Hmm, that sounds like a great work-out! I may... actually steal it sometime (at a day when I won't need my legs the day after probably) Working the legs and kettlebell... is a lovely combination. But... how on Earth did you do hamstring curls with it?
Hmmm - It was called a 'Hamstring Curl' on the DVD that came with my TRX, but a quick Google search now seems to suggest that 'Hamstring Lift' may be a better description. I performed them all as per the video below, but with me holding the KB in place, just above my pubic bone, instead of having my arms out to the sides. Travess
Oh, thank you for the video! I wasn't completely sure what a hamstring curl was, either, but after looking it up, it was exactly what I thought and the kettlebell just didn't fit in there. Thanks! I actually did something a bit similar at crossfit - they called it hip thrusts and it was the same, only that the upper back were on a bench/box whatever, feet on the floor and done with a barbell. I wanted to get a few hamstring exercises in my "library" and this one looks good! Thanks
Monday (29/01/18) There has been a 'changing of the guard' (so to speak) within the ranks of my Dojo this week, with 2 of the main instructors permanently standing down! (One, moving 400 miles away, and the other calling it quits as he turns 80 years young!) This would have left the club with only one instructor, so the decision was made (amongst the 3 of them) to promote Sempai to the role of Sensei, and as a result, promote me to the role of Sempai, with immediate affect. Karate @ 90 minutes - Things started off pretty steady tonight, with some Standing Kihon, running thru 50 reps each of Age Uke, Uchi Uke, Gedan Barai, Kake Uke and Mawashi Uke to get warmed up. Next up we did Gekisai Di Ichi, but only the once, before being paired off to work on some Bunkai - Once a pair had a workable peace, they demonstrated to the other pairs, who would then go off and re-run it, pull it apart, see what worked for them, and what didn't, then see if they could adapt it. This exercise was repeated, until every pair had passed on their Bunkai, for the scrutiny and practice of the others. Myself, and the two 1st Kyu students that I have been working with, then excused ourselves, to work on this sessions Physical Trials - This took us up to the end of the class. (I did not wear my HR monitor/Watch) Travess
I am not sure if I should say I am sorry for your instructors leaving or "congrats" for being made a sempai... Proably both. I hope your club will do fine even without the senseis. When you write you were promoted to Sempai, it sounds like in your dojo it is a term for only the most senior student which comes with some type of a role? What is it, then? Will you be an assisting instructor in the dojo or teaching your own classes (but you did until now, too, didn't you?). From what I understand, sempai is basically a term used for every student more senior than me (the opposite being kohai - every junior). We don't really use it that way, either, though. The only way it is used in my dojo is when we kyu grades teach kids, during the etiquette they bow to sempai, since we are not senseis and can refer to us as such ("Do 50 burpees!" - "Hai, sempai!" for example ). But we don't have anything like being promoted to sempai, so I am not sure what it means in your dojo. ...so if you wouldn't mind explaining...
For us, even though the word does translate simply as senior, it goes a lot deeper than that (in the adults class at least - With the Kids class it is much as you described above) The Sempai is a role that can only be given by the Sensei, and which places that student above other students in the class, whilst still maintaining his/her place within the class - They are still there to learn after all... Whilst the Sensei is responsible for teaching and nurturing the class, the sempai is responsible for the students, the dojo and for etiquette (etc...) Any discipline issues should be dealt with by the Sempai, before it becomes an issue for Sensei. If there are roles to be carried out, rather than a public announcement, Sensei would instruct the Sempai, who would then relay the information to the relevant students. It sounds a lot more formal than it is though... Travess
Congratulations to the promotion It's sad to see instructors move on/retire - the continuous stream of life, it's inevitable that it happens - I'm sure that the new wave of instructors will do a great job
Ah, I see. So a person that deals with students if sensei needs something. That is an interesting role. Nice Congrats once again on being promoted like that, then!
Tuesday (30/01/18) - Rest Day This was planned as a rest day, that I intended to do very little on! (Which included no stretching - Something I'm sure I'd regret later on...) Fast forward to the evening though, when @axelb used me as an example of making the most of your training time, and suddenly the peer pressure becomes almost unbearable... 4 x 5 reps of Finger Push Ups - OUCH!!! My thumbs took the lion's share of discomfort on these, which my wife thinks would not have been such an issue, had I ever embraced the gaming culture. Wednesday (31/01/18) It was time to fire up the 'Deck of Cards' app. again today (have I said how much I really L O V E this app???) this time for an Arm Day. Warm-up: 15 minutes of Stretching. Box splits progression: Start height: 18 inches Current height: 9.5 inches 31 day progress: -8.5 inches Deck of Cards: (all on the TRX) Diamonds: Bicep Curls Clubs: Tricep Curls Hearts: 'Y' Flyes Spades: Forearm Curls Cool down: Sanchin Kata Tensho Kata Duration: 38m 58s Starting HR: 70 bpm Max HR: 112 bpm Average HR: 97 bpm Recovery HR: 27 bpm (102 down to 75 bpm) Calories: 134 used Travess
Thursday (01/02/18) Kids Karate @ 60 minutes - Started them off tonight with some simple Kihon (Age Uke, Uchi Uke, Kake Uke and Gedan Barai) and Phys. Drills. Next up, we did some remedial Mae Geri practice, first as Kihon, emphasising the chambering of the knee, then with a partner, who provided a minimum height marker for the knee to reach, before the kick could be fired out, then finally, full power and range of motion, on the BoBs. Finally we looked at some Restrictive Sparring Drills, going 1-on-1, 2-on-1 and lastly 2-on-2, as well as introducing a few 'Trigger' responses. Karate @ 120 minutes - We jumped right in with some Kata tonight (Ichi, Ni, Saifa and Seyunchin) all at 100%, to get the blood pumping! The next 20 minutes were then spent smashing Moving Kihon (which I'm pretty sure is where I hit my max HR) with an emphasis on Reaction Speed to the counts. The last hour and a bit then centred solely around Power Generation and Impact Drill Padwork, which revolved mostly around Kizame Tsuki, Gyaki Tsuki, Mae Geri and Mea Geri Keage - I haven't made it out to the Heavy-Bag this week yet, so it was 'nice' to hit something! Duration: 3h 01m 17s Starting HR: 71 bpm Max HR: 178 bpm Average HR: 121 bpm Calories: 891 used Travess
Friday (02/02/18) Today was initially down as a Rest Day, but as I was informed yesterday that Sunday would now be a pretty physical day for me (thanks to an annual club event) I decided to make Saturday my rest day instead! (Yes, I could have done both, but where would the fun be in that?) Wanting to keep it simple, and as I did not have the freedom to do a block 45-60 minute routine (due to having my youngest for the day) I settled on an EHOH Bodyweight Workout - 5 x Chin Ups / 10 x Push Ups / 15 x Squats / 20 x Mason Twists - starting at 10am, and ending at 5pm* (Note: *Missing the 2 and 3pm EHOH slots, due to a family visit and the school pick up...) Now, I've really, and intentionally it would seem (I do pre-plan my weeks workouts after all...) abandoned any major cardio-work this week, in favour of strength training, but I do plan on returning to more of a balanced schedule next week. Travess
Saturday (03/02/18) "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans" - (paraphrased by) Woody Allen So, what was meant to be a rest day, has turned into one of the most exhausting days I've had in some time! Thanks to 60 minutes of Kids Karate in the morning, Removing (and delivering) a Sofa for my brother at lunchtime, and Shifting a Triple Wardrobe for my Wife in the afternoon, an active rest day was the best I could have hoped for. This was until my instructor contacted me to join him on a Recce, to check out the route/conditions for our annual Military Style Endurance event (affectionately dubbed 'The Warriors Cadre') that we are running tomorrow... Cue 2 hours of wet, cold, windy, slippery, and (at some points) extremely steep* Off-road / Hill, Weighted (25 lbs) Running/Tabbing, to plot their course, plan station locations and calculate time restrictions. (* There were 2 or 3 points where it was so steep, and so slippery, that I had to claw at the ground with my hands, just to make it to the top...) Duration: 1h 59m 26s Starting HR: 86 bpm Max HR: 183 bpm Average HR: 122 bpm Calories: 699 used Travess
Whilst I will have to run the full course with the pack (which is around 4.7 miles) I will not be taking part in any of the varied workstations, log carrying, or milling (or other such delights) planned, as I am just there to DS (as First Aid cover) Tangentially, I had a sneak peek into your world today, as the weight that I was running with put me at just a smidge over 91 kilos, and I have to say - I did not care for it much!!! Travess
Sunday (04/02/18) Cadre Day: I've already written about most of what we would be getting up to today, so I'll not go into any great detail about it - Except to say that I ended up carrying a little more weight than I did yesterday during the recce (closer to 35 lbs) and that the route ended up being a little shorter today (at 3.8 miles) but with steeper hills and a couple of harsher obstacles/stations. Duration: 1h 46m 59s* Starting HR: 92 bpm Max HR: 172 bpm Average HR: 143 bpm Calories: 861 used (* The whole thing actually ran on for about 2 hours 20 minutes, but I stopped my watch at the end of the log run, as there was only milling left, and I was just keeping score for that part) Travess
Turns out the data my watch spat out for Sunday was 'flawed' (wrong) as 4 other attendees also wore GPS watches, and each and every one of them still mapped the course at 4.7 miles - I'm hoping that this was a one off, and that my Garmin is not on the way out... Monday (05/02/18) Karate @ 90 minutes - Given the heavy weekend that most of the club had been put through, I expected (hoped!) that tonight's session would be extra chilled - Which it almost was, but not quite. The entire session was spent on Ground Skills, starting with various Breakfall Drills, and Playing for Grips, to get us warm-up. Next up we worked on both Scarf Hold and Side Control, first individually, and then working to transition between the two. We then spent some time transitioning between Guard, Half Guard and Full Mount, which when everyone was comfortable with, Sensei turned into a Rolling Flow Drill. (All other pairs were allowed to strike, and were told to be non-compliant in the above transition drills - I was working with a young lad that has downsyndrom though, who we have only just started to integrate fully into our 'harder' lessons, so I made the choice to keep things semi-compliant, and the striking to just light touches) Our attention then turned to the Pads, for some Restrictive Striking Drills, looking at striking upward from your back, downward from full mount, and mawashi geri (to the thigh area) from laying on your back (which I had a lot of fun playing with...) There was 5 minutes spare at the end of the session, which we spent the entirety of on Randori - I worked the lad that I was helping pretty hard for this, but gave him plenty of opportunities and instruction along the way, and he gave an excellent account of himself... ...Next lesson (Thursday): 90 mins of Sparring! Duration: 1h 31m 17s Starting HR: 81 bpm Max HR: 131 bpm Average HR: 117 bpm Calories: 401 used Travess
