Tag: cardio

I did not fence last Thursday, but I felt my time was well spent with my friend.

I ran UWF fencing practice on Friday since Nik was out of town. I spent some time working with some newer students, and Tiny Nick! stepped in to introduce the new students to some drills. He’s shaping up into a good instructor.

On Saturday I had informal practice at my house with my students from UWF. We fenced until the sun went down and then had some “mus’ go soup” (made when you have a bunch of ingredients that “mus ‘go” in the soup)..

Nik came back Saturday night, and we had an SCA demo on Sunday. We had an informal tournament, and I feel like I did some good fighting even though I didn’t win the tournament. I saw good sportsmanship and good fencing from my students, and our bouts ran well even though people were sharing gear and trading weapons between rounds.

Last night Michael and I were back at it at Krav. I think we’re building our new core group. We have some people from before the break and a couple of new faces. I’m hopeful that we can keep the momentum going.

My biggest challenge right now is that one of my students has some trouble with coordination because of other medical issues. I’m working on figuring out the best way to adapt what we’re teaching to suit his needs.

After class, Michael and I ran through some ground work and a kick defense for P3 and worked on figuring out a schedule for ourselves. I think we’ll probably look at techniques after class and then work on conditioning at other times (either together or reporting back to each other). Last night I came home and used the medicine ball for some core work while I was watching TV. I did sit ups (wihout the ball), twists (with the ball), and ball drops (obviously with the ball). I need to inflate my yoga ball a bit more so that I can get off the floor and do some more dynamic stuff during TV time.

Tonight Nik and I are hitting the gym and then meeting up with some of our students to do some fencing (speaking of momentum). I’ll probably do some light weight lifting, but i need to do more cardio to get ready for CIC.

Last night’s trip to the gym went well. Nik was having chest & ab day, so I worked that circuit with him. I didn’t bench press partially because I wasn’t sure how my recently healed shoulder would like it and partially because I heard that the bench press can cause problems for healthy shoulders.

I tried to approach the workout like rehab, not like a workout: low weight, plenty of breaks, etc. It felt like someone was pinching my muscles – not enough to hurt, just enough to put pressure on. I iced the shoulder when I came home, and I feel pretty good today. I won’t be trying the chin-up bar anytime soon, but I definitely feel like I’m making progress.

I also worked on cardio. That will be a challenge for me at CIC. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical (with one bad earbud and more commercials than I’d like on my playlist). I’d like to try for 35 or 40 minutes in a week or so. I don’t have a particular goal or cap in mind. I just want to increase my endurance.

Tonight is fencing practice at UWF. Michael and I start teaching Krav next week, so this Wednesday will be my last one at fencing – I’ll be doing just Fridays again from now on.

I rested up and felt a bit better for the weekend.

First i assisted in a Krav seminar. The official instructors did the instructing, and I and some of my cohorts worked the room, helping people adjust form and answering questions. I committed to teaching P1 and P2 with my CIC partner. We start next week. I’m stoked and nervous – just like when I teach English.

After that I hit the road. Nik and I visited our friends in Castlemere/Jacksonville for fencing practice (shout out to Zhao for following my adventures!). I fenced a few rounds and made some new friends. I tried not to over-exert myself and had a great afternoon. 

When we got back to Pensacola, we rested a bit and then went to UWF practice. I did much more fencing (but still took breaks). I’m still standing, so I feel pretty good and think I may finally be over this cold.

Tonight after work Nik and I are hitting the gym. I’m not sure what I’m going to try to do (light weightlifting? incorporating running? finally trying the rock wall?), but I’m definitely ready to get back to being active.

Since everyone in my Krav class has tested to one level or another and we have less than a month of classes ahead of us, the next six classes will be “play” classes.

Last night we did some relays involving carrying heavy punching bags (indoors) and then went into the alley to do some scenarios that were kind of a hybrid of flag football and capture the flag. It was a hell of a workout and generally a good time. I may have pushed a little harder than I should have, so I iced my shoulder when I came home.

I’m gearing up for Magna Faire this weekend. I’ve barely fenced since Serfo. I’ve been ill or in a slump so much since then, and I’m hoping that being around my friends will help me get some of my enthusiasm back. I want to want to fence. Does that make sense? I go to fencing, and I think I want to fence, but I get there, and I just can’t give my best fight. I’m hoping that a couple days of rest will get me back to myself on Saturday.

On Tuesday, I went to yoga after work and hit the pool after class. I ended up swimming only 15 minutes, though, because I was worried about bleeding hair color all over the pool. Few things are more embarrassing than making your workout space look like a scene from Jaws. Nik has begun his quest to fence every day, so that’s what he was up to while I was at class and at the pool.

Wednesday night was Krav night. We did more P1 review. During P3 class, I asked some questions I had about kicks. I’ll be meeting up with The Ladies to work on groundwork over the weekend.

Last night after work I met Nik and some of the UWF fencers at the gym, and I worked primarily on long sword. I’m picking it up fairly quickly – I’m far from the best, but I’m doing good things. After fencing, Nik and I took a quick run because I still needed some cardio. My mile is down to 9 minutes. Last night was Nik’s Day 5 of #fencingeverydamnday.

Today after work I’m going to use the elliptical to get my heart rate up, come home, rest (probably have a snack), and head to UWF fencing practice. Tonight will be my Day 3 of #fightingeverydamnday.

If it sounds like a lot of activity, it is. Nik is training for a big tournament, and I’m training for that tournament while simultaneously preparing myself for CIC 1.

In the midst of all of this, I lost a pound and a half last week. I’m down 5 lbs total since I started tracking. I also recommended that Nik start tracking to make sure he’s getting enough calories for his amount of activity.

Krav was rewarding but brutal today. I think my attempts to improve my running have only fatigued me and tightened my legs up so far. In addition to fighting and yoga, I spent some time on the elliptical twice last week. I guess I need to slow down or do something else for cardio. I’m also going to add more rigorous stretching no matter what I do. I always stretch before activity. Apparently I’m not doing enough.

As always, if anyone out there knows good stretches for the quadriceps, I’m open to suggestions. My calves could probably use some love too.