I'm getting fat, help me!

[KungFuGuy!]

I've been doing MA for the greater part of the last 10 years. About 8 months ago, I quit my TKD place of 9 years to join a kung fu school that later revealed itself to be fraudulant. Since then, I've been looking for another school. I was in contact with a man who was planning on opening a JKD place, but he has not returned my attempts at contacting him so I assume the idea fel through. There is no other non mcdojo places in my area.
Now when I wake up at 5:30 for my run I can't help but sit there and think "why?" for a couple minutes, then just go back to sleep. My metabolism causes me to gain weight very easily and quickly, so this period of laziness is definately hurting me. Hockey is helping, but that's only a couple times a week.
I'm just having trouble getting the motivation to train my body. I was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar predicament, and how to gain back some motivation until I can move somewhere that offers good MA. Maybe I should buy some tae bo :D

[PHILBERT]

First, try http://www.yellowpages.com and try to find a school in your area. I found some on there I didnt know existed.

Next, jog. Screw sleep, jog.

Last, need motivation? Think about it. Is there a hot girl you want to impress? I don't mean like 50 hot girls, I mean just ONE. Think about how if you work out, jog, stay in shape, etc and get bigger, you can show it off.

Thats my motivation. That and something else. But thats a secret that fuels hate into my workout and causes me to last longer.

[NPMantis]

Dear Kung Fu Guy,

I've got two recommendations for you. The first is why not just practice your TKD at home? What I (try to!) do is spent an hour or so practicing at least once a week. If you set aside an hour twice a week, do a quick warmup (inc. crunches, situps, etc.) then stretch, run through some techniques, do 10 of every kind of punch and kick you know and then go for a run. It makes it much more interesting and you won't lose your flexibility or skills.

However, if you really are struggling for motivation, then join a gym (if you haven't already), seeing everyone else work out is such a motivator, it'll be hard for the first few weeks until you get into the swing of it but then you'll be fine.

Hope this have given you some ideas,

take care,

Mantis

[DelicateSound]

Originally posted by PHILBERT
That and something else. But that's a secret that fuels hate into my workout and causes me to last longer.

Ah, so someone else has also got their local printing company to print Osama Bin Laden onto a canvas bag? I thought I was the only one.

KungFuGuy! - I have the same problem. You wake up and you bed is so comfy, your joints so creaky that you just lie there trying to stay awake, until finaly your eyes shut and you drop.

Either:

A) Sleep on the kitchen floor. Seriously.
B) Have a coffee machine next to your bed.

or:

C) What I do - have EVERYTHING layed out the night before. Trainers and fleece ready, MiniDisc set up for "The Colour and the Shape", Combat Mag to read to open my eyes, water ready for pre-jog drink..........


It works. I get up, run, then sprint back home for some brekkie! :D

[PHILBERT]

DelicateSound, thats a good idea about the Bin Laden thing, but thats not it. What I think of is something that I can reach without going out to some other country to do it.

[tri2bmt]

The color and the shape?
Christ! That foo foo sh it would make me suicidal. YOu need something like the Korn self titled or antichrist superstar or early sabbath.

[stubbs]

take up rock climbing!!! i stopped going to my kung fu lessons about a month before christmas, i spent roughly a month and a half doing bugger all, then i started running again and soon got bored of that. one of my friends took me rock climbing and since then i've lost weight and toned up. when i was doing kungfu i was about 13stone, now i weigh about 11stone! my body weight to strength ratio has improved and muscle defintion is brilliant now, i think it's because of the way you're using your muscles that increase the definition, you'll definately find it challenging and for me personaly my finger stength was one of the biggest things that improved, i know that you may not consider finger strength important but as soon as you start climbing the rocks you'll see they're importance and realise how weak the were before.

give it a go. it's great fun, very challenging, and when you reach the top it can be extremely rewarding.

stubbs.
________
Honda Capa History (http://www.honda-wiki.org/wiki/Honda_Capa)

[KungFuGuy!]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
There is no gym within a reasonable distance from me, and I don't own a working car :( I've been riding my bike to work lately since the snow and cold weather has stopped, but that will stop once I can afford to fix my car. It's a good 15 minute ride and a lot of it is uphill and downhill, so it's a good workout both ways. I just hope I'll hear from the JKD guy soon before I start driving again.
I don't want to practice TKD, I don't like it anymore.

[sunkuen]

Pardon my ignorance stubbs, what is 13stone say in pounds? What is one stone?:confused:

[greyseal]

Hey.
Lift some weights. It's much better at burning fat than running. Lean muscle mass burns fat even when you're inactive, aerobic activity doesn't have the same advantages.

[KungFuGuy!]

Yeah, I'm going to begin weight training shortly. There is a new gym opening nearby. The only weights I have access to now is the death trap that my friend's father calls a weight room. Looks more like a museum of ancient history to me. I can do anything if I have motivation, I just hope I can get one of my lazy friends to join the gym with me.
Are you serious that weight training burns fat quicker than cardio? That's a shocker.
There's still the matter of finding a good kung fu place. Maybe I'll just give up on my kung fu ambition for now and settle for kickboxing/bjj.
Why isn't san shou more popular? It's proven to be at least as effective as muay thai, if not more, yet it's so rare.

[Serpent]

14 pounds to a stone. I think!

Therefore, 13 stone would be 182lbs. Which is 82.7 kilos.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

As for burning fat, buy a bicycle. Too much running can screw your knees and ankles. Bicycles are zero impact, extreme cardio exercise. And the added bonus? They make your legs stronger, which is great for all MA's.

[NPMantis]

Hey KungFuGuy,

Weight lifting is good for losing fat as it increases your metabolism for a longer period of time than cardiovascular exercise after training (up to 48 hours as opposed to 30 mins).

[danny from miami]

riding bike will limit ur range of motion..itll kill ur flexibility

[KungFuGuy!]

Not if I keep stretching everyday I don't think it will ruin my flexibility.
Heh, it seems whenever someone suggests an exercise, someone else says it sucks :D

[greyseal]

KFG,
Weightlifting is far better for fat loss because by doing it, you will increass lean muscle mass--you don't have to become like Arnold Shwarzenneger for this--and that burns fat all the time. Aerobic activity, such as running and bicycling are good for your heart, but if you have ever seen runners(the majority I think)that run all of the time, they don't look like they are in shape, thin yes, but in shape, no. Running and bicycling utilize lower body muscles, and give no workout to the rest of the body--not good. Think Yin and Yang, you need balance to maintain health.
If you lift weights, just start out slowly and with light weight, eventually, when you decide to continue, if you do, you can increase the amount.
Peace. ;)

[Budokan]

Here's how to lose weight:

STOP EATING YOU FAT F*CK!

Hope this helps in some small measure....:)

[yu shan]

First of all you waisted your time with a bs style tkd. Where are you? I suggest you find a good Kung Fu teacher in your area.
Watch your diet, you post your 18 years old, that`s young. I must say, you cannot train yourself, everyone needs the brotherhood an association of fellow Kung Fu brothers, and mostly a Shr Fu!

[KungFuGuy!]

Good advice budokan, luckily I still eat well.
And yu, tkd was fun for when I was a kid. I liked the point sparring and big fancy spin kicks like in the movies. It wasn't a waste of time, I enjoyed it.
I really would like to find a good place, unfortunately there is none around me.
Good news though, I talked to the JKD guy again. They've been busy with a seminar that is coming to town soon. I'll be starting training with them shortly. I just hope I like it :D

[ewallace]

KFG

Who's the instructor?

Is it JKD concepts or a traditional Jun Fan (if you believe in such a thing) instructor?

[Kempo Guy]

KungFuGuy!,
If you're looking at losing some weight but also increase your functional strength, I'd suggest checking into lifting the "Russian Kettlebell". Pavel Tsatsouline preaches this form of excercise and has a video & book called the "Russian Kettlebell Challenge". It can be done using dumbells, although if you can afford it I'd suggest getting a Kettlebell.

It's a nasty workout! :D I seriously encourage anyone looking to increase strength and cardio for martial arts to at least take a look. You can find more info at dragondoor.com.

I've been doing it for a couple of months now and have lost probably about 15 lbs of fat and gained about 5 lbs in muscles.

Anyway, just a thought...

KG

[TaoBoy]

Okay peoples,

The best way to lose fat is to exercise and eat properly. No surprises there.

Best exercises - light-med cardio. Get your heart pumpin' at about 70-75% of max rate. This burns fat. Any higher - you are improving you cardio fitness.

Weight training will tone your muscles but you won't lose body fat.

If you don't like training in the morning, train in the late afternoon. Any training is better than none. And the time is not as important as actually *doing* it!

As for food, limited processed sugars and saturated fats.

Enough from me...

:D

[popsider]

Originally posted by TaoBoy
Okay peoples,

The best way to lose fat is to exercise and eat properly. No surprises there.

Best exercises - light-med cardio. Get your heart pumpin' at about 70-75% of max rate. This burns fat. Any higher - you are improving you cardio fitness.

Weight training will tone your muscles but you won't lose body fat.:D

You burn a higher percentage of fat exercising at that rate - but exercising more intensely still burns more fat in a give time - because you are burning so many more calories in total it doesn't matter that a lower percentage is fat.

Depends if you are time limited - if you are go as intense as you can for the period of time you have.

I agree that weight training is not a good way to lose fat. I know the theory but I look at people that do predominantly weights and those that do predominantly cardio stuff and guess who tend to carry most weight?

If you don't enjoy anything you wont stick it though.

Tom

[Mr.Sleazy]

JKD will be pretty cook KFGuy! if you like that go with it. You also mentioned that there was a muaythai/bjj school there, why don't you check it out sometime too? I know your situation moving on from TempleKF. Muaythai/bjj is about as far away from the TKF style as you could get, and will definitely be a good workout. I started in a muaythai school after quitting the TempleKungFools and am real happy with it. I would love sometime to get one of the TempleFools in the ring... then they could try their stupid "hands at chamber block the predictable thrust punch stuff" on me before I grab their head in the clinch and throw the knees.... I also went to check out a JKD school, I liked that one too but the classes were very crowded (no room!) so I went to the muaythai school.

Everyone above had great ideas, I don't know much about weights/cardio training, I always thought the best way to train was to do the sport/activity that you like, and for you that seems to be MA.

Last, stubbs had an awesome suggestion, I started rock climbing years ago in your area (Hamilton), the escarpment is pretty cool for the sport (rattlesnake point and mt. nemo are best) and climbing season is starting soon. There are lots of rock climbing intro courses available in your area, plus some clubs. You will get fingers and forearms of steel. Good for trapping in JKD. Cross-training rock-climbing will also help you with confronting fear - it can be pretty scary sometimes.

Good luck!

[KungFuGuy!]

Heh, that bjj/mt thing was just a joke on Wushuchick, who absolutely hates those two martial arts. Just trying to get her p!ssed off, it's fun :D
I'm doing ok now. I've got my motivation back, killing myself with excercise everyday like I used to. I'm starting JKD soon, and am also starting tai chi this monday :D

[GOLDEN ARMOR]

No way weight training makes u lose fat more than running & riding the bike. If u want to lose fat & gain muscle at the same time u need to do both weights & cardio but it will all be a waste of time if u don't eat the right foods. Especially if ur got a slow metabolism u need to eat right, lots of protein fish, chicken breast, tuna, fruit, egg whites, etc... Lots of water & u have to eat at the right times, most important is breakfast,fruit or protein shake or both in between breakfast & lunch, lunch & dinner. Try not to eat after 7:30 if u are hungry eat fruit or have a protein shake. Yeh i think rock climbing will help ur kung fu a lot, it will give ur upper body a lot of strength & ur fingers which will benifit ur chin na & other tech's like tiger claw, panther/leopard fist & a lot of punching power & help u get muscle but the good thing is it wont beef u up, ur body will cut up & muscles like hard rocks. So if u want to lose the fat & gain muscle train hard in ur martial arts, hit the weights, cardio (running,bike), & don't forget to eat right & lots of water, & maybe u can go rock climbing on the weekends. It wont happen overnight but stick with it & u should see some progress in a few months. A good M. art for cutting up, loseing fat & getting all over muscle is Hung Gar & it's a very effective style. If nothing works the way u want it to there is always steroids
;)