Functional Fitness Training sites

[GeorgeK]

Hello, all. While reading through many of the posts here, I noticed that while many of you love and practice martial arts, not too many people know how to train for them right, or if they have some ideas, there are still many questions. While there is much information out there it can be frustrating to find good info as it relates to martial arts.

So, first let me tell what my philosophy on training is and then, recommend some, in my opinion, good sites. What I am about to say is nothing new. However, some people still don't get it. Here it goes.

Training for athletics is not the same as bodybuilding. If one trains for martial arts, he should train like an athlete and not bodybuilder. Forget about how your body looks and concern yourself with what you can do with that body. Think of your body as one unit and train it accordingly. Forget about how big your arms are or how much you can bench. You should be more concerned about how fast and powerfull your core (read - hips) is because most athletic movement is done through your core. Don't train different body parts on different days but train the whole body at once by utilizing functional exercises that mimic and exxagerate our everyday movements. Your workout should be rather short, intense and leave you breathless. It should resemble what might happen in a combat or survival situation. My philosophy is very much in sync with and borrowed from the guys at CrossFit and this is going to be the first site I am going to recommend. If anyone knows any other sites, please post links to them here as well.


http://www.crossfit.com - My favorite site and for the most part my training program (read through the message board and download the free issue of "what is fitness?")

http://www.dragondoor.com - a lot of great info and articles. Those evil balls of iron do really work. I am from Russia and I remember gireviks or Kettlebell athletes were among the strongest, fittest and most respected athletes.


http://www.trainforstrength.com - good ideas and exercises

www.planetjubei.com/mazone/ - a lot of great workouts in the workout section

http://www.warriorforce.com/products.html - Ross Enamait's site with some links - great guy, great info on training for boxing (can be used for MA).


That's it for now. I'll post more links as I remember or come across more.

[Tom Yum]

No, No, No....you've got it all wrong. Your punching strength is determined by the size of your biceps, you know from concentration curls and dumbell kickbacks....you've got to look big if you want to be a hard hitter.....just teasing.

You're on the right track. More importantly than core conditioning, atleast for beginners, is correct fundamentals.

[Thai Bri]

Those exercises also cover CV pretty well. Theres plenty muscular men wh'd run out of steam within 1 minute.

[Broadsword2004]

Don't knock bodybuilders fully though. I am not accusing, this is a bit of a rant too, but people seem to think that bodybuilders are all these insecure guys who think training to be a bodybuilder will make them all tough, which isn't true. Bodybuilding is a very tough sport. You have to train EVERY muscle of your body properly and eat very stringently. Bodybuilding is a science, art, sport, and lifestyle. It takes an incredibly lot of work and dedication.

I hate it when so-called "martial artists," knock on bodybuilders, real bodybuilders, when those "martial artists" have about the discipline of a spoiled three year-old and would probably get creamated by a ballet dancer in a fight. I also hate it even when real martial artists knock on bodybuilders cuz it isn't like real bodybuilders are trying to be tough. They aren't stupid. They love the art of making their bodies beautiful and defined. And they are very disciplined.

As for bodybuilders who are super huge and freaky looking, a lot of them are very disciplined too, they just have to get super big these days because that's what people in bodybuilding like. Bodybuilding in itself is just making a beautiful body that can be like 200 pounds on a man who has a height of 5'11. Just in professional bodybuilding these days, guys 5'11 usually have to be like 400 pounds.

Bodybuilding is a sport that is the opposite of martial arts. GeorgeK says you have to forget how your body looks and focuz on its function. Well in BB, you have to forget about what your body can do and focus on its looks (as long as you develop real muscle and not implants, cuz some guys actually do that). At competitions, you will often see bodybuilders who do stuff like full splits and backflips and such as well. Many are former gymnasts and wrestlers and football players and martial artists who just decided they wanted to train for BBing.

I say all this cuz I know so many people have a disapproving point of view of bodybuilders.

Like with cardio, bodybuilders know they can run short of steam easy most likely, but that is not what they train for.

Of course, there are guys who develop super huge pecs and have these little waists and arms and legs, or guys who develop the whole upper body but have skinny legs, etc....and who do think they are tough from the bodybuilding, but I am referring to guys who take the sport of bodybuilding seriously.

[Broadsword2004]

Hey by the way, what is it about kettlebells exactly that makes them tougher and more effective then dumbells??? Aren't both just shapes of weight you pick up?? Or is it in HOW one picks them up? Just wondering.

[Thai Bri]

The handles demand greater hand strength, and they are not just weights for curling etc. Apparently they are used in a much more dynamic fasion, i.e. swinging them about.

Never used em myself though.

[GeorgeK]

Thai Bri is right. The handles are thick and work your grip to a great extent. The exercises done with KB are completely different from the ones you would do with DB. With KB, you do one and two – arm swings, presses, cleans and jerks, snatches, and some others. Also, with KB, you mostly work strength endurance because you do multiple repetitions. There are other numerous benefits to using KB, but I can’t remember all. I’ll look it up and post it here. Everybody who has tried using them, fall absolutely in love with them. I used them a bit when I was a kid. Can’t wait to purchase a set so that I can start using them. They are great for Martial Arts. They’ll make you a more fit and agile grappler and a more powerful striker. I agree they are too expensive and I don’t really understand why. They used to cost very little back in Russia because they are very easy to make (they just pour hot iron into a mold and let it cool). I guess the people who are distributing KB in the states are trying to make their buck. I will still get them. It will be worth it.

[Broadsword2004]

I C, I'll have to get some and give 'em a try.

[Broadsword2004]

Wow, that Crossfit's "What is fitness?" article is really great, thanx GeorgeK.

[GeorgeK]

Man. I don't have words to describe that CF site. It was like a revelation to me when I found it over a year ago. Just read the posts. It's populated by the smartest people. It completely changed the way I work out now. I bought almost all issues of CF journal and in the process of getting the necessary equipment. Still, even without much equipment, you can have killer workouts. Just read the posts and try some of the WODs. You'll love it. If I wasn't doing MA, I would be doing CF only. It's a great compliment to MA though.

[Broadsword2004]

Well I have known about workouts like that on my own for some time now, it was a revelation to me too as I figured it out though. Basically I just read about what Bruce Lee supposedly trained for (i.e. speed, strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, stamina, coordination, balance, flexibility, etc...) and I was amazed by what like gymnasts, dancers, acrobats, etc....can do, and in seeing all those skills of acrobatics, flexibility, etc....and in realizing all the attributes a truly fit person must have, that is why I got into all that kind of training. It is one reason why I love b-boying (breakdancing). B-boying will work your body into being able to do some of the most crazy crap possible.

Thanks for that site though, I have been looking for something like that for some time now.

[Ninpo Ikan]

Good sites, I myself am a huge kettlebell fan and work out with them several times a week. It's more fun than actual work and it always leaves me sweating after a 100 snatch set. Matt Furey is also an exceptional person to look to for combat fitness, his website is http://www.mattfurey.com. Try his Royal Court test (100 Hindu Squats, 50 Hindu Pushups, and 3-minute back bridge) to see where you really stand.