JR 137

Total Gym workout/back rehab 3x12 chest press, row, fly, reverse fly, pull-up, shoulder press. Warmup and cool down- Turkish getups, 3,2, and 1 rep each side Duration: 0:47:23 Average HR: 120 bpm Max HR: 143 bpm Calories: 390

Thank you, Sensei.

The Fitbit stuff is accurate enough for casual use, but for Afib, no way would I trust it. The Polar H-10 is the stuff used in medical and exercise physiology scientific research.

$300 is pretty steep for me. That's why I'm figuring out how to make one myself. Doesn't seem to be too difficult, but you know how that goes. If I was a dojo owner, it might be easier to justify.

I work on whatever I need most. If it's working on a kata or prearranged stuff, I do that. Most often though, it's bag work. As much as I tell myself I should be doing other things, bag work always just makes sense to me.

Very interesting insight into from a writer who’s seen the first 2 episodes of Season 2... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gamespot.com/amp-articles/cobra-kai-season-2-strikes-hard-and-shows-no-mercy/1100-6465588/

An interesting thing to consider if anyone’s interested... My Fitbit Charge HR’s pulse monitor stopped working a while back. I contacted customer service and they sent me a new one. The looked at my data from my app online (data’s stored in the cloud), and immediately gave me a link and code to order a new one free of charge and shipping. They were fantastic about it. I even kept the broken one and gave it to my daughter. She’s 8, so she’s just concerned about it looking cool, telling time, and counting her steps. She doesn’t know about the whole heart rate thing anyway. Poking around the net, I inadvertently figured out why the pulse monitor stopped working - repeated impact from hitting a bag ruins it. I saw a bunch of people online complaining about it, but they all said the replacement process under warranty was great. I bought a Polar H-10 chest strap monitor finally. Some people hate the chest straps, but once you get used to it you don’t realize it’s there. It’s far more accurate for HR and won’t get ruined by hitting a bag. I’ve heard jiu-jutsu guys sometimes wear one during rolling too.

As stated in the post linked to here, I was going to try one out myself. I went with a second Shureido K-11 instead. It’s the perfect gi for me. If there’s better, I don’t know what I’m missing and ignorance is bliss

Just browsing Title Boxing’s website when I somehow came across this. It didn’t look like much at first, but then I saw the video. I need get one! If you look at the picture, the video is the third or fourth one when you click on the arrows. I looked for a direct link to the video, but didn’t find one. https://www.titleboxing.com/title-rapid-reflex-boxing-bar-tri-bag Better yet, I’m thinking about making one myself. Some PVC pipe, a bearing of some sort, attach it to a simple base and put a weight plate on it. And somehow add weight to the spinning pole. Maybe metal pipe there? The wheels are spinning. I’m going to go to Home Depot and get ideas for materials and prices. I don’t need to rig up a bag at the top, but it would be a nice touch if I could somehow. And/or a pad/bag where the torso would be. I guess it’s this era’s Chinese wooden dummy in a sense.

There’s a very simple way to kick people in the head - knock them down first

My first night hitting the bag in quite some time. Felt great, and I love the feeling I get an hour or so after I’m done and showered. Can’t really explain it. Stats: 2 minute rounds, 1 minute rest, 12 rounds Duration (includes warmup and cool down): 0:42:14 482 Calories Average HR: 143 BPM Max HR: 162 BPM Time in fat burning zone: 12% - So about 88% of the time was between 80%-90% Max HR. -The Polar App gives me a HR graph, and the spikes and dips in HR are exactly as I want them - pretty much at 90% during the rounds, and pretty much at 80% during rest. If I didn’t have to strengthen my back, the bag would be the focus of my regimen.

Both docs (my orthopedic friend and his spine specialist colleague) and my chiropractor said the disc is an issue but not the whole problem. The bulge wasn’t too big, but the location made symptoms far worse than they would’ve elsewhere. The disc is/was bulging due more to posture and movement mechanics than anything else. And just as problematic were the facet joints in my spine in the area. There was a lot of inflammation around them. I had 4 needles so he could get the disc and those joints. They all agreed that doing rehab exercises when I was initially doing it made it worse by increasing the inflammation. The shots basically got rid of the inflammation around the joints and disc, and possibly the disc itself. I was 99% pain-free for a good 2 weeks, starting 2 days after the shot. I could feel the pain and tightness starting to creep back in, and started doing mobility and postural exercises more (I got a little lazy thinking I’m good). The shot was a band-aid of sorts. It got rid of the inflammation that was just sitting there and getting worse. Without getting rid of it, it was impossible to get better through rehab. Without doing postural and maintaining postural work and strengthening, I’m pretty sure I’ll be back in the same situation down the road. I’ve had this come and go for quite some time, but never to this extent and never for this long. Age, weight, and poor posture caught up with me I guess. Not that I was or am extremely obese; I was 218 when it started and I was up to 235 when I got the shot after about 3 months of inactivity; but it was enough for me. The main issue is the posture and weakness of my back compared to my front. Now that I’ve been far more conscientious about my posture, I definitely feel it a lot when I’m not thinking about it when I’m slouching and rolling my shoulders forward. I’m trying to walk around and do things looking more like Superman than Quasimodo Right now that and strengthening are my biggest priorities. The weight is an issue, but not nearly as much. So doing the lifting is higher up on the list than cardio. I’m combining the two with lifting at a good pace and keeping my heart rate up with minimal rest during the workout.

Thank you, Alan. I greatly appreciate it.

Season 2 starts April 24th. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=igrAgWUuGSQ

No workout on Thursday 3/14. My daughter had basketball practice and it was a good day to take off and rest.

Same Total Gym and kettlebell workout as Monday. Duration: 0:52:39 Average HR: 126 BPM (includes warmup and cool down) Max HR: 150 BPM Calories: 156 The diet is going very well. Sure I’ve had a craving for a snack, treat, and soda, but nothing too difficult to overcome.

Diet is definitely just as important, if not more important. I’ve analyzed what I eat and drink, and I cut out stuff that just makes sense to me to cut out - soda and extra snacks. So I’m basically just eating my usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner which are all decent. I made some minor changes to my meals, but nothing drastic at all. Been doing it for 3 weeks now and everything’s been good. I lost a little over 2 pounds in the first two weeks (this is week 3), which is about what I expected from diet alone. A drastic diet change would faster, but it would just come back. For the exercise portion, my goals are simple: burn as many calories as I can, and get as strong as I can. Within reason, of course. I’m not 25 anymore:) But the whole “fat burning zone” and the slow and steady for a longer time never worked for me. I’ve tried it several times. I’ve taken grad exercise physiology courses, and I’ve seen the research for and against it. I the research for it is a bit flawed. What works for me is interval training - get my HR up high, keep it there for a period, then get it low and keep it there for a period. I’ve never been good with cardio exercise. It just bores me to no end due to it being far too repetitive. My “cardio” will be hitting the bag. And karate. My plan is Total Gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Karate Tuesday and Saturday, and punching bag Thursday and Saturday. Punching bag will hopefully be high HR for 2 minutes, rest 1 minute, 10 rounds. We’ll see how that goes Tonight’s dojo results, according to my Polar H-10: Duration: 1:38 Average HR: 120 BPM Max HR: 145 BPM Calories burned: 728 Edit: I should’ve said this earlier but didn’t; my primary priority is rehabbing my back and getting stronger. Weight loss is definitely a goal too, but getting my back to a point where it’s just a distant memory and not feeling weak with practically everything I do as a result of the last several months is what I need to accomplish first and foremost. I’ve needed to lose the excess weight for quite some time now, but at this point it’s genuinely secondary. Once if feel like I’m at more or less where I want to be with the rehab and strength, I’ll ramp up the weight loss exercise. I’ll probably switch the heavy bag and Total Gym days.

I was out of the dojo for a few months due to a spine/disc injury. The night I tested (and passed) my 1st kyu exam, I knew I couldn’t just ignore my back pain anymore. Every time I hit someone, the entire right side of my back spawned up. I pushed through it. I decided to take a week or two off to let it heal up. 3 weeks later and zero improvement. Tried to do rehab exercises and it made it worse to the point where it hurt constantly instead of just when I did stuff. A few weeks of chiropractic care with no improvement. MRI showed bulging disc at T10 and inflammation at facet joins above and below. I saw my orthopedic surgeon friend who immediately advised a shot. I went on oral anti inflammatories and muscle relaxers for 3 weeks, figuring they’d work and I would just cancel the injection appointment. They helped, but it wasn’t enough. Just like he said. I figured it would be one needle to numb me and one full of cortisone and lidocaine. Nurse showed me the X-Ray during the procedure, and it was 4 needles at the same time. I guess I did it right I returned to the dojo 4 months to the day I sat out. 18 lbs heavier and a million times weaker, and I’ve been back for 3 weeks now. I’ve done some rehab since the shot and that’s going great, but how’s the time to drop the fat and get strong again. Actually, it’s time to drop for fat than I put on and get stronger than I was. I used to use a Fitbit to track heart rate, calories burned, etc. I just got a Polar H-10 chest strap which is far more accurate. Today was day 1. Here’s my stats... Weight: 233.6 lbs Goal weight: Under 200 lbs Workout: Turkish Get-Ups 3,2,1 reps each side with 15 lb kettlebell Total Gym - Bench press, row, fly, reverse fly, pull-up, shoulder press 3x15 All exercises done without rest in between; short rest between rounds Duration:0:49:12 Calories burned: 420 Average HR: 122 bpm Max HR: 149 bpm I’ve had the Total Gum for years now. I love it. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months when my wife was pregnant with our first daughter. Well, I’ve allowed myself to put it all back on and then some. No time like the present! Wish me luck

Doing better than I thought I could do. Pursuing perfection to strategy and technique. Getting fitter. Getting away from everyone and everything else for an hour and a half and just being in the moment, thereby reducing my stress and improving my mental wellbeing.

I think the arcade cabinets are pretty cool. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, that was where it was at. I played Karate Champ a ton of times at my city rec center. No quarters needed! The game’s controls definitely aren’t easy. Two joysticks I believe instead of a single joystick and buttons. The controls frustrated us to no end. I think what could’ve been a legendary game was stifled because of the difficult controls. The basic premise and what was going on on-screen were really ahead of its time. And it’s pretty easily found for the original NES. About $5 for the cartridge. I play it every now and then. I still get aggravated Not on the NES Classic Mini though.

Congratulations Bulltahr!

I agree. I know instructors who used to say that lifting weights would slow you down and kill your flexibility. "Bulking up" would make you slow and plodding. Not stretching kills your flexibility, not strong muscles. I can't think of any downsides to getting bigger and stronger. Then there is the school of thought that a Martial Artist should only weight train using motions they use in class; like using pulley systems to do weighted punching motions, or to stretch the legs and do kicking motions with bands tied to the ankles. Or, the most perpetuated fallacy I think I've heard throughout my MA career as far as weight training goes, was to "lift lighter weights for higher reps, to increase muscle endurance," or that lifting that way would "make you faster." The fact of the matter is that Martial Artists can reap the same benefits from doing full body, core barbell lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press, press, power clean and power snatch) as many other athletes do. These exercises strengthen the body using the body as it was intended to be used, all together, through a full range of motion. And I don't think I've ever heard anyone say, "Geez, I wish I wasn't so damn strong...." No one ever said they thought they were too strong. Or in too good of cardio shape.

Martial artists have lifted weights throughout the MAs existence. They didn’t use dumbbell, barbells, et al in the beginning; they lifted and/or carried stones, jars filled with various materials, weighted sticks, etc. There are countless pictures and drawings depicting MAists from all styles and regions doing this. Anyone who says lifting weights is bad for a MAist either has no clue what they’re talking about, no clue what they’re doing, or is just too lazy and is making excuses. I understand and agree with the concept of don’t get so big that you can’t move properly, but let’s be serious; 99% of the people out there can’t get Incredible Hulk big even if they wanted to. Most pro athletes are quite big (and strong). They don’t have issues moving.

Bodybuilders use very few machines. They’ll use one to isolate a muscle when necessary, but they pretty much despise the machines. Machines are best used for rehab purposes when there’s a specific deficit the patient has and that specific movement and/or muscle needs targeting. Most people who use machines are casual weightlifters, people who are just getting started, or elderly people rather than serious lifters.

Great to hear from you and to hear all is well, tubby.