New to taekwondo/Need advice

[ChichoBlanco]

Greetings from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am new to taekwondo. I am an ex college soccer player, but that was more than a decade ago. After I quit soccer I put on quite a bit of weight. I lived in Mexico for several years and dated Mexican women. Those ladies sure know how to cook, but it came at a price. The reason I decided to give taekwondo a try is because I decided to go back to college. I'm a respiratory therapy student. I figure if I'm going into health care I should get into good shape so I can be an example of a healthy lifestyle. I've only been training for 3 weeks, but I'm already falling in love with it. I've already got my 4 directional punches down, step sparring, basic blocks for self defense and today I broke a board using a side kick. What I need advice on is work outs. I'm already using an elliptical machine for cardio. I'd like to ad a weight routine, but I can't seem to find any taekwondo weight workouts online. I don't want to get bulky, but just a full body workout. Also I'd like to start a routine to improve flexibility. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[ATC]

You are only 3 weeks in, so trust me it will ramp up enough for you. If not then I don't know. I just remember always being sore until about red belt. Even now when I do some of the classes (when not teaching them) I am done the next day or two.

Happy training and good luck. I am sure you will get many others posting with tons of stuff for you to try out.

 

[granfire]

give it time, before long you won't be the raw beginner anymore and the requirements in class with rise -along with the soreness.

I would just do a regular all around weight program, everything equal, avoiding bulk. Besides, the classics are always the best (AKA push ups)

You can also add swimming. Great cardio but with different requirements on the muscles.

 

[jeorf]

Congrats on getting back to working out and you are absolutely right: as health care providers we NEED to practice what we preach (patients are always asking what I do for exercise...).

As was said: any good all-around basic gym type workout is good. Work on your endurance (intervals is nice for general and because that's kind of what you do in TKD - especially in sparring) and aerobic stuff and general stretching and moderate strength training. There's an ancient book that we have somewhere (if I find it I'll post it) that has work-outs for every sport. Martial arts has a little of everything.

And, I want you to save this: "I've already got my [fill in the blank] down" - put that line in your training journal and go back to it when you're training for tests above black belt. You'll enjoy reading that!

Have fun with it all.

 

[K31]

I like resistance training but I think as others have said you would be better served by doing body weight exercises such as push ups, situps, dips, pullups, squats and working in a good stretching routine as part of this.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

First of all, welcome to MT and to TKD!!

Practice at home for starters. That will give you exercise and help you to get better. Do a good warmup before practicing.

As far as supplememtary exercise, try these:

Cycling
Pushups
Situps
Pullups
Squat thrusts

and the one that is the most aerobic of these,

Jump rope.

Aside from cycling, pullups, and jumping rope, none of these require weights or additional equipment and they are all good core exercises.

Daniel

 

[Gorilla]

Jumping rope is sometimes forgotten needed exercise

 

[granfire]

Jumping rope is sometimes forgotten needed exercise

Unless you happen to catch a 'Rocky' rerun one might be tempted to put it down as a girly past time.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Not sure of your exact age / weight, but i would suggest that until your overall fitness level increases - stay away from impact cardio) - Running and Jumping rope. Stay with non impact - eliptical and Bike. You will likely get plenty of impact in the TKD class and the body can only handle so much.

Concentrate on cardio and flexibility. Then, a basic weight training regimen will suffice. Since you have been out of th loop for a while use the 50% rule. Whatever you think you can or should do 0 do 50% intensity. Se how your body feels the next couple of days. If you feel good go to 60% etc. This will help minimize soreness / overtraining injury.

Basic weight training should be sufficient. Curls, triceps extensions, bench press, squats, lat pull downs, leg extensions.


Weight training is good, but it generaly targets the slow twitch muscle fibers. TKD is primarily fast twitch. To train these check out Plyometric Training". Bu be careful, it is a huge strain on joints and should be done in moderation.

 

[ChichoBlanco]

Thanks to everyone for the awesome advice. I'm mostly going to stick to the cardio machines until I get close to my ideal weight. I've started doing stretching, push ups and sit ups in the morning as well.

 

[chokimotobu]

If I read your original post correctly you are specifically asking for a weight training routine. I am a former Certified Strenght and Conditioning Specialist (let my certification expire after a career change) and have been training in Taekwondo for about 17 years. I will assume you have little strength training background. Your best bet based on your goals is to focus on a total body circuit training program. Utilize machines at first, as you are new (I assume) to all of this and you will be less likely to injure yourself due to poor form. The bodyweight exercises recommended are certainly viable as well. I would start with one circuit- that is do one set of each exercise, one right after the other with as little break as possible, with the reps around 15 to 20. When this gets easy, do 2 circuits, then 3. This should help you lose weight and build some muscle without causing too much hypertrophy. With your skill level in TKD and your general fitness level, a sport specific workout would be overkill. After a year or so of training you could look into sports specificity, free weights, functional training, and plyometrics. At this level, a standard fitness circuit found on the internet or provided by a good trainer at the gym should suffice.

 

[Red Menace]

Chicho,

There is good advice in this thread but I just want to encourage you to do some weight lifting if your goal is to change the way your body looks. I got into pretty good shape (cardio and to some extent strength wise) with Taekwondo but it was when I started lifting that I stopped looking flabby. Like chokimotobu said, I wouldn't worry about making your routine sport specific. Just find exercises that work various muscle groups. Cardio is great for building endurance and cardio-vascular health but I don't think it is as effective as lifting for changing the way you look.

 

[ChichoBlanco]

Chicho,

There is good advice in this thread but I just want to encourage you to do some weight lifting if your goal is to change the way your body looks. I got into pretty good shape (cardio and to some extent strength wise) with Taekwondo but it was when I started lifting that I stopped looking flabby. Like chokimotobu said, I wouldn't worry about making your routine sport specific. Just find exercises that work various muscle groups. Cardio is great for building endurance and cardio-vascular health but I don't think it is as effective as lifting for changing the way you look.

I agree with you. I'm doing cardio and an overall weight routine.