Blog Re launch

                                      

Hi all,

I realise its been a bit of a while since I've put out any content here but a couple of people have told me it was a good read (especially the supplement and other reviews). 

With that in mind I'm going to bring it back. Nothing crazy, just 1-2 times a month to start to see if anyone actually reads the thing...

To start with I'm going to be re posting some of the popular reviews along with some of the new content we have happening over at Unorthodox Performance. 

If you would like to see any content in particular just let me know.

Thanks for reading, 

Mike 

Unorthodox Nutrition

5 Foods for BJJ Health

5 Foods for BJJ Health.

5 foods for health in BJJ, sounds boring right?

Who cares about talking in certain foods to make you healthier? People want foods that are going to make them super massive killing machines with a Hulk like grip and the athletsism of Spiderman (I’m a comic book geek ok)!

Well, you should really.

 Especially if you’re over that magical 30 year mark. Even if you’re not, making sure that you stay healthy and injury free is the key to having a long and fruitful career on the mat. Every old and battered brother of the mat will tell you “I wished I spent more time on staying healthy when I was your age”. Think of it like a pension for your body, the more work you put in now, the better you’re going to be when you’re a older black belt choking out cheeky whippersnappers just like you.

So what kind of things can you do to make sure that you stay in good health? Well doing all that stuff that you read about is a good idea (things like foam rolling, stretching, getting enough quality sleep etc). However the one thing that will help more than anything is a good nutrition plan. Think about it, you wouldn’t try to run a Ferrari on vegetable oil instead of high grade petrol would you?

Having a smart, well thought out nutrition plan that has foods in it to help not only your goals, but also your health is a must (see your coach or a professional for help). On top of this, you can add in certain supplements that will help plug any nutritional holes or can be taken for your convenience.

Here are my top 5 health supplements that will help your BJJ.

Fish Oil.

Everyone has heard of fish oil (you have right?), but few are taking it. This still baffles me! The evidence of the health benefits of fish oil is over whelming.

Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body and have other health benefits. These include but are not limited to,

·      Reducing inflammation in the body.

·      Reducing the chances of Cancer

·      Reducing the chances of Cardiovascular disease

·      Reducing the chances of Hypertension

·      Reducing the chances of Mental health issues

·      Reducing the chances of Alzheimer's disease

·      Reducing the chances of Lupus

·      Reducing the chances of Parkinson's disease

·      Reducing the chances of Depression

·      Reducing the chances of Psoriasis

·      Aids in health during Pregnancy

The main one that grapplers are interested in is its ability to reduce inflammation in joints. Think of all the times that your hands and fingers ache after a session of stripping grips, or your joints ache from a sparring session.

With all of this, why aren’t you adding this to your diet? I recommend most start with 6g per day then adjust from there (a bit more if you weigh more than 75kg or train very hard and often).

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a vitamin that mammals can source from sunlight. However since most of the people reading this reside in the UK there is a massive chance that you are deficient in it. Well, ‘So what?’ I hear you cry! Well take a look at all of the goodies that getting an adequate amount will get you,

·      Improves Bone health

·      Helps prevent certain types of Cancer

·      Phelps fight Cardiovascular disease

·      Improves the Immune system

·      Helps prevent Multiple sclerosis

·      Aids health during Pregnancy

There been evidence to suggest that Vitamin D also helps you produce more type II muscle fibres (think being faster and stronger).

Obviously all of this is an interest to grapplers but the 2 things that stick out at me are Bone health and the Immune system. Who wouldn’t want strong bones and never get sick (Jesus, I’m Wolverine!!)?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which means you need to take it with a food that contain a bit of fat. With your morning eggs is great time to have it.

I will say that you can take to much Vitamin D and more isn’t necessarily better. I would recommend getting your levels tested and then supplementing according to that (your Doctor will advise you). Most people fall between 3,000 – 5,000 IUs per day.

Multi Vitamin.

This one is quite simple really. This will cover any gaps that are in your daily nutrition in case you aren’t getting a variety of foods and nutrients (not an alternative for having a good nutritional plan in place).

Depending on how hard and often that you train, the quality of the multi vitamin and a few other factors, I would recommend taking 1-2 with food per day (if taking 2, split them up into AM/PM).

Glutamine

The trend that you’re probably seeing in this article is joint care and health. Well, that’s because BJJ gives out one hell of a beating when it comes to them!

The more that you care for your joints, the better you’re going to feel, the better you’re going to perform.

The last supplement joint health that I want to talk about is Glutamine.

Glutamine is one of the 20 amino acids encoded by the standard genetic code. It is not recognized as an essential amino acid, but may become conditionally essential in certain situations, including BJJ.

Glutamine can help the healing of joints and the connective tissues that link all your muscles, bones and tendons together. Keeping these healthy will help you recover quicker, leading to being able to train harder, more often.

Probiotics

I’ve talked about probiotics in past articles a bit. They help in the digestion of your food (and therefore nutrients) by making sure that the healthy bacteria in your gut is kept to an acceptable level.

Improving digestion and digestive health is something that everyone should take a good look at. What’s the point of taking the time to have a well thought out nutrition plan, when you cant even absorb the nutrients that you take in?

Signs that you have digestive issues,

·      Bloating

·      Irregular bowel movements

·      Infrequent bowel movements

·      Lots of bowel movements

·      Loose bowel movements

·      High amount of gas.

If you have any of these, I recommend you star taking a probiotic in the morning with your first meal. I like either the pill form or Yakult.

So there you have it, my top 5 supplements that can help improve your health in BJJ. For more ideas and tips on how to improve your health and digestion, check out the next issue of Jiu jitsu Style!

 Got some more that may benefit people? Let us know about it!

Stay healthy,

Mike

Off Season for Fighters

Fighters love to fight. It’s a fact.

They have something hard wired into their brain that makes them step in the ring, cage or on the mat. They NEED to do it, they can’t function in life if they don’t have the sense of competition, camaraderie and achievement that only a fighter knows about. However all this punishment leads them to do stupid things like take fights at the last minute and fight often without adequate rest in between fights. This is partly a coaches fault and partly the fighters. It is my opinion that the further that you move up the ladder of a sport the LESS fights they should take. For example I think a Pro MMA fighter should have a MAXIMUM of 3 fights a year. Any more and you are pretty much never out of camp.

 I believe that all sensibly trained fighters should have a good off season between fights to get better and recover for the next fight. The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of what things to be aiming and watching for from a nutritional standpoint. I must say that this is a brief overview and every single fighter is different. If anyone has any questions then please contact me or speak to your coach, they know you, I don’t.

So what is an off season and what are we looking for during it? An off season is a chunk of time (2-3 months) where a fighter aims to improve their technique, conditioning and strength. So during this time you will be focusing on weaknesses in your game and improving how strong and fast you are. At this point I would like to give just one piece of advice to every single fighter, GET STRONGER. Nothing will transfer to all areas of your ability than getting stronger. Trust me. With this in mind I’m going to cover off a few nutritional basics that will aid in your recovery and therefore growth. Before I get into the main points of nutrition, here are a few things that you should be looking to improve over all. Again, please speak to a strength and conditioning coach about the best plan for you. Ok, so here is the list;

• Strength. Good bench marks are 1.5 x BW (body weight) bench, 2 x BW squat and 2.5 x BW deadlift.
• Speed and explosive power. Sprints, jumps, throws etc
• Flexibility and mobility. Please stretch and foam roll people, pretty please...
• Cardio. Not long runs but being able to perform at a higher intensity for longer at your sport.

Ok, so nutrition. For most this is the area that is a mind field and I get that I really do. Every single article you read suggests something different. Intermittent fasting, fasting, carb back loading, low fat, high fat, low carb, the list is endless. I will always say that I don’t subscribe to one single way of doing things. Your body is an adaptive machine so everything works but nothing works forever. It is knowing when and what to use and knowing what works for an individual that makes the difference.  With this in mind here are a few points that I would start the average fighter off on. Again, this is a starting point so please adjust to fit your current body type and goals (or speak to your coach or someone who know what they are talking about.

The idea of the nutrition of an off season is to give your body the ability to recover and grow. Because of this it will need a slight excess of food so that it can do this. This is not an excuse for all you can eat buffets and pizza every night. When it comes to weight gain no more than 20 pounds for a pro fighter (or one that has a day before weigh in) and 10 pounds for everyone else. This way you can still build a good base of muscle but can be a fight camp away from being in shape. A little note about fight weight as some people always wonder what they will fight at. At a Pro level, having a lean lower back and abs are a good base to start!

As we are trying to promote muscle growth without to much fat gain, keeping protein high (a minimum of 1.25g per pound of body weight) and keeping carbs slightly limited but more importantly, timed to certain parts of the day. Carbs have gotten a lot of attention over the last few years and a pretty bad rap. Everyone is suggesting different things. If you haven’t tried one of gazillion methods out there, then I advise taking in 0.75g per pound of body weight and adjusting them from there. I like fighters to have about 30 – 40% of their carbs at breakfast and the rest around their training (before, during, after). People are either taking in to many carbs or not enough. I would err on the side of caution though, it’s always more fun to add in more carbs than take them out. The rest of your plan should focus on good healthy fats that will aid in joint health, hormone production, organ and immune support, fat loss and a load of other goodies (hint, get a good quality fish oil). Don’t fear fat.

With any plan it is the adjustments that are made along the way that will determine its success. Add or lose a pound? Getting faster or slower? Can’t sleep, shit, have sex as much? These are all factors that can be addressed through changes and adjustments in diet. The body is not a static entity, what works one week might not work the next. Factors such as recovery, stress levels and many other things are all factors that can and do, affect training. Making good sound judgements on this data is vital to improving a plan.

So how are going to measure progress while in our off season? The first point of call should be your coach. Tell them what you are doing and the goals you are trying to achieve. This way they can keep you on the right track. Nutrition wise we are focusing on good, clean gains. Changing our bodies composition (better muscle to fat ratio) should always be the goal. Remember, this isn’t body building and we aren’t bulking. We want to add muscle that will be beneficial to us in competition but we don’t want to get sloppy and stray to far from our fighting weight. It is possible to get stronger without adding weight but to be honest, most could do with a few more pounds of muscle. This is why your coach is important, while you think that you are getting ‘swole’, they will know if your performance is declining or improving. If it is improving great. If not, make adjustments so that it is.

Now you have read about a few things that can make a great off season so what next? As stated, discuss it with your coach and someone who knows nutrition. I would personally set up a mini trial with a few goals in mind (improved lifts, better muscle – fat ratio etc) for about 8-12 weeks and give it a go. See what works for you and see what doesn’t. Remember the idea is to improve yourself as a fighter, if it’s not working don’t do it. However if this is something that you love (you’re reading this so I know it is) why not take some time to be better? Train and eat smart and great results can only follow.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Great Article on Training for POWER!

Hey Guys,

Today I wanted to share with you a great article on training.

This programme can be used by those who are looking to get in shape plus by athletes looking to add a bit of extra strength work.

You can find the article HERE

This is well worth a read so let me know what you think!

Stay healthy,

Mike

Fantastic article on Training for Athletes

Hey Guys,

Today I wanted to share with you an article that covers lots of amazing points for athletes and their training.

When you're an athlete that is training in a particular sport it is always hard to know what applies to you and what doesn't. There is so much information out there that even seasoned pro athletes get confused. Personally I always think that it is best to use a professional when you get stuck (I use this guy). this can be your coach, a specialised coach or someone on the internet that has gotten repeated great results with clients.

In THIS ARTICLE Jim Wendler covers a lot of peoples questions including how to structure training for adding size (great for any Physique athletes or people looking to move up a weight class). In fact the full series is a Gold mine for those who train for strength, athletic purposes or just to be a bad ass.

Give it a read and let me know what you think!

Stay Healthy,

Mike

Great Article

Hey Guys,

Recently I read a great article on supplemental work for wrestlers. This would also carry over to any other combat sport.

Take a look at the article HERE and let me know what you think!

Stay healthy,

Mike

Off Season for Fighters Article

Hey Guys,

Today I want to share with you an old article I wrote onOff Season Planning for Fighters.

Competition Nutrition is something that I get asked about a lot, especially by people competing for the first time.  How much should they let their weight go up by? What should they work on?During this article I highlight some strategies that I have used time and time again to help clients take home the Gold!

Enjoy

Fighters love to fight. It’s a fact.

They have something hard wired into their brain that makes them step in the ring, cage or on the mat.

 They NEED to do it, they can’t function in life if they don’t have the sense of competition, camaraderie and achievement that only a fighter knows about. However all this punishment leads them to do stupid things like take fights at the last minute and fight often without adequate rest in between fights. This is partly a coaches fault and partly the fighters. It is my opinion that the further that you move up the ladder of a sport the LESS fights they should take. For example I think a Pro MMA fighter should have a MAXIMUM of 3 fights a year. Any more and you are pretty much never out of camp.

 I believe that all sensibly trained fighters should have a good off season between fights to get better and recover for the next fight. The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of what things to be aiming and watching for from a nutritional standpoint. I must say that this is a brief overview and every single fighter is different. If anyone has any questions then please contact me or speak to your coach, they know you, I don’t.

So what is an off season and what are we looking for during it? An off season is a chunk of time (2-3 months) where a fighter aims to improve their technique, conditioning and strength. So during this time you will be focusing on weaknesses in your game and improving how strong and fast you are.

 At this point I would like to give just one piece of advice to every single fighter, GET STRONGER. Nothing will transfer to all areas of your ability than getting stronger. Trust me. With this in mind I’m going to cover off a few nutritional basics that will aid in your recovery and therefore growth. Before I get into the main points of nutrition, here are a few things that you should be looking to improve over all. Again, please speak to a strength and conditioning coach about the best plan for you. Ok, so here is the list;

• ·       Strength. Good bench marks are 1.5 x BW (body weight) bench, 2 x BW squat and 2.5 x BW deadlift.
• ·       Speed and explosive power. Sprints, jumps, throws etc
• ·       Flexibility and mobility. Please stretch and foam roll people, pretty please...
• ·       Cardio. Not long runs but being able to perform at a higher intensity for longer at your sport.

Ok, so nutrition. For most this is the area that is a mind field and I get that I really do. Every single article you read suggests something different. Intermittent fasting, fasting, carb back loading, low fat, high fat, low carb, the list is endless. I will always say that I don’t subscribe to one single way of doing things. Your body is an adaptive machine so everything works but nothing works forever. It is knowing when and what to use and knowing what works for an individual that makes the difference.  With this in mind here are a few points that I would start the average fighter off on. Again, this is a starting point so please adjust to fit your current body type and goals (or speak to your coach or someone who know what they are talking about.

The idea of the nutrition of an off season is to give your body the ability to recover and grow. Because of this it will need a slight excess of food so that it can do this. This is not an excuse for all you can eat buffets and pizza every night. When it comes to weight gain no more than 20 pounds for a pro fighter (or one that has a day before weigh in) and 10 pounds for everyone else. This way you can still build a good base of muscle but can be a fight camp away from being in shape. A little note about fight weight as some people always wonder what they will fight at. At a Pro level, having a lean lower back and abs are a good base to start!

As we are trying to promote muscle growth without to much fat gain, keeping protein high (a minimum of 1.25g per pound of body weight) and keeping carbs slightly limited but more importantly, timed to certain parts of the day. Carbs have gotten a lot of attention over the last few years and a pretty bad rap. Everyone is suggesting different things. If you haven’t tried one of gazillion methods out there, then I advise taking in 0.75g per pound of body weight and adjusting them from there. I like fighters to have about 30 – 40% of their carbs at breakfast and the rest around their training (before, during, after). People are either taking in to many carbs or not enough. I would err on the side of caution though, it’s always more fun to add in more carbs than take them out. The rest of your plan should focus on good healthy fats that will aid in joint health, hormone production, organ and immune support, fat loss and a load of other goodies (hint, get a good quality fish oil).

 Don’t fear fat.

With any plan it is the adjustments that are made along the way that will determine its success. Add or lose a pound? Getting faster or slower? Can’t sleep, shit, have sex as much? These are all factors that can be addressed through changes and adjustments in diet. The body is not a static entity, what works one week might not work the next. Factors such as recovery, stress levels and many other things are all factors that can and do, affect training. Making good sound judgements on this data is vital to improving a plan.

So how are going to measure progress while in our off season? The first point of call should be your coach. Tell them what you are doing and the goals you are trying to achieve. This way they can keep you on the right track. Nutrition wise we are focusing on good, clean gains. Changing our bodies composition (better muscle to fat ratio) should always be the goal. Remember, this isn’t body building and we aren’t bulking. We want to add muscle that will be beneficial to us in competition but we don’t want to get sloppy and stray to far from our fighting weight. It is possible to get stronger without adding weight but to be honest, most could do with a few more pounds of muscle. This is why your coach is important, while you think that you are getting ‘swole’, they will know if your performance is declining or improving. If it is improving great. If not, make adjustments so that it is.

Stay healthy,

Mike

PS for more details on Nutrition Plans, articles, interviews and product reviews please CLICK HERE

What to eat on Competition Day for BJJ

Hey Guys,

Today I want to share with you an old article I wrote on Competition Day Eating for BJJ.

Competition Nutrition is something that I get asked about a lot, especially by people committing for the first time. During this article I highlight some strategies that I have used time and time again to help clients take home the Gold!

Enjoy

What to eat on Competition day.

Next time you are at a BJJ competition take a look around.

You will see people eating all sorts of crazy and wonderful foods that they think will help give them the edge on the mat. People are looking to get the smallest of advantages on their opponents and walk away with some precious metal around their neck.

But are they wasting their time or even worse, hindering their performance?

The object of this blog post is to try to give you a bit of a better idea on what to eat come competition day.

Before I start going into details of food types etc I am going to have say the classic line of “Speak to your coach and Doctor before you undertake any major changes in diet”. Your coach will know your past history with making weight and your performance, and therefore will know you a lot better than me! Please use this as a rough guide and speak to your coach first.

Making weight for a competition is a highly individual topic well beyond the scope of this blog post. If you are having trouble making weight or are thinking about moving a weight class then speak to your coach or a professional.

OK, so lets talk competition day!

I’m going to assume that most of the people that are reading this post have cut a little weight but nothing to drastic (no silly water cuts etc), you probably wake up on comp day, check your weight then either panic like mad and go running or find you are right on the line and are ready to fight.

This will be about 90% of people.

Most people walk around a few kilos over their weight category and cut a little weight before the competition. They wake up right on the limit that they can be, then head to weigh in. This all goes fine but it is what happens after the weigh in that makes most people feel crap. They eat the wrong foods and either under hydrate or over hydrate to quickly.

So let’s take a look at an idea situation.

Wake up.

Check weight and make sure you are either right on the line or have a little wiggle room. Having a few KG to spare is best for most people as more and more competitions are following the IBJJF lead and having competitors weigh in really close to fight time (let’s assume for this article it’s 45 mins before the first fight).

So if you do indeed have a few KG to spare I recommend having a breakfast of some low GI carbs and a little fat. If you handle gluten well, then oats are a good bet with a spoon full of natural peanut butter.

If you are right on the line then just have a few sips of water and head to the event.

After weigh in.

Now you have 30-45 mins to hydrate and fuel up for the first fight. This is why doing massive water cuts and starving yourself is a bad idea. You’re not going to be able to fuel yourself and hydrate for optimum performance. You also run a high risk of cramp when you are in the fight.

After you have weighed in you want to do the following things,

·      Hydrate.

·      Top off glycogen stores by having some fast acting, easily digestible carbohydrates (being bloated and stuffed when about to fight is a terrible idea).

·      Start warming up.

Now because this is happening in a short time window I recommend having a liquid carb drink that has a low osmolity (clears the stomach quickly and digests easily). Carb sources such as waxy maize, vitargo and highly branched cyclic dextrin are great here. You want to have between 60-100g of carbs depending on your size in about 1500ml of water.

This will allow you to sip this while warming up and be ready to fight in 45 mins. I personally like to have 50g in 600ml water as soon as I have weighed in and another 50g while I am warming up in 1000ml of water (remember I have a few KG to spare and I am not very dehydrated).

Some people like to eat after weighing in. This is fine but you should choose a carb source that is easily digestible and doesn’t give you any issues. This is completely personal and you should know what works best for you due to what you normally eat. White rice or bananas is a safe bet for most people.

What you DON’T want to do is to be eating this like pasta, sandwiches and cheap protein bars. These are often high in sugars and gluten which can effect your already nervous digestive system.

Between Fights

Now at this point you’re not going to have much time between each match.

You want to keep your energy topped up and available for the next fight but not feel full and sluggish.

Most of my clients sip on a carb drink of about 50g of carbs between fights in 2 litres of water. For most people it’s a bad idea for them to try and eat anything as it just makes them feel heavy and bloated.

Obviously if you are fighting in the absolute division or are doing NoGi on the same day then you will want to have something between the two categories. Since there is often a few hours between them this is a good opportunity to have some solid food.

Again you want to stick with easily digestible foods and preferably foods that you are used to. Chicken and white rice with a little bit of olive oil is a very good option for most. This will give you energy but won’t hamper digestion.

Make sure that you are sipping water all the way through the day. Most people pee a lot more on competition days due to nerves and the fight or flight response we all get to people wanting to choke us and pull our limbs off. Ideally you want your wee to be clear every time you go to the toilet.

Having a well though out and organised plan for competition day is a must for every athlete intent on taking home a medal. It gives you one less thing to worry about so that you know that you are fuelled up and ready to fight.

Plan your nutrition just as serious as your training and I guarantee that you will see a difference.

Stay healthy,

Mike

PS for more details on Nutrition Plans, articles, interviews and product reviews please CLICK HERE