Earn That Candy

(10/31/09 9:30am) Fitness Kickboxing
Happy Halloween!

I decided that my costume at the gym today would be an in shape and talented BJJ practitioner. If nothing else, sometimes it helps one to perform if they simply play the part right? Well maybe it worked a little bit, the in shape part. I’ll explain why the talented BJJ player didn’t work out.

I arrived at the gym right at 0930 (class start time) but not to worry, Renee was just getting there as well. There were 5 of us in the beginning (this too would change by the end). We started out by doing the warm-ups. Renee’s class is a bit different from the others. His warm-ups are so very brutal and are a good mix of cardio and strength (two things I do not possess) and leave you broken before the real fun even begins.

Being a Saturday morning, we did circuits right after the warm-ups. This weeks slice of hell consisted of the following five stations of purgatory:

• Cable Rows: 70lbs
• Triceps Extensions: 20lbs
• Alternating Dumbell Presses: 25lbs
• Lat Pulldowns: 70lbs
• Hanging Leg Raises: My own fat

We did three sets. We did 1 minute on each station with 30 seconds rest in-between. That equals a lot of weight moved in a very short period of time. During the first round, one of the group wrestled with asthma and tapped out due to MPH. the rest of us kept on, keeping the five stations.

After the circuits we went back to the mats and put in our ab work. We did the same exercises as normal with counts of at least 50 on each. Some of them we doubled up on and hit 100. I cant remember all we did, I think I have already repressed that memory, but trust me when I say it was yet another ring in the inferno.

When all was said and done and we were allowed to go toward the light (Carol Anne) I could not even lift myself off the mats. As I was sitting, holding myself up with my arms, they were acting like jackhammers, shaking uncontrollably. Now that’s a good time!!! The BJJ part didn't work out because nobody showed up for open mat. At least not in the time I was willing to wait. Oh well, I'll break out that costume again next week!

(Un)restful Saturday

(8/15/09 9:30am) Fitness Kickboxing

Ok here was the plan. I was going to hit the 9:30am kickboxing class. This would get out at 10:30 so I could rest up a bit, change and hit the 11:00 BJJ class and stay for open mat at 12:00 if I were feeling good and there were people to train with.

Here is what happened. I showed up a bit early and sat in the truck waiting for someone to come along and open the gym. Just before 9:30 Renee showed up walking like he was 105 years old (threw his back out). There was a bit of banter and then we were doing our normal warm-ups without having wrapped our hands. "We are going to do something different" Renee muttered as we warmed up for what felt like forever.

After the warm ups we headed to the weight area to perform some circuits. Here is the order of things.

Circuit #1:

1. Straight punches with dumbbell (1 minute)
2. Rest (30 seconds)
3. Uppercuts with dumbbell (1 minute)
4. Rest (30 seconds)
5. Hooks with dumbbell (1 minute)
6. Rest (30 seconds)
7. Push-ups (1 minute)

We rested for another 30 seconds and began the circuit again 2 more times. After the third go round we moved on to the next circuit.

Circuit #2

1. Hanging leg raises (1 minute)
2. Rest (30 seconds)
3. Cable rows (1 minute)
4. Rest (30 seconds)
5. Triceps extensions (1 minute)
6. Rest (30 seconds)
7. Lat pull-downs (1 minute)

As with the previous circuit, we did this one three times. Again we rested for another 30 seconds after the last set and then it was time for another burst of cardio. A few sets of sprints and shuffles were followed by a bevy of ab exercises.

When we finally finished up and were doing the cool-down stretches, I was sitting in the middle of lake Jay just wiped out. I looked up outside of the cage and saw one of my good friends watching from outside. I whispered "what time is it?" and the response shocked me. It was already after 11:00. By the time all was said and done it was just about 11:30. Yeah, that's right two hours of weights, cardio and other various levels of hell. I love it!

The only problem was I was tooo worn out to partake in BJJ, that was half over and I could not even think about open mat. I had nothing left to give. My shoulders were burning with lactic acid and it was all I could do to drive home. What a way to start a Saturday!

Cardio, Weights and Loss

Home Gym (1/27/2009)

I left work late again tonight because a co-worker told me that he would be taking his son to Cedars Sinai tomorrow. His kid has been battling a heart problem all his young life and is facing the prospect of yet another surgery. So in order to support him and to get a critical report out on time, I stayed late (past the 6:00 BJJ start time) to get things wrapped up.

Cardio

So I went home and stuck to my guns. Since I couldn't scratch my BJJ itch I worked out in my home gym. I got on the treadmill and ran my little heart out. Now I generally have a rule about that. I DON'T RUN UNLESS SOMETHING IS CHASING ME!!! So, needless to say there will be no distances nor times posted here because they are quite embarrassing. The key point is that I got some cardio work done on a night that I would have previously written off.

Weights

After my running from nothing, I hit the weight machine and did an upper body circuit. I worked arms, chest and shoulders. I often joke that "I tried lifting weights once, but they're just so heavy". Honestly weight training has always been challenging for me. I find it tremendously difficult to get and stay motivated to do it. Tonight it was the work-out of last resort, so in a way I was "forced" to do it, and that helped me power thru it.

Bottom line I'm so glad I was able to stick to my commitment. Even though I missed BJJ, I did not falter in my plans. Normally, getting out of work and missing class would have derailed me. but tonight I was able to overcome it.

Loss

Tonight I also got a call from a friend and former co-worker that a former boss of mine passed away over the weekend. He had gone into the hospital with what he thought was a severe stomach flu. As it turns out, he had a severe and rare form of stomach cancer that was widespread and untreatable. By the end of the weekend he had passed. Steve Barton was only 62 years old and was looking forward to retirement this year. This kind of thing really makes you reflect on your own mortality and just how fleeting life is. It also makes you realize that things are not always as they seem; from stomach flu to untreatable cancer. You will be missed Steve.