Throwing things Around

So, this is 75 pounds of sand, in 5 pound bags. Based on plans(PDF) from RossTraining.
The plan is to put these into a bigger canvas bag. And throw it around.
With the 10 lb. sandbell we already own we can do any increment from 5 to 85. As such we can hit the 30-70% of 1RM that is optimal for power training.

The concept is that we use the sandbag for upper body power development. A variety of exercises are possible, all based on the idea of a shotput*. So we can throw the sandbags with a chest pass, over-the-shoulder  or sidearm throw, an overhead throw or even use a lunge.

We are looking for two things. First full-body coordination of power into our upper body. Second, a load that is high enough to be good power training for the upper body. And it is this second item that is why simply using a modern 16# shotput is good but not optimal.

Each athlete gets a load of at least 30% of their bench press 1RM and upwards of 70% of 1RM. The target number of repetitions ranges from 5 down to 1 or 2 depending on the size of the load. We are not concerned with how far the throw gets, only that he weight can be projected ballistically.

This is a tool not for basic strength but to layer onto a foundation of conventional strength training.

*The shotput is one of the few historically documented methods of power training.

Physical Testing for Combat Sports

Assessment and testing is an important part of a training program. It allows you to track an individuals progress. It can be used to compare members of a team and to compare to normative data.

Tracking progress can allow you to objectively determine what areas still need work in the program. And tracking can also be a powerful motivator for the athlete.

Here is my suggested set of assessments for HEMA, WMA, SCA and similar combat sports. This set of tests is not the same as the ones I'd use for grappling but it is similar.

Anthropometric Tests

Body Fat %

Height

Weight
Arm length and "Wingspan"

Mobility-Flexibility Screening

A good explanation of the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) can be found here. It's important to note that the FMS has not been demonstrated to be correlated to performance measures. The FMS seems to be much more useful from a physical therapy and pre-hab - that is we can use it to identify potential areas of weakness and potential failure, and then tailor the program to compensate and correct those problems.

1. Overhead Squat*
2. Hurdle Step
3. In-line Lunge
4. Shoulder Mobility
5. Trunk Stability Push-up
6. Rotary Stability
7. Active Straight Leg Raise*

* These tests are relevant to a strength training program and less relevant to the fighting.

Agility

Hexagon Agility Test

Explosive Power Tests

1RM Hang Clean – Power style*

*this test is the hardest to do since it requires significant technical skill in the lift. The combination of the the other power tests and the leg strength test may be sufficient.

10# Sandbell Chest Pass – Athlete stands with toes on start line and feet flat on the floor. The sandbell is held at sternum height close to the chest with the elbows close and the hands cocked back (wrist radial deviated, extended and supinated). Throw is performed without stepping and with both heels held flat on the ground. Wrists should ulnar deviate, flex and pronate as throw is performed. Since the sandbell does not roll, the distance is measured from the position where the sandbell stops. Measurement is made from the start line to the nearest point of the sandbell.

Left and Right throws will also be measured, with the athlete standing facing perpendicular to the start line.

* This test does not appear in any literature as a validated test. However, tests like this are being investigated for their relevance to various sports. At this time the test can only be used for tracking progress on the individual athlete.

Plyometric Power - Standing Broad Jump

Reactive Strength Test - Standing Triple Jump

Maximal Strength Tests

1RM Bench Press

1RM Back Squat - with an athlete unfamiliar with squat a leg press/hip sled can be used instead.

Muscular Endurance

Endurance Cutting – Test is performed with the same sword each test to standardize the measure. Cuts are made from an over the shoulder start position. Each cut is performed with a lateral passing step. Cuts are made at a 60 per minute cadence tracked with a metronome (available as a phone app). The test continues until the athlete is no longer able to maintain cadence or good cutting form. Good form includes full extension to a target above waist height and start position with the cross at least at the level of the point of the shoulder.
This version of the test is specific to the Lichtenauer school, but only minor variations should be needed for different styles.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance

Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test – A Beep Test app for is used with a 20 m course. Test continues until the athlete stops or can no longer run at the start signal.

More things to do with Ropes

http://fitdeck.com/videos/bid/99737/FitDeck-Muscle-Ropes-Coming-Soon
FitDeck has a video showing off many of the different exercises you can do with Muscle/Battle Ropes. I think they are a great tool for conditioning. Especially from the standpoint of including more upper body in conditioning, stability and more planes of motion.

And if an app like FitDeck is what keeps you moving then it's doing it's job.

Better than Running

http://www.titleboxing.com/news/roadwork-is-not-for-runners/
An blog post on the difference between going for a run and the kind of conditioning that fighters should be doing.
Similar in concept and an expansion on the idea of Fartlek.

Fitness Buzzwords

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/04/19/5-fitness-buzzwords/

The Nerd Fitness Blog is a great resource. And I really appreciate the article.

No, Not Kettlebells!

Kettlebells are not a good training tool for HEMA. Let's start there.
They are a perfectly good tool for burning calories and meeting generalized fitness goals, but not for meeting the needs of a fighter.

I do want to get out of the way one point: I'm not opposed to kettlebells. Their are two minor quibbles I have with them, neither of which is significant enough that I'd tell somebody, "don't use them". But I sure can't recommend them.

1) They cost more. For the same amount of money you can buy a larger amount of weight in dumbbells and the DBs will be adjustable at that cost, but the KBs aren't. So, I would tell people not to buy kettlebells.

2) The handles don't rotate. Many KB exercises involve the bell rotating in your hand. This will cause, and then rip open, callouses more than other weight lifting tools. So that's not good. The problem isn't awful, it's  annoying, and but it can get in the way of training on those days when your hands are messed up. And that's a problem for people who train with weapons.

The best kind of strength training for HEMA is something that I've covered before. The important aspect is that good strength training for fighters is going to have one of three aspects: max force, max power or max velocity. Kettlebells are not heavy enough to elicit either maximum force or maximum power from the muscles. And they are too heavy for you to be able to generate max velocity.

Working in and around these maximums - force, power or velocity - produces the greatest benefit for the amount of time spent working out.

Max Force - Exercises which require high force production will recruit the largest motor units and the greatest proportion of your muscle fibers. This is the result of the Size Principle, and what it means is that low load exercises will simply not ever trigger the use of your biggest motor units. When you use your biggest motor units they get bigger, stronger, faster and are more easily turned on by other actions. As you train at high loads you will use your big muscles more in your fighting, so you will produce more force and power.

Max Power - Maximum power is generated in between 30% and 70% of maximum force. Different studies have found different ranges of values that elicit max power and it varies with the particular exercise and muscle groups being used. The highest power output exercises are the Olympic lifts: Clean & Jerk and Snatch. At their peak these exercise can be measured in Horsepower, with elite athletes producing over 7 horsepower. Seven horses! Kettlebells can't even get close to that. Kettlebells just aren't heavy enough. Even a small person, at 100 lbs. would need KBs around 50-60 pounds to generate max power and that person could easily train until they need over 100 pounds to elicit max power.

And their are lot's of other good reasons to do Olympic lifts, too.

Power is relevant because it is a measure of how quickly force is produced. The same amount of force in a shorter period of time is higher power output. As strikes happen faster than the muscles ability to reach maximum force the faster that force is produced the more effective the attack. (And max force still matters because in a given amount of time your muscle will produce a percentage of max force).

Max Velocity - Velocity of action drops off quickly as weight goes up. Enough so that above double-weight you get a steep drop-off in the carry-over from training to fighting. Therefore training velocity with tools above 4-6 pounds (for longsword) doesn't work well. This is why kettlebells don't do a good job of working velocity. Furthermore, velocity training is more movement pattern specific than the other two categories, so common KB exercises like swings just aren't relevant to fighting.

The better training tool for combining strength with velocity is an overweight waster (and heck, it's even historical).
You can also do a variety of plyometric medicine ball exercises for the upper body and trunk.  These are best with a light med ball (again 4-6 lbs. for longsword) that bounces well.

Conditioning is not Strength Training
This is a key caveat to everything I've said so far, which has been about strength training. For conditioning purposes kettlebells can be just as good as other approaches but not with typical KB programs. Most KB programs are geared towards increasing the amount of time or number of repetitions in a fixed period of time or a fixed number of repetitions in decreasing time. These kinds of programs are usually lacking in that they do not match the energy demands of a fight particularly closely.

A typical fight involves long periods of low intensity, while the fighters jockey for position and wait for a good tempo to attack. Then there is a brief period of maximum intensity. Each exchange usually lasts no more than a few seconds (if there's no grappling). Exchanges not infrequently last less than one second.

If your kettlebell program looks like that then great. But it probably doesn't. I've talked about conditioning before. And I'll go into more detail in the future.

Where to Start

So a few folks have asked me about getting started with strength training. Unlike my normal material the following is not sport-specific.

This is just about getting started with strength training. For those who have little or no experience with the topic.

First of all: Strength training is exercises hard enough that you can only do 12 in a row or fewer. Or, with isometric exercises, something you can only hold for less than 30 seconds.
Otherwise what you are doing is endurance training. Which is not the same thing.

Primarily, it's not about which exercises you do, it's about the intensity at which you do them. Bodyweight squats are an endurance activity for most folks because they can do 15 or 20 or more. But if you did the exact same exercise while holding weights - enough weight that you could not do more than 12 - then the exercise would be strength training instead.

If I were to recommend a set of dumbbell exercises (since adjustable dumbbells are cheap, readily available and useable at home) I'd suggest the following:
1. Squats
2. Split squats
3. Straight leg deadlifts
4. Hip thrust/bridge with weight (you can start this with dumbbells in your lap. You need to put your back up against something sturdy. I push a chair up against the wall).
5. Bench press (can be done on the floor, a bench isn't necessary)
6. Bent-over row
7. Shoulder/overhead press (do this standing not seated)
8. Pull-ups (a pull-up bar can be gotten that works in almost any apartment and doesn't require tools to install). Here's a primer on doing pull-ups if you can't yet.
9. Crunches with weight (I prefer to hold the weight by my shoulders)
10. Side bends


This set of ten covers every major muscle group in the body and works them in all the major planes of motion. So it is very nearly complete.

The amount of weight you are looking for is something that will develop strength, which means higher weights and lower reps.

Start at 12-15 RM - Repetition Maximum - the number that you can do before you cannot do another with good form.

Start easy on the exercises to develop your form. In the long run good form is much more important that increasing weight quickly.

For each week pick an intensity level. Do all of your exercises at that level. Every 2-4 weeks you can increase the intensity level.

Intensity levels:
12-15 RM
10-12 RM
8-10 RM
6-8 RM

I wouldn't go higher than that without a spotter though.

Do the workout at least twice a week and each session has a rest day in-between another session. So not more than three times per week.

Aim for multiple sets of each exercise. 2-3 sets is a reasonable workout.
But if you only have time to do one of each then start there.

You need to rest between each set to get the most out of it.
12-15RM - rest 60+ sec.
8-12RM - rest 90+ sec.
7 RM and heavier - rest 2-4 minutes

You can shorten the rest periods if you alternate exercises between different muscle groups e.g. push/pull or upper/lower. But you'll still need rest between sets. This sort of plan can be done on "light" days.

For strength training you should also have a "heavy" day where you don't alternate like this and you take appropriate rest periods.