Give me ideas for outdoor/indoor workouts for this summer plz..

[MantisKungFu]

Hey guys, now that summer is rolling around, I'm gonna have plenty of time to get into shape. I currently am not practicing any type of martial arts, but i MAY pick up a type of Mantis at a local kung fu school. Regardless of whether or not I decide to study there, I would still like to get in shape.

I was wondering what you guys could give me for workouts to help improve my strength, speed, and flexibility? I will be running 6 days a week, and doing pushups frequently as well. Besides that, however, I don't know what else to do. I own a heavy bag (water filled inner core with air filled outer core), but I don't really know what kind of routines to do it.

So what I'm really looking for is what type of workouts can I do using my heavy bag or not to improve:
-Strength
-Speed
-Flexibility
I would like to be nicely toned with good muscle definition :)

[tri2bmt]

Beat off!

[dre]

What mantis style? I hear there is a Southern style school up there. . .

[MantisKungFu]

I'm not exactly sure of the style, I don't remember what it taught exactly, but I believe it was more of Northern Praying Mantis with some Wah Lum..

[Former castleva]

A good idea.
Heavy bag then:
Strike it,strike again,and again...
If you do have a kickboxing bag (which is bigger than basic bags) it´s also very good for kicking.
Remember to use gloves,if you don´t have conditioned hands.
Gloves are good when it comes to striking with fists.If you don´t have much experience about this kind of conditioning,you should wear them,as knuckles become worn-out and tear easily (and takes time to recover) Use center and index finger knuckles.
I also suggest that using swordhand/knifehand/"tegatana"-in japanese,palm heel (zhang),elbow (hiji,empi),forearm (bone area)
(When using other hand forms besides fists,you should not wear gloves.
While striking or attacking the bag in general,remember to regulate your breathing (kokyo) When attacking,exhale.
When not charging,inhale,and exhale while attacking.
You´ll get more force from proper breathing (holding one´s breathe or breathing badly may stress the heart,and possibly lungs)
I don´t know if bag work can directly be used for gaining flexibility,but at least you can train high kicks etc. with it (Stretching will not hurt,remember to stretch and first warm-up well before working out)
Not directly bag related:
You can also build "makiwara" (a striking post used in karate) for striking exercises.
I´ve also found striking trees to be a fine work-out.
Maybe I´ll add more later.


:)

[Mr Punch]

Lie down in the park and work on your six-pack.