Running is accessible, practical, and very hard to screw up. People looking to burn calories (a notion i don't exactly agree with) will hit that goal. If you're a runner, thats exactly what should be your main focus. I'm here to look out for the people who don't know how to achieve similar caloric effect, in a shorter time, with a post exercise oxygen consumption rate of nearly double that of steady-state cardio ( 13% of calories burned during the workout over the next 36 hours due to metabolic demands, compared to 7% of steady state cardio, J Sports Sci. 2006 Dec;24(12):1247-64.), And, build power on top of muscle. Sound too good to be true? Not so.
Back to peoples normal source of cardio, jogging. If you're a fighter, you use your whole body on top of your legs. Theres very rarely the same demands you would face in a foot race. Power, explosion, and different opponents all play into what you might need to do to win. Its not simply enough to have steady state cardio endurance in BJJ, or MMA, because the foot doesn't fit the shoe.
If i'm fighting anywhere from a 5-10 minute round, why would any of the precious energy i devote into a conditioning program be ruined by going on a hour long jog? If i have that short amount of work time, i want to ensure i have maximum power and strength available to me at that time, for the whole time. I recall listening to a seminar taught by Paul Chek, and he went onto say how theres very little carry over from lower body conditioning to upper body conditioning. For example, if you're a boxer and almost exclusively use your arms, running is going to have minimal benefit for you compared to something that also utilizes your upper body.
There's also the issue of heart-rate variance (HRV). If you're never letting your heart-rate come back down while training you essentially are stuck in only being able to go as hard as you can till you reach your heart rate max, and then you're screwed because your nervous system isn't familiar enough with the concept of recovering the heart-rate to a manageable level. HRV is a key in many of the conditioning programs i follow and implement. You could be one of the strongest, explosive athletes in the world but if you can only go till you hit your HR-max and then have a very hard time recovering in a realistic amount of time, you're in trouble. So even if you were able to overwhelm your opponent at first, once you hit that wall, its very hard to come back if you don't constantly train HRV.
Scott Sonnon once again leads from the front in this regard. He coined the term "tactical fitness" to describe the phenomena of being able to accelerate to 100% intensity, and be able to recover from it in a very short time,
"Most PT programs overemphasize aerobic energy, through long, slow duration training; others overemphasize size and limit strength. Physical preparedness must follow function within the energy system of tactical response: the capacity to work at high intensity in multi-planar movement for repeated bursts of short duration with fast recovery. Current PT programs fall sorely short of these demands." Sonnon Writes.
So without knowing your sport or activity, i can offer a very simple, yet effective form of whats called a "complex." These are very useful and be used with any variety of tools from barbells and dumbbells to even kettlebells and clubbells.
Keep in mind, this is building a foundational level of strength, power and tactical fitness. To be truely "tactically" fit, you need movement sophistication to put greater demands on your nervous system, because your body and mind crave it, and without it, you will find yourself plateauing.
I was first introduced to the "barbell complex" with Martin Rooney while attending a seminar in Fairlawn, New Jersey. Rooney put us throw the grinder with these, and i greatly appreciated the challenge.
Foundational Barbell Complex-
Each minute on the minute, 6 reps each movement ( Don't set the barbell down untill finished with the set), 6-9 rounds.
Deadlift
Shrugs
Hang cleans
Front squat
Push press
Backsquat
Jump Squat
Start with a lighter weight than you think you need, because the anaerobic demand is very high. A good place to start would be with 5 pounds a side. Time yourself on the first set, and if you finish under 60 seconds, you add weight to the bar. If again, you do another round and finish under 60 seconds you would add more weight, and keep doing so until you finish off each round at around roughly a minute.
When finished with the set, make sure to take your heartrate, and record where you were at when you finished. Time how long it takes your heart rate to return down to 120 BPM. You might notice at first it could take very long to return down to 120 BPM. That's your gauge for tactical fitness.
Heres some gauge numbers:
If your HR drops under 10BPM in the minute following exercise close to heart rate max, you need to get your heart checked.
If it drops 10-20 BPM your average in tactical fitness
If 20-40BPM you're above average tactically fit.
If 40-80BPM, you have exceptional tactical fitness.
80BMP and above is almost pure fantasy, save super heroes.
Repeat this program 2-3 times a week, for 4-8 weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment