A blog from Mike Leng, owner of Unorthodox Nutrition.I blather on about diet, nutrition, health, life style design plus my own take on a whole host of other topics.
Chocolate Protein Clusters are delicious and crunchy high protein crispy bars covered in milk chocolate, perfect for a high protein treat throughout the day or around training.
These clusters are made up of crunchy whey isolate protein crisp balls which are then covered in a delicious chocolate coating, making them perfect for a great tasting snack when on the go and looking to increase your protein intake.
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Well as per previous reviews people will remember that I am not keen on 'snack foods'. These however are the exception! They taste great, have a good level of protein and are ok on carbs. Don't get me wrong, they aren't a daily stable but when I'm really craving a sweet food these really hit the spot. If you are after something to take away cravings then these are a good place to start.
What is the biggest limiting factor on how
often you train?
Time?
Money?
Or the ability to recover from your
training?
For most people (especially when they pass
that 30 year mark) it’s the latter. There is no doubt that BJJ can be harsh on
the body. Many people get sore from most training sessions, especially when
they contain hard sparring.
So how can you reduce or even eliminate the
soreness and pain that you get in muscles and joints?
In this article I will look at certain
foods, supplements and tactics that you can use to limit the amount of soreness
that you get and improve your over all recovery. After all, the better you
recover, the more you can train, the better you get!
Before I go any further, this is the part
of the article where I tell you that good nutrition beats everything. If your
nutrition sucks then your recovery and training will suck. Nothing that I
mention in this article will make up for poor nutrition. In many cases having a
well thought out nutrition plan will sort 90% of recovery issues. If you’re not
sure on how to set up a good nutrition plan then please speak to your coach or
a professional.
Ok, with that in mind, let’s look at how we
can maximise recovery and reduce soreness.
I’m going to split this into two articles.
One that looks at specific recovery techniques while the other on diet and
supplementation (coming next month).
Firstly let’s look at specific recovery.
Recovery is hard for BJJ athletes. If they
aren’t training then they want to be doing kettlebells, running hills,
drilling, jogging, doing hot yoga etc etc. The fact is that most athletes would
benefit from doing nothing in between sessions and making sure they get the
right amount of sleep. There are however a few things that you can do to
maximise recovery.
While I know that many of you will already
know about the following things mentioned, I would bet that you don’t do it
with any kind of regularity. Hopefully this article will serve to remind you to
do these things, rather than giving you some new knowledge that will change
your life forever (cool if it does though lol).
Baths
There are many baths that fall under this
heading from ice baths, contrast showers, Epsom salt baths and just hot baths.
In my experience the best two that I have
found are contrast showers and hot baths. Most people choose not to do contrast
showers (no one likes the idea of standing under a freezing shower for a few
minutes) however they are by far the most effective in reducing soreness and
lactic acid build up in the muscles.
The second is just lying in a VERY hot bath
then taking a short nap. I’ve found that this technique works better for the
slightly older BJJ athlete however women also seem to favour it.
Foam
Rolling.
I don’t think that there are many people
out there that don’t know about foam rolling and it’s benefits. However those
benefits are so great that it is well worth repeating.
Do your damn foam rolling!
Foam rolling is one of those things that
you only realise works when you stop doing it. Get into a habit of doing it
(ideally) every day or at least after every session.
A quick youtube search will yield the best
movements for your tight areas.
Stretching
and Mobility work.
For some strange reason stretching seems to
have fallen for favour in the BJJ world.
I have no idea why.
Being able to move better and being more
flexible is a massive advantage in a sport where you end up looking like two
pretzels trying to kill each other. Not to mention that if your muscles are
supple and flexible, they will be able to perform better and therefore recover
better.
For Mobility work I recommend doing DeFranco’s
agile 8, and for stretching I would recommend on focusing on the hips,
hamstrings, groin, chest and back.
Massage.
Lastly I will mention massage. Not the one
with a happy ending but a proper sports massage.
While a well done sports massage will be a
little painful to get, most people will confess that they feel ten years
younger after one. Having one of these done every month or so will keep you in
good shape to recover quickly and will help keep your muscles feeling supple rather
than tight or achy.
Chances are there is already someone in
your gym that does this for a living. However if there isn’t, then other
members of your gym will probably be able to recommend a local one.
This is a very short list of techniques and
practices that will help you recover quicker and help reduce soreness and pain
that normally follows hard training.
Next month we will look at certain things
that you can add to your current nutrition plan to help the recover purpose
further.
We are now LIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEE!!!! (use Bruce Buffer voice).
This is easily some of the best work me and Barry have ever done. there is absolutely nothing like this on the market that is aimed specifically to Grapplers.
The problem with most Grapplers programmes is that they are either not designed for sport (think lots of curls or workouts from Muscle Magazines) or they are pure strength programmes designed for lifters that just lift and do nothing else. What happens with both of these programmes is that there is either no carry over to Grappling or people get burned out really quickly and then have to dial back on training. What you will learn to do with this system is to supplement your sport with training and nutrition that will take you to the world class level.
So how will we do that?
The system is designed to complement your training to make you a better athlete. the programme will make you stronger, faster, more powerful and recover faster while making you healthier (because who wants to fall apart in just a few years). This system will allow you to complement your grappling training wheel not bring you out by using proper nutrition.
The system is split into two parts, Strength and Conditioning and Nutrition. The Strength and Conditioning will give you specific exercises to do, at a specific weight, in a specific order while the nutrition will give you exactly what macro nutrients to eat plus guidelines to maximise them. It is the combination of these that will give you the best results. Both of these factors can be repeated continuously as the professionally designed Spread Sheets will adjust everything as you go!
This is a completely intuitive system that adjusts itself based directly on your results. There is nothing out there even remotely like this!
We are now LIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEEE!!!! (use Bruce Buffer voice).
This is easily some of the best work me and Barry have ever done. there is absolutely nothing like this on the market that is aimed specifically to Grapplers.
The problem with most Grapplers programmes is that they are either not designed for sport (think lots of curls or workouts from Muscle Magazines) or they are pure strength programmes designed for lifters that just lift and do nothing else. What happens with both of these programmes is that there is either no carry over to Grappling or people get burned out really quickly and then have to dial back on training. What you will learn to do with this system is to supplement your sport with training and nutrition that will take you to the world class level.
So how will we do that?
The system is designed to complement your training to make you a better athlete. the programme will make you stronger, faster, more powerful and recover faster while making you healthier (because who wants to fall apart in just a few years). This system will allow you to complement your grappling training wheel not bring you out by using proper nutrition.
The system is split into two parts, Strength and Conditioning and Nutrition. The Strength and Conditioning will give you specific exercises to do, at a specific weight, in a specific order while the nutrition will give you exactly what macro nutrients to eat plus guidelines to maximise them. It is the combination of these that will give you the best results. Both of these factors can be repeated continuously as the professionally designed Spread Sheets will adjust everything as you go!
This is a completely intuitive system that adjusts itself based directly on your results. There is nothing out there even remotely like this!
Today I want to share with you an old article I wrote onOff Season Planning for Fighters.
Enjoy
Health.
We all have it.
However many of us have bad health despite training hard and
eating ‘clean’.
How is that possible? We suspect that if we are exercising
and eating a ‘clean’ diet then we must, by default, be healthy. It’s what all
the magazines, papers and our own Doctors tell us, how can they be wrong?
The simple fact is, is that health is not a priority for
fighters. They want to be at a certain weight, improve their strength, speed,
power and technique, but health? That’s way, WAY down the list. Chances are if
you are a fighter and you are reading this you haven’t gave a second thought to
your long term health.
This absolutely needs to change. Fighters cannot keep living
on diets of chicken, rice and broccoli and expecting to be living to a ripe old
age and playing with their grandkids. The sport of MMA is an abusive one on the
body. It is a high impact sport that wears down tendons, effects your immune
system, damages muscles and in some extreme cases can effect vital organs (ever
wonder what bad weight cuts do to a liver and kidneys? Go have a look). I’m
going to be real with you. There are aspects of this sport that will kill you
if you do not do them properly. There are factors that if not addressed, will
give you serve long term negative effects. Not only on your performance, but
the ability to be a husband, father and friend.
By now it should be blatantly obvious that your health needs
to be your number one priority.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. Thankfully the MMA
industry is slowly turning a corner and putting fighters health first. With
things like Safe MMA testing fighters and more and more coaches preaching about
over all health, things can only get better for fighters.
So what should you do to ensure you are maximising your health?
What techniques can you employ easily that will have a dramatic effect on not
only your health, but also your performance on the cage and on the mat?
Well luckily for you, Mike is here to give you the top
things you can start doing right now that will make a big difference!
Speak to someone who knows about health and nutrition.
This can be anyone from a professional to a coach. As long
as they have a back ground in producing great results with a variety of
different people, go talk to them. Tell them what you are currently doing, any
issues you currently have (lack of sleep, head aches, not being able to go to
the toilet, lack of sex drive etc.), and ask how they can help. Ask them what
tips they can give and what you should be adding into your over all plan. If
you have a physical problem, speak to a Doctor. The quicker you can get things
looked at, the quicker you can get it fixed. There is a massive trend in combat
sports to let little niggles fester and find ways to train around injuries.
While this keeps you training in the short term, it’s really going to mess you
up in the long term. Especially if you get a couple of these ‘niggles’. Things
mount up. Get things checked and more importantly, do what the Doc tells you to
do to fix it!
Eat your damn Veggies
I know I go on about this a lot (and will continue to), but
it is really, really important. Find a range of veggies that you like and work
them into your current meals. Use a slow cooker and different recipes to give
them flavour, add herbs and spices to liven them up. Hell, you can even blend
them together to make a sauce (tomato based is the most versatile). Just eat
the damn things. I know that a lot of you have horrible flash back of eating
badly cooked sprouts as a kid, but trust me, well cooked veggies are the bomb.
Find a way to add them to your diet and your health will improve ten fold.
Water. Drink more of it.
I will put money on the fact that most of you are not
drinking enough water. 2 litres a day? Not even close. Think 3-4 on a training
day will more the bigger you are. Water plays a role in pretty much every
function the body performs and when it is deprived of water even slightly it
struggles. Do yourself a massive favour and drink more. Your sleep, joints, fat
loss and recovery will all improve!
Improve your digestion
A healthy varied diet with lots of veggies and a bit of
fruit will help your digestion no end. However if you want to improve it a bit
then you can take the following actions,
·Stop eating foods that give you an upset
stomach. I know that seems simple but the amount of people eating foods that
don’t agree with them is staggering. For most this is junk food…
·Drink more water. See above.
·Take a probiotic everyday. I like clients to use
either Yakult or 0% Fat Actimel.
·Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut as they are
teeming with good bacteria that can help your digestion.
·Never stuff yourself. Only ever eat to the point
of being satisfied.
That’s it for now. While these tips seem very basic, they
are the ones that work 100% of the time as long as you are consistent.
Remember, consistency beats everything!
Take care of your health and your body will provide you with
the results you need. Not just for a fight camp, but for life!
Stay healthy,
Mike
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