The Martial Artists' Training Log

[bushido_man96]

9/20/2022

Range Training: 3 hours of range in the morning. Lots of work with the duty pistol/malfunction clearing and backup pistol. Also qualified with my old .40 cal for off-duty purposes.

On a side note, I think my left arm is done. It was difficult just holding the pistol up in the threat ready position, and anything overhead is very painful.

9/21/2022

TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt Class. Little stretching in the Rack, then some kicking on the bags, and some speedbag work. Punching the standing bag was not pleasant for my left shoulder. Sparred several rounds with the last 20 minutes of class. It went pretty well. I did manage to kick someone's knee with my heel, and that still hurts a bit a day later.

[DarthPenguin]

9/16/2022

Strength Training

Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 95x5, 105x5, 145x3, 190x1, 210x5, 210x5.

Lat Pull-downs: 175x8, 175x8, 175x8, 175x8.

Triceps Push-downs: 80x12, 80x12, 80x12.

Barbell Rows: 130x8, 130x8, 130x8.

I really felt the grip getting worked on the snatch deads. Really hoping it helps with more lat engagement.

9/19/2022

Strength Training

Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x1, 310x5, 310x1, 207.5x5, 207.5x5.

Lat Pull-downs: 177.5x8, 177.5x8, 177.5x8, 177.5x8.

Triceps Push-downs: 82.5x12, 82.5x12, 82.5x12.

On that last rep of the deadlift work set, the dang bar floated away from my shins again. My buddy suggested that I really focus on getting everything really tight before pulling, like just squeezing everything in the body together. I pulled another single, with no belt, and did that squeezing. It seemed to work, and really felt the lats afterwards. I did the two backoff sets without the belt, and concentrated on the squeeze, too.

For the floating away from the shins i have always heard that that can be either not contracting the lats enough or not hinging back quite enough. For me the queues that always seem to work is to pull back rather than up, in a way that you think feels like you might topple backwards with the weight being a counterbalance (i am probably wording this badly) and to focus on pushing the ground away rather than pulling the bar up. I find i am a lot tighter and explode better into it when i push the ground away.

Probably queues you know already i know!

[bushido_man96]

DarthPenguin, those are good cues, and ones that I focus on. Funnily enough, even at times where I try to lean back, it will still float away at times. You are right in that contracting the lats is the key. For some reason, as it gets heavier, it becomes a problem. I will continue to focus on those cues, as they are good reminders!

9/26/2022

Strength Training

Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x1, 315x5, 365x1.

I'm on a strict diet of pulling from the floor right now, to try to ease the pain in my left shoulder. These sets went pretty well, and for the most part, kept the bar on my shins. Had a little float on rep 4, but otherwise, went well. Decided to pull a heavy single, too. It's been a while since I've pulled 365, and it was heavy.

TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. I really did not feel good for this class, not physically, anyway. Moving was tough, and my body just hurt. I worked very slowly through Do-Kangs 1-3, then did 3 very slow and focused run-throughs of my form, Choong Jang. Afterwards, we discussed the women's self-defense course curriculum. With any luck, we'll be having a class coming up in October.

9/27/2022

Conditioning: Did some conditioning on the rowing machine. 1:30 on, 30 seconds rest, and went for 20 minutes. I'd thought about upping the rest time, or dropping the set back to 1:00 minute, but kept through it.

The pain in my left shoulder wasn't as great today, so I think the more limited work with weights will be helpful. Going to have to get it fixed, though.

[DarthPenguin]

is the issue definitely with your lats? Was thinking about it and your rhomboids and mid back muscles do a lot to retract your scapula etc when rowing so they might be contributing?

How is your rowing strength in relation to your deadlift? That might give an indication of where the issue lies. For myself, while the lats feel it to keep it in tight i try to concentrate on 'pinching' the mid back when i am tightening up the back muscles.

I think i also read somewhere before that raising the hips up too early can lead to the bar floating out a little sometimes. Maybe the leg drive is contributing to it a little? If it's on the heavy sets it would make sense that you are driving more with the legs.

Just a few ideas, apologies if they are silly ones!!

[bushido_man96]

No, all good, DarthPenguin!

I use a five-step deadlift setup that keeps the hips high at the start of the lift, so hips aren't an issue. Not sure on the other upper back muscles, really. I do some rowing, and have posted the weight from my sessions above. I've been gradually increasing the weight on my rows. I think it's just something I'm going to have to keep attention to when I deadlift.

9/28/2022

TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt Class. Did some work on the heavy bag, and on the speed bag, along with a little stretching. Finished with some sparring. It went ok. I got tagged a few times, which is alright. Just need to clean up some footwork and defense. I catch myself rooting and committing to the block, when I should be blocking and counter-kicking either at the same time, or right after blocking.

[DarthPenguin]

No, all good, DarthPenguin!

I use a five-step deadlift setup that keeps the hips high at the start of the lift, so hips aren't an issue. Not sure on the other upper back muscles, really. I do some rowing, and have posted the weight from my sessions above. I've been gradually increasing the weight on my rows. I think it's just something I'm going to have to keep attention to when I deadlift.

I took a look at the rowing numbers and it likely depends on if you are pushing the weight or erring on the side of caution and trying to get some lighter volume in.

What i mean by that is that your deadlift numbers are currently a little higher than mine but in a similar ballpark i think overall and for rows i am doing 65kg (approx 143lbs) for sets of 10 with the focus being on lighter volume - if i try to max out i can hit a double at about 100kg. Reason for mentioning this is i have never felt my lats or upper back are a limiting factor in my deadlift at all and it is the only thing i can see as a major difference potentially.

Looking again it might well be a mid back thing - your lat pulldown numbers seem a lot higher than the rows and they don't use as much upper/mid back.

Just throwing out some ideas so apologies if it is overly interfering!!!

[bushido_man96]

No, all good, DarthPenguin!

I use a five-step deadlift setup that keeps the hips high at the start of the lift, so hips aren't an issue. Not sure on the other upper back muscles, really. I do some rowing, and have posted the weight from my sessions above. I've been gradually increasing the weight on my rows. I think it's just something I'm going to have to keep attention to when I deadlift.

I took a look at the rowing numbers and it likely depends on if you are pushing the weight or erring on the side of caution and trying to get some lighter volume in.

What i mean by that is that your deadlift numbers are currently a little higher than mine but in a similar ballpark i think overall and for rows i am doing 65kg (approx 143lbs) for sets of 10 with the focus being on lighter volume - if i try to max out i can hit a double at about 100kg. Reason for mentioning this is i have never felt my lats or upper back are a limiting factor in my deadlift at all and it is the only thing i can see as a major difference potentially.

Looking again it might well be a mid back thing - your lat pulldown numbers seem a lot higher than the rows and they don't use as much upper/mid back.

Just throwing out some ideas so apologies if it is overly interfering!!!

No worries, DP. I just started implementing rows back into my routine, and whenever I add an exercise, I start rather conservatively and then linearly progress it each workout. Since rows are an ancillary exercise, I plan on keeping the reps at about 8, and doing 3 or 4 sets, depending on what I think I need. I'll never attempt to "max out" on it. But, I'll keep gradually adding weight to the bar each workout with it. I've been doing lat pull-downs for quite some time, but mainly because I can't really do a chin-up. A while back, I could do maybe 2 chins with a neutral grip, but my shoulder has been so ripped up I haven't messed with it in some time. But that's probably why those numbers are higher.

9/29/2022

Strength Training

RDLs: 45x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x8, 185x8, 185x8.

Barbell Rows: 135x8, 135x8, 135x8.

Conditioning: 20 minutes of rowing. First 10 minutes I did 1:30 on, 30 off; switched it to 1:00 on, 1:00 off for the last 10 minutes.

9/30/2022

Strength Training

Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 105x5, 145x5, 195x3, 215x5, 215x5.

10/3/2022

Defensive Tactics Training: Today was the first day of training at a Spear Instructor's Course. It's being held locally, which is a great bonus. We spent the day going over the startle-flinch response, and getting into various drills to progress through it's various levels, and honing and training this natural response. It was a very interesting day of training, and am looking forward to the rest of the week. 8 hours of training.

[bushido_man96]

10/4/2022

Spear Instructor Course: Day 2 of training, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Another good day of training. We did a little bit in the classroom, looking at some videos and working backwards to show how to develop better responses to ambush attacks. Lots of time spent in the mat room doing teach-backs of the drills we did yesterday.

[bushido_man96]

10/5/2022

Spear Instructor Course: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Day 3 of good ol' defensive tactics training. Had some class time today, going over power point on the various ideas and philosophies behind the system. Spent time in the mat room going over the drills again, doing teach backs of the drills to each other. Today, we picked out the drills that we will teach tomorrow for the certification. We also have a couple of Zoom calls tomorrow as a group, one of them being with Tony Blauer.

TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt Class. Did some stretching in the rack, then rolled out a standing bag to work on some kicks. Did some round kicks, some front and back leg side kicks, back leg front kicks, spin side kicks, and spin hook kicks. Did a slow and hopefully smooth walk-thru of Choong Jang, then finished class up with some rounds of sparring.

I pretty much held to my goal of not giving up ground. In the process, I made myself take a flurry of punches from the CI. At one point, I told him "hit me!" I opt to not wear the chest protector, as it severely limits my movement. So, I encourage the people I spar to get in some contact.

I'm going to have a nice bruise on my left calf tomorrow, as I caught an elbow when I tried to throw a spin side kick while jammed in pretty close (not giving ground...). Elbow snagged the muscle on the outside, and I can feel it frogging up my entire calf as I sit here and flex it tonight. Good stuff! As an aside, I got more beat up from one TKD class this week than I have in a full week of LEO defensive tactics training!

[bushido_man96]

10/6/2022

Spear Instructor Course: Day 4, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. Today we started with a bit of classroom stuff, then got into the mat room to review our assigned teach-back drills with out partners, and go over any details before doing the teach backs for our certification. After lunch, we got into the teach backs, and everyone got through them really well, and we all certified as instructors. We had a pretty small group, with only 8 students. It was presented as a "battle buddy" course, and an agency could basically send two students for the price of one. Win-win all around, as now I've got someone else in the department that is certified in the same thing, and can offer some solid assistance when teaching to our other deputies and jailers.

This course was quite a bit different than other courses I had done in the past. We focused a lot on pre-fight indicators, and watching videos, many of which I had seen already, and instead of watching with a focus on what the officer was doing (which is common for us to do, looking for things not to do), we focused on what the bad guys was doing. This allowed us to focus more on the indicators that lead up to the attack, and helps us in reverse engineering the drills, and build them off the ambush attack. Very interesting, and I found it very helpful, and I look forward to working more within my department, and building the skills of our new and experienced deputies and jailers.