Well it was a long week and weekend. Thursday, after a flight and drive in to Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin 13 hours we finally got to our rooms, rest about an hour, grab something to eat and watch my fighters do some light sparring to loosen up an finally crash. I was a little worried about Dave because his weight was a little more than I wanted it, but after a few adjustments to his diet and water intake it quickly became a non-issue all without suffering or losing strength.
The next day at weigh-ins, he made weight with room to spare. Time for more well needed rest and some food. Myself, Dave, Rampage, Torre and Thao had a blast, Rampage cracking jokes left and right helped take the tension and our minds off the fight for awhile. Fast forward to Saturday night.
Torre Reames was the first to fight, first time in the cage in almost 6 years and making his pro debut and what a debut it was, he wound up winning his first pro fight in the second round with a rear naked choke submission. Awesome. One down one to go.
After a few more contests, it was Daves turn, I started working with Dave on his strength and conditioning a little over a year ago and his progress has been tremendous, the strength that we built when he was 230lbs remained at 185lbs his conditioning was off the charts and lean as hell. No surprise he submitted his opponent with a rear naked choke after destroying him with his stand up as well.
In short, it was a VERY successful weekend not only for Team Rampage but MPF Training Systems as well. Couldn't be more proud!!
Also big props to former NFL wide receiver Michael Westbrook, great person and an honor to be able to help him out!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Youth Training; When is the right time to start?
I seem to get this question at least once or twice a week so, here goes. A lot of kids who are playing sports nowadays started playing at a very young age, around 5-6 years old. For the first year or so, it’s a fun learning process. They run, learn how to catch and throw a ball, learn some rules of the chosen sport, etc. Although it’s still fun for most, as they get older, the sport also becomes more competitive. By the second and third year, the play gets more intense. In baseball, kids are swinging the bats harder and faster, throws become more frequent and further. The same applies with football. Kids are hitting harder. There are more frequent practices. This increase in intensity and demand on kids bodies goes on and on with all sports.
With all of these factors working, kids are, without a doubt, going to be prone to more frequent injuries. The simple reason is because their strength is not up to par with the skills demanded by their coaches and the game. By the time kids reach the ages of 10 or so, you start to see injuries such as, sore throwing shoulders, knee and low back injuries, hamstring strains, foot and ankle problems and so on. How can we help prevent these injuries from occurring parents should ask? Strength training of course! So, when is the right time for kids to start strength training?
Through my experiences and research, I would have to say the age of 10 is about the right time for kids to get involved in a moderate strength training program. At that age, muscle hypertrophy (size) will not develop, but strength in the muscle and connective tissue will. And that strength plays a significant part in injury reduction. As an added benefit, strength training will help increase sport performance.
So, what do I mean by “strength training”? One of the myths that’s often heard when you hear of a kid participating in a weight training program is that “it’s going to stunt his growth”. The truth is a moderate strength training program will do quite the opposite if the program IS PROPERLY DONE. What a proper strength program means is the right exercise protocol, correct exercise mechanics and, most of all, a trainer who knows what he or she is doing. A strength program will actually stimulate growth. Look at it this way, as you see a kid playing you see them jumping off walls, benches or whatever. They pick up things that might be awkward in size or even too heavy (things that generally scare the hell out of parents). Yet, they seem pretty resilient when it comes to doing those things, right?
In a protected environment in which they are taught to perform exercises in the right way, the chance of injury goes down greatly. On the down side, if training is not done the right way then there is a chance of growth plate injury to long bones, toe joints and soft tissues. Such damage could cause stunted growth, acute or chronic pain or impaired motor functions.
Our youth programs are carefully monitored. Even before a weight is ever touched, we make sure there is at least a 20 minute dynamic and mobility warm up to get kid’s bodies ready to strength train. The beginning weight training exercises start with mostly with bodyweight. Then, they slowly progress using small loads of weight. The load progresses, increasing approximately 10% each week. In my opinion, joint integrity must be strengthened before any significant loads are added. By joint integrity, I mean the stabilizers of the rotator cuff, sub-scapular (shoulders), hip rotators, psoas, transverse-abdominis, ACL, MCL and PCL (knees). It takes a certain amount of knowledge and experience to properly train kids and reduce the risk of injuries. If done right, the rewards far outweigh the risk and the reduction of preventative injury almost guarantees a long time of competitive fun!
With all of these factors working, kids are, without a doubt, going to be prone to more frequent injuries. The simple reason is because their strength is not up to par with the skills demanded by their coaches and the game. By the time kids reach the ages of 10 or so, you start to see injuries such as, sore throwing shoulders, knee and low back injuries, hamstring strains, foot and ankle problems and so on. How can we help prevent these injuries from occurring parents should ask? Strength training of course! So, when is the right time for kids to start strength training?
Through my experiences and research, I would have to say the age of 10 is about the right time for kids to get involved in a moderate strength training program. At that age, muscle hypertrophy (size) will not develop, but strength in the muscle and connective tissue will. And that strength plays a significant part in injury reduction. As an added benefit, strength training will help increase sport performance.
So, what do I mean by “strength training”? One of the myths that’s often heard when you hear of a kid participating in a weight training program is that “it’s going to stunt his growth”. The truth is a moderate strength training program will do quite the opposite if the program IS PROPERLY DONE. What a proper strength program means is the right exercise protocol, correct exercise mechanics and, most of all, a trainer who knows what he or she is doing. A strength program will actually stimulate growth. Look at it this way, as you see a kid playing you see them jumping off walls, benches or whatever. They pick up things that might be awkward in size or even too heavy (things that generally scare the hell out of parents). Yet, they seem pretty resilient when it comes to doing those things, right?
In a protected environment in which they are taught to perform exercises in the right way, the chance of injury goes down greatly. On the down side, if training is not done the right way then there is a chance of growth plate injury to long bones, toe joints and soft tissues. Such damage could cause stunted growth, acute or chronic pain or impaired motor functions.
Our youth programs are carefully monitored. Even before a weight is ever touched, we make sure there is at least a 20 minute dynamic and mobility warm up to get kid’s bodies ready to strength train. The beginning weight training exercises start with mostly with bodyweight. Then, they slowly progress using small loads of weight. The load progresses, increasing approximately 10% each week. In my opinion, joint integrity must be strengthened before any significant loads are added. By joint integrity, I mean the stabilizers of the rotator cuff, sub-scapular (shoulders), hip rotators, psoas, transverse-abdominis, ACL, MCL and PCL (knees). It takes a certain amount of knowledge and experience to properly train kids and reduce the risk of injuries. If done right, the rewards far outweigh the risk and the reduction of preventative injury almost guarantees a long time of competitive fun!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
It's all in your head!!
Well we have one week before we leave for Wisconsin to help corner for one of my fighters. Kids got it all, speed, we got him strong as hell, came down almost 45lbs to make his weight class while actually getting stronger as he dropped, quick feet, etc,etc. The only thing that's holding him up and will keep him from winning is in his head. I'm not a psychologist, but if he doesn't get it together, he may have problems. He's trained with the best in world and actually hurt them. I need to convince him that he HAS hurt the best in sparring but now it's time to carry that over to the octagon. I have nothing but faith in him, but NOW's the time to get it together!!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Observed a high school football practice today
Today I took some time out of my schedule to go to a practice so I can observe some of the athletes I train. I was a little taken back by the lax efforts of the team of slowly moving from one area to another. Over the past year I spent quite a bit of time with the USC Trojans, Strength and Conditioning coach Chris Carlisle and observed alot of practices. That being said, Coach Carroll's practices were tight. Sprinting from one station to another, not jogging, not walking but running.
One thing that sticks out from what Coach Carroll told me was, "we do very little in the way of conditioning because they are always running from one place to another"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51DbsSkarSA&feature=channel_page
One thing that sticks out from what Coach Carroll told me was, "we do very little in the way of conditioning because they are always running from one place to another"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51DbsSkarSA&feature=channel_page
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Program design
Program design an exercise selection are simple concepts that some trainers and coachs make much more difficult than necessary. When it comes to training my athletes in their strength programs, I always begin with power (explosive) movements first. When you start your training with power movement when the CNS (central nervous system) is fresh, you excite the CNS thus reducing the risk of injury while also preparing for the supplimental exercises.
Monday, July 6, 2009
More rants on "hardcore" training
I trained "hardcore" for 30+ years when I was competing in bodybuilding and powerlifting. The protocols that I see these "hardcore" trainers use is just short of a bodybuilding protocol. Take the "Westside for Skinny bastards" for example, it isn't a whole lot different that how we used to train 25-30 years ago. I see another popular "hardcore" trainer who always talks about training for hypertrophy on his site like he's the one who came up it.
All of that being said, I can tell you, if I knew then what I know now I would have taken a different route in my training. All of my "hardcore" training throughout those years has been somewhat of a detrement now. As far as I am conserned, anyone who trains athletes in that manner cuts that athletes longevity down tremendously. This is from personal experiance.
Ok guys sorry, rant over.
All of that being said, I can tell you, if I knew then what I know now I would have taken a different route in my training. All of my "hardcore" training throughout those years has been somewhat of a detrement now. As far as I am conserned, anyone who trains athletes in that manner cuts that athletes longevity down tremendously. This is from personal experiance.
Ok guys sorry, rant over.
"Hardcore" training
It's funny when I hear about some of these "hardcore" trainers after their clients start puking in the middle of a training session "yeah baby, just another day". Just another day? What does that mean? Ok, here's my thought. If you have someone that you're training for a sport and this person is throwing up during a workout, it's pretty obvious that person isn't ready for that type of training and risking injury. I'm not saying don't train hard and heavy, I'm saying "puking" during a workout doesn't make you "hardcore".
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