My name is Ichiro Watanabe. I am a chunin, a middle level ninja of the Togakure clan. Our small village is secluded deep in the mountains near Mt. Togakushi, otherwise known as Togakure Mountain. I could tell you exactly where, but I’d have to kill you. No joke, it’s a matter of survival for my family and clan. You see the year is 1601, one year after the famous Battle of Sekigahara which brought Ieyasu Tokugawa to power uniting Japan. There is still much to do, however, and the need for the services of our ninja clan is still very great. [Read more...]
Ninja Stars and Strength Training
January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday I decided to do something a little bit different in my workout. As an experiment, I wanted to look at the effect lactic acid build up in the muscles had on my ability to throw rubber shuriken (ninja stars) and hit a target. The theory being that as fatigue in the muscles increased, throwing accuracy would decrease. Seems like a solid hypothosis, right? Well, here’s what happened…
10 Minutes and a Chair
November 25, 2011 By 4 Comments
So here is the challenge, you have only 10 minutes to train and the only piece of equipment available is a dining room chair.
Are you prepared?
Can you rock a great minimalist workout with this limited time and equipment? Or, should you just use the chair for a short snooze?
Here’s one answer:
Warrior Workout in the Park
November 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This past Saturday was a beautiful fall day here in Jersey. A perfect day for a Warrior’s Workout in the Park! This workout was directly inspired by Zach Even-Esh’s Ultimate Underground Strength System.
Warrior Workout
15 minute warm-up – mobility, movement, animal crawls, band work, breathing exercises followed by…
1) KB Clean & Press – 5×5
2A) Picnic Table Push-ups on fists – 4 x submax
2B) Thick Tree Branch Pull-ups - 4 x submax
3A) KB Goblet Squats 4×10 (forgot to take pics of these – sorry guys!)
3B) KB Swings 4×10
4) Abs / Grip work 3 sets each
The cool-down consisted of various yoga asana and breathing exercises as both normalizing work and compensatory movement.
Hope you enjoyed this! How did you workout this weekend? Let me know!
Ninja Endurance – Part II
May 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In part one of Ninja Endurance called, How to Train for the Endurance of a Ninja, we discussed strength endurance and I provided a sample workout to help you build yours. Here in part 2, I ‘d like to delve a little deeper into the whys of endurance training and how specifically high intensity interval training is an excellent choice for it.
What is Endurance?
Endurance is defined as being able to keep going without fatigue setting in, or being able to push oneself through fatigue. Essentially, it is the ability to resist or bear fatigue. What is fatigue? Fatigue is weariness or exhaustion from exertion, or the temporary loss of power to respond. An equally critical corollary to the definition of endurance, especially for the warrior, is that your level of endurance also determines how quickly you are able to recover between bouts of activity. Combat, like life, does not happen at one constant rate of speed. It is multi-faceted in nature. There will be periods of brutally intense activity followed by lulls in the action, again followed by another flurry of activity. Being able to use those lulls in action to recover is a critical ability for the warrior.
Steady state cardio, Long Slow Distance (LSD) training simply will not cut it. Running on a treadmill may be appropriate for a hamster in a cage, but human beings require more. Long distance running can be beneficial for mental toughness and/or active recovery, but it should not be the primary focus of a warrior’s endurance training. So then how should we train to maximize our ability to endure?
Warriors Need to HIIT!
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the best ways to train for endurance. It will enhance all 3 energy systems in the body (2 anaerobic and 1 aerobic – see here for an overview), as well as prime the nervous system to recover automatically during lulls in activity. Simply put, HIIT alternates periods of high intensity exercise with periods of rest and recovery. It can be performed with almost any exercise and can be utilized both with and without equipment. The variety and adaptability of this style of training is second to none in results.
How else does improving your endurance through this type of conditioning aid your martial arts training? I’m glad you asked! If the benefits discussed above weren’t enough, consider that having a high level of conditioning also aids in learning new skills. How’s that possible? To put it simply, when the central nervous system (CNS) is fatigued, the body cannot effectively process new skills, especially technically advanced skills. So, in essence your lack of a general level of fitness and conditioning will actually impede your learning process as you will tire more readily and not have the ability to recover quickly enough during training. Want to train more, at a higher level, for a longer period of time? Want to get more out of your training time both at home and in the dojo? Want to build new skills and enhance your technical arsenal? Get yourself in shape!
There are several sample conditioning workouts here on the Warrior Fitness site. Here are a few examples:
Workout of the Week #1
Workout of the Week #5
Stay tuned for more Warrior Fitness style conditioing workouts to help you get and stay in fighting shape!
Get Beach Fit – Warrior Style!
May 9, 2011 By 2 Comments
Summer is coming and, hey, let’s face it – even warriors need to look good at the beach, right?! So, if you’re going to workout with the intention of getting is shape for summer, why not do it in a balanced, functional manner that syncs up with and supports your other activities rather than distracting from them? To that end, here’s a newly designed Warrior Fitness workout to help tone and sculpt that beach body!
Pull-up Pyramid
- Start with 1, pyramid up to 3, then back down to 1
- Depending on your fitness level, do pull-ups, chin-ups, or commando pull-ups
Push-ups
- 5 Downward Facing Dog Push-ups(begin in downward facing dog posture, bend arms to touch head to ground)
- 10 Hindu Push-ups
- 5 Diamond Push-ups (hands are touching at pointer fingers and thumbs directly under chest)
- 10 Fist Push-ups
- End with a static hold mid range of the push-up position for 1 minute
Dips
- 4 sets of 10
- Use a bench, chair, or couch
Bodyweight Squats
- 4 sets of 15
- If too easy, make them jumping squats
Seiza Step-ups (Begin in seiza, Japanses kneeling posture, on the balls of your feet. Step up right leg, followed by left leg to half squat so legs are 90 degrees, then back down to seiza.)
- 4 sets of 15
Static 1/2 Squat
- Hold mid range of squat for 1 minute
V-ups
- 2 sets of 10
Knee Hugs
- 2 sets of 10
Plank
- Finish with static plank hold for 1 minute
Take a look at the vibration drills in this article to see how to shake out and release that residual muscle tension.
Want to know more? The strength and conditioning exercises in Warrior Fitness will not only provide a strong, functional body, but help burn fat and build lean muscle as well. When used in conjunction with the mobility warm-ups, breathing exercises, and compensatory cool-down movements in the book, Warrior Fitness is a fully balanced approach to fitness and conditioning!
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Got Some Spare Time? Try Isometrics!
May 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you’re like me and can’t stand to waste any amount of time no matter how short, you’ll love how isometrics can fill in some strength gaps. Nowadays, my days are jam-packed full with work, meetings, conference calls, networking, family time, training time, teaching time, writing time, and oh yeah – a little sleeping in my spare time. Since there are never enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things I want to do (not to mention those pesky things I have to do!), I try to make the most of those few free minutes of downtime in between tasks so I can be just a little more productive.
The only way to constantly improve is to consistently work on improving your self. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Calvin Coolidge:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
And, since I don’t consider myself particularly talented, or even all that smart, it’s a good thing I am persistent!
So, let’s talk isometrics.
Isometrics are a great way to work on increasing strength, or shoring up a strength deficiency in a certain movement or exercise, with virtually no equipment and very little time. They are both effective and efficient – good news for us!
So what exactly are isometrics? Basically, isometric exercise is exerting force against an immovable object. The idea is that the length of the muscle does not change, but the tension remains constant during the exercise. There are 2 general types of isometric exercise:
1. Holding yourself (or a weight) in a static state. For example holding the mid-point of a push-up position or the mid-point of a squat. Or, holding yourself statically on a pull-up bar.
2. The other type of isometric exercise consists of pushing or pulling against an immovable object. This picture of Bruce Lee is a great example of just one of the ways he used to train isometrics.
For our purposes, when training the first type of isometric drill, try holding the mid-range or hardest point of the exercise for 30 to 60 seconds. Make sure to keep breathing! Then shake it out – see the vibration exercises here - and go again.
We will use much shorter time frames for the second type of isometric exercise. Here we will be pushing or pulling against an immovable object as hard as possible (maximal contraction) for 1 to 3 seconds each rep. Exert force as quickly as possible to improve speed strength. Studies have found that the intention to move fast was more important for speed development than the actual speed of the the movement. Interesting, eh? Train about 4 to 6 reps per set and use the vibration exercises referenced above to remove residual muscle tension between sets. Since there are innumerable variations here – pushing with the arms (one or both), pushing with the legs (one of both), pulling with the arms (one or both), pulling with the legs (one or both), not to mention the number of different joint angles one can use with either push or pull, I will leave it up to your creativity to determine how to best apply it in your training. Let me know what you find works best for you.
I hope you enjoyed this short primer on isometrics. We will be exploring them in more depth, as well as showing how isometrics can be used to not only increase strength, but increase power for your strikes in my upcoming book… Stay tuned!
16 Minutes of Pure Torture
April 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Hope the catchy title got your attention! Today we’re going to do a fun workout based on the Tabata Protocol. If you are not familiar with Tabata, please check out the Warrior Fitness Tabata Primer found here, What’s Tabata You?
I highly suggest you warm up before doing this workout. In fact, I insist on it. What’s a good way to warm-up? I’m glad you asked. One of my favorite warm-ups is found here in my Morning Wake Up Routine. Don’t let the fact that it says morning dissuade you. It’s a quick, highly effective recharge/warm-up that can be used anytime of day.
Now, onto the workout. Warmed up? OK. Here we go -
Remember, Tabata is 8 rounds of exercise, 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, for a total of 4 minutes for each exercise. Take one minute rest upon completion of each set of 8 rounds.
Exercise 1 – Bodyweight Squats
1 minute Rest
Exercise 2 – Hindu Push-ups
1 minute Rest
Exercise 3 – Pendulum Leg Lifts (side to side)
1 minute Rest
Exercise 4 – Burpees
Out of breath? Want to learn how to recover your breathing in between exercises and at the end of the conditioning session? Check out the section on restoring breath in Breathing 101.
Enjoy!
Ukemi Flow Conditioning Workout
August 10, 2010 By 5 Comments
This one is for all the martial artists out there – I created the following ukemi conditioning workout for myself a few years ago to specifically target the transitions between my rolls and begin to unlock flow. Additionally, it has the effect of really getting your heart pumping and makes a great workout! Start out slowly and smoothly by practicing for the first few rounds. Groove the movement and then begin to increase the speed. Remember, you do yourself and your training a disservice if you rush through the movements simply to say you accomplished the workout. Flow is not something you do, it’s something you allow – you have to be able to get out of your own way! That being said, give this a try and let me know how it works for you.
Ukemi Flow
- Begin in Shizen No Kamae (natural stance), squat down to ball of foot squat
- Zenpo Kaiten (front roll) over the right shoulder
- Ushiro Kaiten (back roll)
- Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance), squat down to ball of foot squat
- Zenpo Kaiten (front roll) over the left shoulder
- Ushiro Kaiten (back roll)
- Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance)
- Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing in front to the right
- Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing in front to the left
- Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance)
- Zempo Ukemi (forward break fall)
- Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance)
- Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing behind to the right
- Yoko Nagare (side roll) with the leg crossing behind to the left
- Stand up into Shizen No Kamae (natural stance) – repeat!
Start out with 4 rounds of 3 minutes each with a 1 minute break between rounds. Use the minute break to get your breathing back under control and shake out the tension. When this becomes easier, decrease the rest period to 30 seconds between rounds. Finally, try to perform the Ukemi Flow continuously for 12 minutes. You can also adjust the difficulty level of the flow by adding directional leaps at the end of each roll. Or, it can be made easier by performing it from kneeling in Seiza no Kamae instead of standing.
Notes: Make sure you warm-up with brief joint mobility session prior to the workout.
Got your own version of an ukemi-specific workout? Please share with us in the comments section below!
Morning Wake Up Routine
May 14, 2010 By 6 Comments
Ever have one of those mornings when you have to be up early for work or school, but simply can’t summon the energy to start your day? This is a routine I have been using successfully for years to shake out the cobwebs and get me moving on the mornings when just a cup of coffee isn’t going to do it. It’s not your fault, and bear that in mind – some people just aren’t morning people. Whether you’re getting up to play poker games for a living or you’re off to a conference in a strange town, it’s tough.
Back when I was travelling for weeks on end and putting in long hours every day for consulting work this routine was my morning staple in the hotel room before meeting my colleagues for breakfast. I find it most effective on the mornings when I am most tired. Just as an aside, it doesn’t have to be used in the mornings, it has benefits any time of the day when you need a little pick me up. One caution, and although this should be obvious I’ll say it anyway, don’t do it before going to bed – you won’t sleep!
The Routine
Joint Mobility
This has the effect of increasing synovial fluid to lubricate the joints while at the same time increasing blood flow to the surrounding muscles. For the quick version we will concentrate on the neck, shoulders, hips, and spine.
Neck:
- Up/Down – lift up from crown of head; slide down along plane of jaw for 3 to 6 repetitions.
- Left/Right – turn head as far left as possible without pain, turn as far right as possible for 3 to 6 repetitions.
- Full circles in both directions.
Shoulders:
- Roll both shoulders – lift shoulders up towards ears, roll backward fully articulating the range of motion (ROM), drop them down as far as comfortable for 3 repetitions, then repeat by rolling forward for 3 reps.
- Alternate shoulder rolls – roll left shoulder back as described above while pushing right shoulder forward then switch. Perform 3 times each.
- Swing both arms as fast as possible windmilling them forward for 20 seconds then backward for 20 seconds.
Hips:
- Circle hips clockwise and counter-clockwise 10 times in each direction.
Spine:
- Keep the spine straight and fold forward at the hips, then rotate around to the left and back to center, then forward and around to the right.
- Keep the spine straight and fold backward at the hips, then rotate around to the left and back to center, then forward and around to the right.
Energizing Breath
In this breathing exercise we will utilize a protocol founded by yoga and improved upon by Russian sport science and martial art. Here the breath is divided into 3 levels: clavicular (upper level), intercostal (mid level), and diaphragmatic (lower level). This exercise will focus only on the clavicular, or upper level. For more information on breathing exercises, please see Breathing 101.
- Exhale through the mouth in a short, quick burst by compressing the upper chest.
- Do not actively inhale. Allow the inhale to happen by relaxing the muscles in the chest.
- Repeat rapidly 20 to 40 times.
- Build up to where you can perform continuously for 60 seconds.
- If you become dizzy, stop and sit down!
Slap Yourself Silly!
This is actually an ancient Qigong exercise designed to improve circulation and disperse stagnant energy. The execution is pretty simple. You may want to avoid practicing this in public though!
- Gently, but vigorously, slap your shoulders, upper back, and lower back with the palms of the hands.
- Then slap down the inside of one arm and up the outside. Switch arms.
- Slap down the outside of both legs – you can slap a little harder here – and up the inside.
Enjoy and Wake Up!
