my Arte Suave

WOD: 100% work..emulating a bjj match

BAR COMPLEX: 12 exercises for 6 reps, straight through. 3 rounds, start with a 45lb bar, then add 10lbs plates, then 5..the goal is to get to 2 45lb plates. Stole this from Martin Rooney.

1) Straight leg DL

2)Shrugs

3) Clean

4) Overhead press

5) Upright rows

6) Bent over rows

7) Snatch

8) Good morning

9) tricep press

10) bicep curl

11) bench press

12) pull over

This was my warmup today..3 rounds..You will feel this one hard in the forearms..The other goal is too NOT DROP THE WEIGHT! FEEL THE STRAIN IN YOUR FOREARMS AND HANDS! Among other places. This workout could stand alone. But it never does for me, but if your new to conditioning this could definitely stand alone for a little. Depending on intensity you could get your heart rate up to 180! 

Emulating a BJJ Black Belt match: 3 rounds. I went from 60 seconds work to 45 second work to 30 seconds work. The goal is to stay doing as much work as intensely as possible. I rested 60-90 seconds between sets. You can also rest until your heart rate gets under 120 BPMS. The order of exercise matters. You can play with this but think about how you feel in a match. This was my order.

-KB Swings

-Air squats

-rope slam

-knee jumps (where i begin on my knees and jump to my feet)

-barbell snatch (LOW WEIGHT, i had on 75lb, we want managable weight that we can work with for the time allotted)

-overhead squat (with the same bar, or you can use a medacine ball, emphasis on the legs but also your core, you feel feel it lol)

-Brady’s (take a band hold it in your hands, and stretch the band out up and down then at a 45 degree angle)

-KB Swings (grueling!, i do 1 handed swings alternating, with 24kg KB)

-20lbs Ball slam

-Rope slam

-Band sprints (in my school we have a pole, where i tie a band around it, and put it around my waist and just sprint, let the band pull me back and pull again.

CORE: two sets 15 reps

• Band presses (same pole, stand sideways from the pole with the band and push it away, and feel this in your core)
• Robots/Halos/around the world
• straight leg situps

Grips: For distance, 3 rounds

in one hand grip 35-45lb plate with fingers and in the other hand hold 2 10lb plate pancaked together. 

I walked around my mat room while shrugging continuously.

This took me 1 hour, Min Heart rate was 144 bpms..Max 182bpms..I burner a little over 800 calories.. 

Current weight 203lbs =) I love being this low.

Fridays WOD

3 rounds 5 minutes…everything for a minute straight. All lifts we utilized light weights. 

-Sumo deadlift into a highpull (or upright row)

-over head presses

-16inch box  jumps

-squat wallball shots

-sprints!

Definitely spent after this one. It was quick and brutal. My lower back is still sore.

Amazing August!

It has been such an amazing experience at my school the last month or two. Besides learning the awesome lessons in Chicago and in Boston recently in my competition tour my coach and mentor Tim Burrill has been promoting a lot of people. Honestly I see the blue being awarded more then anything.

But for the first time in my journey in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I was on hand to see him award the black belt to my homie Chris Yonkers last month! Super tough guy, and one of Tims earliest students!

My freaking homies! I was so excited when Tim Promoted my toughest training partners and bjj nemesis’ Dustin Rhodes and Jimmy Connor to brown belt! Another first for me! I was so excited for these guys especially because I train with these guys everyday! Everyday we kill each other and push each other to our limits, I think thats why it was so special for me to be there and witness their promotion! I was excited the next day waking up, like man my homies are brown belts!

And last but not least Joe Almeida was just promoted to brown belt!

I just love to see my friends do great and achieve their goals and dreams! It inspires me to do great!

My Training has been great! I have been trying extra hard to exhaust my self in training and pushing myself to become stronger at Next Level Fitness to ensure I do not repeat the ridiculous feelings I felt in Chicago and in Boston. 

I have been having 3 day splits. Day 1 usually Monday is lower body, and I have the olympic lifts on that day. Day 2 usually Wednesday is upper body. I am becnhing again, doing curls, presses, rowing, just doing the good ol’ basics on this day, along with some isometric stuff to mimic the jiu-jitsu positions where we are squeezing our opponents, and honestly those are the worst LOL! Day 3 is my all body session. We are hitting everything with circuits, I am trying to make it feel like a competition when I am in there on day 3. Last week I had 2 circuits, circuit 1 was for 8 sets, circuit 2 was for 6 sets.

Circuit 1: 3 Tire flips, sled pull (grips), 10x wall ball pass, 10x wall ball shot. My best time was 54 seconds!

Circuit 2: 265lbs sled push (not pull, big diff between pushing and pulling) for 20 yards sprint 20 yards back, then push a 45lbs plate 20 yards, with 2 360 spins before you finish, to make you dizzy! lol The Last circuit really mimics how guard passing feels after a while. We didnt record a time.

I felt great after the work I put in, my personal trainer who worksout with me, didnt feel so hot! I went and did bjj two more times that day, which means my recovering is superb!

This Friday, at the end we are going to add more, to be truly miserable after the the first two circuits! The goal is to be prepared to compete in anything! I want to be in tremendous shape at all times!

Next for me is the Nogi Pan ams, and the Miami Open for sure, these tournaments will go down, I will do everything in my power to attend them, and possible a local tournament. Havent decided yet!