Strength training for martial arts

Geschatte leestijd: 14 minuten There are many different opinions about strength training for martial arts. Strength training for martial arts can offer significant benefits as long as the specific needs of the sport and the workings of muscles and strength in martial arts are taken into account. Improper application of strength training can actually worsen performance in martial arts.

History and tradition of strength training in martial arts

Ancient Greek boxers trained hundreds of years before Christ with weighted bands on their hands and simple iron and bronze dumbbells. From the late 18th century, early 19th century, boxers began to work with resistance bands, springs, and cables with resistance to increase punching power. Some fighters also performed as Strong Men and demonstrated their strength by lifting heavy stones and bending horseshoes with their hands [1]. Archaeological findings indicate that ancient Greek wrestlers also used strength training, both progressively like in bodybuilding and focusing on maximal strength like weightlifters. They used simple stone dumbbells and did almost all dumbbell exercises we do today. They also used marble plates with handles on the sides like we use a barbell. For example, legs were trained by running in soft sand in heavy armor or by jumping out of holes with dumbbells in hand (classic box jump). Resistance was increased by wearing heavier armor or digging deeper holes to jump out of. They particularly preferred rolling heavy stones through the sand for leg training. This was a “trick” they devised after observing how it led to thicker legs in slaves. In addition, they combined lifting, carrying, and throwing heavy stones as an exercise. A notable example is that of the famous wrestler Milo of Croton who started by carrying a calf until it grew into a cow. In an old pre-World War II film, you can see karate practitioners (Goju Ryu style) using weights during training. The founder of this system, Miyagi Chojun (1888-1953), was taught the use of chishi by his teacher (Aragaki Ryuko) when he was 11 years old. Chishi are short sticks weighted with stone on one end. Ishi-sashi were also used. These are square stone blocks with a handle on the side. These weights were usually used during the execution of karate techniques such as performing a kata. It will become clear from the further article that both the Greeks and the Japanese were already working with principles that coaches nowadays explain to professional athletes, and only now do we understand why they are effective.

How to develop more punching power?

Various martial artists use different muscles and combinations of muscles to throw a punch. The execution varies by style, but also by practitioner. Standard punches such as a straight right, uppercut, and hook involve a chain of muscles and joints. The ankle, knee, and hip joints generate power (“Triple extension”) from the ground, which is then taken over and amplified by the torso, shoulder, and arm. Being able to hit hard depends mainly on how successful this chain is in synchronizing movements. In boxing, for example, less experienced fighters use the torso and arm much more than experienced boxers who engage the legs and torso to a much greater extent [2]. This is evident from a study where the effort of different muscles was measured in boxers of 120 different levels during a right punch. A similar difference was observed by researchers in the 1970s with shot putters. The movement and muscles involved in shot putting are similar to a right punch. Shot putting is an example of an exercise type that develops more power for a punch in martial arts, but more on that later. A comparison revealed that the correlation between shoulder strength and results in beginners was 0.83 and between leg strength and results was 0.37. For beginners, the result is mainly dependent on shoulder strength and to a much lesser extent on leg muscles. For very experienced shot putters, the importance of shoulder muscles was slightly smaller (0.73) while the importance of strong leg muscles was much greater (0.87) [3]. A similar cooperation of muscles is seen, for example, in executing a roundhouse kick (mawashi geri), an elbow strike, and a knee strike. In strength training for martial arts, it is important to identify this cooperation of muscles and adapt your training accordingly through compound exercises such as in weightlifting where, for example, you have to deadlift a barbell in some parts, pull it towards the chest, and push it overhead. To develop power for kicks and punches, but also for throws, it is therefore advisable to perform compound exercises that improve the coordination of sport-specific muscles rather than exercises that focus on maximizing individual muscles or muscle groups. Weightlifting is more suitable for this purpose than bodybuilding, where more isolated exercises are done. However, many more compound exercises can be devised that also emphasize the following important point: Explosiveness.

Punching power through fast muscles

F = M x A. This is Newton’s law indicating that force (F for force) is determined by mass (M) times acceleration (A). Fighters therefore benefit from generating as much speed as possible with as much mass as possible. For example, a whip strike (uraken) owes its Dutch name to the fact that the fist is “whipped out” like the end of a whip. This occurs by retracting the arm before contact with a relaxed wrist, causing the knuckles to fly forward. This strike is therefore very fast but delivers little mass because it consists only of the weight of the fist. When tension in the elbow, shoulder, and wrist is maintained at the end of a movement, the mass of the torso and arm can be utilized. When tension in the joints is maintained up to the ankle, the weight of the entire body can be utilized. However, the latter takes more time and therefore sacrifices speed. Additionally, body weight plays a role as mass, but this is a variable that not everyone wants to work on positively because fighters compete in weight classes. A good fighter should try to get as much mass as possible into motion in as short a time as possible. The so-called Rate of Force Development (RFD), the speed at which force is developed, must be increased [4,5,6]. To learn to use a lot of force quickly, it is important to know how fast most movements in martial arts are executed. In this respect, it is comparable to boxing and hockey, where many movements must be executed quickly. However, few movements are as explosive as in martial arts, not even in these sports. The emphasis in strength training for martial arts should therefore be more on explosive strength training than on maximal strength training. Explosive strength training has as its main objective increasing the RFD, and the focus is on developing the most explosive muscle fibers, the fast-twitch fibers. The general rule is that the RFD depends on the muscle fibers involved, and the fast muscle fibers generate more speed than slow muscle fibers. Training with a light load with a high speed of movement, known as ballistic training, mainly trains the fast muscle fibers. For example, in a bench press exercise, if you throw a medicine ball or perform a push-up while clapping, the speed of the movement is high and the resistance is low. This way, the movement is executed explosively. Other ways to improve the RFD are plyometrics. Plyometrics are exercises in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted rapidly, using the strength, elasticity, and innervation of the muscles and surrounding tissues to jump higher, sprint faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Jumping onto and off a box is a well-known example of a plyometric exercise. Here, too, the emphasis is on a high speed of movement with minimal resistance. Developing explosive strength is crucial for combat sports, but not all exercises must be executed explosively. Some exercises, especially those that improve coordination, should be performed with a lower speed to execute them correctly.

Maximal strength for grappling sports

Explosive strength training is particularly important in sports where many movements are made quickly. In judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and wrestling, athletes not only need explosive strength but also maximal strength. Maximal strength is the maximum force that can be exerted by a muscle or muscle group in a single maximal voluntary contraction. This is important for holds and locks. In strength training for these sports, it is therefore important to work on maximal strength in addition to explosive strength. A good example is weightlifting, where, for example, a snatch requires a high speed of movement (explosive strength) and a high maximal strength. In summary, it can be concluded that strength training can be of great benefit to martial artists, but only if it is done properly and tailored to the specific requirements of the sport.

References

• [1] Sandow E. (1894). Strength and How to Obtain It. New York: Physical Culture Publishing Co.
• [2] Hatfield FC. (1989). Power: A Scientific Approach. Chicago: Contemporary Books.
• [3] Hatfield FC. (1989). Power: A Scientific Approach. Chicago: Contemporary Books.
• [4] Hoshizaki TB, et al. (1989). “The effect of muscle preactivation on the knee joint and anterior cruciate ligament”. Journal of Sports Sciences, 7:43-50.
• [5] Perrin DH. (1993). “Isokinetic exercise and assessment”. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.
• [6] Stone MH, et al. (2003). “Explosive exercises in sports training”. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.

Building Conditioning for Martial Arts

Training for functionality is also important when it comes to conditioning. At the time of writing this article, I was watching the final of the Glory World Series in Tokyo. Jamal Ben Saddik vs. Errol Zimmerman. When you see them like that, they don’t exactly look fit. My wife especially didn’t appreciate Ben Saddik’s pear shape and love handles and wondered how fighters at that level could seem to have such poor conditioning. The point is that most fighters need a very different type of endurance than, say, marathon runners. The latter mainly train the slow twitch muscle fibers which have a lot of endurance and use the so-called aerobic energy system, but are less fast and powerful. At least, this is indicated by studies on similar sports. Traditional cardio (for long duration and relatively low intensity) does promote fat burning and a lean body, but is almost useless in the ring. It only helps during the relatively inactive moments when fighters circle each other and the bouncing footwork that is so typical for many fighters. However, it’s of no use during moments of action because it’s the other muscle fibers that come into play then, which use different energy systems (especially type IIB). So, it’s better to train those energy systems that you need in the ring. Fighters mainly rely on the anaerobic energy systems (especially the phosphagen system) where more oxygen is consumed than is taken in. However, it’s not the case that training the slow twitch muscle fibers decreases the number of fast twitch fibers as can happen when the fast fibers are trained instead of the super-fast ones. Although fibers can change from super-fast fibers (IIB) to fast twitch fibers (IIA), there isn’t enough research to indicate that a change from fast to slow fibers is possible. However, looking at basketball, which is comparable in terms of explosiveness, we still see a negative correlation between good aerobic condition (such as that of a marathon runner) and results. This suggests that it may still affect explosiveness or have a negative effect in other ways (34). At the Albert Cuyp boxing school in Amsterdam where I trained for a short period a few years ago, a lot of emphasis was placed on round times as is often the case in boxing schools. All exercises, whether it was skipping or hitting the heavy bag, lasted 3 minutes followed by one minute of rest. While round times vary for each sport, for most of them there’s a period of intensive work, followed by a shorter rest period. Also, in traditional Muay Thai training, you see that there’s often 3-5 minutes of intensive training followed by 1 to 2 minutes of rest. Therefore, fighters should work with HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training. There are several options for the type of exercise (cycling, running, jumping, skipping), the interval (for example, 3 minutes intense, 1 minute rest), and the intensity level. It’s wise to make these match as closely as possible with the type of effort in your sport. For HIIT, you need a good basic level of fitness to prevent health issues. If you don’t have this yet, it’s better to start with traditional cardio at lower intensity and longer duration so your body doesn’t have to suddenly adapt to a very high heart rate. Once this base is established, sports-specific conditioning training like HIIT in this case, proves sufficient to maintain that base (35,36,37). A somewhat peculiar example maybe but… Millions of fighters were inspired in the late 70s and later by Rocky Balboa who goes jogging in a tracksuit with a hood and triumphantly runs up the 72 steps of the stairs in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Originally, the plan was for him to carry his dog up the stairs, but this proved too heavy. However, the view from the top of the stairs was so beautiful that they shot the scene anyway, but without the heavy bullmastiff. To truly prepare himself for his fight, he could have started right away at the stairs and sprinted up a few times with the dog in his arms and then calmly walked back down as interval.

Conditioning, Muscle Mass, and Weight

Aerobic conditioning training isn’t only done for endurance, but also to burn fat and thereby lose weight to, for example, qualify for a certain weight class. However, as indicated above, this can have a negative impact on your performance because you’re training the wrong energy system. HIIT is also suitable for weight loss (38) albeit in a different way (more burning of sugars instead of fats). Moreover, weight restriction and weight loss can of course also be achieved through diet. On the other hand, strength training can be used to increase weight. Because it involves increasing muscle mass, in those cases, training is done like bodybuilders do. It’s no coincidence that boxer Evander Holyfield hired bodybuilder Lee Haney (8-time Mr. Olympia) to help him increase his weight. Since a large part of this site is about building muscle mass, I won’t go into detailed training schedules, diet plans, and training methods now. Even if you don’t want to increase your weight, it’s important to know how to do this so you don’t unintentionally gain weight due to ignorance. In summary: for muscle mass, you train with lower intensity and higher volume. In terms of intensity, think of 65-85 percent of your 1RM. In terms of volume, this means between 6-12 repetitions, although this varies per person due to differences in body type and experience (39,40,41). So, keep in mind that your weight can go up when you start working with weights and maintain this number of repetitions. If you train almost always this way and much less often on explosiveness and maximal strength, there’s also a chance that the ratio of fast (IIA) and super-fast (IIB) muscle fibers may change to your disadvantage.

Strength Training as a Means of Defense?

Some fighters are known to be muscular, explosive, and strong, but have a glass jaw. The advantage of strength training with weights is that it also trains the eccentric part of the movement. This is, for example, the moment when the bar drops during bench press. To prevent it from falling on your chest, you have to stop the weight that wants to fall. When you receive a direct blow to the head, it will want to fly backwards with neck muscles slowing down the speed backward. When struck on the sides of the head, it’s the lateral neck muscles that slow down the movement. By training these neck muscles, you not only reduce the chance of injuries but also reduce the chance of being knocked out (42). This also applies to the arms. If you have your hands in a defensive position in front and beside your face, it’s of little use if they can’t resist the pressure placed on them during a punch (then they’ll just be punched through). Strength training emphasizes training the eccentric part more and therefore helps you resist attacks. The same hands that should defend the head are seen dropping lower and lower after the rounds. For keeping the guard up, the aerobic energy system is needed. If you only train for explosiveness, you may be able to punch hard, but you’ll likely struggle to keep your guard up as the fight goes on. It’s mainly the anterior shoulder muscles that struggle to keep the arms lifted and possibly the biceps that can’t keep the hands up anymore. Therefore, it’s advisable to also train the anterior shoulder muscles and the biceps for endurance alongside explosiveness and strength. For the abdominal muscles that defend against low punches and kicks to the abdomen, it’s important that they can remain tense throughout the entire match. Traditional sit-up and crunch exercises (which won’t give you a six-pack!) are fine for this as long as the intensity is low and the volume (number of exercises, sets, and repetitions) is high.

References

1. Alan Radley. “The Illustrated History of Physical Culture”. 2001
2. Filimonov VI, Kopstev KN, Husyanov ZM, and Nazarov SS. Means of increasing strength of the punch. NSCA J 7: 65-67, 1985.
3. Verkhoshansky YV. Fundamentals of special strength training in sport: 1977. In: Supertraining. Siff MC, ed. Denver, CO: Supertraining Institute, 2003. pp. 113
4. Newton RU and Kraemer WJ. Developing explosive muscular power: Implications for a mixed methods training strategy. Strength Cond J 16: 20-31, 1994.
5. Schmidtbleicher, D. Training for power events. In: Strength and Power in Sport. P.V. Komi, ed. London, England: Blackwell Scientific, 1992, 381-395.
6. Zatsiorsky VM. Biomechanics of strength and strength training. In:Strength and Power in Sport (2nd ed.). Komi PV, ed. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Science, 2003, 114-133.
7. Aagaard P, Simonsen EB, Andersen JL, Magnusson P, and Dyhre-Poulsen P. Increased rate of force development and neural drive of human skeletal muscle following resistance training. J Appl Physiol 93: 1318-1326, 2002.
8. Stone MH, Pierce KC, Sands WA, and Stone ME. Weightlifting: A brief overview. Strength Cond J 28: 50-66, 2006.
9. Sale DG. Neural adaptation to strength training. In: Strength and Power in Sport (2nd ed.). Komi PV, ed. London, England: Blackwell Scientific, 249-265, 2003.
10. Arampatzis A, Karamanidis K, Morey-Klapsing G, De Monte G, and Stafilidis S. Mechanical properties of the triceps surae tendon and aponeurosis in relation to intensity of sport activity. J Biomech 40: 1946-1952, 2007.
11. Dalleau G, Belli A, Bourdin M, and Lacour JR. The spring-mass model and the energy cost of treadmill running. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol77: 257-263, 1998.
12. Kubo K, Kawakami Y, and Fukunaga T. Influence of elastic properties of tendon structures on jump performance in humans. J Appl Physiol 87: 2090-2096,1999.
13. Hobara H, Kimura K, Omuro K, Gomi K. Muraoka T, Iso S, and Kanosue K. Determinants of difference in leg stiffness between endurance- and power-trained athletes. J Biomech 41: 506-514, 2008.
14. Bobbert MF and Casius LJ. Is the countermovement on jump height due to active state development? Med Sci Sports Exerc 37: 440-446, 2005.
15. Bosco C, Montanari G, Ribacchi R, Giovenali P, Latteri F, Iachelli G, Faina M, Coli R, Dal Monte A, Las Rosa M, Cortelli G, and Saibene F. Relationship between the efficiency of muscular work during jumping and the energetic of running. Eur J Appl Physiol 56: 138-143, 1987.
16. Bosco C, Viitalsalo JT, Komi PV, and Luhtanen P. Combined effect of elastic energy and myoelectric potentiation during stretch-shortening cycle exercise. Acta Physiol Scand 114: 557-565, 1982.
17. Bobbert MF, Gerritsen KGM, Litjens MCA, and Van Soest AJ. Why is countermovement jump height greater than squat jump height? Med Sci Sports Exerc 28: 1402-1412, 1996.
18. Verkhoshansky YV. Quickness and velocity in sports movements.IAAF Q: New Studies in Athletics 11: 29-37, 1996.
19. Voigt M, Bojsen-Moller F, Simonsen EB, and Dyhre-Poulsen P. The influence of tendon Youngs modulus, dimensions and instantaneous moment arms on the efficiency of human movement. J Biomech 28: 281-291, 1995.
20. Kyrolainen H, Komi PV, and Kim DH. Effects of power training on mechanical efficiency in jumping. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2004 Mar;91(2-3):155-9. Epub 2003 Oct 3.
21. McBride JM, McCaulley GO, and Cormie P. Influence of preactivity and eccentric muscle activity on concentric performance during vertical jumping. J Strength Cond Res 23: 750-757, 2008.
22. Myer GD, Ford KR, Brent JL, and Hewett TE. The effects of plyometric vs. dynamic stabilization and balance training on power, balance, and landing force in female athletes. J Strength Cond Res 20: 345-353, 2006.
23. Potteiger JA, Lockwood RH, Haub MD, Dolezal BA, Almuzaini KS, Schroeder JM, and Zebas CJ. Muscle power and fiber characteristics following 8 weeks of plyometric training. J Strength Cond Res 13: 275-279, 1999.
24. Rimmer E and Sleivert G. Effects of a plyometrics intervention program on sprint performance. J Strength Cond Res 14: 295-301, 2000.
25. Schmidtbleicher D, Gollhofer A, and Frick U. Effects of stretch shortening time training on the performance capability and innervation characteristics of leg extensor muscles. In: Biomechanics XI-A. Vol 7-A. DeGroot G, Hollander A, Huijing P, and Van Ingen Schenau G, eds. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Free University Press, 1988, 185-189.
26. Spurrs RW, Murphy AJ, and Watsford ML. The effect of plyometric training on distance running performance. Eur J Appl Physiol 89: 1-7, 2003.
27. Hori N, Newton RU, Nosaka K, Stone MH. Weightlifting exercises enhance athletic performance that requires high-load speed strength.Strength Cond J 27: 50-55, 2005.
28. Flanagan EP and Comyns TM. The use of contact time and the reactive strength index to optimise fast stretch-shortening cycle training. Strength Cond J 30: 33-38, 2008.
29. Coyle EF, Feiring DC, Rotkis TC, Cote RW III, Roby FB, Lee W, Wilmore JH. Specificity of power improvements through slow and fast isokinetic training: 1981. In: Supertraining. Siff MC, ed. Denver, CO. Supertraining Institute, 2003. pp. 28.
30. Vandervoort AA, Sale D, and Moroz J. Comparison of motor unit activation during unilateral and bilateral leg extension: 1984. In:Supertraining. Siff MC, ed. Denver, CO: Supertraining Institute, 2003. pp. 28.
31. Fleck SJ and Kraemer WJ. Designing Resistance Training Programs. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2004. pp. 209-239
32. Baker D and Newton RU. Methods to increase the effectiveness of maximal power training for the upper body. Strength Cond J 27: 24-32, 2005.
33. Peterson MD, Rhea MR, and Alvar BA. Applications of the dose-response for muscular strength development: A review of meta-analytic efficacy and reliability for designing training prescription. J Strength Cond Res 19: 950-958, 2005.
34. Hoffman JR, Tenenbaum G, Maresh CM, and Kraemer WJ. Relationship between athletic performance tests and playing time in elite college basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 10: 67-71, 1996.
35. Carey DG, Drake MM, Pliego GJ, and Raymond RL. Do hockey players need aerobic fitness? Relation between VO2max and fatigue during high-intensity intermittent ice skating. J Strength Cond Res 23: 963-966, 2007.
36. Hoffman JR. The relationship between aerobic fitness and recovery from high-intensity exercise in infantry soldiers. Mil Med 162: 484-488, 1997.
37. Hoffman JR, Fry AC, Howard R, Maresh CM, and Kraemer WJ. Strength, speed and endurance changes during the course of a division I basketball season. J Appl Sports Sci Res 5: 144-149, 1991.
38. Shiraev T, Barclay G. Evidence based exercise – Clinical benefits of high intensity interval training. Aust Fam Physician. 2012 Dec;41(12):960-2.
39. Campos GE, Luecke TJ, Wendeln HK, Toma K, Hagerman FC, Murray TF, Ragg KE, Ratamess NA, Kraemer WJ, Staron RS.Muscular adaptations in response to three different resistance-training regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Nov;88(1-2):50-60. Epub 2002 Aug 15.
40. Hisaeda H, Miyagawa K, Kuno S-Y, Fukunaga T, Muraoka I. (1996) Influence of two different modes of resistance training in female subjects. Ergonomics 39:842–852
41. American College of Sports Medicine. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Mar;41(3):687-708. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181915670.
42. Cordes K. Reasons to strength train for amateur boxing. Nat Strength Cond J 13: 18-21, 1991.
43. Hakkinen, K. and P.V. Komi, 1985b. Electromyographic changes during strength training and detraining. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 17: 222-222.