How do you keep in shape for Krav

[shadow]

Crossfit is the way to go….I use to do isolate exercises to build strength and mass to be a better fighter but I was only using specific motion that was called for by that specific exercise….and also my stamina and endurance wasn’t great becuase I never integrated any kind of aerobic activity…well I have changed over to Crossfit because it simulates natural movements using EVERY muscle in your body without specifically isolating one group..it saves time and you will get stronger faster…also it integrates aerobic exercise as well which usually consists of 400 meter or 800 meter runs…some days you have to run a 10k but the program is already set up for a specific day and there is no such thing as doing the same thing over and over again each week…repetetiveness is the killer of all workouts….so Johnny seriously look into doing Crossfit…it won’t hurt to check it out

[johnny-fred]

Ok, i’m confused. I have the exercises, but what do I do for each workout if I can’t do crossfit.

[laurar]

Re:

quote \”johnny_fred\:

Ok, i’m confused. I have the exercises, but what do I do for each workout if I can’t do crossfit.

Hi, Johnny. Sorry this is getting confusing. First of all, ANYONE can do Crossfit. Don’t let those WOD descriptions dissuade you. All of the workouts can be modified so that a person of any age or fitness level can do them – and you would still be doing CrossFit. A six year old member of Brand X (a certified Krav Maga AND Crossfit center) did one of the most recent WOD by having Jeff lower the weight and length of the run. He did a great job. (ok, it was GardDawg’s son, but he’s still only 6!)

My suggestion would be, if you want to try crossfit but are just put off by the descriptions of the workouts, go over to CrossFit.com and sign up on their message forums and introduce yourself. Garddawg and I post there and a lot of really helpful people are there to give appropriate modifications and advice.

You are obviously a very determined person, to take Krav and set up that really grueling workout you listed here. I’m sure you will love CrossFit if you just TRY it. You won’t have to bother with making your own workout plan and you will be surprised at how effective the training is.

You can email me if you want to talk about it off the forum: ruckerl @ saic.com during business hours or rucker760 @ cox.net after 4pm PST.(Take out spaces on the sides of the @ if you copy these to your email program.)

Again, since I’m not sure what you mean when you say \”can’t do CrossFit\”, I’m just basing my answer on assumpions. Let me know if I’m way off base. Or if you want me to just go away. 😆

[shadow]

OK Johnny, here is a simple routine that you can do every other day until you get bored with it then you can change it or adjust it as needed per your choices….but do this for at least three months….

Push-ups…do as many as you can in a minute and just keep improving on it…If you want explosive power from push-ups do seal push-ups where you are in a push-up stance and you go down normal but as you come up shoot yourself up off the ground…clap your hands together and catch yourself before your chin hits the floor….that is excellent for explosive power working your tri-ceps and chest muscles….

Pull-ups do these as fast as you can for a minute and just improve on it…if you want use two bars.. one between 4 and 6 inches above the other bar…what you do is go down lock your arms and come back up again fast enough to throw your grip to the higher bar and then lower yourself back down to the bar below then keep doing that…that gives you power and strength in your back and shoulders…..

Towel pull-ups…or ropes can work too…anyways this gives you an iron grip…what you do is throw two towels around a bar and grab the towels and pull yourself up as fast as you can in a minute.

Squats as fast as you can in a minute with light to mid weights

Cleans…. same thing..

and sprint 400 and 800 meters alternating between them on different days…
and don’t forget sit-ups….do as many variations of the crunch as possible for your core strength…..

Do those and go as hard as you can for 30 minutes…keep a log on what you got done and just improve on it….time your runs…and beat that each time you do it…

Everything is done fast because you want explosive power, speed, and flexibility as a fighter.

Everything here is all mostly body weight which is the best because you are not putting excessive strain on your joints like you would of you were using heavy weights in isolated exercises….train as many muscles at one time as possible…which you get when you Squat and do Cleans. And you don’t need a fancy gym to do these exercises neither….They will work….those are just a small sample of what I and many others do and trust me dude…they will work for you…

[johnny-fred]

Ok, let me explain. I WANT to do crossfit, but i can’t because i only have a 3, 5, 8 pound dumbbells… and i don’t think that’s enough to do the excercises with because i can lift a lot more than that… And I don’t have a bar

thanks,

[garddawg]

J.F.
Well, you’re correct, those weights are fairly light for someone your age. You’re going to need to do most of your workouts with bodyweight. Due to some prompting from my sister, starting tomorrow their will be a section on our site with modified CrossFit workouts for kids. It will be updated daily and will be mostly bodyweight stuff. If you are interested you can check it out.

[johnny-fred]

thanks, i’ll be sure to check it out.

[angryangel]

Hi there Johnny_Fred, for awhile there I too spent a lot of time surfing the net looking at different approaches to training, evaluating different opinions etc, but then I found myself suffering paralysis through over-analysis. So the only advice I can give (certainly not as qualified as Garddawg) is to choose an approach that makes sense to you and meets your goals and then go out and do it (Garddawg’s suggest workout looks like a good un).

Start small and built up from there. Just aim to do something every (second) day (with a rest day when you need it) – whether it be a boxing class at the local youth club or Garddawg’s suggeted workout. Go on, no excuses now. As the cliche says \”just do it\”.

Hi there garddawg, thanks for answering all these questions on-line.

I have one to add, hope you do not mind. As outlined above my goal is to do something everyday (I will take up to two days a week rest though, depending on how I feel) sometimes this is krav, boxing, bjj or kickboxing. Othertimes I will do a hill run (though I tend to jog more than run, bad habit I know), do a Body-weight exercise circuit, throw the weights around (compound exercises only) or the following routine.

15 X hindu pushups (gunna try those seal push-ups next time) 😯
15 X crunches (or similar)
15 X rock-climbers
15 X squats
15 X squat-jumps

5 mins skipping or running.

(the sets of 15 as outlined above)

5 mins shadow-boxing

(the sets of 15 as outlined above)

5 mins on the heavy-bag

I will go through this 2 to 4 times.

It is my fav at the moment and find it a real killer and feel good after doing it. But would it be improved by replacing the sets of 15 exercises with some WOD type exercises (modified) or the type of clubbell, or \”scrapper\” (bag of cement) type exercises! With the idea that it would be combine a cardio and weights type workout. I think doing so might increase the weights side of the equation. Do you think such changes would be worthwhile?

My goals are improve \”fighting\” fitness and hopefully get a bit leaner in the process.

One more question what to do you think of doing the shuttle-run (or beep test) as a simple, no-brainer max-cardio workout? I saw it suggeted on-line and was thinking it could be worth a go when I want something easy to set up, bust a gut and then move onto other things that need doing?

Thanks in advance.

[foxy]

biceps myth

although big biceps help attract the lay-dees, they don’t work too well in effective fighting. the biceps pull the arm in, making it shorter. for better punching and club/hammer fist striking, work those triceps, people! the muscle that controls fast extension of the arm is oft-ignored and mightily undervalued for no reason whatsoever.

one of the best things i like about Krav, is that you don’t have to look like jean-claude van-damme to be competent. luckily, i’m very fit, with a good physique, but it hasn’t always been this way. mmmmm, donuts….

ka-pow!

Foxy

[garddawg]

Angry Angel,
I like the workout you posted, it looks great (btw, try the seal pushups they add a little kick to the hindus). Do you mind if I \”borrow\” it for one of my classes? I think you are on the right track with the exercise you mentioned ie. clubbells (CLFMak mentioned these also), the bag of cement. Picking up and moving around heavy, oddly shaped things can be incredibly tiring and is a great way to train for the strength and stamina necessary to move an opponent around. We are starting to \”experiment\” with different types of equipment in our workouts. I am a big advocate of combining what is commonly called cardio and weight training. I don’t think nature makes these distinctions, and almost all of my workouts are now involving trying to lift weights while my heart rate is way up and run while I am shaking from a max effort from lifting. One of my favorites things now is the Rutman mile. I picked it up from a friend of mine Mike Rutherford (look him up on the web. His site has lots of useful info) Anyway, you are supposed to take a sandbag equaling half your weight and carry it anyway you can for one mile. Every time you put it down it costs you (add) 30 seconds to your time. My best time for it so far is 13:50. Another good one you can do with a partner is the RDM. Have your partner hold mitts. Do 10 left-right combinations, then immediately shoot in like you are doing a double leg takedown. Lift your partner over your shoulder, carry him 10 yards. Put him down do 10 left-right combinations…..go for about 100 yards and switch.
(btw- your question would it be improved… I think it is a good routine, but routine is the enemy. Don’t discard it just change it up with some of the other exercises.)

[angryangel]

Hey Garddawg, no probs you using it. But credit due, where credits due. I got this idea from the \”crutchmaster conditioning tips\” forum at groundnpound.org. He has a couple of other pearlers up there too.

Worth a look.

Those workouts they look kick-a$$. I like the mental element of the Rutman mile.

The RDM has given me a couple of ideas too.

Will definately check out Mikes website. Always on the lookout for interesting, challenging ways to push myself.

Thanks.

[garddawg]

Angry Angel,
We have several variations of the Ramona Death March, if you make some up send them to me! BTW- we love the shuttle run. Try it with a KM flavor and put a gauntlet at the end.

[shadow]

Hey Johnny,

have you started on a new workout routine and if so how is it working for you so far…..too early for results but maybe not…anyways just curious if you are taking our suggestions or if you found something else…

[johnny-fred]

I have been away for a while, I just got back. I’m going to create a modified routine for my time schedule. I decided i’ll use a routine for a while.

thanks,

[johnny-fred]

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