Untitled Document

Strength Without Size Part II: The Thickening

February 25th, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments

In the first part of this article, we discovered why lifting weights for strength is not going to turn you into a she-beast. To this end, I provided several ways to minimize size gains just in case there was any residual paranoia.  In the second part (you know, the one you’re reading now), I’m going to give you some concrete examples of how to put the theory of getting stronger into practice.

Safety first… information a distant third

One of the main barriers to mainstream advice about women’s strength training is fear. Not fear of angry Amazons roaming the streets and flipping over parked cars. Rather, a fear of litigation. After all, the potential for injury certainly can rise alongside the number of plates on a barbell. The amount of detail that goes into teaching proper lifts is substantial. In Starting Strength, Mark Rippetoe’s primer on core lifts, 40 dense pages are dedicated to the squat alone. Even with all that information, a whole bunch of supervision and guidance is needed for most people. It’s easier (and far less contentious) for magazines to include an adorable dumbbell complex that will let you hit those stubborn spots, you saucy, saucy modern woman. Saucy!

Well, guess what? I don’t want to get sued either. So, before you attempt to squat your bodyweight, you’re going to need to get things right with broomstick weight. Proper exercise technique is beyond the scope of this article, though, so if it’s still something you’re working on, please continue to do so until you (and your body) are ready to start lifting heavy.

The truth about program design

Designing custom programs for any one of you unique snowflakes out there is something I really enjoy. It’s an exercise in creative problem solving . . . one of my favourite things. That’s why it’s kind of a bummer to have to generalize for a wide audience. It’s like a lottery where I offer up six digits and you have to check your ticket (in this case, your specific physical status and goals) to see if they match. Some people will find the program template below closer to what they need. Some people will find it farther. For a tiny number, it might even hit their needs exactly. We all just hope it’s not some a-hole who already has a six pack and 400 lb push press.

The good news is that there are a few things we can do to ensure you’ve got most of those numbers right before you buy your ticket.

1. You need to have been lifting consistently for at least a couple of months. This foundational stage is necessary to help develop connective tissue and tendon strength, proprioception, technique and enough neuromuscular activation to even make this worthwhile. In other words, your joints need to be strong enough to take this, and your body needs to have at least a good working theory of where your arms and legs are at any given moment.

2. You need to know what muscular failure really feels like. Not muscular discomfort. Not muscular annoyance. Failure. The imaginary scenario I like to use is this: an eccentric man in a coonskin cap wanders into the gym as you finish an exercise. “I will give you $10,000 if you do one more rep,” he says. When your student loans go unpaid, that’s failure.

3. You need to have your technique down pat. If you’re still at a beginning stage, don’t worry. This is the perfect time for you to be practicing squat and deadlift technique with low intensity (just enough to keep you honest). Don’t rush things. Progressing at the right times will be the fastest long-term approach anyway.

4. Don’t be [a] baby. Think carefully about starting this program. If you’re going to start it, see it through. Don’t second-guess yourself every couple of steps. I can honestly say that you will get more out of sticking with a less-than-ideal program than faffing around with minimal consistency. In fact, learning (with confidence) what doesn’t work for you can be well worth the time investment over the long haul.

5. Understand that it’s impossible to get big overnight from lifting weights (unless you drop one on yourself). Give yourself a chance to maximize strength. Even if we wanted to get as huge as possible, it would still be a slow progression. So, know that if you’re unhappy with any muscle you might be putting on, you will be able to stop at any step of the way.

6. Know when to push yourself and when to rest. Session to session, this means sucking it up when you need to and leaving enough rest time for full recovery. Week to week, this means sticking with programming, but deloading when prescribed.

While many people fail to work anywhere near hard enough, there are always a few hardcore nutcases (if you’re reading this article, you’re more than likely to be one) that have trouble getting in enough recovery time. For the latter, if you do happen to feel very fatigued, you may want to either lighten the load or take a day off. Don’t be a tough guy until it’s time to be a tough guy.

Primary concepts

Here are a few basics to know.

Circuit training

The primary fuel your muscles use for contraction is ATP. How much gets eaten up is based, in part, on how long your muscles are contracting. For maximal work, you’ve got about 8-10 seconds worth of this stuff.  That in itself is an interesting fact.

Once your initial stores of ATP and CP are taxed, your limit strength drops to about 70% of what it was. Longer lifts, despite feeling like more work, do not help you maximize strength development. To keep your total time under tension to be under 10 seconds, sets have to be shorter. That’s why, as a general rule, sets for strength development are typically 5 reps or under. This is important for maximizing strength while minimizing the stresses that trigger hypertrophy (aka muscle mass gain).

The time requred for ATP/CP stores to fully recover is 4-5 minutes. Since we’ve all got better things to do than sit around admiring our guns in the mirror for 4+ minutes after every set (most of us, anyway), circuits are a great way to make use of this time. While we challenge one muscle group, another can rest.

Muscular failure

You actually won’t be going to failure on every exercise. That would be too fatiguing – especially for the frequency of training in this program. However, you should periodically push yourself to failure on different exercises (one per session is plenty) to give yourself a clear idea of whether or not the weight you’ve selected is adequately challening.

Variety

Try to change up the exercises you’re doing in a specific circuit every 2-3 weeks.

The fall of the machines

I promised myself I wouldn’t write an 18-page diatribe against machines, so let’s just say this: try to do as much as you can with free weights.

Boulders, leopards and dudes at clubs are all examples of things that need to be periodically shoved away from (or off of) you. Clearly, there is no fixed track or external stabilization to rely on when this happens. That’s why free weights offer better carryover.

Yes, there are some places where lifting with machines can be helpful. These are the exception, not the rule. Let’s just agree to stick with free weights whenever possible.

Compound exercises first

When it comes to real strength – the kind that carries over into our lives – training compound exercises are essential. Any single-joint movement that people may default to, from biceps curls to leg extensions is automatically integrated into a compound movement, such as pull-ups or squats. For those trying to minimize time spent in the gym, this is an essential fact.

Selecting the appropriate intensity on your primary compound exercises may be tricky. Knowing your actual 5RM (what weight you can perform 5 repetitions – and no more! — of) will help a lot. Ideally, you’ll build through your first three or four sets (including the warm-up) to find a weight that you’ll go to failure at within six or seven reps (even though you’ll only be completing five). Your final set should be closer to a true 5RM as long as you have sufficient safeguards in place.

Many people will start too low (or build too slowly). The result will be insufficient intensity. That’s no good, so you may want to add an additional set to bring you up to the appropriate level. At the very least, record your totals so you don’t make the same mistake twice.

Unilateral exercises next

Not only is it important to balance strength development from front to back (you’ll notice our primary and secondary circuits do just that), it’s important to balance things from left to right. Often if one side is lagging, the other side will pick up the slack, which maintains – and sometimes even exacerbates — the strength imbalance.

There’s absolutely no problem in choosing unilateral (one-sided) exercises for your primary lifts. However, this program ensures weak links are addressed by emphasizing this approach for the second circuit of each workout.

Single joint exercises later (if ever)

You can add isolation exercises to supplement strength development in your primary lifts. As a matter of fact, we do that in this program. However, there’s a reason that compound exercises come first: the type of neurological adaptations we want work best when you’re fully rested.

Single-joint exercises certainly do have their place. They can help clean up some of the weak links in a movement. However, for the reasons above, they need to come later in a session. In our program, they’re going to be integrated with energy system work. This will translate into more bang for your buck, both in terms of strength development and caloric expenditure.

If you’re ever stretched for time (on any workout, really), it’s the isolation movements that should go first. Many programs, in fact, do just fine without them.

What’s this energy systems training of which you speak?

Technically, everything we’re doing is energy system training. If we skip past my bitching about semantics, though, we can focus on what we’re really going to accomplish: burning through as many calories as possible. This isn’t the main focus of our program, but training in this manner will allow you to experience how increased strength translates to increased energy output (and efficiency). For those looking to lose weight, these strength gains will pay off hugely when translated to weight loss focused-programs.

The gist of it all

Now that we’ve gone over the details of what will emphasize or de-emphasize size gains, I’m going to give you the kind of program that I think will work best as a bridge to intermediate strength development. There are a few things here that prevent it from being ideally configured to stave off size gain so, if that’s still a concern for you, the next section will show you how to modify the program accordingly (pro tip: don’t bother).

I still fear the thickening!

If you’re still truly afraid of putting on any size, there are a few adjustments you’ll have to make to this program (review Part 1 for the logic behind them).

1. Ensure a full four minutes rest (anything over 5:00, however is overkill) before repeating the same exercise. I recommend starting a stopwatch after completion of the first exercise in a circuit and then waiting for it to hit 4:00 before starting a new circuit.

2. Maintain the same intensity for the exercises in Circuit 2, but drop the number of reps down to 6-8.

3. Maintain the same intensity for the exercises in Circuit 3, but drop the number of reps down to 8-10.

4. Skip either the second or third circuit OR do only one of each.

5. Don’t get a full eight hours sleep every night, don’t eat adequately (especially protein) and do let day-to-day stresses really get to you.

How to build

This program is designed for four workouts per week.  I’ve included a spreadsheet detailing a progression. You can view it here:

The basic progression details are as follows:

  • Alternate between Day 1 and Day 2

  • Do two workouts a week for two weeks

  • On Week 3, you’ll begin building a third day, one circuit at a time (per week)

  • By Week 5, you’ll be up to three days per week

  • On Week 6, youll begin building a fourth day, one circuit at a time (per week)

  • By Week 8, you’ll be up to a full four day per week

  • Week 9 will provide a de-loading week (use it!)

  • After Week 9, the four day per week program (as in Week 8.) will be repeated until Week 14

  • Instead of de-loading in Week 14, you can try a different activity altogether, as long as it’s relatively light in intensity

  • If you wish to resume this program, you can simply repeat the cycle between Weeks 8 and 14

4 workouts a week!? Fuhgedaboudit!

If you are only able to work out three times a week, add one more circuit to the first two groups. This would add up to 3-4 x 5 reps (not including warm-up) for Circuit 1 and 3 x 7-10 reps for Circuit 2.

If you are only able to work out twice a week, add two more circuits to the first group and one more to the second. This would add up to 5 x 5 reps (not including warm-up) for Circuit 1 and 3 x 7-10 reps for Circuit 2.

Finally: the program

Day 1

Circuit 1

4-5 circuits: warm-up (8 reps) plus 3-4 circuits with 5 reps per exercise
A1: Deadlift variation
A2: Pull-up variation
A3: Overhead pressing variation
0-1 minute rest between sets for a total of 3-4  minutes before repeating any given exercise

Circuit 2

2-3 circuits, 7-10 reps per exercise
B1: Split squat, lunge or step-up variation
B2: Single-arm rowing variation
B3: Single-arm chest pressing variation
B4: Core work: reverse crunch variation
No rest between sets for a total of 3-4 minutes before repeating any given exercise

Circuit 3

2 circuits
C1: Sprint, push or drag (20-25 seconds) + core stability work (20-30 seconds) + elbow flexion
C2: Jumping variation (10-12) + rear delt or low trap work  + elbow extension
Record your total time for both circuits and try to beat it during your next workout

Day 2

Circuit 1

4-5 circuits: warm-up (8 reps) plus 3-4 circuits with 5 reps per exercise
A1: Squat variation
A2: Row variation
A3: Bench or dumbbell press variation
0-1 minute rest between sets for a total of 3-4  minutes before repeating any given exercise

Circuit 2

2-3 circuits, 7-10 reps per exercise
B1: Single-leg hip extension variation
B2: Single-arm overhead pressing variation
B3: Single-arm pull-down variation
B4: Core work: stability variation
No rest between sets for a total of 3-4 minutes before repeating any given exercise

Circuit 3

2 circuits
C1: Lateral movement variation (20-25 seconds) + side planking variation (20-30 seconds) + external rotation (10-12)
C2: Kettlebell or dumbbell swings (5 each hand) + crunching variation (10-12) + wood chopping variation (10-12)
Record your total time for both circuits and try to beat it during your next workout.

Geoff

Progression Template for Strength Without Size Program

February 25th, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments
Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 1 Day 1 Day 2
Week 2 Day 1 Day 2
Week 3 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1 (1st circuit only)
Week 4 Day 2 Day 1 Day 2 (1st and second circuits only)
Week 5 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1
Week 6 Day 2 Day 1 (1st circuit only) Day 2 (1st circuit only) Day 1
Week 7 Day 1 Day 2 (1st and 2nd circuits only) Day 1 (1st and 2nd circuits only) Day 2
Week 8 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1 Day 2
Week 9 (de-loading) Day 1 (half of all circuits) Day 2 (half of all circuits) Day 1 (half of all circuits) Day 2 (half of all circuits)
Week 10 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1 Day 2
Week 11 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1 Day 2
Week 12 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1 Day 2
Week 13 Day 1 Day 2 Day 1 Day 2
Week 14 (de-loading) Day 1 (half of all circuits) Day 2 (half of all circuits) Day 1 (half of all circuits) Day 2 (half of all circuits)

Nexercise

February 18th, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments
Tags: ,

Spinal health is a big deal. Really big. Most people are familiar with the lumbar spine, since the majority of injuries happen to hit the lower back. However, there’s definitely more to it; especially for grapplers. We’re going to go upstairs today to get right up to the cervical spine, which starts by connecting to your skull and ends at the base of your neck (feel along the back of your neck for the vertebra that juts out more than the others; that’s your lucky seventh cervical vertebra).

The bad news is that working on neck strength won’t give you 24 inch pythons. The good news is that it will help you prevent injury and chronic pain. Not being embarrassed by accidental decapitation on the mats is a bonus.

So how do we actually strengthen our necks?

If you ask most people how to exercise a given body part, they’ll think about how it moves and tell you to do that.

Abs? Crunches.
Knees? Knee extensions
Neck? Bridges and rolls and on and on.

Sometimes, yes. But defaulting to this stuff without thinking about it drives me nuts.

It may be counter-intuitive to strengthen a body part by not moving anything, but it’s often the correct approach. The major reason for this is protection of the structure. While some joints work best by providing mobility, others work by providing stability. The cervical spine is a prime example of the latter. If you want to keep your C-spine happy, strengthen yourself in a way that will keep you resistant to misalignment and wear. You can start by not intentionally putting it in harm’s way. This is where isometric contractions come into play.

Just so you know, “isometric contraction” refers to contraction of the muscle fibers without any discernible movement. Make a fist, put your other hand over it and stop it from moving as you try to flex your elbow. Congratulations, you’re now familiar with isometrics. Let’s move on.

Here are two solid exercises for your neck that take advantage of isometric contraction:

1. Forehead to stability ball
Place a stability ball against the wall at head height and press your forehead into the ball, bearing weight on it. You’ll start this one standing pretty much vertical. As your strength improves, you can start moving your feet further and further away from the wall. Remember that your job is to maintain neutral spinal alignment, not tilt your head back.

2. Theraband holds
You can either have someone hold a Theraband, or tie one to a stationary object. In this exercise, you’ll put it on like a headband and move away from its fixed point. You can to this for the front, back and sides of your head.

For both of these exercises, I recommend starting with a light warm-up and then progressing to reps that are extremely challenging to hold for seven or eight seconds. Rest for two to three minutes (do some ab work in between if you like) and repeat for five or six sets. You can then lower the intensity of the exercise (by decreasing distance) and maintaining longer holds (40 to 60 seconds for two to three reps should be fine).and shorten the rest periods. For the shorter duration contractions, less is more. It’s not productive to go longer than 10 seconds.

The progressions here are start with beginning to move a little off course and then coming back. It’s key to not move beyond a point that you can return to with good technique.

Is there room for flexion/extension, such as traditional wrester’s bridges and the like? Absolutely, but not for everyone and certainly not until you’ve built up a decent base level of strength with isometric movement. If there’s interest, I can definitely post some further progressions at a later date.

Hope this helps keep you pain-free and bad-ass.

Geoff

Rest Time

February 18th, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments
Tags: , ,

So you’ve just squeezed out another set. You’re feeling strong. Strong like bull. Pretty soon, your body is telling you it’s ready to go again; so you do. And so on. Nothing wrong here, right? Probably not, but – depending on what your goals are – there may also be an abject lack of anything right.

When it comes to rest periods, I see most people to be divided into two basic camps: those who adhere to a schedule and those who don’t. Even magazines like Men’s Health tell you that it takes 3-5 minutes to replenish ATP stores (of course, they usually gloss over where this is appropriate), so some people stick with those numbers – typically on the low-end. Other people hate sitting aroud and will pretty much lift again as soon as they think they can. I feel an example coming on . . .

We’ll take two guys with identical workout plans in terms of exercise selection and order. Guy A is sticking with the magazine-recommended rest period. Guy B hates sitting around, so he’s keeping things around a minute. Who’s right, who’s wrong?

“Both. Neither. Shit. Is this a trick question?”

Longer rest periods lend themselves better to strength development, so if Guy A has selected an appropriate intensity (something he can do five reps of or less ), his seemingly leisurely pace will pay off in an ability to lift those heavy-ass weights for multiple sets.

Shorter rest periods lend themselves better to conditioning or hypertrophy (I’ll leave the conditioning stuff for a future article). So if Guy B has decided to prioritize getting bigger, then he’d doing the right thing.

But wait! What if Guy A is lifting (relatively) light weights (say, something he can do more than 10 reps of)? Well, there’s a very simple answer to that: he’s making poor use of his time in the gym.

And what if Guy B is lifting heavy weights (something he can do no more than five reps of)? The forecast is no better.

The reason for Guy A’s inefficiency is that he’s not utilizing an intensity that maximizes strength. Don’t get me wrong; he’ll probably get stronger, just at a much slower pace than he could be. The truth is that he doesn’t need that much recovery time – his lifts just aren’t intense enough. Yet, at the same time, he’s not stimulating his muscles enough to faciliate much in the way of adaptive changes, so he won’t be putting on much size either. To sum up, Guy A is taking way too long to accomplish way too little.

Over to Guy B. The reason for his inefficiency is that even though the weights he’s selected are fine, he’s not resting long enough to be able to lift them repeatedly. In theory, this means he’ll fail at every set after his first. In practice, this usually translates to him dropping enough weight to lift again within his desired time period. And while this will help him put on some size, this may not be his goal . . . Especially if he’s a competitor trying to stay under a certain weight.

Is there a moral here? Yes. It’s that you need to examine your goals before you determine how long you should be resting.

Let’s make it easy and organize things according to goal

Objective                                Intensity                           Rest Period

Strength                                   <6 reps                             3-5 minutes

Strength/size                            6-8 reps                             2-4 minutes

Size/strength                            8-12 reps                           2-3 minutes

Strength endurance                 12-20 reps                           1-2 minutes

While this is far from being an all-inclusive list in terms of approaches and rest periods (among other things, it assumes a standard lifting cadence), it does provide a good general guideline for those sticking with the basics in terms of lifting. Here’s to not spending any more time in the gym than you need to!

A Big, Tough Baby: why MMA conditioning is in its infancy

February 17th, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments
Tags: , , ,

When it comes to most sport-specific training, knowing the position of a player is generally enough for a basic plan. In football, an elite-level offensive lineman, for example, will be expected to weigh in between 280 and 330 lbs, demonstrate decent relative strength, explosive starts, excellent footwork and great agility. Done and done. Training them for performance may not be easy, but it is relatively straightforward. You’re working with a specific body type and set of attributes. Not so for MMA athletes.

While the first UFC introduced MMA to North America in 1993, it’s only been over the past few years that it’s began to gain widespread attention as a sport. It’s still young enough that we see a wide range of natural physical ability (with world-class genetics still being the exception, not the rule). Likewise, the sport-specific training necessary to maximize MMA performance is still a veritable baby. Training methodologies from Olympic lifting, wrestling, powerlifting, boxing and many more have infiltrated the scene. However, the best way to string things together is a challenge that no one seems to completely agree on. There’s a good reason for that: strength and conditioning for MMA is more challenging – and more complex — than for any other sport.

What makes training MMA athletes so different? The sheer number of variables for starters. Let’s break it down a bit.

Physical Base

Before we even get started, we’re going to have to look at an athlete’s physical status. A lot of people assume that you should jump right ahead to maximizing existing physical attributes. What’s missing from that equation, however, is a hard look at injury prevention. The truth is that sports generally emphasize certain attributes out of proportion to others. Are you a boxer? You’re doing a lot more pushing (that is to say moving your hands away from your body) than pulling. Are you a boxer that works behind desk (slumped shoulders and all)? Well, guess what? Before we get to even more of the same, we’re going to have to counterbalance both your training and lifestyle factors. That means increasing range of motion and balancing strength in all planes. That’s assuming that there aren’t existing injuries to rehab on top of everything else.

Mobility and injury prevention/recovery don’t make a lot of highlight reels, but they’re an essential foundation. Once established, they’ll contribute to the lifetime of an athlete by minimizing breaks in training due to injury. Only with this base can an athlete really begin to make dramatic improvements in their sport-specific performance.

Technical Base

Is our fighter starting out with a set of technical skills specific to a particular sport? What physical attributes are worth emphasizing and maintaining? What types of motor patterning have to be revamped? How can we assist this process? For example, if we were working with someone with a wrestling background, we may wish to emphasize maximal power through a range of motion that synchs up with their go-to takedowns and throws. However, we may find them working from a deficit in the area of striking. Perhaps they have persistent difficulty in not leaving their punches hanging in mid-air. An over-emphasis on pulling (from maximal to power-oriented) in the same plane may help them overcome unfamiliar or unnatural movements. However, it’s a fairly delicate matter when it comes to deciding whether a temporary diversion from a fighter’s primary gameplan will be worth the time and effort in the long-term.

Physical development

A fighter’s technical development typically sets the pace for strength and conditioning. Sometimes, though – just like in judo – things (and people) get flipped on their heads. We occasionally find that the physical attributes of an athlete are substantial enough to supersede previous technical gameplans; instead, it becomes worthwhile to maximize development of a specific attribute and adapt their game to that. A good example is Georges St. Pierre’s transition into wrestling. Although his background was in Kyokoshin karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu, he demonstrated a natural explosiveness that arguably lent itself best to wrestling. Continuing to emphasize this aspect of his conditioning, his coaches also made wrestling an increasingly important part of his game. In this case, St. Pierre’s technical skill set changed substantially to emphasize his physical abilities.

Technical development

What new skills are we going to need to develop? What kind of base do we need to ensure that the upcoming stages of technical training can be carried out safely and efficiently? Energy system training will set an initial base for injury prevention by staving off fatigue, as will adequate pre-habilitiation work. However, it’s strength training that can truly help bridge the gap when it comes to developing and perfecting new technical skills.

Weight Classes

Listening to commentary on an MMA event, a friend once asked, “What does it mean when they say a fighter is a big 170? It’s like saying he’s a tall 5 foot 10.” The difference is that while a fighter’s height won’t change between weigh-in and the beginning of a fight, their weight can change substantially. And while standard practices are a debate all their own, it’s known that there’s an art to making weight. Many fighters have fallen to technically inferior opponents who surpassed them in maintaining their strength and conditioning through the weight cutting (and re-gaining) process. It’s absolutely essential to manage a fighter’s weight and minimize any diminishment in strength or conditioning between the time they stand on the scales and set foot into the ring.

Short-term competition strategy

For an MMA athlete, the ever-present question is, “Who am I fighting next?” The answer can mean dramatic changes in training approach. I’ll use a fighter we’re currently training as an example. We’ll call him “Roman McGnomey” (look: I’m making up the names and that’s the name I made up!) Roman has a brawler’s approach to stand-up striking with a good ground and pound strategy. He has a lesser emphasis on takedowns and grappling. His next opponent’s primary strength is as a wrestler. In many respects this is a bad match-up for him. His opponent’s technical strengths neutralize many of his own. Without getting into too much detail, our job is to minimize the likelihood of Roman a) getting taken down and b) being kept down.

When we look at what we’re capable of in the short-term, we have to be pragmatic. Outworking a conditioned athlete within their comfort zone is unlikely. Instead, we want to maximize our figher’s performance in the areas that his opponent is weakest in. From a technical perspective, we can make some educated guesses about where and how opportunities will appear. From a strength and conditioning perspective, we want to facilitate getting to these situations and then emphasize the energy system appropriate to them.

Clearly, strength and conditioning can’t be performed in a vaccum. Strength coaches need to be in regular contact with instructors to determine what approaches will work best. Refinement of these approaches is an ongoing process that requires a lot of evaluation and communication.

Long-term competition strategy

In theory, a long-term approach should be straightforward. In practice, there are a lot of issues that interfere with this. Where is a fighter ultimately going? Their next fight doesn’t always have a lot to do with that goal. We’re frequently faced with the question of how far we’re willing to veer off track from our long-term gameplan. From a fight-to-fight perspective, this can be substantial. As such, we sometimes have to make some hard choices – from turning down a fight to showing up at less-than-peak condition. Technical development, physical development and all the hard-to-predict factors (from workload and lifestyle to injuries and changing coaches or teams) all have a substantial impact.

Summary

Truth be told, when I started this article, I was planning on giving a way more generic overview of sport-specific training for MMA (and why it’s so god-damned complicated). However, what I quickly realized that I — along with our other trainers — make it that complicated. Certainly, it’s possible to hand someone some weights (or a tire, for that matter) and tell them to go as hard as they can for as long as they can. Lord knows plenty of people do. And while going balls-out may feel right (that is to say adequately hard), it’s an approach that misses out on a whole lot of stuff. The details above, despite barely scratching the surface, should give you a sense of what some of that stuff is.

Geoff

“T” Nation

February 17th, 2009 | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Tags:

As you may have already inferred from other parts of this blog, seeing women get strong is kind of a big deal for me. Sometimes, I get to have a hand in that. Ace detective that you are, you may have also already figured out that I’m going to tell you about one of these women. Let’s get to it.

Like a lot of people, “T” got into running with losing weight as being one of her goals. However, she kind of jumped the gun on that one. I’m a big advocate of getting in to shape first and then running (a discussion for a whole other article). T learned this lesson when she started to accumulate injuries, but didn’t drop weight as she had hoped. T was gracious enough to let me take the reins, so I got her onto a strength-intensive program (not forever, but to set a base for physical performance). We’ve recently finished the first major stage in this program. How’s she doing? T is going to tell you herself.

——-

Three months ago when Geoff suggested I try a powerlifting-based approach to strength training, I thought it would be something interesting to try . . . simply to see how my body developed. I was worried about ending up looking like a muscle bound man and – as a woman who would not exactly be described as “willowy” – I absolutely didn’t want this to happen. My reservations were supported by conversations I had with other women and I was even told by a fitness professional that I should be careful or I’d “build my abs out” (whatever that meant) if I didn’t lift properly. In spite of this I made the decision to try this novel approach thinking that it would simply make me stronger in the gym. Now I’m starting to understand how this type of lifting translates to my other activities, namely running and dancing.

Last week, I squatted 190lbs with Geoff [note: Tara has also performed 5 x 213 lbs. on a trap bar deadlift and several other great demonstrations of upper-body strength]. I was thrilled with this accomplishment but, it wasn’t until a few days later (at a pole dancing class), that I was able to see how these changes were adding up. I was immediately able to hold my body weight up and perform a lot of the strength moves with greater ease than ever. Previously it would take me many classes before I could build up the strength and technique to accomplish a given move. This was immediate. The instructor and other ladies of the class noticed and commented on my athleticism. It made me feel amazing to see how far I’d come from being a cardio-focused woman over the last few years to being a strong woman today.

At this point, I’m training for my second half marathon and I already feel a lot better physically than I did during the training for my first race last year. So far I have also been injury-free which wasn’t the case before.

My outlook on strength training especially for women is to not be afraid of building enormous muscles and losing your femininity. Muscles are sexy, strength is sexy and you will be in awe of how much better you perform in life.

——-

I’ve been doing a fair bit of bragging about T; not just because of how quickly she’s gotten strong since beginning a focused program, but because of how it’s helped with her other goals, including remaining injury-free for this running season. She has, for the record, continued to lose weight and (in my ever-so-biased opinion) look better and better.

I also know that getting stronger has changed T’s perspective. She recently told me about a conversation with another woman who was debating whether or not a 20 lb. weight would be too heavy to deadlift. It means a lot to get advice from someone they know can (semi-)comfortably lift over 10 times that amount. It gives me hope that, as time goes by, we’ll see fewer and fewer tiny, pink dumbbells outside of a rehab setting.

Geoff