While I highly advocate using training aids, I have designed a workout that is accessible for people who do not have their own equipment or belong to a facility with such equipment. Therefore this workout simply utilizes body weight and the amazing natural force of gravity! The goals of this workout are to:
>increase muscular endurance for the whole body – enabling you to move your own body with more ease and efficacy
>improve the body’s performance at high intensity workloads (metabolic conditioning) – enabling you to function effectively for longer at high intensities
>improve power edurance – enabling you to perform more explosive movements before critical fatigue hits
When you take a look below you may recognize the format of the workout – that’s right, it is a circuit. Why a circuit you may ask? Three reasons: it provides a structure with variety to keep things interesting; moving through a sequence of exercises that work different parts of the body means you don’t have to rest as much but can stay in the anaerobic/subanaerobic heart rate zone; and finally, it keeps the workout relatively short. There is nothing revolutionary here, just a great workout that will get you on the path toward being fit for Krav Maga.
*Please remember, if you have not worked out for a while or have medical complications, this workout may not be for you. If you partake in this workout and start to experience nausea, light-headedness, tightness in the chest or any other symptoms of concern, please stop exercising. If the symptoms persist please seek medical advice.
The Warm-up:
5-10 minutes of light calisthenic or cardiovascular exercise (jogging, jumping jacks, skipping etc) that gradually increases in intensity so that you are breathing somewhat heavily and are experiencing a slight sweat at the end of your warm-up.
The Workout:
Do the workout provided below (see ‘What do do’) 2-3 times each week for four weeks using the following guidelines. You are not counting the number of times you do each exercise, but focusing on the amount of time spent doing it:
Week 1 – 30 seconds of work:30 seconds rest per exercise.
Week 2 – 40 seconds of work:20 seconds rest per exercise.
Week 3 – 50 seconds of work:10 seconds rest per exercise.
Week 4 – 60 seconds or work: no rest per exercise.
If you cannot complete the specified time for an exercise, spend the remaining time resting until the next exercise starts. In week 4 you can take 60 seconds rest between each cycle of the circuit.
What To Do:
Do ‘Circuit 1’ three times (60 seconds per exercise each time). Follow immediately with three sets of ‘Circuit 2’ (60 seconds per exercise).
What You Need:
Water bottle
Sweat towel
A timer – stopwatch, watch, smart phone, tablet etc
Circuit 1
Burpees
Mountain climber
Jump squats
Fast jab-cross in the air (use a bag if you have one)
Circuit 2
Surfer pop
Rope climber
Spiderman crawl push-up
Shuttle sprint (10 metres back and forth)
Do this workout 2-3 times/week with 48 hours between each workout. For demonstrations of the exercises above, please see the video clip provided: Krav Maga Basic Conditioning Solo
Practice and improve!