A Warrior's Thougts on the Martial Arts

1 Introduction While S&C programming is no rocket science by any means, some thought needs to be put into designing a good program. The best way to reach a goal is basically determined by the factors. First, the goal needs to be clear. If you don't know where you want to go, any way will take you there. In the S&C world, this makes the difference between training and working out. Second, the starting point needs to be established. Quantitative and qualitative assessments help in that evaluation. Finally, the available resources need to be taken into consideration. Practicality trumps optimality. Adherence and consistency are the foundation for successful training, so a program must match the athlete's lifestyle and possibilities. For someone who can train twice a week  (for whatever reasons), a three day split is inappropriate, regardless of any theoretical benefits it might offer. Eric Helms covered this in detail [HEL+2015]. Of course, qualifying the ...

1 Introduction EMOM is an acronym for "every minute, on the minute" and describes a certain way to organize a strength training session. Upon each full minute, the athlete performs a prescribed, usually low, number of repetitions of a strength exercise. Short rest periods increase the cardiovascular demand of such sessions and directly affect the athlete's hormonal situation. Therefore, EMOM training can be effectively used as a conditioning tool. However, EMOM style training may offer additional benefits apart from cardiovascular conditioning. From a neuro-muscular point of view, limiting the number of repetitions per set and keeping sets clearly sub-maximal may be beneficial, as fatigue can impair movement quality and even spinal stability [GRSW2004]. While fatigue may not lessen the effects of motor learning [ALDE1965, CARR1969], it might well lead to compensatory movements, less-than-optimal joint mechanics and hence, a greater degree of wear-and-tear. Especially ...

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail  -Benjamin Franklin Everybody has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth -Mike Tyson The above cites nicely illustrate a dilemma when it comes to S&C training (and Probably just about anything in life, but I'll try and stay on-topic here): On the one hand, you simply need a plan. Not having one will inevitably result in chaos.in the best case, your progress will stall. In the worst case, you get hurt. That's why there's a plethora of books on proper periodization and exercise programing.  On the other hand, nobody operates in lab conditions. Factors like sleep, nutrition, stress at work and concurrent sport specific training need to be taken into consideration. Trying to PR int he deadlift  the day after a hard sparring session or an spontaneous party night isn't a good idea. Now there's always an argument to be made here that while the latter case (the party) can be attributed to a weak wi...

  Disclaimer: This one's going to be a bit lengthy, so I tried to include as many videos as possible to keep things fresh.  Since December, 2014, I'm in charge of the athletics class we run at the Shinergy[base] here in Vienna. In a nutshell, the athletics class is pretty much a functional strength class for small groups. In contrast to other systems out there (which all have their benefits in their own sense), out athletics class follows a simple periodization and is preceded by an individual assessment of each athlete. Our assessment usually doesn't take as long as, say, a full [FMS] , but then again, we screen for the selection of exercises we're actually planning on employing in the current program. This means that, although it might be beneficial for general health or long-term improvement of a functional movement base, there is no pressing need to screen for overhead competency if the plan calls for a horizontal upper body push. We can ḱeep our initial screens...