That gym looks reasonably good. They seem to have range of equipment, not just machines. If there is a barbell, then you can deadlift! It even looks like they have a climbing/bouldering wall there. You should try that it's great fun! If I was closer to you, I'd come along with you!
Good! Yes, they seem to have some pretty tall climbing room and other walls, too. Haha, too bad for me! I don't think I'm anywhere close to the glorious galaxy you claim as your home
Why, yes indeed! Here's a lifting video for you. They break the techniques down really well, so you can observe them: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbP2N1BQdYc"]TOP 10 BEST CAT VIDEOS OF ALL TIME! - YouTube[/ame] And here's a cat video for the smiles: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4qRntuXBSc"]How to Perform the Deadlift - Proper Deadlift Technique & Form - YouTube[/ame] LOL, I know what you mean I get the first one. But to be honest though, unless you're surrounded by douchebros who aren't worth your time, people won't laugh at you. You will get to the point where you can lift weights that make other folks in the room nod with respect though. Deadlifting is also one of the few exercises though that I prefer to do by myself. I like it when it's just me, myself and my grumpiness pushing to see if I can achieve certain goals that day. Most gyms will have someone who can show you the ropes on how to lift safely and a mirror so you can check your form, which for the deadlift is all you really need. The rest is just confidence. That's cool. The beauty of deadlifting though is that a good deadlift session that challenges you can be done relatively quickly and is fairly easy to recover from. Which is why God invented MP3 players & headphones and the like Pretty much any exercise that gets your whole body (or near as damn it) involved is a good exercise, tbh. Personally I've never enjoyed using kettlebells myself, but other people enjoy using them. Whatever floats your boat, really. Oh, don't make me jealous! :yeleyes: You'd be surprised how little you have to do to see consistent (if slow) improvements. I've only deadlifted a few times over the last 7 months (mostly due to injury) and I can now pick up my old personal record with no warm up or supports, using only a set of wrist straps. My grip has also improved. Granted, I was still picking stuff up off the ground to press it overhead during this time so it wasn't like I was doing nothing, but since you're pretty active, you should see surprising results. That sounds more like a lack of self confidence on your part than anything else The thing is though, pro athletes of all stripes lift. From international TKD competitors, runners to literally every other athlete, all of them incorporate some form of bodyweight/weight training regime to some degree. One of us, one of us, one of us... Seriously though, it is pretty popular on the forum because of the amazing benefits. Those facilities look good! Most places (read: all by law in the UK, I don't think elsewhere in the world is much different) have people that can show you the ropes, give you training suggestions, etc. You can always borrow the bar from the squat rack if needs be. Hell, you can deadlift with the dumbbells if you're still not comfortable at first. But yeah, you have floor space? You have room to deadlift.
Thank you for such an elaborate answer Cool, the cat video looks really useful. As I've never had a cat, now I at least know what to expect if I go to the gym or wherever I can meet one True, but still, I'm not comfortable with people watching me especially when doing some activity I feel is alien to me But I'm sure I can overcome that if I think I should really do that, and it will benefit me I expect that might be the case, but you know, a friend is a friend. And it's a mental help, too! What I mean was more about actually getting my behind to the gym. I can come up with many reasons why not go, when I'm not super motivated. Once I'm there, it shouldn't be such a problem Unfortunately at the triel lesson they didn't even let me touch them, so I'm not sure I enjoy them, but I definitely wanted to try. I think you got me... That sounds good. I'm not trying to make you jealous. At most, I'm trying to tempt you back! :evil: I'm sure it'll be an awesome event! My sensei went to the last one four years ago and now a whole lot of us has plans to go, too! ...train in the honbu dojo and see the masters and get lessons from them. And visiting Okinawa by itself will be wonderful, too! I can't wait
Wednesday 29.7.15: 1x Sanchin Thursday 30.7.15: Sensei-less karate training (probably around 1:45 hours): - Warm-up: 10 rounds around the dojo with some hurdles: jumping over 3 pad in a row or on top of each other, slalom running and sliding feet, punches and mawashi geri to the heavy bag, somersault and cartwheel, jumping on top of a punching bag on the floor with both legs and then with one leg and kicking front kick - stretching - after the week of holiday when I wasn't stretching, I think I could do a bit better today than before - San Dan Gi Ichi - individually and in pairs several times (me and a friend were teaching and practising with the two beginner students - 2x San Dan Gi Ni (in pair with a friend of the same grade) - 2x San Dan Gi San - 2x San Dan Gi Shi - and practising and teaching the two students something like a San Dan Gi that we learn half a year ago on a seminar led by senseis from the UK. It's basically a sequence of front kick, roundhouse kick, side kick and back kick, while the other person blocks, avoids and finally grabs the attacker - Kata: - 2x Gekisai Dai Ichi - 1x Gekisai Dai Ni - 2x Saifa - 2xSeiyunchin - 1x Sanchin After that everyone left, because they were busy, but I stayed to do a little more: - 2x Sanchin - 3x10 knuckle push-ups - 2x Saifa - 2x Seiunchin Lately I've been really enjoying practising kata, especially Saifa and Seiyunchin, probably because they feel quite different from Gekisai Dai katas. I have a feeling, I'm getting the knack for it a tiny bit. I enjoy especially Seiyunchin and trying to do the flow. But it's best to practise on my own at my own tempo. It someone next to me hurries, I tend to hurry too. And I need to experiment with it on my own for a bit.
Oh, and today I mentioned my plans to go to a gym sometimes. At least two friends would like to join me, and immediatelly offered places near the dojo or in the centre. I'm happy they'd go with me, but now that I think about it, I'm reluctant to spend another 1 or 2 hours travelling even to a gym Also, if you guys are still here, I'd have another question: If I really go to the gym, what are the exercises you'd recommend apart from the deadlift and the squats? I have no idea what would be beneficial for MA training and I figure that once I go to the gym, I'll spend some time there trying more things...
I know others may feel a little different but I'd go for the overhead press, to be honest. Nothing makes you feel like more of a beast than pushing those weights above your head. Apart from doing it with a person, which I'm pretty sure I've seen a video of Fish of Doom doing Beyond that, IMO anything else is optional and maybe fun to do to shake you up, but not essential.
I think the somersaults and cartwheels in there would probably make me want to vomit! You're a better person than I am! Ugh, I hated seiyunchin for so long. Loved it in the end, but for a long time, I hated it. It was always one of those kata I loved watching (especially the bunkai) but hated doing Saifa though, I loved saifa. Only kata I loved more than Sanchin. Sisochin (sp?) is a lot of fun after all the kata before. Very different rhythm and feel to it, much more dynamic.
Thanks I can try. Haha, for some reason I can't imagine myself doing that, but I'll give it a go! Cool, I'd do that if I could! I'm pretty sure it would make me a badass of the day
Not really. We weren't going too fast, as we always caught to the person in front of us But my head did spin a little, until we changed directions Oh, so you know all these kata? That's great! Really? May I ask for the reason, if there's one or more in particular? I didn't like it too much when I saw it, but I like it ever since I learned the steps Compared to the other kata I know, it's much more difficult physically, because of all the shiko dachis and neko-ashi dachis. I'm dreading the day when sensei comes with the 108 Seiyunchin challenge Saifa is cool, but I am angry at it at the moment, because I still can't get the 'feeling' and 'flow' of it right... But I'm going to learn, I am! I haven't learned Shisochin, yet. It's pretty distant to my level now. Even when it comes to Seiyunchin, I won't need it for grading until brown belt, which is three gradings (probably a year and a half) in the future. But I absolutely love watching people who can do it well perform Shisochin. In my eyes now it's the prettiest kata, so I'm reaaally looking forward to learning it
I would go to somewhere that is close to you/easy to get to. You may find that if you have to travel miles/hours to get to the gym, you lose motivation to go and start making excuses not to go. If you are only just starting strength training, then you can't go wrong with a general program, something like 'Starting Strength'. http://startingstrength.com/ This will allow you to build a decent basic level of strength and, hopefully, get your technique sorted out. You could add in some core work (like deadbugs) as well.
My thoughts exactly. Though if I agree to meet there with a friend, I'd have to go. But I'd still prefer someplace close Oooh, thanks a lot for the tip. It looks interesting, I'm going to look into it I heard about deadbugs, but have no idea what they are. I'm going to google for a bit and try Thanks again!
Deadbugs: https://www.t-nation.com/training/core-training-for-smart-folks The important point is to keep your back pressed into the floor - don't let it arch up.
Gym adventure Friday 31.7.15: 1x Sanchin Saturday 1.8.15: 1x Sanchin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since the trainings aren't too often and I felt like doing some exercise today, I though I could go visit the gym. I hadn't asked any friend, but I probably wouldn't find anyone who'd go right away, so I thought "Don't be a chicken!" to myself and went to at least get familiar with the battlefield. I googled and found detailed explanations of some exercises with the barbell and wanted to try the deadlift, squats and overhead press if possible. And because it was indeed an adventure for me, I'll tell you how it went, whether you want to, or not At the gym I asked the girl at the front desk about directions and if there's someone who could help me, right? She said no, that's not how it works here, but smiled at me saying there are some nice guys who could be able to help. Ok, that was one let down, asking for help from strangers was my emergency strategy.... Anyway the gym had three floors. I found the treadmills to warm up. I ran 1,5 km (originally I'd thought I'd die before reaching the 1 km, but was nicely surprised!) at a steady pace 9 km/h. I wanted to walk for a minute to warm down at the end, but found out the button for lowering speed didn't work. :dunno: Nearby, there were some barbell machines. I tried the one where you sit and press the barbell (without weights) above head, but the bar is held in the machine, so you can't take it out. I didn't have much of a strategy, so did 13, 10 and 3x5. I couldn't see the squat rack, the barbells or dumbells anywhere so for now proceeded to try some of the machines. Started with the one where you push the weights with your legs 45° upward, doing don't exactly remember how many reps with around 140 lbs I think, later other 30 reps. I tried a few of the others and went to look for the barbells. I found out there was a dumbbell/barbell room downstairs. There weren't too many people in the gym, but down there there seemed to be the highest concentration of them. Standing at the entrance and scanning the room for what was there (basically watching the others) seemed awkward, so I was thinking about what to do. At that moment, the handsome young lad standing closest to me actually took the barbell and started deadlifting! He was glancing at me, obviously not too comfortable with me watching. But I wanted to watch nonetheless, so I went to the machine with inclined bench meant for crunches (I think) and did a 100 as an excuse while watching inconspicuously :evil:. When the guy seemed to be done and took the weights off, I took a deep breath, approached him and told him I was advised to learn the deadlifts and he seemed to know how to do them, so would he mind explaining them to me? I asked politely while smiling, but he just stared at me, which was awkward, it looked like he did't have any intention of helping. When I though about leaving, he said sorry, he didn't understand. He didn't actually speak Czech! You see, there are not many foreigners around here and I didn't expect I'd meet one at the gym. And with my luck, out of all the guys there I just had to ask him! But once I asked I wasn't going to give up that easily(!) so I tried again in English. He finally understood, but it looked like he didn't speak English too well, either. Anyway, he took the bar and told me to watch, showing what to do and what not, then let me try. I tried to do what I read online and what I saw him doing, but wasn't too sure about anything. He placed my hands on the bar and instructed me mostly non-verbally. Meaning he touched me places I'd usually only allow close friends to touch... But whatever, he seemed at a loss. After a while I understood I had my back arched, but he was trying to lower my butt, then back and I wasn't very clear on what he was trying to get across. I tried lifting the bar several times. The bar itself wasn't as heavy as I had thought, so I could probably easily compromise on the technique. In the end he appologetically asked where was the friend who advised me to try it... Well, I understood I was hopeless and he didn't have a way to explain properly, so I thanked him and left then. It looks like after all I will have to mobilise some friend-instructor if I want to try this. I didn't bother with trying the squats or overhead press, then (didn't even see the racks or whatever I should've looked for) I went for one or two more exercises and then spotted a stand with kettlebells. As I said before I wanted to learn the exercises with them, but of course, now I had no idea how to do any, so I decided to at least do some squats (30) with the 8 kg kettlebell in my hands in front of my chest. Surprisingly, the squats themselves weren't as tiring as holding the kettlebell up There was a free place in front of the kettlebells, so I though I could use it for some final short body-weight work-out and stretching. So I did 10 knuckle push-ups, 5 normal push-ups, 5x Neko Undo, 5 knuckle push ups (it wasn't much, but my muscles felt tired already. After that and between the exercises I did quite a bit of stretching, it felt pretty good. I was stretching mostly for the sidesplit, inclining body to legs with legs apart (sitting), reaching to the front in this position; doing arcs which, as it sometimes does, caused my lower back to hurt - quite a bit this time, so I stretched that part, too. The place I was stretching at was a bit secluded and there was no clear view from basically any of the machines, only the people walking past or between them would see me (or some people from the above floor, but they were far enough ). But then I quickly spotted that lad, who was teaching me the deadlift, just standing there near a pillar, just watching me! He wasn't there the whole time, but I saw him there more than once. I didn't know what to make of it, so of course, I at least tried my best to not look like a fool I was about to leave (I just spent an hour in the gym) and I didn't see the guy, either, when he came down from a machine, winking at me and giving me a thumbs-up, lol At that spot there was even enough space for my kata and I was nicely stretched, covered in sweat and in perfect mood to practise. But it would be just awkward to do kata there, so I'll save it for tomorrow's training To sum it up, you guys definitely brought me out of my comfort zone. It's a pity I didn't do any of the barbell exercises, but I got a decent work out nonetheless. And I'm a bit clearer on what to do next. Finding just any friend to go with me wouldn't be enough. I need one that actually knows what to do with that barbell 1x Sanchin
Monday 3.8.15: Ok, so today I woke up and as expected was a little sore at few places. However, my pectineus muscles (if it really is them) were extremely sore. Yesterday I probably overdid it with that machine where you push your thighs together against weight. I put 35 kg there and did 75 reps with one break. I probably shouldn't have... Basically today they hurt when I walked, sat down or basically while whatever I was doing. The worst being attempting a horse stance. Remember how I wrote I wanted to do some kata but will leave them for today? Yeah, definitely not. Too much pain. I went to the dojo today but decided I'd take it easy. When I came, there was quite unexpectedly a lesson of power yoga. And facing the entrance was the youngest of our senseis - in a warrior pose. I couldn't resist mimicking his posture, making fun of him until he laughed too and couldn't concentrate. :evil: Well, I didn't expect he'd find me after the lesson, throw me on the floor and since some of my muscles really hurt and I couldn't defend, I was totally overpowered and tickled until he decided I had had enough of a punishment... Yep, definitely taking it easy... Anyway, sensei had to leave, but promised he'd do a training for us next week, woohoo For today's training there were only three of us. The training took a bit over 2,5 hours. We started with some usually less often kihon (basic techniques), because one of our friends wanted to practise their names. We did 30 of each and it took some time. I had trouble especially with side kicks and axe kicks that I usually enjoy. Front kicks weren't as bad, but I pulled those damn muscles when trying to show something and fell into a horse stance. Then we practised Saifa and each of us showed his kata twice to the other two, who looked for mistakes. That's a useful exercise for both parties. I got some pointers and corrections I will focus on next time. Then we went twice through the bunkai for Saifa, teaching them to one of the friends. I still struggle with them, too. Towards the end we again taught the beginning of Seiyunchin and did the whole kata twice. It's full of horse stances so I hoped to avoid the kata, but I just did the stances very half-heartedly. I was hoping stretching and moving around will ease the pain, but it seems to not be the case. If anything changed at all, then definitely not for the better Thursday to Sunday this week there will be a seminar/action weekend I'm looking forward to. I pray it will get better until then. It's quite rare for me to have muscle soreness for more then a couple of days, three days at max, but I also rarely have a muscle sore this much (much less this one!). 1x Sanchin
