G Money Slick Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I was wondering if working out often on the bench and curling weights to enchance bicep strength would noticeably factor in when it comes to punching power. Same with kicking power and leg exercises. If your enemy refuses to be humbled......you must destroy him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaos666 Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 depends on the weight you use and the reps you do... high weight low reps will increase raw power and decrease speed low weight high reps increases speed at the cost of actual power in my mind the second option is more favourable for martial arts, since being faster than your opponent is a lot better that being physicaly stronger A true shinobi is not defined by the number or quality of techniques he uses, but by the will and the determinations he has to improve himself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zsuperbobbyz Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 well what always works for me, is doing weight that is 75% of your max, which means some weight you can barely do 3 sets of 10. I believe it increases both speed and power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeinwolf Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Weightlifting is a wonderful way to increase overall fighting strength. If I were you, I would focus on doing compound lifts. This means doing exercises that incorporate more than one muscle group. Bench press, squats, and deadlift(be careful if you are new to lifting with this one). Start off with light weight to get your form good and then slowly increase the weight. Depending on your goals, the number of reps you do breakdown ROUGHLY like this (These are approximations. Everyone is different, but these tend to be the norm): 4-6 reps: mainly strength gains 6-8 reps: body mass gains(depends a great deal on diet) 8-+ reps: endurance I personally switch out my workouts. I do two weeks on strength, one week on mass, and one week on endurance. As far as losing speed, not true if you train correctly. For explosiveness and speed, train plyometrics on your off days. Also it is your triceps and deltoids that are most responsible for punching power if you are just talking about muscles. SiK---Joshua There are no limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaos666 Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 don't know about you, but my sensei told me that to be in excellent fighting shape, for karate anyways, all you need is your own body push-up: punching power and speed sit-ups: abdominal strenght & endurance dips: punching power squats: leg power pull-ups: strength & balance running: speed & endurance working with a punching bag (kicks & punches): obvious benefits swimming: overall strenght and endurance all of those can be done with no more weight than your body has and are quite effective if done properly. They increase your speed, agility and natural strength. BUT more imporrtantly you do not run the risk of gaining too much muscles mass (yes there is such a thing as too much), this will lead to reduced speed and agility, both invaluable in all MA. It's no good having a punch that goes through brick walls, but is so slow someone can walk around it... A true shinobi is not defined by the number or quality of techniques he uses, but by the will and the determinations he has to improve himself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeinwolf Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 don't know about you, but my sensei told me that to be in excellent fighting shape, for karate anyways, all you need is your own body push-up: punching power and speed sit-ups: abdominal strenght & endurance dips: punching power squats: leg power pull-ups: strength & balance running: speed & endurance working with a punching bag (kicks & punches): obvious benefits swimming: overall strenght and endurance all of those can be done with no more weight than your body has and are quite effective if done properly. They increase your speed, agility and natural strength. BUT more imporrtantly you do not run the risk of gaining too much muscles mass (yes there is such a thing as too much), this will lead to reduced speed and agility, both invaluable in all MA. It's no good having a punch that goes through brick walls, but is so slow someone can walk around it... I agree that you can be quite strong using nothing but bodyweight exercises. But there comes a point when you cannot add any more resistance. When you cannot add resistance, you cannot make strength gains, thus leading you into a plateau. This is where weights come in. I personally think that a sensible combination of free weights and bodyweight exercises is best for a martial artist. As to the adding muscle mass, this will not happen unless you increase you calorie intake. Growing muscle requires higher calories. My lifts exceed some folks who are heavier than me and yet I am only 176lbs. You can grow stronger without adding mass, it is all in how you train. Keep your calorie intake even with your basal metabolic rate and make heavy lifts at 4-6 reps and you will find that you will gain very little in weight. SiK---Joshua There are no limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vito Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 weight lifting is the most effecient and most effective way of gaining muscle mass. the more muscle mass you have the harder you will hit (provided you train to hit, blahblahblah.) thing is though, you said working on the bench and curling, so i assume that means just your chest and bis primarily. work out your whole body, every muscle is important, even your lats. boxers have huge lats- its not just for show. "If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared." -Machiavelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeinwolf Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Work out your whole body, every muscle is important, even your lats. boxers have huge lats- its not just for show. Exactly. This is why I said to use compound movements as they incorporate more muscle groups. The point of fighting(IMO) is to fight with your entire body. To do this, every muscle must be in tip top shape. SiK---Joshua There are no limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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