Ankle weights to improve kicking speed

Kick in a swimming pool. It will give you good resistance without risking injury by adding weights.

 

Squats have huge benefits beyond helping with overall power. 55% of the muscle in our body is in the lower part. Doing squats has been shown to raise testosterone levels.

 

Finally, I have an ally!

Yes, never add weight resistance to sport movements...that's not what its for. Keep technical training on the field, mat, etc and use the gym for increasing functionality and correct pattern overload brought about by receptive movement for your sport.

TL;DR Do Olympic lifts and plyo, but do them right.

 

How old would you say that kid is? I wouldn't take advice on the long-term adverse effects of something from someone who's no where near old enough to have experienced them (or the lack of them).

You'll get away with it in your youth. But you'll be cursing your younger self in your 40s.

 

...and increase flexibility. Also, quoting heavy requires full-body coordination and effort. This will also help strengthen your body's ability to send electrical signals to the muscles in a more efficient manner.

 

So of I'm right, wearing ankle weights isn't a bad thing, but when you kick, it can get dangerous? Does the same apply for heavy clothing? Or are body weights not efficient?

 

I remember him actually. IME, you can go a touch heavier for your arms, but any more than 4lbs for stronger guys is really not a good idea. Even then, you really start to mess with the mechanics of what you're doing, so it's probably not advisable.

Oh no, I agree with that, you shouldn't really consider most forms of training without some form of instruction first. I just happen to disagree that punching/kicking with weights will mess up your joints. Casing point would be M. Shiomitsu sensei who was well regarded in Wado Ryu karate circles as having ridiculously mad ninja kicking skills and open supported the use of tetsu geta (iron clogs that you wear and kick with).

 

There's a risk that if you try and just do a load of kicks carelessly and fast with weights on your legs, you could (a) lead to poor technique, (b) develop bad movement habits and then (c) injure the joints. From my experiences, it's quite hard to actually hurt the joints with good kicking technique, but the first two points are extremely valid criticisms.

EDIT: I should clarify. Kicking by itself shouldn't be a problem, but the concern most people have is that kicking with weight can add extra strain to the knee joints that isn't needed. Again, not encountered this myself but it's a perfectly good reason to be cautious.

Nowadays, I'm of the view that just practising your kicks is the most preferable method, but resistance band kicking/kicking in water is extremely valid if you really want to practise resistance kicking. It shouldn't mess with your technique very much at all and the science of it is better for getting the basic motion down.*

*I can't remember the principles properly, but as the resistance bands apply more resistance gradually then it doesn't interfere with the initial motion of the kick, which should still lead to a natural progression into the kick. The real effort comes in as the kick reaches its' zenith, where you want it anyway. Where as with ankle weights, you have to compensate for the weight right from the start which can lead to slight biomechanical differences that can lead to bad technique - such as leaning the torso forward to help raise the heel off the ground without noticing, poor chambering of the leg, etc.

I saw a lovely big article on it a few months back, I'll have to trawl and see if I can find it.

You mean like weighted jackets an' such?

Nowt wrong with that, except most weighted jackets can restrict your shoulder mobility (from experience) and make it difficult to move your arms properly 'cos of how big some of them are.

 

Get a set of resistance bands instead. The benefits are better and the risks lower

 

bands are the way to go. resistance is in the appropriate direction with bands.
its why sprinters train with bands.

 

Yeah, I like bands. They're good, but the last two sets I've had I've worn holes in within a relatively short period of time. I'm still looking for a good brand that won't cost an arm or a leg to buy.

Also the resistance/direction thing. Knew I'd missed something.