no holds barred fighting: the ultimate guide to conditioning: elite exercises and training for nhb...

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide

to ConditioningElite Exercises and Training

for NHB Competition and Total Fitness

Mark Hatmaker

TRACKS

Tracks PublishingSan Diego, California

Photography by Doug Werner

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide to ConditioningMark Hatmaker

Tracks Publishing140 Brightwood AvenueChula Vista, CA [email protected]

All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced or trans-mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording or by any information storageand retrieval system without permission from the author,except forthe inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Copyright © 2007 by Doug Werner10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication

Hatmaker, Mark.No holds barred fighting : the ultimate guide to

conditioning elite exercises and training for NHBcompetition and total fitness / Mark Hatmaker ;photography by Doug Werner.

p. cm.Includes index.LCCN 2007905538ISBN-13: 978-1-884654-29-9ISBN-10: 1-884654-29-0

1. Hand-to-hand fighting. 2. Mixed martial arts.3. Physical education and training. I.Werner, Doug,1950- II.Title.

GV1111H338 2007 796.81QBI07-600209

TRACKSPUBLISHING

Fighting Books by Mark Hatmaker

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide to Submission Wrestling

More No Holds Barred Fighting:Killer Submissions

No Holds Barred Fighting:Savage Strikes

No Holds Barred Fighting:Takedowns

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Clinch

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide to Conditioning

Boxing Mastery

Books are available through major bookstores and booksellers on the Internet.

Warning labelSubmission wrestling includes contact and can bedangerous. Use proper equipment and train safely.Practice with restraint and respect for your part-ners. Drill for fun, fitness and to improve skills. Donot fight with the intent to do harm.

Special thanks from the authorTo all the empirical minds in fight conditioning who have influ-enced this work in major and minor ways. A brief list includesOtto Arco, Georges Hebert, Scott Helvonston, John Jesse, GinaKolata and Jerry Robinson. There are many, many others, butthese names were at the forefront of my mind while compilingthis work.

Also, where would any book be without a little sentimentality?I’ve resisted the urge in the previous manuals, but I guess theramparts have crumbled.

Thanks to my wife Kylie, for everything and then some.

Thanks to my good friend (“good friend” is too mild) MitchThomas, who has been extremely supportive in all endeavors.

Thanks to Kory Hays for taking so much abuse over the years.

And last but not least, as you would not be able to read thisportion without his contribution, thanks to Doug Werner. A truegentleman who took a chance. I gained a publisher and afriend.

Tired of sentimentality? Probably. Let’s go to work.

AcknowledgementsPhyllis Carter for editingJackie Smith for image processing

ContentsHow to use the NHB manuals 6 Intro 7

1 Concepts 132 Breathing 293 Counting 374 Warm-up 415 Body-weight exercises 496 Hinge group. Exercises for the abdominal girdle 517 Power group. Exercises for the legs 698 Pushing group. Exercises for the upper body 799 Pulling group. Exercises for the upper body 9110 Fifth limb. Exercises for the neck 9711 Dumbbell / kettlebell 10312 Explosiveness / agility 14313 Barbell 18714 Grip 21515 Cardio grinders 21916 Flexibility. Stretching exercises 22317 Menus. When to exercise 23518 R and R. When to rest 23919 Fuel. What to eat 243

Resources 248Index 250

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How to use the NHB (No Holds Barred) manualsThis book and the others in this series are meant to be used inan interlocking synergistic manner where the sum value of themanuals is greater than the individual parts. Our goal with eachmanual is to focus on a specific aspect of the twin sports ofNHB/submission wrestling and to give thoughtful considerationto the necessary ideas, tactics and strategies pertinent to thatfacet of focus. We are aware that this piecemeal approach mayseem lacking if one only consumes one or two manuals, but weare confident that when three or more manuals have beenstudied, the overall picture or method will reveal itself.

Since the manuals are interlocking, there is no single manual inthe series that is meant to be complete in and of itself. Forexample, although No Holds Barred Fighting: Savage Strikes isa thorough compendium on NHB/self-defense striking, it is bol-stered with side-by-side study of Boxing Mastery. While thebook No Holds Barred Fighting: Killer Submissions introducesthe idea of chaining submissions and can be used as a solitarytool, it is more meaningful with an understanding of the materialthat preceded it, No Holds Barred Fighting: The Ultimate Guideto Submission Wrestling.

While each book in the series can be consumed independently,I think you’ll find them more effective if they are treated as asingle volume.

Now that I’ve used some of your time byexplaining the method to my madness,let’s empty our teacups and examine thecontentious world of fight conditioning.

Mark Hatmaker

“Conditioning is the best finishing hold.” — Gene LeBell, grappling legend

“Fights are won in the gym, not in the ring.”— Boxing Maxim

“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.”— Special Forces Maxim

Anecdotal evidence.We all know what anecdotal evi-dence is. It is the personal stories offered as proof for aconclusion. It often takes this form,“Hey, I know a guy

who ate nothing butdeviled eggs and bis-cuits for a wholemonth and lost 30pounds.”Anecdotalevidence is, to befrank, absolutelyworthless. I mean,sure your friend sayshe “knows a guy,” butwho is this guy?

How many deviled eggs was he eating per day? Howmany biscuits? Did this guy also increase his caloricexpenditure? Did he really stick to this bizarre two-fooddiet? Does the guy even exist? I’m sure you can think ofmore questions such as,“Why did Mark pick such anasinine example to open this book? Have I just wastedmy money?”

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If we are to believe anything, it is best to have empiri-cally tested evidence. For example, we could take 30people, record their weight and then place them on astrict deviled egg and biscuit diet for a month invarying degrees of consumption and wind up withmeasurable results as to which form of the biscuit anddeviled egg diet (if any) are effective.Tested evidencebeats anecdotal evidence hands down.You got that? Iurge you to evaluate any claim on the basis of the evi-dence and not merely on somebody’s say so (mineincluded).

With that hectoring out of the way, I offer you someanecdotal evidence of my own. Evidence that youshould take with a grain of salt, although I assert that itis true. I have been playing this fight game for years.And in these years of play I have trained athletes frommany other sports: marathon running, body-building,competitive swimming, football, rugby ... you name it.When they begin their NHB training, all of these ath-letes are gassed in a few short minutes. In other words,this game is grueling and makes fitness demands notfound in other sports.

Some of the gassed feeling these athletes encounter isdue to the specificity effect (more on that to come).But much of it is due to the fact that boxing/striking isa hard pursuit, and the training that a striking athleteputs himself through is commensurately difficult.Grappling/wrestling is perhaps even more taxing andthe conditioning regimen required to perform well isno piece of cake. So with no holds barred fighting andmixed martial arts (NHB/MMA) we have taken twoalready tough sports at the top of the pyramid in

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regard to conditioning and combined them.You mightsay that training is then twice as hard, but to anyone inthe game, the conditioning required feels as if it hasbeen cubed.

It is with the extreme demands of this sport in mindthat this manual has been constructed. It is gearedtoward all skill levels — novice, intermediate, advancedand pro.You will find a variety of routines and regi-mens to fit your schedule, skill level and goal set. I sug-gest a single cover-to-cover read to grasp theprinciples, and then use the routine selection guide toconstruct your training as you see fit.

There are two considerations to keep in mind. First, theapproach found between these covers is not the onlyway to fitness.Anyone with any experience in fitnesstraining can say with complete assurance that someonewho tells you that there is only one way to fitness isfull of it.What is found here is not the be-all, end-all.Asa matter of fact, much of what you will find here differsfrom a previous incarnation of this material offered asthe Gladiator Conditioning Program. So, even if Idon’t always stick to a single method, why should you?Here you’ll find the underlying principles with whichto evaluate any conditioning mode, ideas on con-structing a routine, and of course, specifics to directlycomplement the NHB/MMA game.This book, whilecomprehensive in its approach to the topic at hand, isby no stretch of the imagination a complete encyclo-pedia of the training possibilities for the sport. Perhapswe will address that topic another day.

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The other consideration is for the dabbler, the dilet-tante, the individual who is attracted to the sport buthas no desire to play.The advice and routines offeredmost definitely can be used by the person whose goalsare not to fight or compete on any level, but to get fitusing the concepts, exercises and routines used bysome of the world’s elite fighters.

No matter who you are or what your skill level, I cansay with utmost confidence that the material presentedwithin is sound and will take you to whatever level offitness you desire.All that is required of you is a singlefour-letter word — WORK.

Injured?Material on any physical activity warns you to consult aphysician before beginning. I have no evidence to sup-port what I am about to say (and we know what tothink of unsupported supposition at this point), but Iwould wager that the vast majority of people who con-sume such material never take this precaution. I willsay that probably goes double for NHB/MMA athletes. Imean, really, how many physicians would look at aknock-down, drag-out NHB match and give the thumbsup?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should skipsafety precautions. I’m just calling attention to some-thing that has always struck me as odd.With that said,let’s not be careless.We should always err on the sideof safety in our training. Notice the heading of this sec-tion is “Injured” with a question mark.To which thevast majority of you will answer with a resounding“Yes!” I have yet to meet a practitioner of this sport, or

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a serious athlete from any other activity, who wasn’ttaking a little extra care with some portion of his body.I also have yet to meet a serious athlete who let suchinjuries stand in his way.

What we have to do is strike a balance betweentoughing it out, which may lead to worsening an injury,and avoiding work because we have a convenientexcuse.Who is the best judge of what you can andcannot do? I would wager that you are.You will knowif an exercise will aggravate a preexisting problem or ifit will strengthen an area weakened by injury. I amgoing to trust you to trust yourself. If you think an exer-cise isn’t right for you, skip it and move to another inthe same class.That’s one good reason why we offeralternative choices.

Alternative choices are valuable tools for the fighter tocontinue training while taking care of the body. I’m rea-sonably sure that a physician would tell an injured ath-lete to skip this conditioning nonsense altogether (I’veheard that advice plenty of times). But it is a curiousanimal attracted to NHB/MMA.This animal knows thatthe sport is knock-about and sometimes injurieshappen at the competitive level, and the sensibleadvice of laying off for a while while an injury heals isa great idea in theory. In practice, the NHB/MMAanimal would rather press on and work around it.

Don’t take this as an excuse to avoid contacting yourphysician before beginning any of the exercises foundin this book.Also, don’t take my work-around-it point ofview as the optimum prescription for physical therapy.I offer it as what the reality of the NHB athlete most

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often seems to be.The NHB athlete will continue totrain no matter what, so please train safely.That’s all theadvice means.You’re your best judge. Judge wisely.

Let’s get technical ... notWe won’t get technical in thismanual. Exercise science is a fasci-nating field.We could expand thismanual’s page count tenfold if wemade the preamble a primer onkinesiology,ATP, the Krebs cycleand other such physiologicalprocesses. Instead, we will foregothe talk of how the body doeswhat it does beneath your skinand focus instead on what youneed to do to let these internalprocesses work for you, whetheryou understand the sciencebehind them or not.

Let’s face it, some people enjoy reading and memo-rizing the process of glycolysis and are fascinated bythe details of the Krebs cycle and want more informa-tion on pyruvate-to-lactic acid. For those folks, I offer afew books I have found of value in the Resources sec-tion. For the rest of us who just want the food on themenu and could care less about the secret herbs andspices hidden in the recipe, read on.

1 Concepts

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VarietyVariety is said to be the spice of life. Perhaps.Whoknows for sure? What I can tell you with someauthority is that variety is essential for conditioningregimens.The human animal is a novelty seeking crea-ture.We crave the new and the different.We’d rathersee a new movie or episode of our favorite show eachweek than be subjected to the same one week in, weekout. No matter how much someone loves thin crustpizza with feta cheese as the primary topping, thatpizza fan will find his enthusiasm waning if he ate thatmeal three times a day.

If we are that fickle in our passive choices (sitting in achair eating pizza or watching the same episode of“Lost” each week) the human animal is even more sowhen it comes to something that requires a little effortsuch as a conditioning routine.Anyone with a back-ground in any athletic endeavor that requires condi-tioning can tell you it doesn’t matter how good anexercise routine is, or what results he is reaping, after abit of time, he craves something new. If you don’t finda way to vary your conditioning routine (especially adifficult one) you will find it almost impossible at timesto overcome the inertia to get yourself into the gymand get started.

It is with an eye on this human propensity for fickle-ness/novelty that we have not chiseled in stone theconditioning routines found here. No matter how gooda routine is, sometimes shaking it up and trying some-thing new just feels right. It seems to energize ourintellectual and emotional batteries. It seems to have aneffect on our physical batteries as well.Your body wel-

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comes and responds positively to the new challenge.For example, squats are an indisputably fantastic way tobuild endurance in the legs, but after a while grindingout 500 a day turns into mindless tedium. Switching toa few weeks of no squats and substituting wall-sup-ported single-leg squats can make the whole routinefeel fresh. Once the wall-supported squats becomestale, we return to standard squats and, ta-da, they feelfresh again.

It is with an eye on feeding the novelty craving that weoffer exercise menus.We offer the menus to stimulateprogress in slightly different avenues within the sameconditioning goal.You’ve got to shake up the system tocontinue to grow.Another example:Your cardio/MaxO2 may be benefiting from your daily three-mile run,but one day you substitute 15 minutes of skipping ropeand you find yourself winded.What’s happening here?To a large degree we are the victims of specificity againand we’ll get to that later.We are experiencing the factthat the body, like the mind, desires variety/novelty. Iassert wholeheartedly that if a conditioning regimendoes not address the human need for variety/noveltythat the athlete suffers in the end — either by aban-doning the regimen altogether or suffering needlesslyas you grit your teeth through yet another day of thesame-o, same-o.When you feel stale, don’t manufactureexcuses and skip a day.That day can all too easilybecome two or three days. Instead, consult the exercisemenus and skip your favorite pizza for a while untilyou begin to crave it again at a later date.

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EfficiencyWhen approaching your conditioning regimen, keep aneye on efficiency.There are two definitions that shadethis word.The first is how well an activity serves thepurpose.We will skip that definition and label it effec-tiveness, which we will cover next. It is the second def-inition of efficiency that we concern ourselves withhere.The definition that aims for maximum results inminimum time.

The menus presented here are designed to give youthe most bang for your buck in the least amount oftime.That time variable is almightily important. If youare a professional fighter or an aspiring one, you mustdevote a huge hunk of time toward your trainingbecause it’s your job. But the club-level player, theweekend athlete or the person who wants to get fitand stay fit, doesn’t have time to wake up early and runeight miles, hit the sauna, then the gym for two hoursof working the heavy-bag, double-end bag, and so on.Then after lunch, you nap, hit sparring drills and followthat up with weight-training.Again, if you are a pro, thatis your job.You are being paid to follow such a timeintensive regimen. If you are the average athlete, youprobably have a day job, a family and a home theatersystem to veg out in front of.You simply don’t have thetime to put in hours at the gym every day. Does thatmean fight conditioning is out of your reach? Nope.

The menus have been composed to bring the greatestresults in the minimum of time for two reasons.

1. Most of us simply do not have the time to train likean elite athlete.

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2.You do not have to increase training time to get top-of-the-food-chain results.You merely have to altertraining efficiency to reap the same rewards.

Tuning a conditioning regimen for efficiency is a keyfactor in your quest to becoming the best NHB/MMAathlete you can be.The more efficient your condi-tioning regimen, the less time it takes.The less timerequired by your conditioning regimen, the more timeyou have to devote to fighting technique, sparring drillsand such that got you into the sport in the first place.Keep in mind at all times that your job is to learn to bea better fighter, not to be the best executor of squats,the best kettlebell slinger or the best weight lifter.There are separate competitions for these endeavors,and that is outside the purview of this manual.

Again, the focus of efficiency is to provide maximumresults in minimum time so that you can increase theamount of time training for the sport or for your per-sonal activities.You want to do squats for two hours?That’s an excellent goal, but you have thrown effi-ciency out the window if fight training is your goal.That’s two hours that might have been spent doingsomething better like punching drills, submission workor takedowns.After all, if fight training were merely amatter of conditioning, then the top competitors inpower lifting and triathlons could step into the ringand reap the rewards easily. Don’t get me wrong, theseactivities can contribute to fight training, but they arenot substitutes for fight training.Your job in the gym isto train hard, get it done and then get down to thesport.

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EffectivenessDo not mistake my efficiency decree to mean thatreduced training time insures fitness.That’s nonsense.Efficiency is paramount, but it means nothing withouteffectiveness. If the conditioning regimen does not dothe job it claims to do, then it is an ineffective workoutwhether it takes 15 minutes or 15 hours.

My workouts have been tested for effectiveness, butyou are the ultimate judge.You know best your specificneeds, weaknesses, strong points and goals.The menusare presented in a mix-and-match template so you canboost effectiveness according to your dictates. If amenu selection has plateaued or is not giving you suffi-cient intensity, then it is time to select the next optionso that you can continue to train with effectiveness.

Going through the motions of a workout withoutbumping up the intensity will provide results for awhile. But for a workout to continue to be effective, itmust be tweaked now and again as we pay attention tothe input (exercise choices) and the output (real worldresults). Effectiveness, more often than not, is keyed offtwo fundamental principles — intensity and specificity.

IntensityThis is where the rubber meets the road. Intensity sep-arates those with the warrior heart from those whopose. For efficiency and effectiveness to be truly effi-cient and effective, your training must be intensebecause the sport is intense.To crib from a SpecialForces mind-set, your training must reflect battlefieldconditions. In other words, NHB/MMA competition is aphysically grueling game. If you do not create grueling

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conditions in your workout, then I can say with allsurety, that you are not ready to play.

NHB/MMA calls for intense expenditures of energy,often in bursts, over a moderate time period that ismarked by an overall elevated demand on endurance.The average NHB/MMA episode calls for 5-20 minutesof total work time. In that time there will be (optimally,for both the fans and the well-conditioned fighter) nocruising — moments of rest and inactivity. Demands ofendurance are made of both the cardiovascular systemand the muscular system.These endurance demandsare the primary reason we place muscular enduranceabove muscular strength in the training hierarchy.Strength is terrific, but all things being equal, theendurance component is the bet to hedge if you havetime to develop only one aspect.

Endurance training is approached in one of four ways:

1. Long Slow Distance Training (LSD) 2. Interval Training (IT) 3.Threshold Training (TT) 4. Peaking Threshold Training (PTT)

We discuss each approach briefly and then focus onthe one most beneficial to the game in question.Thismanual contains advice for all four approaches, but youwill detect an admitted bias for one form of trainingover the others.

LSD Training is aimed at building an athlete who candeliver a steady performance over the long haul withno bursts of intensity needed.Think marathoners andtriathletes.

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Interval Training is intended to redline your system,meaning to push you out of the aerobic zone and intothe anaerobic zone for short bursts of very intenseactivity.These bursts are followed by long rest periods.Think sprinters or football linemen.

Threshold Training is the middle ground between all-out interval training and LSD.We perform above a com-fortable pace, but do not redline the system.Thinkmiddle-distance runners.

Peaking Threshold Training is a combination of intervaland threshold training.We train at a pace above LSDand intersperse intervals/bursts into red line territory,then we drop back to the above LSD pace to “rest,”though never stopping or dropping to LSD.These arethe conditions one encounters in NHB/MMA — shortto medium duration (5-20 minutes) like the sportrequires, and endurance demands that reflect thepacing of a well-matched fight.This last componentwill be of most concern in this manual.Although wewill have our eye on Peaking Threshold Training, wemust use the other approaches to prepare for thislevel.We will return to these levels for recovery days,since pure PTT is too demanding of the system to bedone daily or even for several days per week.

The demands of the sport decree that we must err onthe side of intensity — not only in the choice of PTTover the other endurance packaging, but also in theapproach to all aspects of training.These intensitydemands provide both good news and bad news.

The bad news is that intensity training is hard. Seriously

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hard.You will have to dig deep to give it the disciplineit demands.

The good news is that intensity training is so efficientthat you will reap optimum results in minimum timeleaving you with plenty of time to train your game.

Professor Martin Gibala of McMaster University con-ducted an experiment confirming what many fightingathletes have known for centuries. Gibala assembledtest subjects and gave them a pretest of an 18.6-miletime trial on exercise bikes. He tested their VO2 Max,which is the rate at which muscles are able to absorboxygen. He then divided the subjects into three groupsto follow an exercise regimen for the next threeweeks.

Group one cycled for two hours at LSD pace each exer-cise session.

Group two cycled for 10 minutes per session, butincluded a few 60-second bursts of activity.

Group three cycled all-out for four 30-second burstswith four minutes of rest between bursts.

At the conclusion of the three weeks, each groupachieved the same increase in fitness and VO2 Max.Thedifference is that Group three did it with a total of onlythree minutes of exercise time per session.

It seems that if we follow Professor Gibala’s findings tothe letter, we should focus on interval training, but wewill choose the middle course. Keep in mind the third

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group worked hard for 30 seconds and then rested forfour minutes.The body attunes to that pattern andbegins to expect periods of inactivity for recovery nomatter the fitness level. NHB/MMA will not allow sucha work/rest ratio.What we take away from his study isthat the 10-minute high-speed sessions that included60-second bursts are very efficient and approach theoverall fitness arc encountered in NHB/MMA.

Numerous research studies back up the results that canbe attained via interval and/or PTT. Not only does thisapproach to training provide high fitness rewards inminimum time, but also is more efficient at burning fatdespite burning fewer calories than the longer exer-cising LSD approach.This is proved by studies likethose conducted by Angelo Tremblay and ClaudeBouchard among many others. Do you get the idea thatefficiency is not really efficient unless it is conductedwith intensity? Intensity and efficiency go hand in handto bolster effectiveness, but there is still one moremajor component to consider before we get to work.

Specificity

“Runners run, swimmers swim, fighters fight.” — Pedro Rizzo, NHB Veteran

I’m sure you’re way ahead of me at this point. Let’s flogthat Special Forces warrior maxim again,“Let yourtraining be a reflection of battlefield conditions.” In thesection on intensity, we made a case for selecting theoptimum package for endurance training that bestreflects the demands of the NHB/MMA game. KeepingProfessor Gibala’s optimum findings in mind, does thismean that we can cycle for 10 minutes with one-

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minute bursts and be prepared for NHB/MMA?Absolutely not!

We must remember that the test subjects werepretested in a timed cycle trial, trained on a cycleduring the experiment and then retested on a timedcycle trial.Their fitness gains were exercise specific.Yes, they increased general fitness contributing tobetter health, and they improved their ability to cycle,but not much else.Anyone who has tried a brand-newphysical activity can attest to the “I thought I was inshape, but this is totally different” experience.Thissport specific effect should be obvious to all. If sportfitness were a generalized phenomenon, then NFLplayers could play in the NBA in their off-season withno problem. Marathon runners could compete inOlympic swimming with little effort. Power lifterscould compete in triathlons easily.And triathletes couldclean and jerk twice their body weight with ease. Butwe all know this isn’t the case.

Practically any physical activity will improve health andthe ambiguous term “fitness,” but to improve at an ath-letic activity, we must train that specific activity.Youmay have a great six-minute mile pace on your run, butif you switch to skipping rope for a day, you will find a12-minute session with the rope a bit taxing. It doesn’tmean that you aren’t fit, it means you aren’t fit for skip-ping rope. It is with the idea of specificity in mind thatwe must adhere to exercises that best reflect the activi-ties and demands of the sport we are training for. If wecan design a series of activities that will raise both ouroverall fitness and our sports specific fitness, we arereally on to something.

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Running, swimming and lifting weights are great toolsto have in the NHB/MMA conditioning toolbox, butwhat each of these activities most prepares you for isthat particular activity. Cribbing from Pedro Rizzo, run-ning makes you a better runner and swimming a betterswimmer.We must use some activities that are notsport specific to build particular sport specific compo-nents, but we must use them in ways that better reflectthe battlefield of what this sport is.This manual isspecifically about the concept of specificity.

SynergyStay with me, we’re almost to the meat of the program!A bit about synergy first.With no intent to insult yourintelligence, synergy is an interaction between partsthat results in a greater effect than the sum of theparts’ individual effects. In a nutshell, we should chooseexercise sequencing and packaging that boosts theoverall effect of the conditioning session.To achievethis synergistic effect, we must keep in mind thatsequencing and packaging are the keys.

Example:An enduring grip is a necessity for theNHB/MMA athlete.There are times when all that standsbetween you and a submission (or holding off a sub-mission) is your ability to tolerate lactic acid buildup inyour forearms.With this need in mind, it is wise towork on an “everlast” grip.A fighter also needs strongand enduring pulling power to keep an opponent intight while riding, pinning, clinching and retaining sub-mission setups.The pulling musculature is best trainedwith pull-ups.

So two essential conditioning components for the

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NHB/MMA fighter are an enduring grip and strongpulling power. How can we work both of these aspectswhile boosting the effectiveness of individual exercisesand not making the same exercise interfere with gainsin the other group? The answer is synergisticsequencing.

You see, pull-ups require a grip on the bar, but thedemand of that grip is not enough to make pull-ups sat-isfactory grip conditioners.You should not treat pull-ups as a combination exercise. Our single pull-upsession will not satisfy both pulling demands and gripdemands, no matter how much this apparent efficiencyappeals to you.

You must work your grip separately to give it the atten-tion it deserves. But when you work your grip in rela-tion to pull-up exercises is of utmost importance. If youwork your grip before your pull-up session, you will beworking ineffectively and without regard to synergism.Grip work prior to pull-ups can fatigue your grip tosuch a degree that your pull-up sets may be hamperedby the forearm fatigue already incurred.Working thegrip prior to pull-ups is good for the grip, but bad forthe pulling group.

Using the concept of synergy, we can see that it iswiser to work the pulling group before the grip.Thisallows the pulling group the emphasis with a minordemand made on the grip.This minor demand of thegrip adds to the endurance component made of thegrip exercises that immediately follow the pullinggroup.Via this sequencing, we have made use of syn-ergy.We can approach all essential components in a

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synergistic fashion to amplify our work.

Synergy also can be put to good effect by emphasizingmulti-joint exercises over isolation exercises.There area few valuable isolation exercises and we will recom-mend some. Isolation exercises are those that focus ona single muscle group — preacher curls for the biceps,for example.While preacher curls are an excellentexercise for this single muscle group, keep in mind ouraim is to be effective and efficient so that we havemore time to devote to training the sport.

Effective multi-joint exercises that emphasize thebiceps while calling other muscles into play for greaterconditioning, are standing barbell curls. Calling uponeven more joint recruitment, chin-ups, particularlythose performed with a weight belt, are great.Thesetwo exercises allow you to build strength in thebiceps, but they also use secondary and tertiary muscu-lature to assist the movement, which is akin to themuscle recruitment encountered in NHB/MMA.Theoxygen demands made by recruiting primary, sec-ondary and tertiary muscle groups also provide a car-diovascular benefit.

To employ a good use of synergy, we should strive forproper sequencing and multi-joint exercises.Combining these two ideas, we break our sequencesinto the following broad categories:

1. Hinge group (abdomen/lower back) 2. Fifth limb (neck) 3. Power group (legs)4. Pushing group (push-ups/bench press and the like)

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5. Pulling group (pull-ups/rowing) 6. Grip

This is the sequence I recommend when creating yourregimen from the exercise menus.

AestheticsBigger or badder? With some variation for genetic giftsand/or chemical enhancement, this is the choice theNHB/MMA athlete has to make.There is no doubt thatappearing ripped, cut or whatever term you want touse to describe low-body fat and enhanced visiblemuscle striation and vascularity, is appealing. Peoplelike to look good, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The regimens in this manual will get you fit, there’s nodoubt about that.They will prepare you better for theNHB/MMA game, I guarantee that.What I can’t guar-antee is ripped to shreds, body building readyphysiques.You will lose body fat, you will increasemuscle definition, and you will make gains in the aes-thetic realm, but these are fringe benefits. My least con-cern when engineering this program is how you willlook at the beach or how the surface component ofaesthetics stand in regard to body building. I have oneconcern — getting you to your NHB/MMA fitnessgoals.

To a large degree, the Adonis builds are the result ofgenetic determination and/or chemical enhancement(and we all know what I mean by that).There willundoubtedly be a good deal of improvement in the aes-thetic component, but there is no guarantee that youwill wind up looking like Phil Baroni. Each physique is

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unique and will respond to conditioning in its ownidiosyncratic fashion. I’d like to point out the excellentfighter/athlete Murilo “Ninja” Rua.This warrior oftenhas a “soft” look on fight night, but that look belieswhat this man is capable of. No one who has observedRua’s performances doubts his conditioning. Rua is atop-of-the-line athlete who made the decision to letform follow function. He made the fight the goal andlet all else be subservient.

Rua’s example is where this manual stands.Train withyour eyes on the first prize of being the best you canbe at your sport of choice, and let the aesthetic compo-nent fall into second.

Breath controlWhat’s a chapter on breath work doing in anNHB/MMA conditioning guide? It seems more appro-priate to find it in a New Age or alternative healthtome.Well, hold on to your hats because I’m here to tellyou that breath work is perhaps the foundation onwhich successful mat work is built. Good breath workis fundamental to all athletic endeavors, but it seems tolend itself particularly well to a sport where partnercompressions (i.e., heavy guy lying on your chest) canmake normal breathing patterns impossible.

Breath work is the only component of the autonomicnervous system that falls under our control. Heart anddigestion rates are out of our hands beyond their even-tual shifts through conditioning, but your respirationcan be controlled and directed.You can learn to choosethe rate of your respiration, the depth of intake, the rateand force of exhalation, and even direct your breathingto different lung areas.

We know that the body is fueled by your nutritionalintake (that you have control of and can modify), yourliquid intake (again, under your power) and that youare fueled in the psychodynamic arena throughthoughts, attitudes and anxieties regarding your athleticperformance (again under your control although maybea bit tougher to regulate than the physical concerns).Your respiration fuels all of these processes.There is nofuel process that can be metabolized in the bodywithout the presence of oxygen.

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Oxygen is brought into the body by the lungs and dis-tributed throughout the body by oxygenated blood.The lungs release depleted gases (carbon dioxide) onexhalation. So if all fuel functions can take place only inthe presence of oxygen and oxygenated blood, itstands to reason that the base fuel process is that ofrespiration.After all, one can go for weeks without foodand days without water but only a few minuteswithout oxygen.

By acknowledging that respiration is the core fuelprocess and gaining an understanding of how we cancontrol its different characteristics, we can economizeand energize our primary fuel usage.

Competing breath ratesMost people inexperienced in a particular athleticendeavor have a tendency to hold their breath duringexertion or at the very least use inefficient breathingpatterns. By doing so, they greatly reduce their overallperformance and endurance.

A simple strategy I use when rolling is that of com-peting or comparative breath rates. Mat work is idealfor this strategy as the proximity of competitors allowsone to hear what the other person is doing.To takeadvantage of this strategy, merely listen to the breathrate of your partner during a roll and attempt to bringyour rate in under his. It’s as easy as calming your rateand lengthening the intake and release of your breath.Doing so will more fully oxygenate your blood, calmyour mind and body, and reduce any excess tension.Slower and deeper breath rates will outlast fast andshallow rates every time.

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Clearing breathThe idea of breath control sounds fine in the theoret-ical sense, but practical application in a sport that goesinto anaerobic areas makes it tough to downrightimpossible to maintain. Scrambled bursts that redlineinto anaerobic areas cause you to gasp for air once youcome out of the anaerobic redline.

The reason for the hyperventilation is found in thename itself, anaerobic, which means “without oxygen.”When scrambled activity happens, present oxygenreserves get exhausted.As the activity continues at afast rate, new oxygen intake cannot keep up. Once youcome out of this redline, your lungs will naturallypump at a faster rate trying to rectify this depletedstate.The problem is that your faster rate does notallow for maximum exhalation before your next inhala-tion.Waste gases (carbon dioxide) cycle within thelungs.They are taking up space and do not allow for afull oxygen intake — keeping you on the hyperventila-tion cycle — attempting to burn fuel where therereally is none to be burned.

To pull yourself out of this cycle, all you have to do isthe opposite of your natural instincts. Instead ofgasping for air, forcefully exhale all of the contents ofyour lungs in a long audible breath (a sort ofwhooshing sound). Once all waste gases have beenexpelled by the clearing breath, your next breath willbe a long controlled full breath of energizing oxygen.From there return to comparative/competitivebreathing.

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Energizing breathThis is a specialized pattern for use when energyreserves are low.You are in the late stages of theworkout or match, and you feel sluggish (usually due topoor removal of waste products throughout the body).The energizing breath is a quick pick-me-up to accessyour core fuel source.

You essentially hyperventilate at an extremely fast rate,two to four inhalation/exhalation cycles per second,using shallow breaths.This rapid pattern need be donefor only 15 to 20 seconds to forcefully reintroduce yourcore fuel.Try this not only in your training but in youreveryday life when sluggishness sets in. It can providean extra temporary boost.

Side noteIt is advisable to make all of your breathing patternsaudible. By inhaling and exhaling in audible whooshes,the sound itself can act as a mnemonic device toremind you to concentrate on your breath control firstand foremost.The audible pattern also helps providemental focus.And lastly, the audible pattern has beenknown to be a bit disconcerting to unseasoned rollingpartners and can be just one more weapon in yourarsenal.

Compressed breathThere will be times when your chest will be com-pressed by your opponent or you will be stacked inunnatural positions. It is in these compressed positionsthat extreme diligence must be paid to breath control.You’ve got to learn to relax in what are decidedly unre-laxing positions. In these positions you will not have

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access to your entirelung surface area. Byrelaxing your breath,you can learn tomake the most of thesurface area you dohave access to.

To train this withoutan actual partner,

grab a heavy bag and lay it on the mat. Lie cross-bodyon the bag placing your diaphragm against the bag.Stay off your knees and arch your diaphragm into thebag.The only points of contact will be your toes on themat and your diaphragm pressed into the bag. Hold thisposition for three minutes. Performing this exercisewill allow you to relax your breathing even when youhave less than full lung access.

For extra stress, try performing a series of jump squatsand then immediately move into this exercise to dupli-cate the higher breath rates that scrambles induce.

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Stacked breathThis is a companionexercise to the com-pressed breath.Again we aredealing with lessthan optimal lungcoverage. Lie on themat and roll your

legs over your shoulders in imitation of a stacked posi-tion — in yogic parlance, a plough posture. Compactyour stack as extreme as you can tolerate and hold forthree minutes while you learn to breath in this shallowlung position.

Try performing the same exercise after a series of jumpsquats, as stated in the previous pattern, to learn tocontrol the breath after a scramble.These two exer-cises are of significant value because they adhere tothe specificity principle in conditioning.

Relaxing breathThis pattern is meant to be performed before or afteryour rolling session. It entails filling the lungs to fullcapacity, holding the breath in an anaerobic state andthen conditioning the diaphragmatic musculature toassist in full expulsion. It is also useful for calming pre-match jitters and can be used in your daily life in addi-tion to your NHB training.

To perform the relaxing breath, adhere to the ratio:4–7–8. In other words, inhale to full capacity at a slow4 count, hold your breath at full capacity for a 7 count,and then slowly, fully exhale at a slow 8 count. Perform

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a minimum of ten cycles of this ratio for full benefit.

That’s it. Breath control strategy, physiology and fivepatterns to assist you in your conditioning. Remember,breath control is as vital as technique, and it is advis-able to make it a regular part of your training.As amatter of fact, there should be no aspect of yourtraining where you are not aware of your breath rateand its quality.This sort of attention to your core fuelsource will accelerate your rate of learning appreciably.

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1, 2, 3 ...We’re going to steal frommilitary PT (physicaltraining) leaders to makethe instruction of condi-tioning exercises easier.Practically any exerciseyou think of can bebroken into a short chainof movements. If we applya numeral to each indi-vidual link in the chain, wecome up with a countvalue for any given exer-cise.The following exam-ples should make thispoint easily digestible.

3 Counting

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1

1

2

2

3 4

2-count, push-ups

4-count, fore-and-aft jumping jacks

Starting from the top of theexercise, we descend tobrush our chest to the floorfor a count of 1 and returnto the top of the exercisefor a count of 2. Push-upsare, therefore, a 2-countexercise.

From a standing position jump your legs to astraddle position with your arms overhead. That’s1. Return to the standing position with arms atyour sides. That’s 2. Jump and bring your right legforward and your left leg to the rear while youreach your arms above your head. That’s 3.Return to the original position for a count of 4.This is a 4-count exercise.

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Here’s how to count a 5 repetition set of a 4-countexercise.

1, 2, 3 — 1 1, 2, 3 — 2 1, 2, 3 — 3 1, 2, 3 — 4 1, 2, 3 — 5

A quick check of the exercise photographs anddescriptions should help make the count values ofeach exercise easier to visualize.There are three bene-fits to using count cadences while conditioning.

1. If you are leading a class conditioning session, thecount cadences spoken aloud keeps the group on task.It let’s everyone know just what is expected of them.Nothing makes a human dig a little deeper than a bit ofpeer pressure.

2. By vocalizing the count sequences in a loud clearvoice, you are learning to control your breathing duringexertion.You can’t talk while holding your breath orhuffing and puffing. So my suggestion is to learn thecount values and count them out loud while you work.

3.The last benefit may be a bit idiosyncratic. I find thatwhen I count aloud it gives me something to focus onrather than all the wonderful burning and discomfort.Maybe this distraction only works on someone with mylimited cranial capacity, but give it a shot. Maybe it willwork for you, too.

Ready to get down to it? I thought so.

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4 Warm-upBasic warm-upWarming up before aworkout is paid a lot of lipservice but is often ignored,as it is more fun to get to thereal work straight away. Butwarming up is, as theresearch says, mightily impor-tant.There is no need foryour warm-up to take morethan 3-5 minutes, and youcan use any light physicalactivity of your choice(except for stretching, seethe “Flexibility” chapter forreasons why).

A prescribed warm-up fol-lows. Hit ten repetitions ofeach exercise.

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1 2

3 4

4-count side bend

● Bring your arms overhead and bendthem, each hand grabbing the oppositeelbow. ● Bend your torso to the left — Count 1. ● Back to center — Count 2. ● Bend right — Count 3. ● Back to center — Count 4.

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4

5

8

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7

3

21

4-count torso twist with pec fling

● Stand with yourarms extended toeach side. ● Bend the arms atthe elbows, fingertipspointing up andpalms facing for-ward.● Turn your torso tothe left — Count 1. ● Back to centerand fling your elbowsback as if bested bya Pec-Deck Machine— Count 2. ● Turn to the right— Count 3. ● Back to the centerfor another fling —Count 4.

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4

5

8

6

7

3

21

4-count windmill with pec fling

● Arms in the sameposition as the pre-ceding exercise. ● Bend forward atthe waist and touchyour left toes withyour right hand —Count 1. ● Back upright andfling — Count 2. ● Bend forward andtouch the toes of theright foot with theleft hand — Count 3. ● Return to uprightand fling — Count 4.

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2

2-count windmill

● Bend forward at the waistand remain there throughout. ● Twist and touch the toes ofthe left foot with the right hand— Count 1. ● Twist and touch the toes ofthe right foot with the left hand— Count 2.

1

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Fore and aft bends

● Stand upright with hands on hips. ● Leaving the knees locked, bend forward at the waist deeply. ● Reverse this motion and arch backward as far as comfort-able.● That is one repetition.

1 2 3

Note — This is a standard jumping jack with the addition of afore and aft leg movement. The arms always travel overheadand to the sides. Note #2 — Do not clap your hands overhead or to the sides ofyour thighs. We want to control our motion throughout. ● Perform the standard jumping jack, feet jumped to straddle,arms overhead — Count 1. ● Feet together, arms to sides — Count 2. ● Arms overhead and one foot forward and one to the rear —Count 3. ● Feet together and hands to the sides — Count 4.

4-count jumping jack

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4321

8765

12

16151413

11109

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These are the standard jumping jacks. Straddle jump only — nofore and aft.

You do not have to use these particular warm-up exercises, butplease do perform some sort of warm-up before you begin theday’s conditioning.

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4 5 6

SomatotrophicsNeat word, huh? Itsounds technical, butit isn’t really.Somatotrophics arenothing more thanbody-weight exer-cises. Literally, soma-totrophics is a souped

up word for calisthenics. I decided to toss the word atyou because somatotrophics actually are a wee bit dif-ferent from standard body-weight calisthenics.The keyto the difference can be found in the root word itself.Soma is Greek for body and trophics refers to growth— as in muscular hypertrophy or muscular growth.

Body-weight calisthenics, as commonly practiced, aregreat conditioners for muscular endurance and makedemands of the cardiovascular system to some degree.But there is not necessarily a muscle growth compo-nent. If we approach body-weight calisthenics with ourfriends synergy and specificity in mind, we can addmuscular growth to the equation.

Much of the beginning portion of this material willfocus on somatotrophics.You will not find weight exer-cises until later in the program. Is this because weightsare useless? Absolutely not.Weighted resistance trainingis invaluable for the NHB/MMA athlete.We emphasizesomatotrophics first because we want to ensure thatathletes can handle and move their own body weight

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with complete control before we graduate to weighttraining.After all, if you can’t move your own weight,are you ready for even more?

We start each conditioningsession by working theabdominal girdle.The musclesthat encircle the trunk are thehinge that ties the upperbody and the lower body intoa cohesive whole. I am suspi-cious of any conditioning reg-imen that emphasizes onlyupper-body or lower-bodystrength and ignores thehinge.There are hundreds ofhinge exercises we couldhighlight, but I present those

that require no special needs beyond a space on thefloor and your determination.

Hinge exercise laws1. Keep your head off the mat at all times.Your head isheavy, so be thankful for this extra neck conditioning.Do not drop your head.

2. Do not touch your head with your hands.There issometimes an enormous temptation to assist yourrising/crunching movements by pulling your head.Don’t do it.You are to have your hands behind yourhead for added resistance, but do not touch your head.

3. In all crunch motions, attempt to crunch your hipsoff the mat at the same time as your upper shoulders.

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Think making your floating ribs and your pelvis meet.

4. Do not use momentum. Control each and everymotion.

General formatNow that we’re finally to the exercise portion of thetext, observe the format.We will illustrate each recom-mended exercise.Then at the end of the chapter, wewill suggest sequences and repetition numbers foreach of the following classes of athlete.

Novice: You’ve never worked out in your life, or it’sbeen some time since you have.

Intermediate: You’ve done some work, but are new tohard core.

Advanced: You already work hard. I suggest this levelas maintenance.

Pro: Competition is a chief focus for you and/or youhave the time to spare.

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Hinge group oneThese exercises target the lower abdominal region.

Rock back

� With your head up(do I even need tomention that?) andyour hands underyour butt to ensureproper back posi-tioning, rock yourknees toward yourshoulders.� Return your feettoward the mat withthe feet nevertouching the matthroughout the exer-cise.

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Hip thrust

� With your legs inpike position and yourhands under your butt,slowly push your feettoward the sky andraise your hips fromthe mat. � Return your hips tothe mat.

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Leg lift

� Begin with yourhands under your butt,legs extended and feetheld six inches abovethe mat. � Bring your legs tothe tuck position. � Extend your legs tothe pike position. � Return your legs tothe tuck position. � Extend your legs sixinches off the mat. � That is one repeti-tion.

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Flutter kick

� Begin with the legsextended to six inchesabove the mat. � Elevate the right legapproximately two feetabove the mat whilekeeping your left leg tojust above the surfaceof the mat. � Reverse this posi-tion to left leg high andright leg low. � Reverse again. � And reverse againfor a single repetition.In other words,right/left/right/left isone repetition.

1

2

3

4

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1

2

Hinge group 2These exercises target the middle of the hinge and theexternal obliques that gird along the side of the body.

Crossed leg crunch

� Begin with the leftsole of your foot onthe mat and yourright ankle crossedover your left knee.� Your left hand isbehind your head(but not touching). � Crunch your leftelbow to your rightknee.� After the targetednumber of repeti-tions, perform a seton the other side ofyour body.

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1

2

Crossed leg reach

� The soles of bothfeet are on the mat. � Crunch up and toyour left attemptingto touch the outsideof your left ankle withyour right hand. � Return to thebeginning of theexercise and repeaton the other side. � Right and left isone repetition.

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1

2

Oblique crunch

� Roll onto your rightside, put your handsbehind your headand square yourchest toward the sky. � Perform crunchesfor the desirednumber beforerepeating on theopposite side.

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1

2

Side leg lift

� Roll onto yourright side with yourbody straight. � Place your lefthand behind yourhead.� With your left legextended, bringyour left leg towardthe sky while youattempt to raiseyour upper bodyfrom the mat. Itwon’t happen, buttry.� Perform for thedesired repetitions,and then repeat onthe other side.

Bicycle tucks

This is a variation of standard bicycles. � Begin by lying supine with your hands behind your head. � Tuck your body bringing your feet and upper body off the matat the same time. � Take your right elbow to your left knee. � Return to the mat. � Tuck again and take the left elbow to the right knee. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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1

2

Hinge group 3This group of exercises emphasizes the upper abdom-inal region.

Tuck crunch

With hands behindyour head and yourlegs held in the tuckposition, crunchstraight up themiddle.

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1

2

Single-leg pike crunch

� Left sole on themat, right legextended in pike posi-tion.� Left arm behind thehead.� Strive to bring theleft elbow to the rightknee.� After completing thedesired number of rep-etitions, repeat on theopposite side.

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1

2 3

4

Pike crunch� Begin with handsbehind your head andboth legs in pike posi-tion.� Crunch right elbowtoward the left knee,return to the mat andrepeat on the otherside.� Right and left is onerepetition.

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1 2

3 4

Scissor kick

� Balance on your butt with your hands behind your head andyour legs extended in front of you six inches above the mat. � Scissor your legs bringing the left leg over the right and thenthe right over the left. � While scissoring, twist your body and strive to touch the leftelbow to the right knee and then the right elbow to the left knee. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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1

2

3

4

Hinge group 4A single exercise works the lumbar region.

Reverse flutter kick

� Lie prone on themat with your legsextended.� Use the sameright/left/right/leftcadence for one rep-etition like the stan-dard flutter kicks inHinge group 1. � It is vital that youbring your entirethigh off the mat witheach repetition andnot merely bend atthe knees. � I recommend youbegin each soma-totrophics or weighttraining session withhinge work. At thevery least, work thehinge three days perweek.

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Reps for hinge groupThese are the suggested sequences and repetition num-bers for each class of athlete.

Novice� Ten repetitions of each exercise from all groups. � Allow yourself a 10-second rest between groups.

Intermediate� Fifteen repetitions of each exercise from all groups. � No more than 10 seconds of rest between groups.

Advanced� Twenty repetitions of each exercise. � No rest between groups.

Pro� Twenty-five repetitions of each exercise. � No rest between groups.

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Conditioning of the legs is our next priority.There isperhaps no single factor that determines a fighter’sendurance than the ability of his legs to carry him thedistance. Endurance and strength come from the legs,so we must take special pains (and I do mean pain ifyou are new to leg conditioning) to build the mostsolid enduring foundation possible.

Body-weight squats have been used by wrestlers foryears to condition the legs.They came to prominencein the Hindu grappling systems hence the name HinduSquats.They are technically called baithaks for the his-torical sticklers.

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Hindu squat

� Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart. � Squat down allowing yourself to rise onto your toes. � Go all the way down — ass to heels, folks. Literally, nohalf-assed work. A lot has been made of what to do withyour arms during this exercise. You can swing them, putthem on your hips, behind your head or in your pockets. Itdoesn’t really matter.

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Half squat

� Perform this exercise as in the preceding, only stop withyour thighs parallel to the floor.

This exercise is not meant to take the place of Hindusquats but it’s a nice addition. You will find the simple actof having to halt and control your descent will burn thelegs in a different manner.

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4 5

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Quarter squat

� You’re ahead of me. Squat only a quarter of the waydown.

The key here is to not bend forward at the waist but tokeep your body upright, which keeps the emphasis on thelegs.

1 32

Rip squat, aka Hindu jumper squat

� Jump forward approximately three feet landing at thebottom of the Hindu squat position. � Immediately rise and jump back to the original positionthree feet to the rear to complete one repetition.

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1 32

46 5

7 8 9

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Switching jump squat

1

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

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� Step your right foot onenatural step forward. � Squat low and touch yourfingertips to the mat. Makesure your fingers touchbecause you are squattingand not merely bending atthe waist. � Jump for height reversingyour leg position in theprocess landing with the leftleg forward and the right legto the rear. � Immediately launch again,switching your right forwardand your left to the rear. � Right and left is a singlerepetition.

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For the uninitiated,this is a standardjumping jack with afore and aft legswitch.� Perform your stan-dard jumping jack,legs to the side, armsoverhead.� Return to position. � Jump again takingthe right leg forwardand the left to therear, the arms willrise overhead still. � Return to positionand repeat thesequence.� Do not clap yourhands overhead orslap them to yourthighs. We want tocontrol our move-ment throughout.That is part of theexercise.

1

3 4

2

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Squat thrust aka burpee

1 432

5

7 8 9

6

10

� Squat and place your palms on the mat in front of you. � With your weight on your hands, burst your legs to extendedpush-up position behind you. � Jump your legs back underneath you into the bottom of thesquat position. � Stand up. That’s one repetition.

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NoviceSquats 25 4-count jumping jacks 10 Half squats 25 4-count jumping jacks 10 Quarter squats 25 4-count jumping jacks 10 Rip squats 25 4-count jumping jacks 10

IntermediateSquats 50 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10 Half squats 50 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10 Quarter squats 50 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10 Rip squats 50 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10

AdvancedSquats 75 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10 Half squats 75 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10 Quarter squats 75 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10

Rip squats 75 Switching jump squats 10 4-count jumping jacks 10

ProSquats 100 Switching jump squats 12 4-count jumping jacks 10 Squat thrusts 10 Half squats 100 Switching jump squats 12 4-count jumping jacks 10 Squat thrusts 10 Quarter squats 100 Switching jump squats 12 4-count jumping jacks 10 Squat thrusts 10 Rip squats 100 Switching jump squats 12 4-count jumping jacks 10Squat thrusts 10

If you’re wondering why thesquat reps seem a bit low evenon the upper levels, considerthat we are recommending arapid work rate to keep theintensity high. That rapid ratecombined with the jump workshould do the trick. Enjoy!

Reps for power groupI suggest these sequences and repetition numbers foreach class of athlete.

Whether punching or grap-pling, you have to be ableto move your arms awayfrom your body while over-coming a modicum of resis-tance. Push-ups and alltheir varieties are idealzero-cost exercises to buildthis valuable pushingstrength and endurance.There are literally dozens ofpush-up varieties we couldhighlight, but I emphasizethe high-percentage ver-sions that will get the job

done.The pushing group will cycle through a broadrange of pushing motions to prepare the shouldergirdle for the eccentric positions that grapplingdemands of the athlete.

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Standard push-up

Feet together and hands on the mat at slightly wider thanshoulder-width apart, your body in a plank position. We all knowhow to do standard push-ups, but let’s guard against a fewcommon cheats.

� When you descend, go all the way down and allow the chestto lightly touch the floor. � Travel the elbows to the side away from the body. Bringingthe elbows close to the body decreases the difficulty of thisexercise. Who wants that? � Keep your head up. No droppingthe head pretending that becauseyour nose or forehead touched,you went all the way down. � And lastly — slow down. Noneed-for-speed repetitions in whichyou utilize bouncing momentum.This also decreases difficulty. Thekey in the standard is to control thebody’s weight.

Bad form — Elbowsshould be away from thebody as shown above.

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Triceps dip

There are three varia-tions of dips, but weutilize the basic dipbecause it is the mostuseful for our pur-poses.

� Grip the dip bars (orthe backs of twosturdy chairs) andsupport your body’sweight on the palms ofyour hands. � Keeping your bodyupright (do not leanforward), descend untilyour elbows are at a90 degree angle. � Return to the top ofthe exercise.

Leaning forward andtraveling the elbowsaway from the bodyincreases the amountof work done by thechest. We don’t wantthat here. We aretrying to overload thetriceps.

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Diamond push-up

This exercise is offeredas an alternative to dipsor as a preparatory exer-cise for the novice whoisn’t quite ready for dips. � Place your palms onthe mat with index fin-gers and extendedthumbs touching forminga diamond shape (looksmore like a spade fromcard suits to me, but theyare called diamonds,nevertheless).� Support your body inplank position with yourfeet spread two shoulderwidths apart. � Descend and touchyour chest to your hands. � Return to the top ofthe exercise.

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Reverse push-up

� Lie supine on the matwith your palms on themat above your shoul-ders, fingers pointingtoward your shoulders. � Press your bodytoward the sky, leadingwith your hips and chest. � At the top of the exer-cise your weight will besupported by your palmsand feet. You can riseonto your toes for greaterrange of motion. � At the bottom of theexercise, allow only yourupper shoulders to touchthe mat, and not theentire back. Touching theentire back allows a restpoint, which is uselessfor our purposes.

� With hands in the sameposition as in the standard,move your feet to twoshoulder widths apart. � Sweep your body downand between your hands untilyou come to a downwardarched position with your face looking at the sky. � Return along the same path. � That is one repetition.

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Dive bomber

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Another standard of the Hindu wrestlers. They are also knownas dands and are basically half dive bombers. I prefer divebombers as they work the entire shoulder girdle in both the pos-itive and negative aspects of the exercise. The dand only worksthe forward sweep.

� Perform the downward sweep of the dive bomber. � Push back to the starting position without the return sweep.

Hindu push-up

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Pushing group

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Handstand push-up

There are three ways to hit the inverted position necessary forthis exercise.

1. Above. Face the wall and place your hands on the mat. Kickyour legs up until the heels or the soles of your feet touch thewall for balance.

2. Opposite page. With your back to the wall, place your handson the mat and walk your feet up the wall until you reach theinverted position.

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5 6

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3. Not shown. For the gymnastically inclined, pop into a freehandstand and rip repetitions without training wheels.

� Once in the inverted position, descend touching the top ofyour head to the mat. � Press yourself back to the top of the exercise.

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5 6

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Tent push-ups

This exercise ismeant as an alterna-tive or preparationexercise for thosenot quite ready forthe handstand push-up.� Place your handson the mat in stan-dard position. � Rise on to balls ofyour feet and walkyour feet forwarduntil your body is in apike position. � Perform yourpush-ups from thisquasi-inverted posi-tion.

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NoviceStandard 25 Diamonds 20 Reverse 15 Hindu 10 Tent 5

IntermediateStandard2 sets of 20 (from here for-ward, sets and repetitionsare written as fractions, as in 2/25) Dips 15 Diamonds 15 Reverse 2/12 Dive bombers 2/10 Handstand 2/5

Advanced Standard 2/25 Dips 2/20 Reverse 2/15 Dive bombers 2/10 Handstand 2/5

ProStandard 50 Dips 40 Reverse 30 Dive bombers 20 Handstand 10

Again, for those who considerthe numbers too light even atthe top end, understand that weare advocating slow controlledmotion and minimal restbetween sets and exercises.Once you experience the syner-gistic effect of combining theexercises in the prescribedmanner, the wisdom (I meanthe burn) should present itself.

Reps for pushing groupSuggested sequences and repetitions for each class ofathlete.

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The pushing group might be more important for thestriker than for the grappler because striking calls for

movements away from the body.Pulling, though, is a huge part ofthe grappling aspect of NHB.Whether bringing an opponentto you or retaining him onceyou’ve got him where you wanthim, it is the pulling group thatdoes the job.We use a simplepull-up set to give us what weneed in this area.

There are dozens of pull-up vari-ations, but we emphasize onlythose you’ll need. Pull-ups are atough exercise for many, butplease don’t let that be an

excuse to skip them. Even if you find yourself unable toperform even one repetition of any of the offered vari-eties, I still want you to grab that bar and give it whatyou’ve got for each repetition. If you can only budgeyourself one inch for each rep, that’s still one inch ofprogress.You’ll get there, trust me. But you’ll never getthere if you don’t grab the bar.

9 Pulling group

Pulling group

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Wide pull-up

� Grab the bar with an over-grip (palms facing away from you)at slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. � With slow controlled motion, pull your body up until your chinis above the bar. � Descend with control to about 2 inches from the bottom of adead hang and repeat. Note — When taking the chin above the bar, don’t cheat. Fromthe bottom of the exercise to the top, always face forward soyou truly rise above the bar. No “chicken-necking” — whenyou’re near the top of the bar and you lift up your chin to makeit pass the top. Perfect form is the law.

Bad form! Good form!

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Standard pull-up

� Grip the bar in an over-grip with your hands atshoulder-width apart. � Perform as in the previousexercise.

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94

Chin-up

A chin-up is merely a pull-upwith an under-grip on the bar(palms facing you). Most peoplefind these easier to performthan pull-ups. That is thereason we place them late inthe synergistic routine. Performas described before.

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Arch pull-up

More often than not, while grap-pling, we are pulling a limb oran opponent to our core (see“Take it to Heart” in No HoldsBarred Fighting: KillerSubmissions for a full explana-tion of this concept). Thispulling follows a curve slightlydifferent from the previous exer-cises. The arch pull-up reme-dies this omission.

� Stand under the bar and grip it in a hand-over-hand manner. � While pulling up, keep your elbows traveling toward yoursides and drop your head back. � Your goal is to touch your solar plexus to the bar, not to bringyour head up on either side of the bar. � As you descend, allow your body to return to the vertical.

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Reps for pulling groupSuggested sequences and repetitions for each class ofathlete.

NoviceWide grip 5 Standard 5 Chin-ups 5 Arch 5

IntermediateWide grip 8 Standard 8 Chin-ups 8 Arch 8

AdvancedWide grip 12 Standard 10 Chin-ups 8 Arch 8

ProWide grip 15 Standard 12 Chin-ups 10 Arch 8

Prurient connotationsaside, we are referringto the neck.There isperhaps no othersport that demandsneck conditioning tothe degree that grap-pling requires.A strongneck allows the fighterto bridge onto his

head with confidence, better stave off head attacks, andeven use the head with greater force to drive or post anopponent into position. Neck conditioning is key forthe NHB grappler.What follows is a simple neck condi-tioning set that will fulfill your needs in this area inminimum time.

When on you’re back using the bottom scissors/guardposition or caught underneath a top saddle/mount,you’ve got to keep your head off the mat.Taking apunch while your head is backed up by planet Earth isnothing anybody looks forward to.Yet you still seefighters on their backs with their heads on the mat.Sometimes this is due to poor technique, but mostoften it’s a matter of conditioning.Your head is heavy,and the mere act of holding it up while supine is moredifficult than it first appears.The following two exer-cises will give you the endurance needed to keep yourhead up.

10 Fifth limb

Fifth limb

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Chapter 10

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4-count neck lift

� Lie supine on the mat. � Lift your head from the mat and keep it off the mat throughoutthe exercise. � Take your head to the left attempting to touch your left ear toyour left shoulder. This is count 1. � Return to center and slightly dip your head toward the mat.Do not touch the mat. This is count 2. � Take your right ear to your right shoulder. This is count 3. � Return to center and dip the head. This is count 4.

Neck lift

� Lying on the mat, hold your head off the mat as shown.� Lift your head straight up the middle attempting to touch yourchin to your chest. � Drop your head back to just above the mat. � Repeat.

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Neck rock

I’ve worked neck bridges for many years and have found thefull-range exercise described here more beneficial than thestatic isometric hold. Fighting is not a static game, so let’s aimfor specificity and work full-range movement more likely to beencountered.

� Hit the supine position on the mat. � With weight on your heels (or toes) rock on to the top of yourhead. You can rock as far back as your forehead or the bridgeof you nose, if you desire. How far you rock is not as importantas performing the rocks themselves. � At the top of the motion, you will be supporting yourself onlyby your feet and head. � Lower your body to a position where your shoulders are justabove the mat, always keeping your weight on your head. � Repeat.

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Reps for fifth limbSuggested sequences and repetitions for each class ofathlete.

Novice4-count neck lifts 10 Neck lifts 20 Neck rocks 10

Intermediate4-count neck lifts 20 Neck lifts 10 Neck rocks 20

Advanced4-count neck lifts 10 Neck lifts 10 Neck rocks 25 Repeat sequence

Pro4-count neck lifts 10 Neck lifts 10 Neck rocks 50 Repeat sequence 4 times

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This is a circuit weighttraining complex thatrequires a single dumbbellor a single kettlebell.Thecomplex works well witheither tool.This sequence isdesigned to condition mus-cular endurance, buildstrength in eccentric posi-tions, foster upper bodyexplosiveness and kick-startyour cardio — all at thesame time.To reap thepromises of this encom-passing package, there are afew rules to be followed.

The complex is designed to be executed with no rest(none) between repetitions and/or exercises.At firstthere will be a temptation to grab a heavier weightthan you may need.Although the exercises in isolationor with rest are easy, the intensity of the work rate andthe sequencing make this complex what it is.

To determine how much weight to grab, use the 30-minute rule. If you are able to complete the complexwith perfect form in 30 minutes or less over the courseof three separate sessions, it is time to bump theweight up. If your complex session time exceeds 30minutes or you find yourself having to take rest breaks,decrease the weight.

11 Dumbbell / kettlebell

Dumbbell / kettlebell

104

Remember we are strivingfor endurance first andstrength second (don’tworry, strength work iscoming up). It’s OK tograb a lighter weight thanyou normally use to exe-cute this complex becauseof the discipline itrequires.

On single-arm exercises,perform all repetitionswith one arm before

repeating on the other side. Performing a single repeti-tion with the right and then alternating to the left armallows too much recovery time. Intensity is your friend.

This final note is more of a preference than a rule.When executing the complex, I prefer smooth handleddumbbells or kettlebells as opposed to knurled or rub-berized surfaces. Knurled and/or rubberized surfacesare designed to provide an easier gripping surface. I’msure you’re ahead of me — the smooth surface forcesthe added benefit of having to squeeze the handles tomaintain your grip, particularly once the handles aresweaty and you move into centrifugal work.

Perform 10 repetitions of each exercise. Upon the com-pletion of each exercise, move to the next with zerorest.

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7

6

One-arm get-up / Turkish get-up

� Hold the weight overhead with astraight arm. � Keep your arm in this lockedposition throughout the entire exer-cise.� Squat and reach for the mat withyour free hand. � Sit on the mat and then liesupine keeping the weight aloft.

Continued next page


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8 9 10

11 12

� Return to the standing position whilenever dropping the weight from theoverhead position.

Tip — You will find that keeping youreyes focused on the weight overheadwill allow you to better manage the bal-ance necessary for this exercise.

One-arm get-up / Turkish get-up continued

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One-arm snatch

� Begin with the weight on the floorbetween your legs. � Grip the handle, and in one continuousmovement, thrust the weight overheadand hold for a single count. � Return the weight to the floor andrepeat.

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108

One-arm clean and jerk

� Begin as in the previous exercise. � Here we break the transfer to over-head in two motions. � Bring the weight to your shoulder andpause.� From the shoulder position, bend yourknees slightly, and then burst up withyour legs and take the weight overheadat the same time. � Hold it aloft for a beat and thenrepeat.

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One-arm push press

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3 4

2 � Begin with theweight held atshoulder level. � Leaving yourknees locked,bend forwardslightly at the waisttaking your but-tocks to, well, therear. � Pop your hipsforward as youpress the weightoverhead.

Important note for all exercises in this chapter — We arenot merely pressing the weight overhead in a controlledfashion. We use slow and controlled work on our soma-totrophics days. Conditioning the body for continuous bursts ofmotion is the goal here.


110

One-arm jerk press

� Begin with theweight at shoulderlevel again. � Here you willbend the kneesslightly, then burstwith the legs totime your press, asin the one-armclean and jerk.

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5 6

One-arm squat with weight overhead

� Begin with theweight in thelocked overheadposition.� Squat all theway down, ass toheels, and touchthe floor lightly withthe fingertips ofyour free hand.Keep the weightoverheadthroughout theentire exercise. � Return tostanding position.

Tip — If you areunable to go all theway down or loseyour balance, dropthe weight amountuntil you can per-form with perfectform.

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112

One-arm squat and press

This is similar to the preceding exercise.

� Here, we begin with the weight at shoulder level. � Squat all the way down, touching the floor with the free hand.The free-hand touch on this and the preceding exercise is acheck to see if you are at rock bottom. � As you return to standing, press the weight overhead. � As you squat, bring the weight back to your shoulder.

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Two-arm jumping squat

� Hold the handle with both hands infront of your body at approximatelywaist level. � Descend to a half squat position. � Burst with your legs hitting a jumpsquat for height. � Repeat.

Tip — Need I say to control the weightto keep it from colliding with your groin?

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114

Two-arm jumping jack

� Hold the handle with both hands as inthe previous exercise. � Hop your legs to the straddle positionand then return them to standard. Thinkleg-work of a 2-count jumping jack.

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7

2

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Two-arm bouncing split squat

� Start with the 2-hand grip at the waist. � Jump and land in a lunge position with your right leg for-ward and left leg to the rear. The wider and deeper thestance the better. � Jump and reverse leg positions — left to the fore, rightto the rear. � Right and left is a single repetition.

Continued next page

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116

Two-arm bouncing split squat continued

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Two-arm forward bend

This and the next are fairly easyexercises. They are intended to keepyou moving while you recover fromthe jumping segment. � Hold the handle with both handsand place the weight behind yourneck.� Leaving your knees locked, bendforward until your upper body is par-allel to the floor. � Lean back until you see the sky.� Repeat.

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Two-arm side bend

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54

� With the weight still behind your head,lean as far as you can to the right. � Now, to the left. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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Two-arm clock swing

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5 64

Hang on tight — The next segment calls for swinging theweight in a ballistic manner. Keep in mind the safety of thepeople and property around you.

� With both hands on the handle, swing the weight in a wideclockwise fashion in front of your body. � Keep your body facing forward throughout. � Repeat counterclockwise for the desired repetitions.


120

Two-arm turning half-clock swing

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8 97

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13

� With the two-hand grip, pivot on the balls of your feet andturn to your right. � Swing the weight high and to your right, stopping the weightat the top of the arc. � Pivot to your left and swing the weight in a high arc to yourleft.� Right and left is a single repetition.


122

Two-arm overhead clock swing

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8 97

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Again in profile

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6

� With the two-hand grip, swingthe weight to yourleft and over yourhead and then backin front of you. � Continue thisoverhead sweepingfor the desired rep-etitions and thenrepeat in the oppo-site direction.


124

Two-arm horizontal swing

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8 97

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10 11 12

� With the two-hand grip, swing the weight in horizontal arcs infront of your body. � Right and left is a single repetition.


126

Two-arm full body swing

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8 97

� With a two-hand grip, start with the weight on the mat to theoutside of your right foot. � Swing it in a high arc over your head and then place theweight next to your left foot.

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15

� Reverse the arc bringing the weight back to the right foot.� Right and left is a single repetition.


128

One-arm lunge swing

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� Grip the weight in your left hand. � Step forward with your left foot while swinging the weight in astiff-armed manner bringing the weight overhead. � Step your left foot back as you swing the weight down. � Repeat for the desired repetitions.


130

One-arm between-the-legs swing

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8 97

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Another view

1 2 3

� Stand in a wide straddle stance (horse stance for the tradi-tionalists) gripping the weight in your right hand. � Swing the weight in a stiff-armed manner to the overheadposition.� Allow the weight to swing back between your legs and thenrepeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Note — There is no step in this exercise as there was in theone-arm lunge swing.


132

One-arm pull to waist

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7 � With a one-arm grip, start with theweight on the floor. � Stand and pull the weight to waistlevel.� Repeat.

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One-arm pull to chest

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4

3

5 6

7 � Perform as the previous exercise,except here (surprise, surprise) take theweight to chest level.

� Bend over andbring the weightfrom the floor toyour chest.

Note — Keep inmind that thesepulls are notmeant to be donein a slow, con-trolled manner aswe do with soma-totrophics. Jerkthat weight!


134

One-arm bent pull to chest

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6

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7

Chapter 11

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One-arm dead hang high pull

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 � Holding the weight in your right hand,allow your arm to hang freely with theweight resting at your waist. � Using body English and not merelypulling from the shoulder, jerk theweight to chin level. � Drop back to a dead hang andrepeat.


136

One-arm dead hang clean

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5 64

87 � Starting fromthe same deadhang as in the lastexercise, jerk theweight to shoulderlevel.

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One-arm power curl

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5 64

87 � Start with theweight on the mat. � Grip it with asingle-arm gripwith palm facingup.� Jerk the weightup to shoulderlevel.� Repeat.


138

One-arm high pull

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54

� Start with the weight on the mat and take a one-arm overgripwith palm facing back. � Jerk the weight to shoulder level.� Repeat.

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One-arm clean

1 2 3

4

� Same start as in the preceding exercise, but here you bringthe weight above shoulder level, as shown.


140

One-arm clean and jerk with rotation

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54

87

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9

Chapter 11

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10 11

� Same start, but as you bring the weightto shoulder level, continue the motion andjerk it overhead while turning toward theright when the weight is in the right handand to the left when the weight is in theleft hand.


142

One-arm rotational rowing

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4

7

65

� Bend forward at the waist gripping theweight in your right hand. � Place your left elbow on your leftknee.� Swing the weight high and to yourright.� Swing it back and repeat.

Strength and endurance arenot the only factors that needto be addressed by theNHB/MMA athlete.We’ve gotto take into account the twinattributes of explosive move-ment and agility. For the mostpart, proper drilling techniquein striking and grappling willcultivate these two compo-nents, but for those who desiregreater gains and/or have lotsof solo training time to fill, thefollowing circuit should fill thebill nicely.

Explosive drills are commonly labeled under the rubric“plyometrics,” but we have chosen the synonym “explo-siveness” to remind you of the manner in which youare to train each of the following drills.As with allother exercises in this book, intensity is the key. If anexercise calls for a jump, you can be assured that thatjump is to be as high and explosive as you can manage.In this area of training, half measures aren’t muchbetter than no measures at all.

We will approach explosiveness and agility in a syner-gistic circuit like we did in the dumbbell/kettlebellcomplex. By training in a circuit fashion, the intensitystays high and we seriously redline the system buildingour cardio base in a sport-specific manner. Use the fol-lowing rules when performing this circuit.

12 Explosiveness / agility

Explosiveness / agility

144

� Explode into every exercise, every repetition. If youaren’t jumping as high as you can or as far as you canwith each repetition, drop to the preceding level.

� You will not rest between repetitions, but you maytake the occasional five deep breaths between indi-vidual exercises.You will be huffing and puffing beforelong, and each of these huffs and puffs count as yourfive “rest” breaths.

If you are new to explosive training, keep a “relief”bucket handy.

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3 4

Pogo

� With only a slight bend in the knees, jump ashigh as you can manage. � Upon rebound, spend as little time in contactwith the mat as possible and spring again. In the pogo, the calves give the majority of theburst with the slightly bent knees assisting.


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654

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� Hit a half squatposition and putyour hands behindyour head. � Leaving yourhands behind yourhead, jump ashigh as you canmanage.� Rebound andrepeat.

Squat jump

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High-knee

� Explosively bring your right knee to your chest, taking it ashigh as you can. � At the same time, attempt to have the heel of your raised footmake contact with the back of your hamstring or buttocks. � Drive the right leg back to the mat. Perform same with the leftleg.� Right and left is a single repetition.

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148

Forward roll/backward roll w/handstand shoot combo

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2

� Squat to the mat and place your hands in front of you ashoulder-width apart. � Tuck your chin and roll forward. � At the end of the roll, come immediately to standing position.

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11

� Squat again, tuck your chin and roll backward, placing yourhands on the mat beside your head. � As you reach the middle of the backward roll, drive your feettoward the sky and attempt to press your body into a momen-tary handstand position before returning to your feet.

Continued next page

You can choose from three levels of backward roll difficulty to fityour abilities.1. Perform the backward roll without the handstand shoot. 2. Perform the handstand shoot as described above. 3. Perform the handstand shoot and attempt to drive your bodyfrom the mat before your feet meet the mat. There will be amomentary airborne phase in this variation.


150

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Forward roll/backward roll continued

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5 6

Quarter turn jump

� Jump from both feet making a quarter turn to your left. � Rebound immediately making a quarter turn jump to yourright.� Right and left is a single repetition.

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4

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152

Rocket jump

� Hit a half squatposition and jumpas high as you canwhile reachingyour arms above (Idid not have roomhere to reachoverhead — asyou should).� Rebound andrepeat.

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76

4

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1

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2

Star jump

4

� Hit the half squat position and jumpas high as you can like in the rocketjump. At the peak of the jump, spreadyour arms and legs wide like in an air-borne jumping jack. This forms a star.� Return your limbs to standard posi-tion to hit the mat and rebound for thenext repetition.

5


154

Half scissors launch

� Step your right leg forward into lungeposition placing your left knee on themat.� From this bottomed-out position, driveyour arms up hard and attempt to launchyourself as high as you can. � Return to the right-leg forward lungeposition.� Perform all repetitions on the rightbefore moving to the left.

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� Hit the right-legforward lungeposition and driveyour body as highas you can. � At the peak ofthe jump, switchlegs and land in aleft-leg forwardlunge.

Continued next page

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7 8

2

Full scissors jump


156

Full scissors jump continued

11

12 13 14

15

9 10

� Drive and jump again. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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Pogo switch

This is a combination of the pogoand full scissors jump. � Stand with your right leg onestep forward of the left with kneesslightly bent. � Spring as high as you can. � At the peak of the jump, switchthe right foot to the rear and the leftforward.

Continued next page

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7

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158

Pogo switch continued

Speed sprawl to stand-up

� Stand in a square stance (elbows to knees). � With all the speed and gravity-assist you can manage, hit asprawl (hips downward and chest up). � Attempt to match your descent speed and pop up immedi-ately to standing.

� Rebound andrepeat.� Right and left isa single repetition.

8 10

12

9

11

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8 9 10


160

Half turn jump

� Perform as in the quarter turn jumps,but with alternating half turns. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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162

Forward and back bounds

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� Stand on your right foot and drive forward as far as you canlanding on only the left foot. � Immediately drive off the left foot to the rear, landing on theright foot. � That is a single repetition. � Perform all with the left leg forward and then repeat on theother side.

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Lateral bound

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8

5

109

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1

� Crouch and place all of your weight on your left foot. � Drive off the left foot hard and to the right. � Land on your right foot, then drive hard and to the left, backonto your left foot. � Right and left is a single repetition.


164

Speed sprawl “forward roll” stand-up

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54

876

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9

� Assume asquare stance. � Hit the speedsprawl and thenimmediately launchyourself into a for-ward roll. � Stand up asquickly as you can. � Repeat.


166

Half turn tuck jump

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8 97

� Perform like the standard half turn jumps, except jump ashigh as you can bringing your knees to your chest with eachrepetition.� Right and left is a single repetition

6

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168

Tuck jump

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8 � Standing inplace, jump as highas you can bringingyour knees to yourchest.Note — Commoncheats are to bringthe knees onlywaist high or tobring your heels toyour butt. Thumpthose knees toyour chest for max-imum bang for yourbuck.

7

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8

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Pike jump

� Jump as in the tuck jumps, but attemptto extend your legs in front of you andreach to touch your toes.� Rebound and repeat.


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Hands-behind-head half scissors launch

� Assume the right-leg for-ward lunge position as inthe standard scissorsjumps, but keep your handsbehind your head. � Use only your legs toachieve the launch. � Repeat on the otherside. You should be feelingthe burn at this point!

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Speed sprawls “stand-up” rocket jump

� Hit your square stance. � Bang the sprawl and stand up. � Immediately move directly into a rocket jump. � Remember to jump as high as you can reaching for the stars.

Continued next page

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172

Speed sprawls “stand-up” rocket jumps continued

11 1312

Note — If you have difficulty performing this exercise, substitutebackward rolls to stand-up. � From a standing position, squat and roll backward placingyour hands on the mat like in a standard backward roll. � At the top of the roll, explode your hips and legs and snapthem forward to the mat. Drive off the mat with your hands, asin a forceful reverse push-up.� Return to standing position. Have fun!

Kip-ups

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Continued next page

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Kip-ups continued

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Hands-behind-head full scissors launch

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321

You know the drill by now. � Hit the right-leg forwardlunge position — left kneeon the mat. No cheating. � Hands behind your head. � Launch and switch thelegs at the peak of thejump landing in the left-legforward lunge. � Right and left is a singlerepetition.

Continued next page.


176

Hands-behind-head full scissors launch continued

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Speed sprawl “stand-up” tuck jump

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� Square stance to sprawl. � Stand up and hit a tuck jump (knees to chest) exploding ashigh as you can manage. How are those lungs doing?

Continued next page.


178

Speed sprawl “stand-up” tuck jump continued

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10

Side-tuck jump

� Hit a quarter squat position and explode into a tuck jumptaking yourself laterally to your right. � Rebound and explode to the left. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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Single-leg jump for height

� Lift your left foot so you arestanding only on your right. � Explode as high as you can witha single-leg launch. � Once the right leg repetitions arecompleted, go left.

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Single-leg jump forward and back

� Working the right legfirst, single-leg jumpmoving forward for distance.� Once you land forward,explode backward for distance.� Forward and back isone repetition. � Once the right leg hascompleted all repetitions,hit the left leg.

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Single-leg jump to the side

� Standing on theright foot, jump highand laterally to yourright.� Rebound immedi-ately to your left. � Right and left is asingle repetition. � Once the right leghas completed allrepetitions, move tothe left leg.

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This is an easy exercise for many experienced players. Placingit at the end of the circuit puts the “S” back in Suck!

� Stand with your back to the wall. � Take one big step and place your feet shoulder-width apart. � Bend over backward touching the wall with your hands. � Walk down the wall with your hands until the top of your headtouches the mat. � Walk back up and return to standing position. � That’s one.


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Falling into a neck bridge

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If you would like to take it a step beyond the final exercise ofthe wall-walk in this complex and you have mastered the suplexsequence we presented in The Clinch, then you can replacewall-walks with the above sequence, falling into a neck bridge.

Note — Only use this substitution if you have progressedthrough the steps presented in The Clinch. This is a dangerousmove without prep work. Be careful!

� Stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart. � Cross your arms over your chest. � Arch back and control your descent by driving your knees infront of your toes. � Fall onto the top of your head or your forehead.


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Reps for explosiveness / agilityNoviceFour reps of each exercise

IntermediateSix reps of each exercise

AdvancedEight reps of each exercise

Pro10 reps of each exercise

These rep numbers are not low when you keep in mind theintensity and the little to no rest factor. At the top end, you willbe hitting more than 400 repetitions of jump varieties, and thatdoesn’t include sprawls and rolling work. Trust me, this will dothe trick.

Thus far we have emphasized endurance (cardio andmusculature) allowing whatever strength gains wemake to be corollaries of the somatotrophic, dumb-bell/kettlebell and explosiveness / agility circuits.Youshould be quite pleased with the strength gains even ifyou do not add the barbell complex that follows.

To add the barbell complex is your choice. But I recom-mend that you build up a good tolerance to the pre-vious circuits before moving to this complex.As statedbefore, if you can’t move your own body weight with

ease, there is no sensein picking up evenmore weight.

You will notice that theexercises are “allstrength” exercises asthe great Otto Arcocalled them.Arco knewmore than a little aboutstrength.This means the

exercises are designed to recruit as much of the body’smusculature as we can manage. NHB/MMA grapplingcalls for whole body movement in unison or all-strength movement. So strength work should reflectthis reality as opposed to training isolated musclegroups.

Very seldom in this sport are single muscle groupscalled upon. More often, your goal as an NHB/MMA

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grappler is toget as much ofyour body intothe effort asyou can.Approach thiscomplex withthat idea inmind.

There are two ways to utilize the barbell complex.

Endurance circuitIf you choose to forego heavy weights, but want to sup-plement the workouts already described, you canmerely use an unloaded or moderately loaded Olympicbar and crank this set out in the same manner as thedumbbell/kettlebell circuit.That is 10 repetitions ofeach exercise. No rest and constant work rate are nec-essary to keep the intensity high. Use the 30-minuterule to gauge your appropriate poundage.

Strength circuitIf you want to build pure OD (overdose) strength, thenread on.The strength complex rules follow.

� Perform only one set of each exercise.� Perform the exercises in the given order.� Perform no more than six repetitions of each exercise.� If you can hit more than six reps on a given exercise,it’s time to increase the weight.� If you can lift only four reps on a given exercise, it’s

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time to drop the weight.� You must lift explosively because NHB/MMA calls forthat kind of strength.� Limit the sets to one because I urge you to:� Lift heavy.� Lift heavy.� Lift heavy.

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� Clear the bar to shoulder level. � Squat to the mat and then lie down on the mat. � Sit up and work yourself back to the squat position. � Stand up and then clean the weight (take it to your shoulder). � Jerk the weight (take the weight overhead). � Repeat the sequence.

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Clean and jerk

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� Begin with theweight on the floorand grip the barwith your hands ashoulder-widthapart.� Clean theweight to yourshoulders.� Jerk the weightoverhead.� Repeat.

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Push press

� Begin with the weight in clean position. � Leaving your legs locked, bend slightlyforward at the waist taking your butt to therear. � Forcefully pop your hips forward whileyou extend the weight overhead. � Repeat.

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Jerk press

� Begin with the weight in clean position. � Bend your knees to a quarter squatposition.� Forcefully extend your legs and jerk theweight overhead.

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Shoulder bridge press / bench press

There are some verygood minds in wrestlingwho think the benchpress should be elimi-nated from the roster oftraining exercises. I’mnot ready to go that far,but I agree that it hasbeen overemphasized.The bench press is wellunderstood, so I offerthis variant in its stead.You can use the benchpress or the shoulderbridge press at this pointin the complex.

� Lie on the mat with thebar placed above yourhead.� Grip the bar and pull itover your head getting itto a bench press posi-tion. You will not be ableto take the bar as deeplyas a standard benchsince your elbows areblocked by the mat. � Place the soles of yourfeet on the mat and liftyour hips to the sky sup-porting your weight onyour upper shouldersand your feet. � Press the weight fromyour chest to full exten-sion.

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Squat and press behind neck

� Place the bar on your shoulders. � Hit a deep squat — all the way down. � As you rise from the squat, press theweight overhead. � Lower the bar back to your shouldersas you descend for another squat.

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A quick lecture on weighted squatsIt is considered bad form by some to squat beyond par-allel.That is excellent advice when you are dealingwith more weight than you can manage. Once you arecomfortable with body weight squats, use the law ofincremental improvement. Load the bar in only twoand a half to five pound increments until you reach thepoint of bad form in your exercise.Then it’s time toback the weight down.

Safe strength training is about patience and prepara-tion. If this deep squat advice scares you, then stopyour squat at parallel. But keep in mind, if you can’tsquat all the way down with light to moderate weight,then you should stick to body weight squats until thecondition is rectified.

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This one tests your balance. � Begin from a standing position with the weight pressed over-head.� Leaving the weight pressed overhead throughout, squat allthe way down (ass to heels). � Return to standing. � Repeat.

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Squat with weight overhead

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Jumping jack

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� Place the baron your shoul-ders.� Perform theside-straddle hopportion of ajumping jack.

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Jump squat

� With the baron your shoul-ders, squat deep(ass to heels). � As you rise,spring from themat jumping forheight.� Repeat.

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Jump split squat

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� Place the bar on your shoulders. � Step into a lunge with your right legforward and left knee to the mat. � Spring from the mat reversing yourlegs at the peak of the jump — right footto the rear, left foot forward. � Jump again. � Right and left is a single repetition.

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Dead lift

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If you are using the strength version of this complex, this is theexercise where you load the bar with all you’ve got.

� Start with the bar on the floor. � Keeping your back straight, bend your knees and grip thebar. � Stand and lift the bar. � Lift the bar to the dead hang position (arms at full extension).

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� Start with the bar in a dead hang position. � Keeping your arms straight, pop the hips to start the bar trav-eling forward. � Swing the bar to the overhead position keeping the elbowslocked throughout. � Repeat.

Straight arm swing

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Pull to waist

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� Start with the bar on the floor. � Grip the bar at shoulder width. � Bend the knees and jerk the bar to waist level.

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Pull to chest

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The preparation is the same as in thepull to waist.

� Jerk the bar to chest level.

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Bent-over pull to chest

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54 The set up is thesame as in thepreceding exer-cises, but the exe-cution is slightlydifferent.

� Bend forward atthe waist until yourupper body is justabove parallel withthe floor. � Jerk the bar toyour chest.

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Dead hang high upright row

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� Grip the bar with your hands approximately six inches apart. � Begin from a dead hang and jerk the bar to chin level. � Always start from a dead hang on each repetition.

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Dead hang clean

� Starting from adead hang, over-grip the bar atshoulder width. � Clean the bar toyour shoulders.

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Power curl

� Start with the bar on the floor. � Take an undergrip (palms facing up)on the bar. � In one smooth motion, jerk the barfrom the floor up to the top of a bicepscurl position. � Repeat.

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Clean and jerk with overhead rotation

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A brief pause for rotational strengthRotational strength is crucial to the NHB/MMA athlete.We seldom encounter situations in which movement isstrictly linear or strictly lateral. Don’t let the inertia oftaking the bar in a circular motion surprise you. I sug-gest loading the bar lightly until you get a feel for theinertial pull on your body.

Perform the standard clean and jerk, but add a rotation from thewaist.� Clean the bar from the floor. � During the jerk, turn your upper body to the right.

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� Return the bar to the floor.� Complete all repetitions to the rightbefore moving to the left.

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Grip strength/endurance is another key component ofthe NHB/MMA game. Sometimes all that separates youfrom finishing a move or holding off a bad situation is

your tolerance for lacticacid build-up in the fore-arms. If you are using thedumbbell/kettlebell com-plex on a regular basis,you already will havemade grip improvementsand may not need supple-mentation.

If you wish to build phe-nomenal grip strength inthe great Danny Hodgeclass, you will need tosupplement your grip

training even more.This routine adheres to our under-lying rules of efficiency, effectiveness, synergy andintensity, and puts you well on the way to a formidablegrip.

Use these grip exercises at the very end of yourworkout (feel free to skip it on dumbbell/kettlebellcomplex days).At this point, I think we know why thegrip is the last thing we work.

A good grade hand grip is important. Most standardgrippers found in retail stores are either not challengingenough or exhaust their challenge after less than a

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month of work. Most grippers are constructed in theshape of a V.We refer to the standard V as the coilfacing the top of your fist (thumb) and the inverted Vwith the coil facing down (toward your little finger).

The following routine is offered to give you supple-ment activity for grip work. Perform this grip set in onecontinuous sequence.

Inverted V repetitionsClose the grippers as rapidly as you can for the prescribedreps.

Inverted V holdsClose the gripper and keep it closed for the prescribed time.

Standard V repetitionsYou know what to do.

Standard V holdsDitto.

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Reps for gripSuggested repetitions for each class of athlete.

Novice25 repetitions 30-seconds hold

Intermediate50 repetitions 45-seconds hold

Advanced75 repetitions 60-seconds hold

Pro100 repetitions 90-seconds hold

If you’ve selected a good gripper, the forearms and handsshould be jelly at the end of this routine. If they aren’t, move tothe next level or invest in better grippers.

If you’re using this manual, you’ve no doubt found yourcardiovascular system challenged and may see no needto supplement with even more huff and puff work. Butas noted earlier, novelty can provide the bump that thesystem needs.The following grinders are supplementsto the preceding material. More to come on packaging.

First, the term grinder comes from the U.S. Navy SEALs.It refers to their exceptionally grueling Friday morningPT session on asphalt. Since the following Grinders/Max O2 packages are calisthenics/ somatotrophicsbased and give the body a nice ground down feeling, Iborrowed the term.

Second, you will find four different cardio grinders inthis section.They are ideal for when you are short ontime, before or after a tough technique drilling or spar-ring session and when you don’t have the gas/time todo one of the more in-depth menu choices. For theserious athlete, I recommend a two-tier workout with a

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grinder session in one half of the day and anothermenu selection for a separate session.Whether thegrinder is the morning or the evening choice doesn’tmatter.The novice or athlete who is not prepping for afight has no need for dual session days.

Each grinder utilizes specific exercise choices that havebeen described previously.They are specific whole-body movements of value to the NHB/MMA athlete andfulfill the specificity requirement of our training needs,but feel free to substitute exercises.The grinders aremeant to be cardio sessions. If you’d rather run hills,skip rope, mountain bike or swim, then substitute theactivity of choice. Keep in mind the more specific theactivity is to your athletic goal, the better the trainingeffect will be.

Whether you use the exercises provided or go withsubstitutions, the key is that you do not deviate fromthe prescribed time intervals and dictated intensitylevels. Got that? Substitute exercises if you wish, but donot dicker with any of the other parameters.

OK, those are the ground rules. On to the grinders.

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Long slow distance (LSD) grinder

� 25 squats (pace should be approximately one squat every 2seconds)� 10 4-count jumping jacks � 10 squat thrusts � 10 4-count jumping jacks� 10 dive bomber push-ups (approximately one every 3 sec-onds)

Intensity level: Low. Use the talk test. If you find yourselfbreathing hard or unable to talk, back off. If you’re wonderingwhy I’m saying to take it easy, remember we’ve got to cycle ourintensity levels to keep the body from hitting the listless, over-training wall.

Time: Run the circuit for 20 minutes with no rest periods.

� 10 squats (one per second) � 10 2-count jumping jacks � 10 rip squats� 10 2-count jumping jacks � 10 squat thrusts with leap (hit a rocket jump at the top ofevery stand-up). � 10 2-count jumping jacks � 10 Hindu push-ups (one every 2 seconds) � 10 2-count jumping jacks

Intensity level: You should be breathing hard in the talk test,but still able to speak.

Time: Six sets of 3 minutes with 90 seconds rest between sets.

Lactate threshold training (LTT) grinder

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� 10 rip squats � 10 squat thrusts with leap � 10 Hindu push-ups (one per second)

Intensity level: F-A-S-T! You should not be able to speak aword during your talk test.

Time: Five sets of 30 seconds to begin. Build toward 45 and 60seconds as you become acclimated. You may rest a minimumof 2 minutes, but no more than 4 minutes between sets.

Interval grinder

Peaking threshold grinder

This grinder combines aspects of the LTT and interval grinderfor a single intense session.

� Perform one interval set � Follow immediately with one LTT set. � Repeat this sequence twice more for a total of three sets.

Intensity level: High. There is zero rest.

Time: Use the times prescribed in the interval and LTT grindersections.

For more on which grinders to use and how often, see “Menus,”page 235.

This section on flexibility is near the end of the book.This does not mean that it’s not an important facet ofthe overall conditioning regimen. Of course not.Improving and/or maintaining flexibility is paramountin NHB/MMA, particularly for grappling. Grapplingtwists, pulls and contorts the body into positions onedoes not encounter in everyday life. It is wise to pre-pare your body for the potential of forced yoga.

Most flexibility regimens focus on the lower body withthe carrot concept of the split (both side and front)being the ultimate goal.The fact is that splits are highlyimprobable for many of us, since as with most attrib-utes, there seems to be a genetic component to thelimits of our flexibility gifts. If you can hit a split, goodfor you. If you can’t, don’t sweat it. Our goal is to builda modicum of overall body flexibility without excessivefocus on any single body part.

There is some debate whether to stretch before or afteryour workout. I leave the decision up to you becauseyou know your body and what it does or does not needbefore or after a conditioning session. I will offer this: Ihit the flexibility session after. I do so for the followingreasons.

1. Perhaps idiosyncratic to my physiology, the flexibilitysession feels more productive afterward. Stretchingafterward seems to eliminate or reduce post-trainingsoreness.

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2. I use the regimented flexibility session as a postworkout review in which I run through a mentalchecklist of skills or goals that have been met or needto be improved upon.

3.The prescribed breathing pattern for the flexibilityroutine is rather calming.That makes it perfect for cooldown. But this calming effect is less than ideal for themental place you (perhaps just I) have to be to workwith the intensity necessary for the contained condi-tioning programs or the sport you are seeking toimprove.

4. Cold stretching (flexibility before a workout orwarm-up session) is noted in many studies (the evi-dence is contradictory) to be a contributor to injury.

5.A few rather interesting studies have been doneregarding flexibility and peak performance. Many ofthese studies have asked Olympic-class athletes in sev-eral different sports as to when (or even if) theystretched before or after a record-breaking perfor-mance.The vast majority admitted they did nostretching prior to the award-winning performance,and many copped to the fact that they don’t stretch atall.Thought provoking revelations.To give it a place ofprominence before session seems less than rock soliddogma, but I’m not ready to throw stretching away intotal.

Grappler’s “dozen”There are actually 13 flexibility exercises in this dozenbecause this routine is a newly engineered version ofone that did contain only a dozen exercises.As with all

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other aspects of conditioning, we want to take advan-tage of efficiency, effectiveness and synergy to makeour training session as productive as it can be.To assistthat goal in regard to your flexibility, please observe thefollowing rules.

1. If you decide to stretch before your conditioning ses-sion, I highly recommend that you perform the basicwarm-up first to prevent possible injury.

2.You can use this routine for flexibility maintenance ifyou are happy with your current state of limberness oryou can use the grappler’s dozen 2.0 to increase yourflexibility. If you use 2.0, place it after your workout asit requires an exceptionally warmed-up musculature.

3. Follow the flexibility exercises in the prescribedorder.The body is approached as a chain working fromthe feet up. By working in a chain fashion, we are ableto make gains in the primary target musculature byaddressing secondary and tertiary musculature immedi-ately preceding and following the primary.

4. Do not stretch through pain. Stop at discomfort andhold it there. Flexibility is the one area where wethrow intensity out of the matrix.

5. Do not bounce or aggressively stretch.Again, nointensity in the flexibility sessions, please. Use the 10-breath cycle in each stretch.A slow, controlled inhala-tion/exhalation is a one-count.The 10-breath cycleallows enough time in each stretch and enforces arelaxation protocol for the process. Relaxed musclesrespond better to flexibility demands than tensed

� Place your palms onthe mat and raise yourhips.� Press the sole of yourleft foot into the mat. Theright foot is out of thepicture at this point; youcan lift if or let it restlightly on the mat.

� The entire surface of the sole of the left foot must be in con-tact with the mat. � Attempt to lower your body to place a greater stretch on thecalf musculature. � Repeat with the right leg.

� Kneel on the mat with theballs of your feet in contactwith the floor. � Place your hands on the matin front of you and push yourweight down and into the ballsof your feet to stretch theentire arch.

Note — This is an often over-looked part of the body. Yet I

encounter people who get recurring foot cramps and or lack thefoot flexibility to settle into the “live feet” position for any lengthof time.

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Foot stretch

muscles.The 10-breath cycle also will assist those whocurrently find discomfort in stacked positions. Bytraining for relaxation in the stack you can better sur-vive it in combat.

Calf stretch

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� Remain seated andextend your legs. � Spread them as wideas you can manage. � Point the toes of bothfeet toward the sky andthen slightly behind you. � Bend forward at thewaist attempting to placeyour chest on the mat.

� Have a seat on themat and extend your leftleg.� Place the sole of theright foot along theinside of the left thigh. � With the toes of theleft foot pointed towardthe sky, lean forward atthe waist reaching foryour left ankle (or sole if

your flexibility allows) with both hands. � Do not bend your knee as you conduct this stretch. � Repeat with the right leg.

Hamstring stretch

Straddle stretch

Note — This stretch isparamount for rubberguard enthusiasts. � Remain seated andbend your knees so thatyou place the soles ofyour feet together. � Use a hand on eachknee and attempt topress your knees to themat.

� If both knees meet the mat easily, bend foreword at the waistattempting to touch your chest to the floor.

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Butterfly stretch

Quadriceps stretch� Kneel on the mat withyour insteps in contact withthe mat. � Bend back until you feel acomfortable stretch in thetops of your thighs. � If you can lie all the wayback, please obey the fol-lowing rules:

1. Do not allow your kneesto lift from the mat. 2. Do not arch your pelvistoward the sky.

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� Roll backward onto yourupper shoulders. � Your chin should be tuckedinto your chest. � Keeping your kneeslocked, spread your legs andattempt to touch the balls ofyour feet to the mat. Note — Do not bend the legsyet. We are using the

extended legs as weights to stretch primarily the lumbar andthoracic portions of the spine.

� Sit on the mat andextend your left leg. � Step the right legover the left touchingthe sole of your footflat on the mat. � Turn your upperbody to your right andplace the back ofyour left arm alongthe outside of theright thigh.

� Use this upper-arm leverage to apply a comfortable stretch tothe spine. � Repeat on the other side.

Spinal stretch

Stacked straddle

� Roll out of the stack andremain seated. � Place your palms on themat behind you with yourfingertips pointing to therear. � Leaving your elbowslocked, place your weighton your feet and slowlyslide your hips away fromyour hands.

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Tucked stackNow we get to bend the legs.

� From the same stacked posi-tion, bend your knees attemptingto bring them on either side ofyour head toward your ears.Unseemly, ain’t it?

The previous exercise empha-sized the back. Here we are con-centrating on the neck.

Shoulder stretch

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� Kneel on the mat.� Lean forward andplace your chest incontact with the mat. � Reach your armsforward along themat, as well. � Keeping your hipshigh, adjust your pos-ture so that as much

of your chest is in contact with the mat as possible. Note — This exercise emphasizes the thoracic spine and ribcage, another often overlooked area.

Praise stretch

Pectoral stretch� Using a horizontalsurface, fold yourarms and place themalong the surface. � Drop your hipsback to allow yourhead to drop belowthe level of your sup-ported arms.

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Triceps stretch

� Bend your right arm and point theright elbow toward the sky. � Run your right hand along yourback as if you were attempting toscratch an elusive itch. � Reach over the top of your headwith your left hand and grip your rightelbow. � Pull the elbow down and to the left. � Repeat on the opposite side.

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Grappler’s dozen 2.0If you are comfortable with your flexibility and merelywant to maintain what you’ve got, the preceding rou-tine will do the trick. If you want to improve flexibility,2.0 is for you.We will use the exact same exercises inthe exact same sequence (ignoring secondary and ter-tiary groups will hinder your progress) but with anadded element.That element is known as propriocep-tive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).

In a nutshell, PNF utilizes the fact that a warm muscle,one recently engorged with blood due to effort(starting to see why stretching afterward is the keymaybe?), responds better to flexibility gains. But simplywarming up a muscle will not make it more flexible.We’ve got to make demands of the warmed-up musclein the range of motion we wish to improve. Here’s howit’s done.

Ease into each given flexibility exercise. For thisexample we use the butterfly stretch.

� With both hands onthe tops of your knees,apply downward pres-sure with your handswhile you attempt toclose your legs.

� Struggle against thishand pressure for a 10-

breath cycle and then relax into a 10-breath cycle passive ver-sion of the same stretch.

� Repeat this effort/passive circuit two more times for a total ofthree stretches.

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In most cases you will experience moderate gains withthis technique.You can use version 2.0 on each andevery exercise or you can emphasize the desired areaas you approach it in the standard routine. Either waydo not make short shrift of the secondary and tertiarymusculature along the way. Often it is the flexibilitygains we make in an off area that improves the targetedarea.

Each section of this book provides conditioning levelguidelines that break down how much we train. Howoften we train is addressed here.As a general rule, thefollowing can be your templates.

NoviceThree times per week on non-sequential days. Example:Monday,Wednesday and Friday.

IntermediateFour sessions per week. Example: Monday,Tuesday,Thursday and Friday.

AdvancedFive to six days per week. Monday through Friday orMonday through Saturday.

ProRemember, this is for those who have top-of-the-food-chain aspirations. It is not necessary for most athletes.Six dual training sessions per week.This means runninga cardio grinder Monday through Saturday in themorning and then hitting a separate training session inthe afternoon.You may, of course, flip the grinder to theafternoon and the other training session to themorning.What does matter is the two sessions per dayprescription.

DailyRegardless of what routine you are using or how manysessions you train per week, open each session with thebasic warm-up and close with the grappler’s dozen.

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Somatotrophics complexIf you are new to training or merely wish to stick withbody weight (somatotrophics conditioning), I recom-mend that you package this work into a single soma-totrophics complex assembled and performed in thefollowing order. Somatotrophics conditioning is recom-mended until you are completely acclimated tohoisting your own body weight about.

1. Hinge group 2. Fifth limb 3. Power group 4. Push group 5. Pulling group 6. Grip group

Strict body weight enthusiasts may alternate soma-totrophics complex days with the explosiveness andagility complex days and/or cardio grinder days.

Examples are:

Day 1 Somatotrophics complex Day 2 Explosiveness and agility complex

Repeat this cycle.

Day 1 Somatotrophics complex Day 2 Explosiveness and agility complex Day 3 LSD grinder

Repeat this cycle.

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Somatotrophics plus resistance schedulesOnce you desire to add weight work to your training, Isuggest the following approach:

Day 1 Somatotrophics complex Day 2 Dumbbell complex Day 3 Explosiveness and agility complex Day 4 Barbell complex

Repeat this cycle.

Revolving grinder scheduleIf you desire to use only the grinders as your workout,or for dual sessions at the pro level, use the grindermenu below.

Day 1 LSD Day 2 LSD Day 3 LTTDay 4 LSD Day 5 LSD Day 6 IntervalsDay 7 LSD Day 8 LSD Day 9 PT

Example of grinder-only calendar:

Monday LSD Tuesday LSD Wednesday LTTThursday LSD Friday LSD Saturday Intervals Sunday Off Monday LSD Tuesday LSD Wednesday PT

Begin cycle again.

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Example of pro dual session calendar

MondayA.M. session LSDP.M. session Somatotrophics complex TuesdayA.M. session LSDP.M. session Dumbbell complex WednesdayA.M. session LTTP.M. session Explosiveness and agility complex ThursdayA.M. session LSDP.M. session Barbell complex FridayA.M. session LSDP.M. session Somatotrophics complex SaturdayA.M. session IntervalsP.M. session Dumbbell complex Sunday Off

At this point, you see the dual training session pattern.Simply use the revolving grinder schedule and layer thefour complex sessions on top.

ImproviseIf you recall, the crux of this manual is to provide eco-nomical, efficient training routines for a specific classof sport.We are aiming for reduced exercise time so wecan increase sport mechanics time.With those goals inmind, feel free to adjust the menu options to best fityour individual needs and aspirations.

Intensity has been the mantra throughout this manual.The fact is that the body needs a little recuperativetime, particularly if you are working HARD.The bodyneeds rest and recreation as much as it needs to worktoward a goal.The necessity for R and R does not meanthat you can manufacture any excuse not to work —not if you want to reach the goals in the sport you’vechosen.

Results require work.The harder you work, the morelikely your results will materialize quickly. Hard workalso means that the body can experience overtraining ifwe aren’t careful.We can stay on a steady diet of condi-tioning menus if we are wise not to bump up to a levelwe aren’t ready for. Bumping yourself up too soon canlead to sloppy training and/or skipping training alto-gether.We can use the levels in a temporary downgradefashion to “make it through” less motivated times. Let’sface it, there will be days that you don’t feel like

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pushing it. If you are at a level above novice, it’s betterto drop down a level and do some work rather thanmanufacture an excuse to do no work at all.

OK, you get the idea. If you want results, tuck that shirtin and read the shoe — just do it! But what aboutscheduled rest? The menus allow at least one day offper week for the upper levels. I chose Sunday arbi-trarily, but you can choose any day off that best fitsyour schedule.Working seven days straight 52 weeks ayear is a recipe for injury.The lower levels have evenmore time off.There must be scheduled rest each andevery week no matter what level of athlete you are.These scheduled breaks are when we should focus onour slacking tendencies. If you feel like skipping a day,well, that’s what Sundays are for.

I also suggest mapping out other rest days in advanceso that you have something to look forward to.Thiscreates a work ethic akin to a job. I recommend fore-going your conditioning on holidays (the ones youactually celebrate — no tossing Arbor Day in thereunless you’re a practicing Druid). I’ve also found valuein choosing two dates per month ahead of time (the1st and 15th, for example) and blocking them out onthe calendar as rest days. If one or both fall on aSunday, well that’s the luck of the draw.When they fallon any other day, that’s an off-day bonus.You don’thave to take these suggestions, of course, but I thinkyou will find that these scheduled rests keep excuse-making to a minimum.

The second “R” stands for recreation. Rest days don’tmean couch-potato/pig-out days. Recreation may mean

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mountain biking, a day at the lake or beach, volleyballor any activity you enjoy.You don’t have to do anythingactive, but as your conditioning improves, you will findthat the body revels in activity. Physical changes ofpace can do wonders for the system.

Should you work out when you are sick or injured?Check the front cover of this book. Do you see theword “doctor” in front of my name? I leave the sick orinjured call to the two people who best know thatanswer — you and your doctor. I’ve seen fighters trainlike maniacs, working around sprained ankles and thelike.They take care of these injuries and focus theirattention elsewhere. I’ve also seen folks who skip work-outs because they woke up and thought it might be abad allergy day. Each class of athlete makes his bestcall.

A final thought on R and R. Do you train while on vaca-tion? That’s up to you. If you’ve got a week or two offat the beach, maybe swimming is enough to rechargeyour batteries. Maybe you feel like you need to becranking it out even while hiking the Appalachian Trail.If you are using the menus in this manual, you aretraining with a great deal of intensity the majority ofthe year. I say take the time off, you’ve earned it.And ifyou haven’t earned it, maybe a few hundred squats onthe beach are just what the doctor ordered.

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You are what you eat. Really? Well then, you are readinga book written by a mound of tacos, peanut buttersandwiches and 10,000 milligrams of caffeine. If itseems that I am making light of nutrition, that’s becauseI am.Which of the following diets will make you achampion?

Diet AFor breakfast eat one slice of dry toast, two medium-boiled eggs with no salt and one saucer of rhubarb.Dinner must include bread and butter and calf’s footjelly.

Diet BEach day consume copious amounts of raw almondsand several quarts of buttermilk.

We are led to believe that nutrition is akin to alchemy,that certain foods possess quasi-magical transformativeproperties that can produce champions and certainother evil foods will destroy us.Which of the two dietsabove will produce a champion?

Boxing legend Gentleman Jim Corbett swore by thefirst one, and the phenomenal wrestler,The GreatGama, used the second.Are you ready to follow in theirculinary footsteps?

Anyone who has spent any time poring over the dietaryrecommendations professed by champions will findtwo running themes.

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1.A remarkable diversity of consumption habits havefueled the best and brightest.

2.These champion dieters swear by their idiosyncraticchoices with an ardor that borders on the religious.

These diets range from the outré (calf’s foot jelly, quartsof buttermilk), the pseudo-scientific (engineered foodsand supplements), vegetarianism (lacto, ovo, ovo-lactoand whatever other prefix you can think of), food com-binations (never eat acids with starches or always eatacids with starches) to standard American staples likeburgers and fries.A remarkable variety of foods andeating philosophies and superstitions have gone into“making” some mighty fine athletes. Since we havesuch a variety contributing to the same end result(peak performance in the given sport) how can we besure which tack is the best? Those of us grounded inempiricism and the parameters of blind and double-blind studies, control groups and the like are probablyalready on the same page — we can’t be certain withthe information we have today.

In the 21st century we are making great strides inmany of the sciences, nutritional science included. Butmany of the discoveries in nutritional science are dis-torted or misunderstood by some, and that leads toconfusion, wasted time, wasted money and even harmto the physical self.As I write this, a story is making itsrounds in the news debunking lycopene. Lycopene is asubstance found in tomatoes that was touted as a deter-rent to prostate cancer.We then started seeinglycopene supplements on the market, and any standardfood product that contained lycopene mentioned it in

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bold print. Ketchup bottles now tout the miraculousproperty within.

The better information released at the time of thiswriting mentions that lycopene actually seems to donothing to stave off prostate cancer and may in fact aidits onset.Whoops! A brief look at other cures and mir-acle foods will produce more of the same. Betacarotene is a cancer fighter! Not really. Multi-vitaminsare terrific ideas! Ooops! Creatine! Don’t think so.Andso on and so on.

So, champions have consumed inconsistent fuelsources and have reaped superlative results.This doesnot mean that we have no way of knowing how theydo what they do.The dietary intake may vary, but thereis one (and only one) unvarying constant.That constantis W-O-R-K.All champions exhibit a superlative workethic in regard to training.That is the unvarying vari-able. Rather than looking for alchemical shortcuts, playthe odds, buckle down and do the work.

For those who would like more resources on the silli-ness and charlatanry goings-on in the realm of nutri-tional science, I’ve provided a few titles in theResources section.

Illegal supplementsThere are a few supplements that do deliver big.Theseare illegal, and in some cases, they are prohibited dueto health concerns. I consider these substances outsidethis discussion.

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Weight ControlSince my opinion of dietary intake as an indicator ofperformance is rather low, does this mean that diet isof zero value? No. Diet is important.What we do knowabout fuel is this:To lose weight, consume fewer calo-ries than you expend.To gain weight, consume morecalories than you expend.

That’s it.That’s the sum total of what we can say withabsolute certainty about weight control. Caloric intakeand expenditure are simple mathematics and a far cryfrom the alchemy of magic foods. I know some willhave a gut reaction that some foods are better thanothers (fruits and veggies, for example) and my gutreaction goes with you. But keep in mind that you andI may be responding to personal preferences or condi-tioned responses and propaganda. Simply recall whathas been accomplished on calf’s foot jelly, almonds andbuttermilk, and then marvel at the human body’sastounding ability to perform on an extreme variety offood.

For support of this seemingly contrarian perspective, Iurge you to read the research from bona fide peer-reviewed scientific journals instead of results offeredby subsidiaries of companies in the supplement or dietbook business. If a supplement or diet is legit, it willstand up to peer review.

Cutting weightFighters are often in the position of having to drop oneor two pounds (or even 22) in a short amount of timeto make weight. I offer no nuts and bolts advice in thisarea since it can be found elsewhere and because the

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practice of weight cutting is not necessarily good foreither the fighter’s performance or his health. Instead, Istrongly suggest that fighters train to find their naturalweight class, maintain that weight class year-round andforego drastic weight-cutting practices altogether.

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BEST CHOICESFirst, please visit my Web site atwww.extremeselfprotection.comYou will find even more trainingmaterial as well as updates andother resources.

Amazon.comThe place to browse for books suchas this one and other similar titles.

Paladin Press www.paladin-press.comPaladin carries many trainingresources as well as some of myvideos, which allow you to seemuch of what is covered in my NHB books.

Ringside Boxingwww.ringside.comBest choice for primo equipment.

Sherdog.comBest resource for MMA news, eventresults and NHB happenings.

Threat Response Solutionswww.trsdirect.comThey also offer many trainingresources along with some of myproducts.

Tracks Publishing www.startupsports.comTracks publishes this book and itsprequel and has other fine booksincluding a couple of boxing titles.

www.humankinetics.comTraining and conditioning info.

www.matsmatsmats.comBest resource for quality mats atgood prices.

Books / conditioningCombat Conditioning by Matt Furey Love him or hate him, many owe adebt to Matt for bringing the utilityof calisthenics back into the fore-ground.

The Gospel of Food:Everything You Think You Knowabout Eating is Wrongby Barry Glassner A sociologist tackles the wisdom ofnutritional sciences.A fun,revealing, well-documented, con-trarian read.

The Human Fuel Handbook:Health for LifeA no-nonsense primer on the nutsand bolts of nutritional chemistry.

The Navy Seal Nutrition Guide by Patricia A. Duester Another good nuts and bolts guide.I admit a preference for the firsttitle, but both are quite good.

Rethinking Thin:The New Scienceof Weight Loss and the Myths andRealities of Dieting by Gina Kolata Kolata demolishes much of the“common knowledge” regardingnutrition.

Ultimate Fitness:The Quest forTruth About Exercise and Health by Gina Kolata A New York Times sciencereporter’s exposé on some of thedubious “science” behind manyexercise ideologies.A little heavy onher own exercise experience inplaces, but still well worth the read.

Resources

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Wrestling Physical ConditioningEncyclopediaby John Jesse An excellent all-around guide. Someof the information is dated, butthere is far more good than bad. It’sout of print, but well worth asearch.

Books / fighting

Boxer’s Start-Up:A Beginner’s Guide to Boxing by Doug Werner

Boxing Masteryby Mark Hatmaker

Fighting Fitby Doug Werner and Alan Lachica

More No Holds Barred Fighting:Killer Submissionsby Mark Hatmaker

No Holds Barred Fighting:Savage Strikesby Mark Hatmaker

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide to SubmissionWrestling by Mark Hatmaker

Video instruction

Extreme Self-Protectionextremeselfprotection.com

Paladin Presspaladin-press.com

Threat Response Solutionstrsdirect.com

World Martial Artsgroundfighter.com

Events

IFCifc-usa.com

IVCvaletudo.com

King of the Cagekingofthecage.com

Pancraseso-net.ne.jp/pancrase

Pridepridefc.com

The Ultimate FightingChampionshipsufc.tv

Universal Combat Challengeucczone.ca/

250

Barbell exercises 187-213Bent-over pull to chest 208Clean and jerk 193Clean and jerk with overhead

rotation 212-213Dead hang clean 210Dead hang high upright row 209Dead lift 204Jerk press 195Jump split squat 202-203Jump squat 201Jumping jack 200Power curl 211Pull to chest 207Pull to waist 206Push press 194Rotational strength 212Shoulder bridge press 196Squat and press behind neck 197Squat with weight overhead 199Straight arm swing 205Two-arm get-up 190-192Weighted squats 198

Body-weight exercises 49-50Somatotrophics 49-50

Breathing, controlled 29-36

Cardio grinders 219-222

Concepts regarding exercise13-28Aesthetics 27-28Effectiveness 18Efficiency 16-17Intensity 18-22Specificity 22-24Synergy 24-27Variety 14-15

Counting 37-39

Dumbbell / kettlebell exercises103-142One-arm bent pull to chest 134One-arm between-the-legs

swing 130-131One-arm clean 139One-arm clean and jerk 108One-arm clean and jerk with

rotation 140-141One-arm dead hang clean 136One-arm dead hang high pull 135One-arm get-up 105-106One-arm high pull 138One-arm jerk press 110One-arm lunge swing 128-129One-arm power curl 137One-arm pull to chest 133One-arm pull to waist 132One-arm push press 109One-arm rotational rowing 142One-arm snatch 107One-arm squat and press 112One-arm squat with weight

overhead 111Two-arm bouncing split

squat 115-116Two-arm clock swing 119Two-arm forward bend 117Two-arm full body swing 126-127Two-arm turning half-clock swing 120-121Two-arm horizontal swing 124-125Two-arm jumping jack 114Two-arm jumping squat 113Two-arm overhead clock swing 122-123Two-arm side bend 118

Index

Explosiveness / agility exercises 143-186Falling into a neck bridge 185Forward and back bounds 162Forward roll/backward roll

w/handstand shoot combo148-150

Full scissors jump 155-156Half scissors launch 154Half turn jump 160-161Half turn tuck jump 166-167Hands-behind-head full scissors

launch 175-176Hands-behind-head half scissors

launch 170High-knee 147Kip-ups 172-174Lateral bound 163Pike jump 169Pogo 145Pogo switch 157-158Quarter turn jump 151Reps for explosiveness / agility186Rocket jump 152Side-tuck jump 178-180Single-leg jump for height 181Single-leg jump forward and back182Single-leg jump to the side 183Speed sprawl “forward roll”

stand-up 164-165Speed sprawl “stand-up”

tuck jump 177-178Speed sprawl to stand-up 158-159Speed sprawls “stand-up”

rocket jump 171-172Squat jump 146Star jump 153Tuck jump 168Wall-walk 184

Fifth limb, exercises for neck97-1014-count neck lift 98-99Neck lift 99Neck rock 100Reps for fifth limb 101

Flexibility, stretching exercises223-234Butterfly stretch 228Calf stretch 226Foot stretch 226Grappler’s “dozen” 224-225Grappler’s dozen 2.0 233-234Hamstring stretch 227Pectoral stretch 231Praise stretch 231Quadriceps stretch 228Shoulder stretch 230Spinal stretch 229Stacked stretch 229Straddle stretch 227Triceps stretch 232Tucked stack 230

Fuel, diet information 243-247

Grip exercises 215-218Reps for grip 218

Hinge group, exercises forabdominal girdle 51-67Bicycle tucks 60-61Crossed leg crunch 57Crossed leg reach 58Flutter kick 56Hip thrust 54Leg lift 55Oblique crunch 59Pike crunch 64Reps for hinge group 67Reverse flutter kick 66Rock back 53Scissor kick 65Side leg lift 60Single-leg crunch 63Tuck crunch 62

251

Index

252

Injury, dealing with 10

Menus, how often to train 235-238

Power group, exercises for legs69-784-count jumping jack 76Half squat 71Hindu squat 70Quarter squat 72Reps for power group 78Rip squat 72-73Squat thrust 77Switching jump squat 74-75

Pulling group, exercises forupper body 91-96Arch pull-up 95Chin-up 94Reps for pulling group 96Standard pull-up 93Wide pull-up 92

Pushing group, exercises forupper body 79-89Diamond push-up 82Dive bomber 84Handstand push-up 86-87Hindu push-up 85Reps for pushing group 89Reverse push-up 83Standard push-up 80Tent push-up 88Triceps dip 81

R and R, when to rest 239-241

Warm-up exercises 41-482-count jumping jack 482-count windmill 454-count jumping jack 46-474-count side bends 424-count torso twist with pec fling434-count windmill with pec fling 44Fore and aft bends 46

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No Holds Barred Fighting:Savage StrikesThe Complete Guide to Real WorldStriking for NHB Competition and Street Defense1-884654-20-7 / $12.95Punches, kicks, forearm shots, headbutts and more. 850 photos.

More No Holds Barred Fighting:Killer Submissions1-884654-18-5 / $12.95More takedowns, rides and submissionsfrom the authors of No Holds BarredFighting. 650 photos.

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide to Submission Wrestling1-884654-17-7 / $12.95The combat art of The Ultimate FightingChampionships. 695 photos.

More titles by Mark Hatmaker www.extremeselfprotection.com

Also available at all major bookstores

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Boxing MasteryAdvance Techniques, Tactics andStrategies from the Sweet Science1-884654-21-5 / $12.95Advanced boxing skills and ring general-ship. 900 photos.

No Holds Barred Fighting:Takedowns1-884654-25-8 / $12.95Throws, Trips, Drops and Slams for NHBCompetition and Street Defense.850 photos.

No Holds Barred Fighting:The Clinch1-884654-27-4 / $12.95Offensive and defensive concepts insideNHB’s most grueling position.750 photos.

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Videos by Mark Hatmaker available through PaladinTHE ABCs OF NHB High-Speed Training for No-Holds-Barred Fighting

BEYOND BRAZILIAN JUJITSU Redefining the State of the Art in Combat Grappling

EXTREME BOXING Hardcore Boxing for Self-Defense

THE FLOOR BAG WORKOUTThe Ultimate Solo Training for Grapplers and Groundfighters

GLADIATOR CONDITIONINGFitness for the Modern Warrior (with companion workbook)

THE SUBMISSION ENCYCLOPEDIAThe Ultimate Guide to the Techniques and Tactics of SubmissionFighting

THE COMPLETE GRAPPLER The Definitive Guide to Fighting and Winning on the Ground (with com-panion workbook)

Paladin Enterprises, Inc.7077 Winchester CircleBoulder, CO 80301 USA303.443.7250 303.442.8741 faxwww.paladin-press.com

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Mark Hatmaker is the author of No HoldsBarred Fighting:The Ultimate Guide to SubmissionWrestling, More No Holds Barred Fighting: Killer

Submissions, No Holds BarredFighting: Savage Strikes, No HoldsBarred Fighting:Takedowns, NoHolds Barred Fighting:The Clinchand Boxing Mastery. He also hasproduced over 40 instructionalvideos. His resume includes exten-sive experience in the combat artsincluding boxing, wrestling, Jiujitsuand Muay Thai. He is a highlyregarded coach of professional and

amateur fighters, law enforcement officials and secu-rity personnel. Hatmaker founded Extreme SelfProtection (ESP), a research body that compiles, ana-lyzes and teaches the most effective Western combatmethods known. ESP holds numerous seminarsthroughout the country each year, including the pres-tigious Karate College/Martial Arts Universities inRadford,Virginia. He lives in Knoxville,Tennessee.

More books and videos by Mark Hatmaker www.extremeselfprotection.comBooks are also available at all major bookstores

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