Saturday, November 28, 2009

Congratulations to Chris Rappold

I'm truly honored to announce that not more than 2 hours ago, I received a phone call from Italy. Master Chris Rappold, founder of Personal Best Sport Karate, won the 40 and over gold medal at the World Karate Championships!

Master Rappold is more than a client, he is one of my business mentors and a great friend. We started training for his competition in August.  It was a good challenge for me as well to take a number of concepts that I use for training my MMA athletes and formulate a plan for him.

Of course I was not alone on this venture, this was a team effort. Master Rappold had many sparring partners, supporters, and his family behind him. Just goes to show you there is no I in team!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Strength and Conditioning Certification

We had particpants from around the country (including Alaska) attend the most recent Burn with Kearns' Core Concepts Certification. Friday afternoon, we started with the art of training. This is really important to me since I believe training is an art just as much as a science. We finished off the day with evaluation techniques and started Burn with Kearns (BWK) Phase 1 programming. Later, a network dinner enabled everybody to rap and hear different experiences with client training.


Saturday we started bright and early and finished Phase 1 BWK programming. In the afternoon, we explored Explosive Power Concepts in a very in depth manner. By the end of the day everyone was pretty well fried and needed to refuel at dinner.

Sunday sesssions included warm ups, BWK Gas in the Tank protocols and partner drills. I threw the kitchen sink at them and they loved it! After lunch, one of my professional fighters came by so everybody could see BWK training in action. At the end of the day we had an hour review session, Question & Answer forum and then everyone exchanged email addresses and said their good byes.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Warriors Weekend in Toronto

I had a great weekend in Toronto at Robinson's Karate. Master Robinson hosted a Warrior's Weekend for his students. Instructors included myself, Master Chris Rappold, Shihan Moti Hornstien, and UFC fighter Jeff Joshlin.

I came in early to work with Master Robinson and his staff on part of the Burn with Kearns Core Conditioning Certification Level 1. They definitely absorbed a lot during the course's 8 hours.

Since I am training Master Rappold for his World Championship fight in Italy next month, we took the opportunity to work on his gas in the tank program. He will be ready for his upcoming fight next month.

As a bonus for me I got the chance to train with Shihan Moti on gun defense. I was amazed at the detail that he went into during his seminar. Master Rappold and I teamed as training partners for that seminar and continued with Jeff Joshlin's striking seminar.

Saturday started off fast and furious with Master Rappold's sparring seminar. You can see why Master Rappold has been a champion so many times. With a short break the students hung in there and got ready to Burn with Kearns. Even though the weather wasn't great, we had an a boatload of training and laughs. Good food after was provided by Master Robinson in the form of miles upon miles of sushi.

I want to say thanks to Master Robinson and his team of instructors, Ian, Eric, Mike, Trevor, Jason, Troy, Tyler, Steve,and Nate for a great time as well as all the students.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Pull Ups

Pull-ups can be done just about anywhere. They are great for preventing shoulder injuries and are very functional. Thus, it's no wonder why the military and many top MMA athletes include pull-ups on a regular basis in their training. The really fun part is that they can be performed in a bunch of challenging and different ways.

1. If you can not handle your own bodyweight, place a chair behind you to put your feet on. This will reduce the weight load.

2. To avoid shoulder injury, never have your hands wider than shoulder width.

3. Vary your grips often to increase different muscles activated

Monday, October 12, 2009

UFC.com Now Carrying My Conditioning DVDs

I am pleased to announce that UFC.com is now carrying all of my strength and conditioning DVDs. The UFC is the premier mixed martial arts organization in the world and to have them carry my training DVDs is an honor. Here's the link.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

We are in Full Gear Here

Jorge Gurgel will be working with me intensely over the next 4 weeks to get ready for his main event fight for Strikeforce's “Challenger Series 4” at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California on November 6th. Yesterday, I worked with him and Rich Franklin. I put them both through my "Gas in the Tank" program. They loved and hated it at the same time.

Kru Mark Dellagrotte and I work together closely when fighters come into Sityodtong. Also on my schedue for next week is WEC fighter Alex Karalexis and UFC fighter Marcus Davis. Time to cowboy up!

By the way, last week was an awesome experience at the EFC Summit in Miami. I met many great people and look forward to working with their schools.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Sounds of Success

Recently I have had the pleasure of working with a musician named Malin Hess. He hired me to help him trim down for his latest music video. Malin already had been working out on a regular basis, but he needed to bring it up a notch.  We decided in order to get the most bang for his buck, we would use a combination of sandbags and agility ladders for his interval training program. The results have been fantastic! He dropped 12 pounds in 3 weeks. Malin is an extremely hard worker and really dived into the training and nutrition plan I developed for him. He was kind enough to send me this video of his workout accompanied by his music. Check it Out.

Over the next few months I will be working with Jorge Gurgel, Marcus Davis, Alex Karalexis, and Greg Rebello ready for their upcoming fights at my home base Sityodtong.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Honored

Last week I had the honor of being appointed as the strength, conditioning, and wellness coach for Kyoshi Steve Lavallee's Martial Arts University International. This appointment means a lot to me professionally and personally. Mr Lavallee is a great mentor for many top martial arts schools around the world. I look forward to working with him and all of his school owners.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Take Exercise to Heart

Interesting article from the Associated Press on the value of exercise for heart patients.

"Studies have shown heart patients benefit from exercise, and some have even shown it works better than surgical procedures. At a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology on Sunday, several experts said doctors should focus more on persuading their patients to exercise rather than simply doing angioplasties."

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Take the I out of Team

UFC 101 was a whirlwind of activity for me. Although Kenny Florian was fighting, I went to UFC 101 as a spectator, not as his coach. I had resigned as Kenny’s strength and conditioning coach a few months earlier. However, ending that relationship didn’t stop me from wanting Kenny to win badly!

Kenny hired me after his loss to Sean Sherk in October 2006. Kenny realized that he needed to improve his strength and conditioning if he was going to get another title shot. We worked very closely for the next two and half years as he pealed off 6 straight victories, which resulted in him once again earning a title shot, this time against BJ Penn.

Unfortunately, he would have to wait 9 months for the opportunity. After visiting Georges St-Pierre's training camp, Kenny decided to add on John Chaimberg, a strength and conditioning coach from Canada to the KenFlo team. Unfortunately, it was clearly evident from the beginning that John wanted my spot. Personally and professionally I am all about learning new ideas and working with other people. That being said, when you reach out (phone calls, emails) to someone on numerous occasions and get no response, it’s disturbing.

If long distance coaching is going to work, than you must have a colleague to work with that you can trust and communicate with on a daily basis. With John devising the programs from Canada, I was not able to provide meaningful inputs based on my history with Kenny and how he was performing under John's training programs. Eventually, I had no choice, but to resign as Kenny’s strength and conditioning coach.

While I am disappointed that Kenny wasn’t able to win his fight against BJ, I am very proud about the performance of a current client, Kurt Pellegrino, who fought and won earlier that evening on the main card.

With Kurt, I have a colleague I work directly with in New Jersey. Her name is Sharon Wentworth and she is a true professional. Although fairly new to the sport, she is willing to learn from me and I from her. Sharon had interned with Martin Rooney, who I respect greatly.

When I came on board last summer to train Kurt, he was in a difficult place. He had moved back to NJ, to open a school, and was living with his in-laws. He has just signed on for a tough fight. Kurt put his faith in me to design a program and Sharon to serve as his day-to-day coach. He was coming up against Thiago Tavares, a conditioning machine. Kurt not only won the fight, it was fight of the night, which provided a huge bonus that enabled him to buy a house for his family in NJ.

Kurt is now on a three fight win streak. The reason it works is simple - it's about the TEAM. There are No egos between Sharon and myself or the other coaches. We focus on the goal, “help the athlete win.” This mantra is what professional coaching is about.

Kurt once told a story about the great Genzo Gracie. Kurt was a blue belt at his academy and witnessed the Professor taping everybody in the room. He went up him and said, "professor that was great, I can't wait till I can do that." Genzo replied, "Kurt in life people are either a hammer or a nail, don't answer me now, but when you are awarded your black belt, you let me know which you want to be." When Kurt was awarded his black belt years later, he called the professor and said, "Professor, I know the answer, I want to be the nail!" Genzo asked, "Why?" Kurt replied, "because a nail makes everyone else look better and be better."

As coaches we are nails, we want our athletes to get shine. It takes a team to help them reach their goals.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Ireland Fighters


Congratulations to Catherine Costigan and Dave McNamara. They won Gold Medals at the All Styles Kickboxing Association of Ireland and East Coast San Shou Challenge Tournaments. Their coach (center in picture) sent me the following email:

"We used the Burn with Kearns Explosive Power and Burn with Kearns Gas in the Tank DVDs for their conditioning program. In the San Shou alone Catherine was able to defeat a girl twenty pounds heavier and Dave stopped all three of his opponents by TKO.Using the weight cutting advice you gave me Dave was by far the biggest guy in the 75 kilo category.Since I started working with Kevin I haven't had a single fighter even look tired in a match. His conditioning program is the best!"

Dermot McGrath
Pankration Kickboxing Academy
Limerick Ireland

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

UFC Fan Expo

The UFC Fan Expo was a huge success! I want to thank my Kru, Mark Dellagrotte for inviting me out to share his booth. I was honored to meet and talk with some of my many fans.  This was a huge high for me and gave me tons of drive to continue helping people.  I will to take Burn with Kearns products and programs to new levels.

Special thanks to the Bruce Lee booth and their crew for helping me during the event. A big thank you goes out to my friends from Colorado - Carol and Conner Cardova for helping me set up the Burn with Kearns booth.  I met and went to the fights with a new friend, Oliver Grunner, the action star!  Thanks to everyone who gave me positive feedback on my articles and DVDs!  I'm truly blessed to have all your support. 

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Back from Buffalo

Just finished a great 90 Day Burn with Kearns Fitness Challenge seminar at Master Khechen's school in Buffalo, New York. We had over 80 participants - 20 of them children. At the end of the seminar, a few kids even asked me to move up there. It's extremely encouraging to see people with so much energy. The day flew by for them and me. Special thanks to Master Khechen, Michelle Burnett, and all the staff at his school. Their hospitality is greatly appreciated.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Fighter Training Updates

I shot down to NJ today to train Kurt Pellegrino. He's getting ready for UFC 101 on August 8th and is right on track! My counterpart, Sharon Wentworth, helps me while I"m not there. She has been a huge asset for me and Kurt.

I played a little trick on Kurt, for his new ''Gas in the Tank" program. I told him on the drive to the gym it would be a walk through. I fibbed:) I wanted to test him and see where he was at. As a coach we need to use this tactic once and while to keep athletes on their toes. He did great and he will be ready for Josh Neer. Another MMA fighter client Jorge Gurgel, fights on Friday's Strikeforce card. He was out training with me for 3 weeks. Jorge is ready to put the past in the past. Kenny is lookin good as always as we approach his title shot at 101! Until next time stay strong, stay fit and stay focused.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Fit for Life in Maryland

I just came back from another awesome weekend at Tristar Martial Arts. We had close to 100 people participate in the 90 Day Burn with Kearns. Fit for Life Challenge. We launched a kids version and had 20 children who had a blast exercising with the medicine balls and bands. The kids didn't want to stop! That made us all smile from ear to ear. Children are the key to combating the obesity problem in this world. We need to start them early and continue the process daily. Kudos to Keith, Debbie Thompson and the staff at Tristar Martial Arts in MD. This is the 5th seminar I have performed there and I feel honored to be their strength and conditioning coach. 

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Heat or Ice

Most of the time the use of ice is a better option after training, especially if there is a injury concern.  Ice will aid the healing process by reducing  inflammation. Since the effect of exercise will generally raise the  body temperature and increase swelling, it is wise to "cool" the area down after exercise.
 
A process of contrast can be performed with an injury which means heating the injury up and then icing it down. This increases blood flow to aid in recovery and then stops the swelling with ice. A ratio of of 7 minutes of heat to 3 minutes of ice is recommended.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Great Experiences at My Weekend Certification Course

Last weekend I conducted the first Burn with Kearns MMA Core Conditioning Certification. People from all over the country came to the course which was held at Nexus Martial Arts in Wareham, MA (30 minutes from the Providence Airport). It was a blast working with this diverse group of talented people. They were always eager to learn more.

The course kicked off on Friday with a lecture, which was followed by a group dinner. Saturday was all about strength and explosive power. For the second session on Saturday we took advantage of the refreshing Cape Cod weather and worked a lot of concepts outside. Sunday we focused on "Gas in the Tank" and partner drills. I also had one of my pro MMA fighter clients, Greg Rebello come by. I went through a workout session with him and answered questions during the process. I can't wait till the next core conditioning certification weekend in November.


Thursday, May 21, 2009

New MMA Conditioning Article

The July issue of Inside Kung Fu Magazine features an article I wrote called 3 Steps to MMA Greatness. My 3 phases of conditioning are: 1) Strength and Hypertrophy 2) Explosive Power and 3) Gas in the Tank.  You can read a pdf version of the complete article here.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Burn with Kearns Certification for Personal Trainers and Martial Arts Instructors

BURN WITH KEARNS CORE CERTIFICATION WEEKEND
Friday, May 15 - Sunday, May 17, 2009 
Nexus Martial Arts ▪ 14 Kendrick Road ▪ Wareham, MA

GET A CAREER ADVANTAGE WITH A BURN WITH KEARNS CORE CERTIFICATION
You will learn how to develop cutting edge Mixed Martial Arts training programs that incorporate demanding challenges which mimic the fighting environment with innovative wellness concepts for a complete conditioning advantage - physical, mental and spiritual.

Course Bonuses:
- Receive all 5 Burn with Kearn Conditioning DVDs
- Group Dinners Included
- With the completion of this weekend course, you will receive a certificate of completion

for more information and registration

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Getting Away

We took the kids to Disney World for the first time and they had a blast. My wife and I had fun as well. However, we realized pretty quick the food in Disney is not very nutritous. It really depended on what part of the park you were in. We ended up packing fruit in a back pack with Kashi crackers.

I also had the opportunity to drive down from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale to work with one of my new mentors, Kysohi Steve Lavalle. It was an awesome experience and worth the 180 mile drive each way. He invited me to his new training center to teach a seminar for his staff. What a great bunch of people!

Also the fight for the UFC Lightweight Title between Kenny Florian and BJ Penn is going happen on 8/8 in Philly. The team is gearing up to help the Kenflo take the belt back to Boston.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Traveling

I just finished a blitz of seminars. My close friend Steve Whittier from Nexus Martial Arts hosted our Burn with Kearns 90 Day Challenge. We had 40 people in attendance rocking the house! It was a blast! What was also great is Steve Whittier has become my first certified Burn with Kearns Core Concepts Instructor.

The next day I was off to Toronto to lead a seminar at Xtreme Couture. The guys were awesome to work with and we had over 40 people on a Sunday morning! Special thanks to Robin Black, Doug, Lee, Rob and my boyz from mmatraining.com for putting this together. I also did some interviews with John Pollock from Fight Network and my new bro 'Showdown Joe' Ferraro from Rogersports.net. We had a blast up there aye!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Alex Karalexis Comes Back

Over the past few weeks my client and bro Alex Karalexis from WEC came into town to train with Mark Dellagrotte, Kenny Florian, and myself. He needed to be ready for his next fight. Two losses in a row is not a good position to be in for the fight game. Alex is a natural 170lber, but given that he is only 5 7", he has to go down to 155. This is not easy for him. Plus, couple that with working full time at the Zuffa Gym in Vegas as their head trainer.

Alex is a great guy, who will always keep you laughing and is a solid Bostonian (he always has your back). As a fighter, some people may say he is not that technical. However, he makes up for that in balls and heart. We worked very hard over the past few weeks with his conditioning and diet. Kru Mark and I as always made sure we were on the same page. The toughest part was his weight. It was a tough cut, but the job got done. He won last night at WEC 39 in the first round by TKO!

Congrats to Alex a true Greek Warrior and the whole team!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

The Martial Arts Spirit

Today was a very interesting and heartfelt day. About a month ago, I was contracted to conduct a seminar at America's Best Defense in Attelboro Mass. Two weeks ago the owner, Paul Garcia, informed me that a student of his had suddenly past away and had no life insurance to boot. He was a father and grandfather.

After losing my own father when I was 12, I felt the need to "pay it forward". Paul asked if I could do anything for the family as his school was going to direct all seminar proceeds to the student's family. My mentor, Tim Barchard and I discussed it, and we came up with a plan to donate my seminar fee to the family. It was the right thing to do. We had over 100 attendees and raised over $8000 for the family. That is the true spirit of martial arts, helping others out in need.

Article about this special seminar

Friday, January 23, 2009

My MMA Road Trip

The past few weeks have been very busy, I have been in NY, NH, MD and now Colorado conducting MMA Conditioning seminars and having a blast. We are rolling out a new program that uses the Burn with Kearns FitPack with martial arts schools to launch a 90 day fitness challenge. It's an innovative program that my mentors Tim Barchard , Keith Thompson, and myself have put together.

The response has been overwhelming. Tim had to close my seminar at 40 people, and Keith had to add a second session so we could handle 98 people! Last week when I went to MD , I received an unexpected email from my friends at Under Armour. They asked me to come out early and train a group of them. What an awesome company!

Kudos goes out to Marcus Davis for his win at UFC 93! We gear up now for Stephan Bonnar's fight on Jan 31st and Kurt Pellegrino's fight on Feb 7th. The MMA Partner Drills DVD is ready - we are just waiting to receive product shipments.

All the Best

Saturday, January 10, 2009

MMA Training For the New Year

This week was a bit of a surprise. I have been getting Marcus Davis ready for his fight on Jan 17th in Ireland. He sent me a text and asked if UFC 205 lber Tim Boetsch could work with us. Of course I said. Marcus is looking better and better with each camp. His speed and agility are becoming off the hook! It 's exactly what my Kru Mark Dellagrotte wanted me to do with him. Tim Boetsch enjoyed the work out a lot and said it really felt like he was in the a fight. That's the goal my friend.

Kenny's is getting stronger every day and the BodyBlade has helped a lot with his new program, so much so I bought him one for Xmas. It's an excellent tool for strength and rehab that we have used for conditioning MMA and martial arts clients.

Well off to the editing room to finish up another MMA Strength and Conditioing DVD. Until next time, Cry in training so you can Laugh in battle!