Life style pt issue 9

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

The Combat Special

Containing

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STRETCHING

THE PRINCIPLES OF ATHLETIC TRAINING AND PLANNING

MAKING WEIGHT IN BOXING

by Danielle White

by Leighton Girling

+ Much More

ISSUE 9

by Mark Hepplestall

November 2014

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

CONTENTS

ISSUE 9 – THE COMBAT SPECIAL! CONTENTS: 01 5 things you need to know about stretching. By. Danielle White MSMA MISRM. 02 Multi-Tasking. By. Jasmin Waldmann.

03 The principles of athletic training and planning. By. Leighton Girling.

04 Fighters Corner. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

05 The EBOXINGNEWS Book Review. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

06 Negative effects of taking part in Combat Sports. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

. 07 MMA + Fight Previews. By EBOXINGNEWS.

08 The Physical and Mental effects of boxing training. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

09 Making Weight in Boxing. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

10 Lethal Weapon 6 – The War Machine Chronicles. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

11 Reasons to take up Krav Maga. By. Mark “EBOX” Hepplestall.

12 Dive into the Archive (Floyd Patterson). By. Stephen King.

13 BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU AND MOVEMENT. By. Peter “bjjconnected”.

14 Boxing Quiz. By. EBOXINGNEWS.

15 Caveman Inspired Training Adaptations. By. Jim Gale.

16 Chocolate Goodness. By. Chris Collins.

Words from department head Christopher Collins Every few issues we like to make a magazine that has a specific core, this month that core is combat based sports.

We do this to show all our strengths, we have so many great writers now, that it is nearly impossible to jam pack everything into each issue!

We would love for all the writers in this issue to write for us again, each one of your unique articles has made our magazine a combination of light reading and science. For all those who are wanting to write in upcoming issues please feel free to contact me any time so we can discuss ideas and possibilities

As a company we continue to grow and adapt to the rapidly changing fitness industry and we hope that our efforts in this magazine provide enjoyment and interest to all those who read it.

Enjoy the read, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely Christopher Collins, email:chris@lsfptmagazine.co.uk

Lifestyle Fitness PT

5Things you need to | know about stretching

5 Things you need to know about

G N I H C T E R ST

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tretching is always a hot topic in training. From being told to hold a stretch for 10 seconds in physical education to help prevent injury to the recent

debates of stretching vs none stretching. Flexibility in our muscles and tissues is important to maintain function and movement, but there are always times and methods that are best for a more optimal and longer lasting affect from

your stretch program. Here are five things to help maximise stretching for you.

Lifestyle Fitness PT | 1.Muscle fibres don’t just run in straight lines Each muscle is made up of millions of muscle fibres and to allow us to create movement in all planes of motion, these muscle fibres must run in different directions. They run in multiple pathways, from front to back to diagonally, and that could just be fibres within one muscle. Many training programs have now evolved into exercises that cover the three planes of motion; sagittal meaning forwards and back, frontal meaning side to side and transverse meaning rotation. Even though training has progressed, workouts are often completed with the traditional one plane stretches. These stretches may only affect only a small proportion of the muscles fibres that you intend to reach. With the knowledge of muscle anatomy today our stretches should evolve to increase the amount of muscle fibres stretched and gain the most benefits.

The Hip Flexor stretch The Hip Flexor or psoas is a commonly stretched muscle when training for a running event. It attaches from the lumbar spine to the inside of the femur, which means to stretch more of the muscle fibres, the leg and the lumbar spine need to move further apart.

The multi-plane hip flexor stretch • Position yourself in the original stretch position, with one knee on the floor and the other foot forward driving the hips forward. This stretches the muscle in the sagittal plane.

• Then extend the same arm in the air and side bend the torso creating a frontal plane stretch of the psoas.

• Finally twist your body towards the front leg stretching the muscle in a transverse plane.

In this position we are targeting all fibres of the psoas

5Things you need to know about stretching

thus creating a more effective stretch.

Along with having fibres in different directions, muscles often have more than two attachment sites which we need to know in order to accomplish a more specific stretch.

Muscles are often grouped together for a traditional stretch, but adding more planes into the position we can increase the amount of muscle fibres targeted.

The Hamstrings The hamstrings are a group of three muscles; biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. All three muscles begin at the ‘sitting bones’ of the pelvis but the biceps femoris attaches into the outside of the knee and the semitendinosus and semimembranosus attach to the inside.

The Hamstring group stretch • Place your foot on a stool or a bench extending the knee and flexing the torso.

• Slowly rotate your leg inwards to target the biceps femoris • Then slowly rotate your leg outwards to target the semitendionsus and semimembranosus.

2.Everything is connected by fascia When we stretch we affect more than just muscle, we also influence fascia. Fascia connects everything together and is a buzz word in the fitness and massage therapy world.

It is a connective tissue substance that wraps around, separates and connects all structures in the body. Its superficial layers creates a body stocking shaping the human form and its deep layers creates a tight knit spider’s web connecting everything together, including muscles and muscle fibres.

In his book Anatomy Trains, Tom Myers suggests that the spiders web of fascia runs in pathways across the body, pocketing muscle tissue along the way. When we stretch one muscle in a certain pathway, other muscles are affected and extended just like when you tug on a corner

Lifestyle Fitness PT | of your jumper and the rest of it stretches. The downward dog is a stretch that extends an entire pathway.

It targets the superficial back line which begins in the plantar fascia underneath the foot round the back of the body attaching to the top of the eyebrows. It is a great stretch if you wear high heels daily.

With its spider’s web like form, fascia has elastic properties and can recoil similar to a yo-yo. The classic stretch program tends to only affect and stretch the fascia that runs alongside the muscle fibres. In order to influence the whole of the fascia stocking, we need to use its stored kinetic energy. By actively loading fascia, just like you would roll up the string in a yo-yo before you let go, then releasing, it extends and stretches then recoils back. By doing this we lengthen fascia in all directions. One way of doing this is by using counter-movements to generate the recoil in fascia. Bend your torso forwards to recoil then extend your body backwards into a torso stretch then repeat recoiling again. Keep the momentum like a pendulum and as smooth as possible to affect fascia and not just muscle fibres.

3.You can get injured from stretching If we repeat movements regularly, over a period of time they will become habitual and our muscles will adapt to make that movement easier. This often results in some muscles becoming stronger and others weaker. As we know from point two our structures are connected to each other and this means the change of movement pattern will have an effect on the rest of the body, like the pull on the jumper.

Over time, muscles that are working ineffectively begin to develop adhesions or micro tears in the muscle fibres creating unhealthy tissue.

By adding stretches to these weak or hypertonic muscles places greater pressure on the fibres potentially causing strains and creating further scar tissue.

5 Things you need to know about stretching

Lifestyle Fitness PT | pies IASI Yearbook 2011 , 68-77 Stretching doesn’t help injured muscle tissue, but massage does. Using foam roller or a tennis ball regularly and investing in the occasional sports massage will help reduce these muscle adhesions and improve the health of your muscle fibres.

4.Avoid static stretches as part of your warm up There is always a place for static stretching and until most recently that was in the warm up and the cool down of exercise. Static stretches still have their place in training as a great corrective exercise tool, but not as part of a warm up. They are designed to increase length of soft tissue and by doing this they de-activate the muscle fibres and reduce their ability to contract resulting in decreased strength. The warm up should prepare the body for movement and exercise ahead, and reducing muscular contraction isn’t what you want if you are about to deadlift.

Unlike static stretches, dynamic stretches activate muscle fibres and lubricates the joints by increasing synovial fluid. If your warm up imitates your workout it can recruit the correct motor units required. Add lunges in all three planes of motion as a dynamic stretch before you go out for a run and see how your muscles feel.

5 Things you need to know about stretching

allowing you to increase stretch further and relax into each position, which is why yoga is often completed in a calming environment. If you struggle with time and you add stretching at the end of training, take some deep breaths before you begin and during each stretch to help activate your ‘rest and digest’ system.

With all of these points in mind, it is worth noting that everyone is different. The stretches that work for one may not necessarily work for another; our bodies are unique, varying in muscle lengths to the way our tissues will respond to stretches. Each of the points above can be adapted into a personal program to make the most out of flexibility and range of movement training. If you are not sure of the best stretches for you, have a chat with a personal trainer or a sports massage therapist who will be able to design a bespoke program for you.

5.Stretch away from your training Most gym sessions end with a stretch session; whether it’s a quick maintenance stretch or a detailed whole body programme it usually precedes a tough workout. You can stretch at any time of the day, but your stretching programme would have the greatest benefits when completed away from training. When we exercise the sympathetic nervous system is activated. This is the ‘flight or fight’ response where breathing, heart rate and body temperature increases. You may find it difficult to relax into the stretch at this point as your body is in its ‘fight’ mode.

The parasympathetic nervous system is the opposite and is often known as the ‘rest and digest’ system. During this time tension is released in soft tissues and muscles

By Danielle White MSMA MISRM Restorewellbeing.co.uk danielle@restorewellbeing.co.uk Myers, T. (2009) Anatomy Trains second edition London:Elsevier Rubini, E.C., Costa, A.L.L., and Gomez, P.S.C. (2007) The effects of stretching on strength performance, Sports Med. 37 (3), 213-214 Muller, D.G., Schliep, R. (2011) Fascial Fitness: Fascia oriented training for bodywork and movement thera-

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

MULTI TASKING

g n i k s a T i t l Mu

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ince long I am a keen observer of people, their behaviour, their work structure, life patterns. Also usage of technology aids like cellphones, tablets and computers in relation to the above.

When I request my clients, in their first session of coaching to switch off their mobiles it invariably leads to the subject of “multitasking�.

Irritation is the general reaction .Then begins the journey of making them agree on an experiment .The experiment of being complete while doing any task.

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

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hen I request my clients, in their first session of coaching to switch off their mobiles it invariably leads to the subject of “multitasking”. Irritation is the general reaction .Then begins the journey of making them agree on an experiment .The experiment of being complete while doing any task.

Often I hear “multitasking makes me feel productive and sufficient”. Yes and let´s face it: people love to tick things off from the to-do-list. Yes it is proved that the felt stress level drops down after finishing one or two tasks. By the way- a lot of people don´t create a to-do-list and thus are more prone to doing tasks coming out of an imagined list anytime anywhere.

But this is a different story.

In my perspective Multitasking is usually a lost cause. Just imagine while driving talking on the phone without headset. Or sending an email while talking to a friend over the phone. See it as it is: it is not efficient nor harmless. There was recently a study published. It says the outcome of doing tasks simultaneously is that we end up doing none as well as we should, because our brain has cognitive limits.

We think we do two things at once but our brains are actually toggling between them.

So we are in a split, thus the results are inefficient and internal stress increases.

What other specialists says Dr. Kamal Khurana, psychologist and director, the counseling institute in New Delhi, says the constant pressure of multitasking has been seen to lead to burn out, boredom towards basic chores, irritation, temper outbursts, disturbed performance at work and body pain. We Experts believe that it´s possible to break the multitasking habit and sharpen your focus.

The solution

In order to support your clients to stay -or get back –

MULTI TASKING

into happiness and health It is important to train them on how to do one thing at a time.

Your support as a Personal Trainer Your clients need a start and they need you as a support. The entrances with them can be various.

Start with them to create a to-do-list and make together a plan for the new targets. This has to be SMART. Specific (significant), Measurable, Achievable (only by yourself), Relevant (Result based) and Time-bound (time frame).

Agree on limitations and insist on clear instructions from them! They are the experiment so it has to be with their willingness.

Do it like A J Jacobs (Author of the bestseller “The guinea pig diaries”)? He pledged to quit multitasking for one month. “Whenever I noticed my mind wandering – which was pretty constantly – I´d gently guide my thoughts back”. A trial would bring great results– it´ll be more than worth it.

My clients are grateful that we did the experiment.

Motivate them to embrace the silence. Most likely the mental calm will have positive effects by reducing activity in neural circuits associated with negative thinking, perceptions and behavior while enhancing the activity in those circuits that support positive perceptions.

As a Personal Trainer you should practice what you preach.

So start with yourself first!

Have a “20 minute me-time” every day. Relax and do something you really like and enjoy.

Set a time frame for at least 21 days where you try to follow your targets as best as you can.

Most important Enjoy yourself!

Yours, Jasmin

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

The Principles of Athletic Training and Planning

The Principles of Athletic Training and Planning

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t is widely accepted that there are principles that will contribute to higher percentage of successful performances. The following is what I usually use to guide my athletes training, these principles have seen clear improvement in athletes already of international standard.

Lifestyle Fitness PT | 1.Train moderately

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he body has physical limits to speed, strength, power and endurance. It’s not wise to test these limits too frequently in training as this will lead to overtraining. If you train within your limits for the majority of sessions, most sessions will be completed. As will a high percentage of the training plan. I cannot be clear enough to my athletes, individual sessions are not as important as overall total training sessions completed.

Training to exhaustion is an absolute mistake. This is because when glycogen the body’s storage system of carbohydrate runs low, performance is affected. Willpower is not sufficient to prevent the body slowing.

The knock on effect of this is that the body’s ability to adapt may be exceeded, recovery delayed and the consistency of training can be greatly disrupted. One of the biggest mistakes of most athletes is that the make they easy days too hard, so that when it comes to the hard days they cannot train hard enough.

The higher your fitness level, the greater difference should be between your hard and easy intensities. If a training zone is set by heart rate I generally encourage my athlete to stay at the mid to lower range of that zone. That way they are much less likely to train outside of the prescribed zone.

2.Train consistently We are pre-programmed to follow routine. A regular weekly training cycle will guarantee some positive adaption. This does not mean the same workout should be completed daily as variety promotes growth. Breaks in consistency usually occur when the ‘train moderately’ principle is not followed.

Overdoing several training sessions will likely cause, fatigue, illness, burnout or injury. Fitness is never static; you are always improving or deteriorating.

Frequently missing training sessions leads to a drop in fitness. One golden rule is not to train when ill.

The Principles of Athletic Training and Planning

The point here is; • If it’s a head-cold consider training at low intensity.

• If it’s the neck down (especially chest) do not train, rest instead.

3.Rest frequently

The bottom line of training is that the body adapts and improves whilst you rest. Training stress is the stimulus and resting is when the adaption / changes take place.

As the stress of training increases so does the required volume of rest. Amongst amateur athletes this is the most widely abused principle, which is why a coach should objectively decide on rest days and training days.

Factors to aid good quality sleep • Going to sleep at a regular time.

• Sleeping in a dark well ventilated room, this is between 16 and 18 degrees Celsius.

• Taking a warm bath before bed.

• Avoiding stimulants that contain caffeine in the 2 hours before bed.

• Restricting alcohol intake, which interferes with sleep patterns, prior to bed.

4.Train with a plan Systematic and methodical training are two underlying factors of a successful athlete. I cannot say that it is not possible to become a successful athlete without a highly structured system and method. However results are much more easily validated with structured periodization, than with unstructured training.

Planning is the heart of training, the bigger the goal or event the more important this is. Realize that all plans can be changed and tweaked, but predominantly follow the plan. Accept that many factors will get in the way.

These may include a virus, family commitments or having to work overtime. With a plan and outcome goal in mind the chances of success and continued motivation are far higher. In general a detailed plan allows an athlete to maintain perspective even after a bad training session or result.

Lifestyle Fitness PT | 5.Train with groups infrequently In some sports there are real advantages to training in groups. However in most endurance sports a plan has prescribed intensity and set durations for work and training volume. The fact is that even similar athletes have a different level of fitness. For example a run intended to be upper zone 2(heart rate) for one athlete may turn out to be lower zone 3 for another, even if they post similar race results.

Make no mistake training with others is a great motivator, in poor weather or when tired and so on. But inevitably group training can easily deteriorate into unstructured races. This will be not at the correct or planned training intensity. The classic example would be 30 minutes recovery at zone 1 that ends up being predominantly zone 2-3, sending mixed adaption stimuli to the brain. When in reality you are looking for consistent training stimuli to provide predictable improvement.

6.Plan to peak When planning a season you should aim to peak for the most important event. In this instance we will refer to them A,B and C races.

• C races are tune-ups to get you ready for the B and C races. Ideal for practicing pacing or trying out different pacing methods.

• B races are ideal when you are coming to form to perfectly assess current fitness and keep training stress high.

• A races are the number one priority that will require rest and tapering to achieve the best performance.

Taken from my recent article; Periodization suggested guidelines

The Principles of Athletic Training and Planning

1. Start at the target event and work backwards, the total training volume should decrease and intensity increase as the event nears.

2. Write a plan and make sure your client sticks to it, be sure to include rest days for super-compensation and adaption.

When tapering you need to be aware it takes 10 to 21 days of reduced workload for the human body to be fully ready to race.

7.Work on your weaknesses With the help of a coach an athlete should be able to establish what these are. Some examples might be; • Recurring calf strain, shows a lack of conditioning.

• High aerobic capacity, but poor maximal sustainable pace (lactate threshold).

• High V02 max but low aerobic capacity.

• Poor flexibility, leading to a poor range of movement.

Most clients will have a basic idea of what they aren’t good at, often the exact training they avoid. Training in these areas will cause adaption / improvement, creating a more rounded athlete.

8.Trust your training There is something I frequently say to my athletes, ‘a plan is a plan is a plan’. It is very easy to deviate from pre-determined training or ‘try something that worked previously’, when a race or a training session does not go to plan. The great thing about a coach is that they will be objective and not emotionally swayed by recent performances.

9.Listen to your body Internal feedback is undervalued, it’s simple you have

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

a lifetime of experience in this. Take language as an example, if a word is pronounced incorrectly its almost instinctive to now this. Let your body tell you when you absolutely must rest or if an injury is not truly recovered.

The Principles of Athletic Training and Planning

mat. I make a point of discussing them in training, that way principles like rest are much more likely to be observed. Staying within your training limits, resting sufficiently and listen to your body. This will prevent illness, injury, overtraining and burn out. Without these problems the chances of success are significantly greater.

10.Commit to goals If you want to achieve things you have never achieved before then you need to do things differently. By breaking this down into large and smaller goals it is easier to maintain perspective and motivation. I think that having reviewed the previous 9 principles, weaknesses and what’s realistically achievable from a training plan. Goals can be changed but large goals should be fairly static.

Summary

The principles of athletic training and planning should be seen as a checklist or criteria. Make the athlete fully aware of them, always in a written for

Leighton Girling This former international athlete and coach, is an experienced Personal trainer and Fitness specialist.

Who provides one to one, group training, nutritional advice and online coaching.

Contact : 07866621593 www.tonefitness.co.uk

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Fighters Corner Interviews

s w e i v r e t n I ers Corner

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Demetrius Andrade is the current WBO Light Middleweight champion and boasts an undefeated record of 21 fights with 14 KO’s, undefeated.

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Fighters Corner Interviews Demetrius Andrade Interview EBOX – A lot of noise being made in your division, how impressed where you with Saul Alvarez Vs Erislandy Lara ?

Andrade – I didn’t care for the fight, it didn’t matter who won or lost to me, I wanted the winner, I want them any time, whenever they are ready. I am not running or ducking, I want the people who have the belts and there are some top class fighters in the weight division, there is Canelo, Lara, Cotto and Mayweather. If Mayweather is fighting a Maidana rematch at 147lbs (welterweight) then he has to drop some things because I want to fight him and will keep calling him out until he responds.

EBOX – Who do you want to fight next?

Andrade – I would want to fight Cotto next if that is possible, if that’s not possible I want to fight Saul Alvarez because just like me he wants to fight later in the year around November hopefully before thanksgiving so I whoop his ass, have a good thanksgiving and Christmas and start the new year with a bang and fight someone else’s ass.

and he had 25 wins 1 loss and a draw, I have beat those guys and now I am taking over. I have an old school mentality which is I want to fight the best and the best have belts so those are the guys I have to fight.

EBOX – What would you say to Floyd Mayweather if he was here?

Andrade – All I would say is if you are going to hold onto the 154lbs belts you are in my way and I want to fight you, if you are staying at 147lbs then you have to drop the belts because I have goals too and want to become a legend and I need that belt, so fight me or drop the belt so I can scrap for it with someone else.

Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley Interview: Corley talks about his career

fighting one of boxing’s best fighters in Floyd Mayweather

EBOX – You have worked with Shawn Porter, how have you found working with Porter?

Andrade – we have a great time working together, it’s fun, we fool around but in a good way to get the best out of each other and push each other, it’s great to be in with another world champ so I can train hard and get in some good sparring EBOX – Not many people have called you out at 154lbs, why do you think that is?

Andrade – because they have seen my previous fights, I don’t play games I come to win and I come to fight whoever and I am ready to fight whoever, I want to fight Canelo (Saul Alvarez), the Charlo twins, James Kirkland all of those guys. I stepped up and fought Vanes Martirosyan when he was 33-0, I stepped up and fought my mandatory Brian Rose

EBOX – Are you still continuing with your career?

Corley – yes, I am still continuing to fight, still looking for another belt, working on a few projects for August or September, hopefully at lightweight, I am not fighting at 140lbs anymore unless the money is right EBOX – You gave Floyd Mayweather a good fight and hurt him, not many people can say that

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Fighters Corner Interviews Corley – that was a great opportunity for me, Floyd is a great fighter but we knew we were stronger then Floyd because that was his first fight at 140lbs and we knew we could catch him if he exchanged with me and if we could catch him we could hurt him.

The gameplan was to make him exchange with us so I could counter and catch him but once I hurt Floyd he changed his tactics and didn’t want to exchange and instead went to pot shotting me.

EBOX – You Sparred with Floyd right after you fought right?

Corley – yeah we sparred after we fought, I went out to Vegas and helped him get ready for the Zab Judah fight, it was a business deal, Floyd wanted my help because I fought Judah and Floyd and could bring something to the table helping him get ready for the fight.

EBOX – Why didn’t you get the fight with Kostya Tszyu?

Corley – I honestly do not know why I did not get the fight with Kostya Tszyu at 140lbs, but I would have loved to fight him. But I did get the chance to spar with Tszyu for the Sharmba Mitchell fight and that was a great experience for me. I didn’t like Mitchell and he didn’t like me, I probably shouldn’t go into why, its personal.

EBOX – you had a great performance against Paul McCloskey Corley – it was an opportunity for me to come to Ireland to face McCloskey and I knew that I had to knock him out to win the fight, I could not let the fight go to the scorecards, from the beginning I knew I had to win

by KO so we kept applying pressure, make him make

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Fighters Corner Interviews mistakes and then knock him out.

Courtney Fry interview

EBOX - You have a shoulder injury, can tell the fans about that?

Courtney Fry is coming off a KO loss to the still active Roy Jones Jr in a fight in Latvia.

EBOX – You broke onto the scene after the Sidney Olympic Games, back then it was just you and Audley and since then you have been put in hard fights Fry – yeah that’s going back abit, I have been matched hard in hard fights and in short notice fights, but it’s been an experience, it’s a learning curve. I have been up and down in my career and I have lost some fights but a lot of the losses are to the likes of Nathan Cleverly and Enzo Maccarinelli who are former world champions, recently I lost to Roy Jones Jr and he is a legend, he caught me with a crazy left hook and put me down.

EBOX - How did the fight with Roy Jones Jr come about?

Fry – My manager, he knows a lot of people and he knows all the boxers and he looks after his boxers. Most managers and promoters are just after their cut, but mine really looks after his boxers and tries to get them good fights.

EBOX – how would you rate Roy Jones Jr today?

Fry – He is still sharp, I was shocked, he was making me miss and I couldn’t hit him, I got a few shots through like a good chopping right hand but he took it well. He came back with his shots, he was fast.

EBOX - What was your Gameplan?

Fry – we had a good gameplan, it was to go in there and take our time and take him the distance because he believed our conditioning would be better, he would have been sluggish and his reactions would not be as sharp but it didn’t go that far and it wasn’t to be.

Keith Thurman Interview on his shoulder injury

Thurman – It’s the life of a power puncher man, I have the ability to hurt people but at the same time the ability to hurt myself, I was feeling pain in my left shoulder, I had a few scans in hospital and luckily found out that there is no tear in the muscle, which I didn’t think there was anyway because I could move it in every direction without having bad pain but I have to do what the doctor told me to do which is have some physiotherapy and keep icing it down.

EBOX - Rumours suggest you could be fighting in October, is that realistic?

Thurman – we shall have to see what the boxer says, I am doing the therapy to recover as quickly as I can, I am still training in terms of road work and I should be back for October as long as this inflamed shoulder goes down.

EBOX – Who do you want next?

Thurman – Whoever I can get! Robert Guerrero if I can get him in the ring, Amir Khan or Devon Alexander are the names I would like to go with.

EBOX – it seems no other fighters suggest they want to fight you Thurman – yeah, there are a lot of names out there and if they could go out there and fight someone who would make them look good then they will do that and that is the case with the welterweight division today, Keith Thurman however will fight anybody and that is what I have to do.

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

The EBOXINGNEWS Book Review

s w e i v r e t n I er n r o C s r e t h g Fi w e i v r e t n I e d ra d n A s u i r t e Dem

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emetrius Andrade is the current WBO Light Middleweight champion and boasts an undefeated record of 21 fights with 14 KO’s, undefeated.

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Mike Tyson Autobiogrphy ‘Undisputed Truth’ From bullied boy on the streets of Brownsville to Heavyweight Champion of the world and then the dark days of addiction and losing it all

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his autobiography gives just what the title suggests, the undisputed truth of Mike Tyson’s life, the good, the bad and all the nitty gritty of his wins, losses and an in depth look at Tyson’s personal demons. The book focuses for a large period on the early conditions in Mike Tyson’s upbringing, revealing all about Mike Tyson’s life pre Cus D’Amato and also a large portion of the book focuses on how Cus D’Amato moulded the future world heavyweight champion and under what conditions all while getting real insight into the mind of Tyson at the time. The book goes on to show real insight into the boxing career of Mike Tyson from his point of view.

Later post boxing career the book shows the demons taking over in Mike Tyson’s life and Mike explaining it from his point of view.

Discussing the best and worst aspects of the book really depends on what you like in a book, for myself the best aspects of the book was the deep insight into Mike Tyson’s mind throughout the book, it was like watching a car crash in slow motion, a lot of boxing books and autobiographies while still very well worth a read do not go the extra mile to explain the thought process of the boxer in question like this book does.

The worst aspects of the book for myself was that it felt that the descriptions of the fights in Mike Tyson’s career could have been more in depth but for the most part just like the fights, they were short and sweet. Also for UK readers, the book was unable to

The EBOXINGNEWS Book Review

discuss parts of Mike Tyson’s rape case due to UK law restricting what can be stated, which is in no point the fault of Tyson or other people contributing to writing the autobiography but is still disappointing.

The autobiography is excellent, it gives deep insight into every aspect of Mike Tyson’s life and is like watching a car crash unfold before your eyes, other than the unfortunate, yet inevitable (due to UK law) restrictions when the rape case unfolds, there is very little to dislike. This is one autobiography that all boxing fans should try and read.

Mark out of 10 9/10 – (show 9 stars out of 10)

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

Negative effects of taking part in Combat Sports

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This article focuses on the negatives of taking up Combat Sports at a high level..

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Negative effects of taking part in Combat Sports Throughout this magazine issue we have specified many of the positive physical and mental attributes people will acquire when they become heavily involved in combat sports such as MMA and Boxing.

But this article focuses on the negatives of taking up Combat Sports at a high level.

1) The American Association of Neurological Surgeons says that 90% of boxers will have sustained some degree of brain injury by the end of their careers.

2) in 1928 the first case of Dementia Pugilistica was made, it is a neurodegenerative disease with features of dementia that may affect amateur or professional boxers, wrestlers, MMA fighters as well as athletes in other sports who suffer concussions. The average time of onset of Dementia Pugilistica being about 12 to 16 years after the start of a fighting career, it is estimated to effect between 15-20% of professional boxers.

3) Professional boxers suffer from the cumulative effect of damage to the brain, often resulting in punch drunk’ syndrome, the writer of this article has personally witnessed this when he interviewed a retired world champion boxer.

4) In 2008, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published a study of injuries sustained during sanctioned MMA competitions. According to their findings, the most common reported injuries were lacerations and upper extremity injuries. The most frequent injuries are broken bones.

5) There have been deaths recorded in both Boxing and MMA matches over the years, however it must be stressed recently more professional footballers died on the football pitch than boxers and MMA fighters inside the Ring/Cage.

Negative effects of taking part in Combat Sports

Lifestyle Fitness PT

Effects of MMA workouts |on Health and Fitness

uts o k r o w A M Effects of M ss e n t i F & h t l a on He ws e i v r e t n I r e n r Fighters Co w e i v r e t n I e rad d n A s u i r t e Dem

This article focuses on the negatives of taking up Combat Sports at a high level..

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Effects of MMA workouts on Health & Fitness

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eople often wonder how MMA workouts effect your Health and Fitness, here are a number of health benefits for people who partake in mixed martial arts.

Increased Confidence Knowing you are able to handle yourself in numerous difficult situations helps to build confidence, the more people train, the more confident they become in their abilities.

Discipline People who do mixed martial arts training learn discipline inside and outside of the cage, inside the cage discipline can be from following a game plan to outside the ring learning discipline when dieting and also controlling themselves in situations outside the cage.

Offers Stress relief Physical activity is known to reduce stress, outside stresses are put to the side when people take part in combat sports because they need to focus totally on the combat sport they are taking part in.

Physical and Mental training Physical conditioning is one of the most important aspects of boxing and MMA. The training associated with these sports incorporate routines designed to increase strength, stamina, flexibility and all around condition so that athletes can go rounds without tiring. Strength and speed training are important, both of which are crucial parts of boxing and MMA training, training improves an athlete’s ability to perform explosive movements.

Effects of MMA workouts on Health and Fitness

Teaches Self Defence It is very important for people to learn Self Defence techniques to protect themselves if the situation calls for it, MMA is invaluable for self-protection.

Improved Balance and Coordination When people do MMA training they can find improvements in balance as the training conditions you to quickly shift your weight and change directions.

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

EBOXINGNEWS September Boxing Results

ts l u s e R g n i x tember Bo

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ws e i v r e t n I r e n r Fighters Co w e i v r e t n I e rad d n A s u i r t e Dem

EBOXINGNEWS SEPTEMBER BOXING RESULTS

Lifestyle Fitness PT | 6th September 2014 Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK Kiko Martinez Vs Carl Frampton IBF Super Bantamweight title fight

EBOXINGNEWS September Boxing Results

U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Adrien Broner Vs Emmanuel Taylor Official Result Adrien Broner wins Unanimous Decision 116-111, 115-112, 116-111

Carl Frampton won the IBF Super Bantamweight title by unanimous decision in Northern Ireland, Martinez showed a good chin and heart to succeed by continuously trying to break Frampton’s heart and mount dangerous attacks, Frampton was always a step ahead of his Spanish opponent and knocked Martinez down in the 5th but couldn’t finish the fight in the 5th and instead ran out wide decision victor over Martinez.

In an entertaining and competitive fight Broner edged out Taylor to come a step closer to a world title shot at Light Welterweight. Taylor started the fight fast and strong looking to throw combinations to the head and body and built up an early lead, unfortunately broner has experience in the championship rounds while Taylor had only been 10 rounds previous, Taylor started to gas in the second half of the fight and Broner was looking to edge the fight, in the 12th round knowing all was at stake both fighters tried to win the round with Taylor winning the majority of the final round until a huge uppercut sent Taylor crashing to the floor and with it a 10-8 round to broner which sealed the fight.

Eamonn O’Kane Vs Virgilijus Stapulionis

Lucas Matthysse Vs Roberto Ortiz

Official Result – Technical Draw

Official Result – Lucas Matthysse KO R2

In a shock Eamonn O’Kane and Virgilijus Stapulionis fought to a technical draw in a one sided fight, unluckily for Stapulionis he suffered an accidental cut and it was a bad cut and the referee stopped the fight before it became an official bout (4 full rounds) O’Kane showed a terrible defence, was wobbled numerous times in round 1 and was given a standing 8 count in the first round after taking 8 unanswered punches that backed O’Kane up and almost sent O’Kane over the top rope. In round 2 after more of the same a cut was opened above Stapulionis’s eye, the trainer attempted to put vasaline on it, which resulted in Stapulionis getting a 1 point deduction.

The fight was over in the 4th after the doctor decided the eye damage was too bad to continue resulting in a technical draw.

What was expected to be a mismatch was indeed a mismatch, even though Ortiz boasted a 32 fight undefeated record there was not a single decent opponent on that record unlike on Matthysse’s record. Ortiz tried to use his height and reach effectively in the first round but looked afraid of Matthysse’s reputation, the fight was over in the 2nd round after a body shot landed and winded Ortiz enough for him to miss the count, end the fight and give Matthysse his 34th KO in 36 wins.

Andre Berto Vs Steve Upsher Chambers Official Result – Andre Berto wins Unanimous Decision 99-91, 99-91, 99-91 This was just a comeback fight for Andre Berto and was expected to win, it was not the best fight of the night but it was competitive and Berto outclassed his opponent at times and the longer the fight went on, the worse Chambers’s face got. Berto however just didn’t seem to have the power or the ability to pull the trigger to knock his opponent out, it could be suggested Berto is past his best.

Official result Carl Frampton Unanimous decision 119-108, 119-108, 118-111

Lifestyle Fitness PT 13th September 2014 Manchester Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom

EBOXINGNEWS | September Boxing Results

Floyd Mayweather Jr Vs Marcos Maidana – WBC & WBA welterweight title fight, WBC Light Middleweight title

Scott Quigg Vs Stephane Jamoye –

Official Result – Floyd Mayweather wins a unanimous decision

WBA (regular) Super Bantamweight title fight

116-111, 116-111, 115-112

Official Result – Scott Quigg KO 3

Anthony Crolla Vs Gamaliel Diaz

Floyd Mayweather again beat Marcos Maidana on points in a less competitive fight then their previous fight. Mayweather didn’t stand on the ropes in this fight, Maidana was not as aggressive as in the first fight and allowed Mayweather to control the movement in the fight. Mayweather however got tagged by a big right hand from Maidana that wobbled him and kept him on his bike for the next few rounds. Controversially towards the end of the fight Floyd Mayweather claimed Marcos Maidana was biting him on his hand, which caused the referee to say to Maidana “I don’t know what you have done but cut it out” clearly the referee didn’t have the greatest nights work.

Official Result – Technical Draw

Miguel Vazquez Vs Mickey Bey

In a total non-starter of a fight, a cut due to a clash of heads stopped this fight at the end of round 3, the fight was close and competitive with both fighters just feeling each other out neither really winning the fight when the cut happened.

IBF Lightweight title fight

Anthony Joshua Vs Konstantin Airich

In a terrible fight to watch, mirrored by a shocking decision, Mickey Bey beat Miguel Vazquez to claim the IBF Lightweight title. Not much can be said about this fight, it was bad to watch and they have recently just said they are having a rematch to the horror of all the fans. Most people thought Vazquez done enough to win but the judges had a different idea and gifted Mickey Bey the world title.

Scott Quigg successfully defended his WBA Super Bantamweight title by knocking out late replacement boxer Stephane Jamoye via body-shots in round 3 of their fight. Jamoye was always there trying to compete toe to toe with Scott Quigg which was possibly his first mistake. Quigg is such a good body puncher and Stephane Jamoye was too small, had too leaky a defence and was too ready to trade all accumulating in a round 3 KO off a sickening body-shot.

Official Result – Anthony Joshua KO 3 Anthony Joshua took his time in this fight, he probably could have knocked out his opponent out at will if he really went for it, Joshua landed some good shots in a combination on Airich in round 3 which sent Airich down to one knee, after the 8 count Airich was backed up to the ropes, Joshua unloaded a combination to the head and the fight was stopped to protect Airich.

MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Official Result – Mickey Bey wins Split Decision 113115, 109-119, 115-113

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Leo Santa Cruz Vs Manuel Roman – WBC Super Bantamweight title fight Official Result – Santa Cruz KO 2 What was expected to be a mismatch beforehand turned out to be exactly that, the extremely overmatched Manuel Roman was knocked out in the 2nd round by a big right hand from Leo Santa Cruz, who bagged a cool $700K for 5 minutes work.

Alfredo Angulo Vs James De La Rosa Official Result – James De La Rosa unanimous decision 98-90, 96-92, 99-89 James De La Rosa shocked Alfredo Angulo on Angulo’s middleweight debut, De La Rosa threw a good punch output and utilized movement in the early rounds and even scored a flash knockdown in round 2. Angulo tried to rally late and looked to be coming on strong until Angulo was deducted a point in the 7th for low blows which was a harsh call by the referee. In the end James De La Rosa done more than enough to win the fight and put Angulo’s career in major trouble.

20th September 2014 Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, UK Christopher Rebrasse Vs George Groves EBU Super Middleweight title Official Result – George Groves wins Unanimous decision 118-110, 118-110, 117-111 George Groves won the EBU Super Middleweight title by unanimous decision over Christopher Rebrasse, Groves threw a large punch output but could

EBOXINGNEWS September Boxing Results

not find the perfect punch to knockdown or knockout his opponent, Rebrasse was also competitive and showed a good defence blocking a lot of Groves’s shots on the arms and gloves, but never really got an assault going of his own.

Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, USA Thabiso Mchunu Vs Garrett Wilson Official Result – Mchunu wins Unanimous Decision 99-90, 96-93, 98-91 The talented Mchunu won another decision with a dominating performance against cruiserweight Garrett Wilson to win the NABF cruiserweight title, Mchunu showed excellent athletic ability, great defence and good counter punching to dominate this fight.

27th September 2014 Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Arthur Abraham Vs Paul Smith WBO Super Middleweight title Official Result – Arthur Abraham wins Unanimous decision 119-109, 117-111, 117-111 Arthur Abraham beat Paul Smith to keep his WBO Super Middleweight title, Abraham toyed with his opponent for the early period of the fight and dominated Smith through rounds 6 to 8 with only round 2 being won by Smith, Abraham however gassed out in the later rounds and allowed Smith back into the fight from rounds 9 to 11 but Abraham closed well in the 12th almost knocking Smith down when he walked into a right hand, comically the British commentators thought Smith won and was robbed on the cards, throughout the fight they showed very little objectivity and may as well have been sitting in the fan section waving “Team Smith” banners, but the vast majority of

Lifestyle Fitness PT press and boxing fans agreed the correct boxer won the fight. It is however worrying that Abraham is squeezing past Paul Smith when he should be totally dominating and stopping this calibre of opponent.

Moscow, Russia Krzysztof Wlodarczyk Vs Grigory Drozd WBC Cruiserweight title Official Result – Grigory Drozd wins Unanamous Decision 119-108, 119-109, 119-108 Grigory Drozd won the WBC cruiserweight title against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Drozd used a high work-rate edged his opponent in the early rounds and later dropped Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in the 8th round. Wlodarczyk shown heart and determination but was just beaten by the better fighter on the night.

Denis Lebedev Vs Pawel Kolodziej WBA Cruiserweight title Official Result – Lebedev KO 2 Denis Lebedev knocked out Pawel Kolodziej in the 2nd round of their WBA cruiserweight title fight, Lebedev dominated his overmatched opponent and landed a huge right hook on the chin of Kolodziej causing the fighter to crash down to the canvas when the fight was stopped.

EBOXINGNEWS | September Boxing Results

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

MMA Fight Schedule

MMA Fight Schedule MMA October Bout List October 10th 2014

in his 5th fight, Usyk won the Gold medal at heavy weight in the London Olympics, he also fought for Ukraine in the Beijing Olympics and won a bronze medal and a gold medal in Milan and Baku World Championships. Usyk is moving fast in his professional career and soon could be targeting a world title fight.

October 11th 2014

First Direct Arena, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom Josh Warrington Vs Davide Dieli – EBU featherweight title

October 17th 2014

Featherweight prospect take on Davide Dieli for the EBU Featherweight title, Josh Warrington has been taking big strides in his career in 2014 and is about to move onto European level. Questions still need to be answered on Josh’s power, but he has a good engine and very fast hand-speed but this is a very important fight for Warrington’s career.

BELLATOR MMA - BELLATOR 128 Winstar World Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States Eduardo Dantes Vs Joe Warren – Bantamweight fight World series of fighting 14: SHIELDS VS. FORD Edmonton Expo Centre at Northlands, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Ryan Ford Vs Jake Shields – Welterweight fight

Bellator MMA – Bellator 129 Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States Josh Neer Vs Paul Bradley – Welterweight fight

October 24th 2014

World Series Of Fighting 15: Branch Vs Okami David Branch Vs Yushin Okami – Middleweight title fight BELLATOR MMA – BELLATOR 130 Emanuel Newton vs. Linton Vassell – Light Heavyweight Title

October 25th 2014

UFC 179: Aldo vs. Mendes 2 Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes – Featherweight title fight Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira

October Boxing Bout List 4th October 2014 Arena Lviv Stadium, Lviv, Ukraine Oleksandr Usyk Vs Daniel Bruwer Top Ukrainian amateur prospect fights Daniel Bruwer

Undercard includes Brian Rose, Ricky Burns and Callum Smith all in mismatches not worth mentioning Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, USA Rances Barthelemy Vs Fernando David Saucedo – IBF Super Featherweight title Cuban boxer Barthelemy will take on Argentinian boxer Saucedo for the IBF Super Featherweight title, Barthelemy won his title from Argenis Mendez by unanimous decision in July. This should be a straight forward fight for Barthelemy and the hardest question should be will Barthelemy get a Knockout or settle for a decision.

Vanes Martirosyan Vs Willie Nelson Martirosyan looks to get back to world title contention by taking on freakishly tall Willie Nelson (6’3 for a 154lbs boxer), the winner of this fight will be maybe one fight away from a world title fight.

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

MMA Fight Schedule

Chad Dawson Vs Tommy Karpency

18th October 2014

Former undisputed Light Heavyweight champion “Bad” Chad Dawson is continuing his comeback to world title level after shock loss to Adonis Stevenson, Karpency is a former Nathan Cleverly opponent and is looking to upset the applecart.

StubHub Center, Carson, California, USA Gennady Golovkin Vs Marco Antonio Rubio – IBO WBA and WBC silver middleweight titles

11th October 2014 Oasis Hotel Complex, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico Carlos Molina Vs Cornelius “K9” Bundrage IBF Light Middleweight title Carlos Molina makes a defence of his IBF Light Middleweight title against former champion K9 Bundrage, Carlos Molina was recently deported to Mexico after being arrested before his previous cancelled world title fight for failing to register as a sex offender, politically this could be the best time for K9 to fight Molina.

O2 Arena (Millenium Dome), Greenwich, London, United Kingdom Lee Selby Vs Joel Brunker Lee Selby takes on the undefeated Joel Brunker, Selby has recently dropped all of his domestic titles and is targeting a world title fight, Australian boxer Joel Brunker is standing in the way and wants to get his own world title shot.

Anthony Joshua Vs Denis Bakhtov Anthony Joshua fights his toughest opponent yet in European journeyman/gatekeeper Denis Bakhtov, Bakhtov is the type of boxer that will beat domestic level boxers and past it boxers but will lose to anyone who is expected to contend for world titles. This fight may go a few rounds which will be beneficial to Joshua’s development.

The most destructive boxer in the world today makes his latest defence of his middleweight titles against tough Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio, Rubio is a boxer that will beat anyone not of world level but struggles against the best boxers in the division, while Golovkin is the most feared boxer in boxing today, both boxers come to fight, both have extremely high KO ratio’s and this will not go to a decision.

Nonito Donaire Vs Nicholas Walters – WBA Super Featherweight title Jamaican boxer puncher Nicholas Walters takes on a major step up in class against multi weight world champion Nonito Donaire, Donaire will think he is taking on Walters at the correct time while Walters thinks Donaire is on the slide and he is getting the champion at the correct time, this should be an exciting match up.

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

The Physical and Mental effects of boxing training

People often talk about the many health benefits of Boxing, but what are they?

Lifestyle Fitness PT The Physical and Mental effects of boxing training

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eople often talk about the many health benefits of Boxing, but what are they?

Stress Relief Physical activity is known to reduce stress, runners experience the phenomenon of a “runners high� following a session and boxing is no different. Outside stresses are put to the side when people box and use all their mental energy into focusing on technique used when throwing a punch. Intense exercise triggers the release of feel-good hormones called endorphins, which leave you feeling happy, confident and less stressed.

Mental Fortitude Mental Strength comes from overcoming adversity, in boxing adversity can come from the learning process, your level of fitness and the opposition. Boxing teaches how to be calm in the midst of chaos and stay focused on your goals.

Cardiovascular Fitness Boxers fight for three-minute rounds interspersed with one-minute recoveries and often spar or do bag work for similar or longer durations, this stop/start form of training is interval training and interval training is an effective way to build cardiovascular fitness.

The health benefits of boxing for the cardiovascular system include reduced risk of cardi

ovascular disease, reduced blood pressure and reduced risk of stroke.

The Physical and Mental | effects of boxing training

Increased Bone Density Bone mass normally peaks when you are in your mid30s to late 30s, if left unchecked, bone mass can gradually decline as you age. If left untreated, low bone mass may develop into a serious medical condition called osteoporosis, which is normally associated with bones that fracture easily. Weight-bearing exercise and exercises that place a significant load through your bones can reduce bone loss and may even result in increased bone mass. As boxing training is taxing on all of your major bones and muscles, it can help prevent bone loss.

Healthy Weigh Management Boxing training is an energetic activity that burns a lot of calories. This calorie-burning effect can help prevent a calorific surplus and help with weight maintenance or weight loss, when combined with a calorie controlled diet, boxing training can help you maintain your ideal weight.

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

Making Weight in Boxing

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Making weight in boxing is regarded as the most challenging aspect of professional boxing

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Making Weight in Boxing Making Weight in Boxing

Draining the body of liquids

Making weight in boxing is regarded as the most challenging aspect of professional boxing, when you ask boxers what it’s like making weight they always say “argh it’s the hardest part” because what they give up for that training period takes a lot of willpower and determination and to continue training while giving up everything they crave takes a lot of determination too.

Coming up to the weigh in it is known that boxers dehydrate themselves sometimes more than 10lbs before the weigh in and as 70% of the body is made of water, draining the body of water seems like a good idea at the time, but it has effects on performance after the weigh in and effects on the body in later life.

Training techniques used by boxers to make weight

It also is known for the amount of food that is consumed by boxers in the week of the weigh in is reduced to help with those final few pounds when making weight, in drastic circumstances it has been known that boxers have went a day without food and still trained which is very dangerous.

Working out in Plastic suits and weighted vests Inside training camp it’s not uncommon to see boxers train in plastic suits to increase the amount they sweat, it’s also not uncommon to see boxers wear weighted vests while they do their workout to increase the cardiovascular workout.

Cutting carbs When boxers are inside training camp they eat and drink as clean as possible, nothing but water passing their lips and clean fresh foods provided by nutritionists is consumed (plus the supplements etc) all sugars are cut dramatically out, starchy foods are reduced significantly closer to the weigh in, salts are cut out where possible as they contribute to increased water weight.

Increasing Cardio workouts Cardiovascular workouts is the key of all boxing training but close to the fight the amount of sparring is dramatically cut and all focus is put on making weight for the fight, this means using those plastic sauna suits and weighted vests more often as they increase the amount of cardiovascular activity which is less likely to result in an injury.

Reduce food intake before weigh in

Chewing Gum to produce saliva to spit out into a bucket This one is a bit unorthodox but when you put it in practice it works, boxers can chew gum which in turn produces saliva which they then spit out, the amount of weight they can drop by doing this is minimal but every little helps.

Laxatives When training camp has not gone well and boxers are struggling with their weight, drastic times call for drastic measures. One example is the week of the weigh in using laxatives to flush out the boxers system to drop significant pounds quickly, when effective in making weight this technique is ineffective in the ring in terms of gaining wins as the boxer is more often than not left weak.

Tricking the body Many fighters drink a flood of water about five days before the weigh-in, putting kidneys into hyperdrive and their bodies into “flushing mode.” If a fighter

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Making Weight in Boxing then gradually reduces his water intake, his kidneys will continue to flush at hyperdrive level, wringing his body dry and dropping significant water weight.

After the weigh in boxers consume High electrolyte drinks and water Depending on how hard they found making the weight will influence the first thing they pick up after the weigh in. Boxers who have not struggled making weight will slowly consume water and/or a drink high in electrolytes. Boxers who have found it extremely difficult to make weight go for the high electrolyte drinks and it has been known for them to drink special drinks given to deathly dehydrated people in 3rd world countries.

High carb foods like pasta and rice Foods high in carbs will help add weight after the weigh in which is desirable and replenish the energy stores that were raided bore the weigh in.

Weapon 6 The Lifestyle Fitness PT | Lethal War Machine Chronicles

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LE C I N O R H C INE H C A M R A THE W

‘BOXERS HANDS ARE LETHAL WEAPONS IN THE EYE OF THE LAW’

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Lethal Weapon 6 The War Machine Chronicles

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ne of those sayings, Boxers hands are lethal weapons in the eyes of the law, well in court it has been proven that mixed martial arts fighters hands and feet are classed as lethal weapons too.

Recently the MMA fighter, War Machine aka Jonathan Koppenhaver has gotten himself into a spot of trouble, allegedly beating his pornstar girlfriend and “Friend” to a pulp, to be precise Christy Mack suffered from 18 broken bones (majority in her face), a broken nose, missing teeth, a fractured rib and a ruptured liver.

The mental aspects of taking up MMA as a sport include teaching Self-Discipline, War Machine must have been absent from class the day Self-Discipline was taught because he has had issues controlling his actions outside of the cage throughout his career.

War Machine’s Wars outside the Cage War Machine aka Koppenhaver has been arrested and convicted numerous times for violent offences.

02/09/2007 – War Machine was found Guilty of Assault 22/02/2008 – War Machine pleaded Guilty to a misdemeanour charge of assault and battery 12/08/2010 – War Machine pleads Guilty to two felony assault charges – one of which was for throwing bottles at a Female bartender and the other for assaulting a security guard.

War machine spends 1 year incarcerated 01/02/2012 – War Machine signed a guilty plea agreement to avoid jail time for an outstanding assault case, it didn’t work and the judge sentenced War Machine to a year in jail. (He did 8 months) Post 2012 conviction, War Machine was very quiet on the conviction front until 08/08/2014 when its alleged

Lethal Weapon 6 The War Machine Chronicles

he severely beat his girlfriend and since has went on the run, with his previous convictions for assault it could be a long time until we see War Machine again.

Lifestyle Fitness PT

Reasons to take up | Krav Maga

UP E K A T O T REASONS E KRAVA MAG

‘IF DIPLOMACY FAILS, IF FORCED TO FIGHT THEN...........’

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Reasons to take up Krav Maga If diplomacy fails, if FORCED to fight then...no rules, no limits, no hesitation, no holding back.

1. It is the most practical Self Defence form out there Boxing teaches punches, but if the fight goes to the ground the boxer is in trouble. Kickboxing teaches you how to kick the hell out of someone but if the fight goes to the ground or is in a tight space the kickboxer is in trouble. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teaches how to subdue people on the ground but what if it is not a ground fight? All of these have many rules and regulations, in a street fight there are no rules or regulations. All of the Krav Maga techniques are built upon the body’s natural instincts, its aimed at real problems faced by people today such as being held at knife point, cornered in a restricted space, attacked in the street.

2. Great Exercise The Drills include throwing punches, kicks, throwing your opponent for groundwork, the conditioning includes a total body cardio work 3.Mental Strength This self-defence method teaches participants to keep a cool head and control themselves under the worst situations that can occur in real life, it teaches how to turn 100% defence into 100% offence extremely quickly. Nothing says mental strength more than knowing you are prepared for the worst in a number of situations 4.Stress relief Like all combat sports and self-defence techniques, they all are a great form of stress relief. Focusing on the techniques, drills, throwing opponents etc. will relieve people of the day’s stresses while they focus 100% on learning how to change from total defence to total offence quickly.

Reasons to take up Krav Maga

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Dive Into The Archive

E V I H C R A E H IVE INTO T

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‘FLOYD PATTERSON’

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Floyd Patterson

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loyd Patterson was born on the 4th January 1935 in Wako, North Carolina but moved to Brooklyn, New York as an infant.

He was the youngest of eleven children and was in and out of trouble with the law from an early age until he was sent to the Wiltwyck School for boys for rehabilitation. This was the turning point in young Floyd’s life and his first taste of boxing. When he left the school he took up boxing at age 14 in the Gramercy Gym and was trained by the legendary trainer Cus D’Amato.

His first success in the ring was a victory in the New York Golden Gloves where he won the middleweight championship. Then he went on to win the Eastern Golden Gloves and Inner City Titles respectively. The 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland now beckoned for the young Floyd and aged just 17 Floyd captured the gold medal in the middleweight division. Patterson ended his amateur career with a record of 40 wins 4 losses and 37 wins by way of knockout.

He turned professional the same year knocking out Eddie Godbold in the 4th round in his first pro fight. He moved steadily through the ranks and had an impressive win with an 8 round unanimous decision victory over the Canadian boxer Yvon Durell in his 10th fight. He won his next 3 fights comfortably before taking his first career defeat in a close ud loss to the former Light Heavyweight champion Joey Maxim. Most observers thought Patterson had done enough to win but Maxim was given the verdict.

This defeat only served to make Floyd more determined to reach the top and within 2 years he had racked up an impressive 16 wins, 13 of which were by stoppage and 12 of those knockout were in a row. With Rocky Marciano’s retirement the heavyweight title was now vacant and Patterson was matched in an eliminator against Tommy “hurricane” Jackson to meet the light heavyweight champion Archie Moore for the heavyweight title. Floyd won a close split decision victory to set up his first crack at the title.

On 30th November 1956 in Chicago stadium Floyd

Dive Into The Archive

knocked out the great Archie Moore in the 5th round to become the youngest ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and the first gold medal winner to become the heavyweight champion. He defended the title in a rematch against Jackson this time by tko in the 10th, a ko victory in the 6th over Pete Rademacher, retired Roy Harris in the 12th and had a ko victory over Brian London in the 11th.

Patterson was then challenged for his world title by Ingemar Johansson and was knocked down 7 times and eventually stopped in the 3rd round. Floyd then went into hiding for a year to reflect on his loss before challenging Johansson in a rematch for the title. He started more cautiously this time boxing patiently for the first 4 rounds behind his jab and working to get his openings. The fight exploded into life in the 5th when Floyd hit Ingemar with a great left hook flooring him for a count of 9. Floyd then threw everything at him for the next 30 seconds and then hit him with another huge left hook which left Johansson down for 5 minutes and his leg quivering from the impact. Patterson had achieved what Jim Jeffries, Jack Dempsey, Max Schmelling, Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles and Joe Walcott had all failed to do and regained the heavyweight championship of the world becoming the first man to do so.

The rubber match took place on 13th march 1961 Ingemar had Floyd down twice in the 1st round but he battled back to drop Johansson at the end of the round. He then went back to the patient boxing style of the 2nd fight to wear his opponent down and forced a cut over Johansson’s right eye. He eventually broke him down stopping him with a ko in the 6th. He had an easy defence with a 4th round tko win over Tom Mcneeley to close out the year.

Sonny Liston challenged Patterson next and on the 25th September 1962 proved to be far too big and powerful for Floyd knocking him out in the first round and doing the same to him in a rematch 7 months later. He made his comeback after 6 months out and by winning 5 fights on the spin he earned a shot at

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Dive Into The Archive Muhammed Ali’s title. A young Ali toyed with Floyd and eventually beat him in the 12th round.

Patterson still believed he could win the title back and travelled to England to beat Henry Cooper by ko in the 4th at Wembley stadium to put himself back in the mix for a shot at the belt. When Ali was stripped of the belt he entered a tournament to decide the champion where he fought Jerry Quarry to a draw and lost a highly controversial points loss in a rematch 4 months later. He finally got his 3rd chance to regain the title against Jimmy Ellis but lost another controversial decision over 15 rounds.

Floyd took 2 years off before coming back winning 7 fight in a row against lower opposition before defeating Oscar Bonevena in a ten round decision and Pedro Agosto by 6th round tko. His final fight was a rematch with Muhammed Ali for the NABF heavyweight title. Ali once again made easy work of an older Floyd and stopped him in the 7th.

Patterson never fought again he finished his career with a record of 55 wins, 8 losses, 1 draw and 40 by knockout.

Floyd Patterson will forever be remembered in the boxing history books as the youngest ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, the first Olympic gold medallist to win the heavyweight title and the first man to regain the heavyweight championship of the world. He was a record breaker and a truly exceptional fighter.

By Stephen King

Lifestyle Fitness PT

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | and Movement

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SU T I J U I J N A I BRAZIL T N E M E V O M AND

‘One thing in common the best combat athletes in the world...’

Lifestyle Fitness PT BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU AND MOVEMENT

A

llow me to take you back to the last article on the martial art of Brazilian Jiu jitsu. I mentioned that this art had touched my life and the life of other practitioners in a rather profound way. One of the many ways that bjj touched my life is through movement.

One thing in common the best combat athletes in the world have is they move extremely well. From Mohammed Ali, Roy Jones junior, Rickson Gracie, Rick Young and Anderson Silva to name but a few. Now let’s forget about the greats however and talk about the effects that movement has on your average man or woman.

You cannot learn a martial art without movement.

Movement of the human body for me is the attempt access the full range of motion that this rather extraordinary primate Homo sapiens’s skeletal system allows.

From that I mean we should all aspire to move with the grace and fluidity of children, whether it’s the incredibly effortless deep squat of a 17 month old or a 3 year olds dexterity and flexibility. I am reminded daily what the human body is capable of. An arena where the disparity of what is possible and what most people can do is at the martial arts academy. I have a training partner called Dawid Granaki who changed the way I look at movement….. more on him later.

As a child myself I loved sport as I grew older I realise I love movement for its own sake. For more on movement I would recommend you research a young man called ‘Ido Portal’ but let’s look at the benefits with references back to how you achieve this through bjj.

MOVEMENT IS FUN: Whether you are standing on top of a mountain that you have climbed up or pedalling furiously down a mountainside on a bicycle. The main reason for people to engage in any of these activities is to put a smile on

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | and Movement

their faces. In bjj there are a myriad of different positions you will find yourself in and they are all fun in different ways. From standing using techniques you would recognise from judo and wrestling, to rolling upside down inverting your ‘guard’ and everything in between.

I feel passionately that with the bodies we are blessed with we should all be doing things that we enjoy. The opportunity to express one’s self through movement is a tremendous privilege. Connecting with other people in a fun social setting and being able to unwind certainly help too.

Look around a bjj academy and you will see many expressions. The best of theses for me is joy. Win or lose you are always learning. Learning how these amazing bodies work ironically by learning how to efficiently disable it.

MOVEMENT HELPS TO CONTROL WEIGHT: Movement forces the body to burn calories and doing so regularly can help to reduce or maintain ones weight. This is not news to anyone or at least it should not be but ask the millions of obese people in the western world and it is clear that some people have a lot of difficulty doing this.

Bjj helps in a sneaky way. Whatever your reason for learning bjj it helps you move. While you are preoccupied with learning and applying very specific movements a remarkable thing is happening to your body.

You will be having a fantastic workout which incorporates strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, dexterity and mental strength.

You only have to pop ‘bjj weight loss’ into a internet search engine to read the many stories of the life transforming stories of practitioners of the art.

MOVEMENT IMPROVES MOOD: Whatever your worries they disappear when you are on the mat. Following a training session the body pro

Lifestyle Fitness PT | duces and enhances endorphins. Endorphins improve natural immunity and reduce the perception of pain.

They may also serve to improve mood. Another theory is that movement stimulates the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, which may directly improve mood.

Finally you have the competition bjj offers which helps to manage emotions both in victory and defeat.

Bjj requires so much focus to learn the techniques and movements so much so that little else matters for that time period that you give to the art. It is hard to think about your mortgage or anything else for that matter when someone is trying to restrict the blood supply to your brain by impeding the flow through your carotid arteries, otherwise known as strangulation.

The opportunity to switch off from life’s trials is one that I welcome. After a training session you are able to think clearly and attack any problems with a fresh perspective without the clouding influence of life’s daily stress.

MOVEMENT HELPS TO COMBAT HEALTH CONDITIONS: Regular movement is the miracle cure we have always had.

Below are statistics from the NHS in the United Kingdom as to the effects of regular movement.

• up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke • up to a 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes • up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer • up to a 20% lower risk of breast cancer • a 30% lower risk of early death • up to an 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis • up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture • a 30% lower risk of falls (among older adults) • up to a 30% lower risk of depression • up to a 30% lower risk of dementia Any committed bjj player will reap all these benefits

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Movement

Do not be discouraged if you are not a 20 year old, bjj is really for everyone. Many male and female practitioners come to bjj late in life.

MOVEMENT EFFICIENCY: It takes many years to become an efficient mover in bjj but then that efficiency is carried into every other aspect of your life. Sam Kaye the founder of ‘disabled bjj uk’ spoke in the bjjconnected podcast about how his training helped him following abdominal surgery allowing him to move without causing any further trauma speeding up his recovery.

Efficiency and effectiveness of movement go hand in hand in bjj, an expert of this is a training partner of mine called Dawid Granaki. Dawid had a big influence on me early on into my own journey, at the time I had been training for a couple of months and he was a purple belt. I remember being on top and trying to get around his legs (pass his guard) and feeling that I was in a good position exerting a lot of pressure. Next thing I knew Dawid who is much lighter than I am had slowly inverted upside down and trapped me in a triangle choke or ‘sankaku-jime’. It was clear to me then that physical attributes were of such secondary importance in bjj to learning the techniques of this art and in doing so aspire to move as efficiently and effectively as a player like David.

Bjj is often referred to as ‘the gentle art’. Rather than strikes being the primary form of attack it rather involves control and leverage for efficiency.

Control begins before two people ever meet, controlling the distance where an opponent cannot strike you or closing the distance in order to take the opponent to the ground. Once on the ground many mechanical advantages that people have are reduced and this is why a smaller, weaker but skilled person has a much greater chance of defeating a larger, stronger but unskilled opponent.

Efficiency and timing of movement is paramount in bjj.

The great Saulo Ribero said “If you think you are

Lifestyle Fitness PT late, if you are late you muscle, if you muscle you get tired and if you get tired you die�.

MOVEMENT HELPS TO PREVENT INJURY We have already established that to become good at bjj you will need many hours on the mat. I therefore contend that bjj players are safe movers. To spend so many years in a bjj journey you have to take your health and the health of your training partners seriously. Within this I feel respect and some of the other benefits of martial arts are forged.

When I tap in bjj I am telling my training partner or opponent that I have come to the end of my knowledge and ability to intelligently defend myself it is also a request to someone else not to cause you long term injury or loss of consciousness. It is incredible amount of trust you put into the people around that you as a practitioner take on as well.

Enough reading now get moving! If you want to try an exciting, holistic and fun form of movement I can highly recommend Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

I host a podcast http://www.bjjconnected.com/ come and have a listen if you are curious to hear from Masters in this art like my Instructor Rick Young and UFC hall of fame champion Royce Gracie https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/podcast-bjj-connected-podcast/id826014410 www.facebook.com/bjjconnected Follow on twitter @bjjconnected Peter

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu | and Movement

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

Boxing Quiz - 12 trivia questions to test your knowledge

Z I U Q G N I X BO

12 TRIVIA QUESTIONS TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Lifestyle Fitness PT

Boxing Quiz - 12 trivia | questions to test your knowledge

Boxing Quiz – 12 boxing trivia questions to test your knowledge 1) Boxing has 4 recognised world titles in each division, the IBF, WBC, WBA, WBO. Can you state in order when each organisation was set up?

2) Frank Bruno had a record of 40 wins 38 by way of Knockout to 5 losses all by Knockout, so in a 45 fight career only 2 fights went the distance, can you name the opponents who went the distance?

11) What percentage of Mike Tyson’s 1995 earnings came from endorsements?

12) What boxing class is heaviest - flyweight, bantam weight or featherweight?

3) Can you name the first heavyweight world champion to wear boxing gloves?

4) In history only 1 heavyweight world champion has retired undefeated, can you name him?

5) Amir Khan won his first world title against Andriy Kotelnik, but who did he make his first defence against?

6) Can you name the youngest ever World Cham pion over all weight classes?

7) There have only ever been 3 Heavyweight World Champions from outside the continent of Europe and the America’s (North and South) can you name them, and which countries they from?

8) The 1896 Bob Fitzsimmons Vs Tom Sharkey fight included a famous referee that disqualified Fitzsimmons in the 8th, can you name the referee?

9) A Jewish boy in 1941 was sent to Auschwitz and survived, later he went on to fight Rocky Marciano, can you name him?

10) Floyd Mayweather has defeated __ undefeated opponents, can you name them?

Answers: 1. WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 2. Oliver McCall & Philipp Brown 3. John L Sullivan 4. Rocky Marciano 5. Dmitriy Salita 6. Wilfred Benitez 7. Gerrie Coetzee & Corrie Sanders - South Africa,

Sam Peter – Nigeria 8. Wyatt Earp 9. Harry Haft 10. Diego Corrales, Ricky Hatton, Saul Alvarez 11. 0% 12. Featherweight

Lifestyle Fitness PT |

Cavemen Inspired Training Adaptations

Cavemen Inspired Training Adaptations

Lifestyle Fitness PT Caveman Inspired Training Adaptations

Cavemen Inspired | Training Adaptations

information about muscles that will come to play a large part in this modified history lesson!

Summary

Length, shape and function of muscles

A consideration of evolutionary habits that may influence the correlation between length of muscles and their fiber type within the designated muscle group; the connection to the appearance of certain athlete’s physique; and how training techniques can be adapted and results can be influenced by the application of this knowledge for individual muscle development.

Function and fiber type – our skeletal muscle is primarily made up of different types of muscle fiber. The two that I will use here, for the sake of simplicity and ease, are slow twitch (type 1) and fast twitch (type 2). Slow twitch are muscles that utilise oxygen for energy and can create contraction for longer at a slow pace or low intensity (marathon running). Fast twitch are just the opposite, they use Adenosine Tri Phosphate (ATP), the body’s energy currency, which is already stored in the muscles. Fast twitch fibers cannot reproduce ATP to refill the muscle stores and are therefore used in fast and high intensity exercise (sprinting).

Evolutionary habits; Cave men – we’ve all seen actors pretending to be them and imagined how a caveman might have acted and how they would act in the modern day… not the last one? Ok maybe that’s just me! I’ve always considered how we have evolved according to the way cavemen used to live and how although we believe we have evolved past their habits, our gym behaviors can show us that quite a lot of habits have persevered through the ages and kept us close in appearance and behavior to our distant Neanderthal cousins…

Adaptation through time – I’m no evolutionary biologist, but it is my belief (however misguided or inaccurate) that as our brains grow more capable (bigger) our physical capacity becomes less important and therefore ever more unimpressive. It is proven that when cavemen existed, their skull and brain were much smaller than the modern man’s. However, their bodies were much more robust and they could run faster, hit harder and jump higher than you and I. Have you ever wondered why a typical fictional alien has a huge head and tiny body? - Same concept, their intellect eradicates the need for athleticism.

Luckily for us with an interest in physical performance, the modern man has yet to reach this level of intelligence, and so what remains is, in my opinion, the remainder of the habits of our ancestors. But I’ll get to that part later, in the meantime here’s a little

Athlete’s physiques & muscle/physical appearance; Marathon (slow twitch dominant) – skinny fat, small muscles (physique looks long) Sprint (fast twitch dominant) – shredded, large muscles (physique looks short) Football (multiple muscle fibers) – all different to no specific advantage Specific adaptations to training – in order to train and stimulate a specific muscle optimally, it would be beneficial to use a rep range, overall rep count, and time under tension (TUT) that suit the aforementioned muscle types.

This is a documented and practiced methodology in contemporary fitness.

Muscles within muscle groups – exercises used in the gym can also bias an individual muscle within its muscle group in order to create the most optimal activation. For example, the position of the humorous during bicep and triceps exercises will determine the bias on a specific muscle within the muscle groups. Similarly, the position of the femur during leg exercises and position of the bench during a bench press has an impact on the specific muscle activation. This

Lifestyle Fitness PT | principle applies to all manner of resistance exercises.

Type to length – muscle types also have differing appearances, which you probably already know. Fast twitch muscle fibers are thick, whereas slow twitch fibers are condensed and slim. For example, the lateral head of the bicep gives a longer appearance while the short head adds height. Again, this effect translates to all muscle groups within the body.

Within muscle groups lie individual muscles, each differing in muscle fiber makeup and length. It recently became apparent to me that these two factors may have an inherent correlation, where all of these different aspects of training are drawn into the same idea;

If we can bias an exercise to stimulate a specific muscle, and taper rep ranges and TUT to stimulate the muscle fiber type most prevalent in a muscle, then a combination of the two would supply us with a supercharged method of muscle growth and strength gain.

We can do just that by adapting caveman habits into our gym practices.

When a caveman walks for a long distance with a club, what method would you imagine they’d use?

Dragging it, right? When you drag something, the humorous is behind the midline and the long head of the bicep is activated, therefore it would be favorable for the long head to adapt to be slow twitch dominant. When this same caveman uses his biceps to lift his club for a quick death blow (1-3 seconds), the humorous moves forward and the short head is activated. The short head of a bicep has developed fast twitch dominant, for this exact reason.

Now show me a well-rounded bodybuilder or power lifter with a 1RM bicep curl on an incline bench (humorous back) that exceeds their preacher curl (humorous forward). Next time you’re in the gym try this out - the short head of the muscle group, be it biceps, triceps, calves etc., will always out lift the long

Cavemen Inspired Training Adaptations

head. Subsequently, the long head will always outlast its counterpart.

Think about a caveman walking for a long distance hunting for dinner, his toes will be pointed out. This relieves the legs of any unnecessary tension in muscles around the leg and core allowing him to walk further while expending as little energy as possible.

When the caveman encounters a saber-toothed tiger and is forced to sprint for his life, all of the variables change and naturally he is now going to be utilizing as much muscle and creating as much tension as possible. Ask any strength and conditioning coach and they’ll tell you toes will be pointed forward (internal rotation from flexion through extension at the hip creates torsion for power production). We see the implications of these habits today in the calves – lateral head (toes out) is typically slow twitch dominant and will last longer within burning, while medial head (toes in) are fast twitch dominant and will lift more.

Training techniques & adaptations for specific muscles; Ok, here comes the how…

Periodization – in your training this is essential to ensure you work through all possible angles and condition each of your muscles in a way that is more appropriate to their fiber makeup. This, of course, can be tapered and specified for precise applications to sports and competitions. (Bompa & Haff ’s ‘Periodization’ provides a detailed insight into this style of programming).

Fast twitch (short) – when your program advances towards low rep ranges and less time under tension, you should favor short head exercises and increase the volume on these specific muscles to optimize this phase.

Slow twitch (long) – similar to fast twitches, you should favor long head activating exercises when you begin high rep ranges. How you structure your workouts will depend on you preference and priorities, but it is generally more effective to incorporate higher rep ranges towards the end of your session.

Lifestyle Fitness PT | Biases – when performing exercises that target individual muscles, you can optimize the activation of the desired muscle even more by using small biases. For example, going back to the bicep curl example used earlier, where your hand grasps the dumbbell will determine the direction of the majority of the load, through increasing lever length on one side of the hand and decreasing lever length on the other side. In simpler terms, the forefinger touching the plate biases the biceps long head, while the pinky finger touching plate biases the short head. Thus, the forefinger to plate in the incline bench curl for 15 reps is the recipe for best progression. By combining these parameters you can supercharge your progression for whatever the desired outcome.

A lot of this information is not revolutionary or groundbreaking – but to accept who you are and what you are literally made of, in terms of muscle fibers, is the key to making the most effective long term program and following it up in the gym for the best possible gains relative to who you are.

References Bompa & Haff, (2009), Periodization; theory and methodology of training. Human Kinetics.

By Jim Gale LSF PT – Hugh Baird, Liverpool Follow me on twitter @GymGalePT Contact me at gym.gale@gmail.com Read my blog - gymgale22.blogspot.com

Cavemen Inspired Training Adaptations

Lifestyle Fitness PT | CHOCOLATE GOODNESS

‘WE ALL LOVE CHOCOLATE NOW AND AGAIN’

Lifestyle Fitness PT | CHOCOLATE GOODNESS CHOCOLATE GOODNESS

W

e all love chocolate now and again, but most of us are told that this is a sin food, and should avoided especially when dieting or trying to cut down on the body fat. Now we know that you have probably heard of the benefits of chocolate spread around in rumours etc.

true when combined with exercise, it has been found that flavan-3-ol can delay aging with less oxidative stress upon the mitochondria.

It is possible that chocolate could help us prevent cancer!

A study conducted at UCLA found that certain flavonoids including flavan-3-ol helped protect against lung cancer, there is limited evidence that shows that chocolate may also keep our blood vessels dilated which helps with blood pressure.

So we really wanted to look at chocolate and see if there When it comes to chocolate however you have to be careful is any positives (besides taste) in having some and if so as many manufactures actually remove these what type, when we should take it and what people may benefit from it. We also have to discuss the negative side as we want to be fair here at LSFPT. substances to help with taste, you should find out before buying if these have been removed, we have found that So first we will have to go through the three main types chocolate above 70% cocoa normally has a good amount of chocolate out there and what these contain: of these protecting substances. Now flavonoids are present in milk chocolate but the milk prevents proper absorption Type of Total phenolics Flavonoids into the body, bad news for milk chocolate lovers. chocolate (mg/100g) (mg/100g) Dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

579

28

Stimulants

Chocolate contains a whole bunch of stimulating substances, now this can be viewed as negative and positive, we will Milk chocolate 160 13 go through this after we look at what these substances are; anandamide, arginine, caffeine, methylated xanthines (theobromine, caffeine & theophylline), monoamine oxidase, White chocolate 126 8 oxalic acid, phenethylamine, phenylalanine, phytates, serotonin, sugar, tannin, theobromine, theophylline, tryptophan and finally tyramine.

What these contain: So plenty of chemicals there, again these are found in highNow the more coco bean the darker the chocolate and er amounts in darker chocolate, white chocolate contains this means there will be more phenolic and flavonoids. the least due to the usage of cocoa butter instead of cocoa Dark chocolate is much less sweet then milk chocolate solids. and there is very little alike between 90% dark chocolate Now let us pick out some of the more physiologically active and milk chocolate (30-40%) taste wise. What does this chemicals from the list and explain them in more detail: mean though?

Flavan-3-ol and flavonoids

Caffeine

Caffeine effects the central nervous system (CNS) by Chocolate contains flavan-3-ol which is the most prev- stimulating it, which helps prevent drowsiness by increasing alertness. Caffeine is found in many foods and drinks alent phenolic found within dark chocolate. Now this has been studied extensively for health benefits, one of we consume making it the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world. In the UK 80% of adults consume which is its ability to protect our DNA, this especially

Lifestyle Fitness PT | CHOCOLATE GOODNESS caffeine on a daily basis and in the USA this stands at 90%. Caffeine stimulates the body and helps prevent physical fatigue, increases thinking processes and improves focus, the amount of caffeine needed to produce this depends on the person’s tolerance and size. For sports men and women caffeine in moderation has been shown to improve sprinting, endurance and performance focus, there has also been benefits in those training at high altitude.

However large dosages are associated with a loss of co-ordination and rapid heart rate during exercise.

Theobromine is cited to be one of the reasons that chocolate is an aphrodisiac now that is a good reason to eat chocolate. Have you ever eaten dark chocolate when you have cough? Well if you have you may have wondered why your cough was better for a while, this is because theobromine has an antitussive (cough-reducing) effect that is superior to that of codeine. The negative effects of theobromine basically mimic the negatives of caffeine, however unlike caffeine it is possible that these will be more prevalent in eating chocolate as theobromine is mainly found in chocolate.

Main positive effects of caffeine

Tryptophan

Increases attention and alertness with a decrease in fatigue.

owers risk of cardiovascular disease

Tryptophan is an amino acid and one of the 22 standard amino acids and is essential in the human diet. Tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin and as we know serotonin is our “happiness” hormone, tryptophan therefore has shown promising results in fighting depression. Tryptophan is found in plentiful amounts in both milk and dark chocolate but again more is found in the darker variety.

Increases metabolic rate

Aphrodisiac Properties

Main negative effects of caffeine

Now chocolate has long been associated with romance and lust, but is there any truth in this?

Now most state that just the pleasure of eating chocolate helps reduce stress and therefore makes that person more likely to want to be “romanced”. However there is some research that actually shows that chocolate can cause arousal, tryptophan can cause happiness but methlyxanthine blocks adenosine, this blockage is directly linked to arousal. So fellas DON’T forget that box of chocolates on the first date, or any date for the matter.

Lowers the risk of diabetes (when consumed in correct amounts)

Addiction Anxiety Increased blood pressure Reduced co-ordination and fine motor control In general chocolate does not contain enough caffeine to be harmful to the body, it would be very unlikely to be able to eat enough chocolate to get over the 1000mg of caffeine needed for it to become toxic. Most negative effects are caused by energy drinks etc.

Theobromine One of the main mood elevators found in chocolate, it is also a vasodilator and helps with blood pressure.

Cardiovascular System Cocoa has been shown to have antioxidant properties, it appears to be able to inhibit lipid oxidation within the arteries, and there is evidence to suggest that as chocolate causes dilation of the blood vessels it may bring down blood pressure. It was found that when smokers ate chocolate of 74% cocoa their blood flow through the

Lifestyle Fitness PT | CHOCOLATE GOODNESS heart significantly improved, in later tests it was discovered that this halved their risk of forming fatal blood clots. All the positive effects here are all from dark 70% or more chocolate.

Migraine Evidence is slim on this subject, but research does show that dark chocolate intake enhances the expression of MAP kinase phosphatase (MKP) within the trigeminal ganglion, this positively effects the level of Calcitonin gene-related peptide which is an inflammatory chemical that is linked with certain migraines or headaches.

MI Long term studies have shown that persons who had survived heart attacks and consumed dark chocolate 3-4 times per week reduced their risk of dying by three times compared to the survivors who abstained for chocolate.

So we have seen the positives, sadly most of the positives only come from dark chocolate (which is great if you like dark chocolate), milk chocolate sadly is the one that has most of the negatives which we will go through now:

Weight Gain Chocolate is a very calorific food per gram and therefore will cause weight gain if not eaten in moderation, this is particularly true for milk chocolate.

Because chocolate is high in both saturated fat and sugar, many nutritionists are wary of proclaiming its benefits, the saying that you can’t get can never have enough of a good thing is definitely not true in this case. The weight gain caused by chocolate like any non-lean weight gain can lead to obesity, heart problems and diabetes.

Addiction Now we know that most say they are “chocoholics” and this may be a bit of fun and a joke, however due to the chemicals that make up chocolate it is entirely plausible that persons can get addicted to caffeine or/and theobromine found in chocolate. Chocolate is not entirely harmful as a compound however addiction will lead to unwanted weight gain and the negative effects associated.

Acne We talked about this in the earlier article, chocolate may not cause acne, but as it is a high glycaemic food it may unintentionally worsen acne, caffeine has also been linked to acne.

Animal Toxicity

Chocolate is toxic to many animals, such as cats, dogs, horses, parrots and small rodents, as they struggle to metabolise theobromine. Theobromine can remain in an animal’s circulation for up to 20 hours potentially leading to seizures, heart attacks, internal bleeding and if left untreated death. Household animals such as cats and dogs are most at risk, however cats are usually picky with food and will ignore chocolate, dogs on the other hand will rip through a box of chocolate laying around the house. A typical 22kg dog will exhibit symptoms of poisoning after eating 180g of dark chocolate, which may seem like a lot, but a wrapped up box under the Christmas tree will probably contain more than this, so please be careful animal owners.

So we have gone through both aspects now, we know that dark chocolate has benefits but it is still high in calories and is not recommended in high quantities. We recommend that 30g of 70-90% chocolate taken three to four times a week at breakfast would be enough to give you the beneficial effects, help your sweet tooth for the rest of the day and not make you pile on the lbs. For a food so tasty to have so many great benefits is great, but moderation is key, and the darker the better.