My Weight Lifting Program

I believe weight lifting should be a part of every serious martial artists life.  There is this strange taboo where martial artists feel weight training adds too much bulk which limits flexibility and makes practitioners too slow.  If that were the case, why do professional athletes (regardless of the sport) spend time in the gym?  My theory goes as follows:

When it comes to lifting, mentality plays a major role in the results you receive and the benefits it can add to your martial arts or any other aspect of life.  Without a solid foundation for weight training, it could be easy to waste time on exercises that are not needed for a martial artists.  For me, when I am in the gym I imagine that the weight I am lifting is making me powerful and after I'm done, I go home and instantly go into my weapons training.  I imagine I am channeling this power that I just gained in the gym directly into my muscles and I believe that mindset is what makes my body able to become so powerful in so little time.  My friends are always shocked about what I can do with "a little time and effort," but I always have to explain that when I am in the gym I am there to maximize my potential as a human being.  It's not a little time and effort, it is all the effort I possess on a consistent basis in a continuous effort to wake up everyday being stronger than I was the day before. That mentality, that feeling is what makes me progress.  I don't care about plateaus, I don't care about how much or how little I can lift, I don't care about genetic weakness, all I care about is that I go to the gym and pick up heavy objects and put them back down, solely to channel that power directly into my martial arts.

So what the heck do I do in the gym?  Should you follow my workout? Well, that's 100% up to you.  Like I love to say time and time again do what YOU feel is right and what will help you on your journey.  Don't be fooled by flavor of the month exercises, don't take the easy way out, don't go for cheap gimmicks, if you want to become powerful, become powerful and do it right!

My routine is quite basic and is as follows:

Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: Solid Weight Lifting, maximum power generated through all lifts

• Stretch
• Frog Kicks (as many sets of 10-15 as possible)
• Jump Rope 5 mins (sets of 1.5 mins approx.)
• Interval Run 1 mile (Walk, Jog, Run)
• Clean and Press (2 sets of 8 reps)
• Squat (2 sets of 12 reps)
• Barbell Pullover (2 sets of 8 reps)
• Bench Press (2 sets of 6 reps)
• Good Mornings (2 sets of 8 reps)
• Bent over dumbbell rows (5 sets of 8 reps @ 25, 50, 75, 100lbs)
• Barbell Curl (2 sets of 8 reps)
• Hand/Forearm Training (I'll add a link here later)
• Stair Climber (Interval set 120 steps, 80 steps 15 mins)
• Frog Kicks (as many sets of 10-15 as possible)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Circuit training (general rue of thumb, use half the normal weight you can max out on for each lift and go fast!)

• Stretch
• Frog Kicks (as many sets of 10-15 as possible)
• Jump Rope 5 mins (sets of 1.5 mins approx.)
• Interval Run 1 mile (walk, jog, run)
• Pull ups (8 to 12)
• Seated Leg Press (1 set of 12)
• Calf Raise (Forward, Toes in, Toes out 1 set of 15-20)
• Cable Curls (1 set of 12)
• Cable Flys (1 set of 12)
• Shoulder Press Machine (1 set of 12)
• Behind Neck Pulldown (1 set of 12)
• Tricept Pulldown (1 set of 12)
• Dumbbell Zottman Curls (1 set of 8-12)
• Hand/Forearm Training (I'll add a link here later)
• Stair Climber (interval set 120 steps, 80 steps 15 mins)
• Frog Kicks (as many sets of 10-15 as possible)

This is essentially the same workout Bruce Lee followed and what I adapted too.  If you are wondering, well wait a second, where the heck is your Deadlift? My response is that I am just starting to add that into my routine.  I've had a bad lower back so I'm slowly getting used to it getting stronger.