs. Ryo Chonan, Conor McGregor vs. Joseph Duffy, etc).

2. Mental Toughness
Mental toughness can come from peace of mind. Realize and appreciate the opportunities you are given to train, fight, compete. The journey and the process is more valuable than any successful outcome that is handed to you on a plate.

3. Stay creative
Cruz has been known to take techniques from boxing, specifically from Muhammad Ali, and incorporate them into his repertoire of skills. His movement, footworks and feints are all unseen in the sport. While straying away from the fundamentals and conventional skills can bite you in the ass later down the line, don't be afraid think outside the box and apply things that aren't normally considered or suggested (in your respective sports).

4. Better strength & conditioning practices/protocols
Its not surprising that Cruz's footwork and movement has contributed to his ACL and groin injuries, but theres no doubt in my mind that the severity or frequency of those injuries could have been prevented with better strength & conditioning practices. MMA is still considered a young sport, and we are just now seeing more qualified and thoughtful strength & conditioning coaches working with top level fighters. I wonder what Cruz could have done differently with his strength training or conditioning training to prevent his ACL injuries. More on this in another blog post.

5. Sport psychology moving forward
I'm not too up to date with research on sport psychology, but I believe there will be more advances and more ways to improve mental, and emotional states of mind during training and competition, in order to improve performance. An iron mind might be the key to "unlock" performance potential and minimize the barriers between athletes and their true potential. This may come from improving pre-existing visualization techniques, or improving focus and relaxation pre-competition. Psychology and mindset should also adapt and change relative to an athlete's periodized plan.

6. Don't play the victim role
Stop feeling sorry for yourself, don't be the victim. Pick your ass back up, believe in yourself, set goals, achieve them. Simple is that. No one can help you, but you.

Thanks for reading!
 

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Notable Quotes from Dominick Cruz:

I had to show something to myself, thats what this was... I've seen different guys that move like him, DJ's faster, Benavidez hits hard, Faber as much as I don't like him, hes a tough guy. All these guys built me into who I am right now, and TJ just added to that. Now, I'm at another level

Remember, ring rust is nothing more than mental weakness.

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5 Tools To Get You Stronger

Aleksey Lovchev's 264kg World Record Clean & Jerk this past week at IWF World Championships (via All Things Gym)

~1100 words ; 5-8 minute read

Its 2015, there are lots of free resources you can use (via the internet) at your disposable to become bigger and stronger. When it comes to designing a resistance training program either for yourself, or someone else, prescribing the right amount of reps and the right amount of weight is crucial for increasing strength and preventing injuries. Monitoring your progression and adjusting your training accordingly is also crucial for long-term progress.  Here are 5 tools to get you stronger!

1. 1 RM calculator

There is no better way to find your 1 rep max other than to lift the heaviest amount of weight you can, for 1 rep. However, testing 1 rep maxes to monitor your progress is very taxing on your body. The second best way, is to estimate it using a calculator. There are many different formulas used for calculating 1RM; none of which are 100% accurate. How do you know which one to use? AllThingsGym - ATG has coded a 1RM calculator that accounts for several different formulas created by fitness authors and exercise physiologists. 

The fact that this site gives you an average of all the e1RM calculations is particularly useful. Especially for those who find that some formulas are inaccurate (usually due to lifting technique, experience, male vs. female differences, etc).  

Okay you've found your 1RM, now how do you write a program based off of that 1RM?

2. Prilepin's Table

Prilepin's Table/chart was created by an Olympic weightlifting coach and sports scientist by the name of Alexander Sergeyevitch Prilpepin. Known for producing multiple world champions, he systematically analyzed the training of hundreds/thousands of strength athletes and put together a table that includes the optimal number of reps to do given a certain % of your 1RM. 

Although this chart was created for weightlifters, it also works well for powerlifting and strength training in general. In fact, many of Boris Sheiko's Powerlifting programs are based off of this chart. 

Prilepin's Table does not account for individual differences in training age, training experience, and current training protocol, but it gives good guidelines for prescribing volume given a certain intensity.  P.S: I would include reps up to 8 per set for loads ranging from 55-70% of 1RM if this chart was used for powerlifting.

3. RPE to % Conversion Chart

Another way to regulate intensity and volume is using rate of perceived exertion (RPE) to gauge effort levels during and after cessation of exercise. In strength training (powerlifting), the use of RPE to auto-regulate training has been popularized by Mike Tuchscherer and the Reactive Training Systems. Using a scale of 1-10, a 10 RPE set would mean the lifter has put in maximal effort, no extra reps could be done and no extra weight can be added to the bar. A 9 RPE set means near-maximal effort, where 5-10 pounds can be added to the bar or the individual can execute 1 more rep. Because the values of the RPE scale are fairly arbitrary, the term "reps in reserve" (RIR) is also used in place of RPE. 1 RIR being equavilent to ~9RPE and 2 RIR being 8 RPE. This chart made by Mladen Jovanovic (@complimentarytraining), is useful in tying together the concepts of RPE, Prilepin's Table and the conventional usage of 1RM, 5RM, 8RM (as a % of 1RM) and show us how intensity, effort and volume are related.

4. Video Footage

Video footage has been my favorite, and one of my most-used tools for training and monitoring technique or muscular imbalances. Progression in technique is sometimes more effective than producing strength gains than any advanced periodized program. Utilizing various angles will help you observe different nuances in your lifting/movement, therefore it is critical to know how and when to use certain angles when filming yourself.

Side View

The side view is perhaps the best angle to judge and analyze the bar path of the big compound lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, clean, snatch, etc). Because most strength training exercises (related to strength/lifting sports) are executed in the sagittal plane of movement (mainly flexion and extension movements), the side view gives us the most information. We can analyze how close the barbell is relative to the body, if the barbell is lined up with our midfoot during a squat, and analyze the movement of our pelvis (to see if butt-wink/rounding of the lumbar spine is present), amongst other things. 

Head-on View

Front View
BLUE DOTS indicate faulty biomechanics, in this case, right knee valgus and right foot arch collapse.
GREEN DOTS indicate proper biomechanics for squatting, knees tracking outwards with the foot, foot arch is present

The head-on view can be used to identify faulty hip or knee biomechanics that can be an indicator of instability or injury. A common example is using the head-on view to look for knee valgus during squatting or jumping movement patterns or shoulder/lat imbalances during the front rack position of a front squat. 

Rear-View

Aside from getting a booty shot for Instagram, lifting footage taken from behind a lifter is useful for identifying left-right asymmetries (in the hip, shoulders, etc) that you may not other wise see from a frontal view. One thing I look for is collapsing of either of the athlete's foot arch. A collapsed foot arch may stem from knee, hip or glute injuries/inactivity.

What angle you can capture during your training will be depend on the availability of training partners to help you film, whether you have a tripod or not, and whether you have the time or space to do so. 

5. Your Brain

Arguably THE best tool in the universe, your brain! Always think critically about what you read or hear about strength training, its beneficial to have a healthy amount of skepticism. Realize that what works for one individual might not work for another. A big mistake I spot among lifters is their inability to think about and recognize confounding variables. How will your work or school schedule mesh with your training schedule? What external stressors are you overlooking that might be impeding your progress? What are some reasons why a certain training program isn't working for you? Hows your diet? These are questions you should be asking yourself regardless of the progress you are making if you want to be the best you can be.

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