Monday (07/01/19) Karate @ 90 minutes - It was my clubs 1st session of the year, and it would seem that neither of my Instructors believed in easing anyone in gently. This was primarily a 90 minute Sparring Session, but with varying focuses, ranges, restrictions - This started off with X amount of rounds of Hands / Bodyshots Only (think Kyokushin type sparring, but with moderately less contact) I was asked to stick with the lower grades for this, but that request only lasted 2 or 3 rounds, before I was allowed to 'mingle' As with the way sparring drills are usually run at my club, a new element would be added to the mix every 5 rounds or so - Such as Trapping, Headshots, and Finally Kicking (no throws or takedowns were added this session) - whilst continuing with whatever set of restrictions were in place during the previous round(s) After around 30 mins of stand up skills, we turned our attention to Ground Skills, for some Free play Randori - The only restrictions/additions here were Grappling Only (which we only did a few rounds of) and then Grappling with Strikes allowed (which we did for the majority of the time) We dialled things back (temporarily) after that, and took away the 'free play' element - 1 attacker, 1 defender, (which were constantly rotated) with the attacker only being allowed to throw HAOV type attacks. Again, this still only came with a couple of restrictions/additions - Defender could only Defend/defender could Counterstrike - This eventually escalated to heavy contact striking. We ended up with 5 minutes to spare, at the end of the session, so we squeezed in to few more rounds of Free play Randori, to finish up. I'm not sure about anyone else, but that certainly blew out my cobwebs. Push Ups done today: 75 (10 down to 5 military push ups / 10, 10, 10 regular push ups) Running total: 425 Evening stretching: N/A Travess
Tuesday (08/01/19) - Unplanned Rest Day I heard news that a long time friend, whom I'd not seen in a few years, had passed away on Sunday morning, so I spent the evening chatting with his family, and catching up with mutual friends. Wednesday (09/01/19) I did have a rowing/bag-work/insanity circuit penciled in for today, but my only free time to squeeze it in was directly after work, but it was still way to dark, to be training out in my garage. I opted instead for a Timed (30s at each station) 6 station Cardio Circuit, alternating each station between Shadow Boxing, and a Plyometric Exercise, that I could do in my house. Warm-up: 5 min Cardio Warm-up 5 min Stretching Circuit: Station 1 - Shadow Boxing Station 2 - 180° Squat Jumps Station 3 - Shadow Boxing Station 4 - 1-2-3 Heismans Station 5 - Shadow Boxing Station 6 - Suicide Drills (A maximum of 5s between each station, and just 30s rest following each full circuit - 6 circuits done in total) Cool Down: Sanchin Kata 5 min Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 42 mins Starting HR: 71 bpm Max HR: 174 bpm Average HR: 139 bpm Calories: 408 used Note: This was harder than I expected it to be, and definitely harder than it should have been! Push Ups done today - 100 Running total - 525 I also have an evening Stretching session planned in for tonight (both Static and dynamic) which I will squeeze in whilst catching up with last week's Walker Texas Ranger Travess
Thanks for the kind words guys, they are appreciated - Due to him moving a few towns away, it had been quite some time since we were last together (Sept 2014) but I always thought that we'd get the chance to make that time up. Travess
Thank you @cloudz sincerely. Thursday (10/01/19) Kids Karate @ 60 minutes and Adults Karate @ 90 minutes - I taught at both sessions tonight, and although I do favour teaching by example (doing, as well as explaining) all output was low intensity, and from a demonstration standpoint. As I'd not really done anything to work up a sweat today, I headed straight home from training, hung up the Home TRX kit, and got to work on a 9 station Bodyweight Circuit, covering Arms, Legs and Core, that I have had on the cards for a while. Warm-up: See above. Circuit: Station 1 - 15 x Bicep Curls Station 2 - 10 x Pistol Squat (5, 5) Station 3 - 15 x Mason Twists Station 4 - 14 x Reverse Lunge (7, 7) Station 5 - 15 x Y Flyes Station 6 - 15 x Leg Raises Station 7 - 10 x Tricep Curls Station 8 - 15 x Deep Squats Station 9 - 15 x Low Row (Repeat for 5 circuits, with a 60s rest following each) Cool Down: Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 41 mins Starting HR: 71 bpm Max HR: 146 bpm Average HR: 120 bpm Calories: 308 used Push Ups done today - 140 Running January total - 565 Even with today's high (by my standards) number of reps, I've only managed just over a quarter of my target so far - I'm really gonna have to stay on top of my daily count, if I wanna stand a chance of reaching my goal. Travess
Friday (11/01/19) I put together a nice (???) little High Output Cardio Tabata for myself today - I didn't have a great deal of time, and, because I wanted a wider variety of drills, I shortened each Tabata time from 4 mins down to 2 and a half minutes. Warm-up: 3 x 1 minute of Shadow Boxing. 5 of mins Stretching Circuit: Tabata 1 - 180° Squat Jumps Station 2 - Power Knees Station 3 - Suicide Drills Station 4 - Mummy Kicks Station 5 - 1-2-3 Heismans Station 6 - Box Jumps Station 7 - Ski Jumps Station 8 - Basketball Jumps Cool Down: 5 mins of Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 40 mins Starting HR: 69 bpm Max HR: 175 bpm Average HR: 144 bpm Calories: 414 used Push Ups done today - 80 Running January total - 645 Even though I did just 80 reps today, which is the bare minimum that I need to hit my target, I did them in sets of 20's, rather than my usual 10-12's All done by just after 11am, giving me plenty of time to shower, pick up my youngest from pre-school, and get to the pub for a bite to eat, before the made lunchtime rush hits. Travess
Saturday (12/01/19) - Rest Day I still did my Push Ups though... Push Ups done today - 97 Running January total - 742 ...as well as my late evening Stretching Routine. Sunday (13/01/19) Push Ups done today - 108 Running January total - 850 Changing things up on a whim, I decided not only to add Shuttle Runs to my planned Bag Routine today, but to also swap out the straight rounds in favour of Tabata sets. Warm-up: Push Ups (see above) 2 x 4 min Tabata Cardio Drills Stretching Routine: 3 rounds of 2 x 4 min Tabata Shuttle Sprints Bag-Work Cool Down: 4 min Stretching Tabata Tensho Kata Duration: 55 mins Starting HR: 72 bpm Max HR: 179 bpm Average HR: 143 bpm Calories: 557 used Travess
Monday (14/01/19) Karate @ 135 minutes - I got to the hall early again tonight, so cracked on with 10+ minutes of Stretching, ahead of the main session. We then got underway with 30 minutes of Kihon Drills, sticking with single techniques, and single stance transitions, but being very picky on the specifics of each. We followed this up with 30 minutes of Partner Drills, working on Shutting Down/Trapping your partners, to prevent continued attacks, and Limb Clearing, to create openings and striking opportunities. The final 30 minutes of the session continued with the above theme, but with the introduction of Pad Drills, working on Impact and Power Generation, whilst creating the openings. I was asked to stay on after the class ended, in an Uke capacity, to help out with some of the 2nd Dan Bunkai prep work, that my brother was being assessed on - Which was equal part fun, and equal part painful. Push Ups done today: 72 Running January Total: 922 Gonna aim for 78 tomorrow, to give me a 1,000 rep base mark, around the midway point in the month. Travess
Tuesday (15/01/19) - Rest Day This was a last minute decision, as I was starting to feel a little groggy and under the weather (again!!!) and wanted to give my body the chance to get ahead of it. Total Push Ups done today: 78 Running January Total: 1,000 Didn't get spend anytime on my evening Stretching routine today, as I was literally falling asleep in front of the TV, and it wasn't even 9.30 yet. Wednesday (16/01/18) Active Rest Day No real workouts planned today, as I was still feeling a little chesty (and my cough had returned) but I'd ordered a large skip to be delivered this morning, and will be spending the day clearing out the garage* - Something that I promised myself I'd get done back in March... (Edit: *Wish that I had set my Garmin to workout though, as I was at it for 90 minutes, give or take, and my HR didn't really spent any significant time below 115 bpm) Total Push Ups done today: 75 Running January Total: 1,075 I decided to play with my Push up format today (and all subsequent days) which now follows the rep/set pattern of 15 reps each of Military / Kneeling / Wide Arm / Decline and Incline Push Ups, with a 2 min rest between each set (which I used to do some Stretching - 2 birds, 1 stone and all that...) Travess
Thursday (17/01/19) AM: Push Ups done today: 65* Running January Total: 1140 (Note: *My right shoulder started to cause me a little discomfort this morning, which only got worse as I went on, so I only ended up completing 5 reps of my final set.) I also spent another 90+ minutes sorting out the garage, which didn't leave a lot of time for anything else, before I had to pick my youngest up from pre-school. PM: Kids Karate @ 60 minutes (teaching only) - Following a Cardio / Kihon based warm up, I ran them thru the mechanics Scarf Hold. Firstly, looking at it as a Static Drill, then, when they had all the 'small working parts in order' as a Grappling / Takedown Drill, which fed into the hold. Finally, we finished up by looking a few ways to Escape, should you find yourself on the wrong end of the hold. (No training between the 2 classes, as I had to drop my eldest back home.) Karate @ 90 minutes - The entire session tonight was spent on Kihon and Pad Drills - Alternating between both, we did technique 'X' as kihon/line work, concentrating on the Mechanics, before turning to the pads/kickshields, to work on Power Generation, then returned to line work for the next technique - We effectively rinsed and repeated the above, thru various 'Blocking', Punching and Kicking techniques, until the clock ultimately betrayed us. I was meant to be running some 2nd Dan prep drills immediately following this class tonight, but time rerestrictions meant that we had to reschedule for Monday. Travess
Friday (18/01/19) I had planned on squeezing in a few rounds on the old Heavy-Bag this morning, but a slight hiccup yesterday, meant the garage wasn't quite ready to be used yet. So instead, I put together a few Cardio Rounds - 10 x 90s, (30s rest between each) with each round being made up of 60s Shadow Boxing and 30s Insanity Drills (knicked from the DVDs) that I could do in my livingroom Warm-up: School Drop Off (1.2km) Push Ups/Stretching (see below) Sanchin Kata Push Ups done today: 85 (75 for today, plus 10, to make up for yesterday's short fall) Running January Total: 1225 (2 min rest between each set, which I used to do some Stretching.) Cardio Rounds: Rnd 1 - Shadow Boxing / 1-2-3 Heismans Rnd 2 - Shadow Boxing / Suicide Drills Rnd 3 - Shadow Boxing / 180° Squat Jumps Rnd 4 - Shadow Boxing / Mummy Kicks Rnd 5 - Shadow Boxing / High Knees Rnd 6 - Shadow Boxing / Jumping Jacks Rnd 7 - Shadow Boxing / Squat Kicks Rnd 8 - Shadow Boxing / Power Knees Rnd 9 - Shadow Boxing / Butt Kicks Rnd 10 - Shadow Boxing / Switch Kicks Cool Down: Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 1h 03mins Starting HR: 64 bpm Max HR: 178 bpm Average HR: 124 bpm Calories: 513 used I headed back out the garage afterwards, (after freshening up of course) for another 45 min tidy up, putting the finishing touches to my training space upgrade. Travess
Saturday (19/01/19) Push Ups done today: 150 Running January Total: 1375 (I went for more reps, but with fewer sets today, alternating between Military and Wide Arm push ups, for counts of 30, 30, 20, 20, 30, 20, giving myself 4-5 minutes between each set) Kids Karate @ 60 minutes - Making sure that they were all suitably fired up, I put them (and myself) thru a rather intense 15 minute Insanity based Warm-up, before my Instructor took over to run the class. He ended running a 45 minute Restrictive Sparring session today, mostly utilising Rory Miller's One Step, In Fighting and Plastic Mind Drills, which the Kids love, resulting in plenty of energy and enthusiasm being added to the mix. I didn't really have anything on the cards today, but it would have been a shame not to get any use out of my garage, now that is finally all finished. Warm-up: Range of Motion/Zero Weight Reps Sanchin Kata Weights: Bicep Curls @ 16kg - 6, 7, 6, 10 Tricep Dips @ Bodyweight - 10, 12, 10, 12 Deadlifts @ 60kg - 6, 7, 6, 7 Bent Over Row @ 40kg - 6, 7, 6, 10 Overhead Press @ 20kg - 6, 7, 6, 10 I decided to forego Bench Press' as I felt that I'd already got my chest work in with my morning Push Ups. Cool Down: Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 60 mins Starting HR: 64 bpm Max HR: 144 bpm Average HR: 106 bpm Calories: 303 used. Travess
Sunday (19/01/19) Just had a simple little Tempo Run planned for this morning. Warm-up: Push Ups / Stretching* (see below) Sanchin Kata Push Ups done today: 100 Running January Total: 1575 I went for more sets today, but with fewer reps (20, 20, 15, 15, 15, 15) giving myself 2 minutes, between each set, in which time I got my Stretching in. Tempo Road Run: 1 min @ 10.5 kph / 30 sec @ 13 kph*, repeated for 30 minutes. (*Speeds are averages, based on overall jog/run times, taken at the end of the run) Distance: 5.71 km Av. Pace: 5m 13s per/km Cool Down: 5 min walk (back to my house) Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 60 mins Starting HR: 71 bpm Max HR: 181 bpm Average HR: 151 bpm Calories: 517 used Travess
Monday (21/01/19) - Rest Day This was a 100% rest day, no push ups, no stretching, and no Karate, as it was cancelled due to scheduled building maintenance - Probably just as well, as I've barely scraped in 5 hours sleep today, and I still have a night-shift ahead of me. Tuesday (22/01/19) - Rest Day No. 2 My training focus looked like it may need to take an unexpected shift yesterday, with news that my 2nd Dan would now not be taking place until late October - Being a goal orientated person, I need something more immediate to help motivate me though, and although I've not made any definite choices yet, a local Half Marathon in April, is just the 'Crocodile nearest the canoe' that may help do that. For today though... Push Ups done today: 44 (1m 25s) Running January Total: 1619 Following yesterday's rest day, I was left with just 425 reps still to hit, with 10 days still to go. This means that I only need 9 days of 44 reps* (2 x 22) and a final day of 29 reps (1 x 29) to reach my target. (Note: *The two 1st Kyu students that I used to work with had 2-minutes to hit this number, so I thought I'd spend some time on it too) Wednesday (23/01/19) I'm actually feeling pretty excited about running another Half Marathon (and, I've already had my holiday approved) and am keen to get some proper training in this time. Warm-up: 1.2km Road Walk (School Drop Off) I have downloaded a proper(?) 10-week running plan, which starts off pretty light, but which gradually builds up your distance/required endurance - I only plan to try and squeeze in around 25 runs between now and race day though, despite the plan calling for between 40 and 45, as I'll not be running on Karate days. Run 1: I headed out for a steady pace 5km Road Run, aiming for not much quicker than 30 mins. Duration: 27m 29s Distance: 5km Av. Pace: 5m 30s per/km* (Note:* This pace is a little faster than I would have liked, and certainly not one that I could maintain for 2 hours) Cool Down: Stretching Duration: 1h 02m Starting HR: 76 bpm Max HR: 173 bpm Average HR: 131 bpm Calories: 522 Push Ups done today: 44 (1m 16s) Running January Total: 1663 Travess
Thursday (24/01/19) AM: Other than my Push Ups, I've not been doing a great deal of Strength Work recently, which really needed rectifying - So, I put together a little 9 station Upper-body Strength Circuit. Warm-up: School Drop Off (2.4km Walk) Range of Motion / Zero Weight Reps Sanchin Kata Circuit: Station 1 - 11 x Push Ups (+ 36) Station 2 - 45 sec Plank (1m 36s*) Station 3 - 20 x Bicep Curls (+53) Station 4 - 15 x Press' (+47) Station 5 - 30 x Side Plank (R) (N/A) Station 6 - 12 x Tricep Dips (N/A) Station 7 - 15 x 'Y' Flyes (N/A) Station 8 - 30 sec Plank (L) (N/A) Station 9 - 15 x Hammer Curls (+27) Cool Down: Stretching Tensho Kata I ran through 5 circuits of the above, then 1 final AMRAP circuit on a select few. (Note: *My back started spasm, so I called it there for all Plank exercises) Duration: 1h 22m Starting HR: 76 bpm Max HR: 126 bpm Average HR: 98 bpm Calories: 434 Push Ups done today: 91 Running January Total: 1754 PM: Kids Karate @ 60 minutes - We were relegated to a smaller hall tonight, due to a scheduled refurb taking place in the main hall, which meant that we were very restricted on space. With no room for the standard cardio warm-up, I decided to keep the lesson very low key - Low Level (slow motion) Sparring Drills, used to work on Defence/Attack from a Compromised Position, Multiples, and Protecting a Third Party. During the 3rd party drills, 1 member in each pair had to hold a thai pad, which represented a younger sibling/cousin, that they had to keep safe from harm during the drill, and I think that it is fair to say that girls are much more naturally nurturing than their male counterparts (at least as I witnessed it today) Adults Karate @ 90 minutes - In the same smaller hall as the above kids class, but with much bigger bodies filling it (although in fewer numbers) so again, it was kept very low key. The 1st hour of the session was spent on the Softer Skills, such as Fence Principles, Passive Avoidance and Verbal De-escalation Drills. This left us with just 30 minutes to run thru some slightly more energetic drills, such as Posturing, Pre-emptive Strikes and Group Control. We are going to be making use of the smaller venues for at least another 2 or 3 sessions, so I fully expect this theme to run on for that duration. Travess
Friday (25/01/19) I started my day off with today's instalment of my Push Up challenge, which I got out of the way, the moment I woke up, with a single set of 44 reps Post-breakfast, lunch making and school drop off, I headed out for my 2nd Road Run of the week, following the route/distance of the 1st, but this time upping the pace. Warm-up: School Drop Off (1.2km) Stretching Run 2: Today's effort was a 5km Tempo Road Run, with a 60 : 30 Split (60s moderate pace, 30s best pace) Duration: 25m 44s Distance: 5km Slowest Pace: 5m 35s per/km Fastest Pace: 3m 56s per/km Av. Pace: 5m 09s per/km Cool Down: Stretching Tensho Kata Duration: 1h 07m Starting HR: 80 bpm Max HR: 184 bpm Average HR: 138 bpm Calories: 602 used Gonna be giving myself rest day tomorrow, before heading out for my final run of the week on Sunday. Travess
oh thats a fair pace on that last 5km! which half marathon are you eyeing up? "crocodile nearest the canoe" really made me chuckle! i'll be using that analogy frequently from now.
Yeah, I was happy with it - Only 29 seconds off my PB, but I'll certainly not be aiming to maintain that for 21km... Whitehorse Half Marathon, in Grove, Wantage (which starts and ends 500 yards from my front door) A favourite of my Instructors, if I ever try to arrange anything with him, that is more than 2-weeks off. Travess
