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Weight Training.
No No No No No... I don't want to lift weights. I don't want to bulk up. I'm a martial artist, not Arnold Schwarzenegger. I can't let my legs get so big that I can't kick. Nope. No way. Nuh-uh. Not gonna do it. There's no reason to!
Isn't there?
Think about it - lifting weights strengthens bones, strengthens muscle, and raises your metabolism. Is that a good start? Worry over loss of flexibility, speed, and martial art techniques are not good reasons to avoid a dedicated regimen of weight lifting. Granted, there are those body builders out there who couldn't get a kick above the knee if their life depended on it, and who don't have the endurance to run up a short flight of stairs to the nearest steroid shop. They aren't you. They spend all their fitness time lifting weights and going for the max lift. They want big and bulky and don't work on maintaining speed and flexibility.
But bulky and slow aren't your concerns. Your goals are different. You probably won't lift to bulk up, and you'll most likely maintain your stretching and flexibility training along with your aerobic and martial arts training. As long as you continue to stretch (and stretch correctly) you'll maintain your flexibility and keep those kicks high. As long as you stick to your martial art training schedule and the aerobic portions of that, you'll maintain your speed. But you'll be even stronger.
Is it an ego thing? On some level, maybe. Who doesn't want a sleek, fit physique? It's beyond your ego, however. The practical reasons for beginning weight training and sticking to it are many...
First off, it will greatly enhance your performance as a martial artist. The stronger muscles will protect your bones and organs better. That sucker punch to the gut won't bother you nearly as much.
Secondly, the weight bearing exercises of lifting aid in the development of stronger bones; not only is there direct martial art benefit in this - lesser tendency towards breaks in training - but as you age it lessens the likelihood of age-related bone disorders.
Third, muscle burns more calories at rest than fat. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn even while you're vegetating in front of the TV or sitting there as your butt goes numb while you surf the Net.
What You Need - And What You Don't Need.
GLOVES: What? Me wear those fingerless, ugly looking things with the Velcro strap around the wrist? Are you kidding? No kidding. Weightlifting gloves can protect your hands not just from unsightly calluses, but from bruising as well. And there's a reason those fingers are cut off - that keeps your hands from overheating. If you're lifting on resistance machines and not free weights, you won't need the gloves. They're a must with free weights.
BELTS:
Don't bother. Unless you're one heavy duty serious power lifter out for all the glory and popping veins you can get, you don't really need one. If you work on your abdominals and back muscles, those will give you the support you need.
SHOES:
Yes Yes Yes! Don't ever lift barefoot - even though you always see those guys in the muscle magazines with their tootsies all aglow. It's a bad idea. Without adequate protective footwear you run the risk of slipping and sliding around, something you don't want to do with a weight bar in your hands. And if you drop a weight plate on your bare toes, kiss them goodbye. They'll be mush.
A TOWEL:
A towel? For what? Drying my pits in between sets? Well, no. But see if you want to hop onto the weight bench or a machine after someone else has puddled it with their oozing perspiration. Gross, gross, gross. Be nice - wipe up your sweat when you're off a piece of equipment.
WATER BOTTLE:
Lots and lots of water. Keep yourself well hydrated. Check with your gym rules about carting around your own personal spill proof water bottle first, but most gyms now allow it. Drink. Drink drink drink.
Ok, So What Kind Of Weight Training?
You have two basic choices - Free Weights and Resistance Weights.
Free Weights are those whereby you pick up the weight plate, struggle it onto the bar on both ends, put the collar on the bar, get yourself a spotter (someone to stand there and watch you, close enough so they can help you if you're about to explode or drop the weights). There's the bench press, and all those dumbbells (no, not the other people in the free weight room), and often times these contraptions that look like they came straight from a medieval horror novel.
Resistance Weights are the machines with the weights on stacks and pulleys. These machines are designed to keep you from dropping weights all around the room, and to give you moderated weight lifting. Instead of direct weight, you lift by the resistance of weight. All those funky cables provide a tiny little weight plate that looks like you could toss it across the room the ability to seem like a small child tugging on you mercilessly.
Which is better? That's a matter of personal preference. With free weights you'll get both positive and negative resistance (that's lifting weight going up, and pushing against the weight coming down (if you just let the weight come down on it's own, you'll probably crush something you want to keep). With resistance machines you might not always get the negative resistance, but you trade off on that in safety and fatigue factors. If you drop the bar on a resistance machines, all you'll break is the machine. And if you get too fatigued to finish a lift, you can just stop.
What you choose to lift with is a matter of what you're most comfortable with. Some people are not comfortable in the free weight room of the gym, and feel intimidated by the huge bulking steroid monsters that inhabit the corners. Lifting free weights, however, generally accrues results faster and makes it easier to isolate individual muscles. If you've never lifted before, it's a good idea to get one of the gym's trainers to teach you proper form for each piece of equipment.
If you're into the idea of resistance weights, there another point to consider - Circuit Training.
Circuit training is generally a combination of weight machines and possibly stationary bikes. You wind up working all major muscle groups at a quick enough pace to get your heart rate going. In some clubs, you're expected to time yourself: 30-45 seconds on a machine, up to a full minute, with a 20 second break in between machines. Other gyms run an audio tape over head that does the timing for you, and even tells you when to stop and take your pulse.
Do you need circuit training? As a practicing martial artist, probably not. You get your aerobic training via the martial arts. It can, however, be a nice change from straight weight lifting, and you still reap benefits from it, from both the martial arts and weight training standpoints. It's a good starting point for a beginning lifter. And without intending to sound sexist, many women find this less intimidating to begin with. If you detest the notion of free weights, but want to lift for strength and health, give it a try.
Lift Safe.
DON'T LIFT EVERY DAY
Ok, technically you can lift everyday. Just not the same muscles. When you lift you tear muscle tissue and it needs 48 hours to rest and repair. If you feel the need to lift weights every day, split your body in two (upper and lower), and work one half one day and the other half the next.
WARM UP BEFORE YOU LIFT
This is pretty much the same principle as in stretching - you don't stretch on cold muscles, you don't lift on cold muscles either. You need to get blood flowing into those muscles before putting them through their pace. Warm muscles leave you less susceptible to injury. You can get on a treadmill for a bit, or a bike, in fact do anything that will get the blood flowing. 5-10 minutes is usually enough.
START LIGHT
If you do more than one set, start off with a short set of very light weights. A light short set (8 reps) keys the muscles for heavier lifting.
LIFT SLOW
Pumping those weights at breakneck speed can injure you, and isn't very beneficial. Fast lifting is a harsh strain on the joints, and doesn't strengthen the muscles very well. If the plates clang, slow down. This includes when you're bringing the weights down - remember, you want to reap the benefits of negative resistance.
BREATHE!!!
Seems like a funny thing to have to remind anyone to do, but some people try to hold their breath when lifting weights. This is not good. While you’re lifting your blood pressure raises a bit as it is - holding your breath can make it skyrocket, and you can pass out. Just remember to breathe - in through your nose, and out through your mouth.
COOL DOWN
Don't just finish your weight sets and stop. Cool down afterwards. Give yourself 5 minutes of aerobic activity, time on a slow treadmill or walking if you did a fast circuit. If you did slow lifting, try some gentle stretching.
So What Do I Lift For What Part Of My Body?
For the most part, you'll need to see the gym or fitness centre trainer for the best equipment for you to use personally. Someone who knows what they're doing - especially if they're certified - can be the most beneficial tool you have in weight lifting. They can listen to what your goals are (i.e. you want to lift weights not to bulk, but to enhance your overall physique, fitness level, and gain strength) and help you tailor-make a lifting routine that will get you where you want to be with the least likelihood of injury.
As a guideline: Always work the large muscles FIRST. Upper body: work the arms last. If you work the arms first, they may be too tired to help with the larger chest and back muscles. Lower body: Start large and work your way down. Glutes, hamstrings, quads, abductor and adductors, calves, and shins.
For The Extra Stubborn...
Assuming the degree of flexibility remains constant (i.e. keep stretching), an increase in muscle size and strength will not slow down a martial artist. In fact, the increase in cross-sectional area actually shortens the relative distance necessary to contract the muscle fully. In addition, the increase in size (and therefore strength) of each muscle cell increases intercellular stability through hydraulic pressure. This has been shown to contribute an increase in fluidity (or smoothness) of motion.
Most importantly, though, the increase in overall muscular size and strength, especially in the fast-twitch white fibres, means an overall shorter amount of time necessary to overcome the inertia of a given limb to set it in motion, such as in a strike, and more mass behind that strike when it connects. This translates into
1) greater velocity of a more massive limb in a shorter amount of time, and therefore
2) greater momentum generated within the same amount of time and the same amount of distance.
All of this means that, as long as the degree of flexibility remains constant, a stronger martial artist will also be a faster martial artist. It also means that the degree of damage per strike is improved.
So... What are you waiting for?
You won't bulk up (unless you want too). Even if you work your legs really hard and they get really big, you'll still maintain your ability to kick as long as you maintain stretching and flexibility training. There is everything to gain (oh yeah - don't be surprised if you gain some weight at first. Muscle weighs more than fat. It's not unforeseeable that you'll go down a size in clothes and yet still weigh more) and nothing to lose. Just don't be afraid to do what it takes to get stronger. Martial artists can lift weights with no detriment to their martial art abilities. Give it a whirl - 12 dedicated weeks and see what results you get. Odds are you'll wonder why you ever believed that weights and the martial arts don't mix.
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