Anyone else here try to cross the finish line before the start?

[WushuWarrior]

My intro: I need help to NOT bite off more than I can chew and need help in the focusing department...

 

Ugh, I feel like I have too many different questions for which there are too many different answers and I don't know how to just pick one, do it, not over-train and not feel like crap afterwards without becoming a CPT...I need help breaking my downward spiral and a good push forward. 

 

I'm looking toward the following goals where I am super-lacking:

1.Make sure I'm getting enough food to fuel my body and through the workouts, at specific times vs sporadically

2.Be able to complete south fist form 1.5 min without being out of breath like crazy

3.Increase hamstring/back muscle mobility/flexibility -> NO more lower back pain.

4.Get strong from weight lifting (more powerful kicks/jumps/punches)

 

My Background story is chock-full of trial/error:

I am 27, about 135-140, 5'4" athletic built woman with a desk job in software development. After 17 years of competitive soccer, I burned out, stayed moderately fit with zumba in my early 20s, then started working full time and quit the gym. Honestly I hated doing machines at the gym but I went because I had a buddy (Love you Mom!). I have finally found an activity I love: martial arts, more specifically, wushu which next week will mark a year of me going 3x/wk. I want to get competitive with it but had not kept up my fitness level 2 years before starting wushu and its obvious that I lack the strength, mobility and endurance to improve athletically. I have made pretty good improvement in my forms and technique going 3x/wk, but my endurance is horrible (I cannot complete a 1.5 min form without slowing down halfway) and I am not mobile/flexible enough to do the kicks to full extension/strength application. I have been working on the kip up, but feel too weak to be able to get all the way up correctly and have tweaked my neck twice.

I currently am suffering from lower back pain which according to my massuse and back doctor is mostly due to flexibility and mobility issues in my hams, adductors and side back muscles so I have been doing daily 15-20 min of stretching/yoga which has begun to reduce the pain but I just still feel WEAK. I have an MRI scheduled and a followup visit with the back doctor next week. I am back to doing forward bends without pain but trying a downward dog makes me feel like my lower back is ripping in half. 

I'm fed up. I've bought like 10 books on fitness and there is too much information for me to absorb AND have a day job and I cant just get out of my head to "Just do it." because I'm afraid I'm gonna pick the wrong thing... and I am obviously already going about it wrong else I would be making gains... I allowed myself to get buried under too much information going it alone and am also having a ridiculously hard time picking something and keeping at it. 

BUT I didnt just read a bunch of stuff, get confused, and shrug my shoulders - I tried to be proactive. Because I am sick of feeling weak, In addition to wushu, I started doing blogilates (aka pop pilates) in June but the 6 day a week schedule of 35-45 minutes is actually very very difficult to keep up with while also going to my 3/wk wushu practice and each time I've committed to doing a month of her workout calendar i burnout after 2 weeks because although I started feeling stronger - I was exhausted all the time and started feeling like I was over-training - I was always sore, it was hard to get out of bed, and instead of having more energy, I was just exhausted during wushu class (which might also be because I wasn't eating enough - but I do eat clean for the most part - hardly any processed or fast foods, splenda not sugar, no alcohol, ultimate cheats are 1.ice cream, 2.cake, 3.cheddar popcorn). I also bought a few basic tools to help me out: food/fitness journal, bands, jump rope, lacrosse balls, 10lb dumbbells and foam roller, and I already have a yoga mat.

[the wushu class is mainly light interval: we do basic dynamic warmup and light stretching before punches/blocks and then kicks/jumps, which takes about 30 minutes total, then we break for water and each take turns working on our forms at 1-1.5 minutes per form - it requires very strenuous endurance strength for that small amt of time and then we switch between about 6 people until the end of class -  however doing this for 3 times a week for a year alone has not allowed me to see the athletic improvement I would want]

I am breaking down alone: I need a coach/drill sergeant friend/ reliable fitness group/buddy whose strength makes up for my weakness because pointing myself in the right direction isn't working. From what I've read (chapters from starting strength, becoming a supple leopard and some articles on breaking muscle and nerd fitness) I am motivated to try olympic barbell training, running, jump rope, punching bag, and shadow boxing. (I was turned off to strength training in my teens because of the monotony to gym machines-aka brain cell killers) but I doubt I can even lift a 45lb barbell to be quite honest... so idea is to start practicing good barbell form with my wushu bo staff or a broomstick - I have pretty good form from soccer field workouts, but I am clearly not able to bite this off in chewable pieces and get lost in TMI.

Additionally, My hubs and i signed up for a savage race in October and I'm not sure how I'll do with 6-7 miles and those crazy obstacles without starting some endurance training but I'm not sure how to plan that around strength training.. My lovely hubs is kinda a lone wolf when it comes to buddy system/accountability things so asking to be his buddy in fitness hasn't really gone anywhere. I am hoping if i can get a schedule down and keep it simple then he would follow suit and start to do the workouts with me.  I need people to keep me on track and have friendly fitness competition with but I'm not really good at keeping my word with my track record of over-training, so if I "announce" I will complete x in y amt of time, I feel like I'm just asking to look like a fool.

 

 

Other NF related questions after I read all the start heres I could find:

I saw the beginner's bodyweight training video and am wondering is it possible to use that for the first few weeks and then graduate to the barbell? How do i set myself up for good form and strength success with the barbell and ultimately martial arts progress when I am just starting out? Is there a 6 week challenge everyone is doing together or is this more like make your own challenge, declare it, and have people to root for you along the way? I started reading guild stuff (resonate with monks/assassins) but I realized I am overloading myself with info again and just need to start so holding off on that for now...

 

 

-WushuWarrior wants to stop wandering and start something she can finish as a Warrior. 

[JPrev]

"Paralysis by analysis."  A well known, common bug that you have big time.  

 

To become generally more fit, you just need to move your body around and challenge it.  Doesn't particularly matter how - bodyweight, barbells, shadowboxing - so long as you're doing something at least a couple times a week.  Don't starve yourself, don't push through a lot of pain, and get some sleep.  There.  All you need to know.  You may have a thousand other questions, but your body doesn't.

 

If you have specific goals - like that obstacle course in October - focus on training for a single goal and let everything else fade away.  Even if that means losing some ability in the other goals for a period of time.  I used to lift a lot, then decided to do a triathlon.  Had to devote less time to lifting and more to endurance.  Lost some strength, but picked up other cool adaptations.  Overall became fitter, I feel.  That's the ebb and flow of things.  "Periodization" is when you cycle through your goals, bringing some up while allowing others to decrease a bit.  Over time, the net effect is positive.

 

From here, you just need to get started.  Get some experience under your belt and all these early-stage questions and concerns will feel less important.  Train for that obstacle course, and only that course.  Tackle other goals as you have time.

[WushuWarrior]

WOW. I looked up that term and it describes me exactly.... and then in analysis paralysis fashion read 3 articles on it....

 

Ok then I'll throw in the towel on all that analysis and here is what I came up with for a first try:

 

Dynamic warmup - daily

**Stretch muscles after use - daily
Beginners bodyweight workout - Tues/Thurs

Wushu class - Mon/Tues/Fri
3mile run - Mon/Fri
yoga on rest days - Sun/Wed

 

Based on what i did before, I added another rest day to see if that prevents me from feeling crappy all the time.

 

That and like you said - sleep. I go to bed at like 12/1 am and wake up at 8/9 am... my work is a flex schedule so its allowed me these bad habits but i hate waking up so late and to be honest i cant fit in any workout before i start work with this sleep schedule.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Welcome to the rebellion. You came in to NF at the right time, a new yoga line has just rolled out. Your workout plan loos good, I would just recommend adding in some stretches after every workout. It doesn't have to be a full on session, but Stretch. Every. Day.

[WushuWarrior]

Yes - thanks and that is so true. I had bad stretching habits my whole life and sadly it took lower back pain to give me a wake up call....

[Kilyra]

I didn't realize paralysis by analysis was an actual thing, but I've definitely experienced it. And then comes the information overload and I don't even know where to start. But, WushuWarrior, it sounds like you've got a great starting plan. Step 1 down  

[EmbracingChaos]

WOW. I looked up that term and it describes me exactly.... and then in analysis paralysis fashion read 3 articles on it.... 

 

Ok then I'll throw in the towel on all that analysis and here is what I came up with for a first try:

 

Dynamic warmup - daily

Beginners bodyweight workout - Tues/Thurs

Wushu class - Mon/Tues/Fri

3mile run - Mon/Fri

yoga on rest days - Sun/Wed

 

Based on what i did before, I added another rest day to see if that prevents me from feeling crappy all the time.

 

That and like you said - sleep. I go to bed at like 12/1 am and wake up at 8/9 am... my work is a flex schedule so its allowed me these bad habits but i hate waking up so late and to be honest i cant fit in any workout before i start work with this sleep schedule.

 

That seems like a recipe for burn out, right there.  Unless you're doing super light yoga, as in basically just stretching, then I feel like you may not be able to recover enough to complete your other workout activities with a reasonable schedule of progression.  I would recommend to only pick one of those other activities to perform along with the Wushu.  That being said, if you know you can handle it then by all means.  I'm just worried that recovery is going to quickly become an issue.

[WushuWarrior]

then maybe 2x/wk BBWW - circuit style to start building muscle and endurance... And maybe 1 day of Rodney Yee power yoga as an active rest? other stretches would be light yoga/just stretching work to repair my lower back issues...

 

 

Wushu -> BBWW & WUSHU -> REST day ->  BBWW -> WUSHU -> REST day -> YOGA

 

but I should be more honest that doubling up may kill me.

Wushu -> BBWWcircuit -> Total REST day ->  BBWWcircuit -> Wushu -> Wushu -> Active Rest day (YOGA for relaxation/flexibilty)

Wushu ->Wushu -> BBWW circuit -> Total REST day -> Wushu -> BBWW Circuit -> Active Rest day (YOGA for relaxation/flexibility)

[EmbracingChaos]

I think that sounds like a much better layout.  You'll just have to see how difficult the BBWW & Wushu day is, you may be able to get away with it.