Weight training

[Gary Steuer]

Hi Everyone. There are people who like to check out one site and they asked me to post training tips on this site also, so , if there are any questions, any questions at all regarding weight training and martial arts, this is the place .. Hopefully I can help.

The first question that was asked was a good one. They know that there is a rest period between sets, but for how long ? Well, the answer is you shouldn't rest more than 60 seconds between sets. More than that and you give the muscle a chance to cool down and then if you increase weight you are prone to an injury.
Also, when you have finished a set, say of bench presses, do you stay on the bench for that 60 seconds ? Good question. No ! There is a bit of advice from the late Bob Hoffman from the York barbell co. who suggested that you should get up and walk around the training area for that 60 seconds and then proceed to the next set.. This was called " The Hoffman walk." It gets the body fluids circulating and the blood doesn't settle in one area...

[Jim]

Hi Gary

The short rest between sets also forces the blood and neural system into an overload. When you lift they say the work forces blood into the muscle that is being exercised, which seems obvious. If you rest too long between sets the blood and nerve impulses travel along normal routes because the stress is within normal limits and it is no big deal. With the short rest the demand for the blood, oxygen and lymph drainage overloads the system - which forces the body to build new blood, lymph and neural path ways. According to a book by a diabetic doctor this is why diabetics should lift weights and not concentrate on aerobics. Because they need the overload factpr a little more than everyone else in order to be healthier.

[Gary Steuer]

I totally agree with you Jim. Because of my exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam my system went in all directions. It has taken a lot to get it back in line and I found out that doing the aerobic workouts wasn't helping , only making me weaker. Had to cut way down and get back into the weights again. Getting stronger again and have gotten control of my legs again. Still have the neuropathy, which doesn't seem to respond to anything , but I'm feeling better... Count on us having some great workouts in March !

[blackravin]

Hey Uncle Gary, I love to lift, but can't seem to develope a good routine.. I do the pyramid sets incresing as I go down, but my body seems to adjust to quickly to work outs with weights and then I see no gain.. I do alot of upper body and at one time competed for the East Los Angeles College in my youth, but it doesn't seem to work now that I'm older.. I to have seen that weight training helps with sugar control and really have seen my sugars drop since I started weight training again. What do you recommend to get my guns stimulated again?

Sergio

[Gary Steuer]

Sergio, the weight training has made all the difference in the world. To replace weight training with aerobics is not good for anyone with diabetes II , The weights will help you control it ! I've read a lot about it from others who also train and I tried it and it works ! Problem is with all the information from people who DON'T workout like we do and have given the wrong advice !
The tried and true workouts are usually the simplest ! Try to stick with basics split between 2 different workouts at least 3 - 4 days a week. 4 workouts is best. A typical workout shouldn't take more than 60 - 90 minutes or less. Ex, I work 4 days a week and split the routine like this. Monday & Thursday - Warmup with stomach work, such as crunches, or leg raises and alternate with calf raises for about 4 sets of each then on to ( Depending on equipment available. ) squats , leg extensions, leg bicep, leg presss, and then to the back - Using a lat machine - pulldowns to the rear, pulldowns to the front, seated rows witha narrow grip. Then some shoulder work - seated presses, standing narrow grip pullups, side dumbell raises -alternate arms, then front dumbell lifts and finish with more crunches....

Tuesday & Friday workouts start the same way with cruches and leg lifts alternating with calf raises, the I use a bech press and increase the weight for each set , and then a hammer press machine increasing the weight also, and then dumbell presses , and finish with flyes. Then on to the arm work - tricep pushdowns using a knotted rope and then dips off a bench. Bicep work next - curls with an E-Z bar, curls w/ a straight bar, alternate dumbell curls, reverse curls and finish with crunches......... Each exercise is usually done using 4 sets starting with 15 reps working down to about 8 reps as you increase weight. When you can increase your reps is when you increase your weight .. There are many exercises that can be replaced on what equipment you are using or what is handy at the time. Rest no more than 60 seconds between sets and never strain ! Pushing youself is one thing but straining will lead to injury. Please keep me posted as you train and I can show you what exercises will make your kung fu better.. What we've just done is to increase the strength for pushing, for standing and walking the horse and for gripping and much more.. Plus get a little healthier !

[blackravin]

Uncle Gary, I ready alot of Muscle Mag magazines, but It's very difficult at times when you don't know the lingo.. Like what the hell do they mean by "delts" and they always talke about getting bigger, but the fact is I am already pretty big, I just want to tone up, I don't want to get bigger.. I won't fit into my clothes, hahahahaha.. So what do I do, I don't want to go heavier and build more mas, I just want to bring out what is already their and burn the fat around the muscle..

Fantastic Pictures...

[steeve]

Uncle Gary

nice to have talk with you

Could you give a good weight training program with the used of just dumbell for home training.....just to be in shape

Steeve

[blackravin]

I agree with Steeve, can you give us a good home work out... I try to make it to the gym at least two times per week, but even that becomes a challenge sometimes with so little time.

Good to hear from you Steeve.. Happy New Year!

Blackravin

[Gary Steuer]

Hi guys, sorry you can't see my face too clear, maybe for the better ! Old picture !
Anyway. Sergio, don't try to lift maximum weights. you have to cut down on the calories, increase the cardio ( Not if you are diabetic ! I have the same problem.) When you increase the cardio do it in 10 - 15 minute increments. Alternate between cardio and anything, stretching, lifting, forms, etc and then go back to the cardio. Once the weight comes down you can increase cardio more...Policosanol is a natural that you can get in a health food store and take it along with any other medication and get great results. Also look for the name Gymenma Sylvester, this is a Indian herb to control sugar..... they are pretty much the same.

Workouts........ Dumbells are great. Lots of things to do .... The key thing you have to remember is You Always work the largest muscle group down to the smallest muscle group !!!
The average person walking into a gym for the first time will walk right over to the dumbell rack and pick up a dumbell and start to do curls..........Thats a fact ! I'll try to go over this in detail later but try to look at some websites or books in a library so that you get a better idea of workouts and movements, etc,, Don't worry too much about how much weight you can lift, remember, the Olympic team has already been picked ! The important thing is the movement and doing it correctly and regularly ! I could talk you through a lot of it but I really need to see you and make corrections as you workout !
Delts or deltoids are the big ball muscles on top of the shoulders that connect to the arms. Traps or trapazoids are the muscles that are behind the neck and connect to the back. these are 2 groups that come into play alot in kung fu training...

[steeve]

Happy New years Sergio

Thank Gary

I know a lot of exercise to do with the dumbell....Shoulder ,arms and back could be well with the Dumbell....but Does the pecs with dumbell its better to do flat bench or incline bench since we could not load heavy with dumbell

and for the thigh Whats kind of squat we could do with dumbell

Steeve

[Gary Steuer]

It was great talking with you also Steeve !
I've had injuries to the shoulders and to the pec muscles and have a little trouble lifting heavy from a flat bench so I prefer to use an incline bench and use both barbell and dumbells, but I prefer to use dumbells....
As far as leg work with dumbells, you could hold them at your sides and do alternate leg lunges. First step up into a good forward horse stance and then push yourself back to a straight standing stance and then change legs and repeat. This is a good quadricep burner....
2- you can bring the dumbells up to the shoulders and then squat down to parallel and back up again...
3 - if you have a bench or a step you can do the alternate step up with dumbells, one leg up and then the other leg and then back down and then back up again.........and so on .......
That's a good start

[redmantis3]

Gary,

I'm just getting back into lifting, something I haven't done (consistently) since I was 21 (then it was "legally" party time). I've got a couple of questions before I decide which method or combination of methods I'll be using...........

First, what do you think about the kettleball craze? I've got a couple and the thing I find most odd is that they seem lighter than dumbbells of equal weight As an example, when I do curls with dumbbells, I max out with 10 reps at 35lbs but with kettleballs I can push it to 45lbs Would you say the Kettleballs are supplementary or complimentary to a dumbbell routine?

Second, What's your thoughts on Isotonic and Isometric training, is it possible to achieve results equivalent (in ability not size) to weight training? I don't know if you've ever seen Sifu John Allen of the Green Dragon Kung Fu Studios but, supposedly the man has never done heavy weight training but he's got some huge biceps (not bulging like tennis balls stuffed here and there, just solid); and all the result of high tension kung fu sets and heavy weapons training. I've never seen anyone else achieve such results without some type of weight training

Steve Perez
S5CBA

[Gary Steuer]

Hi Steve, you've got some good questions. Kettlebells seem very popular now. 100 years ago they were about all that was available, then they developed dumbells. Kettlebells are are used to compliment a regular weight program. Most gym rats have never seen a kettlebell. They are used primarily for leverage exercises. They seem easier to lift because of where the weight to muscle ratio is used. Ex. If you used them for curling, as the handle is brought up in the curl the weight is moving backwards and the tension is taken off of the bicep differently than if using a dumbell, so it would seem lighter. You are creating a lever.

I've seen people who have spent their entire life lifting weights and it would seem as though they had never touched a weight ever ! Then there are people who develop naturally....Go figure ...

[braz24]

Hi Guys,

I'd like to chime in on kettlebells as I'm very into lifting weights and own kettlebells that adjust from 10 to 70 pounds each. I'm a big kettlebell advocate.

I would say you could either use kettlebells as your primary weightlifting routine or as a supplementary routine. It depends on your personal goals.

Kettlebells are outstandiing for cardio training as you hit many muscle groups at one time. If you do tons of reps per set, you'll be begging for air when you finish. Many exercises with kettlebells will tie in many muscle groups together simultaneously and teach those groups to work together rather than isolation like many barbell and dumbbell exercises do. This will be a serious bonus for martial arts training.

You can do many exercises with a dumbbell that you can with a kettlebell and vice-versa. Try the kettlebell curl again Steeve...this time, hold the kettlebell with the hand "pointing" from front to rear. Keeping you elbow in place and without rotating your wrists at all, do the curl. The goal is to keep the kettlebell handle straight out (as if it was still hanging by your side...straignt down) as you contract your bicep and raise the kettlebell...The kettlebell should not hang down during any part of the repetition and the wrist straight with no rotation at all. The kettlebell should be in a straight line with your forearm and wrist for this type of curl.

If I haven't made this clear as mud, then you won't curl your normal dumbbell weight or even close to it at first. Your forearm muscles and grip strength will dramatically increase given time. I recommend starting light, keeping strict form then eventually working up in weight for this type of curl.

There are many exercises that kettlebells can do that dumbbells can do at all or not as well. The internet has loads of sites that can help with kettlebell routines that you may not have considered yet or know about.

If you use kettlebells as a supplementary routine for your regular weight routines, you'll find that your cardio and strength will go through the roof. You will be able to lift much heavier conventional weights in a short time.

Oh yes...As with all exercising, be sure you stretch out alot and stop when your're tired. If you do kettlebell swings and get tired(as a quick example), you will begin to cheat with your back(by bending or flexing it rather than keeping it straight and letting your legs (at the quads do the work) and that can lead to real back issues.

If you learn good exercises for kettlebells, keep strict form while doing them, you'll find kettlebells are pretty cool!!! ;-)

Hope this helps.

Jeff

[braz24]

One other thing...Kettlebell swings and many other kettlebell exercises (clean and jerk, clean and jerk press, etc.) will really help the strength and endurance of your quadriceps. You'll be able to hit your horse, twisted horse, and front stances and stand in them seemgingly forever...and hold them even deeper for longer...Also, any aerial kicks you train with will have much more spring to them and you'll quick harder, faster, and jump higher.

Jeff