Weight Training

[Brady]

Who here does it? Why/why not? What are some exercises you do?

I don't, besides the few times a day I'm demoing exercises to a PT client. Haven't felt any strength decreases w/o it, guessing its b/c I grapple a lot. What are your experiences?

[Darthwing Teorist]

I do whole body exercices like pushups, squats and situps. Grappling is great for strength and stamina.

[Dale Dugas]

I do a mix of using a weighted vest, bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, kettlebells, indian clubs, sandbags, my wife, tension sets.

I break it up and mix it up all the time so that the body is always challenged.

I also do lots of pushing hands, and rou shou with students.

I like Kettlebells as you can use them in the rack position to walk circles, lines, posts, etc.

I have some vids on my website. If you click on boston bagua photo and go to strength training you will see the vids.

As my teacher says: " There is nothing wrong with being strong."

Im accused of being not internal for being a 6'2" 280 lb bald bagua teacher.

Though there are a bunch here and other places who have touched my hand and all have commented that Im rather soft for such a big scary looking man....

[DeusTrismegistus]

I do it. I use a split reutine. Abs every day, chest and back day one, triceps and biceps and shoulders day 2, legs day three. Three days a week. Cardio afterwards.

My favorite tricep exercise is a close grip press. Biceps would be preacher curls, chest would be dumbell flys, back would be rows, hams is straight leg deadlifts, quads is leg extensions, shoulders is arnold presses.

I do it cause its fun, its something different from just MA training, and it makes you feel great.

[Brady]

I do a mix of using a weighted vest, bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, kettlebells, indian clubs, sandbags, my wife, tension sets.

I break it up and mix it up all the time so that the body is always challenged.

I'm guessing this is a key component, always changing it up. I try to keep it that way as well, no formal programs for me.
Nothing wrong with being strong, I'm told I have scary strength given my size and stature (5'9", ~160 lbs), just found traditional lifting has not helped with this.
KBs, sand bags, clubs, swords, bodyweight exercises, etc. all amazing.
Dale, if I ever get the chance to swing by your class, I'd love for you to give me a intro to a weighted vest. Always wanted to try one.

I love how you threw your wife in the mix there

[Darthwing Teorist]

I do a mix of using a weighted vest, bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, kettlebells, indian clubs, sandbags, my wife, tension sets.

Lol! I bet that is the most fun part.

[Brady]

Ok terminology help:
Dale - what do you mean tension sets?

Deus - what are preacher curls and arnold presses?

[Dale Dugas]

being married to a black belt helps.

I have fun using shuai concepts on her all over the apartment.

Its not spousal abuse.

It is just training.




Brady,

I do not have the vest at the school, I could bring it in if you let me know when you are coming. You could also come over to my house in Quincy some fine day soon and I will gladly let you walk around with it.

[Dale Dugas]

I learned a lot of dynamic tension sets over the years.

Sanchien

Sam Bo Jien

Animal Sets to help develop tendon power

Muscle Restructure: which im teaching at the Zhang San Feng this year.

all use various levels of tension and using the body and the muscles against each other to develop strength and power.

I can show you some simple things that can help

[Brady]

That's what I thought you meant. I'd like to come by sometime, not sure when I'll have the time school has been reaming me a new one, but perhaps this summer we can meet up.

[DeusTrismegistus]

Ok terminology help:
Dale - what do you mean tension sets?

Deus - what are preacher curls and arnold presses?

Preacher curls use a bench at a 45 degree downward angle to rest the arm on. Then you do a bicep curl. The focus should be on straightening the arm out all the way. Most people do too short a motion. This builds the full length of the bicep and power in the first 1/4 of the range of motion. When you see someone who has a gap between their bicep mucle and their elbow when they flex it is because they work the peak more than the whole muscle.

Arnold presser were invented by THE ARNOLD of bodybuilding, movie, and governator fame. You take two dumbells and hold them in front of your shoulders with the palms facing you and your elbows down. Then raise the dumbells over your head and turn the palms out at the same time. Really works the front and upper deltoids and the triceps.

[Brady]

So Deus do you do these isolation exercises to increase martial efficacy?
I have a few clients as a trainer who I've taken from other trainers and switched them from isolated barbell/dumbbell intensive programs to more bodyweight and full kinetic chain exercises with huge successes. Really emphasized to me the dangers of isolated exercise even when done by those very knowledgeable.

[neijia_boxer]

I do mostly cross fit style workouts, it varies sometimes kettle bells, weights, resistance bands.

Here is a spread my GNC body builder friend suggests i have had a good gym workout with:

a good 4 day split looks like this...


day 1 chest & bis
bench press
incline dumbell press
flys
barbell curl
dumbell curl

day 2 back & tris
pull ups
barbell row
pull down
dumbell row
shrugs
dips
skull crushers
cable press down


day 3 legs
squats
hamstring curl
leg press
unilateral hamstring curl
leg extension
standing calf
seated calf


day 4 shoulders
over head press dumbells or barbell
side lateral raise
rear delt with dumbell
front raise
upward row
rear delt pec deck

[I-mon]

i've been doing getups and military presses with the KB this year. most of my joints are too loose and injure really easily, and i can feel the getups doing wonders for them. just moved up to the 24kg which makes it way more fun, probably step up to the 32 in a couple of months. i pretty much just do a getup or two with the 24 whenever i have a free moment, just cause i can.

my training philosophy these days is pretty much to make every exercise a core strength/spinal exercise, so mostly I do lots of bodyweight stuff. I've also discovered a crew of dudes who have opened a room called the "monkey gym" at one of the universities in town, where they have a curriculum based on natural strength and movement principles. joint mobility/stability, planks-pushups, deep ab work, squats and pistols, different sorts of chinups, kettlebells and sledgehammers....in other words they are onto it. the guy i found out about it from is in my massage class, he is built exactly like me, weighs 70kg and can do turkish getups with a 56kg kettlebell!

I will have to join a regular gym next semester for my strength and fitness trainers program, and I'm looking forward to playing around in there as well. given that IMA training is mostly about developing connectivity (at my beginning level anyway), I find that it carries over into whatever I do, and that I can recruit much more of my body into things like swimming strokes or weight lifts, than I could before.

lifting heavy stuff is just plain fun.

[BonesCom]

I think my hands are heavy enough compared to the rest of my arms to count as weight training, being a hefty 57kg and about 5'10'' so I wave those around a bit.

But seriously I do weighted pistols but more for the counter-balance aspect than just strength training, I usually use a brick or two I have lying round the garden or a 7kg barbell if I'm at a friends. I'm trying to work up to not using a counter-weight which makes the pistols for me alot harder.