Since your not looking to necessarily improve on specific lift, then changing the exercises each workout, every other workout, or however you like, is up to you. Pick a pull exercise and a push exercise each session. Start with say 5x5 and pick a weight that you can use throughout the 5 sets of 5 reps. Up the sets by one at least every other workout until you get to about 8 sets, then start back at 5 sets and up the weight a little. If you want to change each workout, then stick with a 5x5 routine for each exercise and change the set/rep scheme every 8-10 workouts. You can pretty much set up these workouts however you like. Pick exercises that will crossover well with your martial arts training.

some of my favorite exercises:
pistols, renegade rows, snatches, cleans, jerks, side presses, windmills, squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, full-contact presses, thrusters, swings, janda sit-ups, dragon flags, russian twist, seated floor presses and a few others that I'm probably forgetting here.

you'll get there ptouch! Trust the process, ask for help when you need it, redirect if necessary and keep movin' forward! (or should I say downward!)

Sandy

Thanks a lot for all the recomendations kbfunTH! I will rearrange my weight training regimine and give it a few more weeks! I'll keep you posted as to how it goes!!!

Sandy

I don't do near as much mma training as I was a while back, but alternating low rep, high weight explosive power training (power cleans, snatches, jerks and swings), combined with higher rep circuits (pull-ups, thrusters, gaurd attack presses, overhead squats and more swings) with some slower and heavier lifting (squats, deadlifts, windmills, pistols, side and bent presses) worked well to accomodate the work I was putting in on the mat.

Thanks kbfunTH-

I love the thought of combining those! That sounds like a great way to compliment my training, build muscle and explosive power!! Did you ever do any endurance work as well? Or just keep it to your training and weights? I know running is involved in our black belt tests as well as a lot of calistenic and plyo work-these are all combined to create a 2 hour endurance test. I still have about a year to train for this, but like I said before, endurance is my weak point. I really hate the thought of sacraficing muscle and martial arts training to work on endurance, so I'm thinking I'll begin working on it slowly now (or in a few weeks after my body gets more use to this WOE), and take the time to build it up.

Sandy

i dont' like lifting weights but i know it's good i wish i had time in my busy work out schedule of cardio, dancing, stunts, etc....
i lift my own body weight while i dance a lot... the style of dance i do is very upperbody strenth and core related... breaking

i love martial arts and when this job is over i'm goign to train in wushu once a week again. you guys are inspiring me to do calistenc stuff....

ptouch- what kind of stunt work do you do? Sounds really fun! I love not only the way weights make me feel, but how they effect my body. I used to have really narrow shoulders, now my shoulders are one of my favorite body parts! I also love it when my teenage son or my twentysomething nephew have to ask me for help tightning bike screws or opening jars!!

Nothing can rescuplt your body like lifting heavy weights!

What is wushu? I am currently working towards my black belt in tae kwon do and when I finish this, I already know I am going to begin working on a black belt in Kumdo-korean sword, and stick fighting!! Can't wait!

Sandy

nice thread. now that a lost weight I really wan't to get back into GoJu Karate. I haven't done in that in years. But I wan't to build stregnth and mass as my main goal now. While cutting the remaing fat!

anyhow good luck with your training!

Marvin-
Don't put it off! I am now 41 years old, I did Tae Kwon Do when I was 33 and never reached my goal of black belt because of a number of family medical emergencies which forced me to abandon my training. It took me 8 years to regain the courage to walk back into the dojang. In those 8 years, I never lost my love for the martial arts, I just lost faith in myself--I felt I needed to regain some skill, to work on my flexibility and to increase my endurance. It was a fight between what I truly desired and my ego which said that first I needed to do this and that, that circumstances weren't yet perfect. In those 8 years I found that circumstances were never going to be perfect and that I wasn't getting any younger. It was either do it, or release my dream. I chose to return to the dojang and I have never been happier! The endurance and strength will come as you move towards your goals!! My advice? Go for it now, the rest will come!!

Good luck!
Sandy

Good solid advice!

For endurance work, I do some long walking, running, bag work and some swimming.

^^ yeah thanks for the advice. I think I am going to go back into it. When I left I was a high Brown Belt and I really enjoyed it, but I was just a teenager and you know how that goes sometimes. Now I think I would be more dedicated and much more active.

I think your right! the time is now.

Marvin-

Yeah, I'm not sure how your belt rankings go, but I was a high red when I left 8 years ago-that is the 9th colored belt, with Black being the 13th. With so much time passing and being able to start out as white belt again, I was shocked at how quickly it all came back to me. In a lot of ways it is "just like riding a bike" , the muscle memory is there if you give it a chance!

Now go knock 'em dead!!

knfunTH- Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I think I will begin adding some more endurance work, perhaps mixing it up for now until my body gets more accustomed to performing on lower carbs. Then I can crank it up! Just don't want to end up overtraining!

Sandy

I found this artcile today on Mike Mahlers website. It goes right along with what I was talking about in previous posts. I think it would serve you well in achieving some of your goals. A good fit while adjusting to your low card diet as well.

http://www.mikemahler.com/3x3.html

kbfunTH-

Thank you so much for that link! It is great, he also appears to have a lot of other great articles I will look into when I have more time. I am going to take these recommendations and work on a better lifting routine that will compliment my training while not taxing my CNS too much. I really would like to add more size, (muscle of course!), but my primary focus at the moment is my training, but...if I could do both....I'd be psyched!!

Thanks!
Sandy

You can easily do both! For size, all you really have to focus on now is volume. 10-20 sets give or take a few.