To pump or not to pump?

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Shana Moore
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To pump or not to pump?

Post by Shana Moore »

Got your attention? :lol:

Let’s talk about weight training, something that many women overlook as an essential part of their training toolkit, or they lift weights too low to make any effective progress. So, my questions to you are:
  • Do you include strength training as part of your regular regimen?
    Do you train specifically for some of the things you do in your martial arts practice?
    Do you think it has helped your practice of martial arts?
    Do you have any comments on exercises/habits to avoid in strength training, because they’ll have a negative affect on your martial arts training?
    Would you share some of your favourite or recommended exercises?
Last edited by Shana Moore on Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Shana Moore
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some thoughts, If you don't do strength training

Post by Shana Moore »

Now, if you don’t do any strength training, let me share some thoughts for you to consider:

Personally, I believe that most people, male or female, can benefit from strength training, as it can increase bone density, muscle strength, and the body’s basic metabolism. Let’s face it, weights can make you feel strong and in control, and tighten your overall body to fight the ravages of time and bad habits!

Many women shy away from weights because they fear becoming bulky, muscle bound, vein popping maniacs. Without some SERIOUS tampering with diet and body chemicals, that is simply not going to happen for most women. We do not produce enough testosterone to build that much muscle mass, and our bodies are inherently set up to store fat in certain body parts (breast, buttocks, hips, thighs…sigh). Also, our basic bone structure is generally smaller and wouldn’t support that level of muscle mass.

Also, you remember that phase were most girls were several inches taller than the boys? Because of the timing and length of our adolescent growth spurts, women’s bone density is often less than that of men. As far back as 1994, the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that women as old as 70 can stop and often increase bone density with just a twice weekly lifting regimen. Can we say fight osteoporosis now?!?!

Women’s hips tend to be broader than men’s, whereas men’s shoulder’s tend to be broader than women’s. This can result in different angles of muscle attachment, which can result in areas are more prone to injury…such as knee injuries. Weight training, especially when you train a muscle from multiple angles and with steady progress, can actually help to stabilize and strengthen muscles around these “weak” points.

And last but not least: More muscle mass means a higher metabolism…so higher calorie burn…YAY!

If you are just starting out, working out with a partner is a great boon! I’d also recommend a good resource book. I like Strength Training for Women by Lori Incledon. She’s a licensed athletic trainer and physical therapist assistant. Her book not only has many great exercises with pictures and instructions, she goes into a great deal of information about how to set up your own training program to focus on your personal goals, whether they be muscle building, strength, power, and/or endurance. She also discusses agonist/antagonist muscle groups (opposing push/pull muscle groups like your back/chest muscles or triceps/biceps). So, there is some good information here…I welcome any other reference/resources you may find!

http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Training ... 176&sr=1-3

So, pump up some enthusiasm and see how it can improve your training!
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Shana
Rick Wilson

Post by Rick Wilson »

Good post.

If you want to try a different approach to weight training that works strength in range of motion and grip strength try clubbells.

Start with the minis which are five pounds although anyone who I have ever handed them to guesses ten to fifteen. Then move up. The come in mini five pounders and fullsize 5,10, 15 , 20 ,25 ,35, and 45.

Scott Sonnon’s Xtension and Min Clubbells video clip:

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/mambo/ ... ension.mov

Very different than pressing weights.

Not arguing which is better but for martial training strength in range of motion is vital and in Uechi and other arts so is grip strength and the clubbell does the trick. A very old training method brought into this century.
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Post by chef »

Good questions, Shana. My responses below the questions.

Do you include strength training as part of your regular regimen?

Most definitely! I started weight lifting shortly after I started karate, around 25 years of age. For me the strength training is as essential physically and it is mentally. Great way to blow off steam, great for emotional therapy to forget about things for awhile, and great to build strength and endurance. With strength training, your muscles burn at rest. Another wonderful advantage is to stave off osteoporosis for women...you build stronger bones with resistance training.

Do you train specifically for some of the things you do in your martial arts practice?

I train all body parts in opposing muscle sets (eg. biceps and triceps, chest and back, etc.). I start with light cardion (often kata) to get my heart rate up, do my weight training, and include full stretching every time. I target problem areas...right now, I do dynamic motions for my shoulders since they are giving me such problems. I work my wrists with light weight over a bench since we grab a lot in our style and that is a lesser area to work. I plan on working my sokusens with the leg press and no weight.

Do you think it has helped your practice of martial arts?

Most definitely...always a bonus in flexibility, strength, and endurance! It keeps you in shape for karate and at my age, I need to keep up with it.

Do you have any comments on exercises/habits to avoid in strength training, because they’ll have a negative affect on your martial arts training?

I think adding cardio is a plus, especially for endurance in sparring and to lose body fat. That is the one thing I would like to add in on a regular basis, to supplement the weight training...thinking about something fun like dancing or an new aerobic class our gym offers with dance moves.

Also, it's important to fuel the body. I try to eat a little something, if only an apple, before training. There is an optimal time to eat afterward too that benefits the body the most...30-45 minutes after a workout. That is the time I eat my carbs because the body needs the fuel and burns it off quickly.

Timing is important: if you workout to close to bed time, you rev your body so much that it is difficult to get to sleep. I prefer an early morning workout because it gets it out of the way and starts my metabolism going. Another thing about a successful training regimen is to pick a time and be consistent...make it a habit. If you do it the same time on a regular basis, you are likely to stick with it in the long run.

Would you share some of your favourite or recommended exercises?

I will address that later...one thing I always, always do every workout is stomach/core work and hip abductor/adductor. I change things up either with a different program, altered weight, or changing up the rep to weight ratio. The body gets ussed to the same thing and compensates, so get it out of its comfort zone.

More later,
Vicki
"Cry in the dojo, laugh in the battlefield"
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Shana Moore
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Post by Shana Moore »

Rick Wilson wrote:If you want to try a different approach to weight training that works strength in range of motion and grip strength try clubbells.
Rick,
This looks intriguing, but I have a question. How is training with Clubbells different/better than kettlebells?

I can see that you would grip them differently, and the weight would hang differently, as it appears club bells resemble bats and kettlebells resemble balls with handles.

Is there a particular reason you would recommend this type of weight for Uechi training purposes? Just curious.

Thank you for a new idea to explore![/img]
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Post by Shana Moore »

chef wrote:..right now, I do dynamic motions for my shoulders since they are giving me such problems. I work my wrists with light weight over a bench since we grab a lot in our style and that is a lesser area to work. I plan on working my sokusens with the leg press and no weight.
Thanks Vickie, I agree cardio, fueling the workout before and after, adn timing are all vital components to a regimen. GREAT post! I can't wait to see what exercises you suggest.

I've started doing light work on the wrists as well, but to combat carpal tunnel related to pregnancy. I find that stregthening the area helps tremendously, but I can see how it would assist grip strength as well.

On the shoulders, have you heard of Y's, T's, and I's? These are some great exercises to do with light weights to work a wide range of shoulder/back muscles. They work best with proper hand positioning, so you get the full benefit of the motion. You lie on a bench, belly down, and form a Y, a T, and an I with your arms....it's a lot harder than it sounds! I think I might have a link to this exercise somewhere, I'll see if I can find it.
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Rick Wilson

Post by Rick Wilson »

Hi Shana:

I’ll respond to why I believe this is good training for Uechi first.

On a general note I have been working with Scott Sonnon’s material Intu-Flow, Ageless Mobility, Be Breathed, Grappler’s Toolbox, Flow-Fit I for a while now and just got his Body Flow, Prasara Yoga and Forward Pressure. So I guess I am sold on his approach to mobility and joint health.

I find that for martial artists we tend to damage our joints and bind our mobility just from the hard training we put ourselves through.

The goal of his material is mobility and joint health. For martial artists it is often recovering this joint health.

You need to be loose and mobile to perform any martial art and therefore Uechi properly. No dragon flow without being loose.

Clubbells extend this recovery of mobility and go farther in that they go deeper into increasing your strength through the range of motion which is vital for martial arts.

The added benefit I find of clubbells is the working of grip strength. Hanging on to them can be challenging after a while.

Grip strength is vital for the grappling portions of Uechi which is significant.

As to kettlebells and clubbells I bow to the expert and will quote some of Scott Sonnon’s writing on the subject because he is and expert in both.

Scott Sonnon:

1) What's better dumbbells, kettlebells or Clubbells?


That depends upon your training goals. If you’re interested in functional strength, then you need to train in the most degrees of freedom. Dumbbells typically move the least free, kettlebells next, and Clubbells with the greatest degrees of freedom. Sure, you can force a dumbbell or kettlebell to move through a Clubbell® exercise, but never safely and never as effectively.

2) I was exposed to kettlebells in the 6 years of training that I did back and forth throughout Russia with the national and Olympic coaches of various combat sports such as Sambo, Boxing, Kickboxing and Fencing. Kettlebells were a middle ground between conventional training and Circular Strength Training®. The kettlebell somewhat displaces its center of mass, but not to the extent of the Clubbell®®. The superiorly displaced center of mass of the Clubbell®® creates an extreme leverage challenge. The leverage challenge creates positive neurological force production without the injury to connective tissue caused by conventional weights: the greater the actual weight, the more damage to soft, connective tissue (the reason that conventional weightlifters are riddled with soft tissue, joint and spinal injuries.) The displaced center of mass of the Clubbell®® (and to a much lesser extent - the kettlebell) allows less actual weight while eliciting superior force production; thus allowing greater heights of strength conditioning, but without the problematic injuries associated with conventional weight-training.

The kettlebell has a conventional handle which rests on the skeletal structure (pulls against the fingers like a dumbbell or barbell), unlike the Clubbell®® which distracts (pulls through the grip like a rope swung around one's head, so it must be held with muscular strength alone). The more than actual weight rests on the skeletal structure, and the greater that actual weight is, the more that soft connective tissue (such as around the joints and the spine itself) accumulates trauma. Therefore, since the unique club-like handle pulls through the grip, only muscular contraction can hold the Clubbell®®, and thus eliminates the injuries so rampant in conventional weight-lifting (kettlebells, dumbbells and barbells.)

Unlike conventional weight-lifting of kettlebells, dumbbells and barbells where you must increase the weight of the implement in order to increase the force production, the Clubbell®® is swung. Swinging weight increases torque. Increasing torque increases force production.
Rick Wilson

Post by Rick Wilson »

Here are some small clips of a larger clubell moves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLMfRXM2 ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNOpsOtt ... re=related

Here is a nice clip that runs through Circular Strength Training (CST) which includes clubbells (one of the three wings: Intu-Flow, Prasara Yoga and Clubbells):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6uK76TQYig
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Post by chef »

Incredible stuff. Thanks, Rick, for posting this.

I am very interested in using this equipment but am restricted right now with my shoulders from maxing out and over lifting in the weight room. I am having to slow down. and have had the misconception that not pushing myself in the gym is going backward..thus injuring my shoulder by lifting too much weight on a lat pulldown...stupid, stupid, stupid!

Can this be done with funky shoulders? It looks like the major work is in the shoulders.

Thanks again,
Vicki
Last edited by chef on Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Shana Moore
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Post by Shana Moore »

Agreed, this is great stuff to look into. Maybe Vicki and I can go in on purchasing a set. Whaddya think Vicki?

I'll have to wait until I'm home to check out the youtube links, but can't wait. I was thinking the benefits would have to do with extending the weights beyond your grip, and that makes a lot of sense.

My next question...and this may be one of the reasons you start slow and with low weights is increase of force throughout the movement. AGain, I've not had a chance to view the videos because my work blocks them, but it sounds like this involves a lot of swinging motions...doesn't that increase the force exerted at the top of arc? I can see that added some stretching into the weight activity, which is pretty cool, actually...but I could also see someone doing this without caution and pulling something. Just curious if I'm on the right track or missing something because I haven't been able to view the vids yet.

Otherwise, I really like this idea and will be checking into it. It sounds like a great way to increase grip, mobility, and strength. I love learning new things!
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Post by Shana Moore »

Random thought Vicki, have you thougth of adding some swimming to your cardio?

When I was fighting a potential case of bursitis, I actually found that swimming helped me strengthen my shoulders because is takes weight off the joints, but still works them because the water pushes against you in all directions...and it's GREAT cardio. My chiropractor thinks it's a great recovery tool. Just a thought, FWIW.
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Post by chef »

Yes, on the club bells, Shana. We would just have to decide on a weight or maybe could get a couple of increments, based on the price of them...for increasing as we do it.

Yep, I have thought about swimming. Just hate to shave my legs and don't feel like taking the time to braid it (just kidding, it's not that bad) and I hate what the chlorine does to your hair, even with a cap it creeps in...I could cut it short again like I did 4 years ago, color it purple, and not worry about it.

I am being goofy today. Must be my hormones.

Regards,
Vicki
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Shana Moore
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Post by Shana Moore »

chef wrote:Yes, on the club bells, Shana. We would just have to decide on a weight or maybe could get a couple of increments, based on the price of them...for increasing as we do it.
Coolness...want to get an answer to that one question, but I'm all for giving this a shot. I think it'd be great training!
Yep, I have thought about swimming. Just hate to shave my legs and don't feel like taking the time to braid it (just kidding, it's not that bad) and I hate what the chlorine does to your hair, even with a cap it creeps in...I could cut it short again like I did 4 years ago, color it purple, and not worry about it.
:rofl: yeah...the shaving part is NOT my fav...as for the chlorine, I cover my hair with a cheap conditioner and swim, instead of a cap (which just pulls my hair and doesn't really help m), and then wash with a special shampoo...I only swim 1-2 times a week, but it has greatly helped.

As for purple...LOVE IT!!!!
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Rick Wilson

Post by Rick Wilson »

Shana and Vicki:

My recommendation to start is to go with the package deal of the Intu-Flow program and the min-clubbells (which come with a DVD workout call Xtension).

This package gives you the foundation base of CST which is the Intu-Flow program. Intu-Flow is a progressive program to recover joint health (great for injured shoulders).

When you first work with the program it may seem like another warm up program but after a few weeks you begin to see major differences in how your body feels. It was shocking to me the changes it made.

The min-clubbells give you a good introduction to that wing of CST for a much lower cost than the full size clubbells. Not that the full-size are not worth it but using the minis lets you know if you are going to actually train with them.

They are also the lowest weight so you can learn to move with them correctly with little risk. You don’t want to swing a 45 pound clubbell wrong.

I think you will be surprised at first by how much the minis feel like they weight but after a time working with them you look for more weight.

I have a fifteen minute program I do with the minis combing Intu-Flow moves, Xtension and work from the Big Book of Clubbells (check your library mine had it.) I go for fifteen minutes without putting them down so they really begin to work on grip strength.

You should never work with clubbells longer than you can hang on to them of course – you think a wii can go through a TV…..

I particularly recommend the Intu-Flow for recovering joint health and as a basis to work off of to the other programs. I cannot express how much this “little” program has healed a lifetimes worth of hard martial training.

If you go for the full-size clubbells, which I really don’t think you will regret being people dedicated to training, then I recommend starting with a pair of ten pound ones for one handed work and when you feel like more weight go for a twenty for two handed.

From there move up to in five pound increments.

I do recommend getting the minis regardless because there are moves you can do to increase range of motion where you don’t want a lot of weight just enough to extend the movement.

As for shoulder problems I am not qualified to comment other than Laird had a lot of shoulder problems (one shoulder four inches lower than the other) and was told only surgery would correct the problem. He fell in love with clubbell work and has minis, pair of 10s, pair of 15s and a 35 pounder. His shoulders are now even and functioning better than they have in ten years. Anecdotal evidence only but there you go. 8)
Rick Wilson

Post by Rick Wilson »

You will find a link to Scott Sonnon’s site on my main page and “yes” if you go through that link to make your purchase there is a benefit to me but, so you know, I was recommending the Coach’s material well before I decided to become an affiliate.

Go there direct or go through my site, either way I highly recommend Coach's material.
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