Author: Burch

Even though I have been physically active the vast majority of my life, it wasn't until several years ago that I became truly dedicated to being physically fit. This dedication was the result of several different exercise regimens including MMA, crossfit, and triathlon training. What remained constant in all of these disciplines is the community training aspect. Whether it was training with a group or just knowing I was part of a team, community-based training motivated me to give it my all at every workout. The benefits of being part of a fitness-based community inspired me to get in the ring. They inspired me to run that race. They inspired me to earn my personal training certification and they inspired me to create Elemental Training Tampa with the hope of inspiring others to be physically fit and create a community for like minded people.

Going Heavy

A heavy bag may be the most versatile piece of exercise equipment out there today. With the right routine you can increase cardio, tone muscle, improve on your striking technique and relieve some of that unwanted stress. I adapted the workout below from an old bodyrock routine I saw my fiancé do years ago. If you’re interested in trying this workout, the round by round breakdown is as follows:

  • Round 1: 6 Jab+Cross Combos (12 total punches) followed by 2 burpees (pushups optional)
  • Round 2: 6 Lead Hook+Power Hook combos followed by 2 burpees
  • Round 3: 3 Jab, Cross, Lead Hook, Power Hook Combos followed by 2 burpees
  • Round 4: Sit-ups with 2 Punches

I did timed rounds (40 seconds of work/20 seconds of rest) and repeated the format 3 times for a 12 minute workout. Modify the format of the workout to meet your fitness level and make sure to wrap those hands before going to work on the bag. If you do the workout, please let me know what you thought of it. I always appreciate feedback!

 

Daily Fuel

A client of mine recently said I should post more pictures of my meals, so I figured why not start with a snapshot of what my fiancé and I bring to work every day. One of the keys things to remember about nutrition is that you want to eat food that’s nutrient dense. Nutrient dense foods contain higher levels of macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) and micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) which minimizes the amount of “empty” calories. The more nutrient dense your food is, the more satiated you’ll feel after eating it. That’s why I always fill our lunches with veggies, fruit, nuts and protein sources containing healthy fats. We’re fortunate enough to be able to process dairy in the form of yogurt & cheese, but we make a conscious effort not to overdo it. We also try our best to limit our sugar sources to just fruit. What are you packing in your lunch? Do you bring enough food with you to be satiated throughout the day? Do you find yourself buying food while at work?

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ETT Wrap Show Ep.1

Last week was an especially epic week for Elemental Training Tampa. We had 100% attendance by all our ETT personal training clients, added a new personal training client to the community, and hosted another successful group training session. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! We also recorded our first episode of the ETT Wrap Show. Learn more about the week that was in ETT and find out how this fitness community got its start. We love all types of feedback so please listen and leave us a comment.

https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/ett-wrap-show-ep1

 

First Step In A Long Journey

I had every intention of posting this back in September, shortly after my first jiu-jitsu tournament in years. However, due to a small roadblock brought on by the tournament, and my tendency to procrastinate when it comes to writing, it took about two and half months longer to complete this post than I originally intended. I know, I know, shame on me. Anyways, the rest of this post will be a match by match summary of the learning experience that was the in-house jiu-jitsu tournament held at Gracie Tampa South this past September. ENJOY!

Match Making

Brackets were created based on experience/belt level, which placed me in the adult white belt (beginners) division. There were no weight classes and after looking around at my competition I knew the likelihood of me grappling someone bigger than me was highly likely. My assumption soon came true when I was matched up against my first opponent, who was approximately 30 lbs heavier.

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Match #1

My first opponent was someone I had grappled with in class. I knew he wasn’t terribly aggressive but since he was bigger than me, I knew using what strength I had was probably not the best idea. I attempted a few unsuccessful arm drags and trips until my opponent finally took me down, and landed inside my guard. I worked off my back for the majority of the match until I was finally able to escape and take his back. I finished the match holding onto a half-hearted submission attempt that was more “prevent defense” than “attacking offense.” I ended up winning the match on points.

Match #2

My next opponent outweighed me but he had just finished a full length match, which meant I most likely had the cardio advantage. He didn’t waste anytime taking me down, but he fell into my guard. He had a low posture which allowed me to get my legs up and slap on a leg triangle. I adjusted my posture to really tighten up the choke and forced him to tap. I think my technique was a little sloppy but coupled with my opponent’s fatigue, I was able to get the win by submission.

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Match #3 (Semi-finals)

I had a chance to guarantee myself a 1st or 2nd place finish, but I had to get past the biggest competitor in my bracket. I grappled with him before and I knew he was EXTREMELY aggressive. However, much like my previous opponent he had spent a lot of his available energy in his prior matches. Even though he outweighed me by about 50 pounds, I foolishly tried to setup a takedown for the first minute of our match. He finally scored a takedown and I was once again working off my back. I made repeated attempts to sweep him, but his weight and posture prevented all my attempts. I attempted a guillotine and arm bar late in the match but to no avail. I lost the match on points.

Match #4 (3rd Place match)

I went into the 3rd place match excited by the opportunity to get on the podium. As excited as I was, the fatigue of three matches was starting to catch up with me. My opponent and I were pretty evenly matched weight wise, but as soon as the match started I knew he had more in the gas tank. He quickly took me down, passed my guard and attempted an arm bar from the mount. I was able to escape the arm bar and almost locked up a guillotine in a wild scramble, but we had to restart after going out of bounds. Once we restarted, it was essentially a replay of how the match began: takedown, passes my guard, mounts and throws on the arm bar. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to escape this attempt, and I was forced to tap. I lost due to a submission, and ended up 4th in my bracket with a 2-2 record.

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Match #1 in the gi (Ultimately the end of my day)

Four competitors stuck around after the no-gi tournament to compete in the gi. Even though I’m still a novice at jiu-jitsu, I can say with confidence that competing in the gi is WAY different than competing without the gi. It takes a different skill set that unfortunately I’m not quite skilled at yet. Regardless, I threw on the gi and went up against a frequent training partner of mine who I knew was better than me. The match was going pretty much as I expected with my opponent controlling the action until I finally pulled an escape and took his back. My good fortune didn’t last long because as I tried to prevent my opponent from escaping, I suffered a non-contact injury and was forced to verbally tap out. I lost via verbal submission due to injury.

Wrap-up

“I did a jiu-jitsu tournament and all I have to show for it is this stinking cast.” I say that in jest because even though I sustained a broken metacarpal in my last match, I am extremely happy that I participated in the tournament. I learned a tremendous amount AND realized I still have a tremendous amount to learn. I finally returned to the gym last week after 10 weeks of recovery, eager to continue working toward my goal of earning my blue belt.

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The Queen Gets Dethroned

Saturday night’s UFC 193 was historic on many levels. It set the UFC record for attendance with over 55,000 packed into the Etihad Stadium in Australia. It also took in over $6 million at the gate, a number only eclipsed by UFC 129 & 189. The numbers alone make the event significant, but when you ask someone what they remember most about UFC 193, they are DEFINITELY NOT going to talk about the numbers.

UFC 193 was the first UFC Pay-per-view headlined by two championship bouts in both of the UFC women’s divisions. Joanna Jedrzejczyk retained her 115 lb strawweight belt with a dominating 5 round decision over Valerie Letourneau. Jedrzejczyk’s stellar striking performance was quickly upstaged by what some are calling the biggest upset in UFC history. Holly Holm shocked the world by landing a 2nd round head kick to one of the most dominant forces in combat sports today, Ronda Rousey. This was no fluke folks. This wasn’t a lucky kick that Rousey ran into. This was a calculated strike that landed due to the damage that Holm was able to inflict on Rousey in the previous 6 minutes of the fight. Even though Holm was the biggest underdog in UFC history according to Vegas coming into the fight, she had way more combat sports experience than any of Rousey’s previous opponents.

Holly Holm holds an US Amateur kickboxing title and went 2-1 as a pro. She also has 33 professional boxing victories and holds numerous world titles in multiple weight divisions. She was named Female Fighter of the year several times by different organizations including The Ring magazine, World Boxing Federation, and the International Female Boxing Association. When she walked into the octagon at UFC 193 she held a perfect 9-0 MMA record. With almost 15 years of fight experience, I wonder why so many people, including myself, thought Holm would be yet another victim of Rousey’s dominance. Speaking for myself, I thought Rousey had a better grasp of MMA striking. I thought Rousey combined striking, octagon control, and clinch work better than Holm. Not to mention that whenever a Rousey fight goes to the ground, it usually ends with her opponent’s arm bent the wrong way. Even though Holm had an extensive combat sports history, her 2 previous fights in the UFC were decisions victories that left most people wondering not if Rousey would win, but when and how. I even had the audacity to say on a local Tampa radio show that the only way Rousey could lose would be if she tore her ACL stepping in to throw a punch. I’ll take my crow baked if possible, thanks.

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I’m happy to admit when I’m wrong and I was wrong about Holly Holm. I was wrong to think that the masterminds at Jackson-Wink MMA in New Mexico could not combine Holm’s skills with a flawless fight plan. I was wrong to think that Rousey’s Judo could neutralize Holm’s ability to strike at distance. I was wrong about a lot of things regarding the fight, but one thing I believe to be true is that this fight will be a linchpin for women’s combat sports. Rousey has already started that train down the track, now it’s time for her to hand over the controls to others like Holm, Jedrzejczyk, Van Zant, and Waterson. I’M NOT SAYING ROUSEY SHOULD RETIRE. I know that Holm-Rousey 2 will be EPIC! I’m simply saying that Rousey has carried the flag gallantly, but it’s now time for her to let others do the heavy lifting.

Check out the video below to see highlights from the historic Rousey-Holm fight. Also feel free to let me know how much of a doofus I was for not predicting the outcome of the fight. I appreciate all feedback.

Last Week’s Highlight Reel

I know we’re a few days into the week, but I wanted to share a highlight video from last week’s ETT training. We started off the week with a great ETT Group workout followed it up with several ETT personal training sessions and finished off the week with a great run & stair climb on the Tampa Riverwalk. ETT would like to thank all of its members for their participation & dedication to building the ETT community. ETT would not be what it is today without their help

If you’re interested in joining the ETT community, reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or simply send us an email at elementaltampa@gmail.com.

Diversification isn’t just for your portfolio

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) sent out a press release stating that processed meats are carcinogenic to humans and that red meat is probably carcinogenic to humans. Since I frequently mention my proclivity as an ominvore, I’m sure most of you think that this post will try to debunk the WHO’s findings. Well……surprise! I actually think the WHO’s findings are great! I believe nutrition is a very important issue, especially in the U.S., and informing individuals on the health effects of certain foods is extremely important. Also, I’m a big proponent of having diversity in one’s diet. If you read the press release, the WHO states that eating more than 50 grams of processed meats (approximately 2 slices of bacon) or 100 grams of red meat (approximately 1/4 lb burger) a DAY can increase the risk of certain types of cancer. It DOES NOT suggest that people should stop eating meat. In fact, the WHO states that “red meat has nutritional value” and that governments should use this information to educate their citizens on proper nutrition. The WHO press release DOES NOT say that processed & red meat are as carcinogenic as tobacco or asbestos, as some media outlets reported. Check out the screen grab below from the WHO’s Twitter page for a more in depth explanation of the classification.
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I am a meateater and will continue to eat meat. I will also continue to eat a diverse diet in order to limit my processed & red meat intake. Veggies, fruit, starches, nuts, seeds, poultry, dairy, the occasional adult beverage, seafood, and everything else in between. I believe all these foods along with processed & red meat have allowed humans to become the ultimate omnivores.image

I hope the WHO press release will motivate individuals who rely on processed & red meat as their primary protein source to diversify their diets. I know I’m only scratching the surface of this issue, but I wanted to clarify some misinformation, and further promote the positive side of the WHO’s findings. If you have any comments please leave them below.

Back to School ***UPDATED***

Original post published July 8th

Recently I’ve been researching a new certification to compliment my current personal training certification. Being certified in another fitness related discipline allows me to offer more services to my clients and it helps keep my current personal trainer certification up to date. Three certifications that I’ve been looking into are:

– Fitness Nutrition
– Kettlebell Instructor
– Weight Loss specialist

Before I choose which one I’m going to pursue I wanted to get your opinion on what certification you would want your personal trainer to possess. Please feel free to suggest any training not listed above and/or not directly related to fitness (i.e. website development). Any feedback you can provide is greatly appreciated.

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Update

After a lot of research into my next fitness related certification, I’ve decided to go with the Fitness Nutrition Specialization offered by NASM. I chose this certification because it will provide me with a better understanding of how nutrition affects my clients’ quest to lead a healthier life. This certification will educate me on nutrition topics such as micro & macronutrients, caloric needs, metabolism, portion size, interpreting food labels, and many more. I won’t be able create meal plans to meet specific dietary needs, but I will be more prepared to answer “How much protein should I eat throughout the day?” or “What’s the best food to eat before and after a workout?”

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The recipe for healthier life consists oh two primary ingredients: diet and exercise. Generally speaking, if you make the right decisions on how to treat your body, and what to put into your body, it will reward you by functioning like a well oiled machine. My goal as a personal trainer is to provide people with the tools they need to make their “machine” as efficient as possible. In order to do so, I need to continue to educate myself on the latest information regarding diet and exercise, and the Fitness Nutrition Specialization just happens to be the next chapter in my curriculum.