Inspiration from Team Hoyt

Hi Guys & Girls,

Today I wanted to share a couple of videos with you.

I first heard of the Hoyt team a couple of years ago but recently re-watched these videos.

I can't do them justice, take a few minutes to watch them, simply put they are incredible.

As Dick Hoyt says

“Yes you can.

You can do anything that you want to do as long as you make up your mind.

You can do it.”

Your sport might not be endurance racing, I know mine isn't, but the dedication and perseverance show by Dick and Rick still inspires me as I go about my training.

Train hard, live happy

Bradbury

Patience & Reward

Hi Guys & Girls.

Very interesting week.  After my last post on discipline I set off with renewed determination to my training.

Tuesday 4th Dec:
Strength
1) BB Hang Power Snatch + Hang Snatch 3+1 / 2+1 / 1+1 / 1 (Hang Snatch)
   - Basically on the last rep of each set I would descend into the full overhead squat, snatch receive position.

2) Deadlift 4 x 6-8  (actually achieved 8,7,7,5) @ 115kg

3a) L-sit to Handstand (attempted) 3 x 5
3b) 1 DB Windmills 3 x 8 per side (40lb)

4) L-Sit to headstand to Reverse leg lift 1 x 5 - Cheeky little complex gymnastic movement here, I may post a video soon as its a nice little move, I was just playing around with it here.

5a) Around the world Pull ups 3 x 8  - Start from a deadhang, the wider your grip the more challenging, pull your body up to one side (or one hand), then move your body straight along the bar to the other hand without lowering, then lower back down to the middle.  Repeat the other way.
5b) BB Push press 3 x 6-8 (50kg-55kg)

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Wednesday 5th Dec:

Strength

1) Power Clean x 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (60kg-70kg)

2) Front Squat 4 x 6-8  (actually achieved 8, 7, 7, 7) @ 70kg

3a) Planche practice (flat tuck) 4 x (5x2 sec)

3b) L / Y / W / T shoulder exercises 4 x 15 reps each

4a) One arm Press ups 3 x 8 per side

4b) One arm DB rows 3 x 8 per side (95-100lbs)

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Thursday 6th Dec:

My Birthday!

So before work I managed 1 hour of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training with a friend.

Otherwise it was a rest day.

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And that is where is all started to go a bit down hill.

Unfortunately on Thursday night I went down with a stinker of a cold / mild flu which over the last few days has settled on my chest causing me to not be able to elevate my breathing without suffering painful coughing fits.  (probably not helped by working outdoors in temperatures down to -15 C)

A lot of people working on the ski resort have come down with similar illness's (one even being diagnosed with Bronchitis).

However...there is always something you can do.

So, despite the fact that I have been finding this very infuriating I have been staying focused on the elements that will enable me to make as quick of a recovery as possible while losing as little ground as possible training wise.  Principally this has been down to nutrition and rest.

I have trying to focus my energy on regular eating, balanced meals with as much veg, healthy fats and lean protein as possible.  I've tried to keep my hydration levels up (pee should be clear) and avoided alcohol.

The problem is, as stated above, it was my Birthday this week which means there has been all kinds of temptations: chocolate cake, going out for drinks, sweets and other things which when enjoyed in balance (and small quantities) can be fine but when trying to recover from a nasty illness they should be avoided at all costs.  My staff allowance of one hot drink a day at work has been changed from a salt and sugar laden hot chocolate to green tea.

I am not trying to blow my own trumpet here, the point I'm trying to make is that we are all going to have set backs, mine happened to be this illness.  Some will be fleeting and some will be a longer road to recovery. But you must try not to lose hope and give into despair.  Don't throw away all of your hard work and dedication, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO!

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas Edison

On this theme I am please to announce that my home club of Carlson Gracie Camberley had their annual grading on Friday night.  Several members of the team received new belts (and the whipping that goes with them).  I think pretty much every one of these guys has had set backs through illness, injury and issues in their personal lives which have threatened to impact upon their training.  But they have carried on with patience and dedication to their goal.  For some it has taken years to earn their new belts, they have had high's and low's and they are far from finished on their journeys but they act as the perfect illustration of staying focused to achieving a goal.  Congratulations guys, you know who you are!

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” - Thomas Edison

Daniel Commane's the day after receiving his Purple belt, and the whipping that comes with it.

So, I am going to keep resting up, trying my best to avoid the lure of chocolate and junk food not matter how comforting it might seem.  Training will resume when I am full recovered but the blog will continue.

Train hard, live happy

Bradbury

A Question of Discipline

I've been thinking a lot recently about discipline.
Particularly discipline in training to achieve goals.

In my day to day I get a lot of people talking to me about their fitness ambitions and dreams.

"I really hate being fat, I want to lose this weight and tone up.  I'm going to start running again."

This is a pretty typical statement and people often say it with such purpose but then when I see these people a few months later they don't seem to have changed and when I talk to them it is obvious that they are still engaged in the same lifestyle, drinking & eating habits or lack of exercise that they were before.

When it comes to health, fitness or sporting goals it seems that a lot of people want to achieve their ambitions without changing anything they are doing.  It's not rocket science, if you don't make changes then nothing will change.

Don't get me wrong here.  I'm not criticising other people's choice of lifestyle, if you want to go out every weekend (and maybe mid-week too) and drink a load of beer or wine.  Or if you really love eating pizza and McDonalds several times a week then that is your choice, it's your life.
What annoys me is when the same people then bitch and moan about not being in the shape that they want to be.

It's your life, it's your body.  If you really want to change it then you can but you are going to have to show some commitment to your goals and (shock horror) possibly sacrifice some of the things which are holding you back.  That's discipline.

On a very simplistic level it can be said that most of us are living the way we want to.  The person who say's that they want to have six-pack Abs but then sit's on their sofa all evening watching TV and eating ice cream has made their decision.  They have voted with their actions.  They obviously want ice cream and TV more than they want visible Abs, even if it's just that few seconds that they are eating the ice cream.  I'm sorry but if you wanted the six-pack enough then you would muster the discipline to not eat crap.

That may sound harsh and I do believe that there are exceptions but it's a theory that actually helps me to stay on track with my goals.  This may come as a revelation to some of you but chocolate and sweets are actually really tasty!  And even I think it would be really nice to eat loads of them everyday but I don't because I know that, for multiple reasons, if I did then I wouldn't achieve the fitness, health and sporting goals that I have set myself.

Every bite of food, every action and every decision can be put into one of two categories:
Will this help achieve my goals, or will it hinder them?

Ask yourself this next time you are doing your food shopping or trying to decide what to do for the weekend.  Chances are you already know the answer, the real question is:

'Do you want it badly enough?'

Are you willing to sacrifice having a sugary snack that you don't really need, or another beer or watching another episode of X-factor instead of doing a workout?

Health and Fitness doesn't have to be complicated.  Everyone know that Broccoli is better for you than cake and that getting up off your backside and doing something, ANYTHING active is more likely to melt fat away than just sitting like a zombie in front of the TV.  However only a relatively small proportion of people actually show enough discipline to achieve the goals they set themselves.

So next time you think about your fitness goal ask yourself:
'Do I really want this?'
If the answer is yes, then do it.
Step by step, with every positive choice, you inch yourself closer to succeeding.
Overnight fitness doesn't exist and skills take time to develop but if you look at the people at the top of their game they got there through consistent dedication and discipline to their cause.

It won't always be easy, some days you will want to give in but if you want something and you stay disciplined, you will achieve it.  And how awesome will that be!

Here is a short video that exemplifies some of my point.  David Smith's story is obviously a dramatic one but he took it one step at a time with consistent discipline.

Train hard, live happy
Bradbury

My Week in training

Hey guys & girls,

Good week of training this week, coming towards the end of this simple program so things will be changing up in a couple of weeks.  A lot of work squeezed in and some different exercises so any questions, just drop a comment below.

Sunday 25th Nov:

Strength session - I have now moved onto the next phase in this current simplistic cycle of strength training, so once again the rep range has gone down slightly, to 6-8 reps for most exercises, and the weights will be going up.

1) BB Hang Clean & Jerk 4 x 3-4 (40kg-60kg)

2) Front Squats 4 x 7-8 (67.5kg-70kg)

3a) Planche practice (tuck/flat tuck) 4 x (5 x 2 sec hold)

3b) L-Sit hold 4 x max

4a) One arm DB row 3 x 8 per side (80-95lbs)

4b) BB narrow grip bench press 3 x 8 (70-75kgs)

5a) Windmills 3 x 5 per side (35lbs)

5b) Handstand practise 3 x max

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Monday 26th Nov:

Conditioning session

30 sec intervals (with no rest in between) of:

- Burpees (sprawl, lateral jump, no press up)

- BB Hang Power clean & power jerk (60lbs)

- Star Jumps

- 2 DB Split Snatch (2 x 25lbs)

- T-press ups (2 x 25lbs)

- Mountain climbers

Repeated for 2 rounds (6 mins total)

REST 5 mins

Tabata intervals (20 sec work, 10 sec rest) repeated for 6 mins of:

- Pull up to press up

- BB Landmines (w/10kg plate)

REST 5 mins

Repeat of first set (30 sec intervals x 6 mins)

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Tuesday 27th Nov:

Rest Day - Putting in a long day at work and giving the muscles time to recover and grow!

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Wednesday 28th Nov:

Strength session

1) BB Snatch 3 x 3 (50-52.5kg)

2) Deadlift 3x8 + 1x6 (110kg - 115kg)

3a) Back Lever practice 3 x (5x2 sec hold) flat tuck / partial straddle

3b) Front Lever practice 3 x (5x2 sec hold) straddle

4) Muscle ups (rings) 3 x 8 (top up each set with pull ups) - achieved 5, 4, 4 muscle ups

5) 1 DB overhead press x 10 + 20 sec hold x3 sets  (lats engaged during hold)

+ BJJ training with partner x 60 mins

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Thursday 29th Nov:

Conditioning session

Crossfit session with a training partner. "Fran"

Thrusters (100lbs / 45kg)

Pull ups (kipping allowed)

x 21, 15, 9 reps of each

Completed in 7.27

Rested for a few mins, then

Row x 30 sec (high pace)

Burpees x 30 sec (recovery)

x 6 rounds

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Friday 30th Nov:

Strength session

1) Power Clean 3 x 3 (60-65kg)

2)  Front Squats 2x8 + 2x6 (70kg)

3a) DB Alt. chest press 3 x 6-8 (2x70-75lbs)

3b) Inverted row 3x8 (pause at top)

4a) Planche practice 3 x (5x2sec) (flat tuck)

4b) L / Y / W shoulder exercises 3 x 15

4c) Symmetrical Deadbugs 3 x 30 sec per side

4d) Handstand practice 3 x max

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Saturday 1st Dec:

BJJ training (with partner) x 60 mins

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Sunday 2nd Dec:

Conditioning session:

So today I decided to re-test a session from about 6 weeks ago (17th Oct).

10 Pull ups (kipping allowed)

10 DB swings each arm

10 Plyometric (clap) Press ups

10 Knee Tuck jumps

Try not to rest in between exercises, then rest as necessary between sets

Last time I managed to get 10 rounds, this time I got 11 rounds and had 40 seconds spare (so hopefully 12 rounds next time!)

A nice little improvement, happy with that.  But I feel there is more so must push on and try for more next time!

Train hard, live easy

Bradbury

A few words on Injury ...and this weeks training

Hey guys and girls,

Another great week of training with some real ups and downs.

During my Monday session I felt tension in my lower back (sacrum area) during my first exercise (the snatch).  I decided to ignore it and push on with my Deadlift.  This is a classic case of not taking my own advice.  If I had been training a client and they had told me they were feeling this pain then I would have found an alternative but being an idiot I didn’t and I promptly spent the rest of the day in discomfort and not able to move properly.

Although the effects of this disappeared by the next day it is still worth noting that on reflection I do not believe that I made the right decision here.  This kind of pain should never be ignored or played down.  The pain of fatigue during a tough conditioning session, this you can (and to a certain extent) should ignore.  But any unusual tweaks, aches or other pains during exercise need to be treated with respect.

There is no point in risking injury for a couple more reps, sets minutes or seconds.  You only get one body and you can only build it into the machine that you want it to be if you preserve it from being damaged unnecessarily.

I put this lesson into practise on Friday when doing my deadlift, on the final set I could feel my form wavering.  I wanted to get a final rep out but knew that it wasn’t worth compromising my form and possibly my back.  I know that this wariness came from my little tweak on Monday and that I might make the same mistake a few months down the line but hopefully the lesson will stick!

I have seen guys allow themselves to be injured during Jiu-Jitsu sparring simply because their ego wouldn’t allow them to tap until they had to.  Whatever type of training you are involved in, it is essential that you respect the potential damage it could do to your body and adjust accordingly.  Developing strength, skill and/or fitness is a long term game and avoiding injury is essential in ensuring that you make it to the finish line!

That said, some injuries are out of your control!

Just yesterday (Friday) I went out snowboarding after my workout, I thought I was doing quite well but ended up taking a tumble and hurting my right knee and my ribs.

After a quick check over in the infirmary at the slopes it was decided that no ribs were broken and they have steadily improved since then.

My knee however isn’t feeling great.  I have a pain down the inside edge of my knee joint which I suspect is a strain or partial tear on my medial collateral ligament.  I know that I did a similar injury last year while sparring at Jiu-Jitsu.

Time will tell how serious it is but until then I am going to play it sensible.  If anything aggravates it then I will stop doing it.  Eating right, plenty of sleep and good mobility work will all help.

Respect injuries, allow them to repair and come back stronger and wiser. If you push yourself to hard, to soon and don’t allow time to recover then you risk re-injury and an even lengthier delay in your progress.

Anyway, here is what I have been up to training wise this week.

Any questions, leave a comment below.

Monday 19th November:

Strength session

1)      BB Snatch 3-5 x 3-5

2)      Deadlift 4 x 10 (105kg)

3a) L, Y & W Shoulder pre-hap exercises 3 x 12-15 each

3b) BB overhead press 3 x 10

Tuesday 20th November:

Strength session

1)      Hang Power cleans 3-4 x 5

2)      Front squats 4 x 10 (62.5kg – 65kg)

3a) Back Lever (flat tuck) 3 x (5 x 2 sec holds)

3b) Front Lever (straddle) 3 x (5 x 2 sec holds)

4a) Inverted bodyweight rows 3 x 10

4b) Ring dips 3 x 10

Wednesday 21st November:

Recovery day – everyone needs them! (also I got up at 4.20am to start work at 6am and worked until 4.30pm!

Thursday 22nd November:

Conditioning session

Decided to re-visit a session that I only did a couple of weeks ago.

Tabata intervals (20 sec high pace work, 10 sec rest) Repeated for 6 minutes

Alternating between-

Bar facing burpees & BB Hang power clean and push press (60lbs)

Then with no rest straight into a progressive run

Set treadmill to 2% incline and 5mph, increase the speed by 0.3mph every 20 seconds until failure.

Rest for 5 minutes then repeat for 3 rounds.

On my second round all the treadmills were occupied so I just rowed at a moderate-high pace for 5 minutes.

1^st round (progressive run) beat 9.2mph and covered 0.63 miles

3^rd rounds beat 8.9mph and covered 0.54 miles

On all rounds I was trying to achieve a minimum of 8 burpees and 7-8 clean & press every 20 seconds.

Tough little session, especially mentally.  Knowing that you can give up at any stage on the progressive run but trying to push it and keep going is a real battle with yourself.

I felt supercharged for the rest of the day after this one.

Friday 23rd November:

Strength session

1)      1 DB Snatch x 5 per side (alternating), x 4 per side, x 3 per side

2)      Deadlifts 3x8, 1x7 (@ 110kg)

3a) Handstand practice 3 x max hold

3b) Symmetrical Deadbugs 3 x 30 sec per side

4a) 1 Arm negative assisted pull ups 3 x 5 per side

4b) 2 DB neutral grip overhead press 3x8, 1x7

5a) DB Windmills 3 x 5p per side (very light weight, just re-training movement)

5b) Cable face pull to external rotation 3 x 12

Saturday 24th November:

BJJ partner drills x 45 mins

Train hard, live happy

Bradbury

Raising the bar

Couple more days of sessions for you.

Friday:
Strength day

1. BB Full squat Cleans 3 x 3

2. Front squats 4 x 10 (62.5kg)

3a. BB Bench press 3 x 10
3b. Free hanging Inverted bodyweight rows 3 x 10 (Hanging from a bar, pulling myself up horizontal, legs crunches up, then doing horizontal rows from there)

4a. Arch rocks 3 x 15
4b. Hollow body rocks 3 x 15

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Saturday:

BJJ partner drills & sparring x 60 mins

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Sunday:

Conditioning Benchmark session

100 Rope turns

10 Burpees (no sprawl, full squat to squat thrust, no press up)

10 Press ups

10 Bodyweight squats (full R.O.M.)

10 Pull ups (no kipping)

x 10 rounds as quickly as possible

Last time (23 Oct, almost 4 weeks ago) I finished this in 32min 50 sec and it felt tough.

I was pretty tired from a week at work but once I got into the swing of this I felt like I was going well.

Managed to finish today in 27min 35 sec (taking over 5 minutes off my previous time)

I was really happy with this but about 5 minutes after finishing I had major blood sugar level crash and felt rubbish.  Still, overall very pleased with the result.

Again, second attempts at benchmark sessions often yield good gains so it will be interesting to see how I fair in subsequent attempts.

Keep pushing yourselves people!

Train hard, live happy

Bradbury

BJJ Kimonos / Gi's

Hey Guys and Girls (especially the fighters amongst you)

Just a quick one.  If you train BJJ or No-Gi grappling then I highly recomment this website.

www.blacksamurai.co.uk

They stock a lot of Keiko kit.
I have a Keiko Gi myself and I can highly recommend them, they are very high quality but until now have been quite hard to get hold of in the UK.

They also stock IBJJF standard No-Gi competition tops which you need for most No-Gi tournaments.

Bit of a plug I know, but for any BJJ Kimonos (Gi's), sweet Gi material kit bags, shorts and street wear then check it out.

More training info coming soon guys

Train hard, live happy
Bradbury

p.s. - I will not benefit financially if you buy anything from this website, I just believe that they offer great kit at very decent prices.