...and how do YOU know?

Over the months of June and July, the dojo did a lot to prepare for the Superfights tournament in Oxford, AL. Lots of fitness and padwork, footwork and combinations...we even did a few sessions on how to warm up. It was a big picture and finer details stretch of time, to say the least. But there was one aspect of preparation that befuddled me, which brings me to the topic of this post.

I was describing for the class, warm up techniques and preparation leading into the tournament, when I stumbled upon one aspect of preparation that goes largely unattended to, and even when attention is given, it may not be the best attention or advice available. Let's start big picture.

You've got a tournament coming up. You've been training hard inside and outside the dojo. It's nearly time to put all of that hard work to good use. "Go Time" is two weeks away.

Question for you: What's your approach? Do you:
A). Bust your butt for the next two weeks, and show up tournament day ready to rock?
B). Finish out this week, and shut it down to get ready for the big event?
C). Split the difference; 7 or 8 days of solid work and reduce the workload for the next 3-4?

The answer - "I dunno".

Yup, that's right. I don't know. Chances are, neither do you. But here's the beauty of the situation: You can find out. Yes, yes you can. First, let's explore the scenarios above.

Bust your butt for the next two weeks, and show up tournament day ready to rock
The worst plan of the three, but that's not to say it couldn't work. How do you feel after several days of hard, strenuous workouts? Personally, I feel like a 6 foot pile of poo, that's not to say that you, Mr. Reader, are not the epitome of fitness. If you're not, you don't want to go with plan A. Keep reading.

Finish out this week, and shut it down to get ready for the big event
I used to be in this category, largely at the behest of my instructor. I have moved away from this approach over the years, which I'll discuss in more detail below. Sensei's reasoning for completely shutting me down was to avoid injury. When I say shut down, I mean SHUT DOWN. I had very strict instructions not to lift, no running, take it easy. Very much "come-to-the-dojo-but-when-you-get-here-don't-do-anything-to-exert-yourself"; it drove me crazy. The advantage, again, is avoiding injury. If you're the type that can take some time off and still perform near peak, this might be where you want to hang your hat...if not, keep reading.

Split the difference; 7 or 8 days of solid work and reduce the workload for the next 3-4
This is the Hangtime way to go; I finish out the week, then gradually reduce the workload ending two (sometimes three) days before an event. The advantage to this method is your event is treated like any other workout. Two days rest between your last decent workout and your event. For me, this is optimum.

So, how do you find out what works? The same way you make anything else work --you train it!

"Wait...you train rest times?" -- You betcha! Here's my approach:

The World Yoshukai Calendar has 2 camps, 4 tournaments and 1 black belt test. Of the four tournaments, two of them include fighting, which is a large motivator in my training --I guess you could say I train my physical fitness for these events. For the sake of discussion, we will also include my shodan, nidan and sandan testings as well (I train the same for tournaments and testings).

So, since 2007, I have had 38 opportunities to experiment with what tapering method works the best for me. Of the 38, 12 were "live" runs, the other 26 were tests. That's a lot of practice...good, solid reps. For each camp & tournament, I marked an 8 week run to the event. So, starting 8 weeks out was prep time. A few times, I've even gone down to six weeks a few times and two weeks once due to injury. Each lead in was different -- weight was different, cardio varied year to year, etc. Each time, I set a few goals and worked toward them in the allotted time.

So for each camp, the goal would be to make weight as if I were fighting. Moreover, the goal was to be in fighting shape. Winter Camp makes for a long day (brutally long, in my opinion), but I didn't want to miss a minute of it. Sand, sun, wind, water, tug o' war, running on the beach, sumo, you name it, I wanted to do it. If I missed my mark on where I wanted to be, I went back to the drawing board for the next event. If that worked, then I took that method and improved on it for the next event. So on and so forth. If you don't have a good memory about these things, you might want to grab your notebook.

So, what does this mean to you? Well, I hope that by this point in the article, you've taken stock of your approach and how you prepare for your event. Unless you're one of those people who can role out of bed and run a half-marathon or fight without any prior training, proper tapering is an important aspect of training...just as important as the work itself. Experiment and find out what methods work best for you.

OSU!
CM

2012 First Quarter Review

Previously, on Yoshukai Strong...

That said, here are my goals for 2012:

1. Keep training focused by dividing the session into strict, time-based segments, by the end of January.
2. Increase leg press working rate to 800LBS (2 rep minimum) by February 1, 2012
3. Work toward 3 times bodyweight deadlift 1RM (1 rep max), based on average weight (180LBS) by Feb 4, 2012
4. Complete sandan test on Feb 10, 2012...preferably in one piece.
5. 100 consecutive double unders by May, 1 2012
6. Perform 100LB DB  Bench Press by Feb 1, 2012
7. Perform 225LB Bench Press 1RM by April 1, 2012
8. Perform 400LB Squat by June 1, 2012
9. Maintain ability to perform all achieved goals through end of 2012

First quarter 2012 is in the books. I want to take a look at the goals I set for the year and reevaluate. Looking at some of them...I wonder what I was smoking when I came up with these.



Goal 1: Keep training focused by dividing the session into strict, time-based segments, by the end of January.
The card system I'm using now goes a long way in helping keep sessions going. Having a plan is a good thing. There are some of the planned workouts that simply run long. In fact, I have two coming up: "52 pickup" and "Crossfit Angie" :-/

Goal 2: Increase leg press working rate to 800LBS (2 rep minimum) by February 1, 2012
I haven't met this goal yet, but, I could. I need to prioritize it and do leg presses before I'm too beat to complete them. I have flirted with the low 700's since the beginning of the year...I have no doubts I can do this, I just need to do it (even if only for the sake of saying I did).

Goal 3: Work toward 3 times bodyweight deadlift 1RM (1 rep max), based on average weight (180LBS) by Feb 4, 2012
Lofty goals aren't a bad thing, but unrealistic goals are.  My current PB is 350LBS, which is less than half of my current bodyweight (188LBS) - 2.5 times BW sounds a lot more reasonable....by end of the year.

Goal 4: Complete sandan test on Feb 10, 2012...preferably in one piece.
Nearly lost an eye, but I made it :)

Goal 5: Perform 100LB DB  Bench Press by Feb 1, 2012
Done, and... (1/19)

Goal 6: Perform 225LB Bench Press 1RM by April 1, 2012
Done! (230 on 3/8)

No time to rest, however. Still plenty of mileage left to burn up and more goals left to accomplish.

How are you doing with your goals for the year? Do you work on them daily?? If not, it's not too late, get back on the wagon!

OSU!

3/13/2012 Early AM Session

Before I got started, it occurred to me that on this day 5 years ago, I lost my nephew far, far too young. I was already pumped for this session, but thinking of him gave me a little extra. We weren't particularly close, but that matters not at all; he is my nephew, my sister's son. He was a very funny guy and by funny I mean you don't want to be caught in his crosshairs...he will make you laugh at yourself while ripping you a new one in the most brutal of ways. And that's what people loved about him. I miss hearing him "cut" on people, and the laughter that came out of it. I miss you, Dude...

Donald, this one was for you.

Warm up:
Circuit x 2:
8x15LB DB Windmills
10 x15LB DB External Rotations
10 x15LB DB Romanian Deadlifts

8 x 135LB Bench Press
5 pullups

Light stretching

Workout:
Crossfit Lynne -- Five Rounds max reps:
Bench Press @ body weight (185) 10, 5, 6, 3, 4
Pullups 9,9, 12 (kipping), 8 (kipping), 6

I am very impressed with myself on the bench press! A little over two years ago I hoisted 185 for the first time EVER. I was mired down @ 185 for 18 months before I moved past that and hit a 1RM of 215LBS. I spent most of 2010 and 2011 trying to perform 20 reps in 10 sets...10 reps in one set is huge for me.

The finish:
1-5 DB Swings (55LBS) & Snatch (35LBS)
Weighted leg raises: 10 x 10LBS, 10 x 20LBS, 10 x 20LBS

Good stretch and called it quits :)

OSU!

Hitting 2012 in the Mouth!

In a mere 3 days, 3 DAYS, we will be entering a new year. What will your training goals be?

Goals?

Yea, GOALS...as defined by Merriam-Webster: the end toward which effort is directed.

When goal-setting,  your goals should have five characteristics: specific, measurable, attainable,realistic and timely; what those five attribute gives you is a SMART goal. SMART goals are a great way to keep you focused on what you need to accomplish. The SMART component takes a goal and gives it focus in a number of ways.

For example, a goal of mine is shorter workout, less time in the gym. That's a good goal (I have a tendency to run long...), but the goal doesn't address how I will get there, what will I gain by shortening my sessions, will anything "get lost" by focusing the goal....none of that.

So let's reform that goal:

Goal: Keep training focused by dividing the session into strict, time-based segments, by the end of January; for example:
10 min warm up
10 min full body/cardio
20 min skill/power/whatever
10 min core/abs
10 min cool down

The goal is specific...if I were to get any more specific, I'd have to document how long each rep takes me, and while I should know that, is a bit too far. Let's face it, I roll out of bed 20 minutes to five most days, so if my windmills are off by a second or two, I can live with that.

It's measurable: the schedule laid out above keeps me at 60 minutes, start to finish. This also gives me an added ability to log my workouts based on the segments, and note when I deviate from said segment.
Attainable --"nothing to it, but to do it.". Also, the above schedule leaves some flexibility to combine segments for specialized workouts or to focus on a particular area. Prime example, is my 12/28/2011 session: the extra stretching took longer than 10 minutes, but I was able to utilize what would have been my Ab/Core time for that; I was able to complete everything else in the remaining 40 minutes.
Realistic -Absolutely. In fact, I kept this schedule for several months...somewhere I lost focus.
Timely - The goal included a specified date of committal; I admit, it's a little lame, but I actually started this today and should be on track in fairly short order...a week or so.

So, now that we have a basis for goal setting, we are going to be SMART; get a piece of paper and WRITE down your goals. Get a notebook, track your progress. Remain focused on what you want to accomplish it and make the sacrifices to get there.

That said, here are my goals for 2012:

1. Keep training focused by dividing the session into strict, time-based segments, by the end of January.
2. Increase leg press working rate to 800LBS (2 rep minimum) by February 1, 2012
3. Work toward 3 times bodyweight deadlift 1RM (1 rep max), based on average weight (180LBS) by Feb 4, 2012
4. Complete sandan test on Feb 10, 2012...preferably in one piece.
5. 100 consecutive double unders by May, 1 2012
6. Perform 100LB DB  Bench Press by Feb 1, 2012
7. Perform 225LB Bench Press 1RM by April 1, 2012
8. Perform 400LB Squat by June 1, 2012
9. Maintain ability to perform all achieved goals through end of 2012

Solid goal setting can take you anywhere you want to go;


OSU!
CM