That'd do, Herr Zandt. It may come in handy as a motivational tool ( can't hurt to have a butcher's at real training now and then ) and as a visual point of reference aid to supplement class. Bath-bun #1 has decided to retire from boxing at the ripe old age of 12 and needed to come up with a suitable replacement given what's available at the time. He mentioned briefly about returning to TKD as he'd been in it for a couple of years previous to switching over to boxing. He wasn't on the XMA team but we both enjoyed watching that at the end of the regular comp. Who knows?
Yesterday. Stepped on the scales after waking up early and weighed in at 68.6 kg. Cut is progressing smoothly. Starting to see the effects of lowering my body fat. *Obligatory "guns" pose in the mirror*. Started at around 11% at the beginning of fight camp but will measure it again in a day or so to see where I'm at. Want hit 6-8%. Stretched after weighing myself: Workout A - Relaxed Stretches (10 min.) • 210° left front oversplit 2 x 1 min. • 210° right front oversplit 2 x 1 min. • 180° side split 2 x 1 min Relaxed stretches aren't necessary for maintaining flexibility but they feel nice and put me in a good mood for the rest of the day so screw it. Breakfast: skinless grilled chicken breast washed down with a health smoothie (broccoli, red grapes, almonds, splash of olive oil and water). Had an interview (more like an informal meet n greet) with an extras casting agency in the morning. Hoping to start getting work in front of the camera soon so I can build those credits for the stunt register. Andrea (woman who interviewed me) said she might have something for me in the next few days. Fingers crossed. Mid-morning snack: Pear and a bottle of spring water. Headed to the gym to spar with the team. Workout B - Karate (2 hr.) • Mobilisation exercises (10 min.) • Jump rope at 120rpm (5 min.) • Shadow boxing* (4 x 2 min. rounds) • Shadow kicking* (8 x 2 min. rounds) • * = done by myself while the team worked out • Light contact sparring (10 x 3 min. rounds) • (All rest = 1 min. between rounds) • Jump rope at 120rpm (15 min.) • 210° left front oversplit relaxed stretch (2 x 1 min.) • 210° right front oversplit relaxed stretch (2 x 1 min.) • 180° side split relaxed stretch (2 x 1 min.) Post-workout snack: Over the counter protein bar (banana flavoured but tasted like Chinese newspapers soaked in wee) and a bottle of fresh orange juice. Showered then headed to a kung fu studio across town for a private lesson with one of the teachers there. Workout C - Weapons (2 hr.) Introduced to the jian and learnt basic stances, blocks and strikes/thrusts before spending most of my time working on the Five Flower Circle (see video below). Really like this weapon (more than the bo). My teacher said my strong, linear style is very different to the circular moves of wushu but could make for a visually appealing mix of the two. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IkZXGkrzt0"]WuHuaJian - Learn the 5 Flower Wushu Straightsword Circle - YouTube[/ame] Went home and ate. Lunch/Dinner: Skinless grilled chicken breast, mixed steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes and GRAVY!!! Workout D - Bunch of Stuff? (1 hr.) • Jian 5 flower circle (10 min.) • 180° pump side kicks (1-10-1 right leg only) • Handstand facing wall (6 x 10 sec. holds) • Handstand facing wall into front roll (20) • Cartwheel, which I suck at (10 left, 10 right) • Pull-up x 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 5 (1 min. rest between) Grabbed a beer out of the fridge and fell asleep watching Stargate SG1 on LoveFilm.
Whoa!...no doubt mistakes with this weapon come with a far heftier price tag than with the bo staff... I assume its a ceremonial in the vid, but it almost looks as if it has a beveled edge...
Umm I can see from your training log that joining competitions is a full time gig O.O, So theres no room for other jobs? like let's just say you are actually a programmer? just curious
UPDATE My training format has changed in the past few weeks. I'm doing one big lift with 2-3 accessory exercises each day (Monday to Friday) for strength. The format generally will be: Monday: Squat Tuesday: Bench press Wednesday: Deadlift Thursday: Overhead press Friday: Squat Monday's workout might look (something) like this: • Barbell squat (front, back or overhead) 5 sets of 5 • Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat 8 sets of 10 (dat hypertrophy) • Plate pinches 5 sets for time (dat grip) Basic rules = no spine compression exercises two days in a row (e.g. overhead press followed by overhead squat), no real grip work the day before deadlifting and it's ok to change things up on the day if I feel like it (like a monster shrug session instead of bench press). I'm liking keeping things fairly informal. Will be doing 2-3 cardio and skill sessions every day. Rest day today.
I was waking up every morning with a niggling aching between my shoulder blades. Even found it painful to turn my neck sometimes. I played around with my sleeping position but that didn't do much. Biggest relief came from switching up my routine after I saw I was pressing/holding weights overhead several days in a row. No grip work before deadlift day is just so I can complete the DLs without my forearms spazzing out!
Ya, one can't be too careful. The wife had two cervical fusions c3-c4 and c5-c6, IIRC. Apparently, one can be susceptible due to a genetically inherited narrowness in that part of the spine.
Today. Back squat 2 x 5 (50 kg - warm up) Back squat 1 x 3 (70 kg - warm up) Back squat 1 x 2 (80 kg - warm up) Back squat 3 x 5 (100 kg) Back squat 2 x 3 (100 kg) Isometric oversplits 3 x 1 minute (230° front left and right, 195° side) Muscle-up x 7, 6, 5, 5, 3 (bodyweight) Plate pinch 3 x 20 seconds (2 x 10 kg plates each hand)
Yesterday. Started the day by running 3 miles in 17 minutes 22 seconds. Basic shadow kicking workout after lunch. 2 to 5 kicks per combination (keeping leg up between kicks), averaging 135 to 150 kicks per round, for 7 x 3-minute rounds (right leg only). In the evening: Barbell bench press 2 x 5 (30 kg - warm up) Barbell bench press 1 x 3 (40 kg - warm up) Barbell bench press 1 x 2 (50 kg - warm up) Barbell bench press 5 x 5 (65 kg) Incline dumbbell chest fly 2 x 12 (15 kg each arm) Incline dumbbell chest fly 2 x 10 (20 kg each arm) Incline dumbbell chest fly 4 x 8 (25 kg each arm) Crucifix push-up 3 x 6 (10 kg vest) Jump rope double-unders 5 x 30 seconds (1 minute rest between)
Yesterday. Bikram yoga class (1.5 hours) in the morning. After lunch: Deadlift 2 x 5 (70 kg - warm up) Deadlift 1 x 3 (90 kg - warm up) Deadlift 1 x 2 (105 kg - warm up) Deadlift 1 x 5 (125 kg) Deadlift 1 x 4 (127.5 kg) Deadlift 1 x 3 (130 kg) Deadlift 1 x 1 (132.5 kg) Barbell row 5 x 5 (55 kg) Gymnastic ring pull-up x 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (10 kg vest) Gymnastic ring flexed-arm hang 3 x 30 seconds (10 kg vest) High volume isometric oversplits workout in the evening (15 sets per exercise instead of the usual 6).
I'll be posting weekly updates every Sunday from now on. Figure that'll be more consistent than my attempts at daily posts. I agreed to my coach's request to participate in an exhibition fight in April. My "opponent" is a young novice whose own coach wants to give him experience fighting in front of a crowd before his first amateur match. Our "fight" is essentially a crowd warmer before the main bouts on a kickboxing fight night. 4 x 3-minute rounds, no low kicks, no clinching, no knees or elbows. We'll be wearing gloves, shin guards and kick-boots, but he'll also be wearing a head guard. There will be contact but it's an exhibition fight so it'll pretty much be a sparring session. I like exhibition fights because there's less pressure, allowing me to try fancier stuff and entertain the crowd a bit. Getting paid for it too, which is a bonus.
Italics denote coaching/personal training sessions and are included because they typically involve demonstration or participation that elevates my heart rate above resting levels. Monday 3rd March Morning (1 hour 30 minutes) Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree front leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree side leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Basic technique: 180-degree side kick (10 sets of 10 – right leg only) Treadmill run: 5 miles at 10mph on 2% incline (30 minutes) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Cardio kickboxing session with a client (1 hour) Afternoon (45 minutes) Back squats: 2 sets of 5 (55 kg) Back squats: 1 set of 3 (70 kg) Back squats: 1 set of 2 (85 kg) Back squats: 5 sets of 5 (105 kg) Hindu squats: 1 set of 100 (no weight) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Sports therapy session with a client (1 hour) Karate lesson with a client (1 hour) Coached the national team (2 hours) Evening (35 minutes) Jumped into sparring with the athletes at the end of national team training: Light contact sparring: Punches only (2 rounds of 3 minutes) Light contact sparring: Head kicks only (2 rounds of 3 minutes) Light contact sparring: Punches and kicks (2 rounds of 3 minutes) Extra coaching with one of the athletes after team training, focusing on footwork (30 minutes) Tuesday 4th March Morning (1 hour 15 minutes) Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree front leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree side leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Basic technique: 180-degree roundhouse kick (10 sets of 10 – right leg only) Heavy bag: 3-punch combinations at 50% intensity (10 minutes continuous) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Coached the national team (1 hour 30 minutes) Afternoon (1 hour) Warm-up: Jump rope (2 rounds of 3 minutes) Shadow boxing: 3-punch combinations at 50% intensity (2 rounds of 3 minutes) Heavy bag: 3-punch combinations at 75% intensity (2 rounds of 3 minutes) Shadow kicking: 2- to 5-kick combinations (4 rounds of 3 minutes – right leg only) Isometric stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (3 sets of 1-minute tensions – both sides) Isometric stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (3 sets of 1-minute tensions) Sports therapy session with a client (1 hour) Fight prep session with one of the national team athletes (1 hour) Evening (1 hour) Adult gymnastics class for beginners. Drilled headstand, two-handed cartwheel and one-handed cartwheel. Wednesday 5th March Morning (1 hour 25 minutes) Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree front leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree side leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Basic technique: 180-degree hook kick (10 sets of 10 – right leg only) Rowing machine: 5000 metres (19 minutes) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Karate lesson with a client (1 hour) Afternoon (30 minutes) MetaFit group class at my new 24-hour fitness centre. Bodyweight exercises (push-ups, air squats, squat jumps, ski jumps, burpees etc) non-stop for half an hour. Format is as many reps in 30 seconds followed by 10 seconds rest. Sequence of exercises is randomised every workout. Very similar to the InsanityTM home DVD workout. Sports therapy session with a client (1 hour) Coached the national team (2 hours) Evening (1 hour 30 minutes) First class at my new boxing gym. Real spit n’ sawdust type place. No class structure to speak of. Rather, you work at your own pace and the team of trainers walk around giving help and advice (intro classes are available for complete newbies though). Jumped rope, shadow boxed and worked the heavy bag on my own for the first hour. Coach Ken (the gym’s owner) called me into the ring for light sparring with an upcoming light-welterweight (60-64 kg) prospect called Gav. He was a fair bit taller and younger than me. First round was spent just trying to avoid getting my bell dinged by Gav’s vicious left jab. Coach Ken shouted at me more than a few times for keeping my front hand low and having too wide a stance. But that’s just how I fight (don’t get me started on him trying to convert me to orthodox lol). Found my rhythm halfway through the second round and started making Gav miss with his jab by leaning my head back just out of reach. Followed this up every time with a right jab, left cross (body or head) of my own. Gav clipped me a wicked right hook a second before the round ended and I felt my legs wobble a bit. Took me the full minute of rest to recover from that hit. Third round was more of the same but this time I was utilising my karate footwork to greater effect by sidestepping his jab. At one point I ended up all the way behind him. Waited for him to turn around, then BAM! BAM! A quick double jab to the face before I stepped off to the side again. Finished off the third (and final) round with some lunging hooks which found their mark on his head and body. Bell sounded, Gav and me touched gloves, did that semi bro-hug thing guys do, and then moved on to other things. I finished my workout with jumping rope for a few rounds while I watched Gav punish the heavy bag. Kid’s got mad power for such a skinny frame. After I grabbed my kit and headed out the door, Coach Ken called me over. He asked me who my boxing coach was and looked a bit suspicious when I told him I never really had any formal training other than dipping in and out of gyms over the years (for open workouts like this one). He said parts of my game reminded him of a young Prince Nas or Roy Jones Jr, which was pretty cool. Then brought my ego crashing back to earth by telling me some of my basics (guard, head movement) still sucked. (Inside I was angrily thinking, ”Did you SEE the way I dodged those jabs?” lol) He asked if I fancied fighting on the undercard of a local show in a few months but I said no. I’m just there to sharpen my tools. Thursday 6th March Morning (1 hour 5 minutes) Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree front leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Basic technique: 180-degree side kick (10 sets of 10 – right leg only) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Karate lesson with a client (1 hour) Coached the national team (2 hours) Evening (1 hour 20 minutes) Boxing class. Jumped rope and shadow boxed. Went three rounds on the pads with Coach Ken. He sent me to work on the uppercut bag because I uppercut like a wet paper bag full of <CENSORED> apparently. Did that for about 10-15 minutes. Then I sparred three rounds with Gav again. It was clear he’d stepped up a gear from yesterday. Caught me flush with a cross to the face that knocked me sick. I was much more on the defensive this time around. Kid pretty much stopped me from trying any fancy stuff. All I could really do was cover and move. Felt a bit helpless without being able to kick him in the head. Didn’t feel too good after the third round ended and I hastily excused myself for a water break. Felt lightheaded and had a banging headache at the same time. Didn’t realise I was bleeding either until Charlie pointed it out. Charlie is an overweight 40-something dude who admits he has been coming three nights a week for six years despite getting beat up every time. Nice guy. Anyway, blood was coming from my nose and a wee cut on the corner of my left eye. Luckily it wasn’t too heavy and stopped soon after I applied pressure with a bit of bog roll. Decided to sit out the last ten minutes. No hard feelings towards Gav though. Kid is good. Friday 7th March Morning (1 hour 5 minutes) Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree front leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree side leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Basic technique: 180-degree roundhouse kick (10 sets of 10 – right leg only) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Sports therapy session with a client (1 hour) Cardio kickboxing session with a client (1 hour) Karate lesson with a client (1 hour) Evening (45 minutes) Went to the 24-hour fitness centre with the intention of getting in the 5 miler I skipped in my morning workout. But when I got there one of the physical trainers was inviting members to take part in a 1RM squat challenge. Hadn’t tested my max in a while so I thought, ”Screw it, why not?” There were five of us in total: me (shortest dude there), a cross-country runner guy, and three run-of-the-mill beefcakes (all complete with designer clothes, fake suntan and neck tattoos). Thankfully the trainer said only below-parallel reps would count (my eyes lit up with glee when the three beefcakes complained about how below-parallel isn’t a “real squat” :evil: ). The giants wore themselves out and quit before 90 kg because the trainer demanded they repeat reps. They had huge legs but absolutely no low body ROM to speak of. The cross-country guy stopped at 110 kg (great effort for a skinny dude) and I maxed out at 142.5 kg. That pales compared to some of the machines on MAP. But it was a new PB and gym record! Saturday 8th March Morning (1 hour 25 minutes) Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree front leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Dynamic stretches: 180-degree side leg swings (1 set of 12 – right leg only) Basic technique: 180-degree hook kick (10 sets of 10 – right leg only) Rowing machine: 5000 metres (19 minutes) Relaxed stretches: 230-degree front oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute – both sides) Relaxed stretches: 190-degree side oversplits (2 sets of 1 minute) Coached the national team (2 hours) Karate lesson with a client (1 hour) Afternoon (1 hour) BodyPump class at the 24-hour fitness centre. Basically a barbell conditioning workout with high tempo music, an over-enthusiastic trainer and lots of hot female asses. I had major DOMS from yesterday’s 1RM squat challenge so I chickened out and went with a 15 kg barbell. What? It got my heart rate up at least. I kinda zoned out while following the music and used it more as a time to not think about stuff. Afterwards the trainer asked me if everything was okay. When I asked why she was asking, she said it’s because I was shooting her crappy looks every time she told me to go to knee level when squatting. She told me touching my ass to my heels was dangerous for my knees. Sports therapy session with a client (1 hour) Evening (1 hour) Pool is always quiet on Saturday nights so went for a leisurely swim. Nothing too strenuous. Messed about and pretended I was a dolphin for a bit. Sunday 9th March Total rest.
