VO2 max and Metabolism

Wow my brain in super charged with exercise physiology today after another fun day of training. I did 2 sub maximal VO2 max tests today. A sub maximal exercise test is useful to find out how fit you are and make sure your body has a normal response to exercise i.e the heart, lungs and metabolism are functioning as they should.

My VO2max is 31.9 ml/kg/min, When you exercise the body requires more oxygen in order to turn ATP into energy which allows muscles to contract and work to continue. VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen that can be utilized by the body during whole body exercise.
My VO2 max value is moderate for my age around the 50th percentile, this is after a few months of being despicably inactive, I wonder how much VO2 would improve after a few months of getting back to training bjj regularly.

How important is VO2 max to those of us training BJJ?
As I mentioned VO2 is a good estimate of how fit you are, I went back to class for the first time in ages and it kicked my ass big time. Physiologically speaking I had lost a lot of muscle mass and my heart wasn't as efficient at getting oxygen to my working muscles. My body's ability to oxidise fat as an energy source was therefore reduced and could explain why I was felt so drained by the end of class.

When training at such an intense level my body had to start using up all my blood sugar and then all the stored muscle glycogen too. Based on my metabolism anything that causes my heart rate to beat at 165bpm (85% of my estimated HRmax) and my body favours carbohydrates as a fuel.
The efficiency of my heart at delivering oxygen to the muscles was pretty bad too which means I need to get my lazy butt to the gym for some cardio!

Knowing your VO2 max can help you if you are going to do additional sessions in the gym in an effort to increase fitness and can provide some interesting information regarding your metabolic function. Increasing metabolism can help to maintain or lose weight which seems to be an eternal battle for some of us.

Diet
It is important to remember that a good nutritional plan is even more important when you start training after a period of inactivity. As failing to get a good intake of carbohydrate post training can mean recovery is slow.
Often people will not eat a good meal after training (this can be due to appetite suppression that can occur up to 1h post exercise and training finishing late at night) and if you are trying to lose weight this can be ok as long as you are getting a good intake of carbohydrate through out the day, or don't have another training session in the next 24h.

Certain foods can actually slightly increase your metabolism and include spicy foods like chilli, and green teas. 60% of the calories you burn each day are a result of your basal metabolic rate which is the calories required to maintain normal body function. On top of that you will require differing amount of calories to provide the energy for daily tasks and exercise. You can use rmr or bmr calculators online to get an estimate of this value. Make sure you are sensitive to your body's needs as the equations used by these calculators assume that metabolism is the same for everyone of a certain age.



Exercise
If you have been out of training and want to improve your fitness quickly the best thing to do is 15-30 minutes high intensity interval training daily and some light or body weight exercises and stretches to help reduce risk of injury. HIIT has been shown to improve VO2 max in as little as 2 weeks and also maybe more effective at fat burning particularly around the abdomen. To make it more bjj specific mix cardio and weights together and do 5-7 minute intervals with a 1-5 minute rest in between to mimic sparing.
Here are a couple videos for some exercise ideas both videos are a bit random but the exercises seemed well balanced and specific to bjj





When ever I have to take a break from training I really dread coming back when I know my fitness will not be so good it was interesting to have it scientifically confirmed but it will be useful to test my VO2 max again after a few months of training to see if it improves any.
So if your coming back to training after time off here are some recommendations.

1) Make sure you eat well increased carbohydrate/calorie intake after training might be necessary at first to replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores until fitness picks up and the body becomes more efficient. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water
2) Do regular stretching and solo drills
3) Do some interval training using a mix of cardio and weights
4) Don't push your self too hard in sparing get back into things slowly avoid sparing with overly competitive people or anyone who's likely to take advantage of your less than peak physical condition (sounds bad but it happens)
5) Tape fingers (this might just be me playing too much guard but protect any areas you know are prone to injury)
6) Drill all the basics particularly escapes to get your mind focused again

I started a New years resolution!

I managed to snag not one but 2 really good deals for capoiera classes on groupon!!!
One is ten classes at capaoeira ceara in Bethnal green and the other is 5 classes at Tribo capoeira in Puteny. I've missed training capoiera since I left Bahrain so it will be nice to varey training up and makes sure I'm compleating at least on of my new years resolutions. If you arn't a member of groupon sign up they always have loads of good deals on exercise classes, keeping fit doesnt have to cost a bomb!




Its been an interesting start back at work as I have training this week so I can start doing the advanced health screens. These involve performing a submaximal VO2max test on the patients, a more detailed lung function test and also a grip strength and flexibility assessment.
Whats good is that I have more opportunity to interact and help people make some life style changes. We spent the day reviewing exercise physiology which was interesting. I'm going to start keeping a monthly record of my training and fitness as doing a VO2max will give me a good baseline of where I'm at seeing as I have been so lazy the last month.
In other news my cholesterol and blood glucose results were all normal and I got my flu job done. I have been sneezing like crazy and today I realised my coat is full of feathers and thats probably what was making me feel like crap haha.

As for the Europeans I guess I will see how I feel at training and go from there, I hate doing anything when I'm unprepared but again it would be a good chance to see what my goals should be and help gear me up for entering some bigger competitions this year.

I was in a pretty grumpy mood but cheered myself up reading a couple blogs by some other bjj girlies, its nice to know more and more girls are getting into bjj and it means as much to them as it does to me, it just gave me a good vibe! Trusty old blog patrol lets me see how people stumble upon my blog and doubles as a tool for catching up on other blogs I might have otherwise missed, anyways I will add them to my blog roll so you can enjoy them too so check it out.

New Years Resolutions

Its nearly the New year and I seem to have a huge amount of resolutions!

1) Get my diet sorted: I haven't been eating enough as I've been so busy with work and house hunting so looking forward to returning to my healthy eating patterns and cooking more now I'm a bit more settled. I think I will ditch alcohol again after last new years I stopped drinking for about 5 months and i noticed the difference to my fitness and lifestyle.

2) Get back into training: I've had about a month off as I've been a bit stressed with the move and all my free time had been spent house hunting and getting settled into my new job but no more excuses! I have a lovely new flat seconds away from the gym 20 minutes from work and about an hour from Brighton its hideously expensive but ticks all my boxes so I just need to budget with an iron fist and everything will be all good. Going to somehow fit capoeira back into the mix too I miss the relaxed vibe the music and movements it stops me getting too stressed from bjj.

3) Enter every single competition there is!
check out http://www.fightyear.com/ this website for news on all the coming years competitions and events. I want to do a lot more no-gi this year too and maybe more mma in march if I get back in to training seriously.

4) Learn a new language: I started learning Portuguese as it's interesting to understand more about bjj and capoeira. This is a great website there is a lot of free material and its very interactive I have the premium membership just for a bit more help with grammar and speaking and its brill or "muito legal"

5)Be happy: I spent the whole of 2010 being a grump for various different reasons but I've realised I have a lot to be thankful for my new job is great and when I manage to balance my time better I have loads of wonderful friends and family here in the UK that I want to spend more time with.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I think I will go into work for a half day then meet my mum and brother in Brighton for lunch, my best friend for dinner then party the rest of the night away :)

2010

I think its normal for most people to contemplate and summarise things in certain blocks of time, I haven't been thinking of things in a long term way in a while so its weird to be facing the end of the year in just a few weeks. Lots of new things have happened which have drove my life and my bjj forward but a few stupid things have dragged it back.

Mistakes are hard to deal with and address correctly in bjj. One of my biggest ones is always sitting back and playing defensive or guard with bigger people or even if I get a little tired as I know I can fight better from there. However In competition it let me down as I gave two points away by sitting back out of habit. Whats the best way to change the faults or mistakes we make? I've tried to be more dominant and aggressive when training to get me out of the bad habit of just giving up and relying on what I am comfortable with. I guess the first step is actively thinking about things as bjj has a large mental aspect that compliments the physical side.

I'm trying to look forward to the future I signed up for the Europeans in Portugal in January, it will be the first really big competition I will have competed in and despite the fact that at the minute I would rather curl up into a ball and hibernate somewhere till winter is over I think the hard work and training will help and I always seem to feel better when I have a goal or purpose to work towards.
All the people who have been part of my life this year and helped me in anyway I'm sorry if I didn't appreciate you more at the time or let you and myself down.
I will make 2011 a more positive one.

To end on a more positive note and in similar style to some of my fellow bloggers All I want for Christmas is....

1) Kul tatami Christmas special a gi t shirt jumper and bag for just 100 quid

http://www.tatamifightwear.com/product.php?id_product=123

2) Pretty much everything from the fightergirls.com






Happy holidays Oss!

English open and Seminars

Finally got a new charger for my laptop!!! October and November have been non stop! Started my new job which I'm really enjoying. Logistically still not settled into London yet, looking for a more permanent place to live which is such a hassle. I like living in east London because its so easy for work but I want somewhere closer to training!

Had my first real competition experience at blue belt at the English open a couple weeks ago. My day started at around 6.30am in Mcds in Brixton I was happily munching on an egg mcmuffin when this huge fight broke out, so it was an eventful start to the day. Drove down to Kent with my coach and a couple team mates. I wasn't fighting till 1.30 so had plenty of time to chill and watch some good fights from the bjj school guys. My fight in my weight class were pretty crappy I think i lost by 2 points to Vikki and the same with Tiff all I remember is getting caught in half guard and not being able to escape. I did better in my weight category fighting 2 lighter girls to begin with and then Tiff again at the end where I won by advantage. So that was gold in the absolute and bronze in my weight. I felt the difference in my fitness more than anything which shows I need to be training more. Luckily my Friend at work is going to help me with some S&C. I'm still trying to decide about fighting at the Europeans mainly due to the high probability that I will be as always completely broke but will decide within the next few weeks.






Another busy week ahead and a couple of really good seminars with some amazing female fighters to look forward to so try and make it to them if you can!

Wednesday 24th november at London fight factory with Shanti Abelah a brown belt


And another with Gazzy Parman on the 12th of December http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=171449496207116

Cutting weight without crash diets and dehydration

When considering the optimum nutritional plan for BJJ it is first important to consider the energetics and physiological demands of the sport.
I will begin by analysing the energy demands of a typical training session. Based on this I will give information on how to calculate your daily calorie, protein carbohydrate, and fat requirements. I then briefly talk about pre and post training nutrition needs and how these differ when maintaining weight and cutting weight. Finally I will talk about the dangers of cutting weight by crash or dehydration methods.

Training session
A typical training session can be anywhere between 1-2 hours long and in most cases will involve a warm up which includes a mix of running, breakfalls, and other acrobatic and gymnastic type movements to warm up all muscles of the body and prevent the risk of injury during sparing/rolling/grappling part of the class.
15-30 minutes of this type of activity when performed at an intensity of 70-80% of heart rate maximum is likely to burn around 100-300kcal depending on size and how hard you or your coach dictates.

This is usually followed by static and dynamic stretching and drilling certain techniques or movements and usually lasts 30minutes to 45 minutes often preformed at a lower intensity of 50-60% heart rate max. Again maybe 100 calories or so are burnt depending on what is being drilled.

The most demanding part of training usually occurs while rolling which is usually sparing from the knees against an opponent for an average of 5 minutes, this can go on for 30 minutes to an hour in an intermittent or continuous pattern depending on how fit you are/mat space.
The intensity while rolling can vary depending on sparing partner and is hard to measure with a heart rate monitor, however while browsing through studies of other martial arts including wrestling and judo it would appear that this type of high intensity activity could burn anywhere between 400-800kcal and hour.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=212

Gives an average estimate based on weight bare in mind this is probably the calories burnt when sparing only.

Simply put, the demands of training BJJ are pretty high! My estimate is that after a good 15-30 minute warm up, 30 minutes of drilling and 30 minutes of rolling the energy expenditure during a typical session could would be between 600-1000kcal for someone my size possibly more for heavier guys! This type of work out requires muscle glycogen stores to be full at the beggining to avoid the onset of fatigue during training, and immediate replenishment after, espacially for those of you who are training everyday or more frequently.

Nutrition for general training
It is essential when training and competing to think of the food you eat as fuel, in order to perform to the best of your abilities your body needs to be hydrated and your muscles need a good supply of energy provided by carbohydrates. The recommendations I make are based on common principles of sports nutrition that will provide you with enough energy to have good training sessions and aid you in your recovery between the next sessions.
First step Calculate basal metabolic rate BMR

Women weight in kg x 22
Men weight in kg x 24

This figure is then multiplied by your daily physical activity level
Mostly inactive or sedentary 1.2
Fairly active (walking and exercise 1-2 times a week) 1.3
Moderately active (exercise 2-3 times weekly) 1.4
Active (exercise hard more than 3 times weekly) 1.5
Very active (exercise hard daily) 1.7

This should give you a good estimate of the amount of calories you need to eat daily just to maintain your weight and is the energy used by your body to maintain essential processes. For those of us not cutting weight you can then break down your nutritional requirements as follows



Pre and Post training Nutrition
The timing and combinations of food we eat can have an impact on how we feel in training. If possible eat a good meal containing protein, carbohydrates (2.5g per kg body weight) and healthy fat 3 hours before training. You can also snacking on small carbohydtate snacks such as bananas and cereal bars 1-2 hours before training begins. After training there is a 2 hour period where depleated glycogen is replenished more rapidly so if possible you should manage to eat in this time. Aim for something with around 60-80g of carbs (more carbs the bigger you are) and 20-30g protein revovery has shown to be facilitated by combining a carbohydrate and protein snack. Many people shun carbs after training or late at night but for purposes of a speedy recovery make sure you manage to eat at least 1g per kg of body weight after an intense training session.

So what does all the training eventually prepare us for? In competition fights can last 5-10 minutes and to get to the finals you may have to fight as many as 10 matches in popular categories so you have short intense burts of activity separated with short breaks, highly taxing on the anaerobic and aerobic systems. Not something you would want to enter feeling any less than 100% energised. Sadly many people rely on crash diets and dehydration to cut weight leaving them feeling weak on the day of competition.

Cutting weight safely There are many studies detailing the use of extreme methods for cutting weight in martial arts athletes and I’m sure we’ve all made the mistake of trying to cut too much weight a week before competing.
Rapid weight loss and dehydration are know to adversely affect performance and can cause the following:

• Reduction in muscle strength and anaerobic power capacity
• Increased resting and sub-maximal heart rate
• Decreased cardiac stroke volume resulting in decreased ability to sustain work at a constant rate
• Lower oxygen consumption
• Impaired thermoregulatory processes
• Lower plasma and blood volume
• Depletion of muscle and possibly liver glycogen
• Difficulty of glucose homeostasis
• Altered hormonal status
• Reduced immune function

For those of you who have expericance these kind of sympotoms in competitions it is a sign that your body is not getting all the nutrients it requires.
Weight loss by achieving a negative energy balance is only one part of the equation. The foods we eat and the proportions in which we eat them are of equal importance and determine if weight loss is a result of losing fat mass, fat free mass or water via dehydration. Ideally when cutting weight we want to lose fat mass while retaining muscle as this results in better performance in weight class sports. To do this weight loss should be gradual and diet should be healthy and balanced.

Reducing calorie intake by 15% is enough to promote healthy weight loss



You can play around with percentages till you find something that works well for you but remember to eat enough carbohydrates to give you energy and aid recovery Usually 5-7g and enough protein to encourage maintenance of muscle mass 1-1.6g and aim to eat low fat products when ever possible whislt still including healthy essential fats.


SUMMARY

BJJ is a physically demanding sport, it is important when training regularly to consume enough calories and eat a diet that is healthy and balenced.
Consider what times you go to training and ensure you eat a good meal 3 hours before giving you enough time to digest.
Post training recovery is facilitiated by comsuming a combination of carbohydrates and protein in a 3:1 ratio with 1g of carbohydrate per kg body weight.
Set realistic and safe weight cutting goals (for most people this is around 0.5kg a week)
This can be achieved by reducing your daily calorie intake by 10-20% and moderatley reducing carbohydrate and fat intake
Do not leave it all to the last week or rely solely on methods of dehydration!


Further reading on nutrtion
(this post was based on elements of sports nutrition that are supported by most mainstream research, I personally think we don't need to eat quite so much protein or use an abundance of supliments to excell in bjj)

http://jiujitsubrotherhood.com/2008/09/nutrition-for-jiu-jitsu/ Talks about the importance of eating natuaral foods and not so much animal protein

http://lloydirvinmarylandbjj.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/nutritional-goals-for-a-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-athlete/ stesses the benefits of fruit and vegetables and setting goals for nutrition

http://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-tips-for-fighters/8-nutrition-rules-for-bjj some easy simple guidlines

http://jiujitsubrotherhood.com/ Info on the evolutionary way of eating that is becoming more popular - more on this later :)

Busy BJJ

I've been moving around a lot the last few months relocating from Bahrain to the Uk, and then Eastbourne to London. Some how in amongst all this I even found time to go chill in Brazil for three weeks. To put things into a BJJ perspective this has meant saying goodbye to Alliance Bahrain where I had been training for the last year, visiting a couple schools in Rio, catching up with all the First Generation BJJ lot in Eastbourne and becoming part of a new team BJJ School in London.

I think all the travelling and chaos has probably been affecting my game, I've felt quite disconnected and unable to focus on one thing at a time. But hopefully over the next few months things will settle down and I'll start to feel a bit more normal again. Is it weird to say that the thing I'm enjoying most about being back in the UK is being part of all the fun BJJ goings on again.

I was lucky enough to be part of the second first generation BJJ grading with Ze Marcello and Tolly Plested. For those of you who have heard of Eastbourne the last thing you would probably associate it with is Brazilian jiujitsu or MMA but thanks to Tollys excellent teaching and commitment the team has a grow from strength to strength with a number of talented guys and girls that kick ass at competitions and represent BJJ and MMA in the south east.

Some pictures of the grading by Nasryne Ramazannezad