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Mike Leng
27th July27 Jul 2010 3:32PMHey guys
As I'm currently trapped on a train to good old London I thought I would write some random crap down.
Trimming down is still going well and have dropped weights down to 3 a week (push, pull, legs) then 3-4 cardio plus NEPA. Still retaining strength with the odd gain but obviously no where near optimal. Soon going to add in some steady state stuff first thing in a fasted state as I've never played around with that before as I've always used intervals etc.
As far as Mma is going fitness is getting back up and shoulder is gaining mobility every week. Still part of the cripple club though "right here is a massive list of stuff we can't do to each other"...
As far as my actual game feels it's a bit hit and miss. Need to tighten up certain areas (leg lock defence, mount escapes) while trying to capitalise on my strengths (or what I feel are my strengths).
Stuff I'm loving;
• my own insanity (who lists protein bars and a skipping rope as their first items on a business trip?!)
•random trips to the cinema
• wasting time in book shops
• cheat days :)
Hope you are all ok, speak soon
Mike
Click here to read previous Blog entry's
15th July15 Jul 2010 1:59PM Hey guys,
Quick update on things rattling round my brain this morning;
• My Mma conditioning sucks. However forgot how much fun punching and slamming stuff, tyre flipping etc is! Time to bust out home circuits again
• Someone said to me recently that "if you do what you have always done, you're going to get what you always got". Thought this was great advice that really has me rethinking a lot of the stuff I do.
• Eminems new album is fantastic for training
• dieting sucks.
• Big thanks to caged steel once again for looking after fighters!
Thanks to all who have e mailed stuff you want to hear about!
Cheers
Mike
The Return12 Jul 2010 1:33PMHey guys
I know it's been fucking ages since I sorted this blog out and since people have been griefing me loads I thought I would do something about it!
Right so what the hell has been going on with me (apart from writing fuck all)? Well training has been going great and the shoulder is healing sloooooowly. To be honest I really need to do more pre Hab work with it rather than having temper tantrums when it hurts and throwing shit (then moaning again how it hurts).
However main goals at the moment are;
1) cut a bit of fat through the summer as I added I little to much while bulking
2) get shoulder fully healed
3) start competing.
I have a strong urge to compete at he moment but it's a no go considering I can barely wrestle without pain. Also need to get flexibility and reaction times back up to scratch as they are shot
Lots of people are asking me to do workout plans for them at the moment which is flattering as hell but a bit time consuming. Having great fun with it guys so keep em coming ( I still need e mail addresses from a couple of you though so get your fingers out yer arses!)
Things I am rocking at the moment;
• new iPhone (geektastic)
• realising this health stuff pays off as I watch people die trying to climb Roseburry topping (steep ass hill)
• reading random stuff
• re discovering old music
• walking no where in particular chatting about everything and nothing.
Getting back to writing and a couple of people have been asking about weight loss/gain stuff, e mail me if you have and suggestions
In a bit,
Mike
15th April15 Apr 2010 5:39PMHey Guys,
Hope everyone training is going well and people
are staying injury free (grumbles...).
Firstly an update on the shoulder. Its fucked.
Went to the Docs a couple of weeks ago and have been diagnosed with a completely separated collar bone and a torn tendon. There for we need to
go see a specialist and have surgery. However you can’t keep a good man
down, back to training on a regular basis now (despite the advice of
people close to me) on some weird body part split that allows me to
train everything without stressing the shoulder. Doing lots of
streching/foam rolling/mobility work to keep things smooth as well. Desperately want to get back on the mat but it’s totally off limits till
this is sorted.
Also want to wish the best of luck to all the
lads fighting at the Teeside Ultimate fight night. Been speaking to them
about their training and the bastards are looking like killers.
Random thoughts;
· I can’t have a good workout if I’m in a good
mood. I need to put myself in a place that makes me in a foul mood to
get the most out of it. I must look like a right moody bastard...
· Cain Vasquez in a beast
· GSP is a technique genius. I truly believe he may
be unbeatable. He however is becoming boring.
· Starting to wonder if over training is a myth
based on adequate rest and recovery. If it is real then I really believe
people need to do it more (with better recovery).
· Understanding how your mind works when going
through cuts and gains is really important. You will undoubtedly pick up
on peoples comments and turn them negative (you are looking skinny, you
have put on weight etc). I think the trick is to be truly single minded
and tell everyone to fuck off till you have completed your goal.
· The Triangle is the king of bed Jujitsu while
the pan is king of kitchen stand up.
I shall try to do these entrys more often, sorry
for being a lazy bastard.
Oh, and read James Doolan's blog, its awesome.
Mike
Coming out the tunnel10 Mar 2010 9:56PMWell Guys, Ive just finished my first proper weight session in 5 weeks and it felt fucking awesome!
Managed to do quite a bit but any form of horizontal pressing is out of the question due to the pain. Staying pretty light at the moment with high reps as I simply dont want to risk setting myself back.
One thing i have noticed is that as soon as I start training properly and eating right I feel instantly better about just about everything. This may be a mental thing more than a physical thing but I found that while I couldnt train stuff would bother me that wouldnt even phase me normally. On Monday morning I looked back at a full on paddy that I had on Sunday and realised that A) I shouldnt of got worked up as it was none of my business and B) reacting that way was just simply childish. How a mate didnt piss himself at me throwing shit and storming around like a nob is beyond me (sorry Neil).
I think that when we start to eat and train right we instantly feel better about everything as we are taking control of ourselves. We know that even though bad shit will happen its ok because we KNOW we have put ourselves through worse. Taking this control helps us face our demons to a point that trivial shit just simply fades away (and if you arent facing your demons you better start as they have no problem facing you).
As always shit I love
· Training (obviously)
· Random nights out
· Home made guccamole (sp?)
· Cold beers on a lazy Sunday
· Putting the world to rights with my brother.
Train hard kids...
Mike
24th Feb24 Feb 2010 11:54PMWith so much time off I have had a lot of time to think about stuff. One of the main things that has become apparent is that people will search for a way to give up.
While I have been sat on my arse going mad I have being trying to find ways to train not only around the injury but also effectively. Now just about everyone I have spoke to have said to rest and that there is no point even trying to train. Now im sorry but to me giving up is way harder than trying. With that in mind I have found numerous ways to get a workout including, steady state work, plyos, sprints and body weight excersizes so that I can work up a sweat.
I think that to many people try to find reasons to give up on dreams that they insist they want. If you ask anyone who achieved anything they will tell you they most probably went through hell to get it.
However this attitude has cost me in my experimentation (fuck it, I can do press ups.... *cue loud crunch, a popping sound then me hitting the floor in a ball screaming like a girl*) right laugh that was....
So as always training will continue (what do Doctors know anyway...). As always stuff im loving;
· Cooking, I actually miss cooking for someone though.
· Reading about nutrient timing
· Being taken down a peg or two, just so I can get back up (starts singing that shit song ‘the Climb’)
Keep training you lucky bastards...
20th Feb20 Feb 2010 8:44PMQuick update today guys,
Just want to say good luck to all the Akurei lads fighting today, give em hell lads!
Shoulder is mending quickly which is awesome, still no training though which fucking sucks (going mad).
Been talking to people recently on the subject of can you really change who you are? Personally I dont think that you can. You can try and hide it or consciously mask your actions for a period of time but you will always come back to who you are. Having recently gone through a period of time were I turned into something that I wasn’t I truly urge people to be true to themselves as when you come back you will truly regret it. As fighters and athletes we often have loved ones and friends trying to talk us out of doing something that you love, however this would not be true to who you are. I think it is important for us to be honest and honerable to ourselves or your hardest fights wont be taking place in the cage.
Stuff I am ‘feeling’;
· Jay Z (mans a genius)
· Avatar
· Having the ability to stop myself doing stupid shit as I do it (which manifests itself in the thought ‘what the fuck are you doing you pussy!’)
· Hopefully Mike shuting his critics up tonight.
16th Feb 16 Feb 2010 3:14PMAlright
Guys,
Well here
we are half way through Feb, how are you doing with those resolutions to
be the strongest/leanest most badass fighter that graced the earth? 1
and a half months is plenty of time to make good progress if you have
been strict, 12 pounds of fat lost or 5 pounds of lean muscle would
easily have been possible if you have been dedicated to your training
and diet. Hope you are all smashing your personal targets heading toward
that 3 month mark.
As for my
personal goals things were going well till the injury. Having stepped on
the scales this morning I have found out that I have lost 3 pounds in
the week and a bit that I have been out of action. Unfortunatly this is
in no way fat loss. I am quite confident that this will come back as
soon as I start training and eating again though (good old muscle
memory). Mobility is improving everyday though so hope to be at least
jogging by next week. Big thanks to the guys that have been helping me
with the mobility and recovery stuff!
List of
the stuff that I am into at the moment;
·
Inspirational Quotes (blame
Ian Butlins FB updates)
·
Movelat Gel, stuff really
helps with the pain, shall be trying to blag some more of this
·
Random function kicking out
the old skool tunes
·
A Doctor that actually
diagnoses through examination rather using a fucking crystal ball
·
Finally able to sleep due to
improved mobility in shoulder
Shit I
have distain for;
·
Not being able to train at all
·
Blackberry not sending E mails
·
The bastard voice in my head
that makes me do the right thing. Im sacking the fucker as he is no fun
at all.
·
Movelat Gel. Shit stinks.
Here is a
quote from a T-Nation reader on why he trains, thought it was pretty
cool
Pusharder
started a thread a long time ago in another forum that discussed this,
and I think he put it very well. He lives in the country & was
riding his horse when he was disturbed to discover a big wolf had been
following him for some time. He was alone, just him (& his horse)
and the wolf.
He said he discovered then why he really trains.
He trains
for when the wolf comes.
I do too.
If the wolf is
outside yourself, hopefully you can overcome it. If the wolf is inside
yourself, hopefully you can subdue it. Either way, training helps give
one the courage to face it head on.
Ta Raaaa
Mike
An unexpected tragedy12 Feb 2010 4:06PMSorry once again sorry for a lack of updates, as some of you may know I was recently a complete tit and fell down my stairs dislocating my shoulder and tearing 2 tendons. Not fun. This means I have missed out on a load of things that isnt limited to but includes
· A mates leaving do (hope Egypt is rocking mate)
· A mates 30th
· Reffing/judging at the Akurei Interclub (get well soon Rob)
· Mine and Taylors strength comp.
Because I have missed out on all those things I believe that I have missed out on/lost some important stuff (AGAIN). However as always we have a plan to turn it around (insert evil laugh here)
Since Taylor has been giving it the big un’ all over the place I cant wait to get better so I can crush the foolish old tart. We may have to replace pressing though mate....
As previously mentioned the Akurei Interclub went superbly with some great fights taking place. Our thoughts go to Rob who broke his shin on the day and now is laid up healing. Get well soon mate!
BIG THANKS to Caged steel who also sorted us out with some great prizes for the day! Truly a fantastic company!
So what the hell am I going to do for another 3 weeks without training (apart from go mad and be really short tempered with everyone)? I cant sit on my arse all that time and let everything go backwards so a couple of things have become a priority
1. Diet. Without weight training Im going have to drop my cals a bit and watch the carbs so I dont whack on the beef.
2. Low imapct cardio. So far this has just been walking but will try to get it up to skipping and some body weight stuff as I heal.
3. Mobility and streching work. Everyone should be doing this any way so nuff said.
4. Get fucking awesome at HD Trials for XBOX and watch shit loads of badass movies.
Cant tell you all how gutted I am, but this shit happens to everyone so lets see if we can take something from it.
Good health to all!
One Armed Mike.
26/01/201026 Jan 2010 8:42PMHey
Guys hope everything is going well for you all in 2010! So far its been
a great one for me, not only training wise but also work wise and in
the person life (that karma bitch must be right round the corner).
Firstly sorry for the lack of updates, Ive just been a lazy bastard.
Right
lets get straight into training! I have recently been told that I dont
explain myself enough when I do blogs and assume that everyone knows
what Im talking about. Well fuck you! You should know what Im talking
about, go read a book ;-)
Training
has been going great this year, Im back doing a split for the first
time in about 9 months and Im really enjoying it. Now before every twat
who can type comes out of the wood work and starts to tell me that full
bodies are better for fighters and athletes, I know they are. However
Ive decided to do a split for 2 reasons
1. I havent done one for donkeys and I thought it would be fun (you do remember training being fun, right?)
2. The extra volume will probably do me some good.
I
have also decided to enter a strength test with fellow blogger/old man
Jamie Taylor. Expect lots of piss taking and matcho bollocks which can
be found here
http://www.cagewarriors.com/forums/showthread.php?p=514691#post514691
Going to try to keep blogs shorter but more frequent so here is a list of three things I have learnt recently
· The juice is ALWAYS worth the sqweeze as long as you take something from it, regardless how much it sucks at the time.
· My pressing fucking sucks.
· Jogging does indeed suck donkey dick.
Laterz
Mike
Happy New year!06 Jan 2010 6:15PMRight, here we are again. By now I have no doubt in my mind that you have all sat there full of turkey, chocolate and booze and thought to yourself,
“Right this is it, this year I’m going to be the biggest/leanest/ strongest badass of a fighter that ever stepped in the cage!”
And you know what, at least 95% of us will never realise this goal. This is a damn shame as I know most of you, at this moment in time REALLY want this. In my experience people fail to keep up with these resolutions (lets call them ‘goals’ from now on) falls down to one of two things;
1. A lack of will/mental strength.
2. Lacking the ability to plan for these goals.
Now I dont pretend to be an organisational wizzard or some shit, but over this last year I’ve managed to achieve nearly all my goals and I’ve seen plenty lose track of theirs. I can’t help you with being weak willed and if you are you have my pity. To be honest chances are if you are reading this I dont need to tell you anything about being strong willed. The rest I may be able to help you with
I think the ability to achieve your goals can be split down into a couple of points;
· Know EXACTLY what you want to achive, whether it be a weight, strength level, moving up the rankings or telling that hot blonde what you really think (ok not what you REALLY think, but the PG 13 version...)
· Know what it takes to achieve it. A lot of people just see the goal but have no idea what it takes to get there. Talk to people who have achieved, ask them what it took and if you are lucky they may even offer to help you.
· Time limits. For long term goals I like to plan in terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Another example is breaking it down into weeks for a fight training camp. If you know where you are supposed to be at a certain time it will motivate you to get your arse in gear if you are lagging.
· Adopt the ‘FUCK YOU’ mindset. Trust me, as soon as you tell some people your goals they will try and sabotage you. They might even be consciously doing it but people much prefer you to stay on the same level as them.
· On a simliar note you need to be single minded. A lot of goals, especially when it comes to fighting take more effort than the normal human can comprehend. It is this iron will that will carry you through. However this doesnt apply to every situation, if she says no, your next step is NOT a sack and some cholroform (unless she is into that kind of thing, I’m not one to judge).
I hope that the majority will achieve your goals and kick some arse in the cage or on the mat this year!
Here are some things that I am looking forward to this year;
1. Writing more about the sport I love.
2. Continueing to work with more fighters and hopefully helping them to get stronger, faster more deadly killing machines!
3. Learning (big thanks to all the people who endulged my geekness and bought me books for XMAS)
4. Hitting my own goals
5. Meeting more interesting people.
More soon you crazy kids, good luck and Happy New Year.
Mike
15/12/0915 Dec 2009 3:14PMHey Guys hope all is well and you are all training hard not not stuff your fat faces over Xmas!
Here is part 2 of Chris’s story;
"yeah no problem," came the anwer.
"are sure mate you wanna do this, i'm not taking any responsibilty for you getting hurt i mean i'll take it easy with you but you can back out now," i said. right now i'm thinking why the hell am i doing this . i should have said no, i should have ignored him, i should have just went back to what i was doing and left it at that. i don't know why i accepted , i was about to throw a stranger around because he'd asked me to. i couldn't fathom why he'd want this , was he messed in the head?
"ok mate, lets shake hands and get on with it," i said.
he held his massive paw out which engulfed mine then the game was on.
i took everything into account. the floor was concrete meaning i couldn't do a fancy double leg shot where my knees hit the ground or a low single which if i hit too hard could shred the guys knee. I also thought that if i couldn't take him down then i was useless and i'd dishonoured wrestlers everywhere. the guy would walk out thinking that he'd just kicked my ass which i couldn't have. kinda like how you treat a beginner to your class, take it easy , don't let te ego get in the way but at the same time don't look like crap.
the guy was in the traditional stood straight up stance with his arms positioned out in front of him like a zombie seeking brains, all that was missing was the moaning for "brains" and the illusion would have been complete. i myself was in the wrestlers crouch ready to shoot which i did ducking under his arms to take one of his legs , wrapping my arms around it, then lifting him up onto my shoulder switching to a double leg then gently lowering him to the floor.
A look of "how the hell did that happen" crossed his features. the man who was twice the size of me had been dumped onto his ass by a man much smaller than him.
"i wasn't ready," he says. the typical thing you hear from a beginner or someone with a big ego not willing to admit defeat.
again i tell him to get ready and once again we go into our stances. him not learning a damn thing and me ducking under the sasquatch sized arms and taking a single leg. this time i held onto it , keeping it close to my body then dropping low to grab his other leg. off balance i simply push my shoulder against him sending him falling down onto his back.
"sorted mate?" i asked before letting go.
"yeah mate, sorted" he said.
now at the time i expected him to leave but he then asked me about developing strength for wrestling.
not keeping my mouth shut which i should have done i mentioned wall walking. For those that don't know what wall walking is is where you stand with your back to the wall , lean backwards ad walk up and down the wall using your hands kinda like a reverse bridge. It takes balance and strength so to start with i demonstrated how they were done.
the guy had a look that said "thats easy" so he attempted to have a go, attempted was the operative word.
upon going from the top position to the bottom position he went to go back to the top. his arms straining and his legs quivering like Michael Flatleys he fell back down to the floor with an audible thump which made me cringe.
"theres alot i don't know mate," he said. he shook my hand then slowly wobbled out the door never to be seen again.
I copyied and pasted this from e mail so please don’t blame me for Chris’s bad grammer, it comes from being double legged to much J
As some of you now know I have joined the 21st centuary and have joined facebook. Feel free to check it out but if you try and add me can you please send me a message with it as im bloody terrible with names.
Stuff I’m Rocking this week
· Cleans (and oly lifts in general)
· New Blackberry
· XMAS BABY!!!!!
· Gym being quiet because of previously mentioned holiday
· Quality UFC events for a change?
· Also how people are starting to realise that Twilight is A) Utter bollocks and B) take the piss out of it. See below...
10th December10 Dec 2009 10:59AMHello loyal blog followers! (all 10 of you);
Having a great time at the moment with training not only myself but also the other people I am training.
Here is a great story that Chris told me (the now lean wrestling guru who did my modified V Diet). Pure gold;
there i am in the gym. this was three to four weeks out from a wrestling comp so around this time i go for alot of explosive movements. on this particular day i was doing deadlifts followed by powercleans then hi pulls. Good for power and fitness, terrible on your lower back.
so there i am lifting away on the squat rack which sat adjacent to the cable machine where all the bicep boys hung out. cranking out set after set of curls with beet root red faces and biceps which actually shrank due to the overtraining.
On the cable machine today was to be my nemesis. when you go to the gym often you get to know the gym rats so in this case i'd never seen him before. dressed in tracky bottoms, nike trainers and a sleeveless t shirt revealing massive arms that could only come from hard training or a needle, he lay on the floor doing ab crunches.
you know that feeling you get when your being watched well that was the feeling i was getting, now when all three lifts include you going down into a bent over position to start, this magnifies the feeling as you feel quite vulnerable with your behind sticking out.
risking a glance i saw this bloke staring at me. I had two choices , either keep going or stop, i kept going completing my set.
this guy gets up and begins walking back and forth behind me his eyes never leaving me.its as if he's working himself into a frenzy.
"oh fuck , whats his problem," i thought. maybe i knew him, maybe i hit his brother, maybe i raped his sister oh god he was still watching me and he was getting closer.
now this guy has six inches in height on me and twice as wide. screaming through my head was "kick him in the nuts!"
"What are you doing?" he said in a respectful and eloquent tone. the voice does not match the face. I don't kick him in the nuts.
oh great i thought a gym critic.those guys that tell you your doing things wrong when they don't know shit or even the name of the exercise your doing.
"Powercleans and hi pulls mate," i answered thinking i'd get the usual "you need to more bicep work" or "those don't do anything for you".
"i've never seen them before i'll have to have a go, so what are you doing them for?"
bloody hell i thought he wants to know about an exercise and not kick my head in.
i explained first the nuances of the powerclean, how it works more muscle groups in one go and builds explosive power then it got the interesting part.
"the reason i'm doing them for is for a competition,"
"what competition?" he asked.
"a wrestling competition mate," i said. i waited for the response. the standard response is "that stuff like hulk hogan does or big daddy" which irritated me no end.
"like the olympic stuff?" he says which surprised me. As said above this wasn't the standard response.
"yeah" i said.
the conversation goes into my background and where and who i'd trained with.
Like back at school if someone found out you did any type of martial art they'd inevitably come upto you feigning interest while doing side kicks that resembled an arthritic spasm and making sounds that could only be described as a drunk hyena on crack, this guy asked.
"could you throw me?"
looking at him i knew i could do it, i'd thrown and taken down people even bigger than him.
"yeah," i remarked cockily thinking that was it.
"how about we have a go?"
now this was off putting. either he was genuinely wanting to find out if i could throw him or it was a lead upto him trying to kick my head in, or he was into getting up close with other men.
On the other side honour demanded that i prove my manhood, the gods of wrestling would not be happy with on of their disciples backing down from a challenge. common sense demanded i walk out now never to return (well until my next training session) or try and put him off by stating "theres no where to do it, you might get hurt, i haven't got the insurance!"
"ok," i said feeling the adrenaline kick in preparing for either a takedown contest or a full on brawl.
taking safety into the equation i said we should use the boxing studio next door. plenty of room with no machines in the way and a carpet which underneath lay a concrete floor so if i had to knock him out all i had to do was pick him up and slam him on it.
when we got into the room i made sure he wanted to do this reiterating the safety aspect over andover again.
Part 2 coming soon!
This is copied and pasted from E Mail so dont blame me for Chris bad grammer lol
Mike
Just a short one09 Dec 2009 7:08PMHey guys, just a short one today as Im real lazy.
Go to apologise to a lot of people for the lack of blogs. Been writing massive ones recently and the site cant support them (got a bollocking off the powers that be).
I now suddenly have massive chunks of free time due to my life being turned upside down. This means 3 things;
1. Lots more time to train.
2. Lots more time to focus on training others.
3. Lots more emense blog action coming your way.
Here is a couple of things I am curious about at the moment
1. The ANACONDA protocol from T Nation
2. Programming for MMA athletes
3. Being a better ref/judge.
Peace out homies, more coming soon!
Cool Stuff to watch and learn from21 Nov 2009 3:29PMAlright guys,
Here is some good stuff that you should watch to while away those boring work days;
GSP interviews on MMA UNLTD (GSP is the man)
Part 1
Part 2
Also you should watch these to see a display of not only the worlds worst lightweight action (kidding guys) but also for the most amazing (and handsome) reffing in the world of MMA!!
Round 1
Round 2
Just a short one this time I my last entrys have been some long ass ones.
Stuff I lurvzzz
· Having a week off to do nothing but train, eat, read and ref aweful MMA matches
· Watching a stupid amount of House.
· Learning all about roids (long story)
Things I dislike.
· Every single person who asks me about a reality show
· Every single person who dresses like a character from Twilight
· The next deserves its own space in fuck off capitals...
FUCKING COD!!! EVERYTIME I WALK INTO MY HOUSE SOMEONE IS PLAYING THIS GARBAGE. IF I HAVE TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO ANOTHER MENTALLY RETARDED PERSON ARGUE OVER THE INTERNET I SWEAR THERE WILL BE MURDERS.
Peace out homies...
Random List11 Nov 2009 12:13AMAs we all know I luvz me a good random list. Here is a list of things that I think people are doing to much of/not doing enough. Bare in mind that I am in no way qualified in this area and this is just my ramblings. By reading this list you have agreed not to sue me so nerrrrr...
· People only focus on either diet, workout or recovery. It is the combination of these things that makes the difference.
· If I had to pick one though I would pick diet.
· Recovery is the last thing people pay attention to but its probably the most important to your health long term.
· Foam rolling and streaching should be the basics of this that you SHOULD do.
· As a MMA fan it is your responsibility to educate people against cage fighting and to be for MMA. There is a difference.
· To be taken seriously we need to stop buying those ‘Tap or Die’ shitty T Shirts. They not only make you look like a mong but people put me in the special class with you when I tell them I like MMA. Stop it.
· Wrestling is where its at in MMA. Double legs of death are the future.
· If you cant tell me what you can lift over the big three then you have more learning to do.
· If you dont know what the big 3 are, you have LOTS of reading to do.
· If you have an ambition dont tell people. People dont need much of an invitation to shit all over something.
· Taking measurements, keeping a food log and workout diary were one of the things that took me ages to start doing. I am a dumb ass for not doing it. If you are not doing it so are you.
· Never argue with a person that says they cant do something. They just cant have it. Reward without work doesnt happen.
· Fedor is excerlant at fighting people who arent in the UFC. Make of that what you will.
· Internet trolls are both funny and one of the reasons we are not taken seriously as a sport.
· For this sport to advance people need to think less about money and more about passion.
· For tips on this speak to Ian Dean. True Legend!
· The English take over is here bitches, see UFC 105 for references.
· The main problem with your workout is either bad programming or you have the intensity of a little girl. Man up.
· The problem with your diet is you are weak.
· The problem with your life is you.
· You can fix all of the above (God knows I’m trying to).
· If you use the abreviation CNS in a conversation I will bet there is a 80% chance you have no idea what you are saying
· Activating and then taking advantage of the CNS will be the future of all sports.
· Peri workout nutrition is the dogs balls.
Here is a pick for Dan
Fking Sh!t Up04 Nov 2009 4:56PMWhat happens when you fuck something up?
When stuff starts to go wrong how do you take it? Do you curl up into a ball and cry? Do you get your head down and takle it yourself? Do you confide in someone and get help?
By far the most healthy thing to do is ask for help. As previously mentioned I dont do that. Im a ‘go it alone’ kind of a guy. However lately ive been asking people for help when I get stuck. Some of these people I have never met in my life I just speak to them on the good old interwebz. So I just want to say thanks to them and to let the others in my life know that if you see me being this stubbon prick, tell me to man up and ask for help.
Im also getting the urge to start training again. Just in No-Gi but im putting serious thought into competing next year? Just a thought in case anyone gives a crap.
Been spit balling ideas about nutrition with a couple of guys, if they decide to compete soon I would love to give it a go to see if we can smash some people up.
New stuff coming soon on strength training for combat sports (guine pig trials are happening now!)
Here are some blogs that I love reading (apart from my own as its awesome)
http://www.thenategreenexperience.com/
http://maccavelli.wordpress.com/
http://www.alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/
Check them out, you will not be disapointed
4th Nov04 Nov 2009 12:04PMIt was going great, there I was steadily putting on a pound a week with my weights going up in the gym and even getting comments from people that I looked bigger. Then my former fat ass came up with the idea that eating EVEN more food and cutting out energy systems work was a good idea.
Cue fat gain.
Its not loads or anything anyone would notice but it bothers me as I worked god damn hard for leanness and I'm not losing it now.
So I WILL do the following every week;
1) 20 mins of steady state jump rope (5x3 min rounds)
2) At least one barbell complex
Hopefully this will get stuff under control as I think I shall be going on holiday soon so want to look awesome (I'm vain like that).
I think this is something that a lot of people miss in training or dieting, they don’t adjust stuff depending on the results they are getting (the hip term for this is auto-regulation. Start saying this and sound like a smart bastard).
Also Shogun vs Machida?!? The UFC is now fixed aparently.....
3 things I love;
1) Mince.
2) House
3) Halloween
Lets talk MMA20 Oct 2009 3:06PMLots going on at the moment so I must apologise for the lack of updates at the moment.
Right lets talk MMA! Firstly I must how the hell did Shogun get a title shot at Machida. Im sorry but one of the worst performances against Mark Coleman and a knock out of a over the hill Iceman (sorry Chuck) does not a contender make. How did he leap frog Griffin, Evans, Jardine, Rampage? Have we got to the point now that Dana will just feed people to his Champs to pump up their record? We have seen this with Silva before and it only seems that GSP and Penn are facing top ranked challengers.
TUF update, why does Tom Blackledge (trainer on team Rampage) look like he is about to piss himself laughing in every scene? Funny stuff (seriously).
Also I am looking for a fighter who competes at pro level, with a good record who does steroids. Its for help with an article and confidentiality is assured. If you fit this bill please contact me at the address below. Cheers
On a more personal note training is going well and we are still gaining a pound a week while keeping the fat at bay. Think this due to the current peri workout nutrition that I am experimenting with. Had a few people ask me about it and ask to be a guinea pig (if you fancy it give me a shout at mikeyleng@gmail.com or leave a comment below).
I am currently training a couple of people at the moment and things are going well, one has lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks while his weights are going up so my crazy routines must work (all plans involve a live chicken, a parmo, a bamboo cane and a monkey in a clown uniform).
Stuff I love,
· Finding a farm store really close to me, eggs fresh from the hens ass!
· Having people ask for my help is a truly flattering experience
· Thinking ‘have I eaten enough today? Better make some chicken’.
· Reading up on S&C coaches in MMA
· Old Wolverine comics
· Watching Pumping Iron. Arnold is a god.
Want to give a mention for my Sis who bought her first house, well done love. Finally some DIRT for ma homies...
Speak soon ya goons.
Thanks07 Oct 2009 4:53PMHere is a list of people I owe a huge debt to and more often than not I take for granted. This has no last names as they know who they are:
* Pam
* Brian
* Sara
* Meg
* Mark
* Ian
* Matt
* Jon
* Chris
* Nate
* Dave
* Chad
* Tracy
* Nancy
* Neil
* Dan
* Jamie
* Nathan
* Steve
* Paul
I also want to link to an article I read as the advice is worthy of anyone that values strength;
http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/37_tips_and_tales_from_dave_tate
and an extract from an article that follows in the same vain;
The Big Boy's Menu Plan by JM Blakely
Good Eating
Cold, hard fact number one: If you gain weight, you will get stronger. Everybody already knows that. Even if most of the weight is not good weight, it will nevertheless have a positive effect on strength. Of course, there is the argument that the weight one gains should be quality weight (i.e. muscle, which is preferable) but the truth is that even adipose and water weight can contribute to heavier poundages lifted.
It is beyond the scope of this article to address the exact physiological mechanisms for this but tissue leverage is commonly cited as the main reason for the phenomenon. My purpose is not to explain why this happens but rather to explain how to take advantage of the fact that it happens. Weight moves weight!
If you understand and accept this, you have probably tried to bulk up? Eat some point in your training. You also have probably experienced the frustration, first-hand, of just how difficult it can be to gain weight. Anyone can gain 15-20 pounds (and they often do on accident!) but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm speaking of adding on 35-40 pounds on purpose with a combination of extra-heavy lifting and extra-heavy eating!
If anyone is confused about what I'm saying here then this article is not for you. I won't waste your time explaining and justifying the need for some lifters to put on weight. But for those of you who have been desperately trying to get your weight up and crack through a plateau, let's get to it. Why can't you seem to gain weight?
DO THE MATH
Quite simply, you aren't eating enough! I know, I know, you eat all the time, you eat more than everyone you know, you have a fast metabolism, yadda, yadda, yadda. I know all the excuses. I used them myself. I even believed them. But there are rules in the universe. We are bound by the laws of physics and no one is pardoned. Creating a positive caloric balance is completely defined by the equation: calories in vs. calories out = calories net.
That's it. No one escapes it. If you eat more calories than you use in a day, you will gain weight. Period. There is some fluxuation for metabolic shifts and the efficiency of the body's absorption of calories, granted, but this effect is small and it is the rare person who exhibits a metabolism that could bear the blame for one unable to manipulate their weight. More about this later, but for now get it straight- your metabolism is not to be a scapegoat for your lack of discipline.
You must eat more. If your metabolism speeds up then you must eat even more to cover that. There is a limit to how fast your metabolism can run. You must stay ahead of it. And you must learn to control it. Above all, you must accept the unarguable fact that you must put more food into your mouth.
My favourite question to ask those people who think they are eating tons of food but not gaining weight is, "what do you weigh?" Then when they answer (let's say 195 lbs. for example) I respond "and how long have you weighed that?" They almost always answer that they have been at their current weight for over one year and often much longer.
To this I quip "then you are eating enough to maintain 195 pounds. If you want to weigh 215, you need to eat more than a person who weighs 195. You have to eat like a person who weighs 215! You have proven that you eat only enough to keep your weight steady. You've been 195 for some time now! And what you're eating is enough to hold that. But it's not enough to drive it up. So if you think you're eating all this extra food, think again. You're eating a maintenance feed lot. You need a growth feed lot!
If you've been eating like a 215 pounder all last year, you would weigh 215 now! You're not eating any more than any other 195 pounder! Try harder! Eat more!"
The only hole in this example is the energy output of the individual. But all things being equal, I hope you are getting the point here. You can't gain weight if you don't eat more.
The general principle is this: train as hard as you can to create a stimulus for growth. Then feed the body everything it needs to adapt. You must cover three needs. The recovery, the repair, and the growth. Some trainees only eat enough to recover from the last workout. They will end up overtrained because they aren't meeting the need for repair and their tissues begin to break down under the strain of heavy lifting.
Other lifters will eat enough to recover and repair, but not enough to cover the expense of growth. These lifters end up on a constant plateau, having hard workouts, recovering from them and not overtraining, but never seeing progress. It's a stalemate (the maintenance feed lot group). They train for years and somehow excuse the lack of results to genetics or another bogey man.
You have to cover all three aspects of nutrient need recovery, repair, and growth. First , eat enough to recover from the stress of a training session. Second, eat enough to repair any damage the workout may have caused.(If you are training very heavy, there is always micro-trauma occurring at the cellular level). Third, you must eat even more to cover the cost of your body building itself up. If you don't eat these extra calories, where will the body get the energy to do the building? And what ,pray tell, do you suppose it will use for building material?
Your body needs stuff (matter) to build with. You can't build something out of nothing. The body needs substance to convert into body mass. That substance is food.
PART 2
Part 207 Oct 2009 4:52PMThe only way to be absolutely certain that you are getting the most out of your workout is to eat more than you need for recovery, repair, and growth. You will begin to see a bit of bodyfat start to accumulate. Please don't misunderstand me and think I'm telling everyone to get obesely fat. I'm only suggesting a light layer of "winter weight" or a "softening" You should never let your bodyfat percentage rise above unhealthy levels, and never put on what you can't get off.
This is what I call bathing the cells in nutrients. You give them all they need and then a little bit extra which you can see usually around your middle. Remember; it's OK to put it on to gain strength if you also plan to take it off later and maintain your new strength level when you diet. Just make sure you get around to dieting sooner or later! This way every workout has the nutrients it needs to give it the chance to be fully effective.
Step one is the realization that you are ,in fact, not eating enough. Some trainees will admit this but then have trouble with the work of eating. To this I say only: DISCIPLINE! You must eat on schedule. You must eat what you are supposed to. You must not excuse yourself from eating what you are supposed to when you are supposed to. This is the self same discipline that everyone recognizes the need for in losing weight.
It is no different for you who would choose to gain weight. No one feels sorry for a person who says they are trying to lose a few pounds and then proceeds to attend meetings with Ronald McDonald, Ben and Jerry, and Bud Weiser. And I don't feel sorry for those who lack the discipline to eat more.
I know how difficult it can be. But I am reminded of the time I was complaining to a friend about how hard I was trying to get my weight up to 300 pounds and how tough it was for me to eat so much, and boo-hoo-hoo. The friend looked at me, clearly fed up with my whining, and remarked "I see several people over 300 lbs at work (he was a physical therapist) and they really don't seem to be trying all that hard! They weigh 300 and they don't try!"
This put it in better perspective for me. I even had the advantage of working out with weights to help boost my weight and these guys were out eating me and my best effort without so much as a second thought. If people can do it on accident, I could certainly do it on purpose! And I did. So can you.
Admit that you are undereating. Then admit that you are not trying your best. I don't believe you if you tell me you can't eat any more than you are eating now. If you tell me you can't eat any more, I'll tell you that you just can't have what you want then. (I never argue with someone who tells me they can't). That's the universe's law, not mine. If you can't do the work, you can't have the reward. Sorry. Now, do you really mean can't or is it more like won't? If you want it, you can. Ask anybody who has.
Those are the two biggest roadblocks to gaining weight. Admitting that you are not doing the job and that your effort has been less than stellar, and realizing that if others can do it so can you. Once you accept those responsibilities, instead of complaining and passing the buck, you can get to the business of getting down to it. And that, my friends, is the same in all endeavors, if you are willing to pay the price, you can have the reward.
I will readily admit that it seems to be easier for some than others. But the price is relative. You are not anyone else. You must not compare the ease or difficulty which you are presented to anyone else's situation. So what if it is easier for your pal to gain weight than you? What does that have to do with you? Nothing. Your task is your task. If you must eat 400 calories more than him to get the same results, then that's the price for you . You decide for yourself whether to pay up or not.
Oh yeah, I should mention - life's not fair. He got a discount and you got taxed. So what? You can still both have it. Are you willing to pay or not? If you're not, you're not. But your reason shouldn't be because it cost you more than someone else. When someone wants something bad enough they'll pay double! They don't care- they are just happy to get it.
What I'm telling you is that you can gain weight if you accept the fact that it is possible and that it is going to be hard. I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it. Get rid of any excuse or explanation for not gaining other than I'm not trying hard enough. I must try harder. Then you're on your way. Blame only yourself for past shortcomings and resolve to bring whatever it takes to the table from now on.
Tricks of the Trade: Big Boy's Menu Plan
One secret is caloric density. Learn to eat foods that provide more calories per unit volume. That is, they give you lots of calories for how much space they take up in the gut. 250 calories of salad fills you up even with the dressing but a chocolate bar would only feel like a snack.
Also, add lots of condiments to your food. Carry mayo with you and add lots of it to everything. Same goes for Thousand Island dressing and chocolate sauce. Be creative and never eat anything that you don't add calories to in some way. Melt provolone cheese over your pasta. Put ranch dressing on your pizza. Dip potato chips in honey. I don't care what sick and twisted combinations you come up with, as long as you find it palatable.
You wouldn't believe some of the things I've eaten. ( Try a bowl full of peanut butter smothered in maple syrup and a stick of butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Lay two Hershey bars over it to melt and you'll just start to understand.)
Carry food with you. Always have a jar of peanuts in your car. Carry Pop-Tarts, Slim Jim meat snacks, candy bars, anything handy that travels well and needs no special preparation. Never get caught away from food. Put it in your desk, your locker, your gym bag, your brief case, hell, carry some around in your pockets if you have to! Never miss a meal because you couldn't eat.
What's that? Couldn't eat? It takes less than 50 seconds to eat two candy bars. That's over 500 calories. Even if you have to sneak it on the job, go to the john and wolf them down. You must never be without food. Take some with you. and never say you didn't have time (50 seconds?!) or opportunity. Find time or make time.
Eat immediately upon arising. Start right away. You lost time sleeping - you weren't eating! Fill up first thing in the morning. Don't wait! You went several hours without any food. The longer you wait the less time you have to get all the food your supposed to eat down. If you wait long enough it will be impossible to make it. You'll run out of time.
Get off to a solid start. Minimum first meal calories: 1200. Eat over a grand right away and the rest of the day will be easier. Eat less, and you'll be playing catch-up all day long.
Eat just prior to bed. You are going to go for hours without food?Euel up! This is your last chance to feed your body for a long time give it one last push. This is uncomfortable for many, but with practice you will adapt and be able to eat a good calorie load before retiring. Shoot for 500 calories minimum.
PART 3
Part 307 Oct 2009 4:51PMTry foods you used to dislike or have never eaten before. After several weeks of overeating, everything begins to taste the same. Even your favorite foods lose their flavor. You exhaust your repertoire of choices. Open it up. Go for the calamari or the shark fin soup. Try a quiche. Eat at an ethnic restaurant.
Find new favorites that you can eat lots of. I hated cottage cheese as a youngster, but now I mix it in with spaghetti and dump it into soups! I even eat the fat free variety on a reducing diet! You will surprise yourself. Don't be afraid to try. You may still dislike salmon, but you may get a taste for artichoke after all.
Drink regular soda pop (possibly caffeine free) and whole milk. Never drink any fluids that don't have calories. No tea without sugar, no coffee without cream and sugar, no diet beverages whatsoever. No plain water! Canned soda pop is an excellent source of purified water. But it also has precious calories. Gatorade is fine and has electrolytes as well. 108 ounces a day is the minimum.
But don't fill your stomach without putting some calories in along with. A 12 0z. can of soda pop has about 150 calories. Quench your thirst and give your body more calories at the same time. ( I'm not knocking water, folks, I'm just illustrating that you can hydrate yourself and get calories in the bargain. )
Count your calories. You may think you are consuming an abundance of food, but you're probably giving yourself too much credit. It is very hard to eat over 5000 calories every day for weeks on end. And if its 7 or 8,000 you think you're getting in every day I think you'd better check that. Often a trainee will eat 6,000 calories on Monday, but then stoop to 3500 or so for the next two days.
Then Thursday maybe get 5500 and follow that for two days of 3000. all the while they believe that they are eating 6000 every day. Avoid this kind of fluxuation. Keep a solid average. And keep track. At least for a series of days every now and then. A few days a month check up on yourself. If your goal is 5500 calories a day add it all up and make sure. You'll soon get better at estimating and you won't have to go through this so much.
But take my advice, if you are not seeing the scale move the way you think it should, double check your count. You most likely are overestimating your intake. This gives you feedback so you can make adjustments. Even if you're an old pro at calorie counting it's a good idea to take account every so often.
Issues and Precautions
This kind of diet is admittedly not the most conducive to your overall health. But we should get one thing straight - you are not doing it for health reasons, you are doing it for better performance in your chosen sport. This is one of those "quality of life" issues. You choose to pursue powerlifting because of reasons other than improved health such as challenge, personal pride, self esteem benefits, sense of strength, or any other of a basket full of psycho/emotional reasons not to mention the sheer fun of it!
There are plenty of health benefits to the sport of powerlifting and weight training in general which have all been outlined many times before. I acknowledge those, of course, I'm just saying that if you are competing and trying to bulk up, you probably have more personal motives for continuing to put so much into this sport. And those motives most likely supersede any health benefits.
Having said that, let me turn the table back on your health. This style of diet can have very serious effects on your body. One effect is a dramatic improvement in your strength. But another effect is an increase in your blood cholesterol level! It would be irresponsible of me to ignore the down side?E So I'll give a few suggestions of what I feel is prudent and responsible behavior that would accompany such an eating program. (It's all common sense, anyway!)
Have your cholesterol checked before you begin. Get a baseline. If you have high levels, you may want to reconsider and see your doctor about options to lower it.
PART 4
Part 407 Oct 2009 4:47PMCheck your cholesterol every 15-20 pounds that you gain. Or every 10
weeks on the diet. Set a limit with your doctor as to how high you will
permit it to rise and remain on the diet. If it goes above
such-and-such a number, abort .
Do some form of cardiovascular exercise. Minimum 3 days per week. I
know you don't want to spend the precious calories on cardio, but the
cv exercise will help keep the cholesterol down as well as abating some
of the inevitable sluggishness that comes with weight gain. I've done
it both with and without cv and I feel much ,much better with a daily
walk. And you can eat just one more snickers bar to cover it. All the
while your heart gets some exercise and your metabolism doesn't get so
loggy.
Check your blood pressure at the start and then every four days while
on the diet. Get your own monitor or find one of the countless free
places that you can have it taken for you. Use the same equipment every
time. Expect some increase in bp. Consult your doctor and make a
decision as to what you both will tolerate. If your bp goes past the
limit you have set, abort.
Issues of sleep apnea can develop. This is a tough disorder in which
you interrupt your breathing for a few seconds all through the night
and wake up in the morning exhausted from gasping for 8 hours! This
affects a huge number of people in the US but commonly is made worse by
gaining weight. If it affects you, you may not know it, your asleep
while it's going on. But sooner or later someone will tell you, your
wife, your girlfriend, your next-door neighbour.
It's often confused for a bad case of snoring. But after a couple of
weeks of full nights rest and an accompanying deep fatigue, you will
begin to suspect something is wrong. I wish I had some sort of fix-it
for this but the only advice I can give is to try propping yourself up
at a slight incline when you sleep and put up with it as much as your
significant other will allow. If it is too much of a problem, seek
medical attention and decide what else to try. If you must, abort. You
won't see the progress you want in your training if you're not getting
the rest you need.
Have a full blood work up done (this will most likely accompany your
cholesterol but ask for it any way. These days health care
professionals are cutting costs and if you ask for cholesterol values
that may be all that gets run!) . Of special interest are :
triglycerides, liver enzymes, thyroid levels especially T-4 and TSH,
and any values having to do with pancreatic function. These can become
upset with drastic changes in dietary habits and need an eye kept on
them.
Measure your body fat percentage. Set a limit to how high you will let
it go. Remeasure it every 10 pounds you gain. See how many pounds are
muscle and how many are fat. A good bargain is 1 pound of muscle for
every 2-3 lbs of fat.
If you are a master lifter, consider your medications and consult your
doctor about the effect weight gain may have on any of them especially
heart meds. Your dosage may need to be adjusted.
Remember that the weight gain is to be temporary. You should plan a
reducing diet to follow at a specified time in your training. This is
where you attempt to maintain most of the new strength you amassed
during the bulking phase while lowering your body fat to the same level
you started at. You are not training to get stronger, only to hold the
strength you have while dropping the excess.
Commit yourself to the goal of returning to your starting level of
bodyfat and see how much of the new strength you're kept. If you diet
right, it should be above 80%. So that is your true gain. The gain you
keep after gaining and losing the excess bodyfat is what counts. If you
gain 20 lbs on your bench and lose 15 when you diet, you missed the
point. If you gain 20 lbs on the bench and keep 15 (16) you've achieved
something and done it correctly. Now repeat this process as necessary!!
I suggest that you only hold your weight heavy for no longer than 5-6
months before you diet back down. Each time you repeat this process,
you will hold more strength and have more muscle mass than before.
Avoid staying heavy too long. It is only temporary!
These things will help you minimize the risks associated with the
rigors of body weight manipulation. Competitive sports all have risks.
Every highschooler who puts on a football helmet on Friday night and
knocks heads with the cross-town rivals takes the risk of spinal
injury. Risks are unavoidable and usually increase with the level of
play. Just be responsible.
Take care of yourself within the risks. Do what you can to minimize
them. Pay attention. If you don't watch your blood pressure, how do you
know if you might not be begging for a stroke? For Christmas sake, at
least know what you're levels are. You can always decide to do what is
right for you. Continue or stop. Or continue on a different course. But
at least do the best you can to stay as healthy as you can.
Remember: If you want to beat the man, you've got to out -eat the man!
Good eating,
J.M.
I know that’s a bit of a read and a lot of people will shit themselves to read it but if you are 60kg wringing wet and getting schooled on the mats, this might be what you need.
Mike
Keeping the fat boy at bay04 Oct 2009 3:13PMAs everyone knows I used to be FAT. Now I’m at the point where I can add some quality mass but still keep relatively lean. However this brings up a couple of problems;
· I get fat easily due to being fat previously.
· I HATE cardio. In most shapes and forms, its boring and soul destroying.
That being the way it is I have had to find new ways to keep the fat off while trying to add size that doesn't bore me to the point of loading up an Uzi and killing everyone in the gym. Sooooo I give you Barbell Complexes! This is basically a set of 6-10 excersizes done with a Barbell back to back with zero rest till you have finished the set. These are awesome because of the following;
· They burn lots of calories (therefore fat) due to EPOC.
· They are fun
· They are absolutely brutal
· They also help increase muscle recovery and size.
· They are short, leaving time for stretching and foam rolling and in a 20 min window.
Take a look at these, as these are some of my favourites/most hated (in a good way).
www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/screw_cardio_four_complexes_for_a_shredded_physique#
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XojRmF9MaQM&feature=fvw
Try them and tell me how much you hate them!
Mike
Dan Hardy Interview21 Sep 2009 11:15PMHey Guys, I caught up with Dan Hardy a while ago to see what his views are on the growing trend of MMA clothing, here you go;
Do you wear MMA clothing?
Yes, most of the time.
What do you instantly think when you see someone on the street wearing TapOut etc?
A lot of it depends on how the person carries themselves. there are a few guys that walk around with a hard man attitude and stare at people. venice beach is bad for that, we call them 'air-guitarists'... guys that look and act like they know what they are doing, but usually dont.
Do you think that MMA clothing markets itself on purpose to people who want to look hard’? (images of skulls, flames, the cage etc)
I think they are images that communicate conflict and violence, which is why they get used a lot. some brands are subtle with it but others are quite crude, with blood splattered all over them.
Do other fighters you know wear MMA brands on the street or just when training/fighting?
Most of the fighters I know do. sometimes because they are sponsored and sometimes because they want to show that they are a part of something.
Do you think people are becoming fashion conscious about what they wear in training?
I think people want to be a part of something, so they wear recognised MMA brands to be a part of the MMA community. that, to me, seems to be the reason for people wearing MMA brands to train in. you see this particularly with t shirts, people wear MMA shorts because they are the most practical for training. people can wear any t shirt to train in because they are functionally the same but people opt for the MMA branded ones.
Do you think that MMA fans/athletes are developing a ‘image’ like other extreme sports?
I think the MMA image is quite similar to most extreme sports. the style of clothing certainly has a lot of similarities. now skate and surf shops have started selling MMA brands too, the sport will grow closer to that 'extreme sports' image. there has always been a loose tie between surfing and bjj because of them both being so popular in Brazil. before MMA brands were really established, people used to train in surf shorts.
Do you think that MMA clothing manufacturers will become victims of their own success and have to tone down the look of their brand to branch out into the main stream like Howies did?
I don’t think so, I think the better designed and marketed brands will succeed and the more crude, extreme designs will fall away or stay as small companies. Tapout and Cagefighter are everywhere at the moment, in all different kinds of stores. Their designs have always been more publically acceptable though, and I think that has a lot to do with it.
Is it important for MMA to have an ‘image’ or ‘look’ to become a mainstream sport?
I’m not sure I would say its important, more unavoidable. All sports have an image that has developed with the sport and MMA is the same. The more popular the sport becomes, the more defined the image will become.
Do you thing that certain MMA brands give out different messages i.e. can wearing a certain brand of clothing have an effect on you being taken less seriously as a fan/athlete?
For an athlete, the more legitimate the sponsor, the more seriously people take you. I don’t think it works the same for fans, maybe if they are wearing the newest styles or the most popular sponsor at the time. the brands that are worn most by fighters in the UFC, usually lead the market.
How important is it to you to be recognized as an MMA fighter? Is it a big part of your identity/self image?
It’s nice to be recognized because it shows that people enjoy watching your fights. My image is my own, regardless of my career. It does pay to have a distinctive image but it has to be natural to the fighter, they can’t develop an image just to be recognized.
Thanks again Dan,
Mike
16th Sept16 Sep 2009 3:17PMHey Guys,
As I have said previously things have been a bit shit my end as I have had a viral infection for 2 weeks which lead to me not eating at all thus losing all my hard earned gains (grumble).
So im back training using a Chad Waterbury programme that so far seems to be very good (total body workouts focusing on maximising large muscle fibres). Only been on it for 2 weeks and its 19 weeks(!) long so nothing to report yet. Ive always been a massive plan of Waterburys as he always seems to back up his theories with common sense rather than wymsical claims. He also coaches the Gracie team for S&C so it cant be that bad! Read more Chads stuff at http://chadwaterbury.com/
As far as MMA training is going I just cant see to find the motination at the moment. Dont get me wrong I love MMA more than ever but I just cant be arsed to train? Think I may be going through a slump or some shit (read being a pussy). I shall have to watch some old fights to get me back in the mood to get my arse kicked....
Good to see Randy dropping to LHW, the bloke is a total legend and I hope he wrecks a lot of people there. His last fight with Nog was great to watch and his heart is something all fighters should try and replicate.
As always Shizzle I love;
1) Sausages (I like adding size)
2) Clint Eastwood movies
3) Couch
4) Laptop actually working at a speed that is faster than death.
5) Dre’s beats album.
Crap I have distain for;
1) People Talking shit behind my back (if you have my e mail, phone number and know who I work for, be a man and talk to me)
2) Blackberry breaking
3) Doubting myself
4) Not taking my own advice (as im a dumbass)
Oh fuck, nearly forgot! Chris who was doing my V Diet has now finished and lost a whopping 13 pounds and an untold amount of inches revealling abs! Expect him to be smashing you up at a lower wrestling weight class near you! Well done you lazy bastard :-)
11th Sept11 Sep 2009 1:30PMHey Guys,
Sorry all has been quiet on the blog front, been caught up with work, getting a viral infection and getting slated on the interwebz for something I didnt do.
As a bit of a catch up here are some things that have been floating round me noggin about MMA in general.
1) Anderson Silva is without question the best pound for pound fighter in the world. This is hard for me to admit as I am a massive GSP nut hugger! Until we see the likes of BJ Penn and GSP moving weight classes and dominating with such jaw dropping displays as Silva demonstrates, Silva firmly has the crown.
2) The latest Strikefore event was great. The UFC need to pick up womens MMA as its great to see.
3) Fedor maybe destroying his own legacy by ducking the UFC. Whether he likes it or not, the best fights are there and he will be fighting second stringers till he moves there.
4) Wrestling is back baby!! With Don Jones, Randy, Brock, GSP all putting on master classes and great fights, plus Coleman and Tito back in the UFC wrestling is back with a bang.
5) I predict Brock will better Anderson Silvas winning streak. Easily.
6) The England M-1 team are all badasses. I wouldnt want to spill any of there pints/make eye contact (only kidding)
7) Randy should drop to LHW
8) Damian Maia WILL be a champ soon (as soon as he keeps his damn chin down).
I will do a more personal update soon (I know you all really care)...
Shizzle I luvz right this second (7pm on 11/09/09 while sat in my kecks)
1) Food again!
2) McVeighs Blog starting up again
3) Bourbon
4) Being infamous
5) People asking me to update my ‘gay blog’.
Peace out homies, get your bread (reppin my man kimbo slizice!!!)
Mike
16/08/0916 Aug 2009 4:46PMNow Then
Here are some quick tips that I have found help me lose the chub.
WARNING some of these tips seem harsh. That’s because they are. I have made all of these mistakes a thousand times and I continue to try not to make them. I am only harsh as I know what a fuckwit I was and want to save you this pain.
1) Firstly stop doing all that shit that you KNOW is bad for you. Yes this is a very simple tip but I still see people who insist they have ‘tried everything’ shovelling candy and drinking coke. Stop it.
2) Stop looking for a miracle diet. Yes there are advanced diets out there that will help you lose weight, but if you aren’t doing the following you need to start. There are NO quick fixes, this shit is hard work but the rewards are worth it.
"If I told you to consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight, fibrous vegetables, water, green tea, 12 grams of fish oil, and spread those out over the course of six meals each day, you'd be anything but impressed. But if I held you in captivity and forced you to do that every day for a month, you'd be blown away by the results." Chad Waterbury.
3) Look down, if your gut is hanging over your belt there is a good chance that you are not insulin sensitive. This means that you do not handle carbs well. One of the best things I did was to cut carbs out of diet apart from around workout times and breakfast. Please read do this.
4) On that note, eat breakfast. It’s the best opportunity to shovel your face that you will get.
5) If you know you are going to be going on a long journey, take some healthy food with you. The reason for this is that if you are going to be going for longer than 2 hours without food by the time you get to a food stop you will immediately stuff your face with crap (don’t look at the screen like that, your only lying to yourself). Protein bars and shakes I find are best as they take care of the sweet tooth as well.
6) If you are not taking your own meals to work you better start. Stuff you make yourself will always be better than the stuff you buy as you are more likely to make better choices.
7) Finally (for now) is to adopt the ‘fuck you’ attitude. As you will find lots of people including your loved ones will want you to fail. Seeing you succeed points out there short comings. This is a terrible thing but believe me it happens. Here are some examples of my ‘Fuck you’ programme.
You’re doing so well, one piece of cake wont hurt!
FUCK YOU.
You’re going to the gym again? This is the second time this week! Don’t you love me?
FUCK YOU. (and if you partner is doing this they are a toxic vacuum and you should justice slap the crap out of them immediately).
Getting in shape is hard as hell and is a constant battle for the fatty but believe me being in shape after being fat is awesome. It takes a dedication that is beyond a normal persons perspective, but if you have got to ‘that place’ I don’t need to tell you that…
14/08/0914 Aug 2009 9:35AMHey Guys
I want to take this blog to say well done and thank you to a few people who have helped me out recently.
First the well done is to Chris who is on my modified V Diet. So far he is in his third week and has lost well over 10 pounds! He has done fantasticly to see it through and he says he couldn't be happier with his new physique apart from he says he is spending to much time ‘evaluating his imbalances’ (read staring at his vain arse in the mirror.....). A full update to come when he has finished, plus he has already volunteered to be my lab rat for my new Maximal strength stuff (poor bastard). If anyone wants to do the diet or has any questions please contact me at mikeyleng@gmail.com
In another blog I stated that I am terrible asking for help and its something I’m going to start. So here is a big thank you to these people who have helped me this week
1) Matt. Thanks for taking a chance on me.
2) Dan. Massive techy help. Muchly appreciated.
3) Me Ma. Helping lots with new business.
As usual stuff I love;
1) Training again
2) The wife for staying calm while house shopping
3) Bourbon (again)
4) Silvas head movement, that shit is right out of a comic.
5) Rosie Jones as more people are requesting DIRT (I blame Paul McVeigh)
30/07/0930 Jul 2009 9:35PMAlright Guys here is what is happening with me at the moment;
As far as training goes its not. I'm taking someone's advice and taking a complete week off. The only exorcise I will be doing will be stretching. Thats all I am going to say on it because I have guilt about not training.
I mentioned in a previous blog I would post up pics of my protein bars so here they are
Before;
After;
The white stuff on the top is coconut. Each bar has about 30g protein, 45g crabs and about 12g fat (good ones).
Before I talked about Chris the person who is smart/mad enough to give the modified diet a go. In his first week he lost 6 pounds! GO ON SON!!!! Hopefully he will lose a ton more as he keeps it up.
Things I love this week;
1) Cheese
2) Sleep
3) Protein mouse
4) Getting a mental image what my new house will look like.
5) Marvel vs Capcom on Xbox (true madness)
23/07/200923 Jul 2009 11:40AMAlright guys, here are some things that have been going on with me at the moment.
Training is going very well at the moment with all weights going up steadily every week. This is great as it means that I am getting stronger at my new weight. However I was expecting to but at least a little size on, but none so far. This doesn’t particularly bother me as im only interested in strength at the moment. However it does make me think that I could possibly be making more gains? I shall up my overall calories slowly to see if this helps me out. As far as MMA training is going it simply isn’t. between work and trying to get a new house sorted I’m finding it a bit hard to make mat time. This has led to tons of abuse from training partners and trainers alike. Hope to be back soon (with new Hulk like strength!)
I would like to take a moment to say cheers to Jamie for really helping me tighten up my technique on my lifts. As I train alone I don’t have anyone to point out my imbalances or weaknesses so this has been invaluable. I recommend everyone to do the same.
I have recently been approached to help someone with the modified V-Diet that I did. For now I’ll tell you his name is Chris and is doing it to move down a weight class for wrestling. Im going to be writing about his progress on this blog for 2 reasons;
1) Because people should be rewarded not hated on for making radical positive changes.
2) So his lazy ass wont cheat (kidding, Chris, kidding)
If anyone else is interested in the modified diet or have any comments you can hit me up at mikeyleng@gmail.com
Tonight I am making a batch of my awesome protein bars (they are so awesome that I never get to have any as my house mate steals them). They are stacked full of protein and fibre but are a little carby for me and my former fat boy ways. Ill post some pics up tomorrow.
Things I love this week;
1) Apples
2) BCAAs
3) Sleep (im not getting any though!)
15/07/200915 Jul 2009 12:01PMHere are some thoughts that are rattling around my cranium at the moment;
EQI’s, static dynamic work and plyometric kick my arse completely. They are awesome.
Having junk food in your house is like having a house full of hot 19 year old nymphomaniacs while trying to stay faithful. Sooner or later, someone is getting fucked.
2 answers that will cover over 90% of training questions in combat sports are ‘get stronger’ and ‘its your diet’.
When someone who knows there shit asks for my help its an honour.
However the majority of the time people just want you to agree with them.
Having a techie move into your house is awesome. Every home should have one.
Eating for strength/mass is very tricky if you were once a fatty.
I should be allowed by law, to kick over people in those motorised trolleys if they are capable of walking. Being fat is not a disability.
I now belive the following to be evil;
Facebook
Myspace
Twitter
Reality tv
The internet
Women
Wrestling drills
Cardio
Asda.
The following are the shizzle
Shorts
Jujitsu
Women
Steak
Street fighter.
Marvel comics
Bourbon
Fresh fish
Dogs.
I was asked the worlds trickiest question the other day ‘Would you rather have your own personal Tranformer or your own personal Megan Fox?’
Answers on a post card…..
A quote to finish
Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them, in the halls of Valhalla where the brave may live forever
From The 13th warrior. Badass.
9/07/200909 Jul 2009 1:30PMI should listen to people more.
I should shut the hell up and listen.
See I'm not one of those people that ask for help. I ALWAYS struggle through stuff without asking for help rather than doing the smart thing and asking. If someone said to me ‘Mike, we need you to dismantle this bomb while performing brain surgery and doing this rubric’s cube. To help you we have a person from the bomb squad, a brain surgeon and the world champion of rubrics cube (if there is such a thing)’.
You know what I would say?
‘Fuck you! I can do that shit, I can do anything! Pass the fucking cube!’
See I know this is a massive character flaw and its something that I'm trying to work on. This was high lighted to me the other day as my trainer decided to force himself on my weights workout. As I have always trained alone I have never had anyone to tighten up my technique, he kicked my arse into tighten up my lifts and its something I really appreciate.
It made me realise that I have a ton of people at my disposal that know a lot about things I am doing or things I want to do from getting in better shape to opening my own business in the future. I shall start picking their brain immediately.
Here is the 5 things I am bumming this week
1) UFC 100
2) Stir fry
3) Marvels Dark Reign series
4) Dead Lifts
5) Twinnings Green tea.
3 Things that irritate me
1) People who stand right behind me while I'm doing lifts till I have finished. Just ask to jump in on my rests?
2) People who make crap excuses why they can’t get into shape rather than being honest with themselves. My favourites are ‘I don’t have time’ or ‘I cant afford it’. What utter shit, look I work two jobs (one of which is 60 hours a week), see my girl friend/family/friends, I'm going back to collage part time and I STILL can find the time to train. As for the money issue, if you go out drinking or eat at fast food places I'm just going to let you remove yourself from the gene pool.
3) That I am yet to be bit by a radio active spider.
3 things I want
1) To be bit for a radio active spider
2) A slow cooker
3) Megan Fox
Cheers
Mike
A Blog of Randomness01 Jul 2009 12:44PMHere are some random thoughts that are rattling round my brain;
Making recipes with protein powder produces the look of sheer madness in others.
I have the right to call fatties names as I was a fatty (this only applies to people that are not doing anything about their fatness)
I should eat more fibre
If you add more weight to the bar but decrease the distance you move it the only thing getting bigger is your ego.
Why can I only think of article ideas when I cant write them down?
My new goal in life is to jump higher than Jamie taylor.
My body hates me if I drink anymore.
Why is it only hot when I'm at work?
Why do old people dry their balls with the hair driers at the gym?
I play street fighter better when drunk.
Watching 300 makes me want to wear a cape.
I would wear a Toga all the time if society would let me.
I hate flip flops.
I thank you.
23/06/0923 Jun 2009 4:46PMHere is an actual conversation I had at work today…
Girl: Hey, aren't you Mike Leng, the insanely famous and infamously sexy guy who writes for mmahitpit.com?
Me: Sorry, but you're kinda chubby, and Mike don't talk to chubby girls. He's afraid he might catch chubbiness (again).
Girl: That's totally understandable. In fact, with this muffin top, I kinda disgust myself. But please, I only need a minute of your time to ask some fitness questions.
Me: Okay, fine, but this will cost you £129 for the first minute, and £100 for each additional minute of my precious time you happen to take up.
Girl: Deal! Oh my, what a privilege! Okay, I want to lose this fat. I'll do anything. . .
Me: Stop right there. No, you won't "do anything." You say you will, you may even believe you will, but you won't.
Girl: Yes, yes, I will! So what kind of diet do you recommend?
Me: First, stop doing all the things you already know are making you fat. I bet you drink sodas, right?
Girl: Well, sometimes I. . .
Me: Shut up. You'll only cost yourself more money. Now, I could tell you to stop drinking all those colas because those useless calories will go straight to your fat ass or your aforementioned disgusting muffin top. But you know what you'll say? You'll say, "But Chris, I don't like the taste of diet soda." Then I'll have to smack you, then charge you for that reality smack.
Girl: But. . .
Me: That'll be £229.
Girl: But. . .
Me: If you say "but" again I'll double it. I take all major credit cards.
Ok it wasn’t quite like that but I bet that 90% of the people that are reading this have had a similar conversation. Now I'm not saying I'm a fitness guru or anything but I'm just going to stop giving people advice that ask for it (it always, ALWAYS leads to an argument).
Work is crazy at the moment so I will get a proper blog up next week. In the mean time here are 3 pieces of advice for this week (not that anyone gives a rats arse)
1) Go watch Tranformers. Now.
2) Do your stretching dammit.
3) Read something apart from the paper. Seriously it will improve the quality of your life!
9th June09 Jun 2009 2:10PMHey Guys,
Right that’s it, I'm done on the diet and to be honest the results have been incredible. Here is what happened;
Lost 13 pounds of fat.
Lost over 16 inches of fat.
No major loss in muscle size or strength.
As someone who has struggled to lose 2Ibs a week this kind of change in only 4 weeks was amazing. Its amazing the difference of 13 pounds makes, things much as pull ups, dips etc are much easier plus I generally feel lighter on my feet. In terms of grappling this means that if I compete I would be moving down a weight class, which is always a good idea rather than being a fat bastard in a higher weight class!
The only down size I can see is that I'm looking a bit flat. I expect that this will change as glycogen re-enters the muscles and I expect to maybe put 2-3 pounds back on because of this.
I am now in the first week of the 2 week transition phase, which means I can have solid food for one meal a day. The meals will consist of good fats and veg with little or no carbs. The next week I will move up to 2 meals a day with similar guidelines. All other supplements and shakes are staying the same.
After this is done my coach recommends that I move onto a maximal strength programme as this will enable me to squeeze the crap out my new tiny opponents. The workouts will be again full bodies based on compound moves. The programme will last for 12 weeks and I honestly cant wait to move some weight around.
Diet will change to match this with an emphasis on protein and pre/post workout nutrition. This will be the first time ever I will be eating for anything other than weight loss. I will try and keep carbs to a minimum apart from around workout times and time protein to get the most of the workouts. I will also be keeping an eye on measurements and scale weigh to make sure that I am gaining muscle and not whacking on the chub again.
A couple of people have asked me to do them this plan so I'm thinking about a light version for people who are not as crazy as me.
Would like to take a moment to wish all the British lads good luck for UFC 99.
As always shizzle I luvz;
1) Oasis gig at Heaton park
2) The wifey for getting me tickets to oasis at Heaton park
3) Looking in the mirror the other day and thinking ‘fuck me, that was an ab!’
4) Christian Thibeaudeau’s articles on pre and post workout nutrition
5) Eggs again
6) Tom Blackledge article (shamless plug) Click Here
Speak Soon guys
Mike
24/05/200924 May 2009 1:41PMHey Guys,
Right its been over two weeks on the V Diet and this shit is hard. I never really thought about how hard this would be, I really consider myself a strong willed person but the first week of this was very, very hard. Things got easier in the second week as I realised I was making a couple of school boy errors which were the following
1) Not getting enough carbs pre/post training.
2) Not drinking enough water
3) Not getting enough fibre.
Things got a lot better after I increased these and I'm feeling shit loads better. Ive even stopped feeling hungry between shakes now (on several occasions ive nearly forgotten my last shake, I only took it to meet protein and fibre requirements). The only negative thing I have to say about the diet is that if I don’t time stuff right I get a massive headache as soon as I start working out. Ok, so here are the main positives so far;
1) Lost over 8 pounds in 2 weeks (I expect about 2 pounds to come back at the end of the diet due to glycogen returning to muscles)
2) Have lost 3 inches off my waist/ love handle area (8 inches total)
3) No apparent loss in muscle size or strength.
On another note Chris Shuggart wrote an article called The V Diet and Toxic people. When I first read this I thought it was utter bollocks but on doing the diet its amazing how many people will try and kick the crap out of it. Now by this I mean there is a massive difference between people taking the time to hear about, read about and understand the diet then saying its not for them compared to people who just write it off instantly. Ive got to admit that sometimes I'm guilty of writing stuff off without even trying it but I realise I'm a dickhead so its ok J. Here is the article
I still have another 2 weeks left plus a transition phase to go so I'm very optimistic. I'm already working on a training/diet plan for after this that will focus on strength as ive realised that some of my diet really need s polishing up (mainly pre and post workout nutrition).
As far as training goes I'm really, really enjoying rolling at the moment, I wish I had a space so I could put some time in between training. Even just putting reps in would be awesome. I'm putting some stuff from the seminar to good use and my passing is slowly improving. Still need to heavily work on keeping my elbows tight and being explosive (Damn that Taylor and his triangle of death).
I wish there was a No Gi grappling club in the North East and if anyone knows of one can they please tell me?
As per usual shizzle I love this week;
1) Still getting looked at like a loony when I tell people about the diet
2) Getting the truck from twister side control (to fair ive done it once out of about 25 attempts but it was awesome)
3) Solid food.
4) Finding out people have been reading my rambling crap, even if when asked what they think their response is ‘Gay’.
5) The dog.
Ta Raaaaaaa.
20th May20 May 2009 11:51AMHey Guys,
As mentioned I am on a modified version of the V – Diet at the moment to try and shed the last of my blubber. This is a round up of what I'm doing;
Ok so here it is, my attempt at a modified V – Diet. As I have mentioned in the blog before my main goal for training is to get lean with a decent amount of muscle for my frame. I've always liked the V – Diet but never had the guts to try it till now! The original diet can be found HERE
The diet is based around the fact that you will have 5 protein shakes a day with only one healthy solid meal a week plus other supplements such as a fat burner and fish oil. This will last for 28 days plus a two week transition period. Now as I have mentioned I am doing a modified V – Diet and not following it word for word. The main reasons behind this are;
1) I cant get Biotest supplements easily and quickly
2) The original diet states that no extra exercise should be used apart from the 3 work outs, the V burn challenge and daily walks. This is no good for me as I want to keep mma training.
So the main things that I am going to change are the following;
1) I will use a different brand of supplements but still one that contains casein protein and is low carb. I will also be supplementing the fat burner for a different one.
2) I shall replace the V – Burn challenge with an mma session once a week. I shall only be doing one mma session a week during the diet as not to aggravate muscle loss. The weight workouts and NEPA walks I will keep the same.
3) I will have 6 shakes instead of 5 on mma days. I will do this by splitting a shake in half (one scoop instead of two).
I realise that not following the V – Diet word for word may effect the outcome of the diet but I am still very confident it will work.
The weight workouts are split into 2 phases. Phase 1 is during the diet while phase 2 is for two weeks after the diet. The weight workouts are three times a week and are full body exercises using compound moves. The workout is designed my Chad Waterbury. Here are the phase 1 workouts
1
Total reps: 20 per exercise
Rest: 30 seconds between each set
Load: Heavy (4-5 RM)
• A Front Squat
• B Chin-up or Lat pulldown – underhand grip
• C Dumbbell Bench Press
• D Ab-Wheel Rollout
2
Total reps: 40 per exercise
Rest: 45 seconds between each set
Load: Medium (8-9 RM)
• A Reverse Lunge or Step-Up
• B Bent-Over Row – barbell or dumbbells
• C Push Press – barbell or dumbbells
• D Barbell curl
• E Reverse Crunch – on floor or slant board
3
Total reps: 40 per exercise
Rest: 45 seconds between each set
Load: Medium (8-9 RM)
• A Deadlift
• B Decline Dumbbell Bench Press – neutral grip
• C Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown – neutral grip
• D Hand Walkout – from knees or toes
And phase 2;
1
Total reps: 40 per exercise
Rest: 45 seconds between each set
Load: Medium (8-9 RM)
• A Romanian Deadlift
• B Dip or Decline Dumbbell Bench Press – neutral grip
• C Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown – underhand grip
• D Hanging Knee Raise
2
Total reps: 50 per exercise
Rest: 45 seconds between each set
Load: Light (14-16 RM)
• A Dumbbell Upright Row – external rotation
• B Push-up
• C Reverse Lunge
• D Wood Chop
3
Total reps: 40 per exercise
Rest: 45 seconds between each set
Load: Medium (8-9 RM)
• A Deadlift – sumo stance
• B Push Press – barbell or dumbbells
• C Pull-Up or Lat Pulldown – neutral grip
• D Hand Walkout – from knees or toes
So that is the basis of the workouts and the main bulk of the diet. Ill also add the following to the diet for health reasons;
1) fish oil/flax oil
2) multivitamins
3) natural peanut butter to the last shake of the day
4) a fibre supplement.
Im going to keep track of how I am doing in a mini blog on a day to day basis as well to keep myself motivated plus so people can see how miserable I am!
Here we go………..
7th May 0907 May 2009 12:43PMGood morning sports fans (always wanted to say that)!
Things have been going well (but busy) recently and I seem to have found a new found energy that I'm putting down to the good weather. Back to training this week having had 4 days away with the wife. Did absolutely nothing and it was amazing.
As far as training goes I'm back with a vengeance. Was training last night and got my arse handed to me by my trainer. It wasn’t in a ‘getting smashed to pieces’ way but more in a ‘these are the things you are doing wrong you penis’ way. To be honest at the time I didn’t know what to think when asked ‘did you enjoy it?’ but after a night and morning of looking back on it I really did. If I can improve these weaknesses I have now he can point others out which will only make me better. I think we should get out of our comfort zones more, even at the time we might not enjoy it. As long as we can look back on it in a positive light then it did its job.
Diet wise, today is the day I start a modified version of the V – Diet. Its basically a protein shake only diet with a couple of solid meals per week. I'm not doing the diet word for word as I don’t think it would fit with my life. I realise that I may not get the same results but I'm willing to give it a go. I'm recording everything and I will post it up at the end of the 28 days so I can keep the blog free for my other random mumblings. The V – Diet by Chris Shugart can be found here;
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_program/sports_body_training_diet_velocity/velocity_diet_30
Recently I have been asked to do exercise programmes for two friends who are trying to get in shape. Normally I don’t do this because if I'm not there people don’t follow the plans/diet then moan at me for giving crap advice. However this time they are going head to head to see who can make the most improvement in three months so I'm going to give it a go. Dance puppets dance!!!!!
As per usual 5 things that I think are the shizzle;
1) Sun (the centre of our solar system not the paper, although that has boobies).
2) Paul Mcveighs articles in recovery
3) Buying Never Back Down for £3 (I iz fiter!)
4) Telling people you are doing a nearly shake only diet (I imagine Einstein got the same kind of looks….)
5) Wondering if 32” jeans are to big (former fat people will understand)
Ill end on another quote;
‘Chance favours the prepared mind’.
Mad bastard off Under Siege 2.
22/04/200922 Apr 2009 12:23PMAlright guys, here is what is going on with me at the moment;
Things are really hectic with the amount of articles and interviews that I am doing plus trying to get into an uber buff shape for summer!
Firstly I am really enjoying doing the interviews and articles, its like I have a new idea every day at the moment! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that help me with the interviews and articles. I have yet to speak to someone in the MMA world that is anything but sound. Also thanks to all the people that read my random stuff (at least I hope people are reading).
Really enjoying TUF this season, I can’t wait for the next episode! I'm rooting for either Ross Pointon (local lad) or Michael Stapleton (a thoroughly sound bloke). I'm hoping to do an interview with them both very soon! COME ON LADS!!!!!!!
As a change here are 3 things that are doing my box in;
1) People moaning about anything. Shut up and do something (I see the irony here)
2) The guilt of having a Gregs chicken bake (its not worth it)
3) The freaks long arms and legs at the gym.
And of course, shizzle I love;
1) UFC Undisputed demo (Chuck is to hard though)
2) My new Egg Foo Young
3) Looking forward to next weekend away doing nothing
4) Talking to thoroughly amazing people in MMA
5) Jamie T for sorting me out with UFC demo
Thought I would a quote this week;
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’
From Coach Carter.
Be like Fish in great pond of life people…….
15th of April15 Apr 2009 4:02PMNow then Guys,
Lots going on with me at the moment with training, work, interviews and writing articles and a major commitment of pissing off my housemate by constantly doing throws on Street Fighter 4.
Training is going well at the moment and we are back to light rolling with is fantastic. It is obvious to all that I am well out of practice! Feeling very stiff on the mat so trying to relax a little not getting bogged down. Still losing weight at the moment which is great so I’m going to keep the diet all the way to when I start a slightly modified version of the V – Diet (still researching).
I’m going to take this opportunity to big up a seminar taking place at my club as its for a good cause. Our trainer Jamie Taylor has had some devastating news about his family recently a MMA seminar is taking place to help out. The seminar is with Tom Blackledge and will cover all aspects of MMA. Everyone in UK MMA knows how good Tom is and it’s for a great cause. All the details can be found HERE.
As anyone who knows me will tell you I have somewhat of an obsessive compulsive character and from time to time become ‘obsessed’ with certain things (I simply see this as being dedicated/passionate)
So in that light here are the top 5 things I’m obsessed with this week!
1) Skipping – while I make a cup of tea, while the computer loads, waiting for anything ever (my style of skipping is something of legend)
2) Random recipes that involve protein powder
3) Making lists about stuff.
4) O2 Joggler – will change my life
5) The fitness section in the Argos catalogue – its incredible what they sell now (padded flooring and squat racks!)
Also inspired by a recent article I have come up with the top 5 things that I should be doing but don’t or doing more of;
1) Foam rolling
2) Stretching
3) Running
4) Getting up earlier so I have more time later in the day
5) Playing the lottery.
To end here is a video of Eddie Bravo rolling which I think is insane CLICK HERE
Random Stuff07 Apr 2009 11:42AMThings have been a bit crazy at the moment so I'm sorry its been all quiet on the blog front. Here are a few things that have been going on with me at the moment;
Training
Training is going well at the moment despite not being able to spar for the last couple of weeks. Thanks to squeezing workouts in at home I have been working out about 7 – 9 times a week which is doing me wonders. Seem to have more energy in the gym than usual so intensity and weights are up.
My diet has been staying pretty clean recently apart from going out drinking for a mates birthday. Have recently been looking at the V diet by Chris Shuggart which can be found here http://www.t-nation.com/programs/vdiet30/vDietProgram000.jsp This is a diet that is designed to strip fat off the body at a rapid rate while keeping muscle. I am looking at doing this for 4 weeks in May, more to come in an article I am writing for it.
As far as MMA training goes tomorrow will be the first time I have sparred in 2 weeks. I expect to be gassed and choked severely and I cant wait. There are a few things that I cant wait to try with someone in my guard and from side control so I am eager to get back on the mat.
Stuff I love this week
1) My home made cooking sauce
2) Still Street Fighter 4 (I AM AKUMA!!!)
3) TUF season 9
4) My blackberry
5) Bumping into people from long ago and them using phrases like ‘you look fantastic’ and ‘you have lost so much weight!’
6) The Inbertweeners.
Stuff I hate
1) Unreliable people (you know who you are)
2) Plyo push ups
3) My love of greggs chicken bakes
4) Having to take cooked chicken everywhere because I'm out of whey protein.
Train hard fight easy
Quick Blog25 Mar 2009 11:38AMHey Guys,
Just a quick one at the moment, I’ll be doing a full blog later in the week. For now here are some of the things I am loving/hating this week;
Loving
1) Front squats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6KWjZ-LHuE&feature=related
2) Doing extra workouts at home (its amazing how much you can do with a punch bag, skipping rope and yourself. There are no excuses people.)
3) My interview with Alex Gold in our interview section (shameless plug)
4) Articles on recovery and soft tissue work
5) My new protein bars (pics and update to follow)
Hating
1) Not being able to roll as my wrist is still done in.
2) Working when its sunny
3) Not being able to lift heavy because of wrist
4) The whole full body/split routine debate (they both work, try everything)
5) People who walk in the swimming pool (just swim, it takes less time and uses more calories)
More to follow
Cheers
Inner strength20 Mar 2009 12:09PMHey guys,
I don’t know about you but I have met some of the most mentally strong and determined people through MMA. I think it’s something that all athletes have, the ability to keep moving forward and sacrifice things in their life so that they can succeed at their goals. They get up early, stay up late, sweat, cry, bleed and push themselves to their limits every week. They prepare their routines, meals, kit well in advance so that they can succeed. They plan their lives around their training so that they may succeed.
All of this is pain. All of this hurts.
The majority of people don’t or can’t do this. It is this knowledge that spurns athletes on. It’s the fact that they know that others can’t do this. Athletes know that this determination and inner strength transfers over to every single part of their lives. They do better at work and with their families as they apply this work ethic to all aspects of their lives. They work hard and struggle constantly but they WILL succeed.
The people who can’t do this call them words such as ‘sad’ and ‘obsessed’. They make comments behind their backs that they have no lives and that they would never choose this life. These people try and persuade people to give up this life style with words such as ‘a couple of pints wont hurt’ and ‘you deserve a treat, have some more’. These people say these things because it makes them feel better to see you fail.
But athletes don’t give up and they won’t fail.
People don’t realise that despite all of their comments it is THEM that are the biggest motivation. Athletes know that because they have inner strength and drive they will never be like these people, they feel sorry for them that they could be so weak willed. With every comment they use it as a spark that lights a fire which never lets them quit.
The best thing about all of this is anyone can be an athlete. It is not a club reserved for top tier sports men and women, you do not have to dedicate your life to a sport to have this mindset and strength. Every person who decides they have had enough of being over weight or being made fun of can take this attitude. You can become an athlete right now. Not tomorrow, not on Monday but now. Charles Polliquin said ‘you are the most average out of the 5 people you spend the most time with’. Don’t be average…
New Bloggers14 Mar 2009 8:23PMHey Guys,
The last week has been a bit hectic with it being the wife’s birthday plus a cold, which means lots of crap food and limited training!
Got back on the wagon this week and started training hard in the weight room however as soon as I stepped on the mat I got slammed and twisted my wrist! So no mma and no weight training at all till I can get it fixed. Cardio is still all go so I'm going to try some different stuff with that to take it up a notch while I rest the wrist.
As far as the weight loss goes I was surprised to find that I had lost 4 pounds since I last stepped on the scales. Think this is mainly down to my increased NEPA (non exercise physical activity) still being quite high. Trying to walk a lot more, taking the stairs, parking farther away, walking the dog longer etc. Tweaked the diet again by adding a bit more fat and a touch less carbs. I'm finding that I do not really need carbs that much apart from before and after training, plus I'm not really craving cheat meals now (apart from lovely, lovely booze). I'm looking at trying the V Diet by Chris Shuggart in about 2 months depending where I am against my goals. I will talk more about this in another blog entry.
Recently I did an interview with Ari Bolden from Submissions 101.
If you have never heard of them I suggest you check them out at Submissions101.com or check out the interview HERE. Big thanks to Ari for putting the time aside for the Hit Pit!
Stuff I love this week
Ice (helping wrist a lot)
Still Street Fighter 4
Mexican Cheese.
Rampage’s trash talk
Snow patrol’s gig in Newcastle
Finally I would like to give a shout to my fellow bloggers Simon Boulter and Paul McVeigh.
Simon is new to MMA Hit Pit and has posted some great vids of his training and Paul is one of the UK’s well known MMA stars. Paul’s blog has a lot of focus on the kind of stuff that MMA athletes should be focusing on in the future (mobility work, recovery etc). Check them out in our Blog section.
Cheers
Training26 Feb 2009 5:56PMNow then,
In a past Blog entry I mentioned the fact that I took up mma as a way to help get lean and healthy. I thought that I would use this entry to let people know where I came from and where I'm at. Around this time last year I realised I was fat. I looked at a picture of me and realised I had become a whale. Now this had happened to me once before in the past and when it happened I looked at the picture and felt upset then lost the weight. This time I wasn’t upset I was pissed. All that work I had done previously had gone down the toilet, I had been a weak, selfish, lazy wuss. I would of kicked my own arse if I could.
I got weighed and my body fat measured (5’10, 202 pounds, 16% body fat) and I was horrified. I started with swimming and a reeeeeeally bad split routine in the gym. I as I got more involved in getting lean and healthy I did research on the internet and slowly changed my workout and tried new things in the gym and the kitchen.
Now at the moment I'm 168 pounds and 13% body fat (still 5’10 damnit). About 3 weeks ago I was stuck at 172 pounds and things had slowed in the gym. I took a really good luck and I’ve tweaked the workout to a 5x5 split and had another serious look at my diet and dropped some carbs and added more protein. Now things are picking up again, the main aim is to be lean. I want to be 10% body fat or under then stay there.
As far as mma training goes I’ve come to a bit of a stall. Things that I thought were the best things in my game have now dwindled. I now know (through the steep learning curve of frustration and embarrassment) it’s because I have fallen into the trap of walking before I can run. Looking to far ahead and trying things that further advanced than what I am has caused the things that I used to good at to become things that I suck at. So I am going to just focus on three things then add more as I accomplish them
Having a strong guard.
Aim for not getting tapped instead of getting taps.
Sweeps.
I imagine most people take up martial arts on a whole as a way to get fit. I think many people go through times when the rapidly improve then stop. I think the trick is to pick yourself up and keep moving forward. Not quitting is the biggest goal I think anyone can have (thanks Dad).
On a final note here are some other blogs I read that are not on this site
http://wwwneilmctcom.blogspot.com/
T-Nation
Stuff I like23 Feb 2009 5:43PMNow then,
Here is a list of some stuff I love/dislike this week.
Stuff I love
1) John West Microwave pouches. This stuff is the pure shizzle, 30 secs in the microwave 30 grams of protein with barely any carbs and no bad fats. Buy some.
2) Digging out my old SNES. Games are waaaaay harder then than they are now. Street Fighter 2 and Mario Kart are some of the best games ever invented.
3) Squats. Nuff said.
4) Eggs. These bad boys are now a staple breakfast for me. Am now waking up looking forward to breakfast rather than forcing it down. P.s. Nandos peri peri sauce on scrambled eggs is the future.
5) Ipod. Working out is never the same without it. Going to turn it on and finding there is no battery left is like watching a puppy die.
Stuff I dislike
1) Running in any shape or form.
2) People who complain about how they cant lose weight while enjoying their 4th Coke of the day. Then when they are told that the coke has over 300 calories they claim ‘but I CAN’T live with out coke!’. Enjoy diabetes…
3) People hating on something they have never tried or experienced.
4) Not drinking (have gave up for 8 weeks).
5) I said running right……..
The highs and lows of a novice16 Feb 2009 11:10PMHi all, my name is Mike and I’m an mma enthusiast (ever tried to tell someone what mma is? Its tricky work). I have been asked to do this blog so people who don’t do mma (or people who are interested) can get an insight to what its like for someone who has just started mma. I’ll be covering must of the stuff about my training in this blog plus stuff that just winds me up/interests me. Here is the usual blurb about myself;
I’m 25 years old living in smoggy Middlesbrough and I have been doing mma for about 4 – 5 months. I got into it the same way that I imagine quite a lot of people do really, I was trying to lose weight (14 stone at 5’10 is never a good look) and was introduced to mma through a mate Mark (cheers). I slowly got into it going from the ‘why are they just hugging on the floor’ to really enjoying the technical side of it. As I got more and more into it my mate suggested that we gave it a go, now I did Kempo Karate as a kid but as it has been demonstrated a lot of the time it means squat in the ring!
I liked the fact that fighters are dedicated athletes and I knew it would help my fitness and fat loss but I was very apprehensive about a gym full of blokes whose sole aim was to smash me to a bloody pulp. As it played more and more on my mind I started to research clubs in my area, I found one very near to me and their website even showed a picture of a guy that worked at my gym. I approached him and we talked a little about the club and other clubs in the area and I decided to go and have a look. Unfortunately the club was closed and I put mma to the back of my mind. A couple of weeks later the guy at my gym (that I now know is Jamie Taylor) approached me and told me that he and a lad called Nathan Boyce were starting an mma class from Teesside Thai Boxing and would I be interested in coming down. I was still very apprehensive but me and my house mate took the plunge and went down.
Ten minutes into it I knew I loved it. It was like nothing I imagined, it was tougher than I ever thought and stuff that I thought looked easy on TV was harder than I thought possible. I loved being pushed but even more than that I loved to learn. Learning something then applying it to someone who was trying to stop you was a massive rush. It took me nearly 2 months to get my first tap, holding onto an arm triangle screaming in my head ‘TAP DAMMIT, TAP!’ and the feeling when he did is something that I, along with thousands world wide chase on a week to week basis.
Now I’m a couple of months down the line the question of ‘are you going to fight’ keeps raising its head. The questions are coming from other people but mostly from me. As I get better in training (I still suck though) I keep asking myself am I ready for an amateur? The truth is I don’t know, which means no. Do I want this as a passionate interest or do I actually want to be a fighter? Only time will tell.
I hope that this makes some sense to some people rather than being a babble of incoherent thoughts that have spilled from my mind to the screen. Please feel free to leave constructive comments and questions.
Cheers
Mike
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