CMD Training Journal

ISBN 978-0-620-40761-8
Copyright 2008 Rodney King and Randy Borum. All rights reserved.
Publishers note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that information contained in this e-book is
accurate at the time going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot accept
responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss of
damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material
in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author.
Self-published by Rodney King and Randy Borum. www.crazymonkeydefense.com
Copyright 2008 Rodney King and Randy Borum. All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of
the authors, who are also the publishers of this work, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Martial Arts-Life and Crazy Monkey Defense Program are registered trademarks of Rodney
King.
FIRST EDITION E-BOOK
First printing 2008
ISBN
978-0-620-40761-8
Crazy Monkey Defense- MMA Training Journal E-Book
Welcome to the Crazy Monkey Defense- MMA Training Journal. We created this journal to help athletes develop
greater focus in their training and to develop "deep learning" by systematically tracking some key mental, emotional
and physical elements of their performance .
Not only is space provided to fill in and to track all this important information, but the journal also includes the how
to material to help you realize your ultimate training goals.
To our knowledge, there is no mixed martial arts (a term we use very broadly here) training journal available on the
market. In addition, this journal is so versatile that no matter which combat sports or martial arts you train in you
can use it to track your progress and to monitor your individual patterns for success.
In an effort to give back to the martial art community that has given us both so much, we are offering this Training
Journal absolutely free.
We hope you enjoy it and that it will keep you focused, excited and motivated to train.
Training Goals
Goals provide a road map for personal
excellence. In fact, goal setting is one of the
most valuable performance-enhancing skills you
can acquire. Goals should be the foundation of
your training plan. A training plan should point
you toward your goals, give you directions on
how to get there and help you identify some
markers along the way. This training journal
should provide a record of how you have
enacted your Training Plan.
Training should be a continuous process of
learning and improving moving closer to both
your short-term and some term goals. Every day
or every training session you should have a
plan for what you are going to do during that
session to bring yourself closer to your goal.
Aspire to improve in small ways every day. This
is sometimes referred to as the Kaizen
Principle. Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning
improvement but it connotes a particular
method of progress that occurs gradually over in
time, often as a result of small, incremental
changes. That can be a useful guiding
philosophy for your training. You can use this

journal to (1) prompt you to think about a
particular goal or focus for a given training
session, and (2) reflect on what you learned and
how to use it in future sessions.
All goals are not created equal, however, and
effective goal setting is a skill. Here are few tips
for creating goals that really work:
1. Be Specific: Specific goals are better than
vague or general goals. A vague goal might be
something like: I will have a good workout. A
specific goal might be something like: I will do
circuit training for 30 minutes with my heart rate
at XXX BPM. Write it so that someone else
could watch you on screen and clearly
determine whether or not you did it.
3. Make It Challenging, but Attainable:

Accomplishing your goals feels great! It boosts
your motivation and accelerates your
confidence. So you want to set yourself up to
succeed, but you want the goal to be
challenging enough that you feel like you really
worked for it. Lots of research shows that
people who set more challenging goals for
themselves improve more and accomplish more
than those who set easy goals or no goals at all.
4. Emphasize Performance Over Outcome:
Goals works best when they focus on your
performance (which you control) rather than
outcomes (which you do not fully control). A
performance-focused training goal might be
stated as follows: "I will focus on stand-up
attacks and execute good defense to my
opponent's takedown attempts."
2. Be Positive: Your goal should state what you

WILL do, not what you WONT do. Telling
yourself what not to do almost never works. Your
brain is not wired that way. So, instead of
writing you goal this way: I will not (insert
common mistake here), you could say, I will
focus on executing proper technique when doing
(insert technique you need to work on here).
Train Hard, But Dont

Overdo It!
Training effectively to reach your goals requires
planning and balancing. You want to train hard
and push yourself beyond your prior limits, but
you dont want to overdo it. One of the main
challenges facing elite athletes or even regular
men and women who exercise compulsively or
train multiple hours/session per day is not that
they arent training enough; its that they are
training too much. It causes staleness, burnout,
or what is more formally called overtraining
syndrome. Two types of over training syndrome
have been identified: Sympathetic and
Parasympathetic, each present with a different
constellation of symptoms relating to their
respective autonomic nervous system functions.
an extended period, without allowing your body

to properly recover between sessions. With a
well-planned training regimen, good nutrition,
and proper rest and recovery, you should notice
a steady, but discernible training effect. That
means you should notice that you are able to do
more work, with less effort, or at a higher
intensity across time (remember the Kaizen
Principle). If you feel yourself getting stuck or
stale, you may try to push yourself even harder
to overcome it. That may not be the right course
of action. It will serve you well to listen, when
your body is trying to send you a message that it
is overloaded.
If you are not making progress over several
training sessions or notice a decrease in your
performance when there is no other known
medical cause, this is a potential sign of
overtraining.
Other signs of overtraining include:
Overtraining of the Sympathetic type is the most

common among young athletes and among
strength/power athletes. It most likely to occur
as a result of doing too much training activity or
training too close to your maximum intensity, for
Changes in mood (especially depression,

discouragement, or irritability)
General fatigue and lack of energy
Limbs feeling heavy
Problems with sleep or appetite
Heart Rate and Overtraining

It is a good idea to obtain a baseline reading of
your resting heart rate (RHR) and to monitor your
average heart rate after training so that you can
use it both to gauge the progress of your cardio
performance, and to monitor yourself for signs of
overtraining syndrome.
Heikki Rusko, a Finnish sport scientist, (based
on research with elite cross-country skiers)
developed a fairly simple orthostatic test that
has shown some sensitivity and utility for
detecting the onset of an over trained state. The
easiest way to record it is with a heart monitor,
which is relatively inexpensive and a useful
training tool to have in any case.
You can, however, record the data points for
Ruskos test simply by feeling your pulse. You
can do this by placing your index and middle
finger against your carotid artery, located
on your neck, beneath the jawline and
to the side of your windpipe, locating
the pulse. You can count the pulse for one

minute or count for 15 seconds and multiply that
number by four to estimate your heart rate in
beats per minute.
These three rates will be somewhat different

from each other, but when you are not over
trained each should be relatively stable when
measured on different days.
Here is how you can do Ruskos Orthostatic

Test:
If your body is approaching an over trained

condition, however, you may notice that the
standing heart rate figures especially the 90 to
120 second rate may be higher than your usual
(baseline) rate. An increase of 10-15 beats per
minute over your baseline may be a sign of
overtraining. Such pronounced changes,
however, usually occur gradually over several
days not suddenly from one day to
1. Choose a specific time of the day that you

can use for consistent measurements, perhaps
even first thing in the morning on waking, but
before getting out of bed.
2. Lie quietly and still for 10 minutes. Your heart
rate during this 10-minute period should remain
relatively constant. This is your Resting/Supine
heart rate.
3. Then stand up.
4. Check your heart rate again, 15 seconds after
standing. This is your Standing/Immediate heart
rate.
5. Check your heart rate a third time during
interval of 90 to 120 seconds after standing. You
can make a 10 second check (then multiply by 6)
at 90 seconds, then do another 10 second check
(then multiply by 6), 30 seconds later (at the 120
second mark), and use the average of those two
figures. This is your Standing/Delayed heart rate.
the next. Because the training effect should

actually create a lower heart rate over time, an
increase in your standing heart rate should
cause you to reflect on whether you may be
approach an over trained condition.
Muscle Soreness and Overtraining
performance and put a damper on your

motivation to train.
Athletes often struggle with two different kinds
of muscle soreness. The first kind is the type
you may experience immediately after highintensity exercise. We will refer to this as acute
muscle soreness when your muscles feel
exhausted, depleted and achy at the end of a
workout. This type of soreness often results
from your muscles being depleted of glycogen
(which they use for fuel), producing too much
ATP to metabolize, and as a resultexperiencing a marked drop in pH (resulting in a
state of acidosis). It is commonly regarded as a
build up of lactate or lactic acid in the muscles.
Before you decide to do anything to treat your
own muscle pain, first be sure the soreness is
just from intense activity, not from an injury. If
you felt a sudden onset of pain associated with a
particular movement, the resulting discomfort
may be caused by a strain or sprain.
Ongoing, severe muscle soreness (often along

with weakness) is another potential sign of
overtraining. But even if you are not over
trained, achy muscles can hinder your
If you have a mild injury, consider applying the

RICE formula for treatment
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
If you do not have an injury, know that muscle
soreness usually resolves on its own within 3-7
days, but if youre hurting for some relief, here
are few tips:
Allow the affected muscles time to rest. You
might consider doing some light aerobic activity
(called active rest) to increase blood flow and
circulation, but it is usually best to avoid using
those muscles for heavy lifting until the pain
subsides.
Stay hydrated. Be sure to drink plenty of
water to replenish fluids lost during training and
also to help flush out waste products in the

muscles that might contribute to inflammation.
Some athletes have found that consuming a
sports drink with carbs immediately after training
helps to facilitate glycogen replenishment and
reduce post-workout soreness.
Use the power of cold and heat.
Applications of heat and cold can both help
alleviate muscle pain and facilitate healing, but
each much be applied at an appropriate time.
Cold applications are often helpful in the first few
hours after exercise, but heat has some benefits
when applied after 24 hours or so. Some sports
teams use ice dips right after high intensity
exercise. They fill a tub or plastic bag with ice
and water to bring the temperature down to
about 55 degrees. Then they quickly immerse a
limb or extremity sometimes for just a few
seconds, but no more than a few minutes.
Trainers usually advise you start slowly when first
trying this approach and work your way up to
larger areas of coverage and longer immersion
times.
Taking a hot bath or soaking in a hot tub may be
relaxing a day or so after intense training, but not
immediately after. The reason is that heat

increases circulation and promotes
inflammation. Another approach suggested by
massage therapist and sport injury specialist
Patrice Morency- is to alternate applications of
heat and cold, either with hot and cold packs or
by switching the shower from 2 minutes of hot
water to 30 seconds of fully cold water for about
5 to cycles. Morency suggests that causing the
blood vessels to repeatedly open and close will
facilitate the flushing of acidic waste products
out of the muscles.
Try massage. There is not yet a clear
scientific answer to whether or not massage
therapy can claim to be an effective treatment
for delayed onset muscle soreness, but at least
one review concluded that it s a promising
intervention. The idea is that massage like the
alternating hot and cold treatment- helps to
move the lactate and waste products from the
muscles (where they cause inflammation and
soreness) out to the bloodstream for
elimination. To maximize the benefits,
be sure to drink plenty of water after
getting a massage.
Plan ahead for prevention. There is no

guaranteed way to prevent post-workout muscle
soreness, but sports medicine professionals
offer some practical tips to help lessen the
damage.
First, do ten minutes or so of active warm up
activity before engaging your muscles in highintensity exertion.
Second, make progress in small increments.
When you are making planned advances in the
intensity of your training, try not to exceed a
10% increase at any given time. Smaller
changes will regulate the amount of damage
your muscles incur from your new training
demands.
Finally, try both static and dynamic stretching
after your workout. Although there is not
compelling research evidence that stretching will
reduce soreness, it can improve your range of
motion and help mobilize acidic waste products
to be eliminated by your post-training hydration.
The second type of muscle soreness sets in
24-48 hours after exercise. This referred to as
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).
Though still causing feelings of soreness, the
cause is rather different from the immediate

post-workout pains. There is some debate
among exercise physiologists and sports
medicine experts about the precise cause, but it
seems to be related to microscopic tearing in the
muscle fibers occurring, particularly during
intense eccentric contractions (what many
people call negative repetitions), and the
resulting inflammation. It is part of the bodys
adaptation and response as it repairs and builds
strength. The muscles will heal and strengthen
on their own, facilitated by proper nutrition. The
inflammation, however, is what causes the
discomfort. Over the counter pain relievers like
aspirin or ibuprofen may help to reduce the pain
and discomfort and perhaps even decrease
inflammation, but those medications do not
accelerate the healing process.
production of pro inflammatory cytokines. The

net result in some studies is less discomfort
(because of reduced inflammation) and a quicker
recovery time.
Yoga is another promising intervention. Recent
research shows that yoga training and even a
single session of yoga may significantly reduce
DOMS-induced pain and discomfort. The
effects are probably not just due to the
stretching that occurs in yoga; several recent
research reviews have shown that stretching
does not improve DOMS-related discomfort.
One treatment that has some research support

is enzyme therapy. When your muscle fibers are
damaged, your bodys immune system responds
by infusing white blood cells into the affected
area. The white blood cells produce proteins
called cytokines. Protease enzymes help to
increase the bodys production of antiinflammatory cytokines and decrease its
Taking Care of Your

Body
By exercising or training regularly, you are
making big investment in your physical health.
You can get an even greater return on your
investment by eating well and being sure you get
sufficient amount of quality sleep so you will
have the energy you need to train the way you
want.
Sleep Well
Your brain and your body handle some very
important restorative functions during sleep. It is
not just down time. Most adults need between
7 and 9 hours of sleep per night, but it is also
very common for people at some point to have
problems getting to sleep, staying asleep, or
waking too early in the morning. If your sleep is
persistently disrupted or you are just not getting
enough, you may be more likely to get sick, to
feel sluggish, to have trouble concentrating
and generally to have your body not perform the

way it should.
The National Sleep Foundation
(WWW.SLEEPFOUNDATION.ORG) offers the
following advice for maintaining healthy sleep:
1. Maintain a regular bed and wake time
schedule including weekends.
Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a
"circadian clock" in our brain and the body's
need to balance both sleep time and wake time.
A regular waking time in the morning strengthens
the circadian function and can help with sleep
onset at night. That is also why it is important to
keep a regular bedtime and wake-time, even on
the weekends when there is the temptation to
sleep-in.
separate your sleep time from activities that can

cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can
make it more difficult to fall asleep, get sound
and deep sleep or remain asleep. Avoid arousing
activities before bedtime like working, paying
bills, engaging in competitive games or family
problem solving. Some studies suggest that
soaking in hot water (such as a hot tub or bath)
before retiring to bed can ease the transition into
deeper sleep, but it should be done early enough
that you are no longer sweating or over-heated.
If you are unable to avoid tension and stress, it
may be helpful to learn relaxation therapy from a
trained professional. Finally, avoid exposure to
bright light before bedtime because it signals the
neurons that help control the sleep-wake cycle
that it is time to awaken, not to sleep.
3. Create a sleep-conducive environment that
is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool.
2. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime

routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot
tub and then reading a book or listening to
soothing music.
A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime
conducted away from bright lights helps
Design your sleep environment to establish the

conditions you need for sleep cool, quiet, dark,
comfortable and free of interruptions. Also make
your bedroom reflective of the value you
place on sleep. Check your room for
noise or other distractions, including
a bed partner's sleep disruptions such as

snoring, light, and a dry or hot environment.
Consider using blackout curtains, eyeshades,
earplugs, "white noise," humidifiers, fans and
other devices. {Expose yourself to bright light/
sunlight soon after awakening. This will help to
regulate your body's natural biological clock.}
associate a particular activity or item with

anxiety about sleeping, omit it from your bedtime
routine. For example, if looking at a bedroom
clock makes you anxious about how much time
you have before you must get up, move the
clock out of sight. Do not engage in activities
that cause you anxiety and prevent you from
sleeping.
4. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and

6. Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your
pillows.
regular bedtime.
Make sure your mattress is comfortable and
supportive. The one you have been using for
years may have exceeded its life expectancy
about 9 or 10 years for most good quality
mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make
the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also
free of allergens that might affect you and
objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you
have to get up during the night.
5. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.
It is best to take work materials, computers and
televisions out of the sleeping environment. Use
your bed only for sleep and sex to strengthen
the association between bed and sleep. If you
Eating or drinking too much may make you less

comfortable when settling down for bed. It is
best to avoid a heavy meal too close to bedtime.
Also, spicy foods may cause heartburn, which
leads to difficulty falling asleep and discomfort
during the night. Try to restrict fluids close to
bedtime to prevent nighttime awakenings to go
to the bathroom, though some people find milk
or herbal, non-caffeinated teas to be soothing
and a helpful part of a bedtime routine.
7. Exercise regularly. It is best to complete
your workout at least a few hours before
bedtime.
In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to

fall asleep and contributes to sounder sleep.
However, exercising sporadically or right before
going to bed will make falling asleep more
difficult. In addition to making us more alert, our
body temperature rises during exercise, and
takes as much as 6 hours to begin to drop. A
cooler body temperature is associated with
sleep onset... Finish your exercise at least 3
hours before bedtime. Late afternoon exercise is
the perfect way to help you fall asleep at night.
8. Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks,
chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you
awake.
Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can
produce an alerting effect. Caffeine products,
such as coffee, tea, colas and chocolate, remain
in the body on average from 3 to 5 hours, but
they can affect some people up to 12 hours later.
Even if you do not think caffeine affects you, it
may be disrupting and changing the quality
of your sleep. Avoiding caffeine within 6-8
hours of going to bed can help improve
sleep quality.
9. Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco

products). Used close to bedtime, it can lead
to poor sleep.
Nicotine is also a stimulant. Smoking before bed
makes it more difficult to fall asleep. When
smokers go to sleep, they experience withdrawal
symptoms from nicotine, which also cause sleep
problems. Nicotine can cause difficulty falling
asleep, problems waking in the morning, and
may also cause nightmares. Difficulty sleeping is
just one more reason to quit smoking. And never
smoke in bed or when sleepy!
10. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.
Although many people think of alcohol as
a sedative, it actually disrupts sleep, causing
nighttime awakenings. Consuming alcohol leads
to a night of less restful sleep.
If you have sleep problems...
Use a sleep diary and talk to your doctor. Note
what type of sleep problem is affecting your
sleep or if you are sleepy when you wish to be
awake and alert. Try these tips and record your
sleep and sleep-related activities in a sleep diary.

If problems continue, discuss the sleep diary
with your doctor. There may be an underlying
cause and you will want to be properly
diagnosed. Your doctor will help treat the
problem or may refer you to a sleep specialist.
Eat Well
Food is fuel for your mind and body. What you
eat and when you eat it has a profound effect
on how you feel when you train, how you
perform during your workout, how you will feel
after your workout, and how your body will
recover from the intense demands you place on
it.
Performance nutrition is an evolving art.
Nutritional consensus about how to compose
the food pyramid for the general population
has even changed substantially over the past
decade. Diet crazes periodically vilify
carbohydrates while encouraging consumption
of fatty, greasy meats. News headlines will one
day warn of a products harmful effects, and the
next day extol its virtues. Cookie diets,
grapefruit diets, supplements promising to pack
on the lean muscle all compete for our

attention. Here are some well-established,
fundamentals of performance nutrition:
Hydration getting enough water is the
cornerstone of any effective performance
nutrition plan. Water is one your bodys main
modes of transportation. It carries vital nutrients
where they are needed most and ushers out
excess and waste products. It allows
perspiration, which your body uses to regulate
its temperature. The American College of Sports
Medicine recommends drinking 64oz of water
every day (8/ 8ounce glasses). If you are going
to be training, be sure you drink several ounces
before the workout, periodically during the
workout, then after training to be sure you
replenish whatever you sweated out. Water is
the best fluid to keep your body hydrated
caffeinated beverages will cause you to urinate
more (losing more fluid) and many sports
drinks contain a hefty dose of sugar and
unnecessary calories. If you are going at it
hard for an hour or more, however, sipping
sports drinks may help replenish the
sodium and electrolytes that your
body has eliminated in perspiration
and give your body a boost of fuel to keep it

going.
As for what to eat, foods contain three main
macronutrients carbohydrates (4 calories per
gram), protein (4 calories per gram), and fats (9
calories per gram). All of these (yes, even fats)
serve essential functions. Carbohydrates are
your bodys main and preferred - source of
fuel. It can use carbs easily and efficiently, so it
will typically use them first. As a result, however,
carbs can also cause a fairly rapid rise in insulin,
which could lead to a crash after the blood
sugar peaks out. The effect can be mitigated by
eating carbs with a lower glycemic index (those
that dont convert to sugar in the bloodstream as
quickly); by eating some protein first (which
releases Glucagon, and slows the carbs
absorption); or by eating some accompanying
fat, which also slows the absorption/conversion
to sugar.
Your body also uses proteins and fats for
energy, but less efficiently than carbohydrates.
Protein has a vital role, however, in muscle repair
and growth. It is essential for restoring a proper
nitrogen balance in the muscles after intense
exercise. After all, your muscles grow after

exercise (during recovery), not during exercise.
There is some debate among nutritionists about
exactly how much protein strength and power
athletes or those who train at high intensity may
need. Among those specializing on sport /
performance nutrition, though, many seem
comfortable recommending 1.5-1.8 grams of
protein per day for every kilogram of the athletes
bodyweight. For example, an athlete who
weighs 185 lbs (or 84 kgs) would require
approximately 126-151 grams of protein per day.
As for when to eat, the general
recommendation is to eat small meals often
throughout the day. It usually helps to eat at
least a little something before training. You
might get some gastric distress, however, if you
eat too much, too soon before training or if you
consume a lot of high-fiber (like bran) or highfructose (like fruit) foods. When your body has
fuel available, you will feel like you have more
energy to train, so dont skip breakfast or a pretraining meal altogether.
After training, you should replenish fluids, of
course, but the first 30-60 minutes after intense
strength / power training is an optimal time to

infuse your system with a hefty dose of highquality, easily digestible protein. Recent
research shows that sending some carbs along
with the protein, helps to speed up absorption,
and it facilitates you body replenishing it
glycogen stores.
As you proceed through the day, consider
breaking away from the traditional American
pattern of eating three big meals, with 6 hours
and no snacking between them. That pattern
causes you to get really hungry, so youre likely
to eat more, but it also puts your metabolism on
a roller coaster. Your body comes to learn that
you will starve it between meals, so it stores
more fat to adapt.
A better approach is to eat continuously
throughout the day. Every three or four hours
eat a small meal (maybe 300-400 calories,
depending on your overall nutritional needs) that
contains protein, carbohydrate and a small
amount of fat. Fat (as a macronutrient)
helps send messages to your brain to
signal that your belly is full, so
including some in each meal will keep
you from constantly being hungry. Eating

throughout the day also has two other significant
advantages: it keeps your metabolism
constantly active and it keeps your blood sugar
levels more stable, so you will have the energy
you need to get through the day, and are less
likely to crash.
Though carbohydrates, proteins and fats are
essential nutrients, there are certainly more
health and less healthy choices you can make
about the type or quality of each nutrient and
how you get them. Lean meats (like chicken)
and fish are good sources of protein. Whole
grains and vegetables (and some fruits) are good
sources of carbohydrates. Fish oils and nuts are
relatively good sources of fats. They contain
more of the good fats and less of the bad
fats
Manage your Energy

We all feel better at some times of the day than
others. Some of this variation has to do with
nutrition, and lifestyle patterns, but for some it
comes from biologically based preferences in

our bodys natural circadian rhythms. Thats why
you may think of yourself as a night owl or a
morning person.
To get the most from your training, you should
try to time your workouts to synch with your
bodys preferences. Research has shown
consistently that people who exercise and are
physically active report having more energy
throughout the day than people who do not
(Puetz, Beasman, & O'Connor, 2006). So, if
youre making a point to train on a regular basis,
you are already reducing your chances of
suffering a personal energy crisis.
Though our level of vigor or energy will naturally
fluctuate throughout the day, sometimes you
may just feel stuck with a case of the blahs. If
you find yourself feeling fatigued and lacking
energy on a regular basis or for a prolonged
period, you should probably think about whether
there is some discernible cause that you can fix.
Some of the usual suspects are:
Inadequate sleep. Not enough or just poor
sleep quality.
Poor nutrition. Especially problematic are the

bursts of caffeine or sugary substances that set
up your body to crash about an hour after you
ingest them.
Overtraining. As we noted before, feeling
sluggish and feelings of heaviness in your limbs
can be signs of overtraining. You can check with
the orthostatic test.
Depression. Clinical depression not just the
usual blues may strike one in five people at
some point in their lifetimes. It can definitely sap
your energy. If your lack of energy is
accompanied by persistent (most of the day,
more days than not, for 2 weeks or more)
feelings of sadness, irritability or loss of interest
in nearly everything, then consider discussing
the issue with your doctor.
But what if youre just having one of those
days? Or you just need a boost to get
through a mid day slump what can
you do? Here are a couple of
possibilities:
Zone out for a while. Sometimes your mind

and body just need a break. Being stressed or
having too much on your plate can drain you
pretty quickly. You can try meditation or just
take a 10-20 minute stress-relief break. Close
your eyes. Clear your head. Breathe deeply in
through your nose, exhaling through your mouth.
Imagine that you are breathing in strength and
energy as you inhale. And imagine the fatigue
flowing out from your body as you exhale.
Picture a relaxing, pleasant scene and go there
in your mind. Try to experience it with as many
of your senses as possible. Clear images.
Hearing the sounds. Smelling the air. Feeling the
textures. Escape there for a quick break, and
then allow yourself to return, feeling refreshed
and renewed.
Have a light snack. Many people experience a
midday slump about 2:00 or so in the afternoon.
A heavy lunch is often the culprit. Two things
happen: (1) Your body is using energy and
resources (including blood and oxygen) to digest
your meal; and (2) Your bodys insulin levels rise
sharply, causing your blood sugar to drop,
leaving you feeling sluggish. Though a candy
bar or fruit juice may give you the quickest
boost, they also may leave you back in a slump

an hour later. Consider a light snack that wont
affect your insulin levels quite so sharply (youre
looking for foods with a moderate-low glycemic
index) having an apple or a couple of peanut
butter crackers may help revive your blood sugar
without setting you up for another fall.
Take a power nap. A quick nap can sometimes
be quite rejuvenating. Quick nap here means 10
to 20 minutes. Napping doesnt work for
everyone. Some people just feel more groggy.
But if you find yourself nodding off at your desk,
sometimes that 10 minute snooze is all you need
for a quick re-charge.
References
Puetz TW, Beasman KM, O'Connor PJ. The
effect of cardiac rehabilitation exercise programs
on feelings of energy and fatigue: a metaanalysis of research from 1945 to 2005. Eur J
Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2006 Dec;13(6):
886-93.
Puetz TW. Physical activity and feelings of
energy and fatigue: epidemiological evidence.
Sports Med. 2006;36(9):767-80.
Get the blood flowing. Consider walking

briskly for 10 minutes or so or doing some other
light activity that gets your body moving and
raises your heart rate. You may get an extra
benefit from going outside and exposing yourself
to sunlight.
Put Your MIND To It.

Your motivation, commitment, and focus are as
essential to your training as your nutrition and
physical energy. Ideally, your goals will motivate
you, drive your commitment, and sharpen your
focus. In this journal, we have suggested that
you monitor these mental and emotional facets
of your training over time. The rating scales
provided in each daily entry serve both as a
prompt and reminder for you to consider these
in your workout plan and also as a quick gut
check to reflect on how you feel.
Motivation
Motivation is at the core of why we do what we
do. Psychologists often talk about motivations
being intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic rewards are
those that come from inside us, like feelings of
accomplishment or fun. Extrinsic motivators are
rewards given to us- such as prize money, belts,
trophies or praise - for our participation or
performance. Top athletes in nearly every sport
possess a high degree of intrinsic motivation. A

fire needs to burn from within.
Sport psychology researchers have also
identified two main dimensions of achievement
motivation in sports: Task Orientation and Ego
Orientation. Those with a high task orientation
are motivated by feeling really competent at
what they do, giving their best effort, and by
constantly improving their skills. Those with a
high ego orientation are motivated mainly by
feeling they are better than others, showing their
ability, and by the outcome of winning.
Here's another way to look at it: when you read
the following two sets of words, which one
immediately appeals to you more:
Learning, Improvement, Mastery
Winning, Ability, Superiority
The first set of words obviously relates more to
task orientation, while the second is more
resonant with ego orientation.
From a performance perspective, motivation

relates to the direction and intensity of your
effort. This means there is a mental/cognitive
aspect and an emotional/physical aspect. Both
affect your performance and both affect each
other. If you want to boost your motivation, you
might try sharpening the focus of your effort or
elevating its intensity. Greater focus can
facilitate more intense effort, and heightened
intensity can sharpen your focus.
Focus
Focus in training is measured by your ability to
concentrate on essential training cues and tasks
and to filter out any distractions, irrelevant, or
negative interference. Training focus does not
necessarily mean that you attend only to one
thing. It means that you are attending to the
right things at the right time. The right things
are stimuli, cues, and sensations that facilitate
your best performance. Distractions are those
that might hinder your performance.
Distractions can be external (e.g., crowd
reactions and sounds) or internal
(e.g., negative thoughts or
butterflies).
Here are few tips to help your focus:

Plan Your Training: It almost always helps to
have a plan. Planning out what you are going to
do in a given training session can help keep you
focused. Your mind is less likely to wander or get
snarled in distraction if you are following a
planned routine. Have a plan for your training,
run through it in your head several times, and
then follow it.
unexpected, by building unpredictable

distractions into your training and sparring.
Some unexpected events will occur naturally, of
course. Use these as opportunities. Your task is
to maintain your composure, to continue to
breathe, and to redirect your focus. You can
train your mind to filter out a lot of unnecessary
input, and you can discipline yourself to stay
focused in the present.
Commitment
Use Cue Words: If you get slightly off-track,
using "cue words" can often help you to quickly
re-focus. A cue word is a simple one-word
instruction that interrupts the distraction and
signals your brain back to the present. It should
be simple and direct, You might use words like
"focus" or "present" or "now" or "on plan"
experiment during your training sessions to see
what kind of cue words work best for you in
different situations.
Plan for the Unexpected: You can and should
plan for the distractions that you think will
happen, but sometimes the unexpected event
can send us into a spiral if we are not prepared
to handle it. You can prepare for the
Sport psychology researchers have studied the

issue of sport commitment, which is often
defined as the psychological desire and resolve
to continue participation. This applies to your
training whether you are a competitive athlete or
an average guy or gal just trying to get more fit.
Your commitment largely drives your intention,
which is the immediate precursor to doing the
behavior. Unless you commit to eating well and
exercising more, your desire to be fit is really
only a wish. Approximately half of all people
who start a program of physical exercise drop
out within the first six months. You want to be in
the half that sticks with it.
Commitment does not have to be an all-ornothing thing, but it should align with your
goals. You need to decide what you want to
accomplish, assess what that will require, and
commit to a planned course of action to make it
happen. You cant expect to perform at an elite
level in your sport, and only train for one hour,
twice a week. But you also dont have to aspire
to elite performance. You can achieve
tremendous health benefits from doing 30-60
minutes of exercise several times a week.
Even among those to stick to it, there are
different kinds of commitment. Two main types
identified by sport commitment researchers are
attraction and entrapment. Those who have
high levels of attraction-based commitment tend
to really enjoy their sport or chosen activity; they
perceive that the benefits from their participation
are high and the costs are low. They see
following through on their commitment as being
much more satisfying than the alternative (e.g.
being overweight, not liking their appearance,
feeling lethargic). On the other hand, some
people stick with an activity or program
even though it has lost its appeal,
and the costs seem to be mounting in
comparison to any benefits. They may hang in

there because of social pressure (e.g., from
teammates or training partners) or just because
they have already invested so much energy and
effort they feel obligated not to quit. Both may
be committed, but both may not be equally
happy about it.
Once you commit to a course of action,
however, you should be prepared to follow
through. This may mean that you get out of bed
when you are tired. It may mean that you give
up time to do other enjoyable activities.
Ultimately you are the only person who can
follow through on your commitment. You are
responsible for whether you act on your
commitment. The fact is, for most of us, that
psychological desire and resolve is dynamic.
Our appraisals of costs and benefits change
over time and across situations. Your task is to
keep yourself moving forward in pursuit of your
goals.
Here are a few ideas that may help with your
follow through:
Take charge: It is easy to make excuses for

not training by blaming external factors. The
coachs personality, the time of day, competing
demands can be readily used as reasons for
skipping a session. Soon, you may find that you
are skipping more training session than you are
making. Enacting your commitment is a habit. It
is easier if you assume responsibility for your
behavior and accept that you are the main factor
in determining whether or not you will reach your
goals. Keeping a training journal, like this one,
can be a useful way to help you monitor and
track your progress. But also be sure to reward
or reinforce yourself (preferably not by eating an
entire ice cream cake) for doing what you set out
to do. Acknowledge your progress and your
success.
Keep your eye on the prize: Your
psychological desire and resolve to train is
related to your goals and how important they are
to you. Consider putting reminder notes to
yourself in various places about your goals and
perceived benefits of training. Some people use
images of inspirational figures in their sport.
Others use motivational words, quotes or
phrases. But the objective is to keep the goals
and rewards constantly prominent in your mind.

Hard work typically involves sacrifice. You must
keep yourself mindful of the benefits, so that that
they can overshadow the costs.
Plan for the rough spots: As we noted
before, commitment is fluid. Most people at
some point - will be seriously tempted to quit a
training program or to slack off into a pattern of
non-commitment. As you are developing your
training plan, you might anticipate what factors
or situations might challenge your resolve, and
plan in advance for how to handle them. This
relapse prevention strategy is commonly used
in treating addictive behaviors. It improves your
self-monitoring and makes the rough sports less
unpredictable. It may be useful for you to have
a couple of training activities planned that add
variety and help to renew the enjoyment you get
from training change locations, cross-train,
work with a new partner. Increasing your
enjoyment can be a great way to get your
commitment back on track.
Make yourself accountable: You can
increase your commitment to your
goals just by sharing them with others.
There is explicit or implicit accountability that

comes from making your intentions and
commitments known to others. This is one
reason that marriage vows are exchanged in
front of witnesses, family and friends. Share
your goals and commitments with your coach,
teammate, or family member. You might even
find some benefit to working with a training
partner or coach. Knowing that someone else
will be affected if you dont show up often
provides enough momentum to get you there
showing up is half the battle, right?
Kaizen Revisited:
Reflective Learning
and Moving Ahead
Remember the Kaizen Principle? Continuous
improvement through small, incremental
changes. Let this guide your training. Your
training program whether for competition or
general fitness should be a learning process.
You can view every training session as an
opportunity to improve and to learn. In your
training journal, space is provided for you to
make notes to yourself about what you have
learned in that session and how you might apply
it to future training sessions.
Did I meet my training goals today? After
setting a goal, you should get feedback about
whether or not you met it. You should have some
way to measure your results, and a timeframe in
which you will assess whether you met your
target goals. Research on behavior change
shows consistently that "feedback" is a key
factor for modifying and improving performance.

It is often helpful to enlist others' help in
monitoring and measuring your goal attainment.
Having an outside observer (like a coach, trainer,
or training partner) adds a degree of objectivity
and also frees you just to focus on your
performance. Your watcher or monitor, however,
must know the specific details- what to look for,
how you want it counted or measured.
What did I learn today? This might be the most
important question you ask yourself about your
training. This will involve a process of
reflection about or thinking back on the
session in some detail. In his book, The
Reflective Practitioner, Donald Schn defines
reflection-in-action as on the spot surfacing,
criticizing, restructuring, and testing of intuitive
understandings of experienced phenomena.
You might ask yourself some specific questions
or use reflective prompts, then consider how to
interpret or what to make of these facts.
You might reflect on:
Where did I struggle and why?

Was there a point where everything seemed to
flow? If so, what was that like and how did it
happen?
What thoughts were in my head when I was
performing at my best?
What thoughts were in my head when I was
performing at my worst?
What was my emotional state like when I was
performing at my best?
What was my emotional state like when I was
performing at my worst?
How was my focus (direction and intensity of
effort)?
How did I respond when I was exhausted or
frustrated?
On what did I excel and why?
What useful feedback did I get from others?

What did I learn about strategy?
What did I learn about technique?
What technical skills might improve my
performance?
With that information, you might begin reflect
on:
So what? (Just sit with that question for a few
minutes and see what comes up)
How does what I learned today relate to things
I have learned before?
How might what I learned today apply to other
areas of my life?
How might I apply what I learned today to
improve my next training session?
How might I apply what I learned today to help
others?
Print out the page to follow as many

times as you need it.
About The Authors
Dr. Randy Borum
Rodney King RSME
Dr. Randy Borum is a Professor at the University of South

Florida. He is a licensed and Board-Certified Psychologist, and
has been recognized as a Certified Sport Psychologist by the
National Institute of Sports Professionals.
For over a decade and a half Rodney King has coached world
champion athletes to become the best they can be in the ring.
He is a regular columnist for Black Belt Magazine and writes

articles for MMA magazines addressing applications of sport
psychology to MMA and other combat sports. He has
consulted to the National Academy of Sports Medicine and to
the IFL and with professional and other elite-level combat sport
athletes from the UFC, KOTC and other national and regional
promotions. He was previously a strength and conditioning
consultant for the USF Boxing Team and currently holds a
Copper-Level (Intro) Coaching certification with USA Wrestling.
He has consulted with Special Force Military Units on helping

them define and implement a winning performance mental
game for the battlefield.
He has acted as a Performance Coach for countless CEOs,
business leaders and inspiring entrepreneurs to find their
center of power, manage their fears, anger and frustration and
help them develop into Embodied-Warriors for the boardroom.
Dr. Borum is also the Performance Psychology Advisor to the

Crazy Monkey Defense (CMD) Program.
As a Somatic Movement Educator, creator of the Crazy

Monkey defense Program and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt
under Rigan Machado, he offers a unique program of
warriorship tools, grounded in training the body through martial
arts to refocus the mind.
He can be contacted at rborum@gmail.com or though

MySpace at: www.myspace.com/combatsportpsych
Blog: combatsportpsychology.blogspot.com
Rodney can be contacted at

rodney@crazymonkeydefense.com or visit him at:
www.crazymonkeydefense.com
Top CMD Product!
Buy it now by
clicking here!

CMD Training Journal

Enviado por

Dados do documento

Título original

Direitos autorais

Formatos disponíveis

Compartilhar este documento

Compartilhar ou incorporar documento

Opções de compartilhamento

Você considera este documento útil?

Este conteúdo é inapropriado?

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

CMD Training Journal

Enviado por

Direitos autorais:

Formatos disponíveis

ISBN 978-0-620-40761-8

philosophy for your training. You can use this

3. Make It Challenging, but Attainable:

2. Be Positive: Your goal should state what you

Train Hard, But Dont

an extended period, without allowing your body

Overtraining of the Sympathetic type is the most

Changes in mood (especially depression,

Problems with sleep or appetite

Heart Rate and Overtraining

the pulse. You can count the pulse for one

These three rates will be somewhat different

Here is how you can do Ruskos Orthostatic

If your body is approaching an over trained

1. Choose a specific time of the day that you

the next. Because the training effect should

Muscle Soreness and Overtraining

performance and put a damper on your

Ongoing, severe muscle soreness (often along

If you have a mild injury, consider applying the

also to help flush out waste products in the

immediately after. The reason is that heat

Plan ahead for prevention. There is no

cause is rather different from the immediate

production of pro inflammatory cytokines. The

One treatment that has some research support

Taking Care of Your

and generally to have your body not perform the

separate your sleep time from activities that can

2. Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime

Design your sleep environment to establish the

a bed partner's sleep disruptions such as

associate a particular activity or item with

4. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and

Eating or drinking too much may make you less

In general, exercising regularly makes it easier to

9. Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco

sleep and sleep-related activities in a sleep diary.

on the lean muscle all compete for our

and give your body a boost of fuel to keep it

exercise. After all, your muscles grow after

strength / power training is an optimal time to

you from constantly being hungry. Eating

Manage your Energy

comes from biologically based preferences in

Poor nutrition. Especially problematic are the

Zone out for a while. Sometimes your mind

boost, they also may leave you back in a slump

Get the blood flowing. Consider walking

Put Your MIND To It.

possess a high degree of intrinsic motivation. A

From a performance perspective, motivation

Here are few tips to help your focus:

unexpected, by building unpredictable

Sport psychology researchers have studied the

comparison to any benefits. They may hang in

Take charge: It is easy to make excuses for

and rewards constantly prominent in your mind.

There is explicit or implicit accountability that

factor for modifying and improving performance.

Where did I struggle and why?

On what did I excel and why?

What useful feedback did I get from others?