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
  

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.

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)

My Legs Have Staged a Minor Revolt

Epic leg cramp today.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I'm pretty sure that my hamstrings are part-Decepticon now, and they recently tried to transform my leg into a medieval head crusher. Wow.

I had a feeling that one of these was going to hit me eventually, but it happened mid-workout with my student team. They're great though. Lots of shouts of encouragement followed, and I finished up my set with them.

I love my team. :)

Workout Summary, Day 63

Pictured: Someplace I'd really love to work out at! (lol)

In two short months, I've made a lot of progress. There's still a lot more to be made, but I'm happy to have remained consistent for this long. I've slipped a little bit at times, but I have an amazing support team that's kept my course steady and true!

The hiking is going well. I've been hiking at Santa Teresa Park and exploring several of the trails that I've always wanted to see. There's so much more here than I originally thought! I'm hoping to wander around a bit more and become really familiar with this place this summer. In the fall, I think I'll start tackling Alum Rock and Quicksilver Parks to change things up.

I'm going to need a new pair of shoes soon. My trusty cross-trainers have survived more than a few black belt training cycles and tests over the years and this recent blast of training will probably finish them off by the end of the summer.


Tally for the week:

• Hiking: 22 miles (5 Sat, 5 Sun, 3 Mon, 3 Tues, 6 Thurs)
• Cycling (stationary): 30 miles (5 per day: Sat-Thurs)
• Running (elliptical): 3 miles (Wed)
  
• Basics: 45m (15m per day: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Forms: 36 (12 per day: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Bag Work: 12m (4x60s: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Kicks: 1800 (3x600: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Punching (w/5lb weights): 15m (3x5m: Sat, Mon, Wed)
• Push-ups: 375 (3x125: Sat, Mon, Wed)
• Crunches: 450 (3x150: Sat, Mon, Wed)
• Squats: 300 (4x25: Sat, Mon, Wed)
  

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 59 miles
• Cycling (total): 426 miles
• Hiking: 55 miles
  
• Pushups: 4425
• Crunches: 6775
• Squats: 2720
• Lunges: 1800
• Punching w/weights: 30m
  
• Basics: 90m
  
• Form repetitions: 272
• Kicks: 13900
• Bag work: 96 rounds (96m total)

I Lost Some Stuff

As a child, when I used to tease my mother about losing her keys, she smiled and told me that someday, my memory would start to play tricks on me, and I would begin to lose things too.

And look at me now! Now I'm losing stuff left and right. The thought of it makes me smile.

Most recently, I've noticed that in the past 56 days, I've lost 12 pounds. I'm not even the slightest bit concerned. I don't know where they went, and I don't even plan on looking for them. They can stay gone. (The first few pounds always go quickly. It's just water weight, but it still feels good.)

I have also lost the ability to walk around in my current wardrobe without a belt. When this happens, my pants begin to collect around my knees like some of the local kids. I don't mind this either. Soon enough, I may lose some money and find some smaller pants, but I guess that comes with the territory.

I can't seem to find my appetite for fast food and greasy diners these days. It used to be a source of post-traumatic comfort, but I suppose there are worse things that I could be losing.

I saw my mom the other night and she asked me how I was doing. I told her about my upgraded workout schedule, the running, lifting, sparring, training, and hiking. Then I told her about the ever-present soreness that I've been feeling, but how happy I've been to be losing so many things.

Now my mother thinks I've lost my mind.

Mom was always right.

Workout Summary: Day 56

What a difference variety makes! It's helping me to enjoy my workouts again, plus I'm getting some different feelings of soreness as well!

This week marked the beginning of my students' summer "Preparing to Live Like a Champion" workouts: a series of semi-casual, come-when-you-can (but come often) workouts aimed to get everyone into shape in time for January. The sessions are aimed to overcome the objection, "I don't know if I can keep up with the workouts," so there's a lot of confidence-building and team-building going on. I really like their energy.

If anything, I'm impressed by their desire to do well! They're hungry for success and it's pushed them to accomplish amazing things in a short amount of time. This week, we did some initial endurance testing and asked students to do as many push-ups, crunches, and chair squats as possible - pushing until they couldn't go anymore.

The push-ups went as expected, the results for the crunches was impressive, and the chair squats blew me away! Most of the students, while scoring under 15 for the pushups (many under 5), could do over 100 crunches without stopping! I was flabbergasted by the chair squat results: many students performed over 1,000 chair squats without weights before stopping! You can see more on this in my previous entry.

We plan to do a Saturday hike together, as a form of active recovery. My legs are wobbly. I hope I can keep up with the young'uns!


Tally for the week:

• Hiking: 15 miles (4 Sat, 5 Sun, 3 Mon, 3 Wed)
• Cycling (stationary): 30 miles (5 per day: Sat-Thurs)
• Basics: 45m (15m per day: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Forms: 36 (12 per day: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Bag Work: 12m (4x60s: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Kicks: 1800 (3x600: Sun, Tues, Thurs)
• Punching (w/5lb weights): 15m (3x5m: Sat, Mon, Wed)
• Push-ups: 400 (3x125: Sat, Mon, Wed...extra 25 on Mon)
• Crunches: 525 (3x150: Sat, Mon, Wed...extra 75 on Mon)
• Squats: 620 (Wed's squat marathon)
  

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 56 miles
• Cycling (total): 396 miles
• Hiking: 33 miles
  
• Pushups: 4050
• Crunches: 6325
• Squats: 2420
• Lunges: 1800
• Punching w/weights: 15m
  
• Basics: 45m
  
• Form repetitions: 236
• Kicks: 12100
• Bag work: 84 rounds (84m total)

Today I Did Squat

Six hundred and twenty of them, in fact, before my legs got wobbly.

My students and I have begun preparations for the "Live Like A Champion" project. We've been meeting this week to do initial tests. Today, we were going to max out on unweighted chair squats, just going until we couldn't go anymore.

Legs were on fire, and it was AWESOME.

I was even more impressed with my students. They truly are determined to make the most out of this experience. Many of them beat my score. Several broke the 1,000 mark. The top two students did 1,336 and 1,400! *jaw hits floor*

I'm really happy to have this kind of a group to train with.

Morning Encounter

This is one of the reasons why I love hiking. In fairness, I didn't take this shot, but it was the closest thing I could find online to what I saw.

I was working my way up a rough series of hills, focused mostly on myself and trying to get my hefty frame to the top, when I heard a rustle in the grass. I looked up, and what I saw was something like this...except there were 4 of them.

We stared at each other for a while, and I slowly continued on my way. The trail ran at an oblique angle to the deer, so I guess it didn't seem very threatening. They just watched me walk by, unshaken by my presence.

To think that I almost missed it completely.

Mood: one with the universe. :)

Workout Summary: Day 49

Haha, I should have really changed my workouts up after Day 42.

This week's workouts felt dull and less inspired than my previous ones. I was talking with my girlfriend, Jenn (who doubles as my personal expert in all things fitness-related), and she's comforted me by reminding me that it's a good idea to change up my workouts every 6-8 weeks anyways, but even though this is Week 7 (well within the 6-8 week target), I still feel like I haven't taken as large of a stride forward this week.

It could be my mental focus as well. This week was centered on final exams, grading, and summer school planning, so admittedly, my mind has been elsewhere. I found myself planning while cycling, constantly looping back to ensure that I had thought out my summer school curriculum completely.

In any event, I will be starting to train with several students to prepare for the "Live" project beginning in the coming week. Since it's "summer vacation" for them, and many have commitments at work, summer classes, and family events, it will be more of a "drop-in when you can, but come often" type of format. That's going to shift up my training (and theirs) in a number of ways:

First off, I'll be implementing weight training into my routines. Low weight, but high rep for toning. That's going to be the focus of my Monday/Wednesday routine. Some of this will happen with my students, some at the gym, and some at home. Doing it this way means I'll be getting two mini-workouts after my group workout. Should be neat.

In addition, I'll be doing a weekly hiking and training session with my students on Saturdays. We'll be covering a lot of ground, going up and down big hills. I like hiking. It's going to burn really nicely. :)

Also, I'll be condensing my martial arts workouts into Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Much of my focus will be on basics, forms, and advanced kicking, with some bag work on Sundays. I've received some invitations to train with friends in various locations on Sundays, and I may add that in eventually, with hiking as a backup in case I am unable to attend their workout.

Fridays will become my new "free day", effective tomorrow. It'll give me two back-to-back free days this week, but it'll also provide me with an opportunity to get my head on straight with my other work.

Tally for the week:

• Running (elliptical): 6 miles (Sat, Mon, Wed - 2 miles each)
• Cycling (stationary): 60 miles (10 per day Fri-Wed, not today)
• Pushups: 600 (100 per day)
  
• Crunches: 600 (100 per day)
• Squats (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 4 sets of 25)
• Lunges (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 2 sets of 25 - each side)
• Form repetitions: 30 (10x Fri, 10x Sun, 10x Tues. Each day consists of 5 traditional, 5 contemporary)
• Kicks: 1800 (600x Sat, 600x Mon, 600x Wed. Assorted kicking techniques.)
• Bag work: 12 rounds (60 sec rounds; 4x Sat, 4x Mon, 4x Wed. Assorted boxing techniques.)

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 56 miles
• Cycling (total): 366 miles
• Hiking: 18 miles
  
• Pushups: 3650
• Crunches: 5800
• Squats: 1800
• Lunges: 1800
• Form repetitions: 200
• Kicks: 10300
• Bag work: 72 rounds (72m total)

Workout Summary: Day 42

It's almost time for me to shake up my workout.

I've been reconditioning myself for the past 6 weeks, and I feel like I need to add some martial arts training into the mix. I've begun looking for places which will help me fulfill my UBBT goals of receiving 20 hours of pro-boxing instruction and 100 hours of jiu-jitsu mat time. Both of these will be "white belt" experiences for me, but I'll be able to work out while I learn.

I'll keep you all posted and let you know what turns up in my search. The cool thing about San Jose is that the city is full of martial arts schools, but the bad thing is that the city is full of martial arts schools. I'll stick to this program for another week or two until I commit to a new workout facility.

Tally for the week:

• Running (elliptical): 6 miles (Sat, Mon, Wed - 2 miles each)
• Cycling (stationary): 60 miles (10 per day Fri-Wed, not today)
• Pushups: 600 (100 per day)
  
• Crunches: 600 (100 per day)
• Squats (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 4 sets of 25)
• Lunges (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 2 sets of 25 - each side)
• Form repetitions: 30 (10x Fri, 10x Sun, 10x Tues. Each day consists of 5 traditional, 5 contemporary)
• Kicks: 1800 (600x Sat, 600x Mon, 600x Wed. Assorted kicking techniques.)
• Bag work: 12 rounds (60 sec rounds; 4x Sat, 4x Mon, 4x Wed. Assorted boxing techniques.)

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 50 miles
• Cycling (total): 306 miles
• Hiking: 18 miles
  
• Pushups: 3050
• Crunches: 5200
• Squats: 1500
• Lunges: 1500
• Form repetitions: 170
• Kicks: 8500
• Bag work: 60 rounds (60m total)

Residual Self-Image

"Your appearance now is what we call residual self-image.
It is the mental projection of your digital self."
-Morpheus, from The Matrix

Up until recent video of myself, it's been hard for me to picture myself as having gained so much weight. Sure, my pants are a little more snug, but I haven't changed sizes. Same with shirts. In my head, I guess I had always pictured myself as being slightly leaner because I've never weighed this much, and the way that I like to remember myself is when I was a slimmer man.

That's just a mental projection, though. It's not real. The only reality that it had was the one that I gave it, when I was convincing myself that I was still 21.

Time to stop lying to myself.

It's there on tape, for everyone to see. That's me right now, with a good 40 pounds to lose before my Buddha belly returns to the plane of enlightenment and my scale acknowledges my own enlightenment. Perhaps it'll be even more before my belly doesn't register as part of my profile in the mirror.

I'm not saying this because I'm depressed about it. Well, a little, but I'm not going to dwell on it. It's helped me realize the necessity of what I'm doing for myself, and it's helped to contribute to the same sense of dissatisfaction that I had when I first began this blog.

It's time to hit the gym. Time to start eating right.

I can't delegate this task. This journey must be my own.

Workout Summary: Day 35

Ahhh, back to the grind.

I shouldn't call it that, but sometimes it feels that way. Maybe it's a sign that I need to spice things up in my workouts. At the very least, it's a sign that I'm beginning to feel complacent, which I'm recognizing as a good thing because I've made some progress.

For now, I've decided to stay the course and exercise some discipline to maintain my current workouts. I'll need to step up the intensity eventually if I'm going to get serious results, but for now, I can rest assured that my new workout regimen is becoming a regular habit.

Been taking care of blisters on my feet recently. Feels yummy. Neosporin is my friend.

Tally for the week:

• Running (elliptical): 4 miles (Sat, Wed - 2 miles each)
• Cycling (stationary): 50 miles (10 per day Fri, Sat, Sun, Tues, Wed, not today)
• Pushups: 500 (100 per day Fri, Sat, Sun, Tues, Wed)
  
• Crunches: 750 (150 per day Fri, Sat, Sun, Tues, Wed)
• Squats (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 4 sets of 25)
• Lunges (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 2 sets of 25 - each side)
• Form repetitions: 30 (10x Fri, 10x Sun, 10x Tues. Each day consists of 5 traditional, 5 contemporary)
• Kicks: 1600 (800x Sat, 800x Wed. Assorted kicking techniques.)
• Bag work: 8 rounds (60 sec rounds; 4x Sat, 4x Wed. Assorted boxing techniques.)

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 44 miles
• Cycling (total): 246 miles
• Hiking: 18 miles
  
• Pushups: 2450
• Crunches: 4600
• Squats: 1200
• Lunges: 1200
• Form repetitions: 140
• Kicks: 6700
• Bag work: 48 rounds (48m total)

Gentle Reminder Received - Thanks!

This morning, one of my students caught me doing my squats only half-heartedly as I supervised the group and called me on it. I wasn't paying attention as I was scanning the class, and I heard a friendly, "all the way now!" come from the front line. It was a good reminder. Thanks John! I needed those squats.

Earlier this week, one of my students saw me wandering through the group during an independent practice session, and reminded me, "aren't you going to train with us too, sir?" I smiled and joined them. Thanks Barnaby! It was a great opportunity.

Even black belts need to be reminded sometimes. As often as I try, sometimes I have my moments, and I'm glad that I have a good support team with me. In my younger years, I thought I had to save face in front of my students and avoid making mistakes. I like that my students can keep me honest without sacrificing anything from our relationship. If anything, it deepens it because the support goes both ways, and they appreciate that I acknowledge my own human imperfections and strive to work on them - just as I expect them to do.

Workout Summary: Day 28

(One of my students jogging along the beach.)

This week's workout has been modified, due to my Week Without Walls group and black belt testing activities, so it will appear irregular compared to my previous routines. I've made a concerted effort to participate with them when possible, so I've been exerting my leadership through personal example. I've found that by serving as their role model, I can accomplish many things nearly as well as I could when I was roaming the lines and making corrections! (Not that I shouldn't stop doing that - there's room for both.)

Most of the workouts came from hiking, conditioning, and training exercises. Working out on the beach was amazing, but I've noticed how much I've missed hiking after spending most of the week hiking with my students. I'm going to fit in some more hikes this summer, while the weather is great.

Tally for the week:

• Hiking: 18 miles (4m Mon, 4m Tues, 6m Wed, 4m Th; beach & hilly terrain)
• Running (beach): 2 miles (total of short sprints along the beach each day)
• Running (elliptical): 2 miles (Sat)
• Running: 7 miles (Sun - yay B2B! It's technically 7.5, but the beginning was a crawl. Also, I'm not going to count all of the walking to/from Caltrain.)
• Cycling (stationary): 30 miles (Fri-Sun; 10 miles each)
  
• Pushups: 800 (100 Fri, 100 Sat, 100 Sun, 50 Mon, 100 Tues, 150 Wed, 200 Th)
  
• Crunches: 1300 (100 Fri, 100 Sat, 100 Sun, 100 Mon, 200 Tues, 300 Wed, 400 Th)
• Form repetitions: 20 (10x Fri, 10x Sun. Each day consists of 5 traditional, 5 contemporary)
• Bag work: 4 rounds (60 sec rounds; 4x Sat. Assorted boxing techniques.)

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 40 miles
• Cycling (total): 196 miles
• Hiking: 18 miles
  
• Pushups: 1950
• Crunches: 3100
• Squats: 900
• Lunges: 900
• Form repetitions: 110
• Kicks: 5100
• Bag work: 40 rounds (40m total)

Week Without Walls, Day 2

Buzz, buzz, buzz. The time is 2:45am. Hardcore workout mode commencing soon. Can't wait. At 3:30, I'll soon be seeing tents open, quasi-conscious students moving around doing their morning routine, and a line forming in the center of the camp by 4:00am.

Our goal: to accomplish more before sunrise than most will in their entire day.

The entire class was in line by 3:45am. Most impressive, young Padawans! I'm very proud of them for this. Despite the fact that we had a grueling workout yesterday on the beach, and many of them were probably sore, I did not have to wake a single soul. They each woke up a buddy and were prepared to go right away!

We began with a night hike back to our favorite beach. Even with flashlights, the journey was a good test of awareness, focus, balance, and teamwork. There were several difficult steps which were managed well by the entire team, largely in part due to their cooperation and communication! Once on the beach, we began with a series of conditioning exercises, followed by forms and meditation as the sun began to rise.

It's overcast today, so we didn't get to see the same splendor, but it was still a beautiful sight. As light began to illuminate the clouds, the ocean waves began to sparkle less and foam more. Minds wandered in fatigue, but eventually focused and calmed themselves in cadence with the sound of the crashing waves, punctuated briefly by sharp breaths and the snap of arms blocking and punching at full speed.

This does not look like a mixed group. It's difficult to tell the beginners from the black belts. While on most days, I would pick on my black belts for this, today I don't - because it's the beginners who are stepping up, big time. Sure, their movement lacks a bit of the polish that some of the more experienced students have, but what really shines is their focus.

This is a group that is hungry for knowledge, one that is striving for more than just a vacation and karate games. We're in for a great day.

Workout Summary: Day 21

I hit my first mental plateau this week. I recognized it for what it was and continued to push, but I definitely felt the first stirrings of boredom sneak in. I didn't change much this week; perhaps that's part of it, but I don't think I'm performing at the intensity level that I want to be at yet, so I want to preserve elements of this plan for a while longer before rotating my workout and adjusting my program.

I ran very lightly on the elliptical trainer this week, keeping the majority of my cardio work to the stationary bike. (I need to get my bike fixed up so I can ride without staring at a wall.) My knees were grateful for this. I'll be running the Bay to Breakers 12k in San Francisco this weekend, and although my training program hasn't adequately prepared me for this year's race, I'm still looking forward to it as a challenge. It'll help me set a benchmark so that I can gauge my progress after next year's race.

Next week, I will be away for my Week Without Walls trip (mentioned in an earlier post). The week's curriculum will afford me some variety in my workout. I'll be away from my stationary bike, but I'll be hiking and doing some beach training to make up for it. Fun times ahead!

This does mean that I'll be away from a computer for most of next week, so I'll post updates for each day when I return from my trip.

Tally for the week:

• Running (elliptical): 6 miles (Sat, Mon, Wed - 2 miles each)
  
• Cycling (stationary): 60 miles (10 per day, not counting today)
• Pushups: 300 (100 Sat, 100 Mon, 100 Wed, sets of 25)
  
• Crunches: 600 (100/day since Th, 4 sets of 25)
• Squats (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 4 sets of 25)
• Lunges (no weights): 300 (100 Fri, 100 Sun, 100 Tues, 2 sets of 25 - each side)
• Form repetitions: 30 (10x Fri, 10x Sun, 10x Tues. Each day consists of 5 traditional, 5 contemporary)
• Kicks: 1800 (600x Sat, 600x Mon, 600x Wed. Assorted kicking techniques.)
• Bag work: 12 rounds (60 sec rounds; 4x Sat, 4x Mon, 4x Wed. Assorted boxing techniques.)

Total since Day 1:

• Running (total): 29 miles
• Cycling (total): 166 miles
• Pushups: 1150
• Crunches: 1800
• Squats: 900
• Lunges: 900
• Form repetitions: 90
• Kicks: 5100
• Bag work: 36 rounds (36m total)

Morning Hike

I didn't get to go hiking with my co-worker this morning. Bummer. Will have to reschedule for another time. Instead, I took my dog Phoenix with me and traipsed around in the hills near my house, up near Santa Teresa Park.

Phoenix is an amazing dog. She has such a phenomenal attitude and disposition. I can always count on her to be happy and full of energy, especially when I dangle a leash from my hands. That fills her with excitement. She knows that we're going out, and she loves seeing different places and experiencing different smells. Hiking is one of her favorite things to do, although it's difficult because she's not 100% leash trained.

Today, we cut our trip short. We encountered a small family of wild boars that were wandering along the back trails. Phoenix wasn't alarmed (it's not the first time this has happened), but her curious and friendly nature would not have served our best interests, so we turned around and took an alternate route back to the car.

Still a good hour's worth of hiking. Gotta look at the positives!

Meeting my mother and family for dinner later to celebrate Mother's Day. Time to put my food habits to the test.