Phil Daru talks about strengthening more than just your muscles.

Strength and conditioning is perhaps the most important aspect of combat sports training. Yes, you need to have the skill, the will, and the determination to bring about victory, but you also have to have a strong body coupled with a powerful mind to get the job done. Recovery systems, cardiovascular systems, and muscle strength are all paramount in creating an efficient high level fighter. Bodybuilders and strength athletes may focus more on muscle growth and how much they can lift respectively, but at the end of the day there’s no denying that they can learn a thing or two about maintaining a strength as well as a jacked physique through certain strength and conditioning teachings.

Phil Daru is a former mixed martial arts competitor turned strength and conditioning coach to some of the greatest fighters in the world. Working out of the illustrious and famed American Top Team, Phil Daru has proven himself to be an exceptional strength and conditioning coach with a wealth of knowledge at his disposal. I’ve implemented some of his teachings into my own programs and have been seeing success in my training as well as that of my students.

A recent Instagram post by Phil Daru goes in depth into an important aspect of strength and conditioning training. Building tendon strength is an overlooked aspect of training for a great deal of athletes whether in MMA, bodybuilding, or powerlifting. Thanks to another great conditioning coach Cal Dietz, Phil Daru delves deep into the importance of tendon strength for muscle gains and visa versa.

When formulating a full physical preparation program all aspects of performance must be met efficiently. This chart by @cal.dietz talks about Triphasic and how it will help the balancing of tendon and muscle strength. With eccentric training phases and concentric phases. When you only focus on speed and plyometrics you develop strong tendons but not enough loaded tension on the muscle to cause adequate change. This could result in possible muscle strain, pull, or even tears. You are also inhibiting the ability to become faster and more powerful due to the prerequisites for speed and power (strength). When you only focus on strength training the tendons become weak. This will result in possible tendon tearing, tendinitis, and instability under high velocity impact. Implementing a plan that takes care of both sides of the spectrum will not only enhance performance and athletic ability but reduce injury substantially. #mmastrengthandconditioningcoach #strengthtraining #plyometrics #speed #strength #strengthcoach #physicalpreparation #humanperformance #strengthandconditioningcoach #triphasic #darustrong

A post shared by Phil Daru FMS CFSC (@darustrong) on Aug 11, 2017 at 4:13am PDT

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Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.