Author: Ben

From the very first time you stepped into kickboxing or Muay Thai class, chances are you were excited and impatient to learn how to throw a devastating high kick. Traditional thinking leads you to believe that the only way to attain the flexibility required is to practice your splits, over and over, day after day. For individuals constantly strength training it can sometimes feel like a futile pursuit as the splits seem to never get significantly closer to the ground. There are a few quality stretch programs available specifically for martial artists, probably the best being the Elastic Steel series (www.elasticsteel.com).

Even though my own splits are still not very impressive at all, my high kicks have significantly improved by using the following stretch routine before each training session.

Always remember to do some type of warmup before stretching such as skipping rope for 5 min and take each stretch to the point where it becomes a little uncomfortable but never painful.

Hip Swings 1

Hip Swings 2

Perform 12 controlled hip swings on each leg.

Knee Circles

Perform 6 large knee circles in a clockwise direction and 6 in an anticlockwise direction on each leg.

Straight Leg Circles

Perform 6 large straight leg circles in a clockwise direction and 6 in an anticlockwise direction on each leg.

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 1

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 2

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 3

Perform each Adductor Stretch and Static Hold 5 times on each leg. Hold each stretch and static hold position for 5 sec.

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 1

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 2

Chamber the Kicking Knee

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 2

Adductor Stretch & Static Hold 3

Perform 5 Adductor Stretch & Static Hold with Knee Chamber repetitions on each leg.

Chamber Stretch 1

Chamber Stretch 2

Perform 5 repetitions on each leg of the Chamber Stretch.

Chamber Stretch 1

Chamber Stretch 2

Chamber Extension

Chamber Stretch 1

Perform 5 Chamber Stretches with Kick Extensions on each leg.

After completing all of the stretches above feel free to do your splits. You should notice a significant difference in the maximum height of your kicks after only a few weeks. Now it’s time to teach your sparring partners the value of keeping their guard up!

If you are a client of VTC the casual mention of a set of Tabatas probably makes you immediately anxious. An honestly maximal set of Tabata intervals is one of those experiences that is both brutally painful and an incredibly effective conditioning tool.

Since the initial 1996 study conducted by Tabata, Nishimura, Kouzaki, et al the original time intervals, repetitions, and intensities have been experimented on by an enormous number of trainers and trainees trying to improve upon it. Even with all the variations on the first study, it seems that the 8 sets of 20 second maximal sprint coupled with 10 sec rest periods remains the most effective. The catch of course, is that the intervals have to be done at 100% intensity (170% of VO2Max in the 1996 study), something that alot of people seem reluctant to do.

Ed after a Tabata Set... Way to practice what you preach Ed. Now get up for round 2!!!

So if you think you are tough enough or just a glutton for punishment during your workouts, bang out a set of hard Tabata intervals during your next workout (I “like” using sprawl tuck jumps, hill sprints, or sled pushes for best results). Better still, come d

own to VTC and let one of the trainers make sure you’re not leaving a little in the tank during your set.

Happy training!

So are you ready? This summer are you going to be rocking a Speedo or a Snuggie when you hit the beach? A Mankini or a Mumu? Even if you have been training hard, chances are your current “condition” is mainly a product of you dietary habits. You need to see your body for what it is, a fat storing, anti-starvation machine. The human body stores fat as an emergency energy source in case we get stuck in the desert miles from nowhere with nothing to eat. Once you understand why our body stores fat it becomes easy to understand why it is so easy to put it on but so hard to take it off.

One of the most effective approaches I have used to date to help clients, fighters, and myself to get lean and avoid any type of rebound is the paleo type/caveman diet approach. While most dietary plans can get fairly crazy specific with weighing foods and counting Calories, this approach to nutritional programming is fairly strightforward and can lead to some very enlightening discoveries on how your body handles several types of food. The premise is simple, if a caveman had access to the food you can eat it! That means no donuts, pizza, creme brulles and bread. I know you are upset right now but you can still eat those foods as your cheat meals (limited to 1-2 meals per week). When you revisit your favorite cheat meals you may be surprised by how well (or badly) your body reacts to them.

So the actual guidelines are fairly simple:

1. Eat some type of quality protein (eg. lean beef, salmon, chicken, bison) at each meal

2. Eat every 2.5-4 hrs never skipping breakfast

3. Avoid dairy and grains (these are amongst the most common food allergens and you may be surprised at how good you feel once you are eating them only as cheat meals)

4. Stop crying about point 3

5. Avoid processed foods

6. Vary your foods as much as possible

7. Gravitate towards fibrous carbs (eg. broccolli, mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini) and dark fruit (eg. blueberries, cherries, apples, plums)

8. Don’t be afraid of good quality fat sources (eg. fish oil, olive oil, walnuts, almonds, pecans, avocado)

Apply these simple changes to the way you choose your meals and you will be surprised at how fast your body responds.

For any further questions please contact me at ben@versustraining.com

It’s that time again, around the world millions of people are now vowing that “next year is going to be different”! As the month of January progresses sadly most of these resolutions will fall to the wayside and the bad habits will return. The reason for most failed resolutions is usually a lack of planning and specificity.

This year to help you to succeed formulate an intelligent plan to maximize your chances of success. One of the best way to plan your is to set SMART goals. SMART goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Simply sitting down and hashing out the details of your goals will help you design an effective and realistic plan.

A positive support network is important in forming any new behaviors and one very easy way to get a visual on how you are doing is to buy a calender and track your workouts meals etc.

One of the most simple, but effective, things you can do in your efforts to either get as lean as possible or to add as much muscle as possible is to change the way you think about your food. One of the best approaches to maximizing the results you get is to ask yourself every time you are about to eat something “Is this helping me to get to my goal?”. Most people will convince themselves that “one little chocolate bar won’t hurt”, but is it helping you? Apply this strategy and you will be making far less excuses for your diet and your results will come much, much faster.