Our boxing sessions have now moved on a stage. I have always been a follower of MMA, so to move onto MMA training is great. So once a week we now have Fight Club. This week it has all been about technique and learning some very new moves. Ground and pound is a totally new experience and it certainly shows up any weak points you may have in your training program, sorry not the training program, me.
I have a lot of work to do on my core and I need to be a lot stronger. It’s amazing how hard it is to move someone on the floor. Everything is working hard, it’s 5 minutes of full on wrestling, it’s not just strength you need but a certain amount of technique. I’m afraid to say I’m lacking in both departments. It takes all my strength and will power to get through one round. It sounds crazy but I'm looking forward to being fit enough to get through 3 rounds and then a title fight of 5 rounds.
The ground and pound training is very hard, the sprawl is a great move as is the scissors but they take so much out of you. The simple act of driving your elbow into the ground dummy for 5 sets gets you breathing air in from all orifices. Throw in the scissors and it’s a whole new ball game. Trying to manhandle coach off me or trying to get up with coach pinning me down is unbelievable. I couldn’t get over just how quickly I wanted to give up. The energy is sapped from your body and leaves you totally exhausted.
One of the new exercises as part of the MMA training is the Swiss Ball Bump. I love it, I do my best to cheat but coach catches me. I don’t know why I try to cheat I get caught every time. There are certain rules in the gym:-
1. No hands on hips
2. No leaning on anything
3. No leaning over, unless you’re about to throw up
4. No cheating or short cutting Exercises
5. No back chat at any time
6. If you don’t like it **** Off J
Any infringements of the rules and you have to do an exercise of coaches’ choice at the end of the session. That’s on top of the bonus round. There’s always a bonus round and it changes daily. Think of an exercise or think of a number or pick between 1, 2, & 3 that kind of thing. I like the bonus round it’s good for a laugh and a final push to finish with.
Anyway the first time with the Swiss ball was Ok until coach changed it to a one leg exercise. I don’t think I’ve had the upper hand as of yet but I’m working on it. The other exercise is the stick pull, again a great exercise and great fun. It all comes down to grip strength and speed. The stick of death has many uses in our gym and one of them is the new abs of death. Put it this way I’m glad it’s the last exercise of the day but I do like hitting coach with it J.
Each training session is finished with 10-15 minutes on the pads. I’m getting much better on the pads and coach has learnt to duck. An honest mistake and he took it well. I’ve been reading back on the blogs. It sounds as if coach is a hard nut. He is J, “don’t do it if you’re not going to do it properly and be committed”. I think that’s fair and coach is very fair in the gym. He pushes me hard and I like it. I need pushing and I don’t mind being shouted at. Having said that when coach shouts it’s only ever encouragement, I get praise when I deserve it and a kick in the lats when I’m being slack. My whole attitude to training has changed and the way I train. I understand a lot more about my own body and why it’s important to train, especially as you get older. I want to be riding my bike well into my 60’s, I want to enjoy my old age, I don’t want a walking stick or a Zimmer frame. Before I started my training I was actually thinking about getting rid of my bike because I thought it was my bike that was hurting my ankles and the same for my wrists. Little did I know it was all caused from a lack of strength and a lack of flexibility. Strength is the first thing to go as you get older and as you slow down you start to stiffen up. I will never be Mr Universe but with a little bit of hard work each day I will enjoy what life has to offer and well into my old age.
Thank you Coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment