Okay to open this blog I will detail a few things about myself and where I am at in my training today.
I will turn 53 this spring.
I have been involved in martial arts of some kind throughout my entire life and Uechi for the last 18 years. My school is going into its 14th year.
I have a sedentary job and while I trained all the time I also taught. Teaching can allow you to slip into a “teaching” mode rather than a training mode. This coupled with some bad eating habits meant I had put on a lot of weight. I was still active and functioning but too heavy.
As my martial training progressed I found more and more we explored what we called the Dragon portion of Uechi which required a loose and flowing body. Something I did not have.
The first step to where I see myself being started in May 2007 when I (and my wife) shifted all our eating habits and I pushed to have a more active training participation in my teaching. Between May 2007 and December 2007 I had lost 50 pounds and was feeling better but not where I saw myself.
I started to seek training that would help my looseness and obtain the flow I wanted. I got into some beginner Yoga.
On January 12, 2008 I found Scott Sonnon’s material and began Intu-Flow. It changed everything. That looseness came through the restoration of joint health and mobility. Since then I have invested in a few of his programs: Intu-Flow, Ageless Mobility, Be Breathed, FlowFit 1, FlowFit 2, Body Flow, Grappler’s Toolbox, Prasara Yoga Instructional (DVD and Book), Forward Pressure, Softwork, Softwork Integrating Structure, The three Dimensional Pyramid Training Manual, Xtension and miniclubbells, we have a pair of ten pound clubbells at the dojo (bought by a buddy of mine) and I continue to get my next order ready.
I have never spent as much on training material over the Internet as I have on Coach’s work but I am always more thank happy once I get the programs as they are excellent. And as I said I am already getting the next order together.
So over 2008 I regain mobility that … actually I obtained mobility that I never had.
Then in November and December I slipped off the good eating habits and through a number of events trained a little less and I gained back some weight.
Just a small blip that will not reoccur, so it is back on track.
To help with that I purchased an E-Book (my first ever) created by two of Scott Sonnon’s coaches: Adam Steer and Ryan Murdoch.
It is a 185 page E-book exceptionally well laid out and easy to follow and embedded in the book are links to go and download video clips on the various program exercises.
The e-book is “The Bodyweight Exercise Revolution.”
There are five programs in the book for various goals, for example fat burning and strength.
The book is laid out according to the RMAX 4 x 7 protocols which means 7 sets of 4 day programs. You work through levels of intensity: No, Low, Medium and High. The theory behind the protocols is that you body takes 36 hours after the medium and high intensity days to recover and most of the time we do not allow for it therefore we are working at a deficit because our bodies have never been allowed to recover.
As you might have deduced I started with the fat burning program and I started January 4th at Level 1.
All the programs have levels so with 5 sets x 4 Levels they could take almost a year to work through.
To follow the protocols as closely as possible I am going to pretty much limit my training to Uechi and the program.
So far I have competed two cycles (8 days) and I have lost 5 pounds which is great.
I am not focusing on that so much as just enjoying doing the program but I wanted to record the results so that requires taking a look each day at the progress.
I will post more and I hope people enjoy recording their martial arts / physical training on our new blogs.
Tonight I was on a LOW intensity day so I did a thorough Intu-Flow and Tape number two beginner Yoga by Natasha Rizopoulos:
http://www.natasharizopoulos.com/