They say that 3 is a magic number, and I’ve certainly found that to be the case with probably the most flexible, versatile programme ever invented. It’s as simple as push, pull and legs. Step inside to find out more.

Struggling to build the barn door back you aspire to possess? Try this comprehensive, attack-from-all-angles back blaster workout that follows a traditional bodybuilding style of torturing the muscles from each segment.

Is cardiovascular the saving grace and necessity we fitness enthusiasts have been led to believe? Driven Sports' renowned researcher and sports nutrition expert Rob Clarke provides a shocking, more reasonable approach to the benefits cardio provides.

Question: I'm finding it difficult to progress on both squats and deadlifts on a weekly basis. Is it plausible to sacrifice one for the other, and if so, which one should I pick to focus on and why?

So you want to start training. More specifically, you don't know where the hell to start. You've got goals, sure - perhaps a certain visual you're striving for, or a performance orientated goal.
Maybe it's Brad Pitt in Fight Club, or if you're a female, you want

Recently we've had a few people asking "which shinpads are best for MMA" if they're planning to buy some when just starting out in MMA. So i just thought I'd write a brief article on the pro's and con's of both of the major styles of shin-pads and which might be the most suitable for your training. 

Personally when training i prefer to use the Thai shinpads as i believe they offer the best amount of protection to me and my training partners, they are alot thicker than the MMA shinpads and offer alot more protection especially around the ankle and foot, however they do have their drawbacks when it comes to grappling in them as obviously they are alot bigger than the MMA pads it is very difficult to be going for submissions,sweeps etc....

This is where the MMA shinpads come in to play as you can still grapple in them (which is obviously a massive part of mma sparring) as they are very thin, kind of like a padded football sock but do still offer quite a bit of protection to the shin,ankle and foot.

So before i start rambling on, if your just getting in to the sport and will just be doing a specific MMA class then i would suggest using the MMA shinpads so you can still spar and not be too hampered as soon as it hits the mat, but  as soon as you get a bit more advanced or your planning on training all the different aspects of MMA separately eg: muay thai, BJJ,wrestling then i would invest in a good pair of Thai shinpads, as you dont really want to be doing  any hard sparring or muay thai in MMA shinpads as it will most likely result in an injury to you or your training partners

Thanks for reading guys and any questions or feedback would be appreciated    

Frank Dolphin   

BodyActive Bolton

 MMA Shinpads

 

 

   Thai shinpads

 

                

 

 

 

For some this just might be the most important article you ever read. For me it was satisfying because it will possibly be as no bullshit as it gets. Those that liked and could relate to "The Marshmallow Test" will find a few similarities here.

Friends always come to me for nutrition and training advice and I always give them great advice, but I can never apply it to my own life! Why is that?

By Lyle McDonald: www.bodyrecomposition.com

 

Ok, this is going to be long but I’m determined to wrap this up  today so I can write about something else on Friday.  Today I want to look at some of the different methods that have been used in an attempt to monitor and/or diagnose overtraining to catch it before it happens and then finish up by looking at what to do if overtraining occurs (even if you did your best to prevent it).  I’d note that the various methods I want to mention in terms of monitoring overtrianing should be used in addition to the general ‘rules’ I talked about in Overtraining, Overreaching and all the Rest Part 7.

By Lyle McDonald: www.bodyrecomposition.com

 

Well this has now gotten entirely out of hand.  I had thought I could finish up today but it’s going to take at least two more parts to cover it and I’m going to take another detour on Friday to make a special announcement (newsletter readers know what I’m talking about, another reason you should subscribe).  So, maybe by August I’ll be done with this series and can talk about something else.  Or next week.

Clearly, if you haven’t read through the series (e.g. you somehow only found the site last week when I was talking about endurance performance and prattling self-indulgently about my race), you should start with Overtraining, Overreaching and all the Rest Part 1.  Having covered a bunch of tedious physiology and background, I want to now move into some practical application type things.

By Lyle McDonald: www.bodyrecomposition.com

 

Having finished my tedious definition of overtraining in previous parts of the series, I moved onto more practical issues and looked at two different ‘types’ of overtraining in Overtraining, Overeaching and all the Rest Part 5 on Tuesday.  In that part, I examined the idea of a parasympathetic (aka A-type or Addisonic) and sympathetic (aka B-type of Basedowic) overtraining.

I finished by listing a handful of common symptoms of overtraining with the list deliberately meant to demonstrate that some of the symptoms appear to be relegated to muscle and the others to the brain or more central parts of the body.  I’ll pick up there today by looking at another common distinction of overtraining ‘types’ and then look a bit more at what ’causes’ overtraining to try to tie all of this together.