Power Endurance is the ability to explode (either in a punch or a takedown) then be able to keep doing that throughout a fight. So my first question is, how is power generated? I believe it's a combination of technique, muscle strength and speed. I think everyone knows how to improve technique and strength, my other question is how do I increase my speed? Is it just through repetitions of an action? The second part concerns the endurance. I'm not sure at all how to improve power endurance. I know GSP will do a strength exercise such as weighted pull ups then go straight into a power one such as medicine ball slams to train his muscles to be able to explode even while tired.
Well it's kind of lame to reply to my own question, but I guess I'll post what I found out. It will help me remember. First, on how to increase power Power = Force x Distance % Time Force can be increased through strength training such the Bill Starr 5x5 program or Rippetoe's starting strength, I guess improve body mechanics through correct technique will improve force too. Improving your maximal strength is the first thing you should do if you're going to pursue power endurance. Time refers to the amount of time it takes to apply your maximal force. If you think of yourself squatting the most weight you can then compare how long that would take you to squat a comparatively small amount of weight, then it's clear applying your maximal force requires more time to apply than applying less force. By decreasing time you can apply your maximal force much quicker such as when striking or exploding for a takedown/ throw. To improve time I've found three methods. Explosive weight training This is normally done with a barbell. No. Of exercises 3-5 Reps 3-5 Weight 75-85% 1RM (1RM of the maximum you can lift, so if you're doing a deadlift and your maximum you can do for one repetition is 100kg 85% would be 85kg) Speed of lifts: fast Rest between sets: 3-5 minutes Freq. of workouts 2-3 times a week The focus is on technique and speed. Examples of exercises are things like Olympic lifts. This makes this type pretty inaccessible since most of us in the UK don't have access to coaches to teach us oly lifts. Ballistics (there is evidence this is the most efficient way of decreasing time. Load: 30%RM or 3-6kg if it's a medicine ball Reps: 2-3 or 10-20 if it's a medicine ball Sets: 3-5 Rest: 2-3 minutes Speed: Explosive Freq. 2-3 times a week Examples of exercises are medicine ball throws of all types, medicine ball slams and jump squats with weight (remember it's 30%rm of your jump squat you will be using not your regular squat). Sets should stop when the speed or form of the exercise is compromised by fatigue and don't do these exercises when you're tired. It's also important to progress to these exercises. You should already have a good maximal strength base. Finally something we have all heard of Plyometrics There's too much on plyos so all you need is here http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometric.html This website is awesome. So that's power... That's no use if you can only throw one very hard punch/kick or perform one very explosive take down, so we need power endurance... Power Endurance Essentially all this involves is training your fast twitch muscle fibres to be able to consistently produce your power without becoming fatigued. This is normally done through circuits. Load 30-60% no of exercises 4-8 Time per station 30-60 seconds No of circuits 2-3 (Probably want to base this around your needs, if you fight 3x2 minute rounds do 4 2 minute circuits.) Speed: Fast and rhythmic Freq: 2-3 x a week. Rest between circuits: 5-7 minutes (I guess this should be reduced if you fight rounds, but remember the exercises should always be done with high speed and rhythmically.) The focus is on speed and rhythm, all exercises in the circuit should be explosive. You can devise your own circuit or another option I think is barbell complexes. Dailymotion - Team Quest - Grappling Workout - wideo z kanału Sport i ekstremalne Anyway hope this helps some people out, it helped me.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EaehYbdVOE"]YouTube - www.UltimateHealthPro.com - MMA Conditioning/Barbell Complex[/ame] This guy is obviously already powerful, so he's using alot of weight for his complex and only resting 1 min between. You need to build up weight and reduce rest periods over time don't try and go in at this level.
IMO if you combine good power, with good power endurance, with a solid aerobic base, and a good anerobic capacity, and amazing technique you are going to be deadly. You probably need ok flexibility also. It's that easy!
yo. this article has some interesting stuff about power generation (just ignore the style comments the guy makes at the end, the physics are what matters ) http://dandjurdjevic.blogspot.com/2008/09/hitting-harder-physics-made-easy.html you should also look at resistance bands, they give you a lot mor versatility when it comes to plyometric workouts, and you can use them to train specific techniques plyometrically (punches, backfists, several types of kicks, etc) in addition to using them as pure exercise tools. also, if you're going to be doing explosive movements with weights, be careful to keep the movements relatively controlled or you could overstretch a joint and injure it. shoulders are particularly susceptible to this; i subluxated my left shoulder reaching down to my foot once (my dog was biting my shoe), so adding weights to this type of movement might increase risk of such injuries, i guess. another thing to note as far as speed goes, is to be relaxed before throwing a technique, in order to recruit as many muscle fibers as possible at the same time (obviously you shouldn't be completely relaxed all the time if you're going to be fighting, but don't be completely tense either, try to focus tension about halfway through the movement so that you hit hard while not compromising speed).
How are you using resistance bands to practise techniques plyometrically? It would seem to me that to train a right straight plyometrically would require you to pull your hand back slightly (the stretch) before exploding foward with the actual punch (the eccentric stage). This would teach bad technique as you would be telegraphing your punches. I might be wrong, I'm still getting my head around plyometrics. Edit: Oh and I found this which has a list of plyometric exercises for MAists and a suggested workout to work around strength training. http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometrics-for-martial-arts.html Seems a hurdle, an agility ladder and a box would be good equipment.
not necessarily. the thing about "winding up" for an explosive movement, is that in a normal "held" position (ie, standing in guard), you're using muscle contraction on both sides of your limbs to hold them at half extension, so you need to deactivate one side to make full use of the other one. if you learn to relax you can have full explosiveness without the need to wind up for a movement, and resistance bands can help with this. grab one end in each hand, pass it around your back and stand in guard, then punch normally, you'll feel the resistance. a punch doesn't necessarily need a windup because it's the impact that matters, so you can simply train extension from a guard position. jumps or plyo pushups require more range of motion because you need to beat gravity while doing them.
I meant that a plyometric exercise has to have a stretching phase followed by a concentric phase, the punch from guard has no stretching phase, so it's not a plyometric exercise. I don't doubt that relaxing while punching improves speed and therefore power. Not to mention all the benefits that being fast brings.
my bad, after reading a bit it seems my terminology was a bit rusty, and what i'm referring to would be more along the lines of ballistics rather than plyos. still works though, and that's what matters .
Personally I don't like the idea of resistance bands as they apply a consistent resistance rather than allowing you to develop power explosively. It's like that guy on T-nation said about 'the worst thing a baseball player can do is swing a weighted bat' or something like that. I wouldn't venture an opinion one way or the other though.
they apply constant tension if you hold them at a tensed position. if you keep them slack until you do the movements, they apply resistance only at the moment you stretch them
CAVEAT: It's early, and I'm about a week into a medium bout of insomnia. You have three different energy systems in your body that you draw on during any physical activity: The lactic threshold The anaerobic threshold and your aerobic work capacity The lactic threshold is basically your instantaneous work capacity - it's your highest power system and it lasts about 10 seconds. It's how long you can do maximal work before your muscles fill with lactic acid/how efficient your muscles are at dissipating lactic acid. Your anaerobic threshold lasts longer and is less powerful - lasts for 2 minutes or something. This is how much power your muscles can generate without being refueled. Your aerobic work capacity is anything beyond that. For what you are talking about, you want to increase your lactic threshold. An excellent way to do that is to push heavy sleds. Look up lactic threshold training for more ideas.
