February 2012
3 posts
CF games begin
So the crossfit open has begun. Workout 1 is as many burpees as possible in 7 minutes. I didn’t feel great going in to this, since, after months of fight training my conditioning is for shit and the cracked rib is still hurting, but I still pulled out a respectable 99. It’s not a competitive score at my gym, but not the embarassment I feared it would be. Also, the rib was more of...
The Fight
After a month intense training and about a year of Muay Thai training overall, I had my first fight. I will put up a video of it when I get it, but it ain’t pretty. And by that I mean it is roughly thirty seconds of me getting my ass kicked until my coach put a stop to it.
I have had a bunch of reactions to the experience and am still trying to work them around in my head. These are some...
January 2012
12 posts
Secret Advice of a Vegan Crossfitter →
Glad to see people can enjoy CF without buying into all of the party line. Some of the ethical issues she raises are weak, but I am glad to see people trying different things and seeing what works.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Monday- Morning MT class followed by sprints. Ribs are almost healed, so breathing only creates a dull pain. Everything is getting much easier as I am able to breath
Tuesday- “Cardio” then straight into MT Class and then into pad work. Really working on staying relaxed, being fast. Things came together during pad work and I was able to perform much better than I have been.
...
The only easy day is Sunday
Sunday is my rest day and I tried to enjoy it, despite the cold. Wanted to go to a friend’s birthday party, but plans to get over there fell through, so I worked on business stuff at home after spending 5 hours teaching at the gym.
Looking forward to meeting up with my old trainer tomorrow. Kyle hurt his back about 6 weeks ago and is still in rehab, but agreed to come out and help me...
Saturday
After an early wake up to deal with Shuttle bus foolishness and a morning client, I got over to Chok Sabai for sparring. The “bruised” rib (I think it is just a bruise) still hurts, but it is less each day. I tried to protect it during sparring, which worked. It’s sapping my cardio though as I can’t breathe deeply.
The sparring itself was good. One of the fighters...
Friday
MT class- bag and pad work, focusing jab/cross defense followed by countering with body shots, front kicks and long knees. Good stuff especially the knees. Would really like to make use of those in the fight.
Pads with Kru- Felt much more natural, but my bruised ribs are slowing me down and killing my cardio.
Thursday
Odd Object Playground- This is a strength and conditioning class at Chok Sabai. It’s fun, mainly from a ego standpoint. I won’t lie and say it isn’t difficult when other people are consistently doing better at the MT and I feel out of place. Having a once a week class where I get to dominate is nice.
Normal warmup complex, which includes dynamic mobility, running,...
Wednesday
Started out with the coaches workout, which was a choose-your-own-adventure based on Angie:
50 dead hang pullups
50 clapping pushups
50 GHD situps
50 jump squats
18:54
Then MT Class and Sparring. Class went fine, but by sparring I was running out of gas. Took a couple of good shots, especially to the ribs and the knee. Then completely gassed in the clinch work.
2012 Goals
Have a bunch of them, but here are the physical/fitness related stuff:
Bodyweight overhead squat
Sub 11:30 Nancy
405# deadlift
5 Handstand pushups
Have first fight
Start taking BJJ
Win a fight
This list may be too diverse to be fully accomplished, but I like that it has flavors of each of the disciplines I want to spend time in. My guess is the hardest will be winning a fight and the...
MT class plus cardio
Got in some good pad work today, especially on the transition between offense to defense. Also worked on body shots, which I need to make part of the arsenal.
After class, I did the required additional “cardio” which consisted of ten minutes each of stationary bike, rowing and elliptical. This turned into a warmup, workout and cooldown, as only the rowing was actually difficult. ...
Fight Prep
Although I slacked off on writing it down, preparation for the Feb 1 smoker began in earnest last week.
I took my first turn working with kru Nat on pads on Friday. First time working with someone is always awkward, but I found this especially so as she uses almost no verbal commands. It is good to work on pulling my language center out of the movement, but also disconcerting to not have the...
Learning from a coach →
I wasn’t at the gym for the latest drama, so I will refrain from comment on it. However, it brings up some useful points about learning:
1. In a class environment, follow instruction unless that instruction is outright dangerous. I have been in plenty of situations, usually at affiliates I am visiting while traveling, where a new coach is teaching something differently (read...
December 2011
8 posts
Captain of the Men of Death
Which sounds way more bad ass than pneumonia. Either way, it has me sidelined for at least a week. Frustrating, especially since I don’t feel very sick. Mostly just annoyed at a cough that won’t go away. But, spiderwebs on the x-ray are conclusive. Really glad for modern medicine, since it means that I just have to rest and take drugs, rather than, you know, dying.
I take my...
Get your crippled ass to the gym →
A great article that a friend linked me to. Reminds me of running in the Urbanathlon and getting passed by the Challenged Athletes. It is a real push when the guy with one leg is running faster than you. Also a nice reminder to shut up about my petty shit.
November 2011
7 posts
“If you naturally want to slam your head against the wall prior to your training so you can get in the zone, and then absolutely have to put 5 more pounds on the bar on squat days or sprint the last round of Helen until you throw up, then maybe you should chill out a little and stretch more often. But if you are a “finesse player” who tries to find creative ways to get fitter without working...
First Sparring Class
So, the morning after the 4th Annual Cookies and Whiskey party, I hauled my ass to the gym for my first sparring session with people who aren’t Kyle. Barely making it in time, I missed some of the shadow boxing warmup and we quickly got into it. Sparring worked in a rotating format, except the women and men never mixed. Everyone was smaller than me, in terms of weight and height....
Motivation: Is it better to be feared or loved
Why train? Why work hard? Why get up before the sun and haul yourself to the gym/dojo/track/whatever and bust your ass while every sensible person sleeps? Why stay after to work on weaknesses? Why worry about recovery and work even at resting better?
As a trainer, it’s my job to motivate myself and to help people find their own motivation. Part of that is determining what makes people...
State of Training
Having joined a Muay Thai gym and decided to focus my efforts on being ready for a fight in later January (not sure if this will come through or not, but trying to put it together). Towards that end, I have been putting in 6-8 hours a week of training at Chok Sabai (over 4 days) and then spending one day’s training on pure strength. That gives me 2 rest days to recover, but usually 0-1...
October 2011
8 posts
Chok Sabai
Joined a new gym last week. I still do crossfit and lifting a CFV, but wanted a dedicated place to work on Muay Thai, as I have outgrown each of the prior arrangements. It has been a good growth experience, but a little painful, as most good ones are. Working with people that are better than me is humbling, but also a goad to get better. The coach is an experienced fighter and, so far, seems...
10.4 and 10.5
10.4- Fighting- worked Jab/cross defense, including countering with hook to body
10.5- AM Fighting- Kyle sick, so I worked alone. At some point during the 90 minute workout, I had 10-15 glorious seconds where my whole body worked together to move and deliver punches. Felt great, but was gone as quickly as it came. Great reason to keep pushing!
PM: Isabel (30 Squat Snatches @ 105 for time):...
10.3
AM: Fighting- work on heavy bag, short session as Kyle wasn’t feeling well
PM: CF Class
8x3 of DB Push Press (L/R 40/70) and DB Row (L/R 70/70)
7 Min AMRAP of:
2 Squat cleans with 50# DB R
4 T2B
2 sq clean with 50# DB L
4 T2B
6 rounds plus 2 cleans
WatchFirst Entry into the CWOD (competitor workout), which was 30 secs on 30 secs off of hollow rock for 6 minutes. Form obviously breaking at the hip and bottom of the rib cage. Honestly, I was actually pretty happy about this performance, as this is not my strong suit. No staying power though, as round 6 was knees bent and arms in while still barely holding it together.
9.30, 10.1, 10.2
9.30:
Fighting: warmup plus some extra technique work so Kyle could see what I had worked on while he was gone. Then got in the ring for some medium contact sparring. Stopped in round two when my front kick become a heel kick to his thigh, instantly incapacitating Kyle. This is the third time this type of strike has happened (twice to him, once to me). Neither was intentional from me, but I...
September 2011
27 posts
9.28
Frustrating day, where I missed my morning workout to finish up some homework and then missed the afternoon workout to have my bathroom wall ripped apart for no reason. sigh.
Managed to get a late session of squats in:
Back squats x5 45, 45, 95, 165, 215x5x5
Form began to decay pretty bad on the last reps of the last set.
Overhead Walk
So, the wherefore for the Overhead Walk- it will probably boil down to boredom and curiosity. I started doing them initially because my old roommate and I started taking a bunch of plates and a barbell to the park on Saturdays, grilling a shitload of steak, drinking a tremendous amount of liquor, and lifting for a few hours. We ended up getting bored with cleans and snatches and the like, so one...
Response to Post on Friday Night Fights
ryanluce said: sparring! you need to do it! Only way you’ll realize how much more important footwork is than everything else, and you’ll finally learn how to jump rope lol.
I do light sparring 1-2 times a week and heavy sparring every other week. Am looking to increase this, but most people are uninterested in sparring with me. Rope Jumping I have pretty well, best set of double unders is...
9.21
AM Fighting: Was on my own after Kyle canceled. After warmup, did 250 of Jab and Cross, and 50 each leg on kicks. Spent a couple rounds hitting the crazy bag.
PM Sprints: Death by 10 Meters, Suicides + edition
So normal death by 10 meters rules (run an additional 10 meters each minute, for as many minutes as you can), but started at round 5. Then, once you fail, take a one round break and...
9.21
AM: Fighting- Leg sparring and power work on the heavy bag. Tried to work on my body hook, which pretty much sucks. Not sure how to fix it or really how to use it. I don’t think I have ever thrown it in sparring, although I am generally guilty of ignoring my non-straight punches during sparring.
PM: Deadlift x5: 135, 185, 225, 225, 245, 265x4, 245, 225, 225
Although this weight was not...
9.20
AM: Fighting- more leg kicks and checks. Supposedly my shadow is getting more fluid, but it doesn’t feel any different.
PM: CF class-
DB bench press, with one arm pressing at a time: 60,60,60,60,70F
False Grip rows- 5 sets
AMRAP 10 minutes:
100 ft quadraped movement, alternating feet first, hands first
150m sprint
8.5 rounds
9.19
AM: Fighting- Lots of kick work, including tit for tat stuff. During one of those sessions, I checked Kyle, he put his feet down wrong and I reacted to an opportunity before even realizing it was there. The enjoyment of finally being able to do that was not dimmed by all of his subsequent kicks being twice as fast/hard.
PM: nothing. Ran out of time before having to teach three privates in a...
Watch9.17 Front Squats (apologies for the sideways video, I don’t know how to change that)
Front squats are a huge Goat of mine, so I do a heavy set at least every two weeks, not counting any that show up in a workout. After warming up I did:
175x5, 175x5, 175x5, 175x5, 175x4
Used a belt on all work sets except the first. Had pretty bad rounding, as you can see in the video, which is of my...
9.16
Workouts:
AM: Regular warmup, check practice and a kick warmup followed by some ring time!
First, 3 rounds of leg fighting. First round, low kicks only, 2nd teeps and low kicks, 3rd those two plus body kicks.
Then, 3 rounds of light-medium sparring with full gear. First round I was slow, but warmed up in the second. Kyle is finally starting to hit me harder, which brings home the lesson...
