Workout Song of the Day

Warm-up

Jog 1.5 miles in 10 minutes

Stretching

Exercise Group 1 x 3 (power)

Clean and Press: 225lbs x 3

Superset w/

Box Squats: 315lbs x 3

Giant Set II x 3 (done for speed)

High Rope Pulls: 120lbs x 20

Superset w/

Rope Crunches: 120lbs x 20

Superset w/

High Rope Pulldowns: 120lbs x 20

Superset w/

Rope Twisting Over Shoulder Throws: 120lbs x failure

Superset w/

Rope Hammer Curls: 120lbs x failure

End

Elliptical Cross Trainer 20 minutes

Stretching

Some heavy cleans and presses in here. Was feeling very
strong on the warm-ups so I went for it. Light weight!

“Don’t nobody want to lift no heavy ass weight.”

- Ronnie Coleman

Workout Song of the Day

Warm-up

Jog 1 mile 8 minutes

Stretching

Tabata Cycle I x 12

Rope Machine Pulldowns: 30 seconds work

20 seconds rest

Bentover bench hops: 30 seconds work

Tabata Cycle II x 12

Bosu Ball Mountain Climbers: 30 seconds work

20 seconds rest

V-Bar Rows: 90lbs x
30 seconds work (fast)

Tabata Cycle III x 12

Dumbbell Flyes w/ V-ups: 40lb’ers x 30 seconds work

20 seconds rest

Stability Ball Reverse Windmills: 30 seconds work

Ending

Jog 1 mile 8 minutes

Stretching

Tabata training is intense and great for conditioning in jiu
jitsu. The reason being, it’s a lot like jiu jitsu in terms of intensity and
then resting briefly. It’s also great for burning fat as an intense workout
like this will raise your basal metabolic rate for hours on in. Just remember,
if you try a Tabata workout, go lighter with the weights and build your
endurance up. This type of training can be very humbling.

 

Warm-up

Jog 1 mile in 8 minutes
Stretch

Giant Set I

Deadlift Burpees: 265lbs x 6 (double burpees)
Superset w/
Barbell Bench Press: 265lbs x 6

Giant Set II

Dumbbell Pullovers w/ Leg Lift: 80lbs x 10
Superset w/
Box Dumbbell Squats: 80l’bers x 6
Superset w/
Dumbbell Curls: 40lb’ers x 6
Superset w/
Horizontal Tricep Extension w/ V-Up: 60lbs x 20

Giant Set III

Stability Ball Adductor Hold with Medicine Ball Movement: 1 minute
Superset w/
High Rope Pulldowns: 120lbs x 20
Superset w/
Dips into a Leg Lift: BW x 20
Superset w/
Rope Crunches: 120lbs x 20
Superset w/
Atomic Push-up on a Bosu Ball: BW x 20
Superset w/
FreeMotion Jump Squats: 160lbs x failure

Ending

Jog 1 mile 8 minutes
Stretch

A lot of volume here but it is what it is. Great workout all around.

Workout Song of the Day

Warm - Up

Treadmill: 1 mile jog, 8 min

Giant Set I x 3

Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press: 80lb’ers x 20

Superset w/

Dumbbell High Pulls: 60lb’ers x 15

Superset w/

Burpees: bodyweight x 20

Giant Set II x 3

Dip into Pike Leg Raise: BW x 15

Superset w/

Rope Rows: 120lbs x 15

Superset w/

Adductor Machine: 160lbs x 20

Superset w/

Pull ups: bodyweight x failure

Giant Set III x 3

Rope Pull Downs: 120lbs x 20

Superset w/

Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squats: 40lb’ers x 15

Superset w/

Exercise Ball Adductor Balance Drill: 25lbs plate x 1 minute

Giant Set IV

Barbell Squats: 225lbs x 12

Superset w/

Barbell Clean and Press: 155lbs x 6

Superset w/

Weighted V-Ups: 45lbs x 20

Overall, this workout only took about an hour to complete. I try not to rest too much between sets to keep my heart rate up. I'm still debating on whether or not to a NAGA Grappling tournament at the end of the month in Philly. However, I'm staying focused on my training and diet just in case.

 

WARM UP

30 Burpees

100 Jumping Jacks

TRAINING

SET 1 x 2 Cycles

TRX Suspension Push Ups: Bodyweight x 20

superset w/

TRX Suspension Row: Bodyweight x 20

superset w/

TRX Suspension Atomic Push Up: Bodyweight x 20

superset w/

TRX Suspension Leg Abduction: Bodyweight x 20

superset w/

TRX Suspension Hamstring Curls: Bodyweight x 20

SET 2 x 2 Cycles

Sandbag Zercher Walking Lunges: 80lbs x 16 paces

superset w/

Alternating Single Arm Kettlebell Swings: 50lbs x 20 reps

superset w/

Kettlebell Post Ups: 50lbs x 6 reps (each side)

superset w/

Medicine ball slams: 50lbs x 20 reps

Set 3 x 3 Cycles

Stroops Anaconda Battle Rope Slam: 1 minute max effort 105lbs resistance

superset w/

Lateral Bounds w/ Cone Touch: 30 seconds max effort

superset w/

Leg Lift w/ Medicine Ball Pullover and Vertical Throw: 50lbs x 16

superset w/

Pendulum w/ Adduction Medicine Ball Squeeze: 50lbs x 12

superset w/

200 yard spring: max effort

When I can, I try to train outside these days. Air conditioned gyms just don't mimic the environment of the BJJ studio I train. I get a better workout outside anyway as my joints and muscles are a lot looser. Overall, this session was pretty brutal.

 

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
Superset w/
Squats: 315lbs x 8
Superset w/
Pull Ups: BW x failure
Superset w/
Deadlifts: 315lbs x 8

Giant Set 2 (3 sets)

http://www.trxtraining.com/learn/ Back Row (isometric hold 10 sec): BW x 10
Superset w/
Lateral Box Push Offs (18”: BW x 30
Superset w/
http://www.trxtraining.com/learn/ Atomic Push-ups: BW x 20
Superset w/
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
Superset w/
Plyometric Box Jumps (24inch): BW x 8 reps
Superset w/
Single Arm Dumbbell Snatch: 80lbs x 8 reps
Superset w/
Dumbbell Jump Squats: 80lb’ers x 8 reps

Giant Set 2

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

Superset w/

Squat: 315lbs x 8

Superset w/

Deadlift: 315lbs x 8

Superset w/

Reverse Plank Crunches: BW x 3

Giant Set 2 Performed 3 Times

Dumbbell Curls: 40lb’ers x 8

Superset w/

Dumbbell Walking Lunges: 40lb’ers x 20

Superset w/

Neutral Grip Pull-ups: BW x failure

Superset w/

Tricep Pushdowns: 120lbs x 12

Superset w/

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
Superset w/
Crunches: BW x 30
Superset w/
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
Superset w/
Dumbbell Jump Squats: 40lb’ers x 10
Superset w/
Decline Sit-ups: BW x 30
Superset w/
Clean and Press: 185lbs x 6
Superset w/
Wide Grip Overhand Pull-ups: BW x 10
Superset w/
Hanging Leg Raises: BW x 15
Superset w/
Bent Over Dual-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 40lb’ers x 10
Superset w/
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
Superset w/
Dumbbell Jump Squats: 60lb’ers x 8
Superset w/
Overhand Pull-ups: BW x 8
Superset w/
Walking Lunges: BW x 20 paces

Giant Set 2

3 min heavy bag striking and kicking x 3
Superset w/
Back Extensions: BW x 30
Superset w/
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
Superset w/
Pull Ups (rapid): BW x failure x 3
Superset w/
Supine Barbell Bench Press (rapid): 225lbs x 25 x 3

Tri-Set 2
Incline Sit-ups: BW x 30
Superset w/
Walking Lunges: 95lbs x 20 paces x 3
Superset w/
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.