...I would propose to it. ;)
I found Stumptuous recently. She's a strong chic who puts up some seriously, seriously good information for women who train. She has training information that will make you go, "Oh yeah, I forgot about those, they're good" or "That's a great order to do those in" or "That's a good plan to start with". She has rants that will put you in an "Amen, sister" mood. The tone is not just conversational, it's chick-locker-room, hence my increasing girlcrush. She feels, to me, like a teammate. Probably the parity of our values and beliefs about the role of training in the health, sanity, and self-esteem of women. From her 2010 predictions "Get some big garbage bags — real or metaphysical — and start throwing shit out, whether that’s energy vampire people who don’t support you, crap “food” that poisons you, or assumptions and mindsets that are fundamentally self destructive." Amen, Sister!! And, her training stuff isn't just for the girls, her advice is sound and relevant to anyone who trains; lots of cool guys read too, as evident in the comments. But, if "Our Bodies Ourselves" had offspring, one of them would be stumptuous.com.
Next, to Coach Rippetoe. I read Starting Strength a few months ago and now I just carry it with me to the gym. If you Oly lift and you haven't read it, seriously, go get it. I mean it's got like 67 pages on just the squat. Proper mechanics, anatomy, tips while learning, ways to check yourself. The tone is conversational and includes such gems as, "If your gym makes a lot of money selling gloves, you have another reason to look for another gym. and if you insist on using them, make sure they match your purse." in a paragraph about the importance and utility of chalk.
Because Starting Strength was so ridiculously awesome, I bought Practical Programming for Strength Training. I read the first 30 pages and I put the book down when I got to "Hydration" so I wouldn't get sucked in and stay up all night. It starts with the Introduction which includes a lot of info about Periodization and how "Periodization is practiced widely in track and field and is used by a majority of NFL and viturally all NCAA strength and conditioning programs...The idea that the practice of a sport itself was sufficient conditioning for the sport became inadequate for preparing high-level athletes many years ago." Now, granted I am a very, very low-level athlete, but I agree with this completely. This is exactly what I'm thinking right now in terms of my Jiu-Jitsu. Well, it's two-fold. One, a strong fitness base (specifically a strong core) will protect me from injury (and further Lumbar compression). Two, a strength base will allow me to absorb and enjoy the technical details more fully as I'll be able to put my attention to the details instead of my lack of fitness (which is followed by self-loathing and negative self talk).
Off to the treadmill and a circuit including Turkish Getups (thanks Dagny...grrr)...
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
2010-10-28
Fake it ‘til ya make it
I’ve finally realized that I don’t post or comment in a lot of situations because of some weird internet form of perfection anxiety and timidity.
I go through about 42 iterations of “Am I saying anything that is of value to anyone”, “Could this possibly be news to anyone or have they all already solved this / been there / done that?”, “I’m not going to complain about this, everybody goes through this.”, and a million other internal judgements before I either just don’t post or I decide “Whatever, nobody knows about my little blog anyway.”. I’m constantly thinking, worrying, planning, wondering about training, but I rarely ever post because I always feel like if I can’t spend the time that I want at the task, for example making a readable blog post with reasonable punctuation (should I have used a semicolon there?), then I just shouldn’t post at all. I mean, every little blog post doesn't have to single-handedly define and represent me as a person for crying out loud. I just need to get over it. Where is my Tyler Durden?
Another thing that stops me from posting is that I’ve trained so little BJJ since last November because of injury (sternoclavicular separation) and issue (Lumbar disc compression = ick nerve). I got over the injury and now I’m just working on coming back from the weakness; hey, I can do 5 whole pushups. I’ve been working on the Lumbar issue...and I may be hallucinating or it may be improving ever so slightly, ever so slowly. Anyway, because I haven’t trained BJJ regularly in so long, I start to feel like, well, like an imposter, like a poser, when I want to be involved still in the jits community. I know, I know, that’s stupid. We all get injured or have downtimes and they don’t revoke our belt, right?
Screw it, I’m going to break all of my own rules in an effort to...to what exactly....to put what I feel out there. Mostly so that when I communicate with someone (via the internet), they can have a sense of who I am. Grok me? I mean, if some of the blogs that I read regularly had never blogged I would still be trying to figure out a number of things related to BJJ, some CrossFit, nutrition, mobility, etc. And I wouldn’t have made some great friends. And one day, when I get my jitsabbatical on, I’ll have a couch or two to crash on.
I found BJJ and I got pulled in (avoiding the swept up pun, poorly) right away. I loved wrestling with my dad when I was a kid. He used to tell me that monkeys that didn’t get enough contact got lonely and depressed and that we weren’t going to be lonely monkeys. My mom wasn’t the wrestling type and probably spent years nagging my dad to be careful. I’m pretty sure he wanted a boy. She wanted a girl. They both won and both lost. They got a girl that can’t stand dresses...or pink...or barbie.
In addition to the overwhelming number of BJJ videos on youtube, I also found the blogger “network” and I read bits and pieces of my own story, concerns, and issues reflected in a number of different places. I believe that Valerie Worthington’s blog is the first one that I found, actually via an article on CrossFit and BJJ, and I read the blog literally straight through, like a book. *That* is an introduction to BJJ. It’s like, “Hello, welcome to BJJ. Would you like to sell your house, quit your job, and couch surf the country training BJJ now or would you like to put that off until slightly later?”. I had to take a seriously deep breath and remind myself that as a brand spankin’ new white belt, with like 6 months training, it was highly unlikely that following in those Valhalla footsteps would have good R.O.I. for me at such an early stage. I keep telling myself I can do that trip when I’m a fresh purple to really get the most out of it. Who knows, it is debatable, highly debatable, at what stage a jitsabbatical would best serve a person. I assume that being in your own personal best physical shape would help wring the most technical bang for your buck out of such travels. That is factored into my plan [dream/concept].
Shortly thereafter I found Georgette, slideyfoot, BJJGrrl, A.D. McClish, Dev (and many, many more great bloggers) and all the good advice out there about training, competition nerves, ego-less improvement, etc. Thank you guys, thank you all. Know that there are new people out there reading even when they don’t follow or post or contact you. They’re there and tomorrow somewhere someone will walk into a BJJ school for their first time or for their 30th with at least one new concept in their head. Recently I found Dagney Taggert’s blog (best.blogname.ever, spelling mod on purpose), which is fascinating to me because she sounds like the truly positive mental spirit (like A.D. McClish, above)...unlike myself. I don’t feel like "I can do anything". I feel like "I should be telling myself I can do anything." So, one of my topics lately is how to get from telling myself that I can do anything to just *feeling* like I can do anything. I’m thinking it’s a learned skill. I shall keep running in the morning, going to CrossFit after work, researching nutrition and leaning toward Paleo, (stopped wheat already). I’m thinking that in the short term I’m gonna fake it ‘til I make it.
I can do 5 real pushups. In February I couldn’t do 1 pushup. In May/June I could do 2 pushups. I’m trying not to feel sorry for myself, but it sneaks in. I feel guilty when I feel sorry for myself...super guilty. I keep telling myself to JUST KEEP DOING THE WORK. That is where blogs come in handy. I follow you guys’ progress and love of the sport and it keeps me in touch with jits and with how I feel about jits. I’ve thought lately about going back, but I don’t want to have a stutter start. I’ve been back just enough this year (May/June) to get promoted to Blue, but my new Blue belt is just that...crispy. It’s taunting me...”I’m so crispy, what’s wrong with you?”. Wow.
I was thinking that I should set a couple of CrossFit type goals (pushups, FGB score, etc) and once I make those CrossFit goals then I can go back to jits. Having that specific barrier to entry will keep me from constantly guessing whether I should go to jits now or keep getting stronger first, etc. It’s not a trick question; for me the answer is get stronger first (specifically core) to protect my Lumbar discs and facets. The minute I step back on the mat it will be the instant rampup that it was last year and it will start out with 1 hour classes, then work its way up to 3 hours at a time. That wouldn’t be smart with Vertebrae and facets grinding on each other. So, I’m brainstorming (and taking suggestions) for my goals that I have to hit in order to go back to Jits. For example, 5 pushups ain’t gonna get me far in jits (and protecting the Lumbar), so I definitely need to pick the magic pushup number to shoot for. I’m thinking a minimum Plank hold time would be good...maybe 4 minutes...more? Maybe a specific “Fight Gone Bad” score and...
Fakin’ it ‘til I make it...
I go through about 42 iterations of “Am I saying anything that is of value to anyone”, “Could this possibly be news to anyone or have they all already solved this / been there / done that?”, “I’m not going to complain about this, everybody goes through this.”, and a million other internal judgements before I either just don’t post or I decide “Whatever, nobody knows about my little blog anyway.”. I’m constantly thinking, worrying, planning, wondering about training, but I rarely ever post because I always feel like if I can’t spend the time that I want at the task, for example making a readable blog post with reasonable punctuation (should I have used a semicolon there?), then I just shouldn’t post at all. I mean, every little blog post doesn't have to single-handedly define and represent me as a person for crying out loud. I just need to get over it. Where is my Tyler Durden?
Another thing that stops me from posting is that I’ve trained so little BJJ since last November because of injury (sternoclavicular separation) and issue (Lumbar disc compression = ick nerve). I got over the injury and now I’m just working on coming back from the weakness; hey, I can do 5 whole pushups. I’ve been working on the Lumbar issue...and I may be hallucinating or it may be improving ever so slightly, ever so slowly. Anyway, because I haven’t trained BJJ regularly in so long, I start to feel like, well, like an imposter, like a poser, when I want to be involved still in the jits community. I know, I know, that’s stupid. We all get injured or have downtimes and they don’t revoke our belt, right?
Screw it, I’m going to break all of my own rules in an effort to...to what exactly....to put what I feel out there. Mostly so that when I communicate with someone (via the internet), they can have a sense of who I am. Grok me? I mean, if some of the blogs that I read regularly had never blogged I would still be trying to figure out a number of things related to BJJ, some CrossFit, nutrition, mobility, etc. And I wouldn’t have made some great friends. And one day, when I get my jitsabbatical on, I’ll have a couch or two to crash on.
I found BJJ and I got pulled in (avoiding the swept up pun, poorly) right away. I loved wrestling with my dad when I was a kid. He used to tell me that monkeys that didn’t get enough contact got lonely and depressed and that we weren’t going to be lonely monkeys. My mom wasn’t the wrestling type and probably spent years nagging my dad to be careful. I’m pretty sure he wanted a boy. She wanted a girl. They both won and both lost. They got a girl that can’t stand dresses...or pink...or barbie.
In addition to the overwhelming number of BJJ videos on youtube, I also found the blogger “network” and I read bits and pieces of my own story, concerns, and issues reflected in a number of different places. I believe that Valerie Worthington’s blog is the first one that I found, actually via an article on CrossFit and BJJ, and I read the blog literally straight through, like a book. *That* is an introduction to BJJ. It’s like, “Hello, welcome to BJJ. Would you like to sell your house, quit your job, and couch surf the country training BJJ now or would you like to put that off until slightly later?”. I had to take a seriously deep breath and remind myself that as a brand spankin’ new white belt, with like 6 months training, it was highly unlikely that following in those Valhalla footsteps would have good R.O.I. for me at such an early stage. I keep telling myself I can do that trip when I’m a fresh purple to really get the most out of it. Who knows, it is debatable, highly debatable, at what stage a jitsabbatical would best serve a person. I assume that being in your own personal best physical shape would help wring the most technical bang for your buck out of such travels. That is factored into my plan [dream/concept].
Shortly thereafter I found Georgette, slideyfoot, BJJGrrl, A.D. McClish, Dev (and many, many more great bloggers) and all the good advice out there about training, competition nerves, ego-less improvement, etc. Thank you guys, thank you all. Know that there are new people out there reading even when they don’t follow or post or contact you. They’re there and tomorrow somewhere someone will walk into a BJJ school for their first time or for their 30th with at least one new concept in their head. Recently I found Dagney Taggert’s blog (best.blogname.ever, spelling mod on purpose), which is fascinating to me because she sounds like the truly positive mental spirit (like A.D. McClish, above)...unlike myself. I don’t feel like "I can do anything". I feel like "I should be telling myself I can do anything." So, one of my topics lately is how to get from telling myself that I can do anything to just *feeling* like I can do anything. I’m thinking it’s a learned skill. I shall keep running in the morning, going to CrossFit after work, researching nutrition and leaning toward Paleo, (stopped wheat already). I’m thinking that in the short term I’m gonna fake it ‘til I make it.
I can do 5 real pushups. In February I couldn’t do 1 pushup. In May/June I could do 2 pushups. I’m trying not to feel sorry for myself, but it sneaks in. I feel guilty when I feel sorry for myself...super guilty. I keep telling myself to JUST KEEP DOING THE WORK. That is where blogs come in handy. I follow you guys’ progress and love of the sport and it keeps me in touch with jits and with how I feel about jits. I’ve thought lately about going back, but I don’t want to have a stutter start. I’ve been back just enough this year (May/June) to get promoted to Blue, but my new Blue belt is just that...crispy. It’s taunting me...”I’m so crispy, what’s wrong with you?”. Wow.
I was thinking that I should set a couple of CrossFit type goals (pushups, FGB score, etc) and once I make those CrossFit goals then I can go back to jits. Having that specific barrier to entry will keep me from constantly guessing whether I should go to jits now or keep getting stronger first, etc. It’s not a trick question; for me the answer is get stronger first (specifically core) to protect my Lumbar discs and facets. The minute I step back on the mat it will be the instant rampup that it was last year and it will start out with 1 hour classes, then work its way up to 3 hours at a time. That wouldn’t be smart with Vertebrae and facets grinding on each other. So, I’m brainstorming (and taking suggestions) for my goals that I have to hit in order to go back to Jits. For example, 5 pushups ain’t gonna get me far in jits (and protecting the Lumbar), so I definitely need to pick the magic pushup number to shoot for. I’m thinking a minimum Plank hold time would be good...maybe 4 minutes...more? Maybe a specific “Fight Gone Bad” score and...
Fakin’ it ‘til I make it...
2010-10-07
CrossFit Clean (with the ball) / working to get back to jits
I had that little tiny moment in CrossFit this morning of finally feeling the basic concept of a Clean. Granted it was with the ball only. I think that my shoulder is finally loose enough to actually get a shrug and the ball seemed like an easier way to learn it. I have had little to no luck learning it with the bar.
It feels great when you've shrugged it enough to get that moment in time where the ball is at the top of its arc and you're able to get under it cleanly. It was awesome. And the timing was perfect because I was just starting to feel too uncoordinated to ever succeed at some of the Oly lifts. :)
I'm in this phase where I REALLY want to go back to Jiu-Jitsu, but I've really got to strengthen and stretch my back and tighten up my core first. I don't want to have a stutter-start at jits. I just want to do the work to make a good athletic foundation and then go back. Impatient.
It feels great when you've shrugged it enough to get that moment in time where the ball is at the top of its arc and you're able to get under it cleanly. It was awesome. And the timing was perfect because I was just starting to feel too uncoordinated to ever succeed at some of the Oly lifts. :)
I'm in this phase where I REALLY want to go back to Jiu-Jitsu, but I've really got to strengthen and stretch my back and tighten up my core first. I don't want to have a stutter-start at jits. I just want to do the work to make a good athletic foundation and then go back. Impatient.
2010-04-19
Get off your back....
Hit jits again yesterday for the 2nd time in two days. Rolled with a few different partners including a new female partner. Well, she's a Blue Belt, but she's new to me. :) I spent a lot of time under what I think is called Kurusa Kesa Gatame(both arms in), thinking how the hell do I get my knee in there OR get an underhook. (I am open to suggestions and to video links) I struggled to bridge and/or try to get up on one side and/or get my elbow to the ground, but all to no avail. And in my after action review I'm thinking a few things were wrong. Probably #1 is that I was fatiguing fast and lost faith in my bridging. Huge no no. #2 is that after I lost faith in my bridge, that broke my will altogether. Another huge no no. Since I really enjoy the positional game of it all, I'll obviously have to work on that bridge and that spirit. ;)
I also rolled with a guy whom, since I don't know his name, I will call Spider. Spider was the epitome of perfect partner. He was very skilled, but because we were trying to drill cycling through some things for practice, I could feel when he slowed something to give me a chance to catch it or when he baited me with something and practically pointed at it (say, his arm) as if to say, "gee, that would make a great americana". Anyway, I appreciated his skill and his patience and his total lack of ego. I always feel humbled and like I don't deserve that type of patience and time from someone who is there to improve their own game. But, in the future I will just take it, say thank you, and pay it forward when I am capable. Later when I paired with him in light sparring he actually could maintain a 52% effort and he spun a web around me. However, I did give him what resistance I could and I took copious mental notes. So, thank you Spider. Roll on buddy.
Today, the shoulder is on fire, the pain meds aren't helping, but I don't care I'm going tonight anyway. For the record, the shoulder is on "wow, lots of use"-fire, but not on "ooh, stop, something is bad"-fire.
(p.s. Youtube rules; I just found a couple of escapes from Kurusa Kesa Gatame that I think would have worked brilliantly)
I also rolled with a guy whom, since I don't know his name, I will call Spider. Spider was the epitome of perfect partner. He was very skilled, but because we were trying to drill cycling through some things for practice, I could feel when he slowed something to give me a chance to catch it or when he baited me with something and practically pointed at it (say, his arm) as if to say, "gee, that would make a great americana". Anyway, I appreciated his skill and his patience and his total lack of ego. I always feel humbled and like I don't deserve that type of patience and time from someone who is there to improve their own game. But, in the future I will just take it, say thank you, and pay it forward when I am capable. Later when I paired with him in light sparring he actually could maintain a 52% effort and he spun a web around me. However, I did give him what resistance I could and I took copious mental notes. So, thank you Spider. Roll on buddy.
Today, the shoulder is on fire, the pain meds aren't helping, but I don't care I'm going tonight anyway. For the record, the shoulder is on "wow, lots of use"-fire, but not on "ooh, stop, something is bad"-fire.
(p.s. Youtube rules; I just found a couple of escapes from Kurusa Kesa Gatame that I think would have worked brilliantly)
2010-02-04
Wow, I fell off the planet
The only way I can describe the last 8 months is:
1. Prepping for Grappler's Quest; lost 14 pounds, felt great, great, great.
2. Got hurt in a match 11/14 (3 weeks before GQ). Ripped the ligament between sternum and clavicle, tore a lot of surrounding tissue. Difficult to explain, but they had both of my arms for an armbar attempt but my thumbs were facing inward (toward them) so when they pushed with their hips my chest got the leverage and ripped. It was a freak thing. There was time for me to tap out if I had known I was in trouble. 8-12 week estimated recovery and it's been just under 3 months so the Dr's were pretty much right on.
3. Went to GQ to cheer my team on.
4. Many mental ups and downs about why I grapple, what are my goals, what do I enjoy, how to improve, tournament mentality, etc, etc.
5. About 2 months into the injury, finally got comfortable in my head
6. Last week the P.T. gave me the go to start using my shoulder in controlled exercises, no plyometrics, no partner, just solo, controlled drills.
7. Immediately moved all furniture out of my living room and put down mats. Now there's plenty of room for drills. ;)
8. Found out quickly that I lost so much strength that I literally can't do 1 single pushup.
9. Fuck it, I'll come back from this
10. This morning 2 miles on the treadmill and tested out a few bodyweight exercises
The most dissapointing thing that happened is that I had to miss Women's Grappling Camp. The best thing that happened is some of the understanding I've gained about match mentality, etc.
Gotta keep recovering my strength, flexibility, etc. Gotta lose the 15 pounds I put back on. Forward, forward, forward.
**** Smart Goal Bodyweight 2010.04.01 (post-injury) ****
Specific: Lose 15 lbs by 04/01/2010
Measurable: Weigh 160.0 (from 175. I did it once, I'll do it again.)
Action:
Treadmill TUE & (SAT or SUN). Some weeknights.
BJJ MON,WED,SAT
CrossFit TUE, THUR?
1300 calories a day
Realistic: 2.5lbs/week
TimeBound: April 1
1. Prepping for Grappler's Quest; lost 14 pounds, felt great, great, great.
2. Got hurt in a match 11/14 (3 weeks before GQ). Ripped the ligament between sternum and clavicle, tore a lot of surrounding tissue. Difficult to explain, but they had both of my arms for an armbar attempt but my thumbs were facing inward (toward them) so when they pushed with their hips my chest got the leverage and ripped. It was a freak thing. There was time for me to tap out if I had known I was in trouble. 8-12 week estimated recovery and it's been just under 3 months so the Dr's were pretty much right on.
3. Went to GQ to cheer my team on.
4. Many mental ups and downs about why I grapple, what are my goals, what do I enjoy, how to improve, tournament mentality, etc, etc.
5. About 2 months into the injury, finally got comfortable in my head
6. Last week the P.T. gave me the go to start using my shoulder in controlled exercises, no plyometrics, no partner, just solo, controlled drills.
7. Immediately moved all furniture out of my living room and put down mats. Now there's plenty of room for drills. ;)
8. Found out quickly that I lost so much strength that I literally can't do 1 single pushup.
9. Fuck it, I'll come back from this
10. This morning 2 miles on the treadmill and tested out a few bodyweight exercises
The most dissapointing thing that happened is that I had to miss Women's Grappling Camp. The best thing that happened is some of the understanding I've gained about match mentality, etc.
Gotta keep recovering my strength, flexibility, etc. Gotta lose the 15 pounds I put back on. Forward, forward, forward.
**** Smart Goal Bodyweight 2010.04.01 (post-injury) ****
Specific: Lose 15 lbs by 04/01/2010
Measurable: Weigh 160.0 (from 175. I did it once, I'll do it again.)
Action:
Treadmill TUE & (SAT or SUN). Some weeknights.
BJJ MON,WED,SAT
CrossFit TUE, THUR?
1300 calories a day
Realistic: 2.5lbs/week
TimeBound: April 1
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