8am Morning Cardio: Treadmill 40 minutes

3pm Afternoon Workout

Warm-up: PreCor Elliptical CrossTrainer 10 minutes

Giant Set 1 (3 sets)

Bench Presses: 295lbs x  8
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Squats: 315lbs x 8
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Pull Ups: BW x failure
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Deadlifts: 315lbs x 8

Giant Set 2 (3 sets)

http://www.trxtraining.com/learn/ Back Row (isometric hold 10 sec): BW x 10
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Lateral Box Push Offs (18”: BW x 30
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http://www.trxtraining.com/learn/ Atomic Push-ups: BW x 20
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Dumbbell Lunges: 40lb’ers x 20 paces

Heavy Bag: 5 minutes x 3 rounds (all out)

Stamina was good and I’m considering getting a weighted vest. Despite the weight coming off, my strength is holding and my endurance is improving steadily. I just need to remain consistent which is the hardest part.

Warm-up:

General stretching

Drills:

Shrimping

Technique:

Hip Bump

Kimura from guard position

Guillotine Choke  from guard position

Gi Choke from inside guard position

Cross Choke from guard position

Rolling:

5 minute rounds x 2

I swear, it must have about 100 degrees inside my school. There isn't any air conditioning and to be honest, I love it. Most gyms these says really baby their members and it's hard to work up a good sweat and stay loose with the airconditioning blasting. In any event, I'm still learning a lot of the basics in Brazilian Jui Jitsu which has been enlightening coming from a Tae Kwon Do and Kajukenbo. There was virtually no ground defense or offense with those styles so I'm like a fish out of water still. Either way, I love the challenge. 

Workout Song of the Day

Warm-up: 20 min PreCor Elliptical

Giant Set 1

TRX Atomic Push-up (dual isometric hold): BW x 15 reps
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Plyometric Box Jumps (24inch): BW x 8 reps
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Single Arm Dumbbell Snatch: 80lbs x 8 reps
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Dumbbell Jump Squats: 80lb’ers x 8 reps

Giant Set 2

Leg Kick (Muay Thai heavy bag): 20 kicks x each leg
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Pull-ups: BW x failure
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Dips: BW x failure
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Crunches: BW x 30

Cardio: 20 minutes on the treadmill, 5’ incline, 3.5mph

Luckily my gym has a decent heavy bag area with a Muay Thai bag, a heavy bag, speed bag, and an upper cut bag. I’m not sticking to any set workout and more or less make up the workout when I hit the gym based on equipment availability. I’m going at off hours so the giant sets don’t get interrupted and it seems to be working for me.

Workout Song of the Day

Warm Up: PreCor Elliptical 10min

Giant Set 1 Performed 3 Times

Bench Press: 265lbs x 8

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Squat: 315lbs x 8

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Deadlift: 315lbs x 8

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Reverse Plank Crunches: BW x 3

Giant Set 2 Performed 3 Times

Dumbbell Curls: 40lb’ers x 8

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Dumbbell Walking Lunges: 40lb’ers x 20

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Neutral Grip Pull-ups: BW x failure

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Tricep Pushdowns: 120lbs x 12

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Dumbbell Turkish Get-up: 40lb’er x 5 (each side)

Cardio: 20 minutes Treadmill

As you can see, I mixing traditional power movements with giant sets which is extremely challenging. I don’t recommend this type of training to novice athletes at all. Purposefully I’m switching from upper body to lower body movements and vice versa intentionally to mimic the transference of blood in mixed martial arts. This is a lot different than bodybuilding training in which you are focusing blood into one or two muscles for maximum volumization. This is the exact opposite.

Cardio: PreCor Elliptical 45 minutes, elevation L10, resistance L14

Heavy Bag: 3 x 4 minute rounds
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Crunches: BW x 30
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Speed Rope: 1 minute

What a sweaty workout. Even though this is a ton of cardio and limited on the resistance front, I still take a pre-workout product like Superpump MAX. I’m not destroying the muscles like I would during a bodybuilding workout but I am throwing my ammonia levels through the rough. When formulating Superpump MAX I wanted to address this because it never made sense to me why other formulas just focused on lactic acid, hydrogen ion buffering, and other anaerobic indices. What wasn’t anyone manipulating the urea cycle? Anyway, something like MAX really helps kill ammonia related fatigue which makes training like this a breeze.

I could have attended an MMA conditioning class today but I'm honestly not in good enough shape to last through it. I still have about 10-15 more pounds to go before I can hang well in the class. I don't want to hold others back so in the mean time, it's going to be a lot of cardio, and then some.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DannyPierce

Workout Song of the Day

AM Jui-jitsu Open Mat

Since I’m fairly new to Brazilian Jui-jitsu, I basically get my ass kicked on the ground all the time. I went three rounds today with different people each time and got submitted multiple times. To some of you that may seem pretty weak but the reality is, this is how you learn BJJ. I’m going against blue and purple belts and “rolling” is an extremely grueling workout. Switching over from bodybuilding has been a huge challenge but I’m down 28lbs so far and my endurance keeps on increasing. As long as I keep improving, I’m happy even if I’m tapping out more than I’d like to be.

PM Weights and Heavy Bag Training

Warm-up: 10 minutes on the treadmill

Full Body Giant Set Non-Stop x 3 Sets

Dumbbell Lunges: 40lb’ers x 20 paces
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Dumbbell Jump Squats: 40lb’ers x 10
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Decline Sit-ups: BW x 30
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Clean and Press: 185lbs x 6
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Wide Grip Overhand Pull-ups: BW x 10
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Hanging Leg Raises: BW x 15
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Bent Over Dual-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 40lb’ers x 10
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Laying Punching Hip Thrust: each side x 10 reps

Heavy Bag: 3 rounds x 3 minutes

As you can see, this is a fairly brutal workout. Sometimes I throw plyometrics in here on a box but this time I decided to skip it. My knee is still a bit sore for a lot of jumping and I didn’t really power through the jump squats like I normally would. Either way, this is exhausting and you know you’re doing it right when you feel like you have to throw up  halfway through the second set.

Topping this off with heavy bag training may seem excessive, but I’m not worried about burning off some muscle. I’m still hovering around 240lbs which is quite large for someone my height and practicing jui-jitsu. For perspectives sake, this would put in the same class as someone like Brock Lesnar in the UFC and clearly I would get murdered. A comfortable walk around weight for someone my size should be around 200-215lbs or so. Obviously I have a ways to go.

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DannyPierce

20 min PreCor Elliptical

Giant Set 1

Dumbbell Bench Press w/ Isometric holds: 60lb’ers x 10
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Dumbbell Jump Squats: 60lb’ers x 8
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Overhand Pull-ups: BW x 8
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Walking Lunges: BW x 20 paces

Giant Set 2

3 min heavy bag striking and kicking x 3
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Back Extensions: BW x 30
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Crunches: BW x 30

Overall this was a pretty good training day with no complaints. I was a bit worried about trying weighted jump squats due to my knee acting up but all went well. After the first few reps my confidence was high so I pushed it quite a bit.

Cardio: 30 minutes Precor Elliptical (resistance 10, elevation 10)

Tri-Set 1
One Arm Dumbbell Snatches (rapid): 80lb’ers x 10 x 3
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Pull Ups (rapid): BW x failure x 3
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Supine Barbell Bench Press (rapid): 225lbs x 25 x 3

Tri-Set 2
Incline Sit-ups: BW x 30
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Walking Lunges: 95lbs x 20 paces x 3
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Leg Raises: BW x 20 x 3

Heavy Bag Work (strikes, knees, kicks): 3 x 5 minute rounds

As you can see, my training has changes drastically. I’m down about twenty pounds over the past six weeks and still have about 25lbs more to go. My diet hasn’t been too strict but overall my calories are a lot lower. Since I’m not training heavy and doing more cardio, the pounds are coming of quite easily and it is noticeable. 

Since we've signed UFC fighter Brian Stann to Team Gaspari he's definitely served as an inspiration to me. The dude is just a straight machine but a well rounded athlete and father. I feel really fortunate being able to have access to such great athletes like Brian and helping them shine on camera for Gaspari Nutrition.

My journey right now to get back into more of an overall “athletic” shape has been going well. In the past three weeks I’ve lost about fifteen pounds and feel great. Endurance is up and while I’ve lost a bit of strength, I really don’t care. The reason being, all the added muscle isn’t helping me at all during Jui Jitsu practice.

Right now I’m learning basic moves and trying to learn how to conserve energy. In bodybuilding, you focus so hard on maximizes blood flow, the contraction, etc for one muscle group which works well for optimizing hypertrophy. This doesn’t apply in Jui Jitsu because you are using all muscle groups through explosive bouts of movement. To be real, I’ve been getting my ass handed to me which is quite a humbling experience.

So far I’m extremely soar and a little bruised up. I was tossed last night and banged up my shoulder pretty good. I can’t lift higher than my chest right now. When it comes to martial arts I’m not completely green as I practiced formal Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwan Do for a number of years. However, Jui Jitsu is much more physically demanding, even more so than football. Tae Kwan Do focused on striking and keeping your opponent at a distance and Jui Jitsu is all about closed combat submissions and grappling. Having a solid ground game and balance base in everything so I’m quickly learning and trying to lose weight at the same time. It ain’t easy but I’m in this for the long haul.

-D

In my experience are a few examples of how to become a company forum representative.

Weight Training

Bench Press (fast tempo): 225lbs x 30 x 3

Incline Dumbbell Presses: 80lb’ers x 20 x 3
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Shoulder width push-ups (knuckles): failure x 3

Flat Dumbbell Flies: 50lb’ers x 12 x 3
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Single Arm Weighted Cable Punching Crosses: 50lbs x 12 x 3

Cable Rope Extensions: 80lbs x 20 x 3
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Overhead Dumbbell Extensions: 60lbs x failure x 3

Bag Work

3 x 2 minute rounds all out punching and kicking combinations

Cardio

Treadmill 20 minutes at a 3’ incline.

As you can see, I’m slowly trying to condition myself a bit in my attempt to get back into martial arts. So far, I’ve reviewed about eight schools in my area without a lot of luck finding the right one. Believe it or not, there are a lot of crap schools out there and I told myself I wouldn’t limit myself to any style of martial arts keeping an open mind.

 The bottom line is that a quality school molds a quality student which is all contingent upon the instructors. My old instructor Master Roberts was an old school army guy originally trained in Kajukembo who went on to achieve a 9th dan in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwan Do. Our classes were tough and walked around with a bamboo Shinai Kendo sword smacking us when our form was off. I miss those days.

Right now, I’m guessing I need to lose about 30-40lbs to really get back into decent conditioning to do this, so the road ahead will not be easy. My workouts will still include some weight training, but since I need to lose some muscle, the rep ranges will be much higher and I will not be training for hypertrophy.

 My diet is also changing quite a bit. I’ll still be eating multiple meals a day, but I’m not necessarily worried about keeping on as much muscle as possible while losing as much fat as possible. The reason being, my lean body mass is extremely high right now and to lose a lot of weight over the next few weeks, losing some muscle is a reality. I’m being honest with myself too because large amount of muscle mass is not ideal for cardiovascular endurance. In any case, I’m excited to see how this new journey goes and hopefully I find a good school soon to really start rocking and rolling.

Workout Song of the Day

Weight Training

Underhand Hammer Strength High Row: 180lbs x 20 x 3

Bent Over Dual Arm Dumbbell Rows: 70lb’ers x 20 x 3

Wide Grip Pulldowns: 180lbs x 20 x 3

Deadlifts: 315lbs x 20 x 3

Dumbbell Curls: 40lb’er x 12 x3

Cambered Bar Curls: 75lbs x 20 x 3

Heavy Bag Work

Front Kick, Jab, Cross – 20 sets each side

Jab, Cross, Round Kick (head) – 20 sets each side

Jab, Hook, Round Kick (body) – 20 sets each side

Cardio

Treadmill -20 minutes at a 3’incline

In today’s heavily regulated American society it’s tough to discern what is fact or fiction. One day genetically modified vegetables are all the rage and then the next they speculated to be attributed to a host of illnesses. If you’re the type of person who’s truly interest in your long term health and vitality you’re probably more in tune than the average individual about the current plight of quality foods. However, while regulators seem to overlook many maladies within their own organizational ethics in vetting drugs or foods suitable for human consumption, what is more worrisome is the lack of education in today’s medical school curricula when it comes to dietary supplements and nutrition. Have you ever quizzed your doctor about supplements or nutrition?

In the 2008 documentary http://www.foodmatters.tv/ nutritional experts such as Andrew W Saul, PhD discuss the failure of modern medicine to address the true health needs of today’s American society. The well-rounded panel of experts do a great job of asking what happened to the belief held by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, “let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.’ Today, regulators have embraced often unnecessary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_company approaches to “curing” or “treating” diseases and have made it extremely difficult for common diseases to be treated with natural remedies. All of this is in the face of decades of clinical data which has supported the use of vitamins and dietary manipulation to help those afflicted with various illnesses.

Shocking statistics were brought to light such as the fact that there over 106,000 deaths attributed to the proper use of prescription drugs as directed. Even worse, it was presented that less than 6% of medical doctors today receive any relevant nutrition training. It becomes clear that “curing” ailments is not a profitable practice and that the increasing rates of those diagnosed with heart disease, cancer, and other diseases are correlated with an increase in poor diets and increased profits by drug companies. Furthermore, journals which could appear “pro-supplement” such as the http://www.orthomed.org/ do not get indexed by the US National Library of Medicine and appear on websites such as www.pubmed.com. ‘Why is that?’ Saul asks.  It’s no doubt that certain disease epidemics related to poor diet that are exploding out of control simply aren’t being addressed by regulators because those same regulators often come from the same industries that profit from disease.

Please, don’t get me wrong, there are many honest and trustworthy physicians out there. I didn’t step on this soapbox to say you shouldn’t listen to your physician by any stretch of the imagination. However, I do highly recommend you watch Food Matters as it challenges the mind and body to break the social norm with regards to media and pharmaceutical influence in our society. It also challenges the audience to ask questions and understand that often they must do some research into what they are putting in their bodies whether a dietary supplement, food, and even prescription pharmaceuticals. In the end, the timeless phrase “you are what you eat” should have greater meaning because in the end, it’s you who ultimately has the greatest influence over your fate by choosing what foods, supplements, and drugs you consume.

Check out the trailer when you get some free time.

One of the newest trends in vitamin supplementation has shown that men can show great benefit from high doses vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Some of these benefits include optimizing testosterone levels (1), mood elevation in the winter months (2), and even showing some promise potentially in various forms of cancer (3). It’s become apparent the vitamin D3 is beneficial in all age group of men but what about active young women? Research is somewhat limited in this subpopulation unfortunately.

There is no doubt that http://www.army.mil/ basic combat training can be physically challenging and places physical and psychological stress on the body. A recent study by Army researchers highlighted the effects of increased activity, inadequate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D intake, and low exposure to sunlight, all greatly affected vitamin D levels in highly active women and highlighted some of the differences across ethnic group (4). Interestingly enough, non-Hispanic African Americans showed the lowest decrease in vitamin D levels while non-Hispanic whites showed the highest drop off. This was despite having most of their training done outside in direct sunlight which has shown to have a great effect on vitamin D status (5).

One limitation of this study is that it did not study the sex hormone levels of these women nor did it give a range for an optimal dose either. There is research showing that very high levels of vitamin D (4000 IU per day) can have an inversely proportional relationship estradiol and progesterone levels in young women (6). Basically, too little is not optimal, but then again too much isn’t either. At the end of the day, it really depends on your personal vitamin D status so don’t be afraid to ask your doctor to measure it and ask them if they are familiar with monograph for vitamin D and how it relates to insufficiency, sunlight exposure, seasonal trends, etc (7). The high therapeutic doses shown to optimize testosterone in healthy men (3332 IU per day) (8) more than likely will not be necessary to have positive effect on the hormone levels of young women of active women but until the research is conducted, we will not truly know.

While it has become clear is that supplemental vitamin D is of great benefit to all age populations of men there are limitations to the amount of vitamin D research in active young women to shape popular opinion. The http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm has shown that women ages 14-30 generally have inadequate vitamin D compared to older women, so with that in mind, and taking into account the importance of vitamin D in bone health and hormonal optimization, it shouldn’t be a question whether or not active women should be paying closer attention to their vitamin D intake. The US Army has over 300,000 active female soldiers and understanding the impact of combat training on vitamin D status has lead their researchers to conclude that moderate vitamin D supplementation is indeed import to the health of its female soldiers.

1. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2010 Aug;73(2):243-8.

2. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1998 Feb;135(4):319-23.

3. Cancer Res. 2009 Feb 15;69(4):1439-47

4. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010 Dec 14;7(1):38.

5. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995 Mar;61(3 Suppl):638S-645S.

6. Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Mar;21(3):479-83.

7. Altern Med Rev. 2008 Jun;13(2):153-64.

8. Horm Metab Res. 2010 Dec 10. [Epub ahead of print]