Dojo.com Blog

Today marks the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. People run this race for a myriad of reasons. Among the 20,000 or so participants you’ll find professional runners who are after the six-figure prize money, men and women running for a cause, and those who simply wish to put themselves to a rigorous physical and emotional test.

A marathon (other than perhaps the final “kick” to the finish line) is an aerobic activity- long and slow. Most elite runners are slender and not very muscular looking- many look almost emaciated. They can go and go and go some more. The top finishers look as if they could turn around and easily run the 26 miles back to the starting line without breathing hard.

A real fight is more like a sprint- short and fast. This is known as an anaerobic activity. Intense activity that taxes your muscles, labors your breathing, and recruits the muscle fibers for speed and strength. How long should a fight last? 10 seconds? 30? A minute? In my opinion you’re in big trouble if a fight lasts more than a minute. Get the job done. The longer you engage, the more chance something will go wrong.

Interval training should be an integral component of your physical conditioning. Run 40 yard sprints. Do bodyweight sequences. If you’re on the treadmill or elliptical, go full out for 30 seconds, then cut back for a minute. Run through your katas at full speed. Do these intervals for 20 minutes and you’ve got yourself a workout that will give your body the explosive power of a Leopard.

In a previous post I discussed a New York Times article that stated in part that stretching had little or no effect on performance or injury prevention.

One of my “missions” is to bring you the latest cutting-edge techniques for martial arts strength and conditioning.

There is a concept quickly gaining hold in the fitness world know as movement-prep. Basically it’s performing a series of slow, rhythmic movement sequences to warm up the body for full-out movement as well as stretch the muscles in a dynamic rather than static manner- a functional warmup if you will.

In the next few weeks I will be posting video to teach several movement-prep sequences.

It’s funny though- most of these “new” techniques are exercises I’ve been doing and teaching for more than 30 years!

Today’s New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section featured an article titles “Does Weight Lifting Make a Better Athlete”. Here’s the link to the entire article”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/health/nutrition/28BEST.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

Naturally, the article is slanted to “stir the pot” and ultimately gives no definitive answer to the question.

I think a better title is “Does Weight TRAINING Make a Better Athlete?”

As a personal trainer and believer in the benefits of core and functional weight training for athletes, my opinion is that the majority of men and women I see “lifting” make two big mistakes”

1. Wrong program
2. Bad technique

For martial artists, your body is the tool of your craft. Like the master carpenter of plumber, we must keep the tools of our trade in peak condition. Most martial arts are lacking in two areas- strength and aerobic conditioning.

The Right Program

Bruce Lee was a huge believer in weight and other esoteric methods of physical conditioning. My Teacher has always been a devotee of the now in-vogue functional bodyweight fitness programs. Bodyweight exercises, lifting boulders, training to build sinew as well as muscular strength- all of these as well as traditional weights have been a core aspect of his training regimen as long as he has been my Teacher. There are a number of good bodyweight programs on the market- check out the link on my sidebar for one I use and recommend.

Bad Technique

I am going to make a gross generalization here- ready?

1. Many men try to lift too much weight
2. Many women use way too little

I bet you’ve seen this in the gym- some guy trying to curl dumbbells way too heavy for him so he flings his body back and forth while making contorted grunts and groans like a wounded hippo. Two words: dumb and dangerous.

Here’s another common occurrence: you’re standing next to a stick-thin women curling 8 lb dumbbells in slow-motion with perfect form- 30 times! When asked why she’s using so little weight, she says “I don’t want big muscles- I just want to “tone”. Two more words: ignorant and ineffective.

OK, that’s my rant. Now it’s your turn to “weigh in”. Do you use weight training as part of your martial arts regimen? If so, what benefits do you get? If not, why not?