Do you have questions? I know you do. I’ve checked my search engine logs and collected a list of things you were looking for.

I’m going to attempt to succinctly answer every question – no matter how ridiculous – I’ve received over the six months or so.  Sometimes I’ve had to modify the grammar of the questions, because that’s one thing the internets doesn’t teach you.

Also, if you have any questions to submit to me, let me know in the comments section below.

And no, I don’t think I know it all – even though I think I do.

How do I develop/increase knockout power?

You can read what I’ve wrote about hitting harder, but I’ll summarize. Not everyone is genetically disposed to have that bomb-dropping explosiveness but all can get better. Do upper body plyometrics. Hit tires with sledge hammers, throw medicine balls/hay bales/shotputs/heavy bags, shovel snow/manure/dirt vigorously (throw not push). Do cable punching twists. Film yourself working the heavy bag and critique. Focus on getting the force from your hips and legs and turn over those punches. Practice ”siting down on your punches”.

How to beat a wrestler in mma /how do I deal with MMA wrestlers?

You have to beat him on your own terms. In general, that means being able to dictate where the fight goes and stays – something wrestlers are very good at themselves. To do so, you either have to get good wrestling or counter wrestling or develop another strategy that allows you to control the fight. On top of the that, you’ll want to practice specific wrestling counters that will keep you from getting sucked into their game.

How old is Ori Hofmekler?  (Author of the Warrior Diet)

He was born in 1952, making him ~60.

How do I eat like an mma fighter?

Here is the basic out line: Cut out all processed foods/refined sugars and flours. No soda or candy or fried food. Eat 6 times a day making sure you eat high quality protiens, carbs and veggies at nearly every meal; energy levels must be well maintained. Think of eating as fueling your body. Drink a lot of water; drink protein shakes before bedtime and post workouts. The most important meal of the day isn’t breakfast, its the post-workout meal (followed by the pre-workout meal).  Supplements should be overseen by a nutrition specialist or be kept to a minimum. Creatine, multivitamins, protein powders, pre-workout energy boosters are common.

Get a copy of Grappler’s Guide to Sports Nutrition; I think its the best resource out there.  Also, check out some MMA diet tips here.

How do you do the Mckenzietine choke AKA the prayer-grip guillotine?

Good question, do a normal guillotine choke but grip your hands palm to palm and push it into the side of the neck. See more video on Mckenzietine choke here.

How do I improve my MMA?

In general, you’ve got a couple of strategies. One is to fix the leaks, or weaknesses in your game – areas you know you aren’t good at. Another is to polish what you’re good at – aka play to your strengths. Another still is to become “more well rounded” overall, branch out and learn techniques from a variety of disciplines.  Try videoing your training and analyzing it. You can even pay to get a coach to watch it and give his critique.

How do throw a sidestep uppercut?

You need to correctly anticipate your opponents strike – it typically has to a jab or straight cross to make this possible.  Also, your relative stance is important.  When you and your opponent share the same stance (left lead vs left lead)  and you are countering the jab, push off the front leg,  side stepping to the outside and lean and throw that uppercut underneath his guard; counter the cross by pushing off the back leg and finishing in similar manner.  When you are a mirror image (left lead vs right lead) the process is  basically the inverse. BTW, the uppercut will probably only be in range your opponent stepped in and planted (ie, is coming forward) other wise you’ll be on the edge of the pocket with the side step.  Also see this video with Pat Miletich doing a slip jab counter with uppercut, which is an analog of what I’ve detailed here.

For punching power: Russian twist vs Full contact twist?

Full contact twist – it models punching better and you can also handle more weight. If you want to learn how to do it, check out Pavel’s BulletProof Ab book or this post on the body building forums.

Who Did Jeff Monson get his black belt from?

He got in late 2007 while training at American Top Team from Ricardo Liborio.

How to avoid knee injury in mma?

Do prehab exercises (some more prehab info here), avoid overtraining, and minimize risk wherever possible. You can only diminish the probability of getting one – accidents can always happen in training and competition. I’ll write a full article on this later.

Bench press and push ups for fighters?

Yes please.  While these exercises don’t generally increase punching power, but they do increase strength and are great multi-joint exercises.

Would push ups make you a better fighter? How do I do MMA push ups?

Yes. Good push ups are exercise and can make you a better conditioned athlete. Check out pushups for fighters and if you want to do one armed push ups, buy Pavel Tsatsoline’s Naked Warrior book.

How many mma pushups?

A lot. Push ups are generally pretty easy (without added resistance) so you’ll need to increase the reps to get benefit. You should be able to crank off 15-20 without burning out.

How to grip for pull ups?

Lets assume you’re doing pull ups on a regular pullup bar.  There are three basic areas of alteration.  The orientation of your palms as you grip the bar (both palms facing towards or away from you- or one of each), how far away your hands are from each other (“wide grip”, etc) and the way the hand is actually contacting the bar (rock-climbers/finger hangers, towel pullups, tennis balls, etc).

One area of alteration not listed above is the one arm pullup, a beast in its own right.  Due to the probability of elbow tendinitis, I’d pass on this one if you are training to fight.

What does pulling the head down in a triangle do?

It tightens the choke by pulling the neck down into the narrowing clamp of the triangle (tightens the noose). It also helps break down the posture of your opponent, making it harder for them to escape. See picture below.

What are the nutrition needs for a mma athlete?

All people (regardless of athletic endeavors) need the same nutrients. However, due to frequency, length and type of training, athletes (MMA included) will need more calories and fluids. Any quality book on sports nutrition will help you figure this out.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Because MMA training involves a lot of strength-based exercises, its probable that one would need slightly more protein than usual (depending on the type, duration, and frequency of training – ADA says about 10-12% of calories consumed should be protein 1.6-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight).

I need help curing a fungal skin infection from a grass seed caught in my sock.

Two things. That’s not really a question, and wow – thats pretty specific.  As a poor man, I go to freinds who are also nurses, the internet, and my pharmacist to see if I can self diagnosis. However, a dermatologist would be the one to really help you out. Some fungal infections are on the skin, some are inside you. In the former case, some OTC anti-fungals could work.

Pedro Sauer a womanizer?

He does have a handsome face, so I get how you might think that. However, from my second hand-experience from I believe him to be monogamous, honest and loyal. If his devotion to the purity of Gracie Jujitsu says anything about him, he doesn’t mess around with messing around.

What is the best gracie school Utah?

The one that is closest and has the best atmosphere in line with your training goals. Some schools are more focused on sport, some on self-defense.

Triangle choke: shin or head?

First, “seal the circle” – don’t let the head get out, and that means grabbing the shin. After you “lock the gate”, ie get your shin/ankle in the back of the opposite legs knee, then pull down on the head.  Of course, if the head/posture isn’t broken down to begin with, you’ll have a heck of a time locking the triangle up.

Why do i have a bluish discoloration of calf below sore knee?

That’s bruising, which is blood hanging out in the tissues (mild hematoma).  Bruising doesn’t always have to be right on top of the injury site (ectopic bruising) and gravity kind of pulls that blood down through loose tissue.  It theoretically could be bursitis from tendons that go over the knee and the bruising showing up down near the end of the tendon. But I’m no doctor and that’s only a theory.

Anyone know Anderson Silva’s diet?

His diet isn’t explicitly given, so only the insiders know. From interviews, we know he tries to eat legumes and salads at nearly every meal, consumes around 3000 calories a day, and doesn’t eat much sweets and junkfood (although he loves Big-Macs, when the mood hits him).  He also digs sushi.

If you have ringworm does that mean you are dirty?

Yes – you have a gross fungus growing on your body. Does this mean you are a dirty person? Unless you like to train for hours and then not shower for days, no. Fungus happens to even clean people.

How to escape sprawl/ bottom sprawl escape?

A well-timed sitout escape should serve you pretty well. Keep in mind how your opponent grips you may change the exact method of sitting out. If you can break his grip, you can try weasling your way back to standing. You could also try to secure a single-leg grip and muscle a finish. You also can try to  pull yourself to a good position – one where your head is above your hips above your knees, ideally.

How to prevent triagle choke slaming by grabing leg?

You underhook one of your opponents legs (and can gable grip to seal the circle) and try to pull him down and possibly cut an angle to upset their balance.

So there you go, ask and ye shall receive!

Dieting is tough – and you know what makes it harder? Being next to broke.  A buddy of mine called me and asked me if knew how to eating well on a budget, and it turns out, I only know a little bit about nutrition but I know loads about being broke.

Get Your Mind Right

The first thing you need to do about eating like a fighter (on a budget) is leave the fear-based scavenger mindsets behind.  You have abandon some of the comforts of emotional eating and eating for pleasure. Logic must prevail.

You know the urge right after you get satisfied at dinner, but there is a little bit left on the plate? Why not finish it off? You don’t want it to go to waste, right? Aren’t you poor?  That’s the scarcity mindset.  Free samples at Costco or the boss is bringing in some fatty lunch for the crew?  Should you pass up a food source, you’re light in the cash department, right? That’s the scavenger mindset. Someone offers you a cupcake and you can’t say no?  You’re afraid someone won’t like you if you don’t eat a cookie?  That’s probably just lack of will power or you can’t stand up to social pressures – either way, grow a pair.

Anyway you slice it, you have to design a plan of attack for eating and stick to it. You can’t let these weird emotions in to wreck the course of your diet-ship. Again, you must steel your mind and kick out emotional eating.

Remember Classical Dieting

What I mean by “classical dieting” is the nuts and bolts of a disciplined, thought out eating plan.  Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you can forget the basics. You should keep a food journal, shop with lists that come directly from your meal plans. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should be making sure you’re in a calorie deficit when you take into account your activity level; likewise, putting on weight requires that you are giving your self some surplus.

These kind of things are the basics of a sound  nutrition plan. I don’t want to spend much time developing them; rather, I want to discuss how to make it work as a pauper.

Be Prepared

Not only is the Boy Scout’s motto, it should be yours too.

• Prepare many meals ahead of time. Divvy out the goods and package them up for a no-brainer eating experience later.
• Prepare to buy, and cook, in bulk. However, don’t buy more than you can eat and store before it goes bad.  Having a meal-plan centered shopping list helps this out – you know when you’ll next be having X or Y food.
• Prepare to spend money on food storage devices.  You need to be able to save and store the grub you produce.  If you don’t have the space to store it, it’s going to get thrown out or go bad.  You don’t have a deep chest freezer? Enough Tupperware? If your place of employment doesn’t have a fridge – you’ll need a lunchbox cooler. Plan for that stuff in your budget.
• Prepare your fridge for the food you’ll be buying. You probably don’t think about it, but your fridge is club where all your foods have their pre-party (before they party in your mouth).  Bouncers are employed at regular clubs for a variety of reasons;  one of which is to control overcrowding.  Overcrowding can cause foods to spoil – creating uneven cooling, sometimes freezing stuff.  Remove stuff that doesn’t need to be in there (vinegars, onions, potatoes). I really can’t extend the metaphor to all I need to say – but you get the idea.
• Prep snacks/emergency meal replacements.  Maybe you’ll forget to bring lunch or the school bully steals it – you want a back up option that doesn’t force you to eat out.
• Prepare a list of things you can eat at the restaurants you’re most likely to visit.  When you do eventually go out to eat, you’ll be able to keep in line with your diet and budget.
• Be prepared to buy things you’re not crazy about;  foods that are in season are generally cheaper, and wait to buy stuff you really like until its on sale or in season and then save it in your deep freezer.
• Be prepared to get your hands dirty – buying foods in their raw, least unprocessed states is much cheaper.  I’ll take the skin off my own chicken breasts for $1/lb less, or stir in fruit to my yogurt and partition it off in a small container for single servings.

.

Time = Money

A lot of “dieting on a budget” resources don’t account for the money value of time.  Cooking at home and buying foods like a shrewd business man makes sense on the balance sheet, but if you’ve ever gone to Costco you know that something that saves you cash can become an spirit-crushing ordeal.

Consider vegetable chopping; it can be pretty time intensive for you to make all the carrot sticks you’ll need for snacks for the next decade (or whatever).  My solution?  Cut corners!  or don’t, I mean.  Save chopping up a green bell pepper – just wash it and eat it when you have lunch at work.  Its not hard to eat it like an apple.  Same goes with celery, apples, etc.  If you must chop, ask yourself, “Can I reasonable do this at work without undue burden?” I do partial prep on several meals and then construct them at lunch.

When selecting recipes that fill out your daily nutrition needs, choose the ones with the least time-intensive preparation.

Behold, the crock-pot

The crock-pot deserves it own section, nay, its own post! They are glorious;  you get to save time and money.  Once you figure out how to make crock-pot meals, it becomes super-easy to do.

You can probably find everything you need, knowledge-wise, either on the net for free or at your (gasp) public library. Here are a few suggestions:

Make it fast, cook it slow ; Everything Healthy, slow cooker cookbook ; 7 Dollar a meal, slow cooker cookbook

The great thing about crock-pot dishes is they tend to be a good match for nutrition and budget.  Veggies, dried legumes, cheap cuts of protein, little mess, no or little cooking fats needed, easy to use and clean, non-time intensive.

Replace Wisely

• Ground turkey replaces ground beef.  Generally cheaper and better for you.
• Plain low-fat yogurt replaces sour cream and mayo.  Combined with stuff like balsamic vinegar, it replaces fattier salad dressings.  The plain variety is much more versatile than it’s pre-flavored brethern (or sisteren? who knows).
• Buy the plainer, larger version of pretty much anything. Individual servings of yogurt, oatmeal packets, etc.
• Corn tortillas replace flour;  less fat and calories, more fiber.
• Gonna have a candy bar?  At least pick the lesser of the evils. York peppermint patties, 3 Musketeer mint, dark chocolate.
• Water replaces (name virtually any beverage here).
• Parsley, cilantro, and cumber salad replaces the more expensive, less nutritious bag mixes.  At least where I shop, the parsley/cilantro bunches and cumbers are 50 cents a unit.  Plus, these greens last longer in the fridge before going bad. And even one MORE plus;  salads made from the parsley type green matter can be stored with the dressing on them without wilting. So its a boon all the way around.
• Unsweetened soymilk can replace regular milk;  one of the main benefits of it is that you can store it without refrigeration. Don’t get me wrong, I think the cows milk (casein) superior, but soymilk has its place. IMO, I don’t think it should be a main source of your protein intake – liquid or the protein powder – but again, its got is place.

.

The Old Standbys

• Two excellent, cheap sources of protein are eggs and  low fat cottage cheese. Boiled eggs are super portable, making them an easy snack or part.
• Oatmeal – the less instant, the better. And don’t goober it up with sugars, syrups, cream, etc.  For many on nutrition plans, oatmeal is their go-to carb.  Its slow burning nature, protein content, and fiber (soluble and insoluble) make it one a hard carbohydrate to beat.  True, they have made some leaps in the whole wheat pasta world, but price-wise it may not fit into the budget.
• Chicken.
• Legumes of all kinds.  Pinto, Black, Navy, Mung, Garbanzo, Lima, Kidney, etc.  Using the slow cooker, buying the dried ones
• Brown rice. Goes with the beans to complete the proteins.
• Whey protein; ahh… a staple of those who pump iron.  My advice is to use it when it’s portability really matters, like after the gym session you hit on your lunch break.
• Fish: Tuna, shrimp, talapia. Of course, breaded is a no-no.
• Broccoli.  Plentiful, fairly cheap, and good for you.  I’ve known some bodybuilders who have this green stuff  15 out of every 30 days.
• Bananas;  cheap, chock full of potassium, and a solid carb to boot.  Mixes well with protein powders and dairy products.
• Invest in spices that make boring, nutritionally sound foods, more exciting.  You’re a lot more likely to carry out a diet plan if tastes and flavors are good, and periodically change.

.

Resources:

Budgetbytes Blog ( http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/)

I get a number of good recipe ideas from here;  Beth (the blogger) breaks out how much a meal costs and what the per serving cost is too.

The Grocery Guru ( http://www.utahcityguide.com/new/guru/index.asp )  This guys focus is buying groceries on the cheap and doesn’t really concern himself with athleticism.  Still, I’ve learned a few tricks and methods to shop from him.

Smiths Coupons (http://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/in_store/Pages/coupon_landing.aspx) I understand how un-manly coupons are, I really do.  However, this makes it pretty easy. Just log in, select your coupons, and go to the store and buy stuff.  The coupons will enter in when you use your Smiths card.

Nutrition Tips for MMA Fighters (http://slcmma.com/nutrition-tips-for-mma-fighters/)  A long list of all things MMA nutrition.

What are your tips?

Do you have any really great tips?  Dirt-cheap meals?  Let us know!

It’s time to pay respects to an unsung hero in mixed martial arts: MMA fighter’s diet and nutrition. We see the shredded bodies, the sweat and the full 3rd round gas tanks.  Let’s take a step back to the gas pump.

What to eat

• There is a difference between a professional athlete’s nutritional needs and goals vs a causal MMA’ers. There is a level of exactness and discipline that makes a difference when you train 3-4 hours a day 4-7 days a week.
• Case in point: Matt Serra didn’t eat pasta or pizza for three months prior to his grudge match with Matt Hughes.
• Second case in point: Joe Riggs calls his nutrition guru, Billy Rush, if he can have blue cheese crumbles on his salad. “Of course I said no,”  Rush quips. BTW, Billy is a Salt Lake City native and has worked with Rich Franklin, Jorge Jurgel, and Jeremy Horn.  If you want the big time, NO, you cannot haz cheeze burger. Nor croutons on your salad.
• Consider sushi for protein – Anderson Silva does.
• Know and eat the superfoods: the foods that are top of their division. Namely:
• Blueberries.
• Oats.
• Wild salmon.
• Broccoli.
• Tomatoes.
• Oranges.
• Beans.
• Spinach.
• Walnuts.
• Pumpkin.
• Yogurt.
• Leafy greens.
• Don’t screw up good ideas. The superfoods quickly become kryptonite when you bathe them in sugar, butter, ice-cream, or deep-fry them.
• Eat a salad and legumes at every meal. (Credit Anderson Silva)
• Eat natural fruits and veggies. Lots. Try eating a majority of them raw, too. (Credit Tito Ortiz)
• Don’t avoid meats/eggs/dairy just because your girlfriend is vegetarian.  She may be hot, but lean meat, in correct proportions, is a solid component of a well rounded diet.
• Randy Couture is not vegetarian. But he does eat a ton of greens, to keep his body alkaline ph-wise.
• Eat healthy all the time, keep low on the fats. (Credit Lyoto Machida)
• Avoid soda, sweets, fried foods. (Credit Anderson Silva)
• Get 80%-90% of your vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients from food. Many nutrients are better absorbed and utilized in your body when they come in specific, balanced cocktails – and often those balances are naturally found in vegetables/fruits or common dishes that contain them.  Cool, huh?
• All protein is not good protein.  For men, whey is better than soy. A medium rare, lean flank steak is superior to that “100% Black Angus Burger” from wherever. Eggs are usually ranked as one of the best bio-protein sources. Make sure the protein your getting is “complete”.

When to eat

• The most important meal of your day is the meal after your workout. Think about this.
• Wisely eat/Drink something before your workouts. If you don’t have available energy to burn in a workout, your workouts will be limp and less effective.  (See Critical Bench’s Pre Workout meals)
• Before you go to bed, think protein. Specifically, think of the protein Casein (found in milk products). Essentially, casein is a slow digesting protein – eating it at night suppresses protein breakdown while you fast for 8 hours (sleeping).
• I learned a tip from Bill Philips “Body For Life” challenge regarding night time muscle loss – one of the winners would wake up at about midnight and pound a protein shake and then go back to bed. He claimed to make and keeps serious gains via this trick.
• Eat five-six times a day. Or every 3 hours. This is the basic mantra of athletes, and works very well.
• You can try the Warrior Diet one meal a day thing, but your mileage may vary.
• “Eliminate carbs within 3-4 hours of bedtime.” – Rich Franklin
• Have healthy snacks between meals. Carrot sticks and peanut butter, not coffee and KitKats.

Eating Wisdom

• Food journal. Keep track of everything you eat and drink. This will help you reach your goals and make sure you’re getting the protein/carb ration you’ve always wanted.  Also, you’d be surprised what goes in your mouth. One last thing – don’t just keep the journal, share it with your trainer or friends. They can help you keep on track.  “Where performance is measured is measured, performance improves. Where performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.” – Thomas S. Monson
• Portion control is the key. Even the right foods, out of proportion, can be bad. Keeping your diet, and into your weight class is tough. “More than anything it’s portion control.” - Diego Sanchez at 155, eating 1100 calories a day prior to weigh ins.
• Portion goes hand in hand with Proportion. Billy Rush gives a basic breakdown -  “There’s no one important thing. We try to eat from all food groups. We basically eat 60 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 10 percent fat. Plus, of those carbohydrates, approximately 50 percent are starches, 25 percent are fibers and 25 percent are fruit. We decrease and increase all those adjustments depending on how the fighter reacts to them.”
• Keep a healthy immune system at all times. Eat fruits and veggies, sure, but also NEVER eat food from a communal office bowl or finger touched tray of stuff. Anyway you can do it, keep the immune system burning right. Heck, if this means drinking your own urine, like Lyoto Machida, then do that.
• Understand the nature of the game. Just like there are three pillars of MMA (Striking, Grappling, and Conditioning), conditioning has three components as well: exercise, recovery, and nutrition. If these things are not integrated and well aligned, beware.
• Use your brain. Avoid fad diets and the new hyped sports supplement.  The food pyramid is not a government conspiracy. Look at the back of the label.
• The diet and sports nutrition industry are not your friends. They do not have your best interest in mind. They exist to separate you from your money. Think about this before you buy the next version of Bio-Carb Hydroxy Stack Protein isolate.
• One of the more common things for athletes is to consume more lean protein because they need it to rebuild their constantly damaged muscles.
• If you’re a casual player, then abide by the “moderation in all things” wisdom. You can have pizza, but in moderation. Avoid extremes, eat a decent, moderate amount of veggies.  Eat according to you real life, not your fantasy lifestyle. If you’re a pretty regular dude, don’t think you need to eat like the MMA stars.
• Find a solid way of eating and stick to it.  Don’t bounce around between differing ideologies and strategies, constantly overhauling everything about what you eat.  It’s like switching from diesel to gas to coal and back to diesel.  Find something that works, in general, and then tweak it and expand your recipe library.
• “When I am hungry I eat. When I eat, I eat consciously and enjoy each bite. When I think I’m am full, I stop.” Paul McKenna’s I Can Make You Thin.

Supplements, Cutting Weight and the like

• Wanna look ripped?  Make sure to manage your subcutaneous hydration:  “But just how does an athlete rid themselves of the unwanted water beneath the skin to maximize their appearance? We like lots of potassium, which hydrates the muscles, and we don’t want any sodium at all.” – Billy Rush
• If you can’t get your bearing in the mess of information about sports supplements, don’t worry.  Many fighters abide by a holistic wisdom and a less is more strategy when it comes to the drugs. Billy Rush puts his guys on a multivitamin and little else.
• If you only going to use one supplement, let it be creatine. It is one of the safest, most research, no brainer sports supplement  out there.
• Take a daily multivitamin. Aside from just eating healthy, Fedor says the only other thing he does is take a Centrum multivitamin.
• Tito Ortiz doesn’t use supplements, despite his active promotional activities (Xyeince, etc).
• Also make sure your getting the following: vitamin D (my physician says the new standard is 1000 iu’s), vitamin E (fish oil), vitamin C, selenium.  Dudes, studies show that these are good. I’ll save the nerding, just believe.

• Know the role of supplements. They are exactly that – supplements.  There aren’t to replace or supplant regular nutrition, they should be take to fill in your nutritional gaps.
• Also, know the place your supplements are made.  During my last physical, my doc told me that 60-70% of nutraceuticals coming from overseas (he mentioned India, China, etc) are being found to contain lead and other heavy metals.
• Cutting weight in not a healthy thing to do – it’s terrible on your liver.  If you’re a professional mixed martial artist, they pay you the big bucks to hurt yourself.  If you’re not pro, consider the slim slow version of cutting weight.  Healthy living, and burn more calories than you consume.
• Okay, if you have to cut weight – try the “slim slower” version anyway.  The whole dropping 10-20 pounds in 48 hours is dangerous and difficult to reverse.  Within a week of the fight, you should be 10 pounds of the fight weight. “Each day, we’ll sweat off about six pounds of water [and] we’re very careful to only put four pounds back in. That way there is a two-pound deficit daily. That way, weight is never an issue the day of the weigh-ins.” – Billy Rush, with credit to Diego Sanchez at 155.
• Cutting weight with the Wham Bam, thank Mam approach. “The simplest and most effective way to begin the weight cutting process is to decrease or stop fluid intake. Your body is constantly losing fluid by breathing, sweating and urination. Every minute and hour that this goes by without replacing the fluid, you will lose weight. This process takes no extra energy from a fighter to complete, and you can lose up to 5-6 pounds in 24 hours without drinking … we usually start the fluid restriction exactly 24 hours before the weigh in.”  – Martin Rooney via GrappleArts
• Empty those bowls – in addition to pooping, you can use an all natural, easy on the system laxative.  Some people can loose 5 lbs. “By taking the …  laxative before you go to bed the night before the weigh in, you should wake and clear your bowels completely.” – Martin Rooney
• On the rebound after cutting weight, “ Potassium and starches. It’s about what your body is going to absorb and what your body’s going to use. You need starches and potassium and, of course, electrolyte vitamins to keep everything in check. If you ever cut weight and you’re a little wobbly and stuff, electrolyte vitamins, starches and potassium will fix all that.” – Billy Rush
• “After the weigh in, you should eat small meals at regular 30 minute intervals … Firing a ton of food down immediately after the weigh in is going to leave you feeling bloated and sick. Your body won’t be able to use all the food at once anyway, and it will just sit there. Smaller meals will clear the stomach and you will be able to eat again shortly. We actually have our athletes continue to eat all the way up to a few hours before the fight the next day. Eat meals that you are comfortable with. Don’t start to do anything different.” – Martin Rooney
• Ditto for the fluid replenishment. “You should immediately take in fluids following the weigh in and continue to drink at regular intervals. The ultimate goal for my fighters is to see a clear urine stream before we know we are back. This can take 3-5 gallons of fluid over the next day to replace the 10 or more pounds that has been lost. Don’t rely on the thirst response because it will not be accurate.” – Martin Rooney.

The Liquid Portion

• Drink a gallon of water a day. “First, you need to drink at least a gallon of water every day. The only way to keep track is to measure it, otherwise you will just assume you have had enough- and possibly not reach your goal.” – Rich Franklin
• Drink two glasses of water first thing after you wake up. When you get up in the morning, your body will be slightly dehydrated from the 8 hour fast.
• Lay off the juice. At least the stuff you buy in the store: OJ in a can or bottle, apple juice, clear grape juice. This is really candy, and should be treated like such.
• Lay off the alcohol.
• Drink the good juice!  Fresh carrot, lime, apple, beet, etc.
• There are two camps for the juicing: skin on and skin off.  Skin on – keeps a nice percentage of the fruit/veggie fiber and the skin possibly has some extra nutrients. Skin off – the juice is cleaner and better absorbed for post workout goodness. The Gracie family are in the skin off juice camp.
• Lay off the alcohol.  Seriously.
• If you drink coffee, keep it black. Sugar and milk are for ice-cream and losers.
• Smoothies are not an excuse to cheat.  They should not be fun.  This is MMA, after all.
• Good things to put in smoothies: oats, carrots, berries, spinach, bananas, yogurt, protein powder, milk, ice, honey (occasionally).
• Things that should not be put in smoothies: white sugar, ice-cream … you know, crap.

Choices

• You have to make a choice on how serious you are going to be about athletics and health. If you choose to be hardcore, then eat hardcore.  Balance that out.
• Eating superbly is all about comparison and choosing.  Sweet Potato beats a regular white potato. Brown rice beats white rice. Baked beats fried. Olive oil beats canola oil. Canadian bacon beats regular bacon.
• “The good is the enemy of the great.”
• Choose the lesser of two evils. If you’re going to eat a candy bar, eat a snickers in stead of a bag of skittles. It doesn’t produce as bad a spike in blood sugar, due to it’s nuts.
• Choose spices instead of fat.  You can have flavor a variety of ways.
• Go ahead, limit your choices. If you are setting hardcore goals, eat a limited number of preplanned meals. Tim Ferris, author of the wildly popular 4 Hour Workweek, did a blog post about losing weight via simplicity and science.  ” Rule #2 Eat the same few meals over and over again. The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again.”

Because sometimes eating can make you angry too.

Summary:

Doing this diet can be a fun, satisfying, healthy way to live. There are a lot of great things about the Warrior Diet and it’s ideas, from tuning up your mental warrior to saving time on meal preparation. But this doesn’t make it useful to an amateur or pro mixed martial artist.

If you haven’t heard of the Warrior Diet (WD), it is essentially this: you eat only one meal a day (at night) avoid processed foods like the plague, and let warrior essence permeate your body until all your enemies lie defeated under your gladiator physique. Or at least something like that.

The Diet Specifics

As I mentioned, the basic idea of the diet is to have a controlled fast during the day and eat one big meal at night. During your evening meal, you can eat as much as you want, even if it would be more than you would consume in 3 regular meals.

For this meal, a few “rules” are to be kept.

• Eat natural, unprocessed foods.  If it came in a package and has a mile-long list of ingredients (high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated…) , thou shalt not eat it.
• Less aggressive tastes first. Start with uncooked fruits and veggies, and move to more aggressive tastes like salty, beefy, etc.
• Have a lot of variety. Include as many aromas, colors, textures, and tastes in a meal as possible.
• Stop eating when you are full – or – when you become more thirsty than hungry.

.

During the day, you can eat a little bit – fresh squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, raw nuts, low glycemic index fruits, lean protein – but no pasta/bread type carbs. Also, you should drink lots of water.

If you are very active, the diet makes some concessions and allows some eating post workout.

Outside of these eating based rules, the WD has several themes which run along side the dietary advise.

In general, live more naturally. Eat local, fresh, seasonal foods.

Enjoy what you eat and how you eat. Eat with pleasurable company, have lively discussion and laughter during and after the meal.

Let hunger be a positive thing. After eating like a warrior for a while, you’ll have a certain mastery over food, hunger, and desires. In the day time, stay active, sharp and “hungry for life”.

Workout in short, intense bursts. Make sure exercises build functional strength.

Be a warrior. Insert mental images of the movie 300 here.

Of course, this is just an overview. The book make a lot of claims and makes a lot of explanations. Ori’s scientific reasoning is sound in some places, and suspect in others.  There are numerous references to ancient Roman and Spartan lifestyles; some times the history reading is a bit like hero worship, but interesting nonetheless. You’ll have to sort out it for yourself.

Personal Experience

I originally read Warrior Diet, by Ori Hofmekler, about 4 years ago and got sucked into the warrior idealism that the book exudes. Certainly, I am not a nutritionist, but I have diligently lived the WD for 6 straight months, as well as lived a modified WD for over a year, so I know what it does to my body. I’ve been reading different forums and diet logs, and all I can say is that your mileage may vary.

Some bodies work well with the whole under eating during the day/overeating at night gig, some people respond poorly. For me, the WD diet worked pretty well on many fronts. The diet works for the author, Ori, as you can tell that he’s fairly ripped.

For me, it the diet was a good lifestyle. You only have to eat once a day – which is a huge time saver – and by the time you get to dinner you are very hungry, which means food tastes really good. By cutting out processed, unnatural foods (overly sweet and salty preservatives muck up your perceptions) I started to have a much more acute sense of taste. I could taste everything I ate at a deeper level, for instance I began noticing the strong sweetness in carrots.  As a side effect, junk foods didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t crave them or even like them when I did eat them (very infrequently, I might add).

I loved eating this way – my food tasted better and I felt satisfied every day. I suspect that you get a serotonin boost at night when you eat until you’re full.

The first little while, hunger pains were pretty tough in the afternoon.  Part of it was a psychological addiction to food, part was a biological balancing act of blood sugars.  The WD says you should eat a little bit to combat the hunger pains, but I wanted the full warrior feeling. No pain no gain.  After a while, my body adapted and the cringing pain of hunger was all but gone. To this day, I still don’t get mood/energy swings when I don’t eat.

As a general rule, I used to get sleepy after lunch.  By fasting, I avoided the afternoon grogginess. While on the WD, I had a lot more energy during the day and slept pretty well at night.

The warrior diet did funky things to my sex drive too. In general, in made me more aggressive and horny – but not in that uncontrolled high school type of way.  Maybe it was all in my mind, but I felt more masculine and sharp. I didn’t “perform” any differently physically, but there was definitely a marked difference in my mental state.

In terms of athletic performance, I didn’t notice any significant change. I was a fit young man before I started the WD, so I didn’t look to the warrior lifestyle to give me a sixpack of abs. In fact, the first few weeks I gained a few pounds of fat. If I had to guess, it was due to increased cortisol levels associated with not drinking enough water. The diet says to drink a lot of water, but I didn’t really start drinking enough till week 3. Eventually, that fat came off.

Afterthoughts

If you’d like to try the warrior diet, I say go for it.  If you are overweight, I’d guess that you’d lose weight because most people have trouble packing in 2,000 calories in one meal if the evening foods are natural and healthy.

However, if you’re looking to increase your MMA performance I just don’t see the Warrior Diet facilitating that.  After reading up quite a bit on Billy Rush, MMA nutritionist superstar, I’m sold on the 6 small meals a day plan for fighters. When you’re really into MMA, you probably have more than one workout a day. With those workouts, you have optimal windows of nutrient uptake and serious needs of proper recovery.  Your most important meal of the day is the post-workout recovery meal, second only to the pre-workout mini-meal.

Bottom line: The pro’s of daily fasting just don’t out-weigh the gains you could be making by eating more frequently, in time with your workouts.

If you have any questions, let me know or you can crawl the WD forums.