A pair of papers from the University of São Paulo, in Brazil, seeks to answer these questions, examining both the past and current training of members of the Brazilian national judo team. The first study, a survey of 61 Olympic athletes spanning the history of Brazil’s participation in Olympic judo (1964-2008), examines differences in the training of medalists and non-medalists during the six months before the Olympic Games in which they competed.¹ The second, a review article, discussed the heart rate, lactate levels, and other metabolic parameters associated with three common types of judo-specific training.² 

Like most Olympic athletes, and like judoka in other countries, the participants in the first study typically trained in the neighborhood of 24 hours per week, spread across two 2-hour sessions per day, six days per week. The authors noted that support from the national federation and other sponsors is essential, both to help athletes meet their own financial needs and to ensure the availability of coaches, facilities, and support personnel.

Judo Training Sessions

Training sessions generally included both general strength and conditioning and judo-specific training such as technique drills (uchi-komi), throwing drills (nage-komi), and sparring (randori). The study found few differences between the training protocols of medalists and non-medalists, but did observe that the foundation for a medal is laid long before the six-month pre-Olympic period. It is likely that medalists had previously developed superior grip control and technical skills, but no data exists to verify this hypothesis. Within the six-month pre-Olympic period, the only notable difference was in the emphasis on ground-work randori – sparring on the ground. Medalists viewed this training as less relevant to judo competition, and did less of it, than non-medalists. Indeed, the authors observed, competitive judo matches are rarely decided through ground fighting.

As noted above, individual judo training sessions typically last about two hours, regardless of training level. Top athletes training for a competition may have more training sessions per week, but the format of each session is somewhat consistent. Of the two hours, typically about one-third is devoted to general conditioning, one-third to technique and throwing drills, and one-third to randori. In contrast, a typical judo match can be as short as a few seconds, and will not exceed eight minutes. Thus, the authors observed, coaches need to carefully plan training and recovery to ensure their athletes are in peak competition form.

The second paper reviewed attempts to quantify the metabolic demands of different types of judo training. The various studies considered measured heart rates, recovery rates, blood lactate levels, and oxygen uptake levels of both elite and non-elite judoka.

Uchi-Komi

Uchi-komi is the judo term for repetitive technique drills. These can be performed at various levels of intensity, from very slow movements to drill the details of a form, to rapid repetition for conditioning purposes. Typically, the athlete takes the technique just to the point of balance breaking, without actually completing the throw. After intense uchi-komi drills, study participants achieved heart rates comparable to those seen in randori. Olympic-level judoka developed lower heart rates than national-level athletes, but it was not possible to determine whether this was due to better technical efficiency, superior fitness, or both. 

Nage-Komi

In nage-komi, the technique proceeds to completion of the throw. The effort required for each repetition depends on the athlete’s skill level: more advanced judoka tend to rely more on timing and leverage, and less on brute strength. Nage-komi practice is more demanding, particularly for the person being thrown. For example, one study paired each test subject with two partners to measure the maximum number of throws that could be completed in one minute. In these studies, both heart rate and blood lactate levels were moderate for the partner executing the technique, but caloric expenditures were very high, comparable to other forms of full-body resistance training.

Randori

The third exercise modality, randori, introduces an element of competition. While in drills, partners typically take turns being thrown, but in randori both partners simultaneously attempt to execute techniques. Depending on the goals of the practice, the range of techniques can be tightly limited – say to a set of techniques used in nage-komi drills in that training session – or can be completely open, constrained only by safety considerations and competition rules. Not surprisingly, this is the most demanding of the three modalities. Study participants achieved heart rates and lactate levels comparable to those found in maximal treadmill tests.

Based on their review, the authors suggested short, intense randori or drill sessions, with longer rest intervals to improve anaerobic fitness, while longer sessions at lower intensity are more appropriate for improving aerobic fitness. The authors found that the potential for overtraining is high enough to warrant ongoing monitoring of immune function, markers of muscle damage, and other potential danger signs.

References:

1. Emerson Franchini and Monica Y. Takito, “Olympic preparation in Brazilian judo athletes: description and perceived relevance of training practices,” J. Str. And Cond. Res., 2013 Oct. 21, epub ahead of print.

2. Emerson Franchini, et. al., “The physiology of judo-specific training modalities,” J. Str. And Cond. Res.,” 2013 Oct. 21, epub ahead of print.

Photos provided by David Brown.

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Like most kids, De Mars said, the students there are too sedentary. When they start the judo program, they often aren’t athletic at all, much less elite. Many lack the basic fitness level that even introductory judo requires. The same is often true of adult beginners, who might be starting judo or another martial art as a more interesting alternative to a traditional gym, but with little or no recent training experience.

But, De Mars said, everyone starts somewhere. Her program uses a lot of bodyweight calisthenics and simple drills. Some, like squats and jumping jacks, address general fitness, while others are more judo-specific. The “shrimp exercise,” for example develops core strength but is especially relevant for ground defense in judo. Simple falls from the knees and basic mat work likewise develop fitness and judo skills in parallel. The goal is to push students hard enough to improve, but not so hard that they hate it and quit.

De Mars herself faced a similar situation as a beginner. As she told the story, she was twelve years old, “a short, fat kid with thick glasses.” Her mother took her to the local YMCA and told her to “join something.” This was before the passage of Title IX, a U.S. law that required gender parity in sports programs, and her options were limited. Many sports just didn’t accept girls. The available choices were swimming, track, and judo. Judo, which requires neither running nor revealing clothing, turned out to be the best fit. DeMars credits a good coach for launching a career that ultimately made her the first American to win a gold medal at the World Judo Championships (in 1984).

Kayla Harrison, the student of De Mars’ co-author Jim Pedro, Sr., started judo when she was six and has gone far beyond the basic calisthenics of the beginner program. At the 2012 Olympics in London, Harrision became the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in judo. Still, one of her two two-hour judo workouts a day focuses on drills, practicing techniques and parts of techniques over and over. The second concentrates on sparring and free practice. When training full time, she adds five days per week of running and weight training to her six days per week of judo.

With a training load that heavy, Harrison says recovery is critical. “I don’t go out. I train, I eat dinner, I go to bed. That’s pretty much it.” Eight hours of sleep is the minimum, plus naps. She gets a massage once a week, and avoids processed foods.

Additional challenges come with the need to combine her training with a heavy travel and competition schedule. When I spoke to Harrison, she hadn’t yet returned to fulltime training after the London Olympics. She’d resumed training in January, and was preparing for her fourth post-Olympics competition, the PanAm Championships in Costa Rica. Competing in the 70 kg division, down from her 78 kg Olympic weight class, she won the bronze medal and helped Team USA take fourth place overall. She described her training as “a grind, but a beautiful grind.”

“I’m very fortunate. I have wonderful teammates, and I get to do something I love.” Asked about life after judo, she scoffed, clearly focused on the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. “There’s nothing like standing on that podium. It makes it all worth it.”

Both De Mars and Harrison dismissed the importance of “talent,” in favor of characteristics like hard work and perseverance. Still, the sheer level of effort required to reach and maintain elite performance guarantees that most judoka will be closer to the Samuel Gompers Middle School students than the national team.

That’s okay. Judo has a lot to offer sixty-year-old recreational athletes, too. As Harrison explained, recreational judo can be as intense as sport judo and should be taken just as seriously. “You get out what you put into it. When I talk to groups, I try to share with them how transformative judo can be. It’s a great mind-body exercise. I hope it changes someone else’s life like it has changed mine.”

One of the life-changing aspects of martial arts for many people is the opportunity to change their relationship with fear. Adult beginners in particular are often motivated by real-world fears like a desire for self-defense skills. Martial arts training itself involves fear to some degree – fear of getting hit, fear of getting thrown, fear of injury and failure. In judo, first you are thrown, then your opponent falls on top of you to pin you. It’s the kind of thing that can make even other martial artists a little nervous.

So I asked how judoka approach the fear. The response was a verbal shrug. “We learn at the edges of our experience,” said Harrison, meaning desensitization helps people work up to more and more aggressive throws and more demanding falls.

De Mars was a little more expansive. “Everyone starts somewhere,” she emphasized. Beginners start with falls from the knees, simple drills, just getting used to the transition from standing to the ground. Mats help, too: she noted that her program at Samuel Gompers Middle School would welcome an additional crash mat.

But Harrison also noted that the word “judo” (柔道 in Japanese) means “gentle way.” The first things beginners learn are how to fall and how to protect themselves. In competition, being thrown means that you’ve lost. But drills and other non-competitive practice put more emphasis on flowing movement and safe technique. At that level, she said, judo can be practiced by anyone, both elite competitors and older recreational athletes, and anyone can benefit from it. “You can be amazed by what’s possible,” she said.

AnnMaria De Mars’s judo career includes wins at the USJA Junior Nationals, US Senior Nationals, and the US Open, as well as the 1984 World Judo Championships, where she was the first American to win a gold medal. She co-authored “Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters” with judo coach James Pedro, Sr.

Kayla Harrison’s judo accomplishments include gold medals at the 2010 World Judo Championships, the 2011 Pan American Championships, and the 2012 Olympic Games. She trains with coach Jimmy Pedro, in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Off the mat, she is an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse.

Profile photo of Kayla Harrison courtesy of USOC/Long Photography, Inc.

All other photos courtesy of AnnMaria De Mars.

The post Judo and Life: From Beginners to Elites With AnnMaria De Mars and Kayla Harrison appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“It seems to have become popular to call someone who repeatedly wins using the same technique, such as an armbar, a ‘one-trick pony.’ That ‘one trick’ has many entries into it. It is not one trick; it is several different tricks.”

The pony being referred to in this quote from Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters is UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

The MMA world got a lot more interesting when Rousey retired from judo after winning her Olympic bronze medal in 2008. Her career progressed quickly from her first amateur fight on August 6, 2010 to becoming the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion on March 3, 2012. All of her wins were by sometimes gruesome first round armbars.

How does someone go from amateur to champion of the world in seventeen months? Ronda gives a lot of the credit to her mother, judo world champion AnnMaria De Mars. Ronda said AnnMaria used to wake her up with armbars so she would always be ready.

Early in AnnMaria’s judo career, she severely injured her knee and was no longer able to effectively throw her opponents. Instead of walking away from the sport, she decided that she would win by following her less-than-perfect throws with a killer ground game.

In 1984 she became the first American to win the World Judo Championships. Her co-author, James Pedro Sr. is also an accomplished judo competitor, winning the bronze medal in the Pan-American Championships in Panama.

He went on to become one of the best judo coaches in the world with athletes competing on all of the last five Olympic teams. All of the Olympic Medals brought home to America from 1996 to 2008 were won by athletes under James’s tutelage.

De Mars made a point in her blog to clarify that every word in the book was written by the authors themselves rather than ghost writers.

After seeing her in interviews, it’s obvious that De Mars’s writing style mimics her speaking style. Her voice is plainspoken and I found myself smiling at several points in the book at her zero-bullshit narrative.

I competed in my first Brazilian jiu jitsu tournament after training for four and a half years. Afterwards, I went back to class to figure out what I could improve upon for the next one.

One of my instructors, Renzo Gracie brown belt Jon Gale, explained some of the mistakes I made were in defending very basic beginner moves that I didn’t expect because our teammates don’t use them much. In Winning on the Mat, use of the basics is stressed.

The first chapter offers six secrets to success. Two of these secrets are: avoiding hesitation in the transition between the throw and mat work, and always having a back up plan for failed techniques.

The six secrets aren’t really secrets, though, everyone knows them – they just don’t use them. The authors explain why they are so important and their athletes have the medals to prove it.

The illustrated techniques shown in the book are always given in a series. There are counter techniques, counters to the counter, and counters to that counter. The authors explain, “Every direction that opponent moves, you have another technique waiting. This is the secret to being dangerous on the mat.

There should be no move your opponents can make that will keep him or her safe from you.” It is stressed that to avoid being overwhelmed by the string of techniques, athletes should master each step one at a time, eventually building upon each of them until they are ingrained in the muscle memory.

Another emphasized point in Winning on the Mat is drilling perfect technique and Chapters 7 and 8 provide drills for both offense and defense with thorough explanations as to what skills they develop for competition.

At one point the authors say, “This drill is also good practice for the opponent in trying to get out of armbars. We know very few people who practice armbar escapes. Perhaps that is why so few people get out of armbars.”

There is a quotation from Vince Lombardi in the book that I love: “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” How many times have I drilled techniques in class that were just “good enough” and used the excuse that my partner outweighed me by seventy pounds to explain why it wasn’t working properly?

Or brushed it off saying it didn’t fit into my game? Each technique has its purpose and when you’re spending the time drilling it, it should be done correctly. De Mars stresses that drilling and repetition are the most important parts of training technique.

The book is carefully illustrated in parts to show perfect technique, although it is noted that in other illustrations the technique contains flaws as a result of drill speed and reaction time.

In her Behind the Scenes Winning on the Ground Part 1 blog post, De Mars gave the photographers a lot of credit:

The photographers from Black Belt were amazingly good, as you can see from the book. The flip side is they wanted to do every shot from three different angles (at least!) and both Ronda and Crystal were losing patience. They kept asking me why I didn’t tell the photographers what to do, since it was my book. The answer is that I am mature enough to realize that other professionals know their field better than me so I was not going to argue with them on that score.

The effectiveness of the authors’ advice is proven time and again in these illustrations because the athletes featured are elite level medalists. I liked that they gave other members of the team exposure in the book instead of just using Ronda Rousey.

In addition to the technical training and secrets given throughout the book, the authors share simple game plan strategies that are often overlooked. Small details are given to make seldom used and therefore unexpected techniques work and common mistakes are identified.

Where I am at the beginning of developing a women’s BJJ program at Titans MMA, I found this book to be incredibly useful. I want to teach my students the best possible habits to carry forward throughout their training. The authors provide valuable insight for coaches as well as athletes that are applicable in all sports.

In her blog, De Mars said of writing Winning on the Ground, “I thought I knew a bit about mat-work that might help some people and Jim Pedro, Sr. knows a lot that is worth preserving. It’s selfish to just keep your knowledge to yourself.” I’m so glad they decided to share.

“Winning on the Ground” is available for $11.59 at Amazon.com.

Photos reprinted by permission of Black Belt Books, copyright 2013 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The post Book Review: “Winning on the Ground” by AnnMaria De Mars and James Pedro Sr. appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The core is perhaps one of the most important and least understood parts of the body. For simplicity’s sake, let’s break down the core into four main functions. Now honestly, the four functions will tend to overlap quite a bit, but that’s okay for economy of training’s sake.

1. Stabilization: Important for transferring force created in one part of the body to other parts of the body. For example, in judo, the push generated by your legs gets transferred up your core and into your arms so you can push against your opponent. If your core is weak, that force goes absolutely nowhere.
2. Straight Line Flexion: Think crunches. Useful in ground work, contraction brings your rib cage closer to your hips.
3. Straight Line Extension: Think of it as standing up straight against a force trying to pull you downward.
4. Rotation: Also known as twisting.

While you can also create a fifth category of “anti-” movements (anti-rotation, anti-flexion, etc.), really what you are talking about is a flexion of the antagonist muscles that resist the undesired movement. If you want to “anti-rotate” against a force on your right side, you flex the rotational muscles of the left. If you want to “anti-contract” the body, you flex the extension muscles. While it sounds complicated, the reality is that “anti-” training has been as natural to the body as walking, ever since you were about two years old and stopped waddling around in diapers.

So, let’s look at the four main functions:

Stabilization

For stabilization, a lot of your training should be accomplished from heavy basic lifting. A steady diet of heavy squats, deadlifts, rows, and bench presses will accomplish a lot of the needs for stabilization. If you want to get funky, farmer’s walks, suitcase deadlifts, one arm presses, and others will even add a rotational stabilization element into the mix. Honestly, I feel for most judo players, normal lifting and practice will more than take care of stabilization needs, unless there is a weakness or a prior injury to deal with.

Straight Line Flexion

For contraction, variations of crunches, reverse crunches, and even situps are great. I personally love to do a variation of V-ups using a suspension training rig on my ankles. Start in the position pictured to the right, then push your butt up in the air as you pull your knees to your chest. If you want a real tough challenge, try doing this without bending the knees, and just “v-ing” the body.

The debate among coaches for how much contraction training is needed withstanding, I have found a decent amount of contraction training does have a beneficial effect for players, especially if their club is light on ground work. Finally, since extension is such a vital part of other movements, I find the balancing effect of doing at least some contraction training helpful for alleviation of low back pain caused by overly tight extensors.

Straight Line Extension

For extension, a lot of training should be interlaced with your low back training. Hyperextensions, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and other movements form the basis of my programs for the glutes, hamstrings, and low back. If I haven’t covered my extension enough there, I have serious problems.

Rotation

Finally, we have rotation. There are a ton of exercises that can be done for rotation. Almost any contraction exercise can be turned into a rotational exercise by twisting the body or knees to one side while doing the rest of the contraction. As specialized rotational exercises, resisted rotations and “broomstick twists” are classics. For resisted rotations, it really doesn’t matter if you are doing a low-to-high reverse chop, a high-to-low chop, or a level rotation, the main concept is the same. For the motions of judo, I tend to favor high-to-low chops or level rotations over low-to-high reverse chops.

The Program and Scheduling

Because the core is used in so many parts of other movements, and because the core muscles themselves are used in almost every moment of our lives, the core tends to be very slow twitch in its composition. This doesn’t mean, though, that you can only train it using high rep exercises. We’re not training Abs of Steel here. We’re training force generating and force transferring blocks of power, and as such, heavy training will be a component of core training for this program. The keys here are heavy weight and relative frequency.

Secondly, unless you want to take a whole day and do nothing but core training, I seriously recommend splitting up the core into its main functions and focusing on only one of those each training session. Since stabilization and extension are key components of other workouts, that means you really only have to focus on contraction and rotation as targeted training.

Thirdly, because you are trying to minimize the risk of injury, I recommend not doing the core before a heavy lift, or a heavy randori session. Save it for the end, or at least a day where you won’t be overly taxing the core the next day. This means if you are doing heavy squats on Tuesday, thrashing your extensors and stabilizers on Monday is rather foolish (unless you like slipped discs).

So, let’s look at what we can do. This assumes you are already training stabilization and extension through other lifting sessions, and are looking to augment in order to bring up a weak point in your game. We’re going to do two main workouts, one contraction based, the other rotational based. As my normal lifting plan calls for two leg workouts per week, this is a great time to add in the core, after you’ve thrashed the legs.

Core Workout 1: Contraction Training

Most of the exercises listed here are going to be straight line contraction. If twisting throws are a very integral part of your judo game, you can tweak this by using twisting versions of the exercises to tailor it to your needs.

Workout 2: Rotational Training

Again, the focus of this is rotational training. While I prefer to use latex bands for the resistance here, that is mainly a personal choice. My gym doesn’t have a cable stack or Freemotion trainer or anything of the type. Since bands are cheaper, more transportable, and more flexible than a cable stack, I’m happy. But, you can choose as you like.

FAQ:

Q: What about Landmines, or slide boards, or Turkish get-ups, etc?

A: Hey man, whatever floats your boat. Just as I prefer to use bands over cables, there are people who feel they get a better flexion and workout out of using landmines instead of chops. I’m not one to say don’t do an exercise you like, as long as it’s not unsafe or just flat out retarded.

Q: What about anti-rotation?

A: As I mentioned above, anti-rotation is actually quite automatic for most people. However, if you feel the need for some extra, try holding your position at the beginning or end of the rotational movements for an extra beat before you move the weight.

Q: What about the throwing motion? How would you train the core for that?

A: Most throws are actually a combination of contraction and rotation. For example, to finish a right handed o-goshi hip throw, you will most likely rotate your shoulders from your right side to your left side (roughly counterclockwise) while at the same time bending forward and contracting there. If you’ve trained the rotation and the contraction, the muscles will be there and be strong for when you train the motion in practice.

Q: Are there any judo-specific sports based exercises I can do?

A: To quote Liam “Taku” Bauer, another Breaking Muscle author, weight room movements do not 100% carry over to the playing field for numerous reasons including the laws of physics and physiology. You train the muscles to get stronger, then train the sport specific movements during practice. However, if you insist, you can try this one that I have enjoyed (don’t think it particularly was more effective than the other movements I have done, but it was a nice little exercise): Take a latex band and loop it over the top bar of a power rack or other fixed point above your head. Turning your back to the anchor, take an over the shoulder grip on the band like you would if you were doing an ippon-seio nage. From there, crunch forward while twisting, as if you were finishing the throw. Just try to remember to do the same number of repetitions on both sides, even if you tend to favor one side for the real throw.

Well, that’s it for now. Enjoy and ganbatte (do your best)!

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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My introduction to weightlifting started with crunches in September 1991. Those crunches were not the type you’re thinking of, but rather the crunch of a 1977 Oldsmobile hitting the right leg of a twelve-year-old boy, and then the crunch of that same boy being flipped over said car, and landing on said leg. The results were predictable and painful. My right leg was broken completely in four places, with the doctor saying I had dozens of what he called partial fractures.

At the time, I was very overweight. I was already pushing 230 pounds and to compound the problem, my parents refused to accept my obesity. They countered my arguments and tears with the common lies of “you’re big boned” and “it’s baby fat.” It may seem like a simple choice to us as adults, but when you’re a kid, and you’ve had twelve years of this, it’s damned hard to break the cycle and try to do things on your own.

My saving grace was football. I loved football from a young age in California, watching my uncle play college ball. But in 1991, my family moved to South Carolina, where football took on a new intensity. Small town football had an intensity missing in California. The biggest rivalries in the area were college ball, and high school football was just as passionate. My town had a population of only 8,000, but a football stadium that seated 9,000. For that, I wasn’t ready. Add a shattered leg into the mix, and I really wasn’t ready.

Thankfully, through a bunch of influences, my parents finally relented into letting me work out. My father started taking me down to a local fire department who agreed to let me use the limited equipment that the fire station had. The rest, as they say, is history. Twenty-two years later, I have my own son, who I am trying to pass on the important lessons I learned the hard way. Let me share three of them with you.

1. Find the good, seperate it from the bad.

I was a deluded teenager when it came to just about, well, everything. I mean, I thought the following things were true:

1. Vanilla Ice was a good rapper.
2. George Lucas would make awesome sequels to the original Star Wars trilogy.
3. Joe Weider knew what he was talking about in making weightlifters and athletes – just the programs in the Weider magazines.

Now, some of the above can possibly be debated. However, I think everyone on this site can agree that C was just plain shortsighted and wrong. I cannot calculate the number of hours I wasted doing bodybuilding workouts when I wanted sports performance. The only thing that saved me were two books I got when I was a freshman in high school. One was Strength Training for Football, by Bruno Pauletto. The other was Power: A Scientific Approach, by Fred Hatfield. Thankfully, both espoused true principles that at least partially soaked in.

2. The strongest muscle is between your ears.

Too many times, we stop ourselves before the game has even begun. My senior year of high school, I loved football. I had trained all the previous year for this last chance at football. I had no universities looking at me, and knew my odds of making it as a walk-on at a major university were slim at best. Going through the regular season, our team did well, winning our district. Then, after the first playoff game, something strange happened. Starting with some of the underclassman, I started hearing comments about how our next opponent was “too good,” and how they had receivers who were just too much for our defense. At one point, I even heard a few players muttering, “I can’t wait for football to be over so I can…” I was pissed off, but I felt a helpless rage about it. There was little I felt I could do to change so many minds.

You can predict the result. A team that, just a week ago, had dominated its opponent was blown out of our home stadium. The only thing stopping the game from looking worse than it was was the other team putting all second and third string players in the fourth quarter, and our team scoring in “garbage time.” I cannot say for certainty that our team could have won the game if our attitudes had been better. But, I can say that we definitely would have done better. The same applies for us now. How many goals have you missed because you fail in your mind before you even try?

3. Fall down seven times. Get up eight.

Okay, I borrowed that one from living here in Japan. And it could be rephrased in a thousand different ways. But, it’s the truth. In our lives, we haven’t truly lost until we give up. We may lose a round in the bout called life, but rounds don’t count until the last bell sounds, which should be the sound of you getting ready for a dirt nap.

In 2010, I was getting ready for a promotional test for judo. In Japan, at least at the lower levels, promotions are determined by competition. Basically, everyone who wants to get promoted shows up, and you get four or five matches. You have to win at least three to get promoted. If you don’t, better luck next time.

Three weeks before the tournament, I was practicing with some experienced players, when my opponent mis-timed his entry into a tai otoshi throw. Instead of neatly flipping me over his outstretched right leg, he first pulled me up onto my right leg, which locked at the knee, before twisting me down to the mat. Something had to give, and it unfortunately was my right leg. A crunch, six or seven pops, and then a tearing sound. The results? A partially torn hamstring, a mostly torn MCL, and a completely torn ACL. Doctors were telling me at least a year of rehabilitation and possibly never playing judo again.

“F&#% that,” was my reply. Even before surgery, I was doing pre-hab on my own. Bodyweight box squats using the squat rack to help with balance. After surgery, I went right into rehab, taking myself into the weight room even though I was still on crutches. Other than taking four days off to attend the birth of my son in December 2010, I attacked my rehab. Less than a year later, I was back, squatting 200 kilograms, and winning the promotional tournament that I had missed the year before. As icing on the cake, I even entered the city championships and won.

Of course there are many more lessons I’ve learned, and I could ramble on for a hundred pages, but let’s save them for another time, shall we? Besides, some of them I’m saving for my son only. Hey, life isn’t fair (perhaps we can call that number four) and if I can give him an edge, I’m going to do it.

Photos 2 and 3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post My 3 Biggest Lessons Learned in 22 Years of Training appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength Training for Judo

Part 1 – Training Grip and Cardio

Part 2 – Workouts for the Turner

Part 3 – Workouts for the Charger

Part 4 – Workouts for the Grappler

Q: Why aren’t there Olympic Lifts?

A: The simple answer is, I don’t like them. Sorry. It’s not that the Olympic lifts are not useful, but rather, I don’t like the technical aspects of them. To master the Olympic lifts (and I truly mean master, not heave around barbells looking like an idiot) it takes many hours of work. There truly is a skill in the matter. Olympic lifting is its own sport because of this. Judo players need to maximize their time and energy focusing on the technical aspects of judo, not weight training.

Q: What about off-balanced/BOSU work?

A: Functional fitness is what you’re talking about. And frankly, in most ways I don’t agree with it. You are in the weight room to strengthen the body. Barbells and dumbbells place enough stress on the body without placing you on a Jell-O-like pad to do things. The stabilization effects of normal training will be more than enough for the body.

Q: What about the [insert name of] exercise?

A: Again, this isn’t the “ultimate” program. There is no “ultimate” program. Anyone who states as such is hawking snake oil. The only way to classify a workout as “ultimate” is what is best for a particular athlete at a particular time. Needs will change. An athlete’s body will change, if only due to age and injuries (injuries are a certainty in judo, not a possibility). This is merely a program that I have seen get good results for athletes of this type.

Q: Why aren’t you using a Prowler/sled?

A: Man, I love sleds. I do. As a former football lineman, I spent more time pushing sleds, cars, or other types of implements during hot South Carolina summers in high school than should probably be considered healthy. However, not everyone has access to these devices. Perhaps your gym doesn’t have them. Perhaps you don’t have a place to train with them. Either way, this program was designed with a minimum of equipment that cannot be easily thrown into a normal gym bag and taken to even the most bare of gyms (except for Planet Fitness, which just sucks.)

Q: Should I use a belt/wrist wraps/straps in the workout?

A: Really, I think it’s a matter of choice. I personally believe the use of such items can be helpful, especially a good weight belt. Sorry, but the core and low back of a judo athlete takes enough of a beating that some assistance can be useful. Same with the wrists and hands. I would rather challenge the body using these assistors and strengthen the important muscles of the legs, hips, and chest, than be held back by a bum pinky finger or other item. That being said, do not use them as a crutch. Belts should be used only for exercises that vertically load the spine, and when you are going heavy (the 5RM sets, basically). Straps and wraps the same. Unless you have an injury, you shouldn’t be using wrist straps to help with your grip until you are nearing your training max levels.

Q: Why are there so few machine exercises?

A: Again, I designed this to be used by someone with limited access to equipment. Even when I do note a machine-based exercise (for example, lat pulldowns), it is easily replaced with a non-machine exercise (pullups). If you have access to these machines, and you want to use them as an assistance exercise, go ahead. But, the main exercises (the 5RM) should still be free weight. No, a squat machine, no matter how good, can truly replace a squat. A Hammer strength chest press cannot replace a good bench press. That being said, if that is all you have access to, then use it.

Q: What about changing rep schemes? Pyramids? 5/3/1?

A: Good ideas. Not saying they aren’t. But, these programs are designed as your baseline. They’ll give you the foundation to work from later. Pyramids, 5/3/1, etc. are good ideas to be used during the non-competitive season, and I use them on occasion. But going into a competition, you don’t need the added stress from a changing program on your body. In deciding the rep scheme, the main exercise is going to be in the 5 repetition area, which is still mostly maximum strength, the main element that this program is trying to train.

Q: What is the meaning of “5RM” in the set guidelines?

A: 5RM means to work up to the athlete’s 5 repetition maximum, using as many sets as needed to get there. I generally use the “big plate-10 kilos” rule. If an athlete’s 5-rep max is above a “big” (20 kg) plate plus 10 kg, you start at the big plate. If the 5-rep max is lower than this, you start at the 10 kg mark below the big plate.

Here are two examples. Let’s say that the athlete’s 5RM is 130 kg. This is 2 “big” plates plus a 15 kg plate on each side. So, the sets would break down like this:

• Empty bar x 15 (warmup)
• 60 kg (1 big plate per side) x 8
• 100 kg (2 big plates per side) x 5
• 110 kg x 5
• 120 kg x 5
• 130 kg x 5

Notice that most of the jumps are of 10 kg increments. This is because the 5RM exercises tend to fall into the “big muscle” category, and a jump of 10 kg (a 5 kg plate) per side is acceptable.

Now, let’s look at the same, but the 5RM is now 150 kg (3 big plates plus a 5 kg plate per side). As noted before, the “work sets” would then start at 120 kilos (2 big plates plus a 10 kg plate). So, we have:

• Empty bar x 15
• 60 x 8
• 100 x 8
• 120 x 5
• 130 x 5
• 140 x 5
• 150 x 5

Athletes should try, at least once a month, to go and push for a new 5RM. In these weeks, the use of 2.5 or even 1.25 kg plates is acceptable.

If an athlete is tired, worn out, or just plain doesn’t have it that day, and cannot reach their normal planned 5RM, then stop the movement wherever the athlete needs to. It is better to have good quality sets, and perhaps a couple of fewer kilograms on the bar, then to be a slave to a workout log and get hurt and lose training time on the mat.

Q: How long should I be on this program?

A: For a recreational or semi-serious player, this program can be followed for most of the year. I would recommend having at least two break periods planned into the yearly schedule of at least one week. If an athlete needs more, give them more. Just make sure a deload week doesn’t turn into a detraining month and a half.

For a very serious player, or someone with a longer competitive season, the program can be seen as a pre-season program, with an in-season program being a much-shortened version (that can be released later). Especially if the athlete is someone training more than two times a week, a shortened program is necessary to prevent overuse injuries.

Q: What about cycling programs?

A: This template is flexible. In addition to planned deloading weeks, the variations are numerous. An athlete can switch from the three day to a four day template. They can substitute out variations of presses, squats, and rows. Even playing with rep schemes is good. If the athlete wants, do a month of going for 3 rep maxes (3RM) or 8RM instead of the templated 5RM. These variations can make a great change up to a long off-season.

Q: What if it hurts?

A: Are you hurt, or are you injured? Just kidding. If by hurt you mean injury hurt, and not my legs are sore for the first two weeks hurt, then stop doing the exercise. Try a variation, find something that works the same muscles that doesn’t hurt. If it’s a muscle injury, take it easy. Train around the injury as much as you can.

Q: What other programs can/should I do for [insert length of] time frame?

A: Depends on the time frame. I personally am a fan of the ideas of Tudor Bompa, and using training cycles to best prepare athletes for a competition. This program would be the type of program used for a maximum strength cycle, or a mixed cycle (max strength and hypertrophy). For an adaptive cycle or a max power cycle, or an in-season cycle, changes to the program must be done.

Q: My athlete likes elements of all three styles you mention, it seems. What do I do?

A: No judo athlete is going to be a “pure” stylist. Robert Van DeWalle, perhaps the epitome of a Grappler, was also known for his strong hip throws, a Turner technique. Many Turners will also have strong o-uchi garis, a Charger technique. The key for the coach is to look at the most preferred techniques of the athlete, and use that as the basis for a style assignment. And of course, customization of the templates can also be used to address the crossover elements.

Strength Training for Judo

Part 1 – Training Grip and Cardio

Part 2 – Workouts for the Turner

Part 3 – Workouts for the Charger

Part 4 – Workouts for the Grappler

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Strength Training for Judo: Part 5 – The FAQ appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Grapplers are a relatively newer breed on the judo scene, arising from the influx of athletes in Europe, Russia, and the Americas who either came from a different sport before entering judo or have a background not beholden to any particular style or teaching tradition. What makes Grapplers a problem in both the weight room and on the judo mat is that they are eclectic. The style emphasizes taking elements from every tradition and mixing them to produce whatever works best for the particular athlete. The Grappler will be the player with the most unorthodox grips, the strangest throws, and maneuvers that often leave coaches and opponents going, “WTF is this guy doing?”

As such, truly creating a template for a Grappler is also very eclectic. What is tailored for one particular Grappler is not going to be a match for almost any other Grappler. As such, the following templates are going to be highly customizable to fit the particular needs of the particular athlete.

Needs of the Grappler

• Overall body strength. If the move exists somewhere in judo, then most likely the Grappler will have tried it. They will need the strong hip sweeps of a Charger, the strong quads of a Turner, and enough variety of their pulls that they’ll almost never pull in the same direction twice.
• Explosive movements. Even more than the other styles, a Grappler will often depend on their power and speed to transition from one body position to another. Their style doesn’t lend itself to as many positional setups as Chargers or Turners. Instead, they will take whatever is given to them and try to make something work from it.
• Ground Strength. As their throws do tend to be “dirty,” Grapplers will not as often have the beautiful throws that earn ippons as Turners or Chargers. Instead, they need to have the ability to finish fights on the ground, grinding out points (or grinding out the clock) using newaza. As such, the needs of a Grappler will often overlap those of a wrestler or a Brazillian jiu jitsu player.

Main Exercises for the Grappler

• Bench Press Variations – Again, this will change on practically a daily basis. Incline, decline, flat, barbell, dumbbell, throw it in there. A good idea for this and the following two is to find four good variations the athlete can enjoy and work hard at, and rotate through them on a regular basis. Also track those four exercises, knowing approximate 5RMs for each. My personal favorites are the flat bench, the incline bench, the incline barbell bench, and the reverse banded incline bench.
• Squat Variations – Again, changing the variation of the squats used is essential. As long as they follow the basic ideas of squat, front squat, and split squat, your athlete will do fine. Again, my personal favorites are the back squat, the split squat, the reverse banded squat, and the box squat.
• Pulls – Vertical pulls, rows, 1-arm, 2-arm, 3-arms? Whatever it needs, vary it.

Example Exercise Templates for a Grappler: 3-Day Template

Day 1: Pull Focus/Push Speed/Leg Hypertrophy

Day 2: Leg Focus/Push Hypertrophy/Pull Speed

Day 3: Push Focus/Leg Speed/Pull Hypertrophy

4-Day Template

Day 1: Push Max/Hypertrophy, Pull Speed/Power

Day 2: Legs Max/Hypertrophy

Day 3: Pull Max/Hypertrophy, Push Speed/Power

Day 4: Legs Speed/Power, Other Assistance Training

So, that’s about it as far as the programming. Check back next week for a list of FAQs on strength training for judo and my answers. I hope that you can use these programs above as either a template for your workouts, or that you use them as a springboard into the personalized, tailor-made workouts that are needed by your judo athletes to prepare themselves for competition.

Strength Training for Judo

Part 1 – Training Grip and Cardio

Part 2 – Workouts for the Turner

Part 3 – Workouts for the Charger

Part 5 – FAQ About the Program

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Strength Training for Judo: Part 4 – The Grappler appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Every judo player has not only seen, but also played against Chargers. It’s like fighting a bull in a china shop. Chargers will try to run you over. Often they will attack, and will go straight ahead as they do so. While perhaps not as “pretty” as a classic Turner, a Charger is still successful. In fact, many of the most successful players of all time have been Chargers.

Needs of the Charger

• Balanced pushing and pulling strength. A Charger must, at some point, drive into their opponent in order to perform the majority of their throws. In fact, the two most classic Charger throws, the o-soto gari and o-uchi gari, depend on the thrower establishing hard contact with their opponent at the point of the throw, usually chest to chest or chest to shoulder. As such, strong pushes must be as much of their move set as strong pulls.
• Hip and leg strength. In addition to making a strong push, the completion of most Charger throws depends on a strong sweep of the opponent by one of the Charger’s legs. While in a perfect throw the force needed to complete the sweep is small to even non-existent, in a competition environment every bit of force an athlete can generate can be used, and can make the difference between a failed throw and a successful one, or a minor point and a full ippon win.
• Anti-rotational core strength. Watching a Turner against a Charger is often an exercise in watching who can impose their will first. The Turner will constantly be trying to get the Charger to overcommit and be turned, while the Charger is constantly fighting to keep the Turner squared up and open to sweeps. In both instances, the ability of the Charger to resist rotation is key.

Main Exercises for the Charger

• Squats – As opposed to the Turner who uses mostly variations of the front squat, the Charger’s greater use of hip strength calls for the use of classic back squats. Not only will the Charger assume the slightly forward tilted posture of the back squat more than a Turner, their throwing positions are nowhere near as quad dominant as a Turner’s.
• Vertical Pulls – Variations of the pullup or lat pulldown, as well as the horizontal pulls employed by the Turner, are necessary for a Charger. The common tactic of pulling an opponent down before pushing back into the attack requires a strong vertical downward as well as horizontal pulling ability.
• Incline/Vertical Presses – The pushing angles used by a Charger will normally be at a slight incline. As such, most pushing movements will be done at a 15-degree incline or greater. While there are some dips and other decline style movements used, the greater percentage will still be inclined.

Example Exercise Templates for a Charger: 3-Day Template

You will notice the splits for a Charger and a Turner are the same. This is for the assistance of a team coach, who will at least know what areas the athletes are working, and can put them on a similar weekly training schedule. However, the exercises themselves will differ somewhat. Also, many of the exercise notes are not repeated here, unless they differ greatly from those covered in part two of this series.

Day 1: Pull Focus/Push Speed/Leg Hypertrophy

Day 2: Leg Focus/Push Hypertrophy/Pull Speed

Day 3: Push Focus/Leg Speed/Pull Hypertrophy

4-Day Template

Day 1: Push Max/Hypertrophy, Pull Speed/Power

Day 2: Legs Max/Hypertrophy

Day 3: Pull Max/Hypertrophy, Push Speed/Power

Day 4: Legs Speed/Power, Other Assistance Training

So, that’s it for now. Next up, perhaps the most difficult to plan for, the Grappler.

Strength Training for Judo:

Part 1 – Training Grip and Cardio

Part 2 – Workouts for the Turner

Part 4 – Workouts for the Grappler

Part 5 – FAQ About the Program

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Strength Training for Judo: Part 3 – The Charger appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The Turner’s image is perhaps the “prettiest” of all the judo styles. Their arsenal of high sweeping throws, dramatic turns, and acrobatic body movements will most often elicit applause and cries of appreciation from the crowd. In addition, the throws used by the Turner can often be employed in the blink of an eye, making them some of the most dangerous opponents on the mat.

Needs of the Turner

• Horizontal pulling strength. Most of a Turner’s throws will depend on a strong horizontal plane throw. This will pull their opponent off balance to the opponent’s frontal plane, the thrower’s (initial) rear. As such, a strong horizontal pull is needed.
• Turning speed and tightness. The key for most Turner’s techniques is quickness. A tight, sudden turn can create more off-balancing opportunities for the Turner than all of the strength in the world. As such, the hips, transverse abdominals, and legs are all important.
• Knee, hip and shoulder stability. The simple fact is, the human body was not intended for the types of rotational stress placed upon it by elements one and two above. Add in the fact that an athlete’s opponent will usually do everything they can to avoid being thrown, and you have a recipe for intense pressures upon the knee joint. Even in a defensive role, the knee is often placed under severe stress. As such, stabilization for the knee, especially in the realm of hamstring and hip strength, is key for a long, pain-free judo experience. For the Turner who favors the seio nage shoulder throw (especially the version known as morote seio nage), shoulder stability is also key. Many promising judo athletes have had their careers cut far too short due to pain caused by lack of stability in the knees, hips or shoulders.
• Abdominal rotational (and anti-rotational) strength. In conjunction with number one, abdominal rotational strength is very important to the Turner. Think of it as horizontal pull initiates the throw, while rotational abdominal strength completes the throw. Of course, the abdominals also have a very important role in turning speed and tightness as well.

Main Exercises for The Turner

• Front Squats – In watching Turners, you will notice when they squat to get under their opponent’s center of gravity, they commonly will do so with knees going forward, with the torso remaining vertical over the hips. Now, what does this sound like? If you answered front squats, you would win the prize. Alternatives include overhead squats and Bulgarian split squats. In fact, if the Turner very much favors the tai otoshi throw, a split squat of some form becomes almost required.
• Romanian Deadlifts – Why not deadlifts, you ask? Two reasons. First, in competitive judo, lifting an opponent in a deadlift manner will not gain you anything. It’s even possible to get disqualified if you throw an opponent in such a manner. However, for the Turner, the more important reason is to really target the hamstrings and erectors. Throw in a strong glute contraction at the end, and you have a very effective targeting of the posterior chain.
• Rows – Whether they be Yates rows, Pendlay rows, Kroc rows, or even cable rows, rowing is essential for the Turner. Throw in a variety of rows, from multiple angles and grips (overhand, underhand, dumbbell, etc.) to fully stimulate all the angles that the Turner will be pulling from.

Example Exercise Templates for a Turner: 3-Day Template

The general idea for a 3-day template for the Turner is to cut the body into three main areas (push upper body, pull upper body, and legs) and focus on one area each day heavy, another area as speed, and the final area as hypertrophy. If an athlete is already at their desired size, or does not wish hypertrophy, than the third area is rested.

Note that the pulling/back exercises are more level in average intensity than the others. I do this because of the complexity of the back, which has so many different muscles and planes of movement that dividing up the back can be useful. Also, grip work is not shown, because it can be done at almost any time on any day as mentioned in part one of the series.

Day 1: Pull Focus/Push Speed/Leg Hypertrophy

Day 2: Leg Focus/Push Hypertrophy/Pull Speed

Day 3: Push Focus/Leg Speed/Pull Hypertrophy

4-Day Template

The 4-day template is meant for the athlete who, for whatever reason, cannot get to practice more than one time a week. This template can also be used as a basis for an off-season lifting program, with exercises tailored to fit the needs of the athlete such as hypertrophy, power, or stabilization.

The main difference here is the split. Each area will be done twice a week, with one day being a max strength/hypertrophy focus, the other being a speed/power focus. Additionally, standing shoulder presses are used in the template for the shoulders. Finally, on day four is a period classified as “Other Assistance Work.” This would be the time for the athlete to work on any stabilization work that they see fit, or work on any “beach muscles” that they want to work on. Limit the beach muscle work, of course, going into competition.

Day 1: Push Max/Hypertrophy, Pull Speed/Power

Day 2: Legs Max/Hypertrophy Exercise

Day 3: Pull Max/Hypertrophy, Push Speed/Power

Day 4: Legs Speed/Power, Other Assistance Training

Well, that’s it for part two, covering strength training for the Turner. If you’re a Charger stay tuned for part three in the series. Grapplers will be covered in part four, and part five will address a series of common questions about strength training for judo players.

Strength Training for Judo

Part 1 – Training Grip and Cardio

Part 3 – Workouts for the Charger

Part 4 – Workouts for the Grappler

Part 5 – FAQ About the Program

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Strength Training for Judo: Part 2 – The Turner appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

With recent U.S. judo Olympic success, however, the sport has been making people take notice. In both 2008 and 2012, Americans medaled in judo, with Kayla Harrison winning the USA’s first gold medal in judo in London. Meanwhile the world of MMA has watched as Ronda Rousey has done her utmost to become the female MMA Ali. Winning all her fights by armbar in record time, talking a lot of trash, and getting naked in the ESPN magazine, Ronda is helping judo garner more attention than ever.

So maybe more of you want to train judo, but how do you get strong for judo? Articles and research in English books and magazines tend to be lacking in this department. Respected authors such as Bompa and others tend to overlook martial arts when discussing sports specific training templates, or give templates that focus on the striking arts. Some trainers have tried to counter this by using a wrestling template as a model (a good theory, since both are grappling arts), but judo in itself has its own challenges and needs.

In this five part article series, I will address the strength training needs of the judo player. In the first part, I will discuss the differences in the three main styles of judo player, and what elements are consistent for almost all judoka. In parts two through four, I will look at each of the three styles and provide workouts tailored for each one. Part five will include the most frequently asked questions in regards to the workouts.

Note: While there exists in the judo world many terms for the participants or techniques that are common such as tori, uke, kuzushi, etc. This series will address them in plain English for the trainer’s perspective, and for those who perhaps haven’t learned of the terms in their own training.

Evaluation of Style

In any planning for an athlete, it pays dividends to take a look at the athlete themselves. This evaluation needs to look at not only the athlete’s body, but also their style and needs of their sport. For a sport such as football, this can be pretty cut and dried. After all, all wide receivers, whether they play slot back, split end, or flanker, have pretty much the same needs.

In judo however, a detailed look at the athlete’s style is necessary. Even within a weight class, or within a team, different athletes can have vastly different styles. While the various styles can be broken down into hundreds of sub-styles, for ease of understanding let’s describe three of the most common: the Turner, the Charger, and the Grappler.

1. The Turner Style – Also known as “classic” or “ippon” judo in judo circles. The throws favored by this style will usually be done from a more classic standard lapel and sleeve grip, with most throws being those that turn the throwers body into the opponent, throwing them over a shoulder, hip or leg. The most popular throws will be the variations of seio nage (shoulder throw), harai goshi (sweeping hip throw) and uchi mata (inner thigh reaping throw).
2. The Charger Style – Very straight ahead in their attacks. While this style is not considered as classical as the first Turning style, some of the most famous judo players of all time, such as Yasuhiro Yamashita, were Charger style players. While many of the Chargers will also use variations of the classic lapel and sleeve grip, a growing number of players will favor unorthodox grips. The most favored throws of the Charger will be o-soto gari, o-uchi gari, and the various foot sweeps.
3. The Grappler Style – More common in the Americas than Europe, the Grappler is perhaps the most eclectic, with the greatest variation of throws. The Grappler truly fights by the motto “whatever works, works.” As such, while there are few consistent throws among Grapplers, there are some consistent body positions and attitudes that will allow some general classification of training for this style.

Consistencies Among All Styles of Judo

While the differences amongst the styles of judo players makes planning workouts challenging, there are certain things consistent amongst all players.

Cardiovascular fitness is an often-overlooked aspect of the judo-training curriculum. A quick perusal of the few news stories and articles discussing the physical aspects of judo reveals a focus more on strength and technique training. However, cardio is a very important element. An international rules match has a main period clock of five minutes, which is often stopped, as the referee will stand players up or as players drift out of bounds. If players are tied at the end of regulation, a three-minute sudden death “Golden Score” period is then immediately contested. With the stoppage for standups and out of bounds and others, an international level judo player must be ready to go for upwards of ten minutes per round. While lower level club players will often not have Golden Score to contend with, and shorter main periods, there is still a need for them to be able to engage in high energy demanding activity for five minutes at a time.

While the five to ten minute time frame seems short, when compared to other sports activities, the aerobic demands of judo are quite intense. The time involved is often greater than the time of an Olympic 1500 meter race, while the intensity of the activity is on par with any other grappling event. High tension and power moves are to be expected and performed at almost any moment.

In the realm of strength training, body parts that remain consistent in all styles of judo are the forearms and hands. Judo demands players pull and tug on each other’s jackets incessantly. With some throws depending on turning an opponent’s body using nothing more than a twist of the wrists, the demands on the grip are very high.

Training for Cardio

When looking at training cardio for judo, the coach needs to look at time, speed, and wear and tear on the athlete. The level of competition sets time and speed for the athlete. Looking at a decent level local player, they need to be able to do five to seven minutes of frequent high intensity bursts. Wear and tear is another issue, one that will pervade all aspects of training. While one of the best ways to train for judo competition is to simply hit the mat, not everyone has the body to withstand dozens of hard falls each day without something getting knocked out of whack. In addition, judo requires at least one willing partner who is able to absorb the same, if not more, punishment from the player.

For those without the access to a partner frequently enough, or who don’t have the ability to withstand the punishment themselves, other means of cardio must be employed. I recommend heavy bag punching, bicycling, and jump rope. Heavy bag work is great because timing is easy, the movement is whole body, and it plays to the combative nature of most judo players. On the other hand, cycling is useful due to the low impact nature (finding a judo player without some ache or pain in a joint is like finding a flawless diamond: rare, but precious). Also, (outdoor) bicycling is great because of the varying nature of intensity, just by changing gears or going up or down a hill. Finally jump rope is a good alternative for any with space constraints, weather constraints, or anyone who wants to put in their Rocky soundtrack CD when they train.

A sample cardio program for a local or high school level player who isn’t ready for Nationals yet would look similar to this as they train for a competition (assumption being two times a week of judo practice):

Issues for the coach to consider are:

• Is the activity high intensity enough? Going for a 10 mile casual walk isn’t helpful.
• Is it of the appropriate length of time to correlate to the sport?
• Is it low impact? Just players need recovery time from their sport and from strength training.

Grip Training for Judo

As stated above, judo players will often live or die by their grips. When looking at the different types of grip strength used in judo, two types will mainly come into play: crushing and static.

1. Crushing Grip Strength – Best explained as the strength your hand can make when closing a fist. This will come into play with a player most often when they are “hooking” or reeling in an opponent’s judo jacket. In the exchange of hand feints and grips, perhaps only a partial grip is established, with only two or three fingers pulling on the sleeve or lapel to establish a stronger grip of the whole hand.
2. Static Grip Strength – Comes into play once grip is established. This strength is best explained as how much the hand can hold in a grip, before the resistance is torn from the finger’s grasp. In weightlifting, holding a barbell for a deadlift can be seen as an example of static grip strength.

While grip training is consistently needed in judo, training grip is not complicated. Again, judo training itself will work on grip strength, with outside training being needed only once or twice a week to help add new upper limit strength to the grip.

In either case, crushing or static strength, two exercises stand as easy to implement and easy to train. First, the gripper. Whether it be a lower cost model from a local Wal-Mart or a high quality gripper such as a Captains of Crush, grippers have the advantage of being cheap and portable. The other exercises often done in the weight room are wrist curls and barbell holds. Wrist curls, especially if the bar rolls almost all the way to the ends of the fingers, will work crushing strength, while heavy bar holds will work on static strength. Heavy bar holds are also easy to incorporate into existing back workouts. Simply have the athlete hold the bar after a set of rows or deadlifts for a set amount of time.

A gripper workout would best incorporate two different grippers of differing weights. A lighter weight would be used for warmups and static work, while a heavier gripper would be used for crushing grip work. A sample would be as follows. Gripper A is the lighter weight; Gripper B is the heavier weight:

This workout would be short, and easily done within ten minutes at the end of a workout. It can even be incorporated into the workout itself, when the athlete is doing exercises not requiring grip strength, such as core work or stretching.

There you have it. In the next part of the series, I will look at the specific requirements, and a few sample workouts, for the first of the judo athlete types: The Turner. From there we will continue through the different styles of judo players. The fifth part in the series will answer some frequently asked questions regarding the training plans. Please note that some of the questions will apply amongst all of the programs.

Strength Training for Judo

Part 2 – Workouts for the Turner

Part 3 – Workouts for the Charger

Part 4 – Workouts for the Grappler

Part 5 – FAQ About the Program

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Strength Training for Judo: Part 1 – Training Grip and Cardio appeared first on Breaking Muscle.