Weight training for martial arts

[Freddylee]

How many martial artisits and boxers or kickboxers weight train? Too many people say that doin weights slows you down but i think that its needed for more streghnth.Ive always done weighhts and im not slow and i have always been able to kick quite hard. what does everyone here think? how many of you do weight training?

These days i do mroe weight training than thaiboxing

[ShotoKarate]

I agree with you - the Goju lot will do alot of training extra to the usual karate which is effectively weight training.

 

If you look at how Amir Khan has bulked up since the Olympics, it's not all to do with him being 4 years older!

[ox ma]

I did weights and Martial arts for some years (no weights now due to injury) , it didn't slow me down or make me lose any flexibility and gave me more power.

The only downside was at 5'8 and 98kgs it made me a very small heavyweight lol

[Ridgewalk]

I've never quite got the balance right in respect of time spent on strength as compared to endurance training. My experience is mainly in karate. I believe even within karate styles there are different requirements. Sensei Tatsuo Suzuki of Wado ryu advocates small weights with lots of repetition whilst Go ju stylists emphasise conditioning in supplementary training ( Hojo Undu). The two styles, for me, represent opposite ends of the traditional karate continuum. I've trained in three styles for at least ten years each and shotokan for about 5 years and your physical size / shape changes dependant on system practised. I recently went from four years exclusively sport karate training, no kata just fight training all the time, to Go ju and nearly all kata. I think they're all great.

[afhussain]

Resistance is resistance...it doesnt matter if it comes from your body (ie pushups pullups hindu squats) or from weights....weights, if used correctly, can make you a stronger, faster and more powerful athlete....look at Olympic Weightlifters, the are the most explosive, flexible and powerful athletes on the planet....if you use bodybuilding type weight training ie 8-12 reps and loads of isolation work, then you will get slower.

 

Check out http://www.rosstraining.com

 

There are some amazing articles....he is the strength and conditioning coach of many combat athletes including Matt Godfrey (No 2 ranked cruiserweight) and Chad dawson.

 

As Bruce Lee said, a bigger muscle isnt a stronger more powerful muscle.

 

Lee himself lifted weights.

 

Hope ive been of any help.

[ShotoKarate]

Resistance is resistance...it doesnt matter if it comes from your body (ie pushups pullups hindu squats) or from weights....weights, if used correctly, can make you a stronger, faster and more powerful athlete....look at Olympic Weightlifters, the are the most explosive, flexible and powerful athletes on the planet....if you use bodybuilding type weight training ie 8-12 reps and loads of isolation work, then you will get slower.

 

Check out http://www.rosstraining.com

 

There are some amazing articles....he is the strength and conditioning coach of many combat athletes including Matt Godfrey (No 2 ranked cruiserweight) and Chad dawson.

 

As Bruce Lee said, a bigger muscle isnt a stronger more powerful muscle.

 

Lee himself lifted weights.

 

Hope ive been of any help.

 

WOW! The wheel exercises blew me away!!!! His body control is amazing!!!!!

[The Immortal]

Anybody who says that weight training slows you down for combat sports purposes is ignorant. Combat athletes shouldn't lift like bodybuilders and isolate muscle groups (since the body works as a whole when your fighting).

 

Fighters should focus on olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, presses, chin ups and rows since these exercises work multiple muscle groups, release more testosterone and are responsible for greater overall gains. The only "problem" is they are hard work and that's why 95% of people who go to commercial gyms won't do them and prefer to sit their arse on machines instead or just work the mirror muscles with free weights.

[afhussain]

Anybody who says that weight training slows you down for combat sports purposes is ignorant. Combat athletes shouldn't lift like bodybuilders and isolate muscle groups (since the body works as a whole when your fighting).

 

Fighters should focus on olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, presses, chin ups and rows since these exercises work multiple muscle groups, release more testosterone and are responsible for greater overall gains. The only "problem" is they are hard work and that's why 95% of people who go to commercial gyms won't do them and prefer to sit their arse on machines instead or just work the mirror muscles with free weights.

 

couldnt agree more......have you heard of rippetoe's starting strength? never actually read it but it is meant to be one of the best strength books around...it only focuses on the movements youve listed for 3x5 reps. I would love to learn correct form for power cleans, snatches and clean and jerks with a barbell, but most of the gym workers in sheffield dont have much of a clue on them and are more geared towards bodybuilding stuff.

[The Immortal]

couldnt agree more......have you heard of rippetoe's starting strength? never actually read it but it is meant to be one of the best strength books around...it only focuses on the movements youve listed for 3x5 reps. I would love to learn correct form for power cleans, snatches and clean and jerks with a barbell, but most of the gym workers in sheffield dont have much of a clue on them and are more geared towards bodybuilding stuff.

Don't bother with gym staff, go online instead, use reputable sites for information and educate yourself. I like T-nation.com, if you sift through some of the crap there are a lot of good articles. Check the following out for olympic lifts and compound exercises just to get an idea:

 

http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/money_exercises

 

http://www.t-nation.com/article/most_recent/5_ways_to_boost_testosterone

 

http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/5_battletested_strategies_for_size_and_strength&cr=

 

http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/combos_for_power_and_size&cr=

 

Enjoy.

[getphysical]

All exercise is a means to an end, so weights (resistance) can be used to augment any form of boxing/martial arts training with the end result being a fitter, faster and stronger muscle with better neural connections and an overall improved Central Nervous System response. Body building programs are specifically designed to create as much muscle mass as possible, with possible fitness and stamina occuring as a secondary result, whereas using the same exercises with different reps and rest times promotes fitness, speed and stamina over mass.

 

Here's one that I often use for some of the boxers/martial artistes that I train -

 

10sets of 10reps with only 10seconds rest between sets and 60seconds between exercises. Use a light weight and a fast but controlled and explosive movement (don't just throw the weight around). Pick the big compound moves - Squats, Cleans, Bench Press or dips, chins or Pulldowns for the first round and then isolate exercises for the second - leg extension/curl, Pec Dec or Flyes, Lateral Raises, French Press, Barbell curls, etc. As you adapt, increase the reps first (up to 15), then add 10% to the weight and go back to 10x10.

 

You'll know if you've got the right weight because the first 5 sets are not too bad but by set 7 it's getting really hard and the last set should be a killer, so if you're dying by set 5 the weight is too heavy and if set 7 is as easy as set 1, then it's too light. Once you know your weights, you usually only need 1 set per exercise and do the whole body in 1 goand do this workout 1 -3 times per week, depending on your other training. I find this works well because it fighters tend to work in short, intense flurries with short rests and this training mimmicks that.

 

One last thing, exercise is only one part of the equation and putting muscle mass on is a lot to do with what, and how much you eat, rather than the actual exercises involved, so to avoid the bulk, watch your diet. You can train as heavy as you like, but without the food you can't actually gain any mass.