Many jiu-jitsu students want to know about strength training exercises for BJJ. Time is precious, people want to focus on the exercises that will give them the best results fastest! To help answer this question I met up with my friend Ben Zhuang who is a strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer, nutritionist and BJJ black belt. Ben has also been a guest on my podcast - click here … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #66 – Functional Training
Regardless of whether you train BJJ, MMA or a self-defense oriented martial art you're faced with the same dilemma: how do you take a technique you're shown in class and actually make it work against someone who is resisting you 100%? The key is progressive resistance, and in this episode I go into the 5 training modalities you should use to functionalise your techniques. You can listen to … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 55 – Interview with James Foster on the Spartan Underground
I really enjoyed being on James '300' Foster's podcast where we talked about figuring out grappling from scratch, why fighters fight injured, PEDs in the MMA, how jiu-jitsu will always be there for you after a long layoff, and a lot more! I hope you enjoy it too! Check out Jame's podcast on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spartan-underground/id1070092297?mt=2 You can … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 138: NFL Yoga and BJJ with Jessica Huneycutt
Jessica Huneycutt is the yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints football team. Yes, you read that right. A professional NFL team, full of gigantic athletes who make a career of smashing into one another, has it's own yoga instructor! Oh, and did I mention that Jessica also trains BJJ? In this episode we go deep into how Yoga and other techniques are used at an elite level to help … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 59 – When Short on Time, What’s the Most Effective Cardio?
Endurance is the most important physical attribute in combat sport, but it can be time consuming to develop. In this short episode I talk about some of the most efficient cardio protocols that I've used during periods of my life when I had no time for long, leisurely cardio. You can listen to this as Episode 59 of The Strenuous Life podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or Google … [Read more...]
BJJ Exercises with Coach Ben Zhuang
I've long been an advocate for weight training and additional conditioning to improve BJJ performance and a skeptic of most sports supplements. So given all that I really enjoyed picking Ben Zhuang’s brain for his suggestions for exercises, supplements, recovery and other information that is going to benefit you. I’ll summarize and break down our discussion into different topics. Let's start … [Read more...]
Self Defense vs MMA with John Hackleman
The intersection of MMA and self defense has always been interesting to me, so I was thrilled to have a chat with John 'the Pitmaster' Hackleman recently. John is well known for coaching Chuck Liddell to the UFC light-heavyweight title, but he has mentored many other successful MMA fighters as well. But despite his success as an MMA coach the reason he started training martial arts was very … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 134 – Conditioning for Combat Sport with Jason Kapnick
In this episode I talk with elite powerlifter, kettlebell instructor and BJJ practitioner Jason Kapnick about optimal exercises, program design, building a balanced body, functional movement screening, injury prevention, and training for optimal athletic performance. It was a great conversation, and I hope you come away from it having learned as much as I did! If you want this same … [Read more...]
Sitting is the Devil – Go and Sweat!
Sitting is the new smoking my friends - it's really, really not good for you. So if you're doing a lot of travelling, otherwise known as sitting on your ass, then you've got to offset it with some exercise. So go to your hotel, check in, and before you go for dinner and before you dive into your emails... GO GET A SWEAT ON! It doesn't need to be an epic workout, immortalised in poetry and … [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...]
Staying Fit When You’ve Got No Time
Almost everyone is busy these days; jobs, girlfriends, wives, families and other adult responsibilities really get in the way of the full time training lifestyle! But sometimes one's life goes to ludicrous speed for a while and it becomes even harder to train, exercise and stay in shape. At that point it's not so much about making fitness and martial arts progress, but rather trying to not … [Read more...]
Kettlebell Conditioning for BJJ with Jason C. Brown
Kettlebells are a very popular tool for conditioning these days, with people doing all kinds of crazy exercises. In episode 111 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk to kettlebell expert (and longtime BJJ practitioner) Jason C. Brown and get a ton of relevant and useful tips for the combat athlete! From how to do the basic exercises, to program design, to carryover from exercises to BJJ … [Read more...]
The Strenuous Life Podcast: New Episode with Extreme Kiteboarder Jack Rieder
I really enjoyed talking with kiteboarder and extreme athlete Jack Rieder (in part because I'm dying to try kiteboarding myself). It's episode 107 of The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting. You can listen to the audio below or subscribe to the podcast and then download the episode in iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, or Stitcher. Even though Jack doesn't do martial arts (yet!) he … [Read more...]
On Starting a Conditioning Program for BJJ & Submission Grappling
There are lots of reasons to start doing a conditioning program if you're training in BJJ or submission grappling. The most important (yet often overlooked) benefit is to injury proof your body and allow you to train longer, harder, and more often. Other benefits can include increased strength, improved muscular endurance, elevated aerobic and anaerobic capacities, and more explosiveness, all … [Read more...]
Improving Recovery, Rehabbing Injuries, and Training Smart in BJJ
Hey, we've made it to episode 100 of the Strenuous Life Podcast!!! Thanks to everyone for downloading, rating, reviewing and sharing it - I really appreciate it! If you don't already have one then first go and download a podcast app for your iPhone or your android phone. Honestly, listening to podcasts has changed my life because it allows me to stimulate my brain while commuting, doing … [Read more...]
New podcast with Travis Stevens, 3 x Judo Olympian, Olympic Silver Medalist, and BJJ Black Belt
In this episode of the Strenuous Life Podcast I go deep with 3 x Judo Olympian and BJJ black belt Travis Stevens. We go DEEP into his training regimen, including Why he does 5 or 6 workouts a day What the strength benchmarks are for effective judo Why mental fatigue is often just as much a limiting factor as physical fatigue How he uses his groundwork skills to force his opponents … [Read more...]
Are You Just Not Getting Any Better? Here are 3 Steps to Bust Your Training Plateau
When you're training hard, hitting a training plateau can be incredibly frustrating. But first of all, let's hit on an important distinction. A training 'slump' and a training 'plateau' are two different things... I go into detail about the differences between slumps and plateaus in this article here, but basically a slump is a relatively short-lived event, one to four weeks long, in … [Read more...]
New Strenuous Life Podcast Episode with 5 x BJJ World Champion Bernardo Faria
I've just released a KILLER new podcast episode with 5 x BJJ World Champion on my Strenuous Life Podcast. (This is episode 086 of the podcast for anyone keeping track.) In this episode we talk about Bernardo's 'kidnapping' in the Philippines two years ago His thoughts on the results of ADCC 2017 The toughest guys he has ever rolled with Whether you can get your BJJ black belt … [Read more...]
How to Safely Strengthen Your Neck for BJJ
As I talked about in a recent article, having a strong neck is super important in jiu-jitsu because it helps prevent injury, makes it harder for you opponent to break your posture and choke you, and allows you to use your head offensively as a fifth limb. Essentially there are three directions that you need to strengthen your neck: Forwards and Backwards Side to Side (ear to shoulder … [Read more...]
Neck Harnesses to Get a Strong Neck for Grappling
Why would you want a stronger neck for grappling? Well, there are a number of different reasons. First, and most importantly a strong neck is more resistant to injury. Unfortunately accidents happen in grappling, and if you get planted on your head, or someone twists your neck unexpectedly, then the stronger your neck is then the less likely it is to get bent in half and injured. A … [Read more...]