No, it's not a good mix. The martial arts and the running is OK but the heavy lifting is not. Big bulky muscles will slow you down and interfere with your martial arts training. Go for lighter weights and lots of reps instead.
Yes that's great. When lifting heavy, go chest, shoulders, and triceps one day, back, biceps and abs the next, and legs the last. This is how I used to train (now I do chest and back, arms, legs, shoulders, obliques, and chest and back again) but if you want a three day split, mine should work great. With all that martial arts and cardio, your muscles won't get as big as they would without cardio and MA, but thats good because big bulky muscles will slow you down. They will, however, get you very strong. Strength and technique go hand in hand. BTW: for sparring, start doing sprints. Because, say you run a 24-40 3-5 minute mile. Are you going to spar for 24-40 minutes? No, you will probably spar 30-90 seconds. So for sparring, sprints are great.
Running is great for cardio. Mix up your running and you'll have a great cardio base.
Weight lifting is also good. The key is to find a routine that allows you to get your cardio, weights, and martial arts in without burning yourself out. Also keep in mind that you should have one day of rest a week. This can be active rest where you walk, or do something for fun, but the idea is to keep from being burned out.
Personally, I don't think most people can "bulk up" so find a weight lifting program that works for you and incorporate it into your schedule. My suggestion is use free weights, compound movements (bench presses, squats, etc) and don't worry about the fancy stuff. You'll be surprised what you can do with just those and they'll complement your martial arts very well.
And just for the record, I know of one senior Uechi black belt who is a competitive body builder so don't believe the myth that getting "too big" will interfere with your martial arts.
i guess you have to run if you can't fight...
Is it a good idea to train in any martial art 5 days a week and lift heavy weights 3 times a week, along with running 3-5 miles every morning? Please and thanks.
