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Water Dragon
04-15-2003, 11:25 AM
I wanted to share my current strength training routine. Any comments/critiques are more than welcome.

A quick note: When training, I don't have a "strength" day or a "cardio" day. It all kinda runs together and the strength training exercises usually have other benefits as well. I've tried to pull out the "strength exercises" and list them hear. I'll list a little bit about how and when I do them as well. I hope you guys enjoy the thread. It took me a while to get it written down.

Water Dragon
04-15-2003, 11:28 AM
I do these exercises about 4 times a week. They are a part of my stance training. My stance training consists of about 15 stances held for about a minute a piece.

Beauty Looks in Mirror. Stand in a Front Stance ; the torso is slanted so that there is a straight line from the head down to the heel of the back foot. Ideally, the body should be held on a 45 degree angle. With the right foot forward, extend the left hand in front of you, palm up. Extend the right hand behind you, palm up. Make a hook hand with each hand so that the fingers are pointing up. Hold a five pound brick in each hand. “curl” the wrist 25 times. Switch sides and repeat.

Three Flats. Stand with both feet together, knees also touching. Extend both hands, palm down and make “hook hands” so that the fingers are pointing down. Hold a brick in each hand. Squat down so that the thighs are parallel. (Three flats: the feet are parallel, the thighs are parallel, the arms are parallel) “Pull” the back so that it is as straight as possible, look straight ahead. “Curl” the wrists 50 times.

Combined Lying. Spread both feet apart, approximately double shoulder width. Turn both feet in as much as possible. (Try to make the toes point toward each other. Push the knees downward. Arch the back by pulling it straight. Extend the arms outward to your sides so that the palms are facing up and the elbows are facing straight down. Make hook hands so the fingers are pointing up. Hold a brick in each hand. Flex the wrist 50 times. Beauty Looks in Mirror, Three Flats, and Combined Lying develop the wrist and forearm to give you a powerful grip. This is how Shuai Chiao guys can grab you and shake you around like a pit bull.

General Li Grinds Ax. Stand in a Front Stance ; the torso is slanted so that there is a straight line from the head down to the heel of the back foot. Ideally, the body should be held on a 45 degree angle. Hold a brick in each hand, palm up, so that the hands are directly over the hip bone. Pull the hands up so that they are as high as possible, directly under the arm pit. Extend both hands straight out, palms still up. Pull the hands down at a 45 degree angle back to the starting point (above the hip bone) As you are pulling the weight down, your hands go from facing palm up to palm down. When your hands get back to the hip bones, rotate them so you are palm up again. Repeat 50 times. This exercise builds up the shoulders, triceps, and upper back muscles

Reaping. Get in a low 4/6 stance. The back thigh is parallel to the ground, the front leg is locked out straight, both toes point toward each other. Hold the back as straight as possible. Hold a brick in each hand, palm down. Slowly swing the weights in a semi-circle. As far as you can toward the right, then as far as you can toward the left. Keep both the back and the arms straight. Repeat 50 times. This one seems to mainly hit the back muscles.

Water Dragon
04-15-2003, 11:30 AM
Rock Pole is divided into upper and lower body. I do Stone Locker with the rock pole as it is convenient. The exercises in this post are their own training set that I try to do 2-3 times a week.

Single Side Rock Pole
Back Kick Out. Put about 20 pounds on one side of a barbell. Hold the barbell so that the side with the weight on it is on the ground. Wrap your leg around the barbell as follows: Hold the barbell straight so that the back (hamstring side) of your knee is touching the bar. As you are looking down, circle your leg clockwise so that the instep of your foot is wrapping the bottom of the barbell. Stand straight and lift your leg straight backward. As you do this, your torso will lean forward to compensate. Repeat 20 times then do the other side. Builds reaps and back kick outs.

Sweep. Put about 20 pounds on one side of a barbell. Hold the barbell so that the side with the weight on it is on the ground. Wrap your leg around the barbell as follows: Hold the barbell straight so that the back (hamstring side) of your knee is touching the bar. As you are looking down, circle your leg clockwise so that the instep of your foot is wrapping the bottom of the barbell. Lift your leg straight (leg locked out) into the air so that it is parallel. The motion is the same as if you are sweeping someone. Hold your leg parallel for a second at the top and repeat 20 times. Do the other leg. This will build your sweeping power.

Ma Hua/Sapu. Put about 20 pounds on one side of a barbell. Hold the barbell so that the side with the weight on it is on the ground. Wrap your leg around the barbell as follows: Hold the barbell straight so that the back (hamstring side) of your knee is touching the bar. As you are looking down, circle your leg clockwise so that the instep of your foot is wrapping the bottom of the barbell. Pull the barbell straight up with your leg and circle to the outside. The idea is that you have caught the opponents leg, pick his leg up with yours, and then yank him forward into you. Repeat 20 times then do the other side.

Double Side Rock Pole. Stand in a horse stance, feet hip width apart, feet both pointing straight ahead. Your back is straight and you thighs are as close as possible to parallel. Get a barbell and load 10-15 pounds on each side. Get in your horse and hold the barbell up over your head. Turn both feet to your right, and shift into a front stance. As you do this, drop your left hand down to your waist and circle it back up. You will end up in a forward stance hold the weight above your head. Turn to the left, shift into a forward stance, repeat. As you shift to the left, your right hand drops down and circles back up. Make sure that you control the weight, don’t let the weight control you. Teaches you how to control weight AND momentum.

Stone Locker. Get a dumbbell with about 30 pounds loaded on it. Stand in the three flats horse stance, squat down as far as possible. Hold the weight in your right hand and swing it out. Stand up as you are swinging. When the weight is directly in front of you, you will be standing up. Switch the weight t your left hand and squat back down into the three flats as the weight swings down. Repeat 20 times per side. This builds whole body power (one part moves, all parts move. One part stops, all parts stop.)

Water Dragon
04-15-2003, 11:36 AM
I do Belt Cracking and Body weight exercises together. I try to get in about 4-5 times a week and usually do these right after I run.

Belt cracking builds jerking power. It is the ability to rip someone out of their root(base) so that they can be thrown easier.

Belt Cracking
Horse Stance. Get a into a horse stance as follows: feet hip width apart, feet both pointing straight ahead. Your back is straight and you thighs are as close as possible to parallel. Get a Karate belt and fold it in half, then in half again. Hold the belt in front of you. Move both hands to your left. The right hand is on top, thumb down, the left hand is on the bottom, thumb up. Crack the belt as loudly as possible. Reverse directions and do the other side. Do this 100 times (50 per side)
IMPORTANT: on this exercise, the hips and shoulders remain straight ahead for the duration of the exercise. DO NOT allow the hips or shoulders to turn as you are switching sides.

Bow Stance. You are going to shift from side to side in a forward stance. The way you move is the same as for the double side rock pole. As you shift to your left, the right hand is on top, thumb down. The left hand is down by your front knee, thumb up. There is a vertical line between the hands. Crack the belt as you end up in forward stance. Repeat to the other side Do this for a total of 50 reps (25 per side)

Twisting Bow. This exercise is exactly the same as the forward stance. The only difference is that instead of turning into a forward stance, you turn into a twisting bow. The twisting bow is just like the forward stance except that the front foot is pointed out instead of straight ahead. Do a total of 50 reps (25 per side) for this exercise.

Bodyweight exercises.

Upper Body

Chinese Push Ups/Hindu Push Ups/Crawling Tigers. Get into a push up position and lift you rear up so that your body is forming a triangle. Pretend that there is a bar directly over your head. Go under the “bar” and then push up. The end of the position looks like that dog posture from yoga. Reverse yourself under the “bar” so that you’re back in the starting position. Do 50 reps. I also do 50 regular push ups, 20 pull ups, and 50 crunches.

Lower Body

Pray to Buddha. Get a into a horse stance as follows: feet hip width apart, feet both pointing straight ahead. Your back is straight and you thighs are as close as possible to parallel. Hold your hands together like you are praying. Turn to your left so that you are now facing 180 degrees from where you started. You will end up in a twisted horse stance. The back knee is about 1 inch from the ground. Turn to your right and repeat 20 time per side.

Dragon Walking. Start off in a bow stance, right leg forward. Pick up the left foot so that it is above knee level and place it down, toe out in a Dragon Stance. Without adjusting your body, put your weight into the left foot and pick up your right foot, above knee level and place it in front into a Dragon Stance. You can walk as far as you want.

Ma Hua tree hanging. Find a tree about the same width as someone’s lower leg. Place your left foot against the tree so that you knee is pressed against the front of the tree and toe out your foot so that the little toe side is pressing against the back of the tree. Hold the tree in a “headlock” with your left arm. The idea is to build up the leg muscle so that you can hang on the tree using just your leg. (Yeah, I wish) 30 seconds should be fine. This one hurts!

That's about it this cycle. I usually do rope pulley exercises as well. But I'm leaving them out this cycle.

Robinf
04-15-2003, 12:00 PM
Good use of stances in your workout. Also, nice job on the descriptions. I was able to picture each one.

I'm just going to have to try some of those, particularly the sweep. Looks like your workout builds both strength and stamina.

Thanks. Great ideas. I'll post again on this once I've had the opportunity to try them for a few weeks.

Did you come up with those on your own?

fa_jing
04-15-2003, 12:00 PM
I guess using bricks instead of dumbells is for your grip, eh?

Nice info.

Water Dragon
04-15-2003, 12:05 PM
Robin,
All the exercises I do were given to me by my teachers. They are all traditional methods. If you're a kicker, I think you'll like the one sided rock pole. They build your balance just as much (if not more) than your strength.

Fa Jing. I use two of the grey fat weights. They weigh 4.4 pounds each. Yes, fatter is better for your grip.

Robinf
04-15-2003, 12:09 PM
And the double sided rock pole--that will help with core/balance.

Water Dragon
04-15-2003, 12:26 PM
I'd say the double sided rock pole helps your structural alignment and the ability to manipulate weight and momentum at the same time. It's not a balance exercise per se, but if your alignment is off you will "totter" abit as the barbell comes back up.

Sho
04-15-2003, 12:41 PM
Very interesting. I have to print these out.

Cheese Dog
04-16-2003, 10:53 PM
Thanx for the great exercises, WD. I used a couple of them tonight in class.

Water Dragon
04-17-2003, 06:51 AM
Cool. How did they work for you?

Water Dragon
04-17-2003, 07:34 AM
These stances are mostly for flexibility. I do them as a part of my stance holding along with the holding brick stances. These are also a part of the stance holding routine. These stances are NOT done the same as the strength building stances. They are relaxed. Think of Yoga as you do these.

Lohan Gazes at the Sky. Spread both feet apart, approximately double shoulder width. Turn both feet in as much as possible. (Try to make the toes point toward each other. Push the knees downward. Place your hands above your head ( the hands stay above the acupuncture point at the top of the head). Arch your back and pull your head back so that you are looking at the sky. Get it, Lohan?. When you are holding the stance, if someone looks at you from the side, it will look as if your body is in a semicircle. Hold the stance for 10 slow, deep breaths. This is an excellent stance for people with back problems as it is basically a spinal stretch. Martially, this trains the body for throws like lifts and suplexes.

Rhino Gazing at the Moon. I absolutely LOVE this stance. It’s a killer. Begin by crossing your left foot over your right. Your toes are touching and the heels are out just a little to make a little triangle with your feet. Bend over and grab the bottom of your left calf with your right hand. Ideally your body bends straight over at the waist, but that’s gonna take a lot of time and effort. Make a fist with your left hand. Place the fist directly under your left arm pit. Jam it up in there so you feel your fist in your armpit. Your elbow is facing back and is the “horn”. Twist your head and your torso so that you are looking up, over the horn at the sky. You will feel a strong stretch in your right leg, your right side(under the ribs) and your neck. Relax and hold the stance for 10 slow, deep breaths. This is great for flexibility and develops the power necessary to drive someone into the ground for hip tosses and shoulder throws.

Old Tree Entangles Root. Begin by getting into a forward stance like I described above. The stance is deeper this time. The torso is slanted at close to a 30 degree angle instead of a forty five. If your left leg is forward, wrap your left hand around the front leg as follows: The elbow is resting against the inside of the front knee, the arm wraps around the back of the calf, and you are holding the outside of your ankle with your hand. Next, take your right hand and lift it straight into the air. Turn your torso to the right and stretch the right hand forward as if you are trying to grab something in front of you. If you are doing the stance right, you will feel a powerful stretch in the right side of your torso. The feeling is the same as in the Rhino stance. This stance will help with charging throws. If you wrestle, you may like what they do for your single and double legs.

Guile
04-17-2003, 07:52 AM
Nice workout. I gotta try some out.
:)

Cheese Dog
04-17-2003, 12:12 PM
WD, we did the belt cracking and a couple of the brick holding exercises. Good stuff!

SevenStar
04-17-2003, 08:29 PM
Good isht, bro.

Meat Shake
12-17-2003, 11:43 AM
*blows the dust off*


Wanted some rock pole ideas. Finished making the double sided one a couple days ago, already got the 1 sided.
Joy! :)

Meat Shake
12-17-2003, 11:46 AM
Is the shifting stances the only double sided rock pole excersise? :(