Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Daily Training 5/28/2012

Morning
Playing around with Isaiah at Cedar Falls Park in Fountain Inn, South Carolina.  Lots of wading through waist-deep water, walking on sand and rocks and balancing on logs, jumping across rocks-- a lot of interesting balance work, especially keeping a 4-year old out of fast-moving water.

Was barefoot on a lot of different surfaces and my feet are a little sore.  Think I'm going to try to be barefoot more to toughen the soles of my feet.

Early Afternoon
Flat Bench Press with my Dad. 
  1. 125# x 15
  2. 175# x 12
  3. 195# x 8
  4. 215# x 6
  5. 245# x 2
  6. DB- 50#/hand  x 26 reps
Chest was a little sore from previous days, so while I'm a little disappointed with the weights, it's understandable... especially since I haven't really been lifting much. 

Woodchopping
  1. 25 Side Chops Each Side
  2. 50 Downward Chops

Monday, May 28, 2012

Naruto Ninja Movement 2.0- Workout #1

The first Naruto Ninja Movement 2.0 workout is going to be focused on breaking up your running with a variety of basic fitness movements. None of these movements is horribly difficult, but when they are all back-to-back with no rest, you might find that even simple things can become pretty hard. 

Naruto Ninja Movement 2.0- Workout #1
  1.  Run 1 Mile
  2. 15 Pull-ups
  3. Run 800 Meters
  4. 50 Push-ups
  5. Run 400 Meters
  6. 50 Yard Bear Crawl
  7. 25 Yard Army Crawl
  8. 50 Yards Walking Lunges
  9. Run 400 Meters
  10. 50 Push-ups
  11. Run 800 Meters
  12. 15 Pull-ups
  13. Run 1 Mile
 Notes:
  •  If you can't do all of the reps of an exercise is one set, break it up as necessary, but do not move onto the next exercise until you complete the one you are on. 
  • The goal is obviously to do this workout as fast as you possibly can, but don't sacrifice form for speed. 
  • If you are not in shape to do this workout, feel free to cut everything in half. If you can't handle that, cut that in half. It doesn't matter where you have to start, as long as you start somewhere.  No matter what, always move forward. 

That's all for this workout, guys! Hope you enjoyed it.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Daily Training- 5/26/12

2 Minutes Horse Stance
50 Push-ups
2 Minutes Horse Stance
50 Push-ups
90 Seconds Horse Stance
50 Push-ups
90 Seconds Horse Stance
40 Push-ups

UFC 146

Woo!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Daily Training- 5/25/2012

3 Mile Recovery Run
50 Push-ups

Summer 2012 Real Anime Training Schedule- Dragonball Z

A summer-time training schedule was requested by one of our readers, so I put this together. In general, it will require very little equipment and will allow you to improvise for equipment (most times) when it is needed.  I've decided to do this from now on every summer, but with a different theme every time.

SUMMER 2012 REAL ANIME TRAINING SCHEDULE- DRAGONBALL Z





Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Week 1
Starting the Journey
Goku's Early Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
Kaio-sama's Training
Goku's Early Training
Starting the Journey
Run, Climb, Swim
Week 2
Starting the Journey
Gohan's Wilderness Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
Starting the Journey
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
Kaio-sama's Training
Roshi's Training
Week 3
Starting the Journey
Goku's Early Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
All-Anime Sparring OR Kaio-sama's Training
Starting the Journey
The Super Saiyan Workout
Run, Climb, Swim OR Find the Dragonballs
Week 4
Starting the Journey
Gohan's Wilderness Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
Starting the Journey
Kaio-sama's Training
Starting the Journey
Roshi's Training OR Turtle Hermit Training
Week 5
Starting the Journey
Goku's Early Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
All-Anime Sparring OR Kaio-sama's Training
Goku's Early Training
Kaio-sama's Training
Run, Climb, Swim
Week 6
Starting the Journey
Gohan's Wilderness Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
Starting the Journey
Run, Climb, Swim
The Super Saiyan Workout
Roshi's Training
Week 7
Starting the Journey
Goku's Early Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
All-Anime Sparring OR Kaio-sama's Training
Starting the Journey
Starting the Journey
Run, Climb, Swim OR Find the Dragonballs
Week 8
Starting the Journey
Gohan's Wilderness Training
Goku's Gravity Room Workout
Starting the Journey
The Super Saiyan Workout
Kaio-sama's Training
Roshi's Training OR Turtle Hermit Training


Notes:

  • If, on any day, you find yourself to be too sore from a previous day's training, you may substitute "Starting the Journey" for that day. 
  • In general, you will do these workouts at the level you've already achieved on them (if you've been training with us for any length of time) or start from the beginning. 
  • If possible, try to train with someone, both for fun and safety's sake. 
  • The workouts have links to their individual pages, if you need the reference. 

I really hope you guy's like this! Give me some feedback!

Back Design of Shirt

Here's sneak peak at the prize for the winner of the Real Anime Training Inspiration Video contest!


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Daily Training- 5/23/2012

Ippo Prepares for Miyata

Random standing on one foot at work
Random "Twin Lock" training throughout the day
------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll be interested to see what my leg strength is like when this next phase is over. I might try to do some heavy squats/deadlifts and see where that goes.

5/23/2012 Edits

Modified Kamishiro Yuu's Basic Training with an alternate version with Jab-Cross combinations, all the way through.

Just letting you guys know. :)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Daily- 5/22/12

3 mile recovery run

Naruto Training Program: Ninja Movement 2.0-- The Challenge

Okay, so I'm liking training programs recently. It gives me something to post for you guys on a regular basis and there's some cool stuff to be found. So, anyway...

The original Ninja Movement workout was pretty simple, as you can see here. However, in the spirit of taking it to the next level, I've decided to modify the workout into something a little different. That doesn't mean that the other workout is out of the mix, just like in the instance of "Roshi's Training" and "The Turtle Hermit's Training."  The difference is that this is more of a challenge.

This version of "Ninja Movement" is all about obstacle courses. The ability to cover distance and traverse obstacles in the quickest and most efficient manner. What follows are the challenge requirements:

Naruto: Ninja Movement 2.0

LEVEL ONE: NINJA ACADEMY
-Complete 3 Obstacle Races of 3-5 miles.
-Most mud runs, the Spartan Sprint, and the Warrior Dash are some examples.

LEVEL TWO: GENIN
-Complete Level One
-Complete 3 Obstacle Races of  5.1-9 miles.
-Tough Mudder and the Super Spartan are some examples.

LEVEL THREE: CHUUNIN
-Complete Previous Levels
-Complete 3 Obstacle Races of 9.1-13 miles.
-An example would be the Spartan Beast.

LEVEL FOUR: JOUNIN
-Complete Previous Levels
-Complete 3 Obstacle Races of 13.1+ miles
-An example would be some of the Spartan Beasts. You can sub out a very hilly trail run of at least 13.1 miles for one of your Obstacle Races, since these distances in races are fewer in number.

LEVEL FIVE: ELITE JOUNIN
-Complete Previous Levels
-Complete an Obstacle Race of 20+ miles
-An example would be the new Super Spartan Beast Race or the Spartan Death Race.


LEVEL SIX: LEGENDARY NINJA
- Complete Previous Levels
- Win an event at every level. (Can be at any time and wins do not have to be consecutive.)


Notes:
  • This is, of course, not a workout.
  • In order complete each level of Ninja Movement, you should send an email to realanimetraining@gmail.com with your picture in it from race day and proof of your ranking in the run, whether listed online or on-site leaderboard. 
  • I'll be posting Real Anime Training workouts that would be useful for training for the challenge, as well as creating Challenge-specific workouts (which, I guess, would still be Real Anime Training), and posting resources to obstacle course training websites. 


Monday, May 21, 2012

Daily Training 5/20/12

Ippo Prepares for Miyata

-30 Pull-ups
-Random technique practice throughout the day.
-Standing on one foot randomly for max time

Friday, May 18, 2012

Daily Training 5/18/12

950 Stairs Up Total
950 Stairs Down Total
50 Push-ups

Daily Training 5/17/12

Lots of random stair walking today.
2 Minute Horse Stance
50 Push-ups
--------------
Had a headache all day, so that was awesome.
I've decided to push back my Ippo schedule by a week because of my schedule recently. I'm gonna try to make the best of the rest of the week, though.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Daily Training 5/16/2012

Starting the Journey- Level 1
30 Stairs Down/30 Stairs Up x 10 Sets
50 Knuckle Push-ups
---------------------------------------

Getting home late last night and a stupid twelve hour day at work didn't really help with training today.

Date Eiji's Training

One of our readers suggested I tackle Date Eiji's training, so we're gonna go for that. Date had a meteoric rise to the top of the Japanese boxing arena and then he took the world by storm to challenge the Champion of the World: Ricardo Martinez.  Unfortunately, this ends the young challenger's bid for world dominance in a face-shattering beatdown. Several years later, at his wife's behest, he begins again; his eyes at the top of the world.

Date Eiji's Training

Morning

  1. Run 5 Miles, with a paper mask
  2. 50 Push-ups
  3. 50 Sit-ups


Afternoon

  1. 3 Minutes Easy Shadowboxing (Loosen Up)
  2. 50 Waist Twists
  3. 5 Minutes Speed Bagwork
  4. 10 Minutes Double-End Bagwork
  5. 3 x 1 Minute Rope Drill
  6. 3 x 3 Minutes Jump Rope
  7. 3 x 3 Minutes Mitt Work
  8. 3 x 3 Minutes Heavy Bagwork
  9. 3 x 3 Minutes Shadowboxing 
  10. 3 x 3 Minutes Sparring
  11. 10 Corkscrew Straights to Double-End Bag (BE PREPARED TO DODGE!)
  12. 10 Corkscrew Straights to Focus Mitt
  13. 10 Corkscrew Straights to Heavy Bag
  14. 50 Wrist Curls w/10#
  15. 50 Reverse Wrist Curls w/10#
  16. 50 Speed Wrist Twists Each Side
  17. 50 Speed Neck Twists



Notes:

  • The paper mask is to help improve your endurance. It's actually arguable whether or not it actually helps, but the idea is that, because it makes it harder to breathe, you get used to running with less oxygen. The run is going to be at a steady pace, no sprints. 
  • In your shadowboxing, you'll want to focus on being loose and twisting your limbs to practice the corkscrew. 
  • The waist-twisting will help with upper body flexibility.
  • The speed bag and the double-end bag will help with the timing and accuracy necessary to land the Heart Break Shot. 
  • I pictured Date as a very textbook boxer, apart from the obvious difference with the corkscrew blow. 
  • When you hit the double-end bag with the corkscrew blog, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY! Otherwise, it's likely to come back and knock the living crap out of you. 
  • Be careful not the hit the person holding the mitts, because the corkscrew can tend to get away from you if you aren't used to throwing it. 
  • The heavy bag will require you to pull back on your power with the corkscrew to keep from hurting yourself at first. Trust me, once you learn how to throw the punch, you'll realize why I'm advocating that. 
  • You'll need exceptional wrist strength for the corkscrew blow, so the wrist curls and the wrists twists are very important. The wrist twist is just twisting your fist in its full range of motion at high speed back and forth. 
  • The neck twisting should be done quickly, but be careful at first until you get used to it. The double end bag combined with the neck twists should help with learning Date Eiji's neck spin technique, used to neutralize incoming punches. 
  • If you are unable to complete the workout, feel free to scale it back and build it up as you need. 
I hope you guys enjoyed this workout. I realize some of the boxing workouts can get repetitive, so I try to make each workout fit each character's style and technique.

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

Daily Training 5/15/12

3 Mile recovery run
50 Push-ups

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Daily Training 5/14/12

5 mile run
100 squats
36 sit-ups w/punches
15 fingertip push-ups
15 jump-clap push-ups
40 Yard Sprint
100 Yard Jog
40 Yard Sprint
25 Stair Sprint

Random, I know, but it was that kind of day.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Iron Palm (Full Story) - Strengthen Palm

Alright, guys, let me get your thoughts on this video. Any value to this training? I kind of feel like this whole promotion from Under Armour is all just random crap.



Let me know what you think.

Daily Training 5/13/2012

Balance Kicking- Front, Round, Back, Side x 20 Reps Each

Push-ups- 63

-----------------------------------

Driving and Mother's Day kind of got in the way of today. Picking it back up on Monday!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Daily Training- 5/10/2012

Ippo Prepares for Miyata

Also, randomly stood on one foot throughout the day and practiced Twin Lock.

----------------------------------------------

 I can feel the progress in my running and with my endurance in general. Fortunately, I believe I've managed to keep my previous level of strength. I was a little concerned about losing it, but it's stayed nicely.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Perfect Grappler

I have often thought about what it would mean to become the "perfect grappler," which by this I mean someone who has skills on every level of grappling and can counter a striker's moves with nothing by grappling ability. This would most certainly be a difficult task, just as being nothing but a pure striker in a world of mixed fighters is daunting to say the least. The following is, of course, my opinion, but it's something I've put a fair amount of thought into. These are in no particular order.

1. Freestyle Wrestling- The benefit of Freestyle Wrestling to someone wishing to be the perfect grappler cannot be overlooked. The ability to control an opponent, changing levels, shooting for a takedown, and sprawling will be absolute must-have skills for both attacking and defending. You will learn to put your opponent on his back. 

Stuff like this. 
2. Greco-Roman Wrestling- This is a little different, because unlike Freestyle Wrestling, this does not allow grabbing below the belt, so legs are off limits. However, throwing and pinning are still the primary goals. This will teach the ability to throw an opponent from a tie-up, as well as build a fair amount of strength, because the Greco-Roman guys also toss people over their head from a body lock. 

Something really bad is about to happen.
3. Catch Wrestling- This is essentially just the previous two with submissions. Often called Submission Grappling. Pretty much, any submission you can grab, you grab it. This is useful because it combines strength and explosive movements with technical submissions, which will be useful in ending fights or injuring an opponent. 

"That's okay, man! I didn't need that shoulder!"
4. Judo- Judo is primarily about throws, but there is a smaller portion of it that is concerned with pins and submissions. I've heard an argument that good Judo is at least half standing and half ground grappling, but I'm sure that's up for debate. In any case, as far as technical throws are concerned, it's hard to beat Judo, especially if there are clothes involved. 

Nothing good will come of what is about to happen.
5. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu- Did you think I wouldn't throw BJJ in here? This is pretty much the modern-day go-to as far as grappling is concerned. BJJ is primarily ground fighting and has a ridiculous number of submissions and prides itself on smaller opponents being able to defeat much stronger and larger opponents with superior technique and, for the most part, it been able to deliver on all fronts. 

And here, children, is a Triangle.
6. Sambo- Leg locks. Oh, God, the leg locks. This is very similar to Judo, but there are less restrictions as to the types of holds and submissions allowed. Throwing, pinning, and leg locks galore. 

Told ya.
7. Shuai Jiao- This style (it's actually broken up into a few different versions) is about throwing your opponent to the ground through various means, such as tripping, arm-throws, waist-throws, or hip-throws.

I'd say that looks like a throw.
8. Japanese Jujitsu- There are a large number of Japanese Jujitsu styles, but in general, they rely on joint locks and throws to defeat opponents. There are a large number of wrist and arm locks, but there are other locks as well. A large benefit of Japanese Jujitsu will be in its experience with armed opponents and countering striking. Although a lot of Japanese Jujitsu was built to counter Karate-style striking or sweeping strikes, I feel that with "live" training, JJJ could be adapted to deal with strikes from boxing and Muay Thai. The other benefit is that it possesses a good deal of small-joint manipulation and pain-compliance techniques, which are useful for real-world application.

"All right, I said Uncle!"
9. Aikido- This is another off-shoot from Japanese Jujitsu. It's about re-directing energy and using the opponent's force against him. Although Aikido is not exactly "battle-tested" and is often criticized about being "too compliant," that doesn't mean that the principles are not useful and the art could not be effective if trained properly. I've actually thrown some people with Aikido techniques during BJJ practice. Sometimes it works just because people don't see it coming. 

Smiling old man that can probably kill you.
That's not scary at all...
10. Pencak Silat- This is something I'm not super familiar with, honestly. Apparently, there is a lot of Silat out there, with numerous variations in technique. However, what we're looking for here is the ground techniques of Silat. Silat is an Indonesian invention and combines striking and grappling arts into one. Focusing on the ground aspect alone, however, there are a large variety of locks, throws, and submissions utilizing most parts of the body and, because it's so very different from a lot of the grappling styles out there, I believe it would be useful to incorporate it into the perfect grappler. 

Not the face!

This list is not an exhaustive representation of grappling styles, but just my opinion of a combination that would produce someone that would not have to learn how to strike in order to compete in mixed competitions or defend himself in the real world. I would love to see someone who committed himself to the practice of all these arts, because I would love to see what he would become!


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








Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Daily Training- 5/7/12

3 mile recovery run

Random exercises:

1.Warrior Pose- 20 Seconds Each Side
2. Rear Leg Lifts- 3 x 10 Each Side
3. Ab Kickouts- 3 x 15 Each Side
4. Push-ups w/T-Stand- 3 Each Side
5. Squats w/3 Second Pause at Top and Bottom- 10
6. Seated Hamstring Stretch- 3 x 10 Seconds
7. Lying Rear Leg Lifts- 3 x 10 Each Side
8. Piriformis Stretch- 3 x 10 Seconds Each Side

Practiced standing on one foot randomly throughout the day.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Batman's Training Program- Phase 2

This is the continuation from Phase 1 of Batman's Training Program and will build off the previous stage. Obviously, you may not be able to tackle the training at first, but you can just scale things down as needed.


Sunday:
Morning-

  • 30 Minute Jog
  • 20 Minutes Meditation
Evening-
  • Clean and Jerk- 8 x 2 Reps (95#)
  • 2 Sets Metabolic Conditioning (1/4 Mile Run, 21 Half Pood KB Swings, 12 Pull-ups)
  • 15 Minutes Stretching
  • 15 Minutes Sparring

Monday:
Morning-
  • 30 Minute Jog
  • 30 Minutes Martial Arts- Forms or Shadowboxing
Evening-
  • 2 Sets 20ft Rope Climb
  • 10 Minutes Gymnastic Rings (Pick One: Pull-ups, Iron Cross, Muscle-ups)
  • 36" Box Jumps- 4 x 12 Reps
  • 5 x 50 Crunches
  • 30 Minutes Heavy Bag
  • 15 Minutes Flexibility 
  • 15 Minutes Target Practice (Mitt Work, Dart/Knife/Shuriken/etc Throwing, hitting any moving targets)

Tuesday:
Morning-
  • 30 Minute Jog
  • 30 Minutes Yoga
Evening:
  • 1/2 Mile Swim
  • "Heavy" Deadlift- 3 x 5 Reps (250#)
  • "Light" Deadlift- 30 Reps (95#)
  • 30 Minutes Sparring

Wednesday (Off Day):
Morning- 
  • 5 Mile Run
  • 5 Mile Walk
Evening-
  • 15 Minutes Target Practice
  • 15 Minutes Flexibility
  • 15 Minutes Hand Techniques
  • 15 Minutes Leg Techniques
  • 15 Minutes Observation (Watch fights, instructional videos, observing natural movement of people, animals, and objects in motion)
  • 15 Minutes Meditation
  • 15 Minutes Grappling Techniques

Thursday:
Morning-
  • 30 Minute Jog
  • 30 Minutes Martial Arts- Forms or Shadowboxing
Evening-
  • Squats- 5 x 5 Reps (225#)
  • 30 Minutes Bouldering
  • 30 Minutes Flexibility 
  • 5 x 50 Crunches
  • 15 Minutes Target Practice
  • 30 Minutes Heavy Bag 

Friday:
Morning-
  • 30 Minute Jog
  • 20 Minutes Meditation
Evening-
  • Clean and Jerk- 8 x 2 Reps (95#)
  • 2 Sets of Metabolic Conditioning or 1/2 Prescribed Crossfit WOD
  • 15 Minutes Flexibility
  • 15 Minutes Sparring

Saturday:
Morning-
  • 30 Minutes Jog
  • 30 Minutes Yoga
Evening-
  • 5 x 50 Crunches
  • Squats- 5 x 5 Reps (225#)
  • Push-ups- 3 x 50 Reps
  • 15 Minutes Monkey Bars
  • 15 Minutes Pommel Horse
  • 15 Minutes Heavy Bag
  • 1/4 Mile Swim

Notes:
  • Here's the deal: This is going to take a long time. I realize that some of the weights listed for exercises are not super impressive, but you're having to build yourself from all sides at once, so the increases in everything are going to have to be smaller as a whole. Don't even think about going onto the next Phase until this Phase is more than manageable. 
  • If you're wondering, the 30 minute jog on most days is going to be at an easy pace. 
  • I realize there is a lot here, so if you have an questions about anything here, please leave it in the comments. 

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

Daily Training- 5/6/12

Ippo Prepares for Miyata

Handstand Practice- 3 Minutes

---------------------------------------

Feeling pretty good. I'm definitely not as fatigued anymore after these sessions, so I'm interested to see what is the next step in how my body feels, considering that I'm adding in the recovery runs/other workouts. My balance was surprisingly good with the handstands, considering I haven't done any in a while.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Blackforce MMA (Charleston, SC)- Facilities Review

About a week ago, I went to train with the guys at Blackforce MMA down here in Charleston, SC. I came in for an MMA Conditioning Class. I posted the workout to the blog at that time and I was pretty satisfied with the overall intensity of the workout. It was a good circuit with a lot of options. There weren't too many people training that night, but the people who were there at least seemed like they wanted to be there (except for some random kids that were "training"). 


Something tells me they've worked out before. 

I was mostly impressed with the facility. There was a huge wrestling mat in the main section (which you can see on their main site), with padded walls. I imagine some kick-ass sparring could go on here. Upstairs, there were numerous hanging heavy bags and a couple of heavy bags lying around for GnP, I'm guessing.

Look at that poor little guy in the corner.
I love the fact that they actually have a weight room, because that's something you don't see in some MMA gyms and almost never see in traditional martial arts dojos. It's not huge, but they have a good selection of equipment, both weight-wise and cardio equipment. There's also a big-ass tire out back and some sand-filled PVC sections to tote around. So, yeah, as far as conditioning equipment goes, I'm loving this place.

Ain't no Cardio Theater here, fellas!
I'm eager to get back into this place as soon as my schedule clears up a little, so I can take advantage of the classes available here: Japanese Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, and Sambo. (And you never see Sambo freakin' anywhere!) The head trainer is Dwight Decker, who possesses black belts in Karate and Jujitsu and has been involved in martial arts for a long, long time.

So much awesome, my camera wouldn't take a clear shot. Trust me, I tried.

In any case, I only have one experience with Blackforce, but I'm very impressed. I'm eager to see the skill-set they have in action, because it's so very different from what most places have. Since my strengths generally lie in fitness/conditioning and my striking anyway, I'll be expecting to get my ass handed to me in grappling. We'll see what happens and I look forward to keeping you guys updated with this place and anywhere else I can visit. 


Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Best Training Resources

These resources are in no particular order and have a lot of information on exercises and martial arts techniques. This is obviously not exhaustive, but these are great resources for your training depending on what your goals are.


General Fitness

  1. Crossfit
  2. Crossfit Endurance
  3. T-Nation
  4. Bodybuilding.com
  5. Runner's World
  6. Bodyweight Culture
  7. Spartan Race Training (Have to dig a little for it.)

Martial Arts
Hope you guys enjoy the references. There's hours worth of reading and videos here!

  

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Help Me Hurt Me: Adventure Racing Edition

If any of you have a Tumblr and want to help me accomplish something, do me a favor and "Like" or "Reblog" this post.

Help Me Hurt Me: Adventure Racing Edition

Wouldn't hurt you to follow me, while you're at it. ;)


Essentially, the more likes and reblogs that post gets, the crazier stuff I'll put myself through from as little as a 5k to a Tough Mudder to a marathon to a Spartan Death Race. But, I need your help! AND, if this "Help Me Hurt Me" does well, I might do another variation of it. Or I might just make another variation of it because I'm bored.

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 12

It's been a while, so I thought I'd get back into the 72 Arts for you guys!

#32: Exercise "Soft Bones" (Rou Gu Gong)- This training is relatively simple and is centered around flexibility. The first stage of the training utilizes a dynamic kicking motion. The kicking leg is kept straight and swung up in front of your body as high as it will comfortably go. Don't push yourself to the point of injury. You should do 100 kicks on each leg in the morning and evening. You can do them in a row on each leg or alternate legs in a kind of walking motion. After a year of training, the first stage of training will be complete.

The second stage is working on splits. The exercise is called "Bench Facing the Sky." Your supporting leg will be straight and you will lift your other leg as high as you can in front of you. After you cannot raise it anymore, pull your leg up with your arms as high as you can. At the end of the movement, you should be standing up straight, your raised leg flat against your chest and the sole of your foot facing the sky and near your ear. Train both of your legs in this fashion. The author doesn't give a time limit or number of sets for the training, so I suggest holding the position for no more than 2 minutes at a time and alternate your legs in this training. I would spend anywhere from 15-30 minutes on this training, depending on your soreness from other training. The author says that after several months, you should be able to start training for a split.

For a front split and a side split, you will spread your feet out as far as they will go on either the front or the side and the lower yourself as far as possible, keeping your upper body vertical all the while. When you are able to completely lower yourself into both positions, you'll focus on staying in the position for up to 30 minutes at a time. After you are able to hold these positions for these extended periods with your body vertical, you'll focus on lowering yourself into a bridge position from standing. You'll bend backwards and place both palms on the ground and stay in this position for a while. You'll also begin bending your body at the waist from side to side, in order to increase the flexibility of your upper body. The author says you'll be able to "roll yourself up into a ball in a lying position." You can also warm up your body with a hot cloth or a warm bath before training.


#33: Exercise "Frog" (Hama Gong)


The author calls this "Lifting a Stone Block." It's actually not described very well, in my opinion, and that might be due to the author or the translator. Either way, this one is a little vague. I'm going to try my best to give you my understanding of it. It appears that you will try to lift a stone block, in between your hands, off the ground for many repetitions. Like, a cinder block for instance or even an atlas stone. You'll start with 30 or 40lbs and work your way up once you can lift that weight, as the author says, "without appreciable effort." You can lift it like a Deadlift or Squat Clean or Clean and Press. I'm giving some leeway in that. He says when you can lift 100-110lbs "without appreciable effort",  you can move to the next stage of the exercise, which does not include any apparatus. I would be hesitant to completely eliminate your previous training, so I would still utilize the 100-110lbs for your lifting.

The next stage of the training, starts with the hands, wrists, and forearms. You will clench your fists together and squeeze the muscles in those three areas with maximal effort and then release a short while later. You will then clench your fists with the backs of your fists facing the ground and tighten your arms and the neck and head muscles. Next is your shoulders. Then pull your shoulders back and tighten your chest. You should train in this order until you gain the ability to fully contract all the muscles of your arms, shoulders, neck, and chest with maximal effort on command numerous times (I wish the author was a little more specific sometimes).

The next stage is training your midsection by contracting your core muscles on every side with maximal effort. I imagine that the core training is in addition to the the upper body training. The last stage of the training is merely staying in the horse riding stance for extended periods of time, while practicing "concentrating force" in various parts of your body, which is squeezing the muscles as previously indicated. The author says that this ability will make you capable of repelling blows by "concentrating force" into areas of your body upon impact.

#34: Exercise "Piercing the Curtain" (Chuan Lian Gong)


This training is about acrobatics and leaping. The first stage of this training involves leaping from about 20ft over a long pit filled with about 4 feet of sand. There is a stake driven in each corner of the pit, with a net of thick cords draped about 2 feet above the sand. It appears as though you will squat down and leap with your hands out in front of you, almost like Superman in flight, over the pit and land in the net. This is kind of crazy to me, so if you get wild enough to try it, be very careful and make sure you have safety equipment. I wouldn't really recommend this one, myself.

The next stage is placing a plank (like a 2 x 4) at about 40 inches high in between two poles. This should be placed in front of the pit from the previous stage. You'll start about 20-30 feet away from the plank, start running and leap over the plank in a completely horizontal fashion, like in the previous training. After you are able to leap over the plank with relative ease, you should replace the plank with a board about 2-3 feet wide, so you have more to clear in your horizontal leap. After you are able to do this, you should encircle the board with a circular frame so that you have to jump straight through, instead of just jumping high. You'll be "piercing" through the center (thus the name) and you'll add additional frames as you get better at flying through the section until you get to 6 or 7 frames. The author also mentions something about adding knives to the inside of the frames but DO NOT DO THAT! No, seriously, that's like the least intelligent thing I've seen this guy say. If you screw up once, you're done for good!

In general this skill would be good for an acrobatic feat of leaping through a small hole as straight as possible or through a window without breaking the glass or hurting yourself. However, it's kind of a dangerous training.

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

Daily Training- 5/2 and 5/3/2012

5/2

Ippo Prepares for Miyata

Back in Greenville with this one, so hills galore for the run. I could still feel the deadlifts and squats from the other day during the sprinting.

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5/3

3 Mile Recovery Run
Pull-ups

  • 10
  • 5
  • 1 (1 Count Up, 15 Count Down)
  • 1 (1 Count Up, 15 Count Down)
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1 (20 Count Hang at the Bottom)
I need to do more pull-ups. -_-

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