bushido_man96

6/25/2019 Firearms Training Range: 4 hours of quality range time. Worked with shotguns a lot, transitioning to the pistol as well. Worked on firing standing, kneeling, and prone, strong and weak side with the shotgun. At the end of session, we got to have extra practice, so I put 100 rounds through from the 25 yard line with my pistol. I'm seeing improvement, too. 6/26/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 5 medicine ball throws. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 280x5, 280x5, 280x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 155x1, 175x5, 175x5, 175x5. Power Cleans: 115x3, 145x3, 145x3, 145x3, 145x3, 145x3. Stretch: toe touches, then kicks stretches on the Smith Machine - front/twist, then side. 6/28/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 5 medicine ball chest passes. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 285x5, 285x5, 285x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 260x1, 290x5. Stretch: toe touches, then kick stretches on the Smith Machine. Proud dad moment this week: Kendall got to max out at summer weights, and hit a PR on his squat: 315 lbs. He starts 8th grade in August.

Crazy accidents will happen in contact sports/activities. Do you, by chance, spar with your hands open?

6/24/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 5 medicine ball throws. Squats: 45x5 95x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 122.5x5, 122.5x5, 122.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 260x1, 285x5. Stretch: standing toe touches (more like reaching than touching), kick stretches on the Smith Machine (front and twist kick, then side kick), and quad stretches. MA Training Taught TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics: emphasized getting a feel for being in proper stances, like back stances. Forms, covered low and high orange, low and high green, middle and high brown belts, and 1st and 2nd dans. With the orange belts, I gave them some things to focus on in the 270 degree turns. And for all, target focusing and technical clean-up. One-steps: getting the new ones learned.

Good words, Bob. Focus on the task at hand, whatever that may be at the time. It's the best thing you can do at that moment. Then, on to the next moment!

6/21/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: jumps/throws. 5 broad jumps, 5 small box jumps, 5 medicine ball chest passes. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 155x1, 170x5, 170x5,170x5. Power Cleans: 115x3, 140x5, 140x3, 140x3. Stretch: standing toe touches, then kick stretches using the Smith Machine. Really happy with my progress so far, especially on the squat. Power cleans today, ugh. So, there is a reason why sets of 3 are recommended for the power clean. I had to get the workout done and get to work, though, so thought I'd try to get the volume in with sets of 5 instead of 3. That first set of 5 was rough. Numbers 4 and 5, I was spent, and tried to pull it anyway. Decided that wasn't a good idea for the next sets, so dropped to sets of 3 and finished up. Kendall was an animal, though, and ripped 3x5 no problem. Youth is truly wasted on the young...

I'm not sure you're going to find what you're looking for without having to pay for the setup of equipment and then a monthly service fee. It sounds to me like your best bet is the use of Excel that you are already doing. Our instructor just prints off a sheet for the month, and students check their name off on the dates they attend. Students are reminded to check in during class, and if they don't have the required number of classes per month, then they don't get to test.

Have you looked for any instructions online? I'd imagine some creative (and handy) instructor has come up with some plans on how to make some.

If you keep track of what you do when you lift weights, and look at your progress, you can usually figure out where you fall. Now, it depends on what kind of lifting routine you do, too. If you aren't lifting with a focus on gaining strength, then it's likely that you haven't worked through a novice progression yet.

I've decided to start this thread based off some of the discussions that have been put forth in this thread, Training with Weights for Martial Artists?. The goal of this post is to explain what it means to be considered a Novice, Intermediate, or Advanced weight lifter, and to clear up any misconceptions these descriptions might lead to. The most important aspect to understand about the descriptions of a lifter listed above have absolutely nothing to do with skill level, or "how good" someone is at doing a particular lift. It has to do with a trainee's progression, and how well they recover from training. With that out of the way, let's get into it. The Novice A novice trainee is "a trainee for whom the stress applied during a single workout and the recovery from that single stress is sufficient to cause an adaptation by the next workout." (Rippetoe, Practical Programming for Strength and Conditioning, Third Edition). The stress applied is the weight lifted, and recovery occurs during the rest time leading up to the next workout session, which is typically a 48 to 72 hour window (basically lifting three days a week, Monday/Wednesday/Friday). So the novice squats on Monday, then comes back on Wednesday and can add more weight to the bar, because he has recovered sufficiently enough to adapt to the previous stressor. This means that the novice lifter is in a very important stage in his lifting lifetime; he/she will be able to add a significant amount of weight to the bar over the course of what is referred to as the Novice Linear Progression at a faster rate than he/she ever will in their lifting lifetime. This Linear Progression can last anywhere between three and nine months, depending on the lifter's genetic factors and if proper recovery can be maintained throughout the progression. The end of the Novice Linear Progression is signaled by a performance plateau, at which time the lifter is not able to add weight to the bar every workout and complete the required sets/reps prescribed. Once this happens, it's time to adjust the application of the training stress, because the body has gotten stronger to the point that more recovery is required, and the stress must be applied differently. It's also important to note that some lifts may move out of the novice phase before others do. Keeping a detailed workout log can help flesh out these differences. The Intermediate Once the Novice Linear Progression has been exhausted, the lifter is strong enough now and working closer to their physical potential to the point that recovery is affected differently by the stress. The stress that the lifter now needs to produce to induce an adaptation takes longer than the 48 to 72 hours to recover from in the initial Novice Progression. Now the lifter moves his programming into a weekly progression, one in which the training stress and recovery are spread out over the course of the training week. At this point in training, the lifter will alter the programming to include a heavy day that helps trigger the stressor, a light day that acts a form of "active recovery" in which lighter loads (perhaps 80% of the Monday loads) are used to keep the movement pattern fresh and help the body recover by not adding a significant stress to what took place on the heavy day, and then finishing the week off with a medium day with less volume but a higher intensity on the main lifts. Day three should demonstrate an increase in production, and the weight lifted on Day 3 sets up the Day 1 workout for the following week. At this point in the training progression, the lifter will also begin to tailor the program to suit individual needs based on the lifter's other activities (for those of us reading this, most likely Martial Arts practice). Exercise selection and assistance movements can be more selective at this point in training. It is very likely that most of the training population will advance beyond the intermediate training progression, and intermediate level training can be followed for quite some time, and most likely will be, especially if the trainee has another sport or physical activity that they participate in. The Advanced Lifter is entirely different animal. The Advanced The Advanced trainee is the lifter who has forsaken all other activities aside from lifting weights, and is a competitor in a strength sport: Powerlifting, Olympic Weightlifting, or Strongman. For these competitors, weight training to them is much like what Martial Arts training is for us: IT IS WHAT THEY DO, IT IS WHO THEY ARE. They are working so close to their genetic potential, and have done so for so long, that they have exhausted the ability to create a stress significant enough to induce an adaptation, and this stress is great enough that recovery can't occur, in the one week period. They have moved on to more advanced periodization training, which is highly detailed, very specific, and fairly complex. These folks will train with their competitive schedule in mind, and organize their training so that they can peak by appointment at a meet or contest. I hope that this article has helped to explain some of the concepts involved when I post about weight training, and how the terms Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced lifters are interpreted. Again, these terms do not refer to how well someone performs a lift technically, nor does it refer to how strong a lifter is; they refer to the lifter's ability to move through the Stress/Recovery/Adaptation cycle, and therefore how programming is affected. There are three great resources that expound on these, and many other concepts for weight training, and are also my sources for the information in this article: Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training, Third Edition: Mark Rippetoe Practical Programming for Strength Training, Third Edition: Mark Rippetoe and Andy Baker The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40: Jonathon Sullivan and Andy Baker. All published by The Aasgaard Company.

6/19/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: Jumps/throws (5 broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 5 medicine ball throws). Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 265x5, 265x5, 265x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 85x3, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 280x5. Stretch: Standing toe touches, kicking stretches on the Smith machine, front kick, twist kick, and side kick stretches. Stretched arms, too. Gravity sucks. I felt it a bit more on the last set of presses. I was also curious as to how the deadlift work set would go, as in the last deadlift session I was really feeling the weight at the top near the lockout. But, the first few reps came off the floor nicely, and the last two, although difficult, locked out well.

I don't subscribe to the "anger is bad" mentality that many others claim. Being angry and being out of control are two different things. I know this because it is possible to be out of control without being angry. Anger can be used as a great motivator. Anger can push one to do great things. Anger can focus one to zero in on a goal or objective and be the driving force that leads to the successful outcome. The important thing to remember is that everyone is different, and their emotions may affect them differently than others. Its important that anger not become and excuse for lack of control. They are two different things.

Welcome to KF!

Welcome to KF!

Congrats on your promotion! Lots of good ideas have been mentioned so far. Have you watched any black belt testings? It would be a good way to have an idea of what to expect. That, and perhaps speaking with the instructor and asking for advice on how to prepare.

6/13/2019 MA Training TKD Class: 6:20 - 7:00 pm. Due to some scheduling conflicts, I made it to class, albeit late. So I missed basics, but was able to get in on forms, working on Toi Gye with a low brown belt, and helping the fresh 2nd dans learn Gae Baek. One-steps: low green belt, low orange belt. Post-class: brief stretching. 6/14/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 5 medicine ball throws. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 85x3, 117.5x5, 117.5x5, 117.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 275x5. 6/17/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: Jumps/throws. 5 broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 5 medicine ball throws. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 260x5, 260x5, 260x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 165x5, 165x5, 165x5. Power Cleans: 115x3, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3. MA Training TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Pre-class: stretching. Basics: I was able to push some of my kicks a bit more today. Forms: worked with Dan Gun, Boo Chung, and Gae Baek. One-steps: low green belt and blue/brown belt one-steps. Sparring: just a few rounds, working on the front leg strategy. Post-class: some stretching, and working on side kicks with a low green belt.

Or an embroidered obi. I was thinking that as well.

Yes, we look forward to updates!

6/12/2019 Strength Training Warm-up: Jump and throws. 5 standing broad jumps, 5 box jumps, 10 medicine ball chest passes. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 160x5, 160x5, 160x5. Power Cleans: 95x3x2, 130x3, 130x3, 130x3, 130x3, 130x3. Today was really kind of fun in the gym, because Kendall and I worked out together. He was squatting just 10 or 15 pounds under my work set, so we just adjusted accordingly. We used two separate benches and two separate power clean stations, but worked together in the gym. Lifted, chatted about stuff, and got stronger together. Good stuff!

6/10/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 standing broad jumps, 5 small box jumps, 5 medicine ball throws. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 85x3, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 270x5. Barbell Rows: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. MA Training TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics; these were abbreviated somewhat, because the instructor wanted to spend more time in class working on new material after promotions. We did basics standing in place, blocking and striking, and kicking in place with the front leg. Forms; I worked with low orange belts, low green belts, and a low brown belt on their new forms. One-steps; low orange and low green belt. Post-class; did a little bit of stretching. Weights and class were pretty much back-to-back today. I got done lifting about an hour before class started, so had a little time to recover.

I agree! It sounds like it was a good week!

6/7/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 240x5, 240x5, 240x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 155x5, 155x5, 155x5. Power Cleans: 95x3x2, 125x3, 125x3, 125x3, 125x3, 125x3. LTE: 55x10, 55x10, 55x10. Lat Pull-downs: 122.5x10, 122.5x10, 122.5x10.

That sounds great! You might get a small board that you can punch lightly at first, and gradually build up speed and power against. Just to get the feel of hitting a hard target with your knuckles, and getting the arm lined up. Maybe even making light contact with a solid wall. Or a Makiwara if you have access to one.

I agree with the above, this is definitely a good idea to consider. In the past, an instructor of mine used stripes on a belt to indicate what the student knew, and what they needed to work on. This might be a helpful tool for you to see at-a-glance who needs what work done. However many requirements you have (forms, one-steps, board breaks, terminology, etc.), but a stripe on the belt indicating that the student has demonstrated acceptable proficiency in that requirement. This could be done by conducting a mini-testing on that material at the end of a class, or at the end of a week, or at various times scheduled throughout the testing cycle, providing a path to the goal of getting to the grading.

Our testings are not the long, marathon tests. The time it takes has more to do with how many students are testing than anything else. Colored belts do their rank forms, one-steps, sparring, and board breaking if applicable. Our students testing for 1st Dan are required to write a one-page paper, the topic of which is what attaining their black belt means to them (and reads it aloud to the audience), and then perform all colored belt material, forms and one-steps, plus their own, along with sparring and board breaking during their testing. So it takes longer, but isn't drawn out terribly.

6/5/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 235x5, 235x5, 235x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 85x3, 112.5x5, 112.5x5, 112.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 265x5. Barbell Rows: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10.