Muscle training?

[Kaygee]

I started to do a lot of Kettlebell and Medicine Ball workouts. They really work your core and there are so many different things that you can do with these two tools alone, that you can switch up your routine often, which decreases the chance of boredom! And then, you can also institute things like crunches, pushups, and other variations of core training like "the mountain climber" or "twisting pistons" into your routine to really shake things up!

It cost me $100 total to get a 25lb kettlebell and a 20lb non-bouncing medicine ball and the results I have been blessed with are awesome so far! I mean, I am not getting huge, but my strength and endurance has increased ten fold and I have a lot of "lean muscle" now. The fat that has gone away from my belly and hips has allowed my kicks to go higher and I get them off quicker as well.

Just some food for thought.

Oh, and I take Karate (Tang Soo DO) too! And I know it was said many times before, but karate IS more about proper mechanics than strength. This stuff was made so smaller guys like me and you could survive a fight against a larger opponent......but it doesn't hurt to be healthier, stronger, and have high endurance!

I always told people that if I was ever to get into a confrontation, I would just run.......if the guy is not in as good as shape as I am, the worst that can happen to him, is for him to catch me......because I am not going to be out of breath when he does.....he will though.....

In the rare case that the other guy is trained himself (which shouldn't be the case because most trained guys won't start fights), then I would hope mechanics and technique > strength

Which is usually the way it winds up anyway!

 

[PoolMan]

You don't need to fork over a lot of money for a gym. Focus on bodyweight exercises; squats, pushups, chinups, sit-ups, leg raises, dips, etc. Once you get strong enough you can progress to single limb exercises if you want; one-legged squats, one-armed pushups, etc. There are literally hundreds of bodyweight exercises you can do. Also try making your own Bavarian sandbag at home. You can find videos on how to do this and exercises to do with one on youtube.

 

[mcmoon]

First if you can get a gym membership then thats what you need to do. Then you need to get on a proven strength routine such as starting strength. If it is not possible to get a gym membership get a book called convict conditioning. It is based around bodyweight exercises with a progression scheme to make it more challenging.

I for one find many tma neglect fitness. While technique will almost always be more important than strenth it should not be neglected.

P.S. If you have to workout days when you have martial arts then workout before class. This way you will pre exuast the muscles and while in class will actually have to focus more on the technique rather than strength.

 

[SacredCoconut]

There is only one gym close enough and i don't want to pay for what it offers, there seems to be starting new gym so i may take a look at it.

One thing that made me wonder was what muscles does push ups and pull ups train and do i need to do both of them?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

There is only one gym close enough and i don't want to pay for what it offers, there seems to be starting new gym so i may take a look at it.

One thing that made me wonder was what muscles does push ups and pull ups train and do i need to do both of them?

Which types of pushups and pullups are you talking about? in general, pushups do chest/arms, and pullups do either biceps or triceps, lats and i believe the trapezius, but I may be wrong. But it depends on the grip/type that you're doing it may work out different/more muscles.
And yes, you do need to do both.

 

[SacredCoconut]

Information about which muscles it trains was more of curiosity. If need to do both, then i have to get something to do pullups with.

 

[rickster]

A gym is not as need as the drive and determination (as well as someone qualified to get one going)

 

[punisher73]

Information about which muscles it trains was more of curiosity. If need to do both, then i have to get something to do pullups with.

To put it in simplest terms. Pushups train the upper body muscles that are required to move away from the body (ie: punching) and pullups will train the upper body muscles that will move towards the body (ie: pulling something towards you to off balance them).

I recommend for beginners with no prior athletic or martial training to start with bodyweight exercises for a couple of reasons. First, since they are new to training they will get benefit from any type of training program and bodyweight is still a good way to go. Second, it helps you to get familiar with your own body and how it moves and what muscles are involved in what movements.

What martial art do you study? Even investing in some adjustable dumbbells you can mimic movements from your style with weightlifting techniques that are similar. A really good book to get some ideas on how traditional karate was trained is "The Art of Hojo Undo" by Michael Clarke.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Hojo-...UTF8&qid=1355236832&sr=8-1&keywords=hojo+undo

Like others that have come before us, use your imagination and make tools to help you train and make it fun and/or exciting. For example, come up with 6 bodyweight exercises and assign a number to them. Roll the dice and see what number comes up. Then have a deck of poker/playing cards and turn one over and you have to do that many repetitions (for example, Ace can be a 1 or any number you want, the Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13). You can also use just the deck of cards and have four exercises (one for each suit; clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds) and then flip each card and do that number of each exercise and try to go through the whole deck or a certain number of cards.

Another variation I have used with the deck of cards to to train forms/kata in between the exercises. For example, flip a card and do the number of that exercise and then go through a kata. Flip another card, do the exercises and then either do the same kata or a different one. You can also do a certain basic or basic combination. Do the exercises, and then do 10 repetitions of a basic block and punch/kick combo. Then flip another card and do the same combo or a different combo. Again, this helps simulate being tired and exhausted in a fight and how your technique works.

Also, look online for free stuff. There is lots of it. Here is a site on how to work up to 100 pushups and also progressions for other bodyweight exercises as well.
http://hundredpushups.com/#sthash.R1qK9FTz.dpbs

 

[PictonMA]

Hojo Undo (chiishi, nigiri kame, ishi sashi, tan)
Kettle Bell
Medicine Ball
Skipping Rope
Undulation Rope

 

[SacredCoconut]

Well now that this got up again, i thought i could ask your opinion on this work out. It's close to one i alredy made for myself, but it seemed more refined, just got to make chair dips and change cardio little for now at least. I will buy stretching book to add to it.
http://bar-barians.forumotions.net/...ody-look-lean-using-only-bodyweight-exercises

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I practice Judo and compete in the heavyweight divisions. So when I am not training, I am either running or powerlifting.

Running will make your feet to float. It's much easier to take down a runner than to take down a non-runner. It will reduce your ability to resist any throw.

In the ancient time, the "low stand wide step fast walking - upper leg to be parallel to the ground" was used to replace the running training.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3669/lowwalk.jpg

Today, people may have ignored this issue.

 

[Blindside]

Do your "ancient times" include places like Greece?
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Do your "ancient times" include places like Greece?
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

The "low stance walking" was used in training quite commonly in the far east. I don't know it was used in Greece back in the ancient time or not.