Great nutrition blog by Matt Frazier!

I'm in Vegas this week and while I am teaching a kettlebell trainer certification on Sunday, the rest of the week is vacation, thus a less creative blog this week-the dreaded "re-post". However, this is a good one!

Here is a great blog with healthy eating tips from Matt Frazier of "No Meat Athlete". Matt's blog was recommended to me a while back by my friend Laura and I highly recommend subscribing to it. Don't let the name fool you, this post is great for vegans/vegetarians and cannibals alike.

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/simple-healthy-eating-guidelines/

My favorite advice is to focus on eating raw vegetables and fruits (yeah go figure!).

I think his recommendation to start the day off with a smoothie and to eat a salad in the afternoon is great.

I particularly like green smoothies (50% greens and 50% fruit) and strawberry/banana green smoothies are great post-workout. 

I do sometimes add some RAW protein or brown rice protein and raw honey to the post workout smoothie as well. 

I hope you enjoy Matt's post as much as I did and can apply some of these great tips to your nutrition.

Now back to the craps and blackjack tables!!!

Stay Strong AND Healthy,

Scott

Great Re-post from Jim Wendler!

I have been in the training industry for over 13 years now and have seen all the fads-one of the worst is "sport specific training". It really is as simple as lift to get strong, run for speed and condition, and practice your sport for specificity. Granted things like flexibility and mobility are important as well but the idea of trying to mimic sport movements in the weight room is ridiculous.

Squat, push and pull heavy stuff to get strong and practice your sport to get better at your sport.

Jim Wendler posted a nice blog at his website-www.jimwendler.com (I recommend checking his site often as he generally contributes great articles and blogs, and if you don't already own his 5/3/1 book remedy that, now.)

Check out this link to Jim's blog featuring a quote from Mark Rippetoe regarding the development of strength for athletes. Then think about it. Then think about all the bullshit in the sports training industry. Then realize Mark is 100% on the money!

http://www.jimwendler.com/2012/09/lifting-for-sport-great-quote-from-mark-rippetoe/

Stay Strong AND Healthy!

-Scott

Shane Carwin Interview (from April 2010)

I'm getting pretty excited for the start of the new season of The Ultimate Fighter! Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson are the coaches this season and I have been a huge fan of Shane's for a long time. I had the opportunity to do a phone interview with Shane back in April of 2010 that I submitted to a magazine I was writing for at the time. The interview went unpublished and instead I submitted to Elite Fitness Systems for publishing on their website. Since TUF kicks off next week I decided to post the interview I did with Shane on my blog. While I'm sure a lot of his training and physical preparation has evolved since this interview, I still feel the information he provided was awesome. Enjoy!

Shane Carwin is arguably one of the strongest, most powerful heavyweight fighters in the UFC and over the course of his 12-2 professional MMA career he has definitely shown he can throw a devastating punch. 

Prior to his interim heavyweight title victory over Frank Mir at UFC 111, Shane had knocked-out or submitted each of his opponents in under two minutes and had never seen the second round of a fight until his first career losses to Brock Lesnar, a fight Shane nearly ended in the first round, and Junior Dos Santos.

Shortly after his 3:48 first-round knock-out of Frank Mir, I had the opportunity to speak with Shane about his strength training and conditioning program and why it is important for fighters to spend some of their time in the weight room.  Here’s what he had to say.

(Author’s note – Keep in mind this interview was conducted on April 7, 2010 and was originally submitted to a magazine for publishing prior to his July 3, 2010 heavyweight title fight against Brock Lesnar, but went unpublished. Since then, Shane underwent back surgery, to relieve pressure on compressed and pinched nerves near the end of 2010, and his training and nutrition strategies have changed somewhat to accommodate his return to professional MMA competition. However, I feel that the information he shared with me is too good to remain unpublished.)

Getting to meet Shane at UFC Fan Expo at Mandalay Bay in Vegas - May 2010! Yes, his fist is as big as my head.

Scott:

Shane, first of all I’d like to say congratulations on your awesome performance at UFC 111.  You were certainly prepared both physically and mentally for that fight and it definitely showed in the octagon.  It seems that more fighters are placing a greater emphasis on strength training and conditioning as a means to supplement their fight training.  This is definitely a shift from the idea that technique mastery is all a fighter needs to be at the top his game.  What is your opinion on strength and conditioning as a supplement to specific fight training for the mixed martial arts athlete?

Shane:

I think it’s absolutely necessary.  Everyone talks about technique now, but everyone is working on technique.  People spend a lot of time studying all these different martial arts and what can really separate you is a good strength and conditioning program.  It’s just like any other sport; I think MMA is going to evolve a lot faster because all these other sports had to go through all these growing pains already. Strength and conditioning coaches already know how to get these athletes to perform at a higher level, that science is already out there for these fighters to take advantage of.

Scott:

In an interview from March 2009 you said that you trained with weights three times per week and ran two times per week in addition to four weekly sessions of jiu jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, and MMA training.  That’s an insane schedule, particularly when you consider that fact that you work a full-time job and have responsibilities as a father and a husband. Has your strength training and conditioning changed any since then, and how important is your strength and conditioning training to your career in the mixed martial arts?

Shane:

It has changed.  I still do three times per week as far as the strength goes and conditioning is still part of that with the strength, but I get some of the conditioning during sparring and my one-on-one sessions, which we try to vary up a little bit.  Now I have eight practices a week on top of the strength, three are sparring, some are wrestling, and some are one-on-one with jiu jitsu or boxing. 

Scott:

So by the nature of the sport practice itself you are finding that there is a benefit in terms of conditioning?

Shane:

When you are going live you are definitely getting some of the conditioning in that is more appropriate for the sport, such as the pushing and pulling of the body and other things you’re not going to feel just by running.  Running is still good and definitely helps build endurance in the legs so I get some of that in there too.  A lot of it comes from practice and some of it comes from me, I feel what my body needs.

Scott:

I have found that my athletes always make the greatest gains in size and strength by following a steady diet of the basic, heavy barbell lifts such as the squat, deadlift, row, pull-ups, bench and military press.  Do these, or any other lifts, make up the foundation of your strength training program?

Shane:

Yeah, absolutely.  You are not going to get bigger or stronger without doing those core lifts.  There are some other lifts that you can add for explosiveness.  I think the explosive training, along with the core lifts that you said, is the way to go for fighting – it’s basically a take-off of other sports.

Scott:

What about things like kettlebell training, weighted sled work, Battling Ropes, sledgehammer drills, and medicine ball exercises?  Have you used any of these forms of training in your strength and conditioning program?

Shane:

Absolutely, I would say that is a good portion of my conditioning.  I got away from running a little bit because of the pounding and the shin splints.  For conditioning we have had to do more circuit training that involves pushing the sled, burpees, medicine ball slams, plyometric pushups and things of that nature.

Scott:

Can you give us an idea of what a typical training week looks like for you? 

Shane:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are lifting days consisting of plyometrics, Olympic lifts, strength lifts, as well as some agility work.  My strength and conditioning coach also puts some general physical preparation (GPP) work in there and some core exercises.  This is typically done around lunchtime.  At night I’ll do some one-on-one in boxing and maybe jiu jitsu or whatever practice I feel I might need, it might be some wrestling as well.  Tuesday and Thursday mornings are sparring and at night it is usually wrestling or jiu jitsu.  Saturday is another sparring day and Sundays are my off days.  I think one of the main problems with the sport and so many of the injuries is that there is probably not enough off time because everyone is trying to get all these disciplines in.  It’s not like going out and training football where you train the same position five to six days per week. When you’re training in boxing, kick boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, jiu jitsu, then do your strength and conditioning work it’s tough to get all that in and be where you need to be.  I definitely think that people can over-train in this sport very easily. 

Scott:

Are there any specific recovery methods you find beneficial, particularly during periods of extreme training?

Shane:

Yeah, I get some Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) work done by a guy named Matt Bernier that seems to help me the most.  I think everybody has different things that work for them.  I also do contrast baths.  At my house I have an ice bath and a hot tub right next to each other and I’ll go five in one and five in the other and go back and forth like that a number of times.  I learned that down in Louisiana when I was training for the NFL in 1998 with strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester who was helping Chuck Wiley, Alan Fanaca and myself out.

Scott:

Some people might not realize you went as far as you did in football being invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and a projected fifth round pick but did not make it due to previous injuries.  Do you ever miss playing football?

Shane:

Absolutely, I love the sport and unfortunately what happened to me was I bulged three discs and ruptured a disc so at that point I was damaged goods.  You know it is what it is, I loved the game, I still love the game, and just driving in the fall I can smell that grass and get those feelings you know.

Scott:

There is no question that you have built an insanely strong and powerful physique.  I am guessing that was not done by weight training alone.  Is nutrition and supplementation important to your preparation and ability to recover between training sessions?

Shane:

Yeah absolutely, as far as nutrition and supplementation goes, if you are not fueling your body when you are weight training and conditioning to me it’s no good without good wholesome whole foods and high quality sports supplements.  Without the fuel your body is not going to grow.

Scott:

Is there anything you would like to add pertaining to your strength and conditioning or fight training program that people reading this may be interested in?

Shane:

It amazes me that some of these fighters are just now saying they’re hiring strength and conditioning coaches - that’s crazy to me.  I can’t understand how they haven’t been doing strength work the whole time. 

Scott:

It amazes me too.  I’ve always maintained that if you had two athletes, regardless of the sport, with identical skill levels, and one spent time building strength, power and speed while the other only worked on technique, the stronger more powerful guy would win every time.

Shane:

Not only is he going to win, he’s going to destroy the other guy. 

Scott:

Unfortunately I think when some fighters think of strength they picture a huge, super-heavyweight powerlifter who lacks mobility and some of the other skills necessary for fighters and that’s not the case.

Shane:

No not at all.

Scott:

I feel it’s highly beneficial to get as strong and powerful as possible to the point it does not interfere with your fighting skills. 

Shane:

Another thing those people are not going to like to hear is that it takes a long time to develop that strength and power.  It’s not done over a period of months; it’s done over a period of years.  You have to stay committed and dedicated to getting stronger and not expect it to happen overnight.

Scott:

Shane, thank you sincerely for your time, I appreciate it and wish you the absolute best with your MMA career.

Shane:

Thank you.

###

Stay Strong and Healthy,

Scott