What are your preferred methods of training speed?

[gspell68]

This seems way too contrived and mechanical. I don't like using an outside source dictating the body's natural speed/rhythm. The body is flowing analog, not staccato digital.

Tying on a white belt was your first step in choosing to use an outside source to dictate your body’s natural speed and rhythm!
Ever since then, you’ve trained your body through progressive overload and your brain has just been along for the ride trying to keep up.
All structured training already imposes external constraints.
The metronome is just another form of that — used briefly and intentionally.

You can try to get the body to conform to a set repetitive beat, but the body will do what the body can do when it's able to do it. This is variable for each person and even for the same person at different times of their MA development.

You don’t necessarily use the metronome to get your body to conform to a repetitive beat, but rather retrain your brain as to what your body is capable of when facing an opponent.
Think of it more like a recalibration.
The biggest gains in speed are in perception and coordinating a response rather than the actual physicality of muscle movement.
That’s why it’s important to visualize your movements in response to an opponent.

Relaxation and tension properly combined, body feel and mental bearing all play a part in speed. A metronome will not teach the body these things. IMO it will be counterproductive to the natural flow and development of movement. The natural timing of each part of movement is different. Leg, hip, arm, and internal factors all work at different speeds and different relaxation/tension timing. Set timing in most every respect of MA is not a good thing - in movement and tactics. It should remain pliable and natural to the person, technique and situation.

I agree with most of that, except for it being counterproductive.
Basically, you are using the metronome to consciously get out of your comfort zone even if just for a few minutes.
How many times have we all just mindlessly gone through the motions in class for an hour?
Did our mind and body REALLY get anything beneficial out of it other than a good sweat?
Even in kihon against an actual opponent, your response and timing is limited by your opponent’s ability.
That’s not really training our mind or body beyond the first hundred times we do the same old drills.
There should be some intentional progressive overload followed by a consolidation period for the brain to reset.
And obviously, you should not overly exceed your body’s ability to perform a quality technique just for the sake of speed.
With that in mind, maybe you need a longer consolidation period before cranking up the tempo because at some point you will obviously plateau physically.
Kinda like charging your cellphone battery: all the big progress comes in the beginning and the last 1% of charging progress takes just as long as the first 63%.

The cool part for me was that I only did this over the course of about a month because of limited access to a metronome and training space.
My mind still knows what I’m capable of, but my body is at the stage of: I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was!

 

[isshinryuronin6 5]

How many times have we all just mindlessly gone through the motions in class for an hour?

Simple repetition is important to build muscle memory at the beginning. But to improve the technique one must push oneself, treating each repetition as the first AND:

visualize your movements in response to an opponent.

Yes. Very important!

 

[Buka31 5]

Things to consider…

Great timing beats great speed every time.

And what type of speed are we talking about? Miles per hour speed? Timing speed? Initial speed? All are different and all are important.

Some people are born with more fast twitch muscle fibers than others. So what to do?

This is an exercise that specifically works fast twitch muscle fibers. Let’s start with the upper body and hand speed..

This is an exercise that must be done safely. Which can be difficult if you’re the only one doing it.

Lay down on the weight bench. Have a weight on the bar that you can handle easily. (Have people you know and trust spotting you.)

Raise the bar off the bench to your full extension.

Pull it down to your chest. Don’t let it just drop, pull it down.

Bounce it off your chest and push it up as fast/hard as you can and let it go. Let it leave your hands and go up. To get used to the exercise, just let it go off your grip for a couple of inches. After a month, let it go off your hands for a foot and catch it, pulling it down and bouncing it off your chest and exploding upwards again. SETS OF FIVE are recommended and seem the safest.
(I don’t mean to sound like a jerk or politically incorrect, but don’t let what we used to call a “spaz” do this)

After a couple of months shove that bad boy two feet in the air. Then catch, pull down, bounce off the chest and launch again.

This is an exercise that keys on fast twitch muscle fiber development.

Catch it and let it come down to your chest and bounce it off thrusting it upward again and let it go.

In six months you’ll have an increase in arm extension speed that will surprise you. (Honest to God, it’s nuts) As a by product, it will also make your arms stronger in a completely different way than standard bench pressing or punching drills will.

And if you don’t have a year to dedicate to an exercise that will improve your craft exponentially, what the hell are you doing in Martial Arts?

 

[Alan0354]

Things to consider…

Great timing beats great speed every time.

And what type of speed are we talking about? Miles per hour speed? Timing speed? Initial speed? All are different and all are important.

Some people are born with more fast twitch muscle fibers than others. So what to do?

This is an exercise that specifically works fast twitch muscle fibers. Let’s start with the upper body and hand speed..

This is an exercise that must be done safely. Which can be difficult if you’re the only one doing it.

Lay down on the weight bench. Have a weight on the bar that you can handle easily. (Have people you know and trust spotting you.)

Raise the bar off the bench to your full extension.

Pull it down to your chest. Don’t let it just drop, pull it down.

Bounce it off your chest and push it up as fast/hard as you can and let it go. Let it leave your hands and go up. To get used to the exercise, just let it go off your grip for a couple of inches. After a month, let it go off your hands for a foot and catch it, pulling it down and bouncing it off your chest and exploding upwards again. SETS OF FIVE are recommended and seem the safest.
(I don’t mean to sound like a jerk or politically incorrect, but don’t let what we used to call a “spaz” do this)

After a couple of months shove that bad boy two feet in the air. Then catch, pull down, bounce off the chest and launch again.

This is an exercise that keys on fast twitch muscle fiber development.

Catch it and let it come down to your chest and bounce it off thrusting it upward again and let it go.

In six months you’ll have an increase in arm extension speed that will surprise you. (Honest to God, it’s nuts) As a by product, it will also make your arms stronger in a completely different way than standard bench pressing or punching drills will.

And if you don’t have a year to dedicate to an exercise that will improve your craft exponentially, what the hell are you doing in Martial Arts?

You give me an idea, I am going to try pushup and push myself off the floor instead.

Thanks

 

[gspell68]

Things to consider…

Great timing beats great speed every time.

And what type of speed are we talking about? Miles per hour speed? Timing speed? Initial speed? All are different and all are important.

Some people are born with more fast twitch muscle fibers than others. So what to do?

This is an exercise that specifically works fast twitch muscle fibers. Let’s start with the upper body and hand speed..

This is an exercise that must be done safely. Which can be difficult if you’re the only one doing it.

Lay down on the weight bench. Have a weight on the bar that you can handle easily. (Have people you know and trust spotting you.)

Raise the bar off the bench to your full extension.

Pull it down to your chest. Don’t let it just drop, pull it down.

Bounce it off your chest and push it up as fast/hard as you can and let it go. Let it leave your hands and go up. To get used to the exercise, just let it go off your grip for a couple of inches. After a month, let it go off your hands for a foot and catch it, pulling it down and bouncing it off your chest and exploding upwards again. SETS OF FIVE are recommended and seem the safest.
(I don’t mean to sound like a jerk or politically incorrect, but don’t let what we used to call a “spaz” do this)

After a couple of months shove that bad boy two feet in the air. Then catch, pull down, bounce off the chest and launch again.

This is an exercise that keys on fast twitch muscle fiber development.

Catch it and let it come down to your chest and bounce it off thrusting it upward again and let it go.

In six months you’ll have an increase in arm extension speed that will surprise you. (Honest to God, it’s nuts) As a by product, it will also make your arms stronger in a completely different way than standard bench pressing or punching drills will.

And if you don’t have a year to dedicate to an exercise that will improve your craft exponentially, what the hell are you doing in Martial Arts?

Works for me!

 

[Prince_Alarming114]

You give me an idea, I am going to try pushup and push myself off the floor instead.

Thanks

For added fun, lift your hands and feet off the floor when you hit the deck

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf116 146]

Bounce it off your chest and push it up as fast/hard as you can and let it go. Let it leave your hands and go up. To get used to the exercise, just let it go off your grip for a couple of inches. After a month, let it go off your hands for a foot and catch it, pulling it down and bouncing it off your chest and exploding upwards again.

I have to continue pushing up/pulling down for a month straight? What about eating/sleeping? This is hardcore

 

[HighKick]

Things to consider…

Great timing beats great speed every time.

And what type of speed are we talking about? Miles per hour speed? Timing speed? Initial speed? All are different and all are important.

Some people are born with more fast twitch muscle fibers than others. So what to do?

This is an exercise that specifically works fast twitch muscle fibers. Let’s start with the upper body and hand speed..

This is an exercise that must be done safely. Which can be difficult if you’re the only one doing it.

Lay down on the weight bench. Have a weight on the bar that you can handle easily. (Have people you know and trust spotting you.)

Raise the bar off the bench to your full extension.

Pull it down to your chest. Don’t let it just drop, pull it down.

Bounce it off your chest and push it up as fast/hard as you can and let it go. Let it leave your hands and go up. To get used to the exercise, just let it go off your grip for a couple of inches. After a month, let it go off your hands for a foot and catch it, pulling it down and bouncing it off your chest and exploding upwards again. SETS OF FIVE are recommended and seem the safest.
(I don’t mean to sound like a jerk or politically incorrect, but don’t let what we used to call a “spaz” do this)

After a couple of months shove that bad boy two feet in the air. Then catch, pull down, bounce off the chest and launch again.

This is an exercise that keys on fast twitch muscle fiber development.

Catch it and let it come down to your chest and bounce it off thrusting it upward again and let it go.

In six months you’ll have an increase in arm extension speed that will surprise you. (Honest to God, it’s nuts) As a by product, it will also make your arms stronger in a completely different way than standard bench pressing or punching drills will.

And if you don’t have a year to dedicate to an exercise that will improve your craft exponentially, what the hell are you doing in Martial Arts?

This is a great arm/upper torso exercise to increase fast twitch.
One thing to add that is very important is to Never fully lock out the joints. This is where damage can be done from blunt force, both on the extension and the catch of the bar on the way back down. Plus it negates engaging the muscles the way you want to.

 

[Haruhiko1]

Anything that targets fast twitch. Weighted exercises and walks, and deep tissue stretching.

 

[Buka31 5]

This thread reminds me. About a year ago (give or take) we were talking about pushups. I was talking about clap pushups behind your back when my computer decided to go to Valhalla.

Being a technology grade schooler, I was offline for a while. I’d like to get back to this soon. I’m currently taking care of my gal, who flew to Boston for life saving surgery. (She’s fine now, she’s tougher than most people I know, especially me)

But I want to get back to this. Give me a bit, I’m heading back to work tomorrow after two months off taking care of the my wife.
God, I really don’t want to go back to work. Work’s a pain in the ash.

 

[Stuarto76 17]

This thread reminds me. About a year ago (give or take) we were talking about pushups. I was talking about clap pushups behind your back when my computer decided to go to Valhalla.

Being a technology grade schooler, I was offline for a while. I’d like to get back to this soon. I’m currently taking care of my gal, who flew to Boston for life saving surgery. (She’s fine now, she’s tougher than most people I know, especially me)

But I want to get back to this. Give me a bit, I’m heading back to work tomorrow after two months off taking care of the my wife.
God, I really don’t want to go back to work. Work’s a pain in the ash.

I'm glad to hear your lady is doing well. The best hospitals in the world are in Boston and I'm sure she was in good hands. I actually spend a good amount of time in Boston myself for work.

Work is a pain in the ash, especially working LE. I've been doing it now for 15 years and still have another 10 before I am eligible to retire. I hope you can call it quits soon and just enjoy life without the added stress. Stay Safe!