First Night Back

Just wanted to say tonight was the first night back and it was great. I am a little slow on some of the moves, but that was more out of caution than anything else. There was no pain and I was able to roll fairly well. I know this is a short post, but it was refreshing to finally get back to really working out. The diet and rest has helped speed the healing process and I am glad that it all paid off. Thanks for reading.

Planning the Daily Workouts

Sorry for the hiatus, I have been putting a lot of effort into reading workout routines and trying to develop one to meet my needs. Since I will also be going to MMA classes at night, I will have to do these routines in the morning. I also want to make sure that I am not killing myself in the morning or using up all my energy, which will leave me sacked for class. I have to be able to train effectively in the gym so that I can improve as a fighter, but also supplement that training to increase my strength, flexibility, and speed. The flexibility part is key as well. I don't want to just lift weights and put on mass and lose my flexibility. It is crucial for me to craft a routine that will give me what I need so that I can not only compete, but win as well.

So given all the requirements I listed above, here are some of the thoughts I came up with. This is sort of rough right now because I am still researching, but feel free to help me improve my ideas before the routine is set in stone.

The Routine should incorporate the following:

-Some sort of Yoga or flexibility increasing exercise. I get very little of this type of workout at all and to add it in any capacity would be a great improvement to my current training.

-Strength training via body weight training such as techniques learned in The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline and The Gladiator Conditioning Program by Mark Hatmaker. These two books teach fundamentals for building fighting strength and would be the key to my strength training. They allow me to build up my strength, endurance and range of motion without sacrificing speed and agility.

-Some sort of cardio conditioning that would not take too much time nor dip into my reserves for the rest of the day. I specifically mean long distance running because the trauma on my legs (takes days to fully recover), the time it would take to actually run the distance, and the amount of fatigue I would have later that night.I was thinking sprints and short distance higher speed runs. This would help with the explosive stamina training needed for grappling.


-Skipping rope and plyometrics for foot work. This is simple and obvious. I may just need to find the right plyo mix for me.


-Last but certainly not least, meditation. I need not take some time each morning to clear my mind and focus on the present. I want to be able to get the clear and "in the moment focus" I get when I am in combat outside of the ring as well. I think the only way I can do this is working on it and training myself to block out all the nonsense that clouds my thinking.


So taking all of this into consideration, I should have a program ready for your review by late Sunday. I want to start on this in the morning so that it does not interfere with my other daily obligations. Here to hoping that it works out well. Thanks for reading.

Set back to training

I just got back from the doctor's office with some bad news. He diagnosed an injury I sustained in training last night as a calf muscle tear and a an Achilles tendon sprain. I felt it pop as I went to do a left switch kick and the pain was immediate. I was told to stay off of it for 2 weeks and not to do any kicking or leg type training for 2 MONTHS!!!! Not sure if that is going to be possible, but I understand his caution. The pain and stiffness have both decreased since last night, which seems like a good sign to me, but my mobility is less as the pain is evident on even the slightest contraction of the muscle.

I spoke with my trainer, who I personally think is the best, and he wanted me to stay engaged with the classes and training even if I am only able to sit and watch. It is his feeling that there is a lot for me to gain as a fighter by just observing and being around my teammates. This made my day because it made me realize that there are so many aspects to this sport that one could work on outside of the sheer physical training. I need to be mentally into what I am doing and this is a way to keep my focus where it should be. There is also a lot I could learn from observing others, which is not something you normally do when you are participating in the drills.

Right now, my plan is to focus on working on my abs and chin ups. I will continue to do this for the next two weeks to keep active. I also want to add a few more core drills in there, but I need to find moves that do not require my legs in the short term. As far as the gym goes, I will be going in and taking notes and possibly some videos. I may even post them on this site, but mostly these are for me to study so I do not fall behind. I am also looking for info and maybe even some books that refer to foods and remedies that help muscle and tendon injuries. I will post anything I find.

As for right now, I am going to get back to the resting and elevation part of my rehab. I will post more tomorrow. Thanks for reading.