Hit things, lift things, drink beer.

[Bubble Boy]

Enjoying your descriptive posts. The escalating sparring session has happened to all of us I think (randori in my case), but as long as both parties walk away uninjured, probably a good thing.
Do you let up a little the week before the fight, or push hard right up to it?

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

22/03/2022:

Conditioning: aerobic work

7.17km run today after having Monday off as I felt under the weather. 38:54 total, 5:25/km average pace. Felt really good for the first couple kms, so kept the pace up a little. Average HR 162bpm, max HR 180bpm during final sprint over last couple hundred meters. Better run than I'd thought I'd be able to crank out as feeling fatigued and occasionally dizzy upon standing, especially earlier in the day.


Muay Thai:

Just some light bag work today, keeping things easy while still in recovery mode a bit, especially as tomorrow's training will be bigger/more intense. Mainly focusing on just working on entries to elbows and knees across this session. Just a little technical work before teaching classes today.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

Enjoying your descriptive posts. The escalating sparring session has happened to all of us I think (randori in my case), but as long as both parties walk away uninjured, probably a good thing.
Do you let up a little the week before the fight, or push hard right up to it?

Cheers mate! Sorry, missed this post yesterday. The hard sparring was good - in my case it showed I can hang out and stand in front of one of the hardest 75kg fighters in NZ. Not something I want to do again before the fight, but definitely useful.

Fight week will taper off a lot - especially as my body's still not used to this level of training now. A good taper will really help. I'm fighting on a Thursday, so weighing in on a Wednesday, which means my last pads will be in the weekend before it. Monday will be some light drills and bag work, and Tuesday basically just mobility and shadow boxing. It's fortunate that I shouldn't have to worry about cutting for this one - I'm now walking around lighter than I've been in years.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

23/03/2022:

Strength and conditioning:

Depth jump + broad jump:
3 reps x 5 sets, 20" box

Single-leg box jump:
5 reps/leg x 3 sets, 24" box

Band-resisted turn and punch:
5 reps/side x 3

Single-leg lateral hop:
4 reps/side x 4

Plyometric push-up:
5 reps x 3

Conditioning: Assault bike intervals
1 minute warm-up at steady cadence
10 seconds max effort, 50 seconds active recovery, repeat for 8 rounds
60 seconds active recovery
10 seconds max effort, 50 seconds active recovery, repeat for 8 rounds again
Go cry, feel bad about life decisions


Muay Thai:

Padwork session with my old S&C coach, Steve. Shadow boxed, then 10 minutes on focus mitts to warm up. After that, 6 x 3-minute rounds on the Thai pads, 60 seconds rest. Steve is a great pad holder, and brings a good level of technical detail to everything, strong focus on biomechanics and quality of movement. Worked a few things. He held pads for me last Friday - said there's already quite a difference in fitness and fluidity. Just need to work on getting into that nice, relaxed flow state and we'll be away laughing. I was absolutely fecked by the end of it for sure.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

24/03/2022:

AM: Conditioning + Muay Thai

Met up with my other fighter who is on the same card as me for a morning session. Fasted LISS run to start. 7.05km. Total time 40:35, average pace 5:45/km. My average HR was 152bpm, max HR 181bpm on the last sprint uphill back to Jai - maybe 150 meters or so? Longer run than intended, but still pretty good.

Once back to the gym, pad rounds. I held first, helping Jackie work on some tactics for his opponent. After, he held for me. First round he held freestyle, then each round after I introduced him to something I was working on for my own technique. Good little session to start the morning with.



PM: Strength

Paused squat:
60kg x 5
80kg x 4
100kg x 3
110kg x 3 x 3
Back down to 65% (72.5kg), and one set of 15 reps, no pause at the bottom.

Bench press:
40kg x 6
50kg x 6
60kg x 6 x 4

Single-leg RDL:
24kg x 8/leg x 3

Chin-up (neutral grip):
BW x 6
+12kg x 5 x 3
BW x 10

DB bent over rear delt fly:
5kg x 10 x 3

Was going to do some extra conditioning, but was already knackered, and it was getting late. Home to shower, change, dinner, pack my lunch for the next day and head to bed. This fight camp stuff is tiring.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

RIP to that match-up. Wound up catching the dreaded 'rona.

Feeling recovered enough today to hopefully get back into training. Now we just have to eye up a new match on a new show and get things working from there.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

07/04/2022:

Strength:

Power clean/hang full clean/split jerk:
60kg x 2 x 2
70kg x 1
80kg x 1 x 2
85kg x 1 x 2

Squat:
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5 x 3

Bench:
40kg x 6
50kg x 6
60kg x 6 x 4

DB RDL:
20kg/hand x 10 x 3

Pull-ups:
BW x 8, 6, 6, 8 reps

Overall, better than I thought it might be, but worse than I'd like it to be. Belt is definitely a notch wider after the week of isolation beers and snacks as well, but haven't weighed myself yet. Fairly sure most of it's just bloat/water retention - a week of getting back into the cardio and meal prep should hopefully bring that back in line, but we'll see how it goes.

In fight news, I've already been offered a full Thai rules bout for end of May, against one of the most dangerous guys in the country at 70kg. It'd be a much harder welcome back than what I had lined up for next week (RIP) but could be a go. We'll just have to see how things go as I settle back into training and make sure the body's up to it. The dude's fighting in 2 weeks, on the same show as my guys, so I'll probably be able to see then how things look for me.

Edit: here's one of the rounds of hard sparring from a few weeks ago. I am, obviously, the smaller, shirted one.

Spoiler

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

Haven't updated, but I had done a few workouts here and there.

20/04/2022:

Strength:

Full clean/front squat/jerk:
60kg x 2 x 2
70kg x 1
80kg x 1
85kg x 1 x 3

Squat:
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 4 x 2
110kg x 3 x 3

Bench:
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 6
65kg x 5 x 2
70kg x 3 x 3
Each set superset 10 reps of band rear delt pull-aparts

Not a bad session. I injured my left heel and left elbow a couple of weeks ago - yet to get an x-ray for either. Fairly certain heel is just bone bruising, but left elbow has much more painful and specific niggles. Fine for cleans. During bench, a little tenderness. After showering and changing, picked my bag up on the way out of the gym and had to put it down due to pain. It's very sensitive to any touch at all still, and a very sharp pain during flexion most of the time, especially when raising my arm up forward. We'll see what it winds up being, but it means my actual Muay Thai training has been really reduced for the moment.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

28/04/2022:

Muay Thai:

Jumped into the kick start class tonight with Jackie, who fought on Friday just been. Warmed up, and then into a couple of easy drills working on blocking punches, and evading low kicks. Pad combinations next, first one being jab, low kick, block the cross counter, evade the low kick, then come back with right cross and right kick. A couple other combinations, then some power drills for a minute each. First one was left body shot, left hook, right kick. Second one was cross, hook, cross, switch left kick. Finished with some ab work, and a few push-ups.
Nice to actually do a class, especially with some of the beginner students- they said they found it motivating to be doing the same work as us. Good way to test the body out post covid as well. Surprisingly, the lungs weren't too bad - I did have a headache at the end of the session though, but I don't feel worried about that. Good session to start back into things with.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

04/05/2022:

Dragged my ass out of bed to actually hit an early workout this morning. Ugh.

Strength:

Bench:
Bar x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 6 x 4

Squat:
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5 x 5

Chin-up:
BW x 8, 7, 6, 7 reps

Small bit of work, but it's something. Decided against making coffee before gym and to just get a can of pre-workout from the vending machine there. Arrived and found the vending machine was out of order. Tired, uncaffeinated workouts are no bueno. Still sleepy now.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

Oh, look, I'm bumping my log to keep it on the front page still.

21/05/2022:

Strength:

Warmed up with shoulder warm-up/rehab work.

Squat:
Bar x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 6
100kg x 6 x 3

DB bench:
24kg x 8
28kg x 8 x 3

DB RDL:
28kg x 8
30kg x 8 x 3

Chin-ups:
BW x 8, 7, 7, 6 reps

Superset:
Inverted rows x 20
Push-ups x 20
Repeat for 2 sets



23/05/2022:

Muay Thai:

Dragged myself into the gym after work. Warmed up a little with some bag work for a while, stretching out the DOMS from Saturday. We warmed up with a couple of games starting from long guard with hands touching and trying to land a shot either to shoulders/top of chest first, or a bodyshot, one minute plank after each round. Padwork tonight was first round doing a cross, left kick, check, cross, left kick, left knee. Second round was a jab, right kick, check, cross, double left kick. Each round had a burnout combo at the end for 10 reps - 1-2-double left after first round, 1-2-3-double right kick after second. Third combo we did was a 1-2 to draw the guard, frame off the guard and step across to the outside, pull the guard open, cross, left double kick. Finished that round with 10 reps each leg of kicks and knees. Last bit of class was working on landing knees from long guard. Slowed things down here to show my partner a lot more detail on how to set knees up and how to control someone's guard.



I'm still waiting on the full report from my ultrasound on my left elbow - it looks like I managed to tear the ligaments in there pretty badly when I had my fall a few weeks ago, which means now I have some olecranon bursitis going on, as well as a couple of chips floating around in there, likely to be calcifications from a haematoma which occured. Still need to get myself off for an X-ray, as there is a possibility I did fracture it.

We'll see what the diagnosis is properly once it comes through. Fingers crossed all it needs is time, and I can keep working on getting fitter and stronger in the meantime. I've been offered a professional fight at the end of July against one of the more technically skilled guys that's come out of the NZ Muay Thai scene over the past decade. I can't be the more technical or beautiful fighter if I go in against him, my best shot of winning is going in as a pressure and clinch fighter, which means my strength and fitness both need to be entirely on point. Fingers crossed.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

24/05/2022:

Pretending to make this a habit again or something.

Strength:

Paused deadlift:
60kg x 6
100kg x 4
120kg x 3 x 2
135kg x 3 x 3

Military press:
Bar x 10
30kg x 8
40kg x 6
45kg x 6 x 4

Pull-ups:
BW x 8, 7, 5 reps

Just a small bit of work to start the morning. It's something. Overall, didn't feel too bad.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

25/05/2022:

Conditioning:

LISS, fasted, AM. 6.1km, 37:03 total. Average split pace 6:05/km. Easy first run back. No HR data. Definitely noticing how hard it is for the lungs to work still, even without any asthmatic wheeziness.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

26/05/2022:

Strength:

Deadlift:
50kg x 5
90kg x 5
120kg x 4
140kg x 3
160kg x 3 x 2

Seated DB press:
18kg x 8
22kg x 8 x 3

Standing low cable row:
27.5kg x 10
35kg x 10 x 3

DB Bulgarian split squat:
30kg x 8/leg x 3

Woke up at 4:30 to go help my friend learn to lift. 4:30 is a yucky wake-up, big time.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

Everything's been put on hold this week as I transition to a new job, as well as have my partner help move in with me before we leave for a holiday on Sunday. So, there's something there.

 

[MilkManUK]

What's the job?

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

What's the job?

Working in the refrigeration industry, for a trade supplier for commercial and industrial refrigeration. Basically, I sell componentry and capital equipment to refrigeration engineers, as well as help them with matching up the right equipment for the right job. It's not bad work, and is nice having an essential job that won't be affected by shutdowns, etc.

Belated log update:

04/06/2022:

Strength:

Depth jump + broad jump:
3 reps x 5 sets, 20" box

Power snatch:
40kg x 3 x 2
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
60kg x 2 x 3

Double KB front rack step-up:
16kg/hand x 6/leg x 3, 20" box

Pull-ups:
BW x 9, 8, 7, 8 reps

Barbell sit-ups:
20kg x 10 x 3

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

09/06/2022:

Muay Thai:

Warmed up with a few bits of mobility and dynamic stretching. Just jumped in the beginner's class tonight, as that was all that I had the time (and lungs) for. First few rounds were some easy intro-type freestyle pads- first round boxing only, second round kicks and teeps, third round knees and elbows. Finished these rounds with a quick power drill. From there, we spent a few rounds just working on right high kick, then left high kick, then right low kick, then left low kick to rear leg. After that, a long-ish combo for a few minutes; lead hook-cross-chop-cross-rear uppercut-left kick-cross-right high kick. Finished the hour with 3 minutes of alternating 30 seconds of running knees on the bag and 30 seconds of swiss ball push-ups, then a minute of sit-ups, then a one-minute plank. Easy session back in, and the dude I worked with was grateful for a lot of the tips I gave him on both his technique and his padholding.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

11/06/2022:

Strength:

Squats:
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
95kg x 4
105kg x 4 x 2
115kg x 3 x 3

Bench:
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 5 x 2
67.5kg x 4 x 4



Boxing:

Went along for open sparring at a boxing gym today. Brought one of my students along with me, as he needs to learn how to keep chin down and hands up before his next fight. Warmed up with a bit of shadow, then sparred for about 45 minutes. No set structure, just 3-minute rounds, tap someone for a round or two if they seemed free. Best boxer I worked with was a 15-year old who has had 3 fights so far. Big boy- 6ft tall, 78kg, and athletic. Definitely good to work on my own hands, and to have the knowledge that my elbow can handle sparring again. Good session.

 

[teepsandbarleywine]

13/06/2022:

Muay Thai:

Sparring tonight. Warmed up with 2 rounds of one person attacking and one person only defending, then 2 rounds of only one person kicking and one person boxing. From there, into shark tank rounds - 3-minute rounds, rotate to a fresh partner every 15 seconds. Ran through 6 rounds/until everyone in the group had been in the centre. From there, clinching, 3-minute rounds again. Had some good rounds with a couple of our guys. Finished the session with 150 knees, 150 teeps, and 150 kicks. For the kicks, I did a set of 50 right, 50 left, 25 right, 25 left. Absolutely shattered by the end. Good to be finally back in and working though.