Futile.
Ya I wore the same workout outfit two days in a row and I don’t care what you think about that.
Futile.
Exactly like that! I�??ve been trying to find some people to train with around here, but have had no luck so far.
Well I’m going to start my MMA training again in about a week or two. I had a few months of training under my belt until I blew out my knee, and I haven’t gotten any formal training in almost 2 years. I’m psyched to be back because I love this sport and I love to train.
Since I don’t have any “MMA” updates yet (and won’t for a little while), I’ll post my lifting sessions until I start taking classes again. I just started Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, as I feel I’ll be able to get a great strength base as well as some LBM with it. I’m going to try bulking while training as well, but I’m not sure how that’s going to work out. I may have to take in over 4,500 cals a day to make any significant gains with all the training I’m going to be doing. I also just started the Anabolic Diet this past Monday. I’ll tweek my diet and training as I go, but I’ll need a good few weeks to feel it out.
Anyway, like I said I’m going to post my strength sessions on this blog for now, mostly to help me keep track of my numbers. Glad to be here.
Monday: Workout A
Squat - 3x5x225 (SetxRepxWeight)
Bench - 3x5x155,160,160
Deadlift - 1x5x245
Wednesday: Workout B
Squat - 3x5x230,225,230
Push Press - 3x5x135
Power Clean - 3x5x150
-dizzle
In class yesterday I learned a very cool transition to an arm bar when on your opponent’s back. It’s a great (and easy) transition to use if they’re doing a good job of defending the rear naked choke. I often have a hard time sinking in chokes, so I’ll definitely be trying it out on somebody next class.
As for what to do with this thread, instead of just listing our workouts, maybe we could start talking about what we learned in class and discuss technique a bit.
Thursday it was so hot here I skipped the weekly hill sprints. I even rode the bus to work.
Friday I took a BJJ class with three other guys, the usual suspects, plus the instructor. We went over drills passing the guard, then it was all action for the next hour, because no one was waiting to use the space.
Hey guess what, I tapped someone for the first time ever! I didn’t even realize it until several hours later, suddenly I had this flashback of Ron tap-tap-tapping my shoulder, and when we got up, he shook himself off for a minute and said, “Wow, you’ve gotten really good. You’ve improved a lot since the last time I saw you…”
And I still didn’t know what it all meant.
I thought he’d just tapped my shoulder like because we needed to move over or something, or like the match was done. It wasn’t until later that I was, like, “Wait-a-second…he tapped my shoulder…? He TAPPED!! Woohoo!”
I am the queen of the mats!
Today is no-gi open mat. Bringing the camera.
[quote]downwardog wrote:
Futile.
Ya I wore the same workout outfit two days in a row and I don’t care what you think about that.[/quote]
i hope to never run into you in an alley… id get my wallet taken.
Hey everybody, I’ve been reading T-Nation for years but never been a forum reader until the past week. Once I saw this one, I knew my first post was imminent and read the entire thread over the past 4 days. Anyhow if you’ll have me, I’d love to join in.
Background: Lifting 12 years (just turned 25), tang soo do (relative of TKD) for 3 years, overall MMA training for 7 years. Trained BJJ unofficially those 7 years, about 2-3 total years at a BJJ club, boxing again the full 7 years but only 1-2 total years at a gym, and I’ve been keeping up with my kicking since the TSD days.
I had my first MMA fight just before I turned 19, basically at a smoker here in West Virginia (it’s STILL not legal in this state- even BJJ tournaments have a hard time getting approved!).
Since then I’ve had approximately a dozen, as well as a couple of amateur kickboxing and boxing matches. It’s been almost 2.5 years since my last fight though, when work finally enveloped my life!
That time I couldn’t even visit my gyms, so I trained when I could with whatever group of guys I could gather up ala Fight Club (albeit much less violent and angry, hahaha). I would teach sweeps, boxing combos, things like that.
I have a new boss now though who encourages free time, so over the last couple of months I’ve been returning to my old gyms and getting back into structured training. I hope to have at least one fight by end of summer.
At the end, I had fought in Atlantic City twice, and won the Arnold Classic Advanced Middleweight MMA division the first year they had it as an event. One of my fights in AC was actually Dante Rivera (FIRST opponent who made me realize the value of cutting weight), who’s on TUF right now.
Anyhow, that long post being said, here’s the rest of the info:
Currently I’m looking at this training schedule:
Monday- Weights, Informal Training
Tuesday- BJJ Class
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- Weights, Informal Training
Friday- Boxing Gym
Saturday- MMA at BJJ Gym
Sunday- Off
This is on top of working approximately 60-70 hours a week, and of course remaining a kick-ass boyfriend (gf is reading as I post, mwahahaha). When my workouts begin again this week, I’ll post details.
[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
i hope to never run into you in an alley… id get my wallet taken.[/quote]
Nah, I’m out to steal your heart, xen.
Just to let you guys know,I started posting all of my training on my personal blog on My T-Page…in case anyone wants to know.
My actual mma class time has been reduced to 2 days a week due to work right now…so I’m spenting alot of time trying to get conditioned better and drop some weight.
[quote]theicedwarrior wrote:
…Currently I’m looking at this training schedule:
Monday- Weights, Informal Training
Tuesday- BJJ Class
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- Weights, Informal Training
Friday- Boxing Gym
Saturday- MMA at BJJ Gym
Sunday- Off
This is on top of working approximately 60-70 hours a week…When my workouts begin again this week, I’ll post details.[/quote]
Hi TIW,
Nice to read about your skills and your workout program. I’m impressed, it’s so rational. I’m used to seeing MA guys ridiculously over training. Of course, you’re over working instead…Looking forward to your workout posts.
Hi,
I went to BJJ class on Saturday. Nothing went as expected, not that that was a bad thing. I passed the guard for the first time in the class mini-tournament.
Sunday was a strength workout at the beach.
Here’s a highlight, there are more pics and details in my thread.
Keep up the good work, guys. I’ll likely start posting again in here soon, once I actually get back to classes.
And I like NoGi’s idea of posting drills/techniques learned in class along with our strength and conditioning workouts. Could be cool to see variations on how things are taught from one coast (continent) to another.
Happy me! Back in town, back on the mat!
Tonight’s class: lots of basic punching & kicking to start, along with sets of punching each other in the gut to practice taking it. Then head-butts, which are so great, as long as I have lots of Advil in my purse.
Then, 360 defenses against haymaker-type attacks (or overhand knife attack). We were about to do a fatigue drill at the end of class when I felt my right hand throbbing strangely & looked down to see a giant mouse forming on the middle knuckle. I’ve been working on punching without gloves, but I have girly-girl skin & bruise easily. Teacher made me ice it so I missed the drill (bwahahaha).
Next class was groundfighting: working with the guard & mount from both top & bottom positions. Taking side control & attacking from there with elbows & knees, then passing from side control to mount, and learning to prevent this same pass.
New week started with a decent lift and good training workouts, I’m thinking about switching the schedule just a little bit to give me Monday off, and Sunday day 1 (then Monday can just be work, 7am-7pm today):
Lift:
Power Pull/Hang Clean/Power Clean Combo- 4x175 (no straps)- felt good about this one, speed stayed high without straps
Power Pull/Clean & Jerk/Push Press/Clean & Jerk/Bent Over Row Complex- 7ea. x 145 (no straps, sucked in that great, positive way)
Squat- 6x295, 5x345, 2x395 (this is what got me the most today, I had wanted to get 5 reps but long day at work seemed to have tightened my back up)
Lat Pulldown- 3 Sets of 8, diff. grips
RDL- 3 Sets of 10x225
Posterior Delt Raise- 2 Sets of 15x20
Abs/Low Back
20 minute or so break, then my training partner was in and getting ready. On my informal training days, my training is usually with my 6’6", 260 training partner- I’m 5’10", 185 haha
Light grappling to warmup
Drilled punching combos to takedowns (jab to single leg; jab/cross to double leg; double jab/overhand right to a stuffed shot but keeping hips high and circling until the ankle can be picked)
Series of techniques as if your opponent’s shot a single leg and you’re both on your knees (slide out and roll to an omoplata; same but with opponent rolling so I get to spin into an inverted triangle, OR spin then kick over to a second omoplata)
Mounted armbar setups, eventually added hitchhiker escapes (but into triangles, haha)
Escapes from the keylock from the mounted and half-mounted position
Tuesday- BJJ class!
Downwarddog- thanks for the kind words about my split, I went through the 3 workouts/day phase too when I first started. I look forward to sharing what happens with others now though! Love checking out what you’re doing in your workouts, too
Irish- haha, my favorite part of your post is about working through the cramp. Those are some of my favorite times, when I just won’t let something like that stop me. Small, but at the same time you know it’s a big step.
Private lesson today, me & my training partner, taught by the Gorgeous Bastard. Pulling up lagging skills before the test - escaping a headlock from behind, various chokes, some while pushed against a wall, & also punch combinations. I’m starting to feel ready.
Next hour was a regular class, moving in for low punches (my knuckles are still too swollen for proper punches, so its palm heel strikes for me). Class ended with groundfighting, which GB put in because we didn’t have time to cover it in the private, bless him. Moving from being mounted to getting them into your guard, then shrimping out & placing one foot on your opponent’s hip & using the other foot to kick him in the face “so his head goes back like a Pez dispenser”. Many big bruises for me in the last two days. Good times.
i was talking to another poster about this recently… but i feel like there’s a glass ceiling, like some sort of plateau i have to reach.
And i keep knocking against it everynow and then… I’ll have those days where i’m moving like i can walk on water, and i can connect with whatever i choose to the point that i’m making up shit and throwing kung fu-y type moves.
today was one of those days…
anyway whenever i blast through this mental block or whatever it is i’m going to be a seriously bad motherfucker.
its just really frustrating that i’m not sure what I need to do in order to reach that new level.
I once complained to my old BJJ teacher about the same thing & he told me it happens to everyone & the way to get through it is just to keep dogging through. He said keep focusing on what you’re practicing right now, in this moment only, and it will eventually just click inside your body & you’ll jump to the next level. Its like Churchill said, “When you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Monday No-Gi Recap: We worked butterfly guard sweeps and passes. Cool stuff. Sweeps from guard are becoming my specialty.
I rolled with all newer white belts in this class. Newer white belts that use way more muscle than technique. This was good for me because that seems to be what I end up facing in tournaments, guys with more strength (I�??m working on this!) and less technique. Not that I’m that great, I’m only a 3 stripe white belt, but comparatively speaking. Anyway, I was feeling pretty dominant in all of my rolls. The second guy I rolled with was a power lifter. He was STRONG! I ended up pulling guard and let him wear himself out for a couple minutes, then I sunk in a tight triangle, a REALY tight triangle. The guy’s head turned a shade of purple I’ve never seen before, but he would not tap. He finally did tap right before passing out, but he ended up being too woozy to finish the roll. I asked him why he didn’t tap sooner and he said �??because I’m not a quitter�??. Dummy. He’ll learn.
Tuesday Gym Recap: Heavy pull day.
Deadlift - 5x3
Chin - 4x4
Power clean - 3x6
Nose Pull - 2x15
Barbell Curl - 3x12
This was a great workout. I wasn’t feeling it when I got there, but when I did my first set of deadlifts I notice something I’ve never seen before. A BICEPT VEIN! I’ve been cutting weight for about a year now and I’ve been a fat ass for such a long time that this is brand new to me (I started at 274lbs and was 207lbs this morning). Anyway, once I saw the vein the motivation skyrocketed.
Today Gi Recap: Today was the polar opposite of Monday’s class. Today I was the only white belt, so I was anything but dominant. We went over some cross collar chokes. I hate choke day!
I rolled with 2 blue belts and one purple belt. I felt very good about my tapping technique today. I think I tapped with every appendage. The purple said he has to work harder to tap me than he used to, so that’s something I guess. All in all it was a good class, but very humbling. I thought I was a badass unit I started taking BJJ.
I started training again last night, and boy am I out of shape. I thought that I’d be fine going into last night’s grappling class, but after going 2 rounds with this fiesty little middle eastern kid I was gassed. I went for a double leg on the third go around and just could not drive through it. Luckily I have all summer to get my conditioning to where it needs to be.
We worked on a cool takedown last night from the clinch. You get into a normal clinch, bring the guy a step backwards so he’s stepping into you, shoot in with the leg that’s on the same side as his lead leg, grab his ankle with the hand opposite of his lead leg, trip him up and drive up and into his chest with your head, and land in side control. The hard part is making sure you get your hand low enough on his ankle/heel to trip him up or else it turns into a half-assed single leg.
It feels great to be back.
-dizzle