BRUCE LEE QUOTES ON STRENGTH TRAINING FOR MARTIAL ARTS

Training for strength and flexibility is a must. You must use it to support your techniques. Techniques alone are no good if you don't support them with strength and flexibility." - Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee's training regimen involved all the components of total fitness. Apart from his daily martial arts training, Lee engaged in supplemental training to improve his speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, coordination, rhythm, sensitivity, and timing.

Bruce Lee learned early on that the role strength played in the overall scheme of things was of vital importance, not only for its own sake but also because an increase in muscular strength brings with it greater mastery of striking techniques, increased speed and endurance, better-toned muscles, and improved body function. However Lee did not regard weight training as the "Holy Grail" to a athletic success. He recognized it for exactly what it was an important facet of total fitness that had to be integrated into one's training schedule along with other exercises to improve one's technique,  speed, agility, excetera.

"My strength comes from the abdomen. It's the center of gravity and the source of real power." - Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was particularly impressed with the fact that strength training, which typically involved weight lifting,  could increase one's speed and endurance capabilities. His belief that a martial artist must engage in training methods apart from the techniques and movements of the art he or she has been trained in was based on purely scientific grounds.

"If you are talking about sport, that is one thing. But when you are talking about combat - as it is - well then, baby, you better train every part of your body" - Bruce Lee

When Bruce Lee devised muscle development programs either for himself or his students, he always stressed compound exercises - that is, exercises that required two more muscle groups to be involved in the execution. Lee's reasoning was simple: he wanted harmony among all of his muscle groups so they could generate power in concert and would combine to accomplish a single objective.

"Above all, never cheat on any exercise city; use the amount of weight that you can handle without strain." - Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee experimented with many different martial arts and supplemental training programs. For example by looking at his 1963 training records we learn that Lee was working out and what would have to be described as a traditional fashion: he was performing forms or spending hours on the wooden dummy.

By 1970 his workouts were perfect examples of efficient cross training weight training for strength, running and cycling for cardiovascular efficiency, stretching for flexibility, the heavy bag for timing and applied power, and the speed bag for developing rhythm and timing.

"Some guys made not believe it, I spent hours perfecting whatever I did." - Bruce Lee

Winning Tips for Optimum Recovery

Overtraining, as we have seen, is a complex syndrome with no guaranteed solutions. However, certain interventions show promise for prevention and treatment. A key concept is recovery, the antithesis of overtraining. One of the biggest difficulties in dealing with motivated but overtrained athletes is that the interventions generally consist of asking them to do less: “Take a day off from training.” “Take it easier on those intervals.” “Don’t do that workout.” “You’re hurting yourself by training too much.” The idea of doing less presents a dilemma to athletes who likely became good through tough training and pushing through the bad days and who are seduced by “if this much training is good, more must be better” thinking. They overtrain by simply doing more of what made them good. The message of doing less is therefore extremely difficult for these athletes to hear and goes against most training philosophies. A typical reaction: “What do you mean, do less? My competitors aren’t taking a day off.”

Recent developments in research on overtraining have shifted focus from overtraining to the idea of underrecovery. Instead of telling an athlete to cease some aspect of training, we can instead channel their need for action toward recovery activities. Indeed, the concept of effective, regular, and varied recovery activities has become part of the language of today’s smart, professional athlete, which is also the best way to sell it. Statements like “You’re not doing everything you can to succeed if you’re not taking care of your recovery” challenge athletes to tackle recovery (and decrease susceptibility to overtraining) in a way that telling them to reduce their training regimen never could. How can coaches and athletes recovery principles to enhance training and decrease the chance of overtraining? Individualization is key. The

first step is to incorporate recovery systematically into training. If a periodized training program is used, it’s important to incorporate more recovery activities into the higher-volume and more-intensive training periods.

An ideal training program that incorporates passive and active recovery activities should include a variety of techniques. Just as there are numerous ways to work on endurance training (hill running, strength and conditioning programs, sustained skill practice), and good coaches mix things up to maintain motivation, there are many ways to enhance recovery. Coaches and athletes should keep this aspect of their training programs as fresh and interesting as the rest of their training.

Coaches must be good teachers and enforcers of recovery principles with their athletes. For example, an active rest day at the track shouldn’t turn into a track meet if rest is the goal. Particularly at the elite level of sport, athletes need to learn that

appropriate recovery is as much a part of their job as is their training regimen, diet, or sleep.

When To Use Heat On An Injury

Heat has been used for thousands of years in the treatment of different types of pain. Experience shows that it has a beneficial effect on pain arising from inflammation, which is the body’s defense mechanism in cases of injury due either to accident or to overuse. Injuries caused by trauma or overuse, such as ligament injuries and muscle ruptures, are often treated during the acute stage by cooling and bandaging so that the bleeding in the injured area is limited. After the initial 48 hours, heat treatment can be introduced to help the healing process. Heat may be started once the risk of hemorrhage is over, and aids healing by increasing the blood flow to the injured area.

If an injury is treated by heat applications in its acute stage the blood vessels expand, and the blood clotting procedure may be disrupted. The amount of fluid in the tissue increases. This leads to increased bleeding in the injured area, increased swelling and higher pressure in the surrounding tissues. The result may be more pain and slower healing than would otherwise be the case.

Perhaps the most important effect of heat treatment is its influence on collagen fibers. A tendon is composed of 90% collagen fibers and 10% elastic fibers. Collagen has viscous and elastic properties, which means that the more rapidly a tendon is loaded, the stiffer it becomes. Heat increases elasticity and plasticity, so after its application the collagen fibers become more flexible and more capable of rehabilitation exercises. Heat also decreases joint stiffness and relieves muscle spasm. This reduces the risk of injury.

Heat can be used in both the prevention and rehabilitation of overuse injuries and to combat the aftereffects of torn muscles and tendons. It can be valuable during warm-up before training sessions and competitions and in cold weather, increasing the mobility of joints.

What To Do In Case Of Emergency | Injury Management For Coaches

When muscles, tendons, or ligaments are damaged, blood vessels in the area are also torn, and bleeding spreads rapidly into adjacent tissues. The bleeding causes swelling, placing increased pressure on surrounding tissues, which become tense and tender. The increased pressure causes pain in sensitive tissues, and the combination of bleeding, swelling, and increased pressure can adversely affect and delay the healing process.

Once bleeding has been controlled, some blood remains in the tissues and has to be resorbed. This function is performed mainly by the lymphatic system. A variable amount of scar tissue forms in the area and constitutes a weak spot in the injured muscle, tendon, or ligament. If too early or too heavy a load is applied to this scar tissue, injury is liable to recur.

Sports injuries may take so many different forms that it is impossible to create a standard protocol for their management. Certain guidelines for immediate treatment can, however, be drawn up.

– Listen to the injured athlete’s description of how the injury occurred and what symptoms are present.

– The injury should be examined in the light of the history. Is there any bleeding, swelling, an open wound, or any other abnormal sign?

– A simple functional assessment of the injured part should be made. Can the injured athlete carry out normal movements of the part (with or without a load) without pain?

– The area around the injury should be examined. Is there tenderness in soft tissues or bone? Can a defect be felt in any soft tissue?

If there is swelling and tenderness together with pain when movements are made or a load is applied, treatment should be started as follows.

Compression

A compression bandage is intended to provide counter-pressure to the bleeding developing within the injured area, so that the body’s own functions can take effect more easily. A compression bandage is an elastic bandage applied with careful tension. It should be applied as soon as possible. It is convenient to position an ice pack with the aid of an elastic bandage so that cooling and compression effects are achieved simultaneously. The compression bandage should be kept in position usually for another 2 days after cooling has ceased, provided the location and extent of the injury allow it.

Ice

When soft tissue injuries occur, the first priority is to attempt to stop the bleeding, since this results in swelling, pain, and tenderness. Therefore, in soft tissue injuries, reduce the extent of the bleeding by compression bandaging, rapid cooling, an elevated position of the injured limb, and rest. This enables the body's self healing mechanisms to take effect more easily. The use of ice on the injured body tissues brings about:

– a local pain-relieving effect which makes the injured athlete feel better and may encourage a return to sporting activity. Here trainers and coaches have a great responsibility: if an injury needs cooling it is probably of such severity that further exertion will only delay healing. Common sense should prevail;

– contraction of the blood vessels so that the blood flow is reduced in the injured area. The effect of the treatment is limited and does not really start for 15 minutes. Less swelling may occur and healing proceed more rapidly.

***Heat treatment should not be started until at least 48 hours after the injury has occurred. 

The same applies to massage.***

Ice is usually applied for 15–20 minutes per treatment and may be applied hourly for the first 24–72 hours after the injury. During each application of cold therapy, four progressive sensations will be experienced: cold, burning, aching, and numbness.

***Ice therapy has mainly a pain-inhibiting effect. Icing will therefore mask the real extent of the injury. There

is a great risk that an injury will get worse if the athlete resumes activity after cooling.***

Rest

It is generally true to say that an injured athlete should rest the injured part for 24–48 hours and that it should not be subjected to loading. It follows, therefore, that the athlete should be assisted from the scene of the injury and taken home or to a doctor, as soon as possible. Crutches are usually very helpful.

Elevation

When an injured part is elevated, its blood flow is reduced, and expelled blood is transported away from the site of injury more easily, thus reducing swelling. An injured leg that is elevated should be supported at an angle of more than 45° when the patient is lying supine. Four or five cushions or a stool placed under the leg will achieve this effect. In cases of extensive bleeding and swelling the injured part should be kept elevated for 24–48 hours if possible. Subsequently, it should be elevated whenever the opportunity arises.

Pain relief

Cooling, compression, and rest usually provide relief from pain in soft tissue injuries. Pain-relieving medication may be given if the examination is complete but should be avoided in the early stages as it can complicate further treatment if continued analysis and medical examination are required.

Injured athletes should seek a medical opinion within 24–48 hours in cases of:

– persistent symptoms arising from injuries to muscle, tendon, joint, or ligament;

– severe pain.

It is generally true to say that a doctor should be consulted if there is any uncertainty about the diagnosis, and thus the treatment, of any sports injury.

A medical opinion should be sought urgently in any of the following circumstances:

– unconsciousness or persistent headache, nausea, vomiting, or dizziness after a head injury;

– breathing difficulties after blows to the head, neck or chest;

– pains in the neck after impact, whether or not they extend to the arms;

– abdominal pain;

– blood in the urine;

– fracture or suspected fracture;

– severe joint or ligament injury;

– severe muscle or tendon injury;

– dislocation;

– severe eye injury;

– deep wound with bleeding;

– injuries with intense pain;

– any injury in which there is doubt about its severity, diagnosis or treatment.

Plyometrics for Beginners

First formalized in the early 1960’s as a scientific training system by Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky. The earliest published use of the term seems to be in a Soviet publication in 1966. Dr Verkhoshansky favored the term ‘shock method’ to distinguish between naturally occurring plyometric actions in sport and the training system he devised to develop speed-strength. Plyometric training has been demonstrated to improve jumping ability Such “bounce” training is widely utilized in strength programs designed to develop power or speed-strength.

Plyometrics are a form of explosive exercises that creates what called a Stretch Reflex in the muscle. The muscle goes from an eccentric action to a concentric action quickly. The nervous system is highly excitable during this action. The goal is to improve how quickly an athlete can apply force to the ground or another object and move either the body, as in sprinting or jumping, or a ball or implement, as in throwing or hitting. 

With youths and beginners, the variables of maturation and experience compound the problem of determining when and how to begin a plyometric training program. Even thought the actual purpose of plyometric training or shock training, as it is originally referred to, was initially intended to be done at higher intensities, it can and should be modified so that even the pre-adolescent athlete can participate in activities that require quick jumping. Examples of these would be jump rope, hop scotch, and Ladder drills. It is important to understand that the athlete must have a solid strength foundation in order to advance into more intense plyometrics. But even youngsters can participate in lower level plyometrics A maximum squat of 11⁄2-2 times body weight has been recommended by some Eastern Bloc authorities as a prerequisite for plyometric training. This goes along with traditional training patterns which normally follow the sequence of maximal force development preceding speed or plyometric training in the yearly cycle.

However, Eastern Bloc literature concerning youth strength training utilizes various forms of “bouncing” activities starting as young as 7-8 years. A squat of 11/2- 2 times a child’s body weight as a prerequisite for such training is highly questionable and was probably never intended for such a population. Maximum strength activities are not recommended for pre-pubescent or pubescent athletes, yet plyometric activities can be utilized throughout childhood. The key to all of this is proper training loads, dependent upon age and stage of biological development Even among mature athletes, a minimum strength level necessary to begin a plyometric program has been questioned. This is not to say that maximum strength training is not necessary, for it occupies a very important part of power development. Plyometric training should be taught using very basic drills and gradually progress to a more advanced level that is suited and needed for the particular athlete or group of athletes.

Prior to beginning any plyometric program the coach should instruct all athletes on the proper techniques of landing and jumping. Even though, during plyometric exercises there isn’t much time spent on the ground, Landing is the most important aspect of keeping the athletes safe. The following drills are all simple to learn and teach and allow athletes of any age athlete to learn coordination while improving upon the foundation of plyometric training.

Line Drills

Ladder Drills   

Low Box Drills 

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FOCUS: THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Hard work is a key to success. However, winning is more than just working hard. It’s working smart. It’s having a direction and focus. It’s having a plan and working the plan. A plan involves defining what has to be done, how to go about doing it, who will do it, and setting time lines. With winning teams it’s very much about everyone working the plan together. Working the plan is an expression of organization, direction, and cooperation. It involves a coordinated effort by a group of people directing their energy efficiently and effectively.

When Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach, was asked by a prominent industrialist, “What makes a winning team?” Lombardi said, “The players have to know their jobs.” First you need to tell people exactly what is expected of them. “Once you know specifically what you want your team to be doing in the future, then you need to measure it.

Focus is a key to success. Winning teams share a winning focus. There’s an awareness of where they’re going, what has to be done, and a belief in their capability as a group to execute the plan. Focusing on what the competition is doing can be limiting. Instead, focus primarily on what you are working to create, and how you are trying to improve relative to an absolute standard of excellence.

The pattern of defining what has to be done, communicating it to team members, rehearsing, executing the plan, and then assessing and adjusting is key to success in most endeavors. As the coach said, “The players have to know their jobs.”

Focus is key to superior performance, and the plan is a blueprint for focus.