Eccentric muscle contractions and Jits pt I.

I'm on about 10 weeks post op and 11 weeks post injury.
I've spoken a bit about my physical therapy. The quick story is that my rehabilitation has been around re-training how I walk and move and preparing my body for future activity. Especially in the activities that I love to do - JiuJitsu.
There has been little that I've done in actual knee rehab. I've worked more on hip flexibility and hip flexor and abduction/adduction. Gluteus Max, Min and Med strength. More stable and balanced quadriceps and hamstring strength and finally lower leg strength and flexibility.

The therapist said yesterday that all of my work has been focused on eccentric muscle contractions. "What does that mean and why is that my focus" I asked?

Eccentric contractions - means the lengthening of a muscle during the contraction phase. Think about trying to do a curl with a weight that is just too much. Your muscle is working to maintain a contracted state, but is forced to elongate. There have been many studies that have reviewed the effectiveness of eccentric training - it results in greater strength gains, muscle hypertrophy and greater tensile strength of the muscle and connective tissue.

Why am I doing eccentric contraction types of training? My injury was labeled a deceleration injury. My injury occurred while I was trying to resist a takedown (leg sweep) by trying a counter sweep. I was basically using an explosive contraction of my right quad and then hamstring while the muscle was actually getting elongated in the opposite direction.

Eccentric contractions like the type above or maximum static contractions (holding a specific position such holding a submission attempt in jiujitsu or a type of balance position as in gymnastics or yoga) require a different type of training than your standard weight training.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been interested in physical training. I've always done some kind of physical training and wanted to learn more about it. When I became interested in Jits, I looked into different methods of strengthening my body and hopefully my technique. I purchased a copy of Martin Rooney's Training for Warriors and did as many exercises and workouts that I could. I focused on exercises that complement the sports and activities that I enjoy. I thought I was pretty fit.

Since my injury, I learned that training in that warrior fashion has provided great endurance and strength and kept my weight down. But I was running and jumping before I truly knew how to use my muscles properly.
My training since my injury has been much different. My training has focused primarily on my therapy, but it has applications well beyond the immediate post-operative phase and into maintenance, strength training and conditioning.
What does eccentric contractions in my rehab training look like:
1) Super slow motion contraction and relaxation movements. Do this in any movement with varying resistance. I've been doing this in various squats and lunges. The relaxation phase should be at a count that is double the contraction phase.
I started with minimal resistance - truly. Maybe 1lb and 2lb ankle weights and hands up in the air (throw center of gravity off). Moving up to 10lb and 15lb medicine balls.
Try doing two super slow mo set of of Multidirection lunges. 15 repetitions for each direction. 5 count contractions and 10 count relaxations.
2) Negative training. This needs a spotter and some kind of mechanism to stop the resistance. But the idea is to use a weight in an exercise that is very close to your one rep maximum and lower that weight at a super slow mo count - as slow as you can. In JiuJitsu, pulling-in type of motions is valuable. Try doing pullups - Go to the top of the pullup and have someone place a little weight between your crossed feet. Hold that pullup as long as you can. Try that for as many repetitions as you can.

I will provide more details of my therapy training in a future blog. Meanwhile, I was so interested in learning more about this kind of training, I ran a literature search and actually found an article: Ratemess, N. "Weight training for jiu jitsu", Strength and Conditioning, Oct 1998.

I think I will do a blog/journal club on what I find in that article and how it relates to what I am learning in therapy.

My A-ha moment - "I've been here before"

I wanted to document a couple things that I wanted to get on blog before I moved on to my Gracie and BJJ home schooling.
I clearly remember the turning point in my learning at FVGC. It was the second to last class that I ever went to at the Club. I remember having trouble with other players in class. I don't think that 8 months into training you can really feel like you hit a slump. But that is how it felt for me. I seemed to be struggling with some of the same things all of the time, panicking, gassing out and forgetting the basics. I was thinking way too much! I finally heard one of the blue belts explaining his A-Ha moment(s).
First - stop moving other people. The game is about moving yourself into the right position.
Second - what helped him learn not to panic was a single thought in his head when he got into a compromised position - "I've been here before". Thinking that thought - "I've been here before" helped him calm his breathing, and calm his thinking down.

My next roll, I was against a large viking dude, a white belt like me, but capable of pancaking most training partners. Viking quickly got mount and proceded to work arm bars. Instead of panicking, I was able to maintain calm. I kept moving hips, moving hips and moving hips. Frame, elbow escape, achieve half-guard, frame, move hips, shrimp and achieve full-guard. Whoa. Was I happy! It's about small wins, right? I was psyched and couldn't wait for my next class.

Next and last class.

It had me at "Hello."

I've decided that I will start out blogging of my recent experiences in my martial arts learning. Specifically, how have I gotten into my most recent learning addiction, brazilian jiu jitsu. Selfishly, I want this blog to help me remember everything I've learned so far.
My love of jiu jitsu actually started as a kid when I started taking Judo and Tae Kwon Do - that was about 28 years ago or more! At my school, Monday's, Wednesday's and Fridays were dedicated to Tae Kwon Do, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays were Judo days. As a kid, we start out learning the ground techniques. But we learned each position isolated from the others. We didn't really learn transitions and we didn't really learn methods of improving position, reversals or escapes. But it was the coolest! As a kid, usually it's enough to be able to hold down and control another kid that was stupid enough to pick a fight. That may even work as an adult.
Then came Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. And that was like an a-ha moment for me!
I started my training in BJJ in 2008 at the Fox Valley Grappling Club. It was great. A group of folks interested in grappling, judo, muay thai, mma. Kids, men and women.
So what did I learn?
First - I was a wacky noob that panicked, gassed out and tapped left and right.
Second - I thought that lifting weights and an elliptical was a good work out. Was I wrong. I died with the first warm-up.
Third - Being not so flexible and having some creaky joints, the ibuprofen and aspirin I was taking for pain also lead to major bruising. I looked like one of those guys on Fight Club, except I was always talking about fight club.
Fourth - Skin infections - ring worm, and tinea multiforms - sucks.
Finally - This was the best sport and art, it had me at Hello.

After about 9 months in '08, my schedule and my kids schedules changed enough that I had practically no time for FVGC. My experience in BJJ had to wait in hiatus for about a year. But I was thinking about it all the time!

Next, Gracie University and at home instruction with FVGC Blue Belt!

About Me

I'm a 37 year old husband, father, dog owner, martial arts addict, BMW owner and pharmacist. Re: the title of this blog: Formative Years... let me explain. I'm a podcast listener. Instead of the regular radio, when I drive, I like to listen to podcasts. The particular podcast I was listening to was NPR's "Fresh Air" - Terry Gross is great. What I like about podcasts is that there are no commercials. What is funny is that you hear a lot of repeating of the resets that the program host does. So, while I'm listening to Terry Gross talk about her guest, Patty Smith, I must have heard Terry intro Patty Smith's new book, Just Kids, and describe it as a book about Ms. Smith's "Formative Years" a million times. (In actuality, the transcript of the interview only has the pharse "formative years" twice!) But it struck me that why is it that only famous people (artists, musicians, geniuses) are described as having formative years?

A little more about me. I'm a husband and father of two great kids. Both kids are under 10 and somekind of wonderful. I also have one crazy cool dog that I play tug with a lot and talk baby talk to. If you are looking for the perfect dog: medium sized, doesn't shed, doesn't bark a lot, great with kids and can do many different activities, look up the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.

Regarding Martial Arts. I started Tae Kwon Do and Judo when I was about 10 or so, at the Chicago Mudo Center. I got to Red/Black belt (deputy black) as a kid. I stopped going some time in high school but always wanted to go back. When I was in my mid-twenties, I was able to make some time and get back into the same school. My instructor even started me back at the belt I left at. Not a good idea! I had managed to lose all of my flexibility, memory of technique and forms and conditioning in 8 to 10 years. Combine my total deconditioning, with an instructor who remembers a 15-16 year old acrobatic high belt, and you end up with a mid-twenty-year-old walking injury. It ended abruptly after attempting a leaping forward roll over a 4-foot-high obstacle and landing with a separated shoulder. I was pretty much done. But 3-4 years ago, after watching my 3 year old and 5 year old in their first Tae Kwon Do class, I decided that it was time for me to start again. This time I started at white belt and I'll be testing for my black belt some time this summer. In the past 3-4 years, I've also learned a bit of Muay Thai and have started taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes. I'd say that BJJ is my major addiction right now!

I own two BMW's that I love to drive, dismantle and mess with. A 1998 M3 4-door and a 1991 M42 318i. I've done a bit of work on both vehicles and love their handling and style. I'm looking for a new vehicle now. We'll see how that goes.

Finally, I'm a pharmacist at a health system in Northeast Wisconsin. My role is the Medication System Officer for the system and I'm all about patient and staff safety. This health system is know for utilizing LEAN - Toyota Production Systems, processes in a health care setting. Changed my career!

With all of that, "formative years" refers to periods of rapid change and development, usually associated with adolescence and puberty. I know that I'm in a period of rapid change and development as well. I'm pretty sure that I'm done with puberty.

Excuse my ramblings but I hope that we can all share some knowledge.