Issue 103

July 2013

Why starting slow will get you fast results

There is something to be said for earning the right to do a movement. Hands up anyone who has seen the world’s newest and coolest exercise technique and went straight ahead and gave it a go. Did you try it with an inappropriate load, no warm-up and no concept of how the movement works? Yes, me too.

PAUL MCVEIGH

Sports scientist, TUF 14 cast member and full-time coach – each issue he presents his best conditioning tips

I like to take the usual movement patterns (push, pull, squat, hip hinge etc) and have exercise variations within those categories ranging from simple to advanced.

Starting too far along on this simple to advanced continuum can increase the risk of injury but more often it will lead to an exercise looking ugly. Ugly exercises rarely lead to the performance increases athletes are looking for.

Start From Simple

With my athletes I always begin their strength-training journey at the simple end of the continuum. This is where they develop important strength training principles such as maintaining spinal position, technique and generating tension, without worrying about the external loading snapping them in half.

To the right is an example of how the horizontal push movement can be progressed.

Once an athlete finds a movement unchallenging it is time to progress. Using the model here, most of my athletes can bang out 20 perfect push-ups pretty easily right from the start so it becomes part of the warm-up as opposed to part of the strength training session. 

However, the important thing is I have seen they are proficient in the simple movements before throwing them under the bench press or TRX push-up.

Progressing Movement Patterns

The simplest way is to increase the loading. Any body-weight exercise can be ramped up to disgusting levels with the addition of a weighted vest or some other form of external loading. Push-ups with chains can produce strength gains and a feeling of manliness that can only otherwise be achieved by punching an enraged bear and living to tell the tale.

Progression can also be achieved by altering the time variables. Rest time can be shortened to produce a conditioning effect or lengthened to ensure maximal effort can be maintained in subsequent sets. We can also mess with the tempo of the lift during the eccentric and isometric phases to target different strength qualities. Generally I do not alter the tempo during concentric phase and it remains as fast as possible whatever tempo is being used.

Altering the sets and rep scheme of a movement is probably the simplest form of progression and a topic that has been covered here in detail in the past.

Increasing the range of movement tends to make an exercise more challenging. A reverse lunge can be tough but when you start the movement while standing on a couple of 25kg plates it becomes a whole different animal.

Another way to progress is to move from a stable environment to an unstable environment. I have seen really good bench pressers do a fantastic Bambi-walking-on-ice impression when they move to TRX push-ups. I should point out that unstable surface training for the upper body in the form of suspension trainers, stability balls, BOSUs and the like has a good amount of evidence and is an appropriate progression. 

Using unstable surfaces for the lower body does not seem to be as appropriate when you look at the research. Managing to squat on a stability ball is more of a circus trick than a way to improve performance. A more effective way to progress lower-body exercises would be to switch to single-leg variations.

Regressing Movement Patterns 

Having the ability to easily regress an exercise is an important skill for the MMA practitioner utilizing strength training. There are many things that can happen during a training week that can throw off your ability to move properly. 

A shoulder tweaked from a sprawled shot can leave you unable to get into a racked position for a back squat. Similarly a busted hand can make cleaning to the front squat position upsetting. Having a suitable regression will allow you to continue to obtain a training effect.

Feel free to devise your own personal progressions and regressions for all of the movement patterns you regularly do. Start at the simple level and work your way up to the more advanced variations. Taking the time to earn the right to utilize the advanced options will be hugely beneficial to your technique, strength and performance in combat sports.