:30/:20 Finisher

Nothing fancy today... just hard work at the end of a training session. We did this for 3 continuous rounds.



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Complex Training

When I think sport, I think strength and power. I hate the term "sport specific" but when I sport specificity I think complexing. A complex is when you pair two exercises together, a strength exercise followed by a power exercise of the same movement pattern. It is a great way to develop some power through a little fatigue. I personally think complexing is one of the greatest methods for training MMA and BJJ athletes. There are endless variations to complex training but I am partial to few. Here are a couple examples of some complexes that we use at Impact Performance Training.

TRX Inverted Row/Rope Slam Complex:


Single Leg Squat/TRX Single Leg Hop Complex:


On a side note.... We are now doing our single leg squats in the fashion above. We hold Kettlebells in the racked position rather than reaching out with dumbbells. It's a bit harder this way so you will have to adjust to lower weights. If the KB's get too heavy we combo with a weight vest.

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Featured Exercise: TRX Prone Reach

This is another great anti-rotation exercise on the TRX. The key here is that your hip stay stable as if a glass of beer is sitting on your low back.... don't spill the beer! Allow the TRX rest the shoulder of the stabilizing arm (unless you are looking to create more of a demand for shoulder stability. If so, proceed with caution as it is very unstable). You can make it more challenging by coming further under the anchor point or by changing the width of your feet. The closer your feet are together the harder it is. But remember... don't spill the beer.



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Coach Dos' New Cardio Strength Training 2 DVD Set

My good friend Robert Dos Remedios just released a new 2 DVD set and as always it is content rich. This 2 DVD set contains almost 3 1/3 hours of footage! Coach Dos’ highly acclaimed CST lecture and hands-on presentation that he gave at the 2010 Perform Better Summit in Long Beach, CA. Also included are all of his lecture slides PLUS 9 snatches and beer interviews with some of the biggest and best in the fitness biz! Lastly, we have packed in 11 amazing, real-time metabolic training sessions!



To celebrate the release of this long-anticipated DVD set type in “dirty30″ in the ‘coupon code’ area to receive a 30% discount (a $24 savings!) off the $79.95 price. This coupon will be valid for ONE WEEK ONLY (until Sunday Sept. 5, 2010).

Order your copy here

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Featured Recipe: Walnut and Bean Patties

Many of you may or may not know that I am a vegan. Yes.... I lift weights, I am a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and I am a vegan. Some of you are probably thinking that is a weird combination but to me it is a perfect combination.

I receive a good amount of emails from coaches and athletes asking questions about veganism and athletics. The main question is where do you get your protein?? My answer continues to be.... "from everything except dead rotting carcasses and animal secretions" (I stole this from Chris Hannah of Propagandhi). Seriously, the protein thing is silly. You can get more than enough protein from a plant based diet. This post is not going to cover why it is a myth that vegans don't get enough protein. What am going to do is introduce a new entry on vegan recipes. These will mostly be compliments of my wife as she is possibly one of the best vegan cooks I know. Please feel free to give these out to your clients or use them yourself to enjoy the great tastes of a plant based diet.

The down side to these recipes is that my wife cooks on the fly (no pun intended) so many times these recipes are made up on the spot. The upside... they will taste amazing every time!



About 1-2 cups beans or one 15 oz can blended or smashed by hand. A mix of black, kidney, and pinto. About 1/3 Cup finely chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup of diced celery, 1/4cup diced onion, minced garlic, pepper, and salt to taste. Mix in fine bread crumbs as needed until you are able to form patties. Brown in a pan w 2-3 table spoons olive oil. Sage and parsley are also nice to add if desired.

The sauce is called "Miso Mayo". You can pick it up at Wholefoods. It's amazing!




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Matt Leech Wins Not One But TWO Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medals

I'm proud to say that my friend (and business partner) Matt Leech did Impact proud and came home with two Gold medals after competing at the IBJJF in Las Vegas. Matt competed in the Senior's medium heavy and open Brown Belt divisions.

Here is Matt doing some work with a 20 sec armbar....



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Featured Exercise: TRX Stir the Pot

This is a fantastic exercise that Chris Frankel from Fitness Anywhere came up with. We use this in our Anti-rotation progression. It is different than Stu McGill's stir the pot exercise on the stability ball but the name is still fitting.



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New Interview and New Site at Coachdos.com

My good friend Robert Dos Remedios, better known as Coach Dos has a new 'Member only' premium site. This website is rockin'! It is chalk full of workouts, an extensive exercise library, interviews with fitness pros and much more. Seriously do yourself a favor and check it out. Coach Dos just released an interview with me from one of his "Snatches and Beer" segments. I will be honest.... we were both a bit tipsy from some great Oregon brews during the interview. Its definitely a funny interview. Here is a sneak peak of the site.....



Check it out! Coachdos.com

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More on Training the MMA Athlete

While most sports have a pre-season, in-season, and off-season; MMA does not. Yes you do have training camps before fights where training ramps up and becomes a bit more intense, for the most part you are basically in-season all year round. This often brings up the question "how often should an MMA athlete strength train"? There are several variables to consider here but I would not recommend an MMA athlete strength training more than 3 days per week. Any more than that I would guarantee over training and not only would you sacrifice strength gains but your skill training would diminish also. For most, a three day total body program is going to lend itself the best training results. For some athletes that need more recovery or we need to back of on intensity we will do an upper body/lower body/total body split. This offers more recovery as it is less stressful on the CNS.

The thing I can never relay to coaches about training MMA is the ability to adapt to these athletes at any specific moment. This is the artist part of coaching these athletes and I believe only comes from time and/or actually participating in the sport. What I mean is, you can have a great plan for the day but if that athlete has taken too many leg kicks, is exhausted from 5 straight days of skill training, has a sore back from being stacked up in guard bottom over and over again, etc., your plan can quickly go to the garbage can. These are serious considerations to take into account and require good communication between the coach and the athlete.

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Reactive Pendullum

This is a reactive core exercise we use with some of our MMA guys. By reactive I mean that they have respond to the coaches order to stabilize without knowing when the coach will call it out. This is to mimic the unpredictable nature of MMA.



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TRX Warm Up

I know! You can't believe it right?!?!?! I am actually blogging. After getting hell from several people at the Perform Better Summit in Providence this past weekend, I figured I should work a bit harder to schedule time to update this blog. All I have today is a great warm up that we do at Impact Performance Training with the TRX. Try it out. I think you'll like it.....



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Dan John.... Inspiration

Listening to Dan John speak or reading his book offers several ah-ha moments along with some inspiration. I can't say enough about his book 'Never Let Go'..... I couldn't put it down when I read it. Fantastic quotes like "the goal is to keep the goal the goal" and "if it's important, do it everyday" are now being regurgitated back to my clients and athletes. With that said, hear are some exercises I have picked up from Dan. We are implementing these constantly and I feel dumb for not using them before.



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Beware of the TRX Imposters!

As you know I am a fan of the TRX suspension trainer. Sadly there is a group making fake TRX's that are low quality and will break on you. These are being sold for about $70 on ebay and such sites. Here is how you can tell if your TRX is one of the fake ones: Is you TRX a fake one?

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Featured Exercise: TRX Rollout Progression

The trick here is to use the pendulum effect as resistance. You can start behind the anchor point of the TRX to make it easier or move past the anchor point to create a more challenging progression.



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TRX Core Training for Mixed Martial Arts

Here is an article I wrote for Fitness Anywhere a couple months ago titled "TRX Core Training for Mixed Martial Arts". I am a big fan of the TRX suspension trainer. It is such a versatile piece of equipment that can offer so many great exercises and variations that are not possible on anything else.

Read article here





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MMA Metabolic Circuit

As you know, MMA is a passion of mine. From a sporting demand there is nothing like it. Many people ask how we train mixed martial artist. The truth is we train them very similar to any athlete. What is very different is our conditioning and in particular our use of metabolic circuits. These circuits are specifically designed to incorporate the demands of MMA in a safe but extremely taxing way. The circuit you are about to watch was performed by two MMA athletes, Bryan Torres and Pro Escobedo. We will do 2-5 rounds depending on the fight (title or non-title) and how far out the athlete is from the fight. There is 1 minute rest in between rounds. Take note that this circuit is done at the end of our training after our power and strength work. The circuit consists of:

Airdyne - 20 seconds @ 90 RPM's
TRX Inverted Row - 40 lbs x 10 reps
Med Ball Slam - 6 reps
Walking Lunge - 50 lbs down/back on turf
Power step up - 5 reps each
Plyo Pushup - 10 reps
Rope Circuit: 20 reps each - Double wave, Alt wave, outside circles, side waves, split jump double wave, jumping jack
Airdyne - .3 mile sprint
Shadow box (look light, look fresh)

Rest 1 minute and repeat




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New IPT Facility

Things have been very busy at IPT. We just opened our new facility in Newberg, Oregon a few weeks ago. We still have a bit of work to do to the gym but most of the nuts and bolts are in. Here are some action shots:











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Featured Exercise: TRX Anterior Core Progression #1 (Planks)

Here is one of our TRX Anterior Core Progressions:



TRX Plank

Coaching Cues:
1. Maintain “pillar” type stability
2. Do not allow excessive arching at the low back
3. Perform a 30 sec hold. Once proficient progress to the next exercise rather than progressing in time

TRX Body Saw

Coaching Cues:
1. Same as above. Perform for reps or time

TRX Body Saw/Knee Tuck

Coaching Cues:
1. Perform the Knee Tuck without rounding the low back

TRX Walk-Outs

Coaching Cues:
1. Same as above. Imagine balancing a glass of water on the hips. This will create an anti-rotation effect for the core



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IPT Blog Featured as one of TOP 50 Exercise Science Blogs

The Health Hut has featured the Impact Performance Training Blog as one (see # 5)of the Top 50 Exercise Science Blogs.

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Strength Coach Podcast Interview with Dewey Nielsen

I was recently interviewed by Anthony Renna on the Strength Coach Podcast episode 42. A few things I spoke about were:

** Being "Brilliant at the Basics"
**"Common Mistakes of a Mixed Martial Artist"
**"Considerations and Training for MMA"
**McGill's Pulsing, Iso-Explodes
**Much More...

My portion of the podcast begins at minute 29.

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