In this installment of Gyo [TRANSFORMATION], I will lay out a prescription for optimum health and fitness. You can apply this prescription to any of the eleven concepts written about in the last installment of Gyo II. The method is easily remembered by using the acronym FITSOAP… Lets take a look:

F= Frequency or how often.
I= Intensity or how hard.
T= Time or how long/ duration.
S= The principle of Specificity.
O= The principle of Overload
A= The principle of Adaptation.
P= The principle of Progressive overload.

For illustration purposes, lets transpose the health related component of cardiovascular fitness onto the FITSOAP model. Remember, Cardiovascular fitness by definition, is the ability of the heart, blood vessels, blood, and respiratory system [lungs] to supply fuel, in the form of oxygen, to the muscles and the ability of the muscles to utilize this fuel to allow for sustained exercise. [See previous Gyo issue for the eleven components.]

As Budo Taijutsu practitioners, a way to develop cardiovascular fitness is the use of a walk/run program across and through a natural environment. Using the FITSOAP acronym, here’s how it might look…

~Frequency or how often: When someone begins a walk/ run program, I suggest they start with a little work everyday. The bare minimum would be at least three times per week.

~Intensity or how hard: For cardiovascular fitness, we use a formula to determine a persons target heart rate… Take the number 220 and subtract your age. *Take a 40-year-old person: 220-40= 180 [Maximal Heart rate.]* Now multiply the Maximal Heart rate by 60% for the low end and by 80% for the high end to determine what’s known as the target heart rate zone. This is the range you want your heart working to improve your cardiovascular fitness. Our example: 181x.60= 108bpm – 180 x.80=144bpm. Our subject would need to keep their heart working between 108 and 144 beats per minute for at least 15 minutes to improve overall cardiovascular fitness.

~Time or how long: When someone is starting out, I recommend they walk/run for a minimum of 15 minutes or around 1.5 miles [remember this is baseline for a beginner] with a goal of about 30 minutes or 3 miles being reasonable to work towards.

~Specificity or the principle of Specificity: As you can see the word specificity contains the root word specific. This is all you need to know about this principle. If you want to develop your heart muscle your not going to perform a bench press exercise, you would walk/run. In the same way, if you wanted to develop chest muscles you wouldn’t walk/run. So the principle of Specificity states that you must do activities designed and developed for a specific need.

~Overload or the principle of Overload: The principle of Overload specifies that in order to improve your overall health and skill related fitness you need to periodically increase the workload or the amount of work that you are doing. In order for a muscle [including the heart muscle] to get stronger, it must be “Overloaded,” or worked against a greater workload than normal. Three ways in which to do this is by increasing the Frequency, Intensity, or Time/Duration of the activity [see above]. In the context of a cardiovascular fitness activity, you could run more often, run harder [interval training], or run longer.

~Adaptation or the principle of Adaptation: The principle of Adaptation states that the body is able to restore itself to normalcy, [homeostasis]. Individuals react differently to different stressors. Yes, exercise is a form of stress and stress by definition is the body’s nonspecific response [generalized adaptation] to any demand made upon it in order to maintain physiological equilibrium or balance. When we talk about health and skill related fitness it has been my experience that the body begins to adapt to a specific level of fitness in about 6-8 weeks. So, in our example of cardiovascular fitness we need to change our routine every 6-8 weeks using the FIT principles. How do we do this?

~Progressive Overload or the principle of Progressive Overload: Well, we have already defined what overload is, so what is Progressive Overload or Progression? Progression is an important corollary of the Overload principle. The principle states that overload should not be increased too slowly or too rapidly if fitness is to result. Beginners should establish a baseline or threshold of training [a starting point] form which to begin. In our cardiovascular fitness example this was our established low number 108 BPM. A person exercises progressively by starting near threshold levels and gradually increasing in Frequency, Intensity, and Time within this target zone. Exercise above or below the target zone is counterproductive and can be dangerous. Clearly it is possible to do to little or to much exercise when developing optimal fitness. Remember, threshold levels and target zones change with fitness levels. We will discuss this more in another writing.

What I have attempted to layout here is a prescription for improving your overall health and skill related fitness. Without getting esoteric I would like to state here and now that the FITSOAP prescription can be used in developing the body, mind, and spirit. I will address this in a later writing. Good luck in applying this theory in your own Naturalistic Physical Health and Conditioning program or Gyo………

Ninpo – Ikkan,

Ken Savage [Shidoshi]

www.winchendonmartialarts.com

It is generally accepted that there are eleven components to overall physical fitness. Most cite cardiovascular fitness or muscular strength, but each of the eleven is critical to developing optimal physical fitness and the residual benefits of being fit. The eleven components are broken down into two major categories. These are Health related fitness and Skill related fitness.

Health related physical fitness:

-Body composition: This is the relative % of bone, muscle, and other tissue to fat percentage in the body. In other words, how much of your body is made up of fat as compared to everything else. For males, 10-20% body fatness and for females 18-25% body fatness represents an average. Athletes tend to have a much lower body fat compositions.

-Cardiovascular fitness: The ability of the heart, blood vessels, blood, and respiratory systems to supply fuel, in the form of oxygen, to the muscles and the ability of the muscles to utilize this fuel to allow for sustained exercise. Running/walking is a wonderful way to build cardiovascular fitness.

-Flexibility [Range of motion]: This is the range of movement available in a joint. ROM is affected by muscle length and attachment, joint capsule structure, and other factors. Taiso is a method Budo Taijutsu practitioners can use to increase flexibility. Kamae [posture] training is another way to develop flexibility and joint stability.

-Muscular Strength: The ability to exert an external force that is internally driven or lifting a weight one time. One push-up or pull-up is an example of muscular strength.

-Muscular Endurance: The ability of the muscles to repeatedly exert themselves internally on an external force or lifting a weight several times in a row. Doing several push-ups or pull-ups in a row is an example of muscular endurance.

Skill related physical fitness:

-Agility: This is the ability to change the direction of the entire body in space. Running and walking in the woods is a great way to develop agility. As you move through the natural environment you must constantly avoid fallen trees low hanging branches and adjust to natural rise and fall of the land.

-Balance: This is the maintenance of equilibrium while stationary [static balance] or while moving [ballistic balance]. Walking and practicing basic self-protection skills [punches and kicks] on fallen logs or a balance beam develops balance. I also find the practice of slow taijutsu, weapons training, and kamae great ways to develop both forms of balance.

-Coordination: The ability to use all the senses within the body to integrate and perform a motor task smoothly and accurately. This is an area I will elaborate on in a later writing. This is an often, misunderstood aspect of the human body.

-Power: The ability to transfer energy into force at a fast rate. We all want to increase the amount of power we can generate. Here is an example of an exercise I use to develop leg power. I call it, “Drop, Squat, and Kick”. From a natural posture drop into a half-squat position, thighs parallel with the ground, while taking a long deep breath in. With all this pre-stretch muscle power in the thighs, explode up with a quick and forceful release of air and deliver a front, back, or sideward kick. Then repeat on the other leg for a total of thirty to start. Watch your knees on this one.

-Reaction Time: The time elapsed between stimulation [a punch] and the beginning of your response to that stimulation [moving out of the way]. Having someone throw an object at you, [tennis ball] and moving your body out of the way is a simple way to work on developing reaction time.

-Speed: The ability to perform a movement in a short period of time. Speed, at its base level, is about relying on fast twitch muscle fiber and youthful brawn to create it. As a warrior becomes seasoned, speed is about proper distancing and timing and an intimate understanding of your body and the movement being performed, [experience]. Many have witnessed Hatsumi Sensei move so quickly we don’t perceive the movement. Is this truly speed?

This basic information is available to the general public in many forms. Books, fitness videos, and gyms have all become a national obsession. My interest lies in physical fitness in general, Naturalistic Whole Body Physical Health and Conditioning or Gyo specifically. The eleven building blocks are not independent of one another. The old saying, “you can’t have one without the other ” applies here. For example, while running through the forest while developing cardiovascular fitness you are also in turn developing agility, coordination, speed and power. The wholistic approach gives your training knew meaning. In my personal routine I try to incorporate conditioning exercises that include as many of the eleven as possible. Next month I will begin to lie out my basic program based on the eleven principles. Once again I must remind you that the information presented is based on my personal experiences and limited knowledge base. I don’t expect all readers to agree with all statements. All the information is based upon not only theory but also many years of application. I do hope you will read with an open mind. Ninpo Ik-Kan, Ken

Ninpo Ik-kan.

Ken Savage [Shidoshi]

www.winchendonmartialarts.com

As in the tradition of the Ninjas of old and their reputation of engaging in the most intense physical training, Gyo will be a series of articles exploring health, fitness and conditioning and how they relate to the modern warrior. Gyo is for practitioners of Budo Taijutsu in particular and martial artist in general. Theory and application will be put into useable form so all may benefit. It has been said, ” Enjoying good health may not add years to your life, but can add life to your years.”

The ideas have been gleaned from a number of sources and experiences. The information is a synthesis of my studies of the martial arts, health, fitness as well as diet and nutrition. As a twelve-year-old boy in the spring of 1976 I began my studies of the martial arts. I can recall that class began with a rigorous half hour of stretching, calisthenics, and breathing exercises. I remember days later the muscle soreness; and a knew found awareness of my physical body. It wouldn’t be until much later in life that I would understand the physiological reasons of why this was so.

Now, as an adult with a few years of experience under my belt, I will attempt to share with you what I have learned. Naturalistic Whole Body Physical Health and Conditioning or Gyo is the name I have giving my method. The program was developed with Budo Taijutsu practitioners in mind, but martial artist or any person interested in the development of the total person will benefit. In other words, this program is for anyone. This first installment will deal with defining Naturalistic Whole Body Physical Health and Conditioning.

~Naturalistic refers to the natural ways in which you and I, the human animal, move. For example, we walk, run, leap, push, pull, and lift objects as well as ourselves. Naturalistic can also refer to using our natural environment to aid and to effect a change upon our bodies. An example of this might be running through the forest to increase cardiovascular fitness.

~Whole Body refers to the development of the whole person and an understanding of the connection between our physical body and how its ease of movement or its dis-ease of movement has a profound effect on how we think and feel.

~Physical Health includes the eleven principles I refer to as the building blocks of total physical health and conditioning. The eleven principles include five health-related and six skill-related principles, [discussed in detail at a later writing].

~Conditioning refers to the methods developed and used to naturally develop our Whole Body and Physical Health.

In addition, other topics and ideas will be discussed during this series. Some of these may include:

~Introduction to my universal seven-step prescription program.
~Taijutsu, and skill specific conditioning tips.
~Answering questions from readers of this site.
~As well as other related health, fitness, and conditioning questions.

I don’t claim that the information I put out is the right information or the conventional point of view. These are merely the thoughts and experiences of one person’s journey down the warrior path. I encourage every reader to Explore, Challenge and Develop their Warrior Spirit…

Ninpo Ik-kan.

Ken Savage [Shidoshi]

ww.winchendonmartialarts.com