I’ve been following the westside template since January this year and in the past 2 years or so I’ve managed to go from a very weak 145lbs (at 6ft) to a bit less puny 187.
So, along with the westside 4 day template I also do shotokan karate twice a week.
My problem:
In March this year I’m intending to take my 1st Dan grading and am understanding that I’ll basically do all the usual grading stuff and then get the crap kicked out of me by some other senior grade (they call it sparring).
Now, in all my previous gradings I’ve been pretty close to max heart rate and the adrenalin rush has left me feeling totally knackered by the time it comes to spar.
So, it is my intention to introduce some cardio into my weekly routine and up my stretching considerably. Now, my experience of cardio is near zero, and I was hoping someone would have some ideas of how to implement it into my routine.
Basically, how to add it in without killing myself.
well your karate practice is basically cardio. The best thing you can do to up your aerobic threshold for this kind of situation is jompe-rope intervals or even shadowboxing. Work your way up to 2min or 3min rounds
Joe, read up on HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training. It’s short, not so sweet, and highly, highly effective for improving cardiovascular conditioning.
People use different ratios, but it goes something like this.
Pick the cardio device of your choice, or just throw on your running shoes with the plan of running 'round the neighborhood.
Warm up for 5 minutes. Get the heart pumping and the blood moving. Nothing overly challenging, here.
Go all out (pedal to the metal) for 30 seconds, and then go slow(er) for recovery for 90 seconds. Do seven of these sprints.
Cool down for 5 minutes.
You’re done in 24, 25 minutes.
After just a few sprints, I’d have my heart rate at ABOVE my age-calculated maximum heart rate.
All you need is a heart rate monitor and something that will count off the seconds. Actually, you probably don’t need the heart rate monitor. I just enjoy knowing how I did and what my heart rate is running.
HIIT is awesome. HIIT is effective and time efficient. HIIT will kick your butt! (grin)
From my 8 years of dojo experience, I know sparring for extended periods can bring you to the point of vomiting.
Sprint intervals will be your best bet for increasing aerobic threshold quickly. Tampa T’s recommendation was solid. Build up to that workout, then go beyond it if you can.
Once every 3-5 days is best. See if twice a week works for you.
If you have a track near you, you might find that motivating (especially if there are others running), but all you really need is a strip of pavement.
Spend $8.00 (or pounds?) on a plastic jump rope and USE it thrice weekly. Also John Davies GPP stuff is great… 30 seconds of jumping jacks, 30 seconds of shuffle splits, 30 seconds of slalom hops and 30 seconds burpees (squat thrusts) puke, then repeat. Do a search here for the stuff above if you are unsure what the movements are. One more thing. Buy an 8-10 lb sledgehammer and find a big old truck/tractor tire. Start out with right swings, left swings and overhead swings 10-15 apiece before resting. Just beat the crap out if it and you will be rewarded with great endurance, a crushing grip, wooden forearms and a strong mid-section. Throw in leather palms as well!
All of the above advice is good, but consider this…you need to spar. Train sparring a lot…cardiovascular endurance is very specific. I once saw a very well-conditioned tri-athlete nearly puke from a short grappling session(about maybe 1/100th the duration of one of his triathelons). I think a huge part of this is the psychological and nervous system aspects of your event. Running, rope-jumping, swimming etc is great, but it doesnt teach you to deal with the tension, nervousness, pain etc that fighting can bring. Dont underestimate the effect those factors have on your perceived cardiovascular exhaustion. The only way to get better is to train the way you want to perform, and that means spar.
A common system used in my gym, and many fight gyms, is the shark drill. One guy goes in the center and a group of training partners switches off taking him on for a preselected period of time(1 minute each for example than switch opponents). This makes the guy in the center work very hard and also teaches a lot about relaxation and pacing. Start with short durations and work up. The very nature of this drill keeps the intensity ramped up, and will surely condition you for extended periods of fighting.
JD430, It isn’t the sparring as such that caused my exhaustion, moreso the endless basic combinations that I have to do - these tire me out before I even being sparring, I get such an adrenaline rush doing these that I work at 100% and then feel knackered by the time it comes to spar.
I went to the sports shop this morning and got a speed rope, so gonna go give it a try and see how it goes.