So what's this all about?

I turn forty at the end of the year. Before I get there I want to have another amateur MMA fight. This blog is a record of how, and if, I manage to achieve this.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

It's the economy stupid!


Part of the point of this blog is to try and record how I try to get as much out of the little time I have for training. I know that there are loads of guys out there with more going on in their lives than me, guys who get up at 5.30am just to get their training in.

Maybe I just don't want it bad enough, but I find it difficult to get up at 6.45 which gives me just about enough time to eat, shower, dress, feed kids and drive (1 hour) to work. It's something I need to work on, I know....

Jim Wendler talks quite a bit about training economy, and recently Uber Fighter Georges St Pierre said something like 'why should I run and jump rope when I can shadow box'. The point here is do the training that gives most bang for your buck.

This is why for me, when I want to get some conditioning, given the choice I'm pretty much always going to go for a heavy bag workout. Punching, kicking, kneeing, clinching & sprawling for 10 x 3 min rounds will give me conditioning and some skill work, especially if I pitch the intensity right. If not bag work then maybe a fight-specific circuit featuring sprawls, boxing, dummy lifts, G'n'P, core work. Again, it's specific to what I'm trying to achieve.

Anyhow, training is going well, the lifts are increasing and I can feel my level of conditioning going up. Time for a weigh in......?

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Sleddy Hell!


Last weekend I indulged in one of my favourite forms of conditioning work - sled pulling. I like to do my sled pulling early in the morning out in a meadow a short distance from my house. There is a playing field/park closer than the meadow but I don't like the idea of being surrounded by other people and their dogs when I'm having a coronary whilst harnessed to a 70lb sled.

So, on a Saturday morning, Toffee the Staffy (my No.1 training partner) and I are out in the meadow getting in some much needed (me not the dog) conditioning work. I have to carry the sled and weight about 1/3 of a mile to the meadow before the real work can begin. If you check out the photo above this post you can see how I've rigged the sled to a backpack that contains the weights. This way all I've got to do is drop the pack off my back, connect the harness and pull! No messing about loading with weight plates or having to carry an awkward load of gear to the field.

This Saturday the workout consisted of a straight forward harness pull forward for the length of the meadow, sprinting the first hundred yards and then pulling at a brisk walk/slow jog. The meadow is somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 a mile long. Once I got to the far end I turned round and pulled the sled backwards for about 150 yards before completing the meadow length pulling the sled forwards holding the harness behind me. Knackering but awesome.

Then all I have to do is get the whole thing on my back and carry it home (whilst keeping Toffee out of trouble).

I find that although the work itself is very tiring, the recovery is fantastic - no aches or pains or muscle soreness - I think that this is because sled training is general concentric only training. Also, pulling on grass, especially a bumpy, horse trodden track as I do, is way more difficult than pulling on asphalt, concrete or artificial turf.

By way of a coincidence T-Nation published this article on Monday, a fantastic everything you need to start pulling a sled, even how to build one!

What are you waiting for, get pulling.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Hey McGlovin'!




Not really about training this one, but hopefully it'll be of some interest...


My original training was in kickboxing, starting out with the PKA (I'm not posting a link for them, they make enough money without any help from me) back in the late 1990s and as such I've been through quite a few pairs of boxing gloves over the years. With this in mind I thought I'd share some of my experiences of gloves.


Back in the day with the PKA, you had to buy equipment sanctioned and provided by them. This was a great way for instructors to make money and, you would hope, a way for the student to benefit from economies of scale that the PKA were able to tap in to. Not sure if this was ever the case as gloves, pads, etc. always seemed expensive compared to other brands that you could buy. Anyhow, this is how I, and countless others, ended up with T-Sport artificial leather 10oz gloves. In fairness we were training in 'Light-Continuous' kickboxing and maybe these gloves were up to the job. However, I wouldn't use them for anything else and training two-to-three times a week, plus bagwork, they soon gave up the ghost. I ended up getting mitts to use for bag and pad work, had to be T-Sport again of course, and soon moved on from these as the padding was woefully inadequate.


When I began training at Leicester Shoot Fighters the club gloves were all Blitz. Even though the gloves were used communally and took a hell of a pounding they lasted well and remained comfortable for hitting and being hit. It was based on this experience that I got myself a pair of the Blitz 14oz leather gloves. These are great gloves. The foam is solid but with plenty of give for sparring partners. The fit is fairly snug but feels supportive and secure rather than constrictive. I have quite wide hands but could still wrap my hands and get them on – wouldn't get a knuckle pad in as well though. They wear in nicely and without needing too long and also last well. My first pair were with me for about two years bag and pad work 3 – 4 times a week. I liked them so much I bought a second pair.


After the Blitz gloves I felt that it was time to invest in some proper muay thai gloves and dived in for a pair of Twins. Without doubt these are my favourite pair of gloves of all those that I've used. They are a little more expensive than generic/store brands but the quality is excellent – leather, stitching, padding, velcro all good quality giving the gloves great longevity even after plenty of abuse on the heavy bag and large maize ball. The fit for the Twins is good for wide hands like mine. As a heavy chap who hits fairly hard I like to use a gel knuckle pad under my wraps and the 14oz Twins accommodate this with no problems. Again I bought two pairs and still use a pair now.


The final pair I'll mention are my Fairtex 16oz leather. These are a different shape to the Twins but of a similar quality. If anything these are wider that the Twins and as such accommodate my hands + wraps + pads nicely. At present I've only used them for bagwork and they've stood up well to this. When I need new gloves it'll be a toss up between Fairtex and Twins.


I think with boxing gloves the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' runs true, buy nice or buy twice.