Tabata: Japanese for fat loss?
Thu, Jul 26 2012 02:14
| fat loss, kettlebells, cardio, stamina, weightlifting, training, keep fit, exercise, fitness, conditioning
| Permalink
This summer I’ve dropped about 4kgs in standing weight. That doesn’t include fluctuations in water weight, but does include the extra muscle mass I’ve gained too. At the centre of that have been Tabata circuits, a system of training devised to train Japanese athletes in a short amount of time. They’ve been around for a while and reasonably popular for a few years now.
The basic principle is one of short bursts of high intensity activity cycled with brief periods of rest. The standard model is 8 repetitions of 20 seconds at high intensity and 10 seconds of rest per each cycle. This is followed by a minutes rest. A ratio of 2:1 intensity over rest seems to work perfectly although lengthening the times will make it hard to keep the pace up.
You can pick one exercise per circuit, or two, although personally I like to do four after a circuit of purely skipping to get warmed up.
How you structure your circuits will depend on what equipment you have, your goals and where you train. I like to keep mine very simple and use a skipping rope, 16kg Kettlebell and a 3kg medicine ball. With just those three things I can run through dozens of exercises. If you have the equipment though there’s no reason you can’t set out a whole gym with any number of stations!
The important factor to plan is the order of exercises and what they are targeting. For example, you might want to structure a circuit as follows:
Kettlebell swings – Med ball squats – Clean and Press – Skipping
This allows you to work the cardiovascular system and target the largest muscle groups. Building lean muscle and burning fat for longer.
You can also choose to make the circuit harder by focussing on one side of the body at a time e.g. left handed Kettlebell exercises on the first time and then do the same on the right hand side as four stations means two reps of each exercise.
Alternatively you can add in extra exercises as long as you have 8 of them to complete each circuit. Classic bodyweight stuff such as press ups, core work, shadowboxing, burpees are all excellent ways to burn more calories. Likewise a medicine ball can be thrown, pressed, rotated in many different ways to challenge muscle groups and flexibility. Perhaps add in four core exercises if you are strengthening your midsection or save them for a circuit of their own.
How you structure your circuits will depend on what equipment you have, your goals and where you train. I like to keep mine very simple and use a skipping rope, 16kg Kettlebell and a 3kg medicine ball. With just those three things I can run through dozens of exercises. If you have the equipment though there’s no reason you can’t set out a whole gym with any number of stations!
The important factor to plan is the order of exercises and what they are targeting. For example, you might want to structure a circuit as follows:
Kettlebell swings – Med ball squats – Clean and Press – Skipping
This allows you to work the cardiovascular system and target the largest muscle groups. Building lean muscle and burning fat for longer.
You can also choose to make the circuit harder by focussing on one side of the body at a time e.g. left handed Kettlebell exercises on the first time and then do the same on the right hand side as four stations means two reps of each exercise.
Alternatively you can add in extra exercises as long as you have 8 of them to complete each circuit. Classic bodyweight stuff such as press ups, core work, shadowboxing, burpees are all excellent ways to burn more calories. Likewise a medicine ball can be thrown, pressed, rotated in many different ways to challenge muscle groups and flexibility. Perhaps add in four core exercises if you are strengthening your midsection or save them for a circuit of their own.
This might give a circuit that looks like this:
Set 1 | Kettlebell swings | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 2 | Sit ups | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 3 | Med Ball Squats | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 4 | Leg raises | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 5 | Clean and Press | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 6 | Wrestler’s Bridges | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 7 | Skipping | Rest 10 seconds |
Set 8 | Jab Cross Sit ups | Rest 10 seconds |
The principles of Tabata are important. If you spend that 20 seconds ambling through bicep curls, there’s little point. If however you are going so hard and fast you can’t talk you’re doing it right. The beauty is you can then do as many circuits as you like. I tend to do a minimum of 6 if I’m short of time and up to 10. You want to work intensely so any more than that and you might need to up the resistance with bigger weights.
You can also change the exercises each circuit to stop you getting bored or work more areas. The choice is really up to you. Even the skipping rope allows you to perform a multitude of variations, unless like me you’re still mastering the basics!
There’s no reason why you can’t train with a partner and then add in partner exercises such as padwork, wrestling drills, partner lifts (piggybacks, wheelbarrows etc). You also get the added benefits of motivation and support.
Afterwards a warm down of stretching, yoga or a foam roller workout is a good way to break down lactic acid and make sure you’re not too stiff the day after. You’ll find out how much you can do and how quickly you improve your fitness. Two of these circuits a week alongside regular training will definitely give you results when done correctly. Just remember diet and rest will have the biggest influence on your progress alongside these exercises.
A simple workout
Sat, Nov 26 2011 02:42
| stamina, sport, health, fighters, strength, stretching, MMA, martial arts, power, cardio, weightlifting, exercise, Wing Tsun Kung fu, fitness, flexibility, martial arts Altrincham, sparring, conditioning
| Permalink
I've been already toying with my January ritual of getting back into shape and healthy. It seems another year older, another year wiser, another year of good intentions.
I'm the first to admit my willpower and discipline when it comes to diet, exercise and tipping myself that extra 5% or so into being more athletic. The demands of martial arts are sometimes a heavy burden - especially if you let them be. However as a teacher, as somone who practices more than just casually it is perhaps reaosnable that I should set by example.
With this in mind I've been reinventing the wheel so to speak. None of these exercises are particularly complicated, fancy or specific. They are however demanding, effective and designed to promote muscle growth, fat loss and improved performance.
The first concept relates to what. What should I work? The answer as always is as much as possible. Big muscles groups utilising as many joints as possible.
By dividing the body in half to upper and lower, and then in half again to front and back I am able to isolate large muscle groups to focus on each set and rotate them to avoid muscle fatigue and lactic acid build up.
The principle of alternating the upper body one set with the lower body the next, combined with alternating front of body exercies with the back of body exercises means you only have to choose four exercises and the order is dictated by the first one you choose.
The next answer is how much? My response depends on your own aims and preference on volume. For me the German system of 10x10 sets x reps and my preference of using light/body weight is ideal. This can be played with though if you want to bulk up; drop the numbers and increase the weight. If you want to up endurance and leaness up the numbers and drop the weight (ideally bodyweight only).
Here's a guidline to one 8 week rotation: I use a 12kg Kettlebell, a 40lb resistance cable and my own bodyweight.
Day 1:
Lower back: Clean and Press with KB swing (5 Left and 5 Right)
Upper Front: Press Ups
Lower Front: Sumo Squats (KB in upturned grip)
Upper Back: Lat Pull Downs
Day 2:
5 x 2min rounds of shadowboxing
30 seconds rest
Day 3:
Lower Back: Sprawl and tuck jump
Upper Front: Press Ups
Lower Front: Kettlebell Lunges (5 Left 5 Right)
Upper Back: Bent Over Rows
Day 4: Rest
Day 5:
Lower Back: One Arm Deadlift (5 Left 5 Right)
Upper Front: Crusher Bicep Curls (press the palms into the bell of the KB and curl)
Lower Front: Hindu Squats
Upper Back: Tricep Pull Downs
Day 6 & 7: Rest
Start each workout with a light cardio set to raise the pulse - finish with an all over set of stretching.
If an exercise is too difficult, painful STOP! If you can't finish your sets without puking/wanting to puke/decent form STOP! Don't do long term harm learn what your body can do and respond to it.
Let me know what you think. Where improvements can be made. What you'd change.
Happy training!
I'm the first to admit my willpower and discipline when it comes to diet, exercise and tipping myself that extra 5% or so into being more athletic. The demands of martial arts are sometimes a heavy burden - especially if you let them be. However as a teacher, as somone who practices more than just casually it is perhaps reaosnable that I should set by example.
With this in mind I've been reinventing the wheel so to speak. None of these exercises are particularly complicated, fancy or specific. They are however demanding, effective and designed to promote muscle growth, fat loss and improved performance.
The first concept relates to what. What should I work? The answer as always is as much as possible. Big muscles groups utilising as many joints as possible.
By dividing the body in half to upper and lower, and then in half again to front and back I am able to isolate large muscle groups to focus on each set and rotate them to avoid muscle fatigue and lactic acid build up.
The principle of alternating the upper body one set with the lower body the next, combined with alternating front of body exercies with the back of body exercises means you only have to choose four exercises and the order is dictated by the first one you choose.
The next answer is how much? My response depends on your own aims and preference on volume. For me the German system of 10x10 sets x reps and my preference of using light/body weight is ideal. This can be played with though if you want to bulk up; drop the numbers and increase the weight. If you want to up endurance and leaness up the numbers and drop the weight (ideally bodyweight only).
Here's a guidline to one 8 week rotation: I use a 12kg Kettlebell, a 40lb resistance cable and my own bodyweight.
Day 1:
Lower back: Clean and Press with KB swing (5 Left and 5 Right)
Upper Front: Press Ups
Lower Front: Sumo Squats (KB in upturned grip)
Upper Back: Lat Pull Downs
Day 2:
5 x 2min rounds of shadowboxing
30 seconds rest
Day 3:
Lower Back: Sprawl and tuck jump
Upper Front: Press Ups
Lower Front: Kettlebell Lunges (5 Left 5 Right)
Upper Back: Bent Over Rows
Day 4: Rest
Day 5:
Lower Back: One Arm Deadlift (5 Left 5 Right)
Upper Front: Crusher Bicep Curls (press the palms into the bell of the KB and curl)
Lower Front: Hindu Squats
Upper Back: Tricep Pull Downs
Day 6 & 7: Rest
Start each workout with a light cardio set to raise the pulse - finish with an all over set of stretching.
If an exercise is too difficult, painful STOP! If you can't finish your sets without puking/wanting to puke/decent form STOP! Don't do long term harm learn what your body can do and respond to it.
Let me know what you think. Where improvements can be made. What you'd change.
Happy training!
2011 - What do you want to do?
Tue, Jan 18 2011 11:20
| calisthenics, rowing, martial arts, cardio, training, keep fit, exercise, martial arts Altrincham, fitness, running, conditioning
| Permalink
The new year is here and as always the gym is full of people with good intentions and the ability to take up space. It must mean that the new year's resolutions are fully in swing and as such it got me thinking about what mine could, or at least should be. I've never made one, not least one that lasted five minutes.
This year however I've decided to make a very simple one "practice what I preach". I'm going to get fitter, not skip exercise, rest when I need to, eat better and all the other things you'll find on this blog, in my classes etc. Throughout the year I'll be measuring my "fitness" in an all round (and slightly vain) way by recording some simple data.
First off body measurements to see how my physique changes thorughout the year. Secondly a record of cardiovascular fitness - this will be done by comparing times and distances for running, rowing, swimming etc. Lastly I will record increases in strength and output - weights lifted and volume of sets and reps.
Part of the plan will be following Martin Rooney's Ultimate Warrior Workouts (reviewed here http://martialstatus.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-ultimate-warrior-workouts-by.html) for the resistance and conditioning aspects of my regimen. CV fitness will be increased by incorporating military guidance on fitness such as taking their PT tests and varying my workouts with rowing, swimming, cross-training and other such activites.
This is really a complicated way of saying I'm going to take a dedicated approach to being fitter, leaner, meaner and better!
So the question is now what do you want to achieve this year? I'd love it if you'd share your aims for 2011 in the comments section below. Happy 2011!
This year however I've decided to make a very simple one "practice what I preach". I'm going to get fitter, not skip exercise, rest when I need to, eat better and all the other things you'll find on this blog, in my classes etc. Throughout the year I'll be measuring my "fitness" in an all round (and slightly vain) way by recording some simple data.
First off body measurements to see how my physique changes thorughout the year. Secondly a record of cardiovascular fitness - this will be done by comparing times and distances for running, rowing, swimming etc. Lastly I will record increases in strength and output - weights lifted and volume of sets and reps.
Part of the plan will be following Martin Rooney's Ultimate Warrior Workouts (reviewed here http://martialstatus.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-ultimate-warrior-workouts-by.html) for the resistance and conditioning aspects of my regimen. CV fitness will be increased by incorporating military guidance on fitness such as taking their PT tests and varying my workouts with rowing, swimming, cross-training and other such activites.
This is really a complicated way of saying I'm going to take a dedicated approach to being fitter, leaner, meaner and better!
So the question is now what do you want to achieve this year? I'd love it if you'd share your aims for 2011 in the comments section below. Happy 2011!
Should it hurt like that?
Sun, Oct 10 2010 12:46
| injuries, martial arts, cardio, boxing, form, Wing Tsun Kung fu, martial arts Altrincham, stretching, kickboxing
| Permalink
I was going to start this blog by saying that nothing you do in martial arts should hurt -but that's patently rubbish. It's not even true to say that nothing you do in martial arts should hurt you. Stretching being a pertinent case in point personally speaking. Hard clay-like muscles and tendons aside I was not graced with qualities such as stopping because something hurts a bit. I've finished sessions covered in blood, sweat and snot and usually most of it isn't someone else's.
When I first started to train really hard I went through a phase of presuming if it didn't leave me broken in some way I was wussing out or doing it wrong. Perhaps not the sensible or smart way to approach things. I'll happily admit that deep down as much as I relish getting hit I don't relish getting hit directly in the face when I could have prevented it. There's a fuzzy distinction to be drawn. Similarly I don't mind the aches and the pains of training; DOMS from hitting weights, or stiff burnt out calves from cardio, the scabs from split lips or busted knuckles are all things I can live with. Where it starts to become a problem is when you pull (or even worse) tear that muscle you didn't need to. Injuries are something I've made quite a habit of and to be honest I wish I'd taken other people's advice more. There's nothing worse than missing training because you've been an idiot. It does you no good and to be honest no one gives a crap that you're bandaged up because you did something preventable.
Stretching is commonplace for most kicking arts and boxers, wrestlers any athlete really but in Wing Tsun it seems deemed as contemptible and “unnecessary” by many practitioners. I generalise of course but out of all the teachers I've come into contact few pay more than lip service to it. I understand their position. We place very little impact and strain on our joints compared to most arts. The problem is that the stress is rather more gradual and often it is forgotten by us teaching.
When our students first learn IRAS stance and practice form, hand-shapes and even stepping we often seem to be confused if not dismissive of their “should my knees hurt?” type questions. I'd say at least 75% ask and the other 25% suffer in silence out of embarrassment or the misplaced assumptions I had early on. Often when we see things for the first time we put our all into them. This often means we exert extra and unnecessary muscular force into things like punching and our stance. This muscular tension can be rather dangerous particularly when one is still trying to learn correct technique. Forcing your muscles into any position is going to be a wing and prayer type scenario if you are stubborn enough to forgo comfort in search of excellence.
IRAS is particularly dangerous the odd and new angles asked our knees and ankles can often lead to people “limboing” as they push their knees down and forward over their toes into an uncomfortable and dangerous position. The basic rule if there is pain whether immediate or accrued over time is to stop and say “what's going on?”. Perform the move as you normally would and look in the mirror see if there are any obvious defects with your alignment. Ask yourself how “tight” do the muscles and joints feel. People forget or do not know just how “soft” WT is and therefore exertion is not always needed. When learning especially good technique done “softly” is often much better. It is easy to build up power or speed in your movements. It is hard to undo them to replace technique afterwards I find.
Most importantly of all -ask. Pull your teacher to one side or find a senior student and get them to check out anything that is causing particular concern or discomfort. The answer is usually quite simple and the smallest tweak or adjustment can work wonders. I've had people email me and calling it a day saying that WT is wrecking their bodies. A fair comment if you add in the caveat that their interpretation of WT is wrecking their body at the moment. We can't blame the art it's intangible – we can look at ourselves in that mirror literally and figuratively before pointing fingers. Preferably non arthritic fingers at that.
When I first started to train really hard I went through a phase of presuming if it didn't leave me broken in some way I was wussing out or doing it wrong. Perhaps not the sensible or smart way to approach things. I'll happily admit that deep down as much as I relish getting hit I don't relish getting hit directly in the face when I could have prevented it. There's a fuzzy distinction to be drawn. Similarly I don't mind the aches and the pains of training; DOMS from hitting weights, or stiff burnt out calves from cardio, the scabs from split lips or busted knuckles are all things I can live with. Where it starts to become a problem is when you pull (or even worse) tear that muscle you didn't need to. Injuries are something I've made quite a habit of and to be honest I wish I'd taken other people's advice more. There's nothing worse than missing training because you've been an idiot. It does you no good and to be honest no one gives a crap that you're bandaged up because you did something preventable.
Stretching is commonplace for most kicking arts and boxers, wrestlers any athlete really but in Wing Tsun it seems deemed as contemptible and “unnecessary” by many practitioners. I generalise of course but out of all the teachers I've come into contact few pay more than lip service to it. I understand their position. We place very little impact and strain on our joints compared to most arts. The problem is that the stress is rather more gradual and often it is forgotten by us teaching.
When our students first learn IRAS stance and practice form, hand-shapes and even stepping we often seem to be confused if not dismissive of their “should my knees hurt?” type questions. I'd say at least 75% ask and the other 25% suffer in silence out of embarrassment or the misplaced assumptions I had early on. Often when we see things for the first time we put our all into them. This often means we exert extra and unnecessary muscular force into things like punching and our stance. This muscular tension can be rather dangerous particularly when one is still trying to learn correct technique. Forcing your muscles into any position is going to be a wing and prayer type scenario if you are stubborn enough to forgo comfort in search of excellence.
IRAS is particularly dangerous the odd and new angles asked our knees and ankles can often lead to people “limboing” as they push their knees down and forward over their toes into an uncomfortable and dangerous position. The basic rule if there is pain whether immediate or accrued over time is to stop and say “what's going on?”. Perform the move as you normally would and look in the mirror see if there are any obvious defects with your alignment. Ask yourself how “tight” do the muscles and joints feel. People forget or do not know just how “soft” WT is and therefore exertion is not always needed. When learning especially good technique done “softly” is often much better. It is easy to build up power or speed in your movements. It is hard to undo them to replace technique afterwards I find.
Most importantly of all -ask. Pull your teacher to one side or find a senior student and get them to check out anything that is causing particular concern or discomfort. The answer is usually quite simple and the smallest tweak or adjustment can work wonders. I've had people email me and calling it a day saying that WT is wrecking their bodies. A fair comment if you add in the caveat that their interpretation of WT is wrecking their body at the moment. We can't blame the art it's intangible – we can look at ourselves in that mirror literally and figuratively before pointing fingers. Preferably non arthritic fingers at that.
The Building Blocks
Sun, Jan 10 2010 01:51
| kettlebells, calisthenics, martial arts, cardio, weightlifting, health, exercise, Wing Tsun Kung fu, martial arts Altrincham, fitness
| Permalink
In my last entry I talked about the relevance of fitness and exercise to martial artists and tried to illustrate my belief in its necessity. I spent many years training badly, training infrequently and training the wrong stuff with good intentions.
I’m glad to say I can pass on a little bit of what I learnt through my own endeavour to you and illustrate my logic and thoughts as to why you need to know this stuff.
In this blog exercise falls into two large categories that can be dissected further: cardio vascular and resistance. The first deals with exercise designed to burn fat, increase all round endurance and improve traditional ideas of fitness. Examples include running, cycling, rowing, alongside many sports. Resistance work includes weightlifting, calisthenics (bodyweight exercises) and weapon training.
Each type of exercise has its own benefits and place in the routines of martial artists and neither must be neglected. I spent years ignoring my CV work to my determent focussing on weights and routines designed for body sculpting not performance. It hindered my martial arts training and didn’t give me the results I wanted.
I knew that increased muscle mass burns more calories and therefore fat per hour. However I didn’t realise that cardio not only strips off fat much faster but it adds to muscle mass and definition too!
In short I broke the golden rule of ignoring my weaknesses and stayed secure working on what I was good at/enjoyed.
So what exactly should you be doing? Of course this is an individual answer and depends on what your needs are. If like me you try to train/teach martial arts 5 or 6 sometimes even 7 days a week fitting in other training can be tough and dangerously taxing.
I believe in doing a lot in short bursts, it gets faster results and is mimics the stresses of fighting with short bursts of intense activity. How many people claim to take up “jogging” and then bitch about a lack of success in losing weight?
If you amble around at a medium intensity like a Lycra clad bovine it is unlikely you’ll achieve much. If you hit the gym hard and with focus for 20-30mins and are breathing sweat out of your ears you’ll soon see results! On top of that it speeds up your metabolism and digestive system in processing food avoiding calories becoming fat and stops you over-working muscles so that they become catabolic (break down), injured and testosterone levels get used up rather than used to build muscle.
I tend to cross train and mix up routines. So typically I warm up with cardio, running and jumping on the spot before shadow boxing in 3 minute “rounds” pausing long enough to get my breath and sip some water.
I then mix sets of specific weight exercises, calisthenics and more cardio before finishing on a chin up bar with some pulls-ups, leg raises and then a “hang” to stretch my muscles and bones back out!
Here is a typical list of exercises that you should work on perfecting:
Whole Body (I include all cardio in this section)
• Clean and Press
• Kettlebell Swing
• Dead lift
• Hindu press ups
• Hindu Squats
Upper Body
• Pull-up
• Press up
• Bench Press
• Bent-over Row
• Military Press
Lower Body
• Squat
• Lunges
• Tuck Jumps
Core/Abs
• Janda sit-ups
• Leg raises
• Medicine Ball Twists
If you do not know what any or all of these exercises are then do a little bit of research. You will notice that by and large they are what are known as ‘compound’ exercises which work more than one joint at a time and very large muscle groups.
This adds bulk, tests the muscles you will use fighting not just sculpting trophy muscles and release much larger quantities of testosterone and other hormones into the body to promote better results. It also means that you target quicker long lasting gains rather than trying to perfect tricky and irrelevant exercises.
I would recommend 3 sessions a week as a rough guide and add more depending on results, tiredness and dedication. Anymore than that and you must be careful not to over-train and undo all of your hard work.
If you are a slight and want to gain lots of muscles I recommend the following work out with heavy weights – be warned it’s a killer and requires about 2 days rest afterwards!
Bulk up routine
After ten minutes of light cardio and stretching to get the blood flowing and body loose perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions of the following exercises. Be sure to keep pausing for 2 or 3 minutes between sets to allow the body time to cope with the demands.
• Clean and Press
• Bench Press
• Dead lift
• Bent-over Row
When learning these or any exercise run through them for a set or two with an empty bar to ensure your hand-eye coordination is correct and if the weight is too heavy STOP! Take a plate off and carry on. Do not exhaust yourself or hurt yourself so you can’t train for weeks!
I recommend using this particular routine once a week at most. Generally for martial artist I find that performing 3 sets of 15 reps per exercise the best way to go. It builds lean mass and tests muscles by enduring weight and motion much like fighting does.
If you are already “too bulky” go for lighter weight at 25 reps a set and if you really do need to pack on the beef up the weight and aim for sets of 5-8 reps. Similarly when performing calisthenics start “light”. For example, if you can’t do a press up start on your knees, then after a few routines lift your feet off the floor, a few routines later see if you are strong enough to use your full body.
Do NOT neglect your lower body! It might be our pectorals, abs and arms; that we seek to boost in order to attract attention, but having matchsticks legs helps no one. Your legs are what you stand on and having a strong powerful set of legs is very useful for martial artists. It also adds valuable muscle bulk keeping down your body fat and stops you looking weird when you do decide to hit the beach in summer.
Happy training!
I’m glad to say I can pass on a little bit of what I learnt through my own endeavour to you and illustrate my logic and thoughts as to why you need to know this stuff.
In this blog exercise falls into two large categories that can be dissected further: cardio vascular and resistance. The first deals with exercise designed to burn fat, increase all round endurance and improve traditional ideas of fitness. Examples include running, cycling, rowing, alongside many sports. Resistance work includes weightlifting, calisthenics (bodyweight exercises) and weapon training.
Each type of exercise has its own benefits and place in the routines of martial artists and neither must be neglected. I spent years ignoring my CV work to my determent focussing on weights and routines designed for body sculpting not performance. It hindered my martial arts training and didn’t give me the results I wanted.
I knew that increased muscle mass burns more calories and therefore fat per hour. However I didn’t realise that cardio not only strips off fat much faster but it adds to muscle mass and definition too!
In short I broke the golden rule of ignoring my weaknesses and stayed secure working on what I was good at/enjoyed.
So what exactly should you be doing? Of course this is an individual answer and depends on what your needs are. If like me you try to train/teach martial arts 5 or 6 sometimes even 7 days a week fitting in other training can be tough and dangerously taxing.
I believe in doing a lot in short bursts, it gets faster results and is mimics the stresses of fighting with short bursts of intense activity. How many people claim to take up “jogging” and then bitch about a lack of success in losing weight?
If you amble around at a medium intensity like a Lycra clad bovine it is unlikely you’ll achieve much. If you hit the gym hard and with focus for 20-30mins and are breathing sweat out of your ears you’ll soon see results! On top of that it speeds up your metabolism and digestive system in processing food avoiding calories becoming fat and stops you over-working muscles so that they become catabolic (break down), injured and testosterone levels get used up rather than used to build muscle.
I tend to cross train and mix up routines. So typically I warm up with cardio, running and jumping on the spot before shadow boxing in 3 minute “rounds” pausing long enough to get my breath and sip some water.
I then mix sets of specific weight exercises, calisthenics and more cardio before finishing on a chin up bar with some pulls-ups, leg raises and then a “hang” to stretch my muscles and bones back out!
Here is a typical list of exercises that you should work on perfecting:
Whole Body (I include all cardio in this section)
• Clean and Press
• Kettlebell Swing
• Dead lift
• Hindu press ups
• Hindu Squats
Upper Body
• Pull-up
• Press up
• Bench Press
• Bent-over Row
• Military Press
Lower Body
• Squat
• Lunges
• Tuck Jumps
Core/Abs
• Janda sit-ups
• Leg raises
• Medicine Ball Twists
If you do not know what any or all of these exercises are then do a little bit of research. You will notice that by and large they are what are known as ‘compound’ exercises which work more than one joint at a time and very large muscle groups.
This adds bulk, tests the muscles you will use fighting not just sculpting trophy muscles and release much larger quantities of testosterone and other hormones into the body to promote better results. It also means that you target quicker long lasting gains rather than trying to perfect tricky and irrelevant exercises.
I would recommend 3 sessions a week as a rough guide and add more depending on results, tiredness and dedication. Anymore than that and you must be careful not to over-train and undo all of your hard work.
If you are a slight and want to gain lots of muscles I recommend the following work out with heavy weights – be warned it’s a killer and requires about 2 days rest afterwards!
Bulk up routine
After ten minutes of light cardio and stretching to get the blood flowing and body loose perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions of the following exercises. Be sure to keep pausing for 2 or 3 minutes between sets to allow the body time to cope with the demands.
• Clean and Press
• Bench Press
• Dead lift
• Bent-over Row
When learning these or any exercise run through them for a set or two with an empty bar to ensure your hand-eye coordination is correct and if the weight is too heavy STOP! Take a plate off and carry on. Do not exhaust yourself or hurt yourself so you can’t train for weeks!
I recommend using this particular routine once a week at most. Generally for martial artist I find that performing 3 sets of 15 reps per exercise the best way to go. It builds lean mass and tests muscles by enduring weight and motion much like fighting does.
If you are already “too bulky” go for lighter weight at 25 reps a set and if you really do need to pack on the beef up the weight and aim for sets of 5-8 reps. Similarly when performing calisthenics start “light”. For example, if you can’t do a press up start on your knees, then after a few routines lift your feet off the floor, a few routines later see if you are strong enough to use your full body.
Do NOT neglect your lower body! It might be our pectorals, abs and arms; that we seek to boost in order to attract attention, but having matchsticks legs helps no one. Your legs are what you stand on and having a strong powerful set of legs is very useful for martial artists. It also adds valuable muscle bulk keeping down your body fat and stops you looking weird when you do decide to hit the beach in summer.
Happy training!