I've been using this week as on "Off Week" to recoup a little energy and get ready for the next quarter. Seems like a good time to do it. I still showed up to teach my fitness classes, but have otherwise laid off of activities. Maybe a little too much, since I feel a tight from all of the sitting around.
I ended up feeling really run down Monday and missed work. It's funny how, when you're tired, sleeping until noon can really help. I guess I should be happy that I didn't feel any worse. Also, I bounced back pretty quickly and am ready to rock and roll again.
Tonight at Unity Martial Arts, we have a preview of this weekend's grappling class. This should be a great time. I always appreciate when Shihan Swain comes to town. He has an incredible amount of experience and is an incredible teacher. Of course, the only reason he's there is because of his relationship with my normal Teacher, Sensei Tanner Critz.
Yeah, I'm loving the martial arts stuff!
Showing posts with label martial arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label martial arts. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Be Careful What You Wish For
You know the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it." Well, I should have remembered that. Yesterday, I was talked about doing more Met-Con and less weight lifting. I really felt that needed to change.
So today, I programmed more weight and fewer reps. Unfortunately, this didn't equate to a shorter workout. =D I included a modified version of a movement dubbed a "Man Maker" on some forums. The movement uses two dumbbells. For this workout, you start in a push up position with your hands on the dumbbells. You do a push up, then lift each dumbbell in succession. You then jump your legs forward, similar to the same movement from burpees. Once your legs are under you, you clean the dumbbells, stand and do a press. That's one rep. I used a little heavier weight than I would normally recommend, although it went pretty well.
The WOD was:
For time, 15-12-9 reps of
Man Makers (20# dumbbells)
Supported Sit-ups
I managed to finish everything in 12:40. Ouch! Towards the end of the WOD, I had to break the sit ups into sets of threes and struggled through sets of 1's and 2's for the Man Makers. Definitely a hard workout that I'll program again. I've even thought about programming the full 'double push up' version of the Man Maker, and simply have everyone do a certain number for time.
During the afternoon Cuong Nhu workout, we did katas with our eyes closed. This is an interesting experience, but I simply tried to maintain my balance and follow my body through the movements. Afterward, we worked on Pinan 3. This is a new kata for me, one that I've only worked on maybe twice before. It was pretty cool, trying out the new moves. At first, I didn't feel too comfortable with the moves. Towards the end of class, though, things started to come together. I always feel like I learn a lot of new stuff whenever I come to class.
Tonight is going to be mostly errands and housework. I plan to take it easy and try to relax with the family a bit.
So today, I programmed more weight and fewer reps. Unfortunately, this didn't equate to a shorter workout. =D I included a modified version of a movement dubbed a "Man Maker" on some forums. The movement uses two dumbbells. For this workout, you start in a push up position with your hands on the dumbbells. You do a push up, then lift each dumbbell in succession. You then jump your legs forward, similar to the same movement from burpees. Once your legs are under you, you clean the dumbbells, stand and do a press. That's one rep. I used a little heavier weight than I would normally recommend, although it went pretty well.
The WOD was:
For time, 15-12-9 reps of
Man Makers (20# dumbbells)
Supported Sit-ups
I managed to finish everything in 12:40. Ouch! Towards the end of the WOD, I had to break the sit ups into sets of threes and struggled through sets of 1's and 2's for the Man Makers. Definitely a hard workout that I'll program again. I've even thought about programming the full 'double push up' version of the Man Maker, and simply have everyone do a certain number for time.
During the afternoon Cuong Nhu workout, we did katas with our eyes closed. This is an interesting experience, but I simply tried to maintain my balance and follow my body through the movements. Afterward, we worked on Pinan 3. This is a new kata for me, one that I've only worked on maybe twice before. It was pretty cool, trying out the new moves. At first, I didn't feel too comfortable with the moves. Towards the end of class, though, things started to come together. I always feel like I learn a lot of new stuff whenever I come to class.
Tonight is going to be mostly errands and housework. I plan to take it easy and try to relax with the family a bit.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
More Met-Con Workouts
Tonight was a good night at Unity Martial Arts. We have a "Focus Class" on Tuesday evenings, where we work on material outside of 'normal' belt progression material. Tonight we worked on sparring. Sparring in itself can be a tough workout. Sensei Tanner made it a little harder by having us concentrate on kicks. This meant we wore out our legs during the sparring exercises.
For our workout, I concentrated on metabolic conditioning again. Our WOD was:
As Many Rounds As Possible In 7 Minutes of:
Shuttle Runs
10 Burpees
I only managed to finish 5 Rounds and a shuttle run before the 7 minutes was up. My legs were burning, especially during the burpees. I almost used the shuttle runs as recovery efforts for the burpees.
For our workout, I concentrated on metabolic conditioning again. Our WOD was:
As Many Rounds As Possible In 7 Minutes of:
Shuttle Runs
10 Burpees
I only managed to finish 5 Rounds and a shuttle run before the 7 minutes was up. My legs were burning, especially during the burpees. I almost used the shuttle runs as recovery efforts for the burpees.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Get Moving!!
Today's workout was pretty fun. We had the First Anniversary of the Unity Martial Arts dojo. For the anniversary, we had some guest instructors in from out of town. They took us through a workout that included several moves from the katas, including several animal stances. We also ended up doing quite a few push ups.
Our group of two-green-stripes did one of the katas as part of the demonstration period. I also had a chance to do an application from the kata, more of a soft style application. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone appreciated the demonstration.
Also, in my research, I read a recent article that looks at our activity levels and how they affect our health. Big surprise that moving more throughout the day helps you to maintain a healthy weight. The article definitely reemphasizes my choice to take small breaks during the day and move around.
Our group of two-green-stripes did one of the katas as part of the demonstration period. I also had a chance to do an application from the kata, more of a soft style application. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone appreciated the demonstration.
Also, in my research, I read a recent article that looks at our activity levels and how they affect our health. Big surprise that moving more throughout the day helps you to maintain a healthy weight. The article definitely reemphasizes my choice to take small breaks during the day and move around.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Workout Delayed
Well, I'm still fighting my head cold, but I think it's on the way out. I went to my class, though, as the teacher.
I had the class do a version of yesterday's workout. Instead of 10 rounds, though I scaled things back. Also, instead of having them go across the whole distance, I had them half the distance.
As usual, the workouts stayed around 10 minutes. The evening workouts are usually shorter, since the class has already been going for about an hour.
Tomorrow morning's class should be interesting.
I had the class do a version of yesterday's workout. Instead of 10 rounds, though I scaled things back. Also, instead of having them go across the whole distance, I had them half the distance.
As usual, the workouts stayed around 10 minutes. The evening workouts are usually shorter, since the class has already been going for about an hour.
Tomorrow morning's class should be interesting.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cuong Nhu Testing
I went to test for my second Green Stripe today. It was pretty intense. I've been doing Coung Nhu for almost a year and I feel like I'm learning and growing a lot. I still need to work on the philosophy portion of the art. After all, martial arts without philosophy is just sport.
After yesterday's lifting and today's test, I'm pretty worn out. I know I'll sleep good tonight. Tomorrow will probably be an easy day. I'll prepare for Monday's class and do some skill work. Double Unders sound just about right.
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