The BioForce Performance Fitness Report You’ve taken the ten tests, input your results into the online system, and you now have the BioForce Performance Fitness Report staring back at you. So now what? In this brief guide, you will get the answer to that question and come to understand how to effectively interpret your test results to figure out what it all means. Even more importantly, you will be shown where to go from here. No matter how informative the report may be, if you don’t understand how it relates to your own performance and programming, it won’t do you much good. To accomplish this goal, this guide will be broken into three different parts. The first part will discuss the point system scale that the report is built on. This will help you understand how your numbers really compare to the standards that I’ve developed. The second part will break down each of the three primary areas of performance that can be analyzed through the assessment. These three areas are the key to understanding where your physical strengths and weaknesses lie and what your performance profile looks like. Finally, the last section of this guide will discuss the training implications of your individual report and where to go for more specific information.

The BioForce Performance Scale Just like the 10 point must system commonly used to score combat sports, BioForce is scored on a 10 point system as well. Unlike in the 10 point must system, however, the range of scores you will receive is from 1-10. The most important factor for understanding what your score actually represents, whatever the particular number may be, is what standard the point values are based on. In other words, what does receiving a 10 for a particular test really mean? How does receiving a 10 compare to a 5? Because I built the BioForce scale to give people a true and accurate gauge of the physical fitness levels necessary for success in combat sports, I designed the scale and the standards around those who have been the most successful and represent the peak of the physical fitness necessary for combat sports. This means that a 10 on the BioForce scale represents a result equal to those at the highest levels, the best of the best in that particular area of physical fitness. Scoring in the upper range of explosive power, a 9 or a 10 for example, would mean that your explosive power is on par with the best of the sport in that area that I’ve tested. The scale and standards are also relative to your bodyweight. In other words, your test results are being compared to other fighters within your same weight class, not against those who may be 40lbs (or more) heavier or lighter than you are. Below is a detailed breakdown of the 1-10 scale and how the scores relate to different levels of performance in combat sports.

BioForce Performance Scale

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Using this relative scale, the report gives you an accurate gauge of where you compare within a range of beginner all the way up to world class. A score of a 1 to 3 represents a level that would be seen in most beginners or relatively untrained. A score of 4-6 is typical of an amateur level competitor or recreationally trained combat athlete. The upper end of the scoring range, 7-8 and 9-10, are representative of the levels typically seen in professional combat athletes. As I said earlier, scoring a 9 or a 10 in a particular category means you are truly in elite company. Keep in mind, however, that even the best in the spot will rarely score a 10 in more than one category. More on this will be discussed later.

Beginner / Low Amateur / Average Professional World Class

BioForce Performance Profile To understand the entire range of information the report gives you and how it accurately reflects your fitness profile, you need to look at three different components. The first two components can be seen by looking at the radar graph and accompanying bar graph that compares your fitness in 5 different areas.

Anaerobic Aerobic

First, you need to look at your score in each of the five categories. These scores tell you where you compare in each area relative to the scale I discussed earlier. It also provides you with a composite index of your results in all five categories called the BioForce Performance Index. This single number reflects your total performance. By looking at each of the five numbers, you can see which areas of fitness are your strengths and which ones need more work. This is obviously incredibly important information to have when it comes time to develop your strength and conditioning program. Aside from the numbers provided in the bar graphs, the radar chart shows the second component you must consider. That component is the ratio of development between all five areas of fitness, and between aerobic and anaerobic fitness in particular. What I mean by this is that you have to look not just at your absolute scores, but also the ratio between them, to get a complete profile of performance. This will give you an accurate picture not only of your particular level of development in each area, but also a profile of the balance between aerobic and anaerobic energy production. To help you see this ratio as easily as possible, the radar chart was designed with the anaerobic components (anaerobic fitness, strength, explosive power) on the upper portion of the chart. The aerobic fitness and muscular endurance are on the bottom. By looking at whether the red area within the radar chart is more heavily concentrated in the upper or lower portions of the cart, you can quickly and easily assess this balance between aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Understanding where this balance lies is absolutely vital because it reflects the balance between explosive power and endurance

The third and final component of the report that makes up your performance profile is the balance between upper and lower body strength and power. By looking at the bar charts contained in the report, you can see exactly how your strength and power levels are and just as importantly, how they are related to one another. Of course, the graphs also show how your upper body strength and power compares to your lower body.

Performance Profile Summary By analyzing the information that the report contains in all the different area discussed in this section, an overall profile of your performance emerges. This profile provides a detailed analysis of:

Your individual levels of aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, explosive power, muscular endurance and strength relative to your bodyweight.

The overall ratio of your development between aerobic and anaerobic energy production capabilities

The relationship between your strength and power levels

How your upper body strength & power compare to lower body strength & power This performance profile provides a blueprint to developing the most effective individualized strength and conditioning program for combat sports possible. This is the same information that I use as a blueprint when developing training programs for all the fighters I personally work with. These programs have proven successful time and time again and led to dramatic improvements in all areas of performance. I guaranteed the difference that you’ll see from following an individualized program, developed from a meaningful assessment, rather than a generic one size fits all approach, will be just as dramatic and lead to game changing improvements performance for you as well.

Combat Sports Performance Although a thorough discussion on the principles of strength and conditioning for combat sports is well beyond the scope of this short guide, I wanted to briefly touch on the big picture of performance. Often times, people seem to get so caught up in the smallest details of training that they lose sight of what training is really all about in the first place. Understanding the big picture of performance will help provide the proper foundation to build your training program on. At the core of the big picture I am talking about is the concept that ultimately, your performance really only comes down to a few key factors. These factors all essentially come down to A) how your body produces energy B) how efficiently that energy is utilized in the application of specific skills C) how technically proficient those skills are and D) how effectively you use your skills within the context of the tactics and strategies of your game plan. In a nutshell, those four factors determine your level of performance and your success. Let me briefly expand a bit more on how each of these four components makes up the foundation of performance. First, one of the most important principles to understand is that all sports lie on somewhere on an energy production continuum between maximum rate of energy production and maximum endurance of energy production. Sports that require maximal rate of energy production are very explosive sports of short duration such as Weightlifting, High Jump, 100m Dash, Discuss or Hammer throw, etc. These sports all rely on very brief but massive amounts of power to be generated for just an instant or a few seconds at most. On the other end of the spectrum are sports that require maximum duration of energy production. These are endurance sport like marathons, triathlons, ironman, cycling, etc. Rather than maximum power for very short periods of time, they require energy to be produced for tremendously long periods of time. The way the body must be developed from the inside out is very different for sports that require producing energy for a very long period of time compared those that require very short bursts of massive explosive power. All you have to do is look at a marathon runner compared to a weightlifter or sprinter to see the differences. The vast majority of sports lie somewhere in the middle of these two extremes and require a relatively moderate amount of power to be generated for a moderate period of time. This means that there must be a balance between in the body between the body’s ability to produce energy at a very high rate and the ability to maintain its energy production for a given length of time. Achieving the right balance between a high rate (power) and duration (endurance) of energy production is absolutely essential to successful performance. Getting this balance wrong is what often leads to fighters gassing out and/or getting knocked out.

The second piece of the performance puzzle is how efficiently the energy you produce is utilized in the application of your skills. Although this may sound complicated, what it really means is just that you must make sure to use the energy your body produces wisely or it will be wasted. Imagine a marathon runner who has very inefficient running technique. Rather than all his energy all being put into propelling his body forward, some of it will be wasted in movements that do not contribute to the his running skill. This is obviously inefficient and his performance will suffer. In combat sports, it is particularly important that you are efficient with your energy expenditure. This largely comes down to how biomechanically sound your technique is and how effectively you apply your skills. It is very easy to waste energy with unnecessary movements or choose to use your energy at the wrong times. Learning how to be very efficient with your energy expenditure is something that comes with experience. If you’ve ever trained with someone who has trained in a combat sport for a very long time, you’ll quickly discover they tend to be much more efficient with how they expend their energy than a beginner. They can easily wear down opponents who may be more powerful, or even better conditioned than they are, simply because they are extremely efficient with their movements and understand how and when to use their skills. Along with how efficiently you utilize your energy and making sure you use them at the right time, performance also depends heavily on the level of skill you possess in the first place. This factor of performance is one of the most obvious and why you spend hours training to improve your skills in the first place. No matter how powerful you may be, how much endurance you may have, or how efficient in your movements you may be, your performance will always be limited by your particular level of skill development. The only real purpose of the energy you produce in the first place is to provide the fuel your muscles need to do the work required by your skills. In other words, your performance will always be driven, as well as limited, by how much skill you posses. Combat sports require a very diverse skill set. This is a big part of what makes the sport so challenging and so much fun to watch. It’s also why it requires year round training and endless hours in the gym if you want to ever get to a high level. Aside from possessing a high level of technical proficiency and skill, your performance also depends largely on how effective you are in using your skills. This is basically another way of saying that you must have the right strategy and you must execute it well. Everyone has seen a more skillful fighter lose a fight because they had the wrong strategy, or because they did a poor job of implementing their strategy. Developing the right game plan and using the right tactics is an integral part of performance and what often separates those at the top from everyone else.

The Next Step Now that I’ve touched on the four primary factors that provide the foundation for performance, it should be pretty clear to see that the role of an effective strength and conditioning program is primarily to improve the first two factors. Your training program should be centered on achieving the right balance and development of power and endurance, as well as making sure your body has the structural foundation and joint mechanics necessary to use this energy efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, many programs today seem to focus on one only of these areas. Even worse, almost none of them are based on improving your individually limiting factors and maximizing your particular strengths. Because of this, they are not as effective at improving your performance as they could be and should be. The vast majority of strength and conditioning programs, I believe, are not based on the big picture of performance I have presented and are lacking in many areas. I created the BioForce Training Program and the supporting materials to solve this problem. I believe it is the first program of its kind for combat sports that provides a real solution and an individualized training program that will effectively improve your performance As I discussed in the first document you received on the BioForce beta testing program, the next phase will provide you with a specific training program to follow for 8 weeks. This program is, of course, based on the performance model and will be designed for you based on your individual test results accordingly. In order to participate in this next phase of the program, the only requirements are that you’ve completed the ten BioForce tests and have read a copy of my book, Ultimate MMA Conditioning and watched my soon to be released DVD on Explosive Power for Combat Sports. The information presented in these two resources will help make sure you get the most out of the training program and understand the principles the program is based on. You will also need a heart rate monitor, whether it’s the Polar RS100 that I sell or another one is up to you, but you will need a monitor to be able to perform all the methods I utilize in my programs correctly. If you do not yet have a copy of my book, you can purchase one through my site at http://www.8weeksout.com. My DVD on Explosive Power for Combat Sports will also be finished and released soon. You can find information and get on the priority notification list at http://www.combatsportspower.com Please feel free to contact me with any questions through my site or post them on the discussion forum and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible Thanks again for being a beta tester and I look forward to working with you in phase II of the program!