One Last Hurrah

[Pork Chop]

Good ole Suntzu's birthday was the other day, he had a bit of a party at his house.
I ended up staying there obnoxiously late (sorry rahsaan, know I shoulda left u alone); but i was having a good talk with coach julio.

the party was the first time in a while that i actually watched fight clips and hung out with old training buddies. I realized again how much I want to fight and how much I want to be a fighter instead of just "some guy who trains".

Over and over again Julio kept saying "don't quit" and "you have the desire to succeed" and "it will come just don't give up".

So here's the deal...

I may be moving to Fort Worth Texas in 3 months; there's a pretty good chance, I just gotta get work to sign off on my resume and gotta navigate through the Lockheed Martin HR process.

3 months is probably not enough time to drop below 200 and come in a lethal killing machine; but it is enough to get my wind back, drop a few pounds, and get in reasonable fight shape.

My goal right now is to get ready to compete as soon as I can. I'm doing this strictly based on wind (aerobic & anaerobic endurance) and skills. I'm planning on fighting heavyweight, as suicidal as that sounds. If my coach started out in heavyweight (his best fightweight being 155), then I know I can (best fight weight probably 187).

I'm tired of cowering away from competition because of weight class.
I'm gonna step up and suffer the consequences, coz frankly I just want it that bad.
I'd like to think my 3+ years of experience and serious training should account for something in the ring.

Of course this won't be easy; I've gotta contend with 2 jobs totalling 60 hours a week and a constitution that requires 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.

Tenatively, the plan is to workout heavy (2 to 4 hours) both days on the weekend and at least 2 or 3 medium (1 to 2 hour) sessions during the week. Right now I can't handle my old capacity, but it'll build up the more I train.

Gonna keep my diet in check, but nothing too strict. No starvation or crazy stuff.
Want to eat pretty regular, but keep some of my worse habits in check.
No more late night dinners (after work), cuttin out the candy, gonna drop back on some of the diet soda, and little changes where I can.

I will be doing some light supplementation, including:
-Hot Rox, a little for my apettite, but mostly for my energy levels
-Methoxy7, no special reason, just don't wanna throw the bottle out LOL
-a good multivitamin (pack), to make sure i'm getting enough nutrients
-zma, to help me with my sleep
-cla, to help with EFAs.
I have a lot of protein powder so i may be drinking one or more shakes in the evenings instead of eating something.

I've pledged to myself to stay away from heavy drinkin and smoking the duration of 2006 as well, which should help (I only smoke & drink like once/twice a month anyway).

So there you have it. This blog (thread, not entry) will be my last for maryland, assuming i get the job. Maryland's been a pretty good run, but I need to make a decent wage without killin myself between 2 jobs. Planning on gettin married, makin babies, and buyin a house over the next year or 2; and i just can't do that out here. Gonna miss hangin with my boys out here (suntzu, akhilleus, and khun kao charuad); but I been bitcchin bout goin back to texas for a long time. hehe

Alright chums, let's make one last run!!

[Pork Chop]

Saturday

went back to bxf today for a skills kinda workout today.
DANG I'm outta shape!!!

10 min on the elliptical (+3 min cool down of course), setting was 19, kept up a good hard pace and kicked my own azz.

jogged around the gym 10 times, loosening up.
Even this was strenuous, especially the footwork drills: high stepping, etc.

rounds were 3 min with 1 min rest

2 rounds of jump rope. This was killin me. first round i kept flubbin, rope kept catchin my left foot. started holding my hands lower, which seemed to help a bit. Was suckin wind at the end of the second round.

took a round off to put my handwrap gloves on

3+ rounds of shadow. Not exactly sure how long I shadowed, it was at least 3 rounds, but was talkin with my buddy so it mighta been more. I started from ground up: jabs & footwork, then simple combos, then hand-feet combos, then explosive hand-feet combos, and finished up with footwork. Wasn't too hard, had a lil more stamina on the explosive stuff than i thought.

2 rounds on regular banana bag. This went alright, nothing remarkable. Mighta been longer than 2.

2 rounds on big bag. This may have only been 1 round; but if it was it sure killed me like 2. I really tried to explode with my punches on hand and leg combos. Had a nice little run of explosive combos then started totally suckin wind towards the end.

1 round on loose double end bag. This went pretty nice, it's and easy bag to time coz it swings slower.

1 round on tight double end bag. this was hard, coz it swings so dang fast. I still managed to tag it with some good combos, though i had more than my fair share of flubs.

1 round on uppercut bag. I was really trying to send the bag airborne with my punches; which burned me quite nicely. Finished up with 30 seconds of knees at the end- was focusing more on knee height than power; but i was still tired by the end.

20 medicine ball crunches on swiss ball. May sound a lil funky, but I was able to isolate my abs real well on this one.

20 medicine ball twists on the swiss ball. I think i like doing this one better on a decline roman chair/situp bench. Didn't seem to nail my obliques as seriously as it did on the chair.

15 balance board pushups with my feet on the swiss ball. Was shooting for 20, but I'm just not there yet.

This workout looks pathetic compared to my old ones, but in terms of perceived effort, it was definitely up there as one of my better workouts. I have a lot of work to do and a lot of ground to make up. The real tests will come on the weekday mornings when I gotta figure out how to drag my hiney out of bed.

[Pork Chop]

*weeping right now*
owowowow

went down to virginia today.
the meat of the workout was only 17 minutes (though i did like a good 20 or 30 min warm up prior)
i still thought i was going to pass out.
people reading this: if your coaches ever say they're going to incorporate crossfit workouts into the training, RUN.... RUN FAR AWAY!!!

I can barely move right now.
I'm cursing every day that I spent bein lazy.
I don't like bein this outta shape.
pain is just weakness leavin the body.
I must have a lot of weakness...

well at least i'm motivated to work out the rest of the week. I don't wanna feel this bad again. i feel useless.

[Oso]

good luck, bro. I'm in much the same condition...which is to say none.

working on some things...starting a nutritional anylisis this past week...

[Pork Chop]

thanx oso :)
i gotta keep reminding myself that the only secret is sticking to it; this isn't going to be a quick turnaround like coming back from the occasional missed week in the past.


apparently i have the recuperative powers of a 90 year old man.
sunday i went to bed around 9:45pm.
i woke up at 6 and couldn't move- every attempt at getting out of bed sent the most painful spasms through all the muscles i'm conscious of, as well as a few i'm not.
i lunged out the bed to turn off the alarm (which hadn't gone off yet), crawled back, and got more sleep.
Around 7:30 I woke up and was in dire enough straits that I thought i was going to have to call out for work, I reached around for my phone, couldn't find it within arm's reach, and went back to sleep.
I woke up again around 8:50. This time I actually felt human; a hurt broken human, but at least i could move.
I took my vitamins and got ready for work. By the time i got to my car i was feeling a lot better.
Unfortunately it only lasted till the end of my first job.
My second job was murder, felt like I was going to fall out; but managed to pull it through.

Monday I found out that my work wasn't going to sign off on my gf: she's not a citizen and that causes an issue with my job that has to be signed off on.
I was planning on going to Fort Worth anyway (as stated in my first post); but when they told me about their unwillingness to make an acceptance for me that they'd made for 2 others in my office; I realized I had no choice. In no uncertain terms I gave them notice of my intentions to leave in the upcoming months.

I haven't really liked this job since my 2nd or 3rd month, when my boss started giving me a real hard time. I haven't really liked working for the government since my second year, when my bills started skyrocketing and my promotion was given to a couple of new-hires. For this position, I don't feel like i've done anything over the last 10 months. According to my bosses I pretty much haven't done anything, and i'm not sure I disagree with them (eventho my accomplishments say otherwise). I just think this job is/was a bad fit for me, and I'm trying not to let it affect my self image. Hoping my next one's better.

The deal with giving them notice on monday: that i'd no longer be working there, is that now fort worth is kind of make or break. I'm sure I'll have other options once I have my resume in hand, but fort worth's my safest bet and the best one I've seen. I just really hope it comes through for me. Not being sure about where your paycheck is coming from is a scarey thing.

After work monday night i came home and hoping to have some dinner, get some comfort from my gal, and unwind from the craziness of quitting. Unfortunately it didn't go down like that. I ended up going to bed later than I wanted after eating some Cluck U chicken and I don't think I felt any more at ease than when i jumped in my car to go home.

Today, Tuesday, I'm still hurting; seems like different muscles than last night. I didn't wake up early; had an eye doctor appointment. At least I managed to fix my satellite radio; which is awesome. My head's a bit more clear; but still not sure what tomorrow brings. I'm basically waiting on my resume.

I'm going to have to wait until my body's no longer painfully sore until i workout again. I don't mind some soreness, but this is nuts. my legs give out if i put too much bodyweight on either one of them. I walk like a zombie. moving hurts.

I know things will turn around, I just gotta stick with it. Once I can handle a reasonable load of good intensity, it should probably be another month before I consider my endurance on track. It'll be at least 2 weeks to a month before I can handle more than 2 to 3 days a week.


diet wise i'm not great, but far from my worst. I'm taking baby steps as far as that goes. Gotta gradually step into healthy eating, if i try to go cold turkey i get sick. More shooting for eating "normal" than cutting back a ton; learning how to eat more regularly instead of pigging out- and then i'll gradually improve the food choices.

[Pork Chop]

Felt awful today.
Went to bed a lil later than i wanted to last night.
woke up a good hour later than i wanted to.
I was hurtin and feeling just plain ill.
I took a shower and didn't feel any better; in fact i almost fell out when i was drying off.
i called into work and didn't even get outta bed till like 5 or somethin- still really not doin anything.
was reading a book earlier but my head started killin me.
it's more of just feeling ill- slight sore throat, headache, general body ache.
The muscles ain't quite as sore as yesterday and monday, but still not great.
Maybe it's the flu...

As soon as I get better I'm back in the gym.

[EDIT: And I just puked]

[rubthebuddha]

pork choppa -- when you get here, let me know. houston is only a few biscuits away.

[Pork Chop]

My folks live in houston and i was just down there in september; sorry i didn't hit you up. I'll definitely make sure to hollar the next time i'm there.

Was still nauseous today, dry heaved a bit in the morning.
Managed to hit up my main job; though i was hurting the first half of the day; but i still skipped the second job.
just took a couple hour nap; woke up to the sound of my dog falling off the bed (think he rolled over in his sleep, poor little guy) and i feel better.
still a little nauseous, still a bit sore, but instead of lethargy, i can imagine actually getting off my seat.
Let's see how i feel tomorrow; don't wanna rush into anything coz i was feelin pretty bad most of the day.

[Pork Chop]

Been having a lot of headaches with work about my gf.
Last night was a bit of a crisis as she needs to have an address different than mine until i've got some sort of waiver.
Luckily, we found her a new place to stay and get her mail.
I'm pretty darn sick of government life, this cr@p shoulda been handled 2 years ago.

Back to the kung fu school tonite around 5 and I think i'm feeling up for it.
If I'm ambitious i'll hit up my gym around 3 or so for an hour long workout.
I'd probably get more done in an hour at my gym than 3 hours at the kung fu school to be honest.

[Pork Chop]

had a good 2 hour workout today.
maybe not my hardest ever, but for where my conditioning is right now, it was d@mn near perfect.
tabata intervals hurt.
fun tip of the day: pushing wave masters back and forth across a short carpetted floor is a bit like sled dragging and a real good workout.

[Pork Chop]

had a pretty good workout today.
my feet and ankles were hurting so i only did so much jogging; but still had a long warm up between shadow and everything.
They were doing another crossfit-influenced workout today; I was cringing at the thought.
Today's workout was rep-based instead of time which was even more intimidating.
The first exercise was more painful than workout, so after 11 reps (was shooting for 21) I went and shadowboxed for a few minutes.
I felt bad about quitting so i modified the exercises I couldn't do, to actually be able to do them, and then jumped back into the fray.
I managed to get all 3 sets of rep-goals on the various exercises; albeit modified for my outta shape azz.
I still can't do chinups. I think I got 5 or 6 with a slight assist, and 3 natural (on my 3rd set). Once I maxxed out, i would do a max-effort negative before switching exercises.

did 6 rounds of touch sparring and 3 rounds of good-contact sparring.

like i said, i had to modify what we were supposed to do, but once i found out what i was capable of, i made a good workout out of it.

got a long way to go if i ever wanna get in good shape.
biggest problem with working out will be dealing with the outside influence of work, which seeks to rob me of my peace of mind as well as my time.
this is just a very bad situation for me, and i know in all likelihood things are going to get worse before they get better. doing what i can here.

[Pork Chop]

actually made it into the gym tonite.
3 days in a row...
it's probly a sign of the apocalypse....
even had a good workout too.

10 min warm up on the elliptical- didn't push it too hard, but still got my heart rate around 180 for the duration and got a good sweat goin.

3 min rounds

3 rounds of jump rope (still difficult at the end of the second, but at least i made it and i was doing a better job of keeping the rope going).

3 rounds of shadow boxing (spent a lot fo time on my front kick and just tryin to get combos flowin again)

3 rounds on the big bag (tried to go max power the first round, 2nd round i went through my various kicks, 3 round was more combos)

3 rounds on the small bag (worked a lot of front kick here- following up with other attacks)

3 rounds on the regular banana bag (worked leg kicks, combos, and spinning techs)

1 round on the slip bag

1 round on the peanut bag- it was way loose, so i was throwin kicks too and really workin my head movement in response to the bag

1 round on the "loose" bag- i call it "loose" cos it used to be the loose one, did a lot of hand combos, kept it goin pretty well.

2 rounds on the uppercut bag- last 30 seconds continuous knees


Felt pretty good today after workin out.
I kinda like goin at my own pace instead of tryin to go bawlz out; coz i have an easier time building up when I'm not getting so sore. eventually my own pace will become significant enough that "bawlz out" won't be too big a stretch.

Tuesday off.
Gonna shoot for wednesday.
Have to work next weekend, so i'll probably miss sunday; but still should be able to hit saturday evening.

[Pork Chop]

Wed Thurs and Friday didn't go the way i planned.
I kept forgetting to bring my clothes.
Couldn't get my stuff together to wake up all early.
Working saturday and sunday so i didn't do friday either.
today (saturday) work was brutal.
word is that GWB's droppin by work this upcoming week; so you can imagine how my cleaning job went.
I'm hurtin.
Hopin tomorrow (sunday) goes better.

Gonna give another shot at working out in the mornings; coz i need to do something.
at least i'll be moving soon, one way or another.

[Pork Chop]

Today (sunday) was another 8 hour cleaning day.
i did a lot of heavy lifting and a ton of mopping.
i can barely move, so i don't care, it counts as a workout

[Watchman]

Pork Chop,

Not very many people choose a purpose for themselves, then actually live up to it. If you want to be a fighter, be a fighter! Keep sharpening yourself against your dreams, and you'll be a lethal killing machine in no time.

Keep us updated on your progress, and good luck!

"Every act of self-discipline increases your confidence, trust, and belief in yourself and your abilities." -- Brian Tracy

[Pork Chop]

thanks :)
i appreciate all the support i can get.


i realized this weekend that i have the power to wake up at 6
i'm going to try to use that for morning workouts; bit more confident I can do it now

trying hard not to just write off the rest of the time i'm here in maryland- giving up till i get to texas. but i do know that once i get there i'm going to be able to accomplish a lot more.

Gotta get my diet in check this week too.

[Watchman]

i realized this weekend that i have the power to wake up at 6

You, sir, are a better man than I. :cool:

[Pork Chop]

this morning i woke up at 6 and took my dog for a walk.
the lil bugger's the worst jogging partner i've ever had, he doesn't wanna run- doesn't even wanna walk.
tonite i skipped second job to tell my apartment complex i was moving.
when i came home, i saw the gf passed out on the bed and got real sleepy all of a sudden.
we woke up an hour or 2 later and she wanted to go eat, so no gym.
gonna get to bed soon so i can try the gym tomorrow morning.

[Pork Chop]

bout an hour after i wrote that blog last night i started puking.
takin the day off from work.
it's almost noon and the idea of food still makes me cringe.
i'm laughing at how sad this is getting.

[Pork Chop]

I played it safe.
I took Tuesday and Wednesday off from both jobs.


When I went back to work Thursday morning I was surprisingly fresh.
I even went to go work out Thursday night:

10 min on the elliptical, not my best performance, but my heart rate stayed pretty much over 185 the whole time, so I wasn't crying about not burning more "machine calories".

3 rounds of jump rope - midway through the last round my jumprope broke.
3 rounds of shadow
3 rounds of big bag - focused on big blasts, with some work on openings & follow ups
3 rounds of regular banana bag - worked on combos, some spinning, some high kicks, was completely burnt by the end.

Working out after both jobs is 10x harder than after 1 job or no jobs.



Friday I was a bit tired.
Janitor job dragged a bit, but not too bad.
Wasn't as sluggish as I used to get.
so friday night i worked out again.
i was pretty drowsy driving to the gym too.
so at the gym i just did:

25 min cardio on the elliptical. Was trying to go easy, to change up the pace. Heart rate stayed over 170 the whole time. Wasn't the most calories I'd burned in 25 min on there, but it was respectable and I was pretty tired.

I finished up with abs:
3 sets of 15: sit up chair, medicine ball situps w/9 pound medicine ball. Light medicine ball, but i hold it out above my head, arms straight as I can, and don't let it pass the plane of my head.
3 sets of 10: sit up chair medicine ball twists, w/9 pound ball. Again, light ball, but this isn't easy. The last set i did slow reps.

I was pretty well burnt after this as well.
I may still be fat & unfit for a while, but at least I'm trying to do somethin about my fitness level. Food-wise, I'm just doing what I can.


Still applying for jobs. I'm out of here March 23, regardless of whatever happens. I've got a bunch of prospects, I'm just stuck in the waiting game. The next 4 weeks will probably be rough, but at the end of it I should have something, or at least the knowledge that I've hit worst case scenario. lol

[Pork Chop]

saturday- nobody showed up for the workout, leaving me out front of the locked gym, which is 30~40 min from my house. it was too late to drive back to bxf and get in a workout, so i ended up at best buy.

sunday- had a good workout at onespirit down in virginia. wasn't as hard as when we were doing crossfit, but i was able to expand my toolbox a bit.

I'm a big fan of technique and relaxation. everyone likes to talk about conditioning, conditioning, conditioning and I'm starting to wonder about that advice. I've seen so many guys kill themselves hours on end in the gym without getting too tired, then get in the ring and gas in 30 seconds.

On the other hand, you've got guys like James Toney: a guy not known for training all that hard, a guy not known for eating all that well, a guy who smiles more than a fighter should, and a guy who'll never win any swimsuit competitions. Yes, Toney's got sick technique and better than average conditioning, but I really think being able to relax is a major factor. Having more tools in the box, knowing what to look for, and when u wanna use them can go a long way.

[Pork Chop]

Monday

This proves it, I'm definitely back.
Worked out again tonite.

10 minutes on the elliptical- pretty weak performance, but i've had a lot of torso soreness (abs, back, shoulders, obliques).

Went to do jump rope, i kept screwin up- like 10 times straight in the first 30 seconds, it was pathetic. I wasn't tired, it just wasn't workin.

Instead, I started doing laps around the gym. I got at least 3 rounds worth of laps around the gym doing various warmups, stretches, footwork drills, etc- straight through, no rest interval.

After that I went and got some handweights. I did shadow with the handweights for 2 rounds. First round was combos w/ explosiveness. Second round was mostly footwork. Last 30 seconds of each round was continuous punching.

At this point it was 9:30, only 30 min left so i jumped on the heavybag.

I did 3 rounds straight through (no rest interval) on the big bag, dropping bombs. First round was mostly jab, footjab, and 1-2. After that I got more creative. Been trying to develop a cross that stops, a round kick that breaks legs, and a push kick that's quick, powerful, and sneaky. I was pretty dead after this.

Next was 2 rounds, no rest on the banana bag. I was working various combos; mostly tryin to stay busy and do what I could to improve my pushkick.

Finished up with more ab work: 3 sets of 15 crunches w/9lb medicine ball. 1 set of 30 medicine ball twists.



Got a bunch of calls on my job hunt today. things r lookin pretty good.
Attitude wise, I've been feeling so much better since I decided to get out of this messed up situation I've got going on here. I think it's really helped me to make it back to the gym. I got a lot riding on this move and there's a lot that could go wrong, but for once I'm not focusing on the bad stuff. I'll take what comes; coz even bankruptcy is better than feeling like a criminal.

[Pork Chop]

yesterday was my restday.
went to work and was draggin azz hardcore until about 6:30 in the evening; afterwards i started wakin up a lil bit.

takin some time off today to do phone interviews for my job search.
Hate to waste the leave, but i really need to take care of this and i can't exactly do it at work.

back to the gym tonite

[Pork Chop]

had fun with the workout today, felt a lil short, but i made do with the time i had.

10 minutes on the elliptical; better than monday, still not back to normal.

3 rounds of jump rope. had some rough rounds but i saw it through. rope kept twisting.

3 rounds of shadow: 2 with hand weights, 1 without. First was hands, second hands and feet, third hands and feet for speed & relaxation.

3 rounds of jumbo heavybag: really trying to keep my pushkick from being lazy. Problem is that a lot of my combos feel more comfortable with the lazy push kick and it doesn't help with controlling the swing of the bag. I'll get it eventually. I got tired during this; but not sure that ever shot was hard as i could- or at least i didn't get burned as if i was. Not sure what's going on here, but the more i do it i guess the better it'll get.

1 round of slip bag. i've got this one down nice.

1 round of peanut bag. this is super loose, but i was nailing the crud out of it with power combos. Tried to work in my head and body movement.

1 round of double end bag. this one is tighter, but still not one of the insanely tight ones. I was ripping off sick combos on it and rarely missing. worked in head movement on this one too. doubling, tripling, quadrupling up on the jab.

1 round on the uppercut bag. was a bit tired from this one, but felt a little short too. was really getting the power from the feet in this one. finished up with 30 seconds knees that seemed short too.

Probably should do some pushups and abs. might still do it if i remember to before bed, might do it tomorrow mornin.


Lots of job responses today didn't even get to go to work till 3:15 coz of all the phone calls. Things looking pretty good.

[Pork Chop]

long day today.
we were talking about food the whole time at my second job so after work i was hungry and didn't go work out.
i pulled something in my back; not sure i could do the cardio anyway.
still managed to go on 2 good 15~20 minute walks anyway.
if i get m,w,f in this week, that's nothing to scoff at- better than i been doin.

[Pork Chop]

Back's still buggin me, didn't sleep well Thursday night (or last night either rather).

Worked out Friday but i didn't want to aggrivate my back.

Jogged for 14 minutes at a good clip (for me).

Jumped on the heavybag from 8:50 or 9 till 9:30.
There was no rest.
I was working all my combos and treating it almost like shadow with good contact; so I could get more of my form back.


Feeling like an azz right now.
My gf put me through a guilt trip last night coz she's been feeling sick.
So I agreed to stay home and not go to NY to support my teammates; so I could be here for her.
Feel like i"m letting my bros down.

[Pork Chop]

Great workout this evening.
Went to the kung fu school to work out with baltimore san shou.
Helped me forget about letting down my boys from One Spirit (Muay Thai) a little bit.

3 rounds of jump rope- was having trouble with my rope; had to switch by the last round.

3 rounds of shadow- been feeling lazy about this. During shadow i try to stay relaxed and work combos and strategies I'll use when i fight. i also try to string out long combos. it can be a pretty low-intensity endeavor; eventhough I'm trying to get my form back.

15 minutes straight on the heavybag. Tried putting everything together: big shots, leg kicks, high kicks, fast & sharp combos with hands and feet.

After that I took a short rest and did some grappling.
We were switching out partners at the submission.
First one felt less than 30 seconds- i got lucky.
Second one felt like 10 minutes (probably 5 or less) and was all work- ended up quitting when we started to go off the mat due to exhaustion.
That second round gassed me.

Worked a little with Rahsaan on my olympic lifting form. Learned a lot in a short time. We were using weight and going kinda easy, but i did get a lil tired.

[Pork Chop]

Took sunday off.
Didn't wake up till noon anyway.
Never quite felt awake all day.
Didn't sleep until like 2:45am but still woke up this morning at 6:45.
Today (monday) i had to rush home to do some career stuff so I can lock down this job I'm shooting for.
Feeling exhausted.
Was draggin pretty bad at work; till i got the email that said my job search may be over soon.
i'll post updates as i know 'em.

[Pork Chop]

The more I think about it the more i feel like i'm making excuses, but i didn't work out tonite. I was feeling hyped earlier this evening, but they kept us at work late, and my energy kinda faded. I never work out tuesday evenings coz i don't wanna bump into those bjj jerks. Gonna try to get to bed soon so i can get some decent sleep.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday will be a good schedule- Thursday all the coaches are there, whereas Tuesday it's only the bjj guy.

[Pork Chop]

worked out tonite (wednesday)
omygosh

"warm up" on the elliptical. Sprinted it out on level 20. scored my best calorie rating yet. took me 5 or 10 min to recover.

3 min rounds

3 rounds of jump rope. Had a little bit of trouble keepin the rope going.

3 rounds of shadow. wore the weight vest. first 2 rounds i had the 5 pound hand weights. My shoulders weren't used to both the vest and the weight, it hurt. last round, no hand weights.

3 rounds on jumbo bag. still wore the vest for the first 2 rounds. Was going power shots. First round was leg kicks and punches. Second round was stressing more of the punches. Third round was combos with high kicks (no vest).

1 round on maize bag (no vest)

1 round on peanut bag (no vest)

1 round on double end bag (no vest)

1 round on uppercut bag, wearing vest; last 30 seconds knees.

I think the vest is the secret to my endurance. Gonna try to wear it every workout that I can.

[Pork Chop]

i've decided to break up with my fiance.
was going to do it tonite but apparently she's at work and not returning phone calls.
skipped the gym tonite of course.
freakin out a little. not all that happy about it, but not devastated. She might not take it well; however i kinda feel she's been pushing for it.
i've never been head over heels for her, but we've gotten along real well (until recently), she helped me out a lot, and she's been my best friend.

[Pork Chop]

Okay the last 24 hours have been pretty rough.
Came out and told the woman my problems yesterday and today.
There was a lot of crying and some yelling.
We talked about everything going on.
Apparently there's been some miscommunication and misunderstandings.
Taking tonite off as well to kinda work things out.
Love the gym but my personal life sometimes has to take precedence.

Tomorrow it's work and the kung fu school.
Julio says he's coming, so that should be fun.

[Pork Chop]

Just not my week to workout i guess.
Saturday i took an hour nap after work and drove 30+ min through a snow storm to get to the kung fu school only to have nobody show up.
No call beforehand, even still no return calls to my phone messages, nothing.
Waited there till like 20 after and then just went back home.

Snow fell hard saturday night after i got home.
Internet went out late at night; and stayed out till the morning.
Nobody bothered to plow our neighborhood streets till the afternoon.
There just was no way I was able to drive an hour down to Virginia.

Ate too much today; I'll do better.

Hate this cold, only one more month of this mess.

[Pork Chop]

killer workout monday:

Ran a mile in under 9 minutes, which is way fast for me.
Joints were bugging me from the cold so I went right into shadow boxing.

3 rounds of shadow with weight vest. admittedly was a little lazy on this. Did get some footwork in.

2 rounds of jumbo bag with weight vest. couldn't kick high and my pace, while dropping bombs, was just too slow for my tastes.

2 rounds of jumbo bag without vest. Still dropping bombs, but tried to speed my combos up a bit.

3 rounds of banana bag. Worked on combos and a bit on speed.

3 rounds of boxing bag. just hands. sprinted out last 30 seconds, went for long, sharp combos. tried to keep up with this 160~170 pounder near me known for his speed. Did well, think I managed to stay busier than him all my rounds on the bags.

1 round on maize bag - head movement head movement head movement.

1 round on peanut bag - combos with power and head movement.

1 round on double end bag - combos with speed, timing, and head movement

finished up with a minute straight of knees on the uppercut bag.

Was pretty dead afterward.


Took valentinte's day off. Went out to eat and didn't keep up the diet.

Not working my main job today (wednesday); still eating leftover V-day food.

[Pork Chop]

Wednesday, good workout, kinda cut short.
Old friend from Lloyd Irvin's came back to the gym so i was gabbin a bit much.

"warmed up" 10 min on elliptical, best yet, wore 22lb weight vest.

3 rounds of shadow with vest & hand weights (these rounds were 2:30 min with 30sec rest).

2 rounds of big bag w/weight vest (back on 3 min rounds)

2 rounds of big bag no vest

1 round of maize bag - slipping

1 round of peanut bag

1 round of double end bag

finish with 1 min of continuous knees.

Yeah, shorter workout but i really tried to step it up.


Today (Thursday) I been cranky & grumpy all day. Just tired of having to be patient with everything going on and sick of this grind. Broke down and got some dinner. Had a big salad for lunch at least (with a minimal amount of iceberg lettuce, and tons of good stuff like broccoli).


Lot on my head.

[Pork Chop]

just didn't make it today. no excuse, just didn't get there. really burned out lately with all the stress and let it get in the way.

there's some fights tomorrow in richmond. it's like a 4 hour drive from where i live, 2.5 hours from the guys who already live in VA. I'm supposed to go to dinner with my mom sometime this weekend in Delaware and i'm pretty sure it's tomorrow. My mom's in from Houston so i gotta go see her. Not gonna make it down to virginia. have 2 friends fighting down there and feel like such a flake for not going- heck, i could be fighting myself maybe. I'll be down there sunday morning. I'm also going to hit 2 gyms saturday before going to dinner. I'd like to think that i'd fight, given the opportunity, but i just don't think i can make it before i go.

Only 1 month till i move.

[Pork Chop]

Yeah, I was right, it's 7 o clock in Delaware. Only going to be at the kung fu school in Timonium for a short time. Going to try to do the majority of my workout at BXF beforehand.

Just found out that I do have an interview this upcoming week. Might have an offer in a couple weeks. :D

[Pork Chop]

Saturday I just went to the kung fu school early instead of trying ot hit 2 gyms- just didnt wanna do that much driving.

Did like a 30 min "warm up" of footwork drills.
Shadowboxed with the vest for 15 min straight.
Jumped on the bag and banged out 15 min straight.
Did 3 sets of jumps onto some mats (5 reps each)
Did a minute of medicine ball throws.
Did 3 laps of this drill we got where you push a standing bag across the floor.
Did a sprint round of 1 minute bag sprint & 1 min abs w/weight.

after that i was pretty done

Today (Sunday) I woke up late but still made it to the gym.
Gym was real cold so footwork drills just werent happening.
After some shadowboxing, we did some Tabatas.
The tabatas turned my legs to jelly.
I had a really hard time with the round of bag work and 3 rounds of pad work after that. Could barely stand up so my combos were just coming out cruddy.

Diet's been atrocious last couple days but I'm starting that 1 glass of red wine each evening, i hear it helps with digestion in addition to everything else.

Didn't get home from seeing my folks in Delaware till after 1, which is why i woke up late.

Got a phone interview sometime this week; which is a huge load off my chest.
I could have an offer in 2 weeks.

[Pork Chop]

can barely walk today so working out just doesn't seem likely.

at least i had my interview today and it looks like things are a go.
the hr guy told me to put down a "desired salary" much higher than I was even thinking and they're definitely going to give me relocation.
the situation's not exactly 100% locked down, but at least 90 to 95 i figure.

[rubthebuddha]

dude, is LM hiring? :)

also, have you looked much at ft. worth's schools?

[Pork Chop]

Well LM was going through a hiring freeze there for a bit i think. I'm kinda lucky in that i've got a skill set that my buddy's division needs so his boss created a job opening that i was well matched to.

I know BeiTangLang from here that works out at Cottrell's schools. I was planning on hanging out with him on a casual basis and going to Saeksan's in Plano for the bulk of my training.

Aside from Lutter, Spratt, and Mezger, I don't know too many folks out in DFW.

Muay Thai's more my speed these days than kung fu, but I guess I'd be open if it was a good place. I'd prefer not to go to a MMA school tho coz they tend to be weak when it comes to pure Muay Thai.

The drive may stink (at around 45 min) but I was going to try to have a workout spot close to home and then go for private instruction or something 2 to 3 times a week.

this whole thing gets overwhelming sometimes, i'm ready for it to be april already. hehe

[MasterKiller]

I'm in Dallas/Ft. Worth three or four times a year (2.5 hours away). We'll have to fight a challenge match over some chicken wings some time. ;)

[Pork Chop]

Sounds good :)


Working with security at the moment. Gotta wait to talk to 'em till after lunch. They're asking all those invasive security questions you don't think about most of the time; so I'm trying not to freak out about it. I'm hoping things will be alright.


This week has been terrible for working out. My legs have been absolutely DEAD from those tabata squats. Plus, this job stuff's eaten into my available time a bit. My legs are still sore today, but they're the most functional that they've been all week.

[Pork Chop]

Straightened stuff out with security and i think i'm on track. Just waiting to see if i get an offer.


If anybody knows folks in DFW that I should check out, definitely lemme know.
Might join Armadillo Boxing or Fort Worth Boxing as like my fulltime gym.
Not sure what to do tho.


Tonite I got back to the gym and just had fun.
3 rounds of jump rope with bobbin & weaving under the rope between rounds
5 rounds of banana bag on the long chain- lots of swinging. Had a little bit of a hard time getting and staying explosive. I think the extra focus on footwork took a bit outta me.
3 rounds of jumbo bag- power shots as hard as i could.
1 round of peanut bag - wore jumbo gloves to make it harder
1 round of double end bag- jumbo gloves and kicks from a distance
finished up with 1 minute of continuous knees.


This weekend I have a choice of doing muay thai or crossfit and i can't quite decide. Muay thai will be a workout, but crossfit will be death. the tabata stuff killed me this last week and i don't think i wanna be outta commission that long again. i'm trying to improve my conditioning but with my schedule right now i've definitely gotta pace myself. In otherwords, i'm leaning towards the muay thai, eventhough i feel kinda lazy doing so. The fact that doing pure muay thai will let me work out the rest of the week is the kicker.

[Pork Chop]

Weird day today.
Was running a little late and after all the heavybag work yesterday i wanted to work something else.
I jumped on the treadmill and ran a 9:05 min mile, which is actually good for me; finished out another 4 minutes after that and got a good sweat going.
After that I went over to the assisted dip/pullup machine.
I know that the assist takes a lot away from the exercise but I was looking more for a "burn" on weight I could control vs failure on weight that i really couldn't control.
I did dips first, 100 pound assist: 20 reps, 15 reps, 15 reps
Then I did pullups, same assist, I was feeling real weak by this point: 15 reps, 10, 10

After that I was pretty much done.

I was scared to really hit my legs, coz I'm just barely over severe DOMs from the Tabatas and could still feel some slight soreness.

Not my best day but at least I got in there.

[Pork Chop]

Really kicked it tonite. I can get more done in 2 hours at BXF than 3 hours at Diane's.

10 minute interval session on the elliptical. Turned in a pretty darn solid performance; though it felt like the motor kept failing on me.

3 rounds of jump rope. some days i hate jump rope. lately i've had a lot of those days.

3 rounds of shadow with the weight vest. Didn't go hand weights today, wanted to be relaxed and light on my feet, even with the 22 pounds of the weight vest. I did pretty well in that goal.

When I hit the heavy bag I'm really doing shadow with contact. I try to stay real busy, try to keep my combos real sharp, and try to drop bombs whenever I can. The only time I "just" blast the bag with the same shot or 2 repeatedly is on the jumbo bag, but not necessarily every round on the jumbo bag. I try to blend bombs with explosive, ramon dekker-esque combos and more shadow boxing type stuff (like defense, parries, jabs, and distance closers).

3 rounds of Jumbo bag. was blasting the crud out of it. I think i wore the vest at least the 1st round, can't quite remember.

3 rounds of the (smaller) boxing bag. Just did boxing combos, with some elbows.

3 rounds on the swinging banana bags. I like this coz it feels the most like sparring: having to gauge distance, close distance, react to distance being closed on you, being able to stay busy throught the changes in range, and still trying to drop power. Unfortunately, this can also be the least gratifying and most awkward training. hehe

2 rounds on the maize bag, slipping, bobbing, weaving, parrying, and countering.

2 rounds on the peanut bag: crisp combos with good timing, the occasional bomb, head movement, changing targets (hi & lo), and even some distance closing.

2 rounds on the double end bag: same as above, just a little quicker, usually one target, a lot of defense on this one, maybe fewer power shots.

Back on the jumbo bag with the vest for about 2:15, then 1 minute on the uppercut bag throwing continuous knees (still wearing vest). Tried to give it everything i had left. kicked out rapid fire roundhouses (10 each leg), as well as combos (hands + hands & feet), and finished up with high kicks. The knees with the vest were a challange, but i'm not sure that it was worth it- the vest kept getting in the way and ruining some of the reps; think i prefer just pushing the knees harder without it.

This joker was kicking the boxing bags with shoes as i was finishing out my last 3 to 5 rounds. I wanted to say something and probably should've but didn't. We've had 2 bags split open low on the bag where someone mighta used shoes to kick it, plus my jumbo bag has shoe marks on it as well, so i'm kinda sensitive about it. I was a little frustrated the last round on the big bag. I got this vibe he was trying to compete with me. I stayed busier but he was foot kicking, with shoes on, so he mighta made more noise (with some ugly, weak kicks). I also gassed pretty hard and couldn't keep up the kicks like i wanted; though still better than him even with a vest (which not only makes it more difficult, but restricts movement). I wouldn't mind being friendly with him, but the only reasons I have to approach him are to tell him what he's doing wrong, which he could take wrong. I got this weird vibe from him that he's trying to show off his kicking in front of me and he seems reluctant to even say "hi". *shrug* Oh well, I'm only here 4 more weeks anyway.

[Pork Chop]

Rough workout sunday.
Did some hard sparring, and got knocked around a bit.
Got in a couple licks of my own, so i guess i shouldn't be so negative.
found out that drinking coffee before and during a workout can really make you sick.
still feeling the effects today (monday).

[Pork Chop]

Monday stayed home from work. Was still feeling dehydrated, achey, and ill from sunday. I don't think all of it was from the sparring, i think it was more due to drinking coffee before and during a long hard workout. I got the call from Lockheed though and it looks like the job's a go, so i'm thrilled about htat. diet was atrocious.

Tuesday I woke up at 5 am for some strange reason but was kinda achey so just chilled in bed for a few hours before work. By the time i was done with my second job i was asleep on my feet. May be a bs reason to skip the gym but i was out of it and still a lil bit sore. I think my shins are going to be banged up for a good deal longer. Didn't get my offer letter in the mail, so maybe wednesday.

Today (wednesday) i woke up around 6:45 with a headache. I went back to bed for an hour and a half, but it just got worse. Hit up the grocery store to buy some lunch. Gonna lay off caffeine today and drink a bunch of milk to see if it helps with how ill i been feeeling lately. Tonite I gotta meet Julio at the gym so I'll definitely be there; hope he shows up. Got so much to do it's overwhelming.

[Pork Chop]

julio stood me up...again.
but i still got in a workout anyway.

20 min on the elliptical at a pretty high intensity cardio pace.

My shins are still real banged up- feel like i strained the tendons/muscles ligaments running the length of the lower leg; almost feels like shin splints. So obviously there was no kicking tonite; all rounds were just boxing with the occasional knee.

3 rounds of punching the banana bag.

3 rounds of punching the smaller boxing bag

1 round of maize bag

1 round of double end ball- this one was hung real high and had limited swing; just not feeling it.

1 round of other double end bag - this is my normal one, was working on it pretty well.

Short workout, I know, but I was anticipating Julio coming and I'm kinda nursing some injuries. The second double end bag mighta been 2 rounds, probly shoulda been 3 on that and 3 on maize bag.

[Pork Chop]

Julio didn't show up last night (thursday) so I didn't see why I should either.
I'm just so busy right now, so much going on, so much to schedule, so much to do.
I had to scale back my second job to 3 days a week (max).
I don't know if I'll be able to work out tonite either.
So much going on and I'm gonna be a fat pig when i get to texas, but it's a major change for the better.

[Pork Chop]

All in all this turned out to be a cr@p week for working out.

Saturday nobody was gonna show up and i was too busy trying to do taxes and other stuff.

saturday night i went out with some friends, drank a lil bit much- luckily the gf drove me home. Sunday (this morning) when i tried to wake up, i was still a bit drunk so I skipped my workout.

I'll make one final go of it the next couple weeks. just soooo much going on. so much to do.

I think i need to come up with some morning and/or nightly ritual. Might start when i get to texas. I was thinking of jogging/walking for 45 min every morning and calisthenics every evening. I wanna focus on getting that down first, with the diet i'm gonna go on, and adding in gym workouts later. Wanna build up a good schedule/routine from the gorund up.

[Pork Chop]

This week's turning out just as bad as last week if not worse.
Went to Diane's on Tuesday and just played around on a couple of the bags for 5 or 10 min.
My shins are still banged up and I'm having tons of nagging aches & pains:
back hurts, neck hurts, knees hurt, ankles hurt, wrists hurt, hurt inside the knuckle on my index finger, even had a bunch of ingrown fingernails.
Having a hard time waking up this week too.
Might be the changing weather.
Might be just accumulation of stress coupled with short-timers disease.
Things are gonna be better when I get where I'm goin.

[Pork Chop]

Ok, i'm officially a bit bummed.
got my new gloves in today: reyes 14s. they fit so much better than the 16s, but the right one's a bit tight, gonna take some breaking in.
The reason i'm bummed is because i think my body's telling me not to work on the kickboxing stuff for a lil while.
Had some problems with some ingrown fingernails, they were stabbing deeper and deeper with every punch- hurt like heck.
My shins are still banged up- even 15 light kicks each leg messed me up, had me cringing from the pain, and are still lasting with me, hours later via swelling & pain.

So I think from here on out, i'm just going to focus on cardio & weights till my weight normalizes a bit.

As I am typing this post, i'm realizing that a lot of my finger problems are in spots I often hit while typing- I've been typing a lot more than usual lately and that may have something to do with it.

my shins are kinda scaring me. I can't tell if it's a bone thing or a tendon thing. I think in general it's a tendon thing, but my left shin has some serious swelling & might have a stress fracture of some sort. The swelling thing's been around for at least 6 months. The soreness was from sparring that dude full out with no shin guards. Proud of myself for still banging through it, but I am realizing what a stupid way it is to train.

[SevenStar]

have the ingrown fingernails removed. See a doc about the shins. I had a stress fracture back in '04. it still bothers me from time to time, even though the doc says it's healed. I'm so used to banging shins that I can grunt through pretty much anything, but I have taken an interest in working my boxing more and more lately.

[Pork Chop]

Took care of the ingrown fingernails, just that doing so required me to really tear up my fingers, which is what was causin me problems.

I'll get the shin looked at when I can. my girl's a nurse, which usually helps a lot with surveying injuries. i have a pretty large knot on my left shin, which is what i think is the old stress fracture. i've had it for a long time- almost a year. Tried many times to use the thai liniment and really rub it out, but it never went away. When i sparred without the shin guards it felt like i reinjured it at least as bad as the first time. Dunno what a doc will do for me, surgery? I really do think it at least needs time off.

Lately I haven't had any sort of time to work out. Trying to get my dog on the flight to Texas is proving to be at least as tough as any opponent I've ever faced. All the temperature limitations and medical requirements are really killing me.

Tonite was my last opportunity to go to BXF and say goodbye to everyone. kicked the bag once or twice lightly to see how my legs were doing. If i kicked purely with the bone angle of the shin, i was fine. If I turned it over, the tendons/muscles would cramp like they were strained. I didn't kick hard, so I didn't reinjure, just enough to see what was going on.

Friday's my last day of work, gotta do a lot to prepare for my trip and my move.

Saturday morning there's a good chance my dog's not getting on the plane due to temperature.
My gf said she'll stick around till it warms up and put him on a later flight.

[SevenStar]

yeah, they take time. I wore a boot for 8 weeks. the doc wanted to fully immobilize it so that it could heal more completely.

[Pork Chop]

yeah, the knot's pretty high up on my shin- at least half way, so i would only be able to use a shin guard or some ridiculously tall boots. hehe

flyin down to texas tomorrow. Weather's not as bad as they said it was gonna be so i may have a shot at getting my dog on the flight.

so much to do but i got no energy. the week after next I'm going to start a new blog for my time in fort worth. this one's basically done for now. Coulda done better, but at least I tried something.

[rubthebuddha]

chop -- how'd you take care of your toenail? i have one that's been with me for a while. it's gotten neither gooder nor worser, despite anything i put on it. i'm a bit too much of a panzy***** to take sevenstar's solution (an interesting form of banination), and i'm curious aboot yours.

[Pork Chop]

for the ingrown stuff?
I basically hack away at it; significantly trimming the nail back from the fold where it ingrows & cuts into.
It's often a pretty bloody affair, but if i've got an ingrown nail it's usually cutting into my skin (almost by definition).

[rubthebuddha]

i thought you meant fungus. ah well. i gots no ingrowns, so you're of no use to me. :p

[WinterPalm]

Get a lot of dit dat jow and soak that sucker at least!!!!