There's a mountain close to my home that I sometimes climb for cardio. I go on an established route known as the Grouse Grind with 800 meters (2,620 feet) of stairs. It’s a beast of a climb. Now there are elite cardio freaks who fly up this trail. The current record is 23 minutes and 48 seconds, set by a professional cyclist, which is nuts. But professional endurance athletes made of lungs … [Read more...]
The Fastest Way to Boost Your BJJ Cardio
Years ago a big name MMA coach told me that Tabata sprints were mandatory for all his fighters. He argued that this particular exercise acted like a tank of nitrous in a street car; it gave his fighters the ability to generate an extra burst of speed and power when they need it most. In an MMA context this might be a wild flurry of sprawls and punches. In grappling it might be a desperate … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with James Deirmendjian: Strength and Conditioning for BJJ
James Deirmendjian a strength and conditioning coach specialising in combat and tactical athletes who ALSO competes in BJJ, fighting against much younger opponents. As such he was the perfect choice to finish our 4-part series on hybrid training and the science of developing strength and endurance at the same time. In this episode James and I touch on many topics, including… - The most … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with James Pieratt: How to Mix Marathon and Strength Training
James Pieratt from Wild Hunt Conditioning first came to the public attention when he deadlifted 520 lbs and then immediately set out on a 50 mile ultramarathon. Today James joins us to share what he learned on an expedition in which he ran 802 miles through nearly the entire state of California. James is unique in the ultrarunning community because he also lifts heavy weights and trains in … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with Chris Duffin: The Science of Strength, Power and Endurance
Episode 430 features Chris Duffin who has squatted AND deadlifted over 1000 lbs for reps, but has also done some genuinely insane things like deadlifting 405 lbs 60 times in 60 seconds, and squatted 800 lbs every day for an entire month. Given that he has achieved these amazing feats of strength-endurance, I thought he would be a great guest for the podcast in our series on hybrid … [Read more...]
Hybrid Training with Mike McCastle: Peaking for Power, Endurance, and Mental Strength with Mike McCastle
There are strength sports like powerlifting and Olympic lifting, and there are endurance sports like marathoning and biking in the Tour de France... And then there are sports like BJJ that require a hybrid approach - optimising strength and endurance at the same time. This gets really tricky, so over the next four episodes of The Strenuous Life Podcast I'm going to be exploring hybrid … [Read more...]
BJJ Training and Conditioning Myths
On episode 421 of The Strenuous Life Podcast, I'm joined by three-time IBJJ World medallist James Deirmendjian and elite personal trainer to discuss optimal training methodologies and the science behind strength and conditioning for sport. We cover hacks to improve recovery, debunk common myths in the Jiu-Jitsu community, and go deep into the need for a more scientific approach to training and … [Read more...]
Volume over Intensity in BJJ Training
Today I want to talk about how to best allocate your training time in BJJ. You've probably heard the saying that "BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint," right? Well, if BJJ is a marathon then we should also train it as if we were getting ready for a marathon! Now I used to do a LOT of running. Bruce Lee called it "The king of exercises", and he was right. (Sadly, since my hip replacement, I … [Read more...]
The Secrets of Strongman Training, with Kalle Beck
Fundamentally Strongman training is about lifting and moving heavy, ungainly objects, and when you think about it, that's not so different from what we do on the mats every single day. So, maybe we can learn a thing or two from the experts in applied strength! Kalle Beck has competed, coached and commentated in Strongman events and has helped thousands of people become much, much stronger. … [Read more...]
BJJ vs Bears – Lessons Learned on a Solo Expedition in the Arctic
I just recently got home from a difficult solo canoe trip in the Canadian Arctic where I didn’t see anyone for weeks. Bears, storms, icebergs and exhaustion, this adventure had it all. Since I was alone, I had a lot of time to think. A big takeaway was how relevant some aspects of this wilderness stuff were to jiu-jitsu. Here are the three big lessons I learned from that trip, and how they … [Read more...]
Breathing, Oxygen and Exhaustion
I've previously discussed breathing but have concentrated on unusual situations, like conscious hyperventilation and the Valsalva Maneuver. I should probably have started out by talking about something that is a bit more universally applicable. Let’s talk about this: no breathing equals no oxygen equals total exhaustion. Storytime: I once talked with a very frustrated and discouraged … [Read more...]
BJJ Competition Preparation and Training Camp Design with Rob Biernacki
Rob Biernacki and his competition team are on a tear. Rob recently took gold in masters middleweight the Canadian ADCC Open, silver at the California ADCC Open, and gold in black belt M4 at the IBJJF No Gi Worlds. In episode 394 of The Strenuous Life Podcast we talk about Designing an effective training camp Dividing your conditioning and skills training Detaching emotionally from … [Read more...]
Strength vs Endurance Training, with World Record Holder James Pieratt
James Pieratt is a hybrid athlete who does things like deadlifting 520 lbs in the morning and then running fifty miles in the afternoon. I caught up with him shortly after he completed a 500-mile, self-supported mountain run along the Pacific Crest Trail. In this interview, we went deep into... How to balance strength, endurance, and skill training, The role of prehabilitation and … [Read more...]
Judo and BJJ Injuries
Joshua Arellano is a physiotherapist with a black belt in Judo and a brown belt in BJJ. He works with combat athletes on rehab, prehab, and injury prevention, and - since injury is the enemy of progress - I was thrilled to pick his brain on the podcast to help everyone have a healthier grappling career! The 5 Most Common Judo and BJJ Injuries and What to Do About Them with Joshua Arellano (Video … [Read more...]
The Jiu-Jitsu Drills of of Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro
When Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro started talking about the drills he uses I paid attention! Shaolin has won the World BJJ Championships 4 times, held the 140 to 155 lb belt in Shooto, and has a long list of other titles. He is an outstanding competitor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts, so he knows how to train effectively and efficiently! Shaolin uses a variety … [Read more...]
Risk-to-Reward Ratios in BJJ Training
Nothing brings your progress to a screeching halt like an injury. Therefore the goal is to get as much benefit from your training while at the same time minimising the chances of getting injured during that training. To do that we have to recognise that some aspects of training are just more inherently risky than others. And we have to consider how much benefit we're likely to get from that … [Read more...]
Combining BJJ and Muay Thai, with Tyson Larone
I really enjoyed talking with Tyson Larone today on episode 360 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. He's a badass Jiu-jitsu black belt who also teaches Muay Thai and is a certified strength and conditioning coach. We went deep into developing effective training methods for the two arts, how to avoid injury, which experts we should listen to, training against resistance, and how to build a good mix … [Read more...]
Lifting Weights to Improve Your Jiu-Jitsu, with Steph Gaudreau
In episode 339 of my podcast (The Strenuous Life Podcast) I talk with strength trainer, nutritionist, author, and BJJ athlete Steph Gaudreau about why lifting weights won't make women bulky, the 5 main exercises every grappler should include weekly in his or her training, and how to train as you get older. Here's the excerpt from our chat specifically about these 5 categories of lifts that you … [Read more...]
Fixing Martial Arts Back Pain, with Dr Stuart McGill
Back pain is incredibly common in sport, including all martial arts and combative sports. That's why I was thrilled to talk to Dr Stuart McGill, one of the world's leading experts on back pain. Dr. McGill is considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on the spine, back pain and rehabilitation. He is an author, scientist, clinician and was a professor emeritus at the University of … [Read more...]
The Limits of Human Endurance, with Endurance Athlete Mike McCastle
Mike McCastle set a new world record on Jan 23, 2021, immersing himself in ice for 2 hours and 40 minutes and surviving! He joined me on Episode 323 of The Strenuous Life Podcast to talk about this absolutely insane challenge including, The physical preparation and mental strength required to it off, The limits of the human body, Tummo (inner fire) breathing and visualisation, How … [Read more...]