Sunday, 16th March Total rest, which is hard because I woke up with lots of energy and was like, "Would it really be so bad if I did just a few kicks?" Found myself a bit restless (my leg was twitching as I was thinking about kicks, while eating and watching a DVD!) so I thought I'd come here and post some misc. info. Took some readings today: Weight: 66.2 kg Body fat: 10% Resting heart rate: 41 bpm Here's an average breakdown of my daily eating habits (upped from 3000 to 3500 kcal/day because I love milk too much!), just 'cause: Breakfast • 2 Shredded Wheat biscuits with 300ml whole milk • NutriBullet smoothie (spinach, peach, banana, strawberries, goji berries, flax seeds and water) • A-Z multivitamin Pre-workout snack • Superdrive from Gaspari Nutrition Morning kicking workout (2-3 hours), drinking water and fruit juice throughout. Post-workout snack • 2 scoops whey powder with 500ml whole milk • Banana Lunch • Baked potato and tuna with steamed broccoli • NutriBullet smoothie (spinach, banana, pear, red grapes, walnuts and water) • Canned peaches in yogurt Pre-workout snack • Superdrive from Gaspari Nutrition Evening workout, usually a class (1 - 1.5 hours) Post-workout snack • 2 scoops whey powder with 500ml whole milk • Handful of raisins Dinner • Whole wheat fusilli pasta, grilled (skinless) chicken and steamed broccoli • NutriBullet smoothie (spinach, banana, orange, pineapple, blueberries and water) • Carrot sticks and hummus dip Before bed • 2 scoops whey powder with 500ml whole milk • Cheese slices • Small piece of cake if I've been a good boy :Angel: I'm back to work coaching next week and my prep for 3rd dan also starts so my calorie intake will probably exceed 4000 a day when I'm really busy.
Hardcore eating! I've just switched to the Bulletproof Diet myself. Have you experimented with removing gluten from your diet?
Never seen the need really. I don't have gluten intolerance and I love too many foods that contain gluten to give it up arbitrarily.
I was brainwashed by Dave Asprey into doing it! I must admit that either the sudden influx of coconut oil or the absence of gluten products has seen a noticeable increase in alertness, concentration and physical energy levels. It's only been a week thus far though... so early days yet.
What do you notice when you indulge gluten? We've played around a bit with eliminating gluten (rather large and concerted undertaking to do) from our son's diet as he has severe ADHD and had heard that its a factor.
I've no idea how a gluten product binge would make me feel, maybe I will experiment with that at the end of the month? The most noticeable difference for me thus far has been the mental clarity increase. As someone who depends upon abstract reasoning to make a living it's actually increased my earnings even after only one week. As I said though, this could be due to a combination of factors. I've upped my water intake and there's suddenly a lot of avocado and coconut oil in my diet in addition to the gluten factor. Indeed, as gluten is a notoriously difficult protein to digest and hangs around inside the digestive blood barrier for a while I'm leaning towards the hydration and healthy oils conclusion. Both are of course essential for brain repair and development. I started a thread in the nutrition section about the bulletproof diet that would also cover the paleo diet and/or discussions about gluten. Maybe explain some more about what you've tried with your son's diet there? All the best.
Gluten Free Wheat Chex, Gluten Free Cinnamon Chex, Gluten Free Rice Chex, Gluten Free Honey Nut Chex, Gluten Free Corn Chex and Gluten Free Chocolate Chex.
Monday 17th March Morning - Stretching and Kicking (2 hours 25 minutes) • Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) • Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) • Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) • Dynamic stretches: 180° front leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Dynamic stretches: 180° side leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Basic technique: 180° side kick (10 x 10 - right leg only) • Treadmill run: 3 miles at 6 mph on 2% incline (30 minutes) • Shadow kicking: 2- to 5-kick combinations (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • Relaxed stretches: 230° front oversplits (2 x 1 minute - both sides) • Relaxed stretches: 190° side oversplits (2 x 1 minute) Afternoon - Total Body Workout (1 hour) • Pull-up: 3 x 10 (10 kg vest) • Chin-up: 3 x 10 (10 kg vest) • Lat pulldown: 3 x 10 (45 kg) • Dumbbell one-arm row: 3 x 10 (15 kg each side) • Barbell biceps curl: 3 x 10 (25 kg) • Dumbbell hammer curl: 3 x 10 (15 kg each side) • Barbell overhead press: 3 x 10 (40 kg) • Barbell close-grip bench press: 3 x 10 (30 kg) • Chest dip: 3 x 10 (10 kg vest) • Cable triceps pulldown: 3 x 10 (25 kg) • Plank: 3 x 30 seconds • Isometric stretches: 230° front oversplits (3 x 1-minute tensions - both sides) • Isometric stretches: 190° side oversplits (3 x 1-minute tensions) "Total body" is probably a bit of a misnomer - I'm avoiding doing much (if any) leg strength work so I don't get too tired to kick. I'm happy with the size of my legs, I don't want to break squatting world records, so all I'm doing is maintaining strength at end-range with isometric stretches. Other stuff is purely for vanity, to fatten up my arms and back a bit for the summer. Evening - Belt test prep (2 hours) I'm testing for 3rd dan at the end of the month and I have to do our version of the 100-man kumite (did it twice before for 1st and 2nd dan). I joined in with the team's pad work for 20 minutes to warm-up and then broke away with five other guys to do a "shark tank": I stay on while the other guys rotate every minute, so I was sparring a different opponent every 60 seconds for 1 hour and 40 minutes (100 rounds x 1 minute, each of my partners doing 20 rounds). I was comfortably kicking and going for head shots for the first dozen or so rounds. But that constant expenditure of energy quickly saps you of everything you've got. By round 20 I was pretty much just boxing and round 30 onwards was me trying to survive while defending. I almost sat down unintentionally (my legs were like jelly) with about 10 minutes to go and my training partner for that round picked me back up. It was very hard, but it's a training exercise and we all look after each other. This shark tank and the actual event on Test Day are light contact with full sparring gear (we can't afford to get injured in training). I was completely gassed by the end (well before it, in fact). My stamina was probably already sapped from my previous two workouts, but at least I made it to the end still standing (just). My next shark tank (me as the "bait" i.e. the guy who stays on) is Saturday, but it's another guy's turn tomorrow so I'll likely be one of the sharks in his tank. :evil: Wonder how I'll feel at the prospect of a 2.5-hour stretching and kicking workout in the morning!
Tuesday 18th March Morning - Stretching and Kicking (2 hours 45 minutes) • Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) • Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) • Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) • Dynamic stretches: 180° front leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Dynamic stretches: 180° side leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Technique drilling: 180° side kick (10 x 10 - right leg only) • Shadow kicking: 2- to 5-kick combos (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • Focusmaster kicking: 2- to 5-kick combos (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • 180° side kick static hold (3 x 30 seconds - right leg only) • Relaxed stretches: 230° front oversplits (2 x 1 minute - both sides) • Relaxed stretches: 190° side oversplits (2 x 1 minute) Last night's shark tank session had drained me of any willpower to get on a treadmill and run for half an hour before 12 rounds of kicking. I'm going to go back to treadmill runs after my 3rd dan test, but for now I'm going to do more kicking rounds. I did this morning's workout in my home gym and the only real difference (except for removing the treadmill run) was doing 12 rounds with the Focusmaster (a metal frame that holds paddles and pads in an infinite number of combinations), so I didn't get bored doing another 12 rounds of shadow boxing, and static holds where I lift my leg straight up in the air and hold it there to maintain strength in my kicking muscles. If you're interested, this is the Focusmaster: Link Although I tend to have a paddle (Century call it a 'clapper') at head height (well, if that head was attached to a 7-foot giant ) so I can do hook and roundhouse kicks: [url="http://www.centurymartialarts.com/Targets_and_Shields/Focusmaster/FocusMaster_Clapper_Target.aspx]Link[/url] Evening - Belt Test Prep (2 hours) Did all of the required kata for 3rd dan a couple times each then joined in with another shark tank, this time being one of the "sharks" (spar for 1 minute, rest four minutes while the other "sharks" have a go, repeat 20 times - the "bait", or the guy in the middle of the shark tank, stays on for all 100 x 1-minute rounds). Finished with breaking inch-thick sheets of ice (two sheets with straight punch, three sheets with front elbow and four sheets with side kick).
Wednesday 19th March Morning - Stretching and Kicking (2 hours 45 minutes) • Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) • Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) • Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) • Dynamic stretches: 180° front leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Dynamic stretches: 180° side leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Technique drilling: 180° hook kick (10 x 10 - right leg only) • Shadow kicking: 2- to 5-kick combos (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • Focusmaster kicking: 2- to 5-kick combos (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • 180° side kick static hold (3 x 30 seconds - right leg only) • Relaxed stretches: 230° front oversplits (2 x 1 minute - both sides) • Relaxed stretches: 190° side oversplits (2 x 1 minute) Evening - Olympic Taekwondo Class (1 hour) Black belts only class (the instructor is letting me wear my old 2nd dan belt). Warmed up with jogging laps around the do-jang. Partnered up; one person ran the width of the hall and back, then did 20 stomach-level roundhouse kicks on paddles held by the other person. We were told to alternate legs between kicks but I did all 20 on my right leg (can't kick with my left), and a fair bit higher than belly height We did four or five sets (changing the type of kick each time) before switching over and holding the paddles for our partner. This was followed by static stretches for our trunk and legs. I'm still amazed how many instructors insist on static stretches before skill work. We put on hogus (chest protectors) and worked a variety of block and counter exercises, most drilling spinning back kicks. Light contact sparring came last. I noticed the front leg kicking style from ITF taekwondo and point fighting is a lot more prominent than it used to be. My sparring partners didn't throw more than two kicks before putting their foot down. I won most exchanges simply by keeping my chamber held higher for longer and scoring head shots when their leg dropped. Feels really good to be back doing taekwondo. Finished with a circuit of push-ups, sit-ups and sprints.
saw a TKD background guy sparring in muay thai today, he was using the front leg kicking style a lot and was really fast with changes. it was fast and he got several types of kicks before his leg went down but his leg got trapped a lot.
man i wish i could kick like a tae kwon do guy (ka?), we do switch kicks and its like throwing a wet noodle at someone when i do it
Yeah, front leg kicking is most effective in a side-on stance but that leaves you vulnerable to leg kicks. And if the majority of kicks are aimed at the body, the chances of getting it caught (and subsequently being swept or getting chinned in the clinch) are much greater. I aim most of my kicks at the other guy's head so it makes grabbing my leg much harder. I hate leg kicks
It's taekwondo-in (weird, I know). Also, perfect Superfoot spam opportunity [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuF4kd0E9VE"]Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace Shadow Kicking - YouTube[/ame]
Ah man, what I would give to be able to go back and incorporate a true kick-heavy MA such as TKD before I got too old to realistically ingrain it. ::Sigh::
Thursday 20th March Morning - Stretching and Kicking (2 hours 45 minutes) • Prehab: Foam roller (5 minutes) • Mobility: Joint rotations (5 minutes) • Warm-up: Jump rope (5 minutes) • Dynamic stretches: 180° front leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Dynamic stretches: 180° side leg swings (1 x 12 - right leg only) • Technique drilling: 180° roundhouse kick (10 x 10 - right leg only) • Shadow kicking: 2- to 5-kick combos (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • Focusmaster kicking: 2- to 5-kick combos (12 x 3 minutes - right leg only) • 180° side kick static hold (3 x 30 seconds - right leg only) • Relaxed stretches: 230° front oversplits (2 x 1 minute - both sides) • Relaxed stretches: 190° side oversplits (2 x 1 minute) Afternoon - Upper Body Workout (30 minutes) • Wide pull-up: 1-10-1 pyramid set (thick towel over bar to build grip) • Normal chin-up: 1-10-1 pyramid set (thick towel over bar to build grip) • Triangle push-up: 5 x 20 • Ab wheel rollout: 3 x 20 Rushed off my feet today so could only squeeze in a quickie. Evening - Belt Test Prep (1 hour) Went through all Kyokushin kata from 9th kyu - 3rd dan once each. My instructor did 1:1 line work with me for 10 minutes. I hate the traditional parts of karate. Padded up and did a few rounds of light contact sparring. Leg kicks, ankle sweeps and some throws were allowed. My practice with Shaun (one of my athletes/teammates who is also a judo 2nd dan) have been paying off because I checked a leg kick with my shin, moved in to over-under clinch and converted into uchi-mata (inner thigh throw). It's weird but having not gone to formal judo classes for a while seems to have made something in my throwing ability 'click'. I'm still rubbish but getting a little bit smoother. I dealt with ankle sweeps in my usual manner: let my sparring partner's energy pick my foot up off the floor and convert the leg raise into a hook kick to the head. I noticed I'm punching less and less lately. Kinda turned my game into Olympic taekwondo mixed with judo.
