How To Avoid Hitting A Martial Arts Plateau

Martial Artists are no different from other athletes and if you're not careful you can easily hit a plateau. Plateaus must be avoided because it means your martial arts skill and fitness levels aren't improving. Here's The Shaolin Temple's Five Steps to avoid hitting a plateau.

1) Change Your Martial Arts Routine

Our bodies are efficient machines which adapt to whatever we throw at it including our workout. When you first start to train you'll make gains in your training but after a few months these gains will level off because your body has learnt to adapt. To avoid hitting a plateau you need to change your martial arts workout every couple of weeks.  Combining  my Workout, Bootcamp and newly released Circuit Training DVDs will give your body the constant change  it needs so it never reaches a plateau.

2) Do High Intensity Circuit Training

If you're fit and you can run 5k without any problem then you're ready to do circuit training. Though not suitable for everyone, this is the best way to torch fat, build lean muscle and boost your metabolism. Fighting Fit is a saying which we all know means optimal fitness. Fighters need to combine circuit training with cardio runs and if you're serious about your martial arts, alongside training with my DVDs you also need to run.

3) Mind Body Connection

Shaolin is all about the mind body connection. It's the way that Shaolin Monks understand Zen. You may have no desire to understand Zen but do you have desire to be more focused? Centered? At peace with yourself? If you're following Shaolin correctly then this is what you'll gain.

4) Make A Plan

It's not enough to put the time in, you need  a plan and a destination. After you've done your martial art's workout , take a pen and write down how you did. Tracking your progress can help  keep you motivated. Plan ahead as to what DVDs  you'll be working out to on what days. Give your training the respect it deserves.

5) Train the Yin as well as the Yang

Rest is an important factor in our martial arts so you don't burn out. As well as taking one or two days of a week from your training, you also need to do Qigong to regenerate your body from the inside out. And it's important to get a good nights sleep. Research is showing just how important sleep is for the body to regenerate itself.  If you find it hard to sleep then do some of the movement from Qigong Volume 2 before you go to bed at night.

The beauty of Shaolin is that we can shape it around our fitness level, energy levels and lifestyle by constantly adapting the workouts. Listen to your body and work with it.

For more information on Shifu's DVDs please click here.