Are You a Warrior? ~ Warrior Dash Preview

The gear that is included.

I can't believe the day is almost here. I registered over 3 months ago and have been excited ever since. It will be my first race. I will be headed out this Saturday around 7AM. I am dragging Gaylen to race with me and Michelle to take pictures.

I know there are races almost every weekend no matter where you live, but this race is different. This race is more of an obstacle course and the fee includes a viking helmet and a beer! What race have you been to that gives you beer? It also comes with a t-shirt, and a medal.


12 obstacles from hell await you along this 3.02 mile course. Are you a Warrior?

Proper Push ups

The Proper Push Up:

The push-up, or press up if you are in England, is one of the most basic forms of exercise. It works the pectorals, triceps. It also has benifits to your core and deltoids. It is common to sports and the military for fitness and for punishment.

We all know what they are and we have all done them in one form or the other. This simple exercise is one of the best ways to develop upper body strength. It works out all the muscles in the upper body and build optimal strength in the forearms, wrists, upper arms, shoulders and chest. 

To get the most benefit from the push up, you must do them properly.


How To Do the Basic Push Up:

Natural Homemade Energry Bars: Make Your Own ~ Fighter Fuel

Have you ever had a Larabar? It is the most simple but delicious snack bar out there. Just look at the side of any Larabar.  Ingredients: Nuts and fruit. Which ever bar you choose, those are the ingredients to greatness. No sweeteners, fillers, supplements, flavorings or preservatives. How good is that? Just real food, nothing more. (at the bottom of this post I have a list of homemade Larabars)


The sugar in the dried fruits are concentrated and hit the system fast. An athlete needs sugar, well we need carbs. See the glucose in the blood are like pack mules. They carry the proteins, vitamins, electrolytes and whatever else your body needs to the places they need to go. When your muscles are properly fueled, you will have better stamina.

Kata at Sensei's

Katas are common to almost every Japanese martial art discipline. It literary means form, but we westerner see kata as a choreograph series of movements imitating a fight.

If you stumble across any martial arts message board, you will find a topic about how dumb and boring katas are, especially to a fighter. I was one of those people who wrote seeking an answer about why we did them and couldn't find answers. Not that I hated kata, I didn't mind doing them but I couldn't find the value in the slow dances that we did.

CLINIQUE DE KYOKUSHIN-KAN KARATE CLINIC

Last weekend Sensei K, Sempai S, Jared and I took a 7 hour drive to Edmundston, New Brunswick for a Kyokushin Seminar. It was held by the Edmundston dojo and was attended by many people from all over Canada. Shihan Fujiwara, from Connecticut, 6th Dan, Uchi Deshi under Sosai Mas Oyama and also Ushi Deshi under Sushu Shigueru Oyama, ran all the classes.

The first class of the day on Saturday, was the children's  class. Shihan Fujiwara was inspiring. The man had so much energy and really enjoyed being with the kids. He began with the tradition warm-up,

Wednesday Workout - Killer Ab Exercise ~ Swiss Ball Arm-Leg Switch

Last week I was teaching my kickboxing class with tabatas. I like to change things up. Different exercises to hit the same spots. I switched out some of the usual bag work for extra stations. In fact we had 10 stations and I added 4 new exercises. One new exercise had the boys groaning a lot more than I thought it would. It actually surprised me.

Last year when I got the personal training from the YMCA, Rachel showed me this ab exercise. I was kind of afraid that it would seem a bit girly. These guys come in to hit stuff and sweat. They really liked this one

Swiss Ball Arm-Leg Switch

1. Lie down on your back with your legs straight on the floor, arms extended over your head, ball in your hands. 
2. Bring your legs straight up to the ceiling, as you reach your arms up, bringing your shoulders and back off the floor (crunch).
3. Place the ball between your feet, returning to the start position, arms and legs extended.
4. Raise your legs to the ceiling once again, as you bring your arms up, reach, and take ball in your hands.
5. Lower your arms and legs back to the start position

You can do this for a 20 or 30 count. Each time your arms have the ball, is one rep. Or you can do as many as possible in 2 minutes, which is what we did. You will be surprised how hard this is and how quickly you feel your abs burn.

Front Snap Kick

Taken by TJ Whittaker
Patty Pittman VS Ivanna Williams
Patty is the blonde in the green belt