Shotokan does a do over

[Shotokan]

After a disappointing previous challenge, it time to go back to the basics again.

 

1. Workout five times a week:

As long as I workout for more than a few minutes, I'm going to call it a workout. This could be Karate training, lower body work, lifting heavy metal objects or any type of mobility work.

 

2. Tai Cheng three times a week:

Since this really helps my Karate, it's time to get back to doing this on a regular schedule. I am trying to be more realistic with my current workload and three times is attainable.

 

3. Static and moving Karate stance training interval style three time a week:

This is one area that had suffered the most over the last 7 weeks. I can still get into good stances but moving out of them is more difficult since I haven't been training. 

 

Extra credit - Meditation three times a week:

The extra stress is not doing me any good at this point and I really need to find some way to relax.  Call of Duty used to work well but I need to put my mind in a much calmer state. I have a couple of apps on my iPhone that could be useful and I do like the simple breathing meditation at bedtime but I have to do it.

 

Life goal: Write 150 words a week for my blogs:

My writing has really taken a back seat over the last few months and I have to get back to it. I know that a 150 words a week is not much but it's better than zero so I am setting the bar lower to get a win here.

[Kishi]

We'll be here when you're ready!

[The Shogun]

18 hours ago, Shotokan said:

More to come.....

 Waiting for more

[Shotokan]

On 10/24/2016 at 7:09 PM, The Shogun said:

 Waiting for more

I was waiting until the last minute. 

[Shotokan]

Workout 1:

 

First day of the new challenge, first workout.

 

1 set of 20 reps of each:

 

Clam shells

Glute bridges

Lying side leg raises

Donkey kicks

Kettlebell swings - very light 15lbs

Swiss ball squeeze

 

Next came some timed V-sits for 2 sets of 30 seconds

 

5 each of Shotokan and Iaido katas

 

Static stances for 20 seconds each - horse stance twice, back stance with each leg and front stance with each leg.

 

Some breathing meditation will finish off the night....

[Luciana Valerosa Culming]

Mhh I should practice more horse stance for my Tai Chi, too. Are the other exercise all body weight? I don't know all of them.

[Shotokan]

18 hours ago, Luciana Valerosa Culming said:

Mhh I should practice more horse stance for my Tai Chi, too. Are the other exercise all body weight? I don't know all of them.

They are all body weight except for the kettlebell swings. I will try to dig up the videos online asap. 

[Shotokan]

Workout 2:

 

Today I did a new hip warmup from Rick Kaselj that seems to be most of the things I have done in the past but the way he puts them in order makes them work really well.

Next came Tai Cheng. I started over at the first session again since it seems like it has been forever since I did it.  It's only 30 minutes long but it really tires out my legs.

Finished up with 3 Shotokan katas and 5 Iaido katas.

 

 

[Kishi]

Oh nice, good to see that his stuff works! Very good.

[Shotokan]

Workout 3: Yesterday was good Karate class with lots of stance and kata training. It's only an hour but it felt a lot longer since I haven't taken class for two weeks.

 

Workout 4: 

 

I started out the hip warm up

 

Next came some dumbbell complexes.

 

2 x 20 lbs dumbbells for 6 reps

 

Front squat

DB press

Bent row

Romanian deadlift

Alternating DB curl

 

2 sets of 12 reps of swissball squeezes

 

Then came static stances with 2 horse stance, front stance with each and back stance with each leg all for 20 seconds each

 

The finisher was a Shotokan and Iaido kata.

 

Writing went well too with 338 words.

 

Some breathing meditation will finish up the day.

 

 

[Kishi]

So, basically, this was a very good day. That's just what I like to hear.

[Shotokan]

Sorry about the lack of updates.  The first week went really well with the only exception being only two Tai Cheng workouts.  Everything else was on target.

 

This week is off to a good start too. 

 

Sunday was a really good kata workout with my coach, who I haven't seen in a while.

 

Monday went well too with static stance and Tai Cheng along with some extra katas. 

 

Today was a tough Karate class with a lot of stance work. There will also be some words written while I watch the election and then some mediation before bed. 

 

Even though work is still rough, I am finding the time to train and I am hoping I can stay in the groove.  The only bad part is, I am having a problem with my left leg. It started with the top of my foot and then my knee and then my hip. I was still able to train but I can feel it. I am hoping to get fixed on Friday when I see my deep tissue guy.

 

Update, 540 words written tonight.

[Kishi]

So, I have to thank you, actually. Your guy, Cheng, inspired me to start doing my TGUs bottoms-up. It's worked wonders for my grip, which sadly it turns out is weaker than I thought. ;;

 

I hope that leg gets fixed! Hope it's nothing serious!

[Shotokan]

On 11/9/2016 at 7:42 AM, Kishi said:

So, I have to thank you, actually. Your guy, Cheng, inspired me to start doing my TGUs bottoms-up. It's worked wonders for my grip, which sadly it turns out is weaker than I thought. ;;

 

I hope that leg gets fixed! Hope it's nothing serious!

I really like TGU's but I had a real problem with my shoulders when doing them.  I might have to give them a try again since my posture is much better now.

 

The leg is doing better too thanks. It is a little sore now after tonight's workout but it didn't bother me as much as it did the last few days. My Vastus Lvastus seems to be the problem from what I can tell. It's rotating my knee externally and causing my gait to be off when I walk or move forward in a stance.  I have had this happen before and it just takes time to get it working again.

[Shotokan]

Yesterday's workout didn't happen.  I just wasn't feeling it and I ended up only doing a couple katas.

 

Today made up for yesterday.

 

Dumbbell complexes started it off.

 

 I bumped the sets up to 3 x 20 lbs dumbbells for 6 reps

 

Front squat

DB press

Bent row

Romanian deadlift

Alternating DB curl

 

I also did some zottman curls after the alternating dumbbell curls for sets 1 and 3.

 

2 sets of 12 reps of swissball squeezes

 

A single set of swissball crunches and a single set of reverse leg raises for 8 reps.

 

I also did some moving stance training, with front and horse stances, but my leg wasn't too happy about it.

 

After that came Tai Cheng.  I have been doing the first workout over again and again to get my hip flexors loosened up and it seems to be helping.  I might start alternating the first workout in between each of the other workouts since it seems to really work well for me.

 

After that came two each of Iaido and Shotokan katas.

[Kishi]

Well, hey, finding something good that works for you is very good! You might be able to extrapolate some things from it and build and develop a program for yourself from there.

[Shotokan]

Not much working out on Friday or Saturday because I was trying to recover the from the deep tissue work. My legs just didn't want to work even though there wasn't much pain but the muscles weren't cooperating. 

 

Sunday was a kata marathon. Not really a marathon but 10 each of Shotokan and Iaido katas.  My legs were not back to normal but they started to come back as I warmed them up with the katas.

 

Monday was Tai Cheng and some simple moving stance work.

 

Tuesday's workout was Karate class. This was one of those classes where I got my ass kicked but no one touched me. We must have spent the first five minutes of class in a horse stance. Then we did some moving stance work starting in a horse stance again.  Then came lots of kicks and 30 minutes of kata work.  Needless to say, after the first 15 minutes my legs were like jello but I was able to get through the entire class and I did some of the best feeling katas that I remember doing in a long time.

 

Tonight will finish up with some writing and some breathing meditation. 

[Kishi]

It's weird, right? You don't want to move or do anything, but so often it's the movement that makes all the difference. Go figure.

 

But I hope those legs are feeling better today!

[Shotokan]

Not as many workouts over the last nine days as I wanted but there were a few good ones in there.  Work has been busy again and getting home late without much sleep hasn't helped but at least there was some working out being done.

 

The weather change to winter isn't helping me too either but when I get warmed up, everything seems to start working again.

[Shotokan]

After eating too much food today, it was time for a workout.

 

I started out with an old hip warm up routine that I used to do and it worked really well.  I'm not sure why I stopped doing it but I am glad that I pulled it out again.

 

Next came:

 

Clam shells

Band glute bridges

Lying side leg raises

Band bat wings

Swiss ball squeezes

Standing band crunches

Donkey kicks

Side leg raises on all fours

Kettlebell swings

 

All for 15 reps

 

After that came 10 Iaido katas and five Shotokan katas.

 

Also, writing has been one of the things going well this challenge with over 300 words today.

 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

[Kishi]

Yup! Totally had a good one over here. Hope yours was good as well!

[Shotokan]

Even though this challenge didn't go as I planned, it was much better than the last. I already have plans for my next challenge and plan to get back to my roots again. When things don't go the way I expect, going back to the basics always brings me back to where I need to be.