important as his boot and he absorbed plenty of abuse going

[lw789]

There is one common thread amongst all MMA fights. If one fighter gases, he usually gets beat up pretty bad from that point on. My experience says there is no feeling worse than being man handled by a professional MMA fighter. As a strength coach, I like to actively train with the fighters I work with. Well I used to. As long as I live, I will never forget the feeling of working out and wrestling for the first time with Lew Polley, Jesse Taylor, Thierry Sokoudjou, Dan Henderson, and Tarec Saffiedine. My first time working at Quest as a strength coach had me learning a lot about wrestling. I took part in an "easy session" and at the end of the15 minute warm-up, I got teamed up with Hendo. I was tired, he was just starting. At 20 minutes I had been tossed more than 20 times, and had tapped to his clinch. There was more. Next stop was Sokoudjou. At 21 minutes into practice, my "friend" tossed me about three feet with the fastest hip toss Id ever seen. I laid on the mat in a pool of sweat, needed a minute to love life again. While I took some deep breaths Sokoudjou skipped. We got a new partner ever five minutes. I was everyones "break". It went on like this for 39 more minutes, one beating to another. Single leg takedown drills, wrestling for top position. I never once threatened anyone for position. I did however, threaten to throw up on Jesse. I think back to that practice every time I train in the gym. I realize that no matter how physically fit I get, its a whole different world to be on a mat and working with pros. The sport of MMA is unbelievably physically demanding. To this day, four years later, I have not been able to mirror the intensity. There is one solid trick to try to get as close as possible. Disrupt your breathing. If you have never played sports with a ........ guard then you have missed out on something special. However, the athletes I work with in MMA are using a brand new guard by SISU and its a game changer. The athletes can actually breath, talk, and drink while its in. Putting in a ........ guard while you run is the most basic way to change your breathing, and raise the intensity. If you jump to YouTube, you can see some of my videos where I train with the "Training Mask". The goal is not to create high altitude training, the goal is to make it tough to get a full deep breath. That forces your intercostal muscles, and diaphragm to work harder. Its the same situation as having a 200 + lbs MMA superstar on your chest, or with their arms digging into your ribs. When that happens, you cant get a full breath. When you do your sprint training, try putting in a ........ guard or incorporating a training mask device. That was the focus for me this week. Tuesday and Thursday I did my cardio sessions with a SISU ........ guard, and they went like this. 10 minutes to warm up on the treadmill, adjust to the ........ guard. - 8 x 20 second on 10 second rest sprints on the treadmill. 10 on incline, and fast as safely possible- 8 x 30 second on 30 seconds of rest bike sprints- Then back to the treadmill- 4 x 30 second of back peddling 15 seconds of rest. Incline at 6 and as fast as safely possible- Then a 5 minutes jog without a ........ guard, and then 5 minutes to cool down Takes roughly 30 minutes to get it all done. It feels terrible while its going on, but the recover and energy burst from finishing will be a huge boost to your entire day. I said it before in this article, you cant boo any athlete until you try the basics of the training. Most pros can do this type of cardio with their eyes closed. They gas out because there is nothing that can prepare them for the entire event, and the intensity of being in a real life fight. Try this in your training, and get just a small taste of what its like to be as fit as a fighter. Add a ........ guard, or a training mask. Next week, Im breaking out the weight vest. Its time to get to the next level. Glenn Dorsey 49ers Jersey .com) - Nino Williams posted 18 points and seven rebounds, as Kansas State edged No. Quinton Dial Jersey . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. http://www.thenflsf49ersfanatic.com/c-3 ... sey.aspx.Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. Tom Rathman 49ers Jersey .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Colin Kaepernick 49ers Jersey . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss.TORONTO - Soccer was not kind to Rob Friend the last few months but the Canadian international striker leaves the sport with plenty of fond memories and good friends.Friend announced his retirement earlier this month after a championship season with the Los Angeles Galaxy cut short by concussion-related problems. The 33-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C., missed more than five months of action in 2014.Its a bit bittersweet going out as champions here in the MLS, to be honest with you, he said in a recent interview. But obviously Ive struggled a lot with this injury, had a lot of bad symptoms — headaches, what not.Its bittersweet but at least I was fortunate enough to have played the places Ive played, that I can go out with my head held high and be proud of what Ive done. And move on to the next chapter.Friend, a formidable figure at six foot five, was originally drafted by the Chicago Fire in 2003 but opted to sign with Moss FK and then Molde FK in Norway. He spent a year with SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands before embarking on a successful stretch in Germany.Friend signed with Borussia Moenchengladbach for the 2007 season, scoring 18 goals to help the team earn promotion to Germanys top flight. He scored 28 goals in his three seasons with the storied club — the pinnacle of his career — before moving on to Hertha BSC, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSV 1860 Munchen.He joined the Galaxy in January, seeing action in 10 games.Its been an ..... journey ... its been unbelievable, Friend said. Ive met a lot of ..... people, played for some ..... organizations and clubs. At Heerenveen alone, he played with Toronto FC star Michael Bradley, fellow Canadian and Portland Timbers captain Will Johnson and Galaxy teammate Robbie Rogers. Friend, who made his debut for Canada in 2003, won more than 30 caps for his country.Unfortunately, Friend still is not completely over his health issues.Its a very funny animal, the brain. You go through waves of a lot of headache-like symptoms and fogginess, just kind of not feeling 100 per cent. Ive definitely passed that stage of struggling every day. The only issue I have at the moment now is when I do an intense workout I feel the headache coming on again.Ive been able to manage it. Now Im just going to take a little bit of time to really take care of the symptoms so hopefully they dont bother me long term.Friend was hurt in a freak training-ground practice. He was running and a hard-hit ball caught him in the temple, really unexpectedly, caught me totally off guard and knocked me to the ground.For two days, he felt foggy and out of it..dddddddddddd.Then probably by Day 3 it just went into a straight headache that I couldnt kick for about two months.The injury, along with numerous past knocks, forced him to evaluate his soccer future.Friend was always a target man, physical and good in the air. His head was as important as his boot and he absorbed plenty of abuse going for goal.Ive taken a lot of hits to my head over the years and its serious issue now, the concussions, he said. Theres a lot of former athletes that are struggling long-term. I dont want that. I have to be a good husband and a good father to three kids and take care of my family so I kind of made that decision that it wasnt worth trying to push it another couple of years.Friend says he absolutely had prior concussions.Diagnosed, Ive probably had a few. Undiagnosed Ive definitely had my fair share as well. Ive been to a lot of experts round North America, talked to a lot of different doctors ... They all say accumulation of hits to your head — whether thats constant heading, hard knocks to your head — all take its toll. So I think thats got a lot to do with why my symptom is lasting as long as it is.The symptoms had not been as severe in the past. But Friend says over the last few years, he noticed he felt a little bit out of it for 24 hours or so if he took a harder blow to the head or had done a lot of headers in practice.It left him with a lingering headache for a day or two.Then it would go away. I never thought much about it. I just chalked it up as I just got kind of my bell rung a little but and itll go away. Then as the years went on, I started noticing the symptoms more and more and just didnt think much of it. Then it was just this one kind of freaky hit to the side of my head unexpectedly that really brought the long-terms symptoms on.Concussion aside, Friend has fond memories of his year in Los Angeles and MLS.Its an exciting league and I wanted to be part of it, he said. To be part of the best organization like the Galaxy, thats something Im proud of.It was also a homecoming of sorts.Friend played two years of college soccer at UC Santa Barbara where he met wife Mari, a Los Angeles native who was the setter on the volleyball team. The family — which includes a five-year-old boy and one- and three-year-old .............. — plans to move to Vancouver where he hopes to stay involved in soccer.Having endured the hardships of a Canadian playing abroad, he remains a big booster of Canadian soccer.Canada is on the right track, he said, predicting more talent will flourish overseas. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter China Jerseys ' ' '