BARBELL SQUAT:

The squat is a compound movement that works primarily the quadriceps but also involves the hamstrings, glutes, calves and lower back. It also requires a strong core to help to maintain good posture and stabilise the body. The squat is an exercise I would recommend anyone to include in his or her workout programme especially if the aim is to increase strength or muscle size.

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Warm up:

For this session we started off with some S.A.Q (speed, agility and quickness) using a mixture of cone drills,

1 In: Jog through the cones placing 1 foot in each gap

Lateral jogging: Jog sideways through the cones placing both feet in each gap

2 In: Jog through the cones placing 2 feet in each gap

Weaving: Weave in and out through the cones

2 Footed diagonal hops: Start on the right hand side of the first cone and jump forward 2 footed to the next cone landing on the left hand side. Continue jumping diagonally from cone to cone landing soft each time by bending the knees on impact.

Side crawls: From a press-up position crawl sideways through the cones by moving the same hand and same leg. Aim to maintain a flat back throughout.

Each exercise was completed for 30 seconds and the circuit was performed twice through for a total of 5 minutes. In between rounds there was a 1 minute rest.

Round 1 Upper body:

Recline rows

Sledgehammer strikes onto tyre

Medicine ball strikes onto bag (Standing at arms length from a punch bag. Hold a heavy med ball in both hands and rapidly tap the bag. After each strike against the bag bring the ball back and tap your stomach. This exercise will help to improve the stamina in your forearms, which can benefit a fighter when it comes to grappling and clinching. It also gives your abdominals some impact training).

Walk over press-ups on low step 

Dumbbell punches

Round 2 Lower body:

Medicine ball jump squats

Knee strikes onto prone bag (place one knee onto a punch bag on the floor with the other leg extended back. Drive your free leg into the bag striking it with your knee. Then switch legs placing your striking knee onto the bag and throwing the strike with opposite side).

Box jumps

Powerbag alternating leg front lunge

Jump lunges

Round 3 cardio:

For this round we performed 3 exercises and completed 3 circuits. The first exercise we did a different version on each circuit.

Version 1: 3 punch combo with sprawl

We threw a jab; cross and lead hook onto the focus pads followed by 1 sprawl.

Version 2: 3 punch combo with shoot

Same punch combo and then the guys would shoot in for a takedown and grab me around the legs and lift me off the ground before stepping back and repeating.

Version 3: Alternate between sprawls and shoots

Throw the 3-punch combo and alternate between a sprawl and a shoot after the punches.

Resistance band ground and pound: From the mount position they threw continuous punches while holding a heavy-duty resistance band that was hung from the wall. 

Lateral jumps over kick-shield: Stand next to a kick-shield that’s stood on it’s side and perform a 2 footed side jump over it aiming to land soft by bending the knees on impact.

At the end of the 3 rounds we finished with a punch out drill.

Punch out drill:

We stood an upright Powerbag against the punch bag so that it hung at a slight angle. The aim then was for each guy to perform 20 seconds of continuous jab, crosses to keep the punch bag from touching the Powerbag. Any time the 2 bags touched then rather than having the 20-second rest period they had to perform 5 burpees with a press-up at the bottom and a vertical jump as they stood up.

At the end of this we cooled down and stretched.

As always spend 5-10 minutes warming up before starting this session and cool down and stretch at the end.

Single arm swing with switch: Perform one full swing and then on your second rep switch hands at the top of the movement. Do the same on the other arm before switching back. This counts as one rep. Complete 10 reps

Press-ups x25

Squat to press x20 per arm

Alternating leg front lunge x20 per leg

Single arm high pull x20 per arm

Burpee x20

Snatch x20 per arm

Crunch with legs up x25

Figure of eight x10 (Start with the kettlebell in your right hand and take it around your body. When it returns to your right hand this counts as 1 rep).

Tip:

If you’re starting out with kettlebells then I would suggest women start off with 4-6kg and men 8-12kg.

Below is a short video showing all of the exercises within this workout.

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For today’s session we would be focusing on superset training, which involves performing 2 exercises back to back without any rest. Again we would concentrate mainly on the major muscle groups of the chest, back and legs but would pick exercises that would also target his shoulders, arms, core as well as his heart and lungs. Below are the supersets, which we used for this session as well as a short video showing Sam performing the last set of each.

Superset 1.

TRX Atomic press-up: Not only does this hit the chest but it is also a killer for the abdominals.

Kettle floor press with leg up: By lifting your legs this gets you using your core more to help stabilise the body as well as helping to place more emphasise on your chest.

Superset 2.

Double kettlebell swings

TRX Rows

Superset 3.

Powerbag squat with shoulder-to-shoulder press

Reverse lunge with powerbag upright row: By reaching forward with the bag as you lunge will force you to use your core muscles to help to stabilise your body and prevent the weight of the bag throwing you off balance.

Superset 4.

Press-ups with handclaps: (Not shown) Sam got into a press-up position and I knelt in front of him. He performed one press-up and then lifted his right hand of the floor and clapped my right hand aiming to keep his body still by engaging his core muscles. He then repeated with another press-up followed by left hand clap.

Medicine ball V-up.

Warm up: Tonight’s warm up involved body weight movements such as squats with rotation, lunges and side crawls as well as active stretches for the lower back and hip flexors.

Main workout:

For this workout we used supersets, performing one strength exercise followed immediately with one power movement. We had a short rest between sets and completed 3 supersets of each.

Hang cleans

Jump squat with press

TRX rows

Hammer strikes onto tyre

Incline bench press

Explosive press ups

Powerbag lunges

Jump lunge

Core superset:

This session we used a more sport specific exercise alongside an explosive one.

Guard get ups: This exercise helps to simulate being on the ground and having to scramble back up onto your feet. Lie on your back holding a medicine ball across your chest. Sit up and extend one leg out while pulling the other one into your body and then scramble up onto your feet without using your hands. Return to the floor and then repeat off the other leg.

Explosive sit up with medicine ball throw: For this exercise Marlon got into a basic sit up position holding a medicine ball above his head. As he sat up he threw the ball to me a couple of metres away. He stayed up until the ball was thrown back to him. When I threw the ball back it was slightly above his head meaning Marlon had to catch it before slowly lowering himself back down using his abdominals to resist.

Below is a short video showing the power movements.

We warmed up using a mixture of medicine ball exercises such as swings, rotations and lunges with rotations alongside bodyweight movements such as press-up with rotation. The main workout consisted of the following exercises.

Deadlift

Powerbag squat

Barbell push press

Superset: Alternating arm kettlebell floor press with Press-up to knee strikes on floor bag.

 Underhand grip recline rows

Core superset:

For today’s session we focused on 2 rotational movements that would not only work the core but also help to improve punching power.

Standing weight plate rotations

Medicine ball Russian twists with chest pass (For this exercise Marlon got into a position to do a Russian twist and I stood in front of him. I threw the ball to Marlon, alternating the height and direction each time. Each time Marlon would catch it and then perform a twist on each side before throwing the ball back to me. The aim was for Marlon to keep his lower body as still as possible, maintain a straight back and not lose his balance.)

For our next session we will start to bring in more power-based exercises such as jump squats, plyometric press-ups, sledgehammer strikes etc.

All you need to do this workout is a barbell and a step box. The aim is to complete 45 seconds on each of the resistance exercises completing as many repetitions as you can, use a quick tempo whilst maintaining a full range of motion and a strict technique. For the plyometric exercises spend 30 seconds on each. Once you have completed a full circuit rest for 1 minute and then repeat, aim to perform 3 circuits.

Perform a 5-10 minute warm up before starting this session.

Push press

Bench hops

Bent over rows

Burpee to step jump

Squats

Straddle jumps

Press-ups

Explosive step ups 

Tips:

: Use the same weight for each of the barbell exercises. Start light since the workout is designed more for muscular endurance rather than strength. Only increase the weight when you can do a full 45 seconds on each exercise over all 3 sets.

Below are some regressions for the plyometric exercises.

Bench hops: Use a lower step.

Burpee to step jump: Perform the burpee with your hands on the step. Rather than a step jump do a basic step up instead.

Straddle jumps: Perform step-ups from a straddle position or do a straddle jump onto the step and then step down.

Explosive step jumps: Use basic step ups instead for a lower impact variation.

: When I did this session with one of my clients it took around 40 minutes to complete including warm up. We finished the session with an abdominal superset of medicine ball wood chops and medicine ball crunch with alternating leg lifts.

4 exercise circuit:

High pulls

Double kettlebell squat and press

Kneeling resistance band row

Walk over press-ups on a low step

Abdominal exercises:

Reverse curl and medicine ball combo:

For this exercise lie on your back with your legs in the air and hold a medicine ball above your head. Contract your abdominals and lift your hips and bottom slightly off the floor. Return to the start position and then crunch your shoulder blades off the floor and reach towards your feet with the ball. This counts as 1 rep and we performed 3 sets of 10.

Medicine ball oblique twists:

Lie on your back with your legs up and knees bent and hold a medicine ball just above your chest. Extend your legs forward and back one at a time as if you were cycling. As you do this rotate the ball across your body towards the knee that is coming towards you aiming to keep your shoulder blades off the floor for the entire set. We completed 3 sets of 20 reps.

1. : 

Look out for the next part to this training blog when I will be taking Sam through some superset training.

Workout A:

Incline bench press: 1 warm up set of 15 reps with lightweight then 3 x 8-12. (1-minute rest between sets)

Clean and press: 1 warm up set of 15 reps with lightweight then 3 x 8-12. (1-minute rest)

Press-up: For this exercise we started with the basic press-up and aimed to do 3 sets of 12. We then progressed up to 20 reps and once this was comfortable we used a harder variation such as using the “Perfect press-ups” or doing an atomic press-up on the TRX. (45 seconds rest)

Kettlebell single arm snatch: 3 sets 8-12 reps per arm. (1-minute rest)

Chest press machine: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (45 seconds rest)

Upright row: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (45 seconds rest)

Close grip bench press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps (45 seconds rest)

Workout B:

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