Judo and BJJ

I have been studying Judo for a few weeks now, going once a week.  I want some takedowns to add into my BJJ game.  It would look kind of weird if i asked to work out with a high school wrestling team, so i figured judo was a good option.  Its alot of fun, kind of like gymnastics for the combat sport inclined.  I like the dynamic movement that is involved, and learning to feel my opponent’s balance and when to throw.  I think its going to be a while before i can effectively use it, but its fun learning.  I realize now how many reps it takes to make some of these throws actually work.

The rules have taken a bit getting used to.  When we open roll during class it seems to be anything goes, when you hit the ground and grapple all techniques are allowed.  But the other night we had a simulated tournament, where one person was ref, you bow in, etc.  Me and this other guy were paired off, and when it hit the ground i immediately got mount and went for the arm bar.  Well apparently white belts are not allowed to do armbars in official judo tournaments, so they stopped us.   So next time it hit the ground i just got the pin and held it.  Ideally not the way i want to grapple, but its ok, i am there mostly to get the stand up and throwing knowledge.  So far uchi mata and tai otoshi seem to kind of click for me, though i still need lots of practice.

I have been hitting BJJ 2-3 times a week and lifting at Crossfit 2 times a week on average.  Following Mike Ruthefords Black Box program, i just spread the three work out days over a 9 day period instead of seven.  I was enjoying the gymnastic stuff i was doing before that, but all maximal strength every workout was not quite what i needed.

Anton

Paleo Eating Day 3

Well day 3 of Paleo eating and food logging.  I feel ok, a little hungry and bitchy at times, but i did a BJJ and then a crossfit workout today and felt fine.  Sticking to leaner meats has helped alot, much better to protein to fat ratio.  Mostly chicken and leaner cuts of red meat.  Stuff like sausages and ribs are tasty, but for this kind of eating its just not enough protein to be consuming all the time.  We are buying 1/8th of a cow pretty soon and are going to stuff all in our freezer.  Can’t wait.

Anton

Gymnastic strength and grappling

Man, its been a while since i updated this blog.  Sorry for that.  I started a new job recently, have been busy with things, and i guess i have not had alot of thoughts on fitness that i felt were good enough to write about.

Not to long ago i got Building the Gymnastic Body, by Christopher Sommer.  Its a book of basic gymnastic exercise progressions for the fitness enthusiast.  Its not designed to get you to the olympics, but rather to give you some new strength training tools for your toolbox.

I, like most folks i think, have always been amazed by gymnasts.  Their ability to display strength, coordination, flexibility through the multitude movements they must execute is pretty amazing.  The few former gymnasts i have grappled at BJJ class have always been amazingly strong, with insane upper body strength and a good base.  I think the body awareness and strength developed through gymnastics really carries over to grappling.

So a few weeks ago i decided to implement some gymnastics strength movements for my upper body and core strength work.  In a nutshell i am training progressions on the three main static holds in Building the Gymnastic Body.  They are planche, front lever, and back lever.  With each of those you pair one strength movement, like a chin up variation, muscle up, handstand, push up, etc.  So you do a submaximal static hold, then walk over and do your strength movement, rest a minute or so, and repeat the desired amount of sets.  I’d highly recommend getting the book and checking out www.gymnasticbodies.com for more information.  There is alot of variation possible with this type of programming, and its easy to work in core and lower body movements such as squatting, deadlifting, etc.  Perhaps when i get a back lever i will post a picture.

So i am doing that twice a week, training juijitsu at least three times a week, and fitting in a Crossfit Metcon when i can.  I am kind of experimenting how it goes trying to get my conditioning solely from grappling.

Trying to cut a bit of fat, so today is the first day of logging my food.  Its going ok, 2200 calories total, 210 gr of protein, and 36 gr carbs.  140 gr of Fat.  We’ll see how it goes.

Anton

Dropping Weight

Sorry no posts lately.  I have been busy at the gym and trying to do more grapping, as well as other life responsibilities.

I was suprised the other when i stepped on the scale and weighed 162.  A few weeks before that i was a pretty regular 175.  I think what made the difference was really being conscious about sticking to the Paleo diet.  I didnt try to consciously deprive myself of food, i just made sure to eat natural foods when i was hungry, and get some paleo friendly carbs after working out.

We’ll see how it all progresses.  I feel good on the mat, but weaker than i should under the bar.  I guess i need to remember that improving my grappling is  #1, if i spend more time at that my lifting may drop by a bit.

Anton

No Breakfast

Lately i have not been eating my first meal of the day till 10 or 11 oclock.  And i dont feel like i am depriving myself of food.  I just get up, go to work, and just dont feel hungry till that time.  Usually i would eat at 7.  I think being more vigilant about Paleo eating has made me less hungry.  When eating alot of carbs hunger pangs are often due to the body’s craving for sugar and the insulin spike that comes with it, not neccessarily true hunger.  Performance is still fine, i am on the mat grappling and feel greatt.

We’ll see how it goes.

Anton

Performance Menu

So the April 2009 issue of the Performance Menu includes an article i wrote on combining Brazillian Jui-Jitsu practice with outside strength and conditioning work.  I am pretty excited to have something in there alongside other coaches and athletes i admire and respect.  The article outlines a training scheme that has worked for me, and might work for other folks, or will at least give them a basis on which to design their own program.

Anton

Crossfit Total #2

So about six weeks ago we had a Crossfit Total at the gym, Crossfit Portland.  Best out of three attempts on the squat, standing press, and deadlift.  For the first total my liftts were as follows.

BW 175 lbs

Squat 300

Press 140

Deadlift 360

For the next total i had a strength progression all written up, and was going to do some speed work for the deadlift, focusing on speed off the floor.  That went well for a few weeks, then i got sick, had family and friends in town, and basically ate alot of food, went snowboarding, and did not train.  The next Crossfit Total was this past Saturday, but something came up that morning and i could not make it.  I was bummed, but my friends insisted i just Total on my own at the gym.  So last night i went in and did it, thoroughly not expecting much of myself.  Here is how it went down:

BW 175lbs

Squat 315

Press 140

Deadlift 400 (woohoo!)

I was pretty happy with myself.  My second attempt on the squat was 305, and i didnt quite like feel like i was going to die, so i thought i would go for it.  Three 45’s a side for 315.  The other trainer Adam said it was not pretty,, but it went up, though i felt like my torsso was about to collapse.  My press stayed the same as before, i kind of screwed myself on that one.  I made 140 for my first attempt, then went to 150, which was to big of a jump, as it was not moving much.  Oh well.  On the deadlift i went super conservative with an opener of 345, super easy.  Then i put on 375, and it to went up pretty easy, and that was my previous PR.  Adam saw it and said i better be putting a hundred pounds on the bar for the next attempt.  I talked him down and he loaded 400 on the bar while i rested and got a client warmed up for her training session.  Then i took off the shoes and socks, and with Adam yelling at me managed to deadlift 400.  It was tough and i could barely stand after.   All the speed work definitely helped, i was able to break it off the floor to my shins and from there it was just a slow grind up.

So all in all pretty good.  Sorry i did not get any pics.  If i have learned anything out off all this its that after a certain strength base has been built it seems like speed, explosiveness, and force generation is key to athletic endeavors.  Time to hit the O-lifts.

Anton

The Perfume Analogy

Check out this video from Robb Wolf, where he talks about food and presents a good analogy.

Friends or family ask me about the Paleo diet, and when i try describe it to them alot of them think i am nuts.  A typical response will be “but i’ve eaten rice, toast, crackers, drank milk, for years, and i feel fine.”  That may be true, but its like Robb says in the video, the more we keep shoveling that stuff into our bodies eventually its just going to stop objecting and blunt its response.  Just type II diabetes, keep bombarding your body with carbs and sugar, forcing it to constantly release insulin, and eventually its going to stop reponding.  I know when i started eating stricter Paleo, really eliminating milk, grains, and wheat based products, i felt much better.  Then after a few weeks i would some pizza with buddies, and viola, the next day my nose would be runny, my throat irritated, and i would generally feel like crap.  I think if this our body’s initial reaction to that kind of food, it means it is not good for us.  But try it for your self.  Do Paleo for two to three weeks.  Eat meat, vegetables, nuts, fruits, and healthy fats.  Then go back to your usual eating habits, and see how you feel.

Ballet meets Yoga and Pilates!

I was riding the streetcar back from Powell’s Books today (a truly great bookstore) and passed by a gym in the ritzy part of town called Ballet Barre – ballet meets yoga and pilates.  Then a few minutes later we went by a huge new LA Fitness.  Now i more or less don’t have much against ballet, yoga, or pilates, well maybe pilates.   But my over arching belief has always been that if folks are happy with what they are doing and are getting something out of it then more power to them.  I do feel that some ways are more effective than others for meeting certain fitness goals, but thats a different blog post.

What this got me thinking about is the whole damn fitness industry in general.  I receive a ton of catalogs from places like Perform Better, Bigger Faster, Stronger, etc.  There is good some stuff in there, but for the most part i am astounded by the large amount of crap.  Balance boards, band contraptions, and all sorts of other stuff for consumers to spend their money on.  Listen, at its core fitness is not that complicated, and does not even require that much equipment.  Pick up heavy shit, put it back down, lift over your head, carry it till you can’t.  Work hard, sweat, and occasionally feel like you want to vomit.  Exercise does not require a fancy facility with tons of pre calibrated machines, color coded dumbells, and a juice bar.  You need to be able to yell, grunt, cry, drop shit from overhead, and lay on floor in a puddle of sweat when you are done.  But the mainstream fitness industry does not care about this, as they are about profit and money, not results or the actual success of the clients.  Thus they constantly have to reinvent the wheel, or at least put a new spin on an old product.

Anton

Analysis Paralysis

One of the great things about the internet, especially in relation to health and fitness, is the wealth of information out there.  Literally anything you could want to know is probably out there, and most likely for free.  There are workout programs galore, targeting every imaginable goal and involing a wide range of equipment.  Unfortunately with this all this accessible information there comes a downside, to much reading and thinking, but not enough doing.  I know i am guilty of it myself at times.  I’ll find one program that seems effective, run with it for a few weeks, then change because i run across something else that just seems cooler or more interesting, never my body a chance to make any progress with the first program.  I could literally spend all day contemplating different programs.  Full body training, body part splits, olympic lifts, barbells, dumbells, sandbags, conditioning, etc.  Eventually i’ll find the perfect program that makes use of it all, then ill be set for life, right?  Wrong.

First off i think its neccessary to have goals.  If you don’t know where you are going then you cannot plan the best route to get there.  Then find or devise a program that meets your needs, and just do it for a few months before you reevaluate.  Give it time to work for your body and dont jump ship to the next best thing you see on the internet.

As for myself i am going to give Mike Ruthefords Max Effort Black Box a try.  I have heard alot of good things about it, and it seems to cover the strength and conditioning sprctrum i need for grappling.

Anton