Weight Training for Martial ArtsMany people who engage in martial arts believe that weight training for martial arts is counterproductive to speed. Some people think it makes them slow, while other people feel the weight lifting might make them muscle bound, which may affect future speed and strength in any martial art form. However, weight lifting does not mean you have to lift 300-pound weights and have bulging biceps or six-pack abs. Weight or strength training can be a matter of lifting 5, 8, 10 or 20 pound dumbbells or barbells in order to keep muscles in shape and working. Weight lifitng is a great way to perform any weight bearing exercise that helps to prevent such future conditions as osteoporosis, muscle atrophy, and also helps to maintain balance. Regardless of what your weight limit is, weight or strength training can help to increase speed and impact. For those people who believe that strength training will make them muscle bound, so they won't be able to have a full range of motion, it's a bunch of baloney. When combined with stretching and flexibility exercises, no amount of muscle is going to restrict movement. While no one is saying that you have to be huge in order to be effective when performing any martial art, weight lifting for martial arts engages and uses muscles in every part of the body. Strength training will allow you to maximize the muscular efficiency to use body strength in multiple varieties of martial arts techniques. Strength is a key factor in an effective blow or strike in many different martial arts forms. This is not to say that a 90-pound woman is unable to take down 160 pound opponent. If that 90-pound woman is strong and has good muscle strength, she can do just as much damage to a potential opponent in any martial art form as someone who weighs twice as much as she. Progressive and resistance training has been practiced by ancient martial arts students for hundreds of years, although such exercises were not typically called weight or strength training back then. Weight lifting can give someone more endurance and stamina in order to engage in martial arts competitions. Small and lean people can acquire a great amount of strength even though they are not muscle bound, so don't jump to conclusions. Weight training for martial arts is a great way to perfect your form, skill level, and stamina.
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