Warrior Fitness » joint mobility

Warrior Fitness Book 25% Off Mid-Summer Sale!

Jon — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:02:18 +0000

Are you among the hundreds of people already benefitting from the our Warrior Fitness program? Are you FIT to be a warrior? If not, why not? Take advantage of our mid-summer special 25% off sale now and end your summer strong and fighting fit!

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!

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Complete Warrior Fitness Training Program for Bujinkan

Jon — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:33:24 +0000

Ever wonder how to put it all together? How do you fit in conditioning, strength, core exercise, joint mobility, breathing exercises, solo martial arts practice and class time in one complete program? Here’s an example 7-day program I created for a friend that integrates all of the above. This program will require a set of dumbbells and a pull-up bar. The repetitions may be adjusted up or down depending on your level of 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.

Morning Wake Up Routine

Jon — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:22:11 +0000

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. 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!

So Ya Wanna Be a Ninja?

Jon — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:25:29 +0000

Masaaki Hatsumi, Grandmaster of the Bujinkan Dojo, once stated, “endurance is of primary importance for the ninja.” One definition of endurance is the ability to resist fatigue. Looking at the kanji (Chinese character) for Nin, there is the ideogram for “sword” over the ideogram for “heart” giving Nin a meaning of, “even though you hold a sword over my heart, I will endure.”

How many of us training in the Bujinkan, or any other martial art, can truthfully claim that ability? How long can you train? How far can you push yourself? In martial art, endurance, or the ability to “keep going” is defined in years, not minutes, hours, or days. How can we create an effective training program that will instill in us the ability to continue, to endure?

Physical Endurance

Let’s begin by examining the concept of physical endurance. There are 3 basic types of physical endurance:

Aerobic endurance
Anaerobic endurance
Strength endurance

We discussed the body’s 3 energy systems and how using the Tabata Protocol can effectively improve both the aerobic and anaerobic systems here. Strength endurance is defined as the ability to effectively maintain muscular functioning under work conditions of long duration. There are two basic ways to increase the ability of your body to do more physical work. One is the continuous adding of weights, sets, reps, and time to push the body to create an adaptation to allow it to perform more work for a longer duration. As we discussed previously in the article on GPP, the body’s capacity is expanded. Progress is incremental and continuous for as long as one is able to keep increasing driving forces in the body. The next one, however, is often overlooked in our “just add more volume” culture. More is always better, right? If one vitamin is good for you, take 4, that’s even better (please dont’!). But, there is another way to allow the body to continue training in addition (no pun intended) to adding more work. By removing restrictions in your body, like unnecessary tension or extra body weight or lack of flexibility/mobility in a particular area, you then free up resources in your body that were spent holding that tension that you weren’t even aware of on a conscious level. These restrictions, once removed, allow even greater leaps in performance than simply adding more work. When the 2 are combined, it’s a powerful combination!

How Do We Program It?

By programming our workouts so that we effectively build in both the removal of restrictive forces, while also increasing driving forces, we can maximize our progress. This idea is present in traditional methods of Hatha Yoga in the form of balancing strength and surrender. Contrary to popular opinion, yogi’s do not simply work to become more flexible. They actively work to increase both strength and flexibility as complimentary opposites in order to achieve a state of balance. Now, I’m not asking you to become a yogi here, merely pointing out that this is not a new concept at all, but has been used by traditional arts for thousands of years. Our program for developing ninja-like endurance will utilize both joint mobility exercises and yoga asana (poses), as well as breathing exercises, to aid in the removal of restrictive forces binding your training and slowing your progress. Next week I will be putting out an article on breathing exercises that can be used for relaxation, stress management, removing residual tension, and also for increasing energy – keep your eyes out!

For an example of some easy yoga postures that can start helping you right now, head over to my good friend Josh Sager’s excellent blog, Fretterverse, and check out my article on Yoga for Guitarists. A free sample joint mobility training program can be obtained simply by signing up for the Warrior Fitness Mailing List at the top right of the page. Sign up now and begin working on removing restrictive forces today!

And, don’t forget to check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Artists for more exercises, options, explanations, and program design!

Stay tuned for a sample Strength Endurance Workout coming soon!

8 Ways to Fit in Your Fitness

Jon — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:07:28 +0000

It’s often been said that if you want something done you should give it to a busy person. While this may be true of some busy people, namely the ones who are highly motivated, highly productive, and highly efficient, what about all the other busy people? What about those who are busy through poor time management skills, or maybe those who are simply overwhelmed? How about them? Does the task they are given merely get thrown on top of a growing pile of “To-Do’s”, or even worse, shuffled to the bottom? What if the task they are given, or give themselves, is directly related to increasing their quality of life and most likely longevity as well? What if that task will help them be more productive at all their other tasks by reducing stress levels, increasing energy, and their overall sense of well being? What if that task would help them to reduce, remove, or otherwise prevent a host of daily aches, pains, and illnesses that are stoically (or sometimes not so) suffered as things that “just happen” as we grow older?

Here’s a list of 8 ways for these busy people to fit in their fitness and reclaim a healthy lifestyle.

1. Plan it out. Scheduling is the key to successful time management. Look at your weekly calendar and plan to exercise just as you would plan an important client meeting, a lunch with an old friend, or coaching your kid’s Little League team.

2. Exercise wherever you are. Joint mobility sessions can be done at your desk – see here.

3. Work in an office building? Take the stairs instead of the elevator. See how fast you can make it to your floor – beat those lazy suckers in the elevator to your floor!

4. Have a lunch break? Go outside and go for a walk. 10 minutes in the fresh air will do wonders for you. Eat at your desk while you work and then go for a walk. Want to make your walk more productive? Try inhaling for 5 steps, holding you breath on the inhale for 5 steps, exhaling for 5 steps, then holding the breath after the exhale for 5 steps. When you can comfortably do that for the entire duration of your walk, increase to 6, 8, 10 steps!

5. Get up earlier and workout **warning – this one requires effort and commitment!!**

6. Spend quality time with your kids. Exercise together – see Warrior Fitness for Kids.

7. Brief workouts. Got a spare 15 minutes? Bring the intensity and lose the long, boring workouts. See the Warrior Fitness WOWs for some ideas.

8. Isometrics. These require very little time to be effective, need no equipment, and can be done literally anywhere.

Obviously, this list is neither exhaustive nor all inclusive, but I do hope it has helped you and sparked some ideas to help you fit in your fitness no matter how busy you are. What ideas do you have?

5 Ways to Help Decrease the Stress

Jon — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:36:43 +0000

Today’s corporate warriors are often besieged with too many tasks, meetings, email, cell phone calls, pagers going off, Blackberrys buzzing, etc. Individually, these things are not significant, but when combined together in a constant barrage, all day long, they produce a cacophony of stimulation which, if not addressed through specific countermeasures, can cause a significant stress response in the brain. This stress response emanates from our primal, survival oriented center of the brain which, in times of crisis, can overload and over run the higher brain functions – i.e., those that allow us to plan, prioritize, manage time and people, and be creative.

Article in Harvard Business Review

According to an article in Harvard Business Review, when busy executives begin to experience symptoms of this stress response in the brain, they often forget important details, lose the ability to prioritize tasks, and generally feel overwhelmed. Overall tension in the body increases, as well as other important markers such as heart rate and blood pressure.

The ability to reduce and manage stress is a key issue in the overcoming of these symptoms in busy workers. Stress can be reduced in various ways such as relaxation, meditation, vacation, diet, and exercise. It is the last two, diet and exercise, that I am focusing on in my recommendations today.

5 Ways to Help Decrease the Stress

Begin to increase complex carbohydrates at every meal. (Complex carbohydrates are whole wheat, multi-grain, etc.)
As you increase complex carbohydrates, begin to eliminate simple carbohydrates. (Simple carbohydrates are white flour, white sugar, and white rice)
Eat protein and vegetables (or fruit) with every meal.
Exercise at least 3 days a week for a 1/2 hour or more.
Daily short exercise breaks – this can be done at your desk or standing up in the office. It is a quick “10 Minute Recharge” for stress reduction and to increase energy throughout the day. This consists of moving all the joints in the body in circles or waves to increase mobility, increase blood flow in muscles and prevent stagnation. These joint mobility exercises coupled with active exhalation breathing aid in the reduction of stress and help to lower blood pressure.

These exercises can be taught quickly and easily, but the benefits are enormous.

For all the aspiring Corporate Warriors out there, how do you deal with stress?

Warrior Fitness Book FAQs

Jon — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:06:50 +0000

1. Are the Warrior Fitness workouts applicable to beginners?

Absolutely! The workouts in the Warrior Fitness program are completely scalable based on your level of fitness.

2. Is nutrition covered in the book?

Nutrition is an important aspect of a complete, healthy lifestyle, but is not discussed in the Warrior Fitness book. My own personal ideas about nutrition can be summed up fairly simply though. Eat lean proteins, lots of fruit and vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. Eliminate or reduce white sugar, white rice, and white flour from your diet. Drink plenty of clean water and green tea.

3. Does the Warrior Fitness program teach Amatsu medicine , a traditional system of Japanese Natural Medicine taught by Hatsumi Soke?

No. I have not been taught any Amatsu medicine within the context of my Bujinkan training.

4. Is this program just Junan Taiso (basic stretching exercises used as warm-ups for martial arts practice)?

No. The Warrior Fitness book provides a comprehensive program consisting of joint mobility, flexibility, strength, conditioning, breath work, and recovery. Much more than simply junan taiso exercises.

5. Do I have to workout every day?

You do not need a complete workout every day, but I highly recommend doing something each day! Joint mobility work, combined with breathing exercises can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes in the morning. It’s a great way to start your day!

6. How much time do the Warrior Fitness strength and conditioning workouts require?

The workouts contained in the Warrior Fitness book are designed to be fast and effective. You can achieve a quality workout in 15 minutes, if you are short on time. Longer workouts can also be programmed, depending on how much time is available.

7. Do I need a gym membership for this program to work?

Definitely not! Warrior Fitness workouts are designed to be done anywhere with little to no equipment necessary.

8. How do I fit in working out and the skill training for my martial art?

Excellent question. This is where scheduling and time management skills come in handy. Time will not simply appear out of thin air. You must make time. However, the most important advice I can give on this topic is that if you do not have time for both skill work (martial art training) and conditioning, skill work must take the priority! You are training to be a martial artist after all.

9. Is this book applicable only for those training in the martial arts?

No. This book is certainly not just for people in the martial arts. The exercises and ideas contained within are applicable to anyone. Pick up a copy and see for yourself!