Pavel Tsatsouline Kettlebell Strength Training Weight Lifting Workouts Exercise and Flexibility Questions & Answers.

If you were, you would have no problem grappling on a hard surface. Read the police officers post above. He's in the trenches everyday. For many, grappling is as instinctual as punching may be to you. You are assuming that the jiu jitsu man is going to be on the bottom. I can tell from personal experience that it is ridiculously easy to throw a non grappler to the ground. I and none of my students have ever been on the bottom in most serious altercations. It's almost always a quick clinch, a pick up throw or sweep, a smash to the ground, a knee in the belly(half mount) a barrage of punches to the face, the guy turns to avoid the onslaught and a 3 second choke. This takes place in under a minute.The few times that a couple of my guys were on the bottom, they quickly reversed the position with a sweep and came up on top. We train on the ground to avoid punishment from standing opponents just in case we do take a fall. You might be vulnerable on the ground, but trained jiu jitsu men are not. Case in point, one of my students was attacked along with a friend by a dozen skin heads. They tried to escape but were cornered. My student got knocked down but pulled his attacker with him into the guard where he choked him unconcious. His friend, a karate man and boxer tried to duke it out and got pounded. My student used the unconcious guy as a shield and slide against a parked car. The skin heads tried to kick and stomp, but only succeeded in kicking their own guy. The boxer got annillated because he didn't know how to use the ground to his advantage. My student did not recieve one injury save a small mark on his face. The whole thing lasted about a minute and everyone ran when someone announced that the police were comming. Only people who do not understand how to use the ground are vulnerable. It takes proper training. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

How high one goes on the lizard crawl depends on their flexibility. As you become more flexible, your body will drop deeper. Try your best not to flare your knees or elbows out, especially the elbows. That places a lot of stress on the shoulders. The torso rolls from side to side slightly during the movement. You hips and groin are probally tight, but persevere and they will open up. Yo may wish to do some static stretches in the lizard position with the forearms and elbows on the floor prior to doing the crawl. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

It's about two pounds and is light enough to turn fairly fast, but heavy enough to quickly tax the cardio system. It is very deceptive at first. It seems as easy as a normal rope for the first minute or so, then you find yourself really breathing hard and getting tired fast. I use it for interval training and as a part of circuits. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

You are 100% correct that the stretch should only be felt in the muscle belly and not in the joint. So now you know to stop when you feel the stretch in the joint. If you don't, an ugly, painful injury is likely. Stretching is not about structural change, it is about re-educating the central nervous system to let go of the stretch reflex. Read Pavel's book carefully. He gives explicite directions on how to increase flexibility safely. Stop stretching until you read the book or view the DVD or better yet, get to one of Pavel's flexibility seminars. I've been to three and it was money well spent. You are endangering yourself with this haphazard approach. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

I like to use a barbell plate or a light kettlebell (12kg) for the Russian twists. I do several variations. This is my favorite. Lean back with the torso at 45', legs 90' and feet flat. I squeese a small medicine ball (2 lb.) between my knees so they don't flare apart.Hold a barbell plate like a steering wheel. I rotate my torso with arms held straight (no bend in the elbows) to the side until the plate touches the floor. I try to touch the plate as far behind me that I can. I turn the head as well. Then I swing the plate up and over to the other side with tension and control.It's almost like a seated full contact twist. I get a lot of spinal flxibility as well a good strength/endurance workout. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

Bill, The deadlifts and Janda situps only work forward flexion and rear extension of the spine. Your leaving out side flexion and rotation. Theses two areas are the most neglected in core work. Add side bends and either full contact twist or seated Russian twists to complete your core workout.Other alternatives might be KB windmills, suit case deadlifts, side to side leg raises and alternating knee to elbow twisting sit-ups. Simply working front and back leads to a host of imbalances that eventually lead to injuries and back problems. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

This is a common problem in Jiujitsu. It's caused from excessive pressure on the upper neck. In BJJ, guys get stacked on their necks when the opponnent is trying to pass the guard. A heavy weight carried on the shoulders has the same effect. The head of the first cervical rib is almost always the culprit. The head of the rib attaches at the vertebral point where the spinal access nerve branches out. When the rib is out, numbness, tingling and sometimes weakness is felt in the fingers, hand, wrist and forearm. It is very irritating. My Rolferfixed me so many times that she finally showed me how to fix myself. It involves finding the head of the rib and gentle coaching it back into position. You get an immediate sence of relief. Find a certified Rolfer in your area. Some chiropractors are knowledgeable in this as well. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

Craig, I guess you could e-mail Ironman Japan. Unless you read Japanese, you would not be able to make much from the text. For hamstring strength utilizing body weight exercise, the glute/ham raise is one of the best. There are several variations. The easiest to master and requires no equipment, is the following. Kneel on a foam pad or cushion to protect the knees. Anchor your feet and ankles under a heavy piece of furniture like a sofa or dresser. Keep your body completely erect and back arched slightly, knees at about ninety degrees.Place the hands on your waist. Slowly bend at the waist while keeping the back arched and touch the forehead to the floor. Now contratct the hamstrings and glutes and straighten back up to the erect position. It is important to lean forward slightly during the entire movement to keep the hamstrings engaged. The tendency is to allow the butt to drift back, thus unloading the hammies. If this seems to easy, fold the arms over the chest to increase resistence with the weight of the arms. Work up to several sets with the hands clasped behind the neck. You can hold a barbell plate behind the head as well.This will thouroughly thrash the hamstrings. Combine the body weight glute/ham raise with pistols, one leg pelvic bridges and one leg back extensions for a complete hamstring, hip and low back workout. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

Pete, This version isn't that difficult. I'm sure you could do it right off. I have many begginners who can perform a few reps first time. The above description is talking about the bent waist version. You may be thinking of the very difficult version where you lower the entire body and then try to rise back up utilizing only the hamstrings. In the above version, the body bends forward at the waist while the hips remain stationary. The hamstrings work to stabilize the hips while the lower back and glutes raise the torso back up. With the hands on the hips, it is very do-able even for begginners. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

Frankie, Just some friendly advice on BJJ etiquette. Don't talk about training taps outside of the academy or even matches. I've seen world champion blackbelts get submitted by blue belts in training. It means nothing, so it is expected that no one should gossip about it. It just causes mis-understandings and hard feelings. If a person isn't getting submitted in training, it means that he is not taking risks and improving his game. In BJJ you only improve by making mis-takes. In trying to incorporate new moves and techniques, one will get caught. This is how one can get better and grow in the art. So better not to refer to training taps. It only matters in the tournament when everything is on the line. This is not a personal admonishment, but just a blackbelt proffessor offering some friendly advice. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

I like to mix it up, but usually for the swing/getup combo, I use :30 sec. for the swings and 1:00 min. for the T-getups. My other favorite is bear crawl walks for 1:00 min. interspersed with :30 sec. swing intervals. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

While DMSO works quite well for pain releif in the joints, I have found through extensive experimentation, that it is best not to use it on the torso. In fact, the DMSO seemed to make my rib injury worse. It was my speculation that because DMSO is a natural solvent, it is best not used on injuries that need to adhere or rejoin with connective tissue. It is fantastic on all moveable joints such as fingers, toes, ankles, knees, elbows and shoulders. I have had mixed results with spine and neck. Forget about rib or torso injuries. The skin on the torso is very sensitive and gets easily irritated from DMSO applications. Get the DMSO mixed with aloe vera gel to minimize skin irritation. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

Josh, The 'ground and pound' only works when the practitioner is wearing protective gloves. Otherwise, the puncher would break his knuckles. Bare fists striking hard bones such as the point of the elbow, top of the skull, knee cap etc. would be cause for serious hand injuries. With the MMA style gloves, one can hit almost anything without fear. Without the gloves, ouch, permanent hand injuries. Open hand slaps ala BJJ (other martial arts also) work real well to disorient an assailent and make him vulnerable to a finishing technique such as a choke. The Gracie family taught me that strikes are only to be delivered when the assailent is in a position where he can't hit back. To illustrate a point on how difficult it is to deliver accurate strikes on the ground and how easy the hands can be injured, I offer the following anecdote. I 'lost' it with my 11 year old daughter who was mouthing off and being way to disrespectful. I don't advocate corporal punishment or physical abuse, especially regarding children, but in this case, I decided to make an exception and administer a good old fashioned spanking to her rear end. Savannah, who is very fit and knows Jiujitsu self defence, thrashed around and layed down on her back on the sofa, using her knees, shins, hands and elbows in a natural defence to ward of my open hand attempts to deliver some well placed smacks to her butt. I missed more than once and really hurt my hand. Served me right I suppose. I decided right then and there that to confiscate video games or grounding to her room was the best way to handle future discipline problems. Way easier on the hands. My point being that if I, as a trained martial artist and BJJ blackbelt, cannot deliver a simple spanking to a thrashing ,resisting, flailing girl without hurting my hand, imagine a serious fight where I am trying to deliver damaging blows, especially on the ground in someones guard. Open hand strikes make the most sense to minimize hand injuries, not just in training, but in real situations as well. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

Steve, You have really tough hands. Most people do not. You are right about to many strikers relying on hand wraps, gloves, soft heavy bags etc. The old time karate guys trained the hands to be able to take it. The problem with a lot of that type of hand training is arthritis in the knuckles and wrists as one approaches middle and old age. Even top fighters are vulnerable. I remember reading about Mike Tyson breaking his hand in a street fight a number of years back. In the first UFC where gloves and hand wraps were not allowed, two of the fighters broke their hands. In later UFC's the same thing happened. That was when it was decided to wear the protective gloves. Congradulations on going to Carlson Gracie's class. You will have a blast. It's a great workout. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

My point was that it's not so easy aiming for a soft target when a person is flailing around and covering up. Nothing is softer than the butt and no target is much bigger and I still had trouble with my aim. With adrenaline pumping and heart rate racing,fine motor skills go out the window. Ones aim is way off. One mistake can be very painful for a long time. A broken hand may never be the same again. I prefer to stay with open palm strikes. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

The weak link in all endurance exercises is never the lungs or the heart. It is always the muscles ability to process oxygen and fuel. The lungs and heart are capable of providing way more O2 than the muscles could ever use.The weak link is always at the cellular level in the involved muscles. Increase muscle capacity and 'wind' and heart rate improve. A perfect example of this was an aged client at Maxercise who was in his eighties. His muscles, particularly his lower body, suffered from a decade of dis-use atrophy. When he first came to the gym,he could barely make it up the stairs. The stair climb was a maximal effort for him. He would wheeze, be totally breathless and have a near max heart rate by the time he reached the top. He actually would have to stop and rest every few steps to catch his breath, that's how deconditioned he had become. After several months of strength training, with emphasis on his legs (multiple sets of leg presses, body weight squats,hamstring work, calf raises etc.), he could climb the stairs fairly well. After a year, he almost bounded up the stairs with no loss of breath and slight elevation of heart rate. Before, climbing a stair step was a near maximal effort for his weakened legs. These efforts jacked up respiration and heart rate. By making the leg and hip muscles stronger and more efficient, the load was submax and no longer a stress. Improved use of the transport systems always goes back to improved muscular efficiency. No amount of blowing into a lung trainer is going to do that.(Deep diving possibly being the exception). Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com 

One of the first things that I noticed when I first started CC and some of the yogic systems, was that my 'gas' was greatly improved and I was less winded when grappling. The improved muscular efficiency and ability to move with less internal resistence (intra-muscular friction form stiff inflexible muscles) allowed for less stress on the respiratory system thus improving my wind. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

Unfortunately there is very little research in the field of strength and conditioning. Much of the research is biased or poorly done.Most of these studies have so many unaccounted for variables that render the conclusions useless. It is very difficult to get enough people to conduct research of this type. Even when a good cross-sectional group can be brought together, it is almost impossible to moniter all of them. Nutrition, sleep habits,exercise performance,activity levels,use of steroids or other performance enhancing drugs are hard to supervise.Take the diet industry for example. It is a well known fact that people under report what they eat and over report their physical activity. When diet subjects were placed under close scrutiny, it was found that they were consuming as much as 30% more calories than what they reported.For those reasons, I pay little attention to studies. What I do pay attention to are anecdotal reports, personal references and experience and empirical evidence. I am constantly using my self as a labratory as well as my clients to see just what does work and what does not. People who know me will run in terror when I get that certain gleam in my eye. "Oh no! Steve has some horrible newfangled workout!" Then I haul them in and put it to them, err... I mean put them through it. I learn a lot that way. Maxercise is like my own little lab. I only put out there what worked for me and my guys. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com