If your are just starting weight training for Martial Arts then seek expert advice to ensure you are getting the most from your efforts and also to ensure that you are lifting safely. If you learn to lift correctly right from the start, then injuries will be avoided.

Do not forget to warm up well and stretch before any resistance exercise. This will help towards injury prevention.

Do not lift alone! Accidents do happen and athletes have died after getting trapped under a weight that they could not lift back up.

Do not lift weights heavier than your program calls for. You want your weight training for Martial arts to benefit your progress not to cause injury.

Do not work your legs before running as tired leg muscles leaves the joints less protected and can cause jarring on the joints.

Do not forget to use the safety devices provided such as locking collars.

Do not unload a bar one end at a time. It may seem obvious but I’ve seen it done and the bar go flying.

Do not train with weights just before skill training as fatigue will hamper your efforts to learn a new skill.

Do not neglect any part of the body. A neglected muscle could become a weak point for you.

Weight Training for Martial Arts is great but always make sure you train safely!

Many people start Jiu-Jitsu or other Martial Arts and look to reach the Blackbelt level as their ultimate goal. Now this is still agreat acheivment but it is far from the end - It’s just the beginning!

It means that you have learned many techniques and concepts. Now you need to break them down and really understand them, this happens in the repetition of teaching the techniques to others and building on them.

So yes, your Blackbelt is just the beginning, not the end.

Core Training is an essential area of conditioning for Jiu Jitsu at any level. Core training is in fact an essential area of training for any athlete, so be sure to incorporate it into your schedule.

The foundation of your body is your midsection, this not only includes the abdominals, obliques and back but all the muscles that lie deep within the torso. The stronger your torso is, then the more support it can offer to the rest of the body.

On the other hand, if these muscles are weak and unable to give stability to the rest of the body, injury is much more likely to occur.

In Jiu-Jitsu, core training will drastically help to improve your throws, your striking, your ground techniques and even your breakfalls when being thrown.

Core training will in fact improve your posture in all you do, inside and outside the dojo.

There are many exercises beyond sit-ups and crunches that you should work into your core training sessions, such as leg raises, hip raises, pikes, oblique crunches, dorsal raises and many variations of exercise on the Bosu or Swiss ball. Load and challenge these muscles just as you would other muscles in the body.

If you have been negecting your core training then get back on track now!

In competitive Martial Arts, your goal is to be at a peak for competition so your training is structured to make that happen. For each fight, your condition should be at a peak. Afterwards, you would take a short time time off to recuperate and assess where you are, then the process starts again incorporating any necessary changes as required.

Even Recreational Athletes and Traditional Martial Artists should structure their training around a goal. In traditional martial arts it would be an upcoming grading or a particular demonstration where you would want to peak.

To work flat out, day after day, month after month, year after year just would not work.

Work on your technical Jiu-Jitsu skills as often as possible.

This is on top of your regular training sessons and conditioning. You need to learn the technical Jiu-Jitsu skills and then put them into practice.

Don’t be in too much of a rush and cut corners, that’s how injuries occur. You need to throughly understand the concept of each skill and then incorporate it into a session where you can practice it at increasing levels of intensity. Start slowly and increase the intensity gradually - crawl, walk, jog, run, sprint.

There is always something to work on - New techniques, old techniques, improving techniques, grappling, sparring, fight strategy, endurance, stamina, strength, cardio etc. Some of it you can work on alone and others you’ll need a partner but you should never be short of an area that requires working on.