Blog | Wild Geese Fitness Training

Sep 15, 2019
2 min

A Better Push Up

Push Ups are a big bang exercise for most people. Once you’re strong enough to do the basic push ups well, and by that I mean do 25 solid reps to a very high standard, ie locked core, tucked pelvis and good scapular movement, then it’s time to add in a few variants. This is the Persian Push Up You will see in the video I have my hands on blocks, but they can just as easily be done on a flat floor. The blocks allow me to work deeper and take some stress off the wrists in the

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Conditioning Made Easy part 3 – Cardiac Output or Building an Aerobic Base

Dave Hedges

Feb 27, 2019
3 min

Conditioning Made Easy part 3 – Cardiac Output or Building an Aerobic Base

Aerobic training doesn’t necessarily mean dancing around in a leotard with big hair It’s not the 80’s any more….. But it does need to be done. Your cardio vascular system underpins everything else, the other cooler energy systems rely on the aerobic system for replenishment, to take over when they’re done and keep you moving forward. In the last round of the fight, in the last quarter of that game, this is where you are going to wish your aerobic system was better developed.

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Dave Hedges

Feb 24, 2019
2 min

Monday Mobility – Swing Your Clubs!

Last week we restarted our Monday Mobility series with a great Thoracic Mobility drill ( <– that was a link to it in case you didn’t spot it) Lets stay on a theme, the upper back, shoulder and chest. Ie, the thoracic region. If there was a single catch all for the entire thoracic region, I’d have to say the Indian Club is it. Last weeks drill showed you how to extend the spine, which open the ribs and allows the scapula to move more freely. Swinging the Indian Club shows the

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Core Blimey! or How to Strengthen the Abs while Opening the Hips

Dave Hedges

Jul 16, 2017
1 min

Core Blimey! or How to Strengthen the Abs while Opening the Hips

A strong core is vital for any athletic endeavour. Even if that athletic endeavour is simply looking good on the beach. Ursula Andress in 1962’s Dr No. That’s athletic right? Most of the people I train are involved in a sport or activity that requires good levels of strength, mobility and endurance to control their body, someone elses body or a piece of equipment through space with some degree of force. I recently published a photo album of some of our clients doing what they

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From Shaolin to Sideshow and Back Again – Movement

Dave Hedges

May 25, 2016
2 min

From Shaolin to Sideshow and Back Again – Movement

You may have noticed that “Movement” is the current new trend in the fitness world. You may also have noticed that many of the drills used my “movers” have been taught in Wild Geese since we opened. Why? Because at my heart still I’m a martial artist, one who became a strength coach. And martial arts are the origin of many of the movement skills we see today. I’m not talking about the modern incarnation of MMA and combat sports, I’m talking about the all encompassing training

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Monday Mobility: How To Kick a Storm Trooper in the Head

Dave Hedges

May 3, 2016
2 min

Monday Mobility: How To Kick a Storm Trooper in the Head

So yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday, so the gym was closed except for a few dedicated members who have their own keys to get in. I spent the day with my family. Which, as you can imagine, as a full time gym owner and coach, is time that is precious. On Sunday son no 1 made his 1st communion, which here is Ireland is pretty much mandatory if one wants to stand a chance of getting into the better schools. Part of the tradition is that the kids are given gifts of cash. So yes

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Dave Hedges

Apr 26, 2016
2 min

Could Strength Training Help Prevent Concussions?

Could Strength Training Help Prevent Concussions? That is the title of Chris Beardsley’s now post. Chris who? He’s the dude that trawls through the sports science research and gives an independent review of what he finds. You should check out his site, which I’ll be sending you to shortly. But this particular post is of particular interest to a particular segment of my clientèle. Namely my combat athletes. But also my Mountain Bikers and field sports guys. Concussions are a

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Dave Hedges

Aug 23, 2015
1 min

Monday Mobility – Bulletproof Wrists

When teaching self defence or working with our Thai Boxers and Kyokushinkai fighters I talk about the wrist. Think about the punishment our hands and wrists take on a daily basis, never mind the trauma that goes through it when a punch impacts. Is it any wonder boxers need to wrap their wrists to the point of immobility? But with MMA gloves there’s little wrapping. In karate and in self defence, there’s no support what so ever. So why not build you own? Why not train the han

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Dave Hedges

Aug 17, 2015
2 min

Avoiding a Common Trap

Combat athletes are my favorite athletes to train. It stems from my own extensive background in martial arts and security work. It’s the entire basis of the training carried out in Wild Geese. It’s why we don’t over emphasise any one element of training over any other. While many worship strength, others flexibility and the ever growing trend of super high intensity saggital plane circuit training. The WG-Fit method worships the well rounded, the adaptable and the focused. St

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How to Perform the Lizard Crawl Like Conor McGregor

Dave Hedges

Jul 30, 2015
2 min

How to Perform the Lizard Crawl Like Conor McGregor

Recently I shared an Instagram video of me doing the Lizard crawl as part of my warm up routine. A video posted by Dave Hedges (@dave_hedges) on Jul 29, 2015 at 8:46am PDT This has generated a good bit of feedback across social media, including people asking how to work up to doing this movement. What I’m going to show you is the teaching progressions I received from Ido Portal last year. If you haven’t heard of Ido, he’s probably the most well known person in the “movement”

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Dave Hedges

Aug 2, 2013
4 min

7 Exercises to Increase Punching Power

There are a few things I really love doing. They are (in no particular order): Playing with my Boys Playing with my Dog Playing with my wife Seeing my clients reap the rewards of their training Lifting heavy things lots of times Hitting stuff, really hard. Lets talk about that last one. I like hitting stuff really hard. I’ve been around the martial arts my whole life, starting Karate at the age of 11 and studied a variety of arts in the 25 years since that day. I also spent

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Dave Hedges

Mar 8, 2012
3 min

MMA Cardio

It seems everyone is talking about MMA these days, slightly fewer people are wearing all the gear (but have no idea), less again are actually practising and a few are genuinely training and competing. This for the competitors. The rest of you can read if you want to. Since the birth of MMA in the 90’s and it’s seemingly unstoppable rise to global domination, more and more people are jumping on the band wagon. At first it was martial arts instructors suddenly billing themselve

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An Often Overlooked Performance Attribute

Dave Hedges

Feb 15, 2012
3 min

An Often Overlooked Performance Attribute

Is it over? Tell me it's over! I just threw up a facebook message following this mornings Boot Camp performance. I stated that the guys Speed was increasing while their recovery times were dropping. It got me thinking about today’s blog post, the importance of recovery time. Most of my guys, and indeed most of the people reading this blog are more interested in improving their performance than they are in improving their aesthetic appearance. Which is good, I’ve little inter

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Dave Hedges

Aug 19, 2011
1 min

Workshops & Seminars

This Sunday I’m running the Level 1 Kettlebell Lifting Workshop from 11am at Wild Geese HQ. There are a couple of spots left open if you wish to attend. Price is €35 and includes a copy of the Level 1 PDF Manual. These workshops are highly detailed, so it is recommended you bring a pen and paper, even though all the info is in the Manual. Nothing beats your own notes taken at the time. In September we have just confirmed our guest presenters for an Injury Prevention and Str

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Dave Hedges

Jun 13, 2011
1 min

Injury Proofing the Wrist

Wrist injuries are very common amongst the martial arts community. The wrist is a complex joint that is designed for mobility, yet when we strike with a closed fist we ask it to become stable and solid. Often it fails. A bent wrist is the very foundation of the Aikido/Aiki-jutsu arts, where wrist locks are used to control and disarm opponents with crippling pain. In fact, over the 10 year period where I worked as a Doorman it was the humble wrist lock that got me out of mor

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Dave Hedges

Aug 11, 2009
2 min

Wild Geese MMA Club

We just can’t deny it, MMA is the most popular form of martial arts available today. And like most things that get a surge of interest it is in danger of becoming a victim of it’s own success. Everywhere you look there are MMA gyms and MMA instructors popping up out of nowhere. You local karate instructor suddenly starts teaching ground work, your self defence coach is teaching ground and pound. But where did they learn? To this end we at Wild Geese have brought together some

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Dave Hedges

Jul 3, 2008
1 min

Frank Shamrock, Swiss Balls and Kettlebells

Here’s a great video montage showing the UFC legend Frank Shamrock going about his business. A couple of things caught my eye during the clip, one is the fluidity and grace with which he moves and the other is the kettlebell exercises, Alternating floor press, Renegade Rows and Hand to Hand Swings, all firm favorites of mine. Enjoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_jz-t6_GBg&hl=en&fs=1] Wild Geese www.WildGeesema.com www.WG-Fit.com any cause but our own #FrankShamrock

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Wild Geese
Fitness Training

A Better Push Up

Conditioning Made Easy part 3 – Cardiac Output or Building an Aerobic Base

Monday Mobility – Swing Your Clubs!

Core Blimey! or How to Strengthen the Abs while Opening the Hips

From Shaolin to Sideshow and Back Again – Movement

Monday Mobility: How To Kick a Storm Trooper in the Head

Could Strength Training Help Prevent Concussions?

Monday Mobility – Bulletproof Wrists

Avoiding a Common Trap

How to Perform the Lizard Crawl Like Conor McGregor

7 Exercises to Increase Punching Power

MMA Cardio

An Often Overlooked Performance Attribute

Workshops & Seminars

Injury Proofing the Wrist

Wild Geese MMA Club

Frank Shamrock, Swiss Balls and Kettlebells

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