Paul’s article about pitfalls to watch out for when returning back to karate training after an absence struck a chord with more than a few people. It also hit one of my nerves. During my 30 years of training, I’ve take a few months off here and there, and then I’ve gotten back into training. The first time I did this, I injured myself pretty seriously. Here’s a sample workout you can do at home to start getting back into shape and some tips as well.

The Workout

This training session lasts about 20 minutes. That is plenty of training your first day back. One of the biggest mistakes people make is training too long during their first return workout. Being accustomed to longer, more strenuous workouts can leave our minds thinking we can do a lot more training than we can do safely. The dissonance between memory and body conditioning can be large. Stick to shorter workouts.

This workout will not leave you gasping for your breath. You have plenty of time to push the envelope later. Take it easy and go slowly. Move slowly. Relax. Before you do anything else, you need to recover some self-awareness and test out how well everything moves. This is not a performance test where you try to run your muscles to 100% and see what breaks. When you do that with a human body, the recovery time is extensive – more extensive the older you are. This is a soft test where you slowly feel around for tight tendons and weak muscles that may tear.

The workout below is complete. Do not perform extra stretches or exercises to warm up. You will not need them. Static stretching at the beginning of a workout is 1950′s exercise technology. No one should be doing that any longer. It doesn’t prevent injury – it causes injury.

To perform this workout successfully, you will need a watch with a second hand on it or a visible clock with a second hand. Your going to time yourself.

1. Assume a front stance. Keep your tips turned to the side. Hold this position without moving for one minute. Change sides and repeat. Stand up for 30 seconds and shake it off.

2. Assume a front stance. Turn your hips forward slowly and hold this position. One minute on one side, one minute on the other. Stand up for 30 seconds.

It’s been five minutes already.

3. Assume a front stance with your hips to the side. Slowly turn the hips to the front over a 5 second period. During the next five seconds, turn them to the side. Turn them fully, but carefully feel around as you do so for tendons in your ankles which are tight. Check your knee to make sure you aren’t straining it laterally – you have probably lost a little motor control over it.  Repeat this drill – ten seconds for a full rotation – for ten full rotations for 100 seconds. Then repeat on the other side.

4. Now that you are warmed up downstairs, let’s add some arm motions. Assume a front stance with the hips forward and your fist forward in a middle level reverse punch. Chamber for a downward block by bringing the drawn hand up beside the ear. Try to touch your elbows together, the punching elbow on bottom. That is count one. Now slowly downward block and turn the hips to the side. That is count two. Each motion should require a full two seconds to perform. Now rotate the hips forward and reverse punch. That’s count three. Repeat 20 times on one side, and then 20 times on the other side.

5. Try some leg swings. Stand in a very high, short front stance, and swing your rear leg forward with the knee straight – basically straight is good enough. Swing it slowly, but not so slow it becomes a strain on the pulling ligaments and muscles. Don’t swing it quickly, though. Just swing the leg up gently. Start low, and raise it up a few inches further with each swing. This should not hurt you at all. Don’t push it. You will gradually be able to swing it higher and higher. This is the best way to warm up for front kicks. Do 20 on one side and 20 on the other. Try these to the side as well – gently – softly.

About 12 minutes has passed. You are beyond the halfway mark into your return workout. You may feel you are not doing enough, and that this is not very exciting. The beauty of this workout is that it will leave you wanting more later on.

6. Stand up at attention with your feet together. Put your hands, palm down, in front of your solar plexus with your elbows out. Alternately raise the right and left knee into your palms. Pay attention not to bend your waist, lean forward or back. Make sure your heel stays close to your buttocks such that your knee joint closes as you raise the knee and opens as you set it down. Put the feet back down exactly next to each other each time. Try 40 of these. Don’t go fast. Do them relaxed and slow.

7. Stand up at attention with your hands behind your tail bone. Try three count front-kicking. Raise the knee, and hold for one second, kick and snap back easily, hold for another second, then lower then leg. Alternate legs each time. Try 20 of these, relax a little, and then do twenty more. It is not just kicking height that will injure you. It is also excessive force on the snap back motion, and stretching the knee too far forward and the hips too far forward that will get you. Later, these will be good things to train. Today, lay off and live to train another day.

8. Two count kicking. Lift the knee and kick in one motion, hold this position for two seconds, then drop the foot on the next mental count. Alternate legs. 20 of these ought to be enough.

9. Try side thrust kicks the same way. Slowly with a three count as you did the front kick, except to the sides, and slowly with a two count.

You should be about 20 minutes into your workout. It’s time to cool off, relax, and stop. Yes, I know you want to keep going, but don’t. Use that to kick start the next training session in a day or two.

If you want to do any static stretching, now is the time to do  it. Your warmed up, and far less likely to injure something.

If you want a shorter reference, I’ve left a short description of each for you. Expected times on a stop watch or timer are provided.

1. Static front stance to the side – 1 minute each side 0:00 – 1:00

2. Static front stance to the front – 1 minute each side 1:30 – 2:30

3. Slow hip turns – 5 seconds each motion – 20 motions (100 seconds total each side 3:00 – 6:00

4. Three count downward blocks and reverse punches, 6 seconds each three count, 20 each side 2 minutes each side 6:30 – 11:30

5. Leg swings – 20 each side front and 20 each side to the side. 12:00 – 14:00

6. Three count front kicks – 40 total – 14:30 – 16:00

7. Two count front kicks 20 total 16:30 – 17:30

8. Three count side thrust kicks (if you are up to it) then two count side thrust kicks

9. Ending calisthenics/static stretching

Good luck!