karate specific gym workouts

[moriniuk]

the Ultimate work out is Chuck Norris' "Total Gym XLI" I got 1 it's an excellent clothes horse!!!

Nice. The final destination for most exercise machines. Drying or storing clothes.

I wonder if makiwara were ever used for similar things on old Okinawa?

[evergrey]

the Ultimate work out is Chuck Norris' "Total Gym XLI" I got 1 it's an excellent clothes horse!!!

Nice. The final destination for most exercise machines. Drying or storing clothes.

I wonder if makiwara were ever used for similar things on old Okinawa?

LOL! I bet it sometimes was!

[Kuma]

I hate to say it evergrey, but I'm not a fan of that exercise routine at all. Though I'm sure it's well-intentioned by your sensei, that routine will certainly get you tired but it's not going to do much else for you. The reps are way too high and it seems like a lot of time in the gym when you could be doing other things. With 46 sets for the leg workout, 52 sets for the core, and 55 sets for the upper body, that's an awful lot. Add in at least 60 sec of rest in between sets, and you're looking at a 2-3 hour gym session three times a week. You'll be working out for a long time, but at those rep ranges it won't be very intense.

Did your sensei explain why he recommended this workout to you, or is this one he gives everyone?

[evergrey]

Well, he wanted me to start on high reps, low weight, because I'm recovering from a couple injuries. I guess it's to improve stamina, and strengthen ligaments and joints.

We're adjusting it though, as I've decided it is far too much, heh!

What sucks is I ended up working out from 2:30am until 4am last night, then went to class that evening still exhausted. And then of course they decided to test me for my green belt. :/

But he wants to lower the amount of reps as I add weight. Meh. It's gonna get changed for sure.

[JusticeZero]

Yeah, that looks like an excessive number of reps to me. That means that you will have to pace yourself more, which means less effort on individual exercises, which is counterproductive. Also you will be doing a lot of those exercises tired, which means you might be more likely to make mistakes that might be hard on your injuries.

[evergrey]

Yeah, after how exhausted I was in class, we discussed, and he changed it to this:

Warm up with light kihon, kata, and stretching (each workout)

Monday - Legs & lower abdomen

3x24 Leg Press

3x24 Leg Curls

3x24 Leg Extensions

3x24 Hip Flexor machine (push outwards with legs)

3x24 thigh squeeze machine (pull inwards with legs)

3x10 slow Yoko geri

3x10 slow Mawashi geri

3x10 slow Mae geri

Wednesday - Core

3x24 ab machine (seated bend forward)

3x24 reverse ab machine (seated lean back)

3x24 sideways crunches (2x40/side)

3x24 standard crunches

5x5-second Planks

Friday - Upper body

3x24 Bench Press

3x24 Preacher Curls

3x24 Rows

3x24 dumbell Shrugs

3x24 butterfly machine (seated pectoral)

3x24 cable punches

3x24 dumbell flys

3x24 Dip machine

3x24 Chin up machine

After workout routine (each workout) This is to allow for a cool down, and stretching

1 minute punches (light and easy - just throw them out there with no power)

1 minute of that days kicks (light and easy - just throw them out there with no power)

Dynamic stretching

Static stretching

Note: Don't be afraid to add other exercises in.

Much more sane I think.

[Kuma]

Still not a fan of it admittedly. It'll definitely help build endurance and muscle mass but since the weight you're using will be so light it's not going to do much strength-wise for the joints/tendons/ligaments, or even in general.

Less is definitely more in weight training. I understand he's your sensei and being very well-intentioned but this is basically just a high-rep bodybuilding routine for the most part.

[evergrey]

Well, the thing to remember is that I was on the bench for about 8 months, and I'm recovering from surgery still. This is to get me started. The reps will lower and the weight will raise in not too long.

I found myself reaching muscle exhaustion at the end of each set, especially near the end. So basically right now I'm wimpy. Especially upper body, heh! I certainly sweated a lot, and my muscles are sore, so that's a start, eh?

We're still doing the trial and error thing here. And right now we're working on endurance, for sure, and the muscle will help support my back and my knees. I also have a LOT of weight I need to lose. We'll see how it goes. We might change it a lot more in the coming weeks.

[Ueshirokarate]

Well, the thing to remember is that I was on the bench for about 8 months, and I'm recovering from surgery still. This is to get me started. The reps will lower and the weight will raise in not too long.

I found myself reaching muscle exhaustion at the end of each set, especially near the end. So basically right now I'm wimpy. Especially upper body, heh! I certainly sweated a lot, and my muscles are sore, so that's a start, eh?

We're still doing the trial and error thing here. And right now we're working on endurance, for sure, and the muscle will help support my back and my knees. I also have a LOT of weight I need to lose. We'll see how it goes. We might change it a lot more in the coming weeks.

I agree with kuma. There are those with misconceptions about weight training. Higher reps work best for legs, calves and forearms (i.e. 20 rep squat program), but I think your program is just way too much volume. If you are recovering from an injury, you should be working with a qualified physical therapist on a recovery program. That said and generally speaking, you are far better off working with heavier weight and lower reps. Most high rep programs are a waste IMHO and are still around due to misconceptions by those who advocate them.

As I said in an early post, determine exactly what your goals are and design the program around those goals. Also, most of us do a tremendous amount of endurance type training in our martial arts classes. As such, most of us would be better off just sticking with basic compound lifts such as deadlift, squat, benchpress, dip and the good old fashioned pull-up when it comes to traditional weight training.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with Ueshirokarate and Kuma. If you are only doing these high rep workouts because you are not in good shape, then there really is no need to do it that way. If too much weight is a concern, start with an empty barbell, and do the lifts Ueshirokarate mentions, 5 sets of 5 reps. Rest the next day, then add 5 pounds to each exercise the next session, and do 5x5 again. If the weight is too light, add 10 pounds until you start to feel it work on you, then back it off to 5 lbs. If 5 lbs is heavy, you can even by some 2" washers and microload.

If you are still injured, then get therapy, and don't lift until you are cleared by the therapist to do so. Otherwise, I'd drop all those reps, and do more of a strength training regimen.