apFit

Discussion in 'Training Logs' started by ap Oweyn, Jul 9, 2013.

  1. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Had another doctor's appointment (to address a flu and possible respiratory infection). I'm down to 195 lbs. Lightest I've been in years and years.

    I still haven't gotten around to incorporating a lot of the things I'd hoped to, but I'm quietly amending some bad habits, which seems to be paying off. I'm reducing the amount of soda I drink. Haven't had a Coke in days, which is monumental for me. And I'm starting to eat much more fresh fruit come snack time (rather than chips/crisps, etc.). I'm also starting to be more mindful of carbs at the end of the day and focusing on making some vegetarian (or at least more vegetable-intensive) dinners.

    I weigh 195 lbs. I like the sound of that.
     
  2. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    And also perhaps because fat stored around the abdomen is the unhealthiest way to store fat (as far as I know). Don't forget that.*

    *Looks down at own paunch where a few short years ago there wasn't one.
     
  3. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    I didn't actually know that to begin with, so that's good information. Thanks. :)
     
  4. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    If it's accurate. :)
    I thunk it's right though. It's all apples, pears and stuff.
     
  5. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Yup.

    Visceral fat, which is fat stored around your organs, is thought to have the most potential health risks associated with it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_obesity

    And reducing your intake of fructose (corn syrup) filled fizzy drinks is about the best thing you can do to stop it getting worse, presuming your diet isn't full of fast food and ready meals.

    http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/

    Though some people are skeptical about the Princeton experiments: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/03/hfcs-makes-rats-fat/

    I wouldn't take the chance though, personally.
     
  6. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    So I start my Brazilian jiujitsu class in a couple of hours. It's being offered as a credit class at the college. So it's only an hour and a quarter once a week. But it's pretty cheap for me (as I'm faculty) and I can do it on my lunch break.

    It's a strange day when the Dean of the English Department looks at you and says "I can't wait to fight you." :)
     
  7. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Have fun, brah! And remember to just roll, don't be a douche and try and snap everyone!

    *shaka*
     
  8. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    I'm sitting here trying to construct a comeback... I've got nothing. *tapping furiously*
     
  9. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    [​IMG]

    Okay, so I did the Brazilian jiujitsu class. That's me in the back row. Looking like I look in other pictures but several shades redder.

    So I don't know a lot of the terminology, so I'll endeavor to describe what we did. The class is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Some of it was spent on safety lectures, this being the first day. After that, warmup. I was feeling gassed pretty quickly, which worried me. But I got through it okay. So next were some exercises to emphasize how to resist being pushed and pulled. Then "posting" (is that right?) from a sitting position to regain your feet without getting kicked in the gob. After that, we worked at various ranges using that one-legged kick to keep the standing opponent away to create space, post, and regain feet. Then going to our backs and getting our feet out, kicking at the opponent with each foot then once to the head before creating space and regaining the feet.

    After that, we did a bit of practice on breakfalling and rolling. I'm reasonably adroit at rolling. But didn't consider the wisdom of doing four rolls in rapid succession. So I propelled myself first into a locker and then into an exercise bike. I pose no threat to the UFC.

    Good fun. Great exercise.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2014
  10. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    An hour and a half of BJJ today. I don't have the vocabulary to describe everything we worked on. But we did a warmup, a couple of flow drills, technique, and a bit of playing.

    In general terms, we worked on guard passing, scissor sweep, shrimping, elbow escape, etc. Lots of partner work today.

    It was hard work for an out-of-shape geezer such as myself. But I'm gratified by the fact that I'm hanging in there with college students literally half my age. Less than actually.
     
  11. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Actually, I'm sorry I didn't get a picture taken today. For the UK folks, I was wearing judogi trousers and a Danger Mouse t-shirt.

    Master of Jits and Kung Moobey
     
  12. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    It's Wednesday, so it's BJJ... day.

    Today we worked on two submissions from the mount. The Americana (aka Paintbrush, Keylock, etc.) and the Armbar. I'd done the Paintbrush before, having seen it in my JKD Kickboxing class years ago (borrowed from Shooto back then). But I felt like I had a much better sense of what makes it work today.

    Then the armbar. I was a bit intimidated by the moving parts in this transition. But I was pretty pleased by getting the hang of it (on a compliant partner, obviously).

    After that, we covered "retaining mount." So what to do when the untrained shmo does the natural reaction of pushing on your 1) shoulders, 2) hips, or 3) knees. How to clear his arms from each respective place and retain mount.

    Then we sparred. I'm surprised to hear them use the term "spar" versus "roll." But they are for this class. (I've taken intro classes with this teacher before and he used the term "roll." Perhaps he's using the more familiar term to relate to people from other martial arts backgrounds. A guess.)

    I did okay retaining mount. Not entirely successfully, but better than I anticipated. I got mauled on the bottom though. I was out of petrol at that point. And my partner outweighed me, was half my age, and had experience. I had a moment or two where I nearly pulled off a scissor sweep. Alas, he foiled my efforts.

    All in all, though, I wasn't unhappy with my performance. I'm not an idiot. I know I'm out of shape and a newb at BJJ. So, while I would have loved to have put up a better fight on the ground, I'm not fixating on the loss or anything.

    Good lesson.
     
  13. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    So normally Wednesday is Jitsday. But I didn't make it yesterday. As I've said, it's my lunch hour at work. And yesterday, work took precedence. It's probably just as well. That patch I wore out on the top of my left foot last week hasn't healed (as I managed to aggravate it repeatedly over the weekend).

    Yesterday, then, was just football (soccer) coaching. I'm an assistant coach for my 6-year-old son's team. Which is a real laugh given that I know sweet sod all beyond the obvious about football. But if a basketball coach can step up and coach my kid in football, I feel like the least I can do is step up and help out a bit.

    So I participated in the skirmishes yesterday. Against 6-year-olds. Not a grueling workout. But it got me out and moving. More value in terms of momentum than actual exercise.
     
  14. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    It's Jitsday. The main lesson was rear naked choke and how to escape from backmount. Trained technique, then drilled and controlled rolling to practice. Roughly, escape from rear mount into cross mount, then full mount. Rolling involved starting out in rear mount and then switching roles when one person escaped or the other got a submission.

    Also reviewed breakfalls because we're going to be working against the sucker punch in an upcoming class. I'm looking forward to getting back to a bit of striking, even if only to be the fall guy.
     
  15. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Jitsday. So we did the usual warmup, including shrimping, rolling, and breakfalls. Then the coaches hip threw us a couple of times, to further practice breakfall in preparation for an upcoming class on defending the haymaker.

    Then the actual technical lesson: A flow series from 1) a sweep the name of which I can't remember, but which more experienced people will probably be able to guess based on what's next in the flow, 2) kimura, and 3) guillotine choke. Practiced the sweep first. Then standing guillotine. Then applying the guillotine from... what did he call it? Classical guard? Something like that. Then the kimura. We ended up with flowing from one to another based on how he reacted to each move. IE, if you went for the sweep and he shot forward, you could transition to guillotine. If he tucks his chin and foils the guillotine, you flow to kimura. Etc.

    I took an elbow to the lip while my partner was trying to get the kimura. Lesson learned. My calves feel like they've been through electroshock therapy. And my neck and throat are sore. But I feel like I got a real handle on this sequence. "More intuitive" as my friend and coach said. Have to agree.

    After that, it was assistant coaching my son's soccer team. Not an intense workout, but I was running around for about an hour. Good fun skirmishing with the little kids. Though it was like a proper match with all the falling over and bursting into tears. :D
     
  16. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    My jiujitsu days are over. Actually, my martial arts days in general may be over. Another sobering reminder of some serious underlying medical conditions that I've been blithely ignoring because they're... inconvenient.

    That sounds a lot more morose than I'm feeling about it, I suppose. I know I'll go through phases where I convince myself I could still do X or try out Y. But really, the advice is pretty clear. Contact sports are a bad plan. Maybe I'll still teach a bit or something. But I haven't made up my mind.

    As I say, I'm not feeling all that morose. I have a crazily (to me) restrictive diet ahead of me, and that's probably a good thing. I had no idea how many foods were "a good source of potassium" (which, in my case, isn't very good at all). So potassium and sodium are both going to be verboten. Caffeine as well really. And, as it turns out, getting smashed into a) someone else's body parts or b) the ground is also out. Getting bruised releases potassium into the body as well, apparently. Now, obviously I can't live the rest of my life not getting bruised. But I could probably stop actively seeking it out.

    So there we are. I'm not planning on turning into a sedentary blob, mind you. Just have to figure out what's next.

    One last wrinkle. The thing that precipitated this latest round of doctor's visits. I'm losing sensation in my feet. My left one particularly. So we'll see how this affects my ability to do things like running... or walking actually. Neuropathy, they called it. Have to see whether that's permanent.
     
  17. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    Jeez, ap, that sounds really rough.

    This is one of those times where the right words don't come to mind. I'm just glad you are taking it well, or as well as anyone could.

    You first though, especially as a family man.

    You need to take care of you. Martial arts is just a side thing we do when things are going well.
     
  18. dormindo

    dormindo Active Member Supporter

    Sorry to hear such news, Ap. I hope that all goes well with your continued path, even if it doesn't include martial arts much, or at all. Wishing you the best on treating the neuropathy as well.
     
  19. Guitar Nado

    Guitar Nado Valued Member

    I was going to suggest that you could still probably do lots of arts that wouldn't be that hard on you (no contact, etc.), but then I remembered who I am talking to and know that you are very familiar with what is out there. More importantly, you are much more aware of what would be safe for your body at this point.

    So all I can really say is I'm hoping for the best for you, Ap. Like Simon said, take care of yourself first.
     
  20. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Thanks lads. Don't worry. I'm not taking it as hard as, well, I thought I would. I know I could still train in some way if I wanted to. And I'm not getting ready to sell off the heavy bag just yet. I just know that I won't be able to train in a way that seems consistent with what I've come to believe is "proper training."

    And that's fine. It's mostly a matter of choosing between a) accepting that I won't be training and b) training in a way that I find unsatisfying anyway. To me, that second choice doesn't make much sense.

    Yep, Simon, I'm a family man. And it would be terribly self-indulgent to risk serious injury for something that's still just a hobby at the end of the day. There's no question that the stuff still interests me. And, if it's alright with you lot, I'm not going to bother with any pretenses that I'll be leaving MAP now. We all know that isn't going to happen. ;)

    I'll need to find some other physical pursuits that interest me (and that I can still do). That'll depend on the state of my foot in the near future. But in a broader sense, I've got a few other interests I'd like to focus on as well. I've been bandying the idea of teaching a college class, if my credentials will allow it. I already teach a 1-credit "college success skills" class regularly. But me and one of the English faculty have been chatting about designing an English literature class on the Sword & Sorcery (sub)genre. So that's exciting.

    Don't worry. I'm good. :)
     

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