Weighted Clothing

Weighted clothing has made an appearance in a variety of anime: Dragonball, Naruto, Hajime no Ippo, Prince of Tennis, and even Yakitate! Japan, just to name a few. It's a simple concept. If you weigh more, your muscles will have to be stronger to support you. However, wearing weights is not something that should be rushed and shouldn't even be attempted if you are out of shape. They are not a shortcut to ultimate power and you can and probably will be injured if you jump straight into wearing weights without being in fairly good shape first.

First of all, what does it mean to be in "good shape." The answer is: it varies. If you've been involved in sports or regular physical exercise for several years, it's probably safe to start training with weighted clothes. However, if you are a complete novice, you will need the time to build the proper muscle, bone, tendon, and joint strength in order to be able to properly utilize these training tools.

You have some options when it comes to weighted clothing. You've got the classic wrist and ankle weights, then you've got things like weighted gloves, weighted belts, thigh weights, weighted shorts, weighted vests, upper-arm weights, and weighted shoes. You could virtually cover every square inch of your body in weights. That, obviously, is not a good idea. The best place to add weight during your training is your core, because it places less stress on your joints. However, if you wish to add weights to your limbs, do so in very small increments, such as 1/2 or 1/4lb, if possible. The best kinds of weighted clothing are generally made with little slots to add or remove weights in increments. Don't settle for the soft, sand-filled wrist or ankle weights, as they'll just get torn and spill out all over the place.

If you work hard and diligently, you will definitely be able to increase your strength. You can choose to wear your weights only when you train, only when you are not training, or all the time. For a second, imagine this scenario.

You weigh 150lbs and, through rigorous training, have worked your way up to wearing an additional 50lbs of weight at all times (1/3 of your total body weight). Think about the differences in your movement-- the power, the speed, the agility-- when, being used to weighing 200lbs, you all of a sudden weigh 150 again. It's a quite a staggering thought. However, as I said before, this is not something that is going to happen over night, or over a week, or a month... it will probably take years, especially if you are out of shape.

And you don't have to wear any weights at all. You can just train with your own bodyweight and do weightlifting workouts. It's whatever YOU want to do. Most of us aren't professional athletes, so the most important thing for us is to find a fitness regimen that we enjoy and keeps us healthy. That's what Real Anime Training is for me.

November was a little busy for me, but December should be a lot more productive for Real Anime Training. So, until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ippo on the Beach

Ippo prepares for the next stage of the Japan East Rookie Tournament by going on a week long training camp with Takamura, Aoki, and Kimura. It's a brutal week in which Ippo builds his ability to turn on a dime. Ideally, you should have access to a beach or at least a long stretch of sand to do this workout. So, here it is. It really is hell, so scale it back a little if you have to.

Ippo on the Beach

Morning

1. Run 3 Miles in sand, with 7 sprints
2. 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Sparring or Mitt Hitting (if partner available)
3. Tennis Ball Catching- 100 Balls

4-6 hours later

1. Run 3 Miles in sand, with 7 sprints
2. 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Sparring or Mitt Hitting (if partner available)
3. 5 Sets of 5 x 3 Minute Rounds (Yes, that's 25 Rounds)

Notes:

• When running in the sand, make sure to really push off with your toes. Otherwise, you won't be able to run as fast and you'll miss out on an important part of the training: making your big toes stronger. You can jog a little slower than normal if you like, because you'll have seven sets of sprints throughout the run. Really push it on the sprints! Remember: Toes, toes, toes!
• When catching the tennis balls, stay on your toes. Have your training partner throw the tennis balls to either side of you (doesn't have to alternate) and you must catch them. Try to keep an even pace at first, but then you can speed up after some time.
• There is a LOT of shadowboxing in this workout. Your rest periods should be from 30 seconds to 1 minute in between rounds and 2 to 3 minutes in between sets. It will look like this. 5 x 3 Min Rounds with 1 Min rest in between rounds. After the fifth round, take a 2 to 3 minute rest and then start the next set of 5 rounds. Although there are rest periods, this is almost 2 hours long.
• You can tone this workout down if you need to. If you take a vacation to the beach, and you are in shape enough, give this workout a try for 5 days in a row or as long as you are there.

That's all for today. Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been busy with work and home life. Hopefully will have some more stuff up tomorrow or the next day. Until then, good luck and train hard.

Martial Arts and Fighting

What is the purpose of the martial arts? What do the parents who sign their bullied 11-year old up for Tae Kwon Do want to gain from the training? What is sold, day in and day out, across the country as the purpose of the martial arts?

Discipline? Confidence? The instilling of virtue in the next generation? Health and fitness? Art, maybe? Sure. I'll allow all those things to be listed as the purpose of a martial art. However, all (and I do mean all) of these things take a back seat to the granddaddy purpose of them all:

Fighting.

Yes, fighting. Fighting is what martial arts is, for God's sake. Think about it for a moment: Self defense without fighting is learning to stay indoors and praying no one breaks in. All real martial arts have their roots in fighting. This may seem like a truism, but with the way many martial artists treat their training, you might be surprised.

I'm not here to tell you what style you should practice. I don't care what style you practice or if you practice one at all. What I am here to tell you is that if you are a martial artist and are not sparring or competing in some type of fighting event, you are missing a vital part of your training. There are valuable tools that are built in sparring, such as timing, distance, and the ability to not curl into a ball when someone attempts to rearrange your face.

A martial arts master who has never fought another human being (even in sparring) is NOT a martial arts master, regardless of the level of skill he or she possesses in breaking boards, doing kata, or what-have-you. How can I say that? Because in fighting another human being, you gain real world experience about combat that you can't gain through other means. You may have gained immense power/speed/technique from your martial arts training, but until you spar/fight with another person, there is no application to what you are doing. Sure, you may be able to drop a guy in one shot with your amazing, super special punching technique, but you don't really know that until you fight someone. You also don't know what will happen if that person just so happens to dodge.

I'm sure there are many who will disagree with me. "Oh, no! My master has been training for 30 years and has never fought with anyone!" --- Then, how do you know if anything he's teaching you works? Because that's what's important. If your style fails you when you need it the most, you might not be able to correct your mistake. You might be dead.

Whatever style you practice-- you need to spar. That means you need to spar using safety gear, so you and your partner aren't seriously injured. Minimum is gloves, mouthpiece and a cup. If you're just grappling or doing a Kyokushin spar, you can drop the gloves. You should also spar against different styles. If you are a stand up fighter, spar with grapplers. It'll let you know the limits of both your styles when matched against one another. If you're a Judo player, try a wrestler. Spar against anyone you can from any style you can. You and your partner will learn a lot.

If you want to say that sparring isn't realistic, I have two retorts. 1st- It's really the best you've got unless you want to go out picking real fights or venturing into very dangerous areas hoping to get mugged. (Shouldn't have to say this, but DO NOT DO THIS!) 2nd- Self-defense techniques where you defend a single lunge punch you know is coming and then hit your immobile opponent three times or just wailing on your Body Opponent Bag doesn't really rank up there in terms of realism, either.

Of course, if you've been reading Real Anime Training, I've always been a proponent of sparring. And how could I not be with the countless number of fights that happen in the anime that we cover. Goku spars, Kenichi spars, Ippo spars, Baki spars, and a lot of guys just pick fights, but the point is the same. If you are practicing a martial art and you are not fighting-- start now.

That's all for today guys. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

On "Completing a Workout 3 Times"

Some workouts have a rule that you cannot advance to the next level of a workout until you complete your current level three times. That means you attempt and complete the workout on three separate occasions. For instance, if you've do the same workout once a week on the same day and you complete it three weeks in a row, you get to move up to the next level.

This rule does not mean that you complete the workout three times in one day or three times in a row. Plus, generally, you shouldn't do the same workout every day or two days in a row (although it wouldn't hurt to do the same workout two days in a row sometimes).

Anyway, just thought I'd clear that up.

Let me see what you've got!

If you've got an idea for a workout or have a workout planned out, just send it to my e-mail at realanimetraining@gmail.com and you may just see it on the blog.

Please include:

• The name of the anime
• The name of the workout
• Your first name
• Your city and state (or country, if you don't live in the US)

Thanks for all your support, guys! I really look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Ippo's First Three Fights

This workout is based on the training seen in the anime for Ippo's first three fights. It's similar to the other Ippo workouts but has some differences as well. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Ippo's First Three Fights

Morning

• 3 Mile Run (5 Sprints Throughout)

4-6 Hours Later

• 20 Push-ups
• 20 Sit-ups
• 20 Hindu Squats

4 Rounds, then

• 3 Minutes Neck Bridging
• 3 Minutes Headstand Work
• 3 x 1 Minute Heavy Bag "Sprint"
• 3 x 3 Minutes Jump Rope
• 5 Minutes Speed Bag Practice (if available)
• 4 x 3 Minutes Shadowboxing or Heavy Bag work
• 1 Mile Run
• 3 Sets of 20 Medicine Ball Ab Strikes

Notes:

• The workout begins with four rounds of push-ups, sit-ups, and hindu squats. There is no rest in between rounds.
• For Heavy Bag "Sprints," lay into a heavy bag as hard and as fast as you can for the time limit. There is a 1 minute rest period between "sprints."
• The speed bag is useful for developing one's timing. It will take some getting used to, but you'll get it with practice.
• Medicine Ball Ab Strikes can be done by dropping a medicine ball on your midsection while you are laying down, or having someone hit your abs while standing, with your arms behind your head. There is a 1 minute rest in between sets.
• Added neck bridging, so we don't lose all that great neck strength we've built up to this point. If you can do the full three minutes, you can press a weight or hold it on your chest. Also, some headstand work.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard.

P.S.- Sorry I haven't put a lot up, I've been sick for a few days and haven't felt like doing anything.

Two Edits

I've edited two workouts to make them more in line with their respective anime. The workouts are the "Himokiri Karate Workout" and "Roshi's Training." Be sure to check them out. I should also have something else up for you guys tonight.

Later!

Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #4- Akisame

This workout is based on HSDK's master, Koetsuji Akisame, the Philosophical Jujitsu Master. It's a little hard to pin Akisame's training down, primarily because traditional jujitsu training doesn't have a large amount of physical conditioning beyond constant repetition of techniques. However, Akisame is not a normal jujitsu practitioner and has used a massive amount of physical training to turn all the muscles in his body into intermediate types capable of both explosive and long-term movements. Although, it's probably impossible to change the muscular composition of one's body, it's still fun to think about. This is the first workout for Akisame and there will also be more workouts for the other masters, as well. As always, remember to check the notes at the bottom.

Morning:

1. 3 Mile Run
2. 500 Yard Bear Crawl

4-6 Hours Later:

1. 50 Pull-ups
2. 100 Push-ups
3. 200 Sit-ups
4. 300 Squats
5. 10 Minutes "Toe Training"
6. 30 Minutes Jujitsu Practice

Notes:

• When your time for the three mile run gets down to 21 minutes, begin to pull a tire on the run. Add 10lbs to the tire every time you get the time down to 21 minutes again.
• You can bear crawl on flat ground or up a hill. When you get to the point where you are pulling a tire on your run, also pull a tire during the bear crawl. The weight on the tire will also correspond to the weight on it during the run.
• For the pull-ups, you can do wide grip, close grip, supinated grip (chin-ups), behind the neck pull-ups, towel pull-ups, or basic pull-ups. I'd recommend switching every time you do this workout. When you can do 50 reps without stopping on a few of the variations, hold a 10lb weight in between your knees or feet, hang it from your weight belt, or wear it in a weighted vest. You can add 10 more pounds each time you get to 50.
• For the push-ups, you can do the basic push-up, wide push-ups, diamond push-ups, push-ups with fingers facing each other or away from each other, push-ups on the backs of your hands or whatever. Switch like with the pull-ups. When you can get to 100 reps without stopping on a few of the types of push-ups, wear a weighted vest with 10lbs. Add weight when you get to 100 again. You'll probably need to do the push-ups with your hands and feet on blocks after you wear the vest in order to get the range of motion back.
• For the sit-ups, after you do 200 reps without stopping, I recommend doing them on an decline bench. After you get to 200 again, you can either devise a way to do hanging sit-ups or you can start to add weight to your decline sit-ups. Hold a 10lb weight just behind your head to add weight to the sit-ups. Be sure not to tug on your own head to assist in the movement. Also, as always, when your do sit-ups make sure to really focus on "curling" up with your abdominal muscles instead of keeping your body straight.
• For the squats, you can do conventional squats, sumo squats, hindu squats, or lunge squats (it's 300 per leg if you're doing lunge squats). When you get to 300 reps on the squats, add 10lbs to the exercise by holding dumbbells in your hands, a barbell on your back, in the crux of your elbows, in the front on your shoulders, holding a small sandbag (which will obviously get bigger as you add weight), or by wearing a weighted vest.
• "Toe Training" is anything that will workout your toes. You can pull a dumbbell or barbell across the floor by hooking it with your toes, or pull down on a cable machine by hooking the handle with your toes. You can just hold onto the edge of something with your toes like a table or a metal bar and flex your toes up and down on it or pull down with your whole leg. You can also kick your toes into a sandbag (be careful) or flex your toes through sand, pebbles, or steel shot. Train your feet like you train your hands. It may seem strange, but strong feet and toes are better than weak feet and toes.
• For all exercises, you may do them fast or slow or with pauses. Change it up every now and again.
• Jujitsu practice can be practicing breakfalls or throws or submissions. I would go so far as to say any grappling technique, just so you have something to do. 

That's all for today. This workout first builds middle level strength and endurance with bodyweight exercises and slowly adds weight to those exercises, in order for you to build both strength and stamina. Good luck and train hard!

Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #3- Ma

This workout is based on HSDK's Kung Fu master Ma Kensei, the master of all Chinese Kung Fu. He's small, but quick and extremely powerful. This training is taken from the training in the Shaolin Temple and from the anime. Remember to read the notes at the bottom.

Morning:

1. 5 Minute Light Jog
2. 2 Minute Split Stretching
3. 20 Minutes- Hill or Stair Sprints, Bear Crawl Down (as many sets as possible)

4-6 Hours Later:

1. 2 Mile Run
2. Tiger Push-ups- 5 Minutes
3. Deep Horse Stance- 10 Minutes
4. Iron Palm Bag- 100 Strikes each side (25 each palm slap, back hand slap, knife hand, punch)
5. 100 Lunge Steps
6. Heavy Bag Work- 10 Minutes
7. 5 Minutes Three Star Training (with partner or pole)
8. Fingertip Push-ups- 5 Minutes
9. Practice Headstand for 10 Minutes
10. Practice Jumping (as high as you can) for 10 Minutes
11. 50 Horse Stance Punches
12. 50 Kicks (your choice)

Notes:

• After your normal warm-up, the morning will start with a light jog, stretching, and HILL SPRINTS. Not just that, but you have to bear crawl down the hill. To bear crawl, you are moving on all fours, with your butt in the air. Have fun! :D
• On your 2 mile run, go as fast as you can. When you can do 2 miles in 12 minutes, add a 1lb ankle weight to each leg. Add 1 lb every time you get your time down to 12 minutes.
• For Tiger Push-ups, spread your feet about one and a half times your shoulder width (it can be a little wider if you want), bend at the waist, put your hands on the ground, and push back on your hands with your back as straight as possible. Now, go up on your fingertips. This is your starting position. As you go down, sweep your chest right above the ground, press up, and you should be looking at the ceiling at the top of the movement, with your hips just above the ground. To go back to start, push back on your hands. Don't go back through the same motion for the start.
• Your horse stance should be deep, so that means your stance is going to be wider than the other horse stance I talked about once before AND you'll need to turn your toes out slightly in order to spare your knees from damage. How deep? Ideally, the tops of your thighs should be parallel with the ground. When you are in the horse stance, hold your arms out at shoulder height, palms facing out, pointer-finger up, with the other fingers folded at the middle knuckle and your thumb should be out at about 45 degrees from your hand and the hands should be held tightly in this position. When you can hold this stance for 10 minutes straight, you may place a 10lb barbell on your thighs as you do it. After you can hold it from there, you may add 1lb/arm each time you get to 10 minutes. You may also use this deep form horse stance in all of your other training if you like.
• We've spoken of the Iron Palm Bag, the Lunge Steps, and Bag Work before. However, when you can do 100 Lunge Steps without stopping, add another 100.
• For Three Star Training, get into a horse stance (doesn't have to be low) and with one arm chambered at your waist, swing the other arm from outside to inside, striking the pole or your partner's forearm with the inside of your own forearm. Then, with the same arm, swing your forearm up, palm facing in, and strike the pole or your partner's forearm with the inside of your own forearm in a Middle Block. From there, swing the arm down into a Low Block, striking the pole or your partner's forearm with the outside of your own forearm. Execute with other side. Rest if pain becomes to much. Apply dit da jow if available.
• We've covered fingertip push-ups.
• For the headstand, use a wall or a partner as a spotter. Practice getting to the time limit with your hands as support at first. Use a piece of foam or a towel, so your head has something to rest against. Pause as is necessary for this exercise and stop if there is real pain.
• When you practice jumping, make sure you lift your legs as high as you can at the top of the jump.
• We've covered horse stance punches before.
• You may throw any kicks you like at the end. Front, side, back, roundhouse, spin kicks, flying kicks-- I don't care, just kick!

This workout is slightly different than the other two master workouts. There are less explosive movements, but it's just as hard. That's all for today. Good luck and train hard!

GRAPPLER BAKI- PART XIV

After Baki went ballistic on his old man, he managed to grab a rear naked choke. The spectators think that this might be the end of the fight, but Yujiro just flings the young boy into a fence. The fast-thinking Baki rebounds off the fence and back into laying into his father with every strike he can think of throwing. Unfortunately, Yujiro is all but invincible to the young Hanma's assault. Yujiro thanks the onlookers for helping in Baki's training and turns to fight.

Baki jumps in for a strike, but Yujiro counters by axe-kicking him into the ground. During the next split second, Baki is unconscious and, upon his waking, Yujiro tells Baki in the .2 seconds he was asleep that he was killed twice. In high level fights, it is the opponent who has his bell rung a little too hard that is danger of being hurt or killed by his unrelenting opponent. Baki experienced what can be referred to as a "flash knockout." A flash knockout is a loss of consciousness from which one quickly recovers. Baki backs off after this, using the technique he practiced against his swordsman friend. Yujiro comes down with a chop, Baki flips, but just as the kick connects, Yujiro, too flips and smashes Baki into the ground.

It's all pretty much downhill from here for the young Baki as Yujiro begins to pound the boy's face into the ground. Emi, freaky as ever, is looking on the event with joy. That is until she see's her only son's blank face and something finally snaps in her brain. She launches an attack on her "perfect man," but is brushed aside easily, before Yujiro snaps her back like a twig. The onlookers try to get Yujiro to turn himself in, but he demolishes the lot of them with ease. Baki, in a strange state of confusion, is found walking the streets by himself, dreaming of his lost mother.

With nothing left to hold him down in Japan, Baki decides that he will take two years to travel the world to train and fight as much as he can. At some point, all of us must leave our comfort zones if we ever hope to improve, in whatever it is we do.

There's not a lot to be said in terms of training in this episode. The only things that we might want to take from it are that: 1) If you get knocked out for a split second and are able to recover quickly enough, be ready to fight or run away immediately. Keep your fighting spirit strong the entire time, even if you are unconscious. That sounds a lot easier than it actually is, but it's really the state of mind you have before you are knocked out that helps determine your state right after the flash knockout. 2) When fighting someone who is more powerful than you, do not let up at all. You don't have the luxury of letting him even get in one strike or grabbing hold of you.

That's all for this episode of Baki. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #2- Sakaki

This workout is based on History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi's Karate Master: Sakaki Shio, the Hundred Dan Brawler. It's brutal, but it is a Master Workout.

Morning:

1. Run 6 Miles
2. 500 Horse Stance Punches total

4-6 Hours Later:

1. 4 Hill Sprints or 2 Partner Drags/person (if partner available)
2. MAX Handstand Push-ups
3. 10 Each of Front Kick, Round Kick, Side Kick, Back Kick
4. MAX Fingertip Push-ups
5. 10 Each of Front Kick, Round Kick, Side Kick, Back Kick
6. MAX Knuckle Push-ups
7. 10 Each of Front Kick, Round Kick, Side Kick, Back Kick
8. 10 Stance Changes w/Gripping Jars
9. 10 Each of Front Kick, Round Kick, Side Kick, Back Kick
10. 50 Dumbbell/KB Toss (Total Reps)
11. 20 "Stone Club" Front and Rear Lifts each side
12. Tree Punches (as is comfortable)
13. Stone Strikes (Flat Slap, Palm Heel, Backfist, Punch, Knifehand, as is comfortable)
14. 5 Minutes Handwalking or Wheelbarrow Stair Climbs (if partner available)
15. 500 Strikes on Heavy Bag (Any)

Notes:

• You may not be able to complete this workout the first time through.
• For your run, try to pick a hilly area.
• On your hill sprints, go all out until you can't and then walk back down. Take a second, and start again. For partner drags, it is best if you have a strong athletic band to wrap around your midsection which your partner can hold onto as you make your way up the hill on two feet or all fours, either is acceptable.
• For handstand push-ups, use a wall as support. When you are able to do 25 or so without stopping, you can use some stools, chairs, or concrete blocks to increase your range of motion.
• Look up some tutorials for proper kick form and do them on each side.
• For the fingertip push-ups, use 5 fingers at first. When you are able to do 30 or so reps without stopping, use 4 fingers and work your way down as such.
• To perform stance changes, you will hold the following stances for a count of three before moving to the next stance. You will be holding the gripping jars low at your sides. 1) Horse Stance, then step forward to 2) Left side Forward Stance, then step forward to 3)Right side Forward Stance, then step forward to 4) Horse Stance. 5) Lift Jars along your front twice each side, then 6) Reverse steps 1-4. Repeat steps 1-6 a total of 5 times for this exercise to be completed. Start with 25lbs per hand in the gripping jars. For this, it would be best to use steel shot, which can be expensive. You may be able to use wet sand, too. When this gets easier, move to 50lbs per hand.
• The Dumbbell or Kettlebell Tosses are simple. Stand in a Horse Stance and lift the weight in front of you with your arm straight. Toss it slightly at the top, release, and catch with the other hand. Repeat with other arm. Start out with 10lbs, and work your way up from there. Let your arms swing to your sides at the bottom of the movement so you don't whack yourself on the way down.
• "Stone Club" Front Lifts and Rear Lifts are performed on one arm for the rep count before switching arms. The "Stone Club" can be a Dumbbell or small Barbell loaded only on one side, using the unloaded side as a handle. Make sure you collar the loaded side very, very well. For the Front Lift, hold the weight in front, the loaded side facing up. You'll start with your arm low, in front of you, and raise the weight at your front while keeping your arm straight. The load should always be pointing straight up. When you reach the top, with your arm pointing straight up, bend at the elbow and lower the weight behind you, like a triceps press. This is the Rear Lift. The load will obviously point down at this point, so collaring is a must! Follow the motion all the way to the starting position to complete 1 rep. This exercise must be done slow and deliberately. It should be about an 8 second count up and down for the Front Lift and a 4 second count down and up for the Rear Life. That means each rep will take a total of a 12 second count. Start with 5lbs and work your way up.
• Tree punches should be delivered to a tree with a smooth bark (or not too rough bark) and should be as hard as is comfortable. If it starts to hurt too much, back off or quit for the day.
• Stone Strikes should be delivered to a smooth stone (or not to0 rough stone) and should be as hard as is comfortable. If it starts to hurt too much, back off or quit for the day.
• Keep the clock running as you practice handwalking. When you can do it relatively easily, try to do it on your fists or fingertips, but that will probably be a while. If you have a partner, have him hold your ankles as you use your fists to walk up and down stairs. Bleachers or stone stairs, it's up to you. Try no to go too fast, because you'll probably fall. If you are holding your partner's ankles, really keep a grip on him. If you have to let go, tell him, so you don't just drop him.
• For the Heavy Bag, you can lay into it with any strikes you want for up to 500 total strikes. Punches, kicks, knees, elbows, whatever. It's a nice way to finish off the day.

As always, if you are new, go at a slower pace, or do less reps or whatever you need to do to make sure that you stay safe and are getting a good workout. You may just end up doing the morning routine to begin with, or you can do a scaled down version of the whole workout, where you just do 1/2 or 1/4 of the prescribed reps or weights.

These Master Workouts are requiring quite a bit of research, but they are well worth it, I think.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ryouzanpaku Master Workout #1- Apachai

This first Ryouzanpaku Master Workout is dedicated to the God of Death of the Underground Muay Thai Arena. He's a simple man, but he's a real powerhouse. This workout is a combination of the training that Apachai does in the anime and the training that real Muay Thai fighters do.

Morning:
-Run 3 Miles (Periodically switch to side shuffle, running backwards, and skipping.)
-3 x 5 Minute Rounds Shadow Kickboxing

4-6 hours later:

-50 Thai Squats*
-50 Forward Jumping Squats*
-50 Side Jumping Squats*
-3 Sets of MAX Push-ups
-3 x 3 Minute Rounds Jump Rope
-3 x 3 Minute Rounds Double Thai Kicks on Heavy Bag or Thai Pads (Alt. Legs After Double Kicks)
-3 x 3 Minute Rounds Punches with Dumbbells
-3 x 5 Minute Rounds Bag Work
-3 Sets MAX Sit-ups
-3 Sets of 25 Side Bends w/weight (each side)
-2 Sets of Gymnastic Bridge to Failure
-3 Sets of 15 Neck Raises w/weight on a rope hanging from mouth
-2 Minutes Tennis Ball Foot Juggling (each leg)


Notes:

• When running, there is no set time frame that you must switch in between running, side shuffling, running backwards, or skipping. It's up to you.
• All rounds in this workout have a 1 minute rest period between them. If this workout is getting easy, decrease the rest period by 15 seconds. You may do so again, so that the rest period is down to 30 seconds, but don't go any lower than that.
• To perform Thai Squats, spread your feet about twice shoulder width, with your feet facing 45 degrees out. Look toward one leg. This becomes your front. Begin in a deep squatted position and explode out of the bottom. In mid-air twist your legs and body, so that your rear leg lands in the same place your front leg was a moment ago. When you land you will be in the squat position. Repeat without pausing in between reps. *When you are able to do 50 reps on Thai Squats, Front Jump Squats, and Side Jump Squats without failing, increase the reps for each exercise to 100. After you can do 100 of each exercise without failing, use a weighted vest or barbell to add 10lbs to the exercise. Add 10lbs each time you are able to complete the three sets of squats without failure. Take a two minute rest in between the the different squats.
• To perform Front Jump Squats, squat like normal, but when you come up, explode off the ground and go forward. You may go as far as you can or just pick a distance that you "hop" every to on every rep. Picking a distance will help you get a rhythm down.
• To perform Side Jump Squats, squat like normal, but when you come up, explode off the ground and jump to one side for 5 reps, then jump back for 5 reps. This is 10 total reps. You don't have to to 50 to the left and 50 to the right (Thank God).
• You can look up a tutorial on YouTube for a proper Thai Kick. If you don't have a heavy bag or Thai pads, make do with practicing the Thai Kick in the air. It will be hard to do doubles, since you won't have a target to bounce off.
• For the dumbbell punches, adopt whatever stance you would normally take to fight and throw both the left and right, one after another. You can throw straights, hooks, or uppers, it doesn't matter. Just make sure you are going at a good pace, and that you pull your punches just before full extension in order to save your elbows. Start with 2lbs dumbbells then, 3lb, 5lb, 7.5lb, 10lb, 12.5lb, 15lb, 17.5lb, and 20lb. Once you're at 20, that should be about all you can handle and I'm sure that it will take you a while to get there. If you can get past 20, good job!
• At your leisure, you may add weight to your sit-ups.
• For the side-bends, start with no weight. When you are able to complete the reps listed, add 10lbs. To perform the side bend, place on hand behind your head and one hand at your side (holding a weight, if you are using one). Starting position has your body bent to the side with the hand hanging down and ending with the body bent to the opposite side.
• To perform the Gymnastic Bridge, lay flat on your back. Then bend your legs so that your feet are flat on the ground, while reaching your hands behind you to also be flat on the ground. Finally, use your legs and arms to arch your body, with your arms almost locked out. Hold it until you can't. If you are holding both sets longer than 3 minutes, you need to be wearing a weighted vest or something to increase the difficulty.
• To perform weighted neck raises, tie a dumbbell or a weight to a piece of rope. Make sure there is a large loop in the top of the rope. Next, bite down on the rope while seated and lift your head back as far as you can. You'll be bent over as you are sitting, as well. Start with 10lbs and add 10lbs as is necessary.
• Tennis Ball Juggling with Foot is taken straight out of the anime. You'll take a tennis ball and with each foot (separately), you'll bounce the ball on the foot as many times as you can without dropping the ball or your foot. Also, try for a good height on the ball when your bounce it. This will be very hard, especially at first and I doubt you'll be able to get more that 3 or 4 bounces without a drop. Work hard, though, because it will help improve your leg control and accuracy.

This is a pretty rough workout, but it's not impossible. I'm sure there are plenty of Pros who could do it with ease. Fortunately, since there is plenty of opportunity to add weight to exercises to increase their difficulty, you should get plenty strong. That's all for today. Good luck, and train hard!

Been Busy

Hey, guys!

I've been a little busy with some stuff at home, but I'll try to post a workout and an episode review for you tomorrow. Until then, good luck and train hard!

Himokiri Karate Workout (Grappler Baki)

We're jumping ahead a few episodes in Grappler Baki in order to bring you a workout inspired by Shinogi Koushou, the master of Himokiri (Cord-Cutter) Karate. Using his fingers to attack, he severs nerves in his opponent's body, cutting off various body parts' basic functions... arms, eyes, whatever. However, in order to fight in such a manner, one would have to have forged his fingers into virtual steel bars, capable of ripping through flesh. It is a long and arduous process and not one that many pursue, especially in the long term. However, I think it is necessary to have very strong hands/fingers if you are a martial artist. I thought it went without saying, what with all the grabbing, throwing, and punching we do!

Several of the exercises in this workout are new and some will require special equipment. If you lack this equipment, there are a lot of place you can get them, but I will also offer some alternatives. We'll get to that later. But, first, the workout!

The Himokiri Karate Workout

1. Fingertip Push-ups- MAX with each type* (Remember to check this note at bottom.)

2. Practice Two Finger Pull-ups for 3 Minutes
3. Iron Claw Catch Bag- 200 Reps, both sides
--------------If you drop the bag, do 25 Hindu Squats
4. Iron Palm Bag- 120 Strikes each hand

--------------30 each of Flat Hand Slap, Back Hand Slap, Punch, 5 Finger Strike

5. Diamond Finger- 100 Strikes each hand

6. Shuto Isometric Hold- 3 Times to Failure

7. Horse Stance w/Gripping Jars to Sides- 5 Minutes Total (Keep clock running)

8. 50 Front Kicks with Rear Leg on each side

Notes:

• For the fingertip push-ups, you'll start with all your fingers for your first set, then minus the pinky on your second set, then minus ring finger... you get the point. However, when you can't complete a set, you go back to using five fingers and start all over again. You do this until you are unable to complete a single rep of the exercise using all your fingers. Towards the end, you'll be doing a lot of 3 or 4 reps sets with your all your fingers, waiting for them to give out.
  
• For Two-Finger Pull-ups, use only the index and middle fingers to hold onto the bar when you are performing the exercise. There is no set rep count, just as many as you can do in the alloted time. If you can't do any, try to just hang on for as long as you can.
• The Iron Claw Catch Bag is a small canvas bag filled with steel shot that is tossed in front of you and snatched out of the air by digging your fingers into it. This is painful at first, but you'll get used to it after a while. On top of that, it generally weighs from 5-8lbs and so a bunch of reps will kill your shoulders. You may do them in sets of 50 or 100 if you prefer, instead of doing all 200 at once. On the flip side, if you feel like doing some extra squats, maybe you should try to do all 200 at once on each side.
• The Iron Palm Bag is a larger canvas bag that can be filled with a variety of things. I recommend getting an unfilled bag, so you can fill it for yourself. Plus, it's cheaper that way. At first, you're going to use sand in the bag. You'll be on this for a while, to make sure that your hands are properly conditioned. The material in the Iron Palm Bag is supposed to give, much like the majority of the human body gives when you exert force on it. Some people say you should stay on sand for one month, some three, and some a year. However, that's for people who are going to be hitting it all the time. If you would like, you may do so and I recommend 1-3 months, depending on how your hands are feeling. After that, you can move on to very small gravel for 1-3 months. Then, larger gravel for 1-3 months. Finally, you may use steel shot. For those of you just doing this exercise for the workout when you happen to do it, just stick with sand. You can also just go get a bag of sand from a home improvement store and rap it in duct tape.
• Diamond Finger is a kung fu skill I found in a book. Point and tighten your index finger and poke it against something that will not give, like a piece of wood, concrete, or metal. While the Iron Palm Bag will train your for material that gives, Diamond Finger will train you to deal with harder things. You'll have to hit lightly at first, but you'll be able to hit harder with time.
• With the Shuto Isometric Hold, form a knife hand with each hand, as if you were going to do a knife-hand strike and tense all the muscles of the hands and forearm. This will strengthen the hand in that position. Hold it as long as you can and release. Wait a few moments, and do it again. Continue for the number of sets listed.
  
• We've covered the gripping jars previously.
• Pick a spot on the wall, and just crank out 50 Front Kicks on each side, without stopping. It's harder than you think.
  

I'm not going to recommend any particular Iron Palm Bag, but if you go to Google and type in "Iron Palm Bag," there will be a lot of good results. Try to look for a canvas bag that is refillable. Also, look into purchasing some Dit Da Jow. It's an herbal concoction that's supposed to help with healing during training on the Iron Palm Bag. The sites you find will probably have some for sale. I've had good experiences with the ones I've bought and made for myself.

If you have any difficulty finding an Iron Claw Bag, you can attempt to make one for yourself by filling a double-layered ziplock baggie with iron shot and then covering it with a loose layer of duct tape. You don't want to turn it into an unmoveable iron ball. Think more like a hackey sack with bb's in it.

Here are some pics of my bags:

Live Action Holyland

I just found out last night that one of the manga that I've made a workout from actually has a live-action version. I watched the first episode last night and it's not too bad. It can be a little difficult to find, but I found this episode here. I'll try to get another post up here for you guys tonight.

Until then, good luck and train hard!

GRAPPLER BAKI- PART XIII

Baki gets ready for the fight with his father, by doing a massive 12-hour warm-up. Apparently, it takes the young superhuman a good half a day to get revved-up enough to be in high gear. He figures that his high gear should be enough to handle Yujiro's lowest gear and, thus, plans to end the fight early on. He shadowboxes, spars against both Yuri and Hanayama (at the same time, as well as separately), and just generally keeps his body moving.

His begins his sparring with Yuri and dodges all the punches of the experienced boxer quite masterfully. However, Yuri throws a low kick that catches Baki off guard and right into an uppercut, but Baki turns his head faster than the punch in order to lessen the damage. I've heard of this a few times, but I've never actually met a boxer who could do it (although, I've not met a whole lot of Pro Boxers)-- even so, I'm convinced it is possible to be able to turn your head fast enough to at least soften the blow of a punch, if not negate the damage entirely. Soon after this, Baki grabs Yuri from behind and tosses him with a wrestling throw.

At this point, Hanayama steps in, but Baki takes the powerhouse's punches to his stomach straight on, without so much as a flinch. After a while of sparring, the two fighters decide they need to join forces to fight him. This continues on into the night and, much to everyone's surprise, Baki removes 20 kilograms (about 45lbs) of diving weights from his midsection. They cannot fathom that he has been going so hard for so many hours while wearing the weights. Sparring two experienced fighters while wearing the weights as a handicap shows just how much Baki has risen above his old self. It's a humbling experience to spar against two fighters that are about as skilled as yourself, but it's an experience I think everyone should have every now and again.

Even so, the time arrives for Baki and his father to fight, and it is revealed that Yujiro has beaten Gaia and made him fly the helicopter to the fight location. An earthquake threatens to put the fight on hold, but Yujiro uses all his power and stops the quake in its tracks (yeah, right!) with a single punch. Baki doesn't really care and comes at his father full force with an undefended punch, several knees to the face, and grabbing a rear naked choke. The episode ends, and we are left to wonder if Baki's strategy of going all out from the beginning will work for him.

I know from personal experience that fitter athletes require more time to warm up before they can get into their "groove" or kick it into high gear, although I doubt anyone in the world needs a full 12 hours to reach that gear. Most warm-ups for even seasoned professional athletes last only at most 30 minutes or so. If you need an hour, I'd say you are operating at a superhuman level.

Try this for a workout, though.

The 12-Hour Warm-up

Every hour, for 12 hours, do the following exercises:

• 25 Push-ups
• 25 Sit-ups
• 25 Squats
• 5 Minutes of Shadowboxing

This will take about 6-7 Minutes out of every hour for the 12 hour period and, at the end, you'll have done 300 Push-ups, 300 Sit-ups, 300 Squats, and a full hour of shadowboxing (or shadow kickboxing). You'll start to understand about half-way through just how rough it could be to warm-up for that long. The shadowboxing doesn't have to be all-out. Try to go at a medium pace, but you can go full bore if you want to.

You'll want to do this workout on a day where you can spare the time, like on a Saturday or Sunday. Obviously, you can't do it on a workday or anything. After you've done this workout a few times, you can try to increase your intensity during the shadowboxing or you can wear a weighted vest during the exercises, starting with just 10lbs and then adding weight as the workout becomes easier to complete. I'd recommend that you not wear the weights all day; however, if you would like to do so, you need to work up to it. For instance, you could wear the weighted vest for 5 minutes after you finish shadowboxing each time and then add five minutes every time.

As in everything, progress slowly and don't rush it. Strength comes in baby steps, but if you keep taking those steps, you'll go a long way before you know it.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Holyland- Kamishiro Yuu's Basic Training

Holyland is a pretty cool manga. It's about a kid who tries to find a place in the world for himself by roaming the streets at night. However, in order to do so, he has to be strong enough to defend himself from thugs and gangsters. His determination leads him to inadvertently become the "Thug Hunter," as he uses the basic skill he acquired through reading a boxing book and countless hours of practice, to make sure he can stay in his "Holyland."

There's a lot of levels in the workout... it's a slow process of mastery, but it has been said, if you can master just the basics of combat, you can be a great fighter.

Kamishiro Yuu's Basic Training

(Note: Day Workout- These workouts are meant to be done over the course of a whole day.)

(Note 2: Do not advance to next level until you complete your current level 3 times without failing.)

Level 1

-1000 Jabs (500 each side)

Level 2

-30 Push-ups

-2000 Jabs (1,000 each side)

Level 3:

-2 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-3000 Jabs (1,500 each side)

Level 4:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-4000 Jabs (2,000 each side)

Level 5:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-5000 Jabs (2,500 each side)

Level 6:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-4000 Jabs (2000 each side)

-1000 Jab-Cross (500 each side= 2,000 total punches)

Level 7:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-3000 Jabs (1500 each side)

-2000 Jab-Cross (1,000 each side= 4,000 total punches)

Level 8:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-2000 Jabs (1000 each side)

-3000 Jab-Cross (1,500 each side= 6,000 total punches)

Level 9:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-1000 Jabs (500 each side)

-4000 Jab-Cross (2,000 each side= 8,000 total punches)

Level 10:

-3 x 30 Push-ups 2 Minutes rest in between sets

-5000 Jab-Cross (2,500 each side= 10,000 total punches)

Notes:

• Alternatively, you can do the Jab-Cross combination from the beginning, so you don't get in the habit of just throwing a single punch. It's still only 1,000 punches per level, so count appropriately.
• Essentially, on each level, you do a 1,000 punches per level. That may seem like a lot, and it is, but remember that you have all day and the you are starting at level 1. You can do them in sets of 20, 50, 100, or whatever. As long as you get them done, it doesn't matter. You won't be doing this workout every day, it should be interspersed throughout your schedule in between the other workouts.
• You may be able to complete Levels 1 and 2 in this first three attempts, but after that, you may have some difficulty with the higher number of reps. Also, you shouldn't start your punches until after you've completed your push-ups for the day. This workout may seem a little boring, but once you get into a rhythm, you'll find it's very meditative.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Hanayama's Workout

This is a character workout for Hanayama Kaoru from Grappler Baki. It is a powerlifting/strongman workout. Please note that 5x5 means 5 sets of 5 reps.


Hanayama's Workout A


1. Squats 5 x 5 Reps
2. Bench Press 5 x 5 Reps
3. Pull-ups 5 x 5 Reps
4. Biceps Curls 5 x 5 Reps
5. Sit-ups 5 x 5 Reps
6. Grip Work
-Wrist Curls 2 x 15 Reps
-Reverse Wrist Curls 2 x 15 Reps
-Hand Grippers (if available) to failure
-2 Sets of Grip Hang to Failure




Hanayama's Workout B


1. Deadlift 5 x 5 Reps
2. Overhead Press 5 x 5 Reps
3. Farmer's Walk 5 Sets of 50 Yards
4. Front Carry 5 Sets of 50 Yards
5. Sled Pull 5 Sets of 25 Yards
6. Grip Work
-Wrist Curls 3 x 8 Reps
-Reverse Wrist Curls 3 x 8 Reps
-Hand Grippers (if available) to failure
-2 Sets of Grip Hang to Failure




This workout is about power and grip strength. We've covered the squat, deadlift, and bench earlier in the Dragonball Training Manual, as well as the Front Carry and Farmer's Walk. Some notes:

• Make sure you get full depth on your squats-- that means the top your thighs should be parallel with the ground at the bottom of the squat.
• Use a controlled motion on all the lifts, especially the bench press. I've seen too many people bounce the weight off their chests to get the rep out at high speed. Not only is that not doing any good for your strength, it definitely isn't any good for your sternum.
• Your pull-ups should have a full range of motion, from a split-second hang at the bottom to your chin coming over the bar (or touching your chest to the bar). Any grip is acceptable. Add weight to this exercise with a weightlifting belt, or (if you want it be more difficult) hold a plate in between your knees as you do the pull-up.
• For the curls, you can use straightbar curls, alternating biceps curls, or (my personal favorite) bands. There are lots of places to get bands, but here's the kind I have. LifelineUSA has a lot of really awesome stuff, so check them out if you get the chance.
• Hold a plate on your chest or behind your head for the sit-ups. If possible, do them on a decline bench.
• Make sure that on the deadlift, you have a complete relaxation at the bottom. It's a "dead" lift for a reason.
• On the overhead press, you can use a barbell or dumbbell, it's up to you.
• You can use dumbbells or 5 gallon buckets for the Farmer's Walk.
• For the front carry, I would recommend using some type of sandbag (going to have a post on making your own sandbag soon) or, if you have a bunch of smaller weights (like the old concrete-type weights) you can use a bunch of duct tape to make a makeshift atlas stone.
• The sled pull is obviously done with a weight sled, but if you don't have one, pulling a tree stump or a tire with weights on it is acceptable also. You won't be going fast on this one, you should really, really have to dig in a pull hard for this exercise, so adjust the weight accordingly. If you're zipping along with the sled on you (good luck with that), you don't have enough weight on it.
• The grip work is a given for Hanayama's workout. Not only will all these heavy lifts and strongman exercises tax your grip, we've added a little extra at the end of each workout. A quick note on the rest of the exercises: you should not be using any sort of hand wraps (chalk is fine) for these lifts. If you cannot pick up a weight without hand wraps, you shouldn't be lifting with it. You don't have hand wraps in the real world (or weight belts for that matter), so why should you use them in the gym? I understand using a weight belt every now and again for single rep maxes, but anyone you see wearing hand wraps, knee wraps, a belt, and weight lifting gloves all the time isn't going to see much in the way of improvement.
• On to the grip work (For real, this time)!! The wrist curls should be done with a barbell or a dumbbell, with the rest of your forearm resting on a bench for support. You're really trying to isolate the forearm muscles to strengthen the grip.
• The grip hang is obvious. Grab onto a pull-up bar and hang there until you can't anymore.
• Grippers are a must for hand training. I've heard that the best grippers on the market are the Captains of Crush.
• Control all your lifts.
• Lift with a partner! You NEED a spotter for this heavy stuff. You wanna die?! Huh?! (Ok, I'm calm now...)
• The last reps of the last set of 5 should be one that you really have to dig for. If 250lbs is your 5 rep max on squat, put that as your last set and adjust your first sets accordingly. For instance, it could look like. 5 x 135lbs; 5 x 165lbs; 5 x 195; 5 x 225; and 5 x 250. Lift smart. Ask questions in the gym if you can't remember what to do, and research like hell if you're a newbie (or pay for a couple of sessions with a trainer, if you don't have a knowledgeable person to show you proper lifting form).

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the new workout. Until next time, good luck and train hard.

New Workouts Coming

Working on a lot of new workouts for you guys. I realize that a lot of the workouts I've been putting out there have been running-heavy or full of high reps. Believe me, that's not all we're going to be doing here. Don't get me wrong, endurance and high-rep exercises are great and all, but we're going to need to change it up with higher intensity and less volume, which there is in some of the workout later in some of the series.

So, in order to break the monotony, I'm trying to get those workouts finished up and posted. Most of them will probably be a little further ahead than we are in each of the series' we're following, but they need to be out there. Thanks a lot, and I really hope you are enjoying the workout and seeing some real results.

Thanks guys!

Full Contact Workout

I ran across this manga called "Full Contact." It's pretty cool. It's about a guy who gets sent to live as an in-house disciple for his high school days. I haven't found a whole lot of chapters, but in the small amount that there is, I managed to grab a workout. Here it is.

"Full Contact" Basic Training

LEVEL ONE- PREP

1. Run 3 Miles

2. Rest 10 Minutes, stretch

3 Run 3 Miles

3. 3 Sets of MAX Push-ups

4. 3 Sets of MAX Squats

LEVEL TWO- EASY

1. Run 6 Miles

2. 100 Push-ups

3. 100 Squats

4. Set of MAX Push-ups

5. Set of MAX Squats

LEVEL THREE- NORMAL

1. Run 6 Miles with sand in pants (5lbs/leg)

2. 100 Push-ups on stools

3. Rest 5 Minutes

4. 50 One Legged Squats on stools (each side)

LEVEL FOUR- INTERMEDIATE

1. Run 6 Miles with sand in pants (10lbs/leg)

2. 100 Push-ups on stools

3. Rest 5 Minutes

4. 100 Push-ups on stools

5. Rest 5 Minutes

6. 100 One Legged Squats on stools (each side)

LEVEL FIVE- ADVANCED

1. Run 6 Miles with sand in pants (10lbs/leg)

2. 100 Push-ups on stools

3. Rest 5 Minutes

4. 100 Push-ups on stools

5. Rest 5 Minutes

6. 100 Push-ups on stools

7. Rest 5 Minutes

8. 150 One Legged Squats on stools (each side)

OK, even though this is a "basic training" workout... it's really not. It's hard and it'll kill you if you are out of shape and don't respect the difficulty. That's why the prep level exists and that's why I always tell you, if you can't complete an exercise, then make it easier until you can complete it. Walk or jog, instead of run, do girly push-ups instead of push-ups, or a half squat instead of a full squat. You get it and I've said it before.

Rules before moving on-

• For this workout, you shouldn't move on until the workout becomes "Do-able." That doesn't mean it's easy, but that means you get through the run being tired, but not dead.
• The first level has 3 sets of max push-ups and squats. You shouldn't move forward until the combined sets for each exercise equals over 100 reps.
• For the second level, you should do the push-ups and squats until you reach 100 reps, but you should not move on to the next level until you can do the 100 push-ups and 100 squats without stopping. You'll probably be on this level for a while. The last two sets are there to give you a little extra work.
• In the third level, here's how you run with sand in your pants. First, tie a shoestring or a rope tightly to the bottom of each pant leg (but not enough to cut circulation), and then pour the proper amount of sand down each leg. If you can, wear either a tight-fitting pair of long-leg briefs or compression shorts (probably the better choice). For the push-ups on stools, place both feet close together on on box or stool and each one of your hands on the edge of a stool. The position of your hands should be your normal push-up width and the boxes should be space far enough to allow your body to pass between them. Make sure your shoulders go below the level of the boxes on each rep. On the one-legged squats, use a 24 inch stool or box, and put the leg that is not pushing out on the floor in front of you. You shouldn't be using your other leg to jump up, but only using the leg on the stool or box to push.
• The other levels are just repeats of the third level. It will be very, very, very, etc. hard to get to the final level of this workout. As with everything, think about the long term.

That's all for this workout! Till next time, good luck and train hard!

Hajime no Ippo- Part V

Rather than give a play-by-play of every fight that happens in Ippo (because you can just watch it for yourself), I'll merely be discussing highlights and themes within the matches. Ippo and Miyata are about to spar after three months of training. Three months can make a world of difference if someone trains hard enough, is taught the proper skills, and gets adequate rest. 12 weeks may not seem like a lot of time, but amazing transformations can happen in this short amount of time. Miyata bears witness to this miracle of training as he meets Ippo in the sparring ring once more.

The young outboxer is pushed hard in the match; so hard, in fact, that he has to resort to clinching in the second round to recover his strength from Ippo's monstrous punch in the first. Clinching is useful for a boxer looking to stall for time or seeking to seal an opponent's punching power. However, the ref usually breaks the clinch shortly after it is made. Clinching takes different roles in other martial arts. Resting in the Muay Thai boxing clinch is just asking to take a knee or an elbow and using it as a means of rest against a grappler will get you tossed or taken down.

This match is a textbook fight between an infighter and an outboxer. The outboxer's main concern is to use his footwork to move in and out and around his opponent, landing as many punches as he can, while evading the power of the infighter. In Miyata's case, he also looking to provoke the infighter into committing to a full power strike, so he can use his counterpunching abilities. The infighter, in contrast, is attempting to get inside the outboxer's range and deliver close blows, hoping to coax the outboxer into a brawl or just to push him into a corner to eliminate the ability to use his footwork. In the end, Ippo pulls an motionless short uppercut out, which barely grazes Miyata's chin, leaving him unable to get up during the 10-count.

A motionless short upper, is essentially a close-range uppercut that is initially thrown as a straight, but turns into an uppercut mid-punch. It is important to throw the punch directly from the guard, so the opponent sees a straight punch coming, but is not-so-pleasantly surprised to recieve a shot from below.

That's all for Ippo, today!

I'm thinking that from now on, the summary-type posts will be less of a synopsis of each episode and more of a breakdown of the main ideas of the episode and the explanations of exercises and techniques. I figure you guys don't need me to spoonfeed you the plot when you can just watch the shows yourself.

Till next time, good luck and train hard!

Real Anime Training and Your Martial Arts Training

If you are doing the Real Anime Training workouts, that's awesome. I recommend, though, that you find a martial arts class to attend. It can be whatever style you want: Tae Kwon Do, Submission Wrestling, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Boxing, a Kung Fu Style, or whatever. You don't have to go every single day, two or three times a week is great. I recommend this because Real Anime Training does claim to replace any martial art.

Should you lack the funds to attend a martial arts class (some local clubs are relatively inexpensive), you should still attempt to train on your own. You can do this through rounds of shadowboxing, above and beyond the Real Anime Training workouts, or you can practice any techniques or kata you have learned from martial arts classes you've attended. Plus, there's sparring, which is always a good choice.

Personally, I use shadowboxing as a way to train my martial arts skills when I can't attend class. I use 5 x 5 Minute Rounds and it works great for me, but you pursue whichever path you like.

I should have an Hajime no Ippo post up for you later tonight and maybe another workout. Till then, good luck and train hard!

Rants and a Workout

1st Rant: The Good

I'm not much for reality television, but one of the only show I actually watch premiered tonight: Season 8 of The Biggest Loser. Apart from all the drama involved in the show, the cool thing is we get to see a lot of different training methods and get to bear witness to the hell that is Jillian and Bob working together. The pain and the anguish on these people's faces as they train raises a strange combination of masochism and appreciation in me. On the one hand, I love to see people getting the crap kicked out of them in the gym, but on the other hand, it's nice for me to be able to witness the mental change that is occuring for these people.

2nd Rant: The Bad

Also, I'm tired of hearing about Kanye and Taylor Swift! Is it any wonder I spend so much time watching anime and working out?! Since that is out of the way, on to the stuff you guys really came here for. :D

The Workout: The Ugly (Cause it's a nasty one)

We're gonna jump ahead just a little bit for an Ippo workout, because most of the next couple episodes is Ippo vs. Miyata. We're going to take a look at Takamura's pre-fight training menu. I'm sure this isn't what he does the entire time, but it's how his training looks right before his fight, when he's cutting weight.

Takamura's Pre-Fight Blitz

1. Run 3 Miles

• 5 Sprints throughout the run. Keep it up during each sprint, sprint until you physically can't sprint any longer and then return to the run, but before that--
• Shadowbox hard for 15 seconds before you start back on your run. You can bob, weave, punch, and even kick (if you want to add it in there). Just make sure it's a hard pace.

2. Rounds

• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds of Heavy Bag work. (Sub. shadowboxing if you don't have a heavy bag.)
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds of Speed Bag work. (Sub. practicing your one-two combo)
• 50 Hindu Squats
• 3x3 Minute Rounds of Shadowboxing
• 50 Hindu Squats
• 3x3 Minute Rounds of Jumping Rope (Sub. shadowboxing if you don't have a jump rope)

3. Run 1 Mile- Go as hard as you possibly can! Sprint the last 100 yards!

4. Cooldown-

• 3 Minutes of light shadowboxing (use it to loosen up)

This workout is murder. You've got 13 rounds total of three minutes each, 100 Hindu Squats, and 4 miles to run with sprints and shadowboxing included. This workout is all about your ability to endure, not just physically, but mentally. You probably won't be able to complete it on your first time through, if you don't have previous training, because it's just so demanding on your cardio. It goes without saying that you should go hard on everything, unless it says not to.

If you feel like you are going to die or your heart is going to jump out of your chest-- STOP! You should feel the exertion and this workout should be very hard, but if you are done with the run and have absolutely nothing left, just skip straight to the cooldown.

Hey, just be glad I didn't ask you to do this thing for a week straight.

One more thing before we go. There may be some of you out there reading this blog that are in very bad shape or are pretty overweight and may feel a little overwhelmed with the things I am posting. Listen, I don't care what you have to modify to be able to get the workout in, just get it in! If you have to walk instead of run, powerwalk instead of sprint, do girly push-ups, crunches instead of sit-ups, then you do it!! You do whatever it takes for you to get in shape. Don't make excuses about the workout being too difficult, because it's not set in stone. That's the whole reason this blog exists: to make sure that people (who may not even like exercise) are able to draw the inspiration to train from anime characters.

It's nerdy, but-- damn it, it sure is fun.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard.

GRAPPLER BAKI- PART XII

The World is Yujiro's Playground

As Baki returns to civilization before the match with his father, we get to see a demonstration of Hanma Yujiro's brazen attitude when he tells Strydum that he is going to attack the Prime Minister. And not just that-- Yujiro even calls the police and tells them he is coming for the Prime Minister. The police set up a blockade to defend the politician and, when Yujiro arrives, he informs them that they don't have a sufficient number of people to attempt to protect the Prime Minister. He says they'll need at least 100 people if they hope to have any chance and he even waits for back-up. When all the people get there, he charges right up to the group and pushes the entire crowd back, before jumping them entirely and running into the Prime Minister's mansion. He promptly dispatches a few guards and busts into the Prime Minister's office, who greets the massive man timidly and offering a thanks for showing the weakness of the police force. Yujiro shakes his hand and axe-kicks the man's desk in half.

It's gotta be nice being so bad-ass you can do whatever you want.

"The Reflex is a Lonely Child..."

To further prepare for fighting against Yujiro, Baki wants to test his reflexes against an expert swordsman. However, the swordsman does not want his sword to spill the blood of an innocent young boy, so he refuses. Baki understands and, so, he provokes the swordsman with an attack, which causes the sword-wielding master to strike back. Baki disappears from view, leaving the swordsman confused for a moment (but only for a moment), until Baki comes from out of nowhere with a counter.

Upon waking, the swordsman is obviously at a loss for an explanation, but he assumes the Baki was able the see the sword swing. The young Hanma denies this and, in fact, he says he couldn't see it at all. His eyes were even closed! Instead, he explains, he waited for the sword to barely touch his flesh before using the momentum to flip his body over and land a kick to the swordsman's head. Quite the feat-- enough so, in fact, to convince the older warrior that Baki has a chance against his father.

Reflex training is important in regards to all of your senses. If you cannot see an attack coming, you may be able to hear it. Or, you may be able to react at the very moment someone touches your flesh in, perhaps, an attempted grab. You can train your other senses by practicing your martial art in a darkened (or pitch black) room, a room with a strobe-light going, or loud music playing. That means you could train single techniques, combinations, drill your skills with focus mitts, 3 step sparring, a wooden dummy, two-man sparring sets or just straight up sparring. Go slow at first, whatever you do, because you may get injured if you go full blast right off. Also, if you can get your hands on a Shocknife, you can mimic Baki's training with the sword without the possibility of dying. The Shocknife, I've heard, is an awesome product that actually causes pain similar to the feeling of being cut with a REAL knife. That's so awesome (I know, I'm weird).

Calling on an old acquaintance, Yujiro has his own reflex training prepared. His old friend is a master of the bow and arrow. Interesting enough, he has crafted a bow with a 200kg pull strength (about 440lbs). Yujiro moves several paces away, informs the archer that he'd better intend on killing Yujiro, and waits for the release. As soon as the archer releases the arrow, Yujiro is right in front of him, with the arrow in his hand. That's just crazy.

The rest of the episode is full of drama between Baki's parents, including Baki's mother biting the poor boy on the arm when he attempts to hug her. He ends up walking down the street in a daze, before bumping into Hanayama.

Although Baki is a badass, I'd have to say his life seriously sucks. That's all for this episode. Until next time, good luck and train hard.

Training Schedules

You may have wondered as you read this blog, "How often should I train?" Well, Timmy (I'm assuming your name is Timmy), that is an excellent question, but not one easily answered. The correct answer is that you should train according to how your body responds to exercise. However, if you are not exactly sure on how to go about doing that, allow me to offer a more simplified training schedule.

You can train any number of ways:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday
• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
• Every other day
• 2 days on, 1 day off
• 3 days on, 1 day off
• A little something every day

Personally, I follow the 3 days on, 1 day off schedule for my Anime Workouts, but you don't have to. Also, I pick my workouts at random. It's more fun for me that way. Once again, you don't have to, but I think it's a good method.

I should have another Baki Training Manual post up for you guys tomorrow and possibly another workout. Till then, good luck and train hard.

Our First Video!

Hope you guys enjoy the videos we have coming up soon!

Real Anime Training- Always Free

You'll never have to worry about me peddling some fitness course to you guys that I dreamed up over the course of the weekend and that "I'm selling for 240 bucks but is worth over $1,000." I don't play that game. It's a bunch of bull and, honestly, it needs to stop. I believe that information should be free and that includes information about health and fitness.

Anything and everything I bring to you guys will be absolutely free. I might make shirts if we get a little more popular, but nothing crazy. There's honestly been a lot of really good courses out there that I or some friends of mine have purchased, but most of the information in those books could have been found out for a much lower cost or no cost at all. Training manuals, pictures, home made fitness equipment, videos-- if it's Real Anime Training, it's free. Plain and simple.

And I've been trying to come up with a slogan for us, so if you have any ideas, drop me a line at RealAnimeTraining@gmail.com-- love to hear from you. I've been kicking around a couple of 'em, but I'd like to know what you guys think. On that note, anything you guys want to ask, feel free.

Till next time, guys!

Baki's Mountain Training

This workout is based on the training that Baki did up on the mountain in preparation to fight the Yasha Ape.

Baki's Mountain Training

Level One

1. Wood Chopping- 100 Downward Swings

2. 100 Yard Hill Sprint

3. Fingertip Push-ups- MAX Reps

4. Hitting Heavy Bag -5 Minute Round

5. 100 Punches to Tree (as is comfortable)

6. Bodyweight Bench Press- MAX Reps

7. Climb 100 Feet

Level Two

1. Wood Chopping- 200 Downward Swings

2. 2 x 100 Yard Hill Sprint

3. Fingertip Push-ups- 2 Sets of MAX Reps

4. Hitting Heavy Bag -2 x 5 Minute Rounds

5. 100 Punches to Tree (as is comfortable)

6. Bodyweight Bench Press- 2 Sets of MAX Reps

7. Climb 150 Feet

Level Three

1. Wood Chopping- 300 Downward Swings

2. 4 x 100 Yard Hill Sprint

3. Fingertip Push-ups- 3 Sets of MAX Reps

4. Hitting Heavy Bag -3 x 5 Minute Rounds

5. 100 Punches to Tree (as is comfortable)

6. Bodyweight Bench Press- 3 Sets of MAX Reps

7. Climb 200 Feet

Master Level

1. Wood Chopping- 500 Downward Swings

2. 8 x 100 Yard Hill Sprint

3. Fingertip Push-ups- 4 Sets of MAX Reps

4. Hitting Heavy Bag -5 x 5 Minute Rounds

5. 100 Punches to Tree (as is comfortable)

6. Bodyweight Bench Press- 4 Sets of MAX Reps

7. Climb 250 Feet

NOTES:

• You can try to put a lot of power into your wood chopping swings or go for speed, it's up to you.
• If you can't find a 100 yard hill, find the biggest hill you can and run it. You should still be doing the distance, though. If you only have a 50 yard hill, 2 sets of 50 will be the first level instead of 1 set of 100 yards.
• Use less fingers for the push-ups as necessary.
• "Fight" the heavy bag for the rounds. Use every weapon in your arsenal and try to go hard the whole time.
• The punches to the tree are obviously not going to be very hard. Do it as hard as is comfortable for you. Eventually (and I'm talking way down the road), you'll be able to hit the tree with a moderate amount of power and then, finally, almost as hard as you can. However, it's going to take a long, long time. If you hit it full-on right of the bat, you'll have a fun few hours in the emergency room waiting for you and several weeks of wearing a cast as well.
• Counting the weight of the bar, the "bodyweight" bench press, is just that. You'll load weight onto the bar to however much you weigh and do as many reps as you can. If you can't do any, lower the weight until you can get a single rep.
• When it says, "Climb 100 or 200 Feet" that does not mean straight up without any gear. What that mean is if you have a 10 foot rope, climb it 10 or 20 times. Or if there is a tree nearby that you can climb 20 feet up into, climb it 5 or 10 times. Be safe, use gear if you have it, and have someone with you, if at all possible.

Might have another post up tonight, or I might not. It depends on how fussy the baby is! Anyway, that's all for now. Good luck and train hard!

Ryouzanpaku's Fundamental Training

(See History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi- Part II for exercise explanations.)

Ryouzanpaku's Fundamental Training

(Note: This is a "split routine," meaning wait 4-6 hours between the sections.)

1st Section

Run 2.5 Miles

• When your running time reaches 17 and 1/2 minutes, begin running while pulling tire.
• When your running time again reaches 17 and 1/2 minutes while pulling the tire, add 10 lbs to the tire and do so every time you complete the distance in 17 and 1/2 minutes until you reach 200 lbs. (I realize it is going to be a physical impossiblity for you to do this, but I'm putting it up here just in case one of you is a Saiya-jin or Clark Kent or something.)

2nd Section (4-6 Hours Later)

Horse Stance with Gripping Jars- 5 Minutes Total

Lunge Steps- 100 Steps Total

Suri Ashi with Gripping Jars- 50 Yards

• Start with empty jars for both the Horse Stance and Suri Ashi. When you can complete the 5 Minutes without lowering the jars, add some water to them (can be just a cup of water or a 1/4 of the jar, whatever you feel comfortable with). It should be a while before you fill the jars. If your style of martial arts does not use a Horse Stance, a good measure for your body to be in the stance is to start with your feet together. Next, turn your toes out at 45 degrees, then slide your heels out to face away from each other at 45 degrees, then slide your toes out to face away from each other at 45 degrees one more time and, finally, bring your heels out so that the outsides of your feet are at a parallel line with one another. Toes, heels, toes, straight feet.
• For the Lunge Steps, when you can complete 100 steps (50 left, 50 right) without stopping, add 100 total steps to your training. Even if you cannot do 100 steps without a rest, complete 100 steps if you are at that level. If you are at the 200 level, but can only do 150 without a rest, complete the whole 200 regardless. I'm not really imposing a limit on this exercise, but I doubt anyone will be doing as many as Ma told Kenichi to do.
• Use the same amount of water for the Suri Ashi that you do for the Horse Stance. When moving with Suri Ashi, don't move your head up and down, but try to stay at the same head height during the movement.

This is definitely a leg intensive workout (although your shoulders and arms may be screaming as well), so be prepared for that. In any case, good luck, have fun, and train hard!

History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi- Part II

Kenichi's first day at Ryouzanpaku (remember that in the manga he doesn't go to Ryouzanpaku until after his fight with Daimonji) is a brutal one. Since Sakaki Shio, the Karate master, doesn't want a disciple, Akisame, the Jujitsu master, agrees to teach Kenichi martial arts. The training does not quite go as Kenichi imagined, though, as Akisame starts the highschooler off with physical training. The types of training we see before the fight are these:

• Horse Stance with Gripping Jars (Nigiri Game)- Gripping jars are used for developing the strength of the fingers, wrists, forearms, and well... pretty much the whole damn arm. The jars are either held out it front of the person or to the sides (as we see in the anime). They may be kept at shoulder height or be lifted in a type of lateral raise. A good low cost option for a gripping jar is an empty gallon pickle jar (you will need two of them) and the bonus is you get to eat all the pickles!
• Running with a Tire- Akisame, the brilliant and sadistic man that he is, makes Kenichi pull a tire to the park while the Jujitsu master sits on it, whipping and yelling at Kenichi to run faster. I recommend just starting with running, but we'll cover that a little later. A rope may be a little rough on your waist, so if you can fashion a harness out of an old weightlifting belt, or if you just have a sled harness, you'll be in good shape. But, when all else fails, tie the rope around your waist.
• Gripping Jars with Suri Ashi (Sliding/Gliding Step)- This is the same as the first exercise, except you are moving with the gripping jars. Suri Ashi is a type of movement in several martial arts. The jist of the footwork is that the heels are kept slightly raised and the foot is slid across the ground as if there were a piece of paper in between your feet and the ground. Keep the feet facing straight ahead as you move, whether forward or backward. When moving backward, remember to stay on your toes and not to let the heel hit the ground.
• Partner Assisted Stretching- Later in the second episode of the anime, Apachai (the Muay Thai master) helps Kenichi stretch by placing his feet on the inside of Kenichi's legs and pulling him forward. If you don't have a partner, simply spreading your legs as far as possible and reaching forward will do. If you are going to stretch for an extended period of time on one particular stretch, break it up into sets of 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Miu decides that she is going to help Kenichi win his fight with Daimonji by teaching him a technique... really, it's a way of stepping in Chinese martial arts. When both feet are facing one another, it is called Kou-ho, and when they are facing forward, it is called Hai-ho. The dynamics of the side-stepping skill are simple, but not necessarily easy to master. Standing with your toes facing each other is awkward at first. Miu give a pretty good explanation of how to execute the skill. As the opponent moves in, one foot is slid around the outside of his lead leg (technically, it could be the other side, as well, but it's more effective if you slide around the lead leg, because it gives you the opponent's back) and strike him from behind.

Now comes the move's application in a real situation. In Kenichi's fight with Daimonji, he is dealing with a very strong, but, ultimately, very slow opponent. This works to Kenichi's advantage, because it allows him to work around Daimonji's horribly telegraphed attacks (he might as well be yelling "Reverse Punch!"). It takes Kenichi a moment to get over his fear, but once he does, he is able to use the sidestep manuever effectively against the larger opponent. However, he is unable to damage Daimonji with any strikes. After a bit, Daimonji is visibly tired, having chased the smaller Kenichi around the dojo for several minutes and he trips over Kenichi's foot in the middle of one of the sidesteps. It is at this moment, Kenichi has an "anime moment" and remembers something in his lesson with Miu about the true nature of the sidestep.

Daimonji comes in for a strike, Kenichi slides his foot behind Daimonji's foot and pushes back on the larger boy's neck and arm, careening him to the mat, head first. The match is over as Daimonji is instantly KO'd. Kenichi concedes, though, as he has broken the rules of a Karate match and used a throw to win. His victory does not go unnoticed and one of the other fighters, Tsukuba, wants to test Kenichi's true abilities.

So, even though Kenichi won, he is now stuck with evading Tsukuba for as long as he can. When we return to Ryouzanpaku, we get to see Ma Kensei, the Kung Fu master, training Kenichi with a lunging exercise. The method Ma uses involves Kenichi squatting down onto his heels, staying on the balls of his feet and the extending a foot out, stepping down the ball of his foot and moving his weight to that foot. He then repeats the process, staying low the entire time. It's a very difficult exercise, but, as Ma says, the foundation of the martial arts is the legs.

It proves impossible for Kenichi to evade Tsukuba forever, as he ends up getting into a short scuffle with the Black Belt karateka, which leaves Kenichi beaten up. Kenichi is upset and, when he returns to Ryouzanpaku, Akisame tells him that the next day they will begin to teach Kenichi techniques. May God have mercy on your soul, Shirahama Kenichi.

And that brings us to the end of episode 3. That's all for this post. I'm about to post the Ryouzanpaku's Fundamental Training workout for you guys in just a little bit. Good luck and train hard!

Of Manga Reads and Movie Reviews

Started reading a couple of really cool manga:

• Veritas- It's like an old martial arts movie with super powers. (Really recommend.)
• The Breaker- Haven't gotten very far, but it shows some promise. (I'll let you know later.)

Also, I watched the live action version of Shamo. I was really excited about checking this movie out, because the manga is so badass. I've got mixed feelings about the movie, though. I feel like they tried to do too much in too short a time (which appears to be par for the course in the live action adaptations for manga that I've seen) and, in doing so, had to completely eliminate some characters or collapse the roles of those missing characters into existing characters. Unfortunately, when they combined the characters in this way, they really changed the core "feel" of some of the characters. Truthfully, the movie should have been twice as long to cover the material needed to not feel so rushed, especially toward the end. Once they got to the middle of the film, watching the movie was like looking at nearby stuff out the window of a car going 120 miles an hour.

I should have another post up for you guys sometime later in the day. Till then!

Kaio-sama's Training

Thought I'd jump back for a minute and give you guys another Dragonball workout, since I didn't really specify a workout for Kaio-sama's trianing. You could just follow the elaborate scheme laid out in the Dragonball Training Manual, or you could take a little easier path, and just do this workout. :D

Kaio-sama's Training

(Do not move to the next level workout until you have completed the current level three times without failing.)

Level One

Catch Bubbles

100 Yard Zig-zag Run
2 Sets of 90 Degree Sprints
100 Yard Sprint

Then, Hit Gregory

25 Yard Sprint with Sledgehammer
25 Overhead Strikes with Sledgehammer

--4 Rounds of "Hit Gregory"

Level Two

Catch Bubbles

150 Yard Zig-zag Run
3 Sets of 90 Degree Sprints
2 x 100 Yard Sprint

Then, Hit Gregory

25 Yard Sprint with Sledgehammer
25 Overhead Strikes with Sledgehammer

--6 Rounds of "Hit Gregory"

Level Three

Catch Bubbles

200 Yard Zig-zag Run
4 Sets of 90 Degree Sprints
3 x 100 Yard Sprint

Then, Hit Gregory

25 Yard Sprint with Sledgehammer
25 Overhead Strikes with Sledgehammer

--8 Rounds of "Hit Gregory"

Master Level

Catch Bubbles

• 300 Yard Zig-zag Run
• 5 Sets of 90 Degree Sprints
• 4 x 100 Yard Sprint

Then, Hit Gregory

• 25 Yard Sprint with Sledgehammer
• 25 Overhead Strikes with Sledgehammer

--10 Rounds of "Hit Gregory"

This is as close as I can get to Kaio-sama's training for Goku without spending thousands of dollars on RC Cars and Planes. Haha.

NOTES:

• A Zig-zag Run means you look straight ahead, start running at a 45 degree angle to the left or right and, after 5 steps, turn 90 degrees in the opposite direction. Then, you run 5 steps, turn 90 degrees, run 5 steps, turn 90 degrees... you get the picture. Essentially, you are cutting a zig-zag line in between your starting and finishing points. It turns a 100 yard run into something a little longer, and it forces you to make turns abruptly. This is a "run," so it's not an all-out sprint, but it's not a light jog either.
• If you have a partner for "Catch Bubbles" then that can help with pushing your pace. 
• We covered 90 Degree Sprints in Rock Lee's Conditioning.
• When sprinting with the sledgehammer, keep a tight hold on it with BOTH hands, so you don't drop it. You'll want to hit something like a log or a tire. Be careful about bounce in the sledgehammer, especially if you fail to keep a good grip on it.
• Also, to increase the difficulty you can use heavier sledgehammers. I've seen sledgehammers nearing 200 pounds, so there's always room for progression here.  Not to mention, it's possible that you could be wearing weighted clothing at some point as well.

That's all for today. Good luck and train hard!