Building a Fighter

Top 5 benefits of Strength and Conditioning that translate to MMA. Today we review what are the specific factors that will be enhanced because of the addition of strength and conditioning. We start with the obvious: you will get stronger. There is a subtle differentiation we need to make for this podcast. The benefits we are looking for are all “sport-specific” . The weight room is a good place to develop general athletic abilities but that is not the end goal. The end goal is to win fights. The benefit from the weight room is not “Now you can squat 300 pounds.” The benefit will be “ Now I can easily pick up my opponent in a double leg and slam them.” As we talk through the to 5 benefits we outline a good process of strength and conditioning and how to view the process of the weight room. Listen in for the rest of our top 5 MMA benefits from S&C! 

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbnU40nTDk17_7m614Njakw 

Alex: IG @strong_a.f email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness email: [email protected]

How to avoid the pitfalls of New Year's Resolutions. We talk in depth about  how to set good goals, hold yourself accountable, and balance holistic health. What is holistic health? We view it as a good maintenance of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health and habits. The habits part is big, replacing bad habits with good, and making small consistent changes is the right way forward. We urge everyone to be more intentional with their time. This way we can accurately value our goals and how we use our time in pursuit of the goals. We end on the topic of how to identify if you are on the right path, and really align your psyche with your ambition. This was a really fun conversation and we are glad everyone took the time to look into this Podcast. Happy New Year, and thank you. 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbnU40nTDk17_7m614Njakw 

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

Training Trunk Stability Part. 1

One of Austin’s favorite topics within human movement. Trunk Stability provides a foundation for good movement, and an ability to hold good position. We dive into how the trunk works best, and how we can train to make that our default movement pattern. Trunk Stability is a huge part in training, and also in competition, so why wouldn’t we really emphasize it as the foundation in movement. Treating it as such makes it important enough to train from the ground up. Which leads us into another of Austin’s favorite topics: Breathing!

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

The ideal week of training is not a freestyle week. Ironically we are freestyling on this episode but we hit some major points on workload management. Working efficiently has its merits and we typically opt for a 6 day training week, with less work each day. We need to make it clear that we do not advocate for working less hard, we still need to put time in and work hard but we can do so in a strategic manner. This is a training microcycle dream podcast. We truly lay out a high level, performance oriented week for MMA. This week allows you to develop your skills, your physical, and overtime your mental. Enjoy and share your ideal training week with us! 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

Everyone is looking for a quick fix, a shortcut, a cheat to get the same results with less work. We’re here to tell you that you cannot in fact cheat physiology. Adaptation, recovery, and healing all have aspects of physical health surrounding them. You cannot modify or change those processes to fit your convenience. There are ways to supplement them or optimize them, but we simply cannot make things better right now. Long story short, we must accept the processing time for our body’s physiology and do our best to optimize the process. Also as Austin says he’s not a magician. (He doesn’t even believe in Harry Potter.) Work the process, and live it. Don’t expend more effort trying to cheat the process, use that effort to be better. 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

The Ego. Is the ego a benefit or a detriment? We explore the intercourse of the ego and practice in this episode. Spoiler, the ego is not all a bad attribute. You must have some pride and ego in your work which can enhance your overall product. We find that the negotiation and awareness of the ego is the main thing. How are you being affected by your ego and how can you turn that to benefit yourself and your athlete? We go deep in this episode philosophically and motivationally. Please let us know if you like this episode where we dive into one topic very deep! Thanks for listening

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness email: [email protected]

How should we modify the weight room for MMA athletes?  The weight room is certainly one of the most stigmatized locations in our society. Whether you think of bodybuilding, football Strength and Conditioning, vain fitness, or even as an intimidating setting. For a lot of athletes the weight room equals a place where 1. I’m just not good at that, 2. That place is boring, or 3. That's not going to make me better at my sport. In the recent progression of MMA the weight room has been more readily accepted but the acceptance doesn’t always mean that it is a best fit. In this podcast we get into the details on how we can modify the weightroom to genuinely enhance performance and minimize the risk of injury. Ultimately the weight room is an assistance location, but it can still be optimized for the MMA athlete. 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

Huge guest appearance. Richard Ulm, DC is a phenomenal coach, and coach educator. He is a former NCAA track and field athlete and strength coach. He now practices in Columbus, OH, and teaches DNS courses through his website https://www.athlete-enhancement.com/  Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization is a system of movement that facilitates training appropriately and factors in so many topics including biomechanics, functional movement, and movement efficiency. DNS has had a huge impact in how Austin and Alex approach training athletes. Rich is a treasure trove of great coaching and movement information. He talks circles around the training process and nuances that will change based on the context of the athlete, and sport demands. We thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and Thank you Rich for sharing your time and knowledge with us! Rich is offering a DNS Strength Training Course at the UFCPI in Las Vegas on March 4th - 6th. You can find that on his website above. you want to reach Richard Ulm, his Instagram is @athleteenhancement 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

Fiery debate time! Austin and I go at it talking about correct biomechanics vs. learned successful movement. This debate is rife with performance vs. health type arguments and we articulate the landscape on this type of topic. As we always qualify our talk the context matters and it depends on the athlete’s lived experiences. Ultimately we do want to clean up athletes’ biomechanics and make them more efficient and effective in their movement. We do however need to take into account the time of the fight, the movement demands of the sport, and who the athlete is. We want to know what you think! As an athlete, coach, or just a fan of mma which side of this debate would you back? Let us know via the contacts below! 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]

How do you get better at what you do? Practice right? That's too vague, what are some actionable strategies, goals, and methods to genuinely develop professionally. We break down professional growth in our own experiences, as a field and how to get the most out of it. There are pros and cons of the acute conference, or weekend seminars to learn and grow, similar to the pros and cons of chronic and long term learning. We explore those options in this podcast. We summarize how we can add to this continuing education field with our Building a Fighter Level 1. Plus a little motivational kick at the end! Thank you for listening! Leave us a comment, or not about the podcast, if you are enjoying it, or questioning some ideas! 

Message Building a Fighter directly at [email protected]

@buildingafighter on Instagram

Alex: IG @strong_a.f  email: [email protected]

Austin: IG  @warriorsportswellness  email: [email protected]