Weight Lifting and TKD

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Sparks

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I am currently into lifting weights and attending TKD classes. I have had to pare back my weight lifting training simply because I don't have unlimited energy to do both this and TKD. Are there any other weight lifters here doing TKD and how do you approach such a regimen?
 

TX_BB

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What's the goal of the weight training? (Strength, Endurance, Bodybuilding...)
 
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Sparks

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I guess my only goal with weight lifting is for strength & endurance. Is there a way to incorporate this into TKD training to help you be more effective- like with power in kicks, etc.?
 

Brother John

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work an overall body strength training routine w/out skipping any area...
then focus on your technique....


enjoy

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MichiganTKD

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I use moderate weight training to build up the muscle groups that I use for Tae Kwon Do. In all honesty, Tae Kwon Do alone will not give you a good workout. Many of the greatest Masters had all around physical regimens. I use cardio to warmup, moderate lifting focusing on different muscle groups (meaning I'm not trying to lift a ton of weight), and then whatever TKD practice I feel like doing. I have really noticed a big difference in my overall technique.
 

Zepp

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Heya Sparks.
The health tips forum is a good place to search for this info. Quite a few people here have posted their weight lifting routines, or links to sites with solid weight-lifting information.
 
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Jaymeister

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Sparks said:
I guess my only goal with weight lifting is for strength & endurance. Is there a way to incorporate this into TKD training to help you be more effective- like with power in kicks, etc.?
Plyometric training will give you more explosive power in your kicks and punches.
(edited for spelling)
 

wynnema

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For TKD, its best to focus on compound lifts (deadlift, squat, bench, etc) with a heavy weight and a small number of repitions 3-5.
 

matt.m

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I do upper body 3x a week with a flat bench and 20lbs dumbbells.

a workout would consist of 2 sets 12 reps. I do a 5,0,5 5 sec down, pause, 5 sec up.

my workout consists of dumbbell bench, 1 arm dumbbell rows, shrugs, alternate dumbbell curls, 1 arm french press. I am going to buy a pullup/ab rack combo.

I go to tae kwon do 2x a week. I do nothing for legs. If you practice kicking correctly then you will have legs that are like a baseball bat.

The whole point is light weight....slow reps under tension. Nothing to hurt joints....work the mind muscle connection and if you do it correctly will be great.
 

Kwan Jang

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Technique makes the most of what you have, physical conditioning makes you have more to work with. Using weight training as a part of your training regimen (mixed with some cardio and stretching) will greatly enhance the results of your martial arts training.

I have been in TKD for nearly 30 years (MA for over 35) and have been a national level competitor as a strength athlete. I have also been successful on the international level as a competitor in the martial arts, including TKD and am currently a sixth dan in that system. Along with these qualifications, I have a formal educational background in exercise physiology and kinesiology. I am not saying this to impress you, but rather to impress upon you that the advice I am about to give may be worthwhile. Unfortunately, there is FAR too much misinfornation out there, even coming from those who have good intentions.

For a relative beginner in either discipline, I would recommend your weight training to be sticking to the basics and with high intensity and relatively low volume (less sets). Make sure that your routine is a full body routine that works all the major muscle groups and I would recommend starting w/ the biggest muscles first (ex. squats), then working down to the smaller muscles. Put form/proper mechanics above weight as a priority and "feel" the weight through the full range of motion (I should mention there is some recent research being championed by the 'static contraction folks' that may indicate that full range is not what it's been cracked up to be, but the jury is still out on that one. Until their case is proven, I tend to play it safe). Lift and lower the weight under a controlled cadence rather than throw it up and drop it.

As a martial artist, one consideration you will have is over training. This is another reason to keep your volume low, so that your body will be able to recover. That's the way to make progress, along with a good nutritional program. Keep it all in balance and you will find not only your strength, but your speed and flexibility greatly enhanced. Also, by using free weights for the majority of your work (some novice lifters will use machines more than they should, though some machine work can be helpful, especially if working around injuries), you can help build better coordination as well. Good luck.
 

exile

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For a relative beginner in either discipline, I would recommend your weight training to be sticking to the basics and with high intensity and relatively low volume (less sets). Make sure that your routine is a full body routine that works all the major muscle groups and I would recommend starting w/ the biggest muscles first (ex. squats), then working down to the smaller muscles. Put form/proper mechanics above weight as a priority and "feel" the weight through the full range of motion (I should mention there is some recent research being championed by the 'static contraction folks' that may indicate that full range is not what it's been cracked up to be, but the jury is still out on that one. Until their case is proven, I tend to play it safe). Lift and lower the weight under a controlled cadence rather than throw it up and drop it.

I think this is very, very sound advice. I myself actually do the Sisco/Little static contraction routines, for some muscle groups at least, and combine them with the short-rep/strongest range lifting regime from their earlier Power-Factor approach, which I think Static Contraction is, sort of, the logical end-point to. One thing they emphasize is that you must, absolutely, pair high intensity with long recovery periods. I do workouts for two distinct sets of muscle groups, and each of the two workouts gets performed once every three weeks at the most frequent. When I was at the top of my game, I was benching 405lbs using shortest range reps---more like Static Contractions, at that point---with a month or even more between workouts for the same muscle groups. Without the recovery, your body is in perpetual recovery mode and you never get the hypertrophy from the post-recovery `bounce'.

As a martial artist, one consideration you will have is over training. This is another reason to keep your volume low, so that your body will be able to recover. That's the way to make progress, along with a good nutritional program. Keep it all in balance and you will find not only your strength, but your speed and flexibility greatly enhanced. Also, by using free weights for the majority of your work (some novice lifters will use machines more than they should, though some machine work can be helpful, especially if working around injuries), you can help build better coordination as well. Good luck.

Again, all true. I'd recommend leg presses rather than squats---squats are great and good, but they put too much stress on the spinal disks, has been my experience. I was squating using a Manta-Ray with almost 500lbs, but got scared of what I was doing---slipped and herniate disks are a problem in my family. Now I do very heavy presses on a leg-maching where you can load up wheels to your heart's content and it works out very well. But for any upper body stuff, it's free weight and only free weights every time.

A power rack is I think the trainee's best friend. Work shoulders via presses in the power rack, and use dumbell-assisted crunches for abs and core strength, and hanging weighted dips for bicep/tricep training. Three quarters of an hour of big compound exercises and a few specialized muscle groups (crunches for abs, in particular) and the result should be a lot of strength and muscle resilience in the core areas and tremendous power generation in the `striking' muscle groups. Just keep your workouts (i) intense and (ii) infrequent enough to guarantee a good recovery, as Kwan Jang says.
 

searcher

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I am currently doing a full-body interval style workout. My goal is to maintain my current fitness level and possibly add some strength. I try to do it in the morning so I can recover before classes.
 

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