Let's talk about lifting weights... LOTS of weights. But to tell you the whole story, first let me take you back to when I released a little DVD called Dynamic Kneebars... … [Read more...]
Killer Grip, and How To Get It!
Stephan's note: this post is one of over 50 lessons in the Beginning BJJ eCourse. Sign up here to get your hands on the rest of the lessons for free. My BJJ coach Marcus Soares believes that a really strong grip is one of the most important physical attributes for a BJJ fighter. … [Read more...]
Why I’m Training Like A (Strikeforce) Girl
I had a great conditioning workout today, motivated by two entirely different things. The first thing firing me up was watching a Christiane Cyborg conditioning session on Youtube. She was preparing for her recent fight in Strikeforce against Gina Carano. … [Read more...]
Podcast EP1: GSPs Original MMA Conditioning Coach: Jon Chaimberg
Jon Chaimberg is a guy I've always wanted to talk to. Actually, that's an understatement, because I what I really wanted was pick his brain mercilessly until he gave me all the secrets of his incredible approach to MMA conditioning. Jon has worked with many top Mixed Martial Arts fighters, including Georges St-Pierre, Denis Kang, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, David Loiseau, Keith Jardine and … [Read more...]
Tradeoffs in Conditioning for Grappling
I first got serious about physical conditioning when I got involved in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Sure, I'd lifted weights and done some running before that point, but there was just something about grappling that drove home how very important conditioning was. … [Read more...]
How to Stay Fit on Holiday
How many people do you know who gained 10 lbs or more over a relatively short trip to an all-inclusive resort, or a week of Christmas celebration? The holiday bulge phenomenon is really, really common. And maybe you've even experienced it yourself... … [Read more...]
Miracle Cures for Grappling Problems
I first truly realized how powerful drills can be about 15 years ago. At that time I was I was teaching a self defense class. One of my students was of average size and strength with severely below-average punching power. … [Read more...]
Functional Training Gone Bad
Today I'm going to tell you about one of the sillier ideas I've ever had... About 10 years ago I got interested in functional training and sports specific exercises. I wanted to get away from the Pec Deck and do exercises that more closely mimicked the movements I was using on a daily basis in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling. … [Read more...]
More On Pull-ups…
Here is some feedback and some more pull-up variations that drifted in from the ether since I released the 19 Pullup Variations video... … [Read more...]
19 Pull-up Variations for BJJ & Submission Grappling
In previously newsletters I've sung the praises of the pull-up. Grappling is much more about pulling than it is about pushing - using your arms to maintain the over and under grip in rearmount, tightening up the rear naked choke, bodylocking an opponent … [Read more...]
Some Housekeeping (Conditioning Q&A)
Today I want to tackle a bit of newsletter housekeeping. A series of recent newsletters on conditioning have generated a lot of feedback, and more than a few questions. … [Read more...]
Balancing Mat Time with Conditioning
Forget the work-life balance! Let's talk about something much more important: the balance between mat time and conditioning. I bring this up because one of the questions I get asked most frequently is about how to structure one's training and conditioning for maximum benefit … [Read more...]
A Sneak Peek Into a Fighter’s Conditioning Routine
Most of my text message communications to my friends are pretty short and mundane. Recently, however, I had a very interesting conversation with MMA fighter Denis Kang, partially over the phone but mostly using text messages. … [Read more...]
I Can’t Run: The Excuse List
If you are a longtime reader of this newsletter you know that I think very highly of running as a conditioning method. Long runs, sprints, hill runs - as you can see from the following articles I think that they are all great. … [Read more...]
Keeping the Will to Fight
As is so often the case, Mark Twain said it best: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." This applies to dogs, grapplers, MMA fighters and jiu-jitsu players alike. … [Read more...]
A “Hard” Bodyweight Workout
Someone asked me recently "if the bodyweight conditioning routine on your website is an easy workout, then what does your BJJ coach, Marcus Soares, consider a hard workout"? … [Read more...]
Online Grappling Drill Videos
I think that grappling drills can serve an important function. Not everybody agrees with me about this: some people think that movement repetition outside the context of a resisting opponent is 'dead' training and a waste of time and energy. … [Read more...]
Grappling/MMA Circuit Training Videos
When people think of conditioning they often imagine people doing cardio and strength training separately. In this paradigm you might run in the morning and then lift weights in the afternoon … [Read more...]
Hard Come, Easy Go
In a previous tip I talked about how one often makes the fastest progress by working on one's weakest area. An unfortunate fact is that when you have a break from training, intentional or otherwise, your weakest areas also regress and erode the fastest. … [Read more...]
More Non-Compressive Neck Training
I've received lots of feedback about a previous tip discussing how some methods of neck conditioning can be problematical for some people. Grapplearts newsletter reader Kevin shared his favorite method of neck training with us: … [Read more...]