Entry #75
Not much training after the weekend so far. Tons of homework, and I
need to make grades a priority . . . so I can go to UC San Diego
and move there and attend the Black Tiger muay thai dojo, of course.
Also, today I was looking through a magazine and they have San Diego as
#8 on top schools in the U.S. with the best gym. Pretty cool. George
says the bad thing is it's notorious for being a party school, but it
won't affect me.

I have to focus more on diet on non-lifting days. Only ate 5
moderate meals today; need to eat like a savage tomorrow. Very anxious
to get back in the gym. I'm gonna be ferocious on the weights next
time.

                                      

Entry #74
Weekend was a good break. Lower back is still sore from deadlifts on
Friday. My tub of N-Large is already finished. 10lb case gone in a
week. This is gonna get expensive.

Fought George in a new park last night. I was completely out of it.
Had the wind knocked out of me in all three rounds. In my defense I was
very sore from the heavy lifting all week, especially in my back.
Still, no excuse. I'll get him next time.

Before the fight we were watching some UFC dvds at my house.
George blames my poor performance on the Tito Ortiz vs. Patrick
Cote fight. Patrick danced around looking like a goblin,
his fat rolling over his blue tighties. Tito mounted him and gave him
elbows in the face for four minutes before the round was over. It
wouldn't have been so embarassing had Patrick not said before the fight
"If you thought Chuck Liddell hit hard, wait 'till you see me. Tito's
spirit is broken after his losses ... I'm going to kick his ass." I
guess his strategy was to break Tito's elbow by letting Tito nail him
in the face over and over. Yeah, shouldn't have watched that before the
sparring match.

 

"Your spirit is broken. Now is the time
to diie ...What? Hey, don't laugh ... blubber is very warm,
in wintertime ... Nyehh I'm gonna kill you ..."

 

1 minute later...

 

"OOF ummm this is exactly what I was planning ... your elbow won't last forever ..."

 

1 minute later...

 

"Mom ... just 5 more minutes, mom ..."

 

Entry #73
Going to post my meal tomorrow so I can get a calorie count for the
day. Hope to have it around 5,000. I have also declined from going Los
Angeles to stay and train here. I didn't want to go to
Universal Studios anyways; I've been sore at them ever since last time
I went on their Jurassic Park ride and there was no T-Rex killing
something. This N-Large2 is working great. Adds a ton of calories. Hope
to gain a lot soon.

                                 

Entry #72
Paid a visit to GNC and picked up a 10lb case of N-Large2 (chocolate
flavor!), multivitamin capsules, and flax seed oil. I should gain good
weight off this, but I'm still debating whether to take creatine or
not. My mom was freaking out thinking that I was buying steroids but I
explained what they were so it's good now.

"What is this!" she yells looking at the N-Large vat. "You bought
steroids?!" "No mom, it's just protein with a bunch of weight-gaining
stuff." "What about these!" she says looking at the vitamins. "These
are steroids!" "Those are just vitamins, read the ingredients." "Well
you're still overdoing it, we don't want to look disgusting and veiny
like Arnold now!" "Yes we do mom." Haha.

I did chest and triceps today and my arms are so sore that I
honestly feel any striking practice I do will just be detrimental in
the long run; my form and power would be terrible if I tried right now.
I instead took this opportunity to practice kicks. At the gym I kept
the session under an hour but with increased intensity with 1.) Shorter
rest time between sets and 2.) supersets for chest. Supersets =
torture. Love it.

Entry #71
Really been slacking off on eating, especially this past week. Tonight
I went to the store. Steak, eggs, chicken pot pies, beef jerky for
snacks, and cottage cheese for before bed. I'm loaded. Tomorrow I plan
on going to GNC for some supplements. So my future diet is looking
good. Must eat 8 meals a day, maybe even 9, and at least 4,000 calories
-- maybe even 5,000.

Entry #70
Basketball all day today. After school I played Carlos, Alexi,
and Jean (wow, what a group) in the school gym. I did so much
jumping I had massive cramps in my calves after a bit. I was jumping to
grab the rim and all of a sudden my leg muscles feel like they
exploded. Also, Carlos wanted me to hold my hand out and give him a
boost so he could reach up and grab the ball when was it was stuck in
the overhang. Instead I reach down to his legs and throw him up
practically, but he kicked me accidentally in the groin. I had to
work with cramped up legs and sore groin. Good training, I say. When we
were taking a break these girls who were watching wanted to know how to
do a kick-up so I showed them. And then I showed Carlos how to do
one-handed push-ups. I was able to do 12, but he couldn't do any yet.
He wants me to train him in boxing, so that should be interesting.

Tomorrow should be another good fighting day with George. Hopefully I'll check out the muay thai school on Sunday.

Entry #69
I'm going to change my routine completely to include more supersets.
Also plan on going to Vitasport this weekend for some supplements.
Next week for spring break my dad and I are going to Los Angeles
to see some of his buddies. I'll have to find some way to train in the
hotel. I wonder if they'd allow me to hang my punching bag in the room?
I'll definitely bring my board and go skating by Huntington beach. I
found an interesting way to record my progress -- I tried on my
wristguards and elbow pads from a year ago and they wouldn't fit
my arms at all. I have to buy new ones if I want to go to a skatepark
but on the other hand it's pretty cool.

 

              And
I secluded myself away from friends, away from girls, away from
pleasure; all that mattered was rippling muscle and torturous training.
Iron was all I knew.

Entry #68
Intense as hell today (chest, tris, abs). Noticed my chest is much
thicker in the last few months. Thinking about bringing a
small notepad and a pen next time I lift. During exercises I'll
often have a question or two in the back of my head about it and I make
a mental note to research it at home, and then later I forget. I'll
look like a big dork, but oh well. If I write fast I should still have
45 seconds for a stretch between sets (1 minute break in total between
each set).

As for actual fighting, decided not to use shin guards next time.
Not that we did before, but my shin got destroyed on Saturday and
that's what I suggested. Instead I've decided to build on my weakness
and spend time conditioning my shins on the punching bag. (Haha next is
my head! I'll train by headbutting a brick wall 1,000 times
everyday. Then I can headbutt thugs and kill them.)

Entry #67
Fight today with George: took place at Vasona Park this time. Focused
on attacking more; I started off immediately with a side-kick which he
blocked but was nevertheless an improvement over previous efforts. Few
minutes into the match I dropped him because he got hit in the groin.
Sucked. I say I lost that one. After he recovered I attempted more
kicks only to get my shin destroyed. I had to stop after a bit because
of it.

Second round we decided to do all punches so I could lay off kicking
with my shin. I was dominating in this one; boxing is my specialty. I
took the offensive and kept coming forward absorbing everything he
threw, while pummeling him with my own and knocking him back. I
honestly didn't feel anything, until the very end when he knocked the
wind out of me with one in the stomach. Very disappointing to be
winning and then to go down with one punch because of laziness. If
anything this taught me to not get relaxed and let my guard down.

I need to condition my shins so I don't have to stop in the middle
of a fight because I can't stand. I'll be using them on the hard part
of my punching bag for the next week until the next match. Also tried
one-handed push-ups and I was able to do 11. Improvement over a few
weeks ago when I could only do 4.

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 #54
George called and said he couldn't wait another day to beat me up, so
I'm going out right now to do some fighting. Today was supposed to be
lifting day for back and biceps. Will have to find some way to
incorporate the workout in. Maybe I shouldn't lift and fight on the
same day but these sparring matches are more for practice, even though
it's going to be full-contact.

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.

Entry #47
Today was intense. During weightlifting I was sweating as if I was
doing cardio. Lats and abs for today. Tweaked my neck from straining so
hard on overhead dumbbell presses but I maintained perfect form.
Shouldn't last more than a few hours anyways.

Definitely need to make more time for striking practice. I've
been doing a ton of weight-lifting and minimal fighting the last few
days. Today consisted of nothing more than a few rounds of shadow
boxing in my room for 10 minutes.

Saw Ong Bak yesterday and it ruled. Granted, the fighting looked
nothing like muay thai (unless muay thai is a mix between capoeira and
tae kwon do) but it was still awesome.

 

Entry #46
Started taking powder-form whey protein in addition to my regular
consumption of protein shakes and bars. Taking three servings a day:
breakfast, pre-workout, and post-workout. Interesting to note any
changes as a result of additional supplements.

Maybe the stuff works better than I thought because today my squat
record was through the roof. Definitely increase the weight next time.

Must get in tons of striking practice tomorrow to make up for
today. George is coming over (or vice-versa). I'll be prepared for
a fight, and he should be too. After we kill each other we're
going to see Ong Bak. Not a bad Saturday. And I'll work in
some heavy bag work afterwards.

Entry #45
Took a second day off from strength training to practice my striking
game. My endurance is steadily improving; I think I can go for longer
rounds on the bag. Still need to focus on snapping back fists after
punches.

Hope to get a speed-bag this weekend.

Entry #44
Jumped higher than ever today, and managed to hold on to the rim in
basketball during PE. Was actually able to get entire hand over. The
progression on this goal has been awesome. I blame the squats.

Weighed myself. Gained 10 pounds since last time, which was a few months ago. None of it is bodyfat.

Back and biceps strength training today. Unfortunately, gym was
closed so had to make do with backyard equipment. Stacked every single
weight I had on the bar for dead lifts, and it felt like nothing.
Biceps are sore, however. Focused on keeping my upper arm completely
stationary and back dead-straight, isolating the effort into the
desired area of the arm. Unfortunately, had to drop a few pounds in
order to maintain perfect form, but on the other hand, they feel like
they've been worked more than they've ever been.

Tomorrow is bag training and shadow boxing to make up for the fact that today was all bodybuilding and no striking practice.

Entry #43
Sparring yesterday: kept my hands up for the most part but I still drop
them during kicks. Need to work on flexibility for sidekicks because
mine never work. Also, I've never done any grappling with George; next
time we'll include groundwork as well. We should also probably pick a
more suitable spot than his driveway, but this didn't turn out to be
a very serious match anyways.

If I can't get any formal training for the time being (until summer
when I move out) because of no good schools around here, then I
need to at least get a training partner. The following weekends I'll be
practicing drills with George and anyone else I can find.

Triceps are already sore from workout today. Chest is usually sore
the next morning. Moving from set to set much faster; no more than one
minute in between.

Entry #42
Birthday today. Change in plans. I was going to celebrate by going to
the gym but George called and said he'll beat me up for my birthday. So
I'm going over there right now to fight him. Best present ever. I'll be
back.

Entry #41
Awesome gym day. Maybe because it was Valentine's Day, but there was no one there.

I tried out the new speed bag they have set up. I'm a lot faster
than the last time I tried it. I just can't keep it up for very long. I
want to buy one for my backyard to go next to my punching bag.

Bicep workout was different. I sat on a bench with a slight incline
angle and held two dumbbells, rather than one barbell while standing.
Focused on perfect form and keeping my upper arm completely stationary.
Curls were much harder like this.

Ran home while it was pouring rain. I love this.

Entry #40
Going back to the gym today, will update after. In the meantime, Happy
Valentine's Day, here's something from the depths of my heart, hahaha.

Entry #39
Still contemplating about whether to join Tae Kwon Do or not. It's close, but it looks like they focus more on the sport of it.

Entry #38
I was eating lunch on a bench by the public library reading a book when
I feel something poking my back. I turn around and this little four
year old boy is poking me with a stick. He ran around and came to my
front and out of nowhere he said he he'll punch me. I told him I'd just
block it, and then he said he has a 100 foot tall robot that would kill
me. I asked if it had missiles and he said yes, in its fists. So we
started talking about robots and I had one too, and we were going to
have them fight soon (mine had missiles in its chest, and its punch
power was 1000000 psi). Then his mom came and he had to go. What an
awesome kid.

On-topic: You know you had a good workout when you can't even raise your arms to go running afterwards.

That was a good feeling. And the side of my chest would twitch in
pain because of the up and down motion that makes the muscles tense.
Good feeling, but I wasn't very satisfied today. I tried a lot of new
ideas, so it was worth it.

I upped the intensity by a huge amount. Much less time to recuperate
after sets. No longer will I sit for a few minutes and then continue.
I'll have a one minute rest in between; during that I'll be stretching
to release lactic acid and stuff.

Also, perfect form. I'm concentrating on going a bit slower and
putting more resistance on the down movement. I've had to drop some
weight in order to improve form, especially on the incline bench press.
But good form will build muscle faster. Heh, got to keep telling myself
that. I don't like taking off weight. "Lift for your muscles, not your
ego." Good quote from a magazine.

Need to get proper running shoes. I was running in skate shoes and my ankles were sore after about 5 minutes.

Writing this all down in notes is great at helping me drill this stuff into my brain.

Entry #37
Day off from weight training. I need to work harder to maintain my diet
on off-days, though. I seem to eat a lot less on days like today. Must
eat 8 large meals every day, no exceptions.

Practiced mostly my kicks. I'm working on getting more flexible.
They may not be the most practical move but I want to get better with
high kicks. I once saw a TKDist K.O. a Muay Thai fighter in UFC with a
high kick directly to the face. He was out cold, it was
amazing. It'd be nice to have those in my move list.

I'm also thinking of reconsidering my choice and go for the track team.

 

Entry #36
Gym notes for next time:

> Ditch pull ups. Having them before a big bicep routine leaves
me with none of the required stamina. Proper curls are more important
than pull-ups for development. If possible, will work them in
afterwards.

> May need to lower a few weights in order to maintain better form.

> Bring ear plugs. !#$%ing sick of Britney Spears on the speakers. She is hampering my gains. Must be eliminated.

Entry #35
Rough today. I went to the gym angry and had a really
intense weight lifting session (shoulders and abs today). When I
was done I was feeling a little dizzy for some reason, but I
wanted to do some running. After about 5 minutes of running I suddenly
felt like I had to faint. I wasn't tired or anything, but I was ready
to pass out. I got off and ran to the locker room where I was in the
bathroom for 10 minutes trying not to throw up. It was hard but I
won. I got out and left the gym and I feel fine now. 

I take it that's a sign I had a good intensity level for my lifting. My new goal is to feel like that after every workout.

Entry #34
Was racing against this guy, Renee, in PE today on the track and
apparently one of the coaches was watching, because after class he
asked me if I want to be on the track team. I wanted to say yes but I
couldn't because it would conflict with weightlifting, since practice
is everyday. Still, it was tempting.

Today consisted of leg weight-lifting. Didn't get in any rounds of
punching bag practice or shadow boxing. Tomorrow is a day off from
liftting. Will get practice in then.

 

Entry #33
While playing basketball at school I grabbed the rim for the first time
(before I could just barely touch it with my fingertips). I couldn't
actually hang off of it but I grabbed it and fell back. I did it a few
times. Maybe the result of new leg routine.

Gym notes:

> Much better form today. Particular improvement on bench
press; no arched back at all. I could really feel my shoulder blades
digging into the bench.

> Easily completed all sets on decline bench press. Can increase the weight next time.

> Focused on breathing correctly and taking big breaths on the down movement.

Afterwards, practiced shadow boxing.

I'm thinking it'd be good to get into sword fighting again.
Back in summer George would bring his sai over and I'd use my katana,
and we'd just spar with them in my backyard, no protective gear. No,
it's not smart at all. It's fun. It also helped my stamina. When I box,
I sometimes get tired and then I'll get lazy with blocking, and I
just focus on offense. During weapon fighting I never get lazy when I'm
tired because of the adrenaline rush of seeing someone come at you
with a weapon. Always have the chance of getting stabbed, and
that keeps me on my toes, so to speak. I need to apply that to
hand to hand fighting.

Don't actually have pictures of a weapon fight. I have it on a movie
but I'd have to print out frames and scan them, which I might do later.

 

Entry #32
Hate days when I don't lift, but I haven't been able to through the
whole weekend because of my expired account at the club. It's all fixed
now, though, and I'll hit the gym tomorrow. Today consisted of punching
bag practice. Bare-knuckle. Seven 4 minute rounds. Need to focus on
keeping my wrists dead-straight when punching; I noticed sometimes I
get lazy and they bend on contact, and then they're sore afterwards.

Looking into joining a new martial-arts school by my house. It's
just called "karate", though. Hopefully it's good. If not, I'm thinking
of doing Tae Kwon Do for a few months until I move away for college,
and I can find a Muay Thai place. Closest Muay Thai school here
is an hour away.

Looking forward to the gym tomorrow; in the meantime, a picture of George kicking my head off.

Entry #31
Went to the gym today, planned to do legs. But they said my account was
expired and I couldn't get in. Didn't get anything done, unfortunately.
Hope to get this cleared up tomorrow. In the meantime, push-ups.

Entry #30
P.E. in school was awesome today. I'm the only senior in the class and
the only one who actually enjoys fitness. Usually, when we go out for
the mile run she allows everyone to just walk the corners and run the
straight-ways, but I'm always the only one who runs the whole way. I
always come in first and have to wait for everyone. Today, however, was
a new semester, and there were some new kids in the class. As I was
running the mile I noticed a new kid running faster than me
as he passed by me. I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only was there
someone else actually running, they were ahead of me. In the end
he beat me, and another guy came in right behind me. I was mad
that I lost, but I knew these two were a gift from God. P.E. won't be
nearly as boring as before. Next time, I'll be first again. And I
talked to the first guy in the locker room, he's pretty cool. I try as
hard as I can on my own, but it's still good to have some motivation in
the class.

At home, I set up the bag and did bare-knuckle sessions on it for
three minute rounds. Need to condition my knuckles more, no more
gloves. Going back to the gym tomorrow.

Words of wisdom:

"My fist is drenched with blood -- the blood of death!!"  --Akuma

                          

Entry #29
Back and biceps today. Also, forearms. Just recently started isolating
forearms for their own exercises (reverse curls and wrist
curls). Afterwards I ran home. And tomorrow is break day from
lifting. I'll be in the backyard working on the bag. I need to find
time to do that more. I also played Mortal Kombat: Deception (hey,
I'm counting it). To get technical, I played as Scorpion using Hapkido
style. I learned a lot.

Going to have to do the calorie recording a different day. Thursday, most likely.

 

Entry #28
Lats and abs:

Seated barbell press -- 5 sets; 15, 12, 6, 6, 8 reps

Smith-machine upright row -- 3 sets; 6, 6, 8 reps

Bent-over barbell raise -- 3 sets; 8, 8, 8 reps

Compound Sets

Lateral barbell raise -- 2 sets; 6, 8 reps

Front barbell raise -- 2 sets; 6, 8 reps

Decline bench weighted crunches -- 4 sets; 12, 12, 12 reps

Decline bench reverse crunches -- 4 sets; 12, 12, 12 reps

Increased the weight on overhead press to two 60 pound barbells
--120 pounds in all (on the 6 reps). Weighted crunches were torture,
definitely need to keep those up and possibly increase the weight from
two 25 pound plates on my chest to perhaps three next time, along with
reducing the reps from 12 to 8. Just a possibility. I've never had good
results with high reps for any weight-training exercise. It will be
interesting to experiment with this for my abs.

Tomorrow I'm going to monitor my calories for the whole day; my goal
is 4,000 calories or over. If it's less, I'll have to eat more in the
future. If it's more, I'll also eat more in the future.

Today's words of wisdom --

"GET OVER HERE" -Scorpion

 

 

Entry #27
Shawn: So who you gonna ask out to
prom?                                                  

Me: I'm not going, I think I have gym that
night.                                             

Shawn:
What?                                                                                              

Me: And then at night I was gonna practice punches on the bag,
and stuff. And I'll have to eat a big meal like every two hours or
so, it's not gonna work
out.                                                                                                                

Shawn: Dude, you're fucking stupid, and
insane.                                             

Me: You probaby don't wanna say that to me, I'll just take
it as a compliment!        

^ That was pretty funny, at school. On topic:

Weight lifting today consisted of chest and triceps.

Incline barbell press -- 5 sets; 12, 10, 6, 6, 8 reps

Decline barbell press -- 4 sets; 10, 6, 6, 8 reps

Compound Sets:

Flat dumbbell press -- 2 sets; 8 reps & flat dumbbell flyes -- 2 sets; 10 reps

Cable pulldown -- 3 sets; 10, 6, 6 reps

Dumbbell overhead extension -- 2 sets; 8 reps

Dumbbell decline bench extension -- 2 sets; 8 reps

And then a 51 g post-workout protein shake. I was able to complete
the compound sets much better than last week. Hopefully the increased
stamina will stay. I'll need it for push-ups tonight.

 

Entry #26
Taking a few-day break from lifting due to sore shoulders and arms. Not
a big deal, but I've also been having trouble with my gym account and I
should wait until that gets cleared up, so I have a valid excuse. In
the meantime, I'm working on push-ups as well as bag-work.

Yesterday, I got up to 35 push-ups. That is very bad. I need to
drastically build up my endurance. I've spent too much time
worrying about my bench-press and I've been neglecting push-ups every
night.