Chest Used in Martial Arts?

[Legion Kreinak]

I was wondering, any of you guys out there that do or know about training for martial arts... is there a reason to train your chest? Abs, legs, and arms I would consider the sources of power for your attacks and the like, but chest just seems out of place. I was thinking of ceasing my benching since chest doesn't seem all that important. Someone please give me feedback.

 

[danielson]

well i think there is

your chest will be used a little during punches, but also moves where you expand your rib cage out and then draw it back in.....its hard to explain, i do crane style so its seen as a bird expanding its chest but it develops power on hooking punches etc

and IMHO its not good to leave one part of your body lacking in strength as 1 its a weakness you will always have and 2 it will hamper the development of other body parts. i would definately keep training chest, io like compound movements, and bench press is one of them, even if it doesnt hit the pecs as much as youd think

 

[Legion Kreinak]

Ah, and just wondering how you feel about flat vs. inclined bench? I hear flat gives a set of "bitch-tits" because it works your lower chest moreso. Would you recommend doing inclined over flat? Right now I do inclined DB and inclined DB flies.

 

[danielson]

for looks, incline chest will build up the upper chest, or its said to. reaslistically it probably only puts a bit more stress on the upper chest, so its not like its some super upper chest builder

but you;d probably have to be training a really long time till flat bench made u look like u had bitch tits. i tend to mix it up a bit, i do some of each (flat, incline, p-dips etc)

as for what makes u punch better, i doubnt it makes that much difference. u can bench more when you go flat (ive found) but that doesnt necessarily mean u punch harder....id just keep mixing it up and train your back too it helps your punch apparently

 

[Legion Kreinak]

Back workouts... hm, I don't like standing BO Rows, but I hear another variation are the "Lying Rows" where you lie on your stomach on an incline, letting the dumbbells hang down to your sides, shoulders stretched forward, then you pull your arms up, elbows latched to your side, to simulate a standing BO Row. Will this work the back just as well, because lying down it doesn't put nearly as much stress on the mid-back. Know what I mean? Yeah...

 

[danielson]

not sure......yuou can do bent over rows well enough provided you keep good firm and work slowly not jerkng the weight

ive seen peole do the lying rows but i;ve never tried em myself

seated cable rows are really good IMHO

i also do T bar rows and chins, lat pull downs currently. used to do BO rows, but i didnt really like the movement all that much

 

[Legion Kreinak]

Cool, hey danielson, not to keep buggin ya, but what would you recommend for a martial artist in training? like 12-15 reps withlighter weight for more muscular endurance, or 6-8 reps and heavy weight for more bulk and strength, because I hear endurance training is generally better...

 

[bigazzmofo]

Personally back and shoulders would be my primary concern when it comes to punching. In fact, the entire body should be worked. I was in the MA for 8 years and we were always told to punch with the entire body not just with arm. Legs play a very important role in punching and kickin (naturally). Take away a man's legs and he can't punch as hard as he could on his feet. That is why I love Jui Jitsu... woohooo..

 

[Legion Kreinak]

Mofo, care to tell me how you strenght trained for the arts? Light weight/more reps or the opposite?

 

[bigazzmofo]

Weights were all we done as far as strenght training. We did alot of high endurance moves, like running, sparring for hours on end until we couldn't stand up. My instructor was big on endurance adn stamina. We would weight train 2-3 days a week, right after we would run, then spar.
We did a wide variety of weight training exercises, mostly bench, decline, incline, flat, curls, tri's, tons of back and lat exercises, shoulders and delts, and yes, legs. answer your ?????