Traditional Forms

by Paula


I think that MMA is pretty awesome. MMA and other fusion martial-arts can be cool, as long as the martial-artists remember their roots. Mixed Martial Arts started as a way to combine martial-arts, but now there are many Mixed Martial-artists (I said many, not all) who have never studied a single martial-arts. All martial-arts have their merits, and each martial-artist has different reasons and goals for studying. The problem is when the "athlete" never studies a martial-art and never understands the traditions or values behind the martial-arts.

Traditional forms are ONE of the many aspects of martial-arts that gets left out when people take the traditional aspects of martial-arts. I have met and heard of many MMA fighters and "self-defense martial-artists" that have never learned a form. Forms, patterns, poomse, and/or katas are one of the key aspects of martial-arts training. Yes, they can be boring and tedious, but they are important. I personally love forms, and I can make a class full of students work so hard doing forms that they are pouring and sweat and want to puke. I can make myself sore by practicing forms strong and hard like they are supposed to be done. Yet, some fighters think that forms get in the way of "practical" training or a good workout.

Forms can be annoying! If you ever had an instructor spend 45 plus minutes on one form to make sure that you have proper technique, then you know what I am talking about. But this is so important for teaching the martial-artist proper blocking, striking, kicking, and punching technique. It builds muscles and posture. Even quality time spent on the most beginner forms can be useful for learning and developing technique to make technique strong and keep the fighter safe.

A couple of years ago I was speaking to a MMA fighter who had broken three bones in her hand and had to put in metal rods. She had never practiced a traditional martial-arts, and she had never learned a form. Therefore, she had never learned a proper punch and how to strike with force without hurting herself. She did not develop the muscles in her hands, wrists, and arms from repetitive punching while doing forms. Instead, they taught her only the skills needed in the octagon. She got hurt punching somebody during a competitive sparing match. This is just one of many examples of people who get injured from not learning martial-arts the traditional way.

Not learning traditional forms is just one of the ways fighters skip out on the important aspects of truly studying a martial-art. People get hurt, people get cocky, people hurt other people, and people give true martial-artists a bad rep when they miss out on traditional lessons.

Missing My Daily Dose

by Paula

It's been a rough couple of weeks for me. As I said before, as soon as the temperature drops I get sick. I've been too sick to get in a good cardio workout in a long time, and I am starting to feel it. Not only am I sick, but I am dragging from not getting in a good workout. Today I had to explain to somebody how I do not drink coffee, instead I workout out. I was in a mood this morning because I did not get my morning cardio.

Today's Workout:

Forms

10 minutes of jump rope and push-ups

Legs

Cool down with abs

Post Holiday Workout -- Technique

I don't know about all of you, but I always feel guilty after the holidays.  I eat way too much, skip workouts, sleep in, and completely disregard all the work I've put into getting back in shape.  It always amazes me how easy it is to put those pounds back on.  But, when you're wife cooks like mine, you eat well! 

Today, I made it to the gym and was dreading the workout.  I knew I'd be dragging, but I knew how important it was that I got there.  What made me feel better was seeing 10 other people dragging as well.  We all ate well....

Today at Crossfit we worked on the basics and it was a good workout.  In fact, it reminded me a lot of the old days I spent training at martial arts schools.  Everything was by count.  We focused on approximately 15-20 exercises, and all were done as a group by count.  There was no focus on time, no focus on being the fastest, no focus on being the strongest, just focused on doing good technique and completing everything given to the group.

For a beginner, like I am, this was great.  I can't tell you how many times I do something with incorrect technique or can't remember what an exercise is.  This was a breakdown of each exercise and it was still a great workout.

This solidified to me why martial arts has made it so long.  There's just something about a group of people collectively working together to accomplish a common goal, completing the workout to the best of our abilities.  Before today, I wasn't sure CrossFit could do that.  I was wrong and am glad I was.

Today's workout:

10 reps of the following 20 exercises:

Pushups

Sit-ups

Back extensions

Squats

Tuck jumps

Burpees

Lunges

Wall balls (20/14#)

Ball slams (20/14#)

Pullups

Ring Dips

Deadlifts (stick)

Cleans

Front squats

Push presses

Thrusters

Snatches

Overhead Squats

Swings (20/10#)

Turkish get ups (20/10#)

2 rounds as a group on cadence

Crowded Gym

by Paula

This morning was the first day of the New Year's crowd at the gym. I started to get cranky when all the New Year's Resolutioners were crashing on my space while I was trying to get in my workout. Then I remembered that I can make this work.

The trick to working out when the crowds encroach on my gym space is to mix it up and be flexible. If I go in with a strict plan to working out, I will never get anything accomplished. Instead, I keep different workouts in mind and just aim to get in some strength training and cardio some way or another.

Some of the ways I do this is:
 -mix up my muscle groups. If I normally do arms on Mondays, I may have to switch to legs if all the arm equipment is being used. Or if I normally do chest and back on the same day, I may have to to chest and biceps instead.

-bring a jump rope to the weight room. If all the equipment is being used, I may jumprope, do burpees, do push-ups, or do abs in-between exercises while I wait for somebody to evacuate the equipment I want to use.

-switch up cardio and strength. Sometimes I like to do strength prior to doing cardio, but if I notice the weight room is packed, I may need to do cardio first.

Not only does being flexible and able to switch up my workout help me from getting cranky because of the crowds, it also helps to shock my body. Switching up workouts is a great way to get over a plateau or prevent boredom.

Today's workout:
"the pj workout"
triceps and back
abs while waiting
10 minutes on the eliptical (I got bored and couldn't stand it anymore and it was to cold to run outside)

Being Sick

by Paula


My body does not like cold weather. Every year I get sick as soon as the weather starts to turn cold, and I stay sick until the weather starts to warm up. I HATE it!!!!

Last week I had the flu and as soon as I got over that I have come down with this snotty lung-burning thing. I expect that as soon as I get better from this, I will come down with another disease. This makes working out and training extremely difficult. Most of the time I just want to curl up with a million blankets and not workout again until March...but we all know that I can't do that!

Unless I have a fever or I am throwing up, I try to find a way to get in some kind of workout. The hardest part is getting started with the workout, but I find that as soon as I start I feel better and enjoy the workout.

Usually I adjust the workout around my ailment. For example, last week I was weak from the flu. I was able to do some easy martial-arts training on my own and light cardio, but I was too weak to lift or do hard taekwondo training. The past couple of days my lungs have burned too much to do cardio, but I do as much kicking as I can and lift weights. Taekwondo is extremely difficult when you can't breathe, so I have had to go easy or stop as soon as I needed to breathe.

This morning's workout:
Light forms and fan form
Shoulders and biceps
Cool down with abs

Pushing through the Holiday Season

I think one of the toughest things to do is continue a workout when your schedule changes.  For a few weeks, I had everything worked out.  Get up, go to work, head to CrossFit on my lunch break, eat a sandwich on the way back to the office, finish work, and then head home.  Now that I'm on Christmas break, my schedule has changed and motivating myself to workout gets tougher and tougher.

However, I'm still making it to the gym and completing all my workouts.  On top of that, I've made it through two pretty tough martial arts workouts and then taught twice as well!

Today's CrossFit workout was:
5 Minutes of Handstand Push-Ups
4 Minutes of Squats
3 minutes of Sit-Ups
2 Minutes of Push-Ups
1 Minute of Pull-Ups

In this workout, you add up everything you do, but it only counts if it is fully completed.  For example, on a push up, if you don't drop all the way down and all the way back up, it doesn't count.


My total was 318

Glutamine helps with soreness

As you can imagine, starting a new workout means constant soreness.  My cousin, the owner of CrossFit 951 in San Diego, said to me when I was complaining about soreness, "I'm perpetually sore."

While being sore is the best proof of a good workout, it can also make getting to the gym pretty difficult...not to mention just getting up in the morning.

So, I spent some time researching Glutamine and started taking it this week.  What a difference it has made!

Here's some info on Glutamine:

Research suggests that after intensely working out, glutamine levels in the body are reduced by as much as 50%.Since the body relies on glutamine as cellular fuel for the immune system, scientific studies suggest that glutamine supplementation can minimize the breakdown of muscle tissue and improve protein metabolism.

Glutamine is is highly in demand throughout the body. It is used in the gut and immune system extensively to maintain optimal performance. When supplemented, it may help athletes reduce the amount of muscle breakdown that occurs because other tissues that need glutamine will not rob the glutamine stored in the muscle cells.

Martial Arts Training (Striking)

Today, I was fortunate enough to train striking at two separate martial arts schools....and loved every minute of it.  As a long-time practitioner of "stand up fighting," it amazes me how much the repetition of the basics makes me feel better about my chances in a fight.

While I never want to go out looking for trouble, the more I practice basic punches and kicks, the stronger they get, and the more comfortable I get at my ability to use them.

I can remember, as a kid starting martial arts 20+ years ago, thinking I would some day be Bruce Lee.  I'd be able to walk into a dojo and take on the best fighters they had, all at the same time.  Well, at age 35 and a father of 3 small kids, I'll be happy if I can just protect them at all costs.  (It doesn't hurt that my wife is also a 4th Degree Black Belt).

That being said, the repetitive motion of hammer fists, palm strikes, punches, front kicks, roundhouse kicks, side kicks, knees, etc. at 100% power, can be an amazing workout.  Throwing a palm strike at full force into a bag with someone holding it, is to me, a much more fun way to do a bench press.  Think about it, by the time you've push your opponent (with both arms) over and over again, using maximum force, you've pretty much done a similar motion.

The same thing for front kicks (a.k.a. push kicks).  Very similar to a leg press.  Once that leg hits the bag, you are using the force in your leg to push that person's weight back.

This is another reason I love martial arts.  It's not all about fighting.  The workout from it can be very effective, and build up instinctive skills that may some day save you and/or a family member.

Sexy Arms

by Paula

I mentioned before that the best exercise for upper body is the push-up. This is also true for achieving sexy, toned arms. But to be honest, it will take a bit more than push-ups to get arms that everybody will notice.

Another exercise to add to push-ups is boxing. Boxing is great for developing sleek arms and shoulders. It also helps to tone up the mid-section and upper back. I like to do a little bit of shadow boxing throughout the week. In order to get sexy arms from boxing, its important to do strong punches and strikes. Just sticking out the arm is not going to get you anything but hurt. Throwing on some 10-12oz gloves and beating up a heavy bag is the best way to work those arms. If you do this, make sure you use proper technique so you don't break a hand or end up with tendonitis. DO NOT punch with weights in your hands. That is the best way to injure your joints!

Pull-ups, rope climbs, dips, and wall-handstands are some of the exercises you can incorporate into your weekly workouts to help develop long, lean arm muscles. As great as these are for developing strength, they alone will not help you achieve sexy arms that look toned even when you are not exercising. This is why weight training is used for getting muscular arms.

I see so many people killing their biceps in order to get the best arms. They think that big biceps are the key to having the best looking arms. Well-developed biceps are part of having great arms, but they should not be the only focus.

I hear women who focus mainly on triceps in order to get sexy arms because they think getting rid of the jiggle is the best way to get the best arms. It is true that tightening the triceps is imperative to getting rid of jiggly arms, but focusing on triceps is not the key to having the sexiest arms ever.

The key? Shoulders!!!!

In addition to the non-weighted exercises explained above, and weight training biceps and triceps, focusing on developing the shoulders is the way to get the sexiest arms possible. The shoulders frame the arms and having muscular shoulders makes the biceps and triceps look even better than they are.

When weight training shoulders, make sure to lift heavy enough to tax the muscle after 6-8 reps. This builds the muscle which gives the shoulder the toned look. Also, make sure to do different exercises to hit every angle of the shoulder. Delt raises, lat raises, upright rows, over head presses, and delt flys are some ideas.

My Monday Morning Workout:
Run 30 min
The "PJ Workout"
Arms
Cool down with abs

Prescribed versus non-prescribed

One of the things that scared me away from CrossFit for so long was the workouts.  I'd look online at some of the Workouts of the Day (WOD) and say, there is no way I could pull that off.  This week alone, one of the workouts required a total of 123 Handstand Push-Ups.  I can barely do 5.

So, for those of you who felt as I do, understand that those are the "Prescribed" workouts.  It takes time to build your body up to that level of fitness.  For me, it could take a year before I complete a workout like that...but someday, I will.  However, by going non-prescribed, I can make some modification (that still kicks my butt) and complete the things I can with the goal in mind to reach the prescribed workout in the future.

Today was one of those days.....but I didn't want it to be.  I looked at the workout and thought, I can do this.  I grabbed all my weights and walked them over to my section of the gym and was ready to go.  I knocked out the first exercise, and then picked up my weights to begin the second set, and it was too heavy.  I tried my hardest to push them up, but after only accomplishing 3 out of the 50 reps I had to do, I knew it just wasn't gonna happen.

I think this is where I, as an athlete, have to force myself to not modify anything else.  I ran over and grabbed some lighter weights.  I pushed as hard as I could to finish and then moved on to the next set.  My mind was racing...."now that you're not doing it prescribed, you can go easy on everything else."  But no!  I was determined to finish everything else, and thanks to the Instructor and others in the group, I got through the rest.

Sometimes your mind is your biggest obstacle.  Thank you everyone for pushing me today!

ZUMBA...Sorta

by Paula

I have been doing Zumba here and there for a couple of years now, and I still look like a 2 year old drunk fighter. Maybe it's the 18 plus years of traditional taekwondo that has been beaten into me, or maybe it is the fact I have no grace or rhythm. Either way, I can't Zumba!

I have been to some Zumba classes at five different gyms, and I have yet to get a workout from it. Zumba is fun, but I can't get my heart rate up no matter how hard I try. Still, I like to do it every now and then because it is fun. Today I decided that I am never going to look like some of the instructors out there, so I am going to own it in my own way!

In the past I have warmed up with or cooled down with a Zumba class. Today I was really sore from two weeks of training hard, so I decided to have a light workout day. I went to Zumba class with the plan of just moving around to loosen up sore and tight muscles. While doing that I got to thinking of how I could use Zumba to make me a better fighter:

I have heard of football players and boxers who have taken dance classes to help with footwork. I can totally see how doing Zumba could help me to move better in all directions in the ring. Once I got that in my head, I decided to do all of the Zumba class on the balls of my feet. This is how I should be fighting, so why not get used to it. So I was doing Zumba class to day with my weight on the balls of my feet during all of the classes. Every shift of weight and every movement in any direction was done by pushing of through the balls of my feet. It was a blast!

I may look like a fighter having a seizure, but I found a way to enjoy Zumba and make it useful for fighting. Besides, I got to exercise to my favorite Madonna song, "La Isla Bonita"

The Wall Ball times 150

Today I walked into the gym dreading any workout.  My entire body was sore.  My stomach was tight, my legs were dead, and I just didn't think I could really push myself any harder.  I wanted to skip class, but I got myself in the car and made it to the gym.  I didn't want to give up what I've been working so hard to achieve.

Today was the Wall Ball.  Basically, you take a 20 pound medicine ball, do a squat, and push the ball above your head and make it bounce off the wall about 8-10 feet above your head.

Today we did 150 and went for the fastest time possible.  I finished in 12:20, which was an average time.  Next time, I'm going for 10 min.

Bring it!

Best Exercise Ever

by Paula

There is one exercise that I absolutely HATE! This same exercise is the absolute best exercise anybody can do. This is the push-up!

I make sure that I do several sets of push-ups everyday because it works so much of my body and my core. If done correctly, the push-up requires that the stomach muscles are contracted and the lower back and butt are tight. This is developing core strength.

In addition, the actual push-up exercise works the back muscles, chest muscles, shoulder muscles, triceps, and forearm muscles. Besides making my upper body looked toned, having these muscles developed helps with strong punches, strikes, and blocks. Having a strong core helps to hold my stomach in and helps keep good posture. This not only helps me to look leaner, but also gives me core strength for balance. Balance is important for high kicks and multiple kicks.

I like to do 25-30 push-ups a set for 5-6 sets a day. Occasionally I will try to max out my repetitions, but I am easily bored and do not like to do this very often. I also switch up push-ups by doing not only traditional push-ups, but also one-arm, tricep, legs elevated, bosu, medicine ball, and triangle push-ups. Handstand push-ups are also amazing, but since I can't do a handstand, I do these against the wall.

Last, push-ups are free and can be done just about anywhere. It's a great exercise to do if I can't get to a gym and have no access to strength training equipment.

My first CrossFit Win!

What an amazing feeling!  Today's workout was all abs!  We did 1,500 ab exercises today.  As a former gymnast and over 20 years of martial arts, I knew I had a shot at doing well on today's workout, but I wasn't sure how well.

Today's workout was:
100 Leg Lifts
200 Sit-Ups
300 V-Ups
400 Chinnies
500 Flutter Kicks

I knew the leg lifts were gonna be a piece of cake, because I've been doing them since I was a kid.  I knew the sit-up's would also be fairly easy, as I forced my students to do them with me for years.  It was the 1100 stomach exercises that followed that had me worried.

I began the leg lifts and when I got done, I had a lead over everyone.  That motivated me to push harder.  So, I forced myself through 200 sit-ups.  I could feel my stomach tightening up with each one.  Then, it was time for the V-ups....oh, man.....they were tough.

As I began the Chinnies, I could see the guy next to me begin as well and my competitive body went into overdrive.  Instead of resting, I forced myself to complete each one as fast as possible.  I can see him in the corner of my eye and he's right on my tail.  In fact, he looks like he's moving at a faster pace than I.

Then it was time for Flutter Kicks.  That's when all the years of Tae Kwon Do paid off!  I kicked those legs faster than I ever have before.  I was flying through them.  I pushed so hard to finish the last 400-500.  I was grunting...and then I finished.  I jumped up, ran to the ball, and yelled "TIME!"

I DID IT!  I finished before everyone!  YES!  I started to fist pump, like I do when I win a fight or when my students had won a match!

It was such a big motivator.  I CANNOT WAIT FOR TOMORROW!!!

Sarah's Revenge

So, I walk into the gym about 10 minutes before my scheduled class and I notice that the off the most in-shape guys I've seen are dying and unable to finish the workout.....I knew I was in trouble.

Sarah's Revenge was in honor of our CrossFit Instructor's daughter Sarah (who's birthday was today) and also the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.  What a workout.  Here's what we did:

19 Squat Jumps
41 Abs - Knees to Elbow (Hanging from a bar)
100 Rope Jumps
19 Abs - Wipers (Holding weights like a bench press and moving legs from one end of bar to the next)
41 Handstand Push-Ups
(3 Rounds for time)

Yeah, I died, but what a workout.  Anyone catch that each exercise was a letter in her name?  :)

Cross Training with Tennis

by Paula

This summer I discovered a new exercise that I love…Tennis. I am definitely not a natural talent at tennis, but I still have a lot of fun trying to play.

In addition to being fun, I have found that tennis is a great way to cross-train for martial-arts.  I am more than willing to chase after any ball that is hit over the net. This makes tennis a great cardiovascular workout. I like it because it is more exciting than just mindless running.

Plus, the quick moves across court are great conditioning for footwork. Tennis, unlike running, is more than just forward movements. Chasing the ball means moving lateral, backwards, diagonals, as well as forward.

Last, the reaction practice I get from playing tennis is amazing. I have to be able to react to where the ball is going. I have to react to get to where the ball goes, and I have to react to which stroke I am going to use to hit the ball over the net.

I am nowhere near being good at tennis, but I still enjoy chasing those balls and trying to hit them back over the net. Now I just got to find somebody patient enough to play with me…

I Don't Have a Disorder, I'm an Athlete

by Paula

I cannot tell you how tired I am of the comments about how much and how often I workout. Yes, I do want to keep my body looking nice, but that is not the only reason that I workout so much.

I have been told recently that I am “workout anorexic.” This makes me laugh!!!! There is a disorder called anorexia athletica, which is when somebody feels like they have to workout constantly, and they feel guilty if they do not workout. These people are addicted to exercise.

Yes, I enjoy working out, and I workout compulsively, but only because I am an athlete. I am not working out for the soul purpose of burning off all the calories I intake. I do not exercise the perfect body! Don’t get me wrong, I would like to have a perfect body, but this is not why I log so many hours in the gym.

I also hear quite frequently that I am wasting my time working out for more than an hour a day. This would be true if I were focusing on cardio only for more than an hour, or if I was focused on weight training for more than an hour. The truth is, weight training and cardio make up only an hour at the most of my workouts everyday. The rest of my workouts are focused on sport specific drills.

A marathon runner runs for more than an hour a day and they also incorporate cross-training and weightlifting into their workouts. A gymnast trains for more than an hour a day. The gymnast must spend several hours in the gym in order to train for all the different events they participate in. The same is true for me. I need to condition (cardio and weights), I need to spend time training for sparing, I need to spend time training forms, and I need to spend time training with my weapons. There is no way I could accomplish this in less than 60 minutes a day.

I may be a little crazy because I love to workout, but I do not have a workout disorder. I may work my tail off, but doesn't every successful athlete?

Anorexia athletica is a serious disorder, and if you know somebody who spends their days focused on working out only to achieve a certain body image, please get them help. 

An easy one.....

I open up Facebook and I see a message from the CrossFit owner, "Hey everyone, this is an easy one."  I knew something was up!

Today was a huge boost for my confidence, as I pushed myself running more than I have ever done before.  As I stated in previous blogs, I HATE RUNNING!  I barely was making 200 meter runs last week without gassing.  In fact, on the first day, I was only able to do one and a half before having to walk.  Today, he wanted 800 meters out of me.  This was going to be a tough challenge, especially having to run it three times.

Here was today's workout:

Warm-up:

200 meter run

10 push-ups

10 pull-ups

10 sit-ups

10 burpees

Workout of the day (WOD):

21 Squat lifts (80 lbs)

12 Pull-Ups

800 meter run

(Do it 3 times)

I got through all the exercises and my body immediately didn't want to run.  I was dreading it.  However, this time, my body just seemed to be able to make the run.  In fact, I made the first 800 meters without having to stop.  This was such a big deal for me, as my whole life I have struggled with distances beyond 200 meters.

I made it through the second set, and that's when my body was wearing down.  I pushed through all three sets and had to walk a few times on the runs, but I finished.

I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to some of you out there who run 10 miles a day, but in my eyes, I ran 4 times longer than I have ever done without stopping to walk.

Bring it!

Flexibility and Ice

by Paula

I get asked all the time, "What stretches can I do so that I can kick like you?" I will make this quick: The key to high kicks is dynamic flexibility and not stretching...but the following is about being flexible to prevent injury.

Stretching and Icing are my least favorite things to do, and unfortunately I have to do them. I have been diagnosed as hyperflexible, which means that I actually have too much flexibility. As a martial-artist you would think this is a blessing, but it has been the cause of many of my injuries. The extra flexibility in my joints has allowed my bones to shift in ways that they should not have.

In addition, being flexible makes stretching extremely boring. The older I get, though, the more I have to stretch. After knee surgery and then back surgery, my hamstrings and lower back have become inflexible. I may be able to do splits three different ways, but I can barely sit and touch my toes with my legs together and knees straight (“pike stretch”). The tighter my hamstrings are, the more my knees and back hurt. I have to stretch so I have the mobility I need in my hamstrings and back.

Sitting in one place, being cold, and being in pain are no fun. These are the reasons that I hate to ice my injuries. But, the more inflammation there is in the joints or back, the more pain I have. Anti-inflammatory medicines are also useful for eliminating swelling, but they are also bad for long-term use. In addition, too much anti-inflammatory meds are bad for the fusion in my lower back. So I have to ice to get the swelling out of my knees and back so that they move the way they are supposed to move.

My goal for this week is to start stretch before and after every workout and to do a couple yoga poses during the day. In addition, I am going to start icing my back 3 times a day. I am not at all excited about this, but I need to do it.

Rest & Recovery

Today was tough.  I've finally pushed myself to get to the gym and I was afraid that taking a day off would make it harder for me to want to go back.  However, my body was yelling at me to take a break.  I was so sore that I dreaded getting out of bed and the soreness was getting at times a little unbearable.  While I liked the soreness, because it made me feel like I was actually doing something in the gym, I knew that too much of it was probably not a good thing.

So, I took a day and rested.  Well, as much rest as a day filled with football games for the kids, trips to grocery stores, and all the other stuff we did today can give me.  Heck, it's 12:28am and I'm finally writing this blog.  :)

For those of you following this blog, I found some interesting facts about rest and recovery. 

1) The rate with which the body can properly repair and rebuild muscle tissue will vary by the individual. There are numerous factors that influence this rate - everything from genetics to nutrition to other life-stresses.  In addition, the intensity with which you train (the effort you put forth) also impacts how much rest you will need. The prescription for muscle mass gain is training with maximum intensity. Done correctly, a mass gain training session will place great stress on the body.

2) Athletes new to intense weight training have a tendency to judge their ability to recover based on previous training sessions for their respective sports. Understand that the goal of a mass gain training session is to inflict maximum amounts of the small tears critical to the muscle building process. While the prescribed sessions may be short, they will require more recovery time than other forms of training.

3) Each training session should be completed in under an hour. Studies have shown that you have a slightly less than 50 minute window from the time you begin really intensely taxing your muscles (after stretching and warming up) to the point where your weight training starts becoming progressively less effective in a rapid manner. Cortisol production increases and muscle protein is depleted.

This just shows how great CrossFit is.  The whole goal is to kick you muscles butt in a short amount of time. 

Can't wait for next week!

Information used in the blog came from:
http://www.gain-weight-muscle-fast.com/adequate-rest.html

The Back Injury

by Paula

Today was a rough day for the back. After a week of training, my back was screaming at me today. I can feel the pain shooting from my back and through my hip all the way down my hamstring. The back is better, but its still a recovery process.

In March 2009 I had been teaching aerobics and I started to feel a little pain in my lower back. It was not bad at first, and I thought it was just a pinched nerve or muscle strain. After a couple of weeks I was in a lot of pain, and by the end of the month it started to impact my training.

After a month of icing, stretching, resting, and taking anti-inflammatorys and muscle relaxers, I gave massage therapy a try. This is a big deal for me because I hate strangers touching me, and I really hate people touching my back. In addition, I do not like just laying in one place and doing nothing.

In May 2009 I competed in the Florida State Championships. My back was killing me during the entire competition. During my Xtreme form I did a jump split kick. On the way up I felt my back give out, and on the landing my back locked up. OUCH!!!! I was not able to walk for a couple days after that.

So for the next 6 months I gave physical therapy a go. I did this in combination with the muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory, and it did not help at all. Then the 6 months after that I tried the chiropractor, and after that I felt worse than ever. I even started to get migraines after getting adjusted. I tried two different chiropractors, and I will never go back to another ever again.

After Nationals in July of 2010 I decided that maybe I would never be able to do Taekwondo again. It was just too painful and most of the time I was physically incapable of even a front kick. I believe this is where God came to the rescue…

My husband just happened to get a job where he just happened to meet a spinal surgeon who just happened to be one of 6 people in the world to do non-invasive spinal surgery. WOW!

The surgeon was great because he wanted to try other methods to fix the problem before we even attempted surgery. We did injections and more physical therapy. But the injections ended up hurting more than helping.

On September 8, 2010 I had back surgery. Without cutting muscle, the surgeon replaced my L4/L5 disc with a metal disc, and fused my spine with two metal rods and some metal screws. I call it my bionic back because the surgeon says its indestructible.

I have no limitations put on me because of the surgery.  A day after surgery the surgeon took out my drainage tube and said to me, “I fixed you so you could move, now get moving.” It was the sweetest thing any doctor has ever said to me, ha ha.

Seriously, I feel great compared to where I have been. I can move and jump and sneeze without being paralyzed from it. I am still sore, and I still have more recovery to go just to get rid of the swelling that bothers my nerves, but I can deal with that because I still get to do Taekwondo!!!!

Muscles are so sore -- Staying motivated!

I think the hardest thing in the world to do is push myself to go to the gym when my muscles are sore.  It takes real determination to push through that initial pain and take it one step further.  However, once I get to working out, that pain goes away....until the next morning.

The way I see it is that I would rather wake up sore and know I did something good for my body, than wake up feeling nothing and wonder if all that time spent at the gym was for nothing!

Today I really pushed myself.  I know the weekend is coming up and the gym is pretty far from my house. The kids have football in the morning and afternoon, we have the USF pre-party, the USF football game, church on Sunday, and I've got a lot of website work to get caught up on.  I figured I might as well push my butt to the limit!  So I did.

Today's workout:

21 Handstand Push-Ups

21 Hanging Ring Dips

15 Handstand Push-Ups

15 Hanging Ring Dips

9 Handstand Push-Ups

9 Hanging Ring Dips

Forms - White Belt through Black Belt Forms

Bo Staff - All 3 Forms followed by tricking

30 minutes of Cardio exercises including: running, bear crawls, military crawls

15 minutes of Wrestling exercises (every guy was bigger than I)

15 minutes of Sparring

Stomach work: crunches, side crunches, etc.

Whew!  I'm wiped out!

There's no better motivation than coming in last!

Day 3 of CrossFit reminded me how far I have to go.  For the first time, I look in the gym and everyone looks similar to me.  No one's ripped, they are all in pretty good shape, but I'm not staring at superhumans like I have the past two days.  Boy was I wrong...

Today's workout was:
20 Pull-ups
30 Hanging Leg Lifts (to the bar you are hanging from)
40 Squat Jumps
800 Meter Run  -- Did I say I HATE running!!!
(2 times for time)

We get ready to go, and I can't lift my body weight to do pull-ups.  Seriously, the former gymnast can't do a stinkin' pull up.  So, I gotta get a box to help me jump up and do them.  Funny thing is, NO ONE looked at me funny, in fact, they just encouraged me more.  Everyone has been there.

I finish my pull-ups, leg lifts, and squat jumps and it's time to run.  Ha!  Running after doing 40 squat jumps makes things a little more difficult.  My legs felt like jelly.  But, I pushed through.  I could feel my lungs burning, my legs dying, and my mind telling me to stop....but I'm determined to finish.

Second set.  I'm exhausted, but I'm going to do this.  I know I can.  Pull-ups take me three times as long, but I get them done....hands are burning...leg lifts are done....I wanna quit.  Shoulders are burning.  I can hear my new workout friends encouraging me to continue.  I get to the squats and all I'm thinking about it the stupid running I gotta do.

Then, I look over and everyone is done....except one.  The competitor in me gets a second wind and I start sprinting.  I'm determined I'm gonna beat this guy.  It may be only be my third day, but I'm gonna beat him.  I start running....I'm getting closer....my legs are dying, I'm pushing as hard as I can.  We get to the cone and I'm beating him!  I make the turn and start the final lap, I'm running and pushing.  I can't even hear him.  I must be way ahead.  So, I look back......and he's not there.  At that point, I realize he was a full lap ahead of me.  :(

I finish out strong, and realize I've still got my work cut out.

I'll beat you next time!

Bring it CrossFit!

Chicks Can Lift Heavy Too

by Paula

This is dedicated to the dude in the camouflaged Joey Buttafuoco pants that tried to give me lifting advice today.

The reason I lift weights is to stimulate muscle growth. The only way to grow muscle is to lift heavy enough weight to tax the muscle. In fact, if I am not lifting heavy enough, I feel like I am wasting my time at the gym! And no, I am not going to get big and bulky and look like a man if I lift heavy weights.

There are a lot of reasons that I want to grow muscles. The most important reason for me is that strong muscles help to protect against injuries. Building muscles strengthens connective tissues and muscles to hold bones in place.  Also, strength training has been proven to build stronger bones and increase bone density. This is particularly important during high impact conditioning and sparing; and bone density is an important issue for all women!

As a martial-artist, I need both explosive power and endurance. The explosive power is used for off the line kicks and attacks. In addition, explosiveness is needed for strong kicks and fast movements around the ring. One way that explosive power is achieved by lifting heavy weights. I also have other exercises I do to increase explosive power, but that’s a whole new subject.

Finally, building muscles will help me to look tight and lean. Muscle is more compact than fat, which creates a smaller body and a smaller dress size! Lifting heavy, and therefore growing muscles also means that I am going to lose weight. A pound of muscle burns up to 20 calories a day, but fat only burns around 5 calories. So the more muscles I have, the better my resting metabolism will be.

These are the reasons I lift heavy. If I can do more than 8 repetitions with the weight I am using, then I know that I need to bump up the weight. I like to keep my reps between 6-8 for 3 or 4 sets.  

CrossFight with the family

This was so great!  As you can imagine, the guys who do CrossFit are in incredible shape.  Now imagine doing martial arts with a class filled with these guys!  We wrestled, sparred, and did overall cardio like I haven't in a while!

There is something about my body telling me, "that's it, you need to give up" and then finding the will to push past that for another 30 minutes that I just love!

Bring it! I'm ready for more!

Obstacles

 by Paula

I really did not want to wake up and train this morning. I am so sore from starting my new training program. I am tired from training and taking care of everything that needs to be done. But I cannot let being sore and tired keep me from training. I have been through so much worse.

I always wanted to compete in martial-arts. I remember growing up watching the original Karate Kid, Rocky, and the Best of the Best movies, and I always wanted to train and compete like those athletes. But that was not an option I had. My parents insisted I concentrate on running, and they would not allow me to do martial-arts competitions.

Finally, two knee surgeries and a supportive husband later I got to spend several years doing “Olympic style”. I was 21, a second-degree black belt, and new to continuous sparing. I loved the athleticism it required. The conditioning and training were a dream come true for me (I know that is weird). I won the Tennessee State Championships in both sparing and forms. I caught the competition bug, and had started to train for the U.S. Open and then had plans for Nationals. This is where I hit another obstacle: I found out I was pregnant and I had a difficult pregnancy (losing a twin and extreme morning sickness).

After my baby was a couple months old I wanted to get back into training. The obstacle I now faced was I had moved across state and had nowhere to train. I went to 3 or 4 different schools and could not find any place that would train me to be successful at big competitions. So I just spent 3 years training with a school affiliated with an Olympic gold medalist (Juan Moreno). I did not get to compete with this school because they focused on juniors and did not have much of an adult program. I just enjoyed working out and learning as much as I could from what the coaches brought back from Juan Moreno.

Finally, my husband and I opened our own school where I could train and compete. The new obstacle I had was that if I wanted to train with my husband, I had to learn point-style sparing. This was really hard: keep hands up, use front leg, and rely less on counter attacks to score points. It took me at least a year to adjust to this style.

Despite struggling with point-style, I trained my hardest and earned multiple state titles from Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, and Florida as well as several National titles in the USCDKA circuit. I loved competiting again, and I loved pushing myself to get better and better at each competition.

And then I hit my last obstacle: BACK INJURY! I could not spar, jump, and sometimes I could not even kick. I was out of commission for a year and a half! I eventually exhausted all non-surgical options for helping my back, and this past September I had back surgery.

So NO! Being tired and sore is not going to keep me from working hard to reach my goals. Any time I want to skip a training session, I just remember that I have been through much worse, and I could be much worse than sore and tired. 

No Excuses!

by Paula

I’ve had 3 kids, 2 knee surgeries, foot surgery, and recent back surgery. Yet, I will not let myself have any excuses…I am going to train and I am going to compete in the open martial arts circuit!

I could let having kids be an excuse. Just think of the time and energy it takes to keep up with them, take them to the places they need to be, cook and clean-up after them, and well this list goes on and on. But no, kids are not going to hold me back. Yes I was pregnant, gained the pregnancy weight and worked my tail off to lose the weight. I nurture my babies, take care of them, but I also have to do things to take care of myself and make myself happy. My kids see me run, go to the gym, practice at home, and go to taekwondo class. They see me work hard and they will see me succeed. I will not be a chubby mom who lives through their kids. Instead, my kids will learn from me: living an active lifestyle, setting goals, and working hard.

I could let my injuries be an excuse. I have metal rods and screws all over my body, and being injury prone, I am sure there are future operations I will need. But I will not let this stop me either. I love martial-arts and I will do it one way or another. I will not be old and regret not learning and moving while I still can.

I have multiple state and national titles from Olympic style and USCDKA tournaments. I love to compete, but I have hit a point where I want to move on to bigger and more challenging tournaments. How else can I get better if I do not push myself to compete against better martial-artists.

Next year I am going to compete at local open karate tournaments in Florida. My goal for 2011 is to compete at the U.S. Open in July as well as Internationals in the fall. My focus will be on traditional forms, point-style sparing, and fans. I am going to have to relearn to fight. It has been over 2 years since I’ve seriously trained because of my back injury. This will require conditioning, strength training to keep my body safe from injury, drill work with instructors, and sparing practice.

I am going to have to clean up my traditional form. It has been awhile since I’ve had to do more than just kick high to win at forms. Plus, I will have to make my form more competitive for the open circuit since WTF Taekwondo forms are so different from karate forms.

Finally, it has been several years since I have competed with my fan. I am going to have to create a form and make it awesome so that I do not embarrass myself. I’m going to have to work through my wrist, back, and knee pain so I can make the fan form more extreme and exciting.

Yes, I have my work cut out for me, and I am excited about it!

CrossFit reminded me how much I hate running!

Day 1 of CrossFit wore me out!  I looked at the workout and thought, "piece of cake."  He says, "most people get through the first set and then 2-3 exercises on the second set."  I'm thinking, I'm gonna whoop that!

The smart thing would have been for me to look around the gym and notice that everyone, including the people twice my age, were in twice the shape I am.  But no, I'm convinced that I can beat them all....forgetting that I'm here to get in shape.  Yet, knowing who I am, somehow I find a way to make it a competition.

So, here's the exercises:

20 Push-Ups

200 Meter Run

20 Sit-Ups

200 Meter Run

20 Squats

200 Meter Run

20 Extensions

200 Meter Run

20 Kettle Ball Lifts

200 Meter Run

He says, get as much done as you can in 20 minutes.  Sounds pretty simple, right.  Uh....no.  By the end of squats my legs were jelly.  I wanted to run, but my body kept telling me otherwise.

Well, I made it through the first set and got all the way to the 200 meter run after Squats on the second set.  So, I'm average.  I guess that's better than below average.  :)

Can't wait for Day 2.

I will NOT be a fat Master!

I cannot tell you how embarrassing it is to be a 4th Degree Black Belt and be 20 pounds out of shape.  I feel a bit hypocritical showing up to teach martial arts classes where I make all these kids and adults run around and work out, while I stand there and watch....but that's what I've become.  The typical, lazy Master who no longer cares about himself.

Give it a few years and I'll look like the Martial Arts instructors you see at tournaments who's belt you can't find because it's hidden under a layer of fat.  The guy who in the back of your mind you wonder how anyone can respect training from when they allow themselves to look like that....you know what I mean.

Well, I'm catching it early.  I WON'T ALLOW MYSELF TO BE THAT!!!  Starting today, I'm getting my butt back in shape.  In 3 months, I want to be ready to compete.  In 6 months, I want to be winning competitions.  In 6 months, I want to compete at the US Open!  Possible?  I guess we'll find out!

Day 1 Stats - Weight: 201