i don’t have any workout suggestions, but a couple points to add.
a guy i went to the police academy with could sprint like a bastard, and was awesome on the mat for about a minute. then he was worthless…he worked hard-just didn’t have endurance. i think he may be one of those weird people with a ton of fast twitch fibers.
also, when i used to compete in kickboxing, i was very relaxed. i found that some people that were more skilled would gas out faster than me, becuase they were tyring to hard to get everything right, all the time. you might be tensed up so much, that you’re burning excess enegry…
My diet looks something like this:
Almost no dairy, some cheese with food.
Breakfast: oatmeal with berries and a whey protein shake
Lunch: skinless chicken with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. Sometimes seared tuna instad of chicken.
Dinner: MO chicken, variety of veggies, potatoes, etc, protein shake. Sometimes fish and beef/pork.
I snack on random stuff in between from fruit to pretzels to nuts.
I try not to eat anything 2 hours before my grappling because I will puke if I have any food in my stomach. I could simply be running on empty. I could try eating something closer to my workout but need suggestions on stuff that has the lowest probability of making me puke.
[quote]DownAndOut wrote:
You got that right. Nothing touches grappling/wrestling when it comes to endurance and intensity.
But I know for a fact the guy im grappling with is really grappling, after all he is fighting ME
Ive done some in class experiments to prove to myself they really are in better shape.
For example, I will fight a guy who is not as good as me and keep him in a bad position where he has to expend twice the energy I have to just to stay alive.
By the end of the match, im still more gassed out than he is and he used a lot more force and energy than I did, and even freely admits to this when I ask him about it. “Do you think you used a lot more energy than me during that match”??? Reply: Oh hell yes, I was in trouble the whole time.
Im just going to keep pushing, eat well, take my multi vitamins and suck down my Low Carb Grow!
[/quote]
That’s a very subjective “test” there. You are assuming that you have him where you want him and he assumes that he is working harder than you. It could simply be that your technique for what you are doing isn’t up to snuff, not that you aren’t “better than him” (whatever that really means), just that for what you were doing at the time, you need to work on the technique. Also, was he heavier than you or at least able to use his weight more efficiently?
Anyway, if we put aside technique and assume that your and his statements are correct, then maybe you could PM someone like TriGWU or jsbrook to post some of their tips on cardiovascular endurace.
Granted, I personally think you might be better served by focusing in on some hardcore GPP and other muscular endurance activities (particuarly working on grip strength-endurance), but that’s just my opinion on the matter.
I started thinking about this some more, and Chad Waterbury’s “deadlift walks” or good ol’ fashioned farmers walks might help too (maybe with some very heavy dumbbells if you don’t have anything else to work with). You’ll get some muscular endurance AND grip work at the same time, especially if you have a thick bar. You’ll be working very hard while carrying and then a short break and start again. This is sort of (don’t miss that “sort of”, 'cause it isn’t that specific) akin to ground fighting in that you typically execute a technique, and then have a bit of time to gather thoughts. At least until you get to the point that everything flows very naturally.
I feel your pain, or should I say, I felt your pain. I was experiencing the same problems about 5 months back. It was driving me crazy. I’m 38 have been bodybuilding for 6 years. Over the past year I was seeing no gains, and when I say no gains, I mean NO gains. Not only was I seeing no gains but I also could barely make it through an hour long workout. It was freaking me out something fierce and I was almost ready to just give up and throw in the towel.
I finally decided to have my bloodwork done and my heart checked out. I also had an endoscoopy. I found out two things - One I had a hiatal hernia which can make you feel like death especially if you lift…two - My testosterone level was 24. twenty friggin 4…That’s low. very low. Anyway, I am now on test cyp and feel great. You should have your bloodwork done. ALL bloodwork.
I have also grappled in a similar manner. We changed partners every 5 minutes for about 45 minutes without rest and its difficult. But, I personally would really pay attention to how much effort you are putting into it. Meaning, are you staying relaxed and trying to focus on technique or are you using all your energy to overcome your opponent? Many people forget to breathe when they grapple and use way too much muscular strength(especially big guys). Don’t try to overpower your opponents, try to outsmart them. Also, I would seriously consider giving burpees and sandbag training a go. Rounds of real burpees and throwing a sandbag around will mimic the demands of grappling much better than runnning, although I would do that too. Try hill sprints. All the advice regarding blood test sounds good as well. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks for all the help guys. Im going to go to yet another doc in a few weeks and get everything checked out again.
Sleeping well is difficult for me, and I think that is probably a big part of my problem.
Low testosterone could definitely be a problem as well. I took an online quiz and scored a 7/10 when only 3 are required. Doh!
As for the grappling, trust me, im pretty relaxed and using technique over strength and power, because the fact is, I just dont have the strength/power/endurance. I win my matches only because of technique.
I observe myself and others closely and what really convinced me that it was something other than using too much stength,etc, was the fact that during our warm up, I would leave sweat soaked spots all over the matts and would be sucking wind when everyone else in class was barely breaking a sweat.
Got my blood test results. Everything checked out fine. I also got a testosterone check and mine came out to be 485. Range is 330-1010
I did the math and im in the bottom 1/5th of what is considered the normal range for a male my age, but im starting to wonder if this is too low for someone who really needs to get stronger and gain more endurance.
Im fighting fatique and still have poor recovery times although my submission grappling has helped a lot, it seems ive hit a wall.
What do you guys think? If your testosterone was 485, would you consider it an issue??
I’m 48 and heavily involved in martial arts. There are days I see stars they work me so hard. Two weeks ago for the first time in my life I had to step off the matt and sit down. Two things really help when I get like this: 1) I clean up my diet (biggest help) 2). I up the Oly lifts and add some hill sprints and it goes away. Hang in there we can still open a can of whup *ss on those youngsters.
Yeah I hear ya man. I started doing hill sprints, and they are helping. For the first time in a long time, I didnt not gas out tonight grappling.
I was schooling a guy with a 60lb advantage on me the whole match. I took my time, and maintained a dominant position. It was a great feeling
Hill sprints for me on off days.
[quote]jamej wrote:
I’m 48 and heavily involved in martial arts. There are days I see stars they work me so hard. Two weeks ago for the first time in my life I had to step off the matt and sit down. Two things really help when I get like this: 1) I clean up my diet (biggest help) 2). I up the Oly lifts and add some hill sprints and it goes away. Hang in there we can still open a can of whup *ss on those youngsters.[/quote]
As one who incorporates MMA for work purposes, Law Enforcement, I must say the the overall best, most efficient method of developing anaerobic capacity and to a lesser degree, aerobic capacity, is by following a Tabata protocal, as mentioned earlier.
In about 3 weeks by resistance (weights) and sets have both imcreased and my BPM have decreased. It is a gruelling workout and I do it AFTER my resistance training, which is alos intense. Having said that, be sure you are physical fit enough to complete it, perhaps get a doctor’s approval.
Another point, how often do you weight train/MMA train per week. Same days or different. If you are interest, I can give more details aw well as some of the comments from my athletes.
