So i've successfully joined the gym and am going at least 3 times a week.

I'm aiming to lose some weight, increase stamina and work on some Core Stability and Strength.

I don't especially want to increase muscle mass at the moment.

Can anyone tell me what the best Core Stability/Strength excercises for Martial arts are (I know it may differ between MAs) and where I can find instructions. Also how much should i be doing if i do them 3 times a week? I don't want to overdo it and injure myself

I think it depends on the person really. I haven't been doing Martial Arts that long but I've been an athlete since I was like 4 so I have quite high energy levels. I'm only 17 myself and I go to the gym 3 times a week for a 2 hour workout and I workout for 30 minutes to an hour at home on 2 other days of the week and then for the last 2 I do 2 hours of Kung Fu and Taiji on each day. So if I can manage all that then I shouldn't worry about burning yourself out or injuring yourself.

If you want to lose weight then you want to concentrate on cardio training like running, swimming and even explosive weight training.
Depending on what Martial Art you do also effects it quite a lot aswell I think. Because Kung Fu is quite big and open in it's movements, you are using a lot of energy to do them with good form whereas I used to do Karate for a while which is quite static which may be why a lot of older Karate Martial Artists tend to be a bit bigger then some others like Kung Fu Artists (just as an example).

As for training core balance I would recommend things like V-sits, training stances on top of balls (footballs, medicine balls...whatever you have handy), repeatative leg swings for extended periods of time and even training on a hillside. A lot of these work you legs and ankles as well as your balance so they're an all round good lower body workout I've found.

Anyway, hope I've been helpful :) feel free to ask me questions if I've been to brief or you want to know anything else and I'll do my best to help out

Li

well, most percussive martial arts use a lot of internal and external obliques. so trunk twists, side sit ups and the like are really good to train in.

tomprice2k wrote:
Can anyone tell me what the best Core Stability/Strength excercises for Martial arts are (I know it may differ between MAs) and where I can find instructions. Also how much should i be doing if i do them 3 times a week? I don't want to overdo it and injure myself
I'm so glad you asked about "core stability exercises", not just "core exercises". The primary purpose of the core is to provide stability -- that is, prevent excessive range of motion in the spine and protect the internal organs. Even in martial arts where you utilize a lot of "twisting" motion (e.g., for certain kicks or punches), your core muscles are really just moving your torso back into proper position.

I recently heard a good analogy to the potential problems of core exercises such as crunches that involve vertebral compression: you can only bend a credit card back and forth for so long before it breaks. Now it's possible to do crunches safely, but it's also easy to let technique slip when we're tired.

The plank is a great stability exercise, and there are lots of variations to make it easier or harder. Another good exercise is to stand 90-degrees from a pulley weight and pull it out in front of you, arms extended, so that you have to tense your core to keep it from twisting back toward the weight rack.

Chi kung breathing exercises are also good core exercises. If no one beats me to it, I'll try to post something on frog breathing tomorrow.

Remember to balance out front and back (abs and lower back) and top and bottom (chest and upper back).

The whole core, but abs and neck especially, get lots of circulation, so they recover quickly. You can pretty much max out three times per week and be fine. Listen to your body, of course, and give yourself a rest week every month or so.

Cheers Tony and Rising Crane. I've been looking at some of the excercises and just need to pick out a number that i can rotate so they don't get repetative.

I'd been doing some resistance training with a pulley machine and this was one of the excercises i was doing.

I do a fair amount of running and swimming mainly as WT isn't very jumpy and energetic as it focuses more on close quarter combat and efficiency of movement and so i need the Cardio to keep me fit.

Pilates is the absolute core stability exercise regimen..if ballet dancers use it then it's gonna help martial artists...thinking Van Damme.. You will never regret learning any pilates moves and it will increase flexibility. It's helped me get back into martial arts after a very long break and I'm helping other students learn techniques to stabilize and power up from a non-martial approach.

I'm fairly sure that drunken boxing forms are very good for establishing a strong core.

I agree -- pilates has some great core exercises.

Better late than never, here's the frog breathing exercise. This exercise is probably familiar to practitioners of Chinese internal martial arts, and is similar to but predates glossopharyngeal breathing -- also called frog breathing -- which is taught to paralysis victims.

From seiza, inhale through your nose into your kidneys and lower diaphragm until your lungs are half full (or more as you get the hang of it). Starting at the top of your torso, contract your muscles to push the air deeper into your lungs. Keep your neck and head relaxed; you should feel no pressure in your head, and certainly not get red in the face. Continue pushing down with your chest, back, and abs. Visualize compressing the air into the size of a golf ball at your tan t'ien.

Then slowly exhale through your mouth while bowing forward, keeping your back slightly arched. Try to push all the air out of your lungs.

Inhale easily as you rise back up. Hold the breath a moment, then exhale. That's one rep.



(As always, consult a physician before doing any exercises, the Martial Edge folks and I disclaim any liability, etc.)