I think I've done the right thing to focus on my aerobic conditioning over the past several weeks. Ultimately, having superior aerobic conditioning makes it possible to train longer and develop faster and faster circuitry. Aerobic conditioning is also a boon when it comes to competing. But increasingly, I think it's biggest benefit is in allowing you to potentially achieve technical superiority by being able to out-train the competition.
All that said, there is a role for explosiveness, for "feeling strong" and I think that some of the anaerobic conditioning routines in Joel's book are excellent in this regard. The one that has captured my imagination right now is the Static Dynamics method, which he describes this way:
This unusual method is one I first read about many years ago in a Powerlifting magazine but for whatever rasons, it never really caught on and I haven't heard much of its use in years despite its effectiveness for improving lactic capacity. Perhaps one of the reasons is that it's a very uncomfortable method when used properly, but this is one of the hallmarks of increasing tolerance to the fatiguing processes of anaerobic metabolism.. I'm doing a variation on Joel's method, using a specific number of work/pause reps instead of doing work/pauses for 3 to 10 minutes at a time - which would probably be even more difficult. If all goes well this time around, I may adopt Joel's more rigorous approach next time.
That said, I'm pretty convinced that I will be adding tempo squats to my 8 Weeks Out for the March revolution. I spent a good amount of time working to pass the guard from standing and from a sort of squatting crouch that I think will be my hallmark from now through 2010. I actually remember Rodrigo talking about Marcio Feitosa's approach to guard passing, which is based on a sort of tight, walking squat. If I can find the moment over the next few weeks, I'm going to have to ask Rodrigo more about it.
