How to (weight) Train your legs for kicking.

[warsilva]

Hey everyone,

For all you MT and kickboxking guys out there, can you please help me out with this one.

I want to develope huge kicking power, and what I want to know is how to weight train for developing power in your kicks.

Like Antoni Hardonk and Mirko Crocop - Both their legs are huge and posses huge power.

Anyone have a good routine for leg training for kicking?

Really appreciate it.

p.s. I know power for kicking does not just come from your legs - I am just wanting to know the leg aspect of it. Thanks

 

[Michael Wanaka]

Hey everyone,

For all you MT and kickboxking guys out there, can you please help me out with this one.

I want to develope huge kicking power, and what I want to know is how to weight train for developing power in your kicks.

Like Antoni Hardonk and Mirko Crocop - Both their legs are huge and posses huge power.

Anyone have a good routine for leg training for kicking?

Really appreciate it.

p.s. I know power for kicking does not just come from your legs - I am just wanting to know the leg aspect of it. Thanks

Squats and deadlifts.

 

[warsilva]

Squats and deadlifts.

Hey...no calves? - Super heavy, low reps, high reps, lots of sets?

So, squats and deadlifts eh? Now, how should I train that if my main focus right now is legs?

Would monday, WED, Friday - be ok for doing legs (squats and deadlifts)

?

 

[SixTwoSix]

Hey...no calves? - Super heavy, low reps, high reps, lots of sets?

So, squats and deadlifts eh? Now, how should I train that if my main focus right now is legs?

Would monday, WED, Friday - be ok for doing legs (squats and deadlifts)

?

Squats and deads are pretty tough on the body usually, so you should only do each one about once a week IMO. You might have more success in the strength and power forum.

 

[Ryukyu Damashi]

If you want to kick hard, then kick a lot.

 

[warsilva]

If you want to kick hard, then kick a lot.

Yes yes I know - But if you read my thread, im looking at the weight training aspect of it.

 

[WorldFour]

Technique really does it.

 

[F[o]rged]

From the Strength and Power FAQ:

Q: How do I get stronger for bjj/judo/mma/tha boxing?

A: You get strong. Too many people fall into the trap of thinking there's some magical exercise that will make their training somehow more applicable to their art, bollocks. Strength is strength, go train heavy and hard and you'll find you get stronger on the mat or in the ring. One leg squats on a gym ball while avoiding a stick swung by an old man with a Fu Manchu moustache won't help.

And, like everyone else already mentioned, squats and deadlifts.

 

[epik]

Good kicks are fully body movements. Incorporate good lifts like Squats, Bench presses, and Deadlifts into your workout along with pullups, military press, dips, and decline situps and stretch on off days.

And keep kicking on your MMA days.

 

[dethmetalanimal]

squats/quad work, rotational core work, ab work (leg raises, crunches, bicycles)

 

[wildcard123]

kicking power usually comes from the hips, not from a certain part of your leg. Even if you use a lot of power in your kicks, you will make your kicks look so predictable that anyone could just dodge it. So, in conclusion, technique makes up for everything; work on using your hips for the kick and quickly snapping your kicks back into fighting stance rather than kicking with full power.

 

[Goth_Judoka]

Squats and deadlfits.

But more importantly, work on proper mechanics. You aren't kicking with just your leg, your putting your whole body into it.

 

[LOWKICK87]

get a race bike and ride hard and long on a high intensity couple times a week and ur legs wil be powerful, sqauts are good too, imo but they are bit bad on the knees.

 

[deluxeMT]

Technique is more important than anything else. Many Thai's weighing well under 160lbs have kicks that can break arms and legs. They certainly don't weight train their legs to develop that kind of power, it's relentless repetition and technique that generates that kind of power.

Edit: Oops, fundamental typo

 

[TheAth-ah-lete]

get a race bike and ride hard and long on a high intensity couple times a week and ur legs wil be powerful, sqauts are good too, imo but they are bit bad on the knees.

yer dumm.

 

[Gavin Smith]

What everyone's saying squat's dead lifts and technique is pretty much spot on.
I'd also add single leg squats (to supliment your bar bell squats, not replace them).
Also make sure you develope strength in trunk rotation, some cable wood chops and reverse wood chops should do the trick for that.
As for sets and reps it really depends on how long you've been training and how used to lifting weights your body is, google periodization for strength training and you should get some good info come up.

 

[Glass6060]

Technique is more important than anything else. Many Thai's weighing well under 160lbs have kicks that can break arms and legs. They certainly do weight train their legs to develop that kind of power, it's relentless repetition and technique that generates that kind of power.

Absolutely. If you're not particularly flexible make sure to work hip flexion - this will allow you to have that snapping result when you turn the kick over.

 

[MUFC]

a lot of it is just the mechanics of throwing a good kick and how you can adjust your technique to optimize power without losing speed/quickness.

 

[KneeGrenade]

Work the hips yaknowatimean?

 

[ghostwipe]

get a race bike and ride hard and long on a high intensity couple times a week and ur legs wil be powerful, sqauts are good too, imo but they are bit bad on the knees.

No.