January 30th, 2008 Workout – Muay Thai
Today’s class seemed to go by really quickly. After our warm up we did a bunch of combo drills with our partners – started with a jab / cross combo then blocking a hook and worked up to a jab / cross / hook / cross / thai kick / block thai kick / block hook / block cross combo. In between rounds we did a quick drill – 10 repetitions of full squat, then jab / cross / jab / cross. We did that three times all together and then the last time was 10 repetitions of 3 high jumps then a jab / cross / jab / cross combo. Finally we finished with ab work – did a bunch of bicycle crunches, leg lifts and push outs. My abs are in pain now – serious pain :(
Motivating Transformations – John ‘Razuel’
Came across this story today – guy lost over 100 pounds in just over a year.
Transformation of the Week – John ‘Razuel’
I love reading these stories because they give me something to relate to and help keep me on my own path. They reinforce the thoughts and beliefs that I know will get me to where I want to be. The more they get reinforced, the more I repeat them in my head. Repetition fuels belief and the more you believe, the more likely you are to act.
When I reach my first big set of goals this July I’m going to send my story and pics in to the site. I’d like nothing more than to share my experience and maybe help kickstart someone else to do the same – for me that would be the ultimate reward. I know in my heart that my life has changed dramatically for the better with these changes and to help someone else experience that would be amazing.
On a side note – the clothing situation is getting pretty bad. My favourite winter sweater has over a foot and a half of slack around the waist now and looks pretty ridiculous on me now. A lot of my winter stuff is really loose now – I’m not going to bother getting any warm stuff this year because by next winter I will not fit into any of it anyway. I’ll just keep wrapping myself in baggy clothing then in the summer I can shock everyone when I’m wearing stuff that actually fits ;)
10 Things You Can Do to Cheer Yourself Up
Was doing my daily read at liferemix.net and came across this article at dumblittleman.com. Read it if you feel like you could use a pick me up!
10 Things You Can Do to Cheer Yourself Up
The article details 10 things you can do to lighten your mood and make yourself a little happier. Here’s the summary:
- Plan Some Fun.
- Express Your Creativity.
- Get Outside.
- Let Music Take You Higher.
- Walk a Dog.
- Volunteer.
- A Change Will Do You Good.
- Plan a Party.
- Personal Spa and Relaxation Day.
- Reach Out.
I read through the article and realized that I have been actively doing 8 of the 10 on the list and have plans to do the remaining 2 in the next couple of months. Coming up with a lot of little things to improve your mood works out great because you can find something small to fit in over the day – even at work. In the middle of the work day I’ll take a time-out and listen to one of my favourite songs, read my favourite webcomic or do a set of pushups and squats. It only takes 5 minutes, improves my mood and gets me refocused on work so even though I take breaks, the rest of my day is more productive than it would have been otherwise.
Seeing the impact that these little things have made on my overall mood has inspired me to actively keep better track of the little things that make me happy. I have a separate notebook I keep for little ideas and thoughts and I’m going to start my own list of mood improvers – that way I have something to go to for ideas whenever the need arises.
Speaking of lists – I updated my list of 50 things – it’s progressing well!
January 28th, 2008 Workout – Muay Thai
I think I’m fighting off a cold. I had Muay Thai class yesterday and my throat felt a bit sore and I really started to gas halfway through the class and I’m usually good for an hour class. Luckily I had my little brother as my partner and he did an awesome job of pushing me and not letting me give up during the drills – thanks bro.
It was a conditioning day – so between the long rounds, feeling sick, being tired from boarding the day before and having a sore neck from falling I was pretty well done by the end of class. But I made it through finally and it was worth it as always.
I usually take Tuesday and Friday off from working out so hopefully all will be well in time for tomorrows class. There’s a bunch of other things I need to take care of at home anyhow.
January 26th/27th, 2008 Workouts – Muay Thai / Snowboarding
Blah – ever since I moved my site to a different server my copy of Wordpress has been flaky and I haven’t had a chance to upgrade it. I just noticed that it lost my last post again. I’m going to get that fixed this week and start working on a new layout for the site as well.
Anyway – Muay Thai class on Saturday was 2 hours long and the first 2 hour class I ever went to. I was running on empty for the last half hour but made it through and felt awesome afterwards. Right when class is done I always feel exhausted, but within 10-15 minutes I start to feel really energized and amazing – I think it’s the equivalent of a Runner’s high – where a whole whack of feel-good endorphins get released into your bloodstream as a result of the exercise.
Sunday I went to Glen Eden with my little brother again for a day of snowboarding. I still fall a lot, but I’m getting more and more confident and am still improving each time. I had a couple of really good runs where I made it down the whole way without falling. Towards the end I took a pretty big spill and twisted my ankle a bit, but it feels fine now. I did notice afterwards that I didn’t feel as confident after that spill and started to hesitate during my runs after that – all my movements got a lot jerkier and unsure and I didn’t do as well as a result. Nothing changed as far as my skill level – it was just all in the way I was looking at it.
January 25th, 2008 Workout – Muay Thai
I usually take it easy on Friday, but I got home early and I had energy to burn, so I did a quick 30 minute Muay Thai workout – did all body weight exercises and rounds on the heavy bag. When I do rounds on the heavy bag I try to focus on my technique more – I move around and watch my footwork and make sure to get the proper hip rotation going and to breathe properly. Focusing on the last two especially really puts the power into each hit so I don’t even need to think about that and the speed will come with practice.
Today there is a 2 hour class – looking forward to it – should be a really intense workout.
Reward time!
Since I got under 240 – I decided to get myself a reward. My digicam has been acting pretty funky over the last year and it’s monstrously huge and impossible to carry around on me without taking a giant cam-purse type thing. Costco had a little compact Canon on sale so I picked one up. Goal reward / early birthday present!
It’s an awesome little camera and takes great shots from what I’ve seen so far. Checked it out beforehand and found that it had really great reviews as well. It’s only a tiny bit wider than my cell phone so I can actually carry it around with me for random pictures. Gonna come in handy for the April trip!. No more rewards until the trip though – gotta save some money up for it – I can’t wait!
January 24th, 2008 Workout – Muay Thai
I’ve been out of the house non-stop since the weekend – routine has pretty much been work – come home – go to Muay Thai – eat – go out – sleep. Now I’ve got a bunch of catching up to do on stuff around here. Had to get my passport pictures taken for the April trip and I wasn’t sure how late the place was open so I did a workout at home instead of going in to class today.
Did pretty much the same routine we followed yesterday, but with a little quicker pace and a few less sets. I need to put another bag of sand into the base of my punching bag. The longer I keep at this, the less it wants to stay in one spot when I hit it.
Oh -I weighed in at 239 this morning! For the first time in 7 years I’m under 240. To quote Homer Simpson – “Marge, I’m 239 and I’m Feeling Fine!” – and I have to cut new holes in my belt – the narrowest setting is loose now!
January 23rd, 2008 Workout – Muay Thai
Crazy workout yesterday – almost entirely bag work. Started with a pretty good warmup – multiple sets of 20 without any pauses – jumping jacks, footwork, combos, knees, squats, then repeat with the other leg forward. After that we moved on to doing bag work with a partner. Each time we did a different combo, doing 4 sets of 30 second rounds that would alternate with our partner. Started with a single jab, then progressed to step in, jab, cross, hook, cross, step back, push kick, side step, Thai kick. After that we did the most intense cool down routine we’ve ever had – 20 T push ups, 50 Japanese squats, then another 20 T push ups and another 50 Japanese squats – killer! The T push ups were really hard – you start in a normal push up position, push down, push up, then put your weight on one arm and turn your body until both arms make a T shape – alternating arms each time.
I’m not going to be able to get to the 5 oclock class fast enough today, so looks like it’s going to be conditioning and bag work at home later.
January 21st, 2008 Workout – Muay Thai
Ugh – wordpress just lost my last post and like a newb, I forgot to copy it to the clipboard before posting it. Now I’m too lazy to rewrite it so you get the summary version :P
Went boarding on the weekend – fell a lot but got the hang of turning and carving finally. Was hella sore Monday but went to Muay Thai anyway – ended up being a conditioning class which is always grueling. Yay!
Counting down the days before I go boarding again next Sunday.