Archive for Conditioning
Specific Conditioning For Mixed Martial Arts Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s part 2 of the Specificity of conditioning for MMA series by Danny Hague. Here’s part one in case you missed it:
Specificity of conditioning for MMA part 1
Specific Conditioning For Mixed Martial Arts Part 2
The Aerobic system regenerates ATP through oxidative means (with oxygen) and can produce the most amounts of ATP, however this process is a lot slower than the anaerobic systems as there are many more chemical steps to take to regenerate ATP aerobically. So the aerobic system is capable of sustaining moderate power outputs for very long durations.
So to summarise the body is always striving for energy homeostasis within the working muscles and it has the ability to regenerate ATP either at tremendously high rates (anaerobically) for short periods of time, or at more moderate levels (aerobically) for an incredible amount of time. What people may not realise and science has come to now show us, is that all three energy systems are essentially ‘turned on’ from the very beginning of exercise. They don’t activate in sequence and are constantly overlapping to provide ATP to the working muscles to perform mechanical work for the specific activity. The Aerobic system is still heavily involved even at the highest anaerobic intensities and newer research states that even very short high intensity efforts lasting as short as 1 minute, almost 50% of total energy production can come from the aerobic system.
From the information above you can see that a fighter requires high levels of both anaerobic and aerobic conditioning to meet the high intermittent nature of MMA. They need high levels of anaerobic development to meet the high power/force outputs involved in striking, takedowns, clinching and wrestling, and a well developed aerobic system to help refuel these explosive efforts over and over for the course of the rounds, as well as helping to rid the body of the by products such as hydrogen ions.
Taking all of this into consideration with regards to meeting the energy demands of the sport, long steady distance training is not the way to go if you want to be in fighting shape. As the sport of MMA is intermittent in nature, high intensity intervals are a much more sensible approach to take. So the use of sprints, hill sprints, sled dragging, and metabolic circuits are great options and I use these with my fighters further out from their fights to develop higher levels of relative work capacity. However for the conditioning program to ensure maximum transfer, again the ‘Specificity principle’ must be addressed. See the cardiovascular system does not work in isolation, in fact it works synergistically with the rest of the bodies processes. It is the muscles themselves producing force for mechanical work that determines the energy requirements from the cardiovascular system. So you must take into account the interaction between the neuromuscular, cardiovascular, metabolic, and hormonal systems. You must take into account that fatigue manifests itself centrally (systemically), and locally (peripheral). Sprints and the like are great for systemic conditioning but what about the local muscular fatigue that accumulates in the shoulders and arms for repeated explosive punching, or if you are tied up with your opponent in and isometric hold?
The approach I use is to look at the kinematics (movement patterns), and kinetics (force profiles) of the sport (MMA) as well as the work dynamics (work/rest), and in conjunction with the fighters particular game plan, set up a fight simulation circuit containing non specific exercises to overload key musculature and specific exercises to make sure technique, skill and decision making are all trained under high levels of fatigue. The above approach I believe is what will ensure optimal transfer into the ring or cage.
Below is an example circuit for the conditioning phase, I have recently used with one of my fighters to prepare him for a title fight of 3, 5 minute rounds. The goal throughout the weeks was to reduce the time it takes him to complete the rounds, to improve power output, while simultaneously reducing his rest periods week to week:
- Airdyne bike (30secs)
- Dumbbell Matrix (180 reps, pre-fatigue punching musculature)
- Specific Pad Work (30 secs)
- Crash Mat Sprawls (20 reps)
- Recline Rope Pulls (20 reps)
- Med Ball Slams (10 reps)
- Sumo Deadlifts (10 reps, fight weight + 10%)
- Sprawl and Tackle Bag Hit (5 each side)
- Specific Pad Work (30secs)
So there you go guys that was the specific fight circuit I used, it mimics the movement patterns, and force outputs you will experience in a fight. I believe this is the most sensible approach to take to condition a fighter for competition. This method takes into consideration the ‘Specificity Principle’ and I think will ensure training will transfer into the cage. Not only does it condition the body for competition it is less abusive than heavy sparring all the time, which will reduce the risk of injury and help prolong fighters careers. Please take into account that this is the conditioning side of the equation, fighters need to make sure these sessions are put into a well developed systematic strength and conditioning program that works with the development of all the physical qualities needed, such as maximal strength, specific strength, power, and ballistic strength. Any way let me know what you all think feedback would be much appreciated, cheers.
Danny Hague ASCC, MMA-CSCC
Specificity in conditioning for MMA fighters part 1
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s the latest contribution from one of the Carnegie interns Danny Hague. Danny’s previous article 10 considerations for an effective performance programme was very well received.
This piece is a good overview of the types of conditioning fighters should be doing. Enjoy!
Specific Conditioning For Mixed Martial Arts
In my previous post ’10 Considerations for an Effective Performance Program’ I mentioned the importance of ‘Specificity’. To ensure optimal transfer for your sport in this case MMA, then the principle of specificity must be adhered to.
Usually a fight will be three rounds unless it’s a title fight when there will be five. Each round is five minutes long with a one minute rest period between each round, this creates a huge work to rest deficit. Thus total work time will be either 17 or 29 minutes long.
To cope with the physiological demands of the sport, fighters must possess a wide array of physical qualities, such as strength, power, speed, agility, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, as well as high levels of technical skill.
Each round will consist of very high intensity alactic efforts followed by periods of random lower intensities, all ranging from striking, clinching, wrestling and groundwork.
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the conditioning of fighters is the use of Long Steady Distance methods for aerobic fitness. While fighters do need to possess high levels of aerobic power/capacity it is how they train for this quality that is of paramount importance. It has been tradition in many combat sports to run long distances for aerobic conditioning; however the demands for MMA are very different and training aerobically at a constant pace will do very little for the high intermittent nature of the sport. MMA requires multiple periods of high powered explosive movements interspersed with random periods of rest depending on the fight situation. So in keeping with the principle of ‘Specificity’ is long steady distance going to prepare a fighter for the ring/or cage?
The human body provides energy via adenosine triphosphate (ATP). You can think of ATP as your body’s energy currency, if your body requires energy you have to pay for it with ATP. Your body does all it can to maintain ATP homeostasis within your muscles cells. As force and power increase (higher intensity) the rate of ATP expenditure increases as well, in response to this, your body increases the rate of energy production to match expenditure so that ATP is not depleted within the muscles. In order to best maintain energy balance during periods of highly variable rates of energy expenditure, the body has three energy systems that differ in terms of how fast they can regenerate ATP (power) and how long they can regenerate it for (capacity). These three systems are Alactic (ATP/PC), Lactic (Glycolytic), and Aerobic (Oxidative) with the Alactic, and Lactic being the Anaerobic systems. For high power or strength (force) outputs the anaerobic systems are responsible for producing the ATP required. These systems can provide ATP at much faster rates through non-oxidative means to support maximum power outputs, but only for very brief periods of time. Anaerobic work particularly the glycolytic system causes rapid changes in the cellular environment due to large disturbances in homeostasis, which in turn produces certain by products that cause fatigue and reduction in muscular power, this is why the body slows down and you can’t maintain a 100m sprint pace for 1 mile. Current research states that it is the increase in hydrogen ions that increase blood acidity and a drop in pH levels and not the lactate that is produced through anaerobic glycolysis that is responsible for fatigue. In fact lactate is a valuable fuel source that is used by the aerobic system to regenerate ATP. With this in mind you can see that training at a relatively steady pace for prolonged periods will not prepare the body to improve its capacity to buffer hydrogen ions. So with these points in mind you must train at high intensities to build up your alatic/lactic power and capacity.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this series later in the week.
Cheers,
BC
Quick Session # 3
Posted by: | CommentsHeres a neat little basic strength session for you. Total body, superset based, give it a go and let me know if you enjoyed it by leaving a comment below! Ive used this session this week with one of my heavyweight MMA fighters preparing in his strength phase amongst other stuff too of course. Rest is pretty much minimal throughout, try to keep working and you will improve your work capacity and basic strength with this session.
So you want to be an S&C coach? Part 3: Continuing your development!
Posted by: | CommentsFirstly, if you’ve missed any of the past 2 parts you should go back and read them before you read this.
Click here for part 1 which is all about getting the knowledge required.
Click here for part 2 where I look at how you can get your coaching experience.
This post is all about once you’ve got some experience and are working in the industry, how do you keep on evolving and progressing into the coach that you really want to be.
We all have specialist areas of interest within the umbrella term of strength and conditioning coach. You need to have a level of competency in all the areas of job which are:
- Coaching and designing strength and power sessions and programmes.
- Coaching and designing speed, movement, and conditioning sessions and programmes.
- Rehabilitation and injury mechanisms for your sports and all sports.
- Periodisation and annual planning for the training units above.
- Nutrition, lifestyle support, psychology basic understanding and application.
- Underpinning knowledge of anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, S&C principles.
- Monitoring and recovery and principles behind these.
- Comminication with coaches/athletes and clients. For some this comes easy, for others it has to be the primary area of focus as this is what really gets you results!!
- S&C for specific populations- Rugby, MMA, Youth, etc etc.
But within these areas (and you may include more than me) most people will have a specialist interest. For me it is the strength and power training as well as movement and agility training. But I also have a strong interest in nutrition and injury prevention too. There’s a lot to keep up to date with and there are so many sources of information out there to read/watch/listen to.
The hardest thing as a full time S&C coach for me is finding the time to keep up to date, but at the same time I personally believe that it is absolutely imperative to do so!! So managing your schedule to include reading time, reflection time etc is very important. You’ll never have as much free time as when you are studying and immediately following your studies when you’re looking for work, so I would make the most of it and try to get through as many books and DVDs as you can!
I still read a fair few books, but I find it easier to digest information through blogs, websites and DVD’s.
Here are a few websites/blogs that I would highly recommend you check out:
- Vern Gambettas blog on athletic development- a pioneer in the field with a huge amount of experience.
- Eric Cressey Blog- Eric comes up with some gems of knowledge generally on the corrective exercise side of things.
- Mike Boyles strengthcoach.com website- another pioneer in the field and a wealth of information on this site.
- Strengthcoach.com podcast- a great resource to listen to on your way to work.
- Strengthpower hour podcast- a great resource featuring the one and only Bill Kraemer. Well worth listening to purely for his gems of wisdom.
- NSCA online journals- a very good resource in general that you can tap into quickly and get some good info from.
- Professional Strength and Conditioning (UKSCA Journal), most of you will be members but the journal has good overviews of research areas that are worth reading.
- Precision Nutrition- John Berardi’s website has some great nutritional information for coaches that I’d highly recommend.
- EliteFTS website- a must for the strength and power training, this site has some great practical info (including a handful of articles from myself 
)
- TNation- A bit of a bodybuilding site but some good authors on there contributing some good stuff all be it with a physique slant. Still well worth checking out though.
- UK Athletics coaching website: Some great podcasts and articles on speed training, strength training recovery and more on here.
Reflection is the Way Forward!
One of the best ways I have found to improve my coaching is to find the time to regularly reflect on what it is I’m doing. I don’t mean sitting cross legged with some whale music in the background, unless you really feel the need, its more about finding 5 minutes to think about how that session went, or how your exercise selection could be improved for the next phase of training. I always carry a diary with me and regularly write notes when I have an idea for a movement or exercise for a specific population. I also scribble down websites to check out when people mention them to me in the gym, and anything else for that matter. I keep the pad by my bed at night too so that when I wake up in the night I can remember the ideas that come up (and pass it to my therapist). Incorporating this into your week will improve your performance as a coach, so make time to do it!
Continuing Education:
This is of course a key concept, not only for developing as a coach, but also for maintaining our accredited coach status with any reputable organization.
Here’s a few courses that I’d recommend you check out along with a load of books that are worth a read too:
- Mobilis Performance Injury prevention workshops: These are written by top physio Martin Haines. This guy is an encyclopedia of knowledge and experience. The courses are good, some is difficult to apply in an S&C setting but worth the investment.
- UKSCA Annual Conference: Always an excellent couple of days and a bargain at the price. Duncan French has done a great job organizing it these last few years.
- Movement Dynamics Physical Competency Workshop with Kelvin Giles: Kelvins philosophy has been a great influence on many coaches including myself. Get to his workshops if you can.
- Optimal Shoulder Performance- Cressey and Reinold. Another great product from these guys and well worth the investment if your are interested in this area.
- High Power Plyometrics DVD: Jim Radcliffe is an authority in the area. Fairly basic but good overview of plyometrics.
- Training for Warriors DVD- Martin Rooney: A good voerview of what a practicing coach is doing with their athletes. Great watching!
- Kelvin Giles Movement Dynamics- Physical Competency screening and athletic development manuals- The best screening process out there in my opinion from a leader in the athletic development field.
- Practical Programming for strength training- Rippletoe: A great guide to periodisation from a practicing coach. Well worth a read.
- Starting Strength- Roppletoe: An in depth look at the basic barbell exercises which form the cornerstone of most S&C programmes. Great investment.
- Developmental Essentials: IYCA manual: With contributions from some great coaches, this manual is a must if you work with young athletes.
- Tapering and peaking for optimal performance- Mujika: This is the text to get if you wanrt to learn from the authority on tapering. Truly a great resource.
- Athletic Development- Vern Gambetta. Need I say more? Buy the book.
- Nutrient Timing- Ivy and Portman: Released a while ago but a good look at the science and practice behind nutient timing.
- Sport Physiologuy for coaches- Sharkey and Gaskill: Some interesting stuff on monitoring training loads as well as basic physiology which is always good to go over again.
- Theory and application of modern strength and power methods- Thibaudeau: Great little text on strength and power training with a good overview on the more commonly used methods.
- Stretch to win- Frederick: Really good book on fascial and general stretching methods. Highly recommended.
- Qualitative analysis of human movement- Knudson. A great look at kinematic biomechanical analysis of movement. Helped me a lot during my MSc studies.
- Stability, Sport and Performance Movement- Elphinston: Great book recently released from a UK physio covering screening info, progressions and regressions from late stage rehab through to healthy.
How do you want to develop?
There’s a load of different topics covered on this list from strength training to stability and stretching to nutrition. All of which are part of the S&C coaches scope of works so to speak. You need to have a good understanding of all these areas from and theory and applied perspective. All the learning material you need was covered in part 1 of this series. When you are coaching everyday you will find the gaps in your knowledge through your experience which should lead you to the right resources to check out. Following this it is down to you as the individual to decide which areas you want to develop more or less than others which for most of us will be based on our personal interests as we all like to read the things we are interested in. However its still important to keep in touch with other areas that are important within the role. For me I’ll always be happy to read up on athletic development, strength and power training, and sport specific S&C, sometimes I need to push myself to read up on nutrition as there’s always something else that you can put to the top of the pile, even though I have an interest in this.
Where are you and where do you want to be?
Identifying your areas of development is a better way to develop your knowledge than simply reading random stuff you come across on the internet or wherever else. Its nice to have time to read what you want to read, I think this is very important, but I would also recommend having a kind of must read list, which should be based on your development needs as a coach. I try to get my interns to write up a competency map as I call it when they come into the programme which is basically a profile of where they are in terms of knowledge and experience coming into the post on a 1-5 scale with 5 being the best coach you can be in that area. I usually talk this through with the individual and then identify areas of development. It works very well You need to get to a baseline in each quality in order to be able to do the job well and this should be addressed first, from there you can choose to go down a specific path to improve your knowledge in that area. Then you can bring up your weak areas when you feel like they need improving. Very often this will be triggered by something that goes on at work, or a conversation with a colleague about programming etc which meakes you think you need to brush up in that area. These are all healthy things to be doing and will improve your competency as a coach no end.
Who’s in your network?
One of the main ways you can keep yourself sharp is to pick up the phone and call up someone else in S&C. Have you ever heard that phrase ‘you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with’, make sure those 5 people challenge you in some way and from an S&C perspective get you to think about your programmes and ideas. Even if you decide to keep everything the same at least you’ve rationalized your programme.
So that completes part 3 and the series as a whole. Had a load of good feedback on this series which makes me think that it was probably worth writing! Again to your success, Brendan
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So you want to be an S&C Coach?? Part 2: The Experience!
Posted by: | CommentsIn the last post in this series I looked at how to get the knowledge base required for the entry level S&C coach. Click here to read it if you missed this post!
This post is all about the key element that every S&C coach needs in abundance, experience.
I guess it’s a bit like money…..Once you have some, you’ll find it easier to get more of it (so I’ve heard)! But getting that initial experience is probably the toughest.
Experience is the key to developing into a great coach. Simply getting your hands on bodies day after day for hours on end will improve your coaching and your confidence in training people no end. It will also highlight the areas of your knowledge that you need to improve on which then should guide your reading and continuing education. There is more to strength and conditioning than standing in the weight room and designing strength programmes. You need to get out on the field and deliver group conditioning sessions, you need to write the programmes, you need to coach plyomterics and movement drills to different sports and learn the intricacies of each sport, and you need to work with hundreds of different bodies in all shapes and sizes. This is only ever going to come with time, effort, commitment and hard work!
There are a couple of mega important character traits that you need in abundance before you start you journey into S&C. The first thing you need to look at is your work ethic! Are you a hard working person willing to go that extra mile to put yourself ahead of others? I say it all the time to the interns that work with me, this job is manual labour!! Stripping bars down, putting them back up, shouting across the room at people to get them to do what you want them to do…..does that sound like you cup of tea? If not, I strongly suggest you look at other avenues for a career as it really is not for shrinking violets!
The second thing to address is attention to detail, do you let things go when times get hard, do you let standards slip? If so it’s going to be a difficult job for you and you’ll struggle to get results. Of course nearly everyone who reads this post will say “Nope that’s not me, I’m super hard working and have a high attention to detail”, but do you really? I see it all the time with interns, some of them are just not able to achieve that standard . If you’ve read any of my articles on developing skills under fatigue you’ll know I talk about TUF, SUF and DUF which is taken from Kelvin Giles work. Technique, Skills and decision-making under fatigue. Well there is also another one that is the catalyst for all three of the ones listed and that is CUF, which stands for Coaching Under Fatigue! Maintaining your standards of coaching at 7pm when you’ve been coaching for 10 hours is hugely important in this role. Of course you need to have that attention to detail when your fresh and then build on the endurance just like you would do strength, power etc….Its all so simple really!!
Okay, so hopefully you haven’t been put off this and are raring to go and get some experience in the industry so lets examine how to get that all important first opportunity.
Unless you’ve been literally burying your head in the sand for the last two years you will have seen the amounts of unpaid internships that have been advertised recently. My advice, go for these opportunities!! They give you great exposure to elite athletes, much more so than if you were getting paid to do a job somewhere else. Who’s going to trust their athletes in the hands of someone with no experience? It doesn’t make sense!
The best places in the UK to look for internships and opportunities in S&C are:
You’ve got to put your ego to one side and accept that you need to start at the bottom of the ladder! This is not dependant on age either, its all about experience. I’ve worked with interns in there late 20′s/early 30′s who’ve changed career and decided to go into strength and conditioning, as well as undergraduates with no life experience whatsoever, and pretty much everything in between! Everyone brings different strengths to the table but the search for that experience is the key!
Even though there are quite a few voluntary opportunities out there, the demand still far outweighs the supply making the job market very competitive. In short, to get that all important first opportunity whether it be internship, observation of sessions, paid work etc, you need to demonstrate to whoever it is that is potentially offering you a role how committed you are to the field before you even get in to the interview situation. I remember sending out emails to coaches asking them questions, going and meeting people off my own back, with nothing guaranteed at the end just to make connections and get some gems of wisdom from people who have been doing it a lot longer then me! Show that committment up front and people will value it. By doing this when that internship comes up with that person or organization, they will know who you are when your CV and cover letter gets through which bumps you up to the top of the list straight away! Then when you get the interview you know what that person is about so you can prepare for it better. When you’re in the interview you know a bit about the environment you’ll be working in and that will serve you well. I’m not saying that it will guarantee you the job, but it’ll probably find more opportunities come your way than if you don’t prepare in this way!
Have patience with this, keep applying along with meeting people and you will get a chance. It might not come straight away but it will come! Take each attempt as an opportunity to reevaluate your gameplan and adjust things if required. Ask for feedback from the organisation if you didn’t get the position, you might need to change the approach you’ve taken, or you might just need to keep trying the same approach, this is your call but have faith in your own game and don’t doubt yourself.
SAY YES TO EVERYTHING!!
Any little bit of experience is worth something to begin with, so seize every opportunity that comes your way and break through the doors rather than waiting for them to open. It is a competitive market place and the ones that get the jobs are the ones with the most experience. When it comes to getting paid work, every one has the qualifications. Your CV will stand out if you have a few years of working in an S&C environment under your belt when you apply for the jobs, along with that all important connection with the person who makes the decisions which comes from your meetings that you’ve arranged for a few years beforehand. To go from finishing your degree or qualification course to getting a full time paid job might be 3,4,5 or more years. Most people will leave and find something else in this time because they don’t have the desire (or the patience) required. Do you have it? You can shorten this journey by saying yes to everything that comes your way. You need to earn the right to turn an opportunity down and you’ll know when this time comes I think. Don’t be in a rush to go from voluntary to paid work either. Internships allow you to make mistakes without being held accountable! This will only happen once during your career most probably! Take advantage of it by learning from these mistakes so you don’t make them in the real world.
I worked as a door superviser when I was trying to get work. I wanted to have my days free both to train and to spend as much time in the gym as I could. I also wanted to be able to do courses in the day and learn as much as I could, and be able to get on a train to go to meet someone whenever the opportunity arose. I did this for a few years through university and a little bit afterwards too. It was hard but well worth it as the experience and knowledge I gained was invaluable.
Most S&C coaches are quite open and happy to help when people ask them questions. It can be hard to arrange meetings, but a word of advice that has served me well is be a pest! I don’t mean on a night out with the opposite sex, I mean with coaches and people that you want to meet!!. Don’t send them one email and when you don’t get a reply accept it and move on…..follow it up with another email, a phone call, visit their gym and put yourself in their life so they cannot ignore you! This is the way to make connections when you’re first starting out, don’t take no for an answer!
When you do eventually get to find a time to meet someone, turn up with a list full of questions you want answering! Don’t turn up and mope about the gym, think of every meeting as a potential job in a few years time! It’s amazing how things come around full circle in this industry and that meeting produces something in the future.
Once you’ve got your internship or that first job in the industry, make sure you hold on to it by being the best trainer you can be! And this will be covered in part 3 of the series. So that’s it for part 2, that’s how to get experience. The next part of the series will look at how to develop into the coach you really want to be once you have that first opportunity.
If you want more info on any of the stuff going on with my programmes, internship opportunities, and some free S&C info including then sign up to my newsletter by leaving your details in the box below, and if you enjoyed this post leave me a comment and don’t forget to share through facebook or twitter!
Now go and get to WORK!!
Brendan
Quick Hypertrophy Session
Posted by: | CommentsHere is a basic hypertrophy session for the upper body that I have used this last 2 weeks in a 4 day upper/lower body split.
Its a tough but really good session incorporating hypertrophy supersets and time under tension through eccentrics, give it a try!! Don’t forget you need to earn the right to lift weights by mastering your bodyweight first, read this post for more info
Oh and don’t forget to sign up to my email list so you can download a load of free sttength and conditioning info including plyometric guidelines, a warm-up model and much more!!
You have the power…….
Posted by: | CommentsFirstly hope your liking the new website, its getting there week by week!
Here is a quick and easy way to compare strength levels between individuals of different body weights….it’s commonly referred to as the 2/3’s power rule and is an improvement on the more commonly used methods out there.
I first came across this reading through some of Dan Bakers work, all of which I would highly recommend (www.danbakerstrength.com), and more recently work on monitoring by Dr Greg Haff from the US brought it back to my attention.
Generally speaking aside from the obvious absolute strength comparison (eg you lifted 120, I lifted 100 therefore you are stronger), the only other widely used comparison is the relative strength values which is calculated by weight lifted/bodyweight, eg 200kg/100kg = 2 vs 150kg/70kg = 2.14. In this case the lighter individual would be classed as relatively stronger than the heavier individual as they can lift more weight per kilogram bodyweight. But this is obviously the case, lighter people will always be stronger relative to their bodyweight. But is this actually the case, are they actually stronger? We know that the capacity for producing force exponentially decreases with additional bodymass. The world record clean and jerk in the 105kg class is 263kg, this equates to an impressive 2.5x bodyweight. But when compared to the 56kg class record which is 168kg you can see that the lighter man has the better relative strength, over 3x bodyweight! In my gym when we do max testing the lighter guys always win the contest when you look at the results from a relative point of view even though the heavier guys always lift more weight. But who do the bragging rights really belong to? Well hopefully this method will help to settle the argument once and for all!
The 2/3’s power formula is a handy method for comparing the two lifters to decide who is actually the stronger.
Here’s an example: In the first instance the lighter individual is relatively stronger than the heavier individual with a 2.14x bodyweight lift versus a 2x bodyweight lift.
But we know that lighter individuals are always going to be relatively stronger than heavier individuals, so using the 2/3rd’s power formula we can determine who is actually the strongest.
Firstly the formula is as follows:
Now don’t get concerned about the maths element to this, you really don’t need to have a maths degree to figure it out, all you need is a calculator with a power to button which all scientific calculators have!!
Using the example above the figures are inserted into the formula (I have started with the heavier individual first):
This gives us the value of 9.14 which is the multiplier for the comparison between the lifts.
Using this multiplier we can see that the formula for the 70kg individual:
So the value that the 70kg individual needs to lift is unknown, but the formula can be rearranged very simply to calculate this figure:
The value comes to 157kg, So in actual fact in the example shown, the heavier individual is the strongest, as the lighter individual would need to lift 7kg extra to be equally as strong.
For maximal strength lifts this is the way you would compare lifts with more accuracy than the relative strength comparison. This formula is also really handy for S&C coaches when comparing workloads during training blocks both between the same individual and between athletes of different bodyweights. You just insert the number of reps and sets into the formula and work it out the same way.
You can compare men with women as well with this formula but it may be slanted slightly due to gender differences.
Don’t be put of buy the maths, its like an S&C version of brain training to keep you younger for longer whilst at the same time improving your programmes!
Thats all for now, my brain is fried from all this…….keep training hard guys and let me know if you found this useful.
BC
A few tweaks…..
Posted by: | CommentsHi Readers,
As you can see my website has a new layout and has been tweaked slightly over the last few months. I’m hoping this will make it easier to bring you more quality content which is my goal for the next few months! I know that some of the links etc are still not fully functional which is a bit of a nightmare but it will be all live very soon! My intention is to keep writing quality blog posts and putting out cutting edge strength and conditioning information for you guys to improve your coaching and your athletes.
I am writing this post from my sofa with ice on my ankle after a tough Judo session last night. Judo is an extremely tough martial art. I read an interesting tweet by Dave Camarillo ( a judo and BJJ black belt) who said that the journey to Jiu Jitsu black belt is a much longer one than Judo, but the path to a Judo blackbelt is more mentally and physically demanding. I love both these arts so watch this space over the next few years and ill let you know how it goes! I have been doing BJJ for nearly 10 years and i’m a purple belt so the journey is certainly a long one, but every step so far has been enjoyable and that is the most important thing!
Another BJJ and judo practitioner is my friend and MMA athlete Danny Mitchell. Since January he has gone from being 98kg down to 75.8kg on the weigh-in for his world title fight on May 7th. The principles used for this weight cut are taken from my studying nutrition along with years spent working with Danny on this side of his programme combined with his considerable knowledge. We are putting this into an ebook which will be a solid educational and practical guide that I would highly recommend to any combat athlete. Send me an email if you want to be on the mailing list for this product in the next few months or so, I guarantee it will change your training and nutrition outlook!
Anyway thats all for now, watch out for a few extras added to the site in coming weeks guys and keep training hard!
Brendan
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