Entry #66
Lifted for shoulders and abs. Focused on lifting with more
explosiveness, particularly on military press. Noticing definite
increase in size and width around my shoulders. At home I practiced in
the backyard. Only one round of boxing on the bag. Mostly did
side-kicks and I'm getting much better in both flexibility and speed. I
feel I can make these work next sparring match.
Afterwards I watched Predator on TV. You should, too.
Entry #65
Yesterday was leg day. Getting more stable with squats; raise the
weight next time. Afterwards played basketball with Coach and his
friend. Hah I felt like I had been in a fight, he tackled me so many
times.
Today was rest day but I practiced a bit on the punching bag. Wasn't
able to work on kicks due to sore legs. Went bare-knuckle today. Need
to condition my knuckles more. I also practiced punching a wall at
school in PE. Additionally everytime there's an open locker on the top
row in the locker rooms I side-kick it shut. The top row is well above
my head so I get great practice with this. Looks like PE is more useful
than I initially thought. Even though Renee makes fun of me for doing
it. But he won't be smirking when one day I kick his head off.
Next week I have to dress up as Bruce Lee for a book report. Found some cool icons so I'll post them here.
Entry #64
Felt sick today; sore throat and bad headache. Didn't affect lifting at
all. Form is better than ever. I also felt like I was lifting more
"explosively". Good workout for chest, tris, and abs. Actually, I hate
the phrase "workout". Whenever I picture a workout I get an image in my
head of those fruity TV guys bouncing up and down on a ball or
something. And "working out", what exactly are you doing? It sounds
like you're working out fat and trying to lose weight. What if I'm
trying to "work in" muscle and I'm not trying to lose anything? Those
corporate bastards.
Going to bed early tonight, 9:15, which is what time I should go
everynight. Gonna make 8 hours or more of sleep a priority from now on.
Scope out my blood-soaked gloves. Actually, that's red paint from
Halloween when George and I punched through a red wall. I'm
definitely not gonna wash these.
Entry #63
Instead of sparring George and I went running. Yeah, I'm disappointed
too. But it was a pretty good endurance test. Ran all the way up to
Lexington resevoir; in total about 4 miles of uphill running. Cardio is
definitely improving, even though I'm on a bulking phase and I've been
trying to run less. George tried to kill me by tackling me while we
were running across the bridge but I kicked him in the head.
Entry #62
Last two days have been recuperation. Resting in order to build the
muscle, and unfortunately also taking a break from striking practice.
Everytime I throw a punch my traps hurt (muscle right below the
shoulders on the back), so mostly I've just been doing kicks, which
also aren't my best because my hamstrings are very sore from deadlifts.
I guess resting is just a part of all of this.
Feel like going off-topic a little bit, since there's been little
training other than eating 8 meals a day. Today I got God of War for
PS2 and this awesome Clint Eastwood movie, High Plains Drifter. It's
about this guy Eastwood plays known as "Drifter". He goes into town and
kills everyone after getting harassed by some thugs, and then he
renames the town "Hell". So when George comes over tomorrow we're going
to watch that and play God of War before going out for the fight. Also,
watched a lot of Rocky today. They've been showing that on TV.
Cannot wait to go fighting.
Entry #61
Worked back and biceps today. Raised weight for deadlifts. Felt like my
spine was going to snap. Also practiced sidekicks but did not get a
chance at the punching bag. Tomorrow I'll be working on that. Been
putting in lots of kickwork these past two weeks. This weekend I'll
finally see if I can make them work in a real match.
At school we had an assembly about prom. Almost makes me feel sad
I'm not going. Almost. I'm thinking of having an all-night martial
arts session on it but everyone is already going, with their dates.
Fine you losers! :p
Fight this weekend.
Entry #60
Very intense shoulder routine at the gym after school. I found that
mental focus is more beneficial regards to lifting than I initially
thought. Was doing military press and I was only able to about 4 reps.
Got me mad and on the second set I pretended I was fighting, and each
rep was a punch. I completed 7 reps like that. Supersets at the
end were torture; could barely feel my shoulders.
After that I played basketball with this huge guy whom I call
Coach (he pretends he's my trainer) and Coach's friend, who's pretty
small. But they both have the age advantage over me (must be around
25). Playing against this guy is like fighting. He tackled me
500 times. In the middle of it I had to wait in the bathroom
because I was on the verge of puking. Been happening a lot after
lifting lately. At least I know I have good intensity level.
Going to check out Rey's Muay Thai school this weekend.
Entry #59
Boxing video from September - http://www.skippypodar.net/Movies/Xaero/Boxing-VSGeorge.MOV
I'm in grey, George is in black. I was pretty defensive until the end where I knocked him back.
Entry #58
Yesterday in the weightroom I did leg work. Squats are
amazing. Feels like your whole body is being torn apart as you struggle
to stand up with so much weight on your shoulders. Going to raise the
weight next time. Also raise the weight on leg presses to
600 pounds. Decided to nix lunges to keep the time shorter
and the intensity higher.
Break from lifting today. Practiced 3 minute rounds on punching bag.
Decided to use gloves at first so I could work more on proper form. I
got sloppy a few times and bent my wrist in the middle of a punch. Need
to work on that. Speed was excellent, though. Doing better job of
snapping back punches. Also practiced side-kicks. 10 consecutive kicks
on each side.
Didn't get to spar this weekend. But I did find a site for
hosting videos. Should have a recording of next week's fight.
I'm checking out http://www.wingchunmuaythai.com/ . Closest muay thai place around here.
Entry #57
Renee isn't in my PE class anymore, he's going for track. I would go
but I'd rather focus on weightlifting. Now PE is bad again. I liked the
competition. Hah we were actually comparing arm sizes in the locker
room one time. And then this skinny guy named Jason
would come in our row and go "Heyyy you guys how do I
make my chest big?" And Renee would tell him "Boys don't care
about your chest size, Jason, but I guess you can stuff your bra
and see how that works." Jason: "Aw c'mon guys, that's
not funny! Nyehh..." But it was.
No more off-topics, today I mixed a few things up in my chest/tricep
routine. Skipped super-sets because it didn't feel like they were
working my chest as much as they did my arms. Just felt like it was a
test of arm endurance and it didn't feel like I was lifting heavy
enough to fulfill my potential.
I'm looking for a muay thai school around here. I can't wait. I
promised George I'd teach him muay thai since he's taught me so much
tae kwon do.
Entry #56
Couldn't do heavy training due to injuries from Sunday. Want to make sure I can go full force tomorrow.
Did a mile in PE. Came out to be 6:25. Disappointing, but I have
been doing a bulking phase with little cardio. Additionally I still
have a swollen shin so I wasn't doing my best. Nevertheless once I
start cutting I will push my cardio through the roof. I'd expect a 5:00
mile run.
Can't apply pressure on left hand yet so I've been doing one-handed
push-ups with my good arm. Can only do 4. Haha these are really fun
though, I'll get better. My last attempt at regular push-ups came
to 50 so I've been improving.
Another fight this Saturday. Using shin guards this time. I'll try to get pictures or even a video for critique.
Entry #55
Fought very carelessly today. First round he nailed me dead in the
chest with a roundhouse, but he was left open and I countered with a
punch-combination. Landed three consecutive strikes on his side,
and then he turned his back mid-combo and that's where my last hit
landed. He did a back-kick right to my stomach AS I punched him in the
back of the head. Then we both collapsed. It was awesome.
Second round wasn't so awe-inspiring. I made the first move
and jabbed his midsection. That was the sloppiest jab I've
ever had the misfortune of executing. My thumb was sticking straight
out and I jammed it, and my wrist was loose. He pretty much won that
one.
Continued on and I realized my shin was completely dead from my
attempted high kicks. Had to rely on pure boxing attacks, which is
actually what I'm most comfortable with, but even that fell short
because my left hand was useless. Highlight was a hard side punch
that knocked him back a few feet. He responded with a side kick that
went all the way up and connected with the side of my head. I shrugged
it off but at the end I nearly passed out from the dull roar that was
in my skull. I scolded him for not managing to kick my head off my neck.
Sustained more injuries than last week. Need to learn how to protect
myself better. Just ran into attacks and took them full force. We both
got beat up, so all in all fair results. I will be working on
maintaining better technique on the punching bag so I don't embarass
myself with another punch like that.
Damage: shredded right forearm, bright red abs, most likely bruised skull cavity, stiff left hand, swollen shin. Not bad.
Entry #53
Legs were so sore I could barely walk up a flight of stairs at school. I take it that's a sign I need to train harder.
Lifted for lats and abs today. Add the shoulders to the list of
sore bodyparts along side chest, tris, and legs. Hopefully I'll include
biceps and back tomorrow and then I'm all set.
Fight on Sunday against George.
Entry #52
Legs are completely blasted. Never had such a sweaty workout with just
lifting. Essentially raised the weight on everything. It was kind of
funny, actually. I was stumbling around the gym like a drunk.
Tomorrow is all striking practice. Hopefully I can stand by then. Didn't get much of that accomplished today.
Entry #51
Have been off weight training for about a week. Was going to hold off
going until tomorrow due to the amount of work I had to do today but I
just couldn't go another day. It's like my muscles are addicted to
weight. It's an awesome feeling. So I had no choice but to
go. Apparently resting a long periods of rest encourages muscle
development but I can never shake the feeling that I'm slacking off
when I do that. At least it seemed to work today because my endurance
was much improved. Completed sets for chest, triceps, and abs.
Another fight this weekend against George. Can't wait.
Entry #50
George came over today and we played videogames at first. Tekken 5 made
us restless so afterwards we took a walk to Vasona Park. Talked about
our new movie we're making. Called "Death From Above". Those who have
seen our first film "Pow Pow Punishment" can expect better martial art
sequences.
Had a fight in the park. It was full-contact, but no headshots due
to zero protective gear (though maybe we shouldn't let a little thing
like that stop us next time). I actually managed to make my sidekicks
work. Highlight was him raising his knee and me sidekicking it
into his chest, then following up with a jab, jab and hook
punch combination while he was off-balance. Additionally I kept
hands closed and didn't block anything with my finger and get
it sprained like I did on Halloween. But I think I was far too
passive. I usually waited to counter one of his attacks; need to be
more offensive and aggressive. My defensive game was decent, though,
because his moves mostly didn't get through. What that means is that my
forearms took all of the beating, unfortunately. I also got hit in the
side by a kick. Very end I got lazy and my wrist bent while
doing a jab, and that stopped me for a second. He took advantage
of this and elbowed me in the chest. It was awesome.
Entry #49
Knuckles are red and bloody from the punching bag. Trying to get them
more conditioned. Went for a lot more rounds today. Practiced
combinations. Also focused on keeping my wrists straighter. I hurt my
hand the other day from being lazy with the wrist.
Ran to the high school and back in the rain. Cardio is improving.
Entry #48
Lots of work on the punching bag today. Practiced combintations rather
than just mindless punching, something that I get lazy with at times.
Also working on effective kicks which I've never really been able to
pull off in a match. Last time I fought George I attempted a few kicks
at the beginning but eventually just relied on boxing techniques; mine
were a joke. But he primarily used tae kwon do kicks, so
perhaps we can help each other out in our respective areas.
Need to focus on diet. Currently eating 8-9 times a day, but I
should increase the portion size on my afternoon meals. I should also
keep track of calories and aim for at least 4000 a day.
Entire body is sore from lifting yesterday and the day before. Great feeling, I say. Can't wait to hit the weights tomorrow.
