Van Zandt's Log

Discussion in 'Training Logs' started by Van Zandt, Aug 12, 2013.

  1. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Jumping on the training log bandwagon here and posting updates on training, diet, coaching and competition (when I eventually decide to get back to the tournament scene).

    12th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Coffee morning with my missus at our favourite 'cappuccino bar'. Yes, I'm obnoxious enough to call it that.

    Lunch
    Grilled beef, boiled rice and steamed veg. Followed by some Winter Berry flavour Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

    Coaching Session #1
    One-to-one session with one of our pro fighters (he competes in K-1 and Kyokushin events). Today was the start of his 6-week camp for his next fight in Turkey in September. Details:
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Jumping rope (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Shadow boxing (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Boxing combinations on the mitts (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Boxing combinations on the heavy bag (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Shadow kicking - roundhouse kicks (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Roundhouse kicks on the Thai pads (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Shadow kicking - side kicks (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Side kicks on the kick shield (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Shadow kicking - double kicks on one leg (1 x 3-minute round on each leg = 2 x 3-minute rounds total)
    • Double kicks (one leg) on the kick paddles (1 x 3-minute round on each leg = 2 x 3-minute rounds total)
    • Light-contact sparring (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • No-Gi grappling (10 minutes non-stop)
    • Deep side and front splits (10 minutes)

    Total time: 2 hours 50 minutes

    Snack
    Protein shake (1 scoop chocolate whey mixed with milk) and a banana.

    Coaching Session #2
    Group session with the senior kumite squad. Details:
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Jumping rope (10 minutes continuous)
    • Athletes partnered into A and B
    • Partner A punching the focus mitts for 2 minutes followed by contunuous push-ups for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner B punching the focus mitts for 2 minutes followed by continuous push-ups for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner A punching the focus mitts for 2 minutes followed by continuous diamond push-ups for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner B punching the focus mitts for 2 minutes followed by continous diamond push-ups for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner A punching the focus mitts for 2 minutes followed by push-up planks for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner B punching the focus mitts for 2 minutes followed by push-up planks for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner A kicking the kick paddles (roundhouse kicks, 360s and spinning hook kicks) for 2 minutes followed by walking lunges for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner B kicking the kick paddles (roundhouse kicks, 360s and spinning hook kicks) for 2 minutes followed by walking lunges for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner A kicking the kick shield (side kicks, back kicks and corkscrew kicks) for 2 minutes followed by bodyweight squats for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner B kicking the kick shield (side kicks, back kicks and corkscrew kicks) for 2 minutes followed by bodyweight squats for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner A kicking the kick paddles (head height, double kicks on one leg, changing legs every couple of combinations) for 2 minutes followed by mountain climbers for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Partner B kicking the kick paddles (head height, double kicks on one leg, changing legs every couple of combinations) for 2 minutes followed by mountain climbers for 1 minute (3 minutes)
    • Light contact sparring (6 x 3-minute rounds, changing partners every round)
    • Deep side and front split stretches (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes

    Training Session
    Basic HIIT workout. Followed by some boxing, Silat hand drills and No-Gi grappling with one of the squad members who is a former semi-pro boxer and 2nd Dan in Judo who trains at a JKD/Silat club every now and then. Details:
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Warm-up (5 minutes)
    • Switch kicks (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Power jacks (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Power knees (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Power jumps (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Globe jumps (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Burpees (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Push-up jacks (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Low plank obliques (1 minute followed by rest for 1 minute)
    • Shadow boxing (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Punching the heavy bag (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Silat hand drill #1: Stopping the opponent's incoming punch with a lead elbow; trapping the opponent's punching arm with my rear hand while striking their carotid artery with a lead forearm strike; land a rear hook punch to the opponent's jaw, then slipping to the outside and applying a standing arm triangle choke (20 times each side, then change over)
    • Silat hand drill #2: Blocking the opponent's incoming punch with a cover block; trapping their punching arm with the same hand/arm I used for the cover block and hitting the elbow joint of their punching arm with a rear vertical forearm strike; apply pressure to the opponent's arm so they lean forward (pain felt in the shoulder joint), then stamping the back of their knee closest to me while pulling back and dropping them on their back; apply a kneeling figure 4 arm lock on the opponent's trapped arm (20 times each side, then change over)
    • No-gi grappling (15 minutes)
    • Bo forms (15 minutes)
    • Deep side and front split stretches (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

    Snack
    Two big bowls of fruit & nut muesli. High five for über fibre.
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2013
  2. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    13th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Bowl of fruit & nut muesli with whole milke and added sliced banana.

    Coaching Session #1
    Day 2 of the 6-week fight camp with Adam (our pro guy fighting in September). This morning I put him through a total-body conditioning circuit designed to get him used to working hard for 15 rounds. (He may have to fight up to 15 x 3-minute rounds - 32 fighters in the tournament = 5 possible fights x 3 rounds per fight). Details:
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minute)
    • Round 1: Sprint 20 metres, walk back to start, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 2: Push-up jacks x 15, on-the-spot running with knees high x 15, band snap downs x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 3: Burpees with a pull-up x 10, burpee with a clean-and-press (8kg dumbbells) x 10, standard burpees x 10, on-the-spot running with butt kicks x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 4: On-the-spot running with knees high x 15, sprint 20 metres, sprint back to start, on-the-spot heel kicks x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 5: Globe jumps x 5, on-the-spot running with knees high x 15, bodyweight squats x 10, mountain climbers x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 6: Diamond push-ups x 10, low plank obliques x 15 each side, 4-count flutter kicks x 10, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 7: Box jumps x 10, on-the-spot stance switches x 15, lateral hops x 10, on-the-spot running with butt kicks x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 8: Bench dips x 10, sprint 20 metres, wide push-ups x 10, sprint 20 metres back to start, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 9: Push-press (12kg dumbbells) x 10, overhead squat (12kg dumbbells) x 10, bent-over row (12kg dumbbells) x 10, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 10: Burpee with a pull-up and knee raise x 10, sprint 20 metres, walk back to start, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 11: Medicine ball overhead press (10kg ball) x 10, medicine ball seated Russian twist (10kg ball) x 15, medicine ball slams (7kg ball) x 10, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 12: Bunny hops x 20 metres, Hindu push-ups x 5, walk back to start, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 13: Jump rope double-unders for 30 seconds, V-up crunches x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 14: Lateral hops for 30 seconds, reverse crunches x 15, repeat for 3 minutes, then rest for 1 minute
    • Round 15: Sprint 20 metres, walk back to start, repeat for 3 minutes
    • Light jogging and eventually walking to cool-down (10 minutes)
    • Total-body relaxed stretching sequence (20 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 55 minutes

    Snack
    Peanut butter sandwich and 500ml water.

    Coaching Session #2
    Group session with the senior kumite squad. Details:
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • In one line facing the wall mirrors, shadow boxing (4 x 2-minute rounds)
    • In one line facing the wall mirrors, shadow kicking (6 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Light contact sparring (10 x 2-minute rounds, kicks only, changing partners every round)
    • Deep side and front split stretches (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 25 minutes

    Coaching Session #3
    One-to-one session with a member of the senior kata squad reviewing the basics of the bo (hand positions, stances, blocks, strikes e.g. figure-8 drill, sweep forward strike, sweep upwards strike, five-strike combination).

    Total time: 1 hour

    Dinner
    Grilled beef, fries and steamed veg. I don't care if fries are bad for you. They taste awesome. So ner-ner.

    Training Session
    Flexibility maintenance workout. The "squats" outlined below involve walking the feet out into a side split, then walking back up to the start position. The ultimate goal for anyone doing them is to walk the feet out into a full side split, then back up to the start position. All the while carrying a barbell across their shoulders. I suppose you could call them walkouts or some other name. But squats will do for now. The measurement in inches is how far I was off the floor in each set. The number that follows after the "x" is the number of times I walked my feet out (until my hips were at that height off the floor) and back up, or repetitions. The weight in brackets is how heavy was the barbell. Details:
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Warm-up set 1: 10" x 5 (20kg)
    • Warm-up set 2: 8" x 3 (30kg)
    • Warm-up set 3: 4" x 2 (40kg)
    • Set 1: 0" x 5 (55kg)
    • Set 2: 0" x 5 (60kg)
    • Set 3: 0" x 5 (65kg)
    • Set 4: 0" x 5 (67.5kg)
    • Set 5: 0" x 5 (70kg)
    • Isometric side split stretches (only a few as this was just maintenance)

    Total time: 35 minutes

    Snack
    Banana and a very tall glass of milk.

    Final Thoughts
    I was a bit lazy with my own training today. I'm saving my energy for tomorrow because I have to drive north to the Lake District for an all-day judo camp. The attendees will include my own coach (2-time Olympian) and some members of Team GB. Apparently we're going to be doing log runs, hill reps, rope climbing, and - more than likely - lots and lots and lots of randori! Reminds me a bit of my paratrooper training back when I was a young whipper-snapper. Really looking forward to it. But not the DOMS I can expect on Thursday and Friday!
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2013
  3. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    14th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Fruit and nut muesli with whole milk. Banana. Small bowl of almonds.

    Judo Training Day
    Mrs VZ and I headed north for a full day of Judo-based training in the Lake District. We would be joining members of the GB Cadet and Senior squads at Kendal Judo Club, a purpose-built facility which is probably the prettiest dojo (of any style) I have ever seen. Our first session was led by our own coach (who travels up to Kendal several times a week for training and to teach). We were standing on the very same mats used at the 2012 London Olympic Games so it was cool to touch a piece of history. We did a thorough warm-up and then five minutes of static and moving uchikomi, followed by push-ups, sit-ups and burpees for 30 seconds each. After a 1-2 minute rest we repeated the round twice more (total of three rounds). We then did five minutes of 70-80% intensity randori (sparring), changing partners every minute. The session ended with us taking off our gi jackets and doing five minutes of no-gi wrestling (leg grabs allowed). I scored a couple of single and double-leg takedowns but got absolutely battered in ne-waza (ground fighting). After a cool-down and stretch we had 20 minutes to ger changed and jump in the minibus for an outdoors session.

    We drove about ten miles to one of the many giant hills/small mountains surrounding Kendal. A quick safety brief on using the rope equipment was followed by a five-minute trek down a steep slope through what can only be described as a Jurassic Park-esque jungle. The River Kent was waiting for us at the bottom and we proceeded to wade up a fast-flowing stream feeding into it, which went over my head in some of the deeper parts. The water was freezing (or close to it) but we soon adjusted to the temperature. For half an hour we hopped, jumped, scrambled and climbed over various obstacles on our way back to the end point (a bridge near where the minibus was parked). One task involved us free climbing up the near-vertical rock face of a small but pretty damn powerful waterfall. I felt like Indiana Jones! Another task involved doing pull-ups on an overhanging branch before swimming underwater. A bit further up, we had to use a rope to climb the most powerful waterfull on the entire course. We eventually made it to the end, drenched and cold. We sprinted up the hill to the minibus to towel dry ourselves off and drive back to the dojo.

    Lunch
    Chicken kiev, chips and salad, and a latté from a lovely local café. Some sightseeing around the town centre of Kendal (beautiful place) before heading back to the dojo for the third session of the day.

    Judo Training Day (cont'd)
    The third workout was an hour's total body circuit consisting of clean and presses, overhead squats, bent-over rows and slams etc with the PowerBag. Kettlebell swings, high pulls, goblet squats, lunge-presses and Russian twists. All sprinkled with a healthy dose of sprints. We didn't stay for the randori session planned for the evening as we had two young cats at home and I was worried I would be too tired to drive home safely. All in all we had a cracking time. It was an honour to train with some superb Judoka, all the more better because we were made to feel so welcome. We're planning on going back very soon.

    Dinner
    Crispy chicken in Peking sauce with boiled rice from the best Chinese takeout in town. (Wife had hot & spicy Thai chicken wings and rice.) Screw it. We'd earned it!
     
  4. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    15th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Woke up suffering from über DOMS. Felt it in my forearms, triceps, traps, lats, abs, low back, hip flexors, glutes, hams and calves. Had to grit my teeth just pulling myself out of the bath. Did some pretty intense foam rolling (ouch) and deep stretches (more ouch). Ate two slices of brown toast, bowl of muesli with whole milk and an apple.

    Coaching Session #1
    Basic CV workout on a treadmill with Adam. Details:
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Jog at 6mph for 5 minutes
    • Walk at 3.5mph for 1 minute
    • Run at 8.5mph for 3 minutes and then walk at 3.5mph for 1 minute, repeated 15 times
    • Walk at 3mph for 5 minutes
    • Deep side and front split stretches (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes

    Snack
    Small bowl of Brazil nuts.

    Coaching Session #2
    Group session with the senior kumite squad focusing on boxing skills. Details:
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Jumping rope (10 minutes)
    • Shadow boxing (6 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Boxing pad work (6 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Boxing sparring (6 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Cool-down and stretching (15 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes

    Lunch
    Grilled chicken breast with a ranch salad.

    Coaching Session #3
    Coaching a small group of kata athletes in weapons skills and routines (bo, kama and sword).

    Total time: 2 hours

    Dinner
    Rest of yesterday's Chinese takeout while watching Breaking Bad.

    Training Session
    Drove over to Bacup Judo Club for my first class there in several weeks. Some of the athletes from yesterday's Training Day were there. We warmed up with jogging several laps of the dojo followed by various shoulder rolls, cartwheels and flips in lines down the mats. We then partnered up for moving uchikomi. I stuck with osoto-gari and ouchi-gari because they were pretty much all I could remember! Mrs VZ stuck in plenty of forward throws like o-goshi, uke-goshi, tai-otoshi, uchi-mata and harai-goshi. The head coach Brian Moore and one of the coaches from Kendal Judo Club showed us various escapes and transitions for ne-waza. I got a wonderful introduction to a rather painful pressure point in my thigh courtesy of Brian's big toe! We did ne-waza randori and I got battered by Mrs VZ. I then partnered up with a 12-year old orange belt and got battered again! My third round was with Brian and, well, let's just say I won't forget his forehead choke in a hurry! :D We finished the class with some standing randori. I managed the odd foot sweep (seems to be my best technique at the moment), but only scoring yuko or waza-ari. It's so hard to score ippon in randori! Had a blast despite feeling sore head-to-toe from the previous day's efforts.

    Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Final Thoughts
    I love Judo. But my attendance at classes has slipped greatly in the last month due mostly to my coaching responsibilities. There is a tourney in September I want to participate in, but the soreness I'm feeling at the time of writing (which will probably be much worse tomorrow!) is telling me my Judo-specific fitness is nowhere near good enough (even though I'm only a red belt). Which is odd because I can spar 20-30 rounds in Karate and not feel too tired. I spoke to the team manager and he's agreed to let me have more time to spend on my own training and conditioning. I love coaching Karate but I don't want my Judo progress to stall either.
     
  5. liero

    liero Valued Member

    VZ are you doing the coaching sessions as well that your writing in? They look very heavy in volume and intensity (esp. the one on ones with your kickboxing guy!)
     
  6. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Yep. Detailing the sessions I coach so people can see what we do as a team. Adam (the pro guy) is fighting in a tournament format that has rules which demand a very high level of fitness (no retreating unless on the counterattack, 20 kick minimum per round, no more than 5-7 seconds without positive action i.e. attacking or moving into position to attack). KOs are permitted but we're getting him used to working hard for the max no. rounds he might have to fight (if he doesn't score a KO). This will of course taper off as we get closer to the tournament date, reducing the effort and increasing the rest so he peaks just right. He (and the amateurs on the kumite squad) maintain a decent base level of fitness year-round so they can handle high volume and intensity pretty well, and don't need that long for a camp (Adam's is only 6 weeks rather than the usual 8-10 I might do with other fighters). Please note as well that while the conditioning sessions are very hard, the pad work and sparring (at this stage) is typically only around 60-70% max effort.

    In the coaching sessions I'm typically monitoring with a stopwatch (and big wooden stick lol), or holding the pads. But like I said, it's really just to give an insight into some of the training we do. I can imagine your TKD camps are pretty tough too! :)
     
  7. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    16th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Fruit and nut muesli with whole milk, cup of coffee.

    Snack
    Apple and cup of coffee.

    Lunch
    Cheese & tomato toastie and a latté from Costa (yes, I drink an ocean of coffee most days).

    Snack
    Low fat yoghurt and a banana.

    Training Session
    One hour Judo group class followed by a one hour Judo private class with Mrs VZ. Was still feeling DOMS in my rear delts, lats and calves equal to about an 8/10 on the "feels like I got my ass kicked by a water buffalo" pain scale. Roughly 13-14 people turned up for the group class, mostly BJJ guys who come along to boost their standing takedown skills. Warmed up by jogging around the mats (knees high, butt kicks etc) then to the end of the mats and back doing forward rolls, handstand to forward rolls (which I suck at lol), cartwheels and bear crawls. Then we partnered up and did fireman's carry and piggyback interspersed with squats and shoulder throws. Jerked my shoulder a bit breakfalling right on a spot where I was feeling some of the worst DOMS (rear delts), which plagued me for most of the class. Did moving uchi-komi drills down the mats, first osoto-gari (2 uchi-komi and throw on the 3rd) then ippon-seoi-nage and o-goshi. We found a space and practiced static uchi-komi doing osoto-gari, with Sophie going over the finer points of the throw (pulling sleeve arm down to your own belt, reaching around their neck enough to pull them over, driving head way past their arm etc) which I felt made my osoto miles better almost straight away. We then worked a balancing counter drill, with both of us placing our sweeping leg behind each other's (my right leg behind his left leg for example) and trying to knock each other off balance. We worked both sides, which is when I found out my left side osoto is actually far better than my right! Technique wise at least. We couldn't go 100% due to my hip. Sophie demonstrated sumi-gaeshi, which I chickened out of doing because of my sore shoulder. Can't be too careful when you get this old lol! Instead I did osoto-gari uchi-komi with a new guy who joined the club a few weeks ago (very nice chap). We finished with some light randori before bowing out. Sophie then took Mrs VZ and me for an hour's private class going over the finer points of kouchi-gari (not stepping too far back with the rear leg, keeping the hips driven forwards instead of pulling them back, pulling the opponent onto you while you turn your profile sideways, not letting the back foot step across the centre line, and catching their lead foot from behind just before it makes contact with the floor). We did the same for o-goshi. I have real trouble entering correctly for hip throws. I don't get in deep enough, my hips are too high and my back leg trails too far behind. I'll be honest and say I dislike (maybe even hate) hip throws. Or any forward throws for that matter. I think it's a combination of a lifetime doing martial arts that drive your energy forwards (TKD, kickboxing, Karate etc), a fear of giving up my back, and my hip (the artificial one) feeling like it's applying the brakes during every movement (maybe why my left leg drags behind?). Sophie wanted us to get used to throwing ourselves into the technique so she had us do the footwork for o-goshi followed straight away by a forward rolling breakfall. The idea behind the application was you would follow your opponent to the ground and continue the momentum into a roll. Just reinforcing the concept of commitment I suppose (which I really struggle with at the minute). We then did transition drills: o-goshi and ippon-seoi-nage into various turnovers. Mrs VZ has been getting in extra BJJ sessions with some of the senior females (one of whom is an IBJJF European Champion and World bronze medallist at brown belt) and it showed in her ground work. Damn one-handed rear naked chokes lol. Thinking of training more frequently in BJJ (gi and no-gi) myself as it can only serve to boost my ground game.

    Dinner
    Sun dried tomato cous cous and a pint of milk.
     
  8. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    17th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    3 whole eggs scrambled, two slices of brown toast and a glass of orange juice.

    Lunch
    Pasta with tuna and sweetcorn.

    Coaching Sessions
    • 1) One-to-one conditioning workout with Adam doing 15 x 3-minute rounds of various bodyweight, medicine ball and resistance band exercises. Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes.
    • 2) Group sparring workout with the senior kumite squad. Total time: 2 hours.
    • 3) One-to-one sparring workout with Adam. Total time: 45 minutes.

    Dinner
    Grilled beef and steamed veg.

    Final Thoughts
    No training of my own today. Still wincing with pretty much every movement thanks to Judo DOMS. Pain and stiffness hasn't eased up at all since Thursday (day after the Training Day at Kendal). Thinking it's probably due to my sleep being messed up as I've been staying up late preparing for an interview to coach Karate in Africa for a few weeks in November. I'm not going to be detailing my coaching sessions as much as in previous posts. I figured they were becoming a bit TL;DR and this log is more about my own training.



    18th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Fruit and nut muesli with whole milk.

    Snack
    Banana.

    Lunch
    Cheese, tomato and herb pizza.

    Dinner
    Boiled rice and steamed veg.

    Final Thoughts
    Did zero training. In fact I did close to zero physical activity at all. Had a good 9 hours sleep but still woke up feeling lethargic. Stayed in bed most of the day eating and watching Battlestar Galactica and Breaking Bad. DOMS was unchanged since Thursday (8-9 out of 10).
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2013
  9. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    19th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Coffee morning with the missus.

    Pre-Workout Meal
    Fruit and nut muesli with whole milk and a banana.

    Training Session #1
    Lower body strength and flexibility maintenance workout. Details:
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Side split squat 5 x 5 (70 kg)
    • Dumbbell overhead press in hanging side split 3 x 10 reps on each arm (15 kg)
    • Isometric hanging side split stretches: 3 x 30-second maximal tensions per set, total of 5 sets
    • Static hanging side split x 2 minutes
    • Hindu squat 3 x 100

    Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

    Post-Workout Meal
    1 scoop of strawberry whey powder with milk.

    Lunch
    Chicken and rice.

    Coaching Sessions
    • One-to-one conditioning workout with Adam. 15 x 3-minute rounds of pad work with 1 minute of bodyweight exercise between each round (different exercise each time). Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes.
    • Group conditioning workout with the senior kumite squad using jump ropes, medicine balls, kettlebells, boxes and resistance bands. 2 minute at each station followed by a minute of rest, during which the athletes rotate to the next station. Total time: 1 hour.
    • Group weapons workout with the senior kata squad practicing with the bo. Total time: 2 hours.
    • Group sparring workout with the senior kumite squad. Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

    Snack
    Small bowl of almonds.

    Training Session #2
    Boxing and No-Gi Judo workout with one of the guys from the senior kumite squad (Shaun, former boxer and Judo 2nd Dan). Details:
    • Shadow boxing (3 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Boxing padwork (3 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Boxing sparring - light contact (3 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Pummeling - snaking in head clinch (2 minutes)
    • Pummeling - snaking in collar and elbow clinch (2 minutes)
    • Pummeling - snaking in over-under clinch (2 minutes)
    • Single-leg takedown (25 times each side)
    • Double-leg takedown (25 times)
    • O-soto-gari with over-under clinch (20 times each side)
    • O-soto-gari with over-under clinch into kesa gatame (20 times each side)
    • 50% intensity randori - 2 minutes standing, 2 minutes on the ground.

    Dinner
    Peanut butter sandwich on brown bread and a can of soda.

    Final Thoughts
    Well. After two nights of decent sleep (8+ hours each night) my Judo DOMS has all but gone. Just mild (2-3 out of 10) soreness in my lats and obliques. Guess it was the poor sleeping habits after all! The first workout was part of my flexibility program I'll be featuring on my re-launched blog and (eventually) my book. I'll get round to posting up photos of what these exercises actually look like, but they can be summed up as "doing splits between two chairs while holding heavy weights." For my second workout I trained with Shaun. He was a member of the Scotland Judo cadet squad and boxed full-time before he moved to Manchester. I have pretty fast hands - or at least I think I do until I train with Shaun and then I'm like, "Oh, that's what fast hands look like..." Shaun hates the fact I fight southpaw. Problem is I never fire off any shots to the body. I only ever aim for the head, which he said makes me predictable. I also don't throw uppercuts, or hooks off my left hand. I'm only firing jabs, lead (head) hooks and crossed. Shaun said my right hook is nasty, but I'm not nearly as good a boxer as I am a kicker so against skilled punchers I'm asking for trouble. During our Karate sessions I often switch stance to left foot forward, but that's so I can come in with a right leg spin hook kick or back kick if, say, my opponent is also standing left foot forward. But when we're just boxing I'm putting myself at risk because I never punch with my left foot forward. So I was switching stance to LFF and just defending his incoming shots. Really need to stop that! My lungs felt great despite not doing much in the way of dedicated cardio work for several months. My regular sparring practice and coaching seem to keep me quite fit. But I'm thinking of throwing some CV workouts into my schedule 1-2 days a week to give me that extra edge. Especially as I get gassed quickly in my Judo workouts, which I felt nearly straight away when Shaun and I moved on to grappling. We call it No-Gi Judo because we're approaching our sessions with a mind to competing in freestyle Judo tourneys (which include No-Gi divisions). I was pooped even just after a few minutes of pummeling. Shaun is very muscular for his size and he's been doing Judo since he was 9, so he's hard to keep up with on a good day. But I kept thinking I need to be fitter than this! I felt more comfortable doing the single and double legs. Grabbing the legs just seems "easier" to me. We then worked on o-soto-gari with an over-under clinch (over replacing the sleeve grip and under replacing the collar grip). Shaun showed me how to push down with the over grip and pull up with the under grip to break their balance, then sweep the leg at the thigh like when we do it in a gi. I love o-soto-gari. I think it's my most comfortable throw after foot sweeps. Doing it on the other side seems much easier without a gi too. We then drilled the throw into a transition to kesa gatame (scarf hold in wrestling). Shaun said I have to press my weight down onto their ribs more, and get my head right down. I had trouble countering his bridge and roll, but it felt more like he was using technique than strength. We then did a few minutes randori at about 50% intensity. I shot in for a double-leg, switched to a single-leg, hooked my outside foot behind Shaun's ankle and knocked him to his butt. I tried to move in for a kesa gatame but Shaun somehow moved me into his guard and got me in a triangle. I tapped and we restarted. Shaun shot in for a double but I blocked it with a sprawl. We got back to standing with me in a dominant over-under clinch. I threw Shaun with what he called a "textbook" no-gi o-soto-gari :D I thought I had gotten into a decent position for kesa gatame but Shaun did something I couldn't even see and had me tapping in an arm bar! :mad: This ground malarky is so annoying.
     
  10. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    20th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Small bowl of fruit and nut muesli and whole milk.

    Training Session 1
    Side split activation routine doing gradually wider and wider squats, holding the stretch for 12-15 seconds and then performing 10 bodyweight squats. Repeated the process at 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 0 inches from the floor. Feeling like my hips have been stiffening up a bit lately - probably because I did this routine all the time but haven't touched it in a few months! My usual maintenance routine isn't enough due to my hip problems. Going to do it 1-2x a day.

    Total time: 20 minutes

    Lunch
    Grilled chicken, boiled rice and steamed veg.

    Pre-Workout
    Banana and cup of black coffee.

    Training Session 2
    • Pull-up x 14, 12, 11, 9, 10
    • Bench press 2 x 5 (40kg) - warm up sets
    • Bench press 1 x 3 (55kg) - warm up set
    • Bench press 1 x 2 (65kg) - warm up set
    • Bench press 5 x 5 (80kg) - work sets
    • Barbell row 2 x 5 (47.5kg) - warm up sets
    • Barbell row 1 x 3 (67.5) - warm up set
    • Barbell row 1 x 2 (75kg) - warm up set
    • Barbell row x 5, 5, 5, 4, 3 (95kg) - work sets

    Post-Workout
    1 scoop strawberry whey powder and whole milk.

    Coaching Sessions
    • Conditioning: 45 minutes
    • Sparring: 2 hours
    • Conditioning: 45 minutes
    • Sparring: 2 hours
    • Weapons forms: 1 hour

    Dinner
    Late night takeout.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2013
  11. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    21st August, 2013

    Breakfast
    3 whole eggs scrambled and two slices of brown toast.

    Training Session 1
    Side split activation routine. 15-second static hold followed by 10 bodyweight squats at 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 0 inches from the floor.

    Coaching Sessions
    • Conditioning: 1 hour
    • Conditioning: 1 hour
    • Conditioning: 1 hour
    • Sparring: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Lunch
    Chippy.

    Training Session 2
    Judo solo workout. Started with this o-soto-gari uchikomi drill (100 on each side):

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2uIAGOiFQQ"]Educatif o soto gari - Go Tsunoda.mov - YouTube[/ame]

    Then o-soto-gari uchikomi on a Century BOB wearing a gi jacket. Hey, it's not perfect but it's something. 100 each side.

    Uchikomi strength exercises like the ones show at 2:40 in this video:

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThYzoIWFwKE"]Innertube Uchikomi - YouTube[/ame]

    And finally gi hangs (flexed-arm hang while holding onto a gi wrapped over a pull-up bar). 3 x 30 seconds.

    Total time: 20 minutes.
     
  12. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Props to Princess Haru for the idea of posting Judo videos. :p
     
  13. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    23rd August, 2012

    Breakfast
    Huge bowl of muesli with whole milk and a banana.

    Lunch
    Pasta with tuna and red pesto, and garlic bread. Washed down with some awesome Ben and Jerry's.

    Pre-Workout
    Small bowl of muei with whole milk and a banana.

    Training Sessions
    3 hours of back-to-back grappling classes. Details:
    • 1-hour No-Gi private class with me, Mrs VZ and our No-Gi coach who has a strong background in Judo, BJJ and wrestling. Drilled single neck tie, single underhook, over-under clinch and arm drag. Then we worked on several guard passes, maintaining and escaping from side control, and applying an arm bar from the bottom.
    • 1-hour Judo group class. We're getting a decent number of people turning up regularly so there is plenty of partners to train with. Warmed up with various moving uchikomi then drilled escaping the opponent's high shoulder grip into a left side ouchi-gari (typically the weaker side). I find my left side ouchi is better than my (naturally stronger) right as my left hip (the artificial one) tends to drag and make the movement slow. We did a turnover into yoko-shiho-gatame followed by several rounds of 50% intensity randori, changing partners every 2-3 minutes. I then volunteered to stay on the mat for some "shark tank" randori where a fresh opponent came on every 60 seconds. I found myself scoring ippon on most people in about the first 15-20 seconds. Osoto-gari was my most successful technique, especially with an over-under clinch like I had been drilling with one of the guys at Karate. Think I had maybe seven or eight fights? Only the last two people scored on me (one with de-ashi-barai and the other with drop seoi-sage). One is a BJJ purple belt and the other a BJJ brown belt so I'm not too gutted lol.
    • 1-hour Judo private class with me, Mrs VZ and Sophie (our Judo coach). We worked through most of the yellow belt syllabus: tai-otoshi, ippon-seoi-nage, ouchi-gari, yoko-shiho-gatame, kami-shiho-gatame, tate-shiho-gatame, escapes from the pins and turnovers. We then drilled ippon-seoi-nage with a left-hand lapel grip (much easier to get my body in the right position) and drop seoi-nage.

    Dinner
    Sun blush tomato flat bread and about a gallon of milk. :p
     
  14. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    25th August, 2013

    Breakfast
    Sausage sandwich and coffee.

    Lunch
    Grilled beef, boiled rice and steamed veg.

    Pre-Workout
    Small bowl of muesli with whole milk.

    Training Session
    MMA inspired conditioning circuit. Details:
    • Jumping rope to warm up (10 minutes)
    • Dynamic stretches (5 minutes)
    • Agility ladder (5 minutes)
    • Rest (1 minute)
    • Punching the focus mitts for 1 minute followed by medicine ball slams for 1 minute, repeat (5 minutes)
    • Rest (1 minute)
    • Kicking the Thai pads for 1 minute followed by burpees for 1 minute, repeat (5 minutes)
    • Rest (1 minute)
    • Punch-kick combinations on the Thai pads (5 minutes)
    • Rest (1 minute)
    • Grappling flow drill: single neck tie; single underhook; arm drag to side-body lock; over-under clinch, repeat on the other side (5 minutes)
    • Rest (1 minute)
    • No-gi ground sparring (5 minutes)
    • Total body relaxed stretching sequence (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour

    Post-Workout
    Peanut butter sandwich.

    Dinner
    Grilled chicken and salad.
     
  15. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    26th August, 2013

    Grease the Groove
    25 pull-ups from a dead hang (2 seconds up, 2 seconds hold, 2 seconds down). Making sure shoulders touch the bar every rep. Spread throughout the entire day.

    Breakfast
    Muesli with whole milk, boiled egg, toast with low fat spread and glass of orange juice.

    Boxing Class
    • Skipping (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Shadow boxing (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Pad work, in ring with Coach (6 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Sparring (4 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Heavy bag (2 x 3-minute rounds)
    • Total body relaxed stretching sequence (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Post-Workout
    1 scoop strawberry whey powdee with whole milk.

    Lunch
    Baked potato with spicy tuna and cottage cheese.

    Karate Workout (Solo)
    • Foam roller (10 minutes)
    • Mobility sequence (10 minutes)
    • Dynamic stretching (5 minutes)
    • Shadow kicking in front of a mirror - front leg, 2-3 kick combinations, chest and head height only (8 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Kicking the Century FocusMaster (see below) - front leg, 2-3 kick combinations, chest and head height only (8 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Pump kicks (chamber leg and do continuous, rapid-fire kicks as fast as possible) - mid-section side kick x 100, high section roundhouse kick x 100, high-section hook kick x 100 (5 minutes)
    • Slow kicks (3 seconds out, 3 seconds hold, 3 seconds back) - mid-section side kick x 25, high-section roundhouse kick x 25, high-section hook kick x 25 (15 minutes)
    • Static kicks (extend leg into kick and hold it there) - mid-section side kick x 1 minute, high-section roundhouse kick x 1 minute, high-section hook kick x 1 minute
    • Bo katas - yes, XMA style forms! MU HA HA HA! (30 minutes)
    • Relaxed side and front splits (15 minutes)

    Total time: 2 hours 20 minutes

    NOTE
    This is the Century FocusMaster:

    [​IMG]

    Post-Workout
    Peanut butter sandwich.

    Dinner
    Grilled beef, boiled rice and steamed veg.

    Judo Class
    • General warm-up: front rolls, back rolls, cartwheels etc. (10 minutes)
    • Moving uchi-komi 1: o-soto-gari with lapel and sleeve grip x 10 each side
    • Moving uchi-komi 2: o-soto-gari with overhand and sleeve x 10 each side
    • Technique 1: o-soto-gari with lapel and sleeve grip (full throw each rep) x 25 each side
    • Technique 2: o-soto-gari with overhand and sleeve grip (full throw each rep) x 25 each side
    • Combination: tori attempts ko-uchi-gari with lapel and sleeve grip, uke steps back to avoid, tori throws with o-soto-gari (full throw each rep) x 25 each side
    • Transition: ko-uchi-gari attempt to o-soto-gari throw (lapel and sleeve grip) into kesa-gatame x 25 each side
    • Standing randori, resetting to standing when the fight goes to the ground (2 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Ne-waza randori (2 x 2-minute rounds)
    • Full randori (1 x 5-minute round)
    • Total-body relaxed stretching sequence (10 minutes)

    Total time: 1 hour 90 minutes

    Post-Workout
    1 scoop strawberry whey powder with whole milk.

    Pre-Workout
    Muesli with whole milk, banana and small black coffee.

    Strength Workout (Solo)
    • Side split walkouts* 2 x 5 (35 kg)
    • Side split walkouts 1 x 3 (50 kg)
    • Side split walkouts 1 x 2 (57.5 kg)
    • Side split walkouts 5 x 5 (70 kg)
    • Dumbbell overhead press in hanging side split 3 x 10 each arm (15 kg)
    • Isometric hanging side split stretches (10 minutes)

    * = "side split walkout" is holding the barbell in a front squat position, walking your feet out until you're down in a side split, then walking your feet back together so you return to standing. Figured this description was more accurate than "side split squats."

    Total time: 45 minutes

    Post-Workout
    Grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed garden peas with TONS of gravy! :p

    Final Thoughts

    I'm no longer posting details of my coaching sessions. They served no real purpose (this is a training log after all) and just distracted from the main content in my posts. Bottom line is I coach pretty much every day of the week! If you do want to know more however, just ask and ye shall receive. From now on I'll only be giving details of my solo workouts, classes I attend and my diet.

    Grease the Groove - Going to be doing this every day for a little while. At last count I knocked out 22 pull-ups in one go. I want to up that to at least 30. No real reason except for kicks. But a slower, more controlled movement. Will add a few more reps each subsequent day. Aiming for 50 in a day. Doing them on this doorway pull-up bar:

    [​IMG]
    That isn't me. My back is more win!

    I'm pulling myself up until my shoulders touch the sticky-outey bits. At that point it hits my delts more than anyway else and I'm giving them a real good squeeze at the apex of the movement. Also feeling it in my elbow flexors which means MORE JUDO GRIP!!! Probably supplement with a weighted pull-up session once or twice a week. Once I hit my 1 x 30 target I'll switch up to doing GTG gi hangs for time (throw a gi over the bar and, well, hang from it! Great for grip strength).

    Boxing Class - Had trouble in my boxing sessions recently with the horrible habit of switching to orthodox stance and throwing nothing. NOTHING. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Got fed a full can of suck flavoured ass whuppin' for my (lack of) efforts. Didn't gave any dramas this time and kept southpaw the whole time. Still outboxed my training partners despite using only a jab, lead hook and cross. Had great success blitzing with a jab-cross, getting them to cover up and then spinning off with a lead hook-jab.

    Karate Workout (Solo) - Standard fare here really. This kicking workout (or something resembling it) has been the bread and butter of my training regimen for years. My muscle memory is sufficiently strong that I haven't had to do it much in the past few months. But I miss it so I'll be doing it 6 days a week again.

    Judo Class - Not an official class per say. Three of us from the Karate team who enjoy grappling put on our Judo/BJJ gis and proceeded to batter each other. The session was led by Shaun, a Karate and Judo black belt and a BJJ purple belt. The other guy was Lee, a Karate black belt and BJJ nearly blue belt. What do you call that - white belt four stripe? Anyway. My technique sucks in uchi-komi and drilling but I can pull it off in randori (even scoring ippon on Shaun). Dunno. I find peace in the chaos of sparring. Or something zen-ish like that. Maybe it's because I've been doing one form of sparring or another since I was, like, four or something ridiculous? I love Judo.

    Strength Workout (solo) - Bog standard maintenance stuff. I have the flexibility of an X-man. That is all.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2013
  16. Patrick Smith

    Patrick Smith Tustom Cuser Uitle

    Hey Superfoot, or should I call you Van Zandt now? I still remember you as Superfoot. :)

    Haven't been on MAP for a long time, but it's great to see you're back and active.
     
  17. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    30th August, 2013

    Judo Class
    Group session. Quieter than usual because most of the jits guys were on the other matted area prepping for tomorrow's no-gi tourney. Warmed up with jogging around the mats, mobility exercises and footwork drills. Partnered up with Mrs VZ to practice sasae-tsurikomi-ashi on both sides. Next, uke stepped off to counter the ashi and tori followed up with an osoto-otoshi. Again drilled on both sides. Uke then stepped off to avoid the osoto and countered with their own sasae-tsurikomi-ashi on tori. So the final combination was: sasae-tsurikomi-ashi (evade); osoto-otoshi (evade); sasae-tsurikomi-ashi (counter) - from the perspective of uke. We drilled kosoto-gake multiple times on both sides. Next, we did a couple minutes of allowing tori to make leg-to-leg contact with the osoto-otoshi and uke countered with kosoto-gake. The last 5-10 minutes of class was spent doing shark tank style grip sparring. One person stayed on the mat while every 10-15 seconds a new partner would be on them fighting for a dominant grip. Sophie (coach) jumped in with me after one of my partners and I had to really struggle against her grips. Her strength and body control is phenomenal. I was pooped after only 15 seconds! She is a 2x Olympian after all so I'm not being too hard on myself. Lots of fun though.

    Final Thoughts
    Limited training as I spent most of the past week in Edinburgh coaching a joint training camp with the England and Scotland Karate teams.

    Won't be posting my diet anymore. I eat the same old boring stuff anyway! :D
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2013
  18. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Thanks Patrick. Good to hear from you. :)

    Superfoot was a fanboy thing. Still a Bill Wallace nut but Van Zandt, Van or just VZ is fine. :)

    Just got back to posting on MAP after a two-year absence. I'd like to have some Batman Begins training in the mountains with ninja story, but was just super busy with coaching lol.

    How have you been?
     
  19. Patrick Smith

    Patrick Smith Tustom Cuser Uitle

    Ah, ok. VZ then! Too bad about no ninja story... it looks great on the ol' resume. ;)

    Been quite sick over the last year or so (getting over it now) but have manged to win a couple of tourney's and get to the finals in a couple other. My hip is really giving me a problem now, though, which is making me concerned for future tournaments. :( I posted in your other thread in case you have time to think about it.

    Edit: Just thought I'd mention that I've only had to score with punches 3-4 times this whole season. Everything else (about 60 points I think) has been from kicks. :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2013
  20. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    I saw your post in the other thread. I'm busy working through them in order but I'll get to yours soon. Promise!

    Great news about the kicks! Punches are for humans :D
     

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