Do you expect to train on the same martial material year-round? That approach will lead to burnout and stagnation. The intelligent approach is to vary your training throughout the year.

Changing routines is relatively easy for martial arts competitors. For example, they can spend the off-season working on their weaknesses, whether their physical condition or particular techniques, to prepare for future tournaments.

For those who don’t compete, it’s a bit different.

In the past, I typically started the new year focusing on either an upcoming grading or the first camp of the year—the summer and fall seasons comprised of seminars and camps where I learned new material or refined previous techniques.

As November arrives, I usually shift to consolidating my newfound knowledge and enter the conditioning season. Then, I typically transition into the martial arts version of hibernation from December to February.

However, this year is far different from most years. As most of you know, my right hip was replaced in January. The recovery and taking care of my mother-in-law until her passing in May threw my usual training regimen out of whack.

Thank you to the above for buying me coffee!

As a result, I was not in the best martial shape when I attended the Michigan Camp in July. While I look decent in the video below, I had to sit out a few sessions due to fatigue in my hip area. I was not in the best martial shape and not as physically fit as I wanted. So, I was behind the curve in two respects.

As such, I was pursuing two parallel tracks during the summer. The first was to get my martial reflexes and attributes back up to speed. The second involved experimenting with different lifting routines until I found one I liked.

As of this post, I am still working on my physical fitness and martial arts skills. I am not satisfied with either.

Consequently, my martial arts hibernation season will be different than in the past. I usually focused on physical conditioning during winter, while my martial arts skills were on the back burner.

That will not be the case for the coming winter. I will be working on my physical conditioning and martial arts skills.

You might ask, “Aren’t you risking burnout?“

Additional Reading

As you might know from an earlier post, I take regularly scheduled breaks from lifting every eight weeks. The next lifting break is during Christmas week. Perfect! I will also take a breather from martial arts that week.

My lifting routine is set for the next ten months, except for minor tweaks for flexibility. However, I have not figured out the December, January, and February martial arts routines. I will have to sit down and inventory my most significant weaknesses. I will then use a spreadsheet to map out a three-month martial arts program.

One item will be kicks- and no, they will not be Jean Claude Van Damme kicks! Four years of atrophy mean that I have a fair bit of work to do regarding kicks.

Let’s be realistic. I ain’t gonna be kicking like this.

Forget about me doing side kicks. Even in my 20s and 30s, I never had any natural flexibility. Instead, I will focus on the front and oblique kicks. They are much more practical for a soon-to-be 60-year-old.

If you’re not able to view the video, go here.

So, two kicks will be on my hibernation list. What else? I’m not sure at this stage. I’ll keep you posted!

Over to you, do you change your training routine during the winter months? Let me know in the comments!

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