Grappling circuit and Neck training

Neck

neck bridge 2x
reverse neck bridge 2x
weighted neck flexion 3x
reverse neck flexion 3x

Barbell complex

Row
Clean
Front Squat
Military Press
Back Squat
SLDL

6 sets, 8 reps each, 45-60 sec rest between sets

Core

DB side bends 3x
bicycle crunches x 50

Easy day and notes

Morning

Cardio; 30 mins

Evening

The usual flexibility and balance work. Every night usually right before bed I will through on some meditation music and do my static stretching routine and balance work. The stretching part focuses heavily on hamstrings and also some yoga work for the back, etc. I also do a stretches for the chest and other areas that most people often overlook. My goal here is simple, to maintain and increase flexibility for grappling/fighting. I pride myself in my natural given talents, one being flexibility. I've just recently starting actually working on it. I've added in some yoga work at the end of my stretching routine that focuses on balance which also helps in fighting when it comes to stances and if someone catches one of my kicks or grabs a single leg on me. It can really do wonders for take down defense if you have great balance. My balance isn't bad, but its not great either so this is going to improve things a lot for me. I do quite a bit of work on one leg at a time, then after I'm done I switch to a balance board and repeat the same routine on it to make things harder.

I look forward to this routine every night, it relaxes my mind and body and helps recovery. Since I've started doing this I feel a lot better overrall. Usually it lasts 15-20mins or upwards to 30 mins, just depending on time and so on. I'm always studying and learning new stretches and things to add in and as I do I condense down and remove some ones I consider less effective. I'm always shooting for the biggest bang for my buck. Time is important!

- So today is kinda a rest day since I planned on doing a series of sprints or a barbell complex after work but didn't get around to it. I plan on watching the UFC replay of Penn fighting Sanchez and then after doing my stretching routine and calling it a night.

- I've recently changed programs I use to track calories to Fitday and figured I'd give it another shout out here. It is really a great program, I use the older version but they have v 2 out now so I might consider getting it in the near future. It is great so if you are in the market for something to keep track of calories, its the program to get.

- My calories are currently at 2500 or less. My weight is around 130 and since I dropped to 2500 or so I'm much leaner already. I really feel I carry a bit of a bloat to my stomach expecially the lower ab area and I'm not happy with it. However, I want to fight at 135 and should be working on building more muscle instead of cutting this long. So.. I'm not happy that I'm cutting but I want to get lean as possible before I start bulking. I will very very slowly bring my cals up and work on putting on mass that way this time. I want to walk around 140-145 and will stay there once I'm there just cutting 5-10lbs to 135. I'm afraid I wont be lean till close to 125 tho and I don't want to drop under 130 honestly. We will see I guess, I will drop a little under 130 but not far because its too far away from my goal weight. I didn't do the cleanest bulk last time though thats for sure, because I've cut from 141 and was hoping to be much leaner than I am at 130.

Pull workout

Pull workout

Bent over row; 3x 8-10
Upright row; 3x 6-8
Curl; 2x 8-10

Core

Ab roll out; 3x 10+


* Planning on adding back in deadlifts soon - probably next week. My left leg is shot at the moment after absorbing a few leg kicks but I made him pay for it with a RNC afterwards though lol. I don't know if I will do full 3 sets though like I do with the other main compounds. There is a good chance I will add in one set at the end of my pull workout aiming for 6 reps or so. Either way I will probably be cutting out SLDLs for good for awhile. If I only do one set of deads I'd be tempted to keep in a couple sets of the SLDL but IDK. I'm not a big fan of doing them heavy but they will have their place in my routine through circuits and when I do high reps. I really want to only do 3 exercises per workout but split between 2 days its hard to do that without skipping something. I've thought about doing a 3 day split but I just don't want to have 3 days set for lifting. Time is really important. I will continue to focus on my cardio and conditioning but heavy lifting for strength and gaining muscle mass is still high on my list and will be for a long time to come. Far away from my goal weight..

Notes

- Need to move up in weight by about 10lbs on my bent over rows.
- Need to drop weight a little in my upright rows and focus on full range of motion
- EZbar curls are doing fine, need to focus on form though and probably move up about 5 lbs

Cardio

Cardio

dynamic stretching

5 min warmup

30 mins 70-80% mhr

1 min rest

tabata sprints

5 min cool down

static stretching

Nutrition

Pre-workout; 3 organic eggs, 3 slices toast, 1 tblsp honey, 12 oz green tea

Post-workout; 12 oz gatorade followed 20mins later with 4 oz angus burger w/ wholegrain bun

Cardio, BJJ, MMA

Noon

Cardio

30 mins; 70-80% mhr

Evening

Classes

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu GI

MMA

** Notes

MMA class we drilled punching combinations and movements then on push kicks. After we done reps of triangles and a counter to when someone postures out of them which was really cool. You push up in a handstand and you will end up on them with an inverted triangle locked in. After that sparring for the rest of the time. Really good class.

I scored two great submissions tonight in sparring during MMA class. Hard work really pays off. Anyway, I decided to let loose a bit in class because it seems I pull my power back way too much while people blast away at me. That I did too. When I went to the ground with one guy I was sparring with I got his back and rained down punches till he tried to stand then pulled his arm out and rolled him over. He brought both hands to my arm under his chin and I pulled it down and caught it with my legs and wrapped his arm up BJ Penn style. Done deal. I love that move and its probably by far my favorite and go to move in BJJ. Flexibility is a great thing to have! Right after he sprawled on my take down and pushed in a little too deep, I was able to get an inverted triangle from there and the tap. Very happy about that, I didn't think I had it but sat back and tighten up and it worked.

Anyway, a great training session today and probably taking the day off tomorrow even though I need to do cardio. My leg is pretty jacked up at the moment so we'll see.

Cardio

Cardio

30 mins
70-80% mhr

sprints

3x 30 sec
5x 1 min
80-90% mhr

lots of stretching and mobility exercises


* Quick notes

Installed FitDay to keep track of my calories and foods now. I've used anabolicminds.com diet tracker up until now but its kinda a hassle at times. Now I have this and really liked it so far, just gotta get all my foods added in the database.

I also got another heartrate moniter, a strap kind and love it! The constant readout is great and much better than a wrist watch.

Been on a shopping spree lately haha. I also ordered a pair of underarmour compression shorts so I'm hoping they get here tomorrow before training but IDK. That's something I've wanted for awhile now to wear over my atheletic supporter and cup while training.

I'm making a move to more organic foods. So far, I've replaced sweetener with stevia, my normal brown rice with organic and will be switching my green tea after mine is all gone with organic.

Push day & Neck strength

Push workout

DB incline press; 3x 12,10,8
CG press; 2x 10
DB shoulder press; 3x 12,10,8
Hack squat; 3x 8

* I actually done the above in reverse order than shown (and regular) this week just for a change. Will more than likely do that with the pull workout this week as well, then back to normal next week. I'm doing this to do the bottom exercises fresh for once. My bench press was extremely weak though doing it after the CG presses (I realize the mistake now..) so I had to switch to lighter DB presses. Anyway, besides the lack of chest workout tonight, the rest was great! Too bad it wasnt perfect though..

Ab roll-out; 3x 10-15

Neck workout

Neck bridge superset Reverse neck bridge 2x

Weighted neck flexion 3x 10
Weighted reverse neck flexion 3x 10

Weighted lateral flexion 1x 10 per side

Neck bridge superset Reverse neck bridge 2x

Back to training..

After a week off I'll be back to training tomorrow. It wasn't a complete rest but close enough. I worked hard on stretching/yoga during that time. I did train wednesday at classes BJJ and MMA however. I was going to make a post about my MMA class since I really done a couple things I was shooting for during sparring but maybe another time. I didn't lift any weights, not even a circuit. I did 2x cardio during the week as well with only 1 set of tabata sprints.

So easing back to training for today.

Neck & Core

neck bridge
reverse neck bridge

weighted neck flexion
reverse weighted neck flexion
lateral weighted neck flexion

crunch
reverse crunch
bicycle crunch

shoulder dislocations

* most everything done as a circuit or atleast superset not counting reps but aiming for a good burn

I gotta do inventory at work tonight so I won't be home till the AM, but will most likely do my stretching atleast and some balance board work. Will be picking up a heavy/intense training schedule starting Monday and can't wait for it! Need to remember to start doing these neck/core exercises and circuits more often! Very very important and I continue to slack off on them. This wasn't a real intense workout, just something to get the blood flowing.

Break from Lifting, Stretching & Flexibility

As title says..

With a lighter (but still intense) load this week on # of workouts, I still feel pretty wore down. Starting to feel like shin splits from just moving around, kinda a tight and painful feel to my legs. I will not be cutting out cardio or any other of my workouts, but will not be doing my heavy push/pull days this week. Most would recommend a week break from heavy loads after 8-12 weeks so its time. IDK when the last time I took a week off but I'm sure its been about double that time. I usually take a week off every 4 months or so. It just helps recover and relax the muscles a bit. To begin with, this week I was planning on cutting out 200 more cals from my daily intake but I will keep them where they are until next week when I start lifting heavy weights again.

As much as I'd like to a week off from everything, this will have to do for now.

Recently I've begun dedicating more time to static stretching to improve flexibility. As Ive said before, I'm very flexible to begin with but I have room to improve. I'm already able to use my legs in many ways most others cannot in grappling, so not only am I interested in keeping that ability but also building upon it. Think BJ Penn and Eddie Bravo type of flexibility.

I've been working on stretching more the past month but the past couple of weeks I've been doing a great job of it. I usually only stretching once a day, but have starting going to 2x a day sometimes. I aim to stretch after cardio (hot stretching when muscles are really warmed up and blood moving) and/or before bed. When I stretch before bed I often do some dynamic work as a prequel. I run through a routine I've put together of my favorite stretching (And some I hate haha) that hits the hamstrings hard amound other muscles/tendons. At the night time stretching, I will put on some good meditation music with the lights low and stretch for 15-20 mins on average. Very peaceful, very relaxing - just breathing and slowly stretching. Its possible in the future I'll record a video of my stretching routine because others might find it helpful. I've always had a couple of yoga poses/stretches in it as well but recently have been looking and researching more into yoga and been adding more into my routine. I find this very helpful for relaxation and improving balance/flexibility. I've always been really big into learning as many things as possible, then taking what works for you and your own goals and putting it all together.

Anyway, anything I can do to make me a better person and a better fighter - I'm all for.

Plans for the next 3 days..

Tues - Cardio, neck/core
Weds - Cardio, BJJ/MMA
Thurs - Cardio

Cardio, rest

Cardio; 30 mins followed by tabata sprints

mobility drills
stretching


Rest for the rest of the day. Although I should really do my muscle endurance circuit I havent took a day off in awhile. Sure, I'll get restless though. Originally going to take Tuesday off but will probably do cardio on that day as well.

Next 3 days will look like this probably...

Mon - Push day
Tues - Cardio
Weds - BJJ/MMA

Heavy bag work

Pre-workout meal; 1 cup pasta, 4 oz chicken

Heavy bag

5 min warmup - dynamic stretching, light straight punching

5 x 3 min rounds - skill focus
5 x 30 sec olympic drills - conditioning focus

5 min cool down - dynamic stretching, light straight punching

stretching

Post-workout meal; 1/2 cup blueberries, 200g pineapple, followed 15 mins by a shake (1 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

Pull day

Pre-workout
meal; 3 organic eggs, 2 slices toast w/ honey
warmup; dynamic stretching, light weight superset exercises of the workout

Pull workout

Bent over row; 3x 10-12
SLDL; 3x 12
Upright row; 3x 6-8
Drag curl; 2x 6-8

Core

Ab roll out 3x 10

Post-workout
static stretching
meal; shake (1 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)


** Still trying new stuff in my routine. On the bent over rows I switched to underhand grips and liked them a lot. I felt a good burn in my biceps and I felt a better pump in my back so I will def. be keeping the underhand grips around for awhile. Next week I will up in weight as I held it down a little bit to test out the new grips. Still a good weight, and workout though. I will more than likely be replacing SLDL with dead lifts before long, atleast 1 set of deads at the end of my routine. Never been a fan of heavy weight with SLDL, and feel I can benefit more from one heavy set of deads. Not for sure yet though. The heavy uprows felt awesome as usual, but I'm not upping weight yet, I feel after 6 reps my form goes bad till 8 anyway at this point. This was the first time I've done drag curls too. Not for sure how I feel about them, kinda liked them, kinda didn't. Dropped weight from the usual ezbar curls, so I guess it fixed slack in my form a bit, but isolating biceps that much isn't a big deal to me. I'm just making sure they do get hit. Anyway, its always nice to try something new to keep things fresh. I need to be picking and sticking with a game plan though soon becuase I've been trying new things out the past few weeks. I really want to cut all arm work out besides what they get hit in compounds, but I don't know how that will work for me yet. I feel my triceps get hit hard, but biceps not so much. Time will tell. It sounds good to do only 3 exercises (heavy compounds) twice a week for my heavy lifting though.

Also, when I have time I will add in ab roll outs after my two heavy days. I will be doing more core exercises on a seperate day, but the roll outs will act as a base, sometimes with bicycle crunchs after them. It doesn't have to be ab rolls, I just feel a good burn from them, but I might also do around the worlds or weighted crunches instead. IDK, nothing in stone. I just want to do the weighted or heavy ab exercises on heavy days. Crunches on off days and the such. How I feel and time I have free makes my workouts usual. It's important to listen to your body above all else!

Cardio

Cycle;

5 min warmup

30 mins (70-80% mhr)
tabata sprints (80-90%mhr)

3 min cool down
stretching


.. and thats all I have time for, off work late and have to work early. Heavy pull day will be tomorrow.

Cardio, Accessory work

Well, its my bday today and I'm not big into celebrating but I decided to take the night off from BJJ and MMA classes and rest a bit. My parents also either cook or take me out to dinner every year no matter what, so I couldn't really say no to that. Feeling guilty for skipping class though, I really needed to go. Being my main skill night at my fight academy, I don't need to miss any of them. All I can do is rest this week out and return next Weds though. After BJJ class yesterday though I got a good hour+ in of sparring and mitt time with my main training partner, so this week isnt a total waste yet haha.

Anyway.. I need to make more of an effort to make it to BJJ classes (and mma). I have a great gym with great people to learn from and train with. I don't take advantage of it at all and how I work, I miss a ton of training time. But, I also miss classes that I should go to and not skip out because I'm tired from work or will be rushed getting there on time. Things are def. looking better for me though and I plan on making a much bigger effort to train more often. I need to be progressing every week towards fighting and moving up in rank in BJJ, and not staying in the same stale routine week after week. It's time to start improving and improve fast! All of the natural talent and ability I have, is useless without proper direction and instruction on skills. I highly doubt I'm ready to fight at the end of Summer like I was hoping, but maybe next Summer..


Morning

Cardio; 30 mins

Evening

Grappling & Accessory work

Neck bridge
Reverse neck bridge
Laying plate neck raise
Reverse laying plate neck raise

Glute raise

Shoulder dislocation

Stretching
Balance board work

Tuesday

Late post.
--

Noon

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Takedowns/Clinch

Mitt work

Sparring

Evening

Cardio; 30 mins followed with tabata sprints

Push day

Pre-workout; 3 organic eggs, 3 slices toast, 1 tblsp honey, 16 oz green tea

Bench press; 3x 5-8
CG press; 2x 5-8
DB shoulder press; 3x 8-10
Hack squat; 3x 5-8

Post-workout meal; shake (1 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

Balance board work; 15 mins
Stretching; 15 mins

* Lost my focus a bit tonight, I gotta keep my head on the task ahead of me and stop thinking about other things. Pushed my weight up 5-10 lbs on everything besides the DB shoulder press. The over head / military press has been hurting my shoulders a bit lately so I may switch over to the DBs for awhile and see how that goes. Still trying to keep my reps 6-8 and dropped down to 5 reps on the heavier exercises just to see how it went and I liked it pretty well. Anyway, I'm glad its over with and I'm going to crash now haha.

Plans for this week;
Tues - BJJ, Striking, Cardio
Weds - BJJ, MMA, Cardio
Thurs - Cardio
Fri - Pull day
Sat - BJJ
Sun - bag work/circuit/complex/sprints

-- one day will be replaced with a rest day. nothing set in stone, just notes to myself..

Complex

Plate complex

Overhead Squat x 8
Swings x 8
Bentover Row x 8
Reverse Lunge and Twist x 8 total
Diagonal Chops x 8 each side

5 sets, 60 sec rest between sets

I really like this workout and use it often to break up the usual barbell complex I do. In the future I am going to try and switch things up even more so. This was a short and sweet workout I felt really hit the spot.

Anyway, I plan on doing some more stuff, nothing major and I doubt I update with it. Probably some farmer walks and grip and balance board work. Of course, ending with a lot of stretching. I love progress!

Pre-workout; 3 slices of toast with honey
Post-workout; 1 scoop protein

Cardio

Well, I've slacked on my actual cardio a bit this week by accident haha. I really want to do 4x a week 30min sessions followed with tabata sprints and a seperate day of all sprints as well. I'm a bit frusterated with myself now for the lack of cardio work last week. My cardio was great during BJJ and MMA classes so I was really happy, but I have to keep it up and keep progressing as well. I got really good workouts during the classes which kinda took its place. Next week I will have things a bit more planned out so I make sure I continue to get the outside cardio work I need.

Cardio plan

4x a week + 30 min aerobic followed with 5min tabata anaerobic sessions for the base of my aerobic and anaerobic energy systems

1-2x a week barbell (or bodyweight) complex/circuit for added anaerobic and muscle endurance base

Also, I plan on adding in a heavy bag workout once a week which I haven't been doing either lately. That will be mostly anaerobic but aerobic as well as muscle endurance and I usually warmup doing a lot of ladder drills and such in aerobic zones.

This does not include actual training which hits all energy systems.

So my main aerobic and cardio base is the 4+ 30 min sessions and my anaerobic system gets hit plenty during the other activities. I like to finish off with a set of tabata sprints as well to get a good base going in anaerobic.

Anyway, just a base of things. I'm very disappointed in myself for the lack of cardio this week, it was a rough week though and I did get a good amount of actual training in so thats a plus. I will try to get everything right next week!!


* Also I need to up my core work and stop forgetting about it all together!

* Stretching daily is paying off big time. My flexibility was good to begin with but now that I'm making it a point to work on it and expecially working on static stretching after workouts (hot stretching I call it) feels good and is helping to improve things fast. Really, I can't believe how fast my flexibility did improve after I just started stretching during the week. Very excited to continue this.

Cardio for tonight;

Cycle;

30 mins 70-80% mhr
5 mins tabata sprints (8-9 sets) 80-90% mhr

Core;

Ab barbell roll out 3 x 10

Bicycle crunch 1 x 50
Reverse crunch 1 x 25
Crunch 1 x 25

-

Shoulder dislocations 1 x 25

Stretching routine

Pull Day

Pull workout

Pre-workout meal; 3 organic eggs, 3 slices wholegrain toast, 1 tblsp natural honey, 1/2 cup blueberries, 16 oz green tea

One arm barbell row; 3x 12,10,8
One arm DB Upright row; 3x 12,10,8
DB Alternating Curl; 3x 15,12,8


Post-workout meal; shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

** Like I said earlier in the blog, I plan on switching things up a bit for a week or two to keep things fresh in my routine. I'm really interested in adding in more one arm (db or barbell) at a time alternating exercises during that time. Just to see how it goes, and to improve balace, stabilizers, etc. I really like doing them and how they feel, so its def. something I will keep around or atleast use from time to time to keep things from from doing just barbell routines. The only problem is the less amount of weight being lifted but thats ok from time to time. I never really push the weight anyway, but lately I've been upping it a bit and dropping my reps. Leaving the 10-12 scheme behind, I'm focusing on 6-8 on my heavy compounds which is what my routine mostly consists of. Some accessory work I keep 8-10 or even up to 12, becuase exercises like the SLDL I feel shouldn't be done extremely heavy.

Weds. late update & Thursday Cardio

Wednesday

Evening

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu GI

Mixed Martial Arts

---

BJJ & Cardio

Noon

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu GI; 1 hour
Rolling/wrestling No-GI; 30 mins

Evening

Cardio; 30 mins run followed with tabata sprints

stretching


* Everything went good today. We went over shrimping escapes in BJJ GI class and I stayed after to roll with one of my regular training partners for a little over 30mins I think. My top control was terrible today but my defense was great. I really have been working butterfly guard quite a bit lately with mixed success. Today though, it worked well for me and I also used the shrimping escapes (which I usually passover for other methods) over and over with success. Anyway, I've been using a couple of little tricks and they seem to be really catching people off guard. I actually was able to pull one off where I can reach back with my legs and pull his guard down by getting my foot around his ankles. If they have a low guard you can do this, I think one person online even shows how to get a compression lock although I personally wouldn't attempt it. It does work, but its high risk and you risk being flipped. I kept a leg on the guard and was able to catch his guard and pull down a bit and break it from there. Of course, you have to be flexible to do this. Really cool though anyway, flashy if nothing else lol. In training you know, its ok, but I wouldn't mess with it in a competitive scenario.

Push - Heavy

Bench press; 3x 6-8
CG press; 3x 6-8
Overhead press; 3x 8-10
Hack squat; 3x 6-8

** Up in weight a bit this week but will probably be switching things up a bit next week to keep things fresh since I've been doing this style of a routine for awhile now. I really can't think of a way I want to change it but I will switch some dbs in or something. I have def. got the routine with the basics I need and feel really benefit me.

Barbell complex

Warmup;

Dynamic stretching
Leg raises; 50 x each leg
Shadow boxing

Barbell complex

Bent rows x8
Upright rows x8
Military press x8
Good morning x8
Split squat x8 (each leg)
Squat push press x8
Stiff leg Deadlift x8

6 sets; 60 set rest between sets

Diet log 1-01-10

shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)
2 'gnc megaman' multis
2 caps fish oil (600mg)
2 'move free advanced' (glucosamine,chondroitin, joint fluid)

16 oz green tea, 1/2 cup blueberries

2 mini burgers (grilled angus lean beef, wholegrain buns), salad

shake (1 1/2 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

16 oz gatorade (after cardio)

6oz smoked ham, 1/2 cup brown rice, 5 oz baked potato cubes, broccoli

shake (1 cup oats, 1 scoop whey)

2 tbsp peanut butter
2 caps fish oil (1.6g) (different brand than above)

**
Currently in a cutting phase. 2900-3000 calorie intake.

Conditioning & accessory work

Mobility

forward and backward rolling
shrimping drill
bridge drill

dynamic stretching

shoulder dislocations 2x 25

weighted glute raise x 50

Grip

grip squeezer 2 mins each hand
wrist curl 2x 15
reverse wrist curl 2x 15
farmers walk x 1 min

Neck

bridge 1x 25
reverse bridge 1x 25
plate raise 2x 15,25
reverse plate raise 2x 15,25

Core

around the world x 15 each side
weighted crunch 2 x 50
bicycle crunch 2 x 50

Cardio

30 mins followed with tabata sprints

static stretching


**
I need to up my core workouts through the week. I tend to look over abs a bit and I need to stop doing that. They get hit often through my lifting (a lot of compounds activate them) and my skill and conditioning work, but its not enough. I need to start using ab roll outs with a barbell again, they really work the core hard. Also, I need to keep doing my 5 min ab circuits, etc. I want to be sure I'm doing a lot of crunches and bicycle crunches on top of that for my base work. I'm really big into having a strong base in all of my workouts, and use actual mma/bjj classes and skill work to build on top of that conditioning.

Cardio at 30mins focusing on staying at the 70-80% hr range is working great for me. I'm noticing a difference while training and loving the progress. I've been adding in tabata sprints at the end of the 30mins to hit the anaerobic as well. I'm not for sure on how often I should be hitting the anaerobic zone yet so I'm sticking with that and some added sprints as well. Lifting and bag work, along with my barbell complexes also hit that zone quite a bit. I think before, aerobic was my weak point because I was simply not doing much at all for that. Now with the 3 - 4 times a week 30-45min sessions, I really feel a lot better in training and in every day life too.