Minute Drills!

For todays workout I did some minute drills. For those who have not heard of the term its basically another name for a circuit of exercises done back to back for a set time limit and for a number of rounds. I usually choose to do 6 exercises in each round, doing each exercise for 30 seconds, this makes each round 3 minutes in length. I then rest for 30 seconds before repeating the drill. You can change them up each time though and do them pretty much however you want, 2 minute rounds, 5 minute rounds, whatever you feel like. You make the workout based around your ability.

For todays minute drills I did the following....

30s of Burpees
30s of Mountain Climbers
30s of Jumping Jacks
30s of Squat Thrust (with push ups)
30s of Split Jumps
30s of Grasshoppers

x 5 ROUNDS (30s rest between rounds)


I usually make time to do a minute drill workout like this once a week although every week I'll mix up which exercises I use so the workout never gets repetitive. There are endless amounts of workouts you can create using the minute drill protocol and they are really useful for days when you want to workout at home without comprimising the intensity of your workout. 4-6 rounds of minute drills is usually more than enough and will give your whole body a great workout, oh yeah, and your heartrate will go through the roof!

Todays workout

Today I did a workout with my partner that although brief, really worked the whole body and was high in intensity. Its a variation of a workout taken from Ross Enamaits strength and conditioning book called 'Never Gymless' (see www.rosstraining.com). The workout is a circuit training type drill split into two parts, the first part focussing on the lower body and the second part focusing on the upper. As usual the aim was to finish the whole workout as fast as possible. It started with 5 rounds of part 1 followed immediatley by 5 rounds of part 2. Rest came on an as needed basis. By the end we where both beat and left in heap. A great workout done in less than 15 minutes!

Part 1
10 Burpees
20 Lunges
30 Bodyweight squats

X 5 ROUNDS ....then

Part 2
10 Pull ups
20 Push ups
10 Medicine ball slams

x 5 ROUNDS

Finish time - 14.49

The Importance of Neck Training

I read this article today about the science behind a knockout and it confirmed what many old time boxing trainers have known for years and that is that neck strength plays an important role in defending against a knockout blow. A KO occurs due to trauma of the brain which happens as a result of a blow of sufficient force to the head. If powerful enough the blow will cause an acceleration of the brain within its cerebral fluid causing it to rebound back and forth hitting the inside walls of the skull. The trauma that results from this can cause the brain to simply shutdown resulting in what we call a knockout. A brutal example of the knockout punch was given late in 2009 when Ricky Hatton took on pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao and suffered a devestating KO loss, as shown in the clip below.



So what then can we do to help minimise the risk of suffering a knockout. Well for years boxers have sworn by neck training. In the article mentioned above the author comments on how the sternocleidomastoids muscles (located on either side of the neck) can play a role in the absorbtion of blows to the head by acting as a buffer to the violent shake of the head that results from a strike. It mentions, briefly........

The sternocleidomastoids (SCM) -- one on each side of the neck -- are paired muscles, composed of the sternomastoid component that runs from the sternum to the mastoid process of the skull, immediately behind and below the ear, and the cleidomastoid muscle that runs from the clavicle to the mastoid. When flexed, the SCM rotates the head toward the opposing side. Flexing both SCMs in alternation shakes the head “no,” as one might if waving off an overly concerned ringside physician. Flexing them simultaneously flexes the neck forward and extends the head -- in the right circumstance resisting the force of a blow to the face. It’s why fighters often seem to be ducking into a punch.

Lets look then at how to train the neck The easiest way is to use our own bodyweight. I regularly use the exercise 'neck bridges' (as demonstrated in the video below) and can attest to their effectiveness for neck training. They are simple to do and only take a few minutes to complete. 1-2 times a week should be enough and over time you can increase the intensity by holding a weight on the chest to give more resistance to the neck. Another option is neck curls which can be done using a relativley inexpensive piece of equipment called a neck harness (see ebay for cheap options). The neck harness is a good option for those looking to progress onto weighted neck work as increasing amounts of weight can be added to the harness as you build your neck strength. For those involved in combat sports there is nothing to lose but perhaps a lot to gain and the options listed above are both simple and inexpensive ways too target the neck muscles and hopefully help protect the combat athlete against a knockout when fighting in the ring or cage.



For more information on neck training for boxers and some variations of the neck bridge as well as other ideas check out Ross Enamaits informative article called The Chin, The Beard, The Knockout

Early Morning Run

Today I woke up earlier than usual due to the sun beaming in through my bedroom window. The weather looked really nice out and I was too awake to go back to sleep so I got dressed and decided to go out and take a long run. The furthest I have run continuously in the past was around 8 miles so I made it my aim to run 9 miles today. Whilst I enjoy running I was never to interested in long distance running but there is a reason for the longer runs at the minute however as I'm running a half marathon for charity later in the year (13.1 miles). The marthon takes place along the river humber and across the humber bridge which is where I take my weekly long run. Todays run was fun, I started out at a comfortably easy pace but sped up as the run progressed trying to run 9 miles at my predicted race pace. Running alongside the River Humber is really peacefull so early in the day, I feel lucky to have such a nice route so close to my home.

The river humber and the humber bridge on a clear morning

I run the 9 miles in 1 hour 8 minutes and 39 seconds which is about a 7.38 pace. Id like to run the half marathon in under 1 hour 40 minutes and realised when I got back I was running dead on the pace needed to acheive a 1:40 time in the half marathon, that is, 7.38 per mile! This was a coincidence however as I had forgotten to check what my targer pace was before leaving, I just knew it was somewhere between 7.30 and 7.45, ha! Although the half marathon is another 4 miles on top of todays run my time today gave me a lot of confidence that ill be able to achieve it by the time the half marathon arrives as I felt strong all the way through todays run and the pace was comfortable for me.

Welcome post

Me fighting my first amatuer bout (im the tall one!)

Welcome to my strength and conditioning blog. My name is Michael, im 23 years old and live in England. Over the past year I have competed as an amateur boxer, training daily both to prepare myself for the sport and simply for the enjoyment I get from training hard. I originally started getting into shape about 3 years back after years of inactivity. Whilst I had no issue with my weight, I was very unfit and had spent too many of my teenage years drinking, smoking and eating rubbish food. Deciding I could no longer go on living such an unhealthy lifestyle I wanted to get myself into shape. I began by cutting out the crap food and drink and quitting the ciggarettes. After getting my diet and bad habits sorted I began to get myself into shape with the eventual goal of becoming a part of the sport I admired most which was boxing. Fast forward two years of hard work and I was in the best shape of my life and decided it was about time to seek out a boxing gym which I soon did. This was the start of a whole other journey which resulted in me training for and winning my first amatuer fight six months later. I continued to box until early this year when, after getting sidelined with an injury, I was forced to stop competing as a fighter. Whilst im not competing I have more time to work on my fitness and decided I would write a blog to help keep on top of the work I do as well as to post any information or articles of interest.

The aim of my blog is simply to document the work I do and to post any useful information for both fighters and those interested in the strength on conditioning of combat fighters or simply those who like to train hard and follow a healthy lifestyle.