ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

Have you ever watched any anime like DragonBall Z or Naruto where they have characters who train with limb weights all the time? Then when it comes to fight time; they take the weights off, and they move super-fast. While these transformations are animated impressively; unfortunately, anime is not reality. Limb weights are designed to be strapped onto the arms or legs and are typically best used with cardiovascular activity to increase resistance. Training with limb weights won’t give you such an exaggerated burst of agility once removed. That being said, however, each time I train with them, my body feels so much lighter once I have taken them off.

My Experience

We do this drill in the dojo where we shadow box with leg weights and light dumbbells for a designated interval (usually three minutes) and then in the one minute interval of rest, we remove them, and shadow box unimpeded for the next round. My legs are soaring during the second round; I’m throwing roundhouses like nobody’s business; I’m darting and dashing around effortlessly. My hands are lighter as well, my jabs feel lightning fast, and my combinations flow smoothly. Basically what happens is after removing the weight, the body experiences pseudo weightlessness in the limbs which allow for more rapid, and more dynamic movement and striking.

While I am undergoing my strength and conditioning workouts at home, I equip the arm weights so that even between resting intervals, there is a constant (albeit fairly light) load being applied to my body. I don’t lift heavy, but by applying a constant load to the body, it facilitates the type of muscle growth I am primarily seeking – endurance-based prioritised over power-based.

Limb weights can also be pretty discreet – particularly the leg weights, so it is feasible to wear them outdoors without drawing any unnecessary attention to yourself. I have done this myself on a few occasions, but I mainly stick to using them indoors.

Conclusion

If you are interested in developing speed and durability within your limbs, then definitely try out the limb weights. Especially if you are a martial artist or a person who partakes in a sport which utilises the entire strength throughout the body, such as gymnastics or swimming.

The limb weights I have linked and use are on the more expensive side but they have lasted years for me. I initially used a cheap pair of leg weights, but found they slid around my ankles while moving around and that caused the velcro to scratch away at my skin. I almost fell over a few times while wearing them because they kept moving around. Given that I have sprained both of my ankles in the past, I am not interested in taking unnecessary risks with inadequate training equipment. The ones I use now, while expensive stay anchored in place and are much safer to use.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.