Saturday, June 10, 2006

Testosterone Nation - Hammer Down: Endurance

Testosterone Nation - Hammer Down: Endurance

Great article on the energy systems of mma,ppor article on exercise selection for the same. man, kettlebells take care of the physical needs of the mma athlete way better than this stuff! add in the dls,sandbags and pullups and you are set.

11 comments:

Pete said...

excellent article Rif. Too bad there is too much emphasis on distance running in the academy. I am stressing more strength and endurance than mere endurance. Its what the inmates do!

Mark Reifkind said...

running is good but not so the long slow distance type eh?

Royce said...

Yeah for sure, I have never done MMA but I did compete in Tang Soo Do for a year. The cool thing about KBs is that you move along the same lines as Martial Arts.
A clean looks a lot like a hard outside block. TGUs, Windmills, bent and side presses mimic the loads you feel when maneuvering for position. Put them together in a circuit and it beats the hell outta running and bench. ( although I still can't give up he idea of big pecs. LOL )

Pete said...

Rif,

Personally, I think anything past 3-5 miles a shot is too much unless you are training for a distance race. But that's just my opinion. I have met too many people with banged up kneesplantar fasciatis because they are too hooked on long distance running.

Then again, that's just me and my opinion. I am sure there are many that would strongly disagree.

Mark Reifkind said...

royce, it took me YEARS to realize how my big pecs were helpig to wreck my shoulders. letting them 'go' was the best thing I've done( after stopping heavy barbell squats!) for my functional health. they still are there , just smaller.

Pete said...

Rif,
Can you explain how big pecs hurt shoulders? It doesn't take much for me to grow man boobs :) so I try and stay away from things that really make them grow too much. A friend of miine has shoulder issues, and I know it is because he constantly benches heavy. It is an ego thing.

Mark Reifkind said...

joints have be in neutral for their to be normal function. pecs and other internal rotators pull the humerus and the scapula forwards and down. the opposing muscles, the external rotators and scapula retractors( rhomboids and lower traps) pull them in.

most have much stronger internal rotators than external so the shoulder is almost never in "neutral" causing wear, tear and injury.

its all about the length/tension relationship the muscles have to the joints. too much tension in any direction is no good;imbalanced.

plus with so much tension in the horizontal plane its easy to lose range of motion in the overhead plane.

its all about being balanced as far as joint health is concerned.

Royce said...

OK I have heard this on benching before,( and felt it when my bench got above 225 bodybuilding style) and now I bench with my elbows in a 45% angle from my body.
The bar touches below my navel line.
Kind of an instinctive position, not a true powerlifting bench or bodybuilding bench. I have found this position doesn't tax my shoulder joints as much.
Is there a way to stretch the humerus, scapula and overall shoulder girdle compenstate for the overall internal rotation?
I also really like bent over row, and usually do them superset style with bench. Does this help or not.

I know this is kind of bad but it is sort of an ego thing. Although it really isn't a major issue with me I like my light days almost more than my heavy days.

BUT if I am sacrificing long term joint health I should give benching up and maybe just go to floor press or bottom position bench off the pins set 6-8 inches above my chest.

Mark Reifkind said...

yes. you can maintain full shouder range of motion by doing just that. joint mobility, overhead work, a full compliment of exercises and not taking onay one( bench) to an extreme.

it sounds likeyou are taking the bar a bit too low. navel level ist hard to imagine your forearms are perpinducular to the floor, where they should be. how wide is your grip?

benches arent evil or even unnecessary. they just can be problematic when done to extremes or without balancing exericses.

Royce said...

Middle finger on the rings, I didn't know that I was supposed to keep my forearms perpendicular to the floor.
I will have to start watching that, thanks!!

Mark Reifkind said...

yeah royce, just like the shin is perpindiular to the floor when squatting the forerm is the same when press( bench or overhead, same thing)

155 x 3 x 5, 160 x 3 x 5, 20 kg swings 5 x 8/8, floor pushups 40, 35

 Thought about going back to 5x5 for a hot second then my left shoulder  reminded me why I stopped doing them before. It doesn't seem to...