Shaylavan's Continued Action Heroine Training - the one I go back to BJJ

[Shaylavan]

So, I'm back!  After a long challenge hiatus, though not really a fitness hiatus.  I've been goodish about going to lots of Muay Thai classes, eating decently, and being crazy stressed out and not getting enough sleep (oops).  But, one of my 2014 goals is to get back to Brazilian Jujitsu after a 6+ month hiatus.  Need to get over the whole "I'm going to absolutely suck" thing and just do it, since that's how you get better.

 

Also, have realized that my stamina is laughable in class, and I really need to step it up to get as much as I can out of the classes I go to.  To that end, here are The Goals:

 

1)  Attend 16 classes over 6 weeks.  +4 STA

I've looked at my calendar, and between work obligations, visits with long distance partner, and social events I can make 16 classes over the next 6 weeks.  Because I tend to get sick/injured a lot, grading on a generous scale for this (A = 100%, B = 75%, C = 50%, D = 25%).  However, to get any points I have to have made at least 1 BJJ class (there are 3 in those 16 planned (Saturday mornings), though in a pinch I could go to a Tuesday/Thursday class I haven't accounted for in the 16 classes since Muay Thai is M/W/F and I'm not quite ready to wreck myself with 5x week yet...).

 

2)  Work one of three conditioning techniques each morning (jump rope, pushups, planks) with an eye to increasing max reps/time; 6x/week (36 total).  +5 STR

Couple reasons for these small frequent workouts:

1) As mentioned above, I tend to get injured a lot, and in particular I've got a trick calf muscle that does not like jump roping.  So while ideally I will be doing 2 days of each technique each week in a rotation, if I get a bad tear again I want to be motivated to keep working on the other techniques.

2) I have a really hard time getting up/motivated in the morning, and already roll into work later than I should sometimes, so I'm keeping these to short (<5 minute) intense workouts daily so they'll actually get done.  Anything longer and it probably wouldn't.  So, starting on the morning workout habit small here.

3)  Planks, pushups and jump roping are the 3 common conditioning moves we do that I struggle most with.  Squats I'm pretty solid at now, and a lot of other things flow from the abs and pushup movements.  Point of this is to narrow my focus and make some improvements where I'm seriously lagging.

Same grading as above.

 

3) Be in bed by 11:30 every week night, for 7.5 hours of sleep (30 total). +5 CON

This is going to be super hard.  I'm really bad at sleeping.  Let's work on that.  Same grading scheme as above.

 

4) Journal goals 1 & 2.  +2 WIS

I've on and off kept a martial arts journal to record new techniques/critiques on my form/"inspirational" words of wisdom from my coaches, but I need to get better at that (I've got a 45-60 minute subway ride post class, so I've got no excuse).  Also won't be able to tell for goal 2 if I'm actually improving unless I, y'know, record it.  Bought a spiffy new perfect bound journal that won't get wrecked up in my gym bag, so I'm ready to roll.

Pass/fail - either I record every time, or I don't get the points.

 

 

And I had a lovely image I'd 'shopped with some fightspo from my coach, but since I've apparently forgotten how to post images that'll happen later.  But the motivating quote:

 

"Don't let stamina be the boss of you.  You be the boss of it."

 

Let's do it!

[Kishi]

Sounds like you get it. You know that you can't get better if you don't go back. Getting over that and going back is the huge first step that you need to take. Good.

[sammyrulez]

Good points. Ronda Rousey in the making!

[Shaylavan]

 

 

 

Good points. Ronda Rousey in the making!

 

 

 

Haha thanks!  I hope I'm a better sport than she is though.  She badass but talks a lot of trash :-/

 

First day, good start!  Woke up before my alarm, so while less than 7.5 hours was clearly rested enough for my body.  Pushups this morning, knocked out 8 real ones.  Better than I thought I could do!  Class tonight drove home just how limited I am by my stamina as we hit all the highlights, jumprope, planks and pushups.  Realize I gotta do planks tomorrow morning before the ab soreness kicks in, or they aren't getting done. *gameface*  And journaled everything.

 

Now for a delicious dinner of poached salmon and spinach. Om nom nom.

[Kishi]

It's always nice to find out that you've got more in you than you thought you did. Nice!

[RisenPhoenix]

Very nice challenge!  Especially since you're coming out of a slight slump, it seems.

 

As for the sleeping, I swear by sleepytime herbal tea and a decent book ~30 minutes before bed.  I have never slept better in my life than when I do these guys together - outside of going to the gym and running myself ragged and causing myself to just pass out from exhaustion.  I'm also a fan of shutting off/stop using electronics about an hour before bed.  Works really well to sooth you out, too.

 

Good luck in the challenge!

[Shaylavan]

So I wasn't kidding about the "I get sick a lot" thing - on Tuesday got a nasty head cold that's gotten so bad had to take a sick day today.  So, no work outs yesterday or today (got a Tuesday planking in though), and probably no Muay Thai tomorrow either (even if I'm feeling better shouldn't go b/c I'll almost certainly overtax myself and snap back into sickness).  But on the plus side, I've been killing it on the sleep...bed time by 8:30 two nights in a row >.<

 

*drinks some tea and continues nursing sinus headache*  Bah horrible immune system.  I can't wait for spring.

[Kishi]

Aw, no fun being sick. Especially if it gets in the way of your training. But life has to come first, because training takes place within the boundaries that your life allows.

 

Get to feeling better!

[RisenPhoenix]

Sickness is dumb.

 

I love making a honey-ginger-lemon green tea when I'm feeling sick.  It makes all things good and right with the world.  Hope you feel better and can get back out there soon!

[BLACKBOARD MONITOR]

Hope the tea is helping. I hate being ill, and always make it worse by trying to keep going, so you're definitely doing better than I would!

[Shaylavan]

Sickness is dumb.

 

I love making a honey-ginger-lemon green tea when I'm feeling sick.  It makes all things good and right with the world.  Hope you feel better and can get back out there soon!

 

 

2nd person today to recommend that combo to me.  I clearly should try it...

 

Feeling better (enough to knock out a set of pushups this morning), but definitely not at 100% yet.  So no BJJ tomorrow morning either (I'm sure my gym-mates appreciate my not infecting them too), and focus is on recovery this weekend.  Aiming for Monday back at class (mainly b/c it's the only day I can make next week!)

[Kishi]

Ooh, yeah. Grappling arts plus sick equals dojo-wide epidemic. Not cool.

[RisenPhoenix]

Ooh, yeah. Grappling arts plus sick equals dojo-wide epidemic. Not cool.

 

'This is truth.  This is also why I'm miserable right now.

 

*quarantines himself from other monks*

[sammyrulez]

Snorting super saiyan ? How scary ...

[Shaylavan]

Alright, time for a numbers check:

 

1.  Class: 1/5 possible so far.  Didn't go tonight.  Still coughing a bit, even after a relaxing weekend, and while I'm killing it on the dailies I didn't quite feel up to an hour long class.  So, no more potential ones this week (this week is kind of nuts), but next Monday I'm going back and hitting it hard!

 

2.  Daily Workouts: 6/7.  I actually only missed 1 from illness (well technically 2 but I counted one as my rest day :-) ).  Doing 100 pushups progression to set those targets, (3 pushup workouts so far), 2 plank workouts (still trying to figure out best progression...think I've realized that 60 s is a challenge for me, so upping that by 10 s each time.  And 1 jump rope workout yesterday, since that's the most painful one to do sick.  Ah well.  3 minutes solid there, working my way up to 5 solid there.

 

3.  Sleeps: 4/5.  I was *sort of* in bed by 11:30 last night, in that I got in bed at 11:25, then got up 10 minutes later b/c I couldn't sleep. Not counting that one.  But last week was killing this goal from the sick.

 

4.  Journaling - aces.  Have journalled faithfully the little I've done.

 

So, not the best start, but considering how plague ridden I've been I'm not gonna beat myself up for it, just keep going with the dailies (and probably throw some squats into the mix to keep those muscles from atrophying too much.  Plus they are like my favorite exercise )

[Kishi]

You found ways to work out even while sick! Awesome. This is a Good Thing, and it also means you've figured out how sick you can be and still train. So, really, all's well.

[RisenPhoenix]

Rest while plague-ridden!

 

It sucks, doesn't it? ;_;