Wednesday Workout ~ Top 5 Gym Equipment To Avoid

I am brand new to becoming a gym rat. I have always worked out at home. I would scour freecycle, and yard sales for equipment. Friends would give me their year old barley-used cardio equipment. I once even picked up a stair stepper from the metal pile at the dump.

Last summer we had to move from our house, with the HUGE basement and into a smaller duplex, with half a basement and a dirt floor. All of my stuff is dismantled and piled up in the shed. My dining room has a corner in it with red milk crates holding all my weight plates and my table is in with the equipment in the shed so I can have room for the treadmill. There is just no room.

My Sensei, The Dojo Monster

Sensei is a monster. It's true. I wish I could be like her though. Here she stands, 5 foot 6 inches tall, weighs about 135 soaking wet and has all the respect and awe of grown men and teenage boys alike for her fighting abilities, stamina and strength. They look up to her and hang on every piece of well thought out advise, so do I.

Every month she spends the weekend with the US branch chief of our organization. Every month she some back with a new torture drill for us.

Last time she went, we did back kicks for at least a half hour. At first we stood with our hands against the wall. We were to bring our knee up to our chests and opening our hips bringing our leg out and behind us. We then brought them back the exact same route. Our knees were not allowed to go down past hip level. She went to each of us individually and for the first 2 count of every set, manipulated our legs into the correct position.

Wednesday Workout - Quick and Hard

Explosive Power

Warm up with a few minutes of ballistic stretching.

• Extend, flex, swing, and rotate every joint
• fingers
• wrist
• elbows
• shoulders
• neck
• hips
• knees
• ankles

Go for maximum reps, each exercise is for 30 seconds each. NO REST 3 sets

• Plyo Push-up (clap hands if you can)
• Jump Squats
• Sit Ups
• Burpees 

Finish up with a 15 minute run.

What's Your Ninja Name?

I am  Noka-chichi-fu What's yours?

Battered Women In Martial Arts

Recently, I read a post over on www.shotokankarateblog.com about karate and domestic violence. Joesph McDaniel watched a movie where a woman learned a martial art to defend herself against an abusive husband. It bothered him how the movie romantically portrayed this woman as defeating her attacker.

In real life this wouldn't happen. Men are usually bigger and stronger, but more than that, an wife beater is also an emotional abuser. Which is why men can be physically abused too. The only difference between a woman and a man victim, is the amount of damage that is caused physically. The emotional abuse cuts a lot deeper than black eyes.

Anyone could be abused. You wouldn't know. People who are abused are teachers, police officers, housewives, even sometimes black belts. One in every four women either, is or has been, abused.

Wednesday Workout ~ All About Legs

I have been training for a fight, which is next month. I, like always, can see a kinds of shortcomings in my techniques, especially with my kicking. Today I thought I would focus on legs. I am going to miss tonight's class and tomorrow I have a business dinner to go to, so I am going to KILL my legs.


This is in typical Cardio Kickboxing format. You will need a round timer, I suggest Speed Bag Forum Free Online Timer, if you don't have a Gym Boss. These are all two minute drills, so set your timer up for a 2 minute round, with a 30 second warning, 30 second rest. . I will be at the dojo so I will be working with heavy bag, speed bag and a couple of chairs. Grab some water and a towel to soak up the sweat.


When doing any exercise, don't be a hero. Do your best, but if you need a break, take one. I do, then I jump right back into it.


Ding Ding Ding ~ Begin

Belt Test ~ Green Looks Good On Me

Belt Test
Shortcomings
The belt test has come and gone and it was fun. "Grades" came in and well I could have done better. I earned my belt, but there are some short falls. I need to work on push ups. I have to complete them without a break. I also, sadly, got my first 'fail', for my handstand. I have to do one for 60 seconds. Usually I am told to try harder next time but get scored on the effort. This time, I got a big fat, "fail" written on my paper.