Going to the Gym

[Protagonist]

Lately, I've been going to the gym with my dad so that I can get into the habit of exercising and staying fit, especially since I'll be going to college soon and want to prevent the infamous "Freshman 15". What I'm still a little confused about though is figuring out how to keep organized and how to establish a routine. How do any of you determine what parts of the body to workout? Are you more general and just do all of the leg exercises, or are you more specific and exercise the legs, but then do certain leg muscles one day, and so on, then move on to a different part of the body?

Sorry if this is a little confusing.

[bushido_man96]

I think if you look around on the net, you can find all kinds of exercise and conditioning programs that could help to keep you organized. You could also pick up a book on weight training; many usually have some very basic programs to follow.

It will depend a lot on how many days a week you can get to the gym. If you can go everyday for a little while, then you may do something like chest/triceps on Monday, back/biceps on Tuesday, work shoulders on Wednesday, and throw legs in every other day, or on Thursday. If you only get 3 days a week, you may consolidate your routine a bit more. It just depends on your schedule.

[tallgeese]

As bushido man said, there are plenty of ways to skin this cat. I prefer a three day weight routine with legs on one day, back and bis then next and chest tris to finish the week. It's only prefrence. If you really wnat to build muscle mass you'll have to do split routines. Again, search the net.

I'm gonna plug a site called crossfit.com here. Its the primary conditioning that I use and it's really good for ma-ists.

[Tiger1962]

As mentioned above, there is a wealth of information on the web but if you want personal examples here goes:

For myself, I know I need to improve my cardio endurance so after spending about 20 minutes stretching out when I first arrive, I first started doing 20 minutes on either the treadmill or ellyptical trainer. Gradually, I worked myself up to 30 minutes. My personal goal is to increase increments slowly until I am up to doing a hour of cardio each time I go.

After that, I choose between working on my upper or lower body. I usually alternate days with that unless I am really sore, then I will stick to the half that is not so sore to give it an extra day to recover. If I am working on upper, I will do my arms, biceps, triceps, shoulders - using machines geared toward that. On lower half day, I do my legs, calves, quads, glutes, etc. using machines geared toward that group. Everyone is different, and has different goals and abilities but that's the general gist. Most people I know alternate upper and lower halves of their body when they workout. Some save the cardio for the end, most people I know are like me and do it at the beginning to warm up and get the blood flowing.

On all or any day that I go I always incorporate ab work into the routine because - well - I need it. LOL

Hope that helped a little.

[Aodhan]

Lately, I've been going to the gym with my dad so that I can get into the habit of exercising and staying fit, especially since I'll be going to college soon and want to prevent the infamous "Freshman 15". What I'm still a little confused about though is figuring out how to keep organized and how to establish a routine. How do any of you determine what parts of the body to workout? Are you more general and just do all of the leg exercises, or are you more specific and exercise the legs, but then do certain leg muscles one day, and so on, then move on to a different part of the body?

Sorry if this is a little confusing.

Working out with weights will do one thing. Give you bigger muscles. Whether that is good for your martial arts or not is how you apply it. Personally, I'm not a big proponent of huge muscles, as I think the weight is counterproductive. Also, unless you REALLY work at it, beefing up negatively impacts your flexibility, as the stronger muscles tend to pull harder on the tendons.

If you work one muscle group, work the opposing muscle group. If you do biceps, do triceps. If you do back, do chest. Quads/hamstrings, abs/lower back.

I would aim for middleish weight, sets no more than 4, reps in the 6-15 range. Do weights 3, MAYBE 4 times a week, and do cardio (swimming/running/biking) at a fairly decent intensity almost every day for 20-45 minutes.

John

[bushido_man96]

I don't think lifting weights affects flexibility that much. Not stretching does, though. There have been a lot of great fighters out there that have been pretty good sized, and still flexible. Joe Lewis is the first that comes to mind. Bruce Lee lifted like a fiend, but controlled his diet to an extreme as well. Bolo Yueng, across from Lee in Enter the Dragon, was a big man, too.

I say that strength in the Martial Arts is just as important as flexibility is, and it is also important to focus on specificity for your workouts.

[Tiger1962]

I don't workout to get large muscles, but rather to increase my strength for punches, kicks, etc., etc. in martial arts. The cardio is for endurance. You don't want to be huffing and puffing after one round of sparring, so improving your cardio is important and not just for m.a. training.

And it's just healthy. Lifting weights (as in LIGHT weights, not what bodybuilders do) also burns calories, strengthens your bones, and prevents osteoporosis later in life. For me, I find it does help my m.a. training. I'm not training to be a bodybuilder or gain huge muscle mass. I'm talking about toning, tightening and strengthening.

[Aodhan]

I don't think lifting weights affects flexibility that much. Not stretching does, though. There have been a lot of great fighters out there that have been pretty good sized, and still flexible. Joe Lewis is the first that comes to mind. Bruce Lee lifted like a fiend, but controlled his diet to an extreme as well. Bolo Yueng, across from Lee in Enter the Dragon, was a big man, too.

I say that strength in the Martial Arts is just as important as flexibility is, and it is also important to focus on specificity for your workouts.

True, but very few people stretch enough to counterbalance the musculature, especially for something like martial arts. Truth be told, very few people stretch enough without the weights.

John

[bushido_man96]

If thats the case, then which is more advantageous to have? Increased level of strength, or the abilit to kick someone in the head? I'd rather have some increased strength.

[Aodhan]

If thats the case, then which is more advantageous to have? Increased level of strength, or the abilit to kick someone in the head? I'd rather have some increased strength.

Speed is also adversely affected by muscle development without stretching, and it depends on the application that you are aiming for. If you are MMA oriented, by all means, bulk it up. Very few MMA fights are won with knockout kicks to the head. If you are more towards the sport/tag type point sparring, musculature is a definite hindrance. I mean look at the Lopez's, not a one of them weighs over 160, and Stephen is like 6'2" and 160 lbs.

For the average person wanting self defense/street application, you could probably easily add 10-12 lbs of muscle without adversely impacting speed or flexibility.

John