In the midst if one of the worst weeks of my life, which I don't want to get into, I have dug deep and found some things to be positive about. First and foremost as I mentioned in my last post my fighter Mandy Anderson lost her last fight by way of disqualification and this past Friday May 14th in Guelph we got some sweet redemption. I truly believed we were winning that first bout before the DQ and I know Mandy is a better fighter then the other girl and that is why I really pushed for the rematch. We slightly tweaked the game plan in the 3 weeks leading up to the rematch and as I expected she went out Friday night and thoroughly outboxed the girl and won an easy 3 round decision with all 3 judges seeing the fight in her favour. Planning and proper execution gets the job done. Congrats Mandy!! Onward and upward.
This weekend we here at All Canadian Fitness participated in the Climb for Cancer charity event and it was a huge success. We hosted a 5km walk and also did the Chedoke stairs for 1 hour. I did the same event 2 years ago and did 12 sets of stairs in 1 hour. This year my goal was not to beat any records I just wanted my kids to be apart of the event with me. So what I did was every other set on the stairs I would take either 5 year old Rayna or 1 year old Athena. I did 8 total sets 4 with the kids and 4 without. It was very challenging yet very rewarding at the same time and for personal reasons it meant alot to me to do it. All in all a great and successful event.
Finally, as I also mentioned in my last post, I have been reading about training frequency and rest with regard to effective training. For myself personally working out less and resting more is paying off huge dividends as I feel bigger, stronger and I am down a few pounds. And I experimented for this fight with Mandy and had her only training 4 times a week with me with no additional workouts on her own. Not only did she put on a beautiful performance, she also commented after the fight that she was far less fatigued then after her other fights. So I guess it works for some people.
Again what the hell do I know. I'm no expert.
Train to live live to train TIP
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Too Much?
It has been awhile since my last post. Things have been incredibly busy here at the the studio, with my fighters and in my life in general, so I have finally got a few minutes to update.
First off, as much as I love the month of May, I can't wait for it to end. We have birthday parties and events galore, our move in day for our new house is May 25th and all the appointments that go along with that(lawyer, final inspection etc.) are ridiculous. Thank God for planners.
My fighter Mandy had a fight on April 25th and was fighting beautifully and winning the fight when she was unfortunately disqualified for ducking too low when her opponent was trying to punch her. However we have been back in training and are getting a rematch with the same girl on May 14th in Guelph. Can't wait for redemption.
I have also been studying, reading and researching a lot as always and have come across an interesting book that has some interesting points with regards to training and the frequency as to how much we should be doing. Are some of us doing too much? With the obesity problem in society today most people are obviously not doing enough but some people work out day after day and running mile after mile and seeing no improvements and often end up injured. I know this all too well from personal experience. As a fighter we were always told we have to do this and that and run run run workout day after day because the person who trained harder and longer was going to win the fight. I trained excessively and now I am paying the price. I now have scaled the frequency back, not the intensity of my workouts and take longer rests in between workouts and it is helping and I actually feel better the less I train and the more I rest.
Now I am NOT telling people to train less just listen to your body and take rests when needed and evaluate your fitness goals. Less is sometimes more, and more is less, in terms of progression. Too often people train so much and actually go backwards with their results, I have seen it with others as well as myself. So take a step back and listen to your body.
The more I read the more I learn and the more I can experiment about how to get my clients best results. I don't take information I read as a whole, I dissect it and take from it what I could use and disregard the nonsense and come up with my own conclusion and people can take my advice for what it is worth.
Train to live live to train TIP
First off, as much as I love the month of May, I can't wait for it to end. We have birthday parties and events galore, our move in day for our new house is May 25th and all the appointments that go along with that(lawyer, final inspection etc.) are ridiculous. Thank God for planners.
My fighter Mandy had a fight on April 25th and was fighting beautifully and winning the fight when she was unfortunately disqualified for ducking too low when her opponent was trying to punch her. However we have been back in training and are getting a rematch with the same girl on May 14th in Guelph. Can't wait for redemption.
I have also been studying, reading and researching a lot as always and have come across an interesting book that has some interesting points with regards to training and the frequency as to how much we should be doing. Are some of us doing too much? With the obesity problem in society today most people are obviously not doing enough but some people work out day after day and running mile after mile and seeing no improvements and often end up injured. I know this all too well from personal experience. As a fighter we were always told we have to do this and that and run run run workout day after day because the person who trained harder and longer was going to win the fight. I trained excessively and now I am paying the price. I now have scaled the frequency back, not the intensity of my workouts and take longer rests in between workouts and it is helping and I actually feel better the less I train and the more I rest.
Now I am NOT telling people to train less just listen to your body and take rests when needed and evaluate your fitness goals. Less is sometimes more, and more is less, in terms of progression. Too often people train so much and actually go backwards with their results, I have seen it with others as well as myself. So take a step back and listen to your body.
The more I read the more I learn and the more I can experiment about how to get my clients best results. I don't take information I read as a whole, I dissect it and take from it what I could use and disregard the nonsense and come up with my own conclusion and people can take my advice for what it is worth.
Train to live live to train TIP
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
AGE: NOTHING BUT A NUMBER
This past weekend 2 aging legends entered the squared circle for a boxing rematch that was way overdue and decades too late but we got to see 2 future Hall of Famers and 2 former great fighters get themselves ready for combat just one more time. Bernard Hopkins 45, and Roy Jones jr. 41, fought for the Middleweight championship of the world in 1993, a fight which was close and competitive and won by decision by Roy Jones jr. Now since that fight 17 years ago both fighters have accomplished a lot in the sport and are both shoe-ins for the Boxing Hall of Fame. Both fighters peaked and fell at different times in the respective careers. Roy Jones jr. continued his impressive career winning multiple titles in 4 different weight classes and was pretty much unbeatable for quite a few years. Then about 6 years ago had back to back knock out losses and ever since he has been a shadow of his former self. Bernard Hopkins career was a little different. He refused to be controlled by promoters and people interested in separating him from his money. So for years he did it his own way and missed out in some high profile fights. He did win the world Middleweight championship and defended it a record number of times. He finally did get some high profile fights and came through victorious on most of those occasions. While Jones was on the decline, Hopkins was on the rise and peaking later into his years beating much younger opponents while entering his 40's. Now with both fighters at the tale end of their careers they decided to finally fight again for the rematch won by Jones 17 years earlier. Critics said they were too old, too much erosion in their boxing skills, and the public just did not want to see it happen and didn't care for that matter. However they did fight last Saturday to a decent crowd and a fight won by Bernard Hopkins by decision. Sweet Revenge.
I did watch a few rounds of the fight and while it wasn't the most entertaining of fights, it was filled with fouls and illegal punches, I don't think it was as bad as people made it out to be.
People these days like to complain a lot about everything, and are never satisfied. The majority of people who complain are those who have never been in there and know what a brutal and savage sport it is. They knew both guys and their ages so what kind of fight were they expecting? I personally think both guys should just retire, they have both made lots of money and have nothing more to accomplish in there careers. Entertaining fight or not, what I got out of it is that age is nothing but a number, these 2 have a combined age of 86 years between them and got into great condition to fight for 12 rounds, that is an accomplishment in itself, so it should be an inspiration for people to achieve and work hard to accomplish goals and to not use age as an excuse. Pick a goal and strive for it. It may not be quite as hard a sport as boxing. But anything health and fitness related will do. If Roy and Bernard can do it, so can you.
Train to live, live to train TIP
I did watch a few rounds of the fight and while it wasn't the most entertaining of fights, it was filled with fouls and illegal punches, I don't think it was as bad as people made it out to be.
People these days like to complain a lot about everything, and are never satisfied. The majority of people who complain are those who have never been in there and know what a brutal and savage sport it is. They knew both guys and their ages so what kind of fight were they expecting? I personally think both guys should just retire, they have both made lots of money and have nothing more to accomplish in there careers. Entertaining fight or not, what I got out of it is that age is nothing but a number, these 2 have a combined age of 86 years between them and got into great condition to fight for 12 rounds, that is an accomplishment in itself, so it should be an inspiration for people to achieve and work hard to accomplish goals and to not use age as an excuse. Pick a goal and strive for it. It may not be quite as hard a sport as boxing. But anything health and fitness related will do. If Roy and Bernard can do it, so can you.
Train to live, live to train TIP
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
INTERVAL TRAINING
This day in age fitness trends come and go and some exercise studies seem to reveal better and more efficient ways to get fit. Although it is definitely not a new concept, interval training is constantly getting press and magazine articles for its effectiveness in the training world. However some people still stick to the never ending slow paced jog for hours at a time, to which I say to each his or her own, whatever works for you and whatever method you enjoy more. But the studies are out there and they say that short bursts of intense work followed by moderate to low rests is best for fat loss, cardio conditioning and they are time efficient. Depending on your fitness level the work to rest ratio and intensities would obviously differ, choosing longer rest intervals than work intervals and just decreasing the rest intervals as you get in better shape. You could use this type of training with any type of cardio equipment or even with weights as long as the loads are not maximal. If you are not doing intervals I recommend giving them a try if you are then I'm sure you are reaping the benefits. I myself, am about to do a workout consisting of various intervals to see which is most effective and best of all I am going to get one hell of a workout.
Train to live, live to train TIP
Train to live, live to train TIP
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
INJURY TREATMENT
Being athletic, physically active and constantly pushing your body towards better fitness, whether it be for better health or better performance in a sport, repetitive strain injuries are ever present and could hinder your performance. Being aware of them, recognizing them and preventing or treating them are important in your overall health and well being. One that I would like to touch on briefly is one that I may be experiencing myself right now. Achilles tendinitis. The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel bone and provides power during the push off phase of walking or running. When this tendon becomes inflamed acute or chronic pain could set in making things painful and uncomfortable. However rest will often relieve the pain. Further research is showing that it may not necessarily be inflammation but degenerating tissue with loss of normal fibre structure. If left untreated or unrested chronic pain may develop into acute causing further problems. Because of the lack of blood flow and cell supply to the tendon, the healing process may be long and slow. So recognizing, rest and treatment is extremely important so the condition does not lead to rupture of the tendon. If experiencing pain in the lower calf region frequently during exercise but subsiding with rest you may have Achilles tendinitis.
Rest, ice and cold compression treatment works well to reduce swelling and inflammation. Wear a heel raise if needed to elevate the heel and reduce impact in the tendon. Check and make sure that you are wearing proper shoes for what it is you are doing. Stretching of the calf muscle as well as strengthening the calf muscles by use of high load, eccentric contraction(the "negative" lengthening of the calf muscle) slowly, has shown to work effectively at decreasing pain and strengthening the tendon. Another effective way is by way of 1 leg balance training for proprioception. Now these are just suggestions and if problems persist it is best to consult a doctor or physiotherapist for more help.
Remember to recognize and treat the problem early to minimize the problem and avoid worse injury down the road and to keep you exercising your way to better health.
Train to live, live to train TIP
Rest, ice and cold compression treatment works well to reduce swelling and inflammation. Wear a heel raise if needed to elevate the heel and reduce impact in the tendon. Check and make sure that you are wearing proper shoes for what it is you are doing. Stretching of the calf muscle as well as strengthening the calf muscles by use of high load, eccentric contraction(the "negative" lengthening of the calf muscle) slowly, has shown to work effectively at decreasing pain and strengthening the tendon. Another effective way is by way of 1 leg balance training for proprioception. Now these are just suggestions and if problems persist it is best to consult a doctor or physiotherapist for more help.
Remember to recognize and treat the problem early to minimize the problem and avoid worse injury down the road and to keep you exercising your way to better health.
Train to live, live to train TIP
Saturday, March 6, 2010
IN THE LAB
About an hour ago I hit my garage gym or "the lab", as I like to call it for some research. I came up with an MMA specific circuit which targets all the major muscle groups used in each fight as well as some specific functional movements involved in the sport. Now even though I am primarily a boxing specific trainer when it comes to combat sports I think I am quite knowledgeable and, even though I am not a huge fan I do watch the sport and have picked up on some of their movements. As for the techniques of the sport aside from the punching I can't really say much but from a conditioning stand point I think I know enough to put together a pretty tough and grueling conditioning workout as I have designed a couple in the past. As tough as they are, they are fun to do and have a lot of variety and movements in them. This particular one was pretty effective but I have some tweaking to do before I could finalize it. Maybe even a video. Stay tuned.
Personal trainers or sports coaches these days have to be more then just people who put exercises together, call it a program and put someone through it. We must have a beginning and an end to the program and we must strategize different aspects depending on what we are doing. i.e. meals and eating, workouts on their own or the psychological perspective of ones sport or program. This week I had to twice go beyond that coach or trainer to strategist to help people (hopefully effectively) get through a certain "tough spot" or down fall to push them through to the next level of their fitness or sport. I had a client who came to me 2 months ago with some limitations but with some goals in mind to achieve. Strength, mobility and cardiovascular goals were met and improvements were made but no change in body composition were made and we should have seen something after 2 months. We had a sit down and discussed the workouts which I was putting her through as well as what she was doing outside of training with me as well as her eating. We found that, like most people it is the commitment to proper nutrition that was the down fall and we had to do some re-tooling and re-education with to her eating habits. Lets hope we will now see some changes.
The second time was earlier today with my young fighter Mandy. She had recently lost her last bout and has been out of action due to injury but is now resuming her training with hopes of fighting in the very near future. We sat down together and watched both of her fights and compared them and looked at the positives and the negatives, weighed them out and decided what we needed to work on. As it turns out it was not so much technical nor physical but more mental, which is a huge aspect of the fight game. As a coach I have to come up with a psychological game plan as well every time we come out for a fight. I know the game because I have been there before as a fighter and she is a terrific learner and is early in her fight career so I know I will get her mentally, physically and technically ready for success in her next fight. Although I am early in my coaching career I am confident that the success I had as a fighter will carry over as success as a trainer and ultimately success for my fighters and clients.
Damn I love what I do.
Train to live, live to train TIP
Personal trainers or sports coaches these days have to be more then just people who put exercises together, call it a program and put someone through it. We must have a beginning and an end to the program and we must strategize different aspects depending on what we are doing. i.e. meals and eating, workouts on their own or the psychological perspective of ones sport or program. This week I had to twice go beyond that coach or trainer to strategist to help people (hopefully effectively) get through a certain "tough spot" or down fall to push them through to the next level of their fitness or sport. I had a client who came to me 2 months ago with some limitations but with some goals in mind to achieve. Strength, mobility and cardiovascular goals were met and improvements were made but no change in body composition were made and we should have seen something after 2 months. We had a sit down and discussed the workouts which I was putting her through as well as what she was doing outside of training with me as well as her eating. We found that, like most people it is the commitment to proper nutrition that was the down fall and we had to do some re-tooling and re-education with to her eating habits. Lets hope we will now see some changes.
The second time was earlier today with my young fighter Mandy. She had recently lost her last bout and has been out of action due to injury but is now resuming her training with hopes of fighting in the very near future. We sat down together and watched both of her fights and compared them and looked at the positives and the negatives, weighed them out and decided what we needed to work on. As it turns out it was not so much technical nor physical but more mental, which is a huge aspect of the fight game. As a coach I have to come up with a psychological game plan as well every time we come out for a fight. I know the game because I have been there before as a fighter and she is a terrific learner and is early in her fight career so I know I will get her mentally, physically and technically ready for success in her next fight. Although I am early in my coaching career I am confident that the success I had as a fighter will carry over as success as a trainer and ultimately success for my fighters and clients.
Damn I love what I do.
Train to live, live to train TIP
Monday, February 22, 2010
WEEKEND UPDATE
Team Menna fighter Mandy Anderson lost a 2-1 split decision this weekend at the Brampton Cup boxing tournament. Her opponent had a few more fights than her and has the luxury of training with the Canadian Champion in the 48-51kg weight class, which is the weight class both Mandy and her opponent were fighting in. So we had everything stacked up against us. We had a great preparatory phase getting ready for the fight, we just could have been a little more active and aggressive and we could have won the fight. I was very pleased with Mandy's performance and we just have to work that much harder now in preparation for the next fight which is another tournament called the McGibbon's Gloves and it takes place in 4 weeks time in St. Catherines. I will review the fight tape and take whatever measures necessary to help us do better this time around. However, like I mentioned early, I am very pleased with her performance and at such an early stage in her career she has so much potential and I am excited to see how far we can take this. Great job Mandy, keep up the hard work!!
Train to live, live to train TIP
Train to live, live to train TIP
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