The Best Of Both Worlds - Strength Choices For Fighters

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2011, End Of The World - 2012, & Adjusting Training To Life Part I

Unlike 2011, 2012 will pack in a shit load of superior information on The YESS TRAINING Blog because the end of the world is this year. The History Channel said so, so it must be true. If we all survive, you might live to see our future training posts! Part 2 of this Blog write up will talk about why this site has been lacking updates. If you are interested, you will get to read about the recent hell that my family and I went through. You will also learn about how I trained through it all. Still training through it, but isn't that how winning is done? How you rise up during adversity? I hope you can take something from my experience, that it may help you in some way. With Training And Life.

All Of Our Fighters At The YESS TRAINING Barbell Club Are Training Through Adversity. I'm No Different.

I’m back to sharing my perspective on physical training that is tested, proven, practical, and works. The majority of it will center on strength, conditioning, and the overall preparation for fighters. That’s what I do. If you are a fighter then this is the place you want to be.

The best part of this is even if you are not a fighter, the information I will share is universal. Top notch, no fluff! No matter what sport you participate in (even if you are not competing). A baseball player or a weekend warrior can both take something from here and put it to good use. Sound training principles and ideas. Young or old, male or female. You’re a human being right? If you developed into the most physical human being you could be, then you would have to logically come to the conclusion that you would have a better shot at being a more physical fighter?. A more physical fighter is a better fighter. I’d take that to the bank. I hope you would do the same.

Skill aside, the most physical fighter WINS! Fighting really is survival of the fittest. Everybody should be the most physical person they can be. Fighter, athlete, or not, being the most physical fighter (person) has everything to do with Strength, Power, Flexibility, Mobility, Nutrition, and your body’s ability to attain Peak Aerobic/Anaerobic Condition. Heart Too. In my opinion, this should be the standard for everyone. Not just the most physical fighter, but the most physical YOU. Training and Living your Heart out. Within this mantra, there are no gimmicks. Within this mantra, you will not go wrong.

There Is A Reason Why He Can Keep Up With The Bigger Weight Classes. Check Out National Jiu-Jitsu Silver Medalist, Golden Gloves Boxing Champion, World Tournament Muay Thai Kick Boxing Champion, And Now MMA Fighter- 'Lil Bomb (Gerald Javier) Box Squatting More Than 3 X His Fight Weight For Reps. In Case You Are Wondering: 365 x 5 @ 120 IBS.

To kick off 2012 ( The Year Of The Dragon In Chinese Culture), I'm going to give you some insight on how to adjust your physical training (In The Gym) while dealing with Physical, Mental, and Emotional Stress (Outside The Gym). This is usually referred to as "LIFE". We are all going through it. The Good and the Bad. How do you manage your training while dealing with "Life"? The "Good" is easy. Most can do it. The "Bad"? That's where solid programming comes into play. Also, your character. Your Heart. Finding ways to make shit happen during the bad times is what defines you. Do you have Heart? Or, are you the throw your hands up in the air " Oh Shit, We Are Going To Die" Kinda guy? Are you going to find a way through your own personal Hell and fight back? More mental then you may think.

Physical stress outside the gym can come in many forms via sickness (Flu & Viruses), injury (Sprained Ankle, Broken Hand, Broken Nose), or a big increase in a short period of time within your skill training. Skill Training as in Sparring, Grappling, Mitt Work, Heavy Bag Work, Etc. We have all been there with this one. We all have to make the adjustment and get work in when we can. Sparring and skill training in some gyms is not consistent and not always available. When it is, you have to take advantage of it. Even at the cost of cutting back strength work. At the end of the day, you have to do what your coach tells you to do too.

Training around a physical injury is easy. Maybe not for the Ego because you cannot do what you want to do in the gym, but you can still train. What to do? Train around the injury, be creative and make exercise adjustments to accommodate the injury and train what is trainable. Do this until the injury is healed. Easy, right? Easy compared to training around Mental and Emotional Stress.

Although It Resulted In A Broken knuckle, This Is Easy.

Mental and Emotional Stress can be the most taxing on your body. A Death in the family, close friend in the hospital, and loss of a job can be a few examples that screw with how you physically feel. This is usually because of the psychological burden which leads to physically taxing your body (muscles). This happens to you even while sitting and thinking about what life is dealing you. It screws with your mind. Your body is actually gassed out before you even stepped your ass into the gym and moved a weight. Before you even hit the bag! When dealing with this type of stress - “Life”, physiologically your body is tense when at rest. You are literally in a state of breakdown. You are one big isometric contraction. You are also dealing with an increase of cortisol production being dumped into your system. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that is the enemy of performance and muscle building. It breaks you down. It is naturally produced during bouts of hard training, and is also produced at an accelerated rate during mental and emotional stress. It wreaks havoc on your immune system and will directly affect your strength and stamina in a negative way. It slows up your body’s ability to recover from physical training. Keep in mind that Mental and Emotional Stress can manifest into physical stress. This shouldn’t give you a free pass to become a Metrosexual, but you should have somewhat of a strategy to make the proper training adjustment. Yes, I said Metrosexual. Look it up if you don’t know. It’s bad.

Obviously, we face circumstances that are out of our control. Things that will take us away from our training and the gym. Take for example, Family issues. In my life, family always comes first even over training. I would never want to be that selfish. I don’t think my family would let me get away with being the “All About Me Guy” anyway. Don’t be the selfish bastard! Take care of what you have to take care of.

On the other hand, what I have found in most cases though, that in “life”, no matter how bad, you find a way to make something happen. You find a way to prioritize the stuff outside the gym. All while still finding a way to train. If you want it bad enough. A lot of guys reading this want to be the next champion of the world, so this is where their character has to comes in. Their heart. Your character. Your Heart.

During hard times, it comes easy for most to throw up their hands and quit. To Use “Life” as an excuse to quit. To give up on a dream or something they have been working so hard for. Don’t quit. It can be habit forming. Not because I say so. It’s just a fact. If you quit, you might quit in the ring too. You might quit in other areas of life. So, if life is hitting below the belt, here is how you can manage your training and start fighting back. Consider this a battle strategy to do so. A battle strategy to get work in the gym and not throw in the towel. A way to keep fighting in life.

To start, you have to come to the realization that just getting work in the gym is enough. This is not the time to break records and up the conditioning. You might have been thinking, at this point, blowing off your training entirely. So, it’s time to except that getting some work in is better than getting no training at all.

Now that you are looking at your training differently during your own personal issues, make these programming adjustments with these “Training Variables”:

TRAINING INTENSITY: How Much Weight You Use. This is not the time to make a 20 pound jump on the Squat, but a time to still be in the fight with the amount of weights you have been lifting. I would start by dropping 10% off the bar. If you are Squatting 400, during this time, 360 pounds is still in the ball park. It’s not a knock out, but you hitting back and the Ref ‘ain’t stopping the fight. You are still being productive and have every chance of coming back to win it. This 10% may be a step or two back, but will catapult you a bunch of steps forward after the shit storm passes. Once you are feeling good again.

TRAINING VOLUME: How Much Work Is Done. Unlike the amount of weight you use, Training Volume has to do with how much work you do in the gym. Instead of five movements, you might have to kick it back to three. Instead of three exercises, you might have to perform the main lift and call it a day. It’s about prioritizing what is most important (main lift) to least important (last exercise). Choose how much to do according to how you physically feel. Simple as that. We do this all the time at the Barbell Club. Stay away from the bull shit concept that you have to do a bunch of exercises in order to progress and become stronger. Sure, 4-5 exercises is more ideal than 1, but probably not for your situation. You can actually become stronger if you only trained one movement. A main lift. Why it’s not ideal is that strength increases with only the main barbell lift will come at a slower pace over a longer period of time. 1 movement is just a less aggressive approach. That and among a few other things. It’s doable though. Don’t ever underestimate the importance of the Barbell Lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press).

SETS: How Many Sets You Choose. Sets and Reps make up and add to Training Volume. When dealing with sets specifically, adding on extra sets when life is trying to kick you in the balls is once again, not the time. For the fighters at my gym, this is manipulated on a weekly basis. Sets and Reps. If they had hard sparring the night before and are set up for another bout of sparring tomorrow, I’m dropping the amount of sets performed and the amount of reps for that week. I’m adjusting the Training Volume. Sparring (fighting) is priority. As important as the training at the Barbell Club is, it’s still secondary. They are not power lifters, but fighters. If they can’t fight because I didn't make the proper training adjustment for them, then I am doing them a disservice. Don’t do yourself a disservice, make the adjustment. If you have been performing 5 sets, you might want to drop it down to three sets. Keep perspective. You are still performing the exercise and getting work in. All you did was cut back a bit.

REPS: How Many Total Reps Is Performed. Same as what was stated above for sets. Perform the reps you need to get in and no more. See how you feel and go from there. If you are going for max reps, don’t. If you performed the prescribed reps and felt you still had gas in the tank, walk away. This is what you want at this time.

MIND SET: Mental Focus. As much as the shit is hitting the fan in your life, discipline yourself to leave it outside the gym. You should be doing this anyway when times are good. There are many forms of mental preparation. If you are religious then pray. If you are spiritual then meditate. All I’m saying here is do whatever you have to do to “Will” yourself into the gym. Focus and see yourself doing what you have to do for that short period of time. You do not want your head in the clouds when your sparring partner is laying into you. You don’t want to be thinking anything other than lifting the weight you are lifting in the weight room. This is just another form of discipline. Practice it enough times and you will get it down. Even during the hard times.

Manny Pacquiao Prays Before Fights.

So Did The Rock. Everything In My World Comes Back To ROCKY.

I focused mainly on making adjustments in the weight room. This applies to conditioning and the boxing gym too. Conditioning days is no different. Like I stated above, now is not the time to up the amount of conditioning you have been performing. Not the time to break records. You should be thinking “Maintenance”, or cut it back a bit. How much? This is dependent upon where you are in your training. We are going to assume that you do not have a fight lined up in the near future. Now if this is the case, I see nothing wrong with kicking your conditioning back to 50%. If you run every day, drop it down to 2-3 times a week. If you are training in and around your anaerobic threshold, don’t. Keep it a bit under. If you are sprinting hard 3 days a week, you could still get the three days a week in, but cut back on the amount you perform with in those three days. Hope you are seeing how this works?!

Great fight coaches are well aware of making the adjustments for their fighters when they are going through tough times too. Instead of hard sparring, they may lighten it up a bit. Instead of sparring 6-8 rounds, they may kick it back to 3-4. Fight coaches are well aware of the importance in doing this. Their fighter is still getting ring time in to stay sharp, but not at the expense of putting them in a situation where they can get hurt, or burn out their fighter who is already mentally and physically drained.

This is not fluff! I experienced what Hell can really be like. I made a “Heaven” out of it though. I did this in the gym and in my life. I didn’t quit or give up. I practiced what I preached. Especially what is expected from our fighters. I put to use what I wrote above.

Last year’s recap hurts to even type:

- My Daughter (6 months old at the time) had a major physical setback. Hipdysplasia.org. Check it out. I talk about this in Part II.

- Both of my parents were in and out of the hospital with life threatening illnesses. Thank God Mom & Dad are good now. Life wouldn't be the same.

- My Mother In Law was in the hospital for weeks and is still receiving rehab as I write this. She is a great woman.

- I found myself on the emergency room floor 5 months ago and had a major surgery. I talk about this in Part II as well.

- My Son, who is only 4 years old, has been in and out of the hospital up until last week. Things are looking really good now. Very tough kid. He's a Rossi.

- My Brother In Law just came off the ventilator on Christmas Eve and is now gaining function back after contracting a life threatening disease called Guillainn – Barre Syndrome. Support his cause by checking this out: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001704/

Black Cloud? Bad Luck? Law Of Average? I don’t believe it. I didn’t care. I was too busy finding a way, trusting in GOD, and not using “Life” as an excuse. I trained through it all. Ask my wife. Ask the great people at the Barbell Club who I am around every day. Take those training variables and put them to good use. Find your way through and don’t use “Life” as an excuse.

In 2011, End Of The World -2012, & Adjusting Training To Life Part II, I will give you some insight of my post training surgery with video. I will also talk about me and my 6 month old daughter’s time in the hospital.

Sacrifice For Reward Is YESS TRAINING,

Joe Rossi

Enter The Interview: Joe Rossi & The YESS Training Barbell Club

I never want to post Bull Shit on this website. We are not selling "Shake Weights" and our Barbell Club is a Private Gym. I have a love and passion for Strength & Conditioning. In case you didn't hear, that love and passion is expressed through preparing fighters. Do you know what I prepare these fighters for??? You got it... To Fight!!!! Boxing, MMA, Wrestling, etc. With that being said, Here's what Rob Pilger had to say about the "Interview" I just did for his Informative, Kick-Ass website at http://boxingperformance.com/:

"New Q/A with my boy Joe Rossi on http://www.boxingperformance.com/welcome-to-boxingperformance.com.html. Joe trains fighters in the real world, he's not an asshole hiding behind a key board trying to portray an expert. I met him at a De Franco seminar back in 06 I believe. He knows his shit, his results with his growing stable of fighters reflect his knowledge, passion, and integrity, along with this Q/A.

Joe is a REAL world strength/conditioning coach and in this awesome q/a, you'll basically learn his strength/conditioning blueprint he uses with his fighters. This isn't methodology theory, this is what works well for Joe and his fighters that WIN, in the real world. Enjoy!"

The "Shake Weight". In Case You Didn't Know.

You can check out the interview I did that is now posted here: http://p8.hostingprod.com/@yesstraining.com/Interview.html

I highly recommend you check it out. It barely touches the surface on who, what, where, when, why, and how, but I hope some one (some where) gets something out of it. Maybe a kid, like I once was, that needed a little something. To get him or her going in the right direction.

Much Appreciated,

Joe Rossi

The YESS Training Barbell Club (LLC) Video

It's been a while. Trust me, it's worth it. I just had major surgery. Feeling good. No better way to utilise your time other than making long awaited updates!!! Want to know what we have been up to? Sacrifice For Reward Is YESS Training. Check out the video below:



www.YESSTraining.com

Always More To Come! Stay Tuned...

Teaching The Sledge Hammer II

Teaching The Sledge Hammer Part II, A Question & Answer From London, And A Three Legged Dog Named "Duke".
Look Close. We Use It 'Til We Bleed.

Watch This Video On The Sledge Hammer:

Skinny Joe. Health Coming Back Since Video.

Question:

Joe,

I saw the video clip about the sledge hammer technique.
I am a very active person and do a lot of exercise. My question is how heavy should the weight be for a beginner? What would be your advice about sets and reps to start with?
I don't know anyone to ask these questions here in London.

Gerard


Answer:

Gerard,

I have seen sledge hammers sold and used in 8 pounds, 10 pounds, 12 pounds, 16 pounds, and have come across many custom made sledge hammers that weighed up to 25 pounds. The custom made ones usually would have a welded pipe for a handle that could withstand the weight being used. The most practical weight to train with and the hammer we use at the YESS Training Barbell Club is an 8 pound hammer. I'm going to give a quick story and then make some pretty good points here so listen up!

From the age of 16-20 years old, I worked for my Uncle who owned a business in the worst section of Patterson New Jersey. His warehouse was located on a block that housed the worst of the worst. On this street were shootings, crack-heads, car jackings, prostitutes, and muggers (I'm Dead Serious). If you are from Bergen County New Jersey, you know where and what I'm talking about. As a kid, this was a license to either crap your pants on a daily basis or carry a sledge hammer in hand for protection whenever walking out side on to the street. We also had a three legged attack dog named Duke who I have seen protect the warehouse better than any four legged dog, but that is another story.

My uncle's business, at the time, was installing hydraulic car lifts in automotive shops and car dealerships. Most of the time we would have to break up concrete and pour new cement footings for the support needed for the car lift that would lift up the cars. At that time, we did not own a jack hammer to break up the existing concrete, so we would use a good old fashion 8 pound sledge hammer.

Being a kid who was in shape, my job was to smash the concrete up with a sledge hammer day in and day out. My hands would bleed, concrete would hit me in the face, and my forearms at the end of the day would be demolished. I would wake up the next day and do it all over again if I wanted to get paid. My Uncle always took care of me. Paying for my high protien meals (even at that time I would eat five times a day) and for the work I would perform. Amazing what you are willing to do in life with a little motivation. My motivation was my first car (1970 Dodge Charger, The Dukes of Hazzard Car) and my future wife. My point to this whole story is that I remember, to this very day, saying that if I were to one day open a gym, sledge hammer work would be a cornerstone in my training program. Do you know what? It now is! Here is why:

"Big Sexy's" Hand From The Sledge Hammer

Sledge Hammer work is a full body conditioner. It makes a fighter and a traditional sport athlete a more physical person. It increases muscular endurance, strength endurance, and power endurance. One will be developed more than the other depending upon how fast you hit the tire, how many time you hit the tire, how heavy the hammer is, and how long you hit the tire. Your grip, wrist, and forearms are directly affected and develop tremendously while using a sledge hammer over time. The cardio-respiratory (heart and lungs) system gets its ass kicked and then develops stronger after having adapted to the work performed with the sledge hammer. It develops, in a superior way, hand speed, hand eye coordination, and punching power. It can be used as an active warm-up, thrown into a circuit for its metabolic affect, or used as a finisher at the end of a weight training day or conditioning day.

Now, with that being said, I don't want to come across as the "Sledge Hammer Guy", because I use many other ways to increase the strength and conditioning of a fighter/athlete. Plus, I am not a label kind of guy. Just one of the many tools I use out of my tool box!

How do I validate this type of training at the Barbell Club besides what I have mentioned above??? Let me leave you and everyone else reading with this:

If you pick up an 8 pound sledge hammer and swing it for time, hitting the tire and find you can only perform 5 minutes of straight work. At this point, you could only perform those 5 minutes because your fingers were cramping, hands blistering, forearms burning, legs and low-back shot, and shoulders done. Then, within a few weeks/months (does it really matter how long it takes you? What matters is that you are doing work), you work your ass off and can now perform 10 minutes of straight work. You have now doubled your conditioning and everything mentioned above. Your body can do more. That's the point of training. To improve upon what you have done previously. Little by little, over time. My last point, and this is the best one yet!:

If you take two equally skilled fighters (this is fantasy here, but hope you get my point) and one fighter can beast on the hammer for 36 minutes of straight work, and the other only 15 minutes, I would put my money on the monster who can do the 36. Why? Simple. He can endure more!

Amateur Boxer "Big Mike" Performing Sledge Work.

Sledge Hammer Training:

At the end of an upper or lower body weight training day, perform Sledge Hammer Tire Hits for time. If you can only go for 2 minutes your first week, shoot for three minutes the following week. Start with 8-10 hits per side. You can also perform tire hits for rounds in either 2 minute, 3 minute, or five minute rounds. Shoot for a short term goal of 3 rounds and the following training day, try and break a record. A little more every week adds up.

Check this video out:

A Side Note:

Certain things in training are not going anywhere. Barbells and Dumbbells is one of them. Hitting heavy things against heavy things is another. Roberto Duran use to train and prepare for fights lifting the ends of small cars and hitting scrap metal with a sledge hammer at junk yards. Didn't we see that in a movie once?

Another Side Note:

My First Car. Well, Sort Of

Happy Hitting,

Joe Rossi

2009 Diamond Gloves Champion & Lake Placid, NY

Like the saying goes-"Better Late then Never"! I have been a bit behind on the YESS Training Blog updates, but for some really incredible reasons (Trust Me). Kevin Hernandez is one of them.

Not too long ago, I spoke about Kevin in a previous Blog Post. He was the kid who would text message me at 1:00 am on a Friday night because he had nutritional questions. The reason why I wrote about that was to convey that winning starts with the person you are. How passionate you are, how much desire you have to be the best athlete you can be, and your willingness to do what ever it takes.

I get it from all angles. People and athletes telling me that they want to achieve a certain something or they want to be the best at something. Most do not achieve what they set out to do and there are reasons for that.

Over the years, time and experience has taught me to spot the ones who are gonna get the job done and actually finish what they started. These individuals are:

1) Passionate
2) Have undying desire
3) Disciplined
4) Consistent
5) Willing to do what ever it takes

Notice I did not mention in that list of five- how strong you are, how powerful you are, how flexible you are, and how much God given skill you have. Don't get me wrong, These are very important physical attributes (It's what I develop for athletes. It's how I make a living), but accomplishing what you set out to do starts from the inside out, not the outside in.

Like another saying goes-"If you want what others don't have, then you have to be willing to do what others don't do"! Notice the word 'Willing'. Will and Desire go hand in hand.

When an athlete like Kevin lives at the gym (Passion), wants to be the best he can be so much so, he contacts me on a Friday night/Saturday morning about nutrition while other kids are out partying (Desire), does not neglect the training he needs to perform on his own time (Discipline), never misses a training session (Consistency), and does whatever his coaches ask him to do (Willing To Do Whatever It Takes), it breeds the results that he is achieving because he is willing to do what others don't. Check out Kevin Hernandez's last two fights below.

The first video is Kevin winning the 2009 Diamond Gloves Championship:


This second video is Kevin winning in February of 2010 where he will now fight in Lake Placid, New York. He will represent his weight class on a Grand Stage in the Junior Olympic Division:


A Side Note:

On the night of the 2009 Diamond Gloves Championship fight, Kevin was sick with a very bad cold. We were blowing his nose before the fight and in between rounds.

Another Side Note:

Our next two blog updates will be on Gerald "Lil'Bomb" Javier's MMA Debut & Some Big News on the YESS Training Gym!

Joe Rossi

4 Quick Tips For Young Fighters

Here are four quick weight room tips for young fighters. Just random thoughts to pass along that will bring you closer to where you should be. If you are a young up and coming Boxer, Wrestler, Kick Boxer, or any athlete, then read this. A lot of times, it's the little things that help contribute to the bigger picture!

Looks Always Follows Performance. Not The Other Way Around.

Don't Be A Bunch Of "Mirror Athletes". It's not how you look, it's what you do. Training hard in the gym for performance gains in the ring is what should matter to a fighter. When you focus on physical appearance and how good you look in the mirror, this does not equate to better performance. It's usually a distraction from what you really should be focusing on. What does equate to better "In The Ring Performance" is practicing your sport (Practice Makes Perfect!), becoming stronger, explosive, flexible, forming healthier eating habits, and putting more effort toward being more disciplined in the weight room. When you do this, it will improve your physical appearance, but you will have also improved your athleticism and physicality. Remember, Weight Training for a young fighter (or any athlete) is preparation (GPP) for your sport. Put the discipline and time in the gym & less mirror time and watch your "In The Ring Performance" and muscular looks improve. Isn't that what it's all about? If not, then become a model.

(Insert Male Model Pic Here)

Post A Male Model Pic To Make A Point? One Can Only Go So Far.

All sports should focus on a year-round strength & conditioning plan. This is still not the case in a lot of weight rooms across the country. Why is the strongest kid in school always the football player? Maybe because football is just awesome, but that is another story... Actually, football is one sport that keeps a kid in the weight room more times than not.You shouldn't be any different. If you fight (Lets Say) you are a high school kid that decided to take up boxing instead of football, get your ass in the weight room and train! You will be amazed what more strength, flexibility, and speed will do for your fight game!!! If you are not the most physical in your weight class, then work toward it. Strength makes everything else better. Especially when you hit harder.

All Show & Even More Go

Com'On... If you are in the weight room, you know you are Benching, or at least-you want to! Despite bull-shit belief, fighters CAN Barbell Bench Press. As long as your shoulders are presently on the healthy side. Do your shoulders a favor, regardless and save 'em by "Popping Your Chest Up" and pinching your shoulder blades together and down. This simple, and yet most effective way to keep the shoulders strong and healthy will also make you a lot stronger while benching too. Try it!!!

Chest Up, Shoulder Blade Pinched, & Arch.

Nothing mind blowing here, just common sense. Be smart in the weight room and take it serious no matter what type of athlete you are. As a fighter (young or old), you have to always realise that your training should be built around your performance, and not how "Jersey Shore" you look. Trust me. I seriously live at the "Jersey Shore", so I should know...
Joe R.