Cardio

[Kittan Bachika]

Has there been any studies on cardio and martial arts?

Sometimes I change the program do a half hour of cardio with my training. What I have noticed is that when I do my training which consists of blocks, strikes, kicks and forms, I get a good cardio workout and I wonder if it is equivalent or more to working a cardio machine?

I guess it depends on how long my training sessions are and the intensity of my workouts.

 

[terryl965]

I am sure somebody some where has done a study on this, but how to find out I have no clue.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I am no expert, but in my opinion, no. We do a cardio workout for 1/2 hour before each dojo session. That's not the same as the 'out of breath' and 'heavy perspiration' we get doing kata, exercises, self-defense, and sparring. And it is also not the same as working out for 45 minutes on the treadmill at the gym. Good cardio requires something like 30-40 minutes of sustained 80% or more of maximum heart capacity BPM, as I recall. I've not been going to the gym lately, it shows at the dojo. Dojo is not a replacement for cardio workouts.

 

[Gruenewald]

I am no expert, but in my opinion, no. We do a cardio workout for 1/2 hour before each dojo session. That's not the same as the 'out of breath' and 'heavy perspiration' we get doing kata, exercises, self-defense, and sparring. And it is also not the same as working out for 45 minutes on the treadmill at the gym. Good cardio requires something like 30-40 minutes of sustained 80% or more of maximum heart capacity BPM, as I recall. I've not been going to the gym lately, it shows at the dojo. Dojo is not a replacement for cardio workouts.

Well, I would have to argue that that depends entirely on the structure of the class in question. During my time wrestling we often had "conditioning" practices every week or so, which were geared mostly towards cardio. A similar thing was done in my judo dojo, just a bit less frequently and it incorporated more technique. I've never felt closer to dying than during the first few conditioning practices in the wrestling season. Still, I felt confident the entire time that my coach knew what he was doing.

 

[Laus]

Steady-state cardio activity (relatively constant pace, heart rate increases gradually or stays steady - say, jogging) gives you an aerobic workout. Activities like martial arts or interval training (with periodic bursts of exertion and corresponding spikes and dips in heart rate) gives you an anaerobic workout. They are two different processes with different physiological results and which require different methods to train.

Practical example of the difference: I noticed a while back that while I could blow through an hour and a half karate class with relative ease, but I couldn't run for 10 minutes without getting winded, despite the fact that I train martial arts 4 times a week. So I started running more often and now I can run much farther. The anaerobic cardio of a karate class doesn't train your body the same way that steady-state aerobic exercise does and vice-versa - people who do aerobic exercise only would have a hard time with anerobic.

So, while both are cardio workouts, but they are not "equal". Whether one is better than the other depends on what you want to accomplish.

I can't really explain it better than that, but if you look up the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise you'll find plenty of information on it.