TKD and Weightlifting

[KickChick]

So they say crosstraining in TKD complements your weight training routine rather than distracts from it as other sport activities may.

 

I just read an interesting article about a research project with results published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It measured 19 practitioners of TKD for both aerobic and anaerobic power. Aerobic power being what sustains activities of long, sustained duration, such as distance running, biking and swimming. Anaerobic power is what we use for weight lifting. The results show a significant diff in anaerobic power (28%) and capacity (61.5%) among the athlets who had an average of 10.4 months experience in TKD. No significant increases were seen in aerobic power and resting heart rate. So while TKD may not be high in cardio, in terms of training the same anaerobic systems used for weightlifting, TKD does give you the extra "kick" in seeing some results. I would assume the same goes for many of the other martial arts ..... although they seem to have focused solely on TKD.

 

 

[karatekid1975]

Good post, Kickchick. I beg to differ, though. Who said that TKD isn't cardio! lol. It gets my heart rate goin

 

 

[KickChick]

well I suppose it depends what type of class is taught. Our classes are not continuous ("sustained duration") activity of kicking/punching. We mix it up a bit with "breathers" in between. That is why I love to "crosstrain with my cardiokick class which is much more aerobic. Doing back to back classes is the only way you can actually understand the diff. Truly a different form of workout.

 

Remember also, the study was conducted at the beginner level student. More advanced techniques are learned later on.

 

 

[TKD_McGee]

I don't know what you guys are taking about my training sessions are insane, and I often leave with bruises afterwards...

 

 

[karatekid1975]

Kickchick.

 

Same here. But we don't have a cardio class, like my last school had So, I make the best out of my TKD training for both types of workouts. When they do kicking drills, ect. I go all out (to make it similar to a cardio class). When they do forms and such, I go slow for the "muscle" workout. Our warm-ups are also intense. That's a cardio workout in itself LOL.