File :-(, x, )
Martial Arts The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
Hello /fit/

I have two mostly unrelated questions.
The first question is this: I will be taking a karate course next year and I was wondering what I could do to prepare for it. I know I want to build power while keeping my mass down so I still have speed as well. does /fit/ have any tips for ways to get in shape for Karate?

The second question I have is about Swimmer's abs. My abs are uneven at the top and they arent symmetrical either. It looks like I have an extra muscle or something. Any way to even these up and/or make them symmetrical?

TL;DR I need tips for building power for Karate, 2nd: I have swimmer's abs help me even them out.

Picture... related?
>> Anonymous
>I know I want to build power while keeping my mass down so I still have speed as well.
No you don't want to keep your mass down.
>what I could do to prepare for it?
Running, pushups, situps, pull ups, ect.

A lot of people don't really like karate. I don't think it's bad but it can suck. If your school focuses and forms and such it blows. If your school doesn't really focus all that much on forms then karate isn't too bad. It teaches you a variety of kicks and I guess how to use them. I wouldn't bother with it for more than a year or two. After that go take a different martial art.
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
Its a college course so it will only be about 10 weeks long. But i do intend to take other martial arts afterwards. I'm just starting out on this. I took taekwon-do when I was a young teenager (18 now) and loved it but I had to quit :/. Now I want to get back into it and learn a few martial arts
>Running, pushups, situps, pull ups, ect.
Sweet thats what I've been doing, (except running >.>) I also heard free weights help?

BTW why do I want to have a lot mass? Most martial arts guys I see or picture (like bruce lee) aren't hueg but just really really ripped. I'd think you'd be speedier in terms of punching and kicking with less mass but more muscle density? or maybe I dont know what im talking about :<
>> Anonymous
You cannot change the shape of your "abs".
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
I usually do about 100 crunches a day and fifty pushups per day. Then when I feel like it I practice punching and kicking for about 15 minutes each, and throw in some balance training. I also go to the gym about 3 times a week and do a combination of machines and free weights along with a lot of core training.
>> Anonymous
Most abs aren't symmetrical. There's nothing you can do about it.

>I know I want to build power while keeping my mass down so I still have speed as well.

Stop thinking in video game logic.
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
>You cannot change the shape of your "abs"
really? damn, oh well I figured that would be the case, its not a big deal to me they don't look horrible at least.
>> Anonymous
Kinesiologist here.

>>126480

>>No you don't want to keep your mass down.

? Yes he does if he wants to make a certain weight class.

>>Running, pushups, situps, pull ups, ect.

? He asked how he could build speed and power. These things are not going to do it.

>>If your school focuses and forms and such it blows.

? Ok this part is very true.

>>126486

>>I'd think you'd be speedier in terms of punching and kicking with less mass but more muscle density?

? ugh... ok if THIS is your reason behind not gaining mass, then its a really bad reason. The only time you should not gain mass is if you're trying to make a certain weight class. Other than that, mass is your friend, and the idea that "big muscles slow you down" is one of the oldest myths going.
>> Anonymous
>>126486
you do not. Training for muscle size only would be stupid, but some functional muscle gains will not harm you.(since functional is a fucked term, I am here using it to refer to muscle gains that are able to support the weight of the added muscle and then some)
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
>Stop thinking in video game logic.

LOL, ok.

I'll post my normal workout in about an hour so you guys can critique it but I've got to go to class nao =/
>> Anonymous
>Yes he does if he wants to make a certain weight class.
I don't think he's going to be seriously competing in tournaments so there is no point in keeping your mass down.

> He asked how he could build speed and power. These things are not going to do it.
Those are to get in shape for the course. If you take karate you are probably going to be doing a lot of these in class (probably not pull ups though). That is why I said do them.
>> Anonymous
>>126470
>>does /fit/ have any tips for ways to get in shape for Karate?

? Have you built a solid foundation? If not, go here:

http://www.themedicalhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=199

If you have built a solid foundation, go here:

http://www.themedicalhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=224

The basic idea you need to focus on with the DUP model is planning when to have your speed / power days, and when to have your strength / anaerobic endurance days, and what each will consist of. If you've ever read Westside Barbell's recommendations for the ME (maximum effort) days, that's a pretty good suggestion to follow.
>> Anonymous
I'm a swimmer. WTF are swimmer's abs?
>> Anonymous
Using your chest as an example...

On Monday you'd go in and practice a normal hypertrophy day of 10 reps for 3 sets of dumbbell bench press, and 10 reps of 2 sets for incline dumbbell bench press.

Your next workout would be Friday, which is a speed / strength day. Practice 15 medicine ball drop throws, immediately followed by heavy bench pressing of 4 to 5 reps. Let both of those count as 1 set, and do 5 sets. Follow that up with either depth jumps or more medicine ball work.

Go here for more info:

http://www.strengthcats.com/plyobenchpress.htm
and
http://www.strengthcats.com/complextraining.htm

(its a lot to read but I'm assuming you're serious about your training).

On the following Tuesday, you'd practice drills. This is where you set up a kind of "obstacle course" and try to blow through it non-stop for 2 to 3 minutes at first; later, the time should be kept to the same as 1 round would be. An example of a drill:

Perform bench presses, 5 reps explosively
Run 20 yards forwards
Run 20 yards backwards
Give me your feet - wheel barrel walks in circles to the left, 5 times
Wheel barrel walks in circles to the right 5 times
Do 10 push ups
Do 20 burpies, forwards and backwards
Repeat

Have a partner look at a stop watch and keep going until 2 to 3 minutes have passed. YOU SHOULD NOT SLOW DOWN THIS ENTIRE TIME!!!! Speed is the ONLY thing in this world you should care about! The only "form" or "technique" here is on bench press, and thats only to keep you from being injured. Nothing else matters except speed. Make your every move in this entire drill as explosive and violent as possible.

After 3 minutes, stop and rest 90 seconds, then repeat.

Repeat this drill 3 times. Gradually, you can increase it to 5 or 6 times. If you happen to have a cybex UBE, that would be a wondrous thing to include in your drill (unfortunately, very few exist, despite their effectiveness).
>> Anonymous
>>126496
Well I guess OP is gone now but I guess I'll explain a little more in case anyone is wondering. Your abdominal muscles are a pair of muscles running vertically up your torso, the "6 pack" is actually called the tendinous inscription- it's made of connective tissue, ab work doesn't really effect it, instead it builds muscle underneath it, increasing your girth and possible pushing it out a little more, making it slightly more visible.
>> Anonymous
>I will be taking a karate course next year

dumbass

>I want to build power while keeping my mass down so I still have speed

dumbass

>The second question I have is about Swimmer's abs

dumbass
>> Anonymous
For another example on how to do drills (although this guy has a slightly different way of going about it) see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_e1xnYx6EY

The athlete in the video is not moving quite as explosively through the movements as he should, but if you're a beginner its not so important. As you get experience, you will want to jerk through every movement as though you were trying to kill someone with every ounce of hate you've ever felt in your life.

You rest 3 or 4 days, then go back on the hypertrophy program... then strength / power... then drills. The important thing here is getting the proper rest time between each of these.

And, of course... being able to schedule a routine like this for your entire body isn't easy. Its something for which I normally charge around 200 dollars per hour, and its what we do with top athletes around the world.
>> Anonymous
Oh crap I almost forgot to answer your second question!

>>Any way to even these up and/or make them symmetrical?

? No.

Anything else I can help you with today?
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
Alright I am back and have read all of your posts and been to a few of the links, and I've got to say my head is exploding with the amount of workouts I could be doing. Here is my current workout:
-Bar Curl 70lbs: 8 reps x 2 sets
-Hammer Curls 30lbs: 8 reps for each arm and two sets
-Low Row 100lbs (i'm assuming when its set on 10 it means 100): 8 x 4
-Pushups shoulder width: 1 x 50
-Crunches feet on ground: 1 x 100
-Chin-ups: I try to do as many as I can usually 8-10 and then I do that in two or three sets
-Leg press 230 lbs: 3 x 12
-Calf extensions 210 lbs: 4 x 12
-Chest flies 15 lbs: 3 x 8
And i'm just starting to practice kicking against the bag upstairs along with practicing punching and kicking just the air. when I look at some of the links though this doesn't seem like a very good workout, anything I should replace, add-in, drop, improve?
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
oh i forgot to add im also working on flexibility so I can get higher kicks, less injuries, etc
>> Anonymous
Kinesiologist here

>>126596
Oh my god... your workout couldn't be more fail if your name were Fail F. Failson and you lived in Failpan.

Take your time to read through the DUP link I posted earlier. You need to know and understand how that works. Read other articles on themedicalhelp if you need to.

>>when I look at some of the links though this doesn't seem like a very good workout

? Yea no shit.

>>anything I should replace, add-in, drop, improve?

? Yea, completely drop and replace everything you're doing now, and add-in a program that makes sense. Thats how you improve.

Srsly though, it'd take half an hour to explain everything you've got wrong.
>> Anonymous
Kinesiologist here.

I was punched in the balls a long time ago in a woman's self defense class, where for some reason I had to play the male. Hence karate.
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
>Oh my god... your workout couldn't be more fail if your name were Fail F. Failson and you lived in Failpan.

Wow no need to be such a douche I came here for help not ridicule. But I suppose you're right, and thanks for the info. I'll just look through the links...
>> Anonymous
>>126757
If you don't know anything don't open your mouth and prove how retarded you actually are.
>> The Emperor of Mankind !!YdGkb/rBdQf
Because I know nothing that gives you/him the right to insult me? yeah right.
>> Anonymous
God, there's more flaming in this board than in goddamn /b/...
>> Anonymous
>>126800
I'm passing on words of wisdom from one of my teachers. Take it seriously you dumb fuck.