How to finally solve your conditioning problem

[Cap'n]

Originally Posted by EZA

Apparently everybody on this forum seems to have conditioning all figured out.

You obviously have never read the uber challenge thread or the monthly ones.

[December]

how is the average person is supposed to find that weak link

[EZA]

I'll give an example of one of the principles I'm talking about and then you can feel free to decide for yourself if I know my shit or if I'm wasting your time with such posts or not.

The MMA Conditioning example I'll use to give a better idea of what I'm talking about and give you practical advice is the principle of eccentric vs. concentric cardiac hypertrophy. While it's obvious that the cardiovascular system (your heart and peripheral vascular network) is responsible for the delivery of oxygenated blood to your working muscles, most athletes and coaches aren't aware of exactly how your training methods cause distinct and specific changes to your heart itself.

How you train (heart rates, volume, loading, etc.) determines exactly which type of cardiac adaptation takes place and is one of the most important factors that determines your conditioning levels.

First, it's important to understand that there are many properties of the heart that determine how well it functions and how well it's able to do its job.

The volume of your heart chambers (most importantly the size of the left ventricle), thickness of the cardiac walls, the specific isozymes of myocytes (types of cardiac muscle cells) the sympathetic vs. parasympathetic tone, etc. are all important regulatory factors that determine how much blood your heart is able to deliver.

Obviously the more blood your heart and vascular network is able to supply to your working muscles (cardiac output) the better your conditioning will be - up to the point that cardiac supply is no longer the limiting factor at least.

There are two categories of structural changes, known as concentric and eccentric hypertrophy, that take place in your heart as a result of how you train. Which category of hypertrophy you have plays a large role in your cardiac output and thus how well conditioned you are.

Eccentric hypertrophy is largely the result of high volume, low intensity, and low pressure training that typically takes place in endurance training programs. This kind of hypertrophy results in greater left ventricular volume and increased blood volume per stroke. This means that every time your heart beats it’s able to deliver a greater amount of blood and thus your resting and working heart rates are lower.

Concentric hypertrophy primarily takes place under high load, higher intensity, high pressure (high resistance) training like that of Powerlifters, Weightlifters, and Wrestlers. Concentric hypertrophy means the heart’s walls are thicker, meaning they are able to contract with greater velocity, but the chamber volumes themselves are often not any larger than average.

This means that although the heart may be stronger, cardiac output is not improved much, if at all, and the heart must work harder to deliver the necessary blood. The end result is your power can be higher, but you will fatigue much faster.

Keep in mind that thicker walls also means they are more resistant to stretching and makes it much more difficult to increase cardiac output.

Fighters who have the characteristics of eccentric hypertrophy will typically have fairly good endurance (although this depends on many other factors as well) but they will lack power, especially at higher intensities. Those with concentric properties will tend to have greater power but lack endurance and will gas much more quickly.

Training to improve your conditioning depends greatly on your specific cardiac system development. Fighters who have low cardiac output are limited by their heart’s ability to deliver oxygen and their conditioning methods should be completely different from those who have good cardiac output. Using the wrong training strategies can reduce your conditioning potential by causing too much concentric hypertrophy – as well as other negative adaptations.

The average person can get an idea of where their development lies by looking at their resting heart rate and their heart rate response to increasing intensity of activity. In my experience coaching, the optimal resting heart rates for fighters in the UFC (3-5 x 5 min rounds) is in the upper 40s to mid 50s beats per minute. Because of the longer 10 minute round, the well conditioned Pride fighters I worked with typically had lower resting heart rates (mid to upper 40s and low 50s). I also use a series of heart rate conditioning tests that are very informative as well.

Keep in mind this is only one part of the conditioning equation, but it is a very important part and is a good example of why following a generic conditioning program is unlikely to lead to the best results.

How you train leads to very specific changes in the cardiovascular system, the central and peripheral nervous system, within the muscle tissue itself, etc. For some people following high volume low intensity GPP type programs will work miracles, for others they won’t do much at all.

Likewise, sometimes high intensity intervals are absolutely great, and sometimes they are completely the wrong thing to do and will do more harm than good in the long run.

The key is knowing when and how to use the right methods at the right times. Conditioning and training in general is a science, not a guessing game or a crapshoot.

This is just one aspect of conditioning but I hope it gives a better idea of the principle of metbolic specificity I was introducing in my original post. I did not intend to be condescending to any others on this forum or elsewhere, but there are many so called gurus around the internet these days selling MMA Conditioning programs that should have no business doing so and those are the people I am sketpical of.

If you have no interest in this topic or think I'm waisting your time because you have conditioning all figured out then don't read the post.

If anyone has any specific questions or wants more info, feel free to ask or contact me directly.

[erskine777]

is eccentric hypertrophy a product of aerobic conditoning, and concentric hypertrophy due to anaerobic conditoning?

perhaps you could give us samples of what you think would make a good routine, because i'm still not sure what you're talking about. Most people here incorporate both anaerobic conditoning and aerobic conditoning into their workouts, which at least to me seems to be the gist of the above argument.

and you also say that

"The key is knowing when and how to use the right methods at the right times. Conditioning and training in general is a science, not a guessing game or a crapshoot."

could you elaborate on that? when is the right time to do tabata sprints or lsd sessions?

And please drop some names of the ufc and pride people you've been working with. I'm a nosy guy...

[EZA]

Eccentric hypertrophy is the result of aerobic training that takes place for long periods of time (high volume) under low intensities and lower pressures within the heart itself. Generally this means in heart rate zones of about 120-150 where the stroke volumes are the highest. In simplest terms, think about filling a balloon full of water, if you keep it full of water for long enough it stretches.

Concentric hypertrophy takes place under higher intensities (generally the upper end of aerobic heart rates and into the anaerobic rates, although this is not always the case because pressure is the primary stimulus rather than heart rate). Higher pressures mostly come from higher resistance, holding your breath, isometric tension, etc. Strength training generally causes concentric hypertrophy as well as any sport that includes intense efforts under high loading. This type of work raises blood pressure and thus pressure within the heart and over time leads to a thickening of the cardiac walls.

Concentric hypertrophy is more or less the result of pressure overload while eccentric stems from volume overload.

For someone with poor cardiac output a good program would include a lot of low intensity high volume work at the heart rates I mentioned. Low intensity GPP work for long periods of time (at least 60 minutes or more) is ideal for this. For someone with good cardiac output but lower power, higher intensity intervals up to VO2 max are the most effective - keeping in mind how this affects lactate accumulation and the resulting changes in cellular energetic within skeletal muscles however.

I'm not a big fan of tabata sprints or any protocol that uses exact work:rest ratios because they will be different for everybody.

Using tabata's protocols might cause one person's heart rate to go from 130 to 160 while someone else's might go from 110-180 and the results each person would see would be totally different. This is why all conditioning training needs to be heart rate specific to the individual.

Exactly when to use the right methods at the right time is a much more complicated answer than I could provide here because there are so many factors to take into account, but I'll have more specific training info on my methods within the next few months for people to read. If you have more specific questions I can give you more specific answers.

As far as a few of the guys I've worked with: Rich Franklin, Mach Sakurai, Maurice Smith, KJ Noons, Niko Vitale, Chris Leben, Jorge Gurgel, Akira Shoji, Yoon Dong Sik, Ed Herman, Nick Ring, Tyrone Glover, etc.

[Gavin Smith]

Thanks for the info TS

From what you've said it sounds like I've been doing too much high intenity conditioning and not enough long steady state work, ie improved my heart muscle concentricly with out the corresponding eccentric hypertrophy.

I have a fight in a months time and I'm wondering if I have enough time to make the nescesarry changes and make a significant improvement in the next 4 weeks.

Generally I'd say my conditioning is good, but I still want it to be better, is it too late to make a big change to my programme and shift towards eccentric hypertrophy this close to a fight?

[Ian Coe]

Originally Posted by Revok

In order to receive anything one must first empty one's cup.

It seems that the TS's cup is full, however. Of balls.

you make me laugh sometimes revok

[JRT6]

[vince89]

Your client list is impressive, have you worked with other fighters or just MMA guys?

Also, what methods do you use for the longer training? I think I fit perfectly what you described as someone with more concentric hypertrophy, I can go at a 70-80% intensity for a good amount of time but when I get on the padwork and I kick as hard as I can I gas pretty quickly. Ive also been doing lots of shorter intense conditioning as opposed to endurance so I need to mix it up really.

[Standard]

I'm curious here, what other tests would your perform to optimize a clients conditioning, specifically what would people here be able to perform and measure themselves with what the normal guy would have on hand?

I've actually been looking at a heart rate monitor to help base interval work around, is that a tool you normally use?