Shotokan focuses a little further ahead

[Shotokan]

In my past challenges, I have focused on goals for each week or even days at a time.  For example, 50 katas a week or 10 kicks a day for five days and  it seems that I do good for a week or two or three and then it goes downhill.  Seeing how those challenges have turned out, this time around I am going to focus on goals for the entire challenge instead of daily or weekly goals. 

 

Since I couldn't really find any gifs of JCVD that fit my goals, him kicking the bad guy from Timecop seems appropriate. 

 

1 - Kettlebell with kicks workout - 14 times 

Since the kettlebell with kicks training is going well and I am seeing great benefits from it, the new plan is get in 14 kettlebell workouts in four weeks.  I would like to do this workout every other day and if I see myself falling behind, I can always catch up.

 

2 - Karate stance training - 10 times

One of the most important things in my Karate training is great stances and I know that they have to improve if I want to be competitive again.  My stances are lower than they have ever been but moving forward without bobbing up and down and keeping my posture has eluded me.  The plan it to do katas while focusing on the moves between the moves and time on the floor is the only way to improve them. 

 

3 - Mobility or Flexibility - 10 times

I feel a little more sore than usual with the cold weather lately and I know that some focused mobility and flexibility training will help counteract the problem.  I have a lot of programs to choose from and getting them in before doing the stance training should help that too.

 

Extra Credit - Write four blog posts

I am still behind on my writing but the old flame is starting to flare again.  Four blog posts isn't much but it will end up being more than I have published in the last six months.

[Kishi]

Nice! And regarding the writing, don't underestimate the power of small steps. Small steps carry you further than standing still, and they're way easier than large steps. And the funny thing about them is that small steps tend to grow larger over time.

 

If you can do all these things for 3 weeks, you can do them for 4. So get on it!

[ICB]

13 hours ago, Shotokan said:

Extra Credit - Write four blog posts

I am still behind on my writing but the old flame is starting to flare again.  Four blog posts isn't much but it will end up being more than I have published in the last six months.

 

If you don't mind the prying, what do you find is stopping you from writing? Are you writing posts and deciding they need to be rewritten? Are you staring at a blank white page and deciding to come back another time? Or just scheduling writing time around work and family, maybe?

[Shotokan]

8 hours ago, ICB said:

 

If you don't mind the prying, what do you find is stopping you from writing? Are you writing posts and deciding they need to be rewritten? Are you staring at a blank white page and deciding to come back another time? Or just scheduling writing time around work and family, maybe?

You're not prying at all.  A lot of it has to do with the scheduling around my full time job.  Part of my problem is, I had planned on becoming a full time writer over 10 years ago.  I started out back in the late 90's and published a handful of articles that are still being read today but in 2007 I set a goal to become a full time freelance writer.  I published many blog posts and tried to monetize my blogs but that turned out to be about $100 per year of income through Google AdWords.  I wasn't able to get any real traction because of analysis paralysis.   I spent too much time tweaking my blogs and getting caught up in the technology instead of writing.  I tried some other avenues for monetization like Amazon and Clickbank but I didn't get the traction that I needed to make enough money to pay for 10 percent of my web hosting and other related costs.  After eight years of trying, I was discouraged and would write a blog post or two every six months.  After that, my current full time job came along and almost three years of 10-12 workdays along with training has sapped most of my creative energy and time.   I have actually published more blog posts since the new year than I have in the last two but I often get too focused on things like post length, SEO and grammar instead of just writing.  

 

I am currently focusing on four of my blogs and am in the process of creating an editorial calendar which should help me going forward.  I have many things to write about but I need to start putting deadlines and dates on them like I do with my training and my job.   I am also considering creating some online training courses and I have two books that I have been working on for the last five years that I really want to publish.  

 

My other issue is, I have a hard time dealing with anything less then perfection.  Many of my posts are good enough but good enough to me is just not good enough for me.   One of my biggest problems with writing is, my fingers do not type what my mind is telling them to type.  The words in my head are exactly what I want but for some reason, my grammar gets messed up because my mind is filling in the blanks for words that I leave out.

 

I think another issue that I had was, when I was not working full time, I had the pressure of creating an income and when I wasn't getting anywhere, I was very discouraged and felt that all my writing was just not good enough.

 

I still love to write and I have a lot things that I want to share but I am also carrying the baggage of no return on my investment and low readership numbers that I have to get over.

 

I hope I didn't make you sorry for asking.

[Shotokan]

Ah, another challenge has begun.  It's time to get started and today was a good workout.  

 

Stance training was the main focus, going through katas with extra attention to staying lowing while keeping my posture.  I noticed that my hip flexors are really tight while moving from stance to stance and I guess the hip flexor routine is going to be a bigger part of my future going forward.

 

Today's workout started with the simple mobility drill that I normally do.  It wasn't hard but it wasn't easier either.  Next came the katas and in between a couple of them came five side thrust kicks for each leg twice.   The side thrust kicks felt good today and I guess not doing them for almost 10 days was a strange benefit. The stances felt good overall but I know that I need a lot of work to get them where they need to be.  I know I can do it but I have to keep my focus on them.  

 

Some time on the foam roller for my glutes came near the end.  I am noticing a tightness in my lower back and I believe it is from my glutes being tight which is causing a little problem with my lower back.  The foam roller cleared it up but I need to do it more often but not too often.  

 

Stance training - 1 of 10

[Shotokan]

Oddly, all the stance work I did yesterday was a big part of my Karate class today.  Moving forward pulling from the front leg was the focus of 75 percent of the class.  It was great workout but my legs are toast.  We did a drill where our partner puts their belt around our hips and gives us tension while we move forward.  It's a tough drill that I have done before but pulling with the front leg makes it even harder.  Lots of kata finished up the class.  

 

Stance training - 2 of 10

[Kishi]

Ooh, I know that drill. That's a fun one after smoking your legs with front squats, let me tell you...

[Shotokan]

My legs and hips are sore from class last night but I am not going to get better if I don't train.

 

Today started with a warm on the treadmill.  Just over 1000 steps to get the blood flowing and to try and get my legs warmed up.  I normally don't use the treadmill but every day I am in a step challenge with my wife, son and mother.  Normally my son beats my by 4 to 7 thousand steps but I did a lot of walking at work today and my total of 14,000 beat him by about 1000.  My son normally has 18,000 but I guess today was a slow day for him.

 

Another odd but good thing is, I took my blood pressure tonight and it is 112/70.  The interesting part is, almost eight years ago it was extremely high and at one point is was 210/130 after a Karate class one night.  My doctor took it back then so I know it was accurate and she wanted to put me on medicine to lower but I asked her to give me six months to work on it myself before getting on the pills and I ended up bringing it down to 140/90 and after a few years is got even better.  After seeing all of my friends that I grew up with, who are my age or younger with numerous health issues I told myself it would never let it happen to me and I guess whatever I am doing is working.  Don't let anyone tell you can't get healthier and in better shape after 50.  If the do, it because they aren't working at it.

 

After the warm up I did the hip flexor routine.  As soon as I finished the routine, my legs felt much better.  I am certain that my hip flexors are an issue and even though I stretch them when I do the kettle bell workout I need more work on them.  The only problem with the hip flexor routine is, my legs are roasted afterward and doing the katas make them a little shaky. I finished up with a couple katas.  

 

I also published a blog post tonight and have two more in the works.

 

Mobility / Flexibility training - 1 of 10

Blog post - 1 of 4

[Kishi]

8 hours ago, Shotokan said:

My legs and hips are sore from class last night but I am not going to get better if I don't train.

 

You're also not going to get better if you train to the point of being too hurt to train. It doesn't sound like you did, but as an outsider to your situation I would caution you to be careful.

 

8 hours ago, Shotokan said:

Another odd but good thing is, I took my blood pressure tonight and it is 112/70.  The interesting part is, almost eight years ago it was extremely high and at one point is was 210/130 after a Karate class one night.  My doctor took it back then so I know it was accurate and she wanted to put me on medicine to lower but I asked her to give me six months to work on it myself before getting on the pills and I ended up bringing it down to 140/90 and after a few years is got even better.  After seeing all of my friends that I grew up with, who are my age or younger with numerous health issues I told myself it would never let it happen to me and I guess whatever I am doing is working.  Don't let anyone tell you can't get healthier and in better shape after 50.  If the do, it because they aren't working at it

 

Osu! I tend to take a lot of inspiration from older folk who take up exercise and do well with it in their old age. Those are cool old men. I want to be like them.

 

8 hours ago, Shotokan said:

I also published a blog post tonight and have two more in the works.

 

Nice!

[Shotokan]

12 hours ago, Kishi said:

You're also not going to get better if you train to the point of being too hurt to train. It doesn't sound like you did, but as an outsider to your situation I would caution you to be careful.

It's not hurt, it's just sore.  It's muscle aches not joints pains or anything bad.   The best part about the Karate classes is they make me push myself harder than I would training on my own.  It think it is having a group of others around me that makes me push harder plus having all that room in the dojo is a big plus compare to my little dojo at home.

[Shotokan]

Today was return to the kettle bell day.

 

It felt good to get the kettle bells flying again.  I wasn't sure if I could use the same weight as I did almost two weeks ago without picking them up since but they felt light today.  Maybe the time away was enough to make them miss me because I missed them.

 

I started the workout with a little over eight minutes on the treadmill for close to 1000 steps.  I don't know if I need to go that long but I got my blood flowing good.  Then came the kettle bells.

 

10 kettle bell swings with 45 lbs, 6 goblet squats with 45 lbs,  8 curls with press with 25 lbs.

Half kneeling hip flexor stretch for 30 second on each side and 10 side thrust kicks with my left leg

10 kettle bell swings with 45 lbs, 6 goblet squats with 45 lbs,  8 curls with press with 25 lbs.

Half kneeling hip flexor stretch for 30 second on each side and 10 side thrust kicks with my right leg

 

After that, I tried a new glute exercise.  I put the band on my ankles, tightened my abs and raised my leg behind me.  I saw a video of it and I thought it might be decent.  2 sets of 12 reps for those.

 

After that came a couple katas and now a little writing before bed time.

 

Kettlebell training 1 of 14

[Shotokan]

I took Friday and Saturday off.  I wasn't feeling up to working out so only a couple of katas each day was all for working out.

 

Today was a good day to workout even though I am having something weird going on with my left leg.  I have this odd pain above my knee that doesn't hurt when I move but it is tender to the touch.  I think might have banged it on something last week but I cannot remember.  Either way, it didn't hinder my workout today.

 

I started out the band leg work as a warm up doing 10 standing leg raises to the back, side and front with each leg.  Some Cossack squats came next for 10 with each leg.

 

I changed the kettlebell routine a little and only did the lower body work because I don't think I am recovering enough between workouts when I did the upper body movements.  

 

10 kettle bell swings with 45 lbs and 6 goblet squats with 45 lbs

Half kneeling hip flexor stretch for 30 second hold 10 side thrust kicks with my left leg

10 kettle bell swings with 45 lbs and 6 goblet squats with 45 lbs

Half kneeling hip flexor stretch for 30 second hole and 10 side thrust kicks with my right leg

 

I did the same band routine as the warm up along with a minute of v-sits and some crunches.  

 

Some swiss ball squeezes, some hip stretches and a couple katas finished it up.

 

Writing is going well and I am almost ready to publish another blog post.

 

Kettlebell training - 2 of 14

[Shotokan]

Today was mobility and stance training day.

 

My left was still bothering me so I thought it might help to do some mobility work to try and loosen it up.  I started with a simple group of drills to warm up the hips and then moved into the band routine.  I did the same band routine as yesterday but after the rep of each move, I held the end position for 5 seconds to get in a little isometric work.

 

After that came five katas with the slow stance work focusing on pulling action.  After the katas, I spent some time on the foam roller and that seems to have really helped my leg.  I did a handful of painful movements on the roller and even though I am not sure which one or all of them were what helped, it is feeling better.

 

I have been having some issues with my shoulders lately so I added some band face pulls at the end of the workout.  Only eight reps but there were tough for some reason.

 

Stance training - 3 of 10

Mobility / flexibility training - 2 of 10

[Shotokan]

Yesterday was Karate class day and what a workout it was.  Almost two hours of teaching and then an hour class.  Class itself was a hard, almost an entire hour of kata training.  I lost count of how many katas we did but it was somewhere around 20 and all of them were advanced katas with some being done multiple times.  

 

Today is only going to be a couple of katas.  I went to my chiropractor today and thinks I might have torn or bruised my quad muscle where it attaches above my knee.  I can train and move fine but if I touch it, even lightly, it hurts like getting hit with a hammer.  The thing is, I think I hit on something about two weeks ago and it is still sore.

[Kishi]

Well, nuts.  Hoping for a bruise rather than a tear.

[Shotokan]

On 2/22/2018 at 11:57 AM, Kishi said:

Well, nuts.  Hoping for a bruise rather than a tear.

Me too.

 

I took a few days off to give it some rest but it seems to feel worse if I am not moving around.  

 

I did some kettle swings on Saturday, only a couple of sets of 15 to get the blood flowing.  I was spending a lot of time sitting while working on my blogs and I think that is part of the problem so I did one set of swings and then another an hour later.  I am thinking about trying to do this each day or at least a few times a week.  

 

Today, I went back to kicking complexes and they went pretty well overall but I really feel it in my hips.  

 

Lying band bent leg raise 10 each leg

Front snap kicks 5 each leg

Fire hydrants 10 each leg

Side thrust kicks 5 each leg

Donkey kick 10 each leg

Back kick 5 each leg

Glute bridge with band 10

Side thrust kick 5 each leg

Lying side leg raise 10 each leg

Front snap kicks 5 each leg

Swissball hip scissor squeeze 10

 

Some extra credit:

 

Cosack squat for 10 each leg

Band face pulls for 10

 

And then a slow kata focusing on low stances

 

My knee felt fine but my left hip was sore in a front stance.  It feels like it needs to pop but it's stuck.  I have a feeling that my knee problem is related to that hip.

 

Stance training - 4 of 10

Mobility / flexibility training - 3 of 10

 

Yesterday's kettlebell training - 3 of 14

 

I also published two more blog posts this weekend bringing the tally of 3 of 4 now.

[Kishi]

Well, I hope you get the chance to get everything popped back into place. Also, if the problem responds to movement, I'd say you're probably going to be okay. Just keep taking it easy.

[Shotokan]

The last couple days didn't go as planned for workouts.  Monday was just a blah day.  All my joints ached and I thought I was getting sick but then Tuesday, I felt better but got stuck at the office until 11pm.

 

Today went better but my knee is still acting up.  I did Superjoints with Pavel and then some side thrust kicks and a couple of katas.  I will get to the bottom of this knee trouble but it might take me a little time.

 

Mobility / flexibility training - 4 of 10

[Kishi]

Take your time and get it sorted. Joint trouble is no fun.  Can't do the fun stuff if your joints aren't working with you.

[Shotokan]

The knee is getting better but I am almost certain that it is related to my hips.  I am cutting out the kettlebell squats for while but I still need to do the swings because I really like them.

 

Today was a yoga workout.  I bought my wife a Beachbody streaming subscription from Christmas and I did one of the yoga workouts with her tonight.  My knee felt pretty good afterward and I was able to do some decent katas and side thrust kicks.  I think I am going to spend the rest of this challenge and maybe the next few focusing on mobility and flexibility along with the swings.  I was hoping to enter a tournament in late spring but I am not sure if I am ready at this point.  I have a training session with my kata coach tomorrow and I will get some feedback.  I don't want to be good enough to compete, I want to be good enough to bring home some hardware so if I compete in a couple months or six months, it doesn't make a difference except I want to be at my best.

 

Mobility / flexibility training - 5 of 10

Kettlebell training - 4 of 10

Blog post published - 4 of 4

[Kishi]

Well, yeah, but either way, there's still something to the idea of having a goal to go for. In some ways, I kind of miss the throwdowns and the tournaments and such. Kind of helped to crystallize things a bit. Although, I must admit, even when I've had the opportunity to go to judo shiai, I seem to have a knack for finding other things to do.

 

Anyway, I hope that the kata coach gives you some excellent feedback!

 

Also, holy crow! You've been writing up a storm! Nice!

[Shotokan]

Kata training went well today.  I have two katas that I could get competition ready in two months but I need a third.  I have one that is pretty good for the most part but there are two side thrust kicks, one each way, and I they are not consistent enough at this point.  I am going to focus on those three katas for the next two months and will see how they look the week before the tournament.

 

I also did a Pilates workout with my wife tonight along with some side thrust kicks after.  That was a tough workout and I thought I would have breezed through it but I was mistaken.  

 

Overall, it was a good workout day.

[Shotokan]

Today was some type of stretching / yoga / moving yoga workout.  It was okay but not great and it did bother my left leg a little but not too much.  I finished up with some katas with stacne work and side thrust kicks again. 

 

Mobility / flexibility training - 7 of 10.  I forgot to include last nights work in the tally.

Stance training - 5 of 10

[Shotokan]

Today was a good Karate class but not good body day.  My knee was fine but my lower back and hips weren't cooperating.  My right hip is jammed into my lower back and I can't figure out how to un-jam it.  I had a hard time moving from stance to stance and it really held back my hip extension when kicking with my right leg.  Oh well, back to more mobility work I guess.

[Kishi]

I'm sure you've thought of this, but lately with my hips I've been finding that the Cat Cow sequence and stretching out the piriformis have really helped keep everything loose and in its place. Have you given those a shot?