From an athletic standpoint, I have found several of the books published by Human Kinetics to be useful resources in supplementing my study of traditional Okinawan karate. Ultimate Conditioning for Martial Arts by Loren Landow, one of the publisher's most recent titles, can technically apply to any martial artist, but the book does tend to be geared more towards athletes and competitors. Landow also assumes that readers already have basic knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and sports training methods. While perhaps not suitable for absolute beginners, Ultimate Conditioning for Martial Arts does provide a good starting point for established martial artists who want to begin incorporating speed, agility, and conditioning work into their training. In addition to providing suggested conditioning exercises and programs, Landow also incorporates an overview of relevant and closely-related topics such as the evaluation and establishment of fitness baselines, warmups and flexibility, rest and recovery, and nutrition. The book includes a generous number of helpful photographs to accompany the descriptions of the specific exercises, but the photographs selected aren't always the ones that would be most illustrative or useful. Additionally, rather than explaining the particular functions and applications of the individual exercises, Landow tends to broadly generalize and categorize their benefits. This lack of specificity and guidance can make the creation of an individualized conditioning program challenging for someone who has never developed one before. Ultimate Conditioning for Martial Arts groups commonly practiced martial arts disciplines together as either striking and kicking arts or wrestling and grappling arts. Landow suggests specific conditioning exercises for each category but also emphasizes the benefits of using a blended approach when developing a training program. Mixed Martial Arts is the only discipline that's addressed in-depth but Ultimate Conditioning for Martial Arts is still broadly applicable to other martial arts and a valuable resource, providing a fine overall introduction to conditioning and endurance training. ( )

"Ultimate Conditioning," by Loren Landow, was certainly not what I was expecting to find. When I first encountered the book, my initial thoughts were that the content would lack focus and clarity. Instead, I was greeted with a wealth of information, both from the practical standpoint of chapters focused on providing instruction tailored to the type of martial art being employed, as well as the equally important pre- and post-exercise periods. There are twelve chapters to the book, and range on topics (from 'Evaluating Martial Arts Fitness' to 'Programs for the Wrestling and Grappling Arts.' Each chapter is organized to allow the reader to find specific exercises that will complement and enhance their performance. The text is written in a concise manner, provides specific muscle groups being strengthened, and presents step-by-step photos of how the exercises should be done. I have been able to use several of the techniques myself, and found them to be well-considered, and definitely helpful! I would like to advise potential readers to not be swayed by the outward appearance of the book: while we all know not to judge a book by its cover, I felt the cover to the present text was poorly created, making the book appear cheap and lackluster. Only by actually exploring the pages does the opinion change, and I would highly recommend this instructional manual to any martial artists, or those aspiring to achieve optimal fitness. ( )

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I practice Aikido and my favorite thing about the teachers at my dojo is how heavily they stress conditioning as an important aspect of our training.
This book was useful to compare and glean ideas for my personal practice. It is well-organized with tables and carts for easy reference. ( )

The first thing to note is that this book is not a compendium of martial arts techniques - you won't find anything in here about how to execute an iron cross or flying knee. The purpose is to give fighters and would-be fighters the means by which to establish a strength and conditioning base. As such, this book contains the standard material from Human Kinetics - some discussion of anatomy and physiology, a section on warmups and stretches, a big section on relevant exercises, a section on cooldown, some plans and charts for which exercises to do on which day, plus some stuff about nutrition and sleep.

I have a number of Human Kinetics books, and by now a lot of the exercises are starting to seem repetitive. This is likely only an issue if you have four or more Human Kinetics books, so for most people, picking the Human Kinetics book you want for a given area (speed, core strength, functional fitness, etc) will be fine.

My favorite bit of this book is not an exercise, test or program, it's the section about nutrition and recovery, specifically the page about sleep. I know and have known a lot of fitness nuts, who constantly discuss food and exercise plans, but very rarely discuss how important sleep is. Without enough sleep, not only will you be tired and unable to do as much as you can, you're more likely to hurt yourself. The rest of the recovery section is good, too.

If you want more specifically martial arts-aligned exercises, check out Delavier's Mixed Martial Arts Anatomy, also from Human Kinetics. ( )

Excellent photos complement the exercise descriptions, both male & female athletes are shown. This book covers a wide range of material specifically suited to the martial arts, but is applicable to general physical conditioning. The importance of testing your current level of fitness is discussed along with nutrition and hydration information. Overall, a valuable reference to have on hand. ( )