How fit can you get doing karate?

[combatultime]

I'm talking about 3-4 times a week.

I'm sure it greatly improves cardio, endurance, flexibility, concentration, etc, but is it enough to for example lose weight and get ripped or do you usually need to supplement it with a weight lifting training 2 or 3 times a week?

[Nix]

It depends on your body structure and dedication, but yes. You will get fit and lose weight while practicing knock-down karate 3-4 times a week. You will also grow stronger, however it also depends on how much your sensei focuses on that. Strong stomack muscles is almost guaranteed, though, however It will not turn you into Dolph Lundgren. For that, you need to pump some iron.

[MilkManX]

It is gonna greatly depend on the dojo.

One that I went too we didnt do alot to get the heart pumping and did lots of Kata. I didnt get any stronger or lose weight.

The dojo that I am at now is a good balance. We speed through the basics and get the heartrates up then do sparring and partner drills.

I have lost alot with this and now adding weightraining and some boxing at home.

[Spirit]

To get ripped as you so wish to be comes more from diet than training....

As for getting in shape or not well that depends on
1) the sensei
2) the type of class one teaches
3) if you train hard and push yourself
4) your diet
5) if you drink tonic
6) are you living in the now or in the past
7) your daily habits
8) your job
9) your family life
I could go on but .....

It seems like you have to many goals going on at once, focus on just learning what is being taught and let the training aid you. As you improve so will your training and your body.

[KyoKrazyRussian]

Like spirit said, it's all about what you put into training. A lot of cardio will make you lose weight, for example: sparring . Also diet is important, try not to eat a lot of junk food, stuff with additives or preservatives is bad for you, try to drink only water/juice. I recommend having very small meals throughout the day, which will keep your body going without stuffing it with a huge dinner/huge lunch.. basically, good nutrition and good exercise will get you where you want to fast if you work hard on it..

Don't go into kyokushin looking into getting ripped. Go into kyokushin learning techniques for combat and becoming a great person in society. If you want a ripped body, go to a gym. I don't mean no disrespect but kyokushin was designed to get your muscles ''toned''. Of course there's nothing wrong with doing some added weight lifting , but not overdoing it.

[Dent]

Osu!

Originally Posted by KyoKrazyRussian

try to drink only water/juice.

One word on juices. Many have very high levels of sugar. I was told to cut back on them after a visit to my GP last year.

Osu!

[combatultime]

Yeah I was just asking the question like that... just to see your views. I don't have any goals of getting ripped right now, just trying to get in shape and Karate should help me to do it while I am enjoying myself.

As for the diet, I have some pretty good knowledge on it already, thanks for the info's though!

I pretty much only drink water, V8, sometimes orange juice in the morning and from time to time 1% milk. Also Gatorade/Powerade when I do long cardio sessions.

[jcc]

Originally Posted by Dent

Osu!

One word on juices. Many have very high levels of sugar. I was told to cut back on them after a visit to my GP last year.

Osu!

Osu!

I think that there is a lot of crap out there claiming to be 'fruit juice'. Always read the label carefully and stick to pure juices, not made from concentrates, or better still make them yourself A friend of mine makes some amazing juice mixes, with stuff you would never think of mixing in, like carrot and peppers, but they all taste great.

[robato]

Osu!

Not sure about in general, but in my experience, it does a good bit for your upper-body physique. I'm a runner in my own personal training, and I found that karate did a lot to buff out my upper body. I also noticed that my conditioning from running gave me a decided edge when it came to sparring, because I had more energy and better endurance.

[ANTSAN]

Depending on the dojo I believe you will get very fit at karate, if anything your stamina will certainly increase, if your over weight, you'll probably loose a bit - but it all comes down to the individual and how hard they will push themselves. Personally im not really convinced you'll build alot of muscle at karate, though you will tone up. For the sort of muscle building ideal for martial arts I'm a fan of the kettlebell which I use at home inbetween training sessions, helps cardio too. Free weights are also good.

[chen3141]

Originally Posted by ANTSAN

Depending on the dojo I believe you will get very fit at karate, if anything your stamina will certainly increase, if your over weight, you'll probably loose a bit - but it all comes down to the individual and how hard they will push themselves. Personally im not really convinced you'll build alot of muscle at karate, though you will tone up. For the sort of muscle building ideal for martial arts I'm a fan of the kettlebell which I use at home inbetween training sessions, helps cardio too. Free weights are also good.

I've seen some karateka built like a bull, I've also seen some skinny as a pole. However the skinny ones can do the pushups, pullups, running and have just as good form and more importantly good fighting spirit.

[blazindave]

Any sport will get you in shape, if you put the passion and work into it.
However it's best to train at home and attend class.

[KyoKrazyRussian]

Some juice is awful, there would be like 200g of sugar, I'm talking about healthy juice, which the sugar is fructose(natural sugar). Anyways, I'm glad I could be of some assistance.

[tmd]

Like all life you only get out of it what you put in - I have seen plenty of unfit 'Martial Artists' in my time (training twice a week and claiming it's genetics/ big bones/ glandular etc etc - it ain't it's just plane lazy) and plenty of 'fighting fit' people who just live there lives with intensity and passion.

Train hard + eat well = get fit; there's no secret, just perseverance and good practice.

[powerof0ne]

Originally Posted by Dent

Osu!



One word on juices. Many have very high levels of sugar. I was told to cut back on them after a visit to my GP last year.

Osu!

I got with a Dietician back in November and had blood work done, the whole kit n' caboodle. Anyhow, my dietician had a lot to say about juice, basically think that when you drink one glass you're eating a piece of fruit..and that one glass being 8-12 ounces. Juice isn't very fulfilling is what the problem is, you're better off eating a piece of fruit instead of drinking the juice because it's more fulfilling. That is, if getting "ripped" is your goal.
If you have the means to see a dietician and are looking to maximize your workout goals I highly, highly reccomend it because not everybody's body is the same.

[ANTSAN]

In Australia producers have to differentiate by calling the product either "Juice" or "Drink" if the product is less than 60% fruit juice is beomces a fruit drink (Im using ballpark numbers)

Just a peice of trivia there for the Aussie members.