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Old 04-15-2005, 09:05 AM   #5
paw
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 768
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Re: Crosstraining Techniques

Quote:
Howard Dyke wrote:
I want to improve my overall fitness level for Aikido.
As I see it, you have 4 choices, and I'll list them in order of "best" to "worse". The "for aikido" is the key that I'm focusing on. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any physical activity that wouldn't be worth doing, insofar as if it would aid general health it would therefore be beneficial for aikido (can't train when you're hurt/injuried or sick, right?) So the "worse" program is still of great value.....Anyhoo,

1. A specific routine that has been designed specifically for aikido. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, such a routine doesn't exist. So you could create one. You'd have to identify the specific physical demands of aikido (energy pathways ....aerobic vs anaerobic, "prime movers", flexibility demands, etc....) determine the best way to train those demands and so on and so forth.

2. A well-studied activity that is similar to aikido. Here, you're in luck. Both judo and wrestling are similar to aikido and there is a good number of scientific studies on effective training methods for both. (For example, The Sport Science of Elite Judo Athletes by Wayland J. Pulkkinen)

3. A general holistic conditioning routine. By this I mean a routine that works strength, flexibility, aerobic, anaerobic, muscular endurance, power, altogether. Personally, this is the approach I use, and I current follow the crossfit site that has been previously mentioned. There's also Scrapper's (bodyweight exercises) and I think Jo has mentioned a series of instructional video by The Firm that sounded excellent.

4. A segmented general conditioning routine. This is by far the most common approach (ie weights on Monday and Wednesday, "cardio" on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). This is definately better than nothing, but it tends to be time consuming, and there are issues with completeness (need to improve flexibility, so add yoga....need to improve anerobic capacity, add sprints, etc...)

But as I mentioned before, anything is better than nothing, and there's no sense in doing something you don't enjoy.

Regards,

Paul
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