The Martial Artists' Training Log

[bushido_man96]

5/8/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 245x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 158x4, 158x4, 158x4, 158x4.

Lat Pull-downs: 157.5x10, 157.5x10, 157.5x10

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 80x10, 80x10, 80x10 (40).

Couldn't get any sets of 5 on press today, but could get 4, so the setup is now 4 sets of 4, for a total of 16 reps, until it drops to sets of 3.

TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Pre-class calisthenic warmup. Hit forms in class today. Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Choong, then rest; Do San and Won Hyo, then rest; Yul Kok and Jung Gun, then rest; Toi Gye and Hwa Hwrang, then rest; Choong Moo, a rest, and then Gae Baek. We rotated with another first degree who was being evaluated on his performance.

[DarthPenguin]

The press is still good though. What percentage of bw are you doing? It is a funny exercise as i find it depends more on body shape than most others (for me at least). I'm quite tall with long arms so i have always found it really tough to get to a decent weight. Other people can absolutely blast it easily

[bushido_man96]

The press is still good though. What percentage of bw are you doing? It is a funny exercise as i find it depends more on body shape than most others (for me at least). I'm quite tall with long arms so i have always found it really tough to get to a decent weight. Other people can absolutely blast it easily

I weigh around 260 lbs right now, so whatever percentage that is.

5/12/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 159x4, 159x5, 159x4, 159x2.

Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 205x3, 245x2, 270x5, 270x5.

5/15/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Lat Pull-downs: 160x10, 160x10, 160x10.

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 85x10, 85x10, 85x10 (42.5).

I didn't do any of the big lifts on this day because I was starting to have some issues with light headedness, which is often a precursor to a Meniere's flare up. If I get under heavy weight and Valsalva, it can set it off (had that happen before). So I did the assistance work I felt I could do, so I wouldn't skip the day altogether.

That night, the wheels came off. Had a flare up that night, woke up with my head spinning. I've been fighting it all the following week, too, and missed a whole week of training. Hoping to get back on track soon.

[DarthPenguin]

Ouch hope you feel better soon!

I try and look at these things now as a long winding road. There will be bumps and gaps in training etc but as long as you get the most out of it that you are able to then that is all you can do.

[bushido_man96]

Ouch hope you feel better soon!

I try and look at these things now as a long winding road. There will be bumps and gaps in training etc but as long as you get the most out of it that you are able to then that is all you can do.

Yeah, that's the approach that I take. I know I'll get back to it, with a slight reset, and just start back down the road again.

5/20/2023

Women's Self-Defense Class: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. This was put on at the TKD school, arranged by the CI and a domestic violence and abuse advocacy we have here called Options. We started the gig with about 16 attendees, and finished with 14 after a few had to leave early. Overall, it was a decent seminar.

[bushido_man96]

5/22/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 155x4, 145x5, 145x5.

Lat Pull-downs: 150x10, 150x10, 150x10.

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 90x10, 90x10, 90x10.

Back under the bar, with a 10% backoff on all the lifts; this is unfortunate, because I'm backed up farther than I was the last time I had this setback...not good for progress.

The first press set was really heavy, and I only got 4 reps...and then realized I had misloaded the weight. So sets 2 and 3 reflect the actual 10% backoff. I didn't back off the lat pull-downs and iso-bench by 10%; I just backed off the lats a little.

5/24/2023

Strength Training

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 146x5, 146x5, 146x5.

Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x2, 325x5.

The deadlifts felt really heavy today. I hate getting reset like that.

There was a highlight to this week, though; my boys are out of school for the summer, and they have been joining me at the gym, and we always have a good time together.

[bushido_man96]

5/26/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 147x5, 147x5, 147x5.

Lat Pull-downs: 152.5x10, 152.5x10, 152.5x10.

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 95x10, 95x10, 95x10 (47.5).

5/31/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 148x5, 148x5, 148x5.

Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x1, 245x5, 245x5.

Press felt better than it did on Monday; the sets seem to go smoother. Squat always feels a little tired on Wednesday, so sticking with the light day moving forward. Snatch-deads were ok.

Scenario-Based Use-of-Force Training: This was kind of a surprise at work today. I did an hour of I guess you could call simulation training. The scenario is played on a screen, and the person running it has some input into how I react in the scenario. It's not perfect, but it has some good applications.

[bushido_man96]

6/1/2023

TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Another round of testing. We had one testing for 2nd dan/decided, and one testing for his 1st dan/decided, with some colored belts also testing along the way. I saw some improvements, for sure, which is always good to see, but I'd like to see more out of the black belts. I expressed this to the group as a whole at the end, by emphasizing that as they progress, instead of just regurgitating a memorized form, I should start to see the students "imbue the form with their presence." When we tell them "your" form, I should see something different about it from what anyone else does. And it's time they started thinking about it that way, and not just in forms, but in their technique and performance, no matter what they are doing.

6/2/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 260x5, 260x5, 260x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 149x5, 149x5, 149x5.

Lat Pull-downs: 160x10, 160x10, 160x10.

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 105x10, 105x10, 105x10.

[bushido_man96]

6/5/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 265x5, 265x5, 265x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5.

Lat Pull-downs: 162.5x10, 162.5x10, 162.5x10.

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 110x10, 110x10, 110x10.

6/9/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 151x5, 151x5, 151x5.

Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x2, 330x5.

[bushido_man96]

6/14/2023

Strength Training

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 152x5, 152x5, 152x5.

Snatch Grip Deadlift: 185x3, 225x2, 250x5, 250x5.

6/16/2023

Strength Training

Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup.

Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5.

Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 153x5, 153x5, 153x5.

Barbell Rows: 95x5, 115x5, 135x8, 135x8, 135x8.

Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 115....pain!

Iso-bench didn't go today. Got in, tried a rep, and it just hurt way too much. I tried adjusting the grip, and it still hurt way too much.

As I type this, it's 6/30/2023. So, I've not had a training session in some time. Things have gone really south for me lately. Meniere's disease has flared up with vengeance, and I'm not sure why. My head has been a mess for going on three weeks now; lots of lightheadedness and general discomfort. Trying to lift heavy while that's going on isn't great, and my balance has been affected, too.

6/26/2023

DT Training Session: I did 4, 2-hour blocks of training at the department today. Even though I haven't been feeling the best, the sessions still went pretty well. We covered a lot of choke defense stuff, various headlocks, etc.

After the training session, I was at home running around the kitchen, trying to get supper around....I bent down to get foil out of cupboard, stood up, and the world spun for hours. Ended up medicating myself and crashing out for 13 hours. It really sucks.