As a Martial Artist I have spent a great deal of time over the last 6+ years training. In the prior 4 years I was a Marine and I spent all of that time training. It has only just occurred to me lately to study training. The more I learn about training the more I meet people, either in person or on the net, who fit what I would call the Warrior mindset.
In the Marine Corps, the warrior mind set was a given. I was an infantry man for 4 years and my job was combat. Even though I never saw combat it was my life. We trained daily to fight, shoot and win. It was what we did.
During that period of time I never stopped to consider when, where, how or even Why? It just was. Later after the Corps was behind me the lessons in training were a part of me and I didn't stop to think about them.
I carried that made of thinking in to civilian life and have lived by an undefined code since.
I would like to say that the Warrior Code is one of morality and justice, but it isn't always. That thought is subjective at best and at worse can be used to justify many horrors on the battlefield (just look at the crusades.)
I would like to say that a Warrior will be the Biggest,Strongest, hardest, and best at all things Martial. But often times the truth is evident when you look at modern Martial Arts that all students aren't built the same and some of the most Warrior-like are the 40 something adults who may never run more than a mile or two.
So what is a Warrior? If they aren't the best and truest all the time how do we define what we all hold up as the pinnacle of our race?
I mean we all agree that the Armed Forces are hero's, WHY?
We all agree that Black Belt martial artist have earned respect, WHY?
We all agree that Master Instructors deserve our respect and admiration, WHY?
So what is a Warrior?
In my opinion a Warrior is possessed of two qualities that are found in him in such great quantities that they override every aspect of his life.
These qualities are discipline and determination.
These qualities have marked Warriors from every generation. The Samurai, were so disciplined that they excelled at art with brush as well as sword. The famed Miyamoto Musashi was a renowned artist and some of his sketches are amazing in there clarity especially if you know that he did them in ink, with a brush, on rice paper. There was no room for error, no erasers, no painting over mistakes as with some mediums of art, each stroke of the brush had purpose and could not be taken back. The same with his swordsmanship, unequalled in his day, undefeated by any foe save old age and illness. He lived his life for his Martial Arts.
The Spartans of Greece also share these qualities, so determined to be the best warriors in the land that they gave over their young men at the age of 7 to begin the most brutal 11 year training in history. Many did not survive, and this did not sway them. They continued to train, fight and win. It was a common spartan saying Wife to Husband or Mother to son "return with your shield or on it." so determined were they that death was the only way to leave the battlefield with out victory. The determination of the Spartans is legendary, we all have herd by now of the 300 and the gates of Thermopylae, there with a few thousand other free Greek men the Spartans held off the entire Persian Army and prevented a major invasion of Greece.
How then do we join the ranks of men and women like this?
A Warrior is someone who wakes up every day devoting it to an ideal that is more important than the pleasantness of life. She is a person who forgoes a little sugar in order to reach a goal. He is someone who presses himself to life more than the last time. They are people who can put off today something in exchange for a greater goal tomorrow.
Warriors are disciplined in every day, every moment and try to achieve their best in all that they do. They create workout plans that daunt others and stick to their plan. They are determined to beat their bodies in to submission, they achieve their goal at all costs.
By this definition others who are not often thought of in the same group as those above are also warriors. The single mother barely getting by who takes a second job to make ends meet. The down and out family living in a ca rather than splitting their family. The Marathon runner who breaks his foot and continues. The college student who works 2 jobs and takes on loans to be a doctor. The parents of the Soldier who never stop loving, praying and hoping to see there baby again.
Warriors have had many ethos that they follow, some just and some less so. Your path is for you to decide.. however if you wish to be a warrior you can't commit half way. You are either in all the way or out. It is a daily re-commitment to yourself and your path. It is a battle that rages within you. It is overcoming yourself in order to progress.
Warriors are looked up to not because of amazing feats, but because of daily small ones.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Crossfit
I have written several times about different aspect of workouts that many people over look. I want to take a break from that and skip ahead to one of the most comprehensive workouts around....CrossFit.
CrossFit is the exercise sport. There is even a CrossFit Games where you can compete.
So what is CrossFit, it Functional Olympic Lifting, body weight exercises, and Gymnastics strength building, all done at high intensity.
The exercises are designed to use your whole body in natural Core to extremity motion that builds upon the natural efficiency of body mechanics. The idea is that if Force= Mass x Acceleration, then the fast you move heavy weights the stronger you are. Most modern work outs deal with either increasing weight OR increasing speed. This does both.
Many of the CrossFit workouts are done with a specific amount of reps/set to be preformed for time. One other common workout set-up is to preform a set of movements for time and record the amount of Reps/Set completed.
This way as you work-out you have many benchmarks to strive for and you increase overall body fitness.
The down side to CrossFit is that if you want to go to the Gyms owned by them it will cost you a pretty penny. At $150 dollars a month it is pricey. What do you get from that, a very personal training environment, once you get in to the Gym your fellow CrossFitters become family.
The upside to CrossFit is that you don't need to go to the Gym. Most CrossFit Gyms have great websites that post the Work out of the Day. with about $50-100 you can set up a home gym with the basic equipment. I managed to make a lot of my equipment from stuff I had around the house. Add an Olympic Barbell for $30 and I was ready to roll. I still need a few pieces but it doesn't really stop me from working out.
If you want more info check out my training forum http://n2.nabble.com/Training-f3618295.html
google Crossfit and find one near you
There is way more info than I could post here but it is worth the effort to find it.
~TJ
http://ggamartialarts.com
CrossFit is the exercise sport. There is even a CrossFit Games where you can compete.
So what is CrossFit, it Functional Olympic Lifting, body weight exercises, and Gymnastics strength building, all done at high intensity.
The exercises are designed to use your whole body in natural Core to extremity motion that builds upon the natural efficiency of body mechanics. The idea is that if Force= Mass x Acceleration, then the fast you move heavy weights the stronger you are. Most modern work outs deal with either increasing weight OR increasing speed. This does both.
Many of the CrossFit workouts are done with a specific amount of reps/set to be preformed for time. One other common workout set-up is to preform a set of movements for time and record the amount of Reps/Set completed.
This way as you work-out you have many benchmarks to strive for and you increase overall body fitness.
The down side to CrossFit is that if you want to go to the Gyms owned by them it will cost you a pretty penny. At $150 dollars a month it is pricey. What do you get from that, a very personal training environment, once you get in to the Gym your fellow CrossFitters become family.
The upside to CrossFit is that you don't need to go to the Gym. Most CrossFit Gyms have great websites that post the Work out of the Day. with about $50-100 you can set up a home gym with the basic equipment. I managed to make a lot of my equipment from stuff I had around the house. Add an Olympic Barbell for $30 and I was ready to roll. I still need a few pieces but it doesn't really stop me from working out.
If you want more info check out my training forum http://n2.nabble.com/Training-f3618295.html
google Crossfit and find one near you
There is way more info than I could post here but it is worth the effort to find it.
~TJ
http://ggamartialarts.com
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Post fight
So I realize how horrible I am at updating this thing and I apologize.
That being said I figured that I would blog a bit about my fight.
For me fighting was a very surreal experience. I have wanted to do it for so long and I guess the part of me that doesn't believe in myself figured I never would. I owe it to Joe that I took the opportunity when it came because he said one day not too long ago, "why haven't you had a fight yet, you keep talking about it." and it really made me think.
I'll start with the call I got from Jared, who got me the fight. He tried to get me one for august so I started preparing in July. That didn't pan out due to the changing of regulations and the fight got pushed back to Oct. In august Jared calls again, "you wanna fight?" Because of the conversation with Joe, i didn't even think "yes."
This is when I got nervous! I realized that I had to fight or I wouldn't get another chance with this promoter.When I realized what I had agreed to my body just went haywire. fortunately for me I can't keep strong emotions going for long and the nerves just burned up and faded away for a long while.
Training proceed well and for the most part uneventfully. As regular as checking your weight and working out 2-3 times a day can be. I didn't have enough live sparring so i focused more on conditioning than anything and it payed off.
Fight weekend rolled around...
I made the trip to Arkansas 10+ hours each way, with 7 of my closest friends and students we arrived on Friday late in the night.I knew that I wanted to make weight so I went for a run that evening with the guys at 10 something at night. Good times were had trying to figure out which way to go in a new tome in the dark ....lol. I couldn't sleep very well and was up at walmart very early the next morning. Only Thandi was awake so he went with me. After that another weight cutting session before I could eat something. Made weight at the hotel and breakfast. At the weigh-ins I came in at 198.8 , my opponent came in at 203 and had to cut some so the running and sweating helped me tremendously. we hung around at the Fight Center for a little while just getting used to it and then went back to the hotel to relax.
we left for the fighters meeting around 4:00pm. The fights didn't start until 7 but there were lines to stand in and paperwork to do, oddly enough it reminded me of the Marine Corps and allowed me to relax and forget about what I was there for. I don't recall a lot of what happened in that time, it was mostly hurry up and wait. I met some really nice people there, including the coach in charge of wrapping hands for all the fighters from Inferno MMA. he offered to wrap my hands and he did an amazing job. I will have video of it posted soon on YouTube and ggamartialarts.com. by the time I got my hands wrapped and gloves on I Had about 20 minutes till my fight. Stephen and Jeff helped me get warmed up and loose, applied Vaseline to my face and Landon gave me a quick massage.
it was go time...
I was the first to enter, and let em tell you what nothing can prepare you for the feeling of a cage door shutting you in with another human being on the other side. I only had time for one thought.... He can't hit as hard a Caleb, who is one of my training partners. after that it started and ended in the slowest 3 minutes of my life. He hit me first, hard. It was a wake up call, the first punch that lands murders your thought process and robs you of the ability to think. I could hear my corners talking, I couldn't understand them but somehow my body could obey. I remember one time hearing "keep your hands up" and not understanding what they said until I saw my hands in front of my face.
I won't claim that it was the prettiest fight of the night, only the bloodiest. Very shortly after the bell rung he hit me square in the nose, if felt like a plumber had installed a faucet under my nose. I remember blowing out and seeing the blood spray in my peripheral vision. from there it was all throwing bombs.
I had trouble keeping my mouth piece in, it cam out twice and I almost lost the fight. I think it was mainly due the fact that it was a heat activated fitted mouth piece and it had been sitting in the ice bucket, the stupid thing shrank! next time I will have a custom mouth piece from the dentist.
I won't lie he hit me like a tone of bricks, and one time he even had me rocked pretty bad. I recovered due to my conditioning and kept coming forward. by now we had trade some heavy shots, my left jab kept most of his harder shots away. My job/cross/kick combo was working well too. Toward the end I landed a double hook combo that rocked him, I could hear my corners come unglued. I thought they we yelling "go,go,go.." but like I said hearing was not a function my body was wasting energy on. They were yelling "attack, attack...." In any case I did both, this is one of the moments I was happiest with my performance when I watched the video. In my opinion too many people don't know how to keep going once they have their opponent rocked. I felt like a shark to blood in the water. I couldn't feel the hits that landed, didn't have trouble breathing, didn't really know what I was doing. I just kept moving forward. There was a moment when he started fighting back but I was already in a punching frenzy. Once he turned away from me I just kept going until the Ref. stopped it just before the bell rang.
It was an unbelievable feeling! I hugged the other fighter and almost left the cage before they announce me as the winner. My mind was still in the cage I couldn't believe it was over and I won.
I will be doing that again.
I feel like now I am an instructor of Martial Arts who as stepped out on my own and now have individual accomplishments in my own right. I feel legitimate for the first time. And if you don't know me well enough to know that I have some severe self-confidence issues, I did. I don't anymore. This was one of the single most altering experiences in my life!
Much love to Brian Hawkins and Solid Rock MMA, it takes guts to lock yourself in the cage with another fighter. Good Luck next time!
Thanks again to Inferno MMA and Kaleb Palnk for an awesome show!!
Sensei TJ Fernandez
GGA Martial Arts
That being said I figured that I would blog a bit about my fight.
For me fighting was a very surreal experience. I have wanted to do it for so long and I guess the part of me that doesn't believe in myself figured I never would. I owe it to Joe that I took the opportunity when it came because he said one day not too long ago, "why haven't you had a fight yet, you keep talking about it." and it really made me think.
I'll start with the call I got from Jared, who got me the fight. He tried to get me one for august so I started preparing in July. That didn't pan out due to the changing of regulations and the fight got pushed back to Oct. In august Jared calls again, "you wanna fight?" Because of the conversation with Joe, i didn't even think "yes."
This is when I got nervous! I realized that I had to fight or I wouldn't get another chance with this promoter.When I realized what I had agreed to my body just went haywire. fortunately for me I can't keep strong emotions going for long and the nerves just burned up and faded away for a long while.
Training proceed well and for the most part uneventfully. As regular as checking your weight and working out 2-3 times a day can be. I didn't have enough live sparring so i focused more on conditioning than anything and it payed off.
Fight weekend rolled around...
I made the trip to Arkansas 10+ hours each way, with 7 of my closest friends and students we arrived on Friday late in the night.I knew that I wanted to make weight so I went for a run that evening with the guys at 10 something at night. Good times were had trying to figure out which way to go in a new tome in the dark ....lol. I couldn't sleep very well and was up at walmart very early the next morning. Only Thandi was awake so he went with me. After that another weight cutting session before I could eat something. Made weight at the hotel and breakfast. At the weigh-ins I came in at 198.8 , my opponent came in at 203 and had to cut some so the running and sweating helped me tremendously. we hung around at the Fight Center for a little while just getting used to it and then went back to the hotel to relax.
we left for the fighters meeting around 4:00pm. The fights didn't start until 7 but there were lines to stand in and paperwork to do, oddly enough it reminded me of the Marine Corps and allowed me to relax and forget about what I was there for. I don't recall a lot of what happened in that time, it was mostly hurry up and wait. I met some really nice people there, including the coach in charge of wrapping hands for all the fighters from Inferno MMA. he offered to wrap my hands and he did an amazing job. I will have video of it posted soon on YouTube and ggamartialarts.com. by the time I got my hands wrapped and gloves on I Had about 20 minutes till my fight. Stephen and Jeff helped me get warmed up and loose, applied Vaseline to my face and Landon gave me a quick massage.
it was go time...
I was the first to enter, and let em tell you what nothing can prepare you for the feeling of a cage door shutting you in with another human being on the other side. I only had time for one thought.... He can't hit as hard a Caleb, who is one of my training partners. after that it started and ended in the slowest 3 minutes of my life. He hit me first, hard. It was a wake up call, the first punch that lands murders your thought process and robs you of the ability to think. I could hear my corners talking, I couldn't understand them but somehow my body could obey. I remember one time hearing "keep your hands up" and not understanding what they said until I saw my hands in front of my face.
I won't claim that it was the prettiest fight of the night, only the bloodiest. Very shortly after the bell rung he hit me square in the nose, if felt like a plumber had installed a faucet under my nose. I remember blowing out and seeing the blood spray in my peripheral vision. from there it was all throwing bombs.
I had trouble keeping my mouth piece in, it cam out twice and I almost lost the fight. I think it was mainly due the fact that it was a heat activated fitted mouth piece and it had been sitting in the ice bucket, the stupid thing shrank! next time I will have a custom mouth piece from the dentist.
I won't lie he hit me like a tone of bricks, and one time he even had me rocked pretty bad. I recovered due to my conditioning and kept coming forward. by now we had trade some heavy shots, my left jab kept most of his harder shots away. My job/cross/kick combo was working well too. Toward the end I landed a double hook combo that rocked him, I could hear my corners come unglued. I thought they we yelling "go,go,go.." but like I said hearing was not a function my body was wasting energy on. They were yelling "attack, attack...." In any case I did both, this is one of the moments I was happiest with my performance when I watched the video. In my opinion too many people don't know how to keep going once they have their opponent rocked. I felt like a shark to blood in the water. I couldn't feel the hits that landed, didn't have trouble breathing, didn't really know what I was doing. I just kept moving forward. There was a moment when he started fighting back but I was already in a punching frenzy. Once he turned away from me I just kept going until the Ref. stopped it just before the bell rang.
It was an unbelievable feeling! I hugged the other fighter and almost left the cage before they announce me as the winner. My mind was still in the cage I couldn't believe it was over and I won.
I will be doing that again.
I feel like now I am an instructor of Martial Arts who as stepped out on my own and now have individual accomplishments in my own right. I feel legitimate for the first time. And if you don't know me well enough to know that I have some severe self-confidence issues, I did. I don't anymore. This was one of the single most altering experiences in my life!
Much love to Brian Hawkins and Solid Rock MMA, it takes guts to lock yourself in the cage with another fighter. Good Luck next time!
Thanks again to Inferno MMA and Kaleb Palnk for an awesome show!!
Sensei TJ Fernandez
GGA Martial Arts
Friday, April 3, 2009
Life Fitness Vol 2: Tracking Workouts
Sorry for the length of time it took me to get this volume out I hope it was worth waiting for.
Tracking Part 1: Workouts
Tracking your workouts is essential to making progress!
I cannot express how important tracking your workouts is to maintaining a health routine. If you don’t track your workouts you won’t know what you do well, what you need to improve and what you are over doing. Tracking is as important as warm-ups and cool-down when it comes to preventing injury.
There are several Methods for tracking your workouts and their intensity. My preferred method is using a heart rate (HR) monitor for cardio and a worksheet for weight lifting.
Note*You might think that all HR monitors are the same. I beg to differ. Choose a HR monitor that can track multiple workouts, has a calorimeter, and if possible one that syncs with your computer. A good HR monitor has a chest band and wrist unit, avoid the ones that require you to press two buttons to get a reading as this is hard to do in the middle of a workout. I prefer Polar Monitors and you can get a great one for around $120 retail. Just do it! It is well worth the money. If you are counting calories for gaining or losing weight then a calorimeter is very handy for your weight lifting as well.
Let’s cover weight lifting first. For weight lifting you need to track multiple items: rep, set, and type. I prefer a worksheet with each exercise listed and fill in the blanks. This keeps me from forgetting an exercise, or a set. If you repeat the exercise later on, list it separately. Here is an example of a professionally generated worksheet that goes with a DVD series I use. As you can see, even though the exercises repeat, they are listed separately. When recording your exercises make sure to record number of repetitions- how many times you did the exercise; weight- how much resistance you use (dumbbell, barbell machine doesn’t matter as long as you use the same one or one similar next time) and if you need to increase, decrease or modify for body weight exercises. This lets you know next time what you need to try.
Myth: I shouldn’t stop and change weight or modify an exercise once I start. Truth: If you pick up a weight that is too heavy and realize that you can’t finish your set (8-10reps for size/strength; 10-12reps for lean) then change. If you realize that your weight is too light you have two choices: stop and increase weight or do more reps. You should feel “the burn” at the end of the set. For body weight exercises you can modify them to make them easier or harder. Push-Ups are a great example. Go to your knees for easier reps with full range of motion; Lift one leg off the ground for harder reps. Modifying is not a sign of improper working out or that you are “weak”, “not good enough” or any other macho stupidity. Refusing to modify is a sign of too much PRIDE.
When tracking your cardio it is best to use a high quality HR monitor. I have used several Polar Monitors and they work great. A simple one is available at most stores that sell some type of sporting goods for $40. I suggest however, spending the extra $80 if you can and getting one that can measure calories burned and upload the info to your calendar online.I currently use the Polar F6.
Next, you need to track your zones. While they vary from person to person, they should follow this basic pattern: HR 125-145bpm Low intensity/ Fat Burn Zone, HR 145-175bpm Medium to high intensity/ Cardio Zone, HR 175+ High intensity Zone and can’t be maintained for extreme periods.
Here is a layman’s method of measuring your intensity:
The talk test method of measuring intensity is simple. A person who is active at a light intensity level should be able to sing while doing the activity. One who is active at a moderate intensity level should be able to carry on a conversation comfortably while engaging in the activity. If a person becomes winded or too out of breath to carry on a conversation, the activity can be considered vigorous.
Once you determine your zones you can schedule your cardio workouts appropriately. Remember, higher intensity is not always better. If you are trying to burn more fat then low intensity yoga may be better than high intensity running. Your plan needs to fit your goals.
I saved one of the most important parts for last--setting goals. Whether you are a professional athlete or a stay at home mom (or dad like me) you need to set a specific main goal and specific sub-goals. A main goal is something like I want to lose 8 pounds in 1 month. This gives you something to shoot for. To accomplish that you need sub-goals or goals that can be achieved every day. To lose weight at the rate of 2 pounds a week you have to cut 1,000 calories a day, this is a sub-goal. You also may have to increase your exercise regimen (sub-goal 2). You can then track the results in a diary, which I will cover more in Tracking Part 2: Calories In/Out. Results that you can see will go a long way to helping you be consistent and progress well.
Goals are also important for your daily exercise, weight lifting and cardio. When lifting weights you should start each set with a goal in mind. For example, if you are doing dumbbell curls you might want to start with 30lbs and complete 9 reps. Reaching the goal is not always important, having one is essential. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish how can you do it? If you can’t make it to 9 reps with good form do as many as you can and record it. If you reach 9 and still have more do as many as you can and record it. Notice on my worksheet that on some exercises I have written a “+” , “-“ and “*” these let me know if I reached my goal and if I need it to change. Goals and tracking work hand-in-hand.
For cardio you may have a goal of staying in a specific HR Zone for a set amount of time. This can be difficult. If I set my Zone at 145-155bpm at the beginning of my workout I may be moving much faster than I will be at the end. Don’t allow your HR to increase just to maintain speed, it isn’t natural. Think about it this way, as you drive your car it runs out of gas, so do you. Eventually you have to stop and fill up your car. Your body is not a machine with infinite exhaust capabilities like a car (if you give a car tons of gas it will keep going until it runs out). Your body has a finite source of energy and a finite amount of storage for toxins produced by working out. Eventually you hit a point where you have maxed out your resources. Unlike a car it doesn’t happen all at once, but happens overtime in a workout. Pace yourself based on your HR zone and you will build up your body’s stores and endurance. At the same time you will be maximizing your potential to reach your goal.
Next time I will talk about tracking your food intake and how much you burn.
Sensei TJ
Tracking Part 1: Workouts
Tracking your workouts is essential to making progress!
I cannot express how important tracking your workouts is to maintaining a health routine. If you don’t track your workouts you won’t know what you do well, what you need to improve and what you are over doing. Tracking is as important as warm-ups and cool-down when it comes to preventing injury.
There are several Methods for tracking your workouts and their intensity. My preferred method is using a heart rate (HR) monitor for cardio and a worksheet for weight lifting.
Note*You might think that all HR monitors are the same. I beg to differ. Choose a HR monitor that can track multiple workouts, has a calorimeter, and if possible one that syncs with your computer. A good HR monitor has a chest band and wrist unit, avoid the ones that require you to press two buttons to get a reading as this is hard to do in the middle of a workout. I prefer Polar Monitors and you can get a great one for around $120 retail. Just do it! It is well worth the money. If you are counting calories for gaining or losing weight then a calorimeter is very handy for your weight lifting as well.
Let’s cover weight lifting first. For weight lifting you need to track multiple items: rep, set, and type. I prefer a worksheet with each exercise listed and fill in the blanks. This keeps me from forgetting an exercise, or a set. If you repeat the exercise later on, list it separately. Here is an example of a professionally generated worksheet that goes with a DVD series I use. As you can see, even though the exercises repeat, they are listed separately. When recording your exercises make sure to record number of repetitions- how many times you did the exercise; weight- how much resistance you use (dumbbell, barbell machine doesn’t matter as long as you use the same one or one similar next time) and if you need to increase, decrease or modify for body weight exercises. This lets you know next time what you need to try.
Myth: I shouldn’t stop and change weight or modify an exercise once I start. Truth: If you pick up a weight that is too heavy and realize that you can’t finish your set (8-10reps for size/strength; 10-12reps for lean) then change. If you realize that your weight is too light you have two choices: stop and increase weight or do more reps. You should feel “the burn” at the end of the set. For body weight exercises you can modify them to make them easier or harder. Push-Ups are a great example. Go to your knees for easier reps with full range of motion; Lift one leg off the ground for harder reps. Modifying is not a sign of improper working out or that you are “weak”, “not good enough” or any other macho stupidity. Refusing to modify is a sign of too much PRIDE.
When tracking your cardio it is best to use a high quality HR monitor. I have used several Polar Monitors and they work great. A simple one is available at most stores that sell some type of sporting goods for $40. I suggest however, spending the extra $80 if you can and getting one that can measure calories burned and upload the info to your calendar online.I currently use the Polar F6.
Next, you need to track your zones. While they vary from person to person, they should follow this basic pattern: HR 125-145bpm Low intensity/ Fat Burn Zone, HR 145-175bpm Medium to high intensity/ Cardio Zone, HR 175+ High intensity Zone and can’t be maintained for extreme periods.
Here is a layman’s method of measuring your intensity:
The talk test method of measuring intensity is simple. A person who is active at a light intensity level should be able to sing while doing the activity. One who is active at a moderate intensity level should be able to carry on a conversation comfortably while engaging in the activity. If a person becomes winded or too out of breath to carry on a conversation, the activity can be considered vigorous.
Once you determine your zones you can schedule your cardio workouts appropriately. Remember, higher intensity is not always better. If you are trying to burn more fat then low intensity yoga may be better than high intensity running. Your plan needs to fit your goals.
I saved one of the most important parts for last--setting goals. Whether you are a professional athlete or a stay at home mom (or dad like me) you need to set a specific main goal and specific sub-goals. A main goal is something like I want to lose 8 pounds in 1 month. This gives you something to shoot for. To accomplish that you need sub-goals or goals that can be achieved every day. To lose weight at the rate of 2 pounds a week you have to cut 1,000 calories a day, this is a sub-goal. You also may have to increase your exercise regimen (sub-goal 2). You can then track the results in a diary, which I will cover more in Tracking Part 2: Calories In/Out. Results that you can see will go a long way to helping you be consistent and progress well.
Goals are also important for your daily exercise, weight lifting and cardio. When lifting weights you should start each set with a goal in mind. For example, if you are doing dumbbell curls you might want to start with 30lbs and complete 9 reps. Reaching the goal is not always important, having one is essential. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish how can you do it? If you can’t make it to 9 reps with good form do as many as you can and record it. If you reach 9 and still have more do as many as you can and record it. Notice on my worksheet that on some exercises I have written a “+” , “-“ and “*” these let me know if I reached my goal and if I need it to change. Goals and tracking work hand-in-hand.
For cardio you may have a goal of staying in a specific HR Zone for a set amount of time. This can be difficult. If I set my Zone at 145-155bpm at the beginning of my workout I may be moving much faster than I will be at the end. Don’t allow your HR to increase just to maintain speed, it isn’t natural. Think about it this way, as you drive your car it runs out of gas, so do you. Eventually you have to stop and fill up your car. Your body is not a machine with infinite exhaust capabilities like a car (if you give a car tons of gas it will keep going until it runs out). Your body has a finite source of energy and a finite amount of storage for toxins produced by working out. Eventually you hit a point where you have maxed out your resources. Unlike a car it doesn’t happen all at once, but happens overtime in a workout. Pace yourself based on your HR zone and you will build up your body’s stores and endurance. At the same time you will be maximizing your potential to reach your goal.
Next time I will talk about tracking your food intake and how much you burn.
Sensei TJ
Fitness For Life: Vol 2, Coming soon
Sorry for the delay on the next article I have been very busy in the new year. I have the first half finished and am looking to have it posted by Saturday. Thanks for the comments on the last on and I will try and keep this coming with at least one a month.
~Sensei TJ
~Sensei TJ
Friday, January 9, 2009
Life Fitness
The following is an article leading up to a series of articles on fitness for life. As I train for multiple sports and competitions I realize how important it is to train. I also realize how little people, even regular athletes don't know about how to train. With the help of fellow martial artsiest and athletes I will be publishing a series called Life Fitness, here and in the newsletters of Warriors for Christ and GGA Martial Arts. If there is a specific training issue you would like to see addressed let me know, if we aren't already planning on discussing it we will add it to the list of Topics.
Enjoy
Sensei TJ
Fitness for Life: Intro
One of the greatest benefits of Martial Arts is the ability to pursue your goals no matter the age. With so many of today’s popular sports there is a point where age is a factor. To be a competitive Gymnast you must start at 6 or 7 training for a career that will most likely end between 16 and 20. In Football you start as a kid training for a window that closes around 36. You get a couple of more years. By comparison Martial Arts is something you can pursue your whole life. In fact, some of the greatest Martial Artist I have known have been in their 50’s and 60’s.
Kyoshi Max Andrews is a great example of the longevity of Martial Arts as a practice. He was introduced to Martial Arts as a teenager. His first art was Judo, after an injury he switched to Jiu-Jitsu. And he has been practicing Martial Arts for over 40 years. His accomplishments include multiple black belts, the creation and recognition of his own style of Jiu-jitsu, achieving the rank of Grand Master, and induction in to the Martial Arts Hall of Fame (2007.)
Being a life long martial artist has many rewards fitness, flexibility, strength and much more. However, the more you progress the more you must be aware of your body and how to train it. At the basic level (yellow and under,) training in class 2 times a week is sufficient exercise to pass your tests, Improve your technique and fitness. Generally speaking this time frame is 6-9 months for the beginner, and serves as a good time to get used to regular fitness activity.
As you prepare to enter the intermediate level you realize that some “outside of class” workout time is needed. This is normal and needed to progress. It is also part of the life changing habit formed by being a Martial Artist. The higher you go the more you have to prepare for advancement. Preparation for advancement is normal in business, finances and even your personal and spiritual growth. Why should it be any different in Martial Arts and personal Fitness?
In the coming months we are to look at several important things to know about out side of class training. Topics will cover every thing from planning a work out schedule, how to properly use a heart rate monitor, an how to prevent injury inside and outside of class. We will discuss how to incorporate hobbies and activities you already do in you life in to training for Martial Arts. We will finish training for Spiritual Fitness. If you have any questions feel free to find the nearest Instructor, as we have all had to work through this on our way through the under belts.
Enjoy
Sensei TJ
Fitness for Life: Intro
One of the greatest benefits of Martial Arts is the ability to pursue your goals no matter the age. With so many of today’s popular sports there is a point where age is a factor. To be a competitive Gymnast you must start at 6 or 7 training for a career that will most likely end between 16 and 20. In Football you start as a kid training for a window that closes around 36. You get a couple of more years. By comparison Martial Arts is something you can pursue your whole life. In fact, some of the greatest Martial Artist I have known have been in their 50’s and 60’s.
Kyoshi Max Andrews is a great example of the longevity of Martial Arts as a practice. He was introduced to Martial Arts as a teenager. His first art was Judo, after an injury he switched to Jiu-Jitsu. And he has been practicing Martial Arts for over 40 years. His accomplishments include multiple black belts, the creation and recognition of his own style of Jiu-jitsu, achieving the rank of Grand Master, and induction in to the Martial Arts Hall of Fame (2007.)
Being a life long martial artist has many rewards fitness, flexibility, strength and much more. However, the more you progress the more you must be aware of your body and how to train it. At the basic level (yellow and under,) training in class 2 times a week is sufficient exercise to pass your tests, Improve your technique and fitness. Generally speaking this time frame is 6-9 months for the beginner, and serves as a good time to get used to regular fitness activity.
As you prepare to enter the intermediate level you realize that some “outside of class” workout time is needed. This is normal and needed to progress. It is also part of the life changing habit formed by being a Martial Artist. The higher you go the more you have to prepare for advancement. Preparation for advancement is normal in business, finances and even your personal and spiritual growth. Why should it be any different in Martial Arts and personal Fitness?
In the coming months we are to look at several important things to know about out side of class training. Topics will cover every thing from planning a work out schedule, how to properly use a heart rate monitor, an how to prevent injury inside and outside of class. We will discuss how to incorporate hobbies and activities you already do in you life in to training for Martial Arts. We will finish training for Spiritual Fitness. If you have any questions feel free to find the nearest Instructor, as we have all had to work through this on our way through the under belts.
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