Aodhan

We've discussed this a few times, do a search and you'll find a lot of good ideas. Basically, you need to figure out how many calories you need a day to just get up, breathe, and go back to bed in the evening. Then you add in all the calorie requirements for your training, work, play, etc. This is your caloric intake needed to maintain weight. If you want to lose weight, shooting for 2-3 lbs a month is your best bet now. You lost a lot initially, now it's going to come slower. But, 2-3 lbs a month is a safe, healthy, permanent weight loss rate. Once you have all the above figured out, then: First: For every lb you want to lose, you need to cut out about 3500 calories per week. (Give or take, each individual is different). That's about 500 calories per day. Second: Evaluate your diet, and cut out "empty" calories. (Soda, candy bars, ice cream, etc.) Leave some bits in, nobody can completely cut out everything. Get your calories from nutrionally solid foods. Third: Add more cardio. Running is excellent, but is very high impact. Swimming is also excellent, and is more of an overall body workout. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so you also need to look at just "how you look". If you weigh 180 but carry a lot of muscle, that may be a great weight for you. Aodhan

Hand stand pushups using a wall for balance, about 15-20. Without a wall, about 2 before my balance goes. You want a really hard one, go from a headstand and press into a handstand. The slightly easier way is to do a backwards roll into a handstand (And maintain balance of course... ) Aodhan

If you like chips that much, make your own. Just slice the spuds however you like, bake them in the oven. Much better than the fried kind, and you can put whatever you like on them. (I like Mrs. Dash fake butter sprinkles, yummy.) I'm assuming you are talking about the British "chips", which we American's call fries. Aodhan

Not sure what style of TKD you trained in, but my training (WTF and ATA)has always included self defense, joint locks, basic grappling, etc. As far as the kicks, google XMA and see if you can find videos of the creative forms divisions at the US Open, Diamond Nationals, etc. Aodhan

So he's far from being a MMA fighter, no big deal, IMHO. I really don't understand the viewpoint that if it's not MMA, it's not effective. Aodhan

Sohan - Go the other way. It's a little more than $2 US per pound right now, so what costs him 60 pounds would be ~$120 US. If your protein powder is that much, I'd buy it online and have it shipped in, Orion. Aodhan

Ok, if you have a grading and then fight season coming up, then you REALLY need to take the time off. At the very least, take 4 or 5 days off and rest completely. Take that time to plan out a menu, go shopping, stretch, relax. In 4 or 5 days you won't really lose any fitness (Go for a walk if you need to do SOMEthing), and the rest you get will really serve you well. Then do your workouts lightly up to your grading (Say, 60-70%). Also, during your time off, plan your workouts. Most seasonal type sports will start kind of slow, peak about 3-5 weeks before the biggest events, then taper down. The length and time of the taper is pretty much athlete dependent. For example: Our high school cross country season started in august, continued through mid november. June - July : Workouts on our own, lots of LSD (Long Slow Distance). August - Increase the distance, start adding hill workouts (fartlek), pick up the pace on the long runs September - More interval and hill type training, adding distance per week, picking up the intensity - Peak mileage towards the end of the month October - Start scaling back the mileage, more intense interval work, fartlek, hills, sprints, etc. Last week really start cutting back mileage November - Last 2 weeks before conference/state meets - Cut way back on mileage, light hills and sprints, lots of rest. A very basic scale/peak/taper for one event. If you have a couple of big fights, you can do the same thing (It's called a mini taper) before each event, and then do a full taper/scaleback before your biggest fight. (Work with a coach, a 3 week taper might be a bit much for a fight) And always pay attention to your body. If you notice that you are dragging butt at your workouts, etc. take a day off. One day off won't hurt your training, and you can recover your rest/sleep on that day. Aodhan

True, the only thing us men have to suffer is women! :D :D Aodhan

Hey all- Just got the final postings, and I am ranked #6 for my age/belt division in the ATA for Weapons, and will have a chance to compete for the title in 3 weeks in Little Rock during our Worlds tournament!! WOOHOO!! It is the top 10 US ranked competitors, plus qualifiers from the STF and WTTU federations (ATA overseas federations). It's the second time I've qualified, I qualifed as a first degree in forms a few years ago as well. Additionally, I am the Arizona state champion for forms, weapons and sparring in my age/belt division. Yeah, I know it's a brag post, but it was a good year. Might have qualified for Worlds in forms if I hadn't missed 2 tournaments with a broken rib. Aodhan

Sohan - Would you say that it is due to the development you get from the exercise, or the proprioception you build with a superslow movement, and the balance from the slow/hold phase? Just curious, I know which helped me more, I want some independent confirmation. Aodhan

Currently we are training with two (2nd degree BB only, 1st use one), and doing the advanced drills, which involve a lot of hand over hand spins, etc. Aodhan

There's a few sites that have them posted. Best bet is to go to the ataonline site, ( http://www.ataonline.com/schools/SchoolWeb.asp ) and go through some of the school sites to find one that has them. Aodhan

It isn't a function of how many (endurance), it's a question of how much (power/force). Think of it this way, being able to do 100 bench presses with 100kg doesn't mean you can do 1 bench press of 160kg. Aodhan

Concentrate on footwork and movement to start. The more you can be balanced and "light" on your feet, the better. Then work on throwing kicks from different angles and different load points. Jump switch into a round kick, V out then in for a twist kick, things like that. The more you can disguise it, the better. Tape your footwork and kicking, see if there is anything you can find that you do that announces "Hey, I'm gonna do this kick now!", and fix it. Work with mirrors, videos and pads, and get really fit. Aodhan

You're overtraining. Plain and simple. The tiredness and lethargy is your body's way of saying "Hey, slow down!" Listen to it. Continuing to overtrain can lead to a whole host of medical problems, some of which can be very lingering and nasty. Your body needs time to heal itself and recover, and if you are hammering yourself 4 times a week and then working out on the off days as well, your body never gets to recover. Training to your full capacity doesn't mean thrashing yourself 6 days a week. Aodhan

No, not at all. It's very common among female athletes with low body fat percentages, actually. Nothing unhealthy about it, and cycles resume normally once body fat percentages rise. Do a google search for "exercise induced amenorrhea", and read a few of the articles. (Stick to the medically oriented journal articles, there's a lot of quack information out there.) Aodhan

I can't comment to the lessening of the pain, but in female athletes with low body fat and high intensity training, they will often experience amenorrhea, or the lack of a period. Aodhan

Swimming. I swam competitively for 19 years, and it is still the best overall cardiovascular exercise out there. Works every major muscle group in the body, is low impact, and is fun to do! (Of course, the last may be a personal bias) Aodhan

He said in his original post, he didn't really want to bulk a lot. Maybe you should do your recommendations along those lines? To the OP: A middle ground between bulking and toning is 3-5 sets, 4-8 reps per set. Experiment with different things such as strip sets, pyramids, negative pyramids, circuit, separating body parts, core exercises, etc. You will have to vary your workout over and over as your body gets used to what you do. Experiment with everything, eat a healthy diet with lots of varied fruits and veggies, healthy fats, lean meats/fish, dairy. Figure out what you need for weight maintenance as far as calorie requirements, then you know how to adjust for gains/losses as needed. Aodhan

From a physiology standpoint you are correct. However, it is a point of reference that many people understand, and it is possible to develop different sections of the muscle through different exercises/grips. That is what I refer to when I talk about developing upper/inner/outer/lower, etc. Aodhan

Ok, lets get the whole thing straight here. The average muscle cell at rest has a high concentration of potassium inside the cell, and a high concentration of sodium outside the cell. The cell itself has a resting value of about -70 mv (Millivolts). When action is needed (Such as a muscle being used), channels in the membrane of the cell open up, and sodium (+) charge starts entering the cell. Potassium (also a + charge) starts exiting. Potassium moves much slower than sodium, so the resting potential of the cells rises, and as it gets nearer to zero, it "fires" or clenches (IIRC, the firing occurs somewhere around -45 mV. The flow of the ions then reverses itself, and the cell returns to its resting state of -70 millivolts. So, if you have depleted potassium in your cells, then your resting potential raises, which makes it much easier for the muscle to clench, and much harder for it to relax, or return to it's resting state. Magnesium won't produce cramps until you start getting a pretty severe deficiency, and at that point it is often associated with hypokalemia (Low potassium) in the blood. Aodhan

Not everyone works the same, it may work for him. Also, if your triceps are tired, it will force your chest to work harder, especially if you are doing dumbbell flyes as your primary chest exercise, which you should. Aodhan

Actual potassium overdosing is extremely rare. I haven't seen anything that says too much potassium is bad, mostly it's going to get excreted. Was this something that you read, (post link?), or something that someone "heard" and repeated? Aodhan

Cables and squeezes as I explain above. Aodhan

Best bodyfat measurement available - Underwater weighing. Bar none. Calipers done by a trained technician utilizing at least seven sites on the body run second. Anything else figure a +/- ratio of 5-10% depending on the method. Electrical impedence (IMHO) is useless. We have one at our dojangh. I weighed myself before a sparring class, and a little while after. Lost 6 pounds, gained 4% bodyfat. Aodhan