When I was lifting heavy using bodybuilder workouts the biggest problem was that I would gas out quickly. My sport is Karate. So during sparring (practice fighting) sessions, I may have been bigger and stronger than my opponents, but I would get tired really quickly.

Hence, my opponents would just dodge my slow punches until I was tired, then hit me with everything they got. That’s how I lost a lot of sparring fights. The day I gave up on bodybuilder workouts, I started reading into the way Indian Wrestlers used to train.

Hindu Squats and Pushups

The two common exercises used by these magnificent ancient wrestlers are the Hindu Pushup and Hindu Squat, made popular by Matt Furey. Honestly, I don’t think these exercises are the BEST bodyweight exercises out there. They are simply two variations out of hundreds of different bodyweight movements.

However, just by replacing these two movements with all my heavy weight training gave me some great results. I already had the bulk, now it was time to teach myself how to move the bulk (my own body). The workouts I used were very basic.

It’s time to peer into my old training diaries and show you a sample of the primitive, but powerful stuff I used to do.

(Before I continue, let me just state that I have shared my old workouts in the past. I used to do a lot of stuff, but this particular post revolves around Hindu Squats and HinduPushups and their relationship to improving my Karate training.)

Back to what I was saying before: I stuck to mostly density training, which is something I shared with you a few days a go. However, my density workouts were much shorter, since my conditioning was very poor.

The Poorly Designed but Powerful Workout

So, instead of using 15-20 minute time intervals, I was using 5 minutes intervals, with around 1-2 minute breaks. So here is what a sample workout would look like:

5 minutes of:

• 5 Hindu Pushups
• 10 Hindu Squats

I would alternate between these exercises for 5 minutes straight through, and decided if I could do anymore. A lot of what I was doing before was extremely random. I didn’t even know about the terminology “density” training. It was just training to me.

But…it worked! I was moving faster and lasting longer on the mat. I even started winning some fights. Some of the kids started getting scare of fighting me since now I was not just a bulky guy, but a bulky guy who could move!

Take Home Point

Now, how can you take what I used to do to your own sport? Well, the simple answer is take a look at how you move in your sport. Karate involves a lot of high intensity techniques for a short period of time (such as a barrage of punches) followed by a short rest period (where you’re just bouncing on the mat and blocking your opponents attacks).

Hence, interval and density workouts were perfect for Karate training. But, you may need a different method of training for your particular sport. Keep experimenting, but if you need some great high intensity bodyweight workouts, be sure to check out the Ultimate Gymless Workout.

Tags: athletic training, Bodyweight Training, bodyweight workouts, high intensity workout, karate

About the Author

Parth Shah is an average joe who’s tired of all the nonsense he sees in mainstream health and fitness media. His thoughts, ideas, and philosophy can be found on his website, ShahTraining.com. (Feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/shahtraining/UQuk)

Training Camp that’s how!

Now you to can train like the NFL superstar you always wanted to be from the comfort of your own living room. EA Sports has just release its latest interactive game, Active NFL Training Camp.

With over 70 drills and challenges this game can be a great change of pace from the elliptical machine or step class at the gym.

I will be heading to training camp on Monday. Stay tune for my process…

I actually don’t know how much I weight these days because I decided to stay off the scale a few weeks to get a good idea of how the circuit training is working for me. I can tell you one thing my size 36 pants are fitting very loosely, I had to wear a belt today (YES!). I’m starting to get back in my “I’m a machine mode,” and I have really been kicking it up a notch. Next week I’m going to get some boxing gloves (my daughter lost my last set) and incorporate a heavy bag routine. If you haven’t started you should today it only takes one push-up, one salad, one second to educate yourself! You can do it!

Here is a routine of mine:

Incline Pectoral flies (dumbbells)

Squats

Dumbbell Curls

Sit-ups

Seat Dips

Clean & Jerk

Calf Raises

I do 3 sets of 12 with only a 45 second rest between of each exercise. So basically I do a set of squats within 45 seconds I’m on curls, 45 second next exercise etc….

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/circuittraining.html

http://exercise.about.com/od/circuittrainingworkouts/Circuit_Training_Workouts.htm

http://www.military.com/military-fitness/workouts/circuit-training

You see the initial weight loss is only have the battle the next half is training your body to do what it hasn’t in years “Build Muscle.” I still have about 18 percent body fat but I’m making the right training choices and the body is also starting to show the effect of my training. Another thing that we all must remember is that each of us is different and what might work well for one might not work well for someone else.

A good example of this is me and my business partner. I got the guy started about 6 months ago and told what he needed to be doing, well he listened to a degree but was adamant about lifting weights. I tried talking him out of it thinking it would only hinder his progress but he wouldn’t listen. Well I hadn’t seen him in about 2 months so we hooked up yesterday to workout and dude was ripped! Don’t get me wrong he still has weight to drop but the weight is much firmer and looks much better. That just goes to show different stroke for different folks. Listen to the blog people but remember each of us is different and what might work for me might not work for you.

This form of training is highly inefficient simply because the calories we burn during activity do not help us burn fat. Our long term weapon against fat relies on our resting metabolic rate (RMR, or a measure of calories we burn while at rest) and certain hormones in our body.

Low intensity training does nothing to raise your RMR, nor does it stimulate any fat-burning hormones such as HGH (human growth hormone). In fact, excessive cardio can release Cortisol , also known as the stress hormone. This is a bad hormone, as it increases one’s appetite and also converts calories into abdominal fat. The following are five reasons why you should be performing quick, intense workouts for better health and fat loss:

Reason #1:

Less Time Commitment for Better Results

• Our bodies are extremely efficient at adapting to training stimuli. In order to continue getting results from our workouts, we need to either make them more intense or make them last longer (increase time). Most individuals will perform low-intensity, longer duration training.
• In this scenario, lets assume it takes a person 30 minutes to burn off 300 calories. As his body become more efficient, he will now need to spend 35,40,45 minutes to burn off 300 calories. Over time, it becomes impractical to do more work for the same amount of results.
• Instead of increasing time and lowering intensity, decrease time and increase intensity. Doing so will force your body to work harder, thus burn more calories in the long run (explained below). The most important thing is that you’ll save time.

Reason #2:

The Power of EPOC

• The higher the intensity of the exercise, the more likely you will use carbohydrates as an energy source rather than fat. However, even though you are using carbohydrates as the primary fuel source with high intensity training, the total amount of calories burnt off will be much greater through high intensity exercise than with low intensity exercise.
• This is because after an intense workout , our bodies experience oxygen and metabolic debt. It needs to return to homeostasis. This process of regaining a balanced state is known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). A number of processes take place during EPOC including the restoration of various energy sources, re-establishment of normal ventilation and heart rate, restoration of normal core body temperature, and re-oxygenation and restoration of blood and circulating hormones.

• The other 8 volunteers in a control group, who did not do any interval training, did not show any improvement in endurance. The amazing aspect of this study is that all volunteers were already reasonably fit. The results were attained after just 15 minutes of intense cycling spread out over 2 weeks.
• The ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen to working muscles improved 13 percent in a 2007 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The study involved 8 women in their early 20’s who cycled for 10 sets of four minutes of intense cycling, followed by 2 minutes of rest.

I would not be doing proper justice if I did not provide some sample workouts to help you get started with high intensity training:

Workout #1:

Perform max rounds in 20 minutes of:

• 10 Burpees
• 5 Chinups

Best: Performed 7 Rounds
Workout #2:

21 Reps of each for time:

• Sumo Deadlift High Pull, 95lbs
• Push Press, 95lbs
• Hindu Pushups
• Kettlebell Windmills
• Kettlebell Thruster
• Squat Jumps

Workout #3:

3 rounds of:

• Incline Pushups – 2×30 seconds, 30 seconds rest
• Chinups – 2×30 seconds, 30 seconds rest
• Rowers – 2×30 seconds, 30 seconds rest
• Hindu Squats – 2×30 seconds, 30 seconds rest
• Ankle Grabbers – 2×30 seconds, 30 seconds rest

Use this knowledge and these workouts to improve your health and burn some fat!

About the Author

Parth Shah is an average joe who’s tired of all the nonsense he sees in mainstream health and fitness media. His thoughts, ideas, and philosophy can be found on his website, ShahTraining.com. (Feed – http://feeds.feedburner.com/shahtraining/UQuk)

I have finally decided to sign up for the gym and believe me I thought long and hard about the decision. With today’s current economy I had to think about taking on any additional bills.

That being said after reviewing Gold’s, LA Fitness, and 24 hour fitness, I decided to go with LA fitness. LA fitness provided flexibility no contract and it was the cheapest at 35.00 a month. So that was appealing, now the reason I decided to join a gym is because my buddies have all joined and there is something about having a good support group.

So even though I have weights and equipment at home I decided that I could get more out of working out with the fellas. So I’m back motivated and back to working toward my goal of getting physically fit. (Current weight is 205….. still trying to get under 200)

Documentation is paramount, my old boss use to say. I never understood why he cared so much about documentation, until now. I have to admit that if I didn’t keep a food journal when I first started I would not be able to understand what my portion size should be. Another of the benefits of documenting your weight loss journey is that you have the opportunity to go back and look at your good days and bad days and evaluate or make changes.

Another of the benefits of documentation (* you should never start a sentence with And*) that has been my key is “accountability.” I think that the only reason that I have and will continue to be successful is because of this blog. Knowing that I’m going to write about my diet on at least a weekly basis makes me accountable. In fact I must admit that this blog and the people that read it have become my support system.

So I encourage anybody out there to blog or write about the things that are important to you and you may find some success where you didn’t have any before.

I’m not overly concerned though because I know as long as I stay on my diet I’ll be O.K. One thing that I am doing tomorrow is buying my weight bench, weights and a few kettle bells. I dedicated my garage to being my new gym. I think I will still join a gym but I haven’t found the right one for me yet.

I like that body tribe gym that’s in San Diego, but I have yet to find one that is comparable in Atlanta. Who knows maybe I’ll open a gym when I grow up (I’m a toys’r'us kid). I did find a great artical on muscle gain, it address the what, the how, and the when so check it out.

http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/a/weight101.htm

I holla………