Warrior's workout

[unstoppable41]

Hey, hows it going? i'm interested in overhauling my workout to make it more focused on aspects of martial arts training. My style is Goju, I'm 5'10'' with most of my height in my legs, and weigh 165lbs right now. i would like to dropp to the 150-155 range. Any tips on how to build a warriors body?

 

[exile]

Hey, hows it going? i'm interested in overhauling my workout to make it more focused on aspects of martial arts training. My style is Goju, I'm 5'10'' with most of my height in my legs, and weigh 165lbs right now. i would like to dropp to the 150-155 range. Any tips on how to build a warriors body?

Hi, UnSt, and welcome to MT—it's good to have you with us! Re you question, I have some ideas. I do TKD, and we share probably 90% of our techs with Shotokan karate, so there should be some carryover in my approach to what you want to do with Goju.

This is how I think of the problem: first, you need both general conditioning and MA-specific conditioning. There are certain workout components that can serve both purposes, but it helps to think of the two conditioning tiers separately.

General conditioning breaks up into a cardio component and a weight training component. You need both: strength for maximum power, cardio for endurance. And you won't get the right mix of body composition if you neglect either.

—cardio: Interval training, three times a week, half an hour max. Interval training is the most efficient way of training cardio; it's also the most unpleasant, and it's hard to face it more than three times a week, or for longer than 30 minutes at a stretch. Run 50 seconds out of every minute at a moderate jog; the last 10 at an all-out sprint; then back to the moderate jog for the next 50 seconds, and so on. Do not slow down to a walk at any time. Start doing this for 10 minutes, then ramp it up to 20, and then half an hour if you can bear it.

—weight training: High intensity—very heavy weights, relatively few reps, infrequent training (= plenty of recovery; you'll need it). Big compount exercises: bench press (in a power rack), shoulder press (power rack again), weighted hanging chins (palm in for for biceps and palm out for lats), leg press. Do only partial reps in your greatest strength range (hence the power rack). If you can do a 135 bench press over a full range easily, you can almost certainly do a 225 two inch rep in the top of your best-leverage range with only a bit more effort. Do the reps rapidly so that you can do the equivalent of an 18 in normal-range rep in the same length of time it would take you do move the barbell 18inches; that way you're going the same distance but with way more weight, so you're generating far more power. Each workout, add 5lbs to the barbell (total). Same idea with the shoulder press and the weighted dips and chins. Break up your workout into two sets of muscle groups and train each one no more than once every three weeks. I'm not kidding: high intensity regimes of the Mentzer or Sisco/Little Power Factor type require extended recover periods. At the end of six months you will not believe how much stronger you are.

MA Conditioning: Train three things: balance, power and accuracy.

—balance: the sky's the limit; my routine is, at least 4 times a week do 70 rear leg side kicks, each leg; 75 front leg side kicks, each leg; 70 roundhouses, each leg; 12 lbs of ankle weights on your kicking leg, and do a slow rear leg side kick which you try to hold at max extension for at least 20 seconds. Then take the weights off and try to do the same—a slow kick you freeze at the maximum extension—for half a minute.

—power: 70 rear leg side kicks and 70 roundhouse kicks, each leg in both cases, into a heavy hanging bag. Try to get the bag to swing and then aim your kicks into the incoming bag to see how long it takes you to stop it.

—accuracy: partner work with focus mitts is best, I think.

Condition your hands as well; but your legs are way heaviers, so training them is more demanding and has strength training benefits. And cardio as well—very little is as exhausting as bag work with a heavy hanging bag.

Train MA conditioning at least three times a week on top of your dojo training.

Hope this proves useful!

 

[The Kidd]

Welcome and have fun! I will not try to improve on anything that has been said already or what has been said in other threads.

 

[JBrainard]

Ave.
You might want to check out the "stamina & strength training" thread, even though it's aimed more towards Muay Thai.

 

[14 Kempo]

Hello Unstoppable41, welcome to MT and happy posting!

 

[SFC JeffJ]

Welcome to MT and enjoy!

JeffJ

 

[MJS]

Welcome to MT!

Mike

 

[Kacey]

Welcome, and happy posting! :wavey:

I can't really add anything to what's already been said - you've gotten some great tips. Good luck to you in meeting your goals.

 

[TKDDAD]

Welcome to MT!​

 

[terryl965]

Welcome and happy posting

 

[Tames D]

Welcome.

 

[kidswarrior]

Welcome, unstoppable41! I'm sure others more qualified than I can and have answered your question. Best of luck and look forward to hearing about your progress.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Welcome to MartialTalk!

 

[still learning]

Hello, Along with the excersie is proper eating of the right foods in the right amounts.

Body builders know this very well...nutrition,rest, are just as important as the daily workouts.

Eat to live! NOT live to eat...as they say....Lots of greens,few meats,fish...eat WISELY.

Always to seek professionals in the areas you want to improve on! Take the best advice of each...make it your own.

Goals easy to make....hard to achieve.....(that's is why there are only a few winners and lots of loser's.)

To bad....people who could make a difference for a better world... (Iran,Iraq,Korea & other leader's) have the wrong goals, this just pop into my mind...sorry

Stay successfully.......Aloha

 

[Jade Tigress]

Welcome to Martial Talk!

 

[Carol]

Welcome to MT!

 

[KempoGuy06]

Welcome to MT

B

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Welcome to Martial Talk!