Cardio and Karate

Prior to beginning my career in karate, I was a competitve swimmer.  I was never particularly gifted in the water, but I did manage to develop a significant cardiovascular capacity; aerobically and anaerobically I was incredibly fit.  My cardiovascular fitness has yet to approach that level since I finished swimming.  Moving into karate, I was daily confused by the cardiovascular fatigue that I would feel very shortly into the average karate training at the dojo.  I began searching for new methods of cardiovascular conditioning which would further my ability to perform effectively in the dojo.

My first cardio-love since leaving the pool behind were the roads and trails.  I love running, I try to run as often as possible, I even participated in a number of road races; 5k, 10k, marathon, no distance was too daunting.  However, I saw very little carryover into my karate, which I found very strange.

Boxers and combat fighters for years have used "road work" as a staple to their training.  Why did it work for them, but not for me?  I began reading, researching and analyzing the various combat sport rules and training styles and began noticing things.  At the longest a boxer needs to be conditioned to perform for 15 3-minute rounds, for a total of 45 minutes with only 1-minute rest between rounds.  The MMA fighter has a maximum of 3-5 5-minute rounds for a total of 15-25 minutes.

From there I've tried a number of different conditioning routines and I think for now I've found what works best (for me).  Let's start with the options, benefits and drawbacks.

1) More karate - The main benefit is that you're training your body to perform the activity for an extended period of time.  It's like training to run long distances; the best thing you can do is just run a lot.  With varying degrees of intensities inherent in the training scheme of the typical class, the cardiovascular system will get a veritable kick in its aerobic and anaerobic ass.  While this is (in my opinon) one of the best options, it's far from ideal from the vast majority of the karate population.  Karate, for most people, is a hobby, and as such they are unable to devote so much extra time in the dojo or in training in general.  Now one might say you don't need to be in the dojo to train karate, and that is true, but for many people the lack of class environment (or simply the lack of the dojo) makes the karate training experience less authentic; naturally the enthusiasm is lost.  Time being another consideration, if one does not own one's own dojo, it's hard to train at the dojo outside of normal class times.  I know that given my personal schedule, I can only be in the dojo 2-3 times per week, which is only open in the evenings.  Training early mornings might be an option if the dojo were open at those hours.

2) Running - I know I just said that running did not work, but I was referring a very specific type of running protocol, and that is Long Slow Distance (LSD) running.  The average karate, or even karate competitor, will find little benefit in running distances longer than 3 miles.  Furthermore, running at a steady state does very little to prime one's cardiovascular system to operate among the different levels of activity one will find during the average karate training session, let alone during a competition.  The best form of running would be sprint intervals, highly intense but short bursts of speed followed by ample recovery will better mimic the interactions between fighters during kumite.  Also, Fartlek (Swedish for speed play) is another great option; running a long distance at varying intensities, speed up/slow down over chosen intervals while still getting some good aerobic conditioning.  I would say that the pros and cons listed apply to almost any typical cardio exercise (ie. cycling, swimming, elliptical, etc.)

3) Skipping Rope - This is one of my favorite options, you don't need too much space and all you need is a rope.  As far as equipment is concerned, it's fairly simple.  Primary benefits are that you can gain aerobic as well as anaerobic conditioning by varying tempos, and even more importantly, you will learn to be lighter on your feet.  As such such your explosiveness and foot work will also be improved through skipping.  The downside, in my opinion, is that skipping rope requires far more time to achieve results, and requires a significant level of coordination.  I know many skilled karate-ka that are still unable to skip rope effectively.

4) Barbell or weighted complexes - Another personal favorite, and the one I believe will most benefit a karate-ka that doesn't put too much emphasis on muscular/power training in the gym.  Take a string of easily connected movements using one implement.  That can be a weight plate, a dumbbell, a barbell, a kettlebell, etc.  The idea is to set a specific number of repetitions per exercise, and bang out each exercise for the prescribed reps without putting the implement down; that's one round.  Rest and repeat.  By doing this, you will give your body a full-conditioning workout whilst also improving your strength and strength-endurance.

These are my top choices for conditioning, depending on situation, schedule and other factors I might do one or more of these 2-3 times per week.  Currently I'm focusing on strictly running, but I'm doing sprints everyday 6-days per week based on a program made for me.  Let me know if you have other options or ideas, I'm always looking for new conditioning ideas!

Weight Lifting and Karate

When I had first started lifting weights, I had started it as a way to become stronger in my chosen athletic activities at that time; namely, swimming and then karate.  I continued for a while as a karate athlete and as such my lifting regimen was devoted to making me a stronger, better conditioned and faster athlete.  Having been out of the competitive sphere for some time now, I began pursuing a more powerlifting oriented lifting program with Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program.  I have noticed that my strength and speed have improved dramatically, as most beginners tend to achieve quicker gains than an advanced lifter.  I've been lifting weights for some time, but never with any serious dedication to a program and as such I still consider myself a beginner/novice level lifter.

The great side-benefit of becoming a stronger lifter has been improved performance in the dojo, and most recently in the karate tournament I participated in recently.  I'm far from being interested in continuing to compete regularly in karate competitions, but they do make for an entertaining diversion from standard karate training.  What I've found, however, is that it isn't necessarily the increased strength that has made me a better karate-ka.  It has been my dedication to becoming a more physically-balanced individual.  Many times anybody interested in lifting weights to enhance sport performance beginning considering loading their standard athletic movements (ie. rubber inner-tubes and ankle weights).  This is a problem and tends to create a huge pattern overload.  If your body is trained to throw gyaku-zuki over and over, then it will typically happen that your pec minor, anterior deltoid, triceps and serrattus anterior muscles are all highly over-developed in relation to the opposing muscle groups.  Adding load to this will only cause the muscle imbalances to increase and create potentially joint-damaging environments.  As is often seen with advanced karate-ka, a multitude of braces and bandages are worn whilst training; it is my contention that muscular imbalances are generally the cause.

When a karate-ka takes up lifting weights to supplement one's training, it is important to take a holistic view and not a strictly karate-based view of training.  Training in any sport creates the potential for injury, so it is necessary to build the body into a stable platform upon which to practice these sports.

In karate, we typically use the whole body which is to our benefit, but more emphasis is placed on punching and kicking as opposed to blocking techniques.  The problem that arises is the dependence on the "mirror" muscles for punching and kicking.

It is incredibly important to incorporate all kinds of pulls into one's lifting regimen to create balance.  The standard I use, for a pure beginner, is to do twice as many reps/sets of pulling exercises as opposed to pushing.  If doing bench press, then do 3 sets of 10 but do 6 sets of 10 of lat pull downs, rows or pull-ups.  If doing 3 sets of 10 squats, do twice that in dead lifts, hamstring curls or any hip-hinging movements (ie. stiff-leg dead lifts, Romanian dead lifts, pull-throughs, back extensions, etc.).

As balance is restored to one's joints it is acceptable to return to an equal number of repetitions between pushing and pulling, but never neglect the pulling muscles.  The entire posterior chain is tremendously important to one's overall physical health, and athletic ability.  Increasing one's posterior strength will do more than save the body from injury, but help to forge one's body into the weapon it's meant to become through severe training.

Enjoy the benefits and make sure to keep at it!

My typical lifting routine:
Monday
Shoulder press superset with chin-ups (I do a ton of sets of both of these exercises)
Arm work (biceps and triceps superset)
Facepulls and shoulder isolation

Tuesday 
Deadlift (Again a number of sets are done, the dead lift is probably the greatest exercise any person can do, and should never be overlooked or short-changed.  Learn proper form and go ahead and grip n' rip!)
Abs and lower back superset (sit-ups and back extensions usually)
Obliques and hip-hinge isolation

Thursday
Bench press superset with chin-ups (or some other rowing exercise; a ton of sets completed)
Dumbbell bench press and dumbbell row super-set
Arm work

Friday
Squat (The second greatest exercise ever, when done correctly there are few exercises that force structural integrity)
Single leg work superset with front squats (Martial artists operating on one-leg as often as both, if not more often.  Let's get strong unilaterally as well as bilaterally.  Use Bulgarian split-squats, lunges or step-ups.  Front squats don't only do a number on the quads but when done right really give your middle back a hard workout)
Finish off with leg extensions/leg curl superset for some isolation.

That's it, getting stronger is pretty simple, but it's rarely easy.  Each of these workouts is a sweat drenched brutal hour.  For the very basic template I use for determining rep ranges and weights pick up a copy of Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program, click here.