Should I do cardio for Judo?

[Zombocalypse]

I’ve been training in a judo dojo once a week for the past three weeks now. I was recommended to do cardio as part of my gym (not in dojo) training.

A lot of my dojo mates probably don’t even go to the gym. The Judo training itself that I do weekly is rigorous and cardio-intensive. I’m thinking maybe that by itself can be the cardio I do. But do you think I should do extra?

I’ve been lifting far longer than I’ve been Judo training. Twice a week full-body. I’ve been steadily getting stronger despite not gaining weight. That’s what I’ve been doing for what it’s worth.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Depends on your goal. More cardio is never bad, but if you want to compete in Judo or any sort of fighting, you'll have to add more cardio.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Unfortunately doing cardio 1x per week isn't likely to give you the results you want, even if it's really intense. You need more consistency for your body to make the necessary adaptations.

That said, if you do even a couple of days of light to moderate cardio during the week, then you will probably get significantly more benefit out of the intense training on your Judo days.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

If you can repeat this hip throw solo drill

- 200 times non-stop, you are good.
- 250 times non-stop, you are excellent.

 

[Zombocalypse]

If you can repeat this hip throw solo drill

- 200 times non-stop, you are good.
- 250 times non-stop, you are excellent.

oh, so is that like a judo-specific fitness test?

I’m not gonna lie it looks a little comical.

 

[drop bear]

More cardio is better because you can train longer and more efficiently.

 

[Zombocalypse]

Depends on your goal. More cardio is never bad, but if you want to compete in Judo or any sort of fighting, you'll have to add more cardio.

Unfortunately doing cardio 1x per week isn't likely to give you the results you want, even if it's really intense. You need more consistency for your body to make the necessary adaptations.

That said, if you do even a couple of days of light to moderate cardio during the week, then you will probably get significantly more benefit out of the intense training on your Judo days.

So what kind of cardio are we talking about here? I will do anything effective except for running. My knees won’t be able to take it.

 

[Zombocalypse]

More cardio is better because you can train longer and more efficiently.

thanks. You’re the third person in this thread to say the same thing. I think the answer is clear to me by now since everyone says the same thing.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

oh, so is that like a judo-specific fitness test?

I’m not gonna lie it looks a little comical.

When you train partner drill without partner, you are training solo drill.

Hip throw is hip throw. There is no Judo hip throw, BJJ hip throw, Chinese wrestling hip throw, ...

In the wrestling art, your legs will get tired first.

 

[Zombocalypse]

When you train partner drill without partner, you are training solo drill.

Hip throw is hip throw. There is no Judo hip throw, BJJ hip throw, Chinese wrestling hip throw, ...

In the wrestling art, your legs will get tired first.

Thank you.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

This is an excellent training for wrestling art.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

So what kind of cardio are we talking about here? I will do anything effective except for running. My knees won’t be able to take it.

A lot of it's down to personal preference. In no particular order, below are what I like.

• Swimming (probably best for your body, but requires you to have a pool)
• jump rope
• Jumping using a trampoline. As a warmup/cooldown, I'll take one of those small trampolines at an angle, jump onto it, then jump once on the ground, jump on it, jump 2 times on the ground, jump on it, jump 3 times on the ground, etc. until I hit 10. Not sure how that will effect your knees, so if you try this one and it hurts, stop.
• mountain climbers (mostly save this for if I'm going to bed soon and realize I've got energy, as it takes little space/makes little noise)
• Something I made up in college that my teammates called 'death squats' when I'd make them do it at practice. It might not be the best on your body though, so definitely do it on grass or a puzzle mat or something similar.
  • Start off with a squat thrust, but put your hands forward at the bottom, rather than kicking your legs back
  • Do a pushup, and on your push up, use that momentum to roll onto your back
  • Do a situp then a leglift
  • Immediately after the leglift, get back to your feet(preferably without using your hands, but if you do use them that's fine)
  • Star jump and repeat.
  • If you've got knee issues, you may want to leave out the star jump. This doesn't sound like a cardio workout, but I've yet to meet someone who can do each part of that, full speed, 15 times in a row their first attempt.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

A lot of it's down to personal preference. In no particular order, below are what I like.

• Swimming (probably best for your body, but requires you to have a pool)
• jump rope
• Jumping using a trampoline. As a warmup/cooldown, I'll take one of those small trampolines at an angle, jump onto it, then jump once on the ground, jump on it, jump 2 times on the ground, jump on it, jump 3 times on the ground, etc. until I hit 10. Not sure how that will effect your knees, so if you try this one and it hurts, stop.
• mountain climbers (mostly save this for if I'm going to bed soon and realize I've got energy, as it takes little space/makes little noise)
• Something I made up in college that my teammates called 'death squats' when I'd make them do it at practice. It might not be the best on your body though, so definitely do it on grass or a puzzle mat or something similar.
  • Start off with a squat thrust, but put your hands forward at the bottom, rather than kicking your legs back
  • Do a pushup, and on your push up, use that momentum to roll onto your back
  • Do a situp then a leglift
  • Immediately after the leglift, get back to your feet(preferably without using your hands, but if you do use them that's fine)
  • Star jump and repeat.
  • If you've got knee issues, you may want to leave out the star jump. This doesn't sound like a cardio workout, but I've yet to meet someone who can do each part of that, full speed, 15 times in a row their first attempt.

I'll add to this essentially what kung fu wang said..you can also do something specific to your art. When I did kempo, I would run through all the combinations nonstop, with mountain climbers or jumping jacks in between. When I did pekiti, I'd do triangle footwork and switch between different sets of footwork in my downtime. When I did fencing, continuous advance/retreat drills, along with fleching, even if I didn't have a weapon. When I was kickboxing, I'd run while throwing jab/crosses or other combinations.

When I did judo/sambo, I'd do solo drills continuously like what kfw mentioned. Think about what you're learning in class, and what among it you can do non-stop, potentially with another workout added, to get cardio and train your skills at the same time.

 

[brian k]

I’ve been training in a judo dojo once a week for the past three weeks now. I was recommended to do cardio as part of my gym (not in dojo) training.

A lot of my dojo mates probably don’t even go to the gym. The Judo training itself that I do weekly is rigorous and cardio-intensive. I’m thinking maybe that by itself can be the cardio I do. But do you think I should do extra?

I’ve been lifting far longer than I’ve been Judo training. Twice a week full-body. I’ve been steadily getting stronger despite not gaining weight. That’s what I’ve been doing for what it’s worth.

I don't know how old you are or what type of knee problems you have. I myself

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

get cardio and train your skills at the same time.

If I only have time to do one drill, I'll do this.

 

[frank raud]

If I only have time to do one drill, I'll do this.

Which will give you bad form for judo. Uchi komi exists for a reason.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I don't know how old you are or what type of knee problems you have. I myself

I think part of your post got cut off

 

[frank raud]

I’ve been training in a judo dojo once a week for the past three weeks now. I was recommended to do cardio as part of my gym (not in dojo) training.

A lot of my dojo mates probably don’t even go to the gym. The Judo training itself that I do weekly is rigorous and cardio-intensive. I’m thinking maybe that by itself can be the cardio I do. But do you think I should do extra?

I’ve been lifting far longer than I’ve been Judo training. Twice a week full-body. I’ve been steadily getting stronger despite not gaining weight. That’s what I’ve been doing for what it’s worth.

First question, who recommended you do extra cardio? And why? Is you sucking wind half way through class? Yes, judo is cardio intensive, if someone ( the sensei?) suggests you need more cardio, your once a week judo class isn doing it for you.

 

[moonhill99]

So what kind of cardio are we talking about here? I will do anything effective except for running. My knees won’t be able to take it.

If there is some thing wrong with your knees you not going to be able to do squats, running, sprinting, jogging, jumping or skipping.

And if your knees are really bad even going up the stairs in a building would be problem or going on a bicycle. Find an office building and go up to 80 floor taking the stairs. But if your knees are really bad you probably will not be able to do that.

I don’t know what else you can do as push ups and sit ups are more light cardio. You want medium to high cardio.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

My knees won’t be able to take it.

With bad knees, MA may not be for you. One of my guys had knee operation twice. Finally he had to quite MA.

There is nothing more important than to protect your own body. Whatever you do, try to protect your spin, knee joint, hip joint, ... You will need mobility when you get older.

Life is too short. We should live happy and healthy.