5 Times Anime Taught Us the Gift of Giving

With Christmas quite literally around the corner, I began to mentally scroll through my head all those precious scenes in various anime devoted to the trope of buying your loved one that something special. I'm sure the trope is familiar to many of you. Person A needs that extra special something for Person B. Person A wracks their brain, asks all their friends for advice, goes to every store in town, etc., to come up with something that is just right. Hilarity and heartfelt moments to follow.

With that picture in mind, here are 5 Times Anime Taught Us the Gift of Giving.

5. Shiro plays the piano with Hina - Ouran High School Host Club

In a "reverse-harem" anime that takes great joy at mixing heartfelt moments with making fun of itself, we have episode number 6, "The Grade School Host is the Naughty Type!" an episode devoted to the story of a young boy named Shiro.

Shiro is a young boy who is deeply upset over the fact that his crush, Hina, will be moving away soon. In his desperation to show her how much he cares about her, he seeks out one of our main characters, Tamaki, a vain, lady's man who, believe it or not, actually has a heart of gold. It takes the majority of the episode for Tamaki to realize that Shiro's pleas of trying to "woo women" were really just his poor worded attempts at trying to find a way to win the heart of the classmate he adored. Once our slow, but lovable Tamaki realized this, it was easy to discover that all Hina wanted was to play the piano with Shiro again before she had to move, but Shiro was unskilled at the piece Hina had been wanting to play with him. Tamaki, a rather adept piano player himself, then devotes serious attention to teaching Shiro how to play the piece. In the end, Shiro was able to play with Hina before she had to move, thus giving her the only gift she really wanted from him to begin with.

She is ready to be wooed.

The Lesson ~ Nothing is more valuable than quality time.

4. Shingo makes Mika a pig...I mean...a Sailor Moon figurine - Sailor Moon

In this magical girl series, Sailor Moon, aka Usagi, has a little brother to whom this episode, "Shingo's Love: The Grieving Doll", is largely devoted. Her little brother, Shingo, in a moment of insecurity from being picked on, makes a mistake that causes the a doll to shatter to pieces on the floor. It just so happens that this doll was carefully crafted by his friend, and was so precious to her, especially since it had recently won a very renowned reward for its design.

Shingo's heart is immediately broken but he fails to properly apologize for his action. As he's walking home, he remembers to himself how much Mika, his friend, loves Sailor Moon. He decides to use clay to make her a Sailor Moon figurine. He works very hard on it and works up the nerve to bring it to her, in the hopes that it makes it up to her. Unfortunately, a monstrous youma shatters it before it can ever be received, but he was able to help save her life instead, which Mika was, of course, very grateful for.

In the end, Mika ended up making Shingo a Sailor Moon figurine, and isn't that what Christmas is really all about?

The Lesson ~ Sometimes you have to be brave to give to others.

3. Ikaros buys a watermelon...for herself... - Heaven's Lost Property

Heaven's Lost Property is a wonderful mixture of ecchi silliness and science fiction drama. In, "Shoot Out! Fishing At the Jumbo Carnival of Dreams", episode nine of this series, an angeloid named Ikaros is given an allowance by her "master". She is so thankful that, despite him telling her to spend it in whatever way she wants, she asks each of their friends advice on what to get for Tomoki, the one she calls master, to show her appreciation for him.

After a great deal of emotional turmoil over the decision, Ikaros finally buys herself a watermelon, the one thing she loves most, after her master, of course. Tomoki ends up being so pleased that she spends the money on herself, that that ended up being a gift to him in and of itself, in its own strange way.

If you've not seen the series, I promise you're underestimating just how much she loves watermelons.

The Lesson ~ The best gifts think first of what the recipient wants.

2. Trunks and Goten give Videl "cosmetics" - Dragon Ball Super

Dragon Ball Super (if there are even any of you that aren't watching this amazing series right now) extends the story of Dragon Ball into a time period where all is at relative peace and our beloved collection of protagonists have come together to live happy, fulfilled, and interconnected lives.

In episode one of Dragon Ball Super, "The Peace Reward - Who Will Get the 100 Million Zeni?", we're privy to a precious scene where Goten tells Trunks that he wants to get Videl something nice now that she's married to his big brother. They first try the jewelry store and are completely unimpressed by the size of the gems that are available. Next, after some pondering, they try a cosmetics store, but it's all too expensive (as if the jewelry wouldn't be!). At the jewelry store, they overhear an old man talking about the regenerative properties of the springs in his home village. Elated, the boys head off to find it and eventually return to Videl's and Gohan's home with a big glass jug of water they call "cosmetics". Videl's very kind, plays along, and thanks them greatly for the excellent skin care they've given her.

Nothing says "Congratulations on your marriage!" like...water......

The Lesson ~ It's always the thought that counts.

1. Juvia knits Gray a scarf - Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail is an amazing series that combines excellent character development with highly interconnected stories while still taking time to be absolutely, off-the-wall, ridiculous from time to time. It's the story of a wizard guild of closely knit wizards who always have each other's backs. In this world, wizard guilds are sought out for various jobs that need doing, but sometimes the series takes a break to do slice of life, wizard style.

In episode 45, 413 days, a very excitable and cheerful young psychopath woman named Juvia reveals that it's the 413th anniversary of the day she met her dear Gray-sama. Now, to be clear, there is no "official" relationship between Juvia and Gray, but, just try telling Juvia that. She asks everyone advice but everyone is far too eager to say what they'd want instead of being helpful as to what Gray would want, you know, for the 413th anniversary that he doesn't know about. After trying and positively failing to make a cake, Juvia realizes that making her precious Gray-sama a gift doesn't have to be done in a way that she has absolutely zero skill in, and thus, sits down to knitting him a rather handsome, gray scarf. (Get it? It's gray. Hahahaha!)

I love Juvia to death but I have to admit she's just a tad obsessive.

Unfortunately for Juvia, this particular date was also the anniversary of a rather painful memory for Gray, the death of someone who practically raised him. He rebuffs her gift rather coldly and she's left confused until the weight of the date is explained to her.

Fortunately, later in his wandering sorrow, Gray recalls the first time his teacher, Ur, gave him a scarf, well before he learned ice magic and became largely impervious to the cold. In his moment of grief he rushes to where Juvia had given him the scarf, scoops it up, and puts it on, and promptly apologizes to her the next day.

The Lesson ~ Gifts from the heart touch the deepest.


So here, on Christmas Eve's eve, remember that the gifts we give and receive this holiday season come from the heart in the best way we each know how, and cherish them for that reason in and of itself. Anime has taught us so much about training these past few years, but it has so much more to offer us. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Gray's Ice Mage Conditioning | Tough Like The Toonz: EP 4

Today, JaxBlade shows us how to lose some additional fat and condition our bodies and minds to deal with extreme cold, all in the spirit of Gray Fullbuster.  Watch the whole video to make sure you get all the tips about easing into the ice bath and warming up from the process.



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

Erza's Basic Training- "Tower of Heaven" Workout

I received a few requests for Erza workouts, but I wasn't really sure what to do.  However, after thinking it over, I figured the best place to start would be Erza as a child. As a child, Erza lived a hard life, being conscripted into building the "Tower of Heaven" for a Zeref-worshipping cult. During this time, she was subjected to hard labor, which, given proper nutrition, would have made her decently strong.  This workout is based on the activities that Erza would have been doing during the construction of the Tower.

Activities that made her strong enough to kick some slave-driving ass.

Erza's Basic Training- "Tower of Heaven" Workout

1. 100 Pick-ax or Sledgehammer Swings
2. Shovel Wheelbarrow full of Dirt or Stones
3. 100 Meter Wheelbarrow Push
4. Dump Wheelbarrow

--1 to 5 Rounds, depending on fitness. Rest 5 Minutes, then

1. 100 Meter Farmer's Walk- 60# Dumbbells or a 5-gallon bucket filled w/sand per hand
2. 100 Meter Sandbag Carry- 50 to 100#
3. 100 Meter Rock Carry- 75 to 100#
4. 100 Meter Log Carry- 100 to 125#
5. Walk up and down 100 stairs with 1 of the above weights

--1 to 5 Rounds, depending on fitness. Rest 5 Minutes, then

1. Climb as many stairs as possible in 20 minutes

Notes:

• I recommend doing 50 swings on each side with the pick-ax or sledgehammer. You can alternate on every strike or every ten or whatever. Just make it even. Swing the pick-ax at dirt and the sledgehammer at stones or a tire. 
• If you are swinging a pick-ax into dirt, using that dirt to fill the wheelbarrow makes the most sense. Alternatively, if you are swinging at stones with the sledge, you can will the wheelbarrow with those. 
• Once you dump the wheelbarrow, you can just use the same dirt or stone as you did on the previous run. 
• If you are new to fitness, please start with only 1 round of each group of exercises and then build from there. 
• The weights for the Farmer's Walk and the carries are merely the suggested weights. You do not have to use weights that are as heavy as that, but it is something to work up to. Sandbags, rocks, and logs are all awkward to carry, so they will feel like a lot more than whatever weight the actually are. 
• Be very careful when walking up and down the stairs with the weights. If you need to decrease the weight for this portion at first, please do so. 
• I cannot stress enough that you are walking up and down the steps with one of the weights. Do not run. If you fall on steps while carrying a heavy weight, the result will not be good. 
• At the end, you can use a stair climber, a step mill, or a long stretch of stairs or bleachers. If you have to go back down to go back up, that's perfectly fine. If you were looking to run stairs before, now is the time to run stairs. Please be careful and make sure you have good footing at all times. 
• Make sure to use your rest times. You want to be able to put your all into each of the exercises.

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

Fairy Tail Workout Master Post

1. Natsu's "Breath of Fire" Workout
2. Natsu Hates Transportation
3. Natsu Trains for Erza
4. Natsu's Combat Workout 
5. "Rebuild the Guild" Workout
6. The Grand Magic Games Training Camp Workout
7. Erza's Basic Training- "The Tower of Heaven" Workout

The Grand Magic Games Training Camp Workout

After the 7 year timeskip, the Fairy Tail crew goes off to train for The Grand Magic Games, which will determine the #1 Guild in the country! However, very little training gets done thanks to a little bit of a mishap with the passage of time in the Celestial Spirit Realm. This workout is based on what little training Natsu actually gets done before the event.

The Grand Magic Games Training Camp Workout

1. Swim 100 Meters (Sprint!)
2. 100 Meter Sled/Tire Pull (Sprint!)

--AMRAP in a day

Notes:

• You don't have to do the rounds back to back, but you do need to do the Sled Pull right after the swim. 
• Both of these things should be sprinting activities. You need to do them as fast as you possibly can. 
• It might help to do several rounds early in the day, a few in the afternoon, and some more in the evening. It will be difficult to continue to move through the rounds over and over because of the nature of the exercises. You can't keep a sprint going over and over again, because you will not have the strength to move at that speed continually. 

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

"Rebuild the Guild" Workout (Fairy Tail)

After the guild is destroyed by the Phantom Lord Guild, all the members of Fairy Tail pitch in to help rebuild the guild building. There's a lot of lifting and carrying going on in the midst of construction and that is what this workout hopes to mimic.

"Rebuild the Guild" Workout

1. "Lumber Carry" Barbell Complex

1. Deadlift
2. Clean
3. Front Squat
4. Push Press
5. Back Squat
6. Barbell Lunge
7. Barbell Yoke Carry- 50 Meters
8. Push Press

--10 to 20 Rounds

2. "Bucket Carry" Dumbbell Complex, increasing weight

1. 100 Meter Farmer's Walk
2. 100 Meter Run

--5 to 10 Rounds

3. 200 Sledgehammer Swings

Notes:

• The Barbell Complex is only one rep of each exercise. You'll approach the bar, bend down and do a Deadlift, sit the bar down (but don't let it go) and immediately go into a full Clean. After the Clean, do a Front Squat (the bar racked on your chest and delts). At the top of the Front Squat, bend your knees and hips slightly and use the momentum from the upward movement of your legs to help you press the weight completely overhead for the Push Press. From the overhead position, bring the weight down on your shoulders and do a Back Squat. From the Back Squat, perform a Barbell Lunge on each leg. Next walk 50 meters with the weight still on your shoulders. At the end of the 50 meters, perform another Push Press from the bars current position. You may either bring the weight down to your chest and reverse the motion of the clean to put the bar back down or you may just drop the weight in front of you (but make sure you are out of the way). Repeat 10 to 20 times depending on your fitness. 
• The limiting factor as far as weight goes for the Barbell Complex will most likely be the Push Press. Starting with 45-95# is probably a good place to begin. 
• The Dumbbell Complex will require several increasingly heavier DBs or a set of varying weight dumbbells. You'll pick up the first set of dumbbell and walk 100 meters, then set them down and jog 100 meters back to the start. Then, you'll pick up the next set of DBs and do the next set. For instance, the complex may work like this: 15#, 25#, 35#, 45#, 55#. 
• Ideally, you should be swinging the sledgehammer down onto a tire. If sledgehammer swings get too easy at the end of your workout, use a heavier hammer. 

Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Natsu's Combat Workout (Fairy Tail)

This workout is designed with the specific techniques that we see Natsu perform during the course of the series. Only the ones that have potential real-life analogs were included (for obvious reasons).

Natsu's Combat Workout 

1. Fire Dragon's Claw- 100 Roundhouse Kicks to Heavy Bag (each side)
2. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist- 100 Straight Punches to Heavy Bag (each side)
3. Fire Dragon's Wing Attack- 50 Throws of Heavy Bag from Bear Hug/Underhook 
4. Fire Dragon's Sword Horn- 20 Headbutts (top of head) to Heavy Bag
5. Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist- 30 Sec On/30 Sec Off All-Out Punching to Heavy Bag (until tired)
6. Free Fight Training- 3 x 5 Minutes of Shadowboxing/Heavy Bag/Mitt Work/Sparring (pick any)

Notes:

• Make sure you keep good form for this workout. The main point of the first part of the workout is just perfecting technique and building strength. You should set up each strike and make sure your form is perfect and then hit the bag with full force. You can build cardio and your rhythm and everything else during the last part.
• You may land kicks with your foot or shin, your choice.
• Your straight punches can be boxing-style, karate-style, or whatever style of martial arts you practice.
• Try to throw the heavy bag over your head if you can. If that is not possible, try to throw it behind you over your shoulder or around your body.
• On the headbutts, try to start light and build up to being able to hit hard. You don't want to injure your neck or your brain by slamming your skull into the bag super hard right off the bat.
• The 30 sec all-out/30 sec off just means you will hit the bag as hard and fast as possible for 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds. You will repeat this until you are unable to continue another round.

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

Natsu Trains for Erza (Fairy Tail)

After challenging Erza to a fight, Natsu is shown doing a training session in Lucy's apartment. He's doing a series of calisthenics and appears to have a dumbbell, so this workout is based on that. It's fairly simple and, because of that, would likely be the kind of training that Natsu would do.
Natsu Trains for Erza

1. Dumbbell Curls- 10 x 25# (One arm at a time on all DB exercises)
2. Dumbbell OHP- 10 x 35#
3. Dumbbell Front Raise- 10 x 10#
4. Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise- 10 x 10#
5. 50 Sit-ups
6. 50 Push-ups

--5 Rounds

Notes:

• The Dumbbell exercises are all done one arm at a time. This will also work your core while you are lifting and allow you to get accustomed to real-world lifting. 
• For the DB curls, make sure that your elbow stays at your side the whole time and that you are completing the full Range of Motion for the exercise. That means a full hang at the bottom and curling until your arm doesn't bend any further at the elbow. 
• On the DB Overhead Press, start with the weight racked on your shoulder, palm turned in toward the center line of the body. Press the weight up, while keeping your elbow from winging out too far, and rotate the dumbbell so that your palm is facing the away from you at the top of the movement. Achieve full extension of the arm at the top of the movement and return to the start. 
• For a DB Front Raise, hold the DB in one hand, palm facing down with the weight resting against your leg. Lift the weight in front of your body with your arm almost completely straight (arm slightly bent) and your palm facing downward. Raise the weight until it reaches the height of your head and then return to start. 
• The DB Side Lateral Raise is very similar to the Front Raise, but the weight now begins against the side of your leg and travels up along the side of your body with your arm straight out. The palm of your hand is once again facing down and the weight will raise until it is level with the top of your head before returning to start. 
• Your shoulders, arms, and chest are going to take a beating on this workout, so if you have to do less than five rounds, that's perfectly fine. If you feel like the workout is getting too easy, you may either do more rounds or increase the weight of the DBs. 

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

Natsu Hates Transportation (Fairy Tail)

While Natsu is extremely tough and very brave, he lacks the ability to ride in any type of vehicle. If he so much as sets foot on a moving car, boat, ship, aircraft, or even walking vehicle, he is immediately incapacitated with severe motion sickness. Due to this, Natsu will often suggest things like swimming to an island instead of taking a boat or he will just run somewhere that he needs to go, avoiding transportation unless it is absolutely necessary. Because of this, it is very likely that Natsu can run and swim long distances with relative ease and that is the purpose of this workout.

Natsu Hates Transportation 

LEVEL ONE

1. Run 1 Mile
2. Swim 400 Meters
3. Run 800 Meters
4. Swim 200 Meters
5. Run 400 Meters
6. Swim 100 Meters

LEVEL TWO

1. Run 2 Miles
2. Swim 800 Meters
3. Run 1 Mile
4. Swim 400 Meters
5. Run 800 Meters
6. Swim 200 Meters

LEVEL THREE

1. Run 3.5 Miles
2. Swim 1200 Meters
3. Run 2 Miles
4. Swim 800 Meters
5. Run 1 Mile
6. Swim 400 Meters

LEVEL FOUR

1. Run 5 Miles
2. Swim 1600 Meters
3. Run 3.5 Miles
4. Swim 1200 Meters
5. Run 2 Miles
6. Swim 800 Meters

Notes:

• You may have some difficulty finding a place to run and swim, but you may do this with a pool or a pond/lake. This is simple, but hard, because you're having to switch between running a swimming multiple times. 
• Only move up to the next level of the workout if you are able to complete each of the running and swimming sets without stopping on three separate occasions. 
• Make sure that you stay hydrated and that you bring a carbohydrate source with you when you train. You should consume 30-60 carbs every hour are going to be training. That means, you may not need any at all during the first level of the workout, but you certainly will need a carb source after that. 
• If you are unable to complete a distance, that's perfectly fine. You can walk to finish it or just wait until the next workout. You cannot, however, advance to the next level until you complete it on three separate occasions, without having to stop to cover a listed distance. If you aren't used to long distance training, just do your best and stop when you feel like you need to. 

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

Natsu's "Breath of Fire" Workout (Fairy Tail)

Natsu Dragneel is a Dragon Slayer. A Dragon Slayer. Meaning he kills dragons.

Well, to be fair, he hasn't actually killed a dragon yet. He was just taught Dragon Slaying Magic from his Dragon foster father, Igneel. He has a massive amount of power, strength, and endurance and... oh, yeah-- he can breathe fire. (Plus he has amazing abs!)

This workout was inspired by the "Fire Dragon's Roar" technique and the concept of breathing fire.


Natsu's "Breath of Fire" Workout

1. 100 Meter Sprint
2. 1 Minute Plank
3. 1 Minute Side Plank (each side)

--AMRAP until plank fails

Notes:

• You should push yourself on the sprints. It should be 80-90% speed on these.
• Essentially, you will continue on this workout until you fail to reach 1 Minute on either plank or side plank. If you fail, you should still complete that round, meaning that you do the full minute on each of the exercises, but you should not do another round after that.
• The workout is called "Breath of Fire," because after a couple of rounds, you'll be breathing extremely hard, especially while trying to hold the plank. It will sound like you are trying to breathe fire. :D

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