How to Train Like a Karate Champion
Karate was slated to make its long-awaited Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games this year. That’s been delayed until 2021—but for Tom Scott, possibly the most decorated karateka (the technical term for practitioners of the martial art) in the United States, training is still of the utmost importance for a shot at representing the nation on the highest stage.
Scott has won just about everything else there is to win in the sport. He’s a 15-time national champion, six-time Pan American champion, and the first American to earn the number 1 ranking by the World Karate Federation in 2015. But with this new platform for karate on the horizon, he’s eager to add first U.S. Olympian in karate to his accomplishments.
The karateka hosted the Men’s Health crew at one of his strength and conditioning training sessions to see what it takes to be a karate champion, both in and out of competition. Scott was joined by his trainer of eight years, Christopher Stratis. “This is not a typical bodybuilding workout—this is all functional,” Stratis said. “Every exercise selected has been chosen with a purpose so that he can perform at his best in the ring.”
“Everything directly applies,” Scott said, echoing his trainer. “What we do in the gym helps me in my sport. The sport karate is really just a fast game of tag with punches and kicks.”
With that in mind, remember that Scott’s workout is highly specialized. Unless you’re getting ready to go a few rounds in the ring, these exercises might not be the best way to train for your goals. You might not be well served to replicate this routine move for move. But you should take note of the principles Stratis shares behind the training, and try to add some of the exercises to your own routine if you’re looking to build speed and power.
Tom Scott’s Olympic Karate Workout
Triset 1 – 3 rounds
1A. Band Resisted Trap Bar Deadlift – 3 sets of 5 reps
1B. Depth Drop to Explosive Hurdle – 3 sets of 6 reps
1C. Pallof Press with Overhead Lift – 3 sets of 8 reps
Triset 2 – 3 rounds
2A. Sandbag Lunge with Rotation – 3 sets of 8 reps
2B. Band-Resisted Inverted Row – 3 sets of 8 reps
2C. Bear Crawl Sandbag Tug – 3 sets of 8 reps
Triset 3 – 3 rounds
3A. Band Resisted Pushup – 3 sets of 8 reps
3B. Med Ball Throw Sequence – 3 sets of 5 reps
3C. Band-Resisted Knee Drive – 3 sets of 8 reps
Conditioning – 3 rounds
4A. Assault Bike – 3 rounds of 1 minute, scaled intensity
4B. Karate Movements – 3 rounds of 1 minute
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