How do you folks do it?

How many folks add Weight Lifting, Cardio to your Martial Arts Program as compared to those who just rely on the exercise they receive through doing their Art?

Have you ever compared your approach to the opposite side i.e. ...... (Weight Lifting, Cardio vs Just working out via your martial Art or vice -versa)?

Any Revelations / Observations / Opinions?

Kew-Do

 

Most of the arts I practice have that stuff built into the art itself.
For example Tai Chi Chuan when done quickly or very slowly for a long period of time is cardio as well as stretching.
Though when we do our ground fighting, all students start out with some basic exercises that simulate lifting weights one example is:
Caterpillar crawls: Lay on your stomach and rest your forearms about your head. Now with only your forearms drag yourself along the ground, don't use any other muscles. Do this to the end of the mat (floor) then do the same but in reverse and push. Do this in repetitions, then you do the same thing with one arm. Basically you are doing a modified pull up, but with this you are also able to do a kind of reverse pull up and one handed pull up.
This is one example of our streghtening, if you do this on a mat you will see how quickly this can wear you at. Eventually we are to practice on carpet with clothes on to add to the overall friction. The goal with this exercise is to be able to do this as quick as a grown man can walk w/o getting tired. So this also has elements of endurance and stamina.

So I suppose mostly we rely on the arts to do the work and not much for weight lifting, etc.

 

Our art involves compulsory fitness tests and cardio work, a lot of it comes with repeated throws and the grappling as well as straight phys like races and relays.

Out of the dojo I swim, cycle and lift weights.

 

I work out at lunch every day. Right now it's mostly cardio because I'm working on losing weight. When I get down to somewhere in the 170's I'll go back to some strength training. In 1/2 hour, I can't really do both, but with BJJ x4/wk, I get plenty of cardio so going back to weights/strength training really works well to compliment the BJJ classes.

 

I never used to do weights/cardio activities to actually supplement my martial arts - I just did them as they were another hobby of mine. But it's good because they work for each other. Weights and cardio can make me faster and stronger for TKD, and TKD can give me better balance and co-ordination for things like football.

I didn't plan them to work together, it just so happens that they do!

 

BJJ 3-4x per week, independent rolling with friends 1-2x per week, weight lifting (primarily core) 1-2x per week, rock climbing (grip and core) 1X per week. I have the best body and conditioning I've ever had with this routine. I prefer exercises like grappling or rock climbing to simple weight lifting, I feel it gets more usable strength.

I tried a more conventional approach, running several times per week and weight lifting 3 or so times per week, but it just burnt me out and I was too sore to make it to BJJ practice. Counterproductive. More BJJ wins.

 

I don't add weights and cardio to the martial arts program, but rather do it separately. (Considering how few people [even "trained" fitness instructors!] really know, say, good Olympic-style lifting technique well enough to have any business teaching it, I've decided to go that route rather than to rely on martial arts instructors to teach me exercise methods or vice versa.)

To me weightlifting, running/jumproping/whatever, and martial arts are separate sports or fitness-related training regimens, and in my rather ignorant and unqualified opinion, for fitness the gym beats the dojo every time.

 

I workout/weight lift and run in addition to my training. I find when I regularly workout in addition to training, my endurance skyrockets outlasting those I roll with, and I can pull off muscling out of things much easier (even though it is frowned upon).

I took off a month from working out, and I felt myself suffering somewhat from it. Personally I find exhausting myself working out before training MA, makes me work on focusing technique much more than just muscling because I'm already somewhat fatigued, and it helps my overall game when I go in fresh next time.

 

No, that's a very valid statement, but slightly stating the obvious. You go to a gym specifically to get fit. You go to a dojo to learn a martial art, with a bit of fitness included.

 

When getting ready for belt tests people in my art typically add some type of cardio and weight lifting into what we do.

In general, I think a moderate amount of weight lifting is a very useful supplement to regular training, and helps build strength that can be very beneficial in training/sparring/fighting, but that is not easy to develop. Mostly this is upper body strength, however, as my stances work my legs better than weights, and my abs are worked through the crunches we do in class.

The cardio, in comparison, I feel is easily accomplished through vigorous and extended sparring, which also has the benefit of teaching you valuable skills (until running on a treadmill). As I mentioned previously, for tests we tend to add other cardio exercises, but that is because our tests are 3-8 hours long (depending on the rank) and so you need that extra edge that even sparring doesn't provide.

 

Weight lifting 3 times per week. Kung Fu 4 or 5 times per week. I play soccer as often as possible.

 

Quote from Kempo Fist...
"I can pull off muscling out of things much easier (even though it is frowned upon)."

I agree 100% and do not care if people frown upon it! I know that my weightlift has given me the edge against other grapplers especially ones that are younger than me in their 20s.

Kew-Do

 

I tend to run on my lunch breaks (usually tabata sprints in the park next to where I work), lift weights and work the bag/ speedball at home in addition to my training, which is only two nights a week at the moment due to location problems

 

Simply put, good strength and cardio programmes will give you a much better level of fitness that will carry over to both your martial arts and everyday life.
A good strength training regime will aid you in hitting stuff harder, but will also help you strike and run faster, as well as being useful in everyday stuff like lifting boxes when you're moving house, for example, and a good level of cardiovascular fitness will help you in training, competition or if you need to leg it from a bunch of angry chavs in a self defence situation

 

...Strength training hurts your Jujitsu/Taijutsu/Kung Fu.......you must be supple....muscle distracts the body from becoming one with yourself....if you are not one, you are broken, and there your adversaries will have the advantage....

 

Super great post guys, thank you.

Question /scenario:

If a Martial Artist only works out by performing his chosen martial art without implementing Cardio and weightlift will it be enough? Will he or she have enough stamina, endurance, strength, to carry out the physical demands of an all out all range battle?

This is a debate that I get into with many of the guys that I workout and spar with. I can tell that many of you guys actually spar, based upon your previous post, so this is the reason I pose this question to you.

Positives? Negatives?

Kew-Do

 

Hi Kempo Fist!


Wow, that doesn't sound like something that you would post!

I have studied and performed Gung-Fu and grappled for many years (over 30 ) and have heard this as well especially from my Gung-Fu Sifu, However, I chose to implement a very demanding weight training and cardio regime.

I honestly can say that I have not found it a detriment. I feel it has bolstered my real apllication. The one thing that I will say is that some folks that I know that weight train, do not implement flexibility into their training which obviously can have devastating results in Martial Arts.

Kew-Do

 

I'd say it depends entirely on HOW you work out
If you follow an uber-crappy programme from the 1900's, don't support it with proper stretching and eat like ****, chances are, you'll do more harm than good which will obviously hamper your performance of your chosen martial art or in a fight.
However, if you do a bit of research and work in a well-designed weights routine, stretch properly, tune up your diet, follow it up with decent cardio (I'd say that regular MA training and sparring at a good club can take the need away for some of this unless you're a regular competitor), I don't see any way it can be negative, providing you engage your common sense with its implementation. If you've done it right, you'll simply be better at your martial art. Sure, there are some guys that can fight or compete very well without supporting it outside the training hall, but they're the exception rather than the rule
To debunk a few of the myths that are probably going to be flying shortly - weight lifting doesn't make you slow, being skinny doesn't make you faster, what you eat is important and the Easter Bunny's not real

PS, Kew-Do: Kempofist was joking

 

Quote from Sever:
“PS, Kew-Do: Kempofist was joking”
__________________


I know that is why I posted….

“Hi Kempo Fist!
Wow, that doesn't sound like something that you would post!”

Kew-Do