Humour me please!

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Kung Fu Training and Health
21

mat,

quick suggestion for something to do no kit no space no sweat would be holding planks for core strength. one of the ground coaches at my mma club likes them but i never really trained them i found just normal training (lots of thai kicks + wrestling) and i improved every time we came to do them. i also did them at a systema class i think 5 mins in the basic plank position. found it easy just from the mma training. you can do them for front back sides dont know if theyd help might be worth a try

also swings either kettlebell or dumbell are awesome. for a while i did a bunch every day before leaving for work, helped my posture and a good warm up for the day.

22

Mat,

I really think the series of Stuart McGill exercises I linked to would be of great help to you.(they are designed specifically for those with low back problems)

Situps are really of little use in low back health because the activation of the illiopsoas(hip flexor) muscles pulls on the lumbar spine.

23

Long history… thought I’d already said…? Anyway, sorry I hadn’t seen this post.

Maybe originally it was from being tackled by a friend of mine on concrete. I landed pretty much on my lower spine with a 105-110 kg friend on top of me. We’d been clowning around (it was New Year’s Eve) and were very drunk. We were playfighting (he used to do karate) and I was beatin his ass, and pinned him to a fence, realised there was nothing else to do (for the sake of playfighting restraint) and let him up, when he decided to see if he could make his bulk work. He could! He drove me back like an American footballer and dropped me on my ass.

I could barely get up the next day, and couldn’t walk properly for a couple of days, with lasting pain for a couple of weeks. Being younger, bullish and busy, and also not having insurance or enough of a knowledge of Japanese at the time, I didn’t go to the docs, and just did various tai chi and chi kung to try and right it.

So, if you want to avoid it try this:

don’t be a drunken arse,
go to the docs.

It has since gone at various points, through kung fu, wrestling, coughing, taking off my sock, that kind of thing!

I have been to the docs and they are useless. Xrays showed no prob, and if it persists after my latest regime, I’m going straight to get an MRI and to visit the K1/Pride doc down in Chiba (long way but my pro-fighter friend swears by him). Generally the docs here have no sports/trauma knowledge and none of the gyms even have trainers, unless they’re VIP gyms.

My anma (blind masseur) is a wizard tho with acupuncture and massage.

24

Dunno, the way I’d always seen it is a lot of people have an imbalance in opposing muscle groups even if they’re not aware of it.

Physical therapy would be a great idea, but I live in Japan, and there’s no chance of that unless you’re a (rich) pro.

25

Stricker, so what is ‘the basic plank position’?!

26

William, thanks for the link, I hadn’t checked it for some reason, but tried the exercises yesterday and they’re marvelous! I think they’re just what I need to do every day, and add to the beginning and end of my other workouts.

And, yeah, I don’t do sit ups when my back’s going through one of it weak periods or feels remotely damaged again, and wanted to find something that would work my abs without straining my lumar region… maybe McGill’s curl-ups are another piece of the puzzle. I’d seen and done them before, but had kind of let them go again, and the emphasis on the ‘abdominal shield’ is new to me.

27

OK, so the blog…

Thu is another busy day. My back felt good, so did a little light bagwork and the wc forms.

Then went to the anma, but this time my back felt worse after (sometimes this happens, usually when I have to go back to work after the massage instead of relaxing/sleeping/stretching etc), so in the evening after my night job, I just went to bed early.

Fri, back was weak, and had another very busy day (Fri’s usually easy), so just did ten regular pushups and the forms.

Yesterday, unusually busy again but made myself the time to try those exercises William linked too. Great stuff.

Today’s the main training day… Tomorrow or Tue should be able to start at the gym… back later.

28

Sun (yesterday).

Started early after breakfast had a chance to go down, with McGill’s back exercises.

In case you haven’t read the article they are:

cat/camel yoga pose
curl ups
bird dog yoga pose
side bridges

Then did SLT, CK and BG.

Then to the park for some WC. Keeping it light (no sparring, no strong lap saus, no hard chi sau) while my back is still ropey.

SLT (with a bit of application from second section double fak etc)

Huen bo as applied in sweeping, entering, and low-mid roundhouse kicks, with and without hooks/elbows. Very light application work (was feeling it in my back anyway) and a couple of light reps of light mid roundhouses with thai pads.

Too bloody humid in the park and the mozzies are already out in full force, so retired to my balcony for some very light bagwork (turning punches and low-mid kicks - still can’t really whack the bag cos the jerking goes straight through my lower spine… I know a well connected strike shouldn’t particularly stop there and should come all the way from the feet, but of course there’s still some major ‘traffic’ going through the problem area, so I still have to keep it light).

Light pushing and punching partner to check stance.

Also some light chi sau on the balcony.

Focussing on keeping our arms low to relax our shoulders and get a better connection to our stances rather than on any specific techs. Started with rolling to changeover in response to pressure, then the exercise beginning with L(ik?!) which involves your partner letting his pressure go briefly so you should automatically find an opening… wtf’s that called again!?

Then some light free rolling.

Went well. Kept relaxed. Not too much pressure on my spine.

Then ate and went shopping (lots of walking! - probably good for my back too!).

Evening: 30 walking lunges (no weights - already feeling stronger in legs, no burn at all)
10 slow tackle drills (usually do more and faster but still wary of back and couldn’t use my kitchen… the tatami in my bedroom are evil for mat-burn, liek a mincing machine!)
10 reg push-ups, 10 wide and 10 narrow.

Finished with the back routine again.

29

Here goes…

Found some time at work to do slt, ck, bg, and ten manji steps taking 8ish seconds in each transition and stance.

After work finally made it to the gym! :slight_smile:

5 kg DB DLs x 15.

Long, deep lunges with 6 kg DBs x 5 each side.

5kg squats on Smith machine.

10 kg trap bar DLs x 15.

6 kg walking lunges x 15 each side.

35kg oblique machine thingies x 12 each side twice.

15 kg Smith machine DLs x 5.

35 kg with some leg pushy machine thing (supposedly works same as squats without the strain on your back) x 15 with a high leg position for gluts, x 15 with a lower leg position for quads, x 15 with a low leg position for calves.

20 min run (3 + km).

So now I know what the exercises should look and feel like.

Started slowly, and gonna work it up slowly from here… there was nothing really taxing in that lot but my legs are feeling it, so I’ll be back with a progress (pain!) report tomorrow. Mostly concentrating on back and legs today, and will next be able to go back to the gym probably Friday, when I’ll work upper body a bit I should think.

No idea what to go for reps or weights TBH (I know these weights are way light, but obviously concerned about form first as total newb, for the sake of my back rehab) , so as usual I throw myself at your mercies for any suggestions!

I’ll be doing my stretches, a couple of push-ups and McGill’s core back work again tonight before bed to make sure I don’t wake up like a board.

30

Feeling good so far…!

Finished up last night with 10 reg pushups, 10 wide, 10 narrow, and 10 scapula, a load of leg stretches and those back exercises.

Couple of questions:

  1. I noticed on a few other blogs people do their sets of the same exercise back to back, as opposed to doing one exercise and then doing another then coming back to the first like I did. What’s the advantage?

  2. People complain about machines. That oblique thingy I used yesterday seemed to be the only way I could do that… how would I be able to replicate that with weights and does it matter (ie. is there a problem with using machines)?

  3. Sups? Drinking basic protein shake with its multivits and mins etc. Is there something I should be looking for in a protein shake? What other sups are useful? Andrew, you take aspirin… why?

31

alright mat. planks are just another word for bridges i think but you do them with your elbows and feet on the floor. so basic plank would be like a press up position resting on your forearms. back plank is the other way round so looking at the ceiling, like a back bridge but again on your forearms not your head or shoulders. the idea is to keep your spine and legs in an exactly straight line hence plank. again dont know how great they really are but a lot of people rate them.

32

Hey Matt,

1). Back to back vs. circut- circut training is useful and a nice way to do active recovery. For hypertrophy, CW is not to rest for more than 90s between sets of the same or similar exercises, hence sets will be done back to back, or paired, while pure strength/speed work will use rest intervals of up to 10min (usually 3-5min). For conditioning, and convenience, rotating through your exercises allows you to be using your rest period (if your primary goal is strength) to do another group of exercises working different or complementary motor patterns. This also can wind up being nice energy system conditioning work, something that you wouldn’t want (or be able) to get if you were using higher percentages of your RM1 ('cos being heavily fatigued and trying to move around 90% rm1 is a recipe for injury).

2). Machines force you into using the path of travel of the machine, while stabilizing you in other directions- hence you may wind up using a ‘groove’ which sets you up for injury (smith machine squats), and don’t get the same benefit you could get by doing a similar exercise with free weights. There are a lot of ways to work the obliques- side bends, MB passes, and full contact twists come to mind.

3). Aspirin- primary prevention of cardiovascular disease- of equivoval benefit unless you have several risk factors. For other supplements- the place to start is with macronutrients- enough protein, carbs at the right time, essential fatty acids (fish oil).

Gotta dash,

Andrew

33

OK stricker, I got you… already do those, as illustrated in that McGill article, and they are already having a good effect (well, it could be the other McGill exercises of course!).

And thanks again Andrew… looks like number 1 would be esp useful… might take me a couple of days to understand it though.

OK, last couple of days:

mostly busy so SLT CK and BG, the back work plus some manji walking and pushups.

Today managed to squeeze time in for the back work, two pyramids of five pushups reg and wide with jumping up and shadow boxing the combos of the day between each, 20 sprawl drills (plus jumping up and shadow boxing between each one), 5 tackle drills (no space!), and 20 minutes of intense bagwork: wing chun and boxing combos and some roundhouse kick work.

Tomorrow gym and upper body.

34

OK, been busy as usual… having trouble juggling the new gym schedule with the fu and work, plus my lovely gf… but that’s life.

Last Fri,

20 mins on elliptical trainer.

Machine back work:

v light of course.

3x15x15 kgs of lat pull-downs and trap pull-downs and some other kind of pull-downs, plus 7 kgs DB shrugs.

Sat and Sun: very light fu with no partner (they’re sick/injured :frowning: )

SLT, CK, BG, 20 mins bagwork (boxing, WC, thai legs)… pushups as usual, plus McGill’s backwork as usual.

Pleased that my bagwork went well as it sucked on Thu… realised this was probably down to fatigue of training for rehab and avoiding further damage, plus bagwork with 500 g weights on my wrists (which I do sometimes and had forgotten about that time!).

Mon: this week, not many days I can go to the gym, maybe only once, so did legs, chest and tris:

back work

10 mins stairmaster (everything was being used in the gym!)

2o mins elliptical

bench press 1x15x15 kgs, 1x15x30 kgs (by mistake but no probs), 1x15x20 kgs.

incline press 3x15x20 kgs

db flies 3x15x7 kgs

push-downs 3x10x15 kgs

obliques on the machine 3x15x30 kgs

leg press 3x15x30 kgs legs high, middle and low

walking lunges 3x15 (each side) x 7 kgs db

trap bad dls 3x15x15 (hard work - felt it in my lower back until i corrected my form)

20 mins elliptical

more back work and stretches.

Yesterday, just the fu stuff and stretches.

Today same.

Overall impression so far: I feel stronger, better balance and some of the fu stuff is coming together with more oomph. Next to no back tweaks. Wish I’d discovered weights 10 years ago or more! Little bit of soreness but generally not too bad: recovery period v quick - still light exercises only for rehab. Wanna get a med ball too as per Andrew’s suggestion.

35

CW is what? ‘Conventionlal Wisdom’?

For conditioning, and convenience, rotating through your exercises allows you to be using your rest period (if your primary goal is strength) to do another group of exercises working different or complementary motor patterns.
So for pure strength training I should be doing a different muscle during my five (ten) min rest period?
… if you were using higher percentages of your RM1 ('cos being heavily fatigued and trying to move around 90% rm1 is a recipe for injury).
OK, you’ve got me again… looked around a bit but what’s RM1?

2). Machines force you into using the path of travel of the machine, while stabilizing you in other directions- hence you may wind up using a ‘groove’ which sets you up for injury (smith machine squats), and don’t get the same benefit you could get by doing a similar exercise with free weights.
That’s kind of what I thought.

Update:

Had to work Sat and Sun, so again no partnered fu! :frowning:

Managed to fit in a quick go at the gym on my way home…

lat pulldowns 1x15x22.5, 1x15x25, 1x15x27.5
trap pulldowns (same)
oblique machine 3x15x30
the other pulldown machine (can’t remember what it’s for but you pull down with your arms straight from head height to past your hips while standing) 3x15x10 (bloody hard), 3x15x7.5

walking lunges 30x14(db) - in a hurry so just that set.
tb dl 2x15x15, 1x15x17.5 - feels good but need to take it slowly.

leg press (wanted to squat but trainer wasnt there and not sure of form without smith mach) hi position (quads) 3x15x40, mid (gluts) 3x15x40, low (calves) 3x15x40 then for ****s and giggles hi and mid 1x3x110 and low 1x3x90.

elliptical 10 mins high intensity.

usual stretches and forms on other days. hopefully today some partnered fu…!

36

Finally managed some fu!

A systema pushing/punching drill to practice relaxing into stance and naturally letting your own strike feed out…

Partner pushes/punches off centre, eyes closed no stance just try and absorb and let your opposing arm naturally fly out for a strike.

Same again, but sinking into stance.

Same again but with stance and shooting both arms out.

First part of SLT with partner(s) pushing, pulling, punching, palming, kicking, sweeping lightly to check root.

Dan chi sao.

Kicking drill. Cross hands. Partner straight kicks to chest (long range, straight post leg/short range bent post leg). Same with me kicking through partner’s kick with bong gerk.

Clinch san sao: clinch centreline control flowing drill. Elbow to chest control. Forward knees to ribs and nuts. Roundhouse knees to ribs and legs. Pulling back out of clinch with jum sao. Dropping into forward pull with double/single lan sao to knee/inner thigh. Occasional butts to keep us alive! :smiley:

San sao: set up for and defence against knees; gan, fak, lap head into knee.

Pad work. Stepping punches. Doubles and triples, forwards and backwards. Just straight stepping this time. Standing combos starting fak, punch or punch fak. Walking knees.

Light rolling drill, and very light chi sao.

37

Today.

Forms and stretching as usual.

elliptical 10 mins med intensity

walking lunges 3x30x14

squat (first time without machine… feels very different: MUCH harder work and makes me wonder again the point of the machine!) 1x15x20 1x15x22.5 1x15x25

bench 3x10x30 (failed on the second set and had to rest before i went again)

push downs 1x15x12.5 1x15x17.5 1x15x15

incline bench 3x15x15… hard!

15 mins fast running.

38

Mat,

CW= conventional wisdom

For pure strength work, once you’re over 1-1.5x bw on squat, dl, bench as a rm1, you’re gonna basically chill between sets when working at >90%rm1. If you’re setting up a circut and aren’t doing lifts quite so stressful (<90%rm1), then you’d prefer to use a complementary motor pattern to make exercise pairs or circuts- i.e. bench, barbell row, or db bench, db row, weighted ab.

RM1- max amount you can lift, once.

How’s your back?

Andrew

39

Thanks again Andrew.

My back’s better than it has been since the accident. I wish I’d started this weights malarkey years ago. And my knees. And my balance (which was always pretty good) seems better, plus how can I say it… general connectivity.

So how’s my training looking, bearing in mind I still want to take it really easy for now for rehab’s sake?

I wanted to try the farmers’ walk but there’s not really space in my miniaturized Japanese gym! And I still haven’t tried any upper body presses yet as I haven’t got round to asking my trainer to show me the correct form.

The windmills I’m nervous of as she doesn’t know them, but they seem simple enough so I may give them a shot tomorrow.

40

What **** week. Was too busy to go more than once last week, then got a cold on Fri, so couldn’t go over the w/e or even do any partnered fu.

Them’s the breaks I guess.

Today the cold seems fine but had one mysterious episode of the squits this morning… wtf!? :frowning:

Also somehow blew my knee over the w/e.

So, if I can (bowel-wise) I’m gonna go today and focus on some upper body stuff to give my knee a rest…

should also be able to fit a sesh in tomorrow, then nothing till next Mon.

Anyway, going by what you’ve said Andrew and my general condition, I’m gonna go with upping the weights on every exercise by 10% or so each time with 15 reps for form’s sake and endurance till I start failing. When I reach BW I’m gonna start pushing it a bit for strength work if that makes sense.