Workout Summary, Day 98

I don't know how this happened, but I'll take it!

I cut back a lot this week, mostly because of aches and pains in my back which I'm beginning to believe are a result of an imbalance between my abdominal strength and back strength (thanks for the reminder article Matt!). I've suffered from a lot of back trouble, even in my youth, and this sort of stuff has consistently plagued my workouts whenever I'm not balancing things correctly and/or not paying attention to my form. That'll get fixed in the coming weeks. For now, I've prescribed myself some rest.

Despite the fact that I've worked out a lot less, I've somehow burst through my plateau and have started another round of quick weight loss! I did adjust my eating habits for the week in order to reflect the fact that I wasn't working out as often, but I didn't think that would account for this much so soon. I hope that it's all been for the best, but for now, it's made me much more pleased with my scale.

It's worth mentioning that I've been remodeling my classroom and my kitchen at home, so I haven't been completely resting...just having to be extra careful since I've been moving furniture and temporarily relocating heavy stacks of things.

Anyways, here's my tally for the week:

• Hiking: 7 miles (7 Sat)
  
• Forms: 12 (12 Sat)
  
• Push-ups: 1200 (500+150 Mon, 250+150 Wed, 150 Thurs)
  
• Crunches: 1500 (500+250 Mon, 250+250 Wed, 250 Thurs)
  
• Squats: 1000 (1000 Mon)
• Sparring: 10 rounds (Wed)
  
• Current Weight: 228.5
  

Total since Day 1:

• Cycling (total): 546 miles
• Hiking: 139 miles
• Running (total): 80 miles
• Basics: 195m
  
• Form repetitions: 432
• Kicks: 22600
• Pushups: 8415
• Crunches: 12765
• Squats: 5570
• Lunges: 2270
• Punching w/weights: 30m
  
• Bag work: 142 rounds (142m total)
• Sparring: 10 rounds
  
• Boxing: Will begin next week (again).
  
• Grappling: 1 hour
• Net Weight Loss: -20.5

The Homeless Millionaire

This morning, I read about Richard Leroy Walters, a homeless man in Phoenix who had died two years ago and surprised many when he left behind an estate worth over $4 millon.

According to the article, 76-year-old Walters was a retired engineer, graduated with honors from Purdue with a MA, and a Marine....never married, no children, no family to contact, although he did have friends. When he retired, he also left the world of material needs: no home, no car, just a backpack with essentials and a radio. He spent his days hanging out at the local senior center.

Here is a man who had mastered simplicity in his life. He let go of so many material things which many of us would be reluctant to give up because we've intertwined such things into our lifestyles, and although he did not have family, he still connected with people. That's far more important than clinging to possessions anyway.

I'm not ready to give up my home just yet, but I've noticed that my life is different now that I use my car less. Most of the shops that I need to visit are within half a mile of my home, so I walk. Now that I'm trying to use my car less frequently, I take a different perspective of time when it comes to going where I want to go. I partake in less frivolous side trips and plan my routes much more effectively. And when I get into my car, I find that some of those habits are lingering. I like that. Next goal is to see if I can apply the same lessons to my credit cards.

Strange how letting go of things can sometimes give you a firmer grip on them.

What a cool lesson. Thanks, Mr. Walters.

We Are Not Prepared

Last night, I attended an event featuring Project Soul: a collaborative effort between sport karate competitors, martial arts tricking crews, bboy dancers, hip-hop dance teams and performance artists, and spoken word performers. The event was held in conjunction with the AMAPA Finals, a local martial arts circuit.

Despite a few logistical challenges (typical for a first-time event from a first-time promoter, featuring local talent) I thought it was fascinating and has a lot of potential for future shows. My students really enjoyed themselves too. I am very proud of their open-mindedness and willingness to have fun and be exposed to different forms of talent in the world.

Unfortunately, I think that the artistry of the evening was lost on much of the martial arts crowd, whose appreciation seemed limited to whichever tribe they belonged to. Very sad.

When will we, as a group, open our eyes and see beyond the ends of our noses?

Could you not hear yourself, Ms. Tournament Rulebook In One Hand and Promoter's Cell Phone on Speed Dial in the Other Hand, or were you too busy badmouthing the event organizers and missed videotaping your son's first grand championship performance entirely?

Did you not hear yourself, Mr. Holier-Than-Thou Traditionalists, espousing the death of the martial arts from your self-imposed exile, despite the fact that you came and paid money to see this so-called mockery of the arts fully aware of what you came to see?

Perhaps not.

Perhaps in your dogmatism, you failed to see the amazing talent on the floor that night. You, who preaches 'positive mental attitude', 'discipline', and 'respect', yet searches for the first justifiable reason to toss those virtues aside in favor of your ego...or worse yet, your sheeple mind-as-extension-of-your-master's-narrow-views. You, who swear to 'love and support your son more than your own interests', yet were too obsessed with how the performers were inconveniencing you to pay attention to your son's triumph and decided to complain nearly nonstop for almost four hours straight.

That's right. I heard you. And I am ashamed for you, because you don't feel it yourselves.

In fairness, there were some issues with some of the audience members whose interests were outside of the martial arts, mostly regarding etiquette related to 'not blocking the view of everyone in the first 12 rows of the bleachers'; however, given that martial artists tend to consider themselves to be spiritually evolved, I am hardest on ourselves for failing to meet our own standards.

We know how to be better and we failed to act in accordance with our practice.

Perhaps this post is an apology, on behalf of those who cannot see past their own noses, to the visionaries who tried to unite people through adding our art to theirs...and sharing their art with ours.

It is our fault that we were not prepared.

Please don't be frustrated with us.

Someday we will be ready.

Workout Summary, Day 91

This week wasn't supposed to be like this. Plateaus are tough enough to break through, and even harder when a minor back injury sidelines you. Sadly, I didn't do it while working out. I just happened to move the wrong way while moving furniture and I felt something tweak.

Owie. Silly me.

I've been taking it easy and doing the things that I can still do, in order to keep semi-active but allow time for my back to heal. The biggest frustration is that I've missed another week of training at Shamrock MMA. It's not just money wasted for me - it's opportunity. I was really looking forward to going back this week, but I need to play smart and not injure myself further by playing 'tough guy'. I've done that enough times in my life and I don't need to make a small injury into a bigger one.

I know I've accomplished a lot this week despite my injury, but I still feel like a slacker. I'm seeing some changes in my muscle definition, and I've gained half a pound - hopefully more from the strength training than from reduced activity.

Skipping my gym workout tonight too. *sigh*

Anyways, here's my tally for the week:

• Cycling (stationary): 25 miles (10 Sun, 10 Mon, 5 Wed)
  
• Hiking: 17 miles (7 Sat, 4 Sun, 6 Mon)
  
• Running (elliptical): 3 miles (3 Wed)
  
• Forms: 36 (12 Sat, 12 Sun, 12 Wed)
  
• Kicks: 1400 (700 Sun, 700 Wed)
  
• Push-ups: 885 (150+150 Mon, 260+150 Wed, 150+25 Thurs)
  
• Crunches: 1430 (250+250 Mon, 430+250 Wed, 250 Thurs)
  
• Squats: 500 (150 Mon, 250 Wed, 100 Thurs)
  
• Current Weight: 233.5
  

Total since Day 1:

• Cycling (total): 546 miles
• Hiking: 132 miles
• Running (total): 80 miles
• Basics: 195m
  
• Form repetitions: 420
• Kicks: 22600
• Pushups: 7215
• Crunches: 11265
• Squats: 4570
• Lunges: 2270
• Punching w/weights: 30m
  
• Bag work: 142 rounds (142m total)
• Boxing: Will begin next week (again).
  
• Grappling: 1 hour
• Net Weight Loss: -15.5

Geraldo Garcia (1947-2009)

My uncle passed away earlier this week, at the tender age of 62. I am filled with thoughts of family, especially because I don't see them as often as I should. Tito Gerry lived in Manila (in the Philippines), so it wasn't exactly an easy visit to coordinate, but I could've made a better effort to connect.

He was my father's brother, and the family resemblance extended beyond appearance. They both enjoyed a good drink and an even better joke. Laughing was a must around them.

Most importantly, both were incredibly generous. My uncle was the type who would walk out of a bar with a pocket full of 500-peso bills, turn to the nearest beggar, and hand him one. This would attract the beggar's friends...and Tito Gerry would give one to each of them too. Eventually, he'd reach the end of his cash roll, sometimes before he'd finished giving one to everyone. When this occurred, he'd look down, mutter "$#!+", walk to the nearest ATM machine, and get more money to hand out.

My mind also drifts to selfish thoughts. Garcia men are not known for their longevity. Of the five boys on my father's side, three have already passed. They didn't take very good care of themselves though...and this is where I am reminded of the importance of staying active and taking good care of my body. I'm a walking clone of my father, so chances are that the Garcia blood runs strong in my veins. It seems that part of the 'fight of my life' is going to have to be against my own genes.

Workout Summary, Day 84

Here comes the plateau!

It's a common occurrence in every long-term fitness plan to have plateaus: points when your progress appears to level off. Whether you're used to seeing them or not, they can be frustrating and can cause even the most well-intentioned of us to stray from our plan or quit!

In my case, I've been using my weight as one of my indicators of my own progress. I know I've dropped a significant amount, but I'm reaching a point where I'm building muscle and reshaping my body as a product of the work I've been doing. Since muscle weighs more than fat, my weight will tend to stabilize or even increase during this time; however, I may see some performance gains during this time which I'm going to need to focus on in order to stay motivated.

Another factor (an expensive one) comes from the classes I've missed this week at Shamrock MMA. I was a bit ambitious and went on a hike in the afternoon before my Tuesday night class, got a bit overheated, and lay down after I got home...woke up too late to go, and feeling dehydrated. I spent the rest of the evening chilling out, having some watermelon, a healthy amount of water, and cooled off by lounging in the pool at my gym. I had intended to return tonight for my class; however, I forgot that class was cancelled because of tonight's fights. I'll have to make up for them next week.

I can still celebrate other progress though. My numbers for pushups and crunches have increased significantly, in terms of the numbers that I can complete before stopping! I'm enjoying the activities that I've been doing, so I can't complain there. I've especially enjoyed being able to share many of my workouts with my students, who are growing tremendously from the process! Also, I've found that I've really come to enjoy my "free day food" a lot more when I use it as a treat and not a staple. Lastly, my shorts are still falling off. I'm going to have to do something about that before it gets embarassing. (lol)


Anyways, here's my tally for the week:

• Cycling (stationary): 35 miles (5 Sat, 10 Sun, 5 Mon, 10 Wed, 5 Thurs)
  
• Hiking: 21 miles (7 Sat, 3.5 Sun, 3.5 Mon, 3.5 Tues, 3.5 Thurs)
• Running (elliptical): 9 miles (3 Sun, 3 Mon, 3 Wed)
  
• Basics: 60m (15m Mon, 15m Tues, 15m Wed, 15m Thurs)
  
• Forms: 36 (12 Sun, 12 Tues, 12 Thurs)
• Kicks: 2300 (700 Sun, 700 Tues, 200 Wed, 700 Thurs)
• Push-ups: 800 (200+100 Mon, 100 Tues, 300 Wed, 100 Thurs)
  
• Crunches: 1300 (300+200 Mon, 150 Tues, 300+200 Wed, 150 Thurs)
  
• Squats: 150 (150 Mon)
  
• Lunges: 150 (150 Wed)
• Bag Work: 18m (10m Tues, 4m Wed, 4m Thurs)
• Boxing: None (overheated and missed class, darn)
  
• Grappling: None (class cancelled this week, aww)
• Current Weight: 233
  

Total since Day 1:

• Cycling (total): 521 miles
• Hiking: 115 miles
• Running (total): 77 miles
• Basics: 195m
  
• Form repetitions: 384
• Kicks: 21200
• Pushups: 6330
• Crunches: 9835
• Squats: 4070
• Lunges: 2270
• Punching w/weights: 30m
  
• Bag work: 142 rounds (142m total)
• Boxing: Will begin next week.
  
• Grappling: 1 hour
• Net Weight Loss: -16
  

A New Paradigm

I'm always really pumped about my work after having a phone chat with Master Callos. As much as I know I've progressed personally and professionally, it's awesome to have it validated by another. Thank you, sir!

One thing that excites me about this process is the opportunity to synergize my efforts with a larger community, not solely within the realm of exercise, but in expanding the dialogue of self-defense within our industry. The kinds of battles that most of us fight on a daily basis are not of the punch-kick-throw-choke variety. There are other things which cause us far more harm, and if we're not aware of these things, they will defeat us more decisively than any opponent ever will.

Self-defense, in this new paradigm, is not solely about fighting. It's still about protecting ourselves from harm - that hasn't changed. However, we need to expand our mindset and connect our practice to begin to address a wider awareness of the things which cause us harm in our lives.

More on this later.

Greg Garcia and the Broken Lifecycle

This isn't a clever post with a biology class twist. I was riding for 15 minutes on a broken exercise bike and didn't notice. (Oops on awareness, lol.)

Everything seemed normal. I sat down, began pedaling, entered the usual stats on the computer, and then glued myself onto the overhead television monitors, one of which was playing Sport Science - I was hooked.

Towards the end of the program, I glanced down to check my progress. The bike's display told me that, in 15 minutes, I had gone over 8 miles! Even if I had switched it to metric, and the display was showing kilometers instead of miles, that's way beyond what I can do.

What to do? Stand up, move over to the next working Lifecycle, and start over, of course. :)

Checked again after 15 minutes: 2.75 miles. Whew. Now that's more like it.

Workout Summary, Day 77

This week marks the beginning of a new "white belt experience" for me, in the sense that I'm trying something outside of my comfort zone for the first time.

I'm training at Shamrock MMA 2 nights a week now, beginning today. Had my first grappling class with them earlier this evening. It's a different environment, one which is foreign to me, and in a way, it's nice to begin with a clean slate and on relatively even terms with others of similar MMA experience. Overall, it was a pretty fun class!

Anyways, here's my tally for the week:

• Hiking: 17 miles (2 Sat, 5 Mon, 5 Wed, 5 Th)
• Cycling (stationary): 30 miles (5 Sat, 10 Sun, 5 Mon, 5 Wed, 5 Th)
• Running (elliptical): 6 miles (3 Sun, 3 Wed)
• Basics: 45m (15m Mon, 15m Tues, 15m Thurs)
• Forms: 40 (12 Sun, 16 Tues, 12 Thurs)
• Bag Work: 16m (4m Sat, 4m Mon, 4m Tues, 4m Thurs)
• Kicks: 2600 (600 Sat, 600 Mon, 700 Tues, 700 Thurs)
• Push-ups: 680 (125 Sat, 175+25 Mon, 180+25 Wed, 150 Th)
• Crunches: 1160 (200 Sat, 330+100 Mon, 330+100 Wed, 100 Th)
• Squats: 450 (100 Sat, 250 Mon, 100 Th)
• Lunges: 170 (170 Wed)
• Grappling: 1h (Th)
  

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 68 miles
• Cycling (total): 486 miles
• Hiking: 94 miles
  
• Pushups: 5530
• Crunches: 8535
• Squats: 3920
• Lunges: 2120
• Punching w/weights: 30m
  
• Basics: 135m
  
• Form repetitions: 348
• Kicks: 18900
• Bag work: 124 rounds (124m total)
• Grappling: 1 hour
  

Rebuilding Connections

The other day, my students and I went to visit an old friend of mine, Master Mark Preader. He operates a West Coast World Martial Arts school in Hollister, and he was kind enough to open his school to us in order to share a sweaty workout with both old and new friends. (Thanks KJN Mark!)

I've been making a concerted effort to reconnect with people who have been a part of my martial arts journey. In this case, I would have never met Mark were it not for visits like this, because we trained at different schools under different instructors. It warms my heart to be able to share experiences like this with my students, especially because mine were so valuable to me.

For a while, I had lost sight of this. When I was operating my school, I became mired in the day-to-day work (my lack of business mastery at the time) and I began to withdraw from the larger martial arts community, including all of the friends that I had made along the way. As I became more proficient with the business, I had formed a habit of keeping to myself.

In the past few years, I've come to realize just how much I've needed to reconnect. It inspires me to push for excellence because I see the different ways that my friends and peers have created excellence in their lives, and it broadens my perspective. It also inspires me to become more compassionate and understanding, since everyone's journey has been unique and full of their own challenges and victories.

Most importantly, it's reminded me of the value of my connections because they've all been a part of making me who I am today, and also because building bridges to link people is far more useful than building walls to separate them.

Alone in a Crowded Room

All of the usual 4th of July events that I attend are happening tomorrow, so I'm taking a day for myself today. After a bit of hiking, I stopped for a cup of coffee and some websurfing at the local spot.

While floating around on the web, I came across this tribute to our soldiers, and I felt a sense of loneliness come over me - not for myself, but for every soldier who might want to be hanging out at someone's BBQ.

I thought I'd share the video with you. Enjoy your holiday.

Workout Summary, Day 70

Moving right along!

I've dropped another 4 pounds since June 19, bringing my total weight loss to 16 pounds. Started at 249 (ouch), currently 233 (still ouch, but better than 249).

The weight's been coming off, but I'm concerned about hitting another plateau again soon. Whenever you work out like this, there's eventually a balance point where I'm losing fat, but gaining muscle mass, so the numbers will begin to even out. This is where some people get frustrated with their workouts, even the ones who know this is going to happen! When that begins to occur, I'll need to shake up my workouts a little bit more.

Next week, I'll be integrating more of my workouts with my student team. We'll be holding two workouts each day, Monday through Thursday, each with a different focus and intended intensity level to avoid burnout and overtraining injuries. Here's the layout of my schedule with my student team:

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I'll be integrating my kicking workouts in with my team during morning sessions, and then doing strength & conditioning in the afternoon sessions. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll be doing bag work and target practice in the morning, and self-defense techniques in the afternoon sessions. Fridays will remain my 'free day', and my student team will rest that day also. I'll be hiking on Saturdays with my student team, and on Sundays, my student team will have another day of rest.

In addition to that, I've been hiking almost every afternoon for roughly 3 miles, while my summer schedule permits me to. I've been lagging on getting my bike fixed, but I've come to enjoy the peace and quiet of the trails, plus there's far less crazy drivers on the trails. :)

In the evenings, I head to the gym for a 45-60 minute cardio workout which involves some time on the exercise bike (occasionally switched with the elliptical), followed by a 1 mile cooldown walk on the treadmill which I haven't really been keeping track of. Then I can sit in the sauna and hot tub to relax my aching body, shower, and then head home.

It's a lot right now. It consumes a lot of time because right now, I have a lot of time and I want to stay active as much as possible. Once the end of August arrives, I'll be back on my regular teaching schedule and I will have to accomplish more within less time. I plan to increase my intensity levels at that time. That shift ought to shake up my workouts, and I hope that it'll help me to blast through any plateau that I encounter between now and then.

Tally for the week:

• Hiking: 22 miles (7.5 Sat, 3.5 Mon, 3.5 Tues, 3.5 Wed, 4 Thurs)
  
• Cycling (stationary): 30 miles (5 per day: Sat-Thurs)
• Running (elliptical): 3 miles (Sun)
  
• Basics: 45m (15m Sun, Tues, Thurs)
  
• Forms: 36 (12 Sun, Tues, Thurs)
  
• Bag Work: 12m (4x60s: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
  
• Kicks: 2400 (600 Sun, Mon, Tues, Thurs)
  
• Push-ups: 425 (125 Sat, 150 Mon, 150 Wed)
  
• Crunches: 600 (200 Sat, 200 Mon, 200 Wed)
  
• Squats: 400 (100 Sat, 150 Mon, 150 Wed)
• Lunges: 150 (Wed)
  

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 62 miles
• Cycling (total): 456 miles
• Hiking: 77 miles
  
• Pushups: 4850
• Crunches: 7375
• Squats: 3120
• Lunges: 1950
• Punching w/weights: 30m
  
• Basics: 90m
  
• Form repetitions: 308
• Kicks: 16300
• Bag work: 108 rounds (108m total)