On episode 20 of the Fight Strength Podcast we had on the #1 contender to the Bellator light heavyweight title in Linton Vassell. Before he fights Ryan Bader next month in Pennsylvania at Bellator 186, "The Swarm" talked to us about what drives him to succeed in a sport he didn't aspire to be in, his advantage over Bader, his passions away from the cage, the differences in Bellator with Bjorn Rebney and Scott Coker leading, being the next Englishman to possibly hold a major title in MMA, and much more. Follow our sponsor The Iron Neck on Twitter @TheIronNeck and visit their site iron-neck.com. And our other sponsor Nova Genix on Twitter @NovaGenix, on Facebook or give them a call at (561) 277-8260. You can follow Phil and Jason at the below addresses: Twitter: @DaruStrong & @CheapSeatsChat Facebook: Phil Bam Bam Daru & Jason Burgos Instagram: @DaruStrong & @JerichoVendetta And please follow the shows social media pages, and send us questions for Phil to answer: Facebook: Fight Strength Podcast Twitter: @FightStrength_ Intro Music: J1 - Floridian Fighting Bear

Fight Strength Podcast: Episode 20 with Linton Vassell

Hosted by American Top Team strength & conditioning coach Phil Daru, and Australian strength & conditioning specialist Macgregor McNair, Fight Strength Podcast is a weekly show featuring well-known fighters and coaches from MMA, and trainers from the strength and conditioning industry. 

Daru has been using his Daru Strong Specialized Training Systems as a S&C coach for nearly a decade. Having trained MMA superstars such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Dustin Poirier, Tyron Woodley, Will Brooks and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Macgregor McNair is a long-time MMA/BJJ strength & conditioning coach, producing 3 BJJ world champions to date.

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After a short hiatus, the Fight Strength Podcast is back on air! In the months gone by since the last episode, questions from Phil's and the show's followers have been piling up - so Phil & Mac waste no time and get busy answering some of them.   If you haven't already, hurry up and cast your vote for Phil at the World MMA Awards!!  You have until the end of May 2019 to show your support and vote for Phil in the category "Trainer of the Year".  This is a massive honour, and there is no more deserving coach than Phil for this coveted award!  To cast your vote, head over to https://www.worldmmaawards.com/vote/ If you are in the South Florida area, be sure to get your tickets for the upcoming Fight Science Institute Seminar on July 27th at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  The speakers for the seminar will be:  Prof. Tony Ricci Dr. Mike Camp Dr. Corey Peacock Phil Daru Dr. Jose Antonio (founder of International Society of Sports Nutrition ISSN)  Tickets available at www.fightscienceinstitute.com Some of the questions from the audience which Phil & Mac address in this episode are:  How is Dustin Poirier's preparation for the UFC Lightweight Title match against Khabib Nurmagomedov? If you had to choose between a Belt Squat machine or a Reverse Hyper machine, which would you choose? How do you warm up properly for a fight? How do you periodise energy systems training during a fight camp?  Do you train each individually phase for phase, or do you train them all concurrently during camp? Did you have any moments throughout your career where you thought you were doing a disservice to your athletes?  What challenges did you face and what lessons did you learn? What is the best training routine for fighters wanting to gain muscle mass? What are the mechanisms involved in hypertrophy training using blood flow restriction training? What books do you recommend for MMA strength & conditioning, and strength & conditioning in general? What mobility prerequisites do you have for fighters based on what you've seen? What distance and intensity do you recommend for roadwork/running for boxers? What are your favourite glute & hamstring exercises for hypertrophy? What are the most effective exercises for strength & conditioning for Judo athletes?  Check out the Fight Strength Podcast on YouTube!!!  Watch the video recording of this episode on Phil Daru's YouTube Channel! Follow the show, Phil, and Mac on social media at: Twitter: @DaruStrong Facebook: Phil Daru & The Unknown Strength Instagram: @DaruStrong & @unknownstrength & @fightscienceinstitute   Online:  www.darustrong.com www.theunknownstrength.com www.fightscienceinstitute.com And please follow the shows social media pages, and send us questions for Phil and Mac to answer: Facebook: Fight Strength Podcast FightScienceInstitute Twitter: @FightStrength_ Outro Music: J1 - Floridian Fighting Bear

Episode #51 "Ask Daru & Mac"

Episode #50 is finally here!  What a milestone! What a privilege and an honour to be joined AGAIN by Canadian Strength Coach and Nutritionist, Dan Garner! Hardcore followers of this show will remember Dan Garner's first appearance as a guest back on episode #19 of the Fight Strength Podcast! This time around, we had the opportunity to get Dan in the studio in-person during his Australian Seminar tour.  Unfortunately due to that pesky little thing called timezone difference, we were not able to sync availabilty between Phil Daru in Florida with the boys in Melbourne, Australia.  So to make up for Phil's absence, Macgregor enlisted the help of our old friend, Dan Howard, to round out the interview. Some of the topics covered in this incredibly entertaining and informative episode are: * Dan's background and career achievements (including coaching Michael Bisping to the UFC Middleweight Championship, coaching Ronda Rousey as well as many others) * Common myths which need busting, i.e: "should fighters drop carbs during camp to cut weight?" * Energy balance and weight loss for fighters * Using Carbs to help with weight cutting * Pre/Intra/Post workout nutrition for fighters * Hydration and electrolyte balance * Meal frequency for fighters * Testosterone replacement therapy for older trainees * Getting the basics right, i.e: "tried and proven always beats new and improved" ** Please remember to subscribe to this podcast so that you get notified as soon as we put out more new content **   Check out the Fight Strength Podcast on YouTube!!!  Watch the video recording of this episode on Phil Daru's YouTube Channel! Follow the show, Phil, and Mac on social media at: Twitter: @DaruStrong Facebook: Phil Daru & The Unknown Strength & Dan Garner - Strength Coach & Nutritionist Instagram: @DaruStrong & @unknownstrength & @dangarnernutrition & @fightscienceinstitute & @coach_dan_howard   Online:  www.darustrong.com www.theunknownstrength.com www.fightscienceinstitute.com www.coachgarner.com And please follow the shows social media pages, and send us questions for Phil and Mac to answer: Facebook: Fight Strength Podcast FightScienceInstitute Twitter: @FightStrength_ Outro Music: J1 - Floridian Fighting Bear

Episode #50 with Dan Garner

Episode #49 is here!  Featuring co-founder of Lockhart & Leith Nutrition, Dan Leith, your hosts Macgregor McNair and Phil Daru dive deep into the world of nutrition and weight cutting for elite MMA fighters. Dan Leith is responsible for the nutrition and weight cutting process for countless UFC fighters and celebrities including UFC "champ champ" Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, Luke Rockhold, Cody Garbrandt, Uriah Faber, Michael Chiesa, as well as pop icon Demi Lovato. In a very short amount of time, George Lockhart and Dan Leith have built the world's premier nutrition coaching business, which amazingly serves OVER HALF THE UFC'S FIGHTER ROSTER! Some of the topics discussed: * Dan's background and career path * Dan's experience working with Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez and most of the fighters from American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) * Dan's experience working with Demi Lovato * Dealing with eating disorders * Paradigm shifts within the industry * Lockhart & Leith coaches certification program * Insight on the inner workings of the Lockhart & Leith business Check out the Fight Strength Podcast on YouTube!!!  Watch the video recording of this episode on Phil Daru's YouTube Channel! Follow the show, Phil, and Mac on social media at: Twitter: @DaruStrong Facebook: Phil Daru & The Unknown Strength & Lockhart & Leith Instagram: @DaruStrong & @unknownstrength & @d.leith & @fightscienceinstitute   Online:  www.darustrong.com www.theunknownstrength.com www.fightscienceinstitute.com www.lockhartandleith.com And please follow the shows social media pages, and send us questions for Phil and Mac to answer: Facebook: Fight Strength Podcast FightScienceInstitute Twitter: @FightStrength_ Outro Music: J1 - Floridian Fighting Bear

Episode #49 with Dan Leith

In this week's episode, your hosts Phil Daru and Macgregor McNair choose a select few questions from Phil's Instagram followers and dive deep to answer in as much detail as possible.  Some of the topics and questions were: * Understanding short term stimuli to create long term adaptations. * Understanding the law of diminishing returns. * What are the three essential exercises for Wrestling and MMA? * What is the best way to improve upper body endurance? * Tyron Woodley's energy expenditure. * How many S&C; training sessions per week for a kick boxer would you recommend? * What are the similarities and differences when programming for an amateur boxer as opposed to an MMA fighter? * What are the best exercises to incorporate into your program to enhance single leg strength? * When fighting once every two months how do I plan for my strength and conditioning to maximise my performance? * Recovery = GO EAT & GO SLEEP * What are the top three lessons you would pass down to the up-and-coming personal trainer or strength & conditioning coach? * If you want to help people, you need to put out content to remind people that you know what you're talking about!  Check out the Fight Strength Podcast on YouTube!!!  Watch the video recording of this episode on Phil Daru's YouTube Channel! Follow the show, Phil, and Mac on social media at: Twitter: @DaruStrong Facebook: Phil Daru & The Unknown Strength & Daniel Howard Instagram: @DaruStrong & @unknownstrength & @dan_absolute_conditioning & @fightscienceinstitute   Online:  www.darustrong.com www.theunknownstrength.com www.fightscienceinstitute.com And please follow the shows social media pages, and send us questions for Phil and Mac to answer: Facebook: Fight Strength Podcast FightScienceInstitute Twitter: @FightStrength_ Outro Music: J1 - Floridian Fighting Bear

Episode #48 "Ask Daru & Mac"

Welcome 2019! To kick off the new year, Phil and Mac bring you another instalment of the Fight Strength Podcast, and dive deep into some of the more technical and specialised elements of high performance coaching for elite MMA S&C; coaches. After a very busy couple of months with coaching, international travel, seminars, Christmas and New Years - Phil and Mac are back in their saddles to bring you the highest quality information and insights. Some of the topics covered in this episode are: * Periodization and programming for MMA * Special exercises for different combat sports * Phil's Instagram saga * Amanda Nunes, ATT's new champ champ * Phil's recent Paris seminar * Fight Science Institute's upcoming March seminar * Team USA Judo Olympian Angelica Delgado Show notes: Programming for MMA: Key points- • understanding the circumstances of the athlete and what method fits the situation • 2 methods that are highly effective Weekly undulation or step loading and conjugate concurrent model • Long term block periodization is outdated and ultimately leads to detraining if not programmed in the essence of potentiation and adaptive decay • I run conjugate in a 3 day a week microcycle with a 3 week pendulum wave to enhance readiness throughout the year • Aerobic systems are also concurrently trained throughout each week to optimize readiness and to balance the strength adaptions along with the skills work Key points to training: • main lifts should have high transfer to the sport • Special exercises should be integrated in to help progress the biomotor abilities of the athlete and to increase strength in the main lifts • Accessory exercises should center around weak points in the body • Posterior chain, core, neck, and grip strength are areas we must hit with high frequency and volume in order to increase performance • Single joint exercises with high volumes around 100-200 reps with light load every other day to enhance tissue strength and restoration GPP work: • GPP work is done primarily 20-9 weeks out from fight or on the 3rd day of training • focus is on sled drags, and pulls, fast twitch capacity and ft hypertrophy • utilizing EDT, aerobic circuits, and locate retention method • for energy system training the focus is going to match the stimulus in the weight room Aerobic demands training: • on max effort day we work on anaerobic alactic training keeping time frame consistent with load time under tension roughly 4-6 seconds with 2 minute recovery usually active • On dynamic effort we work on what’s called alactic speed endurance where we will use emom’s • On RE days we work on lactic threshold if needed (primarily if they miss sparring or wrestling that week) • Saturday’s and Monday’s are aerobic capacity training LSD or low intensity tempos Rotation of exercises: • We rotate exercises but not as frequently as Westside may do simply because athletes aren’t as efficient in lifting or have to experience • 3 week rotations with a deload at the end of week 4 this will just be about 15% reduction in intensity and a 65-70% reduction in volume • We rotate 6 major compound lifts: 1. zercher squats 2. Sumo deadlift 3. Trap bar deadlift 4. Floor press 5. Incline Bench Press 6. Pendlay Row • these all have specific special exercises to help increase strength Special exercises are: 1. goodmornings 2. Barbell RDL 3. Deficit pulls 4. Rack pulls 5. Close grip bench press 6. Zercher split squat 7. Zercher split squat goodmorning 8. Glute Bridge Floor Press Tapering and peaking: • taper is usually depending upon the strength of the athlete the stronger and more experienced the longer the taper • Generally 2 weeks for my fighters • We bring down intensity by 10% the first week and 60% of volume • The second week before fight most of the work is done and they travel focusing on some speed work and mobility to maintain mechanics and fluidity   Check out the Fight Strength Podcast on YouTube!!!  Watch the video recording of this episode on Phil Daru's YouTube Channel! Follow the show, Phil, and Mac on social media at: Twitter: @DaruStrong Facebook: Phil Daru & The Unknown Strength & Daniel Howard Instagram: @DaruStrong & @unknownstrength & @dan_absolute_conditioning & @fightscienceinstitute   Online:  www.darustrong.com www.theunknownstrength.com And please follow the shows social media pages, and send us questions for Phil and Mac to answer: Facebook: Fight Strength Podcast FightScienceInstitute Twitter: @FightStrength_ Outro Music: J1 - Floridian Fighting Bear

Fight Strength Podcast: Episode 20 with Linton Vassell

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