Favorite cross training exercises? [Archive]

Alex

14-02-2002, 05:03 PM

That's easy!

Lifting pints of beer from the table to my drinking aparatus!

Seriously though, to be honest, I spend more time working on my lower body strength than upper body. Having said that, any athlete (or kendoka for that matter) should have a balanced physique to prevent injury and maintain optimal performance. One way to keep a balanced physique is to work out at gym with an overall weight training program, not aming for muscle bulk but strngth. I have been on one such program and I found extremely effective. At some stage, I will try and post my weights program on this forum. Another important way would be to do a number of other sports and physical activites so that you use muscles that wouldn't normally get a work out just in kendo.

Or, you could always go the traditional way and try suburi with a whopping great suburito, but that might not be so good for the wrists (so I hear).

Any way, in the first issue of Kendo World, Damian Carmody Stevens talked about drugs in kendo. He is a professional sports trainer and a 5th dan in kendo, so I will throw your inquiry his way.:)

Kuma

15-02-2002, 02:19 AM

Thank you Alex. Yes as a beginning kendoist I find that my wrists, triceps, and legs are what need to be stronger, quicker, just more explosive. Flexibility is also important because it builds speed. Of course it is important to be fit overall to avoid injury, but I find those three body areas are the areas that will effect my kendo most. A little weight training would help I bet. What other activities/sports do y'all participate in with the goal of increasing your pysical fitness for kendo?:D

supernils

15-02-2002, 06:23 AM

Both long distance and tempo style

Floberg

15-02-2002, 05:19 PM

Badminton

I believe badminton gives the right type of excerice for Kendo. Intense, somewhat explosive and short rushes onto the net, etc.

Even the moves on a badminton court is sometimes similar (compare Fumikomi-ashi with correct badminton moves, which is "stepping" and not "running", if you know what I mean)

I have even started to use Fumikomi-ashi when playing matches (in badminton), with good result!!

///Andreas

ps. Though remember to warm up well before badminton, otherwise your achilles will/can be hurt! (I have heard hundreds of people hurting their achilles during badminton, but none during Kendo....)

Alex

15-02-2002, 05:34 PM

Hi Andreas,

actually many people hurt their achilles in kendo as well. In fact it is probably one of the most serious injuries that is quite common in kendo. Five of my friends have snapped their achilles in kendo training over the years, and I have heard of many more.

Mike Komoto, who is part of the KW team works at a sports clinic, and he 'translated' a fantastic article on achilles injuries for the first edition of the magazine. Hope you get a chance to check it out.:cool:

Floberg

15-02-2002, 05:59 PM

Ok Alex,

Then it must be that just I haven´t heard of any achilles injuries from Kendo, though it sounds reasonable as you say to be a common injury in Kendo.

But for me, I have never had problems with my achilles during Kendo, but quite often during badminton.

And yes, I hope to get my copy of the first edition soon...

///Andreas

Dahlia

24-02-2002, 08:37 PM

I think any other kind sport would be fine to get a right condition. It's even important do practice something very different than kendo sometimes, I guess. Just look at my trainer, whose left calf is twice as big as the the right one... I won't like to end up like this! ;)

As for myself, I used to play tennis for a very long time and I just went on with the strength exercises. Most of it is jogging for overall condition and breathing. I've been doing a lot of suburi (with two shinais) recently as well. I regulary do some sit-ups and press-ups, but it's mostly for fun.
Occasionally I play volleyball and basketball or use rollerblades instead of the bus to get to school and I think it's okay overall. I don't use weighs because I'm afraid of ending up with arms like those of a guy... But maybe I'm doing everything the wrong way because I'm quite new to kendo, anyway. :D

Kuma

26-02-2002, 12:53 AM

I'm very new as well Dahlia, but it is very fun :D

JSchmidt

27-02-2002, 12:54 AM

Usually just lifting pints after practice. That's where the real stamina will show!

Jakob Schmidt
www.hizen.org

David Armstrong

26-03-2002, 02:41 AM

www.exrx.net/

ExRx (Exercise Prescription) on the net is a resource for the
exercise professional, coach, or fitness enthusiast. ExRx.net
consists of over 1000 pages, most of which are found in the Exercise
and Muscle Directory.

Best of all it's absolutely 100% FREE. The authors do offer products for sale and have a professional consultation service avaialble but the site itself is complete and free. Also there are none of those annoying pop-up ads found on some other sites.

If you are want to advance your martial arts training by paying
attention to the physical foundation of the body this is the resource for you.

In this professional exercise physiologist's opinion, this is the
best exercise prescrition/cross training/diet and nutrition/injury
management/sport psycology resource available on the net. The
information is well researched and generally free of the ususal quick fix and/or myths associated with other training forums.

Topics included in the site:

Beginner's Page
Exercise Instruction
Weight Training
Kinesiology
Exercise Info
Adaptation and Safety
Fitness Testing
Fat Loss
Diet and Nutrition
Exercise and Sports Psychology
Anabolic Steroids
Bodybuilding
Fitness Calculators
Questions and Comments
Links

Boso

13-04-2002, 02:32 PM

Hi kuma,
I've tried weights, and as Alex wrote they are pretty good. Especially I found doing lots of leg strengthening exercercises like lunges very good. Nothing heavy just high reps.

Running, I hate it.

Suburi, absolutely.

But the best exercise to strengthen the body for kendo not related to Kendo has to be swimming. It's great for improving breath control techniques, it's great for leg power, and it really strengthens shoulders. The only thing it doesn't do well is strenthen the lower back which I find I definitely need to look at for my kendo.

I recommend swimming highly. I try and get at least one visit to the pool every week and try to get in 1 and a half Ks. on average. Thats aside from the kendo training of course. If you need to take a break from kendo training for some reason, swimming just fills it nicely. When you hop back into training your body, at least, hardely notices the break.

Dagon

20-04-2002, 12:59 AM

Hi all,
I lift weights. I started hitting the weights about the same time I started Keno (about a year ago). I've noticed that my speed, endurance, control, and snap! have all been ahead of my fellow Kenshi (who started about the same time as me) who do not work out. In the weight room I train hard and I think my body has adjusted to Kendo better because of it.

Andy

Boso

20-04-2002, 07:51 PM

Nils.

You already posted swimming. Didn't see that. Excellent.

cklin

21-04-2002, 01:43 PM

My two cents:

Hands down the most important parts of the body that need to be strongest are the abdomen and lower back muscles. They are not the obvious ones, but they represent the location of one's hara and so logically, they need to be solid as a brick wall.

Practically speaking, weak abs and back muscles I think lead to weak kamae and weak tai-atari.

Of course, shoulders, calves and gluts are also mechanically very important as others have mentioned above.

I've always been told by my sensei to avoid heavy weight lifting (weight conditioning is OK) that bulks up muscle mass -- it apparently reduces flexibility...? Couldn't say from personal experience though.

Simon Chien

16-05-2002, 02:59 PM

Hi everyone ,

Put you hands on your head and try to jump like a frog ( not jumping high but streight ahead ). If you can not go swimming or you do'nt have a big space for exercise, maybe it's a good alternative training !

gszab

16-05-2002, 04:05 PM

Hello!

I think swimming may be the best if you have not enough kendo keiko:( , but almost all of my clubmate goes to run.

Gszab

Raiza

07-10-2002, 12:11 PM

For people who swim but want to get those lower back muscles stronger, hang on to a kickboard and propel yourself with just your feet in a classic scissor-kick. After 20 consecutive laps you'll be able to feel those lower back muscles working :p

My sensei swims too to keep fit, and judging by the amount of posts supporting swimming, it looks like a lot of people have got the right idea!

*glub, glub*

Ares2907

07-10-2002, 10:40 PM

Squats baby.
deeeeeeep squats - till your hammies touch your calves. none of those pussy quarter squats (and stay away from the smith machine - they just suck).
Calf raises, Deadlifts.

High weight, low reps (for reasons that I have explained in other posts). Control and form.

Essentially kendo is ballistic in nature. You want to do exercises that will support that. high reps is not conducive to this.
You gym bunnies work your beach muscles for sure, just do your legs first. Your kendo will thank you for it.

JSchmidt

07-10-2002, 11:03 PM

Well, swimming is just about the best exercise you can do, regardless of what sport...unfortunatly I've always been slightly allergic to the chlorine-stuff they put in the pools.

Jakob

David J

08-10-2002, 02:51 AM

Originally posted by JSchmidt
Well, swimming is just about the best exercise you can do, regardless of what sport...unfortunatly I've always been slightly allergic to the chlorine-stuff they put in the pools.

Jakob

Actually its not the chlorine that gets most people its....oh, you probably dont want to know...suffice to say that council pools are the worst.....

stakenaka

09-10-2002, 11:21 AM

My training program consists of gathering firewood and water from a stream and carrying it back to my teachers house, located on a mountain top, several times a day! :)

I really don't have a real training program right now, other than cycling.

Kendoka

10-10-2002, 12:59 PM

Kendo is very good training for your body to be able to allow you to do Kendo better.

Richard

ben

11-10-2002, 04:29 PM

Favourite cross-training technique-
*baby*.

1) Lifting baby out of cot at 5 am.
2) Repeated throwing baby in the air and catching: repeat way past "burn" because he's enjoying it too much.
3) Deep squats (yes Aireys, hammies to calves) with baby on hip (keeps upper body upright) to retrieve toy/bib/blanket/nappy/toy/nappy/bib/blanket/bib... (and repeat).
4) Pushing pram heavily laden with baby and week's shopping through undulating suburbs (intermitent running to cross busy streets turns this into a Fartlek session).

Next week: How cross-baby training can be used to increase pain tolerance and zanshin...
;)
b

stakenaka

12-10-2002, 01:19 AM

Wow Ben!! You must have an extremely calm mind while doing kendo. The psychological trauma and intensity of kendo is nothing compared to the caring of a child!!
:)

Kendoboy

12-10-2002, 02:32 AM

Jakob, chlorine alergies are actually quite common. see if you can find a pool that uses bromine instead. it's mostly hypoalergenic.

Simon Chien

13-10-2002, 05:32 PM

Hi Ben,

Please check your private message !

Regards,

Ares2907

15-10-2002, 12:30 AM

Y'know you could just have sent the guy a private message to. . .
oh never mind.

Nishi

01-11-2002, 07:16 PM

AIKIDO...is a good compliment, it teaches to harness the hips. Very helpful, and very similar in some ways to kendo.

Also sprinting, as fast as you can for 30 seconds then jogging for 2 minutes, repeat,repeat,repeat....
(i think they call it windsprinting,im not sure.)