Mr Punch's Brand Spanking New Blog [Archive]

Mr Punch

11-14-2006, 05:35 PM

Background:

Aikido and other aiki based arts since 1990, used to train everyday, sometimes twice a day, always tested in live sparring sessions with friends who did karate, kf etc (no grappling artists at the start of that time other than a bit of judo). At the time I was sparring a lot (ten years ago) we took the TJA approach and used no protection. And yes, although we usually pulled techs we did sometimes go full contact, and yes, we did sometimes (frequently?) end up with injuries: mostly cuts, scratches and bruises but we had mild concussions, dislocations, sprains and stuff too. Teachers inlcuded h2h and riot police teachers, other LEOs and bouncers and their teachers. Emphasis on the practical.

At the same time (ten years ago when I was most active in these arts) we also sparred with bokuto and jo/bo. It was not of course full-contact, but as close as you can get.

At the time I could easily breakfall from pretty much anything on any surface, and we trained in every weather condition too! Now I'm a wuss (OK OK older and somewhat sensible).

Nowadays my involvement in aiki-based arts is strictly limited to exercises and mixing it in in my sparring (infrequently).

Most recently in formal aiki-based teaching I spent about 4 months or so with a geezer who'd learned hsing-yi and daitoryu aikijutsu and was teaching very fundamental daitoryu principles. This improved my aiki and wing chun and general fighting dynamics and I still practice his exercises. He has crazy skills, of the kind that I'm not going to talk about because I'll sound like a flake, but having met some serious charlatans and ki-weirdos in my time this guy changed my opinion of what is really out there. I stopped because of other commitments and some differences of outlook.

Yang-style tai-chi, three years, privates for fighting apps, and classes two or three times a week for wibbly health nonsense. Gave me a good overview of tai chi in general, and maybe helped with a couple of principles, but apart from some chi kung I do for relaxation and stretching, had very little I still use regularly.

Wing chun since 1996. Traditional approach but personally and privately again always sparring with other kfers, tai-chiers, karateka etc. Sparring was a trad approach again, with only gumshields and cups for protection. At the same time (in my wing chun heyday maybe 8 years ago when I was training everyday and sparring pretty much every day too) was also regularly playing around with a judoka and learning some rudimentary groundwork him (by getting owned... though I have to say, maybe I have some natural talent!).

Nowadays my wing chun is a multi-lineage group. We meet usually twice a week, and train forms, apps, chi sao, two-three step sparring, and once in a while full-contact sparring. The full contact is not as often as I'd like. The chi sao is a little too often. we do go quite hard though at times, and a lot more co-operatively at others. We often had light sparring sessions with 'guest' artists from other arts, though not as often as we used to, and I have arranged seminars with an MMA teacher.

MMA (Shooto based - ie, wrestling, BJJ, JJJ, Thai and boxing, with a strong emphasis on double-leg shots as a takedown, and sprawls). About two years, but on/off because of injuries and commtiments, so in terms of good intensive continuous training probably more like six months (sniff sniff). A lot of full contact sparring with protection: got a great chance to pressure test my wing chun and aiki principles and techs in full contact setting.

Would like to do more but can't see it happening for a while, and would also like to compete one day just for the hell of it.

Mr Punch

11-14-2006, 05:36 PM

Oh yeah, and kendo: practiced over here for about four years. Still do when i have the time... would love to go for nidan asap.

Mr Punch

11-14-2006, 05:41 PM

Sunday 12th.

Wing chun from 1030 till 1430 or so.

Lots of chi sao.

Were at my fu-bro's house with his dummy, so reviewed the first dummy form (had learnt up to 6, but due to thinking their were better uses of my training time than air-dummy since I don't have a dummy... largely forgot them again). Was good, and I was pelased to see how quickly it came back, which kind of made me not feel so bad about not keeping it up, but also made me want to do more!

Basic pole exercises. I can't do one of them, because it needs wrist strength I just don't have! Bit disappointed, as I've been weight-training and didn't know i was so puny!

Pizza and beer.

Mr Punch

11-14-2006, 05:43 PM

Monday 13th.

Tabata push-ups.

Was very busy so didn't really have time to train. don't even remember how many I did... maybe 72 or so.

Mr Punch

11-14-2006, 06:03 PM

Yesterday:

Warm-up:

Tabata push-ups: 78 (highest yet), only 10 from knees in the middle.

Tabata lunges: 92 (? can't remember) alternating same side, alternate and walking.

Tabata crunches: 126.

Light stretching.

Weights (at the moment I'm limited to the weights I have at home which are two dumbells with a max of 38.5 kg, will buy an olympic bar at some point soon I hope).

Was in a hurry and wanted to work everything pretty much so didn' really think intelligently about what I was doing, just put them up!

3x5x38.5 squats (I always go Ass To Grass... dunno if that' good or what)

3x5x38.5 DLs

1x5x28.4, 2x5x33.4, 1x2x38.5 (failure) overhead presses (I know I can reach bodyweight and over in squats etc but my overhead presses suck... don't know if this is normal for an untrained lifter?).

3x5x38 floor presses (no bench yet).

Cardio:

20 mins heavy bagwork, high intensity... felt like I was going to die!

Run:

Slow, 10 mins.

Cycling:

Very fast, 15 mins up and down.

Later, SLT, CK and BJ and stretching.

Mr Punch

11-14-2006, 06:06 PM

OK lads, take it away: I welcome all criticism, comments, suggestions, encouragement, abuse! :D

GunnedDownAtrocity

11-15-2006, 10:32 AM

so thats 85lbs per db?

if so that's no joke man ... good job.

stricker

11-15-2006, 03:55 PM

Your aikido background sounds no joke either!

You got any particular objectives your working towards or weaknesses that need addressing?

Mr Punch

11-15-2006, 04:51 PM

so thats 85lbs per db?

if so that's no joke man ... good job.Holy crap no! Not yet mate! I'm pushing it up all the time but I'll have to check with the db shop to find out the max weight they can take before I get much bigger!

It's actually really puny... those squats are using two 19.25 kg dbs: I'm a complete newb so the max I've pushed up is my BW (then 75 kg) for 5 in DLs and squats in the gym. Now I'm no longer in the gym so I'm going as heavy as I can (which is a measly 38.5) concentrating very much on getting perfect form (I'm still considering myself in rehab for my back) so when I can buy new an olympic bar and more db weights it'll be easier to increase quicker.

I've only just started ATG squatting so I want to make sure it doesn't eff up my knees as I have various recurring knee probs to go with the back.

Stricker, the aikido was surprisingly good. I had good teachers, I trained like a maniac and fortunately came out unscathed (tho maybe my knee and back problems are partly related). I say surprisingly, because I've had good results with aiki principles in full contact MMA sparring and in the street. I do think the principles aren't taught enough in aiki schools though (including the one I was at, good though it was), and there's an over-reliance on techniques, which makes for a dangerous cookie-cutter approach to SD and whatever.

Yesterday, really wanted to train, but was well tired after work and got home and slept like a log.

So... this morning got up at 5:30 to do:

warm-up

The back pain-prevention routine from the other thread.

weights

3x5x38.5 tiptoes superset with 3x5x38.5 DLs

3x5x11.75 bicep curls
3x5x11.75 hammer curls
(not interested in big biceps but want to get a bit stronger in the arms)

1x5x11.75 tricep curls
1x5x11.75 inverted tricep extensions (think that's the name)

ran out of time...

more tonight.

Mr Punch

11-15-2006, 04:52 PM

You got any particular objectives your working towards or weaknesses that need addressing?Oh yeah... rehabbing and preventing further back and knee probs, and getting generally stronger.

Want to try cleans, jerks etc, and sometime maybe club-bells and/kettleballs just because I think variation is the best way, but would be far too worried about form for now and have no access to a teacher (my trainer went back to her home country).

Short-term: my wrists need some work, and my pverhead presses and bench really suck, and though I'm not sure how MA-related these are getting them a bit stronger can't hurt!

stricker

11-19-2006, 05:52 AM

good objectives, now gotta tailor your training plan to address them :)

Mr Punch

12-07-2006, 01:14 AM

Too sick to train for a week and a half, then too busy. :( Hope to train this weekend if my wedding doesn't get in the way too much! :D

Mr Punch

12-19-2006, 10:47 PM

Been a bit busy with work and my wedding and whatnot, plsu still been kicking off the tail ends of some odd flu-type bug. Just been odd bits of form work and bag work.

Last week got back into the swing by religiously doing tabata push-ups everyday but one. A lot of lit says tabatas every day are a surefire way to overtrain, but I thought I'd give it a shot and see how it went.

No probs, I rested when it seemed like a good time (maybe Thursday, I don't remember). My count didn't really improve though and was below my PB of 76 (puny enough anyway!) in the low-60s. Also did a couple of tabata lunges.

Saturday I was busy again, no time even for the bag (got up early so can't hammer on the bag due to neighbours), so I went for the tabata pushups again and hit 82 with relative ease. Nice. New PB. Limited myself to only one set of kneeling pushups (before I had been doing kneeling pushups whenever I felt tired, but I think the new mental discipline helped me push myself a bit). Did regular, wide, narrow (killer in a mixed set), scapula (thought they'd be a doddle - bit of a break, but turned out to be one evil burn!), elevated and kneeling.

When I improve more, I want to throw in some plosive ones too.

Sat night drank my bodyweight, so was expecting to feel bad in the morning, but with plenty of water the night before and between drinks and a good diet Sun morning felt fine.

SUN: two hours of fu and aiki.

Went over basics of shihonage (like a standing figure four arm bar) and kotegaeshi (standard disarm shown in many LEO agencies) with my fu bro. This was very basic and slow, without any resistance, just to show him the basics.

Then a long long sesh of kicking drills basically involving one of us front-kicking to chest height and one of us deflecting and kicking through with bong gerk, rolling bong gerk, tan gerk. Then kicking a front-kick, being stopped and turning it into a side kick. Also worked knees of course by doing the same things from the closer.

Good sesh. My legs weren7t working properly after, because they were tired, stiff and bruised.

Decided I was weak in the kicking dept so later (my wife was away!) trained a lot more...!

Warm-up: Mc Gill's back exercises.

Tabata lunges (trying as much as poss to relax and stretch into them: alternate legs, full set on alternate legs, walking, same leg),

Tabata kicks to the heavy bag (first front kicks, then another full set of bong gerk ('roundhouse' knees))... then mixed sets until basically I couldn't lift my legs any more.

Tabata sets of sprawl drills (****! that's a killer!)

Tabata sets of double-leg drills (not good on tatami mats, even with jogging pants it burns the knees and having to wear socks makes you slip and gives you serious strain on your knees even slowly)

Squats 3x5x38.5
DLs 3x5x38.5
Floor press 3x5x38.5

30 mins of yoga (mostly sun salutation sequence plus triangle and warrior) to warm-down.

That ws a good workout, but did have rather too much muscle strain to anything other than stretching last two days. Tonight gonna train again.

Really have reached the limit of my weights (except for the overhead presses) and can't afford to buy any more before Xmas, so trying to vary my exercise routine as much as possible. Gonna try and get some side presses and windmills in tonight, see how those go.

Mr Punch

12-28-2006, 08:04 AM

Was busy with work. Just tabata push-ups every day(ish) till 21st.

21st:

Bodyweight training:

warm-up: push-ups, crunches, squats.

Then supersets of various things, mostly too easy... can't remember the exact sequence, but includes things like 15 push-ups followed by 3 x 8 planks on each side, repeated twice. The only one that taxes me is the three sets of 16 Bulgarian split squats superset with 15 elevated push-ups, but not that much.

Still, it's a workout.

23rd:

two hours of chi sao with one advanced training partner who is making leaps and bounds using a few things we've shown him recently, and with one one-year noob, who still doesn't really seem to get the point of chi sao, has shoulders as stiff as planks and is mortally afraid of getting hit even lightly (maybe he has a low pain threshold!).

24th:

Fak sao from BG: one-step drills, three-step drills and chi sao working the same concept.

Good session. Improved my understanding and application of BG.

Yesterday (27th):

Tabata push-ups (PB 88 - various : regular, wide, narrow, kneeling, elevated, scapula, fist)

Tabata crunches (PB 179 - regular McGill's, alternate shoulders, bicycles)

Tabata lunges (88 - walking, alternate, same-side)

Squats 5x5x39.5 kgs
DLs 5x5x39.5 kgs

Kicking drills.

Tabata kicks (179 - concentrating on post leg form and keeping light on my feet - bong gerk knee raises, bong-tan knee raises, front knee raises)

Today (28th):

About two hours, few rests.

Warmed up with aikido ikkyou kaeshi waza: ikkyou, ikkyou and returned, and continuous punching ikkyou drill. Largely co-operative, later bit more resistance but used it to concentrate on footwork and finding centre quickly, and as a basic side and bong sao stretch.

Close range elbow drills from BG: lap sao against elbow-elbow to jaw, kap jarn to disappearing bong control against elbow and straight punch/back fist with the same hand, fak sao against elbow. Good stuff. Started co-operative then got a wittle wuff. Good work-out for rolling out of neck-ties, and breaking out of clinches with elbows and then getting more distance.

Chi sao, rather uncooperative, couple of clips round the head, but not too wild.

Same as usual: need some sparring... haven't sparred in too long. Need bigger weights. At the moment working on cardio and form with my puny 39.5 kgs... if anyone can think of any interesting exercises to do with 19.25 kg DBs until I can get some more weight, please let me know. At least my squat and DL form is perfect and my back is stronger than for years, and I'm still feeling gains strength-wise, but I'm very limited by my equipment for now.

stricker

12-28-2006, 10:17 AM

i dont know how strong you are but even with just one dumbell up to 20kgs you might want to try overhead dumbell squats, waiters walks, push press/jerks, bent over rows (balance the shoulder muslces). be careful with anything overhead though, theres raging debate about it with very good arguments for and against...

another good one (stolen off AndrewS) is if youve got a stability ball use that as a bench and do single arm db bench press, hits core strength a lot. be careful you dont smash ya face in tho :p

also all the usual shoulder stuff like front and lateral raises, L-lateral raises, 3 point raises etc db swings are really good but be careful of weights flying off etc... a good place to check for pure dumbell exercises would be ross enamait's site, cant remember the link right now but i think its rossboxing.com or warrior something.

AndrewS

12-28-2006, 10:55 AM

Hmmm,

Let's see-

Single or double

For explosiveness and speed-strength-endurance
DB clean and jerk
DB swing
DB snatch
DB push-press

General goodness
DB OH squat
DB front squat

For strength, particularly the last two- Step ups and bulgarians are a substantial load even with bodyweight, add some iron and they get challenging fast. If I remember correctly, the guy who started using stepup instead of squats with his lifters (Soviet coach) was getting 600+lb squats out of people doing high stepups with 250-300lbs.

DB lunge
DB step up
DB bulgarian squat

For fun,

Windmills
bent presses
turkish getups

Hope this helps,

Andrew

P.S. Seated db power cleans- good for the upper back

Mr Punch

12-30-2006, 06:28 AM

Cheers sirs,

some good tips I'll take you up on.

Coincidentally, before I read your posts I'd just looked up windmills, Turkish get-ups and side presses...

This was this morning's work-out:

Warm-up:

10 squats, 20 crunches, 10 push-ups
x2

Superset push-ups (10) and planks (side and front, 8 secs each) x3

Superset squats (12) and bird-dogs (10) x3

Double dumb-bell overhead presses:

11.7x5, 12.95x5, 13.2x5, 15.45x5, 16.7x5

Single DB presses:

16.7x5 x3

Turkish squat get-ups:

11.7x3(each side) x2 (these are way harder than I expected and hurt like a biotch: my guillotine injury from two years ago pinged out again in my right shoulder... gonna have to watch this one!)

Low windmills:

11.7x5, 16.7x5, 21.7x5 (each side of course)

LOVE THESE!:)

The windmills felt really good and were much easier than I thought... not so much as a wee twinge in my lower back: I should have listened to you Andrew when you first recommended these to me in my other blog thread. Mind you, they may be so easy because I've already been working on DLs and other back-related leg exercises for so long.

These windmills felt like they were doing good from the get-go. I was highly tempted to go all the way up to the full weight I have available, and also to go for High Windmills and High-Low Windmills, but I let caution get the better of me because my shoulder muscles already pinged and were preventing me from gettign a painless turn to look at my right hand on that side. Next time!

Finished up with Tabata lunges: 100 (alternate, all right, all left, walking, jumping: thought I'd try the jumping ones in the middle there. They're pretty hard but good. Will work more in to the tabata sets)

Went to the anma to get my shoulder seen to, and he said that my lower back and legs were in better condition than he'd ever 'seen' since I've been going to him (three years or so). I'd felt much better and stronger but it's nice to get some confirmation.

I'll the rest of your exercises when I come back from my New Year break next week. Until then the only training I'll be getting is shovelling snow, climbing mountains and pulling sleds... sounds pretty good, eh!:D ;)

Mr Punch

01-23-2007, 10:34 PM

31st onwards

DB training (still each one at 19.75kg)

DLs 39.5x5x5
Squats 39.5x5x5

Farmer's Walk (39.5kg - 30 secs) into Waiter's Walk (same) x 5 each. Hard but fun.

Felt grim from the Turkish get-ups... can anyone tell me what the point is? The exercise site I looked at (bodybuilding.com) says the main target is abs, but it seems to me that it's the same as just doing a lunge (gluts and quads) and then a squat... excpet there's a potentially dangerous changeover point in the middle which could lead to a bad squat position. So, what's the point of the TGUs and tips? (Other than to start with substantially lower weights)

My legs really hurt all week from the jumping lunges (think I had my stance too short) and I didn't get to train in the hills: no snow! Just lots of really good o-sechi ryori, sashimi, sake and shouchuu. Started and ended by carrying our bags (about 25 kgs) all round Tokyo and onto the plane and into the boonies and back again!

Mr Punch

01-23-2007, 11:20 PM

Year review and training resolutions.

Last year:

Good points:

Felt my fu and general fitness were getting better.

Largely got over my asthma (maybe naturally, maybe partly as a result of training hard).

Got over my bad back and knees (back was the worst problem as it kept going - haven't really had any twinges now since I started weights and McGill's core work-outs - feel I can safely recommend it to anyone with similar problems (recurring mild bulging disc) )

Fu improvements:
understanding and being able to apply more of biu gee: issuing elbow energy in atypical directions; got stronger and faster strikes and better ability to use them in any direction with short hip power; being able to choose between moving as a unit more and delinking at will.

Gained about 5 kg of muscle (largely invisible on my gangly frame!)

Bad points:

Ate too much dairy produce. The week I had of sashimi when I found I could sleep on my back again without having any asthmatic wheezing proved to me that diary is a major exacerbating factor.

Gained about 5% bodyfat. Started last year at about 72-3 kgs and was measured on some dodgy machine at the gym as having about 12% bodyfat. My home scales measured me at 15 at the time, and I'm assuming that the gym's equipment is more accurate. Now I weigh in at 78.5-80 kgs and (on my home scales, not the gym's) 18-20% bodyfat. I'm not overly concerned, as I figure that a) the scales are not accurate, b) I'm going to gain a little bodyfat through my diet (basically eating more more often, including too many dairy products to keep up my amino acid balance), and c) I'm still getting stronger and fitter and you can only see a wee bit of a spare tyre (which is going to happen anyway as I'm 35 next weekend!)

No MMA. Due to time and money constraints, didn't go to the MMA gym at all this year, or to any seminars. Did of course include some throws and disruptive locks (note: not pain control locks, but those designed for unbalancing people as a prelude to a throw or to open up their defence) in training, but no mats so always training to the point of balance, which isn't so useful. Also of course included my excellent boxing skills and thai knees and kicks and some wrestling entries into the wing chun drills, chi sao and light sparring but...

No full-contact sparring! This was the first year I've had no full-contact sparring since I was about 21 years old, maybe younger. I'm not too concerned yet, as I know I have some skills, but I'd rather they didn't atrophy.

No gym. Quit the gym after only six months. Main reason was dollar. However, also felt I'd learnt everything I could from that gym (there were no trainers there and my trainer left to go back home after three months, also there was no squat rack).

Training resolutions

1) Gain another 5 kgs of muscle!
2) Lose about 5% bodyfat... partly by...
3) Eat considerably less dairy: eg, start taking the whey protein shakes with water instead of milk, take amino acid supplements and eat more tofu instead of milk and cheese.
4) Badger my training bros to get some equipment so I can...
5) Start full-contact sparring again.
6) Save and buy some more weights, and a bench.
7) Lift up to one and half times my BW in the big lifts (I know I can do my BW in DLs and squats so that's no problem. Have no idea what my 1RM is, or how quickly I can get new weights or step up the amount, so this is quite a modest goal I think. I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to manage 2xBW by the end of the year.)

Mr Punch

02-27-2007, 07:21 PM

It's been a while again...!

Been training pretty much in the same vein as before. Still no full contact.

Started running a bit more again (found a cheap public gym, pool and free bouncy running track near where I've lived for the last three years! DOH!), mainly keeping it up for 20-30 mins and not concentrating on distance (usually about 5km) for a warm-up before weights.

Gonna start sprint intervals soon, maybe tonight.

Also started swimming recently. Or my approximation of it! To my horror I've found I should add it to the list of things I USED to be good at! I was in my high school's team, but now I suck, blow, gasp, spit and swallow! :eek: :D I put it down to the asthma, but maybe I'm just crap. :(

The (still light - up to 38.5 kg : 2x19.75kg dbs - still can't afford more) light weights I'm using are getting lighter in all lifting directions! I'll hopefully get back to posting more comprehensive details of the lifting (and fu) soon.

The fu has been the same. A little progress. Working on bong gerk and kicks to try and up my flexibility. Mostly going through basics with beginners and people who've been out of it for a long time.

My diet and minimal (and inaccurate) details of my workouts can be found here. (http://fitday.com/webfit/publicjournals.html?Owner=Mr+Punch) For a two-hr fu sesh I usually put 1:30 of taichi and 30 mins of judo, karate etc in the activity session because that's about the same intensity level. They have separate sections for sparring and bagwork and whatever for boxing so I put those in as is.

Problems: Still can't really gain any more weight. How the hell do I do that?! :) Not interested necessarily in bulk, just strength and a few more kilos. Is that possible or are these goals conflicting? Am I doing too much cardio? Not enough warm-ups?

Also, according to my suspectedly unscientific scales my bodyfat is now up to 21%. My more knowledgeable exercising friends say this is nonsense, I'm inclined to believe them but if you look at my diet records maybe there's too much fat... what do you think?

Any help as ever greatly appreciated.

Samurai Jack

03-14-2007, 10:22 PM

Hi Mr. Punch. Where are you? Haven't posted on your BLOG for a bit, and as I'm recieving a little ribbing for similar infractions, I thought I'd share the love.

Trying to lose bodyfat and gain weight at the same time isn't really a very realistic goal, but it's possible to approximate those results by manipulating your exercise level slightly. In fact I've found a relativly pain-free way to lose weight and keep muscle intact.

Here's what you do:

Use that "Fit-Day" site to track your diet and exercise for a week noting whether your bodyweight goes up, down, or stays stable. If goes up or down, try cutting or increasing your calories a bit until it stablizes. Once it is stable, you'll have an idea about how much you should be eating to keep it there.

Now this is where most people will tell you to cut calories and start eating six meals a day, and blah blah blah. It's a nightmare, and nobody i know ever sticks with such a plan.

Instead I suggest you increase your activity level. You don't have to do a lot more, in fact you don't want to lose weight very fast at all here. Instead just throw in an extra hour long class, an extra cardio session, or maybe lift weights for fifteen more minutes. Take a walk on the treadmill after you're through at the gym. Not a run... a walk.

You want to increase your metabolic activity just enough to lose maybe 200 more calories a day through exercise than you do now. Since you've been using Fit-Day, you know how easy it will be to add that as a daily calorie expenditure, and the beauty of it is that you won't really feel like you're doing that much differently.

The down side is that you'll only lose about two pounds of bodyfat a month. Interestingly though, at that rate of fat loss your body will retain 99.9% of it's muscle, and as your muscle-to-fat ratio changes you'll look much leaner and fitter than you would if you went on a crash diet.

All that and you get a painless habit that you can stick with forever.

Mr Punch

03-18-2007, 11:19 PM

Hi Mr. Punch. Where are you? Pretty busy unfortunately... and when I'm not busy, I'm training!

Trying to lose bodyfat and gain weight at the same time isn't really a very realistic goal, I think you're the first person that's actually told me that... here I am living in fantasy land...! :eek: :D

but I figured your plan was about right... plus cutting out a bit of the fat (though I don't eat much and I want to make sure I'm not skimping on fishy oils and the things I need).

but it's possible to approximate those results by manipulating your exercise level slightly. In fact I've found a relativly pain-free way to lose weight and keep muscle intact.

Here's what you do:

Use that "Fit-Day" site to track your diet and exercise for a week noting whether your bodyweight goes up, down, or stays stable. If goes up or down, try cutting or increasing your calories a bit until it stablizes. Once it is stable, you'll have an idea about how much you should be eating to keep it there.I've pretty much given up on fitday for now, as I simply don't have the time to fill it in... too busy eating and training!　:D

Also lot of the foods I eat just aren't there (as I live in Japan and eat a lot of wierd stuff) and too difficult to work out through their constituent parts too.

My weight was pretty much stable, and according to those shonky scales my body fat was too… though it noticeably went down with a few days of increased cardio (running, swimming, tabata bodyweight stuff and intense bag interval training).

Now this is where most people will tell you to cut calories and start eating six meals a day, and blah blah blah. It's a nightmare, and nobody i know ever sticks with such a plan.Yeah, the little and often works OK for me, but it's never going to be that strictly doable: I work a full time and a part time teaching job, plus a couple of private lessons, plus kung fu, plus other training, plus lots of housework, plus lots of lovin and a little bit of halo 2!

Instead I suggest you increase your activity level. You don't have to do a lot more, in fact you don't want to lose weight very fast at all here. Instead just throw in an extra hour long class, an extra cardio session, or maybe lift weights for fifteen more minutes.An extra hour of anything would be difficult right now… the fifteen mins may be doable! Take a walk on the treadmill after you're through at the gym. Not a run... a walk.Why a walk and not a run? And how long? I often walk to the gym, but then I sometimes swim after lifting.

You want to increase your metabolic activity just enough to lose maybe 200 more calories a day through exercise ... Interestingly though, at that rate of fat loss your body will retain 99.9% of it's muscle, and as your muscle-to-fat ratio changes you'll look much leaner and fitter than you would if you went on a crash diet.

All that and you get a painless habit that you can stick with forever.Explanation makes a lot of sense, thanks a lot.

I just bought an exercise ball, so I can vary my workouts a lot and start putting in some seated presses, benches, single arm benches, tricep kickouts etc! Happy! Should finally be able to get a couple more plates to get my DBs up to a total of 30-35 kgs each this month too!

Mr Punch

03-18-2007, 11:23 PM

BTW Jack, tried your 'Bear' thing the other day with two 20 kgs DBs... harsh! Even at that weight I could only do 3 before I felt my form going... I had just finished tabata pushups, situps and lunges, and a load of high-low windmills at the time.

Also the part where you do the squat with the weights on the back of your shoulders is pretty much impossible with the DBs and my puny arms!

Mr Punch

03-18-2007, 11:29 PM

Plus, anyone know about CoCs? Their training grip is 40 kgs right? I closed a 40 kg generic gripper pretty easily several times (and held them closed for an experiment for a few seconds - till I got bored basically)...

what poundage should I go for?

I'm assuming you can do the same as any other weights with them... lighter poundage and more reps for endurance, and higher poundage/fewer reps for strength...?

Samurai Jack

03-19-2007, 10:21 AM

Good to see you back my man! Yeah, we all know how it is trying to find time to fit in everything. Usually I just catch up here after a day or two, so my BLOG is a back-log of my hardcopy log. We also keep a community log at the dojo, and have a white board with the day's class content on it as well, so basically every aikido workout I log has actually been written down four times. Some people say I'm obsessive-compulsive.... I call it thourough.

So addressing things in order:

An extra hour of anything would be difficult right now… the fifteen mins may be doable! Why a walk and not a run? And how long? I often walk to the gym, but then I sometimes swim after lifting.

This is my own personal prejudice based on extensive research. Some people call it "lazy". Actually, since the goal is to keep your calorie expenditures small, and to avoid dipping too far into recovery reserves (the time it takes for the soreness to go away so you can get back to training), walking over running makes a lot of sense. That said, since you're in a time crunch, a brief jog will do the trick. I merely suggest that you take it easy and spread your extra exercise over several activities, because psychologically it's easier to maintain in the long run, and it's less uncomfortable. The idea is to lose a few extra calories, not train for a marathon.

I just bought an exercise ball, so I can vary my workouts a lot and start putting in some seated presses, benches, single arm benches, tricep kickouts etc! Happy! Should finally be able to get a couple more plates to get my DBs up to a total of 30-35 kgs each this month too!

Oh, I've heard that doing benches etc. on a stability ball with dumbbells is great for your abdominal core, and with practice you can still get up to considerable poundages. Let us know how that goes.

BTW Jack, tried your 'Bear' thing the other day with two 20 kgs DBs... harsh! Even at that weight I could only do 3 before I felt my form going... I had just finished tabata pushups, situps and lunges, and a load of high-low windmills at the time.

Yeah, I'm really falling in love with the Bear. I really feel it working my hips, abs, and lower back, and can feel those same muscles being engaged more in my aikido and iaido. There's something synergistic going on there, and I'm excited to see what the long term results might end up being. Several people have remarked that I'm "using my center more", and that I am "a lot stronger" since I've thrown them in. If you keep doing them, just do front squats instead of trying to get those DB's behind your neck.

Plus, anyone know about CoCs... what poundage should I go for?

Start out with the #1. The trainer is for folks who've never touched a gripper before. I suppose you could do it for reps if you only have a little Coc, but you want to work up to the larger size as soon as you can. Everyone here (who has one) loves playing with his Coc.

Mr Punch

03-19-2007, 06:17 PM

This is my own personal prejudice based on extensive research. Some people call it "lazy". Actually, since the goal is to keep your calorie expenditures small, and to avoid dipping too far into recovery reserves (the time it takes for the soreness to go away so you can get back to training), walking over running makes a lot of sense. That said, since you're in a time crunch, a brief jog will do the trick. I merely suggest that you take it easy and spread your extra exercise over several activities, because psychologically it's easier to maintain in the long run, and it's less uncomfortable. The idea is to lose a few extra calories, not train for a marathon.I getcha. Psychologically, I do whatever I can, when I can... I'm not the most motivated, but I don't have a motivation problem more than a time one.

Right now we're cleaning and rearranging everything in the apartment for a new arrival, which eats most of my real training time, but at least I try to use good stancework when lifting/moving stuff! ;) :)

Oh, I've heard that doing benches etc. on a stability ball with dumbbells is great for your abdominal core, and with practice you can still get up to considerable poundages. Let us know how that goes.Well, so far, the weight limitation is through money, not strength... now I've made the space the ball should be going up today, and the first session immediately after. I'm thinking benches (and should be able to work out a good position for incline type and decline type too), plus the one-handed benches Stricker mentioned, Box (ball) squats (the sitting down and stabilizing should be a hard workout as it goes, even with my puny 20 or so kg dbs), and if I have any gumption left some seated overhead presses... looking forward too it... also maybe got time for a swim before fu tonight, so if I have any strength left after I'll let you know how it went!

Yeah, I'm really falling in love with the Bear. I really feel it working my hips, abs, and lower back, and can feel those same muscles being engaged more in my aikido and iaido. There's something synergistic going on there, and I'm excited to see what the long term results might end up being. Several people have remarked that I'm "using my center more", and that I am "a lot stronger" since I've thrown them in. If you keep doing them, just do front squats instead of trying to get those DB's behind your neck.Yeah, they're good, but maybe a bit much for my level. Like I said, I could only manage three with good form. Also found with the change between the DL bit and the squat bit (is that a clean or a jerk? I don't even know the basic terminology :eek: ) grinds on the T6 (the slightly protruding vertebrae at the base of the neck - if I've even got that right)... maybe I need to keep my elbows out more.

And yeah, I already subbed the front squat for the back.

Start out with the #1. The trainer is for folks who've never touched a gripper before. I suppose you could do it for reps if you only have a little Coc, but you want to work up to the larger size as soon as you can. Everyone here (who has one) loves playing with his Coc.I think with my grip I'll be onto the larger CoC in no time... :D :rolleyes:

Mr Punch

03-25-2007, 07:10 PM

Didn't go as planned again, life got in the way! Managing to train every day right now though, which is great.

Saturday (was it?!) did a nice warm-up of eight silk brocade reeling, the core lower back exercises, koryu shikko and shintai jiku (manji walking - first time in a long time and boy am I feeling it now) before I went into squats and DLs... tried to get on the ball for the bench press... but couldn't catch the d@mn thing! LOL :D And then when I tethered it and tried again, I couldn't pick up the weights from the floor to bench them! No rack! Haven't got the ball skills down yet... will have to work it out and try again tonight/tomorrow.

Yesterday swam... improving my tech with the help of a friend. I used to swim in the high school team but haven't for about twenty years and completely forgot most tips. Good workout though... maybe better than if I was doing it properly! Also fu, basics of first two sections of SLT with beginner student... checked his form, went over the stance opening and connectivity, then punching, and tan, pak vs punch and dan chi sao. He wants to move on in the form, but I'm going to introduce him to basic turning and stepping through lap sao drill, stepping dan chi, pad and bag work as soon as he's got his root, and before he starts on the next section.

Mr Punch

04-04-2007, 08:32 PM

Last Fri,

forms,

doc mcgill's core back workout

8-silk brocade

10 manji steps

10 shiko

(The above is my new core warm-up set although I usually do 20 manji steps and shiko if I have time)

tabata pushups (106) various kinds

db bear 40 kg x 5 (was going to do 3 sets but twanged my knee)

so

sb squats carefully 40 x 5 x 2

db dls 40 x 5 x 3

db bp (ball - finally got the hang of balancing on the ****er) 40 x 5 x 3

db flies (ball) 10 x 5 x 3

db skullcrushers 10 x 5 x 3

db ab rolls (ball) 10 x 10 x 3 (****ed hard but good feeling)

db curls and hammer curls 10 x 5 x 3 each

db forearm curls and pulls 10 x 5 x 3 each.

30 mins increasing intensity bagwork (my bagwork usually consists of boxing, kickboxing, koryu and wing chun nowadays - seems to work... well the bag never hits me back anyway! :D ) .

swimming - 40mins not so hard plus more manji stepping.

SatKung fu hanami!

Not meant to be a hardcore sparfest or anything - just some core stuff for some new people and a lot of chi sao... (in a park surrounded by the beauuuuutiful flowering cherries and thousands of drunk people). Ended up mixing up some chi sao with thai and takedowns (my friend also does thai so he started sticking in the knees with happy abandon and I was answering with mine we were mixing upn some thai roundhouses and knees with sticky legs - very nice - and since he was kicking my sorry ass, I chucked in a couple of takedowns - a single leg, a halfhearted double leg, an aikido gokkyo or two which is a basic arm drag throw to land him on his arm under me, and a few other things - good fun and a good workout and no-one hurt!)

Drank a few beers and scared (? bored?) off some fat drunken Yank tai chi chick.

Was very stiff from previous day!

Sun Washed out. Meant to train but wound up doing bugger all.

Mon Swimming. A little short of an hour mostly breast stroke and failed crawl (still no progress on timing there!). Also did a lot of wing chun stepping drills, thai and koryu kicking drills and manji stepping in the walking lane... really felt it in my thighs.

Tue Hard work. Did some lifting prior to fu... but heart wasn't really in it... Usual warm-up (McGill's, 8-silk, manji, shiko) then proceeded to fail on a simple and oft-done 40 kg overhead press... maybe balance of new warm-up is off and actually taking it out of me more than I thought. Anyway, went on to db side press (20 x 3 x 3) and full windmills (20 x 3 x 3)... and called it a day.

Cooked some soup ina hurry between lifting and fu and feeling a bit lightheaded from the workout, cut a 7mm x 5 mm x 4mm (deep) piece out of my left forefinger. Not really much fun to be had there. Went to hospital, missed fu.

Yesterday: rested. (Woman's banned me from training till I can do it without cutting my fingers off afterwards! :D )

Today Wife out:

Usual warm-up,

111 tabata pushups inc some new variations.

211 tabata sit-ups of various kinds.

10 kg ab ball rolls x 10 x 3.

sword wringing - followed tabata pattern again for simplicity - with 1.9 kg suburi bokuto: this wringing drill is actually a wing chun pole drill but it's similar to a drill we used to do in aiki and really burns the forearms.

wc pole drills - thrust and figure seven - don't have a pole so not getting the right weight distribution but do it with the bokuto which is near enough.

Mr Punch

04-07-2007, 09:12 AM

Really felt the burn yesterday from the forearm workout the day before. The forearm curls and pulls, the sword wringing etc, but mostly the sword wringing I think (althought the marathon Halo 2 tournament may have also contirbuted to forearm fatigue! :D ). Wanted to capitalize on that yesterday - though doing more sword wringing would be overworking the forearms, so wanted to do some full sword swings, but in the end was too busy with work and family stuff to even fit that in... ended up as

yesterday (Friday 6th)

core back exercises.

full stop!

today

Again horribly busy with work and family, plus feeling jaded and exhausted from late night drinking to seal a business meeting, plus woke up with a really sharp crick in my right lower back... finally got round to finishing a kind of a workout just now (about 1 in the morn here).

Took it easy as it's late and I'm knackered:

Core warm-up:

Dr McGills

8 silk

manji steps (10)

shikko (10)

Yoga:
Half Lord of the Fishes
Cow Face
Sage
Plank - lunge

Tabata lunges (bw) 96 (alternate, right leg, l leg, walking)

Yoga:
Plank - lunge.

Nice to spend some quality time with my wife, but a struggle mood- and energy-wise. Oh well, tomorrow , I'm gonna kick my own ass! :o :cool: Good night Jon-boy!

Mr Punch

04-15-2007, 09:14 PM

Finally a more substantial training day than all the stretching and stuff:

Swimming: one hour, not so intensive - too many people, but a good few fast lengths and a lot of stepping drills.

Running: Just 2.5 k: 12 mins, bit slow... will work harder. Wanted to do sprints but the track was too busy with people 'hanging out'

Stretching.

Food and sleep (one hour)

20 mins intensive bagwork (mostly kicks and knees, but palms too - no fists as still have injuries to both hands - wing chun, boxing and kick boxing - working bobbing, keeping moving and the crazy monkey guard) warm-up

squats: 3 x 5 x 40 (2 x 20 ish dbs as usual)
dls ditto
(ball) benches ditto
ab ball rolls 3 x 5 x 20 (2 x 10 kg dbs - weighted to one end - growing to love this exercise more and more!)
flies ditto

McGill's stretches (core lower back)
El Macho's stretches (nice little core programme from El Macho on Bullshido for hams, glutes and hip adductors)
Leg swing walking x 10
Manji walking x 10
Shiko x 10

Mr Punch

04-30-2007, 08:48 PM

Lots of the same for the last couple of weeks.

Day before yesterday I decided it was time to find my 1RM in squats. I want to find it in DLs, press and bench too, but I thought I'd start with squats.

OK, so the first problem is, I don't have anywhere near enough weight and I'm not a member of a gym. Second problem is, my local gym doesn't have any free weights, only a Smith.

OK, so I thought I'd go with the Smith despite my reservations.

Read up on HOW to find a 1RM on the erstwhile T-Nation (starting with lower weight warm-ups reps), completely forgot (! like a retard !) to rest between sets other than changing up the weights, and found a puny 1RM of 90 ****ing kilos.

Felt dizzy and a bit crap.

Came to three conclusions:

1) Don't forget to rest.
2) I'm still really **** puny.
3) I really really hate Smith machines.

Smith machines are sh!t :mad:

Usually when I'm lifting my puny 40 kgs of dumbbells I feel good doing a squat, DL or anything... although the weights are way to light to improve what I'm doing. I at least figure the stabilizer muscles must be getting a good workout.

I felt the Smith actually compromised my form, and when I tried the DLs I found they were actually impossible. Not even worth trying for a 1RM or anything.

In future I'll have to just stick to what I have at home and try and get to a gym or someone who has free weights as often as I can.

Bought an extra 2 x 5 kg plates for the dumbbells Sunday and gonna buy two more tomorrow. Asked in the shop what kind of max the dumbbells can take, and the shop doofus said, 'Well there's nothing written about it, so I guess as much as you can fit on!' I didn't want to point out that I could fit at least four 15 kg plates on each end, and ask him to confirm that he was telling me it'd be perfectly safe to lift 120 kgs without the shaft breaking! Tosser! :D

Mr Punch

05-01-2007, 09:24 AM

Usual warm-ups... now inc El Macho's stretches.

DLs: 5 x 2 x 40 (2x20kg ish dbs)

5 x 2 x 50 (2x25kg ish dbs)

5 x 1 x 32 kg (one-hand DLs x 2)

Tricep raises (each hand)

3 x 1 x 9 kg
3 x 1 x 11.5
1 x 1 x 14

Tricep kickouts (each hand)

3 x 1 x 9 kg
3 x 1 x 11.5
3 x 1 x 14
3 x 1 x 16.5

Forearm curls (and reverse, each hand)

3 x 1 x 6.5
3 x 1 x 7.75
3 x 1 x 9
3 x 1 x 10.25
3 x 1 x 11.5
3 x 1 x 13
3 x 1 x 14.5

Hammer curls

3 x 1 x 6.5
3 x 1 x 9
3 x 1 x 11.5
3 x 1 x 14.5
1 x 1 x 17

Don't usually do arm work so it was nice for a change.

Want to work more core stuff though, so tomorrow maybe back to windmills, one arm presses... or maybe a shoulder sesh. Also going to buy another ten kg tomorrow, so will practice shoulder shrugs and various other nonsense with them on the way home again!

Also practiced some aiki exercises. Been a very long time. Nice.

Mr Punch

05-04-2007, 07:29 AM

Not feeling too great after my friend's BD party last night... a few too many gnts and shochuus but managed to beat my PB in tabata pushups with 120! :D

Then usual warm-ups

plus a basic squat routine:

3x5x40

3x3x50

overhead squats

3x3x0 (! first time trying overhead squats... killer! tried with 20 kg but no f'in chance, so did it with nothing to see about the mechanics of it then...)

3x3x10

bear
3x3x10 (usually use bigger weights but was already knackered so thought I'd stay small)

WinterPalm

05-04-2007, 08:35 AM

The OH squat is probably the hardest variation to get good at.
If you go to Crossfit and look at their daily workouts, they often have little videos clips at the bottom of each post. More often than not they are clips from workshops detailing the mechanics of various olympic lifts.

For starters: really get your shoulders as high as you can, touch your ears. Keep your core tense throughout...usually you don't go further than the top of your hips being parallel, but olympic lifters do this to rock bottom ATG.
Good luck!

bodhitree

05-04-2007, 09:15 AM

WinterPalm

05-04-2007, 10:50 PM

I have found that with most people they do not have the ability to squat that low with their shoulders bearing any substantial weight in the OH position. Without a doubt a full squat position is ideal. The flexibility in the hips, ankles, knees, and crucially in the shoulders is what hinders this exercise for most people. As is the lack of flexibility and core strength the weakness in the front squat for most people.

Mr Punch

05-05-2007, 07:05 PM

For starters: really get your shoulders as high as you can, touch your ears. Keep your core tense throughout...usually you don't go further than the top of your hips being parallel, but olympic lifters do this to rock bottom ATG.
Good luck!Thanks for the advice, folks.

I read on exrx that you should put your arms back as far as you can... I certainly can't touch my ears with my shoulders! I just tried with no weights and it kills!

I did go ATG though, and it was very very hard. But, I figure it's supposed to be, so I'm gonna stick at it like that for a couple of weeks while I'm hitting this squat programme. I'm gonna try again today, starting to up the weights. Seem to be generally flexible enough in the knees and hips, but perhaps strangely, found my ankles hurt a bit last time, so I'm gonna try it today with my legs a little further apart and maybe with my feet a little more splayed.

Mr Punch

05-05-2007, 09:29 PM

Usual warm-ups and stretches.

Tabata 236 crunches of various kinds (low back stress varieties).

Squats

5 x 5 x 50 (need more weight... this is becoming a warm-up now!)

Overhead Squats

3 x 5 x 13.4

1 x 3 x 15.9 (felt like I could have done more and higher, but time was a factor... formwise, started out like you suggested WP, with shoulders touching the ears as near as d@mmit, lost form slowly as it went but felt ok flexibility-wise. Strange thing: with the arms back like Exrx recs feels more stress on the ankles, with shoulders up like WP suggests feels much harder to push the knees out... dangerous - gotta watch out for that and gonna keep with insignificant weight till my flexibility gets better... maybe start with 3 x 5 x 15.9 next time and work up to the next weight)

Bears

3 x 3 x 23.4

1 x 3 x 33.4

Still only the fourth time I've done these... just getting into the groove, thinking I'd go up for the 50 kg set this time when my right knee twanged with a really sharp pain on the second rep... finished the set very carefully looking for when/where it happened but it didn't happen again. Stopped. Frustrating.

All in all, remaining positive... made some gains in this sesh but as always they always seem too little. I know I'm still a noob and somewhat hampered by what weight I have so I'm trying not to get frustrated but sometimes I do.

WinterPalm

05-05-2007, 11:09 PM

One reason I suggested not going ATG is because oftentimes a lack of flexibility or even stabilizer strength in the body makes it difficult and you may put your knees past your toes. I am very adamant about not doing this. I know olympic guys do this but I sacrifice a bit of depth in order to work on keeping my knee/toe alignment proper.
Find some good shoulder stretch/dynamic movement stuff...that should help you.

Mr Punch

05-06-2007, 06:05 PM

That's interesting. Most of the literature I've read, and the trainer (of admittedly dubious pedigree) I had, tells me the knees go out as far as the ass, so the ankles are directly below a halfway point along the thigh. You're telling me the knees shouldn't go past the toes at all?

Furthermore, from everything I've looked into, going parallel and not ATG puts a hell of a lot of sheer stress on your knees, something I can't afford to do given my history of knee problems.

I'll look into some shoulder flexibility exercises though. Any recommendations?

WinterPalm

05-07-2007, 09:17 AM

There are different interpretations of parallel and full.
Parallel to me, means going until the very top of my hip bone is below the level of my knees...to some this is a full squat. A full squat is done until the hamstrings touch or gently rest on top of the calves.

When you do them, do whichever you are comfortable with. I do not like ATG too much as I have knees that pop quite a bit when I squat with no weight, like always, and if I squat with weight all the way ATG, the popping hurts in the squat and I don't do them that way.
There is a vast amount of literature to support either side: the health and wellness segment suggests a higher depth than what I do. The hardcore weight lifting segment and especially olympic lifters suggest all the way down.

Here's a good stretch:

Stand up against a wall, heels, butt, shoulders, and head touching. Raise your arms above your head straight and touch the wall behind you with your hands. Now try to touch your elbows to the wall. Remember to maintain neutral spinal position and don't hyperextend. Then slowly, very slowly, bring your hands down to your sides along the wall and keep touching or trying to touch the wall with your elbows.

Mr Punch

05-07-2007, 09:49 PM

Thanks for the description... it seems like I'm mostly doing ATG after all. My idea of parallel was definitely only thighs parallel to the ground too (which hurts my knees), so I'll have to try yours.

Here's a good stretch:

Stand up against a wall, heels, butt, shoulders, and head touching. Raise your arms above your head straight and touch the wall behind you with your hands. Now try to touch your elbows to the wall. Remember to maintain neutral spinal position and don't hyperextend. Then slowly, very slowly, bring your hands down to your sides along the wall and keep touching or trying to touch the wall with your elbows.Funny, I can do that no problem, but still seem to have trouble with the shoulders to ears bit.

WinterPalm

05-08-2007, 09:39 AM

Realisitically you probably won't be able to touch your ears, it is just the idea of getting them as high as possible. Also pinching your shoulders blades. And time, it is a very demanding exercise that requires a lot of stabilization.

Black Jack II

05-08-2007, 10:03 AM

crazy monkey guard

That is a great guard. Excellent default position. Nice choice bro.

Mr Punch

05-10-2007, 08:00 AM

Realisitically you probably won't be able to touch your ears, it is just the idea of getting them as high as possible. ...You tryin to make me look like a fool!? :mad:

:D

That is a great guard. Excellent default position. Nice choice bro.I'm no expert. in fact I'm new to it. Haven't tried it out in sparring yet...

was looking for a better guard against bigger guys. Smaller or same kind of height people I can usually just whale in and get them with aggression, and that's what I usually do with bigger guys too (! :D ) but was having some trouble finding a safe guard with them if it didn't go my way in the first exchange.

Wing chun's guard is pretty useless. It's good enough for a fence in an SD situation, but as an active guard it has too many holes against guys with longer arms and any skill. The aiki guard is as close as you can get to having a limp wrist as a guard... and although I agree with the trad (as in hardcore, good...) aiki stance of having no stance (which again fits in with Geoff Thompson and whatever in SD and is nice in that it allows you good short-range energy issuance in your strikes with next to no telegraphing from any angle in a neutral position) again, it isn't so good if you need something after it's kicked off.

My MMA teacher was really good at teaching boxing (with it's big ass gloves, street-useless guard), Thai (I always sucked at the footwork which kind of negates the Thai guard a lot I think - and it isn't that great in the first place) and wrestling (which has a good guard for wrestling...) so that didn't really help me develop a good guard so much.

Looking forwards to trying this for real - feels nice and comfortable to use so far.

Mr Punch

06-04-2007, 05:56 PM

First day of training since Eleanor was born...

Sprints...

Managed 200 m in 28 secs - way down on my high school champion days, but not bad for standing start, (too) full stomach, tail end of a cold, and no training for a while...

er, that's it! LOL :D

OK, OK, did run on a little bit and then sprint another couple of 200s... then did some tabata pushups when I got back, but a thoroughly lacklustre performance. Looking forward to when my wife's hip-bones have gone back to normal so I can get her in training too.

Mr Punch

06-06-2007, 05:01 PM

Decided on a change of tack. Rather than just kicking my own ass for sitting around with a baby on my shoulder, and being up to my eyes in washing and washing up on top of my full time job and three part time ones, though I’d aim for at least one short training session a day. This may only be a four-minute tabata set, but whatever is better than nothing. And so… since I only have fifty kilos of dumbbells available so I can’t push my overall big lifts at all anyway, it’s maybe time to focus on more intervals to build the endurance, some explosive strength and lose a couple of pounds of fat. My diet is OK, my BF isn’t too bad (well my shonky scales reckon it’s 20 % but I reckon that’s nonsense – but I do have a slight gut), and who knows, I think I actually have enough lack in the general muscle dept to put on a bit more muscle weight and lose a bit of fat at the same time (dare I say, ‘tone’! :p ).

So yesterday, with the tail-end of a cold, and without having done any training for a while (the day before’s sprints notwithstanding) I did a measly 96 tabata pushups (those ones with one leg in the air really slow me down, but it feels good and painful).

This morning I warmed up using light low range dynamic leg swings, slowly building the ROM up.

Then I thought I’d go against the advice of just about everyone and see what I could do with an all over set of tabata weight exercises. I had 16.7 kg on each db already so just went with that (a little higher than I would have chosen but before work after a sleepless night with baby Eleanor so couldn’t be bothered to change – I’ve done tabata squats and DLs with 20 kg before but I ended up compromising my form a bit with the DLs and putting strain on my lower back so I thought next time I’d have to make sure I was going lighter until I was sure the quick reps wouldn’t compromise my form).

The result was shockingly poor!

2 x 16.7 kg DBs
Standard tabatas - 20 secs of reps, 10 secs of rest:

Squats x 8 (turned into an extra warm-up - couldn't get any gumption!)
DLs x 9 (concentrating on form but still low for 20 secs)
Overhead presses x 6 (this is where it all went pear shaped - realised before I locked out the ceiling in the kitchen is too low! :D So, dropped to my knees and continued there but lost rhythm and it was TOUGH!)
Side presses x 4 (OK - dunno WTH happened - all I could do to get lock-out)
Knackered
Extra rest... still well out of breath :(
Bench (Ball) presses x 8
Shrugs x 10.

Puny.

Try again tomorrow with 11.7 kgs x 2 - with a tiny touch more planning and a bit more mental fortitude shouldn't be a problem to finish all the exercises and add another with better rep count.

Oh well, it got my metabolism working if nothing else.

Mr Punch

06-06-2007, 05:02 PM

Anybody else do tabatas with weights?

Are they supposed to be that hard, or am I just getting punier?!

stricker

06-07-2007, 04:38 PM

Mr Punch

06-08-2007, 06:41 PM

never done tabatas with weights... just seeing what your posting dude the problem from where i see it is you seem a bit erratic in what your doing. IME results come from consistent effort over time. dont get me wrong mate im not preaching i just know the areas ive made progress in are those ive been organised in, and where i aint made progress is where i havent stuck to a plan...Nah, appreciate any advice as ever... but yeah! I know I'm really erratic right now. But that's just now. If you look at my posts before don't miss where I say that I've been doing more of the same (but haven't been posting about it) - except when I was injured, and now we've got a three-week old baby!

I was swimming regularly, doing tabata push-ups, sit-ups and lunges regularly, and had a reasonable DL and squat routine going, interspersed with cycling other exercises to work other muscle groups (considering the lack of real weight and facilities). Also regular bagwork and fu.

Now, however, with the bairn, I'm just grabbing what I can.

also if times really really limited simple stuff like 5 min rounds of dumbell swings is pretty good all-round strength and cardio.On busy days, with a normal day of work plus part-time job plus baby- (and Mum-!) care, I'm talking it takes a lot of effort to get even 20 mins to train. Hence my concentrating on tabatas and any other quick interval programme.

Plus, since I want to be able lift bigger on DLs, squats and windmills etc to make sure my lower back isn't going to go again before I try to pick-up any new swinging type exercise unsupervised. (Originally I was getting into weights for rehab, right?) A good link to the exercise you mean would be useful though...?

getting a pull up bar that pops in a door frame could be an awesome investment too, Love to. However, this is Japan: I have no regular door frame: just big sliding doors and paper screens; the walls a made of paper composite/thin board; there is one supporting beam which is impossible to use and no supporting pillars!

for heavy-ish weight work you could think about doing making a fairly heavy sand-bag, good for squats etcAgain, space and to store and train is an issue. If I had time for it the nearest (and realistically right now the only available) gym is cheap and five mins walk, but it's only machines. The free weights go up to a measly 16 kg dumbbell.

keep it up :)Thanks for the encouragement! I'm trying!

stricker

06-09-2007, 06:32 AM

it's all good man, yeah i know you dont update this after every bit of training :)

here's the first youtube clip that came up for kettlebell swings :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h1QcHTkwdI

you can do exactly the same with a dumbell, or there's variations like one-handed etc. as a single exercise goes they're pretty good, and yeah they'll probably be great for your back...

Mr Punch

06-10-2007, 02:17 AM

Thanks for that again mate.

One worry tho: not my back this time, but looks like a half-arsed squat position with your knees which is surely gonna tear them up...? (I've had various knee probs before too, which seem to be largely healed since I took up weights, so I'm more than willing for you to set me straight on that too! :D )

Samurai Jack

06-10-2007, 11:13 PM

Have you been working on the Bear? I noticed you were starting out with some very respectable poundages, and it's such a brief whole body workout, it might be good for you since you're in a time crunch.

Mr Punch

06-10-2007, 11:25 PM

Funnily enough, was going to try the tabata 30 kg weight set again, dumbbell swings, (maybe then) some overhead squats and then the bear to finish (me!) yesterday, but wound up lifting and carrying 4 kgs of cute but unsettled baby for a couple of hours instead while my wife got some rest!

The best-laid plans of mice and fathers!

Try again tonight... :rolleyes:

BTW, can't remember what my pundages were for the Bear, but I think it was somewhere near the max I have for my dumbbells so I'm not actually going to get past the 'starting pundages' if that's the case! Still a good exercise though. A real burner!

Mr Punch

06-11-2007, 08:06 AM

Swimming. Half an hour: pretty non-stop.

Tried the tabata weight set I dreamt up. Too d@mn hard for me right now.

33.4 kg (2 x 16.7 dbs)
each set 20 secs of course with 10 secs break...

squats 8
DLs 10
windmills 6
sqs 5
DLs 7
wms (timing was going off...) did 5 each side
sqs (abandoned tabata timing... but still as fast interval with short breaks) 5
DLs 5

seated overhead presses 5 (both hands) 5 l, 5 r.

That shouldn't have been so hard. Seriously unfit.

More tomorrow!

Mr Punch

06-13-2007, 05:36 PM

Yesterday morning before work:

109 tabata push-ups... not good.

No time for planned workout after work either: lifting baby (about 4.6 kgs!)

This morning:

50 push-ups (just for a quick warm-up)

20 x empty bar db swings (1.7 kg)
20 x 11.7 kg db swings
20 x 11.7 right hand db swings
20 x 11.7 left hand db swings

(Just thought I'd start light and see how it went... quite nice: thanks for that Stricker - that'll be part of my regular programme. Used the plates on one end of the db bar so it was weighted more like a club - easier to hold that way)

Mr Punch

06-17-2007, 10:30 AM

This morning's fu:

just an hour and a bit.

Some light chi sao,

and some very light sparring...

gave me a bit of a chance to see if my finger had healed (seems OK, but still a bit ginger) and to check out the crazy monkey guard against someone else. Wasn't hard enough to really put it through its paces but worked OK. Also seems to fit in very nicely for working entry in wing chun.

This evening:

49 pushups (in a minute)
12 x 2-handed db swings x 2 x 16.7 kg
10 x l hand, 10 x r hand... collar failed on DB! Wondered if it might! Luckily it was as I picked them up (was trying tabata set of swings) rather than in mid-swing where it would have shot through the shoji and the window probably!

Next time will check collar in rest period every time.

Tabata lunges with 11.7 kg... can't remember how many. EDIT: 77... waaay lower than unweighted. About the same for the first four sets... then tailed off.

10 x manji step
20 x shiko.

WinterPalm

06-17-2007, 12:28 PM

What the heck is the crazy monkey guard?

Mr Punch

06-17-2007, 08:30 PM

What the heck is the crazy monkey guard?

You hold both your palms strongly on the top of your head (some people recommend the eyebrow region but I'm finding that a bit sloppy and difficult to see so I go for basically above the hairline).

This is a great guard for close range. It doesn't leave you open like a boxing guard does without gloves, you can move your elbows around easily to block/cover against punches, and also to open your opponent's guard, for easy acces to clinch, double/single leg or other moves needing a quick level change. It also prevents you opponent punching your own hands back into your face and the subsequent feeling of stupidity like a lot of lazy boxers and fu-ers get!

You can cover your middle with bobbing and weaving, footwork and your legs.

You should always attack aggressively from it tho: it's not going to stop everything.

Mr Punch

06-19-2007, 07:26 PM

30 degs and humid all day yesterday. Really hard getting any motivation for exercise but waited till sundown and went running.

Sprints:

200m in 26 secs (100 - 13),
rest 20 secs
100m in 16 secs
rest 30 secs
100m 18 secs
rest 50 secs

then just pain... :eek:

kept running 100m bursts, and most of the time I could focus on the stopwatch I was doing 18 secs each time, with rest periods varying but around 30 secs of jogging, walking or stumbling mostly.

Altogether ran 2 km, 'sprinted' the last 400 m with whatever I had left.

Conclusion: "room for improvement"! Need to do more more often. TBH would have carried on last night but the track was closing.

Then went swimming for just ten lengths breast stroke - wanted to work on my crawl but was already spent, so after the breaststroke just kicked off to practice breathing and did a couple of lengths just kicking.

Followed by walking lengths in the pool:

1 x shiko
1 x manji stepping
1 x wing chun sidekicking
1 x thai roundhouse
1 x wing chun knees
1 x wing chun front kicks

Cycled home.

Mr Punch

06-23-2007, 10:49 PM

21st

tabata push-ups - 116

overhead presses, forget what weights and how many.

10 manji steps
20 shiko

22nd

52 pushups in one minute

bicep curls (16.7 kgs) 3 x 5

Completely random selections of exercise... :eek: :o

No sleep due to baby, and no time due to work and baby.

Starting programme as of today or tomorrow when I've worked one out.

Mr Punch

06-24-2007, 08:29 PM

Very atypical training session yesterday... and very interesting.

My friend is a member of an actors' action team, and has appeared in a couple of movies over here. He's san/yon dan taekwondo, and does capoeira and on top of that I've been teaching him wing chun. He's doing a seminar on kicking techniques for the movies in one of Japan's performing arts institutes and I've got roped into doing the hand technique session...!

So yesterday we went over the basics of what he's going to teach, so I'm not a complete fish out of water in his section (an hour and a half of taekwondo kicking with added flash for movie style!)... next week I'll take him through my half.

I did karate for a couple of years about 12 years ago or more, and of course went through and used basic Thia teeps and roundhouses in my MMA classes, but it'd still been quite a while since I'd had such a high-kicking workout, and maybe the first time for spinning hook kicks etc.

It was fun, but very taxing.

Couple of things were interesting:

Taekwondo kicks all go through centreline.

The side kick is almost identical to a wing chun side kick found in a couple of lines.

Generally, I found the power generation to be not as difficult as I imagined, and also the flexibililty (since I'm quite inflexible: used to be very very flexible until my lower back injury)

I would think the ones we learned would be very useful in some situations in full contact if you don't fall into the trap of dropping your hands when you kick that many taekwondo people seem to. Also, I was a bit bemused by the bad rep of taekwondo... I mean, I've seen some bad stuff, and my friend is pretty serious (having been a one-time Olympic hopeful, and trained in Korea many times) but I didn't see any evidence that it's quite as bad as everybody makes out. Unless it's just the strip-mall aspect and kiddie belts... but the moves themselves seemed solid.

We trained with an MMAer (5 years boxing in Canada, 2 years and a blue belt in BJJ over here) and too, just to see what we would go across with unfamiliar action students... though as it was mostly for show we didn't really even just play around with any sparring.

So, we covered:

lots of gentle dynamic stretching

front (rising?) kick
side kick
back kick
spinning hook kick

and one other. (I have probably totally ballsed up those names... I'll have to check with my friend!)

We looked at distancing, power, specific stretches for specific kicks, and worked the pads with them.

At the end I larked about with the MMA geezer a bit; we compared double legs between my teacher's and BJJ, he showed me another couple of takedowns and the x-guard which was quite nice.

Incidentally, I'd forgotten how cool the Shinjuku Sports Centre is... and that was the first time I'd been on a Sunday evening...

There were some top-level pro Pancrase fighters up there, capoeiristas galore, stunt and action guys going through some crazy-assed wushu and capoeira routines and acrobatics, some Shooto guys, some goju beginners being taken through sanchin again and again for three hours, some aikido doods, plain ground grapplers... met some of the Pancrase guys, capeoiristas and action guys - fantastic place for MA networking! :)

But boy, is my ass gonna be sore tomorrow! (From the high kicks, you sickoes!)

Mr Punch

06-24-2007, 08:30 PM

Half an hour's sleep last night after the session, as my baby decided to try an all-nighter for the first time...

don't somehow see myself getting my weights programme back in line today... :o

AndrewS

06-25-2007, 04:17 PM

Hey,

a quick comment on your use of tabata intervals with weights. The tabata protocol is exercising to 90% max heart rate (220-age) for 20 seconds for 8-10 rounds with 10s active rest. At high heart rates motor skills go, and performing a complex movement under load may increase your risk of injury. Given your history of back problems, you should probably avoid using windmills with this and stick to stuff like swings, thrusters (squat to push press), and squats.

A nice way to set this sort of thing up would be a 3-5x5 circut of 3-5 exercises, followed by something like thrusters or pushups or front squats done tabata style.

BTW- caught some of your youtube clips, nice stuff. The manji stepping is eeriely reminiscent of some baji and xing yi stuff I've seen. To my eye it would seem like it's developing characteristics similar to the battle punches for long pole in Wing Chun (opening the hips while stabilizing the upper back). Where do you find similarities or differences?

Later,

Andrew

stricker

06-25-2007, 04:40 PM

cool. links mr punch?? pm if preffered ;)

also this may be totally random, but you don't know an english bjjer living in tokyo by the name of philip do you?

Mr Punch

06-26-2007, 07:04 AM

Today, another night of no wakefulness, and totally shagged... add 28 degs and round about 85% humidity... and you get... 53 pushups in a minute and that's your lot! (Oh well, at least it's a PB)

Hey,

a quick comment on your use of tabata intervals with weights. The tabata protocol is exercising to 90% max heart rate (220-age) for 20 seconds for 8-10 rounds with 10s active rest. At high heart rates motor skills go, and performing a complex movement under load may increase your risk of injury. Given your history of back problems, you should probably avoid using windmills with this and stick to stuff like swings, thrusters (squat to push press), and squats.

A nice way to set this sort of thing up would be a 3-5x5 circut of 3-5 exercises, followed by something like thrusters or pushups or front squats done tabata style.Nice idea and good advice, and yes, although I don't think there was much danger of injury (I always concentrate on form over reps, esp in the tabata, which is one reason why I don't really make gains so often) it was the windmills that totally fried me last time.

BTW- caught some of your youtube clips, nice stuff. The manji stepping is eeriely reminiscent of some baji and xing yi stuff I've seen. To my eye it would seem like it's developing characteristics similar to the battle punches for long pole in Wing Chun (opening the hips while stabilizing the upper back). Where do you find similarities or differences?They're not really mine: I'm no expert! They're ones of my former teacher... and it was after I'd left the class so I'm not even anywhere near.

And yes, I thought it was similar to the pole's punching exercise, but I don't know the pole, so I'm no expert on that either, except for the pole warm-ups... which is where the hips and back come... no time now but I'll hit this in detail soon.

cool. links mr punch?? pm if preffered ;)

also this may be totally random, but you don't know an english bjjer living in tokyo by the name of philip do you?The links are already around on Samurai Jack's blog, don't have time to dig them out just now...

Met a Phil Yeomans who does BJJ, maybe 6'2: he was a friend of and training some stand-up with one of my fu-bros. Can't say I know him.

Mr Punch

06-26-2007, 10:25 PM

Was going to try your suggestion with the tabatas Andrew, but time cut it short again...

iron cross:
bar (1.7 kg - x 2 of course) x 10
3 x 5 x 4.2
3 x 5 x 6.7
3 x 5 x 7.95
1 x 5 x 9.2
2 x 3 x 9.2
1 x 3 x 10.45

Overhead press
3 x 5 x 11.7
3 x 5 x 16.7

Decided on shoulder programme for next two weeks.

Samurai Jack

06-26-2007, 11:08 PM

BTW- caught some of your youtube clips, nice stuff. The manji stepping is eeriely reminiscent of some baji and xing yi stuff I've seen. To my eye it would seem like it's developing characteristics similar to the battle punches for long pole in Wing Chun (opening the hips while stabilizing the upper back). Where do you find similarities or differences?

Not to hijack, Mr. Punch, but I have a little insight here:

I did Hsing-i and Pa Kua for seven years before I came to Aikido, and my first impression was that there are way more similarities between these three arts than any others I've seen or sampled. In fact Pa Kua and Aikido share one movement in particular that isn't supposedly found in any other arts, namely Kokyu Ho (called Phoenix Spreads Wings in Pa Kua).

I asked about the similarites on the internal arts board back in 2003 and got flamed so hard I've never mentioned it since. Not that the Trolls objections didn't have merit. Just that my position was either misunderstood, or purposely ignored.

The idea that ancient Samurai studied internal martial arts in the middle of Japan's isolationist period seems far fetched. The idea that Morihei Ueshiba studied Hsing-i and/or Pa Kua in a Manchurian Prison for two months and somehow assimilated the entire essence of the arts (then went back in time and taught it to everyone in the Daito Ryu from his Aikijutsu lineage) also defies reason.

So why are these three arts so similar, when no other arts in Japanese history look the same, nor do any other arts in China have the same flavor? Maybe the issue dosen't require time travel, nor any Historical gymnastics. Could it be as simple as basic body mechanics used by Soldiers in armor using similar weapons?

Remember, Aiki focuses on spear, staff, and sword work, and was developed by Japanese warriors who were accustomed to wearing armor. Unlike other systems of Jujutsu, Aikijutsu actually intergrates the weapons work into the empty hand techniques. For example a sword cut and a hand strike will be performed the exact same way.

Hsing-i was based on Spear and Sword work, and was used to train Chinese soldiers. Hsing-i integrates empty hand and weapons work as well. Pa Kua Chang was probably developed by Dong Hai Chuan, an Imperial Palace bodyguard, who trained other bodyguards to use.... you guessed it, spears, swords, and armor. According to some lineages, Pa Kua and Hsing-i also influenced each other.

So it's not so far-fetched to think that the developers of these styles, which used similar weapons and methods came to similar conclusions, and thus developed nearly identical body mechanics.

Mr Punch

06-27-2007, 11:29 PM

Yeah, I seem to remember that thread and saying that I didn't think either option was likely but that there seemed to many similarities...

I agree, and I think it does come down to pole and spear work, which is why I think it's a shame that the pole in WC is so shrouded in secrecy/advanced as that seems to share some of the characteristics. It means that many practitioners are losing out on some very basic power-generation aspects that they should be learning from Day One.

Incidentally, Akuzawa, the koryu teacher I got my exercises from, also did Hsing Yi with somebody relatively famous and good, and he said the same thing. He also used to include exercises from Hsing Yi too, (like the stepping 'chain punch' type thingy - for want of the correct terminology! :eek: ) but then he stopped in favour of only working the koryu stuff.

Mr Punch

06-27-2007, 11:33 PM

Last night:

half an hour of tachi-dori waza. Taught the basics my movie action friend for his show-reel.

Great!

Hadn't done it in a long time, but reminded me how much I love it (and lived it!)! :)

In aiki too, those who don't practice so much sword (or at least bokuto) and jo stuff are really missing out compared to those who do too: it helps the power generation, footwork, angles of defence etc. We used to do about half and half weapons (including contemporary ones) and unarmed.

Mr Punch

06-29-2007, 04:18 AM

Got up heroically early (overslept 25 mins) considering the ****ty weather and my baby keeping us awake all night again.

That extra 25 mins would have been useful as could have done another exercise or two and on to the tabatas, but had to go light n quick again.

(Weights inc the bar weight of 1.7... all x 2 of course being as there're two dbs! :D )

lateral raises:
3 x 5 x 7.95
3 x 5 x 9.2
1 x 3 x 10.45

front raises:
same

shrugs (front and back):
5 x 5 x 7.95
5 x 5 x 9.2
5 x 5 x 10.45
5 x 5 x 11.7
1 x 5 x 14.2
1 x 5 x 16.7
1 x 5 x 19.2

meh. time time time...

Mr Punch

07-06-2007, 05:55 PM

another half a workout...

too little sleep, felt fatigued before i started.

of course, all dbs so all x2

BP 1 x 10 x 11.7
5 x 5 x 16.7
1 x 5 x 19.2
1 x 4F x 19.2
1 x 3 x 19.2

Arnold OP
1 x 10 x 2.95
1 x 10 x 11.7
1 x 4F x 16.7
3 x 3 x 16.7
1 x 3 x 19.2

shrugs
1 x 10 x 11.7
5 x 5 x 16.7
5 x 5 x 19.2
5 x 5 x 21.7
5 x 5 x 24.2

other half tonight...!? or sleep

Mr Punch

07-08-2007, 05:23 PM

Opted for sleep, had a busy day yesterday in a few ways.

Trained 6-930 in the eve.

D amn good session.

Bit of everything and only complaint is didn't have more time to work in a bit more detail on a few more things.

Started with some stretches for my fu-bro who's done his back in. Refreshed him on the McGill's lower back ones that I usually do and mentioned a couple of El Macho's for hip adductors and glutes.

Then

Some chi sao with a couple of fu-bros I hadn't seen for a long time.

Light sparring from a chi sao base with an Okinawan (shuri-te) karate guy who was a complete noob to fu. Didn't see much point in starting from chi sao since he had no idea of forward intent or relaxation (but that's what he wanted to do so, oh well) - tried ot give him some idea, but he wasn't getting my explanation so I went with slapping him about a bit to illustrate my points. Then we moved up to a bit of light sparring (no gear) but he obviously wasn't used to anything other than typical karate stuff of coming in and out: the constant forward attacking was obviously more aggresive than he was used to and kind of overwhelmed him (and I was being sweet n nice and not going hard). Bit disappointed in not getting any kind of challenge: very different to Goju ryu guys (which is naha-te) as far as I remember.

Chi sao with a twenty-year formal sempai (sidai?) from my informal fu-bro's school. He was crap. Very disappointed. And yeah, I wasn't being competitive: we started slowly, just testing intent and structure and rolling slowly and upped the intensity slowly for about twenty minutes... he kept backing away and had no angle stepping at all.

Then some padded semi-contact sparring with my fu-bro who also does Muay Thai. He said anything goes, so I got to play with a bit of grappling to. Nice session. He's probably better than me, but way shorter, so I can afford to be a bit slack (though I was trying to keep things tight!). I was a bit too slack and occasionally tanning/kap jaarning his mid roundhouses: bad idea without perfect timing and distancing, and I got an evil knock to my elbow which has since swollen up. :( Hope it doesn't put me out of any training! Still, lesson well learned: started using my legs to check him more, both by blocking, and counter-kicking; keeping my distance with front kicks until I was ready to go in, and stop-kicking his kicking leg or his post leg when I read his timing right. Went well. Worked a nice single leg takedown (half swept him but wasn't sure if he take the landing so changed it halfway through) from a leg-catch, straight into a bungled mount, swiftly took side mount and simulated beating the crap out of him. He's not a grappler at all, so it was all too easy, but it was good to know that this grappling **** works really well on people who dont have a clue! :D Also got a DLT later and would've been guillotined but he didn't know how, so I went through guillotines with him.

Then (very?) light contact sparring with a biiig fu-bro. I was trying to work the crazy monkey guard in close range, to get underhooks or a good clinch/elbow position. Reasonably successful, certainly worth working on with gear next time. Tried one of those funky TKD roundhouses I'd been taught coupla weeks ago: copped his elbow with the top of my foot right next to the bruise from last time... hurts with weight on it today so hope that doesn't put me out of training! :( Next time just gonna stick with the Thai style shin kick roundhouse!

Bit more chi sao with a relative noob still terrified of being hit. Tried to build his confidence a bit.

Then an hour of movie action training: working wing chun hands for purely flash effect! Great fun, but pretty much useless from a fighting perspective, other than teaching my partner basic boxing punches.

Good sesh. Next week more of the same, but want to work some DLT drills, sprawl drills, and basic groudwork if my biiig fu-bro's back's better. Have to remember the kickpads next week too.

Mr Punch

07-09-2007, 08:02 AM

Planned some suburi bokuto work and to get back on with shiko and shintai jiku, plus some weights tonight, but the weather's still really crap (really really humid, bout 26-7) and I have too much work, plus family stuff.

Fit in an hour of movie action training again, this time going over the flash looking WC apps with a bit more care substance and attention to detail. So this time it was more like MA training, but still not especially useful in that respect.

Looked at basic boxing punches and combos.
Basic chain punch (turning and advancing).
Pak sao drill.
Pak-da/palm-back of knee stomp kick-turn corner to fuk sao control takedown from behind.
Variations on the takedown: grabbing the shoulders and slamming backwards, controlled descent onto your knee, and standing RNC.
Working to the inside: tan-palm, inside pak to fak-hook-elbow combo.

Little or no resistance, set drills, very slow and basic, but not too shoddy.

Lacklustre day. If I can finish my work on time, tomorrow should be better,a nd the good news was yesterday's injuries which were acting up a lot this morning too seem to have disappeared. :)

Mr Punch

07-10-2007, 08:08 AM

Second half of the upper body workout I started, ohh, on Saturday. But still, progress.

DBs as usual so x2 where appropriate.

Bent-over row

1 x 10 x bar (1.7kg)
3 x 5 x 6.7
3 x 5 x 9.2
3 x 5 x 11.7
3 x 5 x 16.7
3 x 5 x 21.7

Surprisingly easy, even for this light a weight... try bigger next time.

Front raise

1 x 10 x bar
5 x 5 x 6.7
3 x 5 x 9.2
3 x 5 x 11.7

Lat raise + Iron cross, superset with tricep kickback.

1 x 10 x 4.2
3 x 5 x 6.7
3 x 3 x 9.2

This last baby was sweet.
I realised I didn't have time to do any more exercises so I put the three together. The Iron cross has the overhead press and the bicep curl in it anyway.

My left arm was losing it towards the end so I'll probably stick at the same weight next time till my left catches up with my right.

Mr Punch

07-10-2007, 08:11 AM

Now the bad news...

My injuries turned out to be work-throughable, but it also turns out I picked up a staph infection from rolling at the sports centre on Sunday. ****. It's not too bad, but Japanese doctors provide child's doses of anitbiotics, and she didn't even take a swab sample to see if it was MRSA.

And it means I can't pick up my baby, and we have to wash all the ****ing towels and everything separately.

Anyone tell me how long it should take to clear up?

AndrewS

07-10-2007, 11:35 AM

I presume you have an area of infected skin- a cellulitis. It should be responding pretty well inside of 2 days with noticable change in the affected area. Draw an outline around the red part of the affected area. If the red margins are spreading past the outline in the next day or two, not shrinking, head back to the doctor.

Andrew

Mr Punch

07-10-2007, 10:35 PM

It's folliculitis so it's more separate spots so far.

Seems to be calming down a bit.
The ***** heads are going.

CFT

07-11-2007, 06:47 AM

stricker

07-11-2007, 02:40 PM

Hey Mat, that sounds bad especially not being able to pick your daughter up. I had read about such possibilities; I seem to also remember Neilhytolt raving on about not training with people for this reason. I assume that it is actually quite rare to contract stuff like this in a training environment?

Glad to hear you are on the mend.Ive never really heard of things like ringworm being a problem in wing chun from chi sao contact for example, but at some wrestling/mma places it is, especially as its more full body contact. In fact some gyms have a reputation for it...

Wash the mats, use proper hygiene (tea tree oil shower gel is supposed to be good for preventing it), and if someone has it they dont come to training till its cleared up. That way it wont ever be a problem. Oh, and if you go to seminars or other clubs, wear gi pants and full rashguard hahaha

Mat,

Unlucky man, hope it clears up soon and you get back to having fun with your kid!

Mr Punch

07-16-2007, 08:54 AM

Wash the matsPublic gym... :eek:
use proper hygiene Always been a hygiene freak, especially since I ran a restaurant and even more so now I have a baby. HAd a shower before I went training and another one immediately after (but not allowed to use soap in the gym shower) and yet another one when I got home!(tea tree oil shower gel is supposed to be good for preventing it)Tea tre shmea tree... over here it'd be cheaper and easier to have my arm amputated!

Definitely gettign rash guard stuff... and a full NBC suit!

Unlucky man, hope it clears up soon and you get back to having fun with your kid!It's cleared up even with the extremely weak Japanese anitibiotics: thanks for your kind words!

Mr Punch

07-16-2007, 09:04 AM

Bench

3 x 10 x 7.5
5 x 5 x 15
5 x 5 x 17.5
2 x 3 x 18.75
1 x 5 x 18.75 (forgot how many I was doing!
3 x 3 x 20
1 x 3 x 21.25
1 x 22.5

Still puny but way stronger than last time. My 1RM for bench is terrible: 50 kg.
This time was my highest 1RM with DBs ( 2 x 22.5 DB= 45 + 2 x bar = 48.4kg). Gonna need to buy some more weights within a couple of weeks.

Iron cross and lateral raise superset
5 x 5 x 5 only (had to finish)

Later fu:

pad punch work
dan chi, moving dan chi
bong sao drill
chi sao

This was a bit annoying: had taken all my gear over to the gym on the first floor of my friend's place (bit of privacy, no disturbances, no staph!), but the ****ing concierge came and told us we shouldn't be doing padwork (of all things) in the gym 'because people would think we were fighting' ! Doh! I wanted to point out that Japan had a no slight history of MA, but thought I wouldn't put my friend wh lives there some kind of neighbour probs. Sooo, just chi sao! :(

Mr Punch

07-27-2007, 08:16 AM

Bits n bobs, but nothing solid till yesterday:

DLs and Squats superset:
(dbs as usual so kg x 2)

1 x 10 x 16.7
3 x 5 x 20.45
3 x 5 x 24.2

(still the max I have in weights right now... will get some more when I'm comfortably able to bench, single bench and OP them)

Bent-over rows:

1 x 10 x 11.7
3 x 5 16.7
3 x 5 x 21.7
3 x 3 x 26.7
1 x 3 x 31.7

Lateral raises + iron cross superset

1 x 10 x 4.2
3 x 5 x 6.7
1 x 5 x 9.2

Out of time...

Later: action movie seminar work with TKD teacher.

TKD warm-ups and kicks for about an hour.
Wing chun hands for an hour - punch against pads, stepping punches, pak against stepping punches, pak - punch outside, pak - turn corner takedown, biu - palm on inside, pak - fak - hook - elbow on inside... nothing with resistance apart from padwork - but that's the nature of movie action seminars! And still a good workout.

Mr Punch

07-28-2007, 04:32 PM

Finally did the movie action seminar yesterday.

First hour and a half was TKD basic kicks. Nice.
Second part was WC, mostly punches, exaggerated pak da and pak da stamp takedown on the outside and exaggerated biu sao palm on the inside.
Fun, but ultimately somewhat useless martially.

Then in the eve got a quick hour and a bit of chi sau with four very different people. Since I don't really rate chi sao type exercises with other chunners as being especially useful anymore at my stage I wasn't really into the idea, but it was OK. There was a WSL's stude's stude over from HK, and he had quite good hands. Couldn't get so much on me without my compliance, but thought he had at several stages. Funny tho, he was a 3.5 yr student and because Japan is so polite, everybody was getting advice off him... despite having 8+ years!

Nice guy. Will prob train with his kwoon next time I'm in HK - esp since he's invited us so there'd be none of that last minute 'Who's your sigung? Well sorry, you can't train with us then!' BS that I got last time (stupid wankers!)!

Mr Punch

08-07-2007, 07:23 AM

Had summer camp with a bunch of pupils last week... had a bit of exercise with them in the not-so-great outdoors (the Japanese don't know how to have a camp...!) and did a sesh of bodyweight intervals.

Now:

BP
1 10 11.7
3 3 19.2
3 3 21.7
1 3 24.2
1 1 24.2F

OP
1 10 11.7
3 3 14.2
3 3 16.7
3 3 19.2
1 1 20F

Not bad with those two... wanted to do back-off set of BP but no time. Back-off set of OP in ironcross.

Lat raise + iron cross + kickbacks SS
1 10 4.2
3 3 7.95
1 3 9.2

No time as usual.

Bent rows + shrugs SS
3 5 24.2

Mr Punch

08-08-2007, 07:04 AM

Rough template based on one of Exrx's two-day workouts. Always meant to do it but no time. Work slackened off now for summer hol, so should be able to get four weeks of good solid training in (although I do have another Summer Camp, so I'll have to stick to bodyweight and form etc then... mind you, one of my fu-bros is doing the camp with me so maybe do something else).

Upper body yesterday: lower body today, supposed to include abs but due to lack of time (work lighter but still got baby! :D :D :D ), I'll do the abs, obliques etc tomorrow instead of a rest day.

DLs
4 5 24.2*
1 10 24.2*

Squats
5 5 24.2*

Calf raises (first time)
1 10 24.2* (both legs)
5 5 16.7* (each leg)

* is of course doubled for being DBs.

For Squats and DLs the weight is way under what I should and want t be doing but still have to stick with these weights, so going to go for more reps for endurance for now. Didn't have time for any warm-up sets today tho, so a light workout all round.

Mr Punch

08-09-2007, 05:06 AM

Abs etc

Tabata DB swings
93

Tabata crunches + 5 kilo plate
Total 178

Oblique Ball Rolls
5 5 11.7
3 5 16.7
3 5 21.7

Too easy, bigger next time. Pleased, last time was ages ago but 10 kg was a struggle.

Windmills*
1 10 11.7
3 5 16.7

Same as above. Happy. Progress slow, but progress anyway.

Mr Punch

08-14-2007, 07:37 PM

Sporadic exercise activity over the weekend due to being busy with family and moving house... but A LOT of lifting heavy boxes full of books into high places...

More of the same yesterday plus

five mins speed cycling + tabata sprints + 30 mins interval swimming + 15 speed cycling.

OMG tabata sprints: first time... what a killer!

I've done interval sprints before but never with such intensity... wicked - need to do those again!

Mr Punch

08-15-2007, 11:11 AM

Forgot, i also did a meagre ten mins of chi sao yesterday (bit since I think chi sao is of minimal use topping it up with quality chi sao every now and then is about as useful as it gets), and a little forward energy exercise.

Today, cut short again through time... again small gains, but again gains so I'm happy:

BP*
1 10 11.7
3 5 21.7
2 5 24.2
1 4F 24.2

OP*
1 10 10
3 3 19.2
3 3 21.7

Tabata BP 2 x 5kg dbs
94

Mr Punch

08-16-2007, 07:08 PM

Yesterday:

really no time - Iron cross and lateral raise superset just to so I could say I'd done something!

IX + LR SS*
1 10 4.2
3 5 9.2
3 5 10.4 (creeping up! - could do more but hard to keep form so leaving off safely)

Today

Tabata crunches + 5 kg 182
Tabata hip extensions + 5 kg 174
Tabata DB swings 15 kg 91

Windmills*
1 10 10
3 3 15
(wanted to do bigger but didn't hit any kind of groove - possibly through doing compound lift after exhausting myself on three tabata sets)

Oblique ball rolls
1 10 10
3 5 25

Bent-over Rows + Shrugs* SS
3 5 22.5

Mr Punch

09-01-2007, 07:57 AM

**** busy moving house and doing a summer camp with a bunch of junior high kids...

Did a load of tabatas (far more than recommended), shifted loads and loads of boxes, did a helluva lot of very fast cycling, inc carrying several kilos of heavy shopping (light fittings, furniture, DIY ****) in one outstretched hand on my bike.

On the camp also taught the kids the eight silk brocade and did some capoiera jinga with them... lots of good exercise, no weights/MA... house soon sorted - back on track...

Mr Punch

09-16-2007, 09:26 PM

Still too busy with organizing the new place to do any training... :(

Did carry the mikoshi again in the matsuri I always carry in (seventh time this year). That's a ton of gold and wood (yeah, I know I know... a ton of feathers would still be heavy - but not as hard...!) carried on our shoulders for seven hours (this year I went home early cos of the family). It's an excellent work-out for thighs, back, calves (MUST do more calf-raises this year!), shoulders and arms.

My tabi had shrunk in the wash though, and the friend tat was supposed to be getting me a new pair forgot, so I was barefoot for part of it again this year... no fun in 31 degrees on the tarmac! That was more painful than the carrying!

Was quite pleased: my technique has improved (and that technique is directly applicable to MA in general, but specifically wing chun footwork IMO), as has my strength.

My thighs have obviously got bigger through weights too (they're not fat), as I couldn't get the traditional cotton shorts on this year, without the help of two old men laughing at my arse hanging out and tugging and heaving them (and my nuts!) around my ears!

Also took Ellie along for the first time this year, sat her on the inner poles of the mikoshi and got her blessed.

Good times! :) :) :)

Mr Punch

10-09-2007, 09:37 PM

Week after the matsuri I took part in the junior high school sports day, my main event being two sprints, one 200 and one 100. The 200 took me 30 secs which is a sprint for a ****ing turtle. Wasn't particularly happy cos since I started sprint training again my fastest was 27, but I have to say the track is dangerous slippy loose stone and a very tight curve and I was too concerned with not falling over! Not bad I suppose.

Anyway, since then not much doing... one bodyweight session:

supersets of

squats, pushups, crunches

then supersets of

pushups and side plank
hip extensions and bird-dogs
squats and front planks
reverse raises and crunches,

and an eight-minute ab workout consisting of various crunches for abs and obliques.

Two days ago did about 30 mins TKD kicking on pads and a few moving drills, and about 5 mins chi sao.

Yesterday, the bodyweight workout as above and the Iron Cross /Lateral raise SS with up to 11.7 kg each db

Mr Punch

10-16-2007, 06:20 AM

Had a cold at the w/e so my mammoth kickstart back into serious training I had planned had to wait.

Got into reading Alwyn Cosgrove's stuff on http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/ and T-nation and thought I'd give one of his quick leg workouts a go...

started with the 8-min ab workout

then onto Cosgrove's leg w/o (number three) from http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1013133

Started with just two dbs of 15 kg each: knee twanged on the lunges. Stopped. Started again with 2x10 (1.7 for bar): completed the squats and lunges, but only managed 12 jumping lunges and 8 squat jumps. Didn't try the second set! To be fair, I think my cold is still making me weak, but this is definitely something to work on!

Then went for just the first complex from his number four w/o on the same page, just to see how it went. It went hard! Can't do front and back squats cos I only have dbs, so subbed the back squats with thrusters. Also figured out I can't do a power clean to save my life: will prob need some hands on instruction for that. Until then I could sub Renegade Bears and see how that goes.

Hella hard few mins. Tomorrow hopefully tabata push-ups + something else in the morning and see how it goes for the eve.

Working twelve-hour days on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu right now, eight on Fri and Sat. Not much time for training on top of time with the family. Oh well, gambarimasu.

Mr Punch

11-05-2007, 03:14 PM

Same wk sit as before. Still no time to train. Managed a few random tabatas here n there, a few bw seshs and a few seshs of MA, a couple of runs, but nowhere near enough.

My cycling's got faster: from 18 mins PB to 11 mins going to work. :)

Last night did push-ups for KFM fitness challenge, and Cosgrove's all-over complex with 20 kgs - felt good. Then the eight min ab workout.

Hopefully some more of similar tonight.

Mr Punch

01-01-2008, 12:42 AM

Finally got some time... and even with the day off that was a struggle! Too much to do...

Anyway, 8 min ab/oblique workout,

push-ups 1 min 44
squats 1 min 37
crunches 1 min 62
pull-ups 1 min 6
(no place to do them - knees dragging the floor, and not strong enough to do sitting position ones - need to rethink location)

Cosgrove's all-over body complex:

bench press (ball)
dead lift
bent row
overhead press
squat
calf raise shrug
good morning

22 kgs (2 x 11.7 kg dbs)

x6 fast as poss
rest half work time
x5
rest half work time... repeat
x4
x3
x2
x1

Cosgrove recommends resting 90 secs between each one but fancied pushing myself a bit more... dunno if it's a good idea the 5 rep set took longer than the 6! :eek:

3x5x22 db split overhead squats... niiiiice!

Mr Punch

01-02-2008, 05:53 AM

8 min sit-up sets

windmills: dbs (x2) + 3.4 kg bar weight
10 x 5 x 3
12.5 x 5 x 3
15 x 5 x 3

iron cross/lateral raises
9.45 + 1.7 x 2 kg

x 3 x 3

Just testing the water - long time since I've lifted anything.

Then Cosgrove's lunge/squat torture:

Equipment needed: One pair of moderately heavy dumbbells (optional).

This routine needs to be done to be appreciated. You won't truly "get it" by reading about it.

Start the stopwatch:

1A: Squats (hold the dumbbells at your sides): Perform 24 reps, making sure to break parallel with every rep.

1B: Alternating lunges: 12 reps each leg. Make sure to use a maximal range of motion.

1C: Drop the dumbbells (unless you're psycho) and switch to alternating lunge jumps. Do 12 reps per leg. Get as high as you can and switch legs in the air. King Kong didn't just jump on your back, although it might feel like it!

1D: Squat jumps: Make sure you still get below parallel and get off the floor as high as you can. Perform 24 reps.

Stop the clock! You should be under two minutes for the set.

Rest half the time it took you to complete the circuit and then repeat it. Cursing me and my entire Scottish heritage is normal at this point. If you're able to complete the entire circuit in under 90 seconds, then start doing two circuits back to back.

From here. (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1013133)

but since I failed last time I started with a puny 8.25 kg in each hand, and aimed for just:

1A 12 squats (puny, I know, but still in pain from yesterday... and, er, puny anyway! :D )
1B 24 lunges (12 per leg)
1C 12 lunge jumps (6 per leg - I know, it gets punier)
1D 12 squat jumps...

Just made it, causing the most comical 'wtf' expression on my baby's face followed by laughter and decided to forego the second set... I'll try that another day when my legs are completely fresh. It's a killer anyway - even the punified version kills. After the first couple of squat jumps I'm getting absolutely no height at all. It's embarrassing.

BTW it took me four minutes, including cursing and laughing time. :eek:

Finished up with a fatigued but heroic 35 push-ups in a minute.

Mr Punch

01-05-2008, 08:45 AM

Workout 1

2 hours:

SLT
san sao (sik) from SLT.
Bout ten mins of chi sao. Meh.

First time for me in about three mths maybe: wanted to get some live padwork going and stuff, but hey.

Nobbad to do some basics spose.

Workout 2

8 min sit up workout
tabata crunches (5kg) (normal and bicycle - forgot side! :rolleyes: ) 174
tabata push-ups (87 - waaaay less than usual, but tried just normal, narrow, wide and kneeling, rather than including incline, decline, spiderman and leg-up as usual - much tougher)
tabata 6.7 kg db swings (86 - same as when I do them with 16.7 kgs! Not really worth doing these as tabatas maybe... dunno, works grip well, and progressive loading could work - if I can trust the collar on my dbs! :eek: )
Snake turns over with 5 kg plate: 10 reps each side
Snake turns over no weight: 20 times each side.
10 manji steps (hellish - first time in donkey's years).

Mr Punch

01-08-2008, 08:40 AM

8 min crunch workout

1 minute crunches: 78
1 min push-ups: 42... bah.
Then went for two minutes (just been reading the British Army fitness programme that The Guardian's been running and they do everything for two minutes for diagnostics...) and here's the thing...

only managed 10 in the next minute... :eek: :eek: :eek: :D

****, that hurt.

Then to the park to try out the bars there for pull-ups: only managed 6 in a minute. Bugger.

Then Cosgrove's squat-lunge-jump lunge-squat jump endurance sets, only 12 reps not 24 - FINISHED THEM! Happy with that. :)

Mr Punch

01-25-2008, 07:25 AM

Well, recently, my training's has largely gone to pot again due to work. Even Cosgrove's Minimum Time workouts have gone by the board.

I have been doing a lot of forms (SLT, CK, and BJ), shadow boxing plus some manji and other stepping drills and random spurts of push-ups, sit-ups, lunges and anything else I can do without getting scuzzed up between classes at school, but that kind of defeats the object!

My cycling is getting faster, and since I have to use my bike to get to work, I'm using it like intervals: pedal AFAP like a nutter, until my lungs are bursting, then slacken off for a count of ten or so, then back to AFAP. Helluva work-out, even if only for 10-15 mins. Worried about the huge quantity of carbon monoxide I must be ingesting from you ****s of obsolete suicidal vehicle drivers though.

Today did another quick workout: 8 min abs, 3 x 15 x 49 kg (dbs) deadlift shrugs, followed by 3 x 3 x 49 db benches.

Need that 30-hour day!

Mr Punch

01-27-2008, 06:33 AM

8 min ab/ob w/o

Cosgrove's complex (joined deadlifts, shrugs and calf raises into one smooth exercise which I've called Dead Calf Shrug...)

2x16.5 kg dbs

Bench
Squat
Dead Calf Shrug
Bent-over rows
One-armed overhead press

x6
x5
x4
x3
x2
x1

Mr Punch

01-28-2008, 06:37 AM

Just a quickie unfortunately.

8 min ab/ob crunch routine

tabata crunches with a full minute before the first rest period: a PB of 205 (80 in a minute).

Tabata push-ups... something strange going on today... again went for first minute without rest and managed 51... then pretty much bugger all for the rest! :eek: only managed 17 more in the last three minutes inc rest periods... very odd.

Oh well.

More tomorrow.

Mr Punch

02-04-2008, 07:31 AM

Missed a couple of blog entries, but nothing major happening.

Nor today! :)

Thought I'd go for Rick Matz's lenten challenge to give me a bit more impetus, so also thought I'd start early. Hadn't picked up a weight in a couple of weeks, so went easy.

Warm-up Yang style 8 silk reeling.

8 min ab/ob w/o.

Cosgrove's complex (light cos out of practice - 11.7 kg dbs):

BP
Dead Calf Shrugs
Bent Rows
Sqs
Snatch, clean, jerk
OPs

First time I'd tried the snatch clean jerk which was another reason for keeping weights light... checked out some form guides on youtube, went for it, and it felt good... NP.

Mr Punch

02-09-2008, 06:08 AM

Since the 4th when I started Rick's lent challenge (tho strictly should be on Ash Wednesday - so the 7th), just been limited to forms and stepping drills... but have managed to stick to half an hour a day.

Today had only 3 hours of work, so...

ab/ob 8 min crunch w/o

Cosgrove's complex (2 x 16.7 kg dbs)

Bench (ball)
squat
dead calf shrug
overhead press (one arm)
OP (other arm)
OP (both arms)
DL

tried doing lunges too as part of the complex, but my mat was slipping so packed that in!

Then 5 iron cross - lateral raise - hammer curl - kickback supersets with 11.7 kgs

Then tried single-leg squats with no weight: found I can't do one, so did 2 x 6 negatives and 2 x 10 partials. Didn't think that'd be so hard but it was another recommendation from Cosgrove's site so I should've known better!

Decided on some goals by the end of lent:

Single leg squats (any!).

More than 6 dead hang pull-ups.

The big four for 15 reps with the max weight I have at home (then I can justify buying more! :) ) which is about 49 kgs. Squats and deads are no problem at all: can do way more than that. Benches and OPs I can do, but not for so many reps. My main goal was strength, but I figure with such light weights (which I still can't do so many of!) endurance is a worthy goal too.

Cosgrove's complex with those 49 kgs. That could be a stretch. It's ****ing hard.

Cosgrove's squat/lunge jump set with some weight!

Edit: totally forgot, also did sil lum tao and a load of manji stepping again. Was going to do all the forms but after the single leg squat fiasco, my legs really didn't have it in them!

Mr Punch

02-11-2008, 05:14 PM

10th was forced to rest a day due to dizziness and nosebleeds. :(

I really hate this country for allergies... never had any in the UK, but I've had them here for the last six years and they seem to get progressively worse. The government reckons it's cleaned up the dioxins and other pollution (I live in the ex-dioxin central!) but it can't be ****ing hay fever season already: it's ****ing February... :confused:

Yesterday had a good kung session.

Stepping drills: mostly when I do stepping drills I like to go all directions and vary between back-weighted and pin ma (more like a standard MMA stance), plus manji stepping from the koryu, and recently sometimes I've been hitting some aiki footowork and some sprawl drills and DL drills (it's all stepping drills to me), but yesterday we focused specifically on just basic stepping forward and backward, punching and sticking.

Lat sau jeuk cheung (sp totally ****ed I'm guessing!): drill from chi sao and stepping drill base.

Kicking: front heel kick and side kick (and both) against pads. Needed that, haven't practised kicks enough recently. At times in my MA history I've had good karate kicks, good wing chun kicks and reasonably good kicks from Thai and koryu bases but through lack of sparring and (now) heavy bag, my kicking has got really really puny so it was good to practise.

Today, nosebleeds and dizziness... :( Will try and train something tonight after work.

Mr Punch

02-13-2008, 05:11 PM

Trained that day after work, and since then been out with a shoulder problem.

I've had it before but this time it went seemingly without any undue stress or even sleeping funnily, which is kind of worrying.

It may have been a reaction to the LSJC drill from fu the other day. That puts a fair bit of pressure on the arms... which may in turn affect the old injury to my t6 region and pressurize my shoulder blade area too... I don't know. I would've hoped that the weights I've been doing would counter that kind of strain though, plus it's not as though I'm new to this nonsense. Mind you, I could have been doing it badly for years I suppose! :eek: At a bit of a loss really. :confused: Maybe my bench form/overhead press form is bad...? I've heard that both of these can mess up the alignment of your scapula/shoudler muscles.

Anyway, I'll try some lower body malarkey this afternoon now I can move a little freer.

AndrewS

02-13-2008, 05:39 PM

The shoulder thing- if you try to lift from bong to man (as in chum kiu) against resistance, does this trigger your shoulder pain?

Andrew

Mr Punch

02-13-2008, 09:57 PM

The shoulder thing- if you try to lift from bong to man (as in chum kiu) against resistance, does this trigger your shoulder pain?

AndrewThat's one of the things I was watching out for based on one of your posts in the past, but no, surprisingly, that's one of the few moves I can do with no pain at all. More surprisingly, none of the chun seemed to trigger it this time: like I said, I hadn't even noticed it go this time. I have been getting better at actually putting my shoudler into anything chunwise recently though so maybe that relaxation is helping. Straight-on pressure seems to give it more grief, and depsite it restricting my range of movement in the normal upper range, it seems to hurt a lot against pressure in the lower positions.

The pain is in the thick muscle from the base of the neck to the shoulder (the 'meat' of the shoulder) and an all-too familar burn around T6 (which I've had recurring since arather brutal guillotine a few years ago). Yesterday and the day before I couldn't raise my right arm past 90 degrees without some discomfort, couldn't turn my head to the right past 45 at all, couldn't raise my face past about
45 without some pain, and couldn't turn to the left without considerably discomfort in the right shoulder. Which made for a fun couple of days!

AndrewS

02-14-2008, 10:30 AM

Hmm,

sounds like the upper zone of traps, an interspinal, maybe the scalenes, or a nerve entrapment/impingement having a party together. Hard to tell which started it- a spasmed muscle could impinge a nerve, an impinged nerve could spasm a muscle.

Have you tried stuff to contract the anatagonists- it sounds like the shoulder elevators are what's getting you, maybe try to activate the lats and lower zone of the traps to inhibit what's going on up top, try to mobilize the region (if you can manage something like a shoulderstand there's an exercise on Sonnon's Bodyflow tapes I use when my neck is tweaky to mobilize this area- lay on my back with my legs hanging over my face, then switch my legs side to side slowly, moving onto each side of my neck carefully).

A good massage might be useful, too.

Andrew

Mr Punch

02-17-2008, 10:34 PM

not too clear on the exercise you're talking about there andrew.

got a bit better then made the mistake of pushing it with my kid and sat nite/sun morn all the muscless in the right shoulder stopped working to such an extent that

i couldnt lie on my right (the pain in the muscles trying to support the weight of just my arm as i lowered my body down to that side was too much),

couldn't gte myself up from lying position in any way without considerable pain,

couldn't change sleeping positions from left side,

couldnt stand straight because my shoudler muscles couldn't support the arm

couldn't raise the arm to the side at all

couldn7t turn my head to either side

couldn' look down

only arm positions i was comfortable in were the slt chamber or arm hanging over back of the head elbow pointed up

right shoulder approx 10 cm lower than left at rather extreme sloping angle

not too much fun - still no idea of cause

5th and 6th straight days of massage clinic, and tomorrow going for mri hopefully.

AndrewS

02-18-2008, 04:36 PM

Mr Punch

02-18-2008, 06:00 PM

Good luck, get the MRI. Sounds like a radiculopathy, but you clearly need a workup and a specialist.

Drop me a line if there's anything you'd like to bounce off me once you have a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Andrewmuch appreciated

sir, you wouldnt believe the palaver needed to even get an mri or even anythig resembling a diagnosis in japan. i'll tell you when i can write for longer. it'll make you laugh... or cry!

Mr Punch

03-24-2008, 06:12 PM

Well. That hurt.

Mr Punch

05-08-2008, 04:49 AM

First training since my injury on Feb 13th (maybe it was).

Push-ups: one minute - 35.

Rest 20 secs.

BW: Alternate lunges x 6 each leg
Squats x 6
Alternate lunge jumps x 6 each leg
Squat jumps x 6

Rest 20 secs.

Repeat x 2

20 crunches
Rest 10
20 bicycle crunches
Rest 10
20 oblique crunches

Rest 10

Negative single leg squats x 6 each leg

Rest 10

Partial single leg squats x 10 each leg

Rest 10

Manji stepping x 10 (2 secs movement, 8 secs hold)

Isometric head pushes back front side x 2, 8 sec holds.

Mr Punch

05-08-2008, 04:53 AM

Incidentally: the neck is still far from normal, but I'm largely not in pain on a daily basis right now, and have reached a dead end in terms of treatment, no thanks to the rather odd Japanese health system. Still trying to figure out what to do next.

Mr Punch

05-19-2008, 11:34 PM

Quickie just at work:

tabata push-ups, seriously low on my pre-injury performance... 75

sqs/lngs/sq jmps/lng jmps 6 each 1 min break then again.

More tonight late after my PT job if poss.

Mr Punch

07-09-2008, 07:02 AM

Well, the neck's still touch and go, but it's waaay better than it was.

Three weekends ago tried out some fu on it. Just practising sam gwok ma from straight wing chun punch first, then jab, and jab-cross type affairs. Just concentrating on footwork and jamming their structure, so it shouldn't have been taxing on my neck (since it's directly between my shoulder blades it always gives me grief when my arms get too much pressure), but had to quit after 20 mins just from the very very minor whiplash effect.

Weekend before last I missed a David Peterson seminar in Osaka, because I didn't see the point of going all the way down there not to be able to train. Ironically it was my first pain-free weekend since Feb when my neck went. Did the right thing though. Even the however many hours on the shinkansen would've been taxing, and got some big things coming up where a neck could be useful.

Last weekend practised just a little bit with my fu-bros who'd been to the seminar: they showed me the drills they'd done. Not too bad stamina-wise but did feel it more than I should've.

Three days ago did tabata press-ups, and Alwyn Cosgrove's squat/lunge/jump routine.

Also been working on all the forms in every spare moment of the day, and some san sik.

Today, tabata press-ups, Cosgrove's leg thing again and his crunch routine.

Two questions if anyone's reading:

1) Checked my squat form in the mirror today, and my lower spine seems to curve too much (going with the butt curve). Does anyone know of any good exercises to loosen up the hips specific to squats, or any easier way of doing squats to break your hips back into it?

2) Does anyone have any good sites or whatever for doing reverse crunches and also reverse crunches on a ball? There's all sorts of dubious looking stuff all over youtube but I don't know what's good.

Should be able to get to a REAL hospital this month! Looking forward to having these several months of pain, injury and rehab over!

Mr Punch

10-20-2008, 07:43 PM

OK, haven’t posted on here for ages, so this is going to be long.

One reason I wasn’t posting is I was wanting to cut down my forum time, but I seem to have been dragged back into it more in my spare time at work again, so I may as well hit the training blog again, as that’s the most useful aspect to me, and hopefully to some others. Also, I’ve been keeping a detailed log of my workouts on paper to take to the gym, so I haven’t really needed to keep this blog going.

I hope some of it is useful, however, especially for people recovering from spinal injuries (since I’ve had the double whammy of neck and lower back, it should be doubly relevant  ). I hesitate to add that I still don’t have an appropriate diagnosis, and don’t have enough confidence in the comedic Japanese healthcare system to get one. I have found a hospital that’s supposed to be great but which is some way away, so when I can I’m going to go and check it out.

OK, down to the nitty gritty.

Fu:

Been getting back into it. Still can’t take full-on lop sao training sessions as that kind of jerking had a pretty bad effect on my neck. However, some aspects of my training seem to be helping me to be shifting the stopping point so the jerk isn’t going into my neck, but I can allow it to travel further down. Of course, the danger is then that I’m countering by fighting it in my hips/waist, which will further mess up my lower back, but I’m getting better at sending it down through my stance to my feet.

Ironically, I always realized that this was what I should have always been aiming for :D. And so, I’m pretty happy that it’s finally coming together.

I put it down to three things:
...

Mr Punch

10-20-2008, 07:44 PM

1) Weightlifting: As I’ve mentioned in passing before, the whole body connectivity in weightlifting is tremendous, as is the feeling of really getting to know your kinetic chain! I’m still a newbie, so I’m making improvements every session, and am filled with the newb’s fundamentalism. No apologies there! It’s rare that I seriously make sweeping statements like this, but anyone who says weightlifting doesn’t compliment TMA (esp TCMA) or even is detrimental to it simply doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Of course, I had over fifteen years of MA training before I started weights: I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting both at the same time unless someone is particularly physically gifted.

2) Biu jee: Never a big fan of form for form’s sake, but practicing the actions from the forms in chi sao, light sparring and against all kinds of progressive resistance is helping me right now where I am in my training.

3) Internals: Never a big fan of the whole internal/external distinctions either, or, as those of you who’ve read me on here or know me personally will know, never a believer in the esoteric side or putting faith in ‘chi’ or mysterious powers… I mean simply isometrics and (mostly) slow moving stance training. I’m starting to understand how to put it into practice more, and am finally getting a little better at putting my ideas into scientific explanations.

Mr Punch

10-20-2008, 07:44 PM

...

Of course, they’re not my ideas: I have the basis of some of this stuff from wing chun, and some more from kobujutsu internals. These were taught to me in Japanese, a fairly ambiguous language in many cases so sometimes I have to have some relatively large leaps to translate it into coherent scientific English, and though my teacher likes scientific explanations, he isn’t a scientist! And although I only have the very smallest understanding of the kobujutsu, it is already helping and perfectly complementary to my fu and MA in general (I should say, although because of my injuries I haven’t been training full contact for a couple of years, I had already started to try out the kobujutsu internals in that setting and had reasonable results. I’m convinced I’m going to be better when I go back to it as a result of the core conditioning I’ve been doing).

In case anyone’s interested, I’m still not actually training at the kobujutsu school, and am training (almost) solely solo exercises. I do want to go back.

Also for the record, although I don’t believe there is any chi related work in wing chun, there is work on ‘internals’, i.e. slow moving/totally isometric stance work, which on the face of it is hard to see, and to explain, but that makes a difference. I do not have access to a sifu so I cannot progress any further in pure wing chun internals, but the crossover from kobujutsu is too great to ignore. To me, the internals are just another way of connecting with your kinetic chain, and a good complement to weightlifting and regular MA training.
...

Mr Punch

10-20-2008, 07:45 PM

...So, for the record, what I’m actually doing now is

Gym for weights 3 times a week
MA (wing chun: no full contact sparring and unfortunately no groundwork, but plenty of live resistance training. As the group is an informal but experienced circle we do work with and against various other arts’ techs and principles too) one or twice a fortnight.
‘Internals’ (wing chun, kobujutsu based exercises, mostly solo but sometimes with partners; and various other non-resistant specifically MA related endurance or strength training)… about every other day.

This is actually going somewhere... back later!

Of course, anyone any comments, please feel free! :)

Mr Punch

10-20-2008, 09:00 PM

1) Weightlifting: As I’ve mentioned in passing before, the whole body connectivity in weightlifting is tremendous...

2) Biu jee: Never a big fan of form for form’s sake, but practicing the actions from the forms in chi sao, light sparring and against all kinds of progressive resistance is helping me right now where I am in my training.

3) Internals: ...I mean simply isometrics and (mostly) slow moving stance training. I’m starting to understand how to put it into practice more, and am finally getting a little better at putting my ideas into scientific explanations.BTW, if anyone is interested in the whys and wherefores of any of this training, what exactly I'm noticing, and how I arrive at my conclusions, please ask.

It's all quite long and complicated so I don't want to just start on about it if there's no interest.

Mr Punch

10-20-2008, 09:23 PM

Typical solo internals, isometrics and bodyweight session:

Warm-up:

BW squats: full-on ATG 3rd world squats, concentrating on putting weight back on heels (I actually wriggle my toes to make sure that I'm getting this), keeping the shoulder blades pulled together, keeping an arch in my back, keeping my knees rounded out in the same direction as my feet, holding for 8 secs at the bottom, and pushing my hips out on rising. I vary the speed. If you focus on all of those things, this is an excellent BW warm-up that is still quite taxing.

T-push ups

Walking lunges with variations.

Ball crunches, sometimes with weights. What can I say? I like crunching my balls!

This warm-up hits everything. I vary the numbers, speed and intensity. Unfortunately I don't have any pull exercises for them except the crunches. My neck can't take pull-ups yet (though it's getting better) and I have nowhere to do them except the gym - this workout I do at home.

The meat

Turning drills from Chum Kiu, keeping weight back, kicking with front foot.

Walking drills with various chun stances... concentrating on really rooting but floating, by dragging my foot hard on the floor slowly and releasing the pressure and changing direction/stance rapidly.

Shiko (sumo stamping drill)

'Upper-cross' training: leg raises while moving forward, concentrating on keeping hips stable, upper body stationary and pull between shoulder blades.

Manji walking (shintaijiku): very basically walking alternate steps from low horse to legs together to low horse... again really pulling the feet along the floor.

Shiko (aiki-based knee walking): same emphasis on shoulder blades, driving hips through.

Wing chun pole horse stepping punching drills

WCP horse stepping drills with weighted pole

WCP thrusting drill just sinking into horse and thrusting, concentrating as much as possible on jing.

WCP figure 7 pole drill, as above.

WCP wringing drill with weighted pole (neutral stance, relaxing shoulder as much as possible - killer on forearms)

WCP punching drill with weighted pole (stationary horse stance)

Some section from a WC form for jing or for concentration on slow dynamic tension.

Variations on upper cross leg swings to loosen up and warm down.

Tabata push-ups/crunches/pole exercises or something to finish with a burn.

Round-up

Some of the above routine I do on the bag sometimes, some with weights, but basically it's core training: tanren kunren ('forging drills') and near isometrically slow BW stuff.

Altogether this makes a very very demanding routine.

I'll be back with more typical partnered fu sessions, and more detail on my current weights programme, and a load of questions later.

Mr Punch

10-23-2008, 05:13 PM

How do you keep an idiot in suspense...?

Daughter's in hospital...

more detail on the training when she's better.

Mr Punch

10-28-2008, 07:35 PM

Haven't trained properly in over a week as I said.

Hopefully back to it tonight.

My weights routine is the false beginner's routine from Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove's book 'New Rules for Lifting'. It's a great book for beginners or advanced level lifters with all the latest round-ups of the latest tests and studies into lifting, various other exercise science and nutrition (though the nutrition section isn't that great). It teaches you how to design your own programmes, but at the moment I'm doing one of their ready-mades because it makes sense, it seems right for what I want (except for a little too much emphasis on hypertrophy and endurance -15 rep routines - at various stages) and because I want to get to know the workings of a programme before I design my own, and this one gives me a year of exercises.

My goal is basically strength. This programme also involves metabolism speeding 'fat-loss' routines and hypertrophy.

I finished the break-in programme of one month of 2x15 supersets based on deads one session and squats the next, twice a week. Now I'm on a fat-loss programme which is supersets working unrelated muscle groups (for the added element of surprise to prevent adaptation) of 3 x 15 with 75 secs rest three times a week for two weeks. It'll then change to 3 x 12 with 60 secs, and then 3 x 8 with 45.

Here are some questions:

1) If I can't finish the required number of reps I've been changing down ASAP and finishing the number with a lower weight to go out on a high note. Is this a good idea?

2) I can usually finish the reps with the weights I've chosen (though of course, sometimes it's struggle), but then I find 75 secs too short to recover so I'm not so strict in keeping to the recovery period. Is this bad? Should I choose slightly lighter weights so I can stick to the timing, should I just fight through it even if it means not being able to complete the final set, or am I OK in extending the rest period by 10-20 secs?

3) When should I do yoga (I'm pretty much a newb at that too)? I guess that elongating muscles to that extent is bad just before weights. What about a day before (training weights three times a week I only get alternate days rest)? What about immediately after (i.e. will that kind of stretching hamper my muscle recovery?)?

4) When should I do isometrics (and slow sloooow stance work)? As mentioned above the stance work I do is a hard workout in itself. It's a form of endurance. According to studies cited by Cosgrove and Schuler, aerobic endurance work interferes with weights for strength: if you do alternate days the gains are in endurance to the detriment of strength, so you should do it together with your weights, or after and before a full day's rest. So what about anaerobic endurance?

The usual wild guesses/educated answers welcome!

Mr Punch

11-02-2008, 07:17 AM

Well, those questions sank like a friggin stone!

Och well.

Today, went back to the gym for the first time since my daughter got sick two weeks ago.

Cycled to the gym.

Warm-up:
20 walking twisting lunges
20 T-push-ups
20 side lunges
20 ball crunches
3 inchworms
20 Russian twists on the ball
20 kg x 5 seated good morning + box squats + overhead presses with no rest.

Squat
50 x 15
55 x 15
60 x 7 (fail)
55 x 8

SS (75 secs rest) with DB push press
10 (each hand) x 15
12 x 15
14 x 15

Cable seated row
37.5 x 15
42.5 x 15
47.5 x 15

SS (75 secs) with Supine hip extension
10 x 15
12 x 15
14 x 15

Walking twisting lunge
14 x 30
16 x 30
18 x 30

SS (75 secs) with Weighted crunches
12 x 15
14 x 15
16 x 15

Couple of stretches, lunges, 20 kg presses for a warm-down.

Cycle home quickly.

SLT
CK
BJ

First time in a long time for the forms. Don't do them too often, just occasionally to keep my eye in. This time particularly wanted to concentrate on body unity, esp in turning, whilst fatigued from the weights.

The weights are still relatively light, as I'm still a noob. But, you know, finally worked through the advice you guys gave me on this thread/board and the Cosgrove book... going well, and fixing my injuries, what's more. Shifted over 7.5 tons in just under an hour FWIW.

Actually spent much over three hours carrying a huge 20 kg rucksack with groceries and my daughter (about 11 kg if you're interested!) walking and cycling, which kind of wiped me out before my workout.

Good day.

Tomorrow, my fu bros have ****ing cancelled again, so it's no fu for the fourth week or so: might try out my gym's new capoeira class, just for the hell of it. Got a 1 km charity run in the morning too.

Mr Punch

11-09-2008, 10:22 PM

These are from my blog thread... which unfortunately nobody answered!

Thought I'd post them separately and add one...

1) If I can't finish the required number of reps I've been changing down ASAP and finishing the number with a lower weight to go out on a high note. Is this a good idea?

2) I can usually finish the reps with the weights I've chosen (though of course, sometimes it's struggle), but then I find 75 secs too short to recover so I'm not so strict in keeping to the recovery period. Is this bad? Should I choose slightly lighter weights so I can stick to the timing, should I just fight through it even if it means not being able to complete the final set, or am I OK in extending the rest period by 10-20 secs?

3) When should I do yoga (I'm pretty much a newb at that too)? I guess that elongating muscles to that extent is bad just before weights. What about a day before (training weights three times a week I only get alternate days rest)? What about immediately after (i.e. will that kind of stretching hamper my muscle recovery?)?

4) When should I do isometrics (and slow sloooow stance work)? As mentioned above the stance work I do is a hard workout in itself. It's a form of endurance. According to studies cited by Cosgrove and Schuler, aerobic endurance work interferes with weights for strength: if you do alternate days the gains are in endurance to the detriment of strength, so you should do it together with your weights, or after and before a full day's rest. So what about anaerobic endurance?

The usual wild guesses/educated answers welcome!

The Bonus Question:

5) Sometimes I only get to train after say, 9:30 at night. If I follow John Berardi's diet guidelines, and those of various others, I should be eating a certain amount of carbs and protein every two hours at least three times to aid recovery/growth (the amount according to various calculations I've come across for my bodyweight of 82 kg is 68 g of carbs and 36 g of protein). If I train late at night I find:

a) I get really drained the next day... basically have to eat and sleep a lot. And/or

b) I get the gippy guts! I guess my body can't take that much protein! (Though this is only if I train late at night and try to squeeze in more nutrients than I would normally).

Anybody any advice for good ways of getting the right balance of nutrients if I train late at night... I dunno, slow release carbs/proteins...? Is it something that gets better as my body adapts more to this kind of heavy training? I don't want to have to give up training late because with my life it's the only time I have sometimes, but I can't help but feel that my training goes to waste if I don't eat right afterwards and feel washed out the next day.

Answers here, or preferably on my training log thread. Thanks in advance.

Mr Punch

11-10-2008, 06:01 PM

Nobody know?

Questions too daft?

Or are you all busy researching?!

uki

11-10-2008, 06:08 PM

i think you need to discover your own needs based on your own body... i can't believe you haven't figured this out yet...:rolleyes:

Mr Punch

11-10-2008, 06:18 PM

I know that much Einstein.

Thanks, but no thanks, we already have the wheel.

1) It feels good, which is why I do it.
2) Obviously, by listening to my body I can do either... I'd like advice on which to do, which obviously you don't have.
3) This is something researchers have found to have long term effects. I don't want to get five years down the line and then go, 'Oh, ****, yeah, that was the wrong way to do it!' when I can't get out of my chair.
4) See 2
5) I know a fair bit about nutrition, and I go with my body on most of it. In this case the advice I'm following isn't serving me well, and I don't know what to do, so I'm after some nutrition advice.

6) I can't believe I'm so bored I actually answered you seriously.
7) Believe it or not, some people know useful things better than you. That's why I'm asking. It's part of my inner nature to not be so proud as to not accept or seek help. :rolleyes: Does that satisfy your holistic integrity?

Oso

11-10-2008, 07:33 PM

are you trying to eat that much protein at each meal?

probably the meal i'd guess.

are you just doing 3 meals or 5 or 6? if you split to 5 or 6 you can drop the total per meal and that last meal will only be 40/20 grams each or so

i believe cassien is sometimes indicated for the late day protein intake because it is absorbed slower....????

Toby

11-10-2008, 07:52 PM

1) If I can't finish the required number of reps I've been changing down ASAP and finishing the number with a lower weight to go out on a high note. Is this a good idea?I rarely train to failure but it's part of a lot of established training methods. I find it increases DOMS for me, so if I were to unload a few plates and finish off the set I'd pay for it the next day. I reckon you get better (strength) gains from periodisation than from training to failure every time, so maybe look into changing up your routine if you're failing too often?

2) I can usually finish the reps with the weights I've chosen (though of course, sometimes it's struggle), but then I find 75 secs too short to recover so I'm not so strict in keeping to the recovery period. Is this bad? Should I choose slightly lighter weights so I can stick to the timing, should I just fight through it even if it means not being able to complete the final set, or am I OK in extending the rest period by 10-20 secs?I'm sure it's not a big problem. My rest periods stretch out to 30min+ sometimes :D but then I'm training strength and IMHO the rest periods aren't as critical (i.e. it's better to be fresh for each set than pushing the limit of fatigue for strength training).

3) When should I do yoga (I'm pretty much a newb at that too)? I guess that elongating muscles to that extent is bad just before weights. What about a day before (training weights three times a week I only get alternate days rest)? What about immediately after (i.e. will that kind of stretching hamper my muscle recovery?)?I'd definitely do it after vs. before. And ideally I'd like to lift in the morning, recover all day, then do yoga at night so you'd get some time to repair your muscles before stretching them to buggery, then a day and a half to recover before lifting again. But it depends on which is more important (I'm biasing towards the lifting).

4) When should I do isometrics (and slow sloooow stance work)? As mentioned above the stance work I do is a hard workout in itself. It's a form of endurance. According to studies cited by Cosgrove and Schuler, aerobic endurance work interferes with weights for strength: if you do alternate days the gains are in endurance to the detriment of strength, so you should do it together with your weights, or after and before a full day's rest. So what about anaerobic endurance?Same thing for me, I lift in the mornings and do MA in the evenings which maximises my rest intervals.

5) Sometimes I only get to train after say, 9:30 at night. If I follow John Berardi's diet guidelines, and those of various others, I should be eating a certain amount of carbs and protein every two hours at least three times to aid recovery/growth (the amount according to various calculations I've come across for my bodyweight of 82 kg is 68 g of carbs and 36 g of protein). If I train late at night I find:

a) I get really drained the next day... basically have to eat and sleep a lot. And/or

b) I get the gippy guts! I guess my body can't take that much protein! (Though this is only if I train late at night and try to squeeze in more nutrients than I would normally).

Anybody any advice for good ways of getting the right balance of nutrients if I train late at night... I dunno, slow release carbs/proteins...? Is it something that gets better as my body adapts more to this kind of heavy training? I don't want to have to give up training late because with my life it's the only time I have sometimes, but I can't help but feel that my training goes to waste if I don't eat right afterwards and feel washed out the next day.I don't ever get the "gippy guts". In fact, I shit rocks on protein. But I mix my proteins with whey and, like you said, slow-release calcium caseinate. The whey mixes with a spoon, the caseinate gums up and requires a minute or two with my Bamix. You can just tell it's doing the same thing inside your gut, and that's why it takes so long to digest (like overnight, great for muscle recovery after a workout). I mix about 30g protein with Milo and about 500ml milk so that's borderline on usable protein in one serve and I get carbs from the Milo and milk.

IIRC the usual formula for protein requirements is 2g protein/kg bodyweight/day, so for you it's ~165g. That's for someone pushing things (i.e. lifting, damaging and repairing muscle). Much more than that is wasted down the toilet and places load on your kidneys. Bear in mind you'll get a significant amount from everyday diet (so eat your enagi). Maybe not so much in Japan as in a western diet.

The usual wild guesses/educated answers welcome!Wild guesses and opinions only on my part.

Toby

11-10-2008, 08:02 PM

i believe cassien is sometimes indicated for the late day protein intake because it is absorbed slower....????Oso beat me while I was doing my long-arse reply.

are you just doing 3 meals or 5 or 6? if you split to 5 or 6 you can drop the total per meal and that last meal will only be 40/20 grams each or soYeah, I forget the formula but for my ~90kg I work on only about 40g being absorbable (inventing new words?) in one go. So that's a litre of quality milk and on busy days I'll drink 3L+. I drink too much milk, usually 2L+ every day. I don't mind going over the 40g/serve limit to saturate my system but I know that e.g. if I ingested 100g most of it would be gone and it'd be wasted $$ and sore kidneys.

One more comment, I'm sure you already know this but for the sake of other readers - I view carbs as fuel for the muscles and protein as first aid. For the type of lifting workout I do I don't burn appreciable carbs so I can pretty much ignore having to refuel. I do however stress/tear muscle so I need to focus on the protein. Then for other training sessions where I do MA or HIIT I need to focus more on carbs and e.g. I won't have a protein shake after those sessions but I will gorge myself on a quality meal and then a bunch of bad-for-me crap.

Mr Punch

11-10-2008, 08:33 PM

I rarely train to failure but it's part of a lot of established training methods. I find it increases DOMS for me, so if I were to unload a few plates and finish off the set I'd pay for it the next day. I reckon you get better (strength) gains from periodisation than from training to failure every time, so maybe look into changing up your routine if you're failing too often?It depends. With benches/OPs it's to failure. With deads/squats more often or not it's not to failure as in I can't pick it up again, but I get dizzy and since I don't have a spotter and I don't want to eat 70 or so kg of iron I usually drop-set after two or three reps of dizziness. I am improving (lifting more for less sweat!) every session however, so I don't think I need to change down yet. The periodization is well-planned on the programme I'm following.

I'm sure it's not a big problem. My rest periods stretch out to 30min+ sometimes :D LOL, funny you should say that - I got friggin god-squadded in the middle of my last session and took 40 mins longer than usual trying to avoid him!

(i.e. it's better to be fresh for each set than pushing the limit of fatigue for strength training).hat's probably good advice for me too... it's a fat-loss workout but it's more for breaking me into the exercises since I don't really need to lose any fat.

I'd definitely do it after vs. before. And ideally I'd like to lift in the morning, recover all day, then do yoga at night so you'd get some time to repair your muscles before stretching them to buggery, then a day and a half to recover before lifting again. But it depends on which is more important (I'm biasing towards the lifting).Seems to make sense, thanks.

Same thing for me, I lift in the mornings and do MA in the evenings which maximises my rest intervals.But the isometrics are anaerobic endurance more so than MA training I'd've thought... so a different thing to kicking/punching. (Of course I do that too, but TBH at the intensity I'm doing it at now it doesn't really tax me at all!)

BTW, I can't lift in the mornings: my gym opens at 8, I work from 8:15! :o

IIRC the usual formula for protein requirements is 2g protein/kg bodyweight/day, so for you it's ~165g. That's for someone pushing things (i.e. lifting, damaging and repairing muscle). Much more than that is wasted down the toilet and places load on your kidneys. Bear in mind you'll get a significant amount from everyday diet (so eat your enagi). Maybe not so much in Japan as in a western diet.Hmmm, dunno. John Berardi, who seems to make sense on nutrition recommends more for recovery.

According to him (if you don't know him, check his recovery diet article on his website) and the Cosgrove/Schuler book I'm needing a hefty whack of protein (plus carbs to up the insulin required to get it to my muscles) every two hours after a workout at least three times (which already causes problems in night-time training right?!) to prevent the cortisol from eating my muscles. The whack size is ... yep, you got it the numbers I quoted above. I'm 82 kg and on average on a training day I eat about 300 g of protein from a variety of sources: beans in cooking/salads, tofu, natto; lots of fresh, dried and canned fish, mostly oily fish grilled, or raw fish like sashimi; eggs, raw/fried/sometimes boiled; and bog-standard Weider whey protein (which is 15 g of protein per scoop, plus 6 g from the milk I mix it with, so if I'm just using that for recovery I'll have two scoops coming in at exactly 36 g). On a non-training day it's about 200 I would think.
Maybe it's excessive.

I also often choose fruit for the fast absorbing carbs for recovery (pectin is said to be good, right?) so maybe the combo of Weider protein and fruit is causing the... chi...

(And to Oso too) I'm eating maybe 5-8 meals, but each one's pretty small. On training days I eat that Berardi formula three times (so every two hours) after the workout, but drop off from that much protein otherwise.

Mr Punch

11-10-2008, 08:37 PM

One more comment, I'm sure you already know this but for the sake of other readers - I view carbs as fuel for the muscles and protein as first aid. For the type of lifting workout I do I don't burn appreciable carbs so I can pretty much ignore having to refuel. I do however stress/tear muscle so I need to focus on the protein. ...Sure. I was only doing protein after workouts, but then I got from Berardi (again!) that you need the carbs to up the insulin to transport the protein, hence the carbs increase.

At our age mate, esp as a newb I certainly feel that every session's tearing some ****! Don't get DOMS (yet - with these weights) at all much though, feel good generally, and am lifting more each session as I said.

Might change - watch this space when I hit the hypertrophy and strength parts of the periodization! :eek: :D

Toby

11-10-2008, 09:38 PM

Sure. I was only doing protein after workouts, but then I got from Berardi (again!) that you need the carbs to up the insulin to transport the protein, hence the carbs increase.It's my understanding that insulin has a greater effect in transporting carbs than protein. I'm not sure what stimulates protein digestion, transport and usage in repairing muscle damage. I've got some material on it but I don't recall offhand and can't be bothered reading it again. At any rate I'm happy with protein, milk, Milo. I reckon that gives enough of a balance for my needs on my lifting program. If I wanted to mix it up I'd consider adding/swapping bananas, honey.

Toby

11-10-2008, 09:44 PM

I also often choose fruit for the fast absorbing carbs for recovery (pectin is said to be good, right?) so maybe the combo of Weider protein and fruit is causing the... chi...Maybe. I usually eat about 4 pieces of fruit and a litre of milk for lunch (on top of the morning post-workout shake, a bowl of cereal and a coffee for breakfast) but I don't get the ... chi ... issue at all.

Hebrew Hammer

11-10-2008, 11:15 PM

Here is my two cents worth...I won't spend a lot of time on diet, I'm probably the last one to seek that advice from...but everything is better with hot sauce.

As for lifting, I too like intense workouts with short rest periods between sets...around 30-60 seconds...call it the ADD workout. I enjoy the intensity and it builds your cardio. Dropping down in weight to get the last few reps is bueno as it fatigues the muscles more...breaking them down to be built back up.

Here are a few suggestions to keep things fresh...try a heavy and a light day...one with fewer reps more weight and the opposite on light days...two change up the order in which you do your routiene...if you start with chest and back go to legs and arms..for example...keep shocking your body...it will fall into a comfort zone.
Thirdly try adding a new exercise to your workouts or rotate different chest workouts...some dumbell, some machine, some cable exercises. Also, if your schedule allows it change the time or days that you do your weights.

I also do yoga and recommend you either do it at the beginning of your day, seperately in the morning or at the end of your workout...I've tried doing boxing or cardio afterwords and you're just so relaxed, its pretty much a waste. Yoga would be great after your kung fu or isometrics...I even do it on a 'light day' of cardio and abs...its just such a great counter balance to hard contact boxing/MMA (for me). l recommend at least yoga twice a week...great for core, balance, and relaxation...plus if you take it at a gym/studio there's usually some nice eye candy.
Yoga will NOT hamper your muscle recovery.

I'm not sure about your source on Aerobic endurance and weight training...unless your a marathoner or triathlete, almost all the collegiate athletes do both quite effectively...that's something you might have to figure out on your own...I definitely think weight training is compatible with anaerobic exercise, sparring, boxing, martial arts etc.

Hope that helps...

GunnedDownAtrocity

11-10-2008, 11:32 PM

1) If I can't finish the required number of reps I've been changing down ASAP and finishing the number with a lower weight to go out on a high note. Is this a good idea?

2) I can usually finish the reps with the weights I've chosen (though of course, sometimes it's struggle), but then I find 75 secs too short to recover so I'm not so strict in keeping to the recovery period. Is this bad? Should I choose slightly lighter weights so I can stick to the timing, should I just fight through it even if it means not being able to complete the final set, or am I OK in extending the rest period by 10-20 secs?

try not to overthink this too much. if your not on a specific program, it doesnt really matter. if you shorten the rest periods and do drop sets as described you'll stimulate growth. if you take your time and finish each set you'll stimulate strength gains. if you go by how your feeling for that day, you'll keep your body guessing. anywhich way you made it to the gym and theres a net gain. now if your on a specific program or have very specific goals that changes things. if your bodybuilding, shorter rests and drop sets are ideal for the most part (heavy sets have their place as well). if your concerned about nothing but strength, or your doing a program like sheiko, 5x5, smolov, etc. then you want to take as long as you need between sets.

this is a sample sheiko routine (about midway through a prep cycle ... reps and sets are reversed, so its squat for 1 set of 5, 2 sets of 4, etc.)

1.Squat 50% 5Х1,60% 4Х2,70% 3Х2,80% 3Х5.(34)
2.Bench press 50% 5Х1,60% 4Х1,70% 3Х2,80% 3Х5.(30)
3.Flat dumbbells “flies”10Х5.
4.Push ups with weight 10Х5.
5.Squat 50% 5Х1,60% 5Х1,70% 5Х5.(35)
6.”Good mornings” (standing) 5Х5.

looks easy on paper, but it takes about 2 and half hours to complete. a little under two if your well conditioned.

3) When should I do yoga (I'm pretty much a newb at that too)? I guess that elongating muscles to that extent is bad just before weights. What about a day before (training weights three times a week I only get alternate days rest)? What about immediately after (i.e. will that kind of stretching hamper my muscle recovery?)?

4) When should I do isometrics (and slow sloooow stance work)? As mentioned above the stance work I do is a hard workout in itself. It's a form of endurance. According to studies cited by Cosgrove and Schuler, aerobic endurance work interferes with weights for strength: if you do alternate days the gains are in endurance to the detriment of strength, so you should do it together with your weights, or after and before a full day's rest. So what about anaerobic endurance?

again . . . if you overthink this sh1t the stress alone will diminish your gains. if you just do something you'll gain something. if you just do something on the regular you'll start discovering what works best for you. its a learning process. the important thing to remember is that (excluding an upcoming competition) there's no end game so theres no reason to stress or rush results. no one wants to waste his time, but the odds of you completely zeroing out your gains by doing things in the wrong order are just about nill. im not saying to completely ignore the science, but you gotta seperate what happens on paper and what happens in the gym so you can actually enjoy training. all of this said, i'd be sure to lift fresh for the day. you want to full access to every contractile fiber you can muster while under the bar. i'd do cardio, yoga, and isometric/ma stuff after lifting or on alternate days. i don't think it matters much either way. there's a reason for the science - its not possible to be a world class powerlifter and a marathon runner at the same time. but if your goal is to be a well rounded strong and conditioned athlete you aren't going to waste your time experimenting.

also .. . i overthink everything . . including not overthinking things . .. its a problem of mine.

5) Sometimes I only get to train after say, 9:30 at night. If I follow John Berardi's diet guidelines, and those of various others, I should be eating a certain amount of carbs and protein every two hours at least three times to aid recovery/growth (the amount according to various calculations I've come across for my bodyweight of 82 kg is 68 g of carbs and 36 g of protein). If I train late at night I find:

a) I get really drained the next day... basically have to eat and sleep a lot. And/or

b) I get the gippy guts! I guess my body can't take that much protein! (Though this is only if I train late at night and try to squeeze in more nutrients than I would normally).

Anybody any advice for good ways of getting the right balance of nutrients if I train late at night... I dunno, slow release carbs/proteins...? Is it something that gets better as my body adapts more to this kind of heavy training? I don't want to have to give up training late because with my life it's the only time I have sometimes, but I can't help but feel that my training goes to waste if I don't eat right afterwards and feel washed out the next day.

i also have to train at 9:30 at night due to work and school. i personally prefer lifting in the evening vs. early in the morning, but i think i could adapt if i had to. i think your body will get used to it and you'll have better mornings afer a few weeks. diet is my weakest subject, but what i do is have a protein shake with milk, a banana, natural peanut butter, glutamine, and sometimes oats as soon as i can after lifting. then after my shower i try to have some eggs, cottage cheese, milk, tuna, or any combination of this before bed. if im really craving carbs ill have a few perogies. or a huge ass bowl of pasta that ill regret after eating it. often times i wash it all down with a couple samuel smith's taddy porters as well, so maybe you shouldnt listen to me.

Mr Punch

11-10-2008, 11:40 PM

...but everything is better with hot sauce.Lol, except the squits man, except the squits!:eek:

Here are a few suggestions to keep things fresh...try a heavy and a light day...one with fewer reps more weight and the opposite on light days...two change up the order in which you do your routiene...if you start with chest and back go to legs and arms..for example...keep shocking your body...it will fall into a comfort zone.That stuff comes with the next period in my programme.

Cheers for the yoga advice.

I'm not sure about your source on Aerobic endurance and weight training...unless your a marathoner or triathlete, almost all the collegiate athletes do both quite effectively...that's something you might have to figure out on your own...I definitely think weight training is compatible with anaerobic exercise, sparring, boxing, martial arts etc.
Alwyn Cosgrove. I'll try and find the specific studies he quotes later.

Cheers for your help.

Mr Punch

11-10-2008, 11:44 PM

if your not on a specific program, it doesnt really matter.I am.

The programme at this point says 75 sec rest periods between the sets of the superset.

if you shorten the rest periods and do drop sets as described you'll stimulate growth. if you take your time and finish each set you'll stimulate strength gains. if you go by how your feeling for that day, you'll keep your body guessing. anywhich way you made it to the gym and theres a net gain. now if your on a specific program or have very specific goals that changes things. if your bodybuilding, shorter rests and drop sets are ideal for the most part (heavy sets have their place as well). if your concerned about nothing but strength, or your doing a program like sheiko, 5x5, smolov, etc. then you want to take as long as you need between sets. Fair dos.

this is a sample sheiko routine (about midway through a prep cycle ... reps and sets are reversed, so its squat for 1 set of 5, 2 sets of 4, etc.)Not yet thanks, baby!

looks easy on paper, but it takes about 2 and half hours to complete. a little under two if your well conditioned.**** man, I'm getting better, but that ****'d take me two weeks.

. . . if you overthink this sh1t the stress alone will diminish your gains.I don't overthink anything... except...

everything . . including not overthinking things . .. its a problem of mine. but I sure as hell don't stress about it.

i think your body will get used to it and you'll have better mornings afer a few weeks.THAT'S what I need to hear!

Toby

11-11-2008, 03:00 AM

I'm not sure about your source on Aerobic endurance and weight training...unless your a marathoner or triathlete, almost all the collegiate athletes do both quite effectively...that's something you might have to figure out on your own...I definitely think weight training is compatible with anaerobic exercise, sparring, boxing, martial arts etc.
Alwyn Cosgrove. I'll try and find the specific studies he quotes later.Yeah, anecdotally and IME this is definitely true. People do both but they bias towards one or the other. E.g. a sprinter won't do extensive aerobic work, a marathon runner won't do sprints and powerlifting. IME I'm definitely hit hard by HIIT for the rest of the day after I do it (which is why I do it in the evenings). OTOH my aerobic endurance is not affected so much by heavy lifting, although muscle soreness can affect the ability to perform aerobic activities. Dunno about American collegiate athletics but an example in Australia is the AFL (Australian football). In the off season players typically bulk up and peak at their lifting (although they do do a lot of aerobic stuff as well, just not as much as in the on season). In the on season they run a lot (in games) and lose strength and size. Some players show noticeable physique losses over the course of a season.

sanjuro_ronin

11-11-2008, 05:12 AM

You ask too many questions all at once dude !!

In a nutshell:
Have you checked the sticky thread about strength?

Training to failure is an option and a great one IF:
You have very limited time
You are not training for a specific event
You have spotters or a power rack.
You actually CAN train to failure ( most don't).

I tend to not recommend training to failure on DL and Squats, for obivous reasons, but some do and get results, if you are not training to failure on them you must do more than 1 set.

I think the 5x5 protocol with 85%+ is one of the best methods out there, its simple and hits strength and even some hypertrohy.
Focus on the compounds and you don't need much more.

You can combine both, 5x5 on the compounds and failure on the "isolations" liek curls or on the BW exercises like dips, chins and push-ups.

Rest periods are based on what you are trying to "build", more rest, more strength, less rest, more muscular endurance and even anerobic ocnditoning if you are doing a "circuit".

Yoga is great for first thing in the morning or even after a workout, if you have the time.
There is a book, Yoga for athletes, get it.
Power yoga can also be a nice "sub" for ST once and awhile.

golgo

11-11-2008, 08:28 PM

Lol, except the squits man, except the squits!:eek:

That stuff comes with the next period in my programme.

Cheers for the yoga advice.

Alwyn Cosgrove. I'll try and find the specific studies he quotes later.

Cheers for your help.

Is it safe to assume you are on New Rules of Lifting? I am also on it. The program is awesome.

GunnedDownAtrocity

11-11-2008, 08:32 PM

I am.

The programme at this point says 75 sec rest periods between the sets of the superset.

my bad man . .. i missed that part. in that case you just gotta consider the goals of the program and weigh them against your own.

Mr Punch

11-11-2008, 09:08 PM

You ask too many questions all at once dude !!Well, you musta gained some solace by only answering one of the ****ers then! :p :D

In a nutshell:
Have you checked the sticky thread about strength?No I haven't actually, I just assumed it's one big long mess...

Training to failure is an option and a great one IF...I'm not really actually training to failure except on benches and OPs. Like I said, the squats and deads are until I feel dizzy rather than until my muscles fail. BTW, I'd never had dizzy spells but they're pretty frequent and strong in the gym. Dunno if my heart isn't cut out for it or what, but I figure take it slow and easy.

I think the 5x5 protocol with 85%+ is one of the best methods out there, its simple and hits strength and even some hypertrohy.
Focus on the compounds and you don't need much more.The 5x5 has always sounded good, but I don't think I'm ready for it yet, plus I'm enjoying the programme I'm on now. And all I do is compounds. You can see more on my blog.

Rest periods are based on what you are trying to "build", more rest, more strength, less rest, more muscular endurance and even anerobic ocnditoning if you are doing a "circuit".I'm assuming that there's a good reason he has these specific rest periods for his various workouts. I mailed him to try and get some answers to my question (about the only thing that's unclear in the book) but they have a policy of not replying. I can see it: he's obviously too busy for q's from all his loyal buying idiot public.

Yoga is great for first thing in the morning or even after a workout, if you have the time.
There is a book, Yoga for athletes, get it.
Power yoga can also be a nice "sub" for ST once and awhile.Cool. Thanks for the answer! :D I've done some yoga a long time ago in the past but nothing so long or serious: is 'Yoga for Athletes' going to help me as a supplement to the classes or is it too much hard work?

Mr Punch

11-11-2008, 09:16 PM

Is it safe to assume you are on New Rules of Lifting? I am also on it. The program is awesome.Yeah, that whole book rocks. I like it because it tells you the science and how to design your own programmes, and the cookie-cutter ones make more sense than any others I've seen. I'm right near the start still though, halfway through Fat-loss 1 from the "Eternal Beginners'" programme.

Yeah, anecdotally and IME this is definitely true. People do both but they bias towards one or the other. E.g. a sprinter won't do extensive aerobic work, a marathon runner won't do sprints and powerlifting. IME I'm definitely hit hard by HIIT for the rest of the day after I do it (which is why I do it in the evenings). OTOH my aerobic endurance is not affected so much by heavy lifting, although muscle soreness can affect the ability to perform aerobic activities. Dunno about American collegiate athletics but an example in Australia is the AFL (Australian football). In the off season players typically bulk up and peak at their lifting (although they do do a lot of aerobic stuff as well, just not as much as in the on season). In the on season they run a lot (in games) and lose strength and size. Some players show noticeable physique losses over the course of a season.That's exactly what Cosgrove says, but backed up by a couple of studies.

my bad man . .. i missed that part. in that case you just gotta consider the goals of the program and weigh them against your own.No worries, cheers for your input. I'm going for strict rest periods and taking one or two seconds' breather in between reps if I can't make it in one go.

Toby

11-12-2008, 04:24 AM

I'm not really actually training to failure except on benches and OPs. Like I said, the squats and deads are until I feel dizzy rather than until my muscles fail. BTW, I'd never had dizzy spells but they're pretty frequent and strong in the gym. Dunno if my heart isn't cut out for it or what, but I figure take it slow and easy.Blood pressure issue? Holding your breath during reps/sets? Hyperventilating? FWIW I hold my breath in heavy lifts, but I kind of inhale and while finishing the inhale start the rep and start the exhale while finishing the rep. So I breath properly but hold throughout the 1-3s (depending on lift) of each rep. Breathing throughout the rep wouldn't work for me on squats and DL because I need that constant abdominal pressure to support the load. Sets of 5 reps have never brought on dizziness for me AFAI can remember. I'd be a bit worried about dizziness - it's not enough to make you black out or lose balance is it? It'd be very worrying if there's potential to cause injury - even moderate weights can hurt. E.g. I've been lifting barefoot a lot lately and even a couple of kg/few lb could fuck up my foot.

golgo

11-12-2008, 06:47 AM

Let me try and answer these questions through a NROL filter:

1) If I can't finish the required number of reps I've been changing down ASAP and finishing the number with a lower weight to go out on a high note. Is this a good idea?

According to NROL, the answer is no. Your goal is to increase SOMETHING during every workout (not everything). What this means, is that if on your last set you can't finish all of your reps, record it and try and beat that number next time. If you cant push out the required set of reps on EVERY or MOST sets, then you are using too much weight and should decrease the weight next time.

2) I can usually finish the reps with the weights I've chosen (though of course, sometimes it's struggle), but then I find 75 secs too short to recover so I'm not so strict in keeping to the recovery period. Is this bad? Should I choose slightly lighter weights so I can stick to the timing, should I just fight through it even if it means not being able to complete the final set, or am I OK in extending the rest period by 10-20 secs?

If you are on NROL fat loss, the rest periods are designed to keep "the fire burning." Increasing your rest periods is going to decrease the fat-burning effect of your workout and increase the time you are spending in the gym. I would really try to adhere to them if possible.

3) When should I do yoga (I'm pretty much a newb at that too)? I guess that elongating muscles to that extent is bad just before weights. What about a day before (training weights three times a week I only get alternate days rest)? What about immediately after (i.e. will that kind of stretching hamper my muscle recovery?)

I know very little about yoga. But generally stretching cools down your muscles rather than warming them up. I dont see a problem doing this after workouts or on recovery days.

4) When should I do isometrics (and slow sloooow stance work)? As mentioned above the stance work I do is a hard workout in itself. It's a form of endurance. According to studies cited by Cosgrove and Schuler, aerobic endurance work interferes with weights for strength: if you do alternate days the gains are in endurance to the detriment of strength, so you should do it together with your weights, or after and before a full day's rest. So what about anaerobic endurance?

I dont see this being an issue. This is more geared towards the person who spends hours training to be an endurance athelete (such as a long distance runner, cross country skier, etc). You shouldn't see much of a decrease in strength gains.

I am not trying to move you away from this forum, but on the Men's Health Magazine forums, there a lot of people who do NROL on there and you can get a lot of advice from people with way more experience than me. It has been a great resource for me in my fat-loss/strength gaining journey.

Mr Punch

11-12-2008, 09:10 AM

Blood pressure issue? Holding your breath during reps/sets? Hyperventilating? FWIW I hold my breath in heavy lifts, but I kind of inhale and while finishing the inhale start the rep and start the exhale while finishing the rep. So I breath properly but hold throughout the 1-3s (depending on lift) of each rep. Breathing throughout the rep wouldn't work for me on squats and DL because I need that constant abdominal pressure to support the load. Sets of 5 reps have never brought on dizziness for me AFAI can remember. I'd be a bit worried about dizziness - it's not enough to make you black out or lose balance is it? It'd be very worrying if there's potential to cause injury - even moderate weights can hurt. E.g. I've been lifting barefoot a lot lately and even a couple of kg/few lb could **** up my foot.It's not as bad as all that. I'm a little worried, as my breathing is as normal as possible, but maybe I'm doing something wrong with the abdominal bracing on my squats and deads. I don't get anywhere near blacking out or anything, or losing my balance, so it could just be that I'm really really puny! :D

Mr Punch

11-12-2008, 09:17 AM

According to NROL, the answer is no. Your goal is to increase SOMETHING during every workout (not everything). What this means, is that if on your last set you can't finish all of your reps, record it and try and beat that number next time. If you cant push out the required set of reps on EVERY or MOST sets, then you are using too much weight and should decrease the weight next time.I'm increasing pretty much every exercise on each session. So for example, I tried

Squats

50 x 15
55 x 15
60 x 15

one time, and failed after ten 60s so did a drop set immediately of 5 more 55s.

Next time I did

55 x 15
60 x 15 (noooo problem! :D )
65 x 15 (failed, did drop set of 60 x 5 immediately)

which means I'm succeeding on increasing my loads and not finishing with a failed set programmed in my muscle memory (in fact, going out on another 5 60s which I hadn't even been able to complete the time before meant I finished on a positive high note!)

And I also increased the weights on all of the other exercises. So, when I get to the hypertrophy period I'll be hopefully lifting close to my max as suits lower reps, and similarly when I reach the strength period I'll be shifting my max and maybe increasing it.

If you are on NROL fat loss, the rest periods are designed to keep "the fire burning." Increasing your rest periods is going to decrease the fat-burning effect of your workout and increase the time you are spending in the gym. I would really try to adhere to them if possible.Thanks. Although I've taken to pausing a wee second or so between reps if the going gets too tough... couldn't see anything to contradict that in NROL.

I am not trying to move you away from this forum, but on the Men's Health Magazine forums, there a lot of people who do NROL on there and you can get a lot of advice from people with way more experience than me. It has been a great resource for me in my fat-loss/strength gaining journey.Good idea. I know Cosgrove writes over there too... I'll have a lurk.

GunnedDownAtrocity

11-12-2008, 11:58 AM

also wanted to add this . .. if you're lifting at 9:30 at night you could get away with doing whatever you wanted in the morning. if you wanted to knock out some cardio, yoga, or whatever you'd be ok. id presonally want a nap mid day though.

Mr Punch

11-12-2008, 10:35 PM

I am not trying to move you away from this forum, but on the Men's Health Magazine forums, there a lot of people who do NROL on there and you can get a lot of advice from people with way more experience than me. It has been a great resource for me in my fat-loss/strength gaining journey.OK, sir, any chance you could point me to any useful/relevant threads? I've just spent a good half hour over there and feel my IQ has dropped! I haven't seen anyone give any advice except, NROL NROL NROL NROL etc etc! Nobody's talking specifics...

golgo

11-13-2008, 06:45 AM

Here is a good thread that discusses rest periods between sets:

http://forums.menshealth.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/855109121/m/5061016323?r=2011026323#2011026323

Thread discussing weight training and yoga (somewhat):

http://forums.menshealth.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/855109121/m/1661074483?r=1661074483#1661074483

Did you use the search function? If you type in "NROL" you get over 300 pages of posts. If you do "NROL and Yoga" get like 38 pages. Plus, if you post questions over there, you usually get helpful answers.

Mr Punch

11-15-2008, 10:47 PM

Mr Punch

11-15-2008, 10:53 PM

Wasn't doing regular updates on this to decrease bandwidth and because I figured it's not really necessary, but here are a couple more now you guys have answered my qs and I've worked a bit of stuff out, just to show the progress.

Last week sometime

Cycle to the gym quickly.

Warm-up:
10-20 walking twisting lunges
10-20 T-push-ups
10-20 side lunges
15-20 ball crunches
3-10 inchworms
10-20 Russian twists on the ball
20 kg x 5 seated good morning + box squats + overhead presses with no rest.

(All weights in kg)

BB Squat
55 x 15
60 x 15
65 x 10 (stopped before failure - no dizziness)
drop set 60 x 5
SS (75 secs rest) with DB push press
14 (each hand) x 15
16 x 15
18 x 12 (fail) drop set 16 x 5

Two mins or less rest.

Cable seated row
42.5 x 15
47.5 x 15
52.5 x 15 (wasn't sure I was getting full ROM so...)
blasted through 47.5 x 10 drop set.
SS (75 secs) with Weighted supine hip extension
16 x 15
18 x 15
20 x 15

Two mins or less rest.

Walking rotational lunge with DBs
16 x 30
18 x 30
20 x 30
SS (75 secs) with Bent-knee weighted curl-ups
14 x 15
16 x 15
18 x 15

Couple of stretches, lunges, 20 kg BB presses for a warm-down.

Cycle home quickly.

That's one session. I train three times a week with at least one day between each session.

The alternate session is:

BB deads SS with Incline DB benches

Bulgarian split squats SS with Mixed grip lat pull-downs

Russian ball rolls SS with BB Romanian deads

The deads are a little heavier than the squats, the benches heavier than the overhead presses, the pull-downs about the same as the cable-rows, and the Bulgarian ss about the same as the rotational lunges... so nothing extremely heavy yet - not near my 1RM but enough to mess me up after 3 x 15.

Then there's the MA stuff and semi-isometric stance work...

Mr Punch

11-15-2008, 11:00 PM

1) If I can't finish the required number of reps I've been changing down ASAP and finishing the number with a lower weight to go out on a high note. Is this a good idea?OK, the drop set answer cleared that up. I thought that was the best way, and some of the NROL acolytes have poo-poohed it, and it does make the strict timing of the NROL programmes difficult, but I'm still going with it: I just like going out on a success!

2) I can usually finish the reps with the weights I've chosen (though of course, sometimes it's struggle), but then I find 75 secs too short to recover so I'm not so strict in keeping to the recovery period. Is this bad? Should I choose slightly lighter weights so I can stick to the timing, should I just fight through it even if it means not being able to complete the final set, or am I OK in extending the rest period by 10-20 secs?OK, according to the Mens Health thread ( :eek: ) the good man Golgo posted to this question, the strict timing is all important. So, much as fat loss is not a primary aim of mine (though my wee gut isn't so wee any more) I've tightened it up. Now, it's hell! A whole different work-out - shock and awe to the system, nearly throwing up, instant DOMS etc! :D Struggling to keep to the weights I was using before... more results when I post my last two w/os.

3) When should I do yoga (I'm pretty much a newb at that too)? I guess that elongating muscles to that extent is bad just before weights. What about a day before (training weights three times a week I only get alternate days rest)? What about immediately after (i.e. will that kind of stretching hamper my muscle recovery?)?Everybody seems to think it's OK. I'll have to wait until the initial shock and awe subsides...

The squits thing: I stopped eating so much fruit as post workout carbs: switched to fast burner high GI **** like rice/bread, and one bit of fruit. I get enough fruit and veg anyway. Also mixed up the protein a bit. Seems to leave no problem.

uki

11-15-2008, 11:38 PM

i saw it was brand spanking new, so i decided to throw some sh!t at it... :p

Mr Punch

11-16-2008, 03:16 AM

OK, so trying to stick strictly to the time constraints...

These are 75 secs rest between the two exercises in the 'Superset with full rest' and 75 secs between each Superset.

Friday:

BB deads
55 x 15, 60 x 15, 65 x 6 ('fail'), drop set 60 x 10
75 secs rest
SS with Incline DB benches (x2 - 1 DB each hand of course)
14 x 15, 16 x 15, 18 x 10 (fail) drop set 32 x 4 (fail!)

75 secs rest

Bulgarian split squats
14 x 15 each leg, 16 x 15, 20 x 15
75 secs rest
SS with Mixed grip lat pull-downs
42.2 x 15, 44.5 x 15, 45 x 15

75 secs rest

Weighted bent leg curl ups (supposed to be Russian ball rolls, but a bunch of old bats were gassing on the balls)
18 x 15, 20 x 15, 22 x 15
75 secs rest
SS with BB Romanian deads
55 x 15, 60 x 15, 65 x 7 (fail), drop 55 x 10

OK, so it was supposed to be 75 secs rest each time but there's no way it was... it started out OK, but after the first SS it went a bit pear-shaped. The rests mid-SS were 75 secs but the others were maybe... 2 mins on the last one. It was still really friggin hard.

From next workout I'm supposed to get heavier, the reps are supposed to drop to 12, with a brutal 60 sec rest period...

Mr Punch

11-16-2008, 03:26 AM

OK, so I decided pretty much to stick to the same weights as before and just to try and stick totally to the rest periods (60 secs with 12 rep sets)

Compare weights etc with the posts above...

BB Squat
55 x 15 (forgot it was supposed to be 12!), 60 x 12, 65 x 6 (prefail), drop 60 x 6
SS (60 secs rest) with DB push press
14 (each hand) x 12, 16 x 10 (fail), drop 14 x 2, 16 x 8 (fail) drop set 14 x 4

60 secs rest

Cable seated row
42.5 x 12, 47.5 x 12, 52.5 x 12
SS (60 secs) with Weighted supine hip extension
20 x 12, 22 x 12, 22 x 12

60 secs rest

Walking rotational lunge with DBs
16 x 24, 18 x 24, 20 x 24
SS (60 secs) with Bent-knee weighted curl-ups
20 x 12, 22 x 12, 24 x 12

This workout was horrible.

Must try harder.

Just managed to stick to the 60 secs I think... couldn't really see the clock by the end! As expected the shorter rest periods meant earlier failure, so going to work at these weights for longer.

Mr Punch

12-07-2008, 05:29 PM

OK, so generally managed to stick to timing, but like GDA says, I'm not sweating it too much if I can't. It turns out that I'm capable (though it really hurts -esp on the 3 x 10 reps x 45 secs rest) but in my gym, even on a day when there's only one other person in the free weights area it's impossible.

Anyway, still improving (lifted 3 x 10 x 75 deads and squats, superset, with 45 secs the other days without thinking - once I actually overloaded the bar, so literally without thinking: both more than my max for that number of reps before and in fact puny though it is that squat was my max) and generally sticking to the timings, and most importantly: INJURY FREE!

OK, so I've had some twinges, and some bad aches after training (not just DOMS but minor recurrances of the injuries) which have incapacitated me a little, but these have felt better by the next training day and improved after taking it easy (maybe not increasing the load by so much) the next training day. In short, I am still feeling the injuries but the severity and recovery rate have both improved dramatically.

Hopefully, better late than never, I'll actually be able to get an MRI and proper physio advice in December.

Was just forced to take a week off with a cold and fever, which basically means I'm going to drop the last two sessions of this Fat-Loss 1 programme and go straight into FL2 (which was supposed to be after a week off anyway).

:) all round... by the time I've increased weigths a bit through FL2, Hypertrophy 1 should be hitting some relatively big PRs.

Mr Punch

12-14-2008, 05:26 PM

Seem to be down to two (or maybe even one...!?) even semi-regular fu training partner: the cold weather and seasonal fevers have seen everyone off for now.

Had a wee session the other day, ironically enough with the beginning of a mammoth fever I didn't know about, but which explains why I was feeling so terrible and disjointed.

We were working solely on lop sao, and paired resistance exercises for it to work on rooting. We wanted to work more on setting up the lop sao (the only time I've used it realistically in FC sparring is to attack someone covering up in a boxingy guard - and then more as a momentary disrupter than as the desired complete destruction of his root, and I find pak works better... and a couple of times on morons, albeit trained morons, doing the 'not now Kato' routine after a night of drinking to 'test me out' where it worked very well but relies completely on surprise and unfamiliarity with the movement).

I was observing the difference in my movement since I started my serious weight programme. The feeling of connection to the root has definitely improved, but consequently (unless it was just a bad day cos of the fever raging round my joints) I have developed a slight tendency to overbalance which is completely unusual for me. It may be down to relying too much on my newfound strength (!) but I feel it's more likely to do with the fever, and also concentrating on rooting to the detriment of using footwork to get into a good position.

The points that I found were good:

1) Seemingly added tweak to the lockout of my hip when throwing a punch/pulling a lop, which I put down to locking out with deadlifts: an almost identical move.
2) Extra flexibility in the crease of my thigh down to squats mostly I guess.
3) Added core strength.
4) Added connectivity in my shoulders (the pull between the shoulder blades useful for sensitivity - it's easier to feel what someone's doing to one arm and get an instant reaction with your other free one - and for cable rows, bent-over rows, squats, pull-downs and deads... and lop sao).

Looking forward to checking out if these are on the mark when I can train next time, especially without the raging fever!

Mr Punch

12-14-2008, 05:33 PM

On to FL2.

It's hard.

Couple of observations...

My front squat sucks compared to my back squat. I think it's down to pain in my arms, so I suspect my form is slightly off. I had similar horrible pain but in my shoulders when I started with the heavier back squats after such a long time, so I suspect that it'll soon go away as with them.

Don't have the dead routine until Tue, but tried a couple of the new-to-me snatch grip deads out: seems they suck compared to my normal deads!

The Bulgarian split squat was always a chore: add the overhead press at the bottom and it really works your back a treat. I'm going to like those!

Ditto the Romanian dead with the bent-over row at the bottom of it, though not a in a fun way!

Rattled off a few chin-ups... better than usual, but looks like I'm going to need to supplement the chin-up sets with underhand pulldowns after all!

Barbell push presses way way easier than dumbell ones, but still my puniest lift.

In general :eek: and of course :D

Mr Punch

12-26-2008, 06:00 AM

Quick update.

Generally going well.

Chin-ups still suck.

Added an exercise with the cable row machine to simulate the movement of a lap sao just out of interest. Couldn't move more than 25ish kg, which just goes to show, while there are a lot of weightlifting moves that transfer well into fu, there are also some fu moves that don't transfer into weights. I can shift 90 kg opponents with a lap, but can't move 30 kg on a machine. Good root practice tho, and core work.

Front squats still suck: still getting pain in wrists from odd position. Anyone any hints?

Mr Punch

01-19-2009, 05:31 PM

Got into training something every day... kind of by accident really.

Still doing the gym (still on FL2 from NROL - had a little over a week off with gastroenteritis) and loving it: making progress, even in the cursed chin-ups (which I added to the A workout to practice them for the B workout too!). By the time I hit the hypertrophy workouts at the end of next week I should be into some respectable weights (well BW anyway - not bad considering the damage I'd had to my body).

Finally got appt at the sports hospital this Saturday!

Started yoga - also going well: feel like superman after a session. Been doing it most days. Considering how picky everyone round here about lines of MA I'm ashamed to say it's bog-standard generic gym yoga, maybe hatha yoga based, and a general, non-level oriented class too. It's all I have time for right now and it's in my gym so I don't pay extra... but whatever, it does the job.

Neck still tweaking, esp when I'm at the ****ing computer too long, but generally much better.

Had a couple of great MA sessions: one WC sesh last week working on WC strength and energy drills solely; and one mixed sesh last Sun when I met a friend from another forum who practices koryu, and a load of other people, and we did core koryu strengthening exercises and some koryu jujutsu, and some chun. Great stuff.

Mr Punch

01-19-2009, 05:36 PM

Got this from another forum:

1. Joint rotations
2. General warm-up
3. Dynamic stretching
4. Technical training
5. Speed training
6. Strength training
7. Endurance training
8. Isometric stretching
9. Relaxed stretchingIt's exercise order, and is supposedly applicable to any programme: strength, flexibility, speed etc...

And this to back it up:
In the duration of a training cycle you should try to adhere to the following order of types of workouts:

1. Technical (learning or perfecting technique at medium intensity)
2. Technical (perfecting technique at submaximal and maximal intensity)
3. Speed
4. Speed-endurance (anaerobic endurance)
5. Strength with submaximal and maximal loads
6. Muscular endurance with medium and low loads
7. Muscular endurance with high and maximal intensity
8. Aerobic endurance with maximum intensity
9. Aerobic endurance with medium intensity

This was outlined by researcher N. G. Ozolin in a 1971 study. It is also supported by Thomas Kurz, the world's leading strength and flexibility coach.

Just thought I'd repost it here as it answers my questions earlier on this thread about exercise order, and seems useful but strangely, I'd never seen it before tho had seen many questions about exercise order before. Pretty useful if you design your own programmes.

Has anyone found anything that debunks this, or is it still accepted wisdom?

Mr Punch

02-17-2009, 07:29 PM

OK, so in rehab: manipulation, massage, isometrics and other exercise once a week. It seems to be OK, but to be honest I think the yoga is doing me the power of good. It IS hatha yoga, which I hadn't done since I dabbled in my early twenties.

Found out hatha comes from:

ha - yang, male, sun
tha - yin, female, moon,

which together means 'forceful'... which explains why it's so frigging hard!

Still going with the weights but try as I might my schedule is only allowing twice a week right now: want to get back up to three. Thinking of looking for a local weight training partner: the programme I'm on now has 30 sec breaks and I can't change up the weights I need to in 30 secs with the set-up at the gym, and especially if there's anyone else there.

Starting my first ever hypertrophy programme next week: not really my thing but pretty excited about it... partly cos my current programme is a bit boring.

Still getting (sometimes quite a lot of) pain from my neck, but generally feeling very very strong and fit. And the other day, while in the midst of DOMS from weights and probably compounded by a hard yoga session, I cycled my usual 10.5 min (going fast - it's 4 km or so) route in an astonishing 8.5 mins, with no problem!

Mr Punch

03-02-2009, 08:24 PM

Lent training log

25th: Seated yoga set. About 45 mins. Good. Worked well.

26th: Kurz leg raises. Aunkai leg raises, stationary and moving. Manji stepping. Sumo stamping. Altogether, about 25 mins. Plenty hard enough. Evening yoga sectional breathing exercises and eye exercises (partial set)

27th: Gym: Fat Loss 2 + 8 x chin ups. Small milestone: from a puny 2-3 chins when I started about 6 wks ago I’ve now reached the heady heights of 8 which is how many I’m supposed to be doing. Well, actually, this programme calls for 3 x 8 but you can’t have everything! Evening: 1 hr neck rehab yoga set, except some of the end breathing exercises and AUM/OM meditation (did sectional breathing). Full eye set.

28th: Lots of booze through an unavoidable social situation (amazing place, mind, 350 year-old village headman’s housing complex with waterwheels and a well and whatnot converted into a delicious kaiseki (small dishes, multi-course) restaurant); then ironically, lots more booze with my kung fu bros. Did manage to get a little stretching in in the morning, and about ten mins of demoing various fu concepts with my bro (strangely before we got too drunk!). Was going to train when I got home (planned it all on the 45 min trip) but crashed completely.

1st Mar: also a write-off, but I did get a lot of exercise! My wife’s computer finally died (she needs one for her design work), so we had to go and buy a new one. Well, we also took my daughter into Tokyo for an art exhibition, an epic adventure with a 12 kg very active nearly two year-old and always a good workout with sudden dives and squirms and angles coming from everywhere… then bought the new computer, which weighed 16 kg and the box was the size to ensure that I had to carry it in one hand with my arm out. I could feel the year of pain and the two months of physio in my neck slowly getting torn apart, but altogether, the active moving around time with said bulky 16 kg was about 45 mins. A good workout, but very very painful and essentially prevented me from doing anything active when I got back. Did, of course, do some shoulder, neck and upper back focused yoga but passed up on the full course I do for fear of further damage. Then, unfortunately had to work in front of the computer till the not-so-early hours of the morning. Impressed at the healing rate of my problem though… obviously getting much better.

2nd: Fat Loss 2 last workout! And another small milestone: first time hitting BW in anything (deads for 5) unassisted (have hit 92 kgs squat on Smith before). That was my aim for going into the first hypertrophy programme. Finally feel like I’m a novice weightlifter!

3rd: aching from yesterday so don’t want to push it and mess up the gain… kung fu + Aunkai footwork drills; the WC forms; seated and eye yoga sets. Bit disappointed haven’t been able to score any partnered fu work for ages.

WinterPalm

03-04-2009, 12:04 PM

For your pain, check out Steve Maxwell's Joint Mobility Encyclopedia...it's gold and has helped me in several ways. There's a 20min neck mobility and loosening section among others.

Mr Punch

03-04-2009, 05:48 PM

Thank you sir, I'll check that out.

Mr Punch

03-23-2009, 10:04 PM

4th: still in a bit of pain from various things… maybe the yoga was pushing it yesterday. Still not sure of the relationships between recovery and stretching. Anyway, tried Thomas Kurz’s warm-up stretching routine today. It seems good and seemed to iron out a few little aches and pains. Added wing chun stepping drills of many kinds to that, plus the forms. Workout got interrupted (that’s what comes of doing it at work I guess). Really tried to squeeze another one in in the evening but didn’t have time and couldn’t make it, partly because I’d had to cycle a ‘new’ bike for over an hour in the pouring rain with a small frame and the top gears broken so I only had the soft ones which you have to pedal for dear life just to get going.

5th: Another milestone that would seem to be imperceptible to others – for the first time since about six years ago when I moved in with my then GF (now wife) I planned to get up earlier than usual and do some morning training, and DID IT! :D Just did 30 mins of Kurz’s warm-ups and some stretches: didn’t actually have time to do anything else but that was great.

Evening, last thing (I’d missed my chance to go to the gym helping my daughter out), the same stretch warm-up, three careful versions of the Sun Salutation (wanted to try two new ones: a bit more strenuous than usual), and Aunkai’s Tenchijin set. 30 mins.

6th: Morning training again: 30 mins Kurz warm-ups; SLT; Sun Salutation five times various versions. Lots of picking up and swinging round 1st and 2nd grade kids at work, sometimes several at a time! No way to make time in the evening.

7th: Morning Kurz. Midday - Hypertrophy 1A. DB incline bench, cable seated rows, wide grip lat pull-downs, DB presses, close grip BB bench, high pulls, all alternating 5 x 5 sets. Supposed to do 3 x 15 ball crunches at the end, but couldn’t be arsed: did chins and one set of crunches. High pulls were my first time: it’s hard so far… reckon I’m going to feel it tomorrow.

8th: Morning – very short Kurz. Had no sleep because of sick daughter, so really had no chance to recuperate as much as I should have after yesterday’s lifting. Had intended to lift (lower body split) this morning before yoga, but couldn’t possibly do it because of lack of sleep and of course, still looking after my daughter (and wife!). At least made it to the gym for an hour of yoga. Not as stiff as I expected to be after yesterday.

9th: Morning – Kurz and a rather uninspiring morning yoga set I found on youtube (added a couple of Sun Salutations). Early evening: gym for the lower body half of Hypertrophy 1B. Squats AND deads, plus Bulgarian split squats and step-ups, 4 x 10. Minor milestones on the way: 5 x 80 kg (my own bodyweight) squat – first time I’ve ever squatted my bodyweight without the use of machines. Re-read the programme: shouldn’t have been deads, but deads WITH shrugs… which would have seriously reduced the amount I should’ve been shifting. [/shrugs]

10th: was expecting some serious ache from yesterday but nothing. Morning - Kurz set. Daytime fu forms. Evening fu session: nearly two hours of mostly chi sao. Not that big on chi sao but it was the first time in a while and my fu-bro from another line was there with one of his students so we got some nice perspectives, plus my bro from Aunkai, my old koryu-based internal school which is always cool, and even did a bit of Systema with him too (one of the few really really useful drills from the system).

11th: Oh so that’s where the other days DOMS went! Gaaaargh. Walking like a dude who’s been riding a horse for three whole Westerns, with a huge ***** for a saddle! :eek: :eek: :eek: Er, anyway, brutalized my way through Kurz and McGill’s lower back therapy stretches. Fu forms.

12th: Kurz morning. Evening; 10 mins of eye yoga, and 10 mins of breathing exercises. Bit of a failure - busy day.

13th: Total failure! Daytime chucked loads of little kids about if that counts (in class). Tired, and busy all day with back to primary school classes, then a contract meeting, then a private class with a party after. Got home at gone midnight.

14th: Kurz morning. Minor fu through the day.

15th: Kurz morning, followed closely by 45 mins heavy lifting (lower body split: upped PR again: 5x85 kg squat and dead) then an hour of yoga for a warm down.

Mr Punch

03-23-2009, 10:07 PM

Haven’t been writing my lent training blog down, so can’t remember, but basically trained every day.

Highlights and lowlights: now squatting and deading my own BW plus 5 kg for 10. Gonna push for the 100 kg landmark for 5 next 5x5 session.

Discovered (rediscovered? – sometimes I forget that I got into this lark for rehabbing injury and higher reps don’t suit my conditions) that I should basically subtract 20 kg or more from the highest weight I’m lifting for 5x5 for 3x15.

20th: went to Aunkai seminar: review here (http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53568). Three hours of bodyweight exercises that work you as much as weightlifting, plus resistant partner drills. Excellent stuff: had forgotten how good it is. Downsides: the traditional (read ‘bull****’ and ‘dangerous’) ‘warm-up’ (did remember this beforehand so fortunately went in time to do some real warm-ups first), and essentially doing three hours of very heavy body work when certainly for regular humans and more so for people undergoing physio, 45 mins of weightlifting is about the limit before the cortisol will start eating your own body alive, causing more stress to your joints and overall detriment to your muscles and nervous system. Did manage to grab a quick fix of carbs and protein halfway through.

Knee, which had twanged ever so slightly in previous lower body weight set, felt a little iffy. This has continued since. Unfortunately means I have had to lay off those exercises since so can’t really consolidate what I had reviewed. Might have to lay off lower body weight split too for a week or so (did it yesterday but… not so good a session), which is going to mess with my weights routine. Can’t be helped. Really working the yoga strengthening exercises and Kurz routine to alleviate the stress on the knee and improve general leg health.

dnovice

03-24-2009, 06:02 AM

Haven’t been writing my lent training blog down, so can’t remember, but basically trained every day..

Good stuff man. I've been practicing everyday except sunday myself. This morning was particularly hard. I almost didn't do it. But then i forced myself to. :D

Highlights and lowlights: now squatting and deading my own BW plus 5 kg for 10. Gonna push for the 100 kg landmark for 5 next 5x5 session.

props to you man. I don't use weights. I just do many reps of pushups and two sets in total. Then some crunches... However, I play soccer once a week in this amateur league so that handles my stamina. Lol. I'm still sore from saturdays game.

Discovered (rediscovered? – sometimes I forget that I got into this lark for rehabbing injury and higher reps don’t suit my conditions) that I should basically subtract 20 kg or more from the highest weight I’m lifting for 5x5 for 3x15.

About your injuries, I've read that you injured your lower back. Have you tried minor back exercises to strengthen your back muscles, to hold your discs in place better. I once tore a tendon in my shoulder and had to do a lot of shoulder excercises to strengthen my shoulder to make up for the tear.

Keep up the good work.

cheers.

Mr Punch

03-24-2009, 08:03 AM

Thanks for the post.
props to you man. I don't use weights. I just do many reps of pushups and two sets in total.I'm still very much a novice, but I'm hooked. It's so easy to measure progress, unlike non-competitive MA.

Good work on your daily exercise... but maybe you should try changing it around a bit...?

About your injuries, I've read that you injured your lower back. Have you tried minor back exercises to strengthen your back muscles, to hold your discs in place better. I once tore a tendon in my shoulder and had to do a lot of shoulder excercises to strengthen my shoulder to make up for the tear.The lower back goes from time to time but my recovery rate is good and I do a lot of preventative exercises for it: you can find links to Dr Stuart McGill's earlier in the thread. I'm getting rehab for an upper back/neck problem (a bunch of torn muscles), and yes I do a whole lot of stuff for that: exercises from the physio, weights (sanctioned by the physio), Thomas Kurz's general flexibility exercises and yoga.

dnovice

03-24-2009, 08:58 AM

Thanks for the post.

Good work on your daily exercise... but maybe you should try changing it around a bit...?

Thx. For now, I do the same warm up -pushups with some upper ab and lower ab crunches all the time. The only thing that I change are the quantity and the number of sets, ie. when I get used to the amount i am doing i increase the reps. I'm currently doing about 320 reps (no break) a set. In a month or so, I'll increase that again to maybe 400.

I can do these exercises anywhere thats why i like them. This way i can be consistent in my practice...

Mr Punch

03-24-2009, 05:43 PM

Fair play, that's some serious reppage!

Mr Punch

05-05-2009, 07:38 PM

Got overconfident in my shoulder's progress and tried to do the deadlift shrug instead of just the deads I'd been doing in my lower body workout (the programme calls for deadlift shrugs but I'd never done them because of my problem). Good idea, but studidly did it with 90 kgs for 5. Made it. Then shoulder went so rested it for a month.

Have been doing yoga every day before breakfast so continued with that, specifically this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj_IzmVda2w&feature=channel_page) among others and as well as doing it with my teacher.

Got in a good wing chun leg training day the other day, and have been doing various chun and kubujutsu core stance work.

Started back at the gym yesterday: upper routine. Went well. Had done a bit of research on bench form so put that into practice, and although my shoulder problems are not related, it felt good.

Also added the first day of this shoulder rehab workout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ONHZmsFec) with this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCp-YynBEvE) warm-up. Again, these are for rotator cuff problems mainly but there's enough tie-in with my physio's exercises to make it worthwhile.

Mr Punch

10-06-2009, 08:58 PM

It's now about a year since I started in the gym.

I've had one period of three and a half weeks, one two of two weeks off with the shoulder injury relapsing.

I trained something pretty much every day over Lent, and was in the gym for weights, yoga and hot yoga every day without fail for half of July, and the whole of August. I'm am starting to outgrow a lot of my clothes, and people are telling me I'm noticeably bigger (I was always skin and bone so this isn't so difficult to spot!). My neck was without a twinge for most of July and all of August (corresponding to work slackening off and a lot of gym time).

My gains

The first figure is roughly a year ago... well actually the real figures would be lower but I don't have that first record sheet with me. The * denotes the estimated one-rep max where I don't have one, from the Exrx site. I can't do Squats, Overhead Presses etc to failure for obvious reasons. All figures are in kg of course.

Squat:
72
94x4=104*

Dead:
73
115x2=118*

Shoulder press:
32x8=40*
45.7x6=53*

Bench:
36x5=41*
65x3=69*

Chin-ups:
3
25

My shoudler press and bench press are my slowest gains, but the shoulder press doesn't do my injury any favours so I don't ever push it.

Considering how injured I was (and the latest relapse only got better last weekend) I'm quite pleased, but there's still a lot of work. My deads are the most disappointing to me, and kind of point to a weakness in my back, especially upper, which would fit in with the injury.

The injury still tweaks a lot, but gets better really quickly, and everything I do is easier from a strength/energy/not getting tired point of view.

Work in progress. Thanks to everybody who's helped me on the board.