I train Kung fu, karate and tai chi

[MichaelusesKnowledge]

Well the ultimate goal is to become a grandmaster of a martial art. currently and more realistically is to become a ma insructor and open a dojo or to end up in television and movie coreography for fight scenes. howver i am still working on leveling up to black belt in both schools so lets say the goal is the belts first and formost.

[isshinryu5toforever]

Not to burst your bubble, but the title grandmaster doesn't really mean much. There are tons of illegitimate ones out there. I could create my own style right now, and I would be the grandmaster at the ripe old age of 24. Also, if you're looking for mastery, then belt collecting isn't for you. Different schools put different stamps of quality on belts. A black belt in one school might be an intermediate rank in another based on skill alone. Don't worry about the belt, worry about getting better.

As far as not getting enough out of your classes, you likely are getting enough. Training isn't hard all the time, it has to be cyclical or you burn your body out. You're looking to gain muscle, but that will never happen if you keep hammering your body.

Any good martial arts teacher, with a solid curriculum, will train you in such a way that you're peaking and troughing at specific points. You'll peak around competition and belt testing times, and you'll trough afterword, where you'll go through a maintenance cycle. Getting better and stronger isn't about working 120% all the time. It's about knowing when to burn yourself out and when to take it easy. Like I said, if you want fitness results, get on plans that have been proven to work.

The stronglifts 5x5, BFS if you do the entire program, sprints and everything or you'll get puffy muscle with little definition, the Armstrong pullup program, running programs in most magazines, etc. You'll notice that not a single one has you going at peak intensity 100% of the time. It just doesn't work for your body over the long term.

[bushido_man96]

Pullups do suck, but they get easier if you're on a running program with a pullup program. The more weight you lose, the easier they get. The guy above at 140 pounds, should be able to move himself quite easily, but he might lack muscle at that weight, which is why he should be on a strength training program, a real one like the strong lifts 5x5.

I could definitely stand to lose a few pounds. Even getting to do just one pull-up would be a success for me. I've done some running, but it isn't the greatest on my knees, but I am looking into doing some more of it, and I want to do some hill sprints, too.

[isshinryu5toforever]

If running is hard on your knees, you could always try to find a gym with a pool. That can be a lot easier said than done though. Barring that, cycling is a good way to get some cardio in without bothering your knees too much. Hill sprints would actually be better than long distance running. More intensity=more calories burned. That's why even the military is looking at running shorter distances at a more difficult pace.