Starting Again

[JDThurman]

Hello there. I recently was inspired to try and get into martial arts again. I trained for about four years starting at age 10 or so but then my sensei moved so I quit and haven't done anything since. I'm now 17 and would like to get back into it. My first step in this process, I would think, would be to get into a decent shape again. Now I don't expect a workout to be laid out for me, of course, but any push in the right direction would be great. I'd like to train with mostly bodyweight exercises - weights are harder to come by than I should like and I can't often get to a gym. I've recently started doing general pushup and situps and the like but I'd like to do more than that. I'd like to stick with exercises that don't isolate any muscle groups too much. I'm also working up to planches (still on the first step but it's coming along) but my balance needs some work so my abs aren't quite up to snuff. If it helps, my build is very lean - 5'11" and about 130 pounds - due to my high metabolism. It's mostly muscle, there just isn't much of it. Thanks for looking over it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Tom Yum]

Well, good luck to you.

You can blast your muscles without weights.

Do pull ups, chin ups, bar dips, push ups, burpees, sprints, skip rope, do sit ups. That will make your muscles more defined and dense.

It will also keep you balanced and explosive - important for any martial art.

[adacas]

well congratulations on your decision to get back into the game.
Let's get started shall we. I suggest trying pilates for your core muscles. I know the pilates advertisements look all gay and stuff but the stuff rocks especially if your just getting back into shape. I'm sure you can find a book about it somewhere at school or library. Also i think some running would be in order. A little jogging and a little sprinting rolled into one. This will get that cardiovascular part out of the way while also strengthening your legs and other muscles. High Intensity Interval training works really well. Warm up for 4 minutes and then start jogging for 20 seconds and burst into a full sprint for 20 seconds and back into a jog. do that for 3 minutes and then cool down. Do this 2-3 times a week and try adding a new interval every couple weeks. That will get you into shape.

[JDThurman]

Thanks!

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll certainly try out everything you suggested (after I find out what some of it is ). Yesterday I came across Matt Furey's Combat Conditioning stuff and I messed around with Back Bridges, Hindu Squats, and Hindu Pushups. I couldn't do too many of them but I could definately feel it when I did, especially with the back bridges. Coming out of that felt like my entire body had been stretched all over the place. I ended up doing 3 1-minute back bridges, 3 sets of 15 squats, 3 sets of 15 pushups, and then another one minute back bridge. How well should this increase my fitness if I do it daily? Should I add in some of the exercises you suggested? Replace some Combat Conditioning with the exercises you suggested? Thanks for the help!

[ZenZhu]

Incorporating the martial arts work you learned can help, too... especially if you recall any strength-building exercises your sensei used in classes. I have been getting back into shape over the past couple of years. I took up aerobic kickboxing since I have a background with Yoshukai karate and aikido. I didn't think too much of the Tae Bo workouts. They're definitely intense, but if you're getting back up to speed, they can be a bit too much. The jumping can also be a problem since I live over someone. I found one called "Kick Butt" which was a really good one and easily adaptable. At present, I have a routine that borrows from several aerobic kickboxing routines and incorporates some of my own moves plus some step work. (With a couple of sticks, my step aerobic parts are more like taiko drumming moves.)

On my strength days, I incorporate some punching and kicking work. With the aerobic kickboxing, the emphasis is more on just moving in such a way as to get your heart rate up. On my strength days, I focus on form and power. I also do things like squat-kicks, doing a squat, and then coming up and doing a front kick.. alternating legs for one complete count.

This can at least get you back into the motions before you resume taking classes.