Strength Training for Krav Maga

AnnieLewandowski302
AnnieLewandowski302 Posts: 17 Member
edited 1:50AM in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys, I'm looking for recommendations for strength training that will specifically benefit my Krav Maga practice. I'm hoping to improve overall strength, balance, and also speed/reaction time. Right now I'm doing TRX as I think it helps with balance and stability as well as strength, but was looking for other ideas as well - maybe something else I can rotate into my workouts. Free weights? Yoga? Any other ideas? I appreciate your input!

Replies

  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    Are you training with someone in Krav maga?
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    AnnieLewandowski302 wrote: »
    Hey guys, I'm looking for recommendations for strength training that will specifically benefit my Krav Maga practice. I'm hoping to improve overall strength, balance, and also speed/reaction time. Right now I'm doing TRX as I think it helps with balance and stability as well as strength, but was looking for other ideas as well - maybe something else I can rotate into my workouts. Free weights? Yoga? Any other ideas? I appreciate your input!

    If you're practicing Krav Maga regularly, that will do far more to improve your skills than anything else. The problem with incorporating balance and quickness into strength training is it reduces how much actual strength you can gain, because more energy is "wasted" on non-target muscles. So i would follow a standard, proven strength program, using mostly freeweights and/or machines, using heavy weight. See the pinned post for a list of options.

    While there are general speed & balance exercises you could do, the carryover benefit to Krav Maga isn't as great as actually practicing Krav Maga. I'd spend more time practicing your weak moves regularly, preferably under the guidance of a good coach. :+1:
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    edited April 2018
    With Krav Maga, the best thing you can work on is endurance. Strength/speed/balance, those things don't matter near as much as can you last more than a few seconds at 100%. Can you outrun your attacker once you can disengage? If you want to add conditioning, I would concentrate on boxing and cardio.

    Edit - Remember the basis of Krav is how to get out of an attack from someone stronger/faster/bigger than yourself.
  • AnnieLewandowski302
    AnnieLewandowski302 Posts: 17 Member
    MostlyWater, yes I'm practicing at a MMA facility 3x/week.

    Cherimoose, Thanks for the feedback! I was mostly hoping to incorporate things like balance because when I'm doing defensive kicks and I do the "see-saw" I feel pretty off-balance and that makes me feel like I'm not getting a very strong kick. I'm not sure if it's a strict balance issue or not, but I'm videoing myself practicing at home and will take that in soon to see if my instructors feel that it's balance or something else. Also, I've definitely realized I need to work more on my stuff at home too. 3x/week in class is great, but I still need the practice on my own. I have a punching bag and just bought a kick-shield, so I can practice on my husband. :)

    mom23mangos, Yes! I was just talking to my instructor the other day after we did an aggression drill where I had 3 attackers for 90 seconds. 90 seconds never felt so long! I asked him afterwards about how to improve that stamina and he gave me some ideas. He likes the tabata method. 20 seconds all-out, 10 seconds rest for 8 sets, for whatever the exercise may be - punches, sprints, or even burpees, etc.

    Thanks everyone for the feedback!
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