THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE SWOLLEN: INFLAMMATION AND GRAPPLING

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Grapplers are more inflamed than they may realize. The high-impact training combined with poor nutritional and lifestyle habits sets up a perfect environment for inflammation. And inflammation is not just going to impact performance it is going to impact health.

 

While the focus of most grapplers is performance, I would argue their focus should be on health. Chronic low-grade inflammation that is produced as a result of grappling can cause long-term issues if it is not managed.

 

The Pros and Cons of Inflammation

Inflammation can be caused by stress, trauma, and overuse. Not all inflammation is bad. The body produces inflammation for a reason. When you are injured, inflammation around the injury area brings nutrients to that area to help the healing process.

 

 

But chronic low-grade inflammation caused by stress, overuse, and diet will have the opposite effect – decreasing health and performance. A study done in 2014 for Nutrition Journal looked at inflammation and its impact on health. The researchers in that study concluded that inflammation can cause depressive symptoms and lead to metabolic syndrome.

 

Why Grapplers Need to Be Aware

Grapplers are at a high risk for chronic inflammation. The frequency and intensity of training combined with the lifestyle stress we all have to navigate results in greater inflammation than someone who just lifts weights a few days a week. For a competitive grappler, trying to cut weight for a tournament adds an even higher risk due to the reduction in nutrients and calories.

 

“Regardless of why you started training, one goal that should always be in your mind is to improve your health.”

But most grapplers continue to train without considering these health risks. Continuing to train will decrease immune function and increase the chance of injury. The best thing to do would be to cut back on training, but grapplers are not found of rest days especially if they are training for a tournament.

 

Many people suffer from high inflammation and do not know it. Common signs of inflammation include joint pain, muscle pain, fatigue, and high blood pressure. Physicians often look at the blood tests for signs of inflammation. Your doctor may recommend testing for any or all of the following: elevated high sensitivity c-reactive protein (HS-CRP), homocysteine, and elevated blood glucose.

 

 

If you are a grappler there is a high chance you are experiencing some of those signs. If you are here are three steps to help you.

 

Rest

Rest can be hard for a dedicated grappler to navigate. During competition season, multiple rest days per week may not be possible. But at least aim for one day completely off and choose one other day for light training or just mobility work. Outside of competition season, it’s good to take at least two days off each week.

 

 “By focusing on health instead of performance, grappling can be a healthy addition to anyone’s training program.”

Nutrition

Nutrition plays a key role in reducing inflammation. Every person may have his or her own nutritional strategies that work. But there are a few things that everyone should incorporate into their nutritional plan to help reduce inflammation. Here are the three supplements I recommend:

 

1. Fish oil– This supplies the body with omega-3 fatty acids important for fighting inflammation. A daily does of 6g is recommended to reduce soreness. That 6g is the combined amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
2. Creatine– One of the most researched supplements out there. Its benefits range from helping with muscle repair to brain health. The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends 3-5g daily of creatine monohydrate.
3. Curcumin– This one is a substance found in the spice turmeric. A 2013 study published in Biofactors described curcumin as a safe non-toxic anti-inflammatory compound that is highly promising. The recommended dosage is up to 1mg/kg of bodyweight.

 

Mobility

Grapplers should work as hard on mobility work as they do on training. Mobility work will help the body repair from the damage of training. When mobility work is done is less important than how often.

 

Spend twenty to thirty minutes a day on mobility work. For grapplers who are feeling achy and swollen, VooDoo Floss Bands are a great option. These bands are used to compress tissue. By compressing the myofascial structures, the bands force your tissues to glide together and this restores movement. The compression itself helps push the swelling out and bring nutrients in. As Kelly Starrett says, “Garbage out, groceries in.”

 

 

Adding mobility work to your program does not have to be complicated.Try the following schedule:

 

• Day 1 – Lower body mobility
• Day 2 – Upper body mobility
• Day 3 – Thoracic spine mobility focus
• Day 4 – Hip focus
• Day 5 – Ankle and wrists

 

The other two days remaining in the week can be used for anything that needs extra attention.

 

Overall – Focus On Your Health

Some grapplers start training because they want to compete. Others just want to get a good workout and learn something. Regardless of why you started training, one goal that should always be in your mind is to improve your health. By focusing on health instead of performance, grappling can be a healthy addition to anyone’s training program.

 

This article was originally seen on breakingmuscle.com

Originally posted 2015-02-17 07:05:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Food As Fuel: 6 Things You Need To Eat To Maximize Your Performance

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You put in the hours in the gym and on the mat honing your skills and developing your body into a well-oiled machine, but are you giving it the high octane gas it deserves?  Most likely not.  I don’t say that to piss anyone off, but rather it is what I have observed over the last 20 years I have been working with athletes.  The focus is always on the exercise and vary rarely on the nutritional components of their program.

Lucky for you I am going to give you the “cheat sheet” on performance nutrition so you can reap the benefits that a proper diet can yield. Grab a notebook and start writing these down (Or just copy and paste like a normal person.)

1. Fruit – I’m not talking about guzzling down a giant container of “Grape Drink”, but rather try grabbing a piece of ACTUAL fruit. You know, that stuff that grows on trees and bushes?  Berries, bananas, apples, pears, pomegranates (Good luck getting those little red things out in less than an hour), grapes and oranges all count.  If it comes in the natural state it existed in out in nature, you’re probably doing a good job when it comes to picking out your fruit to eat.  Fruit has so many of the things you need for your body to perform at its best like natural sugars, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water all in a handy-dandy carrying case.  Thanks Mother Nature, you rock!

1. Eggs – Don’t let me catch you messing up Nature’s perfect food by disposing of the yolk and eating only the whites. Eat the whole damn egg, not just the whites.  Egg whites by themselves suck for many reasons including:
   1. They taste like cooked white crap
   2. They are boring as all get out
   3. They don’t have any of the kick-ass fats and proteins found in the yolk
   4. Did I mention they are boring?

Whole eggs give you the protein needed to repair all of the damage you’ve caused to your poor body with those killer workouts. Work hard, eat well, get results.  See the pattern?

3. Colorful Veggies – Grab you some deep green swiss chard, some bring red beets, a couple neon orange carrots and a few slices of yellow squash and you have a nutritional neutron bomb ready to blow your gains out of the water. Those different colors and variations between different kinds of veggies, means they each have a unique combination of micro nutrients, minerals, vitamins and macro nutrients.  Mixing up the types of veggies you eat helps ensure you don’t have any nutritional holes in your menu plan.  Plus it looks cool as heck when you serve it up.  Aren’t you just a fancy pants!

3. Avocados – Repeat after me: Fat is good! Incorporating natural fats in your diet helps keep your nervous system running smoothly and all of your hormones doing what they are supposed to.  Did you know Testosterone is a derivative of cholesterol?  Yeah, we might want to make sure there is enough dietary fat to ensure that stuff doesn’t get too low! (That’s boys and girls you know, so don’t think you can get out of eating fat ladies!)

3. Quinoa – This is a tough one…to pronounce anyway. KEEN-WAH.  There, better?  So, quinoa is what is known as a “psuedocereal” and oddly enough it is related to beetroots and spinach.  Go figure. So how nutritious is this stuff?

Here is the nutrient breakdown for 1 cup of cooked quinoa, or 185 grams:

• Protein:8 grams.
• Fiber:5 grams.
• Manganese:58% of the RDA.
• Magnesium:30% of the RDA.
• Phosphorus:28% of the RDA.
• Folate:19% of the RDA.
• Copper:18% of the RDA.
• Iron:15% of the RDA.
• Zinc:13% of the RDA.
• Potassium:9% of the RDA.
• Over 10% of the RDA for Vitamins B1, B2 and B6.
• Small amounts of Calcium, B3 (Niacin) and Vitamin E.

Got it?  Go buy some of this stuff today.  No, really, get going.  I can wait.

 

6. Beef – Yeah, that’s right. You know what is for dinner tonight baby.  Some good ol cow.  Beef has gotten a bad rap for far too long my friends and for no good reason.  Some idiots out there started this nasty rumor that fat is bad for you and because beef in all of its beauty can have a relatively high amount of fat content, it too went to the wayside on dinner plates across America.  Thank goodness that whole mess is over with and science has again shown us that beef = good.  Beef is super high in protein and if you buy meat from happy cows (grass fed) you’ll get happy fats that can actually improve your cholesterol levels and triglycerides.

One small tip for you here folks, don’t overcook the crap out of your beef.  If you want to have a steak, it shouldn’t be cooked until it resembles a shoe in consistency.  Sometimes less is more my friends.

 

You’ll notice Cheetos weren’t on my list.  Hey you, I can see the damn orange on your fingers, put those down!

Anyway, back to my point.  Cut out the processed crap, eat more whole foods and drink more water.  You’ll be shocked how much better you feel and perform in a very short period of time.  Our bodies are high performance machines start treating it like one by giving it the right fuel and you might be surprised how you feel next time you compete.

Originally posted 2014-12-17 00:49:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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ANAEROBIC CAPACITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR HIGH-LEVEL BOXERS

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Understanding the needs of combat athletes can be a difficult task. A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research tested the acid-base balance, an important aspect of fatigue, for the first time in a group of elite boxers.

What the research says:

• World-champion boxers had the highest levels of acidosis and blood lactate concentration.
• Researchers suggested athletes train to increase anaerobic fitness and buffering capacity.

 

Study Design

Three teams of boxers, each team having one boxer in each weight category, competed on two different occasions. There were 28 boxers total. Team A competed against both Team B and Team C, separated by four months.

 

All the subjects were elite boxers from three national teams. They were chosen as the best from their respective countries. In fact, six of the 28 boxers had won world titles (either world championship or Olympic medals).

 

For teams A and C, the researchers collected data for five different factors:

 

• Mean blood lactate concentration
• Bicarbonate concentration
• Hemoglobin O2 saturation
• Partial pressure for CO2
• pH levels

 

These values represented work performed, the resulting acid byproducts from fatigue, and the buffering ability of the body. The researchers also took punch counts for the final rounds.

 

Results

The boxers achieved a moderate level of blood lactate and acidosis. This means there was a substantial contribution from anaerobic energy sources, which may be a limiting factor for performance. Blood lactate levels were highest in the middle-weight classes (average weight was about 140lb).

 

As the researchers noted, there was also a difference in the world-champion boxers:

 

It is of note that the three boxers who presented the greatest mean blood lactate concentration and acidosis in comparison to others were previous world champions, suggesting that the best world-class boxers are able to achieve a high physical intensity during the three rounds and support a high level of acidosis.

 

Interestingly, when team A competed against and defeated team C, there was a significant difference in the markers of acid and fatigue between the two groups. This difference may have been a contributing factor to the victory of team A. However, the researchers noted other factors as simple as a difference in mouth guards could have also contributed.

 

Considerations

In order to perform well in boxing, an athlete must have a broad range of physical attributes. This study underlined need for acid buffering capacity and tolerance of acidosis.

 

However, that’s not to say aerobic conditioning is unimportant for combat athletes. The researchers noted previous investigations have shown trained boxers to be in good aerobic shape. The researchers explained no one has performed a complete analysis of the aerobic needs of boxers because, quite simply, it isn’t possible. Anaerobic contribution to performance, on the other hand, is much easier to quantify and measure.

 

As demonstrated in this study, training that improves the ability to buffer acid can be beneficial for boxers. Buffering capactiy is particularly important toward the end of rounds when activity levels increase. But don’t skimp on the aerobic work, either.

 

This article was previously seen on breakingmuscle.com

Originally posted 2015-02-17 07:24:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Instant Gratification and Your Fitness Goals

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Why is it that on a regular basis I get emails from people asking me to give them a last minute, crash diet/workout so they can look good at their wedding, trip to Cancun, photo shoot, etc.? Even more frustrating are the fitness clients who have hired me to develop a holistic and healthy approach to losing fat/gaining muscle that want the “quick fix” trick to get ripped in two days. I don’t claim to be the best trainer in the world, but I do like to believe that over the past 20 years of my fitness career, I have gleaned a modicum of knowledge and experience that proves true time and time again the old adage, “All good things come to those that wait.”

Muscle doesn’t magically jump onto your body because you did the most recent workout from Muscle and Fiction magazine. Fat doesn’t just ::POOF:: disappear overnight because you ate asparagus and swallowed a bottle of XYZ supplement.

There is a reason that I have the Japanese kanji for “Patience” tattooed on my left forearm. It helps me to remind myself (and hopefully my clients) that getting results comes by way of accumulating little changes, day-in and day-out, over time. Perhaps instead of trying to manipulate your carbohydrates or sodium, you should put in the consistent work needed to drop your body fat down to the level that is required of your physique goals. Perhaps instead of changing resistance training plans haphazardly every week, stick to a science founded program that is periodized to maximize long term results. Maybe I am just using too much wishful thinking, but it sure would be nice if people tried a little harder to live a healthy/fitness based LIFESTYLE instead of going at it with the “weekend warrior” approach.

I’ll end with a question I ask of all of my clients, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is of course, one bite at a time…

Originally posted 2014-11-23 05:40:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Not All MMA Conditioning Coaches Are The Same

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Living in Las Vegas, Nevada affords me many great opportunities, not the least of which is being smack dab in the middle of MMA’s epicenter.  Being a rabid fan of MMA, partaking in MMA training (Specifically Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu) and having the honor of working with many of the incredible MMA athletes (amateur as well as professional) gives me a multi-dimensional viewpoint when it comes to what works and doesn’t work with MMA conditioning training.  I am humble in my approach as I feel I am forever a student of the body and I would like to believe that is what helps me to achieve great success with my clients.  I don’t pretend to know it all, but rather I voraciously pursue furthering my knowledge base by means of reading cutting edge scientific journals, attending as many relevant certifications as possible and just flat out keeping an open mind.

Something I see happen all too often, is a random trainer calling himself a “MMA conditioning specialist” with little to no practical knowledge or experience in the field.  Training Mrs. Smith to lose 10 pounds of fat is ever so slightly different from training an elite athlete to perform at his/her peak in competition.

(Did my sarcasm show through just now?)

While a lot of these trainers might have good intentions, they are sadly setting themselves and their clients up for failure by applying antiquated belief systems and training paradigms to what might be considered the single most challenging athletic endeavor out there: MMA.  These athletes need a flowing, balanced blend of speed, strength, skill, flexibility and endurance that is tailored to their own unique physiology in such a manner that the outcome is a harmonious dynamic of purposeful movement that does the “Art” portion of the moniker justice.

A true professional MMA conditioning coach approaches their athlete with a goal of improving their structural and movement based efficiency, facilitating effective improvement in the goal based aspects of the program and all the while minimizing opportunities for injury and/or overtraining.  This requires a thorough grasp of exercise science and the ability to apply it in an individualized manner that is both progressive and periodized as needed to accommodate the athlete’s goals. The balancing of speed, strength, skill, flexibility and endurance is of paramount importance to the MMA athlete’s success.

There are three main steps to this process:

1. Assess the athlete for goal orientation as well as physical needs/capabilities
2. Design the program based around the information provided by the assessments
3. Instruct the athlete utilizing the well-designed program

If you or someone you know is thinking about working with a MMA conditioning coach, make sure that coach can answer the following questions:

• What muscles groups should be trained? Why?
• What basic energy sources (e.g. anaerobic, aerobic) should be trained? Why?
• What are the types of muscle action(s) (e.g. isometric, eccentric) should be trained? Why?
• What are the primary sites of injury for the particular sport or activity, and what is the prior injury history of the individual?
• What are the specific needs for muscle strength, hypertrophy, endurance, power, speed, agility, flexibility, body composition, balance and coordination?

A true professional will be able to answer all these and more.

Originally posted 2014-12-18 18:40:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Overtraining Will Kill Your Results

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I personally love the Bell curve and all that it represents. Take for example the people in America. On one end of the Bell curve we have the standard American: overweight and underactive. On the other side we have an athletic American: in shape and most likely overactive. What do I mean by overactive you are probably thinking? Let’s start by talking a little about how your body works.

The human body is an amazing work of art. Every day for hundreds of years, all over the planet, thousands of the world’s smartest people (doctors and research scientists) have been TRYING to figure it out. One of the most impressive things they have discovered is that the harder you work the body (within reason of course) the better it becomes! Try doing that with your car and see what happens. There is a certain amount of your physiology that is based in your parents genetic contribution to who you are, but the vast majority of who and what you are today, is nurture, not nature. What this means is that you are the end product of every single interaction with the world and the subsequent remodeling your body went through to accommodate to those interactions.

Think about it for just a second. Remember when you cut your big toe on a sprinkler while walking barefoot through the park back in 5th grade? Take a look at that same toe right now and gently run your finger over that scar that you’ve carried with you all these years. Let me ask you this: why do you know that 5×5=25? It is because while sitting in Miss Larson’s class, you had to write your multiplication tables over and over and over again until the cells in your brain created and reinforced a connection that has stuck with you to this very day. You are the product of all of your life’s interactions. Interesting isn’t it?

So what does this have to do with being overactive? While our bodies are always looking to find a state of homeostasis, the truth is, our environment is ever changing so that homeostasis is a moving target. Take for example doing a push-up. The first time you attempt to do one, it is a foreign movement and you struggle to not only keep your body straight but also to push yourself up against gravity’s pull. After the challenge is over, the adaptations begin! The body recognizes that it was just faced with a new challenge and it will now seek a way to make it easier should you have to attempt it again in the future. Your brain has to establish new pathways to control the muscles more efficiently, the muscle cells use some of the freely available amino acids floating in your blood stream to build themselves a little stronger and even your blood vessels adapt to allow for greater blood flow to carry oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. This happens every day with everything you encounter as the body seeks the path of least resistance.

Not too much, not too little

The problem arises when we purposefully attempt to force our bodies to be what want. Whether this be a cosmetic change of fat loss/muscle gain or a performance goal like running a marathon. While the goals seem innocuous in their healthy appearance, they can in fact become detrimental if not worked towards in a logical, science founded manner. Work just hard enough to elicit the desired compensatory response and then rest adequately for the body to be 100% ready to go again. Sadly while the sedentary Americans err on the side of undertraining, our overzealous athletic Americans are rampantly overtraining and not allowing for enough rest time before starting again. In this case, as is with most, more is not better! I love to tell my clients to remember the age old story of Goldilocks and the three bears. If you are in doubt when it comes to “how much” as it pertains to your food or exercise, go with Goldilocks’ thought process: Not too much, not too little, just right.

Simple enough, wouldn’t you agree?

Originally posted 2014-12-18 18:45:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT BJJ S&C PROGRAM FOR YOU

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When you head to the gym for strength and conditioning, do you have a plan to follow? Even better do you have a plan to follow that is specific for you?

 

In the past, solely training Brazilian jiu jitsu was enough to prepare for a tournament. That is not the case anymore. Competitors at the local and national level are taking their training seriously. But unless you have the ability to pay for a strength coach or are lucky enough to have a sponsor that will pay for a coach, you will have to create or find your own programming.

 

The problem is few programs are written specifically for Brazilian jiu jitsu athletes. So some people turn to programs written for other sports and try to adjust them for BJJ. There are many good training programs out there that can work. But who do they work for?There are very specific things to look for and adjust to make a training program work for you.

 

 

Assessment

The first step in choosing a strength and conditioning program is to assess your needs.Take some time and think of specific areas you need to improve.

 

For example, I recently did an assessment on a Brazilian jiu jitsu competitor who had great endurance, but lacked strength. This athlete needed to focus on building strength. Maybe you have no problem with strength, but you can’t roll for more than one round without getting tired. Then you need a program that focuses on increasing endurance. Now I’m not suggesting to completely abandon strength and only focus on endurance. What I want people to understand is that their program should work to bring up weak areas while maintaining areas of strength.

 

Let’s look at an athlete who needs to improve her mobility. The athlete may spend twenty minutes before or after every session doing mobility work, in addition to adding corrective exercises to her routine. Take the time to think about what your weaknesses are. Too often the focus is on what you are already good at.

 

Frequency

BJJ is physically and mentally demanding. The frequency of your strength and conditioning program should be determined by the weekly number of BJJ sessions you train. Not the other way around. Strength and conditioning should not replace your BJJ sessions. It should compliment them.

 

Find a strength and conditioning program designed for the number of days you wish to work out. Do not try to take a program designed to be done over three days and do it in two. There is a reason the coach programmed it for three days.

 

 

Variety of Movements

It is best to think about exercise selection in terms of movements. In the sport of BJJ, you have to be strong everywhere. Look for a program that contains the following:

 

• A squat-based movement
• Lower body pulling
• Upper body pulling
• A horizontal upper body push
• A vertical upper body push

 

As long as your program contains exercises from each of these categories you have everything covered.

 

Intensity

Strength and conditioning programs should vary in intensity depending on your BJJ training volume and goals. For example, if you are participating in two to three competition-level BJJ classes a week, you do not need another two days of intense conditioning. The only exception would be when you are close to a tournament and you need the extra conditioning work.

 

But I do not recommend this approach year round. The rest of the year, focus on building strength. As you get closer to your tournament, back off the strength training and add in some conditioning.

 

 

Conclusion

Strength and conditioning programming can be overwhelming. The best program is one that you can follow, done with the right frequency and intensity for your goals, and that incorporates exercises from various planes of movement. Choosing the right program and being consistent will pay off in the long run.

 

This article was previously seen on breakingmuscle.com

Originally posted 2015-02-17 07:18:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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