Red's BLOG!!!!!!!

[red5angel]

Since all you crazy guys are starting blog I figured I might as well too. There's some good suggestions and advice going around as well so it might help me out.


Here are my goals: My core is weak, always has been and that's a detriment to Capoeira with all the acrobatics I'm doing. Cap has certainly helped but I need some more work.
I want to drop some weight. At the moment I'm 190lbs, would like to get down to about 175 by July. The only dieting plan I'm working on is changing my overall eating habits and moving to healthier eating, I will probably slightly cut some calories here and there but for the most part I'm working on life changes, ong term stuff.
Chief Fox and I discussed being able to do the side straddle splits in a year, that was 2 months ago so I have 10 months left.
Since Winter started I've slacked off quite a bit as well so just got back into hitting it hard yeaterday.

Other then that I'm working on overall strength and maintenance.

I won't be supplementing except for a daily vitamin. I don't think they're necessary, especially for my goals.

As for equipment I own:

I have dumbbells with a max weight on one being 55 lbs.

I have a long bar but it doesn't fit on my bench.

I have a weight machine that I can do seated flies, leg work, pull downs, rows, a couple of others.

We own a Nordic Track that I use for cardio in the winter.

A bowling ball for various things a swell.

I also have a pullup bar in the shape of an old clothes line in the backyard and I do dips on the deck.

[red5angel]

Starting with my workout from last night. I've been out of action for almost a month here so I consider that my new starting point.

30 minutes on the NT. To break up the monotony of indoor cardio I jump off about every 5 minutes and do about 30 pushups.

10 minutes of stretching afterwards.



This morning I did:

100 Hindu Squats

80 Bootstrappers

50 lunges - no weights

90 calf raises - sets of 30 alternating speeds in each direction.

10 minutes of stretching


Tonight:

30 minutes on the NT

75 Bombers

40 one arm pushups - we do these in capoeira. You squat down on one foot, the other leg out in front of you. On the side with the leg out, you put your hand down and twist your torso roughly 90 degrees to your legs, lean over and do one armed pushups. I do them in sets of 10 now. Hoping to buld up form there.

probably some handstand pushups, 30 or so.

[Chief Fox]

How's that split training going? I can almost do the front splits now and my side split is getting better.

glad you're getting back into the workout thing. keep it going.

[Toby]

Originally posted by red5angel
My core is weak ... I have dumbbells with a max weight on one being 55 lbs.

Google "bent press", "windmills" and similar. 55lb is more than enough to do some nice effective lifts with those sorts of exercises.

[Fitdoc]

Chief and Red,

I began training one month ago (northern shaolin) and i too would like to increase my leg flexibility. I am a competitive bodybuilder, so my lower extremity flexibility is probably not as good as most. What type of training program are you employing in order to meet your side straddle splits goal?

[Chief Fox]

Originally posted by Fitdoc
Chief and Red,

I began training one month ago (northern shaolin) and i too would like to increase my leg flexibility. I am a competitive bodybuilder, so my lower extremity flexibility is probably not as good as most. What type of training program are you employing in order to meet your side straddle splits goal?

Here's a LINK to the thread. Feel free to join in. I missed my time line but I've noticed that Tai Chi has been increasing my flexibility.

[rubthebuddha]

red -- IM me next time you see me on msn. i'll have a present for you, and this time, it won't be nekkid pictures of rick moranis.

[red5angel]

Originally posted by rubthebuddha
red -- IM me next time you see me on msn. i'll have a present for you, and this time, it won't be nekkid pictures of rick moranis.

ah thank god, I'm stil trying to drink those images into oblivion!

Chief - I'm getting better but slowly. I'm nowhere near getting a front split yet but I'm hoping in a month to see some progress. My plan is to try some static stretching about 3 times a day, and some active stretching (kicks and so on) about once a day, probably as a warm up before each workout. We also have one of those stretching machines in class you sit down in and turn the wheel to stretch your legs. I'm hoping using that after each class for a few minutes will help as well. I think most of what I have to work on is flexibility in the hips.

Fitdoc, as I said above, I'm going to be doing some static stretching about 2-3 times a day for about 10-15 minutes a piece. Before my evening workouts I wil probably warm up by doing some kicks that force me to really stretch, some basic stuff mostly, front heel kicks and the like. Certainly doing capoeira will help that. I think for the most part it's consistancy that is important.

[red5angel]

Toby - I do windmills from time to time but will have to check out Bent Press, thanks!

[red5angel]

last nights workout - 01/31/05

25 minutes of NT (I try to keep the pace up above 6.3 - I can't remember if that is miles an hour or some other abstract measurement on the machine itself).

As usual I broke up the monotony by doing some sort of exercise every 5 minutes, in this case:

50 crunches
50 Medicine ball twists - each direction
30 leg lifts
30 side crunches each side
20 medicine ball lifts for the lower back - like a dead lift but with the medicine ball

Stretched for 15 minutes afterwards.


I skipped my morning workout so I'd be fresh for capoeira tonight. On top of whatever we do in class I'll be doing 150 pushups and about 10 minutes on the bag to warm up. I consider a capoeira class to be the equivalent of an hour of high impact aerobics. Typically at the end of class I also do a couple of sets of handstand pushups as well. against the wall so far but I'm working on doing them without the help!


Since my goal is also to drop some more weight I'll post what I"m eating. Today:

Bowl of whole grain shredded wheat with milk and a half glass of orange juice.

midmorning snack is a banana and small thing of yogurt

Lunch is a turkey sandwhich with salad and veggie sticks

Afternoon snack is an orange

Not sure about dinner, hard to say on my nights with class but usually I end up making a sandwhich or my wife makes up a bag of ready to eat rice dishes she get sat the local co-op.

[fa_jing]

Man, you have to figure out how to do dumbell snatches.

[red5angel]

Actually I do them from time to time.

[red5angel]

Long class last night. We had a quite a few people show up so worked on several things and had a good roda. I ended up staying after for about 45 minutes and working on a couple of combinations.

One note on progression - I picked up an exercise from one of the instructors for core flexibility. From a standing position you just lean forward you your on your hands and knees and the object of the exercise is to roll into a bridge, and then roll back. You can do it in one direction or go back and forth. Either way I couldn't do it when I first tried it, but now I can do it both directions as long as I keep moving. If I pause going from a bridge back to the starting position I still get stuck from time to time.

[red5angel]

Last night I took the night off. Since I started hitting it hard again just monday my boddy is a little sore and I'm a little tired so I decided an evening off would be fine.

Actually come to think of it the whole day wasn't a wash. I work in a 26 story building and from time to time I will walk the steps. I take them two at a time at a brisk pace and every 10 flights or so I stop and do some do a set of some sort of body exercise. Yesterday on top of climbing the 40 or so flights of steps I climbed I did:

50 pushups
30 handstand pushups
50 crunches
50 hindu squats


This morning I got up and did some arm work with some weights.

I did 4x10 at 35lbs with dumbbells

4x10 at 35 hammer curls

3x14 at 20 lbs modified preacher curls

I also started my Planche training this morning. I did the Frog for 60 seconds. I could only hold it about 25-30 seconds at a time so far but I feel confident I should be up to a full 60 seconds in a week or two. I also plan on doing it again this evenig as part of my warm up for capoeira.

[red5angel]

Class last night. I burned out towards the end of class which is when we do the roda so that sucks. I kept gassing out while in the circle. I think I'm just worn out from the pace I have kept up this week.

Worked on more of the Frog. It's getting better already! Hoping to be doing it without the support of my elbows by the end of the month, we'll see.

Nothing this morning since it was a morning after class and I got home late.