One of the main aspects of success in most sports disciplines is explosive power.
Explosive training is training that combines strength and speed to increase your power output. Explosive power drills are often used by athletes who need to generate a quick burst of maximal effort.
In martial arts it is doubly important. Many experienced coaches tell athletes the old well-known axiom: "The power of the punch comes from the feet."
It makes absolutely no difference if you are a boxer, a Muay Thai boxer, a karate fighter or an MMA fighter, this rule works for everyone. The strength of punches has the same basis - a "solid" footing. When you throw a punch, force is generated from your legs. That force transfers through the core, through the shoulders, out of your knuckles, and into your opponent. Thing is, if you’re unstable, you will leak force in this process. This will result in weaker punches.
One way to increase explosive power is through sprints.
With a little practice of "sprints" you will feel significant improvement in training, punching speed, speed of movement. Sprint training solves the reciprocal opposite - to achieve maximum results with minimum energy expenditure. The basis of sprinter training is repetitive running at maximum speed, short distance (30-50 m). The rest time between repetitions should be no more than 2 minutes.
Sprints of different inclinations and lengths are one of the best sprinting exercises. But it is also a good idea to run as fast as possible under a hill - this will help you develop coordination and speed.
With systematic sprinting, the number of enzymes responsible for the breakdown and resynthesis of our universal and efficient energy source, adenosine triphosphate, or ATP in sports literature, increases. During muscle work, ATP is broken down and energy is released, which our body uses. And then ATP resynthesis - continuous recovery - begins.
That is, our body is constantly producing a new source of energy. And when you train for a sprint, you can train your body so that this ATP replenishment (and therefore the new supply of energy) happens faster - and this has a direct impact on performance, on quality of work and on the ability to maintain a higher physical effort.
Let's summarise what we fighters get out of sprinting:
- optimisation of intermuscular coordination (movement economy and, consequently, reduced fatigue)
- increase of explosive power
- pumping of muscle groups and ligaments of the whole body
- Speed increase (through working out the fast fibers)
- endurance increase
- energy flow due to increased ATP resynthesis
- A powerful effect on all the body's systems, helping speed up the metabolism
What is better: sprints or endurance running?
As a fighter you would need both skills in a fight - power and explosion to throw a good punch and endurance for oxidative muscles to keep you from being tired too soon. Sprinting has been shown to increase fast twitch muscles whereas standard running increases slow twitch and fast oxidative muscles. It’s been suggested that endurance training helps recovery from sprinting. So the best way is to combine both types of running in a fight preparation.
How often do you include sprints in your training?
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