This is a guest post by BornTough.com
Weight training is an inherently integral part of training as a martial artist. However, there’s a lot of speculation and fear around the subject. To the extent that even many experts believe that strength training for a martial artist is quite taxing. The myths are never-ending and way too far-fetched to be true.
With outrageous beliefs such as an increase in bulk mass, reduction in flexibility, and a decrease in mobility; the fear is enough to get in the way of aspiring young martial artists. On the contrary, not engaging in martial arts is going to do the very opposite for martial artists. The strength, endurance, speed, cardio, muscular growth, and athletic gains will all suffer. They do, especially if you do not wear the proper attire for weight training. Besides that, I will show you how there really is no problem at all.
The actual reason why weight training becomes an issue for most martial artists is the wrong direction in which they are going. It is also the lack of understanding of the real utility that weight training offers to enhance the skill and expertise of the martial artist. If you know why you are training, the goals you have to train, how you will attain those goals, and what steps you’re taking to achieving those goals; you can easily become an expert martial artist with a great supplement from your weight training activities.
There are different types of weight training that athletes engage in to achieve different results. Before you begin with weight training, you must actually know the end they are a means to.
An In-Depth Analysis
It is important to share with you an analysis that does justice to the reasoning above. It is in common knowledge that any professional athlete, in order to enhance their athleticism, does weight training. The reason for a martial artist to train is really no different. The exercise routine aids greatly in enhancing the growth of the muscles and strengthens the muscle fibers even more. As a result, the punches or kicks that a martial artist can launch are quite powerful. The movements are quite swift, and the endurance and strength of the body increases as well.
A martial artist, by lifting weights, can easily build up stronger muscles and better physical endurance. Furthermore, the benefits to empower and strengthen the gains are also numerous. With proper hoodies and sweatshirts to add in the ease of working out while dry, greatly maximizes the gains.
Hee Il Cho is a famous Taekwondo master. He is known for famously saying that “Weight lifting can help athletes in any sport, including martial arts. The more strength and size you have, the better you will perform. If two people weigh the same, the one with more muscle can hit harder.” And I think his statement is a very wise one. One can easily understand how this is actually very relatable.
Now, the only question that remains is what are the major types of weight training. So, for that, read the following:
Bodybuilding:
This activity will allow you not only to tighten your muscles but also to enable the muscular fibers to come close to one another increasing their density. You can construct your muscles to lift heavy objects or just to look good. But as an MMA fighter, bodybuilding will help to increase your body’s endurance. When you will lift the heavyweight, your muscle strength, as well as size, will increase to a greater extent. Furthermore, weight training will give power to your arms and legs like nobody’s business. As a result, you will be able to remain in the fight for a longer period and win easily.
Powerlifting:
Powerlifting is a sport that will aid you greatly in increasing strength and mass. As a result, you will also be able to stand out among your friends. Furthermore, powerlifting will increase the strength in your muscles and allow you to land damaging blows on your opponents. Powerlifts come with slow, heavy lifts that are way more taxing on your body than the other types.
Fitness Lifting:
Fitness lifting comes with the goal of staying healthy only. During this type of weight training, you really have no objective in mind except to stay healthy and fit. This activity will allow your overall health to improve. The core focus in such type of training is just simple fitness.
Olympic Lifting:
Olympic lifting is a type of weight training that comes with a core focus on building your power and strength. The training is quite strenuous and will require you to produce force quickly. The exercises that are a part of this weight training are quite important in order to develop one as an athlete.
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training):
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) training is also another type of weight training that is known to increase the endurance, strength, stamina, etc. of one’s body. The HIIT methodology focuses on intervals of exercises followed by intervals of resting periods. However, these intervals are quite small (of rest) and the time that you weight train, you have to put in more than your 100%.
It’s good to do weight training. There are many other things that you can do too. For instance, you can wear your joggers and go out for a walk daily. That is one of the best things to do if you’re looking for fitness only. Talk to your trainer regarding which type of these weight training will work for you. Generally, HIIT is quite famous among the athletes of today. The increased level of physical fitness that it provides is incomparable. Furthermore, it is suitable to talk to your physician before engaging in weight training activities too. They understand your body to quite an extent and you must a decision keeping into consideration all options.
I hope you enjoyed this guest post from BornTough.com, thank you for reading!