CrossFit didn't invent hard workouts, it simply brought them to the average joe

The reason why the answers are vague, is because every CrossFit gym is dramatically different. Unlike Subway, McDonald's, 24-hour Fitness or any other franchise, you buy into a product, and then expect to be audited. CrossFit does not buy into this ideology. Instead, CrossFit instructors get certified, and are than asked to uphold these standards, but are not audited to keep them honest. CrossFit does this deliberately. 

Yes, there are CrossFit workouts out there, that are used in every CrossFit gym in the country, but the owner or manager of your local CrossFit box writes his/her own program. For instance, at our gym, we are also an MMA school that trains pro fighters. For this reason, we want our fighters to have strength for the first round, and stamina for the third. So, some days we do strength workouts and other days we focus on endurance/stamina. This leads to effective cross-training for our athletes. But some gyms focus on gymnastics while others, olympic lifts. You can see our daily Workouts (WOD for short) here:http://factumutah.com/crossfit-wod 

Remember, CrossFit doesn't do anything but give a college level weight room to the average joe. That is it. I own a CrossFit gym, and I was an NCAA wrestler, and the parallels between the two are shocking. 

In college we had a strength coach write us a program (CrossFit Certified instructor gives WOD), then as a team, we push each other (Same thing that happens in a CrossFit class). Our strength coach taught us proper form (all CrossFit classes should be doing this), and the workouts were grueling (you won't see results unless you mentally push yourself past barriers). 

CrossFit has simply taken an NCAA weight room, and given it to the average Joe.

Factum CrossFit and Mixed Martial Arts | CrossFit in Utah | FightPedia | Factum MMA Blog | www.factumutah.com | MMA in Utah

Will Running help me burn fat?

In a word, yes, but that answer is somewhat limited.

Typically the trick to burning fat, and increasing muscle tone, is to increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (the rate at which your body burns calories at rest), and my preferred method for this high volume functional weight training.

Running is great, and helps dramatically with your cardio (as does swimming), but these workouts are somewhat monostructural, and limited. When you burn calories by doing monostructural lifts, you only burn calories when you are in fact working out.

If you increase your muscle density (particularly through high volume weight training) you will increase your basal metabolic rate. You may have heard that your body is warm blooded, you may have also heard that muscles weighs more than fat, well, combine these two mindsets, and it equals that muscle burns more calories than fat by definition. Increase muscle density, and you will burn calories in your sleep.

Feel free to follow along with our WOD's here: http://factumutah.com/crossfit-wod

Factum CrossFit and Mixed Martial Arts | CrossFit in Utah | FightPedia | Factum MMA Blog | www.factumutah.com | MMA in Utah

Will Running help me burn fat?

In a word, yes, but that answer is somewhat limited.

Typically the trick to burning fat, and increasing muscle tone, is to increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (the rate at which your body burns calories at rest), and my preferred method for this high volume functional weight training.

Running is great, and helps dramatically with your cardio (as does swimming), but these workouts are somewhat monostructural, and limited. When you burn calories by doing monostructural lifts, you only burn calories when you are in fact working out.

If you increase your muscle density (particularly through high volume weight training) you will increase your basal metabolic rate. You may have heard that your body is warm blooded, you may have also heard that muscles weighs more than fat, well, combine these two mindsets, and it equals that muscle burns more calories than fat by definition. Increase muscle density, and you will burn calories in your sleep.

Feel free to follow along with our WOD's here: http://factumutah.com/crossfit-wod

Factum CrossFit and Mixed Martial Arts | CrossFit in Utah | FightPedia | Factum MMA Blog | www.factumutah.com | MMA in Utah

CrossFitting at home? Here's what you need

Easy question, short answer

Squat Rack

Pull up bar

Kettle bells (varying sizes)

Rowing Machine

At least 2 Olympic Bars

Bumper Plates

Hard rubber mats to drop Olympic bars on

Plyo Box (can be built at Home depot)

GHD

Measure 400m, 800m, 1600m from your front door.

Follow along to our gyms workouts at http://factumutah.com/crossfit-wod

Factum CrossFit and Mixed Martial Arts | CrossFit in Utah | FightPedia | Factum MMA Blog | www.factumutah.com | MMA in Utah

What is more dangerous? Boxing or MMA?

What is more dangerous?  Boxing or Mixed Martial Arts?  Well, it all depends on where and when! Are we talking about in a single boxing match or a lifetime of the sport?

This is like comparing, what is more dangerous, slamming your head into a table repeatedly, or getting into a car accident where you receive one massive blow to the head.

In a boxing match you get hit much more, and with a somewhat padded glove.  But because the glove is padded, it takes many more strikes to the head to knock someone out, therefore, the brain will get exceedingly more "concussed" as the match carries on, also in boxing matches, the boxer must endure a great amount of strikes before any referee will decide to stop the bought.  

In MMA, the 4-ounce fingerless gloves offer little in the way of protecting the brain from sustaining damage, and although the single strikes in boxing are much more often, the single strikes in MMA land with a much greater amount of force.  Studies have shown that consistent blows to the brain are bad for long term brain health.  But this is only to speak of the brain, what about the rest of the body?

So far in the discussion we have only spoken about the brain, however, in MMA, damage can be incurred through a multitude of ways.  Submissions, knees, shins, elbows, et cetera.  This makes broken bones FAR more likely.  

Finally, I have only discussed the damage in a match, but what about a lifetime in the sport, just hanging out in gyms.  Well, unfortunately, no one can answer this, as every MMA gym is different from one another, and every boxing gym is different from one another.  Some gyms encourage hardcore sparring.  Most gyms (even ones that train pro fighters), encourage light sparring, in essence, sparring that doesn't do a lot of damage to brain or body.  I would focus on those gyms first, both sports are about longevity and experience, and you can't have experience if you're concussed all the time.

Factum CrossFit and Mixed Martial Arts | CrossFit in Utah | FightPedia | Factum MMA Blog | www.factumutah.com | MMA in Utah

Where and how to train your kicks

I feel like a healthy mix of hanging bags, sparring lightly with partners, moving bag men and stand alone bags are your best bet.  

Hanging bags sway (similar to an opponent) and force you to move around to complete your strikes.  You learn timing on a hanging bag as well, being able to hit the bag just right to stop the momentum is extremely valuable.  

Stand-alone bags are also useful.  They don't sway, and for this reason you can work the bag with as much force as possible.  They are also normally soft, so beginners can wail away.  They allow for learning unconventional kicks, like double kicks, spinning kicks, side kicks, etc without having the target move around so you can really work the form, and develop your power.

Moving bag man are great, because you can work your power, and if the bag man is any good, he should be moving like a real opponent, thus you can develop your timing as if it's a real fight.

Sparring is great as well.  You can learn to place your kicks and more importantly, you allow yourself to get hit.  Everybody is a hero against a bag, but striking is awfully different when the bag hits back.  Many different ways to spar (open hand, light sparring, rough sparring), and all are useful.  Just don't break any bones, as that will put you back a few months!

Most cities have MMA gyms that train pro fighters, if you're ever in Salt Lake City, UT, I'd check out Factum CrossFit and MMA |  Factum MMA

What would MMA be like under zero-gravity?

I got a fantastic question during a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class the other day, and I truly did not know how to answer it. So, after a night worth of pondering, I think I have my answer. The question was “What would be different about MMA if the bout happened in zero-gravity"?

Fighting in zero gravity would have to be based on an entirely novel system. I think the focus would be almost entirely grappling based, specifically jiu-jitsu I believe would retain the most important martial art.  

Put us in a space craft, where we are floating about and we lose our footing, where , and have no floor to posture from, this makes conventional knockout strikes such as any punch or kick virtually useless.  That being said, if you were to pull an effective guard, you could still create torque on your strike by using your oppenents body against him.  

Let’s say you are an all-american wrestler, congrats here on terra-firma, but a takedown would be A) almost impossible B) Where would you take him down to, if it’s just as easy to float to the ceiling and C) how would you start your takedown?

Boxing and kickboxing would be deemed useless as well, because in both of these sports, almost all of your power is derived from the floor.  

On a similar note, most of the Muay Thai sport would be useless, except that the clinch-work, which uses your opponents body to create much of the torque of the strikes would still be useful.  

The optimal positioning would be to pull a full guard or mount and work for submissions.  While doing this you could set much of your submissions up off elbows to the face, which could still be effective, as again, much of the power of an elbow from guard is derived from your opponents body, or basic core strength.

All-in-all, I would be fascinated with this type of match-up.  I would like to see a tournament similar to the original UFC’s, where each competitor is not a mixed-martial-artist, but rather, which skill-set would prove most effective in such a scenario!

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Will strength training make your MMA/Jiu Jitsu better?

All else equal, in all martial arts, being stronger is better than being weaker.  There is no way around this fact, but to what extent will strength training help your jiu jitsu, or your MMA. As is true with most sports, a strong cross-training regimen is important, but not nearly as important as doing the sport itself!  

You want to last longer into a wrestling match? Than wrestle more! But don’t just wrestle, wrestle in practice like it’s the national championship, and everything rides on this takedown! It’s that simple, that being said,  cross-training will help in certain areas.

For instance, if you want to get that extra explosion on your double leg takedown, than do some squats. Or if you want to get some extra pop on your round-house kick, than you should probably focus on your plyometrics.  All this being said, technique and drilling will help your double-leg and round-house significantly faster.

So, how much will it help your game? Well, it depends. Consider these questions:

Do you lift correctly? Are your exercises functional, in that they use the coordination of your whole body, if not, ask yourself why you are lifting in the first place.  Also, are they explosive? If they are not explosive and functional, than they won’t have much significant impact on your ability as a fighter.

A follow up to this question, is what kind of strength training should we be focused on?  Do you want power for the first period so that you can KO your opponent.  How many times have I gone up against somebody who in the first period is a bit overwhelming, only to realize that I am far superior in the 3rd.  It happens all the time, not just to me, but many opponents.  Make sure your muscles are not simply strong by doing strength training, but also, put some emphasis on some high-volume lifts.  When in the gym, give yourself a task, and see how many times you can do it in 15-minutes (as this most simulates a professional MMA bout).  The more you can do, the more prepared you are for your 15-minute pro bout.

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What's better for MMA? | Wrestling or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu?

Randy Couture was an Olympic-level
wrestler before his UFC conquest

When answering this question, break it down into two different answers: The first is whether it's better to have a wrestling or BJJ background for MMA, the second is how a wrestler would do against Roger Gracie.

For the first, most fighters these days train both, but if you're just starting MMA, a wrestling background is generally better to have, because no matter what other skills you tack on, wrestling will still probably be your strongest area. Wrestling gives you the ability to determine where the fight takes place- it provides a fighter with both good takedowns and good takedown defense. In addition, it also gives a fighter great top control, which is more important in MMA than pure grappling competitions because it allows you to maintain a top position while landing ground strikes. Learning submission defense is also easier than learning takedown defense, meaning a good wrestler with solid submission defense and solid striking is a difficult fight for anybody.

This basically leads into how to beat Gracie. A wrestler would probably be best advised to use their wrestling "in reverse" by keeping the fight on the feet and trying to out-strike Gracie. After all, he's practically untouchable on the ground, but his only MMA loss has come via knockout. That loss, incidentally, came at the hands of Mo Lawal, who has an Olympic wrestling background, and he did exactly as I just explained.

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How to avoid CrossFit injuries

1. Learn from someone who knows what they’re doing.  Do the instructors break down the movement before you do them? Does he seem erudite about it?  Does he check your form to make sure you are doing it right, or does he just repeat the word “nice” and “one-more”
2. Scale
3. Check your ego at the door, and don’t try to do the weight “the other guys are doing”
4. Work on your flexibility
5. Work on your coordination
6. Work on your technique, a lot!!
7. Work on your joint stability
8. Keep your weight LOW if you don’t know the technique and haven’t done the lift before
9. Stretch regularly and warm up properly (Dynamic and static)
10. Listen to your body, if it is saying “ouch, that hurts”, THAN SCALE DOWN!
11. Eat appropriately
12. Recover appropriately (Eat, sleep and relax)
    
    
    Factum CrossFit and Mixed Martial Arts | Full MMA & CrossFit Blog | Jiu Jitsu | Muay Thai | MMA | CrossFit WOD's | Wrestling | FightPedia

Anderson Silva did not throw the fight against Chris Weidman

There is a lingering question on fight fans minds: “Did Anderson Silva throw the fight against Chris Weidman in UFC 162 this last Saturday?” Though the twitter-sphere, blogosphere, and Facebook newsfeed has blown up recently with tales of how and why Anderson Silva threw his fight, I think Dana White’s colorful post-fight comments that these people “are (expletive) idiots”, is a bit more accurate, and that they should probably not dismiss the most accomplished UFC fighter to date. Instead, let me offer a different perspective.

If you watch the first round of the Silva vs. Weidman bout, Weidman proved, early on, the same thing that Chael Sonnen proved, that Silva’s Achilles heel is facing high-level wrestlers whose focus is primarily Ground-and-Pound.  Chael Sonnen managed to put Silva on his back every round in UFC 117, landing a brutalizing 320 strikes, to Silva’s dismal 64 throughout the fight, and then Silva, pulled out a miraculous triangle choke with 1m50s left in the final round.  Anderson Silva realized early on against Weidman, that he did not want to repeat this kind of history.

My theory, Anderson Silva realized 1-minute into the fight, that he was completely out-classed on the ground, and knew that his best shot would be to keep the fight standing.  After the initial takedown, Silva spent the rest of his fight with Weidman baiting, cajoling, and even begging Weidman to keep it standing.  In between round one and two, Silva can be seen pointing to the crowd, and screaming “stand-up, stand-up” from across the ring.  

This is not the first time we have seen such histrionics in the cage from Silva, although, never to such an extreme.  Silva’s mind games are what has kept many of his fights off the ground.  All we should do as fight fans is praise young Chris Weidman, for keeping his head on a swivel, protecting his chin, containing his emotions, and ensuring his strikes fired down the pipe.

Perhaps Silva’s hubris is what got him knocked out on Saturday, and perhaps Joe Rogan is right, that “This is a lesson for young fighters”,   but lest I remind you, that this same hubris is what made him the most accomplished fighter of all time.

All that being said, the five-second highlight of Silva pretending to be hurt, only to be walloped with an over-hand right was, and will continue to be perhaps the most gratifying highlight for fight fans for years to come.

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Would Bruce Lee win in today's UFC?

I

f we were to raise Bruce Lee from the grave and put him in the prime of his life, would he win? No, I don’t think he would, but that’s not fair, seeing as Bruce Lee was raised in an era where Jiu Jitsu didn’t really exist, and collegiate wrestling was not considered a major part of martial arts.  However, let’s say he was born in 1990, and was raised in this era of MMA, I think, by the time 2013 hit, he’d be a legitimate contender.  He's got a peerless work ethic, fantastic conditioning, and an open mind to picking up new techniques.

The skills of somebody from half a century ago would be out of date in today's world of mixed martial arts, but MMA wouldn't be what it is today without people like Bruce Lee as a part of it's history. Bruce Lee is an icon to many top mixed martial artists today, including 8 year undefeated middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Dana White was once quoted on the subject and said, “Actually, the father of mixed martial arts, if you will, was Bruce Lee. If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought, and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style. You take a little something from everything. You take the good things from every different discipline, use what works, and you throw the rest away.”

Just as it is perhaps naive to think he can battle against everyone decades after his passing, it is disrespectful to go "he'll lose because he was born 70 years ago". Well, yeah, just don't be a jerk about it.  I think he would have realized rather young, which sports worked in the UFC, and which ones didn’t, and would devote his life to the martial craft, and by the time he reached fighting age, would be a strong competitor.  

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