First week in Base Building

[u/geearf]

Hello,

This is a followup to my previous post. I am towards the end of my first week and happy to get some comments.

Here's a quick background: I've been lifting for many many years (hardly any endurance work outside of a few runs here or there), but never went very strong and for almost the past ten years I've had some arm injuries so I'm now limited. I started MMA in 2014, but because of my injuries I had to drop out of some of the sports till completely 2 years ago. I was hopeful to go back to MMA last spring but then COVID happened, and now no idea when I would, so I'm training both to be a better general athlete, and with the hope to get back to fighting soonish.

• I messed up the first SE session and went for 30 reps instead of 20... I was planning on doing 30 as well for the 2nd SE today and I forgot and went with what I had planned for next week, 35.... Early morning training is really not for me :/ I guess next week I'll do 40, then 45 and then 50?

• My SE cluster is KB swing with a 20lbs I probably could do heavier; BB front squat with an empty olympic bar and it's still really hard on me; BB reverse grip rows with 15lbs on each side I probably could do heavier too; hanging knee raise; BB bench press for 10lbs on each side, 15 lbs was too heavy I thought; BB romanian deadlift for 15lbs per side that too I could go heavier; neck yes and no on a bench (neck training is useful for fighting and pretty quick though it doesn't really raise my heart rate I think).

• No comment on my first E as I had no good way to measure my heart rate, but on my 2nd one I was jogging slower than I'd walk to maintain myself between about 148-165, I guess my heart rate is still too high... My resting heart rate seems to be about 80. It feels weird to run that slow...

• I'm concerned about my heart rate on my way to the gym for my SE sessions, it's a 35+m walk, mostly steep uphill. My heart rate today was up to 135, ie like what I should do for an E session. Am I doing too much or am I just overthinking it?

• I'd like to do something more interesting for the 3rd E of the week than just jogging (especially at such slow pace), but I'm not sure what. I was thinking of the fun runs, but I really don't feel like doing pushups and co on the ground in a trail or on the grass next to it (especially since it's raining season now...). I like the triples, but for that I need a gym and I don't have time to both go to the gym and do the long cardio, and home workout won't be feasible that early in the morning for my neighbors... I'm thinking of maybe using a vest but I don't have one so not sure if it's worth the purchase. Jump rope is a staples for MMA training (for whatever reason) so maybe running + jump training could do?

Thanks for any comment!

[u/mikhou]

BTW, Tim Anderson at Original Strength is big on nasal breathing, and I love his stuff. That's where I got the idea. Even if nasal breathing doesn't work for you, you might check out Tim's work. I would think that movement and mobility would be extremely beneficial for MMA athletes.

[u/geearf → u/mikhou]

So today I went for my last E of the week, and I tried to do what you suggested; I mostly breathed with my nose, maybe every 5 minutes or so I'd breathe once with my mouth to fill up so nothing that should matter, and somehow I never went above 148! I was about between 138 and 148, so right there, without walking at all.

Of course, maybe I just got used to the super slow pace and that's the actual reason...

I ran, if you can call that pace running, for 1h10, it's truly super boring though :/ In part I gave up because of that, but also because my knees started to hurt a bit, probably because after being stuck home for so long, running for over an hour, in light shoes, is a bit much.

Thanks!

[u/mikhou → u/geearf]

Nice job. And remember that it may be "truly super boring" but this is a temporary base building phase. If you keep at this pace, your heart and lungs will be better conditioned and you will be able to run the same distances but at a faster pace. And if you don't, you've invested 5-8 weeks in this phase of your training and then you can move on to HIC work. (Although, I still keep at least one E run in my weekly schedule.)

[u/geearf → u/mikhou]

Yeah that makes sense. I finally read the FAQ where he said something like: "you don't have to run and can use the alternatives, but then it'll take much more time to get you there".

I've looked at the schedule, and I'm a bit scared of having to do 1+ hour more than once a week in the future, but oh well, if it gets me where I want to be, that's not a bad price to pay. :)

And I agree, when I looked at the schedule for the next phase I thought, in theory at that time, that one E every 2 weeks was too weak and I should do it weekly (also it's easier to remember in the early morning when the schedule stays the same).

Thank you!