Intro: Much like bridging, kicking is a general practice, that is difficult to classify as a specific exercise, though there are advantages to understanding it as an isolated movement type. It can include static or dynamic movements through all possible movement ranges of the hips and develop multiple physical capacities at once. Consequently, it is a feature of nearly all martial arts as a conditioning method, independently of whether it is actually recommended by a given art for self defense application. This owes to the generality of the results attainable through kicking practice, which can benefit the performance of nearly any physical endeavor performed while standing.
The movement ranges possible are among the widest of all exercises. The kicking leg can be held straight or bent, low to the ground or extended above the head, and to the front, side and back of the body. The side kick with the leg held level with the hips is the intermediate range of all kicking, and front and back kicks with the feet held above head level occupy the extreme movement ranges of the hips.
Muscles Worked: Kicking develops different muscles depending on what each leg is doing. The leg held aloft provides resistance to the hip flexors in front kicks, the gluteus medius and hip flexors in the side kick, and the gluteus maximus and medius in the back kick. Kicks such as the roundhouse, crescent, hook, and wheel kicks work all hip muscles to a greater or lesser degree. The supporting leg develops the gluteus maximus and medius, the hamstrings, and quads, as well as the entire midsection. The upper back and shoulders also play a stabilizing role if the arms are kept up continually to protect the head, as all kicks should be performed. Kicking is also one of the only ways to develop the outer frame of the lower body while standing. Most lower body exercises (squatting, deadlifting) develop the inner frame of the lower body, which includes the hamstrings, gluteus maximus, and quadriceps which push the leg down. However, these movements, even when performed with very heavy resistance, do not adequately develop strength in the outer frame of the lower body (gluteus medius and hip flexors), or build strength for pulling the leg up, and strength imbalances may develop as a result. Chambering a kick works the opposite range of motion and muscle groups as a full range of motion squat, and is therefore equally necessary to functional movement of the lower body, though it is only intermittently trained in weight rooms or even yoga studios.
Why Practice Kicks?
Muscle Balance and Maintenance: Regular kicking practice develops thickness in the glutes and hamstrings as well as the lesser used hip flexors, gluteus medius, and obliques, with different development depending on the kicks practiced. It is best practice to train a variety of kicks, but if one only kicks for the muscular benefits, all those benefits can be extracted from holding a high side kick for at least 2 minutes per leg, per week, though this will not benefit martial practice or flexibility as well as incorporating kicks of all types.
Endurance: Practicing kicks for high repetitions can be used as a replacement for running that is more applicable to close quarters combat. Kicking can also be safely sustained long past the point of physical fatigue with minimal joint impact. The author once executed 12,430 front rising kicks nonstop over a period of 8.5 hours followed by technique testing as part of a 3rd degree brown belt test without injury. This sort of practice, unlike running, does not atrophy muscle. To the contrary, periodic endurance kicking for many hours can build muscle throughout the upper and lower body.
Flexibility and Mobility: For the lower body, few practices can build and maintain proper range of motion in the hips like kicking. To reap full flexibility benefits requires kicking at head level, with a variety of kicks. Unlike static stretching, kicking also develops the ability to transfer force through uncommonly extreme ranges of motion. Frequent practice at these extreme ranges can completely replace static stretching with better potential for injury prevention and prehabilitation.
Strength: Kicking builds a great deal of single limb strength and stability in both legs. Any motion requiring single leg support or lifting the leg against resistance improves through kicking practice, such as running, balancing, shifting weight, and even high jumping.
Balance: Kicking is one of the best, most specific ways to develop skill at balancing on the legs. At first glance, this ability may not seem directly related to self defense, but the author can personally recount how kicking balance saved him a fall down icy stone stairs at least 2 times. Furthermore, the author cannot recall any falls on icy surfaces since beginning kicking practice several years ago. This benefit alone merits regular kicking practice for any and all who wish to avoid falling. The benefits of proper balance to sports is another obvious application of kicking practice.
Technique Specific Martial Practice: Kicking, when performed with proper technique, can potentially deliver more force to an opponent than any other strike. Thus, mastering the technique of kicking and applying it to sparring can develop great martial capacity, even when unarmed. Proper kicks can shatter bone, damage internal organs, and even crush skulls, but getting them this powerful requires years of specific technical practice. Kicking as a martial technique also demands proper timing. Despite being the most potentially powerful strikes, kicks are also among the slowest and easiest to evade by an alert opponent. Thus, they should be practiced alongside faster hand strikes, such that hand strikes create openings for more powerful kicks.
Likely Results of Kicking Practice
Kicking develops a well rounded physique, due to the various muscular and metabolic demands imposed by the activity. As such, kicking practice is one of the most efficient training investments possible. No other activity can condition all muscle groups and develop as many capacities simultaneously. Bruce Lee, who need not be pictured here, is a prime example of a physique forged through kicking. The author recommends kicking practice for literally all ambulatory people as an excellent all around exercise.
Showing posts with label Physical Conditioning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Physical Conditioning. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2018
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Martial Conditioning: Crawling
Intro: While the bridge can work the entire posterior chain through a mere static hold, the leverages of the body demand more difficult tactics to work the anterior chain. Otherwise, simply holding downward dog would be sufficient anterior training to guarantee martial strength. One of the best drills for anterior activation is crawling. This movement conditions just about every muscle in the body while developing many athletic skills at once.
Muscles Worked: All of them. All joints of the body are used simultaneously with the core stabilizing throughout. The wrists, forearms, shoulders, back, abs, chest, entire arm, entire leg, hips, and even the feet and ankles all increase in strength and flexibility.
Why Crawl?: Crawling is one of the most fundamental human movements. As a result, all of us are primed to crawl and the crawl constitutes a building block of all other movements. Crawling contralaterally (alternating left leg/right arm and right leg/left arm) improves neural strength and endurance as well as coordination and balance. Myofascial release can occur due to a rebalancing of muscle groups and the reclamation of functional movement patterns. Joint injury becomes less likely due to the unpredictable, repetitive pressures encountered during crawling. This competency at absorbing irregular shock is known as reflexive stability. The lack of an eccentric movement means that crawling will not result in excess soreness and will not interfere with any existing routine. Wrestlers and other specialists in ground game can develop sport specific movement skills with little more than crawling as a strength and endurance base. Indeed, learning to crawl as easily as walking can exponentially increase one's wrestling endurance. Those who find direct core work boring can maintain and increase midsection stability through daily practice of crawling progressions alone. Those who wish to maintain or build upper body muscle tone will find crawling thickens up the arms, shoulders, chest, and back just as well as a daily regimen of basic calisthenics with the added advantages already listed. Finally, crawling is an exercise in humility and is therefore well suited to a 'covered fist' approach to the martial arts. Few would be tempted to brag about how far they crawl per day or how weak they feel when they get done. Consequently, crawling can develop great power without corresponding hubris. The human body, being descendant from quadrupedal relatives, contains many vestigial structural imbalances due to incomplete optimization of the human frame for bipedal motion. Crawling develops and maintains patterns of muscle mass that can prevent structural imbalances and weaknesses caused by bipedal patterns of muscle atrophy.
Progressions: The Soldier Crawl: This initial variant is the first form of locomotion we all learn. It consists of contralaterally (left arm/right leg, right arm/left leg) moving oneself over the ground with opposing elbows and knees.
The Knee Crawl: By extending the contralateral crawl to the hands and knees, the strength demands are increased.
The Bear Crawl: This method consists of crawling contralaterally in the downward dog position on the hands and feet.
The Leopard Crawl: Again, on the hands and feet, this method involves flattening the back and bringing the knees forward between the elbows. The legs are bent and the arms are kept straight.
The Tiger Crawl: Exactly the same as the leopard crawl, except the knees are brought outside the elbows. The legs are bent, the arms are slightly bent.
The Alligator Crawl/Spiderman Crawl: This final progression of crawling consists of remaining in a low plank, or the bottom of a pushup and crawling contralaterally.
In all variations, the greatest benefits are derived from crawling as quietly and quickly as possible for approximately 100 yards, and never to failure.
One modification of the crawl involves crawling isolaterally, or with the same side arm and leg propelling the body. This variant is not recommended due to its inferior coordination, balance, and midsection strengthening benefits. To advance the crawling progressions more beneficially, crawl backwards, sideways, uphill, and downhill.
Likely Results of Crawling:
The results of crawling greatly depend on the physical build of the trainee. Larger trainees will become bear like. Smaller trainees will become cat/monkey like. One's habits of movement will influence which traits one acquires. As such, crawling is in close accord with animal metaphors of martial development.
Muscles Worked: All of them. All joints of the body are used simultaneously with the core stabilizing throughout. The wrists, forearms, shoulders, back, abs, chest, entire arm, entire leg, hips, and even the feet and ankles all increase in strength and flexibility.
Why Crawl?: Crawling is one of the most fundamental human movements. As a result, all of us are primed to crawl and the crawl constitutes a building block of all other movements. Crawling contralaterally (alternating left leg/right arm and right leg/left arm) improves neural strength and endurance as well as coordination and balance. Myofascial release can occur due to a rebalancing of muscle groups and the reclamation of functional movement patterns. Joint injury becomes less likely due to the unpredictable, repetitive pressures encountered during crawling. This competency at absorbing irregular shock is known as reflexive stability. The lack of an eccentric movement means that crawling will not result in excess soreness and will not interfere with any existing routine. Wrestlers and other specialists in ground game can develop sport specific movement skills with little more than crawling as a strength and endurance base. Indeed, learning to crawl as easily as walking can exponentially increase one's wrestling endurance. Those who find direct core work boring can maintain and increase midsection stability through daily practice of crawling progressions alone. Those who wish to maintain or build upper body muscle tone will find crawling thickens up the arms, shoulders, chest, and back just as well as a daily regimen of basic calisthenics with the added advantages already listed. Finally, crawling is an exercise in humility and is therefore well suited to a 'covered fist' approach to the martial arts. Few would be tempted to brag about how far they crawl per day or how weak they feel when they get done. Consequently, crawling can develop great power without corresponding hubris. The human body, being descendant from quadrupedal relatives, contains many vestigial structural imbalances due to incomplete optimization of the human frame for bipedal motion. Crawling develops and maintains patterns of muscle mass that can prevent structural imbalances and weaknesses caused by bipedal patterns of muscle atrophy.
Progressions: The Soldier Crawl: This initial variant is the first form of locomotion we all learn. It consists of contralaterally (left arm/right leg, right arm/left leg) moving oneself over the ground with opposing elbows and knees.
The Knee Crawl: By extending the contralateral crawl to the hands and knees, the strength demands are increased.
The Bear Crawl: This method consists of crawling contralaterally in the downward dog position on the hands and feet.
The Leopard Crawl: Again, on the hands and feet, this method involves flattening the back and bringing the knees forward between the elbows. The legs are bent and the arms are kept straight.
The Tiger Crawl: Exactly the same as the leopard crawl, except the knees are brought outside the elbows. The legs are bent, the arms are slightly bent.
The Alligator Crawl/Spiderman Crawl: This final progression of crawling consists of remaining in a low plank, or the bottom of a pushup and crawling contralaterally.
In all variations, the greatest benefits are derived from crawling as quietly and quickly as possible for approximately 100 yards, and never to failure.
One modification of the crawl involves crawling isolaterally, or with the same side arm and leg propelling the body. This variant is not recommended due to its inferior coordination, balance, and midsection strengthening benefits. To advance the crawling progressions more beneficially, crawl backwards, sideways, uphill, and downhill.
Likely Results of Crawling:
The results of crawling greatly depend on the physical build of the trainee. Larger trainees will become bear like. Smaller trainees will become cat/monkey like. One's habits of movement will influence which traits one acquires. As such, crawling is in close accord with animal metaphors of martial development.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Bridging or Deadlifting
The back bridge and deadlift are two exercises which compete for training time in the routines of athletes. Both movements accomplish largely the same goals, yet there are important reasons to prioritize bridging over deadlifting.
*The neck bridge gives back more than it takes. The deadlift requires such a massive investment of tension that its specific benefits are overshadowed by the full body fatigue it creates. It is a known paradox of weightlifting that some of the heaviest deadlifting is accomplished by those who frequently train less fatiguing auxiliary movements and rarely deadlift in practice.
*Bridging requires no more equipment than an open space of floor, padded according to preference. The deadlift requires solid ground, a long bar, expensive weights, and a space to store equipment.
*The bridge provides a safer opportunity to practice tension over a longer period of time in an optimal position for building strength and flexibility. A typical set of bridges lasts 1-3 minutes with the neck, spine, and hips at full extension. A typical set of deadlifts lasts 30 seconds and works the muscles at only partial extension.
*The grip is a weak link for the deadlift which can potentially reduce load on the spinal muscles. The bridge requires only the posterior chain muscles to activate and is not limited by grip strength.
*The bridge builds proportional strength through the entire back of the body. The neck, back, legs, and calves share the weight of the body equally. As a result, strength and muscle gain is uniform across all these regions. By contrast, the deadlift stresses the lower spine to a greater degree, resulting in muscle imbalances between the upper and lower spine as a result of different leverages across vertebrae.
*Bridging applies static force to closed spinal discs which reduces the likelihood of acute injury. Deadlifting applies dynamic force to open spinal discs, which can result in slipped discs during forced reps.
*In this author's experience, greater muscle is gained from deep nasal breathing in a neck bridge for only 3 minutes once per week than from deadlifting 285 pounds 25 times twice per week. A bridge held long past the point of muscle burn acts as a potent stimulus for human growth hormone. The arms, legs, hips, back, neck, and shoulders grow thicker for days after a bridge workout. By contrast, the deadlift more easily elicits cortisol production as a result of overtraining due to excessive weights, resulting in only localized muscle gain overshadowed by full body stress and fatigue. In other words, the bridge can build more muscle mass with less effort and less training time.
*The bridge with deep breathing increases metabolic endurance by pairing slow oxygen intake with high oxygen expenditure. The stretched rib cage simultaneously makes breathing more difficult which builds the strength of the respiratory muscles while stretching lung capacity. Discipline is increased as a result of controlling pain and panic to breathe deeply at a set cadence.
*The bridge can make a trainee taller with age. The deadlift compresses the spine to progressively reduce height.
*The bridge can convert into combat specific ground drills for grapplers and build a thick neck for better knockout resistance in stand up fighters.
*The bridge, when trained hard, results in the feeling of "walking like an old man." This means that the exercise fatigues and strengthens those muscles which regulate posture and walking. As such, training with the bridge can prolong one's mobility into old age by progressively strengthening those areas which atrophy to produce geriatric weakness and abnormality of gait.
*The neck bridge alone can prevent and cure cricks in the neck, sprains of the small muscles of the neck, back aches, pulled muscles in the back, and knee pain. All joints benefit from bridging.
*The direct structural integrity of the spine built through bridging prevents injury more effectively than the "bracing strength" built through weightlifting which requires attention and focus to increase intra-abdominal pressure and brace the spine. Acute spinal injury is unexpected by default, so bracing should not be used as an injury prevention tool. Structural integrity built through bridging is a better insurance policy.
*The benefits of bridging are general, holistic, and greater than the sum of training investment (the spinal muscles only support bodyweight for 3 minutes, once per week, yet muscle mass is disproportionately increased). The benefits of deadlifting are specific, isolated, and less than the sum of training investment (the spinal muscles support hundreds of pounds, multiple times per week, yet muscle takes a long time to grow). As such, bridging constitutes a practice with far reaching benefits, while deadlifting constitutes an exercise with narrow, strength based applications.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Martial Conditioning: Bridging
Intro: Bridging encompasses a variety of movements, all of which share the common elements of extending the head backwards behind the feet, contracting the muscles on the back of the body, and stretching the muscles along the front of the body. Bridging is a comprehensive enough practice that each variation provides different benefits.
Muscles Worked: Literally every muscle along the back of the body and many in front coordinate to complete a bridge. The calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, lats, and traps primarily maintain the bridge position while the deep abdominal muscles, shoulder muscles, and quadriceps stabilize the position, acting like the struts above and below a suspension bridge.
Why Bridge? The benefits of the bridge are wide reaching. Few exercises can approximate the holistic benefits to all muscular, skeletal, and organ systems. Proper bridging can prevent and rehabilitate back injuries, increase spinal flexibility, improve digestion, stretch the abdomen, chest, and hip flexors, extend the hips, and even increase the libido. The bridge is a fundamental power exercise.
The Matt Furey Bridge: What I call the Matt Furey bridge consists of touching, or attempting to touch, one's nose to the ground in a bridge hold for time while deep breathing. Furey refers to this form of bridging practice as the king of bodyweight exercises. The incorporation of deep nasal breathing in this position, also known as bridging chi kung, leads to better flexibility, pain tolerance, focus, and relaxation under physical/mental stress. A trainee should strive for 32 slow breaths (2 second inhale, 2 second exhale) in the bridge position, with nose touching the ground. One can use hands for assistance depending on strength. In order to extract maximum benefit from the hold, the trainee must strive to stretch as fully as possible and extend the hips and back by actively tensing the glutes and pushing out the chest. It is also critically important to hold the pose long past the point of discomfort to the point where pain subsides to numbness, then relax in that state. A proper workout with this hold results in shaky legs, sore glutes, and a feeling of depletion throughout the spine and neck.
The Convict Conditioning Bridge: The bridge taught in Convict Conditioning, also known as the gymnastic bridge, consists of dynamically pushing up into the bridge position on the hands and feet from the ground. For numerous reasons, this method is not recommended by this author, as dynamic bridging requires less tension and therefore confers less strength benefits. The one exception to this rule regards wall walking and falling backwards into an arms extended bridge. This variation greatly conditions the strength and flexibility of the back and shoulders. For those who want to train this movement, try it as a finisher for the Matt Furey bridge for a couple sets of 10-15 slow reps.
Advanced Variations: The one armed, one legged, and one arm/one leg bridges constitute the pinnacle of bridging strength. From a combat perspective they serve little use, but may help to break the monotony of training.
Likely Results of Bridging: The benefits of bridging are less physically apparent than those of other exercises. A variety of body types can practice and benefit from the bridge. One can conceive of bridging as a body type amplifier. Smaller individuals are likely to be made more compact, limber, and flexible by the bridge. Larger individuals are likely to grow more muscular and powerful from the bridge. One's absolute body mass will determine which results are likely. Unlike many bodyweight exercises, heavier individuals are not disadvantaged in the bridge and may actually gain more absolute strength than relative strength through its practice. Lighter individuals will gain proportionally less absolute strength benefit, but will nevertheless increase relative strength and flexibility.
Bridging will thicken the muscles along the upper back and spine, resulting in a more durable, injury resistant back and neck. Strengthening the spine also removes an important weak link in full body strength allowing for greater strength in all bodyweight and weighted movements.
Muscles Worked: Literally every muscle along the back of the body and many in front coordinate to complete a bridge. The calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, lats, and traps primarily maintain the bridge position while the deep abdominal muscles, shoulder muscles, and quadriceps stabilize the position, acting like the struts above and below a suspension bridge.
Why Bridge? The benefits of the bridge are wide reaching. Few exercises can approximate the holistic benefits to all muscular, skeletal, and organ systems. Proper bridging can prevent and rehabilitate back injuries, increase spinal flexibility, improve digestion, stretch the abdomen, chest, and hip flexors, extend the hips, and even increase the libido. The bridge is a fundamental power exercise.
The Matt Furey Bridge: What I call the Matt Furey bridge consists of touching, or attempting to touch, one's nose to the ground in a bridge hold for time while deep breathing. Furey refers to this form of bridging practice as the king of bodyweight exercises. The incorporation of deep nasal breathing in this position, also known as bridging chi kung, leads to better flexibility, pain tolerance, focus, and relaxation under physical/mental stress. A trainee should strive for 32 slow breaths (2 second inhale, 2 second exhale) in the bridge position, with nose touching the ground. One can use hands for assistance depending on strength. In order to extract maximum benefit from the hold, the trainee must strive to stretch as fully as possible and extend the hips and back by actively tensing the glutes and pushing out the chest. It is also critically important to hold the pose long past the point of discomfort to the point where pain subsides to numbness, then relax in that state. A proper workout with this hold results in shaky legs, sore glutes, and a feeling of depletion throughout the spine and neck.
The Convict Conditioning Bridge: The bridge taught in Convict Conditioning, also known as the gymnastic bridge, consists of dynamically pushing up into the bridge position on the hands and feet from the ground. For numerous reasons, this method is not recommended by this author, as dynamic bridging requires less tension and therefore confers less strength benefits. The one exception to this rule regards wall walking and falling backwards into an arms extended bridge. This variation greatly conditions the strength and flexibility of the back and shoulders. For those who want to train this movement, try it as a finisher for the Matt Furey bridge for a couple sets of 10-15 slow reps.
Advanced Variations: The one armed, one legged, and one arm/one leg bridges constitute the pinnacle of bridging strength. From a combat perspective they serve little use, but may help to break the monotony of training.
Likely Results of Bridging: The benefits of bridging are less physically apparent than those of other exercises. A variety of body types can practice and benefit from the bridge. One can conceive of bridging as a body type amplifier. Smaller individuals are likely to be made more compact, limber, and flexible by the bridge. Larger individuals are likely to grow more muscular and powerful from the bridge. One's absolute body mass will determine which results are likely. Unlike many bodyweight exercises, heavier individuals are not disadvantaged in the bridge and may actually gain more absolute strength than relative strength through its practice. Lighter individuals will gain proportionally less absolute strength benefit, but will nevertheless increase relative strength and flexibility.
Bridging will thicken the muscles along the upper back and spine, resulting in a more durable, injury resistant back and neck. Strengthening the spine also removes an important weak link in full body strength allowing for greater strength in all bodyweight and weighted movements.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Creating a Minimalist Home Gym
The Russian culture has practically distilled the core elements of strong physical manhood. Though the country covers 11.5% of the globe, it has endured centuries of freezing cold, famine, warfare, revolution, and cultural isolation. Russians of all ethnicities have learned to survive and thrive in the face of overwhelming odds. It is no surprise then that this culture created Kettlebell Sport, the martial art of weight lifting. This post will detail how basic competence in kettlebell lifting can serve as a platform for a complete home gym which can deliver a lifetime of lifting gains with minimal space and cost.
The following equipment, when purchased, can meet almost all physical conditioning goals: a complete set of kettlebells (16, 24, and 32 kg.), two 10 pound ankle weights, 2 automobile straps for securing items, two sturdy chairs with low backs, a door pullup bar or free standing pullup bar, a smooth wall, a 10 foot by 10 foot section of floor.
Examples of Heavy Weight Hypertrophy Development
The biggest complaint of this equipment set is the allegedly limited loading capacity of the kettlebell set and ankle weights. However, the complainant lacks imagination in this instance. By strapping kettlebells together using the car straps, and using the straps to hang multiple kettlebells around one's waist, around 80 kilograms or 176 pounds can be strapped to the body to increase resistance for pullups on a pullup bar and dips between chairs. For those who fear damaging door frames with large pullup weights, training the assisted one armed variety can accomplish the same results as adding weight without adding any weight to the door frame. The 176 pounds can also be cleaned and front squatted for repetitions by strapping the weights together and cleaning them to one's chest. Changing the uneven load from side to side between sets can prevent strength imbalances. This load is more than sufficient for almost any strength athlete, as anyone who can pullup, dip, and front squat with 176 extra pounds for repetitions is functionally strong enough for any life task. This same 176 pounds can be tied together to form one large handheld weight to use for one arm presses and jerks. A person who can overhead press or even jerk 176 pounds with one arm must be exceedingly strong throughout their entire body. The smooth wall can be used as an aid for handstand work just as the floor can be used for pushups, planks, and bridges of all varieties.
Examples of Conditioning
By practicing traditional kettlebell sport and running, an athlete may reach very close to their maximum potential for endurance. Cutting training weight and increasing repetitions of full body movements like the snatch and clean and jerk are the only requirements necessary. It is even possible to switch weight lifting from endurance to strength in cycles. For example, one week could include weighted dips, pullups, and front squats along with one arm overhead presses. The next week could include only the kettlebell snatch or clean and jerk for maximum repetitions alongside bodyweight exercises.
In total, the exercises described in this post constitute a completely scalable training regime for an entire lifetime and cost approximately $700, one time. Compare this to the average yearly cost of gym membership: $660. When compared to the large amount of money which funnels into yearly gym memberships and contracts, buying the equipment outlined above is a far cheaper investment for long term physical fitness.
Hopefully this post provides some examples of how a person can stay frugal and develop world class strength and conditioning at the same time in the convenience of home.
The following equipment, when purchased, can meet almost all physical conditioning goals: a complete set of kettlebells (16, 24, and 32 kg.), two 10 pound ankle weights, 2 automobile straps for securing items, two sturdy chairs with low backs, a door pullup bar or free standing pullup bar, a smooth wall, a 10 foot by 10 foot section of floor.
Examples of Heavy Weight Hypertrophy Development
The biggest complaint of this equipment set is the allegedly limited loading capacity of the kettlebell set and ankle weights. However, the complainant lacks imagination in this instance. By strapping kettlebells together using the car straps, and using the straps to hang multiple kettlebells around one's waist, around 80 kilograms or 176 pounds can be strapped to the body to increase resistance for pullups on a pullup bar and dips between chairs. For those who fear damaging door frames with large pullup weights, training the assisted one armed variety can accomplish the same results as adding weight without adding any weight to the door frame. The 176 pounds can also be cleaned and front squatted for repetitions by strapping the weights together and cleaning them to one's chest. Changing the uneven load from side to side between sets can prevent strength imbalances. This load is more than sufficient for almost any strength athlete, as anyone who can pullup, dip, and front squat with 176 extra pounds for repetitions is functionally strong enough for any life task. This same 176 pounds can be tied together to form one large handheld weight to use for one arm presses and jerks. A person who can overhead press or even jerk 176 pounds with one arm must be exceedingly strong throughout their entire body. The smooth wall can be used as an aid for handstand work just as the floor can be used for pushups, planks, and bridges of all varieties.
Examples of Conditioning
By practicing traditional kettlebell sport and running, an athlete may reach very close to their maximum potential for endurance. Cutting training weight and increasing repetitions of full body movements like the snatch and clean and jerk are the only requirements necessary. It is even possible to switch weight lifting from endurance to strength in cycles. For example, one week could include weighted dips, pullups, and front squats along with one arm overhead presses. The next week could include only the kettlebell snatch or clean and jerk for maximum repetitions alongside bodyweight exercises.
In total, the exercises described in this post constitute a completely scalable training regime for an entire lifetime and cost approximately $700, one time. Compare this to the average yearly cost of gym membership: $660. When compared to the large amount of money which funnels into yearly gym memberships and contracts, buying the equipment outlined above is a far cheaper investment for long term physical fitness.
Hopefully this post provides some examples of how a person can stay frugal and develop world class strength and conditioning at the same time in the convenience of home.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Martial Conditioning: Dips
Intro: Dips consist of suspending one's body by the hands between two bars, rings, or chairs, bending the arms to lower the body as far as safely possible, and then pushing the arms to lockout. Whereas handstand pushups train the smallest stabilizing muscles of the upper body in the extreme overhead range of shoulder flexibility, dips train the largest muscles of the upper body in the extreme backwards range of shoulder flexibility. In this way, dips train all pressing muscles that are underdeveloped by floor and handstand pushups alone. In fact, by pairing high volume dips with endurance planks, training regular pushups becomes entirely unnecessary as the upper body and core will be strengthened to a greater degree by this pairing than any volume of regular pushups.
Muscles Worked: Dips primarily develop the chest, triceps, shoulders, and lats to form a bodybuilder's physique, with a large chest and arms. In particular, all three heads of the triceps and the chest are greatly stimulated to grow, particularly with a full range of motion. Secondarily, the rotator cuff, traps, and midsection are activated by high repetition dips.
Why do Dips? The dip has been described as the upper body squat, as it involves using the arms in an analogous fashion to the legs during a squat. Similarly to the squat, the dip can provide muscle building or fitness building benefits depending on whether the movement is weighted or unweighted. The holistic effect of dips owes to the sheer volume of muscle activated by the movement. The entire front and back of the upper body is taxed by a long set of dips which results in a massive hormonal response and almost immediate development of larger upper body musculature.
Before the bench press became the standard upper body exercise, both the weighted dip and standing overhead press were used to develop gigantic upper bodies during the golden age of bodybuilding. The dip developed the inner frame on the front of the body, which gave the appearance of thickness and sexual masculinity, while the overhead press developed the outer frame, which has already been explained as an important predictor of martial capacity.
Meanwhile, in traditional fitness settings such as gymnasiums, physical education classes, and military bootcamps, the dip was used without weight as a replacement for the pushup to build upper body durability. It is worth noting that high repetition, full range dips will skyrocket pushup performance while the inverse relationship may not apply. Dip performance can be maintained, but not improved, through the sole use of pushups.
The dip can be used as a sole pressing movement by those trainees who wish to avoid loading the spine, as the body is allowed to hang freely. This qualifies the dip as the only pressing movement which decompresses the spinal discs, particularly when weights are hung around the waist.
The dip should not be used by those trainees who are overweight, as the combination of a large belly and a large chest can result in a bulky Samoan physique which will accentuate obesity. Also, the dip should be avoided by those who do not wish to gain muscle, as it will quickly bulk a trainee up in coordination with an appropriate diet.
The dip can be used as an occasional replacement for pushups, a standalone exercise, or as a means of developing shoulder flexibility in those with healthy shoulders. The ring dip can increase full body strength to a greater degree than parallel bar dips by increasing the stabilizing requirements, which also necessarily decreases the amount of anterior muscle sculpting by spreading muscle recruitment more uniformly across the upper and middle body.
Likely Results of Dips: Those who train the dip with either heavy weights or high repetitions will develop fantastic inner frames. Pictures below show accomplished practitioners of both weighted and unweighted dips. Notice the tricep, chest, and shoulder development evident across all four exemplars.
Muscles Worked: Dips primarily develop the chest, triceps, shoulders, and lats to form a bodybuilder's physique, with a large chest and arms. In particular, all three heads of the triceps and the chest are greatly stimulated to grow, particularly with a full range of motion. Secondarily, the rotator cuff, traps, and midsection are activated by high repetition dips.
Why do Dips? The dip has been described as the upper body squat, as it involves using the arms in an analogous fashion to the legs during a squat. Similarly to the squat, the dip can provide muscle building or fitness building benefits depending on whether the movement is weighted or unweighted. The holistic effect of dips owes to the sheer volume of muscle activated by the movement. The entire front and back of the upper body is taxed by a long set of dips which results in a massive hormonal response and almost immediate development of larger upper body musculature.
Before the bench press became the standard upper body exercise, both the weighted dip and standing overhead press were used to develop gigantic upper bodies during the golden age of bodybuilding. The dip developed the inner frame on the front of the body, which gave the appearance of thickness and sexual masculinity, while the overhead press developed the outer frame, which has already been explained as an important predictor of martial capacity.
Meanwhile, in traditional fitness settings such as gymnasiums, physical education classes, and military bootcamps, the dip was used without weight as a replacement for the pushup to build upper body durability. It is worth noting that high repetition, full range dips will skyrocket pushup performance while the inverse relationship may not apply. Dip performance can be maintained, but not improved, through the sole use of pushups.
The dip can be used as a sole pressing movement by those trainees who wish to avoid loading the spine, as the body is allowed to hang freely. This qualifies the dip as the only pressing movement which decompresses the spinal discs, particularly when weights are hung around the waist.
The dip should not be used by those trainees who are overweight, as the combination of a large belly and a large chest can result in a bulky Samoan physique which will accentuate obesity. Also, the dip should be avoided by those who do not wish to gain muscle, as it will quickly bulk a trainee up in coordination with an appropriate diet.
The dip can be used as an occasional replacement for pushups, a standalone exercise, or as a means of developing shoulder flexibility in those with healthy shoulders. The ring dip can increase full body strength to a greater degree than parallel bar dips by increasing the stabilizing requirements, which also necessarily decreases the amount of anterior muscle sculpting by spreading muscle recruitment more uniformly across the upper and middle body.
Likely Results of Dips: Those who train the dip with either heavy weights or high repetitions will develop fantastic inner frames. Pictures below show accomplished practitioners of both weighted and unweighted dips. Notice the tricep, chest, and shoulder development evident across all four exemplars.
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