Tabata

Recently with competitions on the horizon and a few 'fatties', 'smokers' and 'drinkers' among our ranks (you know who you are, nudge, nudge, wink, wink), we have been finishing the GB Halifax sessions with Tabatas. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Tabatas let me explain.

Tabatas are a form of High-intensity interval training (HIIT) used to improve endurance performance. With HIIT, one performs a set exercise at maximum intensity for a given time period followed by a recovery of a set period, usually with a 2:1 work to recovery ratio.

The Tabata regime first formulated by Tabata et al consists of 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at 170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles) [1].

It is this particular regime that we adhere to in training although the masochists amongst us have been known to reduce the recovery time or increase cycles. Judging by the massive grin on Rich's face I am sure he gains some kind of sadistic thrill out of seeing us all in pain, I know I do (I jest). Speaking of pain it is quite strange how different types of exercise result in different types and levels of pain. Has anyone ever noticed this? I personally prefer Tabata burpees to press-ups with a plank. Anyone who has not done Tabatas should live a little dangerourously and give them a try (Please leave a comment and let me know how the experience went. In fact I would be interested to hear any opinions or thoughts you have). Bear in mind, the original study [1] conducted at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan used highly-trained endurance athletes in peak physical condition. So if you don't fall into this category (or are a big girls blouse) remember to listen to your body and ease into the Tabata slowly.

Here is the original Tabata Protocol:

5 minutes of warm-up

8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest

2 minutes cool-down

To finish the post I have included a picture of one of my team mates, Marc Leigh. In this picture he is receiving his prize 'pie' from Rich, for not making weight. Hopefully the Tabatas will have paid off and Marc will make weight this weekend at the Manchester Open. Good luck to everyone one who is competing. Smash it my frens!!!

[1] Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, et al. (1996). "Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max". Med Sci Sports Exerc 28 (10): 1327–30.

Training Introduction

I have had the privilege of training at a whole host of academies (albeit in some instances for only one session) both at home and abroad including Gordo's, Carlson Gracie Revolution, BJJ School, Gracie Barra (GB), Alliance UK, Asylum MMA, Caged Steel (and "off shots") and Nova-Vida to name but a few.

Currently the core of my training is at three main academies these are Nova Vida (Huddersfield), GB Halifax and GB Midlands. Nova-Vida and GB Halifax only run 2 sessions a week but luckily they are on alternative days. I try and venture over to GB Midlands once a week to get black belt tuition from Victor Estima and Bruno Alves, although sometimes I cannot make it because of the distance, times and my finances. Below, is an example of a typical weeks training. I usually use Sat or Sun as a rest day depending on how I feel.

Mon and Wed 7.30pm-9.30pm Nova Vida or 7.00pm-8.45 GB Midlands
Tues and Thurs 8.00pm-9.30pm GB Halifax
Fri 12pm-1pm or 7.00pm-8.45pm GB Midlands or local gym
Sat 1.45pm-3.30pm GB Midlands or Asylum MMA or local gym
Sun 10.00am GB Halifax open mat or local gym.
*In the future I would like to add more strength/conditioning and running to my training.

As you can see life can get rather confusing with training so rather than document every lesson and technique and bore you to tears I will highlight the occasional lesson and technique in my blog. Besides most of us know what a BJJ lesson entails and many schools follow a similar routine for example warm up, drills, techniques, specific sparring, free sparring and warm down.

Please keep posted for further blogs, for now I have included some photos of my local BJJ schools;

Here is a photo of the original GB Halifax team

Here is an older photo of the Nova-Vida team after we had moved into the new premises

Visualisation

For those of you who know me you will know I like good conversation and that I have had some strange conversations in my time. The most notable of which have been with random drunks and psychiatric patients. I have even had entire conversations with inanimate objects, the one which sticks in my mind is the one I had with a vibrating caterpillar toy. Anyway, I digress.

Where we train there is a gentleman who lost his arm below the elbow. However he does not let this hinder him, he manages to do all the exercises, has super human strength and pushes everyone in training. Obviously he has had to adapt to overcome this adversity, over the weeks I have seen a big development in his high guard game and he has been using the remainder of his arm as a vicious choking tool.

Last night after training we were talking about this particular gentleman and admiring the way he had over come this adversity, when the subject of the conversation turned onto other people in similar situations and the power of mind. Below I highlight two athletes who have over come such adversity and then I finish the post with an example of the power of the mind.

One of the first persons who sprung to my mind was Og De Souza. Og is a professional skateboarder from Brazil who skateboards using only his hands. He was born with a condition which caused his legs to stop developing at a young age. Originally Og learned to skateboard as a way to get around, much like most people use a wheel chair. Here is a video of Og in action:



Next is Kyle Maynard. Kyle was born with congenital amputation of the forearms and lower legs. He is now a motivational speaker but has competed in many sports including wrestling and even MMA. Below is a short news article on Kyle.



People often talk about the power of the mind and whether the mind can influence the body or vice versa...I will spare my thoughts on the subject for now but here is a striking example of how the mind can influence the body. Tibetan Monks have shown that by mediating one can increase the body temperature. Here is a snippet from a documentary that was aired on the History channel.



One guy Deepak Chopra, reckoned that by ridding oneself of negative emotions and developing intuition by listening to signals from the body, health can be improved. According to Chopra, slowing down or reversing the aging of the mind through his methods can increase one's lifespan up to the age of 120 years. Who knows if this is true one thing I do know is that you always see old monks!!!