Part Five of a Five Part Series

Upper Body Conditioning

 
One of the most common sites of injury is the lower back. Injury in this region can be as a result of muscular imbalance, weak or inflexible muscles or poor posture. It makes sense, therefore, to develop a session that will work all these areas and give the right level of conditioning for injury prevention.

 

The exercises

Detailed below is a session of six exercises. The exercises are to be performed slowly and smoothly and at no time should you be out of breath.

Sit Ups (Lower Abdominal)

• Lie on your back with your legs bent, knees together and feet flat on the floor.
• Rest your hands on your thighs
• Sit up until the palms of your hands touch your knees
• Return to the starting position
• Perform the movements in a slow controlled fashion

Back Arches (Back)

• Lie on you front with your legs crossed at the ankles, keep your feet firmly anchored to the floor
• Hands and arms straight out in front of you
• Raise your upper body off the floor, keep your neck in line with your spine
• Hold for one second and then slowly lower to the floor

Speed Cramps (Upper Abdominal)

• Lying on your back, keep your legs together in the air, bent at the knees
• Rest your hands lightly on the side of you head (not the back of your neck)
• Raise your upper body to bring your elbows to your knees and go straight back down

Hip and Leg raise (Gluteals and hamstrings)

• Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor
• Place your hands by your side
• Raise hips and straighten one leg and hold for a second before lowering
• Repeat with the other leg

Short sit ups (Hip flexors and Abdominal)

• Lie on you back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor
• Rest your hands lightly on the side of you head (not the back of your neck)
• Raise your body so that your upper body is at 30-40 degree angle with the floor
• Hold for one second before coming down slowly

Back Extensions (Back)

• Sit on the floor with legs bent, feet flat on the floor
• Position your hands on the floor behind you to take some of the weight
• Raise your body off the floor so that your body is parallel with the floor
• Hold for one second and slowly lower
  

• How Many and How Often?

  Start at one set of 10 repetitions. Each week increase the number of repetitions by 2. When you reach 20 repetitions increase the number of sets by one and start again at 10 repetitions.

  The exercises should be performed two or three times a week and be incorporated into your training schedule.

   Before You Start

  Prior to starting any training program it is recommend that you have a medical examination to ensure it is safe for you to do so.
  
  
  
   

  Motivate for Peak Performance

   

  Whether you are competing, or just need a pick-me-up to keep your training on track, sometimes having a motivational saying gives that extra little mental boost. Here’s a selection of sayings. Maybe one will inspire you to a gold medal.

   

  Trust your hopes, not your fears.

  The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond into the impossible.

  The road to success is always under construction.

  Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

  There is a big difference between wanting to and willing to.

  Winning is seeing improvement in yourself.

  You can always better your best.

   Your toughest opponent is in the mirror.

  The harder your work, the luckier you get.

  Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Only those risking to go far will ever know how far they can go.

There is always room at the top.

Workout Components for Greater Athletic Performance

Building a workout routine, whether in class or on your own always brings up questions about what type of work an athlete should do to improve their performance. Let’s look first at the physical workout.
There are three components to strength and speed training that work hand in hand. Weight training, Light resistance training, including Plyometric training, and Flexibility training. All three of these types of training help the body build the explosive quickness that we use in Martial Arts sparring.

For weight training, it not necessary to pursue maximum bulk, but rather to build the muscles for the purpose of explosive kicking and punching. The advantage to using weights is that they allow you to target and work specific muscles both in-groups and individually.

Light resistance training, such as plyometrics, uses the body’s own weight–amplified by the act of jumping, leaping, bounding and hopping–to add not only build muscle strength, but to combine it with coordinated motion, thus building better balance and coordination along with power. Flexibility training uses stretching and kicking routines to build range of motion and accurate placement of techniques.
Combined, these three types of training give you a balanced physical training foundation.
What’s missing? The mental workout.

Add in positive visualization training and motivational training, and you have the tools you need to compete at your top level.

So, the next time you’re reviewing your workout routine, make sure all these types of training are included and you’ll reach your maximum potential.

The Boxer’s Secret

Boxers and Martial Art athletes have a lot in common. Both types of fighting competitions are based on rounds with a short rest break in between.
They both call for developing not just quickness, timing and muscular strength, but also stamina and coordination. However, one of the boxer’s most basic training tools is too often neglected by martial artists-the jump rope.

Think of every boxing movie that you’ve ever seen and you’ll remember someone skipping rope?
Why?

Because it’s one of the cheapest, easiest, and most readily available tools to improve your stamina, coordination, strength, balance, and all-around conditioning. It burns more calories than jogging and is great for aiding weight loss and full-body toning.
To get started skipping rope you’ve first got to get a high quality jump rope, which you can find at a sporting goods store. Look for a “speed rope” made of plastic vinyl. Unlike leather ropes, these have ideal weighting.

Now you need shoes. Never skip rope barefoot! Quality footwear is essential and should consist of cross-training shoes. Running shoes are not recommended, as they do not sufficiently cushion the impact.
Lastly, you need the proper jumping surface. Don’t jump on concrete, asphalt or tile. Use a more forgiving surface, such as a wood floor, dance floor, carpet or high-density mat.
Now its time to jump!



Break your routine into rounds, just like your sparring and give yourself a 30-second rest break between each round.

Keep your feet low to the ground. They should only rise 1″ to 2″ off the ground. This will help keep your jumping from being a “high impact” activity.
Keep the jump rope swinging 8″-12″ over your head and try to maintain a pace of 125-175 evolutions per minute.

Slowly build up the total number of rounds you can jump. When you can do a thirty-minute workout, you’ll be ready for anything.
It’s that simple.

Now you know the boxer’s secret!

Stretching by the Clock

Martial Artists know that stretching is key to improving flexibility and reducing injury. But for how long should you stretch a muscle for maximum results? Ten seconds? Thirty seconds? A minute?

Now a study authored by Brent Feland, Ph.D. that was presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting gives a scientific basis for an activity that most people do strictly by feel.
Dr. Feland’s study looked at hamstring stretches and broke the study participants into groups that ranged from no stretching to 15, 30, and 60 seconds stretches.

The results clearly showed that the participants who stretched for 60 seconds had by far the greatest benefit. Dr. Feland found that the participants that stretched for 60 seconds had nearly double the increase in flexibility and range of motion of all the other groups.

So, the next time you’re taking a moment to stretch, make that moment last 60 seconds. It will be time well spent.

Increase your Flexibility

Stretch every time you exercise. The only way to improve your flexibility is through consistent stretching exercises. Every muscle is subject to the myotatic reflex (stretch reflex) which opposes changes in muscle length, especially sudden or extreme changes. When a muscle lengthens beyond a certain point, the myotatic reflex causes it to tighten and attempt to shorten. This is the tension you feel during stretching exercises.

The myotatic reflex is desirable because it prevents, in many cases, muscle strains and tears. Without it your muscles would be allowed to overextend and tear easily. But it is also undesirable in cases where it prevents you from fully using your body.

Through stretching, de-conditioning of the myotatic reflex takes place. Little by little, you teach your muscles a new limit of safe extension. This is why stretching must be slow and consistent. If you overstretch and injure the muscle, you have to go back to a lower level of flexibility and start over. Set your stretching goals over a period of weeks or months, not days, for best results.



There are three types of stretching: static, dynamic and ballistic. Ballistic stretching means bobbing, bouncing or using some type of moving pressure to stretch the target muscles. Ballistic stretching is not recommended because it activates the myotatic reflex and causes the muscles to tense, rather than relax. Ballistic stretching has a high risk of injury.
Dynamic stretching means moving the muscle through its full range of movement. Dynamic stretching leads to greater flexibility in movement but should be done with caution so it does not become ballistic stretching. To maintain a correct dynamic stretch, focus on smooth, even movements that do not shock the muscle. Examples of dynamic stretches are knee raises, leg raises, arm circles, and trunk circles. Static stretching is a controlled stretch.

A specific muscle or muscle group is extended to the point of feeling slight pain and held in t hat position for ten to sixty seconds. During static stretching, concentrate on relaxing the target muscles and breathing deeply. Begin your flexibility workout with several minutes of gross motor activity to increase your blood flow. Increased blood flow improves the suppleness of the muscles. Then move to joint loosening exercises followed by dynamic stretches to the get the muscles moving freely. If you are working only on flexibility, do static stretches next. If you are training, interspersing periods of static stretching throughout the workout works best because the range of motion increases as the body warms up. Do some light static stretches at the end of every workout to relax and refresh your muscles.

CAUTIONS:
• Do not overstretch. A mild sensation of burning or pulling should be felt in the target muscles. It should be uncomfortable but not unbearable. Avoid bouncing during a stretch. Bouncing causes the muscles to tighten and heightens the risk of injury.
• Follow instructions for exercises carefully. There is right and wrong way to stretch every muscle. Good flexibility exercises are designed to provide a maximum stretch with a minimum risk of injury.
• Do gravity assisted stretches with caution and only after fully warming up. Gravity assisted stretches are exercises like splits that use the force of gravity to increase the pressure on the stretch.
• You should never feel pain in your joints during stretching exercises. If you do, stop immediately and discontinue that exercise.
• When doing flexibility exercises that require bending at the waist, always bend from the hip, not the lower back.
• The lower back is extremely vulnerable to injuries.
• Always increase strength and flexibility together.

Final Words Of Wisdom

Mind Like Water

When performing, practicing a Martial Art, one must maintain a “mind like water”. Yeah, right. What are you TALKING about?!? You heard Bruce Lee talk about water it was his Mantra, but what is mind like water?

This refers to the mental attitude while facing an actual opponent. It refers to the need of making the mind calm, like that of an undisturbed body of water.

Smooth water reflects accurately the image of all objects within its range, and if the mind is kept calm, comprehension of the opponent’s movements, both psychological and physical, will be both immediate and accurate, and one’s responses, both defensive and offensive, will be appropriate and adequate.

On the other hand, if the surface of the water is disturbed, the images it reflects will be distorted. In other words, if the mind is preoccupied with thoughts of attack and defense it will not properly comprehend the opponent’s intentions creating an opportunity for the opponent to attack.

Water also other properties. Water can be quite destructive. In fact, over time, water is one of the most destructive forces on earth. Your mind must be like water. When necessary, be as destructive as you must.

Mind Like The Moon

This refers to the need to be constantly aware of the totality of the opponent and his/her movements, just as moonlight shines equally upon everything within its range. This means that one should watch just part of the opponent’s body such as the hands or feet, rather watch the entire body. With the thorough development of this attitude, the consciousness will be immediately aware of any openings in the opponent’s defenses.
Clouds blocking the light of the moon are likened to nervousness or distractions. These distractions stop the light from shining on everything. Likewise, they make comprehension of and reaction to the opponent’s moves more difficult than they need to be.

Unity Of Will And Mind

If the mind is compared to the speaker of a telephone, then the will is like the electric current. No matter how sensitive the speaker, if there is no electric current, no communication takes place. Likewise, even if you correctly comprehend your opponent’s movements and are aware of an opening, if the will to act on this knowledge is lacking, no effective technique will be forthcoming. The mind may find an opening, but the will must be activated in order to execute the appropriate technique.

The Best Defense

“The best defense is a good offense!” We’ve all heard that before. And, yes, it is true, in most cases. So, does that mean we should be beating up everyone before they beat us? No, not at all.
When learning a martial art, you are also learning a fighting system. With it, we can cause serious damage to others (and ourselves if we are not careful).

1. Avoid the situation altogether (i.e. going to a bar where you know there will be trouble if you go)
2. Walk or run away from the situation if it presents itself
3. Talk your way out of it (God and evolution gave you a brain so use it)
4. Control techniques (for friends or ones who are annoying but not threatening) and finally
5. Use force for force.