Returing to MA after 20 years....

[crazylegs]

Hi everyone. I am a former black belt in American Freestyle, but am just starting back in kickboxing after 20 years of inactivity. I am 40 years old.

I am surprised frankly at what I can still do yet on the other hand I am horribly out of shape and after training I am extremely stiff and pretty sore.

I am hoping that some of you may have advice for me as far as my training regiment, stretching and cardio ect.

Maybe some of you have taken long periods off or are around my age or older.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

- Rick

Edited June 6, 2010 by crazylegs

[mr_obvious]

I am hoping that some of you may have advice for me as far as my training regiment, stretching and cardio ect.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

- Rick

Yes, and yes. Keep track of your baseline performance, and refer to it occasionally as you progress.

Oh....and welcome.

[crazylegs]

I am hoping that some of you may have advice for me as far as my training regiment, stretching and cardio ect.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

- Rick

Yes, and yes. Keep track of your baseline performance, and refer to it occasionally as you progress.

Oh....and welcome.

Thank you for the reply. Any opinion on how many times a week I should train? Right now I'm doing 3 days of kickboxing and 1 day at the gym. I'm stretching everyday.

Thanks

[mr_obvious]

If you're not overdoing it (hyperextending) with the stretches, you should be fine doing that every day. Just go slow, and don't pull anything! It will only set you back.

Like any style...... The content of your kickboxing classes, combined with your specific goals, will ultimately dictate your peripheral training requirements.

Generally speaking..... "1 day at the gym" isn't sufficient to meet most people's goals. Training one major muscle group per day, each week, is ideal; with other degrees of stratification in-between. The opposite end of the spectrum, for instance, would be something like:

Monday: Kickboxing

Tuesday: Upper body

Wednesday: Kickboxing

Thursday: Lower body / core

Friday: Kickboxing

Weekend: Rest / margaritas!

[ps1]

Mr. Obvious is making some great points here. But keep in mind your ultimate goal as well. Right now, you shouldn't be thinking about getting into fighting shape. It should be about getting healthy again. Loose some fat and being consistent. Once you see that happening, then start working on more specific goals. If your kickboxing classes are giving you a good workout (raising your heart rate and keeping it higher for a long period of time) then you may be ok with those 4 days for now. Give it a few months and then start thinking about adding more days as Mr. O suggests.

[crazylegs]

Great advice guys. Thanks!

I am definitley just trying to get my legs back under me and get my cario up.

After 3 consecutive days of kickboxing it's taking my body 2 or 3 days to recover so I don't want to push too hard right out of the gate.

My flexibility is one of my main goals right now. For someone who used to drop into the splits at anytime it's very frustrating to be where I'm at now. I hope I can get things back to where they were, but at my age and considering how long I've been idle, I just don't don't know what to consider to be reasonable goals for myself.

Time will tell I guess....

[bushido_man96]

The important thing is to listen to what your body is telling you. There is a good book out there, called "Martial Arts After 40" by Sang H. Kim, I believe. You might check into it.