Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kasey's Karate Fitness Plan

And so begins Week 4!

THE INTRO

Time to grading as of Saturday 9th February: 10 Months
Time remaining: 37 weeks

Time to Competition as of Saturday 1st March: 12 Weeks
Time remaining: 12 Weeks

Day(s) into fitness program: 23/280
Successful day(s) into the fitness program: 18/280

Ok, I will be going for 2nd Kyu, and due to no training at all and being slack over the past two to three months, I am very unfit and far away from being ready for a grading.

I will need to work greatly on fitness, kata performance, sparring and memory assessments (warm up in Japanese, all self defence from white belt, all the one-step sparring from white belt, all the bo and sai exercises). So it's not only physical things I need to work on, it's mental work also.

The greatest area, once again, is sparring. This is going to be a bit difficult, especially since the dojo I'll be grading at I can only attend occasionally due to work. And the night that I can go, they do more work on katas then sparring. The other dojo I'm attending, the sparring work is different (non contact and competition sparring). So going to have to find out single drills that I can do to add to the workout.

THE WORKOUT PLAN

The areas that I will be concentrating on over the 10 months of training:
> Fitness: Running, Skipping, Weight Training, Pushups, Situps
> Tuite: Self Defence - white belt to brown belt
> Ippon: One step sparring - white belt to brown belt
> Kobudo: Weaponry - bo and sai training exercises
> Kata: All kata - 11 kata (possibly one more to learn?)
> Kobudo Kata: Bo kata - 2 kata (most likely 1 sai kata to learn?)
> Flexibility: Mainly for legs and back/abs

THE PROGRESSIONS

I need (well actually want) to be at the standard the guys are at. They already hold back on me, one major thing that I'm attributing to my sparring downfall.

What I want to improve on:
> Fitness: Running distance (eventually interval training), Pushups and Situp amount
> Tuite: Having the correct techniques and making sure they're effective
> Ippon: Same as Tuite
> Kobudo: Being able to hold the weapons correctly without pain and blisters, remembering all exercises and be able to perform them flawlessly
> Kata: Remembering all kata without a mistake, fixing up technical areas
> Kobudo Kata: Perform the kata without hitting myself and performing correctly
> Flexibility: Increase Hamstring and Quad flexibility to prevent/stop pain, same with Back and Abs
> Conditioning: Just not be able to bruise so easily

OTHER INFORMATION

Other then work and go to karate, I do nothing else with myself. So there is no excuse of being to busy to do something. In my spare time I'm always on the internet. I don't need to be online all the time! I just need to dedicate myself more to something that I wish to have the time to make my life about. I need to do something about it to see the results.

UPDATE

Went to a Mixed Martial Arts Competition today just to watch what it was like. My mate now wants us (and possibly two others) to enter the competition. So another reason to do the training. The events I'm entering are:
> Kata
> Weaponry
> Point Sparring
> Continuous Sparring
I'm not sure about the point sparring division as I'm not that familiar with it (tried once and came last out of 9 or 10 competitors - hardly got a hit in). The rest of it I will be fine with. Just need to work on my evasion and counter attacks for the continuous sparring division.
So that is on May 24th, 12 weeks away exactly.

Monthly Aims:

> Drink 2L of water daily
> Eat 2 pieces of fruit daily
> Eat a full breakfast everyday
> Walk to work every shift
> Complete all karate and grading syllabus sessions
> Complete at least 3 out of 5 cardio sessions per week
> Complete pushups and situps at least 5 days a week

Biggest Challanges:

> Still working out when I visit my parents (I tend to not do anything out of embarressment)

Week 1 - FINISHED

Sunday:
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> Pushup Pyramid (1 to 10 and back to 1)
> Didn't complete, but have been doing housework all day and grocery shopping. Figured this will make up for the fitness side of it as the exercise today was only meant to be easy anyway.
> As for the pushup pyramid, I completed it entirely on my knuckles, but also on my knees. Need to learn to do this all the time at the dojo, but properly. As there is a difference between carpet and floorboards and my knuckles aren't ready for boards yet, every even number group I completed it on hard cover books. I didn't complete the whole set, but I made it from 1 to 10, that is 55 pushups though.
Monday:
> Run 5 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> Situp Pyramid (5 to 30 and back to 5)
> I was surprised how easy the run was. I felt like I could keep going for a fair while longer. I'm not sure if it would make a difference being outside to inside? Today I just cut laps through the house.
> Most of the weight training was easy, rest was hard. Some exercises such as the lunges and oblique twists I couldn't quite make the full 3 sets without going to a lighter weight. Only prob is that I have got dumbbells, I think the bar weighs 500g each, then got 4 x 1.5kg and 4 x 2.5 kg weights for it. So lunges, I could only have no weight, 1kg, 4kg, 6kg etc. Might just have to cut down the reps and keep the 4kg. Oh, by the weight, completed it in about 40 min.
> I was surprised I wasn't tight after the weight training. My calves were a bit sore and I know that they will most likely still be tomorrow. When I did the back bend (lying down one), I was finally able to do it without pain, but then my legs went really tingly, but not pins and needles tingly. It was weird. I might have to keep an eye on that, but my back isn't sore after that stretch for the first time since I was little.
> I didn't make the situps. My abs are so weak. They used to be really strong without any effort. I got up to 20 and that was enough. So it was a total of 40 situps.
Tuesday:
> Skip 1 minutes
> Karate
> Pushup Pyramid (1 to 10 and back to 1)
> Skipping was easy fitness wise, but the reason the time is so low is because of the impact of the skipping. I can feel my knees weakening with each jump, so I need to gradually build it up so that they strengthen rather then fall apart. Also even with a good sports bra, it still hurts.
> Karate was alright, got a little bit of a sweat up, would like it to have been more, but I could feel my calf muscles straining a little after the weight training last night. Worked mainly on kata, a little fitness, but only for about 5 minutes.
> Didn't complete the pushups... well didn't do them to be exact. Didn't get home until 10:30 and I was to tired to even start them.
Wednesday:
> Run 5 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> Situp Pyramid (5 to 30 and back to 5)
> Felt my calves again, but they loosened up by the end of it. Ran for about 7 or 8 minutes (lasted two songs on my iPod). Once again felt easy, but wasn't too sure on my calves while cutting laps of the room. I'm really going to have to head outside at some stage.
> I completed all weights fully. Did all 3 sets of 10 reps. Only one I struggled a little while again was the lunges. So I changed it from starting with feet together, to remaining with legs apart so it was less stress on my knee. I am doing power lifting, so exploding back with the effort part of the weights.
> Once again, my back felt really good after the stretching. So good that I did a little more stretching on it. It feels so relaxed now. I have no idea what has changed, but I think I'm relaxing the muscles more. In my mind I'm saying over and over "just relax" and it's so much easier.
> Not going to do the situps tonight. It is very late (nearly 10pm) and I've just finished the weights. Didn't get back home till late againg and the weight training plus the flexibility took nearly an hour and a half.
Thursday:
> Skip 1 minutes
> Karate
> Pushup Pyramid (1 to 10 and back to 1)
> Completed about 30 seconds of skipping, need to stetch out my TFL, that was aching. Gonna have to add that to my flexibility program.
> I was sweating at Karate tonight. Worked on fitness and a bit of sparring. Then instructed for the rest of the night. Hurt a little (TFL again) doing the sparring with jumping back and forwards, but it eventually faded.
> Not going to do the pushups tonight. Figured done enough muscle work, will take a break for a couple of days. Going to change Saturday to a rest day.
Friday:
> Run 5 minutes
> Karate
> Situp Pyramid (5 to 30 and back to 5)
> Hmm... What a big surprise... I go to stay with my parents for the weekend and I do nothing... Nothing at all. Well I did make myself a Jo, but that was it.
Saturday:
> Rest

Week 2 - FINISHED

Sunday:
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> I felt bad for not having done anything over the past two days that I did a hard training session with the weights. Still the same amount of weight and sets/reps, but it felt like I worked harder. I finally found my old skipping rope that I got as a freebee from the cable company. It is a stop watch, a pace setter, a calorie counter (based on your weight) and it also counts the amount of skips you complete. It's pretty cool. It said that I skipped 210 times in 2:16min and burned 27kcal.
Monday:
> Run 10 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> Instead of just running for the 10 minutes, I did skipping and running.
> Due to doing the weight training last night, I did the grading criteria tonight. I went through the grading warmup and accidently punched the wall - bruising a knuckle (teaches me for not paying attention), I also did all kata and weaponry from both styles.
Tuesday:
> Skip 2 minutes
> Karate
> I went to karate, but it wasn't a lot of exercise, I was mostly instructing for the night.
> I think I made up for the easy training session, basketball season has started again. I was drenched in sweat afterwards from being on the court for about 30 minutes.
> I'm starting to really notice some change. My triceps and deltoids are starting to become musclier, my posture feels better and although I'm still tired as usual, I don't feel as bad as what I usually do, I can sleep throughout the night without waking up.
Wednesday:
> Run 10 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> I tried to see how long I can skip for rather then run today. I lasted 3 minutes, but that was at a decent pace.
> Weights felt a little hard tonight, it wasn't a weak feeling, think it was tired. Because I had company tonight, I didn't want to go to bed without doing the workout. So I started at nearly 10pm. No wonder I was tired doing the workout.
Thursday:
> Skip 2 minutes
> Karate
> I didn't do any training today, I had about 2 hrs free from the time that I woke to the time that I fell asleep today. I was at work the rest of the time.
Friday:
> Run 10 minutes
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> I ran for 7 minutes today, my knee was a little dodgy.
> Went through all the grading syllabus, my punches are fine, they're hard and moderately fast, improving through the weight training I believe. My kicks on the other hand are slow and a little sloppy. Will need to work on them.
> Today was the first time so far that I had to ice my knee, usually it doesn't take this long for it to happen. Must be getting stronger.
Saturday:
> Weight training
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> I only did the weight training today. I had to ice my knee again and had to ease off some of the exercise. So decided to hold off from the Grading Syllabus for today, especially with the kicks. I'll see how I go tomorrow.
> I just realised that I did not do any of the pyramid training at all this week. Completely forgot about it because I hadn't wrote it down under each day. I'll try to remember it for week 3.

I really want to measure my fitness levels and body measurements, but I'm trying to hold that off for another week... I'm so tempted!!

Week 3 - FINISHED

Sunday:
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> I gave today a rest due to my knee. It wasn't sore, but I thought that I would give it a full days rest. Even though I cleaned the entire house including doing all the dishes (pretty much everything I own), vaccuuming, dusting and cleaning the bathroom. So I still did something, but it wasn't over exerting myself that I would have to ice my knee again.
Monday:
> Run 15 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> I didn't run, instead I was skipping. Probably not the best idea, but I wanted to see how I am with my skipping. I got to 8 minutes before I felt like I should really stop.
> The weight training felt really easy for some reason. I blitzed through it and the only trouble I had was a little bit of difficulty with the lunges. But it was my opposite knee that was giving me problems. Go figure? But it felt better as I went on.
> My back flexibility is improving greatly (about another 2 or 3 weeks and I could possibly touch my head with my feet), but my left hamstring is getting tighter while the right is getting looser.
Tuesday:
> Skip 4 minutes
> Karate
> I only did half of the karate session tonight, due to other comitments. It wasn't much, just a little instructing and I started to learn a new kata for my next grading (not the one to 2nd kyu, the other grading to 6th kyu or higher).
> Went to basketball tonight, I don't understand how I can run with occasionally bursts of sprinting on the court for 30 to 40 minutes, yet I can't run normally for even half that. Well yes I do know why, it's just frustrating. Planning on going for a run either Saturday or Sunday jst to see how long I can go for.
Wednesday:
> Run 15 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> Once again, the weight training felt quite easy. Instead of it taking the usual hour to go through, I think it was only 45 to 50 minutes. I'll still wait another week to make the weights heavier or the reps longer.
> I didn't do any of the running today, as it was I didn't get a chance to do the weight training until 9pm. Some days I just can not possibly do it earlier.
Thursday:
> Skip 4 minutes
> Karate
> Karate was good, got a bit of a workout, still no where near where I would like. Think I might ask for a key to the dojo so I can use the punching bag and cardio equipment there. Being an instructor, it should be easy enough to get. Started learning new kata for next grading
> Ok, I lied, I didn't do the skipping. Intended to, but didn't. This better not be the start of a pattern here.
Friday:
> Run 15 minutes
> Karate
> Good workout at karate, sparring was hopeless though, trying to get into the habit of evade and attack. So far I'm evading and then too far away to counter. Need to find a way to improve that, quick. Started to learn new syllabus for next grading.
> Didn't run, will try to tomorrow if I get time. If not, will Sunday.
Saturday:
> Weight training
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> I went to a MMA competition today, just to watch, not compete. Might compete next one in about 3 months, but will need to be fighting ready to stand a chance. Didn't have time for a run by the time I got home, was a bit dark. Will tomorrow morning. Did very little work on a kata I would like to demonstrate at the tournament, more as to how to make it look like a tournament kata (pauses, slow techniques, loud breathing etc)

Week 4

Sunday:
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
> I ran today, did for 16 minutes! I haven't ran that long since first year of university about 5 years ago now. I ran constantly for 8 minutes, had a break for 1, ran for 2 minutes, break again for 1, ran for a minute, had a beak for one, ran 2 minutes, had a break for one, ran for 3 minutes, walked 5 minutes home for a cool down. So it wasn't constant, but I only timed when I was running, and when I had a break, I walked around in circles on the spot so I didn't gain any distance. I'm guessing I ran about 3 to 4km. More likely 3km then 4.
> At my parents, so heading back home today, planning on getting back around 4, enough time to do a weight training session and an easy session of the grading syllabus for the gradings and working on kata and weaponry for competition. I'll erase this message and rewrite it when I finished the session. I can't believe I'm in my fourth week and still exercising!
Monday:
> Run 20 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> Only did my grading criteria tonight. Muscles are a little sore from the run yesterday. And guess what... I did my knee again. No idea how because I didn't twist it. I'll still go to karate tomorrow, but I don't think I'll do basketball. Although basketball would probably be better for my knee.
Tuesday:
> Skip 5 minutes
> Karate
> I went to Karate, but because my knee was still sore, I only instructed, I didn't do anything else. So I have this as green because I still went, but I didn't do any exercise.
> I didn't go to Basketball incase my knee got worse, so I didn't skip either.
Wednesday:
> Run 20 minutes
> Weight training (3 sets of 10 reps)
> Flexibility training
> I didn't do anything today because my knee was still sore.
Thursday:
> Skip 5 minutes
> Karate
> Not Happy!!! Got it checked out today and found out I dislocated my knee Monday night. I hardly did anything and it wasn't even during exercise. Maybe the run caused it to relax a little too much? So I'm about to head off to Karate, but not sure if I can do it yet.
Friday:
> Run 20 minutes
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)
Saturday:
> Weight training
> Grading Syllabus (once through - easy)

Other - Alternate Daily (completed over 1 hour)

Pushups
Pyramid: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Situps
Pyramid: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5

Comments