Tired of the same old boring gym routine that has little to no relevance to your training?  Get the workout designed specifically for martial artists by a martial artist!

Get your copy of Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts today for only $15!

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1. Warrior Fitness Book FAQs
2. Complete Warrior Fitness Training Program for Bujinkan
3. Jack Hoban on Fitness

Warrior Fitness Longevity Program

Please remember that there are no “one-size-fits-all” programs and that this was created specific to a friend’s needs.  It can, however, serve as an example and a template for you to program your own training.  As always, please feel free to contact me here or in the comments section below if you need any help or have any questions.

Related posts:

1. Fitness Requirements for Bujinkan Martial Arts Training
2. User Guide to the Workouts of the Week
3. Fitness Requirements for Bujinkan Martial Arts Training – part 2

Breathing as a Bridge

You may not be aware that breathing is a bridge between our voluntary and autonomic nervous systems.  Meaning breath is plugged into both.  The autonomic system will keep you breathing continuously without your conscious control, or sometimes, without even your awareness of it going on.  But, you also have the power to override that control and decide at any moment to take a deep breath or hold your breath.  What does this mean to you though, right?  Well, here’s what it means, you have the power, at any time, to consciously choose to influence things like your heart rate and blood pressure which are not under your conscious control.  Now that’s fascinating to me!  Because breath is tied into both systems it can be used like a bridge to gain access to aspects of your body that you cannot directly control.  How do we do this?

Try This Experiment

Take your pulse.  Count beats for 10 seconds then multiply by 6.  If you’re sitting and relaxed, that number should be your resting heart rate.  Now, inhale as deeply as possible and hold your breath and tense your whole body for a few seconds.  Are you red in the face?  Take your pulse again.  What happened?  Your hear rate jumped up and your blood pressure spiked right along with it, right?  Now try exhaling for a count of 6, but don’t inhale yet.  Extend the pause before the inhale a little bit.  Feel more relaxed?  Check your pulse.  It should have dropped.  Pretty cool, eh?  And this is just the beginning.

The Exercises

Relaxing Breath (Square Breathing)

This is very similar to the experiment we did above.  The basic premise of our ability to influence the autonomic nervous system is that inhalation increases heart rate, which subsequently increase blood pressure, to a slight degree, while exhalation lowers heart rate and blood pressure to a slight degree.  During our normal cycle of breathing, these changes are too minute to register, or even notice.  But, by gradually lengthening our breath and extending the pause before inhaling and exhaling, we compound the effect.

1. Begin by exhaling through the mouth for 5 seconds.
2. Do not inhale.  Try to extend the breath pause for 5 seconds.
3. Before tension begins to creep in, inhale for 5 seconds.
4. Hold the breath on the inhale for 5 seconds.
5. Repeat the cycle 10 times.
6. As this becomes easier, and your capacity expands, try increasing the duration to 6, 7, 8 seconds.

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 we will divide the breath into 3 levels: clavicular (upper level), intercostal (mid level), Diaphragmatic (lower level).  This exercise will focus only on the clavicular, or upper level.  I first learned this exercise, and several others including the next one below, about 10 years ago from my good friends Dave Rusin and Oleg Yakimovich who are ROSS Russian Martial Art instructors.  More information about ROSS can be found at their website here.  Check it out!

1. Exhale through the mouth in a short, quick burst by compressing the upper chest.
2. Do not actively inhale.  Allow the inhale to happen by relaxing the muscles in the chest.
3. Repeat rapidly 20 to 40 times.
4. Build up to where you can perform continuously for 60 seconds.
5. If you become dizzy, stop and sit down!

Restoring Breath

Here again we will depend on Russian sport science and martial art for our technique.  This one is literally a life saver when doing high intensity anaerobic workouts!  It can be used in between exercises as well as in between sets, during the rest period, and at the end of the workout to normalize breathing and dramatically lower heart rate.

1. Forcefully exhale as deeply as possible by rolling your shoulders forward, tilting the pelvis up, and contracting the core strongly.
2. Pause before the inhale for a few seconds.
3. As stated above, do not actively inhale.  Allow the breath to be sucked back in through the nose as your body returns to a natural standing posture. 
4. Repeat for about 60 seconds, or as long as needed.

Try these out and let me know how they work for you.  Any questions, please feel free to contact me here.

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1. Morning Wake Up Routine
2. A Day in the Life…
3. So Ya Wanna Be a Ninja?

The Body’s 3 Energy Systems

To briefly summarize, the body has three energy systems, 2 anaerobic, or non-oxidative, and 1 aerobic, that serve to create ATP (adenosine triphosphate).  ATP is utilized by every cell in your body; it fuels muscular contractions, cognitive processes, and internal regulatory functions.   Both anaerobic systems fuel maximally intensive activity, while the aerobic system fuels sustained low to moderate level activity.

The ATP-PC system provides immediately available energy for high intensity efforts from ATP stored within the muscles.  This system is the most powerful, but least enduring of the three, lasting only about 10 to 30 seconds max. 

The Glycolytic system, the second most powerful, is only slightly more enduring than the ATP-PC system.  It derives energy from glycogen stored in the muscles and liver converting it to ATP in a process called glycolysis.  Its capacity is approximately 90 to 120 seconds.  Rest intervals allow the body to recuperate and restore ATP.

Lastly, the Aerobic system uses proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to produce ATP.  As the intensity of the effort increases, the aerobic system relies more on glycogen for energy.  If the intensity continues to increase, the anaerobic systems must kick-in to provide energy.  The important idea to realize here is that all 3 energy systems are always supplying the body with the energy it needs for any activity, at any level of intensity.  It’s just that one may be more dominant than the other 2 at a specific time.

If Anaerobic is ‘Without Oxygen’, Why am I Sucking Wind?

If you have been following the Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week installments, you are probably pretty familiar with examples of anaerobic exercises and how they affect the body.  Have you noticed how after even a brief, but intense anaerobic session you are breathing heavily?  If anaerobic really means ‘without oxygen’, how come you are so out of breath?  What happens is that your aerobic system is trying like heck to help restore your anaerobic systems.  All that extra oxygen is being used to metabolize the lactate that’s accumulated in the muscles during the bout of intense activity.  In order to continue to supply energy for all-out, intense efforts, the anaerobic system must be replenished.  Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) is the term used to identify this process of extra oxygen being taken in to restore all systems.  So, basically, as the intensity of your exercise increases, so does your EPOC.  And, that’s why you’re sucking wind!

Tabata Protocol

No discussion of interval training would be complete without touching on Tabata.  Dr. Izumi Tabata at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan performed perhaps the most well known study on interval training.   A group exercising with moderate intensity endurance training was compared to another group using high intensity intermittent training.  Each group exercised 5 days a week.  The moderate intensity group exercised for 60 minutes, at 70% VO2 max.  The high intensity group did 8 intervals of 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of recovery.  They operated at 170% VO2 max.

After 6 weeks, both groups experienced improvements in maximal oxygen uptake.  The biggest difference between them was that only the high intensity group gained improvement in anaerobic capacity.  The high intensity group actually realized a 28% increase in anaerobic capacity AND a 14% increase in VO2max.  So, the study concluded that high intensity intermittent training can improve both the anaerobic and aerobic systems simultaneously.  Very impressive results!

How Can I Use Tabata?

I knew that after reading the amazing results achieved by Dr. Tabata you’d be ready to try using his protocol, I sure was!  The protocol itself is pretty simple, in theory.  Choose an exercise – say sprints, for example.  Perform the exercise for 20 seconds as fast as possible while still keeping good form.  Rest 10 seconds.  Complete 8 rounds.  Sprints are an easy example, but really the Tabata Protocol can be applied to almost any exercise.  Try some of these:

• Bodyweight squats
• Burpees
• Kettlebell swings or snatches
• Sledgehammer swings
• Push-ups
• Mountain climbers
• Jumping

What other exercises do you use with Tabata?

Additionally, try grouping together 4 to 6 different exercises to increase the effectiveness of the workout and create a synergistic effect where the total combined effect is greater than the sum of the individual exercises.  This, I think, is where the real fun begins!

In a future post I’ll be talking about breathing and how to use various breathing techniques to restore yourself quicker, lower your heart rate, and increase the effectiveness of your conditioning sessions.

Related posts:

1. Tabata for Kids!
2. User Guide to the Workouts of the Week
3. So Ya Wanna Be a Ninja?

It doesn’t take a genius to see that America has become a nation of over weight, physically lazy, comfort-seekers.  The saddest part is the effect this perverse attitude has had on our children.  How can we call ourselves responsible parents when our kids consume more McDonald’s than broccoli, and watch more TV than play outside?  What happened to running, jumping, playing tag, climbing trees and fences, or riding bikes as fast as you can just for the sheer thrill of it?  Has watching Sponge Bob and playing video games replaced playing outside from the time school lets out until dinner is ready?  I remember my mother having to shout for my brothers and me almost on a daily basis to call us home for supper.  And, in the summertime, we were playing outside until well after dark!

What Can We Do to Reverse This Trend?

To me, the answer is simple: Lead from the front!  What impetus do your children have to eat healthy and exercise if you do not?  You, as a parent, must set the example for your kids.  My daughters constantly see me exercising, whether it’s stretching, working on the technical details of an exercise, practicing martial arts, or a full-blown conditioning routine, I’m setting an example for them on a daily basis.  Coming home from work and sitting on our butts in front of the television while we “relax” and “unwind” is more than just detrimental to your health.  It sets up a poor pattern of conditioning that you’re children will follow for a lifetime.

Train With Your Kids

Want to spend some quality time with your kids and help them become fitter in the process?  Workout with them.  Make it fun, not drudgery.  That means stay out of the commercial gym and away from the damn treadmills!  You’re people, not hamsters.  One of the ways my oldest daughter and I spend time together during the warmer weather is to go on walks after dinner, while the sun is still up.  But just walking around the block is boring, so we found a couple ways to spice it up:

• Pick a landmark – mailbox, telephone pole, tree – and race to it.  Recover by walking a little bit, then race again.
• Leap like a frog until you get tired – see who gets tired first!
• Crawl on hands and feet (be careful of the terrain), then get up and run.
• Let your child ride their bike and you try to keep up, or you ride a bike and let them keep up!

These are just a few examples of how you can change a simple walk around the block to a fun workout for you and the kids.  Shhh… don’t tell them they’re doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)!

As this series continues, I’ll be sharing more ideas about how to workout with you kids in ways that are fun and effective for both of you.  Additionally, I have workouts that I’ve designed for my 9 year old daughter that I’ll be sharing here as well – stay tuned!

How about you?  Do you workout with your kids?  What are some of the things you do to help keep them inspired and keep going?

Related posts:

1. Tabata for Kids!
2. Top 10 Things to Look for in a Kid’s Martial Arts Class
3. User Guide to the Workouts of the Week

The Workout of the Week section is designed to give you insight into the Warrior Fitness training method.  We will cover topics such as joint mobility, high intensity interval training (HIIT) and the Tabata Protocol for conditioning, strength endurance, explosive strength, core work, yoga, and martial arts. 

1.  How often should I do the Workout of the Week (WOW)? 

This depends on the intensity level of the prescribed workout.  For example, if the WOW is an illustration of a yoga compensatory routine, you can do it daily, but if it’s a high intensity conditioning workout, you may only be able to perform it 2-3 times a week, depending on your recovery levels.   These workouts are short; usually, under 30 minutes.   You should have plenty of time to squeeze them into a busy schedule!

2.  Should I change my workout every week to correspond to the WOW? 

Not necessarily, no.  The workouts change weekly in order to showcase various aspects of our training methodology, but that doesn’t mean you need to change it up on a weekly basis.  Workout programs should be designed with specific goals in mind and crafted to meet individual needs.  Your body needs time to adapt to your exercise selection for it to elicit the planned response, usually about 4 to 6 weeks.  If you find a something that you like, stick with it.  If you have a more detailed question about how to program a specific workout, or even a series of workouts, let me know.  I can help you.  That’s why I’m here.

3.  What if I already have a workout program?  How can incorporate the WOWs? 

 If you currently have a training regimen that you are happy with, but want to give one of our workouts a try, you can definitely do that.  Simply replace one of your conditioning days with one of our conditioning workouts.  Or, add in our joint mobility exercises as a warm-up.  Remember, you receive a sample chapter on joint mobility  from the book, Warrior Fitness, when you sign up for our mailing list.

4.  I am just starting to exercise, can I still use the WOWs? 

Absolutely!  Start slowly.  Begin by doing our joint mobility exercises on a daily basis to prime your body and help you regain lost range of motion.  Each of our workouts contains instructions on modifying the workout to scale it for any level of conditioning.  Also, if you have further questions about modifying workouts, or programming workouts, contact me.  I’ll be glad to help you.

5.  Will I lose weight with these workouts? 

 Yes!  Our conditioning workouts are designed to turn on your body’s metabolic furnace and torch unwanted fat, while building lean muscle. 

6.  How can I find out more?

My ebook, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts, is available for direct download.  It contains the background, philosophy, and methodology behind Warrior Fitness, as well as an ample exercise selection and a chapter on program design.

Want to know more?  Just ask!

 I hope this has been a helpful introduction to the Warrior Fitness Workouts of the Week.  What other questions do you have?

Related posts:

1. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #5
2. Warrior Fitness Workout of the Week #2
3. A Case for Mini Workouts