Mepersoner's Training Log

[mepersoner]

I'm posting this at Sherdog as well, but I figured if people want to read it, more power to them, and if anyone wants to give me some tips, I'm all ears.

Purpose - to get in better shape and increase my MMA skills. Also, I've never ever been on a weight program ever, so I really don't know where I'm at, that said...

June 4th, 2007. At 6 AM I weigh 145.6 pounds.

I did the following weight lifting -

5 rep squats - 115 pounds
5 rep squats - 135 pounds
5 rep squats - 165 pounds
5 rep squats - 165 pounds
5 rep squats - 165 pounds
5 rep squats - 165 pounds
5 rep squats - 165 pounds
I haven't done squats in a long time, and have never done them regularly, so I started light and moved up to what seemed to give me a decent workout. At first 165 pounds seemed a little light, but on the last rep on the last set, I failed to get the weights back up and I felt my knees go inward on some of the squats, I tried to make sure that didn't happen. I usually wait a minute and a half to two minutes between sets, and about 5 minutes between exercises.


5 rep front squat - 135 pounds
5 rep front squat - 135 pounds
6 rep front squat - 135 pounds
6 rep front squat - 135 pounds
6 rep front squat - 135 pounds
I wasn't sure how much weight I should be doing with the front squat after doing the squats or at all really. I thought it should be a little less. I struggled on the last couple on the last set, but finished with a few grunts.

4 rep jump squat - 115 pounds
4 rep jump squat - 115 pounds
4 rep jump squat - 115 pounds
4 rep jump squat - 115 pounds
I really wasn't sure what these looked like, so I just did them like a normal squat, only exploded upward into a jump. Considering this plus the fact that I had already done a lot of squats, I used a lot less weight. Maybe too little, I didn't have any trouble with even on the last set.

After this I ate and drank some water, and then went to train after about 2 hours.
Training went like this:
Speed Bag
Heavy Bag
Mitt Work
Very Light Sparring while working to clinch
From Overhook/Underhook position attempt to escape from prtner attempting to hold you in the corner/ attempt to hold partner in corner
Work to feet from being mounted/Keep partner from working to feet
Rolling with various people with shadow-striking on the ground

I originally had planned to do more than this, but seeing as how before I just trained a few times a week with no weight lifting, and I'll now be training everyday, might be best to ease myself into it at first...

[mepersoner]

At 6 AM I weight 147.6 pounds.

I did the following weight lifting:

10 rep bench press - 95 pounds
4 rep bench press - 135 pounds
3 rep bench press - 135 pounds
5 rep bench press - 125 pounds
5 rep bench press - 125 pounds
5 rep bench press - 115 pounds

8 rep Skull Crushers - 75 pounds
8 rep Skull Crushers - 75 pounds
6 rep Skull Crushers - 75 pounds

6 rep DB press - 70 pounds (2 35 barbells)
6 rep DB press - 70 pounds
6 rep DB press - 70 pounds

10 rep DB overhead press - 40 pounds
8 rep DB overhead press - 40 pounds
8 rep DB overhead press - 40 pounds
These were very dissatisfying for me. I started off with the 30 pound barbells, and I struggled to do 1 with my right arm, and couldn't do any with my left. I then moved down to the 25 pound barbells, which was pretty easy for my right arm, but I still couldn't do any with my left. Finally, I moved down to the 20's and did as many as I could, the last set of 8 reps I almost didn't get the last rep with my left arm. A little over a year ago I had surgery on my shoulder and haven't lifted weight since, I needed to give it time to heal, and then after that I was a little afraid because I could FEEL how much weaker my arm was just normally. This confirms it, but I guess it's time to work it back up.

5 Pull-ups
3 Pull-ups

After this I rested for about an hour and a half and then headed off to training. We did the following:

5 minute speed back
5 minute shadowing
20 minutes of mitt work
Drills:
Counter to the armbar when mounted. Reach over with arm not being armbarred and grab in the joint of the elbow with the arm that is being armbarred. Scoot your body so it isn't perpindicular to your opponent anymore, and then scissor your legs and sit into him. Stack opponent then turn your arm like you're turning a key and pull it out. Now control the hip so you don't get triangled and pass to cross-side.

Counter to the Americana while being mounted. Get onto your hip and reach to your arm being Americana'd with your arm that isn't. Trap opponent's arm, bridge, and roll opponent to opposite side of arm being americana'd. If opponent refuses to let go of the Americana, you may also roll to the side of the arm that is being Americana'd, in guard put your hand on his chest and pull your arm out.

Counter to the hammer choke while being mounted. Grab the tricep of the opponent's arm which is under your neck and clinch it down. Push the elbow of the arm in your throat with your palm towards the top of your head and roll to the side of the opponent's bicep your are clinching.

After this we rolled for about 25 minutes.

[mepersoner]

Today was an easy day. There is no morning training on Wednesdays and being that my next lifting will be a dead lift day, I didn't plan on doing it until tomorrow. Today I did some light cardio and then stretched for about an hour and a half, doing the Gracie stretch routine. Tomorrow, back to weights and training...

[mepersoner]

I weighed 150.2 pounds this morning.

I did the following weight lifting:

5 rep dead lifts - 95 pounds
5 rep dead lifts - 135 pounds
5 rep dead lifts - 185 pounds
5 rep dead lifts - 205 pounds
5 rep dead lifts - 205 pounds
5 rep dead lifts - 205 pounds
5 rep dead lifts - 205 pounds
I really focused on looking myself in the face in the mirror and keeping my back straight, I hope I got these down correctly.

5 rep stiff legged dead lifts - 135 pounds
5 rep stiff legged dead lifts - 155 pounds
5 rep stiff legged dead lifts - 155 pounds
5 rep stiff legged dead lifts - 155 pounds
This one was a bit different. Am I supposed to put the weights back on the ground every rep, or just go down as far as I can without bending my back/legs?

6 rep bent over barbell rows - 115 pounds
6 rep bent over barbell rows - 115 pounds
6 rep bent over barbell rows - 115 pounds
6 rep bent over barbell rows - 115 pounds
I knew 135 would be too much, but thought 115 wouldn't be enough, towards the end of the last set, I knew it was perfect.

Next week I plan to add in shrugs to this workout. Also, how much should I increase the weight of my lifts by in next week's routine?

I then went to jiu-jitsu. We did the following:
10 minutes of speed back
5 minutes shadowing
15 minutes of mitt work
5 minutes of shadowing
5 minutes of pummeling
5 minutes of lockflow (Americana to straight Americana to straight arm bar to leaning Kimura, to Kimura while stepping over head to armbar on opposite side - opponent rolls out and lands in cross-side and repeats).
10? minutes of advanced lockflow (original lockflow, only when opponent rolls out of armbar, go into an omoplata, opponent counters, go into a triangle, opponent counters, go into an arm-lock then back to triangle, opponent counters and ends up in cross-side, repeat).
10 minutes of practicing elbow lock from guard, opponent counters, to upside down armbar, opponent counters by pushing into you, to triangle.
30 minutes of rolling

[blackshield]

is there anywhere i can find info on the gracie stretching regime?

[mepersoner]

It's in the book Superfit. The book also has pictures of a lot of workouts, which is cool. Unfortunately the workouts at the end of the book kind of suck imo and the diet really sucks.

[mepersoner]

Today I just went to jiu-jitsu/mma training.

Looked something like this today, I did this all IN GI today, which apparently tires the shit out of me as compared to when I don't wear it, don't know why:

5 minutes speed bag
5 minutes heavy bag
20 minutes with the mitts
20 minutes working on passing and maintaining the firehose
40 minutes rolling

I think that was pretty much it. It was a pretty good workout, training with the Gi tires me out, and I'm not quite as good with the GI on. I got arm-barred and tried to roll out of it, but didn't quite make it and hurt my elbow, it doesn't hurt right now unless I bend it wrong, but hopefully it's gone by tomorrow or Monday.

[mepersoner]

Well, today was kind of a tough day.

Yesterday I went into the gym and my legs were feeling kind of tight, so I slapped on some 25's and was going to do some 95 pound squats for a warm up. I do the first one, bam, huge pain from my groin down the inside/back of my leg. My girlfriend was with me and was saying things like, "Maybe you should take another day off." Well, I chose to ignore her advice and instead said, "Well, if it's gonna hurt I just want to get as much heavy lifting done as I can before I have to quit." I throw on 165 and and bring it up, bring it down, and right when I'm about parallel in my squat, my left leg pretty much gives out and the bar slams down on the side-bars. I put it on my shoulders and lift it back onto the rack and that was it for the day. Left leg hurt the rest of the day.

So I go in today and do some stretching first. Then I do just the bar, 45 pounds, 10 times. Then I do some more stretching. Then I put the 45's on am going down, and it hurts a little, but not too bad, and I'm about to get my legs parallel, and bam, same thing happens. I easily lift it back up after it hits the bar. Frustrated, I just left the gym. It's frustrating because I've never really lifted weights regularly ever, and when I did, it was mostly just benching, so to be hurt after just a week of lifting is just frustrating, I don't know how else to put it.

On my way back to my car I realize I can't just give up on training, so I set my phone alarm to go off in 10 minutes from the next minute and wait for that minute to come. When it come I start jogging. I haven't ran in probably over a year at this point, so even if I'm not lifting weights it's good.

I made the first mile in under 8 minutes, but over 7. I'm not sure on the exact time, because again, I was using my cell phone. By the time 10 minutes was up, I hit about 1 3/8 miles. Which isn't bad considering how much running I've been doing.

Anyways, that's frustrating, I'm not sure what to do about the lifting now. I was just ultra frustrated by the whole thing.

After this I go home and eat a little, then head off to jiu-jitsu. My groin is killing me now. Jiu-Jitsu went like this:

10 minutes pad work
10 minutes of pumelling to take-down positions
10 minutes of working a take-down from locking that one underhook in
10 minutes drilling arm-lock from being in someone's cross-side.
10 minutes of drilling the counter to that arm-lock
10 minutes of positioning where one person attempts to mount from cross-side while the other attempts to escape cross-side.
30 minutes of rolling

As an added plus, while doing the postioning my knee slammed into the other guy's knee, and now it hurts as well. My left leg is officially messed up for the moment. I guess I can work cardio or something for now.... ideas anyone?

[Bloke]

Originally Posted by mepersoner

As an added plus, while doing the postioning my knee slammed into the other guy's knee, and now it hurts as well. My left leg is officially messed up for the moment. I guess I can work cardio or something for now.... ideas anyone?

Whenever I had knee injuries but wanted to keep fit - I swam lengths. Give it a go.