Blogs

cardio (2)

Gas Mask Training for MMA - Advanced Training

Posted by Sander V. on August 22, 2011 at 3:49pm
If you pass our studio or come in early, you may see a pretty funny (or creepy) picture: a few guys training in gas masks. Don’t worry, there is no spill and nobody is in danger. We are simply putting ourselves to the test doing gasmask training!

The whole idea behind gasmask training is to get in better shape by improving your longue function. For example when athletes train at high altitude, one of the reasons Boulder is so popular with elite athletes all over the world and why many training camps for fighters are also located at high altitude.

Define Defense mma gym in Boulder, CO
When you train at higher altitude than what you’re used to, your body experiences a state of oxygen deprivation named hypoxia. This causes you to feel sluggish, out of breath, tired and out of shape. Your body gradually gets accustomed to it by increasing the red blood cell count in your body and your VO2 max. Red blood cells are the carriers of oxygen in the blood and deliver these to the muscles for their aerobic fueled efforts. When there is less oxygen, your muscles are forced to use anaerobic energy systems which produce lactate to be stored until it can be processed at a later time.
Once the red blood cell count is lifted, you will feel better training at that current altitude. When you go back down to sea level, you will have a competitive advantage (for up to approx. 15 days) because more oxygen is delivered to the muscle tissues so you can fulfill efforts longer on an aerobic level. 

Now what does this have to do with gasmasks? Well wearing a gas mask will limit your oxygen intake because it is not readily available and the mask makes it harder to breath large amounts of air at once.
However, whether a workout of let’s say an hour will actually increase your red blood cells and VO2 max is still debatable. Other advantages though are for a fact proven. When you wear a gasmask and it takes you more effort to breathe, your body will have to compensate for a lack of oxygen and your muscles will learn to become more efficient with the oxygen. Also the ventilation muscles you use to breathe will become stronger because they simply have to work harder. If you improve them in training, they will be less likely to fatigue during everyday life and competition. Another benefit is that you are forced to control your breathing better, which creates a better body and breathing awareness.

mma gasmask training Boulder CO
The final advantage is mental. Gasmask training will force you to push yourself more and go beyond your limits. Normal training will start to feel easier and you will become tougher and more resistant to situations where there’s oxygen deprivation (think about chokes for example).

Gasmask training is not for everyone and only our experienced instructors have utilized this method so far.

Warning: we do not encourage you to train with gasmasks, this article is simply for informational reasons. Please do not utilize without professional supervision.

mixed martial arts Boulder Define Defensestrenght and conditioning for mma in Boulder, CO
Define Defense is Boulder’s premier place for modern martial arts, self defense and personal training. We are not the typical martial arts school as we incorporate personal training and fitness into our classes. 

Our clients enjoy a blend of fight / self defense instruction and physical training. Define Defense has a fully equipped 2,400 square feet gym which includes over 1,000 square feet of martial arts mats and cutting edge gym equipment. We are also pleased to provide our clients with 2 spacious brand new locker rooms and showers.


DefineDefenseMartialArts2

1805 11th Street Suite B
Boulder, CO 80302

West side alley on 11th Street between Canyon Blvd. and Walnut St. 
(alley between 1095 Canyon and 1050 Walnut building)
Read more…

Sleep For Recovery

Posted by Sander V. on May 23, 2011 at 12:29pm
When training or working out, we focus on form, intensity, cardio levels, heart rate, reps and sets etc.  One thing most don’t pay enough attention to is sleep - even though it is one of the most important factors in your recovery and progress.
 
During our workouts, we put our body to the test by decreasing or depleting our energy supplies and putting a strain on our muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs etc.  For example, after doing an intense workout, your muscle fibers suffer from micro damage.  This is what causes you to be sore 1-3 days after a workout.  However, since these muscle fibers got damaged, your body reacts by making them better.  This means they can get larger (hypertrophy) after weight lifting or become more efficient (better blood flow, more mitochondria in the cells etc.) after an endurance workout.  These are only a few examples of how the body improves the function of the muscle that was trained and micro damage is not the only aspect that needs recovery.  Think about restoring the glycogen levels, processing the excess lactate* in the muscles, re-instituting body fluids and much more.
 
  • Contrary to popular belief, lactic acid is not what builds up in skeletal muscles - lactate is.  Biochemist used to believe that the body produces lactic acid which immediately turns into lactate after losing a proton.  Now it has been proven that this was incorrect.
 
All of these processes take time and can be sped up if you do certain things after training.  One of the most important is sleeping enough.
 
Everyone knows that rest between workouts will help you recover but there is still a difference between rest and sleep.  A few processes that occur while you sleep:
 
  • Cortisol levels go down.  Cortisol levels elevate in periods of stress.  Since training is a form of stress on the body, cortisol gets released.  This unfortunately can be catabolic in long term.  When you do not rest enough in between training sessions, your body will go into a state of overtraining and cortisol levels will remain high while insulin levels will remain low.  Since insulin is a great hormone to build tissues, this may lead to performance and/or muscle loss.  Sleeping is a great way to lower the cortisol levels.
 
  • Increased levels of Human Growth Hormone.  When sleeping, your natural levels of HGH get elevated.  This mainly occurs in the later and deeper phases of sleep so when you cut your sleep short, you are missing out on a significant opportunity to recover.   HGH supports muscle recovery, promotes lipolysis (decomposing fat), stimulates the immune system etc.  No doubt this will aid your recovery and performance.
 
  • Higher testosterone levels.  The more and better you sleep, the higher your testosterone levels will be when waking up.  This gives you mental and physical energy and promotes bone and muscle mass since it is an anabolic steroid.  The body produces testosterone itself in men and women.  The levels differ but women have testosterone in their system and men have estrogen in their body.
 
So instead of getting paranoid over your supplements or whether you did or did not train hard enough today...  get some sleep first.  It will benefit you both mentally and physically and the next day you will be ready to work out again.
Written by Sander V. for Define Defense Martial Arts & Private Training in downtown Boulder, Colorado.
Define Defense is Boulder’s premier place for modern martial arts, self defense and personal training. We are not the typical martial arts school as we incorporate personal training and fitness into our classes. Our clients enjoy a blend of fight / self defense instruction and physical training. Define Defense has a fully equipped gym which includes over 1,000 square feet of martial arts mats and cutting edge gym equipment.
Read more…

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives