September - October 2014

Sat 10th Oct (84kg first thing in the am)

band glute walks and band glute bridges to start

A. RDL 4 x 6; 2min rest (80,100,100,100kg)
B. Walking Lunge 4 x 10 each leg; 2min rest 20kg dbs
(did 3 sets of 10 Bulgarian split squats on left leg w 10kg)
C. Glute Ham Raise 3 x 10

The above is a pic of my legs - the left around the time of the comp in July / Aug. I was horrified when I stopped to look at my leg one day and see how small the left leg had become. I have just been doing single leg work since, peterson steps initially and then Bulgarian split squats, walking lunges with a few extra sets / reps on the left leg. I can still feel the left glute not firing as well as the right.

On the left pic I did not have much range (couldn't sit on my heels and especially not without pain). On the right I have full knee flexion and extension. It feels a little swollen / stiff at times after stretching but no sharp pain that I was getting initially. I am still not training BJJ yet.

Supplementation - I have increased BCAA intake and sipping 2 litres of water + Peptopro throughout the day and also taking GLC2000.

Wed 7th Oct

Fresh ink, so less training again this week. Sleep has been terrible, so it is no bad thing.

In Zen Buddhism, an ensō is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. 

The ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and mu (the void). It is characterised by a minimalism born of Japanese aesthetics. 

Drawing ensō is a disciplined-creative practice of Japanese ink painting—sumi-e . The tools and mechanics of drawing the ensō are the same as those used in traditional Japanese calligraphy: One uses a brush (筆 fudé?) to apply ink to washi (a thin Japanese paper). 

The circle may be open or closed. In the former case the circle is incomplete, allowing for movement and development as well as the perfection of all things. Zen practitioners relate the idea to wabi sari, the beauty of imperfection. When the circle is closed, it represents perfection, akin to Plato's perfect form (Plato), the reason why the circle was used for centuries in the construction of cosmological models, see Ptolemy. 

Usually a person draws the ensō in one fluid, expressive stroke.[1] When drawn according to the sōsho style of Japanese calligraphy, the brushstroke is especially swift. Once the ensō is drawn, one does not change it. It evidences the character of its creator and the context of its creation in a brief, contiguous period of time. Drawing ensō is a spiritual practice that one might perform as often as once per day.

Mon 5th Oct

I did some trampoline work initially as per Alex's recommendation. The knee didn't feel great doing it - almost like landing bone on bone (almost reminded me of some of the sensations I experienced after the mcl reconstruction)

A1. RDL 4 x 8 100, 90,90,90
A2. DB Bench 4 x 12 27.5kg
B1. DB Walking Lunge 4 x 10/10 20kg dbs
B2. Chins 4 x 8

Some more knee rehab, I miss the tatami 😭 #kneerehab #kneehab #recovery #meniscus #glute #activation #hamstrings #rdls #deadlift #proprioception #balance #lunges #quads #doms 😭

A video posted by David McConkey (@davidmcconkeybjj) on Oct 5, 2015 at 2:58pm PDT

Wed 30th Sep

I have been doing more hypertrophy style work during the injury and it has given my joints a chance to heal somewhat, I'm enjoying not being completely beaten up after training too. It brings back something Dan John said about the importance of hypertrophy for the 'older' athlete. This training plus the lack of conditioning through rolling has seen my weight hit an all time high of 85kg. Did has not been perfect by any means lately but the fact I did no resistance training for the first half of 2015 I would be certain that not ALL of the weight gain is fat! I am still undecided if I will make the permanent move to medium heavy when I return to competitions -  I think a contributing factor to being injured has been under eating so I may well look to put on some size and stay up there,  I am probably feeling better for it now truth being told....

Some German Body Composition style training (fun!)...

A1. DB Shoulder Press 3 x 10 20kgs
A2. Barbell Curls 3 x 10 32.5kgs
B1. Prone Incline Flyes 3 x 10 6kgs
B2. Skull Crushers 3 x 10 28, 30.5, 33kg
C1. DB Lat Raise 3 x 10 10,10, 8kg
C2. Hammer Curls 3 x 10 17.5kgs
D1. Band Pushdowns 3 x max (45, 25, 20)
D2. KB Shrugs 3 x 10 32kgs

80kg on the left July, 84kg on the right Oct

A new beginning

So here we are again. I consciously chose not to update this blog and on the recommendation of a sports psychologist last year, return to writing as that apparently encourages better memory retention, unfortunately handwritten diaries don't have search functions... 

I may stick to written format for my BJJ training, but for tracking S&C sessions and injuries, this has proven most beneficial over time. 

The main reason for this is that I have torn my left medial meniscus. I am guessing it happened around the time of the KLEOS NO GI competition on the 12th of July 2015. I am 3 months down the road and still no BJJ. I have competed a lot this year but missed a lot of competitions now, and as it stands it looks like I will have no more before 2016. 

Also a lot has changed in my personal life. I am single 6 months and living with my parents again. That has taken a huge amount of adjusting and affected my training somewhat - most definitely my already fragile mindset around competitions. I am hoping that when things settle and my injury heals, I will be back competing in a fresh state of mind and from a point of just wanting to showcase my ability and not putting undue pressure on myself in an attempt to prove myself to people that don't matter. 

Of course the other big change is that I am now training with East Coast Jiu Jitsu. This was a challenging move at first that felt strange but that was also at a time that my life was going on autopilot. As things have settled I have really been feeling the benefits of the move, to be surrounded by people that are as fanatical about BJJ as myself and to be in a competitive but supportive environment has been a huge change. It has also re-enforced the sayings that 'you are the average of the people that you surround yourself with' and the tired (but true) memes of 'surround yourself with lions if you want to be a lion' etc. - I can feel the benefits already and it has really prompted me to be extremely protective of who I let into my circle going forward and even to look for a similarly strong and productive environment in other endeavours - such as work and trying to learn from those that are where I want to be. 

I have been looking at what I can do to control as much of my 'controllables' as well as possible so I am now working with Mike at Unorthodox Nutrition to help with my diet and recovery. I have also subscribed to Yogaforbjj to try and address a serious weakness of mine with regards to flexibility and along with addressing my mindset, this will hopefully help with my recovery. 

It has been a period of forced growth and I am hoping this will reflect in my jiu jitsu and training when I am healed. 

I read the following bullet points in The Chimp Paradox and although at first glance they may seem defeatist or pessimistic, it is actually somewhat liberating and noting that how we feel is under our control and tempered by our expectations.

• There are no guarantees
• Life is unfair
• The goalposts change 

A sign of things to come

It has been manic this week with Steph getting ready for her fight in Liverpool...


Sun 27th

A. Press - wrist was so and so but I worked up to 50kg 2 x 5

B. Shoulder Shocker Series

C. 2k row 7'09.8

* the row needs work! I was ok for the first 500 but then it went downhill. I impressed myself with the last 300, really dug in but left the sprint too late - I think I held a split of about 1'40/500m for this. Legs were WRECKED afterwards!!

Tue 29th

Did BJJ in Andys for 2 hours, Rodrigo took the class and there was lots of rolling. Good fun!

Wed 30th Apr

Ran with Steph in the evening - 5k. Felt 'fitter'. My average hr came in at about 159 and stayed below 160 for a lot of the run but then jumped for the last 10 mins, not sure if it was cause I was talking more? or maybe the coffee before the run!


Thu 1st May

BJJ - coached in Andys for 2 hours.

Decent session again but my hand is pretty sore at the moment.

Sat 26th

Rodrigo Medeiros Seminar

Fri 25th

A. Split Squat 3 x 6/6 @3011; 20kgs

B. Single Leg DL 3 x 5/5; 20kg

C. GHR 3 x 10; 1min rest

D. Shoulder Shocker Series 3 x 10 (15kg, 8kg, band facepulls)

then

Row 3 x 20sec @100%; 3:40rest 117,119,117m
6mins walking recovery
Row 3 x 20sec @100%; 3:40rest 119, 119, 124m*

* read it wrong and was going 90% until the last piece! 

I felt I could row 'more powerfully' when I didn't catch and pull hard straight way but pulled harder when the handles were almost over my knees

Thu 24th

Coached in Andy's for 1.5hours - my wrist was improving but my right elbow flared up again (hurt it getting caught in an armbar last year and it never really healed properly).

Tue 22

6k run - first thing am (avg 163bpm - 29mins / 6k - HR went back from 170 to 110 in 3mins post run)

then 1.5 hours bjj andys

Mon 21st

BJJ + MMA with Steph  - 2 hours

Sun 20th

MMA / BJJ - 9pm with Steph

Sat 19th

A. RDL 3 x 5 100, 110,110kg

B. Row 8 x 200m / 45sec rest x 2

Fri 18th


A1. Squat 3 x 3 130kg
A2. Box Jump mid thigh 3 x 3

run to kimmage

Thu 17th

Did 2 hours bjj in Andys in the am and then in the evening I left the gym kes with Steph so had to do an impromptu run to Kimmage and back!


Tue 15th

Did bjj in Andys

Sun 13 April

Sun 13th

Busy one today!

10am

First thing, ran with Steph along the canal -> to grand canal st and back. 6km run in total 32mins

2pm

A. Squat -> singles did 130kg, 150kg and 166kg (Dar was spotting and got me a bit early so I won't count it yet!)

B. Squat 3 x 3 120kg

C. EZ Bar curls 3 x 12 22.5kg + ez bar

8pm

Did some MMA tech with Steph


Fri 11th

Did BJJ in Barrys tough session!

did some weights with Dar in the afternoon, I was really shattered from earlier so I only did some 'beach muscles'

A. DB Seaetd Press 4 x 10 17.5kg

B1. DB Row 4 x 10 27.5kg
B2. Face pulls 4 x 12

C. shoulder shocker series

Thu 10th

Coached BJJ in Andys

Mon - had some sort of vomiting bug so I didn't do much, sick again! I may need to get bloods or something