Thursday, 17 May 2012

Heavyweight prospect Paul Taylor trains for challenging fight

Background

Pro Record: 2-2-0
Height: 5ft 10″ (178cm)
Weight: 250lbs (113kg)

A heavyweight fighter from Birmingham, Paul “The Terror” Taylor started his career in mixed martial arts by jumping in at the deep end. With a professional record of just 1-1, Taylor stepped up and faced a huge challenge in UFC fighter Jeff Monson.
Even though Taylor lost the fight, he earned the respect of everybody in the MMA community with his resilient performance.

Since the fight with Monson, Taylor has joined Bodytorque affiliate Sapphire MMA. Bodytorque have also taken responsibily of Pauls Strength and Conditioning to sponsor him for his next fight fight against Scott Saward at UCMMA.


Training

Pauls currently training 3 times a day to keep well rounded in all aspects of his game. 1 of these sessions is the responsibility of Bodytorque to make sure Paul is at his most explosive and conditioned peak on the day of the fight.

Even though Paul was already very fit and explosive before he came to us, we have been using numerous techniques to improve his ability as a fighter.

As a warm up we start Paul off with gentle jogging and then move him onto some light footwork drills on the agility ladder to keep this heavyweight fighter light on his feet.

After Paul is fully warmed and stretched we start him off on his circuit. Each station is 45 seconds with no rest inbetween.





Battleropes are used as a great full body conditioning tool. Used for muscle endurance and interval cardiovascular training.

Barrel lifts and slams improve Pauls explosive power. He needs to squat, bring the barrel to his chest and then stand up to extend his arms before slamming the keg as hard as he can on to the tyre.


 Squat Press - Increase strength and explosive power in pauls legs, hips, low back, abdominals, shoulders, and arms.


Tuck jumps holding a kettlebell. Great for Pauls cardio
and plyometric power on his legs


 Double arm 28kg kettlebell swings - without going into to much detail this one of the best exercises any athelete can do and one we also recommend to every person that enters the gym. For great muscle endurance, power, strength, fat burning propertys and muscle stability this is one of the best exercises we recommend.

We finished off with Paul having to pull a small car for 100 yards as fast as he could, turn around and push it back as fast as he could. ! minute rest and repeat 2 more times. Added power and endurance on his legs will help with controlling his opponent and driving through him for takedowns.

With the fight being so close we are not pushing Paul for longer than he needs to as he has to be carefull to not burn out so close to his fight. The whole session will last 20 mins, only 5 minutes more than his fight time but is 100% effort for the full 20 minutes.

Paul is a great guy and great fighter, he has a fantastic work ethic and refuses to train anything less than 100% for his sessions. Were confident in Pauls ability as a fighter and look forward to helping him make his way to the top.

Our website : www.bodytorque.org.uk





Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Glycemic Index and Exercise Performance


When it comes to talking about carbohydrates and their role in enhancing performance, it seems all carbohydrates may not be the same. Even distinguishing between sugars and starches may not be enough. Glycemic index of a food represents how quickly a food is digested and how high your blood glucose (or blood sugar) will rise after you consume that food. The higher the glycemic index, the higher the rise in blood sugar. To accurately test the glycemic index of a food, one would need to ingest a small serving of a carbohydrate food, and then measure the glucose in the blood over a two hour period. The glycemic index is given in terms of a percentage. Pure glucose results in the highest glycemic index: 100%.

So, if a food results in a glycemic index of 80, this indicates that eating a small serving of that particular food results in a rise of blood sugar which is 80% as great as consuming the same amount of pure glucose. There are many factors that can influence the glycemic index of a food. These include: the structure of the carbohydrate, the absorption rate, what and when you ate previously, and other substances within that food, like the amount of protein and fat.

So, how can this affect athletic performance?

If athletes consume lower glycemic index foods throughout the day and up to 1 1/2 hours before sports activity, they might experience the following positive effects: 1) they might not have a drop in blood sugar prior to training/competition; 2) they might have a higher concentration of fat in the blood to use for energy which will then "spare" their muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrate); "sparing" muscle glycogen usually results in less fatigue and better performance. Conversely, consuming moderate to high glycemic index foods after exercise might help to promote muscle glycogen storage, which is good, since muscle glycogen is required for energy.

Here is a list of some high glycemic index foods (greater than 70%):

waffles, bagels, white bread, rice cakes, graham crackers, Cheerios, watermelon, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, carrots, jelly beans, Life Savers, honey.


Here are some moderate glycemic index foods (50% to 70%):

orange juice, Gatorade, rice, oatmeal, Grape Nuts, wheat crackers, whole wheat bread, pineapple, raisins, bananas, grapes.

Here is a list of some low glycemic index foods (less than 50%):

Whole meal pasta, peas, chick peas, lentils, baked beans, peanuts, pears, oranges, sweetened yogurt, apple juice, skim milk.

* depending on digestibility, low glycemic index foods may be able to be consumed up to 30-60 minutes before sports activity.

To Summarize: High glycemic index foods may enhance performance in athletes and can be useful during and after work-outs or competitions. Low glycemic index foods may be helpful prior to sports activity. However, research is controversial; so, high and low glycemic index foods may not be beneficial for all athletes. If student-athletes want to "experiment" with different types of carbohydrates, encourage them to do so during practices not competition.

Our website : www.bodytorque.org.uk
 
 

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

RawFit announces full details

RawFit is an organised event to challenge all aspects of strength and fitness using uncoventional equipment and functional movements

They released this statement on facebook earlier today:

RAWFIT 2012 will be held at Bodytorque gym on 14th July 2012

There are currently 8 confirmed events to take place :
(Not in the day order)

1. 1.5 mile run best effort (Timed)
2. Pull ups (For reps in 1 minute)
3. Tyre Flips (For reps in 1 minute, different weights for male and female competitors)
...
4. Axle Clean & Press (For Reps in 1 minute, different weights for male and female competitors)
5. Car Pull/Push (Timed)
6. Keg Lifts onto a platform (Timed)
7. Wheel Barrow Sandbag Load (Timed)
8. Squat your on bodyweight on an olympic bar (For Reps)

Points will be allocated at the end of each event and the top 3 atheltes for male and female catagories will be awarded prizes.

Entry is £25 and will include refreshments, a FREE tshirt and insurance.

Anybody is welcome to apply for the competition although we do request a good level of strength and fitness

For details on how to apply just email
Rawfitevents@hotmail.co.uk



To find RawFit on facebook and stay up to date as details are released just click on www.facebook.com/RawFitEvents

Monday, 7 May 2012

Muscle&Fitness Magazine visit Bodytorque


Last week we welcomed a few new faces here at Bodytorque. This was expert Strength and Conditioning Coach Marco Mastrorocco (from Muscle&Fitness), professional photographer Brian Roberts and inner armour fight team manager Liam Axworthy . They had came to Bodytorque in order to write a number of different articles on fighter fitness for the magazine and the importance of athletic ability in a Mixed Martial Arts fight.


As Sapphire MMA's strength and conditioning facility a number of the professional fighters came along for a workout with Marco while he explained the importance of fitness for MMA.


Bodytorque owner Chris Tomlinson warmed up the team with some simple jogging, dynamic stretching and plyometrics to activate muscle fibres.
Marco then took the reigns, set up and explained his circuit. It revolved around a number of stations with alternate strength exercises or plyometric jumps for 5 minutes (mimicing the length of an mma round) Full details of the circuit will be described in the article.

Marco then set up 2 more different rounds and the strain began to show in the team as everyone continued to put in 100% effort











Bodytorque would just like to thank Marco for coming all the way to Liverpool and showing us some new effective techniques which we now incorporate into our own circuits! A great friendly man we would love to have him back anytime!

We would also like to thank Brian Roberts for all 2000 photos he took on the day (to be uploaded on the Bodytorque facebook page), Liam Axworthy for some promotional Jaco clothing and all the team that put the effort in and worked hard in the training.


Overall a great day that everyone enjoyed, look out for us in the next few articles of fighting talk in Muscle&Fitness magazine.




Our website : www.bodytorque.org.uk


REMEMBER - WINNERS FIND A WAY, LOSERS FIND AN EXCUSE, WHICH ARE YOU?




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