i need a home work out plan to get prepared for martial arts training in about a year.?

Hi I’m age 22, weigh 108, and am 5ft 3in…..not a very big guy. I can not invest money in a gym membership, so I’ve got a couple of dumb bells. My dad said to start with different stretches and after about a month to then start strength training. The problem is I can’t find a good routine for a beginner on stretching or strength training, especially with my limited resources. I want to be able to have a balanced, lean, fast, body. Can anyone help me out with some sort of routine with specific exercises?

Derek is dead on about body weight. Body weight exercises are very good. Many trainers use body weight exercises exclusively. Stretching routines are hard to go through because of the detail needed to explain them. I listed in the sources a link to one stretching video on Youtube. The channel is Technique Prevails. He posts really good videos and has a MMA website which is also linked.

As far as workouts, the thing to remember is that core strength is very important. All your power comes from your core. Assuming that you are just beginning you want to work your way into certain exercises. We use several exercises…push ups, squats, squat jumps, sprawls, sprawls to jumps, mountain climbers, super mans, crunches, toe touches, scissor kicks, alternating lunges, Hindu push ups (awesome), Hindu squats (also awesome), side crunches, bicycles, etc. You can look up any of these on Youtube to get an idea of how they are done. With these you can make up routines. Just try to alternate the muscle groups.

Also remember that cardio is important!

Some routines that we use:

21’s – Start with one push up and go to one squat. Go up to twenty one using only the odd numbers. 1 push up and one squat; three push ups and three squats. When you can do this then go back down. Remember do them as quickly as possible, but correctly.

300’s – You mix up some of the above exercises. 10 exercises 30 times. Trying to do quickly and correctly. Example – 30 Push ups; 30 squats; 30 crunches; 30 pull ups; 30 squat jumps; 30 super mans; 30 push ups; 30 alternating lunges; 30 mountain climber; 30 sprawls. You can mix and match the exercises. And as you get in shape you can throw in harder exercises.

Another routine I have them do is a timed one. It is 20 minutes of activity and can be mixed and matched. When jogging in place throw light punches. 2 min Jog in place; 1 minute of push ups; 1 minute jumping jacks (brisk), 30 seconds sprawls; 30 seconds mountain climbers; 2 minutes jog in place; 1 minute push ups; 1 minute crunches; 1 minute jumping jacks (brisk); 2 minutes jog; 1 minute super mans; 1 minute toe touches; 1 minute jumping jacks (brisk); 1 minute push ups; 1 min jog; 1 minute mountain climbers; 1 minute sprawls; 1 min jumping jacks (brisk). And as before you can change to harder exercises as you progress.

A favorite of mine is what we call the number drill. It is a work out from Bas Rutten. You can have some one call out the commands, you can pre-record work outs on a CD or computer and play them back or you can just randomly call out commands though I prefer the first two. Rounds can be three to five minutes. Usually 30-45 sec rest. When doing the work out you simply follow the command that is given. You stay in your fight stance with hands up at all times and you move. Don’t just stand there. Move a little back, forth, side, etc. For the commands I am going to list them as if you are an orthodox fighter. If you stand south paw just reverse them. Also remember that you do not throw punches as hard as you can. You can hurt your self. Throw them with proper technique and hard and fast enough to get benefit. The commands are as follows:

One – Left jab followed by a right knee knee.
Two – Left Jab, Right Cross followed by a left knee.
Three – Left Jab, Right Cross, Left Hook followed by a right knee.
Four – Left Jab, Right Cross, Left Hook, Right Cross followed by a left knee.
Sprawl – Perform a sprawl and come right back up into stance
Sprawl and stay down – Sprawl and stay down on hands and feet. When this is done commands of right or left will be given. Right – shoot right leg across body (when done correctly your right hip will be parallel with floor). Left – same with left leg.
Up- get up from the sprawl and down position.
Shoot – execute a shot. With out a mat this might be a bad idea. Proper shot. Heel, Toe, Knee.

Hope this helps.

beginner RHYTHMIC YOGA routine