We should point out that we have avoided selecting exercises which require those expensive machines you see in the gyms. Although machines can provide benefit to your training, it is not always possible to shell out the money for the equipment or the gym membership. We will limit our choices to exercises which can be done with minimal equipment.

First of all, a sturdy bench (with an incline feature is recommended). A set of dumbbells, a barbell, and some weight rounds out your strength training equipment requirements. Of course, there are numerous exercises one can do without any equipment whatsoever (eg. Push-ups), however, we would recommend training with weights as it allows you to train the muscles at a higher intensity. We also have a section on "plyometric" training which is an excellent form of training to improve the "explosiveness" or power in your movement. The following sections contain some guidelines which may guide you towards making the most of your weight training:

How often one should train with weights is a constant source of debate. Quite simply, there is no one answer. The correct answer is, very much, tailored to your training specific goals, lifestyle, and your other training commitments (eg. martial arts). Start by asking these questions: Are you looking to put on muscle and become stronger / bigger? Maintaining muscle tone and strength?

Let's start off with muscle and strength building. The are many different opinions when it comes to answering the question of weight training frequency. There is the camp which believes that one intense workout per muscle group per week is optimum. There are those who believe a muscle must be worked twice a week. Then, there are those who fall somewhere in the middle. As a minimum, however, you should allow for 72 hours (three full days) of rest for a particular muscle group if you want to build some muscle in that area. On the flip side, if you rest a muscle group from intense weight training for more than seven (7) days, you run the risk of losing some of those hard-earned gains in muscle and strength. Experimenting with your training frequency will lead you to an optimum weight training plan that meets your goals and time allowances.

How often you train in your martial art surely should have something to with your frequency of weight training. Trying to maintain workouts which hit a muscle twice a week and undergo several intense martial arts or sport-specific workouts may invite overtraining and result in diminishing returns. This is where a periodic training strategy may be of assistance. In your martial arts off-season (if you have one), you may increase your weight training volume and intensity and alter certain nutritional habits to gain muscle and strength. Once your martial arts training resumes, the weight training can be cut back in volume and intensity to a "maintenance" mode.

When planning the frequency of your weight training, the training "split" should be given some thought as well. In other words, should your training session work every part of your body? Or should you split the workouts through the week? Here is some food for thought: For an improvement in muscle mass and strength, a muscle needs an intense workout. In other words, when performing a set of a particular exercise, the last one or two repetitions should be tough to complete and enough sets should be done to exhaust the muscle. It is intensity which gives your muscles a reason to grow and become stronger. The point to all of this is that if you walk into your gym or home fitness area and decide to work your whole body, you have the following to consider:

• How well can you exhaust a muscle group if you have several muscle groups to train in one session. Working all your muscle groups in one workout does not completely exhaust a single muscle group but it is tiring overall. In addition, the muscle group you work last is short-changed even further because you are too tired from working the other muscles!
• How long of a workout can your time schedule or your body afford? It is very difficult to limit your time in the gym if you have several different muscles to work thoroughly.

A rule of thumb that you should abide by is to limit all your weight training workouts to 1 hour. That is, one solid hour of working out and not socializing with your buddies for half the time. There are many different theories to effective training splits. One to consider is this one muscle group per week split:

Day 1: Chest and Triceps
Day 2: Back and Biceps
Day 3: No Weight Training
Day 4: Legs and Abs
Day 5: Shoulders/Neck/Traps
Day 6: No Weight Training
Day 7: No Weight Training

Tailoring the split to meet your goals and time allowances may take a few iterations to come up with that winning formula. We cannot stress enough, however, keep an eye for signs of overtraining: Lethargy, constant soreness, poor sleep, loss of strength, getting sick often, and a lack of motivation to train. When it comes to weight training, more is not necessarily better.

Once we have given some thought to our weight training split, consider the exercise selection and volume in any given workout. Although there is no one right answer, here are some guidelines to consider:

• If you are just starting to incorporate weight training, keep the total amount of working sets to nine (9) per muscle group and after your first year, work your way up to twelve (12) sets. Keep in mind, however, if you do combine your biceps with back training and your triceps with chest training, the volume of biceps and triceps-specific exercises can be limited to six (6) sets since they do receive work when doing the back and chest exercises. Each exercise you perform should start with a warm up set that contains a few more reps and should be fairly easy to complete. The warm up set does not count as a working set.
• Choose 3 to 4 exercises that make up your total set volume. Avoid selecting exercises, during the same workout, which are quite similar in movement. For example, if you do a series of flat bench barbell presses, do not do flat bench dumbbell presses in the same workout. Instead, alternate the two exercises from one chest workout to the other. One of the things that causes a muscle to respond to the stimulus you provide it is variety.
• For strength building, keep the working sets to a repetition range of 8-10. Remember, to train with intensity, those last couple of reps should be tough to complete. Always enlist the services of someone to spot for you to help you through those sticky points.
• For endurance, increase your reps to the 12-15 range and limit the time between sets to 90 seconds. This will also add an element of aerobic training.
• Work the major muscle groups first. For example, when performing chest and triceps work on the same day, do the chest exercises first since the triceps is required to provide stability throughout the chest exercises. You want the pecs to become exhausted before the triceps do. Incidentally, this is why the triceps work is often combined with chest training. It works the triceps harder and then allows for more recovery time between workouts.
• Try to limit the amount of consecutive weight training days to three, especially if you have a busy martial arts schedule. If not, you may begin experiencing symptoms of overtraining.
• It is worth repeating...limit the time you spend in the weight room to one hour.

Use the following links for a selection of simple, but effective, exercises you can do that will send you on your way to improved strength and power.

You should always perform intense weight training when your body is warm....so a few minutes on the stationary bike or some jump rope should be done before you hit the iron. Doing some light stretching before you begin is important as well. For more effective stretching, do your stretches in between sets as well since this is the time where your body temperature is elevated and you will gain the most benefit from the stretch. Refer to our fitness sub-section on flexibility for some ideas.