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Holidays are coming and Define Defense is in the holiday spirit! We are offering our new clients our best deals to date! We offer high quality training in:

- Mixed Martial Arts
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Self Defense Classes & Workshops
- TRX & Cross Training Classes
- Kettle Bell Classes
- Personal Training

From now until January 1st 2013, we offer the following deals:

Mixed Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top

Self Defense:
Four self defense classes, a Mace 10% Pepper Gel and a Define Defense T shirt or tank top for only $99

TRX / Cross Training:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top

Kettle Bell Program:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free T shirt or tank top

Personal Training:
First session is free!

Youth Martial Arts:
20% off memberships and punch cards
+ a free Gi


 

More info at www.DefineDefense.com

OR contact us at Info@DefineDefense.com

For training and working out, goals are extremely important. You need to set short and long term goals and make them challenging but possible. If they are not possible, you will not reach them and eventually become disappointed or frustrated. On the other hand, if they are too easy, you may not push yourself enough and not make enough progress, if any at all.

Another aspect of training, one that I feel has played a huge role for myself is having the right mindset. I'm not necessarily talking about what your motivation is for your workouts because there are thousands of reasons why you can, should or want to do it. What I'm thinking about is the attitude, the mindset, the personality you step into the gym with. When you have that mindset, nothing can stop you. You can just keep going and whatever is in front of you, you do not stop. When I go into a workout like that, I feel stronger, faster and better than any other moment. People call me nuts when they see me training (and I probably am) but it gives me great satisfaction and motivation. This is when I get my best workouts and earn some of the nicknames I have been given over the years (Beast, the Hammer,... All for different reasons).

Getting that mindset is not easy and I feel cannot always be planned ahead. It's a feeling of the moment. It may be influenced by your goals, motivation, your previous success and progress or simply how well you slept the night before. It depends on the individual and circumstances but also on the people around you. A good group of training buddies or trainer can get you in that moment, in which you feel invincible and full of energy (sometimes I have to step in to prevent injuries as a trainer when a client gets 'in the moment').

There is nothing like this feeling and sometimes you just start working out and you know you'll be killing it that day. Other times, you need more guidance from a trainer to get in the right mindset. Either way, it should be your goal to find that motivation. It is the perfect intrinsic motivation (because you want to for yourself, not for others or a reward) and when you work out like this, you will feel great after and again be looking forward more to the next workout. It's a vicious circle. If you feel bad for yourself when working out, it will probably not be any better next time. So give it your all. I guarantee that, if you work out hard but responsibly, you will experience that mindset more and more while enjoying every minute of it.

For the beginners out there: no matter what sport you practice, go for it, get over that beginner's hump and you'll find more enjoyment and great progress lying right ahead of you! Leave it all out there and you will experience more results than what you were hoping for!

For cross training and TRX classes or private personal training, check out www.DefineDefense.com

By Sander Vanacker, owner, head instructor and personal trainer of Define Defense Martial Arts & Personal Training.

Part 1of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Multilateral Physical Development

Different people have different objectives of training. Some may train for a healthier body, others may want to break their own records and become stronger and some want to compete to test themselves with others.

No matter what your objective is, every athlete should work on their multilateral physical development. This serves as a training base and means you increase your endurance, strength, speed, flexibility, coordination etc. Even if it does not directly affect your goal or performance, it is important to work on these things because indirectly they will greatly help you in reaching your goal (and preventing injuries).

For example: a long distance runner still needs to strengthen their core, do speed drills etc. because it will improve their performance. Or a martial artist who runs 10 miles won’t punch harder but will have better cardio and recover faster.

Once you have a base, you need to work on your sport-specific development, which means training to improve in the specific area of your sport.

Part 2 of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Supercompensation

Everything we do in our training and our training planning is affected by supercompensation. It refers to the biological state your body is after working out and rest. When you work out, your body is fatigued in many different ways and this reduces the functional capacities of your body. After resting, your body will recover and replenish and if the training stimuli were big enough, you will achieve a higher homeostatic level. This means your body will be stronger, you will have more endurance, more glycogen stored etc.

If you do not allow your body to rest before working out again, you will land in a negative spiral and exhaust your body more. This will lead to decreased performance and overtraining.

If you rest too much, you will lose the supercompensation results and you will be right back at where you started. The right (smart) training and the right amount of rest is key!

Part 3 of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Energy Systems

Energy required for muscle contraction is released by by the conversion of ATP into ADP+P

Therefore, ATP sources need to constantly replenished by different energy systems:

Phosphagen System

Readily available in the body and can be used instantaneously for efforts up to 8-10 seconds. Very important for weight lifters, sprinters etc. No lactic acid production and no oxygen necessary.

After the effort, in the first 30 seconds, 70% of the creatinephosphate is replenished and in 3 to 5 minutes, a 100% is replenished.

Lactic Acid System

The lactic acid system provides energy for resynthesizing ATP for events up to 40 seconds (first 10 will be Phosphagen system). It breaks down glycogen stored in the muscle cells and liver and produces lactic acid (no oxygen used which creates an oxygen debt).

Restoring glycogen takes 2 hours for 40% and 24 hours for full restoration after a workout with breaks throughout. For a continuous, high intensity workout, it can take 48 hours.

95% of the lactic acid is removed after 1 hour and 15 minutes so the muscle pains you may feel for the next few days are not lactic acid but micro damage in your muscle.

Aerobic System

Fully activated after 60-80 seconds (warmup is important) to produce energy for resynthesizing ATP from AD+P. Energy sources are fats and glycogen (and protein occasionally).

Primary energy system for endurance athletes.

No lactic acid production or buildup.
However, in most cases, the aerobic system and lactic acid system work at the same time! The ratio depends on the intensity of your efforts.

The best indicator of which energy system you are actually using when exercising is measuring the level of lactic acid in the blood. The threshold (point where both energy systems are working but no build up of lactic acid) is 4 millimoles. Over that and you will get a buildup because your body is producing more than it can take away.

You can raise the threshold by training. An athlete with a good aerobic base (endurance) can work with higher intensity before crossing the threshold.

Part 4 of our Periodization workshop on 1/18/12:

Training the energy systems

Lactic acid tolerance training

This will improve your tolerance but also your body’s ability to buffer it and increase lactate removal from the muscle.

Intervals of less than 1 minute will require 4-8 repetitions with long recovery periods in between (15-30 minutes)

Longer intervals of 2-3 minutes are desirable but only if you can hold the intensity.

This is a very hard workout so don’t overdo it.

Maximum oxygen consumption training

Intervals of 3-5 minutes, max intensity. Heart rate up to 10 beats under your max.

Improve efficiency of the oxygen transport system.

Anaerobic Threshold Training

Tempo training with speed slightly above comfortable. Intensity should be 60-90% of max and you have to hold it throughout your training. Lactate levels will be above 4 millimol and will build up.

Phosphate system training

Short bursts of maximum intensity up to 10 seconds. Long recovery necessary to prevent lactate production.

Aerobic Threshold Training (Long Slow Distance Training)

More than 1 hour

No lactate production

Comfortable intensity (have to be able to talk)

Will improve endurance and recovery time

By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor, based in Boulder, Colorado. Take a look at www.DefineDefense.com, www.TrainerVanacker.com or check out our videos onYouTube.com/DefineDefense !

Join us on our Spring Kickoff party on April 27th from 5-7pm with raffle prizes, snacks, drinks and much more! If you are new to our studio, come check out our studio and see what we're about! For our current clients and prospects, this will be a great time to socialize and have fun together. Invite your friends and family to join you!

During the party, we will be offering one time discounts on memberships, classes, workshops and all our retail products.

Our raffle prizes:
- A free month membership for any program
- A Define Defense sling pack (3x)
- A Title MMA body shield
- Several other prizes from our partners

Starting at 5pm at our studio location: 1805 11th Street Suite B, Boulder CO 80302

www.DefineDefense.com
(720) 340 6254

When is the best time for weight training and how much should you train? It's a question that probably has been asked millions of times. It is a great question though. After all, if you put the time and effort in, you want to make sure that you reap the maximum benefits of it.

The answer is very difficult though. It depends on your physiological state, how much you have been working out, what your goals are etc. it is more important to understand the basics so you are more aware of what you're doing yourself.

I know there are many articles out there about the best time of the day to work out and when you burn the most, have the most energy etc. Fact is, for most people, the best time to work out is when it fits in your schedule! Better to have a great training when you have the time than rushing through a workout when you only have 20 minutes...

As to how often you workout. If you look at professional martial artists and other athletes, they put a lot of hours in the gym but they do split workouts for their strength, then they add cardio and at another time of the day, they will work on techniques. This is not realistic for most people either so a good guideline for someone that wants to add strength and size is to train 3 times/week full body. Work mostly on the large muscle groups and spend less time on the small ones (arms, shoulders). This way, you challenge all muscle groups multiple times a week. Downside is however, you can't spend as much time on each individual muscle group.

Another option is to do split workouts. For example you can do chest and triceps on Monday; legs, shoulders and abs on Wednesday; back and biceps on Friday.

There are many variations and it is up to your trainer to figure out what will work best for you, depending on your goals, level, limitations etc. The thing you want to accomplish is working your muscles hard and frequent enough to stimulate an increase in size and strength without overtraining and making sure it fits in the time you have available.

A few other training splits:

- Four days a week: you will work out half your body one day, the other half the other. After these 2 training days, you will take 2 days off. This way, you get 4 training days per week in and you can spend more time (sets) on the different muscle groups.

- Six day split routine: you will divide your training into 3 different workouts. You train for 3 consecutive days and then take a day off. Then repeat.

- One muscle per day: exactly what is sounds like. Disadvantage is that you can't work out the same muscle more than once a week.

The last question to answer is how long to work out. If your goal is to gain size and lift heavy weights, 30 to 45 minutes is ideal (depending if you work out one or two muscle groups - or more). If you go for high volume training, more sets and more reps for muscle endurance, then a typical workout will be 60 to 90 minutes. If you add cardio for weight loss or to lean out, it can go up to 120 minutes.

Please note that these are only some examples and there are many different options in training. Training planning depends on many different factors and needs to be put together per individual. After all, no two people are the same so the same workout routine will not have the same effects.


By Sander Vanacker, Define Defense’s certified personal trainer and head martial arts instructor, based in Boulder, Colorado. Take a look at www.DefineDefense.com, www.TrainerVanacker.com or check out our videos onYouTube.com/DefineDefense !

Often, martial arts is stigmatized with negative actions or behaviors.  This is caused by media, the film industry, certain professional or amateur fighters etc.  However, in this blog article, I would like to prove that this should not be generalized and it does not have to be this way.

Originally, martial arts was developed to increase the chance of survival.  Later on, it started to be used as a sport, in competition, as an art form and more.  Mostly, the code of honor and respect was central and utterly important for the practitioners.  Of course, there are always bad apples and all human advancements are always used for good and bad causes (think about samurais who valued honor vs. ninjas who were spies and mercenaries).

Some of these traditional martial arts styles are still widely practiced but unfortunately are also very outdated.  This will be a ongoing discussion but someone practicing Tai Chi, Karate, traditional Judo etc. will learn many techniques that are simply not functional in a real life situation.  This does not mean however, they are less worthy as an art form or for personal development.  For self defense, these and many more styles are very overrated and sometimes even useless.

On the other side, martial arts has also evolved over the last decades. Think about Mixed Martial Arts.  This is the ultimate competition martial arts form and has proven itself over and over again.  For self defense reasons, it may also not be 100% effective though (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will not work with multiple attackers, an MMA fighter will not know how to defend against a knife or gun attack…)
The issue with this progress is that the self defense aspect is often overlooked and the honor and respect are mostly forgotten.  The ratings have gotten so important that most fighters talk badly about each other and have very little respect left.  There are exceptions, think about Georges St. Pierre, who has very strong values and is also one of the best martial artists and fighters in the world.

Martial arts and fighting overlap each other, no doubt about it.  For me, it is your personal attitude that shows which one you are.  You do not have to be mean or disrespectful to be a good martial artist AND fighter.  Talking badly and insulting others only shows a bad attitude (and fear?)  Honor and respect are extremely important in our facility.  We respect our friends, instructors and teammates.  We push each other and ourselves and test each other during training to become the best we can be.  But there are no egos, disrespect, insults or anything else.

Our clients have different goals.  Some want to become a martial artist to defend themselves, other want to get in shape and others want to compete.  But we only train martial artists… that are really proficient in what they do, whether it is being prepared for protecting themselves/other or testing themselves in competition.  Many martial artists can become fighters but not every fighter can become a martial artist.  You will gain a huge amount of knowledge and skills to reach your goal and at the same time, you will gain friends and have fun.

Define Defense focusses on being the best studio in Boulder and offers a modern approach to martial arts, which consist of the most effective and realistic ways in martial arts.  But we have also not forgotten about honor and respect.  These are values that should never be forgotten.  We don't practice traditional martial arts by any means but these values are timeless.  We train individuals to better themselves and learn martial arts so they can feel safer, better about themselves or compete.  We respect everyone's goals and do everything we can for you to meet those.

Sander Vanacker is the owner and head instructor of Define Defense Martial Arts in Downtown Boulder.  www.DefineDefense.com

As you know, there are a lot of different styles of martial arts which you can practice.  Some studios offer a very traditional practice, which is great for the art and philosophy but is not necessarily effective anymore.  Then other gyms offer cardio kickboxing, which is a fantastic workout but martial arts wise you will learn as much as playing Kung Fu video games.  Then there are MMA gyms, a style that has been proven to be highly effective in competition (although that does not mean it is effective in a real self defense situation).  Most martial arts studios will teach you the style that they are proficient in but that may not give you a complete training experience or the best bang for your buck!  

I have met many individuals that practice martial arts and hire a personal trainer or strength & conditioning coach on the side.  Or they practice yoga outside of martial arts classes to improve their flexibility, feel in sync with their body etc.  At Define Defense, we approach martial arts training through a modern way and want to redefine martial arts and self defense (Define Defense, get it?).  

What we do is offer different programs for different purposes:

- Modern Martial Arts for people wanting to learn and practice all the best of different martial arts in a modern and realistic way while getting a great workout (everything from standup, takedowns, throws etc.)
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for all levels and offering a highly effective mix of BJJ and other forms of submission wrestling for a superior ground game
- Mixed Martial Arts: combining Modern Martial Arts and BJJ for individuals who want to learn MMA or compete
- Women's Self Defense without the intimidation of having men around, all the best and most effective ways to defend yourself as a woman

These programs offer different things for different people and are specific to the goal that wants to be reached.  Now, as a client you will learn a lot of techniques, tactics, submissions, strikes and much more but what if you want to get stronger, in better shape, more flexible etc?  That is why all our clients get complimentary Circuit Training and Yoga classes.  These are included in your membership and are taught by certified instructors.  There is no more need for separate memberships, gyms, trainers and costs.  You get a full training package as a member in our studio.  This way, you get a better and more complete training experience without any additional cost.  You will actually save money because you don't have to go elsewhere anymore.   Our membership fees are highly competitive (the best in the Boulder area) and there are no setup fees or cancellation fees.  Our philosophy is to treat others as you want to be treated and we love the community we have at Define Defense.

Sander Vanacker is the owner and head instructor of Define Defense Martial Arts in Downtown Boulder.  www.DefineDefense.com

• 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.

• 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.