Introduction & Background post
(read this if you want, or bypass to my first log post, which I'll post at the end of each day)
I'm laying out the embarrassing truth for the first time, for all to see, for accountability, feedback, and maybe even occasional encouragement.
At age 33 (15 years ago) I was a fat, weak, inactive guy (5-5, 175 or 180 lbs). I'd never been fit, strong or athletic. I'd been vegetarian, fasted, skinny-fat, in younger days but never good lean. Then, at 33 yrs, with my young son, started martial arts classes. The good news is I never stopped and that has changed my life completely.
For about the first 10 years, I largely only did class two or three times a week and that was it for practice and conditioning. I got through a third degree black belt that way, and was just conditioned and skilled enough to minimally get the job done. About five years ago, I started messing around with additional strength and conditioning work. The Men's Health Home Grown Muscle routine was my introduction to regular time with iron. However, the bad news . . .
Largely, I've spun my wheels during these past five years. I never found how to blend strength and conditioning work (as a still fairly weak, 40-something year old guy) with the martial arts activity. I've laid off strength work when my flexibility, recovery and my martial arts motivation & training suffered. When I'd stick with the extra work, I accepted doing less in classes because I was recovering from the extra activity. When I've made progress with strength, I've chubbed up a bit, then dieted to lean out, and lost strength, feeling like I'd gone back to square one.
I've also noticed this past year, as a 47/48 year old, that progress is slower to come by, if at all at times, and recovery is tough it I push things at all. I've got to find a new balance.
So, I'm starting over in a sense. Starting slowly. I want to refocus on my martial arts practice in a new way, and then just wrap some strength and conditioning work around that.
Stated as goals, I want to
1. Improve my martial arts skills (I've got to say that first to keep it there.)
2. Improve my conditioning.
3. Increase my strength and power (and presumeably muscle) (in support of #1)
4. Get leaner (to look better and better look the part, as well as to support #1) I've been stuck between 155-160 forever now, and I'd like to at least stabilize between 145-150 (I've been there before). Then reassess.
I'm today starting at 159 lbs at 5-5 (that won't change ) and a (mid day) Tanita reading (for what it's worth) of about 20.2.
Broad picture: Here's what my week will look like with various activities. I'll stick with this strength work for the next month.
Diet
I will eat a bit over maintenance on the three strength training days (perhaps not on the Sunday, which is the lightest day), and at a deficit the other day. My current calculated daily maintenance is about 2300 calories.
Movement prep
One arm dumbbell snatch 4x4 each side
A1: Pistol squats (assisted)
A1: Horizontal Row on rings, neutral grip
Sledgehammer swinging, max strikes in 5 minutes
Monday
AM: Taekwondo forms (about 20 minutes)
Bag work, 20 minutes, punching & kicking
PM: Class participation as I am able to. This depends on how much I need to directly monitor/instruct; it can vary from practically no work, to a full class of very intense work. I'll be striving to get in as much work as I can. Class include warmups of stuff such as footwork drills, pushups, situps, core work, stretching, maybe some plyo stuff, maybe some forms work. The body of class includes techniques practice, kicking drills, whatever.
Tuesday
AM
1. Technique work (more precision/accuracy oriented): 30 minutes
2. Strength (30 min)
Movement prep
One arm dumbbell clean & push press, 4x4
A1: Deadlift, 3x10
A2: Pushups (I've embarassingly devolved in these), 3 x max
Lower body Russian Twist, as many reps as possible in 10 sec, 3 sets
PM: Sword training and/or kumdo (like Kendo) sparring in some combination (or Wed night, depends on schedule), 1 hour
Wednesday
PM
1. (Maybe) Sword training instead of Tuesday, 1 hour
2. Black belt class (usually training, sometimes mostly instructing), generally 45 minutes, maybe less or more.
Thursday
(like Monday)
Friday
AM
1. Technique work (more precision/accuracy oriented): 30 minutes
2. Strength (30 min)
Movement Prep
Front Squat, 3x8
A1: Chinups, 3 x max
A2: T-pushups, 3 x max
Hanging leg raise,, 3 x max
You've done a great job of outlining your goals and putting a plan in place. Go for it!
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Sunday, January 18 Breakfast: 7:30 AM
Oatmeal, 50g dry
Walnuts, 16 g
1% milk, 1.25 cups
Whey protein, 24 g
Cals: 506
Prot: 39 g
Carb: 53 g
Fat: 17 g Workout: 8:30 - 9:00
(Movement prep: 5 mins or so)
100 jumping jacks
40 windmills
Backward lunge with twist, 8 each side
Forward lunge, forearm to instep, 8 each side
Egyptian shoulder warm up things, 12
Sumo squat to stand, 8
Overhead squat with dowel, 10 Main workout: 25 minutes
One-arm dumbbell snatch, 50 pounds, 4X4 each side, 2 minutes rest
A1: Pistol squat, BW (bodyweight), 3x4 (assisted for balance and to get into and out of the bottom half)
A2: Horizontal rows on rings, neutral grip, BW, 3x5
1 minute rest between exercises
Finisher: Sledgehammer swings on tire, 5 minutes, as many hits as possible Lunch: noon
Taco Johns (with daughter, after church)
2 chicken soft shell tacos
Cals:380
Prot: 26
Carbs: 38
Fat: 12 Snack: 3:00 PM
1% milk, 1 cup
ON Whey, 20 g
Apple, 1 large
Cals: 300
Prot: 26 g
Carb: 46 g
Fat: 4 g Snack: 6:00 PM
Meal shake
Cals: 260
Prot: 38 g
Carb: 19 g
Fat: 3 g Dinner: 9:00 PM
Chicken breast, 5.5 oz
Steamed broccoli, 200 g
Plain yogurt, 150 g
Cals: 316
Prot: 49 g
Carb: 19 g
Fat: 5 g Total dietary macros:
Cals: 1814
Prot: 174 g
Carb: 176 g
Fat: 46 g
Sorry - wasn't meant as an insult. Just thought that's where you were going in your post above. My apologies again. Mods, please delete as you see fit.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
Sorry - wasn't meant as an insult. Just thought that's where you were going in your post above. My apologies again. Mods, please delete as you see fit.
No problem. I'm just sticking it back to you. But your first post, man . . . Let me insult myself! And you can't be more clever than me, either (bnl/snl).
No problem. I'm just sticking it back to you. But your first post, man . . . Let me insult myself! And you can't be more clever than me, either (bnl/snl).
Fair enough. Sorry, it was just too good to resist. What martial art(s) are you studying? Back when I was trying to get fit before (my first attempt at getting leaner) I studied tae kwon do for a while, but haven't done a thing with it since.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
LOL, the title got me, too. I didn't come looking for the naked pics, but more to see if this was somehow related to the Summit roommate thread . Anyway, I like your goals list.
Glad to see you laying it all out here. If you can channel even a small part of the drive and determination that go you to your current skill level in MA, then this will be a walk in the park.
Good luck.
ps. watch out for the dogshit
cheers
peter
__________________
Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
In case anyone is interested, during the class kicking practice, we did side kicks, turning side kicks, and step (into) turning side kicks, with partners, on glove targets (two gloved hands held against the stomach). Estimated number of total kicks performed: 240 (120 each leg)
In case anyone is interested, during the class kicking practice, we did side kicks, turning side kicks, and step (into) turning side kicks, with partners, on glove targets (two gloved hands held against the stomach). Estimated number of total kicks performed: 240 (120 each leg)
That sounds like a ton of kicks to me. Is it normal for kicking practice in your classes?
That sounds like a ton of kicks to me. Is it normal for kicking practice in your classes?
On a night we work a lot of kicks, yeah. This was straight basic repetition practice. Three kinds of kicks, with each leg. One person takes three turns with their right leg; then their partner does. Then repeat with left leg. I estimated one such cycle of right and left leg per minute. So, six kicks x 40 or so minutes = 240 kicks.
We also often work curriculum of sets of techniques that include a variety of techniques such as punches, elbows, kicks, knees, and other stuff. A given set of, say, 15 such combos generally includes a pretty good variety of kicks. So, in working such a set back and forth, back and forth all night with a partner/partners, even more kicks could get thrown, and the workout is also harder since you're continuously throwing combinations of anywhere from two to, maybe, eight techniques, with speed, explosion and (controlled) power. I sometimes have to yell at people to shut up and keep moving.
On Sunday morning, my scale read 159 pounds. At one point yesterday, it read 153.5. Today at mid day it read 155.0.
I may be underestimating my daily caloric needs by a lot, but I'm not sure that's true. Moreso, as in the past, when I diet at all, and go under 200 g of carbs a day, I really see weight fluctuations; so, I wonder if it's water difference. Still, a 5.5 pound range in two and a half days? Sheesh.
I failed at the desired 300 cals surplus yesterday. For all I know, if I underestimated my needs, I was in a deficit. I didn't really plan the day; I just figured I'd eat an extra couple of times. Aside from eating crap, and with no planning, it can be a bit tough to jump up food by 700 calories from a deficit level.
I may be underestimating my daily caloric needs by a lot, but I'm not sure that's true. Moreso, as in the past, when I diet at all, and go under 200 g of carbs a day, I really see weight fluctuations; so, I wonder if it's water difference. Still, a 5.5 pound range in two and a half days? Sheesh.
Don't for get the massive dump between weigh ins .
That is a semi-serious comment though. Pardon the pun- but don't sweat it - keep this up for two weeks and then you will know which direction you are going in.
BTW I like reading your log since it is similar to what I need to be doing-
Cheers
Peter
__________________
Peter
After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend…
OK, this was a break even day. The plan was to eat a couple hundred calories under maintenance and to get in training in the black belt class at my instructor's school.
As it turned out, my instructor had us do some followup tournament stuff, so there was no workout.
Also, we went out for social time afterward and I had two pints of light beer and four drummies. Those extra calories put me pretty much at break even.
I did get in light bouncing around and stretching while teach an after school class I do. At least I was moving around a bit for an hour.
So, in summary for the day (best I can estimate; who really know with those drummies):
Calories: 2235
Protein: 147 g
Carb: 216 g
Fat: 65 g
Bare Naked Lady-Man
) and a (mid day) Tanita reading (for what it's worth) of about 20.2.
Good luck!
.)
Linear Mode
