XMB Training Guide Ericwongmma

http://EricWongMMA.com/explosive-muscle

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copyright notice Copyright © 2011 by Eric Wong Training T raining Systems – All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission of Eric Wong or Eric Wong Training Systems.

Published by: by: Eric Wong Training Systems Systems 388 Richmond St. W Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3P1 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Web: www.EricWongMMA.com

DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES The information presented in this work is by no way intended as medical advice or as a substitute for medical counseling. The i nformation should be used in conjunction with the guidance and care of your physician. Consult your physician before beginning this program as you would with any exercise and nutrition program. If you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician and/or and/or work with your physician throughout the duration of your time using the recommendations in the program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions. By continuing with the program you recognize that despite all precautions on the part of Eric Wong Training Systems, there are risks of injury or illness ill ness which can occur because of your use of the aforementioned information and you expressly assume such risks and waive, relinquish and release any claim which you may have against Eric Wong Training Systems, or its affiliates as a result of any future physical injury or illness incurred in connection with, or as a result of, the use or misuse of the program. Bottom line – if you die, it’s not my fault, and you can’t sue me. :) However, use of this program as intended is highly unlikely to cause death and will only result in improved strength, power, flexibility and overall fitness.


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table of contents preface to version 2.0 ................................ 4-7 intro ........................................................ 8-11 program overview ...................................... 12 body comp assessment ....................... ........... .............. .. 13-14 body comp progress chart .......................... 15 explosive power overview .......................... 16 phase 1 workouts ................................ 17 phase 2 workouts ................................ 18 muscle building overview ........................... 19 exercise ............................................... 20 assessment ......................................... 21 assessment chart ................................ 22 your muscle building program ............ 23 training template examples ................ ........... ..... 24 workout guidelines ........................ ............. ........... 25-26 muscle building 15’s ............................ 27 muscle building 10’s ............................ 28 muscle building 5’s .............................. 29 muscle hardening ................................ 30 x-factors ......................................... 31-32 onward and upward .............................. 33-34 it’s been fun ........................ ............ ........................ ....................... ........... 35 blank templates ..................................... 36-41


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preface to version 2.0 It’s been a couple of years since I initially released rel eased my Muscle Building Blueprint for MMA fighters fi ghters (MBB)… I’ve been getting more and more requests from fighters asking me for tips and tricks to building muscle. Not the kind of muscle you see on stage competing to be crowned Mr. Olympia, but a bit of functional muscle to get to the proper weight class for your body. After all, MMA is a relative strength sport and while it may seem to be beneficial to be as light as possible, there’s the old law of diminishing returns that happens where being too light and thus skinny for your height limits your strength and can result in you getting rag-dolled all over the cage. It’s finding the right amount of lean mass for your body and if you’re here, you now have the power to systematically do just that. Other guys who don’t fight simply want to add some meat to their bones so it doesn’t look like you’ve got toothpicks instead of arms. That’s fine too and this program will do that for you. So would the old one, but this new one is better. Here’s why… I’ve been wanting to update the old MBB for a while now, but just haven’t had the time. I’ve got to train guys like Claude Patrick who talk smack in my e ar all day (he’s a master wordsmith I HIGHLY recommend you listen/watch any interviews he does) and other athletes that limit the amount of time I can spend writing and updating things.

If only I could repeat what Claude was saying in this fight. :)


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And things that are working well already always get put to the back burner in favour of things that require immediate attention. But I’m all about progression and constant improvement and now, I’ve improved this program and brought it to the level where I’m really proud of what it will accomplish for you. Just like in version 1.0, these are the promises of the new eXplosive Muscle Building Blueprint (xMBB):

Systematic increases in lean muscle with little fat. Average is 7-9 pounds of lean muscle per week with only 1-2 pounds of fat gain – it’s the ‘leanest’ muscle building program out there as it doesn’t simply rely on the old adage of ‘lift weights and eat tons’ that most other programs are based on. So instead of having to treat your body like a garbage dump, shoveling whatever food you see into it, or, you can continue to eat clean, quality food like I recommend in my Nutrition-itsu manual and stay healthy while building mass.

Minimal soreness allowing MMA training to continue. You will get a bit sore at different points during the program, but not like most muscle building programs that take the ‘shock and awe’ approach where they simply annihilate your body hoping it will adapt instead of giving the minimum amount of stimulus needed for growth. This works if you’re a juiced up bodybuilder whose testosterone levels will help him recover add muscle and recover like Wolverine from X-Men. But if you’re a natural athlete relying on good food, sleep and intelligent programming to make gains, the shock and awe approach will ruin your MMA skill training because it will hurt to scratch your back. These are the 2 reasons why I created the original MBB in the first place, because as an MMA fighter you can’t afford to add much fat to your body and there’s no way you’re going to stop MMA training to gain some muscle. But now in version 2.0, I’ve made a few tweaks and changes to make this program even better and address some of the areas that I thought could be improved that will have you not only bigger and more imposing after 8 weeks, but also more POWERFUL.


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In MMA, depending on the move you’re trying to execute, explosive power is generated from one of two areas: from the ground up or from rotation of the hips/core. You might’ve seen the equation before, but let me share it again here: Power = Force x Velocity But power in MMA is not just the result of being able to accelerate a load rapidly. Power in MMA is your ability to rapidly transition from contraction to relaxation to contraction.

The above point is so important I’ve highlighted, so read it again. . . Now, let’s take a look at some real-world examples…

Throwing a Knockout Punch The rotation in your hips and core is where real knockout power comes from. From training MMA, you might know that being tense i sn’t conducive to generating power. It’s also a waste of energy and will cause you to gas out early. But do you know why? If not, here’s an explanation: Real power comes from your ability to be relaxed then in an instant – fire your hips and core up to whip your fist around for the big KO. Or to throw powerful combos, starting from your hips/core, you’ve got to be able to whip one fist out in one direction, relax the hip/core muscles that created that movement then rapidly contract the opposite hip/core muscles to rotate the other way to throw your other hand. Being able to contract-relax-contract rapidly taps into something called the stretch-shortening cycle and is the key to generating the maximum amount of power in your punches possible.


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Yes, you’ve got to be grounded and balanced on your feet, but the power comes from your middle, not the ground up.

Executing a Powerful Takedown Obviously as you’re driving for a powerful takedown you need power to come from the ground up. But being able to actually catch a takedown is a product of both good technique and being quick enough to catch your opponent before he sprawls It’s this last part that you need the ability to contract-relax-contract again. You’ve got to change levels rapidly, which can only happen through relaxing the leg muscles, then you’ve got to drive forward as quickly as possible so you don’t get your head squished by a good sprawl. Do you understand the concept of contract-relax-contract now and how important it is to the generation of power? Now that you know this, it will help you understand what you’re trying to do both in the eXplosive power exercises you’ll be performing in this program and in your MMA training. Training partners beware! :) So that’s what this new eXplosive Muscle Building Blueprint is all about. It’s still an 8 week program. It’ll still add 7-9 lbs of functional muscle to your frame. But it’s been upgraded and improved and those improvements will translate to even better results after you finish it. Now that we’ve got the new intro out of the way, I’ve kept the old intro alive as it tells my personal story of how I used the original MBB to transform my body… After that, the program’s been re-written and setup in an easier-to-follow way that will make it dead simple to have you turning heads, both on the beach and your opponents heads in the cage.

Eric http://EricWongMMA.com/explosive-muscle

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intro Looking like a muscle-bound, bikini-wearing bodybuilder isn’t going to help your performance in the cage or ring. BUT… You have to have a good amount of muscle mass for your frame, because muscle size is a prescursor to strength. So if you’re a bone rack, as you fight more, even if your skill is superior, you’re going to consistently get dominated by a bigger, stronger opponents. The key is achieving the right level of muscle mass for your frame, then maintaining that level of muscle mass to stay in a weight class, while training for strength, power, and stamina. When MMA was growing in the early 2000’s, fighters like Royce Gracie could beat bigger and stronger opponents with skill alone. But now that everybody’s level of skill with wrestling, jiu-jitsu, muay thai, and boxing, to name a few, has risen, being strong for your size is a must just to compete. So if you need to build muscle while simultaneously training MMA, this program is for you. I’ve been trying out different strategies to build muscle for years, using my own body and my clients as guinea pigs. I’ve tried out programs where strength is the focus – build strength and you’ll build muscle is what they say. These programs are programs based on powerlifting, such as the Westside template. But they’re difficult to maintain while also training MMA 3-5 days a week. Your joints take a beating and you feel like crap going into MMA training and you don’t have the energy during weight training, so you’re not making gains anywhere. I’ve also tried standard bodybuilder split routines, like splitting up chest/biceps, back/triceps, and legs/abs, working on a 5 day cycle.


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The problem here is that the volume is way too high and the muscles get too sore, slowing you down on the mats and in the ring and making it difficult to stick to the program. So I’ve continued to experiment and try new programs, looking for the answer. Then I stumbled across a totally new approach that I’d never seen before and the minute I read through it and learned the details, I knew that if this worked, it would be perfect. The original program was called HST, or Hypertrophy Specific Training, created by a guy named Brian Haycock. Brian first shared the method in 2000 through an online newsletter and since then, many have used the system, reporting great results. However, many of the details are left to interpretation and can be confusing, so it took me a while to research all the background info and figure out how to apply everything properly. Then, because the focus is on muscle building, many exercises recommended were classic bodybuilder exercises that wouldn’t translate to improved performance in the cage – such as leg extensions and leg curls. So I decided to take the details of the program and apply the necessary changes so that it would still work for muscle growth but also improve, or at least not take away from, MMA performance. As always, I used the program on myself first, and here were my results: Test

August 10

September 7

October 5

Change

Weight (lbs)

167

173

176

+ 9 lbs

Body Fat % Lean Body Mass (lbs) Fat Mass (lbs)

5.8

6.2

6.3

+ 0.5%

157.3

162.3

164.9

+ 7.6 lbs

9.7

10.7

11.1

+ 1.4 lbs

Shoulder girth

46”

46.5”

47”

+ 1”

Hip girth

37.5”

38.5”

39”

+ 1.5”

Thigh girth

20.25”

21.25”

22”

+ 1.75”

I gained 9 lbs in body weight and 7.6 lbs of muscle mass in only 8 weeks – while only adding 1.4 lbs of body fat! You can also clearly see that I got bigger in all major areas: the shoulders, hips (around the butt) and thighs. http://EricWongMMA.com/explosive-muscle

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Side note: 4 weeks later, I lost 2 pounds settling in around 174 lbs in body weight, which was probably water loss due to me stopping creatine intake Strength increased, I avoided injury, and I had energy to train on the same day and days in-between weight training workouts. This was great! Take note that because I wasn’t doing any conditioning training outside of MMA classes, my cardio didn’t change and might’ve gotten a bit worse, but I quickly got it back once I started training it again. These results were amazing in such a short period of time, but I could see why the program worked so well. Now some guys might be worried about putting on any fat. These are probably the same guys who weigh 130 lbs soaking wet. Don’t worry about putting on a few pounds of fat, your increased metabolism from adding muscle will help you burn it fast when you switch to other training methods. So here’s a rough outline of the program: → Full

body workouts, 3 days per week, lasting an hour or less → Work near max intensity once every 2 weeks for 6 weeks so the joints don’t get hammered and you can still train MMA without getting injured → Only 1-3 sets MAX per exercise per workout, making volume very manageable and muscle soreness a non-issue → Rest periods between sets are long enough to re cover and not overtax the lactic energy system, leaving energy for MMA t raining on the same day The specifics of the program are based on stimulating the proper adaptations at the cellular level. Basically, this program works in 3 ways: 1. The consistent tension overload and high frequency of the program stimulates your cells to constantly build protein. 2. The low volume doesn’t deplete much energy (stored in the muscle as glycogen), so that the calories you consume go towards building muscle versus replenishing depleted glycogen stores. 3. The sub-maximal nature of the workouts allows you to train without injuring your already touchy joints.


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For this program to work, you must follow the details EXACTLY, with no deviation. The biggest problem will be getting over the mindset that you have to train to failure and lift weights for as many reps as you can, stopping just before your head explodes. Training like this will NOT work. You’ll be working sub-maximally about 70% of the time – that means, even though the program tells you to stop at 12 reps, you use a weight that you could do 20 reps with. This is why this program works so well for fighters – you still have energy to train MMA while simultaneously building muscle! The other component to successfully building muscle is nutrition. The first thing which is obvious is you’ve got to be eating more calories than you burn, and you definitely need a good amount of protein. I’m not going to outline a specific plan to follow or make you count calories, because I didn’t count calories myself and my results were great. Instead, you’ve got to follow the basic eating principles I outline in my Nutritionitsu manual, and just eat greater portions. There are also a couple of little details that are critical for success, which I’ll outline in full in the Nutrition Strategies section. [Note: the Nutrition Strategies section has been moved to the all- new eXplosive Muscle Building Nutrition Guide]

With that being said, I fully expect you to gain a bare minimum of 4 lbs of muscle in 8 weeks, but it’s more likely that you’ll gain between 7-9 lbs of lean, rock-solid muscle, which is a ton, especially for someone training MMA at the same time. So follow the program as outlined and after you finish, send me your results and some pics of your transformation at [email protected] or post it on the forum on the INSIDERS ZONE. Your Coach,


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program overview Every workout you perform has 2 components: eXplosive power and muscle building. Think of them as separate programs that you do one after the other. You’ll actually have separate training logs for each component that you’ll take to the gym with you – this just makes it easier to follow, which you’ll learn the reason why soon. You’ll be training 3 days per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday/Saturday seem to work well. Make sure you have at least 1 day of rest between workouts. The power training is always done FIRST as that’s when your nervous system is the freshest and you can put the most effort into the exercises. Here’s a table giving you a birds eye view of the setup of the overall program:

Week # 1 2

eXplosive

power NO TRAINING

3 4 5

ASSESSMENT

1

NO TRAINING

2

phase 1 10’s

7

9

Week #

15’s

6

8

muscle building

5’s

phase 2

10

MUSCLE HARDENING

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

It’s important to note that the first week is your muscle building assessment and the second week there is NO TRAINING (other than your normal MMA training). This is to ‘decondition’ the muscles a little bit after the assessment so they’re primed for growth when you start the program on Week 3. Although it may look complicated, it’s not, just follow me step-by-step, do the tasks as they come up and you’ll be well on your way.


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body comp assessment To truly know if you’re making gains on this program, you’ve got to have some baseline measurements before to track your progress and final results. Before and After Photos

Make sure you take BnA photos – they’ll show you how much your body changed by using the program. Guidelines for Good BnA Photos →

Pick an uncluttered background

→

Men wear shorts/boxers; ladies wear sports bra and shorts or bikini

→

Take the photo in Portrait mode (tall), not Landscape (wide)

→

Ensure there is good lighting and/or use a flash

→

Make sure there is no strong back lighting (ie you’re standing in front of a window in the middle of the day)

→

Get at least 3 pictures: front, side and back (and some flexing pics if you want)

Here are examples of good pictures:


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Body Weight

Make sure you measure at the same time everyday, keeping conditions the same, for example, measure first thing in the morning before eating/drinking anything and NOT after a night of boozing or anything that affects hydration.

Body Fat %

I recommend you find a qualified personal trainer to perform a 7-site skinfold test, or if you live in a big city, see if you can get a DEXA or BodPod test done just search for them on Google in your area. Least accurate but still better than nothing for body fat % are the electronic scales that you either hold or stand on. If you use these devices, make sure you follow the same guidelines for measurement accuracy as given for body weight.

Girth Measurements

Girth measurements will show you the increase in size and can help you pinpoint areas you need to work more on. If you’re gaining everywhere except for one area, you can add an exercise for that area to stimulate growth. You can do these measurements yourself or better yet get someone to help you. Here are the sites you’ll want to measure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Shoulders Chest Arm flexed Arm not flexed Waist Hip Thigh

Check this link to see exactly how to measure with pics and instructions: http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/girths.htm


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body comp progress chart Print this chart out and use it to track your body composition progress. There are 3 times to take these measurements: 1. At the very start, before the Muscle Building Assessment 2. Mid-way through the program: after Week 6 (after eXplosive Power Phase 1 and Muscle Building 10’s ) 3. Two days after performing your last workout Write the date in for each test you do. Measurement

mm / dd / yy

mm / dd / yy

mm / dd / yy

Photos done?







Weight (lbs) Body fat % Fat mass* Lean mass** Shoulders Chest Arm flexed Arm not flexed Waist Hip Thigh *Fat Mass – to calculate fat mass, multiply your bodyweight by your body fat %... eg. if your Body fat % is 15 and your body weight is 150 lbs, 150 x 0.15 = 22.5 lbs **Lean Mass – subtract your fat mass from your body weight to determine your lean mass, eg. 150 – 22.5 = 127.5 lbs


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eXplosive power overview As we talked about, you’re going to be developing your explosive power in 2 areas: from the ground up and from the hips/core. Here are the exercises in each phase that you’ll be performing: DAY 1 (MON)

DAY 2 (WED)

1) Box squat jump

1) Squat jumps

DAY 3 (FRI)

1 )

s e k  Lunge landing s e e a w 4 h ( 2) ½ kneeling lift p

2

) s e k e s e a w 4 h (

p

1) Box squat jump  Lunge jump 2) 1-arm SB power press

2) ½ kneeling chop

1) MB side toss 2) Broad jumps

1) Weighted squat jumps

1) MB hot foot throw

2) MB chop toss

2) Swings

These are the best of the best for developing your explosive power and the keys are in the specific set/rep/rest schemes that are periodized and build from one week to the next. On the next 2 pages are your eXplosive power training templates, print them off and take them with you to the gym.


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phase 1 workouts DAY 1 (Monday) Exercise 1) Box squat jump lunge stance

Week 1 4 reps total 60 s rest 3 sets




2) ½ kneeling lift

5 reps per side 60 s rest 2 sets




(Write in the weight used for the lift and chop exercises in the extra space given)

DAY 2 (Wednesday) Exercise 1) MB side toss

Week 1 3 reps per side 90 s rest 3 sets




2) Broad jumps

4 reps 60 s rest 3 sets




Exercise 1) Squat jumps (bodyweight)





2) ½ kneeling chop

4 reps total 60 s rest 2 sets




DAY 3 (Friday)


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phase 2 workouts DAY 1 (Monday) Exercise 1) Box squat  Lunge Jump





2) 1-arm SB power press





(Write in the weight used for the weighted exercises in the extra space given)

DAY 2 (Wednesday) Exercise 1) Squat jumps (weighted)

Week 1 4 reps 90 s rest 3 sets




2) MB chop toss





Exercise 1) Swings





2) MB hot foot throw





DAY 3 (Friday)


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muscle building overview Here’s a flowchart and a calendar showing you what you’ll be doing over the next 10 weeks to add lean, functional muscle to your body. Step #1 is the most important – schedule 3 days and the time of day when you’ll train, and stick to it. Consistency is KEY. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday/Saturday seem to work well. Just make sure you have at least 1 day of rest between workouts. Schedule 3 Set Training Days and What Time of Day You’ll Workout

Assessment of 15, 10 and 5 Rep Maxes on Separate Days

Take 1 Week Off

Muscle Building 15’s

Week #

Actions

1

Assess 15, 10, and 5 rep maxes

2

Rest (no weight training)

3

3 workouts x 15 reps

4


5


6


7

3 workouts x 5 reps

8

3 workouts x 5 reps

9

3 workouts x 5 reps

10

3 workouts x 5 reps

Muscle Buliding 10’s

Muscle Building – 5’s

Muscle Hardening

Take 1 Week Off of Weights

Start New Program


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muscle building exercises The table below shows you the recommended core muscle building exercises that you’ll use in this program. These exercises will not change over the entire program. The second column in the table shows alternative exercises you can choose if you have problems with certain exercises or are lacking equipment, so make your choices at the start then stick with them. Recommended Exercises

Back barbell squats Flat barbell bench press Lat pulldowns Leg curls on SB (1 and 2-leg) Seated row

Alternate Exercises Any lunge variation, such as Reverse lunges or Bulgarian split squats, Leg press Flat, decline or incline barbell/dumbbell presses

Assisted/weighted chin-ups Stiff-leg (Romanian) deadlifts, Machine leg curls Bent-over barbell row, Chest supported rows, 1-arm dumbbell rows

The following table contains exercises that you can choose to do based on your individual goals. →

→ →

If you want to add size to your arms, add in the Biceps and Triceps exercises If you want more size on your deltoids, add in the Side raises Finally if you want to grow your calves, add the Calf raises

Recommended Exercises

Alternate Exercises

Barbell curls

Dumbbell curls, Hammer curls

Skull crushers

Tricep cable pressdowns, Overhead tricep extensions

Dumbbell side raises

Dumbbell front raises, Barbell front raises

Calf raises (1 or 2 leg)

~

NOTE: all of the assessment sheets and training templates are based on my recommended exercises. If you’re going to use alternate exercises, I’ve got blank templates at the end of this manual.


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muscle building assessment Now that you’ve got your 3 days chosen, your body composition stats and the exercises you’ll be performing, it’s time to test your 15, 10, and 5 rep maxes for each exercise. Test on separate days with 1 day of rest in between. Note that there is no testing for the eXplosive power exercises. For example, if your workout days are Mon, Wed, and Fri: • • •

Mon = Test 15 RM Wed = Test 10 RM Fri = Test 5 RM

Start with a 5 minute general warmup, like one of the MMA Dynamic Warmup routines in my programs or found in the INSIDERS ZONE. Then, for heavier exercises like Back squats and Bench press, make sure you take 3-5 good warmup sets. Also be sure to get a good spotter when you’re doing these bigger exercises. For smaller exercises like the Arnold press and Barbell curls, you only need 1 warmup set of 4-5 reps that is lighter than your estimated max weight and you’ll be good to go. General rule of thumb: the stronger you are, the more warmup sets you need.

Here’s an example of how a good warmup would go. Let’s say you think you can Bench press 185 lbs for 15 reps Your warmup would look like this: 1. 2. 3. 4.

10 Pushups – rest 1 minute 135 lbs x 4 reps – rest 1 minute 165 lbs x 2 reps – rest 1 minute Go for your Max at 185 lbs

Only count reps in perfect technique. If you’re arching and swaying, the results won’t be valid, so be VERY STRICT ON TECHNIQUE! In terms of rep speed, go as fast as you can while maintaining good form. Rest 2-3 minutes between exercises, and you’ll have completed the first step to building some solid muscle and a physique that will intimidate your opponents. http://EricWongMMA.com/explosive-muscle

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muscle assessment chart Guidelines for Accurate Assessments →

If you’re in the middle of a set and you don’t think you’ll be within 2 reps of the target (eg. you think you’ll only get 12 reps when testing your 15RM), stop the set, rest 3 minutes, then try again with an adjusted weight. Anything 2 reps or more off target is too much.

→

If you miss by 1 rep with a certain weight, use that weight as your max for that exercise.

→

If you miss by 2 reps, for example you only do 13 reps instead of 15, add/subtract 5-10 lbs from the weight you used and write that in as your max (5 lbs for a smaller exercise like Bicep curl, 10 lbs for something like a Bench press or Back squat).

Either way, be sure to write down how many reps you made and how much weight it was, for example, 13 x 175 lbs, or 5 x 205 lbs. Exercise

15 RM

10 RM

5 RM

Back barbell squats Flat barbell bench press Lat pulldowns Leg curls on SB (1 and 2-leg)

NO ASSESSMENT NECESSARY

Seated row Skull crushers Calf raises Barbell curls Dumbbell side raises


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your muscle building program Once you’ve completed the assessments, you use the data to create workouts custom to your current level of strength. Each and every exercise will have a very specific weight to be used and number of sets and reps to perform. This is scientific training at its be st. This part takes a bit of planning, but once it’s done, only minor tweaks might need to be made as you work through the program. On Page 22 you’ll find the training templates. You’ll notice that in each of the phases the last column is highlighted. This is where you write your max in from the assessment. From there, you work backwards. For each workout previous to that, you’ll subtract 5 – 10 lbs from the max weight, 5 lbs from lighter exercises (Bicep curls) and 10 lbs from heavier exercises (Back squats). Here’s an example: Let’s say your 15 rep max for Bench press is 185 lbs. You write ‘185 lbs’ in the last column on the 15’s template for the Bench press, which is Day 6. Working backwards, on Day 5, subtract 10 lbs, so write in 175 lbs. On Day 4, subtract 10 lbs, so write in 165 lbs… Day 3 = 155 lbs… Day 2 = 145 lbs… And you start the Phase on Day 1 lifting 135 lbs. Got it? Good, now you do this for every exercise. If your max is above 115 lbs, then use 10 lbs as your increment, like we just did in the example. If your max is 110 lbs or below, use 5 lbs as your increment. Do this for every workout in Phases 1, 2, and 3. In Phase 4, you’ll be working with your 5RM for each workout. More examples to follow on the next page…


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training template examples For exercises where your max is over 115 lbs, you write your max in the yellow column, then subtract 10 lbs each day as shown below: Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Back barbell squats

175

185

195

205

215

225

Bench press

135

145

155

165

175

185

For exercises where your max is under 115 lbs, like Bicep curls, write your max in the yellow column, then subtract 5 lbs each day as shown below: Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Bicep curls

45

50

55

60

65

70

Finally, for exercises under 50 lbs, I recommend doubling up the weights you lift – you can get creative with this depending on how low your max is – the key is to make increases in weight from week to week. Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Skull crushers

30

40

40

45

45

50

Dumbbell side raises

10

10

15

15

20

20

I trust that makes sense and you now understand how to choose the weights you’re going to lift for the muscle building workouts.


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workout guidelines For this program to work requires some very specific techniques and a completely different mindset. Let’s start with the mindset… NOT WORKING AT YOUR MAX DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE NOT MAKING GAINS

This is the most difficult thing to get over, especially on this program, where you’ll be working sub-maximally and only doing 1-2 sets, which means you’ll have a lot left in the tank and it might not feel like you’re doing much. This is what I was thinking when I started the program. But I kept with it and added 7.6 lbs of muscle to my frame, lifting less intensely than I’ve ever lifted before in my life! You see, the science behind this program, which details how things like IGF-1, mRNA, ribosomes, MAP-K, ERK, satellite cells, and more contribute to muscle growth, show that protein synthesis (muscle building) is turned on at a cellular level with frequent exposure to increasing tension. In plain English that means that your body builds muscle when the muscle cells are hit 3 days per week with loads that keep going up. But if you’re working balls out right off the bat, lifting the heaviest possible weights, you won’t be able to keep increasing the load from workout to workout. That’s why you start off with light weights, which allows you to continually increase the load from workout to workout. Doing so sends a constant signal to the muscle cells to grow. That’s the main reason that this program works for MMA fi ghters – because you’re working below your max, you’ll have gas in the tank for your training.


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HOW TO LIFT: TEMPO AND STRAIN

Each phase of the muscle building program lasts 2 weeks and there are 3 main phases of the program followed by the muscle hardening phase. During the 3 main phases, you’ll only be using the maximal weight you found during the assessment ONCE – at the end of the phase. That means that 5 out of 6 workouts during each phase will be with weights less than max. During these workouts, you’ll want to slow your lifting tempo down so that you just barely complete the desired # of reps in good form. Here’s the key to making these lighter workouts stimulate muscle growth: KEY: Work at slower tempos and really focus on contracting the muscles during the set so by the end of the set, you can’t do any more reps

For example, when the weights are lighter with a Back squat, use a 303 or 404 tempo and actively contract the glutes and quads during the set. For Bicep curls, squeeze the heck out of the biceps for the whole set, and lower slowly and under control. When you’re doing it right, you’ll feel the ‘pump’ of the workout and strain in the belly of the muscle. It’ll take practice and focus – don’t let your mind wander – focus on the set and really connect with the muscles you want to grow.


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muscle building 15 s ’

Notes • 15 reps of each exercise • Use a tempo to make it hard to finish the 15 reps – Day 1-3 will be very slow, like 303 or 404, then speed up the tempo in Days 4-6 to make sure you complete 15 reps • Rest 1 – 1.5 mins between sets • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises • Do 2-3 good warmup sets for the Back squats and Bench press

Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

2

2

2

2

2

2

quick tempo

quick tempo

med tempo

med tempo

slow tempo

slow tempo

Date Completed # of sets Back squats (1 set only each workout) Flat bench press Lat pulldowns Leg curls on SB (2-leg) Seated row Skull crushers Calf raises Barbell curls Dumbbell side raises


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Notes • 10 reps of each exercise • Use a tempo to make it hard to finish the 10 reps – Day 1-3 will be very slow, like 303 or 404, then speed up the tempo in Day 4-6 to make sure you complete 10 reps • Rest 1 – 2 mins between sets • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises • Do 2-3 good warmup sets for the Back squats and Bench press Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

2

2

2

1

1

1

quick tempo

quick tempo

med tempo

med tempo

slow tempo

slow tempo

Date Completed # of sets Back squats (1 set only each workout) Flat bench press Lat pulldowns Leg curls on SB (2-leg in, 1-leg out) Seated row Skull crushers Calf raises Barbell curls Dumbbell side raises

[Once you’re done this phase, make sure you do your re-assessments]


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Notes • 5 reps of each exercise • Use a tempo to make it hard to finish the 5 reps – Day 1-3 will be very slow, like 303 or 404, then speed up the tempo in Day 4-6 to make sure you complete 5 reps • Rest 1.5 – 3 mins between sets – don’t rush your rest periods • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises • Do 2-3 good warmup sets for the Back squats and Bench press Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

2

2

2

1

1

1

quick tempo

quick tempo

med tempo

med tempo

slow tempo

slow tempo

Date Completed # of sets Back squats Flat bench press Lat pulldowns Leg curls on SB (1-leg) Seated row Skull crushers Calf raises Barbell curls Dumbbell side raises


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muscle hardening Notes • 5 reps of each exercise, using your 5RM from the assessment • Make sure you perform at least 1-2 warmup sets for each exercise • Rest 1.5 – 3 mins between sets • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

1

1

2

1

2

3

quick tempo

quick tempo

med tempo

med tempo

slow tempo

slow tempo

Date Completed # of sets Back squats Flat bench press Lat pulldowns Leg curls on SB (1-leg) Seated row Skull crushers Calf raises Barbell curls Dumbbell side raises

[Once you’re done this phase, make sure you do your re-assessments, take new photos and me with your progress and photos] http://EricWongMMA.com/explosive-muscle

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muscle building X -factors Applying everything that I’ve outlined already will he lp 90% of people get great results, without making any other changes to their current lifestyle. But there are a couple of X-factors that could hinder your efforts in adding muscle to your frame. I’m not going to write in detail about these things, but if you find that you are implementing everything that I’ve already written about and you’re still not getting great results, look to these strategies and implement them to make sure you’re covering all bases.

X-factor #1 – Sleep

When you sleep is when muscle building happens. Your body works hard all night as you’re dozing away at numerous things, one of them being building muscle. If your sleep is erratic in that you don’t go to sleep or wake up at the same time most days of the week, then this will impact your hormonal levels and increase the amount of cortisol in your body, causing muscle loss, not muscle gain. Ideal is to sleep by around 11am and wakeup at 7am everyday. Obviously this may be difficult for most people, so I like to try and get about 7 hours every weeknight, sleep in for 9-10 hours one weekend day, and if I’m going out on a weekend, I don’t worry about going to bed late that night. This is how I generally live my life and I gained 7.6 lbs in 8 weeks doing something like this, so it doesn’t seem to be a problem. The other thing is that when you’re sleeping, you’re burning less calories, so more of the calories you eat can go to growth.

X-factor #2 – Stress

If you’re constantly freaking out about little things and there’s always some big drama going on in your life – you need to chill out. Any type of stress increases cortisol which promotes muscle loss and fat gain around the belly. So learn to deal with your stress and it will make your muscle building efforts go a lot farther.


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Seriously - make a conscious effort to deal with stress if you feel you need to by reading books, listening to audios, and learning to let things go. It’ll not only help you build muscle but also live a happier, healthier, and longer lif e.

X-factor #3 – Too Much Estrogen

Estrogen mimicking compounds (xenoestrogens) are everywhere in today’s modern society. Processed foods, air pollution, plastics, paint – pretty much everywhere we go we’re exposed to some chemicals that will hurt our muscle building efforts. Too much estrogen vs. testosterone is bad, as it can promote fat gain vs. muscle gain, as well as a whole slew of health problems. For most guys, this won’t be an issue. But for some, this could be a problem, so here are some strategies you can do to make sure this isn’t an issue for you: → Drink

water out of glass and stainless steel bottles only, many plastics contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) which is an estrogen mimicking compound that can leach out of the bottle into the water → Don’t heat foods up in the microwave in plastic containers – these plastics may contain BPA as well, which will leach into your food if you put it in the microwave → If you’re painting your house, use low-VOC paint – regular paint contains xenoestrogens that you’ll be breathing in daily → Eat 1-2 tbsp of freshly ground flaxseed a day – fresh ground flax binds to xenoestrogens and takes them out of your body, as well, you’ll get some omega-3s for your troubles… just sprinkle on your foods or mix with water and gulp → Thoroughly wash your fruits and vegetables to remove pesticides; you can use a solution of vinegar and water to give them a real good washing → Eat organic fruits and veggies → Avoid most soy products unless fermented, such as miso, tempeh, and natto – soy is known to have these compounds, but they’re broken down through the process of fermentation → Minimize beer intake – get hammered on vodka clubs instead! → Avoid conventionally raised meats in favour of free range, organic meats Doing these things will also benefit your health for the long-term, so you may want to think about implementing 1 or 2 of them every month or every other month until they all become regular habits of yours.


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onward and upward By following everything I’ve outlined in this program, you’ll have packed on some eXplosive lean muscle. As a Mixed-Martial Artist, you now have 2 choices: 1. If you need more muscle, go through another cycle 2. If you’ve achieved your ideal weight, start an MMA specific program Here’s how you do both properly:

Need More Muscle? After you’ve finished the final phase, you must take 1 week off to rest the joints and let your body experience something called ‘Strategic Deconditioning’ (SD). SD will allow your body to make gains again by telling your body, “Hey, nothing’s going on, just get into rest mode.” Then, after a week of SD, you shock your body into growth again by exposing it to another round of this program. To start his program again, you DON’T need to test your 1RM again, just add 510 lbs to your previous 1RM’s and you’ll be fine. But if you want to switch exercises, you will have to test your 1RM again. This must be done because estimating will not give you the results you want. Because the stimulus for adding muscle is a constant increase in tension over 6 weeks then a hardening of the muscle by lifting heavy for 2 weeks, variety of exercises is not a requirement for muscle growth. But if you want to switch up exercises to keep it fresh, then by all means do so, just make sure you do it right and re-assess your 1RMs.

Got Enough Muscle Now? If you’re at the ideal weight for your frame, now it’s time to train your new muscle in sport-specific patterns and develop never-ending endurance. As above, take a week off to give your joints a break and for SD, then start on another program to keep taking your fitness to the next level.


Page | 33

I’ve got a variety of programs to help you do just that. Here’s a list of what I’ve got to offer: Program Ultimate MMA S&C Program (link)

Main Benefits Get in peak shape for a fight

Advanced MMA Power Training System (link)

Get in peak shape for a fight (minimum strength requirements)

MMA Ripped 8-Week Training Camp (link)

Rapid functional fat loss and overall fitness improvements

Python Power Program (link)

Submission strength and stamina

Quickness Kills Program (link)

Speed, agility and quickness

Olympic Lifting Mastery Course (link)

Mastering the Olympic lifts

Bulletproof Back System (link)

Eliminate and prevent back pain

Of course you can follow any program that you’d li ke, it doesn’t have to be one of mine, although I do think mine are top-notch. :) Either way just make sure you take a week off after you complete the Muscle Hardening phase and get on it after that.


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it s been fun... ’

I hope I’ve helped you gain some solid lean muscle with this program, get more explosive and maybe, help you build the confidence that comes with having an impressive physique. Even though we all know that it doesn’t take bei ng a muscular freak to be a great fighter (just look at Fedor or Anderson Silva), there’s no denying that having an athletic, muscular body helps with your own confidence and might put some doubt and fear into your opponent’s head. If you got great results with this program, tell me about it by sending me an email at [email protected]. The other favour I’d like to ask you is that if you know anybody who’s been struggling with their strength and conditioning, tell them about me and my programs. I encounter so many guys who have absolutely no clue what they’re doing because there’s so much info available and a lot of confusion out there. You’ll help them out a lot by sending them my way, and if you do, I really appreciate it. If I don’t hear from you, hopefully you’re keeping up with all the articles, videos, tips, and strategies I share via my newsletter and my blog at www.EricWongMMA.com. Keep training smart,

Eric Wong, BSc, CSCS


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blank templates


Page | 36

muscle assessment chart Guidelines for Accurate Assessments →

If you’re in the middle of a set and you don’t think you’ll be within 2 reps of the target (eg. you think you’ll only get 12 reps when testing your 15RM), stop the set, rest 3 minutes, then try again with an adjusted weight. Anything 2 reps or more off target is too much.

→

If you miss by 1 rep with a certain weight, use that weight as your max for that exercise.

→

If you miss by 2 reps, for example you only do 13 reps instead of 15, add/subtract 5-10 lbs from the weight you used and write that in as your max (5 lbs for a smaller exercise like Bicep curl, 10 lbs for something like a Bench press or Back squat).

Either way, be sure to write down how many reps you made and how much weight it was, for example, 13 x 175 lbs, or 5 x 205 lbs. Exercise

15 RM


10 RM

5 RM

Page | 37


Notes • 15 reps of each exercise • Use a tempo to make it hard to finish the 15 reps – Day 1-3 will be very slow, like 303 or 404, then speed up the tempo in Days 4-6 to make sure you complete 15 reps • Rest 1 – 1.5 mins between sets • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises • Do 2-3 good warmup sets for the Back squats and Bench press

Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

2

2

2

2

2

2

Date Completed # of sets


Page | 38


Notes • 10 reps of each exercise • Use a tempo to make it hard to finish the 10 reps – Day 1-3 will be very slow, like 303 or 404, then speed up the tempo in Day 4-6 to make sure you complete 10 reps • Rest 1 – 2 mins between sets • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises • Do 2-3 good warmup sets for the Back squats and Bench press

Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

2

2

2

1

1

1



Page | 39


Notes • 5 reps of each exercise • Use a tempo to make it hard to finish the 5 reps – Day 1-3 will be very slow, like 303 or 404, then speed up the tempo in Day 4-6 to make sure you complete 5 reps • Rest 1.5 – 3 mins between sets – don’t rush your rest periods • Rest 2 – 3 mins between exercises • Do 2-3 good warmup sets for the Back squats and Bench press

Exercise

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

2

2

2

1

1

1



Page | 40

XMB Training Guide Ericwongmma

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