The Road to One Thousand (Strength, Muay Thai)

NurseKnuckles said:
You entering the FS comp?
Click to expand...

Yep, that's why I did some front squats. I'm not sure if I even did a single on in 2011 so I figure I can fit some in this year.

Wed July 4, 2012

Muay Thai Sparring

warm-up started with skipping, jumping jacks, skiers, high knees etc for a few rounds then we moved on to 2 minute rounds with 10 seconds rest in the middle supersetting two exercises. I was drenched in sweat by the end, the A/C was keeping the gym fairly cool but it was still humid.

The fight team along with our head trainers left this morning for fights in Iowa so today was a small group. We hit the bags while one person worked in the ring with Ryan, one of the assistant trainers.

After that we did some light clinch work in the ring. The guy I was working with didn't know much outside the double neck tie so I tried to show him some neck/elbow stuff. We also practiced using the body lock and avoiding the body lock.

Next we geared up and did Muay Thai sparring in the ring, two minute rounds rotating through everyone. Finished with conditioning, 120 Thai situps, 60 push-ups, 30 chins, and stretching.

Since it was a smaller group I got a bit more feedback. I'm much better at staying relaxed and not shelling up but now I need to work on making my defense (specifically parries) quicker and more compact. I have a habit of reach for parries which leaves me open for a feint and a hook. I also got told that I have a predictable rhythm so I need to change it up, add in some quicker shots, the occasional pause, and more feints.
 
I am seriously considering getting back into KBing. I miss it terribly. I gave MMA a go, but the calsses were too inconsistent and what I really wanted was th JJ part and not necessarily the brute, chest pounding bull-shit that can come with "fighting." Also, my coach left for the CF gym and I am not too keen on paying yet another gym their crazy inflated prices...
 
Thurs July 5, 2012

C2 rower + dynamic stretching, foam rolling, DCSW

- Bench
45x10
75x6
95x4
115x2
135x1
150x5
150x5
150x5
push-ups x15 (a guy wanted the bench so I did push-ups instead of my back-off set)

Pretty easy. I got video of all 3 sets of 150. The biggest thing I noticed is that when I setup my left shoulder blade isn't fully retracted so the bar is crooked. I used to do this years ago and now it's back again. I also have no leg drive but I knew that. Otherwise I think they looked okay, I'll post them later along with some food porn I have on my camera.

- Facepulls: 3x20. I'm feeling pretty worn out right now so the idea of heavy DB rows wasn't appealing. I'll do them tomorrow after deadlifts which might be worse but hopefully I get more sleep tonight.
 
Fri July 6, 2012

C2 rower + dynamic stretching

- Deadlifts
45x10
135x5
185x3
185x3
225x2
265x1
305x1
335x1x10 (singles)

These felt better than last week. I think my issue is that I had my toes pointed forward too much. I pointed them out more and it feels much better, more like when I squat. Unsurprisingly my leg drive off the ground was better today too.

- DB Rows
50x10
100x13

Didn't have much time so I just did one set, Kroc style. Was hoping for 15 but 13 ain't bad. It's freakin' hot today, I need a cold glass of water and a cold mug of beer.
 
squatsquatsquat said:
Imagine working out in a garage today!

Deadlifts are looking strong, btw.
Click to expand...

Yeah your garage must have been unbearable. My deadlifts are feeling good again, thanks. I know some people are able to do well only deadlifting every now and then but I still benefit from doing them weekly.

In other news, since the weekend of June 23 I've been pretty much eating, drinking, and smoking too much crap so my weight is back up to 214 (+4 lb from the end of May). I'm gonna buckle down until the weekend of Aug 9-12 when I go camping since that weekend will be full of drinking, junk food, and general debauchery :icon_twis
 
DrBdan said:
Yeah your garage must have been unbearable. My deadlifts are feeling good again, thanks. I know some people are able to do well only deadlifting every now and then but I still benefit from doing them weekly.
Click to expand...

It's actually not that bad once you get used to it. I just end up going through a lot of water. I kinda like working out in the heat because my joints feel very warm.
 
Sun July 8, 2012

Hockey
Crazy game last night. We were playing the first place team who are usually a rough team but we out-gooned them. We had 24 PIM and one game ejection. It was a close game and the other team had a lot of powerplay chances because of our undisciplined play but our goalie played really well and kept us in it.

It was tied 2-2 early in the third period and we scored 2 quick goals to go up 4-2. However we then proceeded to take a bunch of penalties and spent the next half of the period shorthanded. They scored two quick goals of their own (on the powerplay of course) with about 3 minutes left to tie the game but we quickly answered back to make it 5-4 with about 2 minutes left. After that we managed to hold on for the win.

Personally I had a decent game. I didn't have any good scoring chances but I played well defensively, won most of the my face-offs, and managed to get 2 assists and a 2 minute penalty for body contact. There was a scramble for a loose puck at our blueline and I laid their defenseman out. I figured if I couldn't hit the puck I'd hit their player, lol. It was a sweet hit.
 
DrBdan said:
Sun July 8, 2012

Hockey
Crazy game last night. We were playing the first place team who are usually a rough team but we out-gooned them. We had 24 PIM and one game ejection. It was a close game and the other team had a lot of powerplay chances because of our undisciplined play but our goalie played really well and kept us in it.

It was tied 2-2 early in the third period and we scored 2 quick goals to go up 4-2. However we then proceeded to take a bunch of penalties and spent the next half of the period shorthanded. They scored two quick goals of their own (on the powerplay of course) with about 3 minutes left to tie the game but we quickly answered back to make it 5-4 with about 2 minutes left. After that we managed to hold on for the win.

Personally I had a decent game. I didn't have any good scoring chances but I played well defensively, won most of the my face-offs, and managed to get 2 assists and a 2 minute penalty for body contact. There was a scramble for a loose puck at our blueline and I laid their defenseman out. I figured if I couldn't hit the puck I'd hit their player, lol. It was a sweet hit.
Click to expand...

Are you playing in a contact men's league?
That's balls!
 
DrBdan said:
Sun July 8, 2012

Hockey
Crazy game last night. We were playing the first place team who are usually a rough team but we out-gooned them. We had 24 PIM and one game ejection. It was a close game and the other team had a lot of powerplay chances because of our undisciplined play but our goalie played really well and kept us in it.

It was tied 2-2 early in the third period and we scored 2 quick goals to go up 4-2. However we then proceeded to take a bunch of penalties and spent the next half of the period shorthanded. They scored two quick goals of their own (on the powerplay of course) with about 3 minutes left to tie the game but we quickly answered back to make it 5-4 with about 2 minutes left. After that we managed to hold on for the win.

Personally I had a decent game. I didn't have any good scoring chances but I played well defensively, won most of the my face-offs, and managed to get 2 assists and a 2 minute penalty for body contact. There was a scramble for a loose puck at our blueline and I laid their defenseman out. I figured if I couldn't hit the puck I'd hit their player, lol. It was a sweet hit.
Click to expand...

Nice. Sounds like a fun game.
 
DrBdan said:
No it's non-contact hence why I got a penalty for laying the guy out :icon_twis
Click to expand...

Nice!

Ours games are Sunday morning so its normally pretty tame. There are a few guys who still think they're going to the big show. We had one weekend where instead of Sunday morning it was Sunday evening. This was not a very good showing as most guys were watching football all day drinking beers so the games got kinda out of hand... Fun though...:icon_chee
 
I was up too late on Sunday and didn't eat very well yesterday so I skipped Muay Thai. I realized late in the afternoon that I hadn't had any coffee all day so that might have affected me.

Tues July 10, 2012

C2 rower + dynamic stretching

- Squats
45x8
95x5
135x3
175x2
210x1
240x5
240x5
240x5

Took video of the 3 work sets. I have some mild GM'ing and some mild lumbar rounding. I think the lumbar rounding can be fixed by not going quite as deep. To fix the GM'ing I'm going to try looking up more and driving my head back into the bar. I used to find that looking forward/down helped with hip drive (ala Rippetoe's cues) but today it felt like it was causing GM'ing.

- GMs
95x8
95x8
100x8

Took video of the first two sets. I think they look okay but I'll post them for critique just in case. I also have bench video from last week so I'll post that too.
 
Moving pictures! such wizardry!

Bench - As I mentioned before my left shoulder blade isn't full retracted so the bar is crooked. Any other advice is welcome of course.


Squats - I get some lumbar rounding around parallel and I GM a bit on some of the later reps. Possibly related?


Good Mornings - I noticed my upper back rounds a bit right at the end of some of the reps. Any advice?
 
DrBdan said:
Moving pictures! such wizardry!

Bench - As I mentioned before my left shoulder blade isn't full retracted so the bar is crooked. Any other advice is welcome of course.


Squats - I get some lumbar rounding around parallel and I GM a bit on some of the later reps. Possibly related?


Good Mornings - I noticed my upper back rounds a bit right at the end of some of the reps. Any advice?
Click to expand...


Squats- lumbar rounding can be caused by a plethora of things; hip flexors, adductors, glutes, hamstrings. While sitting back try to have the idea that you're trying to get push your crotch towards your knees. This will create a APT effect as your hips keep your pelvis from rotating posteriorly.

Also regarding you hips and glutes; really push your hips forward hard and squeeze your ass as your near the top of your rom. Your quads and hamstrings appear to be doing the most work with minimal glute activation and minimal hip activation near the top.

Try to rotate your elbows forward in the hole. That will keep your upper back from rounding and allow you to keep lumbar extension more easily.

I don't know how to bench, sorry.
 
With the bench, your set-up needs to be tighter, and I would try moving your feet closer to your head. That said, the bench you're using seems really low, so I'm not sure how well you can do those things.
 
Tosa said:
With the bench, your set-up needs to be tighter, and I would try moving your feet closer to your head. That said, the bench you're using seems really low, so I'm not sure how well you can do those things.
Click to expand...

This was pretty much what I wanted to say. Getting your feet closer to your hips will improve overall tightness and leg drive, but damn your bench is close to the floor.

As for squats, something you could consider trying is getting your elbows under the bar. Helps me keep my entire back tight and rigid.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.

Yes the bench is pretty low. I've tried doing the feet under hips style but it doesn't really work because the bench is so low. In So You Think You Can Bench Tate talks about benching with your feet in front of you and trying to drive your feet through the front of your shoes. I've tried that with some success but lately not so much but more because I haven't been trying to do it.

Here are some videos of me trying to bench with my feet further back:

 
Wed July 11, 2012

Muay Thai Sparring

warm-up was the usual, blah blah.

To start we did a few rounds where on guy could use hands and the other legs. After that Edric taped an X on the ground and we took turns defending the X to practice controlling the ring. This involved a lot of teeps to maintain distance and control space so we took a break and practiced parrying and catching teeps.

After that we went into the ring and did a bunch of 2 minute rounds of sparring, rotating in and out of the ring. Next we did about 10 minutes of clinch work and finished with 100 Thai sit-ups, 60 push-ups and 20 chins plus some stretching.

I'm continuing to get better at staying relaxed and defending by things other than blocks. The consequence of this is that I'm free to counter more so I'm getting better at that. I sparred one guy that has a few inches on me and long, lanky arms which always messes me up. I'm used to fighting at distance but with him I need to try to fight inside more.

One other thing I'm working on is defending flurries better. I've been practicing a couple things. One is timing a counter e.g. they throw a flurry like jab, cross, hook, cross, jab, cross and I will try to time a left hook over their cross. I'm getting better at it and today I was able to block 4 or 5 shots and land a clean counter a few times. The other thing I continue to work on is circling out when flurried because I often have a habit of shelling up and standing still.

Overall today was a productive session. I was talking to one guy after class and he said Ajahn told him he should fight in our in-house fights in 2 months so probably end of September. He just started sparring (today was his 4th or 5th session) so he doesn't feel ready but I'm kinda interested. Starting the week of July 23 I will only be able to do one pad session and one sparring session each week but I'm thinking that after Labour Day I might try to go back to 3 times/week and maybe a fight in September is possible. I would want to get my weight down to under 200 for that, both for conditioning purposes and aesthetic reasons (I don't want to be the chubby guy).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,237,846
Messages
55,521,117
Members
174,808
Latest member
luciusaugustus

Share this page

Back
Top