improve cardio & stamina for kickboxing?

scottie pippen

What do you do - to build up your cardio and stamina for kickboxing or similar martial arts?


Where I train - each class usually last an hour & half upto & an hour & 45 mins.


Warm up and drills are fairly intense, & I find that after an hour or so - my energy is gone and my technique gets really sloppy, particularly when sparring.

Running on non-training days would be my first thought, or maybe eating something light before training to boost energy?

Any thoughts & opinions would be appreciated

CIARAN_BOYLE

If you run to build up stamina do intervals rather than jog

Peetrik

Can only speak for myself and what works for me....

Carb up about 4hrs before training, large portion of pasta or similar.

Best thing you can do is more sparring or padwork with a good padman who will push you hard and beat you up whenever you show signs of wimping out. Drives home the point that its better to be hitting than being hit.

If you can't do that/there isnt training available then lots of running. Sprints uphill will make you more able to 'explode' into action without it tireing you out. Middle distance runs at the fastest pace you can manage (5k under 20mins kinda pace) will give you a better gas tank. Try do both alternating the days.
Long runs are really only good for dropping weight for competeing.

Thats what works for me anyway.

boxer.fan

If you are not weight cutting then short sprints are highly effective. Try treadmill sprints, 20 secs flat out 20secs walk for 5/6 minutes. When it begins to get easier raise the incline.
7/8 rounds with a decent pad man on a regular basis will also be a massive benefit, however good pad men are scarce in most cases. A proper nutrition plan is paramount for your energy levels. Talk with your coach, if you don't ask you wont find out.

scottie pippen

Thanks for the advice all.

Extra time at the club isn’t available, but I’m thinking of getting a bag at home, bu8t won’t have expendable income until Christmas

I can definitely carb up 4 hours before training, I'll just plan to have a slightly later lunch.


The interval running - I can start today after work,
I’m also thinking of trying something like this at home - http://whatsgoodwithwill.com/?page_id=111

Also I’m not looking to cut weight at all – I would be happy to hold my current weight or even gain a bit.
Main thing I want to do is get fitness level up, as I feel this is having a huge effect on my technique, ie getting really tired & sloppy

deegs

I'd say HIIT (High intensity interval training) is the only way to go for what you are saying... I started on a program about 2 months ago and have seen incredible improvements in all aspects espcially endurance.

Also what helped me was learning about nutrition from the health and fitness forums and also from a few books.