Run to the Hills! (diary entry)

12. 04.13

First Private Lesson

"People do not lack strength; they lack will."

Victor Hugo

Quote from recent early morning “attitude” training client. To remind regular readers of these training diaries, he is a professional wrestler who is getting back in shape for an upcoming match. One of his ways to measure improvement is a weight loss competition he is engaging in at work.

"It was quite possibly the furthest I've ever been pushed. A lot of the training is about mental state, how to override when your body says "that's enough". It's a tabata based system ( hugely intense bursts with minimal rest with the ultimate aim of about 170% Vo2 max), it's brutal. We did footwork and agility warm-up, then ran to some hills all the while doing relevant exercises akin to how we move in the ring...takedown defence postures, strikes etc. Them we got to "The Hill". Hill sprints. I thought I had had tough workouts before but this was so much tougher. I puked twice. Another of the theories is that there is no real "rest"...even after the bursts, we were doing padwork, just keep moving.

Then returned to the barn where did some bag work drills, grappling drills etc. 

It's a huge shock to the body and has wiped me out for the rest of the day. But the benefits will outweigh the pain in the end. Jamie is confident that this will give me really good results, but the best thing about it is how it has changed my mental state of mind. I now know I can go a lot further than I think I can. I live the psychological aspect, it's fascinating.

I'm also still lifting well in the week, basic compound exercises to i crease

overall strength, gain lean mass and burn more calories. Weigh in is Friday so I will let you all know the results.”

The result of his weigh-in – “I'm 246lbs!!!! Which means I have now lost 11 lbs in the last 14 days!! …Hasn't been easy. A combination of good healthy diet ( no fad diets, just sensible eating with a high protein Content), weight training 5 times per week and a reconditioning system which I am undertaking with Jamie Clubb. If you want it bad enough, you can make it happen.”

For benefit of my client and some more clarification for readers. This is the routine that was undertaken. Prior to this session the client went through a induction lesson, where assessments in various areas were made and we ran through different examples of exercises to illustrate my approach to his training. He returned home to begin some basic high intensity interval training exercises and details were discussed via online coaching.

Ladder Drills and Warm-up

These are basic agility exercises that have their origins in football (soccer to our US readers). I like to start a warm-up with exercises as relevant to client’s chosen area of training as possible. These are footwork drills, designed to promote better movement around the ring and into moves. We then did some 100 metre muscle activation movement exercises, including ballistic stretching. Again, this promotes coordination that is directly related to my client’s wrestling.

Hill Sprints

On the way to the hills, my client did a series of footwork exercises training lateral movement, offline angling and takedown defence. We hit a total of five hill sprints with the third one being the longest and the great incline. My client had two 10 second rests between the first and second, and second and third, before a slow job back down and some more movement training. Here we drilled striking and takedowns. He then did his last two hill sprints. At this point I reinforced the importance of fortitude and training strong behaviours. Unless it necessary, I don’t like my clients stooping, sitting or leaning during training sessions. I want them with a strong and alert attitude throughout their routines.

Assessment

I looked at my client’s progress with pull-ups, press-ups and deck squats. He showing great strength and improved technique already.

Heavy Unhung Bag

After a jog back and a brief rest, I went through a series exercises with my client’s unhung heavy bag. The bag is great for relevant conditioning as it can replace the body of a training partner. We covered both strength exercises like Turkish get-ups and bag twirls, and cardiovascular training such as knee pins and slams.

Grappling

I made an assessment of his stand-up clinch grappling and then we did some specific ground work sparring, covering both pins and escapes.

The session was completed with a debrief and stretching.