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 mouth 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 mouth 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 mouth 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 mouth guard, and they went like this. 10 minutes to warm up on the treadmill, adjust to the mouth 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 mouth 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 mouth guard, or a training mask. Next week, Im breaking out the weight vest. Its time to get to the next level. Adidas Eqt Norge . The closer wasnt available. The road trip, a disaster to that point. Nmd Xr4 Norge . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. http://www.nmdnorgesalg.com/nmd-r2-sko-norge.html . -- The Sacramento Kings have signed first-round pick Nik Stauskas to his rookie contract. Billig Nmd Sko . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. Nmd_r1 Sko Hvit . Edmonton opened the season with 14 straight victories before falling Friday night 10-8 to the host Colorado Mammoth in National Lacrosse League action.MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Marc Gasol scored 30 points, Mike Conley added 22 and the Memphis Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers to beat the Mavericks 114-105 on Tuesday night.Gasol, who was limited to only two points in Sundays win over Miami, was 9 of 14 from the field and 12 of 13 from the line as Memphis won its second straight. Zach Randolph finished withh 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Tony Allen scored 13 points.ddddddddddddChandler Parsons led the Mavericks with 30 points, going 10 of 18 from the field and 6 of 10 from 3-point range. Jameer Nelson had a season-high 18 points, while J.J. Barea finished with a season-best 17, including 12 in the fourth quarter as Dallas tried to rally. ' ' '