The Real Anime Training Warm-up

If you guys are looking for a warm-up to do before your workouts, I've got a pretty good one for you. If you've already got one that you do, then use that one. (Video version: Part 1/Part2)

1. 15 Jumping Jacks
2. 15 Push-ups
3. 15 Sit-ups
4. 15 Squats
5. High Knees- 15 Seconds
6. Heels to Butt- 15 Seconds
7. Jog- 15 Seconds
8. Jog Backwards- 15 Seconds
9. Side Stepping (both ways)- 15 Seconds Each Way (30 Seconds Total)
10. Ankle Rotations- 10 Times, each way
11. Hanging Leg Rotations- 10 Times, each way
12. Knee Rotations- 10 Times, each way
13. Hip Rotations- 10 Times, each way
14. Waist Twisting- 10 Times, each way
15. Shoulder Rotations- 10 Times, each way
16. Small Arm Circles- 10 Times, each way
17. Big Arm Circles- 10 Times, each way
18. Elbow Circles- 10 Times, each way
19. Wrist Rotations- 10 Times, each way
20. Neck Circles- 10 Times, each way
21. Shadowboxing- 1 Minute

Notes:

• There is no rest in between any of these exercises.
• For Ankle Rotations, just stick your leg out and roll your ankle around in a circle.
• For Hanging Leg Rotations, lift your leg in front of you at 90 degrees, allowing your lower leg to dangle. Lightly swing your lower leg in a circle.
• For Knee Rotations, put your feet and knees together, put your hands on your knees and bend them slightly. Now, make small circles with your both your knees together.
• For Hip Rotations, put your hands on your hips and, without your head moving, make large circles with your hips.
• For Waist Twisting, stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width, with your arms dangling. Now, turning your body, allow your arms to swing around you. It should feel like you are trying to fling them off.
• Shoulder Rotations are just rolling your shoulders forward and backward.
• For Small Arm Circles, hold your arms out at your side at shoulder height and make tiny circles.
• Large Arm Circles are like a windmill with your arms.
• For Elbow Circles, tuck your elbows at your sides and loosely circle your forearms in front of you.
• For Wrist Rotations, hold your arms out in front of you and circle your wrists as far as they'll go.
• For Neck Circles, make sure you don't circle your neck too quickly.
• End with a nice light shadowbox.

That's all for today! Good luck and train hard!

Shinogi Kureha's Power Workout

Hey, guys. Sorry about all the down time. Just got finished moving.

Here's a workout for you from Grappler Baki. Hope you enjoy!

Shinogi Kureha is a physical and mental genius and, as such, has sculpted his body into the perfect physical specimen. He has the power of a heavyweight boxer, the speed of a sprinter, the flexibility of an amateur wrestler, and the endurance of a marathoner. To acquire all of these traits at once is to go beyond the modern athlete. Shinogi Kureha is, without a doubt, the Ultimate Athlete. There will be four workouts for Shinogi's training, each with extra stretching and flexibility training. The first workout is the Power workout.

Power is not merely being able to lift a heavy weight. "Power" is defined as work done over time, or W x T = P. Essentially, it is the amount of force exerted on an object (be it your own body, someone else's or a weight) times the velocity, i.e.- the speed and direction of movement, that determines the power of said action. If two people are doing squats with 250lbs, but one is able move the weight faster (and with control), that person would be said to be "more powerful" than the other, despite them both lifting the same weight. Power movements are different from pure strength movements, although power is involved in pure strength movements.

Power movements are things like throwing an object or jumping. A more powerful person will be able to throw farther or jump higher. It translates to any compound movement. You can pick up a rock, but unless you are able to coordinate your muscle strength and body weight effectively, you will be unable to effectively generate power in throwing the rock. Your power is force that extends beyond your body. I'm not talking mystical energy; just physics.

Here's the workout.

Shinogi Kureha's Power Workout

1. 10 Plyometric Push-ups
2. 10 Jump Squats
3. 10 Medicine Ball Slams
4. 10 Power Twists, or Weighted Twists
5. 10 Pull Jumps (or Pull ups)

5 Rounds, then

• Pick one weightlifting exercise, preferably a multi-joint exercise (like a squat, bench press, clean and press, etc) that you would normally be able to get 5 reps with in a single set. Do as many reps as possible in 10 minutes.

Notes:

• If you want to make this workout harder, there are a few ways to go about it: First, you can increase the weight of the Medicine Balls, wear a weighted vest, or use equipment like the Power Push-up 2 or the Plyometric Jumper from LifeLineUSA . You can also add rounds later if you like.
• You can try to do the reps quickly, or as "singles," where you would do a rep, wait a second and then do another rep, really focusing on the power aspect.
• With the plyometric push-ups, your goal is to push yourself off the ground with as much force as you can, land and push off again. You still need to go through the full range of the push-up, though.
• Jump squats are the same. Squat as deep as possible, then explode, jumping at the top of the movement. Ideally, when you come down, you should immediately be squatting to the bottom position and then exploding back up again.
• You may use whatever size medicine ball for the slams. You will hold the medicine ball overhead in both hands, contract your abs, and toss the ball as hard as you can against the ground. They make both bouncing medicine ball and non-bouncing. You could also use a sandbag if you like. Increase the weight as desired, but I recommend starting with a lighter weight. Remember, you're learning to transfer force through your body outward, so just because it's light, doesn't mean you aren't working, it just means you will exert more force outward onto the medicine ball.
• Power twists have a couple variations. First you can use a barbell with one end pushed up against a corner and the other in your hands, pressed over your head. Then, twist over to the right of your body, arms extended and then twist back. Try to do it forcefully. It is important not to use too much weight, so start with the bar and see what that feels like. You can add weight to the end you are holding on to. The other method is to hold a weighted plate (10 or 20 lbs) out in front of you and twist from side to side, once again, forcefully. The last method just uses a medicine ball instead of a plate.
• Pull jumps are the killer of this workout. If you can't do them, just practice pull-ups. If you can't do a pull up, do assisted pull-ups or negatives. To perform a pull jump, start in the hanging position and perform and pull-up quickly, attempting to launch yourself upward. Your hands should leave the bar, although probably not far, and you'll re-grab on your way down. You'll have to ease it down, so as not to hurt yourself. You don't want to just slam down as you hang from the bar.
• Added some weight-lifting to the workout, because Kureha is shown to be doing weight-lifting in a gym in the anime.

This is a simple workout, but will help to generate power in your movements. The faster you complete the workout the better, I would say. More work in a shorter amount of time = more power. It's just Physics. :D

So, until next time. Good luck and train hard!

2010 Resolutions

2009 is gone and 2010 has arrived and I, for one, couldn't be happier. 2009 held a lot of difficulty and craziness, so hopefully 2010 will be a lot better.

For all of you out there making resolutions this year, make it a resolution to be stronger, faster, and generally more fit than you were last year, so that when 2011 rolls around, you can look back and say, "Man, that was awesome."

We've got a few workouts for you and some exercises, too, if you're interested. :)

So, until next time, good luck and train hard!