"Lifting weights makes martial arts worse," ever heard that? I have.
Strength depends on muscle mass, and if you increase muscle mass, you increase body weight.
But if you increase your body weight, you decrease the speed of movement.
Therefore, strength training is bad for martial arts.
Right? Wrong.
Stronger doesn't equal bigger and slower.
It all depends on how you train your body.
You need to be smart and disciplined to train your body.
You shouldn't focus on a bodybuilding method, but instead aim for explosive strength to build better, faster, stronger, harder, and safer martial arts movements.
Don't think Arnold Schwarzenegger, think about Bruce Lee.
You need basic explosive strength that can easily blend into proper techniques and enhance your skills, while staying injury free.
Strength training should be a compliment to martial arts.
In this article we are going to talk about tips for enhancing your performance using techniques that will help your performance.
Let's start from the beginning with a "body-split routine" which is good for people who are striving for excellence in martial arts.
In weight lifting, an example of a splitting routine is where Monday would be your chest day, Tuesday is back, etc.
This allows you to focus on one body part which allows more "bang for your buck" so to say.
Now in martial arts our goal is to get stronger, similar to body builders.
However our goal is to get stronger while also increasing stability, mobility, strength, and speed.
So focus your days in arms for strikes and blocks, legs for kicking, core for speed, and then another day for flexibility.
Mix it up depending on your own goals.
There are 3 fundamental planes of motion: 1.
Sagittal (moving forward and backwards) 2.
Frontal (moving from side to side) 3.
Transverse (rotational movements).
In the beginning stages of martial arts you will do a lot of Sagittal movements going forward.
Step forward and punch, step forward into a stance, etc.
It is very important to make sure you have good stability in frontal movements.
Therefore when you are moving forward into a stance with a block (Sagittal = forward) you won't be leaning or losing energy when moving sideways.
How to maximize your training all year long: In most sports, the season of the sport dictates how athletes train.
Seasons are typically divided and structured into various periods: competition period, pre-competition period, off-season etc.
For Martial Arts, the "season" will all depend on what goals you have set for yourself.
Here are the basic's for sports training: Pre-competitive Period: In this phase you will work fundamental strength training, endurance, lots of basics.
You will go back to the basics and perfect the techniques.
It includes lots of stretching, endurance, and basic performance moves.
This phase is known as GPP(General Preparation Phase).
Competitive Period: In this period you will make training reflect the competitive environment.
Less focus on quantity and more focus on quality.
Mental training and recovery plays a much, much bigger role.
This phase is known as SPP (Specific Preparation Phase).
Off Season: Lastly, after the goal has been reached, a common mistake is to take a break completely from all training.
It's a much better plan to spend time working on rehabbing injuries, stabilities, or weaknesses.
Training can take a less serious tone, but general fitness should be maintained.
Don't let yourself go.
This phase is known as CBP (chill on a beach phase).
Now martial arts doesn't really have "seasons," we train all year long so we modify slightly.
We must consistently train speed, flexibility, conditioning, and strength throughout the year.
Which is very difficult.
With that said, because martial arts does not really having an off season it is very easy to over-train and do the same exercises over and over again with only one variable changing, resistance.
Over training often leads to injury, which leads to chronic injury, which leads to being burnt out.
A better option is to mix up your training and surprise your body with exercises that fit your goal.
Keep your body on its feet and focus on improving weaknesses.
So what type of exercises should a martial artist do? When it comes to selection of exercise, the first thing that you need to know is your body doesn't think in terms of muscle groups.
From there your training should be based of functional movement patterns.
It should also involve core-demanding full body exercises to really utilize the limited time you have to train.
If you train your endurance by lifting light weight for one hundred reps, you will get good at that.
If you run a 10 minute mile every day, you will get good at that.
The best training advice for someone who wants to be good at martial arts, is to train more martial arts.