i'm only 15 years old and is a good idea for me to start weight lifting or should i just concentrate on bodyweight exercises e.g. push ups.

could someone also give me a good routine and exercises aswell please.

i don't think 15 is too young to start weight-training. just be sure you have a good trainer. and also, be sure to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

for a good weight-lifting program check out bodyforlife.com

and also, i recommend that you search and read through almost all of kickboxer's threads. he's about your age and has asked us a TON of questions about this stuff; you might find some of it relevant.

best of luck in your training !

Lol anurak. It seems that my thread was good for something, now chaotik_mind can learn from my faults and mistakes.

Chaotik, listen to what the people on this forum say. TRUST THEM. They will not let you down. I have to thank everyone on this board who helped me learn about the whole bodybuilding topic and now I have a great deal of knowledge (well, I would call it a great deal but I'm not an expert) about bodybuilding. I'm 15 now and I don't do any bodybuilding, though I want to. This is best discussed with my martial arts instructor but I won't worry about it right now.

Another good site to visit is John Stone Fitness. Register on the forums and ask the members for help. They can give you all the info you want. They have taught me so much about bodybuilding. You can also read a few books about bodybuilding. I recommend Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" and Anthony Ellis' "The Secret to Gain Muscle Mass...FAST". Tom's book deals more with fat loss, and Anthony's book deals more with gaining muscle mass. Still, I recommend you to get these books if possible.

Right now, here are some facts and tips that I have learned throughout my time on this forum and John Stone's:

Abdominal Muscles:
-abdominal muscles, commonly called "abs" are not easy to get
-you can not spot reduce meaning that you work one body part excessively and hope that you will see good results, the proper way of getting abs is to lower your bodyfat and then exercise the abs
-crunches, reverse crunches and any kind of twisting crunches or situps are good exercises
-it is a subject of debate of how effective crunches are for working the lower abs, you might want to add the squat and reverse crunch if you want to work your lower abs
-to get well define abdominal muscles it will take time (believe me, I do not have well defined abs but I am still working hard for it) and patience, it doesn't happen overnight
-you should only work your abdominals once or twice a week, NO MORE than that

Nutrition:
-fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat are essential
-an easy way of understanding proper nutrition is to think that you should mostly eat natural and unprocessed foods because normally these are the healthier foods
-to increase your metabolism (the process of burning calories) you need to do things like eating 6 meals a day, drinking lots of water and getting lots of exercise
-6 meals and 8 glasses of water a day will get your metabolism fired up
-avoid: sodium (salt), saturated and trans fats, sugar and keep them at healthy levels
-if you want to keep a nutrition diary (where you record what you eat, when you eat, etc.) it is ok
-avoid fast food, but you can eat it once a week (a cheat meal)
-though you should avoid bad foods, remember that you need some amounts of sugar and some types of fats (the healthy fats, I believe they are called fatty acids)
-avoid soft drinks and sugary drinks
-not all great tasting food comes from fast food restaurants or is cooked in unhealthy ways

Weightraining:
-there are two types of training: bulk training (to build mass) and cut training (to become more cut, in other words to become more ripped and well defined)
-muscle mass is gained by eating healthy, working out and resting
-you must eat healthy when working out otherwise you won't really make any progress
-you must give your muscles a rest because muscle mass is built during rest, not during training
-you should start small and gradually increase your quantity (how much reps you do, etc.) and things like that
-do not work all of your muscles on the same day, work different muscle groups on different days, example:Monday: Abs, Tuesday: Tricep, Bicep, Deltoids, etc.
-start small, do not workout every day when you are just starting, you should start with two or three days and increase it from there
-drink water before, after and during your workouts
-eat healthy carbohydrates, proteins and fatty acids
-eat meals with lots of protein

Bodyweight exercises
-bodyweight exercises, also called Calisthenics are things like pushups, situps, etc.
-pushups have MANY variations to them and different variations work different muscles
-in general, pushups will help to tone your chest and shoulders
-squats will tone your quadriceps muscles (its in your thigh) and it is, in my opinion, the easiest exercise and it will help the quads which grow and develop faster than any other muscle
-squats may also help with lower abs
-Calisthenics are not really a bodybuilders choice, because they focus more on weights and less on Calisthenics but they are still good

Stretching
-stretching increases flexibility and it is vital if you want to lift weights (you don't need to become super flexible, but it is advised that you stretch before you do bodybuilding, martial arts or anything like that

Misc:
-you are not too young to start training
-weightraining, despite the myths, and as long as it's done properly is NOT bad for your growth
-Red Bull, in my opinion, is a good drink and there is nothing wrong with it, just don't drink more than two cans a day and drink lots of water after you drink it, and don't mix it with alcohol!
-coffee and tea are ok to drink, just do not consume more than three or four cups a day (my standard is 4-5, I'm a caffeine freak)
-martial arts is a good way to get into shape

Overall:
-your situation is best explained with a trainer, but it is ok to get help from us and you can ask the people at John Stone Fitness forums
-remember that this whole subject involves a LIFESTYLE CHANGE, you must be willing to change your life around and stick to this, otherwise you can get the body you've always wanted...and then you could lose it before you know it, remember LIFESTYLE CHANGE
-this is a lengthy process, it does not happen overnight, in one month, etc. it will take months and years and lots of TIME

I wish you all the best with this. I hope you have learned some stuff from my tips and facts that I wrote above. Also, if you want to talk about this in private, feel free to Private Message me. We are both in the same boat, know what I mean?

kickboxer, i'm really proud of you

thanks kickboxer. your info is really helpful. i dont want to do weights for bodybuilding or to increase muscle mass, i just want to do it for martial arts to become more efficient, powerful etc.

are the bodyweight exercises enough for this purpose? could someone reccomend a routine please.

thanks for all your help

If you won't grow up again, this is a good idea to start bodybuilding...on the otherside, if you continue to grow up, just do some exerice like chain up, set-up and abs, cause bodybuilding can stop your growth if your program are related to increass your mass! But if you have a cut training, this is the best way to develop your skills in martials art!

Hello again, chaotik_mind.

questions:

1) Are you planning or have signed up in martial arts? (muay thai, right?)

My suggestion; A good MA school will help you training to build your stamina and have more energy.

2) You want to workout on your own to build power?

I believe [as anurak suggested] healthy food with a balance diet, good exercize can help you build more energy and with that mentally you will feel "powerful". And a good amount of sleep factors in to your daily mood in working out.

3) Do you want to skip the MA school for now and create a workout on your own?

______________________________


Here is our Tae Kwon Do exercise routin for teens or beginners...

a. Stretching:
If you want to be flexible, the obvious is to regularly do arms, shoulders, leg stretchings, but do NOT over stretch. The power stretching can come later when you can do Chinese stretches or American stretches.

b. Running:
Start with a mile run, then as you build more stamina, increase to 2 miles.

c. Sets:
You have your basics, 20 sets each of Jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups, bicycle leg exercises, leg lifts, body lifts <(you may need a partner for this). Chin ups. OK, most of this are pretty much what you probably do in gym class, but it also applies to MA.

d. Kicking and punching (with a partner holding a padag will do)
You need to do 10 set each, both legs,...10 Front snap kicks, 10 roundhouse, 10 Ax kicks ("bata loop pak" if you prefer, their both different techniques), 10 reverse kicks.
There are other more advance kicks, but you do not need them......Combos: straight punch w/ a front snap kick, punch with a roundhouse....... As you do advance you naturally create a combination of kicking and punches.

Yes, Your body weight is enough, for what you are looking for. Are you a light weight?

Now please, I did my best to help you out with the basics as I help train students back in class. If it is not enough for you, there are other exercises.

Someone may still suggest a different more efficient exercise routin for you.

Good luck!

thanks again. i am a lightweight and i have a very high metabolism also. i cant seem to gain weight or lose weight.

can you give me some exercises on arm calisthenics because i want to develop my arms but dont want to do weights.

chaotik_mind, you first need to plan to eat properly, with lots of protien (eggs) & fruits for you to build muscles. I feel that you are looking to skip the hard work and just do little and hope to expect results.....

Here are some choices in MA forms broken down for you to maybe clearly understand what martial arts suits you. These below are the best disciplines. Almost all forms build core power,
which is essential to the basic moves like punches amd kicks.

For BALANCE kung fu, aikido, kendo, taichi
For COORDINATION jujitsu, aikido, kung fu, capoeira
For FLEXIBILITY aikido, tae kwondo, capoeira
For MUSCULAR ENDURANCE judo, jujitsu
For SPEED karate, kendo, kickboxing.

My oldest son (12) takes Kendo and his arms are solid from the hard exercises they do with the Shinai and Bokken. Even at 12 years of age, it is amazing that he could develop hard muscles. But we feed him the proper nutrition as well. Both my boys can do a complete split, that's from years in tae kwon do workout.

An alternative exercises with a baseball bat can also help you slowly develop arm muscles.

You're the man maxi, very correct .
just want to add some advice to chaotik_mind.
Wang you school(my school) as banish the weight rule. the weight are no good to martial artists(i'm sure someone will not agree), because they block our muscular articulations and your strykes will became short and slow is not only my opiniona bout the weights but almost all wang you mon doen't work with weights.
I recomend the same as maxi, and taekwondo is a great MA to pratice flexiblity(maxi, you forgot gynastic )
AND TO BONE ENDURACE- of corse muay thai.

You guys was reallly great, i'm happy for every one.



With your age i don't know if you are allowed to make arms flexions, is better wait for the others opinion before i post, or you can ask to your teacher.

historically, weight training in one form or another has always been part of most martial arts curriculum. certain styles of karate have walking excercises in which they hold heavy weights (jars filled with sand) in each hand. traditional shaolin training has a lot of weight-training excercises. in fact, weapons sets could have been considered weight-training devices.

don't ever think that size and strength are not advantageous to a martial artist. weight-training should be part of the training of almost any serious martial artist. now, i don't mean body-builder weight lifting. but light or moderate weight-training is crucial.

of course, there are exceptions. i know people who are incredibly strong and have never done any weight-training whatsoever. they have been genetically gifted. most people are not so fortunate... like me

If you want to be like Tony Jaa kids..
Jaa trains 8 hours a day...... and he doesn't do any weight lifting.
No wonder he's so light huh... lol.

First, Welcome back eddy,

eddy, If you noticed, most of my MA examples are martial arts FOR chaotik_mind.

You are still correct that Gymnastics can be applied as an optional routin exercize for flexibility.

I did not include Muay Thai, being that we are ALL aware of Muay Thai training.
chaotik_mind even has his mind set on Muay Thai, therefore, I gave other examples of
alternative martial arts that he can look into.... Coppish?!

I did not forget, but thank you very much for the added advise.

First thank you very much.

You are right, i just put muay thai because by this way he can became powerful without lift weights .