To practice martial arts, specific skills are needed, such as speed , precision , agility or strength , qualities that can be considerably improved with adequate specific training.
As you know, each discipline requires different training to enhance the key points of each one of them, there are important variations between a routine that a boxer will do and one that a weightlifting athlete will perform.
Doing the wrong training can have very negative consequences for our performance, since if a person who practices martial arts did a training focused on gaining a large amount of muscle mass, his speed and agility could be diminished , something that will cost him dearly when he has than to perform in combat.
Therefore, we are going to see the best plyometric exercises that we can do if we are amateurs or dedicate ourselves to martial arts , as well as an example of a training routine so that you can put it into practice or make your own from it.
Torso exercises for martial arts
1. Plyometric pushups
We will place ourselves on the ground as if we were going to do a conventional push-up, resting the palms of the hands and the balls of the feet on the ground. We lower our body by flexing our arms and when we reach the lowest point of the movement, we gain momentum by stretching our arms explosively, separating our hands from the ground, leaving our torso in suspension for a few moments.
We can do several variations of this exercise, such as simply separating the hands a little from the ground, slapping in the air or lowering the arms until they touch the quadriceps in an extremely fast movement.
2. Medicine ball throw
With the medicine ball we can do some great exercises that will give us power, of which we are going to highlight two.
In the first one we will take a medicine ball, we will place it above our head raising our arms and we will throw it strongly towards the ground, catching it again on the rebound to throw it again, repeating the operation during the repetitions that are necessary.
Another option is to throw the ball to the side using the hip twist to do so. We will do it against a wall, also picking up the rebound and changing sides when we complete all the repetitions of the first one.
Leg exercises for martial arts
1. Side jumps over obstacle
We will stand with our feet together again, placing an obstacle such as a bench or a bar about 30 centimeters high. We will jump the obstacle keeping our feet together from one side to the other.
2. Zig Zag
This exercise is similar to the previous one, only that we will not jump any obstacle, but, with our feet together, we will make small lateral jumps alternating to the right and to the left as fast as we can.
3. Bounding
For this exercise we will advance forward with long strides, staying in suspension for a few moments during each stride. You can also do it laterally.
4. Single leg jumps
We will hold one of the feet with our hand, sticking it to the gluteus, making horizontal jumps with the leg that remains on the ground trying to travel as far as possible. Then we will change legs and repeat the same operation.
5. Jump squats
We position ourselves as if to do a conventional squat with our own weight, with the difference that, when we reach the lowest point of the movement, we will extend our legs explosively, propelling ourselves to take a vertical jump. When the feet land on the ground, we will bend our knees to return to the low point and repeat the jump during the repetitions that are opportune.
Plyometric exercise routine for martial arts
As we have said, we are going to see an example of a plyometric exercise routine for martial arts practitioners . There are two sessions that we can repeat twice a week.
An ideal layout for this routine would be to do session A on Mondays and Wednesdays, doing session B on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Session a
- Boundings – 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Medicine Ball Lateral Throws – 3 sets of 10 reps to each side.
- Side jumps over obstacle – 3 sets of 20 jumps.
- Medicine ball throw to the ground – 3 sets of 10 reps.
Session B
- Plyometric pushups – 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Jump Squats – 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Single leg jumps – 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Zig Zag – 3 sets of 10 reps.
Conclution
With these fantastic exercises we can greatly improve our physical condition and skills , focusing on martial arts, maintaining a fit physique so that we can progress and be number one.
You must not forget to also introduce rope and running exercises in your training to gain depth and endurance , as well as putting into practice the blows, defenses and kicks, depending on the discipline.
