Muay Thai last night focused on elbows. Uppercut and right cross. Traded off holding mitts with partner.

Axle Bench press
190 x 3
220 x 3
250 x 8

Dumbbell press
125 left, 85-90 right: 8, 8, 8
Super-set with dumbbell rows of same weight
Last 2 sets were with the 90 for my right arm.

Dips
10
45 x 8, 12
Super-set with dumbbell rows again

Facepulls, curls

Curled the 35 for 2 sets in the right arm, and then a set of 20 with bilateral curls using the 50 lb kettlebell. Feeling that worrying strain as the reps ascend but I don't think I'm in danger this far out from surgery. More likely it's just a weird sensation from going into uncharted waters, like every twinge that has ensued as a result of this sensation before. No such twinge this time which I consider progress.

New work schedule now that we have a third office worker. Two days off finally after...what, more than a year of only one day? And I work from 12-5 on Fridays. My hours have been slashed...but that's alongside getting off hourly pay and going on a salary. To balance that out, my rent has increased and I'm paying my dad's car insurance bills. 

Deadlifted up to 425x5 yesterday and did box squats up to 330x5. Also did neck crunches, hise shrugs, external rotations with a band, and Captains of Crush gripping.

In the evening I did two 3 minute MT shadowboxing and kicking rounds, then did 3 hill sprints, then a 10 minute run (faster than a mere jog).

Strict pressed 170x5 on Sunday.

Made myself go to Muay Thai yesterday after an 11-hour workday. New coach, introduced as Jose. Old coach, Anthony, participated in the class as a student. Class was largely about teeps, which I discovered today I'm not good at. I haven't been extending my hips enough so they lack force. Practiced on the wall first, where I felt kind of stiff when extending my leg. We shielded up and my partner was coach Anthony. Rather than move him with the teep I was moving myself backwards and my footwork was getting all messed up. Will work on the hip extension in my own time.

Learned elbow upper-cut for the first time.

Deload

Bench press
110, 135, 160 x 5

One-arm dumbbell press (left)
125 x 3, 9

Dips
10
50 x 10
70 x 8, 7+7 bodyweight,

Bent-over barbell rows
215 x 6, 8, 8, 7
Wide-grip with axle: 110 x 10

Did a deload box squat workout on Tuesday and had a good sparring session later although my legs began to cramp. Got told not to stand so upright and be more assertive when checking kicks. My partner didn't even know I was checking them because they weren't very solid. Should slow the pace down so they're not half-hearted.

Bench pressed 230x8 yesterday and moved up to dumbbell pressing 125 in my left and 85 in my right. Only did that one set. Other times was 115 and 80, respectively. Lots of rear delt work, as well.

Another food-filled weekend. For my friend Sam's birthday we went to Hamburger Mary's in San Francisco. Fried pickles might just be the greatest appetizer I've ever had. Also went to Oktoberfest the next day. At the end of the night the girl at one of the food stands dumped a ton of sausages they still had on our plate, way more than what our tokens were worth.

Did a deload strict press workout, up to 160x5 and doing that same weight for axle incline benching. Yesterday went on a 20 minute run after my overtime workday.

Running yesterday. 4 hill sprints and a jog afterwards. Legs felt heavy. Deload week should do me well. Knees have been hurting, both of them.

Tuesday: deadlifted up to 415x5. Also RDL'd after box squats with 315, double-overhand. Went to Muay Thai in the evening. Sparred, rotating with this big guy Aaron and coach Tyler. 

Yesterday did a deload. Bench pressed up to 160x5 and did dips as my assist work. Also threw in a 125x9 dumbbell press for my left arm. Muay Thai again in the evening. Helped a new guy out with the Thai pads. No sparring. Stayed a little late after class to help coach Anthony clean up.

Strict pressed 185x1 on Friday. Assistance work consisted of incline benching and dips. Went out to dinner at a Persian restaurant and ate a lot of food.

Went to the beach for my friend Azzy's birthday on Saturday. No training on this day, but here's a group picture as well as the massive turkey leg I wolfed down along with garlic fries that had me feeling sick after I went on a bunch of spinny rides right after.

Didn't train Sunday; was running on 3 hours of sleep and went to bed early after work. Yesterday I came home from my overtime day and set out to go on a run but got asked by my sister to move a bin full of dirt out on the driveway. Took me about 30 minutes to finally get it over the curb. Was happy about the exercise, though. Went on a 10 minute jog afterwards.

Only went to Muay Thai once so far this week. Have been busy but I could have made it if I tried harder. Will do better.

Sparred yesterday. Total of three partners. A tall, lanky guy who seemed to have some decent experience, a girl, and the assistant coach. Need to time my meal before training better. I was feeling full. Kick accuracy is coming along. I can actually throw inside leg kicks with some force and not worry about hitting the groin. Kicking speed is much better as well. Need to keep the hands and elbow up when throwing the spinning back kick. Didn't land it once this time, need to gauge distance better.

Yesterday:

SSB squats
350 x 5
400 x 3
455 x 1
Left knee, which is not the one that usually hurts, was hurting pretty bad today up to 250 during my work-related sets. Got better the heavier I went.

330 x 9, 9, 8

Swiss ball leg curl-ups

4 hill sprints in the evening.

Yesterday:

Axle Bench press
200 x 5
230 x 3
255 x 7

Dumbbell press (115 left, 80 right)
9, 8, 10, 8
Super-set with dumbbell rows x 8-10 (115-125 left, 80-100 right)

Rear-delts, curls

Muay Thai practice in my living room at night for 20 minutes total. 2 minute rounds, 1 minute restaurant.

40-ish minute jog yesterday evening.

Right arm has been hurting at the surgery site ever since bench press day on Tuesday after I did a set of 35 lb curls. It hurt worse at the end of Muay Thai on Thursday and hurt again today after strict pressing. May have all originated from last Saturday when I did an unprecedented amount of lifting with it during the move.

Strict press
135, 155 x 3
175, 1, 3
Super-set with pull-ups x 6
Really didn't want to fail a second cycle of this so I belted up and used my mouthguard. Easy enough that I attempted a 4th, but didn't have it.

Landmine press (left arm)
3 plates x 8
3 plates + a 10 x 8

Incline Bench press
160 x 3 x 8
160 x 7
130 x 8

All pressing sets were super-set with various rep ranges of NG pull-ups and T-bar rows, with some unilateral heavy ass dumbbell and Meadows rows with the left arm. Going easy on the bicep.

Overhead band pull-aparts, some light curls

May skip deadlifting tomorrow and just do box squats.

Sparred yesterday. Lots of improvements, so I'll focus on what I need to work on the most at the moment: range. Need to more confidently establish offense and defense zones as explained in the Bazooka Joe training video I watched. Kicks and punches are still falling short because I'm too far. Also hitting my toes, though it's on my lead leg this time. Inside leg kicks, and pretty much anything with my right leg, were accurate.

Sparred with the assistant coach, Coach Tyler, at one point. We mostly went at an easy pace but occasionally he would explode on me. I defended well. None of his hard punches landed if I'm recalling correctly. Two hard body kicks did. The first one I tanked. The second one was stronger and came with 10 seconds in the round left. Knocked the wind out of me bad. The sound of his connection was very audible. I stumbled and my inner bitch told me to take a break. Ignored it and tried to fake being fine by coming forward. He went easy on me in the remaining seconds.

Had a last spar with my friend Daniel, who is moving gyms. Fun as hell. Fast but not too hard. My legs were flexible and I landed with my first head kicks ever. He blocked but the fact I got my foot up there was new for me. He commented on that. Also landed a spinning back kick.

At the end, coach Anthony asked us the usual "One thing you did well, one thing you need to improve upon, and one thing you learned." Daniel used me as his answer for the thing he learned: I have heart and am a pressure fighter who continuously comes forward.

Yesterday:

SSB squats
330, 380, 430 x 3
Ate like a fat kid before training, seemed to work well for energy levels.

330 x 8, 8

SSB lunges
180 x 18
Super-set with good mornings x 8

Later in the evening, some Muay Thai practice at home and then 4 hill sprints right after.

Good mornings
180 x 9

Axle bench press
190, 215 x 3
245 x 8
Dumbbell rows at the end with 100 x 10 left arm and 80 x 8 right

One-arm dumbbell press
Right: 80 x 8
Left: 125 x 7

Dumbbell press (80 right side, 100 left)
9, 10

Rear-delts, curls

Deadlifted up to 395x5 on Friday, this time using straps. Did hill sprints a few hours later 4 times up the hill and back.

Helped a friend of a friend move for most of the day on Saturday.

Overhead press
125, 145, 165 x 5

Incline bench press
135 x 8
155 x 8
185 x 8, 6
Super-set with pull-ups up to 35 x 8

Rear-delts, curls

Muay Thai in the evening. Substitute coach. Did a lot of conditioning but it all involved striking instead of calisthenics so I was cool with it. tells us afterwards that as a fighter he's not the most technical guy so he was playing to his strength in training us.

So I missed Muay Thai on Monday because the shorts I brought with me to change into after work were too big. No way I could train in them without keeping them up. I actually got to class and realized this. I reasoned that not having had a day off training in awhile and wanting to succeed at squat day tomorrow I could afford skipping.

SSB squatted 405x5 yesterday and only did 2 sets of 330 for 7 to keep the volume low. Ate a lot beforehand: eggs, oatmeal with berries, pizza, half a donut, milk, and coffee. Going to make this a habit before heavy squats.

Made it to class yesterday after squats. Felt really fresh and hyper after the squats.

Went out for an after-dinner walk last night and felt my blood sugar levels crash. Ended up wolfing down a slice of wheat toast, some hummus, and lots of cottage cheese. Tells me I had too many high GI carbs post-workout.

Progress picture on the arm. June 2017 to yesterday.

Let's see what I missed...didn't record my deload squat day but I did that, and did Muay Thai on Friday which consisted of bag work for 45 minutes on my own. Got called into work suddenly on Saturday so did that (mostly watched movies and chilled with a friend who visited and had lunch with me), then did deadlifts after work up to 375 for 5 reps. Gripping it double overhand was hard but I managed.

Worked again today and did this in the evening again.

Axle Bench press
175 x 5
200 x 5
230 x 8

One-arm dumbbell press
Left arm: up to 125 x 8, 7, 8
Right arm: 100 x 0; 80 x 10, 10, 10
Super-set with dumbbell rows (125x8-10 left arm, 100 x 8 and 80 x 8, 8 right arm)
Notes: probably could have done the hundred but felt very gun-shy when I had the weight in my hand.

Dumbbell skullcrushers
50 and 35 (left and right arm) x 10, 8
35 both arms x 10
Super-set with with curls using same dumbbells

Dumbbell chest flyes with 35s

Rear-delt raises, facepulls

Good workout. Finished in just a little over an hour. Really happy to be dumbbell pressing heavy again in the right arm.

Muay Thai yesterday was super fun. Practiced the spinning back kick for most of the class.

Deload

Overhead press
Up to 135 x 5

Incline bench press
135 x 8, 10, 10, 10, 10
Super-set with pull-ups x 8-10

Landmine press
3 plates x 8
Super-set with pull-ups x 10

Facepulls, curls

Sparring yesterday evening. Rotated between 3 different partners, one being coach Anthony. Finding my kicks falling short when fighting Anthony. Need to stay on the balls of my feet under fatigue so I can spring forward and find my range rather than plodding forward. Exhibited good head movement this time and only got tagged a few times. Guard needs to stay up by the temple when punching. Lots of stuff I know but I let slip when tired. Tried a couple spinning back-kicks that missed but I didn't pay for, at least. Need to practice checking more, my reaction time isn't the best but I improved by the end of the session and was catching most things.

Left leg and thigh are extremely sore today.

Was the only person to show up for sparring Friday again. Was told they are changing the class to an open gym session for that reason and we will do sparring throughout the week. Hit the bag for the 45 minutes instead.

Yesterday:

Deload

Axle bench press
110, 130, 160 x 5

Dips
10
10 x 10
50 x 10, 12
Super-set with T-bar rows of 165 x 10

Skullcrushers, curls, rear-delt flyes

Deadlifts
315 x 3
375 x 3, 4
Goal was 5. Couldn't double-overhand past 3. Went upstairs and dug out my chalk before returning for an easy 4.

SSB box squats
290, 310 x 5
330 x 3

Muay Thai on Wednesday. Sparred with two people, my buddy Daniel and a real heavy-set guy who punched too hard after we agreed on 50% but was so slow that it didn't matter. With how much I let him breathe and held back on strikes that connected though I kept thinking if I was going anywhere close to as hard as he was swinging at me he'd be flatlined. Daniel was fun to spar with as always. I'm focusing on finding my range so punches don't fall short anymore. Afterwards he commended my body mobility but that my head wasn't following suit. More head movement.

Did a press workout yesterday. Got 185 for a single and then incline benched with the axle for 165x7-9 reps for several sets. Then I FINISHED up with a max effort landmine press with 3 plates for 8 reps. I haven't been doing as much unilateral pressing the last 2 weeks but I've decided it's important to keep it up until I'm using my other arm for truly heavy weight that matches where I used to be.

Did some yoga and some non-static stretches (dynamic kicks and PNF hamstring stretches with a band). Do this everyday, even for just 5 minutes. No static stretches unless it's after a training session and I'm very warm.

SSB squatted 400x2 today. Everything felt like a ton of bricks again. No way was I going to hit 450.

Been a rough cycle. I think I need a serious reset of my training maxes. My current number for my squat is over 500 and I'm pretty sure I can't hit that right now...and that's just a training max.

Still, that doesn't explain why I'm failing under numbers I succeeded at recently. Obviously I'm losing weight and doing Muay Thai. Another thing, though, is my low carb diet. I'm eating carbs peri-workout, but still going into sessions feeling kinda empty. I couldn't even muster more than one set of 330x8 today (just did one set of 8 and then a drop-set all the way down to the bar, after initially just grinding out 1 rep). I've been eating oatmeal with water and frozen berries as my carb source before lifting, after a morning of just lean meat and veggies. For a grueling lower body session I should try eating more.

Post-workout meal was a big-ass veggie lasagna that I've wolfed down easily. 1200 calories and 60 grams of protein. Yeah, this tells me to eat more before squats.

Muay Thai yesterday after the usual 11-hour Monday. Way bigger class size than I was expecting for a Monday. Usually it's just me and 1 other person. Mostly new people, so we did some casual stuff like a fitness circuit for the first third of the class. Went from the bike, ab wheel, jump-rope, and dips, all in succession, for several rounds. Took the dips to failure.

Worked several combos after. Am staying more on the balls of the feet than I have been before, but need to pivot more when I throw a left hook.

Deadlifted heavy for the first time since surgery. 355x5. Arm hurt the next day when making a twisting motion but was better the day after that.

Yesterday bench pressed 255x4. 1 was the minimum but it felt light.

Went to Muay Thai 4 days last week. Nobody to spar with on Friday. Hit the bag and coach held mitts for me.

Overhead press
135 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 2
Clear to me now that my estimated training max is just too high.

Attempted dumbbell push press and couldn't even get the 115 up once. Guess I really needed to recover this week after feeling rundown last week.

135 x 7, 7, 8
Super-set with pull-ups x 8-12

Incline dumbbell press
50s x 10, 12
Super-set with pull-ups x 8

SSB squats
335 x 3
380 x 3
430 x 1
Almost failed that rep. Everything felt ultra heavy. Also felt like my back was about to crumple under the weight. Worked abs to failure in Muay Thai the day before which could be to blame.

Strip set of 330x8, 240x9, 150x10, 60x12.

RDL
215 x 8, 10

Right knee is really hurting now. It wasn't bad during the session but it's worse at night. Did extensive static stretching in the evening and I'm suspecting that's causing it.

Did a bench press workout on Saturday. Up to 240x3 and repping 215x7-8 for assist work. Rows were up to 215x8.

Ate horribly on Sunday. Had frozen yogurt in the afternoon and then a huge noodle bowl at the mall followed by Cinnabon for dessert. Probably good weight gain for arm growth, though.

Made sure to make it to Muay Thai yesterday after working overtime. Only me and one other guy. Classes are shrinking drastically. It's the cardio and kids classes that are big. This really sucks, but it does get me more 1-on-1 training. Coach Anthony told me I'm still not swiveling on the ball of my foot enough when I kick, especially with left leg kicks. I need to work on my footwork in general. Will keep watching Bazooka Joe's tutorial videos and practice out of class. It will be a big focus for me going forward.

We worked a combo on our partner's mitts: 1-2, block left hook, 2-3. Add on outside right leg kick. Next, add on 3-2, then inside leg kick.

Finished with 3 rounds on the bag. 1 round boxing, 2nd round kickboxing, 3rd Muay Thai.

Used the 12 oz gloves on the bag:

Damn, what a week. Did a strict press session on Tuesday that my phone ate up. Started the 5/3/1 protocol for that lift. Attempted 165x5 but could only muster 3. Definitely overestimated my training max.

Went to Muay Thai on Wednesday but came an hour early because I mixed up the class schedules. Found myself in the cardio kickboxing class. Said fuck it and joined in. It was a good workout. We did some things that had my body aching because of soreness from weightlifting - in particular, anything with squats and some TRX rows that I REALLY dug. Also did partner sit-ups and plenty of actual striking, albeit much more simply than in Muay Thai.

Right after was Muay Thai. Just me and one other girl, so I led the warm-ups. Two more people joined after warm-ups. We drilled a really long combo on the bag the whole class. Was tired but felt fresher as the session went on.

Yesterday, I went on a 40 minute jog. Whole body was still sore from Monday.

Muay Thai in the evening. With our partner we would throw a punch and a kick, switching off. My partner was coach Anthony which is always fun. I was chasing him around and getting tagged, but my jab found its target several times while he was showboating. My sense of distance is something I'm really going to focus on.

Other partners were either more inexperienced than me or, in the case of one guy, more out of shape, so I significantly held back and took the opportunity to lightly work on inside leg kicks and higher body kicks against moving opponents.

Told coach I'd been watching Bazooka Joe tutorial videos on YouTube at his behest and he invited me to stay after hours and work on things as I wanted to. Ended up staying until 9 pm. Took some bagwork video.

Ate a lot over the weekend. Went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival Saturday afternoon and ended the evening at an Italian restaurant for my niece's birthday. So much pasta. Alcohol intake was a single tequila drink with dinner and when I recoiled at how much sugar it had I cut myself off there.

SSB squats
310 x 5
360 x 5
405 x 5
Been having right knee pain the past few weeks. Warmed up extensively today and I didn't feel it today.

Neck crunches between squat sets. Forward, backwards, and each side with the thick Iron Woody band.

310 x 8, 8, 8

Hise shrugs
310 x 20

Romanian deadlifts
215 x 2 x 8
First time deadlifting anything since last year, or picking up something that weighs this much for that matter.

Did 4 hill sprints on Thursday. Just wanted a short, 10-minute burst of activity to counter the hour-long Muay Thai sessions.

Yesterday was sparring. For the third time now only I showed up for the class. My buddy Daniel was already there for some earlier open gym training and was surprised someone showed so he decided to stay and spar. Coach Anthony remarked how he's probably going to nix the class because nobody ever attends, but that he'll incorporate sparring throughout the week so I'll still get the training in. His other idea was to maybe invite other gyms to spar on this day. People are wimps.

My defense is really bad. It's okay for the first round or two but it quickly deteriorates if I'm working up a sweat. My chin comes up too much and I leave myself open when I throw if I'm a little tired. I also need to move more laterally when under fire instead of backing up.

My jab continues to give everyone trouble and they remark on that, which is cool. I'm throwing more kicks now and trying to stand more laterally at behest of the coach, although I just watched a YouTube video where the instructor says that in Muay Thai you want to stand square unlike in boxing. 

At one point I checked a kick and he was limping so he took a break. 

Near the end of the session I got caught in a combo that ended with a head kick that caught me right under my eye. I saw stars and had to stop because I couldn't see out of it for several minutes, so coach called it a day. There was a lot of blood.

Just rested up for the remainder of the night because I work today. Went out to Rite-Aid and bought some butterfly band-aids. Already had Neosporin.

Wednesday I started the 5/3/1 protocol for the bench press. Think I may go back to axle pressing, as it just feels better and I have no meet coming up.

Bench press
170 x 5
200 x 5
225 x 8

Dips
12
45 x 10, 10, 10
Super-set with pull-ups up to 45 x 8

Rear delts, curls

Muay Thai at night.

Yesterday I box squatted up to 330x5 for 3 sets, did walkouts with 470, and good mornings with 150. Tweaked my right lat muscle just by working up with 290. Nothing too bad, just some discomfort.

Sparred in Muay Thai. First guy was a smaller guy I've went at it with before and am friendly with. This time he was really wailing on me despite the coach saying he wanted very light contact. Nothing I couldn't handle but was annoying. My shins and left glute are very sore today from his kicks. He also kicked me in the dick right as the round ended. I mostly kept it light but clocked him a few times when I felt he was benefitting too much from the fact that he didn't have to worry about my strikes hurting as badly.

Other two partners were good. Noticed that my chin starts sticking out a little when I'm tiring. I don't gas anymore, though.

Went to sparring on Friday and was the only one who showed up. Worked the heavy bag for a bunch of rounds until coach Payam, who was skipping rope nearby, approached me and said he'll spar. Boxing only. We went several rounds at an intensity I wish everyone here could adopt. He hit just hard enough to punish but that's it. He complimented my jab that snuck through several times. In return, his body shots started to find their way in by the later rounds, including one that mildly knocked the wind out of me. I would say we did 6 or 7 rounds and my cardio held up well. After we were finished I used the exercise bike for 5 minutes to cool down.

On Saturday I did a deload overhead press workout. Push pressed the 100 lb dumbbell for 4 reps and strict pressed 130 x 8 for several sets, all super-set with bodyweight pull-ups. Went to a pool party and barbecue that afternoon at George's.

Deload squat workout yesterday, up to 280x5 and repping 250x8 for 3 sets. Did rear-delt and external rotation work between sets. Also, neck crunches.

Was 9 minutes late for Muay Thai due to an accident on the freeway but the substitute coach was cool about it. I walked in and 4 people were already partnered up and doing kicks down the length of the gym against the shield. Coach held one for me and we went way faster than everyone else. Left kicks going down the gym, rights coming back, and then repeat for push kicks. I finished before everyone else so I skipped rope and stretched.

Worked on several combos against the Thai pads next. Too many to remember but one involved a 1-2, right elbow, left uppercut, right elbow again. Elbow in a downward fashion, like it's divebombing. Much more powerful. Coach greatly mixed things up by calling random shots out for me to throw between combos.

Finished up with a minute of speed kicks on the heavy bag each side, then planks.

Yesterday:

Deload

Landmine press up to two 45s + 25 x 8, 8
Super-set with dumbbell rows x 100, 115 x 8

Dips
Up to 25, 45, 45, 45 x 10
Super-set with weighted pull-ups of 45 x 8
Decided to just plunge right in and go for it with the pull-ups. Couldn't resist with a 45 hanging off of me once again. Used a little leg drive here and there and could feel my arm being strained but still just terrific to be able to do.

Dumbbell press with 50s
20, 17

Facepulls, curls

Went to Muay Thai later. Got taught by my partner some good defensive moves, which I desperately need more work on. Slip the jab, jab the body and throw an overhand right. Now this made my arm feel it, but I was able to proceed and is something I'm going to keep working on. Really glad to have a good partner like this.

Had a fun and restful weekend, then did a deload leg workout yesterday after my overtime shift. Worked up to 170 lb lunges for 14 reps over 4 sets. Added super-sets with good mornings x 8. Really like the suckiness and am going to keep doing this.

Ordered 2 new sets of wraps for Muay Thai so I can rotate them out when others need to be washed. The $330 headgear I want is available in black on Rakuten. Can't pull the trigger on it this week but hopefully next.

Strict press
Up to 180 x 1, 3
200 x 0
Super-set with pull-ups x 8-10

One-arm dumbbell push press
115 x 2, 3

Bench press
215 x 6, 8, 8, 8
Super-set with pullups x 10

Lots of sets of dumbbell presses, facepulls, lat raises, and curls

Heavy session. I would like to run a full 5/3/1 program for all the lifts after this deload. I should be able to start deadlifting again, I believe.

Muay Thai yesterday consisted of a lot of defensive work. Partner attacked with just a jab and middle kick and I had to either block or parry and check. Added on longer and longer combos. Payed special awareness to not moving in the direction of the incoming strike. Block the hook while swaying away from it, move away from incoming kick. One of my most productive sessions in awhile because I got to focus on defense so much. Will come in handy for sparring.

Three consecutive days and no mishaps from landing my feet wrong on kicks. Toes are thanking me.

Weight loss pictures from January to yesterday. Flexing in both pics.

Muay Thai yesterday. First we went down the length of the gym throwing two speed kicks on each side at the Thai pads, alternating each time. Even before I did anything the substitute coach knew me well enough to preemptively tell me to keep high on my toes when kicking. Followed up with push kicks, again going down the length of the gym. Next was one minute each side of non-stop speed-kicks. Calves started to hurt at this point. Good.

Drilled various combos next. At one point we had to slip the jab and throw a right upper-cut. I got told to not exaggerate the slip. Just make it a quick and sharp movement. I've been watching too much Ippo, I think.

Finished up with ab work.

Yesterday:

SSB squats
350 x 5
400 x 3
445 x 1

330 x 7, 8, 8

External rotation and rear delt work, neck crunches

Swiss ball leg curls

Right knee is hurting. Did hill sprints few hours later.

Went to Muay Thai yesterday after the usual 11-hour Monday workday. Just two other people and the substitute coach. We warmed up and donned shields. 30 seconds of speed kicks each side, then 30 seconds of low kicks, also each side. Switched partners and used Thai pads. I held for a girl named Jazz whose two brothers also go here (one of them is the big dude who I've heard has been MIA due to wrestling). Combo we worked on was 1-2-1, right elbow, switch knee. Not too much to report here. We did this for most of the class and then switched to a non-stop 1-2 pyramid on the heavy bag of 20 seconds, 40, 60, 40, 20. Then same with knees. Finished with abs.

Some areas I'm really focusing on after my last sparring session are staying less square in my stance and having a tighter guard. We all had problems with hands dropping when first learning how to throw punches, but another bad habit, even after that's been eradicated, is keeping the hands too low by the chin and not protecting the face.

Have been stretching periodically and felt more limber in class. Nothing too crazy, just doing hamstring and split stretches when I have a few free minutes at home or work.

Picked up a dip stand for $25 today from a Craigslist seller.

Workout consisted of warming up on the bench press, doing landmine presses with three plates x 8 for 3 sets, and working up to sets of 10 dips with a 25 lb plate. Felt easy. Should be good for 45 next time. Very happy about that.

Also, visible in the picture above is the 195 lb barbell I'm rowing. Feels heavy on the repaired bicep but so far so good. Finished up with a bunch of curls. 

Had an eventful weekend. Ate a lot. Hooters feast last night watching UFC 226. My boxing coach, TJ Johnson, actually helped Cormier train for Stipe. He hasn't been coming to the gym in awhile, though.

I also didn't log a feast on the 4th of July. Have probably gained weight this week, but the good thing is it just means my arm will grow. 

Went to sparring on Wednesday. Going to just write some notes as a stream of consciousness kind of deal. Here's a short clip that coach Anthony Instagramed of me and my partner at the time, Aaron.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KBBnHmxib1w836k17

Need to stop standing square, keep my shoulders up, and check more kicks in general. The most important thing, though: hit hard if we're sparring hard! Unlike previous times, sections were the mat was divided into hard and soft sparring areas. Only three people chose the hard sparring, including me. When fighting either of my partners, I realize now only after the fact that I never made them pay for rushing in on me and I was greatly holding back while they were not. I just can't wait to go back and do it again.