Martial-arts icon and director-writer Michael Jai White shows off the workout he used to build his back and prep for his upcoming film "Outlaw Johnny Black".
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Hi, this is Michael Jai White, and I'm
00:09 going to take you through how I train, especially
00:12 when I get ready for movies.
00:13 I'm more like a fighter who has to make weight.
00:19 For me, I usually walk around around 235,
00:22 but I train to get down to about 215.
00:26 That's my shooting weight.
00:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:31 I get a lot of cardio, eat right,
00:34 and I do conditioning to maintain the muscle.
00:38 Fitness for me is always balancing your body.
00:42 And being a martial artist, that's
00:43 very, very important to me, because it's
00:45 all about movement.
00:46 And if you have a body part that is overpowering another body
00:50 part, then your movement is compromised.
00:52 I used to be like this, because I
00:55 did a whole bunch of bench pressing
00:58 when I was quite younger.
00:59 And all the weight from my shoulders and my arms
01:03 were in front of my center line.
01:04 So for years, I had to really concentrate on back work
01:09 to balance myself out.
01:10 So then when I moved, I was on balance.
01:13 Everything you do in life pulls your shoulders forward.
01:16 So many of us lack back strength.
01:20 And that's very important to anybody moving up in age,
01:23 because that is going to be the most important thing,
01:26 that you have a strong back as you get older.
01:29 Allow me to take you through some things
01:31 that I think are very important.
01:34 The first thing I like to do when I work back
01:37 is the dead hang.
01:38 That's a good way to warm up, because you're
01:40 elongating your spine.
01:41 And the lower part of your body, you let your spine stretch.
01:45 It actually feels really good.
01:47 I'll do dead hangs for about three sets
01:49 and just try to hold it at least 30 seconds.
01:52 The way I start, I always start with pull-ups.
01:55 I definitely prefer a wider grip.
01:57 When I can, I like to face my palms toward each other.
02:02 I get a better squeeze that way.
02:04 I'll do four sets of 15 to 20 reps.
02:07 Next exercise would be this mag bar row.
02:11 A common mistake is people will grab the weight
02:15 and just pull it back.
02:16 They'll be engaging their arms and not using their back.
02:20 The thing that is bringing my shoulders together
02:22 is my back muscle.
02:23 You want to engage that in every movement.
02:26 That's very important that you get that squeeze
02:29 in every repetition.
02:31 I got the mag bars for my home, and I donated some to the gym
02:35 just because I don't want to transport my own mag bars
02:38 back there, because just the feel of them is so great.
02:42 Your hands are not as stressed.
02:44 You can relax your arms a bit more
02:47 and use your back without engaging your grip so much.
02:51 So that's why I love those things.
02:53 The next exercise is a reverse punch assisted with bands.
02:57 So that's pretty much the most powerful punch
02:59 that your body can muster
03:01 because you're driving with your hips.
03:03 So learning how to fire my hips from the ground,
03:08 that made the difference.
03:09 And so I applied that into my martial arts training
03:12 and developed a very, very strong punch,
03:15 a punch that people always said that was,
03:18 it felt a lot stronger than my weight class.
03:21 And so that's part of my training
03:23 that I think is very important with punching power.
03:26 And of course, if you ever had to defend yourself,
03:29 you want to arm yourself with the most powerful weapon
03:32 that you possibly can.
03:34 And so learning how to drive as much power as you could
03:39 is probably your fastest, most efficient tool
03:43 in saving your life.
03:45 The next exercise is an explosive bicep curl.
03:48 Even with curls, I fire, I'm doing explosive movements.
03:53 It's a Smith machine and it's got the tracks
03:55 and I fling that joker up as high as I can.
03:58 By the 15th rep, it's gonna be lower,
04:01 but I'm still doing nothing but explosion
04:03 and I'm full contraction, so I'm here.
04:05 Everything I do as a martial artist,
04:08 I try to use explosive movements
04:11 because that's part of what I do.
04:13 So it's not about the slow, bulky building.
04:18 So I'm never trying to build bulk.
04:21 It's only about efficient movement for me.
04:23 Thank you for training with me.
04:27 Look out for Outlaw Johnny Black.
04:29 I think you'll like it.
04:30 (logo whooshes)
04:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]