BPM: There are a ton of personal trainers out there for specific sports disciplines from bodybuilding to baseball. However, there are few that specialize in training programs for martial artists. How did you get into this field?
MG: I was small in junior high school, and was picked on a lot. When I was 14 years old I got a home weight set and started messing around with it. I also had some springs with handles mounted on a doorframe. I would do punches with them while chanting the name of a guy from school that picked on me. I also started doing gymnastics about this time (which is excellent for developing strength, balance, coordination, explosiveness, etc.), but it wasn’t until I saw Enter The Dragon at 16 that I fell in love with the martial arts.
First I studied Wing Chun kung fu, then boxing, and then kickboxing. I’ve recently learned some ground fighting as well, but kickboxing is my main art, and I’ve trained and sparred with some of the best – Maurice Smith, Curtis Schuster, and Haru Shimanishi, to name a few.
Since I have a passion for both martial arts and weight training, it seemed natural to integrate the two, and although I’ve worked with athletes from other sports, most notably NBA player, Michael Hawkins, it’s strength training for the martial arts that I’m most enthusiastic about.
BPM: What is the most common mistake you see when marital artists are weight training?
MG: That’s easy – training like a bodybuilder. What many fighters fail to realize is that training adaptations are highly specific, and that muscle is not simply muscle. Muscle size can increase one of two ways: By an increase in the sarcoplasm or by an increase in the size and number of contractile proteins. The sarcoplasm is soft tissue that surrounds the muscle fiber, it is mostly fluid and does not contribute to contractile force of the muscles. Bodybuilding style workouts that focus on long sessions of multiple sets of high repetitions, performed at a rhythmic pace, tend to develop the sarcoplasm to a greater extent than the contractile proteins.
On top of this, it is important when strength training that a fighter try to imitate the dynamic structure of the specific skills used in the ring, as well as the spatial orientation, the position of the body in relation to the surroundings. What this basically means is that doing a lot of cable-crossovers will not help your punches.
BPM: What kind of reps, sets and training frequency do you like to recommend to martial artists?
MG: This is more difficult to answer as these variables can fluctuate widely depending on circumstances such as training phase and priority, as well as the fighters training history and recovery ability. For example, set and rep schemes appropriate for developing joint strength and stability would not be appropriate for developing maximal strength, or explosive power. That said, in most cases I don’t favor reps of more than 6. The reason being is that the 2 most important qualities weight-training can help a fighter develop are maximal strength and explosive power, and both of these qualities are best developed in the lower rep ranges; in a given set, by the time one has reached 5 repetitions, most of the fast-twitch speed and power fibers have ceased firing.
As for training frequency, this can vary from between 2-4 days per week depending on the priority (other training demands) and individual recovery ability. For most, 3 days per week will suffice.
BPM: What are the pros and cons of using some of the latest training techniques and devices such as the Swiss Ball, kettle bells and club bells compared to traditional free weights?
MG: The all have specific advantages, but none of them can replace traditional free weights, especially not for versatility. The biggest disadvantage is that people will get caught up in the marketing hype, and overuse them. One of my biggest pet peeves is personal trainers that use Swiss balls for every conceivable exercise known to man. There’s one guy in particular that has all of his clients doing dumbbell shoulder presses, and biceps curls, etc., seated on a Swiss ball. I know that his reasoning is greater activation of the core stabilizers – blah, blah, blah! But why not just do them standing instead? Standing exercises recruit more stabilizers than seated exercises, and ground-based movements have greater transfer to most sport, and real life activities. I mean, how many sports are played in a seated position?
BPM: Could you give us your recommended nutrition and supplementation program for fighters?
MG: The single most important group of supplements are antioxidants. Athletes in training generally use 12-20 times more oxygen than people with sedentary lifestyles. This extra use of oxygen increases free radical production and oxidative damage; therefore exercising without nutritional protection is unhealthy. Increasing the body's protective reserve of nutrient antioxidants, by supplementation, minimizes the destruction of cellular membranes, reduces muscular damage during intense training, and facilitates recovery.
I follow Dr. Michael Colgan’s (a leader in the field) recommendations for antioxidant intake based on several criteria: weight, age, bodyfat percentage, environment (rural, suburban, or urban), amount and intensity of exercise. For example, a 165 pound 35-year-old male who exercises 3-times a week at 70% of his VO Max, has a bodyfat percentage of 15%, and lives in an urban environment would need 5-gms of vitamin-c (5000 milligrams) or about 83 times the minimum daily requirement. This is just for starters; because antioxidants work synergistically, he would also need the full spectrum of antioxidants, including: beta-carotene, vitamin-e, selenium, alpha lipoic acid, just to name a few, to get full protection.
Obviously protein, carbs, and essential fats are necessary, but as for the ratios of each, and the particular foods one should eat, this also varies widely. I’m a big believer in Peter J. D’Adamo’s Eat Right 4 Your Type, with basically states, 4 different diets for the 4 different blood groups.
I also recommend having a shake with a carbohydrate/protein ratio of 2:1 immediately following a training session. This is mandatory for speeding recovery and improving gains.
BPM: So it seems that although weight training programs can be specific to martial artists, a solid supplementation program on the other hand, is more or less universal?
MG: Correct. The most important things proper supplementation can do for an athlete is facilitate recovery time between workouts, and improve immune system function. These two things will help the athlete to avoid overtraining and injury, downtime due to illness, and to have a longer, more productive career. All athletes can benefit from this.
BPM: What supplements do you currently use?
I take DHEA and acetyl l-carnitine first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. About 20 minutes later I have a protein shake with added flax oil, olive oil, and ground flaxseed (no carbs), then I take my vitamins/antioxidants. I take Source Naturals, Life Force Multiple (without iron), and spread the dosages over 3 meals: breakfast, post-workout, and before bed. To this I add extra vitamin c, vitamin e, beta-carotene, and alpha lipoic acid.
Besides my breakfast shake, I also have protein shakes pre and post workout. To these add creatine and BCAAs (such as Haleo Sports C3). Before a workout I’ll take 3 grams of L-tyrosine and 200mg of DMAE. To help me sleep I use a cocktail of Valerian extract, melatonin, and ZMA (also good for boosting T levels). For my joints I use Glucosamine, SAMEe, MSM, and calcium. I also use phosphatidyl serine and 6-OXO, an estrogen blocker.
BPM: Some of the top fighters such as Bob Sapp have extremely intricate supplementation and training programs and others like Ray Sefo do not do much outside of their sparing training. What do you think is the number one factor in a fighter’s ability to consistently win?
MG: Again, this is a question that cannot be answered simply, if there were one single best formula for success, it would have been discovered long ago, and everybody would be using it. As you noted, some fighters focus mainly on skill training while others “cross train”. Every athlete is different; some are have great genetic gifts, while others have to struggle harder just to make smaller gains. Many of these genetically gifted are successful in spite of, not because of, their training routines (however they often suffer more from injury, and have shorter careers). It’s a mistake to try to copy the training routine of an elite athlete if you’re an “average Joe”; one needs to find what works best for oneself. However one trait that all the greats seem to share is a single-minded determination, and dedication to be the best. They first see themselves as champions in their mind’s eye, and then set about to making it a reality.
BPM: What kind of services do you offer and how can BodyPower readers contact you?
MG: For those in the Tokyo [now Seattle] area I offer one-on-one training sessions for athletic preparation, strength, power, speed, and endurance; general fitness, fat loss, muscle building, flexibility; injury rehabilitation, correcting structural imbalances, joint weakness. I also offer one-on-one kickboxing instruction.
For those outside of Tokyo I offer personalized 4-phase training programs via e-mail, and will occasionally travel for seminars or short-term engagements.
Those who would like to contact me can reach me at: mark_ginther@veloforce.net or for Japanese: jpn_info@veloforce.net. More information can be found at my website (English only): www.veloforce.net
