*Since we've all been on Covid19 quarantine I've decided to re-post some of my old fitness articles that were originally posted on the old Paladin Press blog. Taking advantage of our free time to improve our physical condition is a wise use of that time. Stay healthy everyone!
A friend who is a tactical professional recently mentioned to me his preference for the heavy squat to develop his “combat chassis.” I too am fond of the squat for many of the same reasons. Though our arenas are different, our needs are similar enough.
In my martial arts experience, as well as my duties as a bail bondsman, I’ve learned that since we are the delivery system for our skills, we need legs that won’t quit. Below I will share with you three methods that I incorporate into my practice for ensuring my legs don’t quit when I need them the most.
#1: Strength Training
Increasing the overall strength of the lower body will yield often-dramatic results, even beyond just being able to display greater strength. Because stronger legs don’t need to produce as much force to accomplish the same task, your endurance will go up. While it can be argued that running is a skill that can be improved (I don’t disagree), the act of getting stronger will allow you to run farther simply because it will require less effort to run.
No, it won’t turn you into a marathoner, but a marathoner who also strength-trains will likely improve his times for the same reason. This same increase in strength can also improve your speed and, by default, power since power is a product of speed and force. Think about it this way: all other things being equal, the stronger fighter will be faster and hit harder, thus also being harder to kill!
My preferred tools for developing lower-body strength are weighted squats and dead lifts. The actual source of the weight is less important, so you can use barbells, dumbbells, or other weights. An apartment dweller may do better with sandbags, and if you prefer the great outdoors as your training ground, kettlebells are simply awesome. Throw in some bridges and single-leg exercises for accessory work, and you will be well on your way to a stronger body.
#2: High-Volume Body Weight Exercises
I probably should have put this as number one, but I am presuming you’re in relatively good shape already. If not start here. While it’s true that endurance is largely activity-specific, there are still things that can be done to improve the efficiency of our body’s ability to use oxygen and remove exercise-created waste products. The king of exercises for this is the venerable body weight squat (though I also use lunge varieties for balance and symmetry). Individuals should be able to knock out at least a hundred of these if they want to consider themselves fit. In fact, I would recommend getting to that point before even considering adding weight.
The squat is the most foundational athletic movement of all: the triple extension of the knee, hip, and low back. This is how we drive power up from the ground and move our body, whether it is to run or punch someone in the face. If you are not quite there yet, try density training. A simple program is to do, say, 10 squats at the top of every minute for 10 minutes, using the rest of that minute to recover. Now add more reps to ramp up the effort, eventually squatting for 10 minutes straight. One hundred reps are the minimum, but do not be afraid to do more. In fact, I would recommend you work up to 500 reps at least once in your life. This will do a lot for you
psychologically when it comes to breaking self-imposed mental hindrances. It’s a mindset thing.
If you are already in the strength-building phase, you can maintain this endurance by either adding squats as a warm-up if 100 doesn’t overly tax you or as a finisher if you want to hit the higher numbers. Many people prefer do squats in separate sessions since working a particular attribute allows for greater concentration and effort when it’s not competing energetically with another attribute. So basically strength on strength days and endurance on endurance days allows you to develop strength and endurance to a higher level individually than when doing both together. Still I would recommend mixing them up every once in a while as a means of becoming less fragile. Again, it’s a mindset thing.
#3: Isometrics
Probably one of the best training ideas from traditional martial arts to go over the heads of today’s modern eclectic martial artists, this is my secret weapon. The easiest version is to simply find a position of mechanical disadvantage — such as a half squat, a kiba dachi (karate horse stance), or a wall sit — and hold it as long as you can. Isometrics improve both strength and endurance: strength by recruiting more motor units to help maintain the position as fatigue builds up, and endurance by teaching your body to create enzymes that buffer the lactic acid that accumulates faster when you can “pump” it out through movement.
A dear friend of mine used isometrics to increase his push-up counts while in boot camp by holding the middle position for time when he couldn’t do any more through the full range of motion. I’ve used the same strategy to increase my pull-ups by holding the top position for time after my last legitimate rep. You could do the same to increase your squat counts. Another way to include isometrics into your practice is to use pauses between reps to increase the effort by reducing the contribution of the stretch reflex. Try pausing at the bottom and in the middle of your squat.
Those who are somewhat advanced in their weight training practice can try supramaximal holds as a way to use isometrics to trick their bodies into getting stronger. It takes advantage of neurological phenomenon that regulates force output.
To begin, set the bar where your movement will be just a couple of inches into a mechanically advantageous position. In the squat and dead lift, it would be just before lockout. Using approximately 125 to 140 percent of your one rep max, try to hold the position for 5–10 seconds. Do this infrequently and at strategic times, such as when you are trying to set a personal record, win competition, or break a plateau. It will prime your nervous system for maximal efforts, but it is also very taxing. Do it after your warm-up and rest 60–90 seconds before hitting your “work” set.
Regardless of which method of isometrics you ultimately choose, know that isometrics are intimately tied into your mind-body connection. The more mental juice you can squeeze into creating more muscular tension in the working muscles, the greater the benefit. This is a relatively safe way to learn how to create tension, but don’t throw caution aside. Big-boy rules still apply.
Conclusion
In closing, I should mention there is method to the madness when implementing these techniques. Strength work should not be super-metabolically taxing for a fit person; therefore, I usually do it before skills training. I find it primes my body, and my skills benefit from it. I especially love how it supercharges my striking power before a heavy-bag session. Your skills training, however, will suffer if you work endurance first. There is a difference between training and practice that is important to note here because well-developed martial skills must be trained in a fatigued state if they are to be reliable in the real world. In the words of MMA pioneer and bare-knuckle karate champion Marco Lala, “Endurance can’t be faked.”
So train new skills when you are fresh, and challenge well-developed skills when you are fatigued. Strength training pairs well with learning new skills since both have a greater neurological component. Conditioning pairs well with maintenance work for well-developed skills. Heavy squats a few hours before learning new combinations or a session at the shooting range would be synergistic and practical. Similarly, high-rep squats between conditioning rounds of bag work would increase your total workload, thus increasing your work capacity. Throw in some wall sits as your heart rate comes down and your gas tank will grow exponentially.
Periodically breaking these rules and mixing up these attributes should be included. I like to do this randomly to break up the monotony and avoid boredom. A competitive athlete or an armed professional may prefer to program this into their practice at strategic times so it won’t compromise their effectiveness in their respective duties by making then overly fatigued. So every once in a while after a personal record in squats or dead lifts, try duplicating your max reps in body weight squats. Top it off with wall sits just to remember what the voices in your head sound like. Raising the ceiling this way will make your future efforts more powerful, and you’ll be rewarded with legs that won’t quit. Boom!