Well, just as I was walking back from the club on Sunday thinking "I really ought to do something about my comical lack of strength" when my eyes alighted on a set of dumbbells in my local Headway charity shop. First thing Monday I followed the manager over the doorstep and after some rooting around we found two 2kg threaded bars with locks, 8x2kg plates, 8x1kg plates and 4x0.5kg plates. A little more searching found a copy of Anita Bean's Guide to Strength Training, obviously someone has given up on their good intentions. I have never really trained with weights before despite going through at least a dozen gym inductions so this is going to start from baby weights and hopefully I will get a bit stronger as I can afford more weight to add (also need to get a barbell bar). And so my new home training regime started yesterday, just after carrying 30kg of metalwork home on the bus in a rucksack. Hopefully I won't fizzle like the guy who donated the weights to Headway in the first place probably did. Monday 29/6/15 Morning Stretching Routine - Leg raises, 12 per set each leg (front/side/back), 3 sets (knee height/waist/high as possible) - 216 total - Slow kicks, 6 per leg per kick, Maegeri/Mawashigeri/Sokuto - 36 total Afternoon Weights (Shoulders/Arms/Chest) - DB Shoulder Press 3x6 10kg - DB Bent Over Lateral Raise 3x6 8kg - DB Curl 3x6 12kg - DB Triceps Kickback 3x6 12kg - DB Press 3x6 14kg - Raised Leg Press-up 3x6 (last set on knees due to chuffage) Evening Stretching Routine - Leg raises (216, as morning) - Standing Quad Stretch - Hip Adductor Stretch - Hamstring Stretch - Hip Flexor Stretch - Outer Thigh Stretch - Calf Stretch - Lower Back Stretch - Neck Stretch - Upper Back Stretch - Shoulder Stretch - Chest/Bicep Stretch - Tricep Stretch - Side Split Stretch In total that lot took me a little over an hour split between the three sessions. Morning and Evening sessions were done just after my regular Zazen to get the legs working again. No weights next session (maybe some kata) and legs/abs/back on Wednesday.
Tescos have standard (1 inch hole size) plates, every few weeks there on sale too! Plus amazon have good sales on too (just check postage rates too)
Thanks Fusen, I'll keep an eye out at the supermarkets. The plates I have are all Decathlon's own brand (Domyos) but they seem to be standard 1" stuff. Tuesday 30/6/15 Morning stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 36 slow kicks Afternoon Kata practice Not going too hard today as still sore from yesterday and it is hot enough to boil a monkey's bum. - Pinan Nidan x3 - Pinan Shodan x3 - Pinan Sandan x3 - Pinan Yodan x3 - Pinan Godan x3 Was going to do Kushanku but by this time the heat was oppressive and I had managed to waste half an hour getting stances spot on so I retired to the shade for chilled green tea. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as yesterday)
Third day of new fitness regime, my god - the heat! the flies! the stench of cowpats fermenting in the sun! Despite all this I dragged my sweating jelly carcass into the spare room to do some weights. Day 3 - Wednesday 1/7/15 Morning stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 36 slow kicks Afternoon Weights (Legs/Back/Abs) - Sumo Squat 3x6, 14kg - DB Standing Calf Raise 3x6, 14kg - 1 Arm DB Row 3x6, 14kg - Dorsal Raise 3x6 - Plank 30s, 16s - Side Plank 3x10s Had to use knees for last side plank as I was sweating cobs and my arm was shaking. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as day 1)
Day four and still going strong, just trying to get to Sunday without missing a session at the moment. Measuring my leg raises against a bookshelf I have gained maybe 2"-3" in height on my front and side raises (can't see the back). Little victories can win a war. Day 4 - Thursday 2/7/15 Morning stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 36 slow kicks (as day 1) Afternoon Kata Session - Bassai x5 - Rohai x5 - Jion x5 Going back to being a white belt is great for building up fitness again but it is really telling on my kata practice, especially the more advanced kata. I must make an effort to do each kata at least once a week so they don't get too rusty on my journey to de-McDojoize my Shodan. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as day 1)
Day five - woo-hoo, getting closer to dojo training on Sunday! Day 5 - Friday 3/7/15 Morning stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 36 slow kicks (as day 1) Afternoon Weights (shoulders/arms/chest) - DB Curl 3x6 14kg - DB Triceps Kickback 3x6 14kg - DB Shoulder Press 3x6 11kg - DB Bent Over Lateral Raise 3x6 10kg - DB Press 3x6 15kg - Inclined Press-up 2x10 I have realised that I am too weak at the end of the session to to even a standard pressup so I opted to use a low step for my hands and do them with reasonably good form rather than struggle to do an out of form one from the floor. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as day 1)
Day six - rest day before training on Sunday! Day 6 - Saturday 4/7/15 Morning stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 36 slow kicks (as day 1) Afternoon spent running around with an insane labrador, finding the largest branch in the forest to carry between us. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as day 1)
Day seven - KARATE! Day 7 - Sunday 5/7/15 Morning Karate class of two hours non stop linework and kata getting ready for the gradings in August. No paired work or applications for this class so no breathers or breaks. Legs a bit wobbly towards the end but just a week of stretching and leg exercises has improved my ability to stay in stance for long periods. Round kick is still low and causing me to overbalance a little (probably trying to overcompensate for loss of flexibility), much more work needed on this kick. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as day 1) ...and so week 2 begins...
Day 8 - Monday 6/7/15 Morning stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 36 slow kicks (as day 1) Afternoon Weights (shoulders/arms/chest) - DB Curl 3x6 15kg - DB Triceps Kickback 3x6 15kg - DB Shoulder Press 3x6 12kg - DB Bent Over Lateral Raise 3x6 12kg - DB Press 3x6 15kg - Inclined Press-up 3x8 - DB Flye 3x6 12kg Dumbbells maxed out now, I need to go and get some more plates in the next week or two. Evening stretching routine - 216 leg raises, 13 static stretches (as day 1)
Disaster strikes!!! Day 9 - Tuesday 7/7/15 An awkward sneeze this morning has brought on a bout of sciatica. No conventional exercise today, just the NHS stretches for sciatica in morning, midday and evening sessions. http://www.nhs.uk/video/Pages/sciatica-spinal-stenosis.aspx I have used these exercises before and they really do help to stave off a full-blown sciatica attack.
Thanks guys, the moral of the story is always let your sneezes straight out - it's easier to wipe snot off the cooker than stretch away back pain.
Day 10 - Tuesday 7/7/15 to Day 13 - Saturday 11/7/15 Three sessions a day with the NHS routine have helped enormously, so much so that I feel able to turn up at the dojo on Sunday. Day 14 - Sunday 12/7/15 Two hours of karate basics, concentrating on stances, renraku-waza for the forthcoming grading and kata. Back was stiff but held up for the whole session. Kicks seem to have gained about five to six inches in altitude, my mawashigeri was a solid belt height and heading for the kidneys on one or two tries. Felt good to be back in training, even if it was only five days of doing nowt much, and I will look at starting back on the weights (very carefully) tomorrow.
Day 15 - Monday 13/7/15 Still taking it a little easy as I make sure my back is strong enough. I have cut back on the stretching for now and put some kata in there - going back to white belt is making me very rusty at my advanced kata so I intend to practice each one at least once a week. Kata Practice - Pinan Nidan, Kushanku, Wanshu each three times through and a bit of tinkering to get the stances and turns right. Weights - BB Curl 3x5 32kg - BB Press 3x5 34kg - BB Upright Row 3x5 34kg - DB Flye 3x5 15kg Evening Stretches - Front Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Split Stretch - Front Split Stretch to each side
Day 16 - Tuesday 14/7/15 I have decided to drop the rear leg raises for a while as they seem to aggravate my back. I will add them back in when my core and lower back are a bit stronger. Kata Practice - Pinan Shodan, Naifanchi, Rohai each five times through. Had to add a little sand under my foot to lubricate the static spin on the left leg, my front yard is a bit too grippy for that. Evening Stretches - Front Raise, Side Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Split Stretch, Front Split Stretch to each side
Day 17 - Wednesday 15/7/15 So far so good with the lower back but as today is legs-core-back day I was apprehensive and maybe didn't go for as much iron on the rods as I could have done. Kata Practice - Pinan Sandan, Seishan, Niseishi each five times through. I haven't practiced Seishan for a long time as it comes into the syllabus at a time when the prize is in sight and tends to get rushed through. Everything clicked today though and the slow, strong contemplative first half contrasting with the light, fast second half really jolted me into a good place. Afternoon Weights - Dead Lifts 3x5 30kg (could easily have managed more weight) - Seated Calf Raise 3x5 30kg - 1 Arm DB Row 3x5 18kg - Dorsal Raise 3x5 each side (starting to shake at end) - Plank 2x30s (shaking like Elvis on a vibro plate) Evening Stretches - Front Raise, Side Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Split Stretch, Front Split Stretch to each side
Day 18 - Thursday 16/7/15 Back still ok but I can feel those deadlifts in my quads today. I thought the exercise might make my knee complain but it feels fine today and I rather enjoyed it so I think deadlifts are going to stay in the programme for now. Kata Practice - Pinan Yondan, Chinto, Jitte each five times through - three very nice kata. Pinan Yondan has just the right amount of kicks and a good rhythm making it one of the nicest Pinan kata to perform. Chinto is the big one, the last kata learned before the black belt and has a nice sequence in sagiashi dachi making it feel somewhat exotic to learn. Jitte also has an odd sequence of double blocks, commonly referred to as the "space invader" kata back in the 90s. A very enjoyable half hour. Evening Stretches - Front Raise, Side Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Split Stretch, Front Split Stretch to each side
Day 19 - Friday 17/7/15 Back in the swing of things now. Time to really play with my new barbell. Kata Practice - Pinan Godan, Bassai, Jion each five times through - saved the best till friday, three of my favourite kata. Afternoon Weights - BB Curl 3x5, 34kg - BB Press 3x5, 38kg - BB Upright Row 3x5, 38kg - DB Flye 3x5, 15kg - BB Shoulder Press 3x5 30kg - DB Triceps Kickback 3x5 18kg Evening Stretches - Front Raise, Side Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Split Stretch 40s, Front Split Stretch 40s to each side Evening Stretches - Front Raise, Side Raise 3x10 each leg - Side Split Stretch, Front Split Stretch to each side
Day 20 - Saturday 18/7/15 Rest day, just a half hour cycle ride up and down some fairly hefty hills. Unfortunately I live on top of a fairly hefty hill so it is always an uphill journey back home. Legs were pretty blown up as I haven't cycled for about a year. Day 21 - Sunday 19/7/15 Karate!!! Suffering from yesterday's cycle ride but a bit of kicking soon got it sorted out. Gradings in a few weeks so plenty of basics and combinations, lots of work on Pinans and trying tom ake everything sharper, faster and better. The walk home was an excruciating totter on rubber legs.
