Banzai!

Hello everyone, I'm new here.

I've been practicing karate for over a year now, and I like it a lot! But I have noticed a problem which I'm really getting tired off.
I'm the kind of guy that is lightly built (you know, the kinda guys that are 6ft 2in tall, but that are skinny) and I have a lack of strength compared to some other guys. I've decided to do something about it.

I've heard that pull-ups and push ups are a great exercice to increase the overall strength, but I have no idea how much of them I should be doing, how many sets, how many reps and how many times a week... I was hoping someone could give me a good pull-up and push-up workout?
And when the workout becomes too easy, should I start wearing weights to make the pull/push ups more difficult?

I don't have access to any gym in my neighborhood (well, in fact there is one, but it's waaaaay to far and waaaaay too expensive for what they have) so please don't give me a gym workout.

Second problem: my goddamn wrists. They're so damn weak. I get injured to them easily, and altho the rest of my arms are normal, my wrists are still the weak link in my body.
Since the wrist is nothing but a bunch of bones, tendons and nerves (no muscles to develop), I have no idea how to make the stronger. My forearms are powerful (one of the few places in my body where I generally have more power than other people ), but they don't seem to protect my wrists from being injured... any suggestions?

BTW, I train karate three times a week. Will pull ups and push ups overtrain me?

Thanks in advance for any help

95 Mystic TA

I am (or was) the same build as you. 6'1 and a buck 35 soaking wet. I was doing World Oyama Karate for three years as well. I have moved my weight up now to right at 175'ish.

As far as how many reps you should do- I usually work towards muscle failure. That is when I can't do another one rather than a predetermined number of reps.

There are many different ways you can do pushups and pullups. Handstand pushups are one example, do a search for "hindu" pushups which are another one.

Experiment with different speeds and angles at which you do these. You don't always have to do them fast. Slow them down to a creep and go as slow as possible. Use different hand positions as well. When I do my pullups I use different grips (though I do them mostly on a machine at the gym). These not only work my arms but different back muscles as well.

To make your wrists stronger we started doing "wrist push-ups." They are just as the name implies. Do push-ups but fold your hands in so that you are doing them with your palms up and your fingertips pointing each other. Don't let the fact they turn purple scare you though.

I do these everyday as a supplement to my training and I don't believe I'm overtraining at all as I continue to see results. Hope this helps.

You might want to do a google search for bodyweight excersises as well.

HtTKar

Do your pushups and pullups one-handed. Do as many as you are capable of. You will never do enough to damage yourself and the benefits far outweigh doing hundreds of two-armed pullups or pushups.

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"The harder you train, the harder it is to surrender"
(Vince Lombardi)

kuk sool won

Wrist push-ups are a good idea i used to do them frequently and now i have very strong wrists. also try to do them on different angles, with your fingers point inwards towards eachother, pointing away and towards the body.

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Eyegouge

I gotcha man. I'm a five time state champion gymnast, so I'm a tiny guy too. I'm 5'8'' 152 lbs. I got cut on the back of my wrist when I was 17 and it severed 2 tendons on the back of my right hand. (reason I got into martial arts) as a result of the injury and following surgery I can't lift my right hand up farther than about 45 degree's and that was after 3 months of physical therapy. Wrist pushups are a good idea but I can't even do them because of my right hand. So what I do is take a weight, around 8 lbs prop my wrist on the edge of the couch while I watch tv and just lift the weight up and down, wrist up, wrist down, on the side. Anyway I can. Also if your wrists are bugging you at practice, they bug most gymnasts, you can get a pair of wrist supports from anyplace that sells gymnastic supplies.

Now about adding strength. Do you want to get bigger or do you just want to be stronger overall? If you just want to improve your overall strength, I've seen that tall lanky guys don't really have the ability to apply their strength more than not having it. Work on your overall body awareness, wrestle a little if you can, learn to use your height to your advantage, keep people way out there, use your range. Be aware of your whole body and what it's doing at all times.

Pull ups, 2 sets of 20, everyday, if you fall off, start all over. Push ups, 100, do them right too, elbows in so your tri's slide along your lats. If you fall down out of the push up position, start all over. You'll be kickin ass in no time. The one arm comment, good idea too but only if you can even do them with correct form. Legs wide and that elbow has to stay along your side, you can't torque you body into weird shapes just so you can do them.

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Banzai!

Thanks all.
I will follow your suggestions. I'll start doing more pull ups, push ups and wrist push ups. I'll also see if I can find a dumbell somewhere to do what you do, Eyegouge.

I don't really want to look huge. Altho now, people easily try to intimidate me because most of them look bigger. All I have to intimidate others, is my length. A luck I have the advantage of speed towards most of the big guys

Anyways, I don't want to look like a gorilla, but looking at least "normal" (and not way too skinny) would be nice. I guess that will come automatically when doing these exercices.

Thanks again all

Eyegouge

drink lots of milk if you want to get bigger. my buddy keith (who i train BJJ with) used to be kinda skinny and sophomore year he started drinking milk like alllll the time, now he's 5'11'' 215 and he's solid man. (but he also lay's sod for a living so that might have something to do with it lol)

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suebabes

Hi.....i was also wanting to increase my wrist strength and upper body strength...i was doing so many push ups but found that my wrist were hurting too much and didnt gain any wrist strength. I was introduced to The Strength Builder, it is a device for doing push ups so much better than push up handles. My upper body strength has increased dramatically, my wrist are so much stronger and they feel great when using it. Check out their website www.thestrengthbuilder.com it really is the best thing i have ever bought for exercise.

Eyegouge

HAHAHA I love where it says "Available in three powerful colors:" that's great. lol

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Shard

Does doing finger crunchers or squeezes help to improve wrist strength?
You know, the odd contraption with 2 rods connected by a huge spring thing in the center, where you have to squeeze the 2 rods together.
I know its helps in improving grip strentgh but does it strengthen wrists too?

Garland

I bought something that's a wrist thing, like those grip things, for tennis players. I works.

Using thicker bars for lifts will help, so will triangle push-ups and hindu push-ups, (batiks?)
Or just whenever you've got a chair use your hands to do reverse push ups on the end of the seat.

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homo homini lupus

HtTKar

Yes!
Iron Minds has some great products like these and others for building grip and wrist strength

http://www.ironmind.com/ironcms/open...s/griptip.html
http://www.ironmind.com/ironcms/open...griptip42.html

bunches of tips there

and these are the grippers
http://www6.mailordercentral.com/iro...cts.asp?dept=8

__________________
"The harder you train, the harder it is to surrender"
(Vince Lombardi)

Danor

Another possiblity is are you punching or striking wrong? For example when you punch with your fist your two Knuckles closest to your thumb should line up with your radias and alna (sorry my spelling is horrible) in your forearem. Yes this put yoru punch a little crooked but its most correct for absorbition and giving of force. if you puch with a flat fist you will eventually feel a bit of pain in your wirst because it wasn't lined up correctly when you punched.

Banzai!

Yeah, that's the mistake I made when I began a while ago. It did give me some wrist pain too, but I've learned to clench my wrist as you say since then.
It's just that sometimes my wrists fail on me when they shouldn't, and it's not only when giving hard punches
I've started doing what you people suggested. I think I need a good overall workout too, but that's another story