Getting back in shape!!!

My training this year has been sporadic to say the least. I lost my last training partners in the fall and winter due to my injuries and their job changes. Now it’s time to get going again. I’m motivated and I’ve already started to get myself back into fighting shape.

Over the next 6 weeks I am working hard to:

• Cut the belly/body fat (back down to 15% from 20.8%)
• Get back into fighting shape:
• Cardio fit test from 32 down to 28
• Max Push-up from 29 to 40
• And the subjective measure of feeling comfortable with 4 full/heavy rounds on the heavy bag.

So far this week I’ve accomplished the following:

Monday 8/2/10

Superset 1 (5 sets)

Bench Press – flat, pause on chest, rep range 6-10, went up to 165lbs

Wide grip pull ups – min. 8 reps, last 3 sets with assistance

Superset 2 (3 sets)

DB Incline Press – 50lb dumbbells

Single arm bent Row – 60lb dumbbell

Tuesday 8/3/10

5 sets OH Squat working up to 125lb doubles

5 sets Snatch working up to 135lb singles

2 Supersets of 2 min rounds (no rest)

• Maize bag, Slip line, Speed bag (1 round each lead)

2 x 3min/1min heavy bag (1 round each lead mainly working jab and distance, last 30sec each round continuous punching)

Wednesday 8/4/10

High fatigue today, ended up making it a rest day

Thurday 8/5/10

Fitness Testing:

Nordic Track Treadmill Fit-Test: 32

Max sit-up in 60sec: 35

Max Push-up: 29

Deadlift working to 1RM: 5x135, 4x225, 5x245, 2x265, 1x275, 1x285

Boxing

3x3min/1min Top and Bottom Bag (last 30sec each round keeping very busy)

3x3min/1min Heavy Bag (last 30sec each round continuous punching)

(Roman Chair sit-ups between all rounds: 10, 10, 7, 5, 5, 5)

Back Again

It's been a busy summer but I'm still in action here, even though I haven’t posted in quite a while. First a little update on my 30 day challenge:

Below are my starting stats:

• Weight 165lbs
• Waist at belly button 36”
• Snatch test 55
• Pull-ups 9
• Push-ups 25

My ending stats were:

• Weight 163lbs
• Waist at belly buttom 34"
• Snatch test 65
• Pull-ups 12
• Push-ups 30

My next goal is the http://www.menshealthurbanathlon.com/

I have some new inspiration due to attending a seminar with the legendary Dan Inosanto last weekend, as usual it was a mental overload (in addition to it being a hard workouot, I'm still sore from it). He covered Indonesian Silat, Filipino stick and knife and JKD concepts. It's been probably 10 to 15 years since I've been to one of his seminars and I'm still amazed by how much knowledge one person can have. It's also amazing to see what a trained fighter/martial artist can do at 73 years of age - I also think of when I first met him and he was around my age now and his ability and conditioning then far surpasses mine now so now its time to knuckle down and get the work done.

Age and Training

This video comes straight from Ross Enamait, I saw it on his blog and was so impressed I had to share it with everyone here.

So many times I here people say they are just to old to do this stuff, either going to the gym or working out at home. “Oh I’m just to old”, “I can’t do that kind of training anymore” are the types of refrains I hear almost daily along with “You must be crazy to do that stuff at your age” (I’m 41 now – 9 years younger than this women when she started training). I have only competed in one marathon – the infamous Chicago Marathon of 2007 where firemen forced me off the course with firehouses at the 22 mile mark due to the race being cancelled because of the hot weather. A marathon is nothing in comparison to an Iron Man Triathlon. Watch this video and be ready to put aside all your excuses for not training due to your age.

(post comments, questions and suggestions to "Comments" below)

Inspiration

The IronMan Triathlon is a true test of endurance and perseverance. This father and son team present an amazing example of this.

Following is IronMan’s video of this father son teams journey to the race and their amazing accomplishment.

Killer "Fran"

Tony, Mike and any other Firefighter's take a look at this amazing video on Crossfit's site. “Fran” is a grueling workout as is but in full gear it's truly amazing (I personally still scale it down just so I can complete it). Watch as he finishes off a 30 minute tank in just under 9 minutes.
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitNorCal_FirefighterFran.wmv

RIP and Farewell

In a recent search I found that one great individual that I trained under at a good number of seminars (I even lent him my car at one seminar – that is another story though) died recently (actually last August). I have not been formally in the JKD community for a while (was an apprentice instructor in Lee Jun Fan Kickboxing and Filipino Martial Arts) but I have always followed its main concepts in my training.Below is an interview with Larry Hartsell, he trained with many of the greats (as well as being one himself) and was always learning and teaching what he learned to his many devoted students:

A great fitness excuse the “Birthday Challenge”

We shouldn't need any excuses to be fit but frequently having a goal helps by giving us a direction. A birthday challenge is a great way to keep motivation going – much better in my view than simply having a New Years Resolution. A birthday challenge gives you the goal not of completing something by your next birthday but ON your next birthday, the day of your birthday is the test day. Probably the most well known for this is Mark Madson with his wrestlers birthday challenge: your age in pull-ups, your age in dips, twice your age pushups, 2 climbs up a 16 foot pegboard, 1 true one arm pull up with each hand – all in 25 minutes.



He’s a bit of a showman but his physical abilities are very impressive. Other ideas for a challenge could be to do one of the “Girls” or “Heroes” workouts from Crossfit scaling the numbers for age and time: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html#WOD0

Another great source is www.birthdaychallenge.com

Some Really Cool Stuff

The Traveling Rings in Santa Monica – some people refer to it as gymnastics on crack.


Santa Monica Muscle Beach is well known for its tradition of physical culture and this is another element that many people haven’t seen (most of us only think of the bodybuilders or maybe the roller skaters/bladers along the beach). I can remember seeing these rings in a few movies and thought they’d be cool to try but I never dreamed of the kinds of things these people are able to do on them and they make it look easy (which it definitely isn’t). At the start of this video you may think its only men doing this crazy stuff – just wait.

Pullups at the playground

These guys are amazing and no special gym equipment just a public playground (you don't need money to be fit). Of note, bodyweight exercises are generally easier for lighter individuals and this guy is a heavyweight and making it all look easy. Whenever pull-ups feel to hard I just think about these guys and what they can do.

Inspiration

A fun video illustrating one fighters road to recovery, and back to the ring, after a neck injury.