16/june Been a bit lazy with the logging over the last couple of weeks. Competed in push hands weekend before last (see thread in competitors corner) and apart from the usual running, taiji and kung fu classes not been much else to report. Been spending some evenings getting the garden back into shape now we're back home and have planted up various veggies that have been sat in seed trays neglected for weeks. Hope to get back to the boxing club this weekend after a couple of weeks out and check out their new premises. After a couple of competitions this year my focus now is back to general cardio, conditioning with light weights/circuit exercises and flexibility with daily stretching.
28/june am session at boxing club - not been for a month , at their new premises , nicer and nearer ! 3min rds , 30 secs break 3x skip 3x shadowbox 1 min break 5x on bags , rotating 4x pad sparring (2 on ,2 off) 2x on bags rpt circuit ; bunny hops , lunges , jump up on box 30 secs , alternate squat thrusts 30 secs 20kg bar complex rpt x2 ; back squat 1x10 clean & press 2x5 bent over row 1x10 front squat 1x10 d'lift 1x10 5kg d'bells complex x3 ; standing flies x5 chest flies x5 hammer curls x5 core/joint rotations , floor stretches Went for my first run in about a fortnight ; overcast , hot and muggy . 2m steady , felt relaxed and comfortable , bit of a sprint to finish. Have finished my wooden dummy and (after taking it to show my shifu)started learning the first section of the form .Really pleased with how it feels and I've felt what a positive difference it made to the couple of other people I know who've been training on one , noticeably in their footwork. Also started learning my first spear form(long ago mastered by my daughter ) which I'm enjoying. Lots of moving push hand drilling at taiji,also working on developing pau chui form , fajin etc.
Not been doing much training outside my regular classes (taiji,kung fu,boxing)the last few weeks - even though we've moved back home there"s still a long list of jobs to finish plus my dad's place to sort out ready for sale. I took last week off all work and training to try and get it all done , also been pretty slack with eating/drinking so Sunday got myself back to the early session at my local boxing club (3 min rds, 30 secs breaks) 3x skip 3x shadowbox 4x bagwork 4x pad sparring 4x regular sparring Abs workout (combinations of crunches,leg raises,planks etc ) Core/joint rotations , floor stretches Monday ; Run 1m , 3x10 squat,crunch,tuck jump,press up,leg raise, 1m Chin ups x4 Dummy work (1st section and combinations from) 30mins Pull ups x5 Conditioning/strikes(no gloves,rolling back fists,ridge hands,open hand ,heel palms,sunfist punches etc.) on heavy bag 10 mins.
still able to pick up at 3min rounds - you don't seem any worse for the wear having had to take so much time off from training regular-like. When I began missing classes, my output dived dramatically. I know that is a labourious burden - so time consuming and the endless minutia on top of the big issues is maddening.
I only really had a week off all training , I've been pretty consistent getting to weekly classes (approx 6-7 hrs total) but had nearly a month with minimal cardio/conditioning stuff on my own outside that. Had to smile when I read the "balance between work/training " thread - when you're young you don't realise you'll never have the same amount of time to train again and it gets scarcer as you get older . I don't think I'm ever going to have so much on my plate as I do right now , what with familly , work , looking after the house and garden etc. as well as training . Not that I'm complaining , just a bit knackered sometimes ! The way the sessions at the boxing gym are run , you maintain a constant workrate to leave you properly fatigued by the last round ( to simulate the experience in the ring) . Last weekend , after a couple of weeks out , I had a couple of seconds in the last round of sparring where I had to get in control of my breathing to spare myself the ignominy of stepping outside to dry heave ! Part of the reason I've always maintained my running (apart from having to take the dogs out anyway) is because from experience I know the difference it can make - even the best technique is no good if you run out of steam ! Last week , back to classes ; taiji tuesday , kung fu thursday friday ; got a boxing round timer app. on my phone ,3min rds, 30 secs break 20 mins dummy work , 1st section ; whole and as combinations 3x skipping 1x shadowbox 1x on bag ; light hands 1x kicks 4x chin ups 5x pull ups bar complex + 20kg ( x2 ) + 24kg ( x1 ) o/h press x10 back squat x10 clean x10 bent over row x10 front squat x10 core rotations/ floor stretches saturday ; run with dog , 2.5m , 50m sprint to finish. chin ups 4x2 , pull ups 4x2 dumbbells 6kg each standing flies 3x5 hammer curls 3x5 chest flies 3x5 single d'bell 10kg ; oh extension 3x10 single arm(each) row 1x50 today ; am session at boxing club 3min rds ; 3x skip 2x shadowbox 4x on bags 2min rds ; 4x sparring (light) 2x pad sparring ( techniques) 2x pad sparring ( free ) 2x back on bags 2x sparring ( heavier) stretches to finish
Yep, running is something I've been doing on and off, mostly off and I know I should make a "must do" of.
31/July Tweaked my lower back fitting some stairs on monday so gave taiji a miss on Tuesday and apart from some stretching took it easy. Avoided any more heavy lifting at work and felt fine by today so did a short session at the boxing gym after work ; 3min rds, 30secs break 3x skip 3x shadowbox 6x bags,rotating Med ball swings,squats,press ups,jumping lunges, 20x3 Sit ups,leg raises, 20x5 Plank 2min Later,run with dog 3m,short sprint finish Edit. today(fri) ; evening run with dog 2m, sprint finish Bar complex 24kg , x3 Squat x10 Clean&press 2x5 Bent over row x10 D'bells complex 6kg(each) x3 Standing flies x5 Hammer curls x5 Chest flies x5 15mins dummy,1st section
02/august am session at boxing gym ; 3min rds,30 secs break 4x skipping 2x shadowbox 8x on bags,rotating 2 x pad sparring circuit x3 (down,up,down) burpee x10 dip x10 starjump x10 squat thrust x10 press up x10 crunch x10 tuck jump x10 v sit x10 squat x10 jumping lunges x10 core rotations , stretches spent day working in garden , later evening walk with dog . Roast chicken and couple of beers to follow
Crouch , jump spreading arms/legs , land back in crouch - give 'em a go bro 09/august end of week update ; monday , after work run with dog 3m tues , taiji class ( lao joia , pau chui , push hands ; drilling then free , chen sword ) friday , shed workout , 3 min rds ,30 secs break 1x skip 1x kicks on bag 1x skip 1x shadowbox 1x skip 1x kickbox on bag pullups/chins 2/2 , 2/2 bar (+kgs) ; squat 1x10 10/25 3x5 41 curl 1x5 10 3x5 25 press 1x5 10 3x5 25 clean 1x5 10/25 3x5 35 bent over row 1x5 10/25 3x5 41 d'bells 6kg each ; standing flies,hammer curls,chest flies 3x5 each single d'bell 10kg ; single arm rows 1x50 pull ups/chins 4/4 dummy 15 mins saturday ; run 2m with dog , later when cool sunday ; am session at boxing club , 3min rds , 30 secs break 3x skip 2x shadowbox 6x on bags ( 1 light , 1 technique , 2 power , 1 speed , 1 all out) 2x pad spar conditioning , repeat twice; 1min each ; burpees , press ups ,sit ups 30 secs break 45 secs each ; squat thrusts , dorsal raises , leg raises 30 secs break 30 secs each ; tuck jumps , weighted punches , crunches stretches to finish In the afternoon had an unexpected visit from my shifu along with familly . Although more a social occasion we ended up bringing the dummy out into the garden and he taught me and my daughter the next two sections ( after tweaking and sharpening up 1st section ) , drilling the applications as we went -lucky to have such a great teacher to convey the subtleties and dynamics of this form Later , walk with dog .
01/september Not had much to post in the last three weeks - been down in Cornwall on family holiday , also our school had a 2 week summer break , so training has been intermittent. Got a few pounds to shift after some 'good living' during my time away so this last weekend I tried to give my cardio a kickstart ; Saturday , 3.5m run accompanied by youngest dog (who disgraced herself by rolling in fox crap !) Sunday morning , session at boxing club (3min rds) 4x skip 3x shadowbox 5x on bags (Bit quiet , none of my usual partners about to spar/hold pads unfortunately) Sit ups/side crunch/reg crunch ; x20 each , rpt x2 Deep squat then tuck jump/press up - slow down , explosive up/squat thrust ; x10 each , 10 secs run on spot inbetween , rpt x2 Leg raises/starjumps/jumping lunges ; x10 each ,no rests, rpt x2 Core rotations , floor stretching. Tonight ; taiji class ( warm up,stretches,kicks,silk reeling ,lao joia , straight sword forms, qi gongs)
07/september Catch up from last week ; weds ; run 3.5m thurs ; run 2m dummy form- first 2 sections lao joia ba duan jin sat ; run 2.5m bar complex 20kg x3 ; back squat 1x10 clean & press 2x5 curl 2x5 ft. squat 1x10 bent over row 2x5 6kg d'bells complex x3 ; standing flies x5 hammer curls x5 chest flies x5 pau chui staff form sunday ; am session at boxing club (3min rds , 30secs break) 4x skip 3x shadowbox 4x on bags,rotating (1min rds) 4x on bag , with partner , in turn holding bag , varying tempo 2x on bag , with partner , in turn hoding bag , 10 secs all out (3min rds) 4x pad spar abs floor exercises - variations of sit ups , crunches , leg raises , press ups etc. (finished with coach wandering round with a glove on a stick giving us half a dozen punches to the stomach whilst we lay holding legs out extended 6" from floor -proper old school ! ) today ; run 3.5m , after some stretching - muscles bit sore from yesterday.
Do you actually have formal classes at the Oxford Boxing club or you just drop in once a week and grab a sparring/pads partner? I know you were doing it formal at one time.
Hey Bubs , we had this conversation before this time last year! Boxing has always been a supplement to the other arts I train although as I said I started off in kickboxing . This is the club I train at presently www.bicesterboxing.com . Glad to see you posting on your log again , your recent absence has been noted - hope all's been well with you and yours. 14/september Last week was the usual routine of taiji , kung fu and running on days inbetween ( 8.5m for wk ) . No boxing this sunday as I managed to burn my hand with boiling water from a flask - almost healed up now . Today , shorter but quicker 1.5m run then ba duan jin followed with light stretches.
And you can be sure we'll bloody well have it again next year, lol! Nahh, I do recall it but I missed the bicesterboxing bit altogether. I'd seen a 2 hour telly programme years ago on Oxford's boxing club (seems I recall saying this already) and I think something in your description of OUABC associated you with it. A bit of feeble-mindedness to balance out the brilliance, mind you. Thanks. Its nice to be missed. As it is with life, things don't go wrong in measured, sequential order, they do so all at once with little regard to our schedules and plans. One of those things being one of my sons who plays American football had re-injured his rib during a game - this time is was fractured - during his exam in the hospital they noticed quite a bit of bruising on his forearms (I'd noticed it as well but pushed it out of my mind). They ordered tests as they were concerned about a blood disorder I became quite alarmed. My brother died when I was eight from acute myoblastic leukemia - the same variety that Andy Hug died of - and I remember heavy bruising was one of the early symptoms. To add to matters they saw something on his EKG that didn't look normal. You can imagine everything here froze. We spent the next week running all manner of tests... As it turned out, the ER physician misread his EKG - his heart was fine and the bruising - well, he plays full contact football in a league where there are no weight limits - its grouped strictly according to school grade. The last two games had been played against a team that has two players close to 82 kg each - my son is the centre and of course the two over-sized (and over-roided prolly) geezers are nose-guards on the defencive line and he has to defend against both concurrently. Mind you, he's but 11. I should've noted that his fore arms were the only place he was bruising - they are also the only place he does not wear body armour. Any road, I was happy as a lark to find out he was healthy (save for a fractured rib and bruising) That and a few other fires kept us busy. Glad to see you're still about.
Glad to hear your boy was ok mate , must have been a horrible wait to hear back from the doc. From what little (American)football I've seen there is a lot of high tackling and shoulder charges which I guess accounts for quite a few rib injuries. My youngest is about the same age - it's difficult standing back and watching them grow up from the sidelines ( literally in your case ! ) . She's been experiencing a periodic sore back , sudden jarring pains and joint discomfort for a year or so , which initially we put down to growing pains. After inconclusive blood tests and visits to our GP finally she's had a diagnosis from the local orthopoedic hospital . Turns out she has very tight hamstrings and intercostal muscles , it's a relief to actually know what the problem is and that it's nothing inflammatory ( my wife has rheumatoid arthritis ) . She's been given some exercises by the physio and at least now we can tell her school so they can make allowances and take her seriously when she's complaining of being in pain. Did I read elsewhere that you're starting some taiji , is it at the same school you were looking at before ? Btw , 'quan' can be translated as fist so 'taijiquan' is usually used to denote the martial element of taiji practice.
The intercostal muscles are located between the ribs - yeah, my son has tears in those as well. - the pain for that is the same as for a fractured rib - no fun. Does she have to breath through a spirometre? Yep, I am. It starts in October. Not the Shaolin Kung fu school but at our local recreation centre. One of my sons has to be there for basketball coaching and they are offering it during the same time period - why not?
22/sept last week ; regular classes but little running due to late finishes at work/heavy rain/darker nights yadda yadda . Dragged myself down to gym sunday morning ; 3min rds ; 4x skip 3x shadowbox 5x on bags 2min rds ; 2x on bags (30 secs normal , 30 secs all out) 3min rds ; 4x pad spar ( 2 on , 2 off ) 2 rds of squats x50 sit ups x40 press ups x30 KB swings x20 KB oh press x10 (each arm) 3 rds of standing flies x5 hammer curls x5 chest flies x5 rotations/stretches today; run 3.5m wooden dummy form
