By Rachel M. Collins
October 06, 2011 2:00 AM
originally posted: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20111006-LIFE-110060325
At least two days a week, Jeff Binder finishes up his lunch hour drenched in sweat.
Certainly that is bound to happen after spending 55 minutes jumping on truck tires, high kicking, sparring and taking on an extreme form of tug-of-rope — among other physical tests.
“I go to another gym where workouts are just what I do,” he said. “What I like about this is that there’s more creativity. Here you just do what it takes to do the exercise right as opposed to a half hour of feeling the urge to just get off the equipment. This is a lot of fun. It’s a more playful workout.”
Undoubtedly there is a true sense of camaraderie among the men at the lunchtime MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Fitness workout orchestrated by Guy Chase at Guy Chase Academy of Martial Arts in Portsmouth.
As they move swiftly from exercise to exercise, not only does Chase — called “Guru Guy” — often encourage them, they often encourage each other.
“You can do it Tim,” Bryan White said to the man next to him as they powered through a series that involved the lifting of, jumping on and then running with a truck tire and sparring with small weights. “You got this.”
From the start, the 55-minute workout is controlled by Chase, with the help of a small black box in the corner that signals each team a three-minute increment is up. That’s the cue that it’s time for a 30-second break before moving on to the next exercise Chase has planned.
“It’s about using the whole body to move weight and distribute weight,” he said. “It is better for your joints and makes you much stronger.”
White can attest to that.
He has shed some 55 pounds since first beginning to work out with Chase. Not only has he competed in road races since then, he also is training to take part in his second Tough Mudder endurance obstacle course race event.
“It’s a super-effective workout, it’s a lot of fun and it’s extremely unconventional,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine going back to running on a treadmill and lifting after having done this.”
Chase, who has been doing martial arts for 35 years, has traveled around the world to train with the “masters,” as well as teach.
These days his schedule includes leading classes like this lunchtime workout with fitting in short-term specialized training for groups from around the world.
“The ironic part is that most of the masters I learned from have either passed on, moved on or are older now, so a lot of this knowledge is lost,” Chase said. “That’s why I am so busy working with people from all over, whom either come here to the studio or I travel to teach them.”
His experience in places like Bali, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, is evident as he seamlessly blends motivational techniques he has learned from different cultures as well as incorporating equipment like the Indian clubs and the ball and mace.
Throughout the workout, Chase taps the claves, a musical instrument made of thick, wooden dowels, “to stimulate the action” as well as to establish a rhythm for the men, and sometimes women, as they exercise.
“All of this is based on what I do to train a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighter,” he said. “A lot of the exercises are designed so that you don’t realize what you’re working, and you don’t have to think, but you do feel the results.”
That is not surprising since in three minutes, for instance, one of the exercisers can be doing as many as 120 to 180 knee lifts without any counting involved.
“I’ve been going to the gym 24 years, since I was 16,” said Terence Nelan. “But I see something new every time I come here.”
White agreed.
“I like the intensity of it,” he said. “There are a lot of group fitness programs out there, but they’re not like this. I shaped up really fast. I had been doing running and some weights but didn’t have a lot of direction. This was a game changer.”
And, believe it or not, after jumping, kicking, sparring and, yes sweating through the MMA lunchtime fitness workout, White, and every other person there, said they feel energized when they go back to work.
A side benefit — “After you do this a couple of times a week, junk food doesn’t seem all that attractive either,” White said.
If you have an idea you would like considered for a future “Get off the Couch” column, contact Rachel Collins at Rcollinsme@gmail.com.