Lower body exercises

[olaf]

Hey fellas:

Does anyone have suggestions as to what exercises are most conducive to improving lower body strength, especially in one's lower legs (quads, etc.)? I know there's no quick-and-dirty method to doing this, but recently I have discovered that my swings and arm movements have become too fast for my feet to keep "in sync" with, which results in stumbling, slow suriashi, etc.

In other words, my fumikomi needs to be fundamentally taken apart and re-worked.

It seems to me now that it ultimately boils down precisely this - the foot work - and that one's ability to translate / apply all the other aspects of good kendo into, say, a shiai situation, is contingent on the feet being able and willing to cooperate...

[KhawMengLee]

Play soccer. The dodging and springing from side to side helps strenghten your legs and ankles. I play rugby and a little soccer and I find it (soccer)increases my agility in rugby. The scrum work in rugby will also build up calves.

To strengthen calves I suggest running on the beach or in sand (very good and doesn't damage knees and joints). Or there is a weight machine where the wieghts rest on your shoulders and you stand with only the part of your feet on a platform and you lift the weights by standing up on your tip toes. I don't know what the machine is called but it is great for strenghtening calves.

Surfing is good too...

and doing squats can also help.

Peace

Meng

[olaf]

Meng: How about just doing kendo with weights strapped to one's legs? It sounds silly...

[hamish]

Weights are actually pretty good. Try doing the kihon part of your training with the weights on, and then take them off for jigeiko - just like you found out you'd left the handbrake on driving down the road.

Don't use weights that are too large, as they'll bang into each other. (sounds like another thread on the board...:-) )

Basic ashi-sabaki drills in a sand pit are also very good for your footwork.
Forward and reverse lunges with either a barbell or dumbells are good, but one very good exercise for kendo is hill sprints.

Hamish

[John W]

A good work out for calves is to have your toes on the edge of
a step on a stairwell-hopefully the bottom step so you don't fall down!;)
Then simply go up and down on your toes- it hurts after a while but I heard that old Arnie Schwasomething did this exercise and if it worked for him.....

[hamish]

Try this one, either on the stairs as per John's suggestion, or on a calf press machine if you're feeling really masochistic.

(I've worked out with a guy who does these bent over with 3 guys on his back!!)

Start with your feet as low as possible without slipping off the edge. Raise your heels up one third of the way, and then back down for 15-20 reps (or more). Next start from the 1/3 up point, and this time move from there to the 2/3 point for the same number of reps. Next start from the 2/3 point and move to the highest you can go, again for the same number of reps. Once you've done that, this time go through your full range of motion for the same number of reps.

You should get a good burn after that workout!

Make sure you warm up before and stretch well before during and after.

Ideally you should do it as part of a total body workout to avoid your muscles developing out of balance, which can cause you a lot of problems in the future.

Hamish

[olaf]

Originally posted by Hamish
Once you've done that, this time go through your full range of motion for the same number of reps.

By that, you mean to simply repeat the initial part of the workout, right Hamish?

[lewis]

I wouldn't use ankle weights for anything other than kihon. They can really trash your ankles if you are going live with them on.

[hamish]

Olaf: I mean to do the last part from the lowest point to the highest in one push, rather than breaking it down into thirds.

[Jerry Wellbrock]

PLYOMETRICS......Olaf and others interested in increasing explosive speed check out plyometric exercises.....a couple of books available are......"Jumping into Plyometrics" by Donald Chu and "Explosive Power:Plyometrics for Body Builders, Martial Artist and Other Athletes" by (I think) Ed Duris.....both are available through Amazon.com.......if you are not familiar with plyometrics check it out....great for any sport to increase speed:D

[Confound]

I've found that biking helps, especially if you have a broken bike. My bike is literally stuck on the harder gears, it's a crotchety old thing, almost 10 years old, and i inherited it from my predecessors, but it has done wonders for toning up my legs. it won't do anything for speed, but if you start dragging the bike everywhere instead of walking or driving, it may help a little.

then again, whether it is practical to use a bike depends on where you live and whether places you need to go are close together.

c

[JSchmidt]

Harder gears actually improves your legs slower than lower gears.
With lower gears, you have to pedal faster, teaching your muscles to react quicker and pump blood through quicker.

Jakob

[Ares2907]

Ideally you want to promote growth of fast-twitch muscle fibre.
That means (afaik) low reps, heavy weight.

You want functional strength, so you want to do exercises that use broad range of motion and large muscle groups. That means squats, not leg-extensions. That means deadlifts (stiff-legged and normal), not lying-leg curls. You definately want to do calf-raises. I prefer standing to sitting, but it doesn't matter as long as your getting a full range of motion (as Hamish mentioned)
Hamish also mentioned that you want to do it as a part of an overall workout and this is also excellent advice. Check out www.stumptuous.com (it says it's tailored to womens fitness, but there is a bunch of good stuff for anyone interested in strength gains). You might also like to try hanging out on the misc.fitness.weights newsgroup. The ppl there talk shit all the time, but they also know their shit and will answer genuine questions (READ THE FAQ FIRST).

If you're just looking for strength gains, use google to search for powerlifting.
If you want strength and size gains, see www.hypertrophy-specific.com
Range of motion and good form are important for strength-gain and injury avoidance, far more important than the amount of weight you have on the bar.
Diet is also important, again stumptuous.com has great info on this.
Hope this helps. If you need clarification or have questions, follow up or drop me a message.

To the ppl that mentioned doing kendo with weights, (and I think someone said something to this effect also) - warmups with weights would probably be okay, keiko with weights is a recipe for instant injury. Depending on where you place the weights, and the ballistic nature of movement in kendo, you are more than likely to end up damaging the supporting muscles and tendons of the legs. You seriously don't want to do that. They take a LONG time to heal and if you don't rehabilitate properly can cause stress-damage to the surrounding muscles of the legs, abdomen and/or back as they have to over compensate for the damaged muscle/s.
Hope it goes well for you.
-Ares2907

[Ares2907]

Originally posted by JSchmidt
Harder gears actually improves your legs slower than lower gears.
With lower gears, you have to pedal faster, teaching your muscles to react quicker and pump blood through quicker.

Jakob

Actually, this is incorrect. Yes you may have to pedal faster with higher gears, but resistance is low, so doing this for extended periods is promoting slow-twitch muscle fibre (good for endurance, bad for speed). The harder gears would be FAR more beneficial for someone wanting speed and strength improvements.

Ares2907

[olaf]

What exactly is PLYOMETRICS?

[Ares2907]

Originally posted by olaf
What exactly is PLYOMETRICS?

http://www.weightsnet.com/Docs/plyometrics.html

enjoy
Ares2907

[James R]

A simple pylometric exercise as an example, stand on a low box about 3 feet high, feet together jump off and absorb the impact by bending your legs. Straightaway jump as up high as you can,
you will over time teach your muscles to use explosive power,
there are many more exercises like low hurdles you can jump over with your feet together a number of times.

With regards to using a bike, if you want to increase strength try a fixed wheel, and ride it everywhere, great for toning the legs when used on a regular basis.

[David J]

Originally posted by James R
With regards to using a bike, if you want to increase strength try a fixed wheel, and ride it everywhere

Though only for the very brave / foolish / skilled in inner city areas....

<rei>

Dave

[garyod]

Try doing a full set of footwork exercises round the dojo (several laps). Quick movement of the left foot and very fast/short suriashi is most beneficial
Also try resting your heel against a wall and driving forwards (keep your back straight and dont let your heel leave the wall}
To develop explosive power use tonde suburi
Remember if you use your arms correctly and keep posture your steps will be short, easy and quick.

[alexpollijr]

What is "tonde suburi"?

[supernils]

Tjena Olaf

I use to put my beginners thru "the plow" when I think that their feet are getting sloppy. I have e description at http://www.e.kth.se/~e00_nbj/kendo/exercise/

[KENSHIN]

Originally posted by olaf
Meng: How about just doing kendo with weights strapped to one's legs? It sounds silly...

I have actually heard that they can be very damaging to your knees...

[olaf]

Kenshin: you're right. I tried it the other week and it was not too pleasant. Darn metal rods on the strap-on weights kept slamming on to my feet.