Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp




The Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp is a go for February 24-26, 2012. The camp is being held at the luxurious Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, NJ. In conjunction with APC, Spartan Training Gear and Task Force 360, this event will offer an unprecedented training experience. Confirmed instructors include Mike Rivera of TACFIT Police, Stephen Nave of the International Bulgarian Bag Confederation and Antonio Torres of the Functional Edge System among others. Book your spot now by emailing info@apc360zone.com. For more info on this event: The Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp





Saturday, September 17, 2011

Scott Sonnon: Men's Fitness Top 25 Trainers In The World


Congratulations to my friend and coach, Scott Sonnon, on being named one of the TOP 25 Trainers in the World by Men's Fitness Magazine. Such an incredible honor and extremely well-deserved. - Marc Joseph, President, Spartan Training Gear

Train as hard as necessary, not as hard as possible.


‎"It's better to be fully restored and sub-prime condition, than under-restored and prime condition. It's more effective, survivable and sustainable. Every tactical athlete needs to push through illness and injury once (or infrequently) to realize the potential of their intestinal fortitude, but never daily (or even frequently) as training. You cannot adapt to illness and injury. Train as hard as necessary, not as hard as possible. To recover 100% is to adapt 100%!" - Scott Sonnon

Monday, September 12, 2011

Real Time Sparring with Stephen Nave & Hoplite Training Armour


As part of Spartan's ongoing mission to provide training gear to the world's elite trainers regardless of discipline, we recently formed an alliance with Stephen NaveCEO of Competitive Performance Strategies & Director of the International Bulgarian Bag Confederation (IBBC).

Stephen served 23 years in the U.S. Navy18 of those as a Navy SEAL. He was also aNavy SEAL Instructor in the Naval Special Warfare Physical Training Center in Coronado, CA. and trained the men in BUD/S who would go on to become SEALs. Steve understands what it means to take people to the edge and beyond, testing their physical strength, muscle endurance, aerobic and anaerobic capabilities as well as their mental toughness.

This alliance allowed us the opportunity to have Stephen test out the Hoplite Training Armour which he has since integrated into his training and implemented into the strength and conditioning program of his student, Andre Galvao.



Here's Stephen's recent IBBC Blog post and initial thoughts on the gear:

Fight Conditioning with Andre Galvao & Spartan Training Gear: Increasing Anaerobic Conditioning by Stephen Nave

A friend of mine from TacFitAlberto Gallazzi, who I worked while I was in Italy this summer introduced me to Marc Joseph and Spartan Training Gear.  This amazing training gear  is a lightweight, full-body padded suit designed for use during force-on-force encounters, scenario-replication drills, self-protection and traditional martial arts training. I have been experimenting with this gear with my clients during training and love that we we are able to execute a wide array of drills and scenarios in order to train how you fight without compromising protection or mobility.

We performed high-intensity interval training where Andre performed Bulgarian Bag movements with the 37lb bag, immediately followed by a 2-3 minutes of sparring while I wore the Spartan Training Gear, then we rested for a 1 minute, and repeated the set 4 times.  While Andre’s match in London will be No-Gi, we are working on increasing his anaerobic capacity.

Anaerobic capacity is the total amount of energy obtainable from the anaerobic energy systems. That means the combined amount of output for the ATP, phospho-creatine and lactic acid systems within a certain period of time. A simple, less scientific method for measuring and understanding this capacity is to run as far as you can at a near-maximal pace. The further you can run at a fast pace, the more anaerobic enzymes your body is capable of producing and utilizing and the better able you are to buffer lactate.  Ultimately, this means that you are able to maintain higher intensity levels for longer.

Check out the video below to see a snapshot of a recent conditioning session as Andre gets ready for his upcoming match in London.




To learn more on Stephen Nave: http://ibbconline.com/about/directors/ and to find out more about the Bulgarian Bags: http://ibbconline.com/bulgarian-bag/

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Getting the Mind and Body Back in Focus by Jose Medina



There are many programs out there that are designed for fitness purposes. After returning home from a long day at work I might find myself up until about 3 am watching a little Sports Center and every once in a while glancing at some of the infomercials that are out there showing a new training machine, or a new fitness training system.  While on the social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, I will get many links of training fitness programs that are out there as well.  From the kickboxing training home videos to the spinning classes in a fitness center near you there are a large menu of options to choose from.  The question is: What or why do you want to get in shape. lose weight, get muscular or simply get healthier?

The amazing perception I have seen is how the pharmaceutical industry is plastered throughout the day with medicines that can help and cure everything from "restless leg syndrome" to simply breathing normal syndromes.  Meanwhile health and wellness commercials sit on the back burner of late night television where limited viewers get to see what can really "help" you to become healthier.

It is no secret that your health and mission to be healthy starts with the mind.  Without the mind acknowledging that a change for better health and wellness is needed, your body will just go through the motions of exercise and going to the store and buying some LOW fat food or magic diet pill that simply doesn't work.

What we all need to understand is that stress is a major killer for anyone one of us.  I am sure we have all heard the story of the most fit person you have ever met and suddenly they dropped dead of a heart attack.  Many would scratch their heads and say "well I might as well not train then since they died and were in great shape, why bother?"

Maybe so, but in the end who do you owe it to when it comes to being healthier?   Do you have loved ones who depend on you being there the best you can to keep the family network going strong? Or are you alone and have no responsibilities?  Think again as you at least have a job to contend with and your own "self" that could always use a little tweaking and fine tuning.  After all in any of your job fields, how bad do you get affected in performance when you do not exercise or release stress?

I have never been a fan of "diets" and eating low fat this or that. I look at it as "wellness eating".  Eat what I want but in moderation.  Eat cleaner more than dirtier.  I look back at the history of our world where warriors who fought in battles did not have the supermarkets that had low fat this and low fat that yet they maintained awesome physiques throughout their lives. Whether it was man or woman it was the active lifestyle, being that of war or simply the environment around them, they still had to cut wood for fires as they did not have Lowe's stores with pre cut wood to service their needs and they certainly did not have Playstations to sit in front of a television to occupy their countless hours of days and nights to keep  them from getting the proper exercises they needed.  Now I am a big fan of many of those games as I find stimulus in many aspects of technology however it is like alcohol or meatball subs:  take them all in with moderation.

Life itself must be absorbed in moderation and in training for fitness, you need to vary your training and keep the training interesting.  Of course it may not always be exciting but for overall health and wellness, you will be surprised on how much better your mind will function after a good healthy walk, a good training circuit in the gym, some good self defense training especially with coaches using good solid impact reduction suits to really stimulate "reality training" along with awesome conditioning.

The mind needs to be fit.  It needs good reading on a daily basis while at the same time to relieve the possible stresses in your life, the mind is craving change, stimulus to become healthier and stronger.  Always know there is no magic pill that you can swallow that can change you into the person you want to be. It is the mind that is the magic pill that needs to be fueled to motivate you to take the next steps into  changing your life, becoming healthier and being a happier person.

There are many trainers out there in the field of fitness training, self defense training and overall life coaching training.  Do not be afraid of exploring new options and variations of training.  Do not stick with just one format as your brain will figure it out most of the time and it will become bored.  Change up work out routines, the days you train and the duration you train in. For good wellness and health a good trainer can get you into a work out that can last no more than 30 minutes with great results.  If you are training for more intense competition, longer duration work outs are needed but never rule out replicating an upcoming competition such as an MMA fight or other special event with the limited time to complete fitness tasks.

Overall your mind and body need each other. Your CNS or Central Nervous System is the engine that helps make things happen.  Try many programs and not just one.  There has never been just ONE that can do it all.  In the end, if you need that stress relief, if you are on the edge, it is your mind telling your body that you need to release it.  Fitness and health and wellness is a great medicine and a pill I love to take on a daily basis.  How about you?