A special night it was. I was on stage telling jokes to almost 300 people. It was my standup comedy debut. While I’ve done many public speeches, this was a whole different animal. Was I nervous? Sure. But I’m so glad I did it. While you don’t have to sign up for comedy school, you should do something that will get you out of your comfort zone. Are you stuck in the same boring routine? Get … [Read more...]

One of the best ways to condition the body for MMA and most other sports is with sprinting. However, many folks get it wrong when it comes to sprinting. Check out the guest blog post with Chase Kough of www.p360health.com to find out where most athletes go wrong and what you can do about it. Let us know how you incorporate sprints into your training by posting below. … [Read more...]

“Billy, you seem like the kind of guy that can accomplish anything you put your mind to.” Those words were spoken to me almost 15 years today and I can “hear” them like it was yesterday. I’ve had many moments where a coach or mentor motivated me to become more. I attribute much of my success to having great mentors and coaches. Most, if not all people will reach a higher level of … [Read more...]

When most people think about the core, they think about the much desired 6 (actually 8) pack. The musculature we know as the ‘6 pack” is called the rectus abdominus and runs along the anterior wall of the abdomen. If you are only training this muscle with exercises like crunches, you are missing some key principles which if neglected may increase your chances of injury.   One of the most … [Read more...]

I was fortunate enough to spend some time with my mentor Todd Durkin last week at his Master Mind Retreat. Todd specializes in working with football players and trains great players like Drew Brees. He spends a lot of time on keeping the shoulder healthy and strong. Since the shoulder joint is also an important area for MMA, I asked him to provide a quick tip we can all apply. Sometimes short … [Read more...]

If you’re like most combat athletes, balance can be quite elusive. This can be true of all areas but this post refers mostly to balancing skill training with conditioning and specifically, core training. I remember talking to one guy about his training program and he began listing all the “supplemental training” he was doing. Yoga, Weight training, and more. I wondered when he did his … [Read more...]

Whenever I hear a trainer asked this question and the trainer gives an exact answer such as, “You will lose at least 20 pounds,” I know that particular trainer is either very uninformed or full of crap. I was recently asked by a woman how much weight she could expect to lose with my program and this was my answer. “That’s a really difficult question to answer as there are several (at … [Read more...]

I read a game changing book that was put on my radar by my pastor a couple of years ago. The book was called The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. While most people focus on working harder and longer to reach higher levels of success, Loehr and Schwartz argue that managing energy as opposed to time is the key. If you run your car pedal to the medal every day it’s going to … [Read more...]

As many of you know, Hurricane Sandy took out our entire first floor. We found a contractor who was referred by someone we know. This is my favorite way to find someone as there is a much higher level of trust involved. Things started off great. He showed up every day, worked hard, and got most of the job done in a reasonable time period. When the job was about 90% done, things began to change. He … [Read more...]