2024 - 01 - 15

This week featured some interplay between endurance and capacity work with the week ending in two high volume, lower-body focused sessions.

Summary:

Knowing yourself and what pace/s you can sustain for a given movement and duration was crucial during this week. Several of these sessions could be especially devastating (in a bad way) if you’re determined to crush yourself or have a poor understanding of what a given movement will cost.

Grappling training continues to focus on wrestling and takedowns, with additional focus on grip / hand fighting.

Contents:

• Monday: Escape Velocity 10, Strength Endurance / awkward carries
• Tuesday: Escape Velocity 12 (Endurance) + Escape Velocity 09 (Mobility, partial)
• Wednesday: NoGi BJJ, Open Guard / Half Guard Passing
• Thursday: NoGi BJJ, Collar Tie and Single Leg Set Ups
• Friday: Escape Velocity 13, Capacity (Quad Destruction)
• Saturday: NoGi BJJ Open Mat / Wrestling and Wing Chun
• Sunday: Escape Velocity 14, Strength Super Sets

Bonus Video Content is here!

Substack limits posts to one on-platform video per post, so for now I’ll have a private playlist of unlisted videos which should still be able to be embeded and accessed by anyone with the link.

Brandon Reed’s single-leg DVD.

1/15/24: Strength, Level 2

Intention:

I made a note to myself that while / when rest is afforded or offered and sessions are not timed, to use that rest wisely. This session I wanted to focus on my breath between sets of exercises and make sure I was recovered enough to complete each and every set unbroken rather than rush in as if the session were “for time.”

Warm Up:

10 min Air Bike:
50-second sustainable spin (about Zone 2)
10-second sprint

Work:

1-10 (1, 2, 3… 10) ladder of each movement:
Squat
Backwards Lunge (both legs)
Step Up (20”, both legs)
20m Awkward between sets

Example:
Squat x 1
Backwards Lunge x 1/1
Step Up x 1/1
Carry x 20m
Squat x 2
Backwards Lunge x 2/2
Etc…

Results:

Warm Up:
Sustain - about 48-52 RPM (~160 watts)
Sprint - 5 second ramp up, 5 second peak at 85 RPM (~656 watts)
* best sprint was on 7th set, 88 RPM (~728 watts)

Work:
Step Up / Reverse Lunge: 2 x 16 Kg Kettlebell
Squat / Carry: 32 Kg Kettlebell (suitcase position) + 20 Kg Kettlebell (front rack position)

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Overall this was super fun session to explore different movements and implements. I didn’t want to hoard too much equipment at the gym, so my lunges / step-ups could have been heavier. As an alternative though, I tried to have immaculate technique — staying close to the box for the step-ups and a smooth moon-walk step on the reverse lunges.

What didn’t work and why:
Awkward carries are “awkward” to assess the difficulty of. Double-front-rack would have been a great option if 2 heavy KBs were available. I would love to runt his back with some overhead (or overhead + suitcase) positions.

Plan for next time:
I’ve been slacking on my breathwork and mobility with all the goings on over the last few days. The tricky part to any new habit is not just sticking to it when it’s new and fun, but when obstacles and detours get thrown in the way.

1/16/24: Endurance, Level 1

Intention:

“The intention behind giving you a time range for this workout is NOT so you can quit because you just don’t want to anymore. The point is to stop you from digging a hole you cannot recover from. We assume you don’t know how to pace yourself adequately for more extended sessions, so you must practice.”

Warm Up:

Alternating 30-seconds for 10 min:
Step Up 20” box
Box Jump 20” box

Work:

AMRAP / 30 min
40 calories on air bike
400m run

Mobility: 3 x 10m each:
Bear Crawl
Alternating Toe-Kick
Inch Worm
Chimpanzee Crawl
Skip

Results:

4 rounds (30 seconds overtime)

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
I elected the 30 min (vs. 60 min) variation in order to keep my grappling lively throughout the week and turn in a harder effort on Friday’s upcoming strength session; rather than a moderate effort on each. In June 2022 I completed 6 rounds in 40 minutes with this structure, and by October 2022 completed 9 rounds in 60 minutes. Overall I’m keeping a similar pace with the major difference being that I didn’t open my mouth for this entire 30 minutes. That was not the case in October 2022 session.

What didn’t work and why:
If the intention of an endurance effort is to walk away having been able to double the effort, then I could have, but I felt myself reaching a bit at the end to finish an even round.

Plan for next time:
”Fast paces for the 60min version are between 13-15 total rounds. To give you an idea for pacing, these same players would do a moderate session like this and aim for 11-12 rounds which would be close to their 6hr space race pace.” For the 6-hour effort I did in this structure in July 2023, my overall pace was 6.3 rounds / hour though the first two hours were notably faster. So, we can see that endurance is clearly my most underdeveloped attribute, though it isn’t terrible for durations under or around 1 hour.

1/17/24: Sport, Level 1

Intention:

The focus of this session was on grip fighting with hands and feet (against hands and feet) with a standing vs. seated opponent.

Warm Up:

Finish Escape Velocity 09:
3 x 30 sec. CARs on each:
* wrists
* shoulders
* hips
* ankles

Work:

0.5 hours seated guard pass drilling

0.5 hours positional training / takedowns

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Emphasizing keeping my hip-hinge open and feet wide (e.g. in a sprawling position) any time I’m defending wrestling or wrestle-up types of positions. That means keeping my shoulders between my knees and hips and back flat (not rounded).

What didn’t work and why:
Interestingly, when I’m tired or “not feeling it” my game is pretty good. When I know I can’t “turn up the gas”, I have to focus on being technical. This actually turns out surprisingly well, and sometimes the opposite is true — in I increase workrate and physicality, I usually leave more openings and make more errors.

Plan for next time:
Defaulting to defensive wrestling worked very well. “When in doubt, reach for the ground” — e.g. down block and sprawl.

1/18/24: Sport, Level 1

Intention:

Teaching class tonight, I focused on more single-leg set-ups with counters to the counters of last week’s techniques. In other words, we’re incorporating feints and misdirection.

Warm Up:

Knee Tap and Hands-on-Mat games (see No-BS Warmups)

Work:

Slipping first contact to set up singles.
0.5 hours actual movement on my part.
Content continued from “Bo Knows Takedowns”

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Being patient rather than forcing an attack is extremely important. Not only does it conserve energy, it can produce a significant mental advantage — that is, if you’re shutting down your opponent’s entire offense.

What didn’t work and why:
Personally, I need to sell my takedowns more. That is, really sell out on them, not just go in half-assed and hope for the best.

Plan for next time:
Continue with Bo’s content and finish DVD. Also, follow up with Jordan Burroughs “check-down” process and Brandon Reed’s single-leg DVD.

1/19/24: Capacity, Level 1

Intention:

“A session like this can often fly by, and knowing how to pace fast bodyweight-based movements that compound fatigue is very useful in our curriculum. Fast times would be in the low 20min range. But these types of structures have many uses other than straight capacity.”

Warm Up:

Air Bike: 6 minutes
30 seconds on, 30 seconds off
accumulating pace

Work:

For time:
3 - 30 by 3s (3, 6, 9, 12, 15… etc. reps)
Air Bike calories (165 total)
Walking lunges (bodyweight, reps on each side, 330 total)

Result:

Warm Up:
55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 RPM

Work: 30:23

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
Thankfully, I remembered how to pace bodyweight movements from the NP’s endurance manual. If one were to try and sprint through the early reps (on either the bike or the lunges), they’d pay a hefty price for that final set of 30 calories and 60 lunges.

What didn’t work and why:
I inadvertently turned this into a short endurance (paced) session. My time wasn’t bad compared to other commenters, but I feel like I left a little on the table and could have picked up the pace on the bike a bit.

Plan for next time:
Even if I feel like I could have done better, I was proud of the result. Accepting the burn in my legs and pacing the lunges was the main point of this session, which I did well on. IMO it’s better to have done it this way and live to turn it up a little next time rather than burn out and collapse halfway in.

1/20/24: Sport, Level 2

Intention:

Focus on implementing wrestling and drilling what I taught in class.

Warm Up:

Easy, mouth-closed rolls.

Work:

1.5 hour open mat

Result:

Easy / teaching rounds: x3
Wrestling focus rounds: x4
Hand fight focus rounds: x1

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
The hand fighting “wing chun” in the video below was super fun. I don’t know that it’s a perfect correlation, but it certainly has some valuable application.

What didn’t work and why:
Overall the ratio of specific to open rounds was about even, but I would have liked to have a bit more density. There was still a bit of cognitive pressure to perform well which (for me) usually means more rest rounds, rather than seeing where the wheels fall off.

Plan for next time:
Make myself stand up. Make myself choose to stay in at least one round when I’d rather rest.

1/21/24: Strength, Level 2

Intention:

“Generally speaking, strength signaling starts at the set up, so learn to make a ritual of focus and engagement, placing your hands and feet in the same places each time.”

Warm Up:

3 sets of:
30 seconds couch / King Arthur stretch (each side)
8x Single-leg deadlift (each leg)
20 banded pull aparts

5 sets of:
knee jump + 3 broad / long jumps

Work:

Superset:
Straight-leg deadlfit
Sumo (narrow grip) deadlift
Snatch (wide grip) deadlift
Conventional Deadlift

Reps for each variation:
5x, 4x, 3x, 2x, 1x, 1x, 1x, 1x, 1x
*76 total reps

Results:

Warm Up: 2 x 30 lb DBs

Work:
Set of 5 - 95 lbs
Set of 4 - 135 lbs
Set of 3 - 225 lbs
Set of 2 - 275 lbs
Set of 1 - 315 lbs (straps)
Set of 1 - 335 lbs (straps)
Set of 1 - 335 lbs (straps)
Set of 1 - 355 lbs (straps)
Set of 1 - missed 365 lbs

Notes:

What worked well and what allowed it:
It felt good to have a heavy session. The option for straps was a good call. I would have for sure missed many of the later sets without straps, however, my right hand is still healing from ripping off a callous with the other week’s power cleans.

What didn’t work and why:
The straight-leg deadlifts are the clear limiting factor here, obviously because you’re taking your quads out of the equation.

Plan for next time:
9 sets and 76 reps total makes this a doozy to navigate rest times between sets. Early on, 5 minutes might be plenty, but if you take 10 minutes for each of the singles, that’s 50 minutes just resting for this training session.