Jason's Pseudo-Double-D: Mills and a bigger CB

[JasonE]

This program will be a Pseudo-Double-D protocol. I will be working my way through a Mill Density Cycle with 10# CBs in the mornings, and at night I will play with my new 15# CB. Everything else will be treated as Active Recovery.

I am structuring it to meet the following goals:
1. Complete a Mill Density Cycle with my 10# CBs while continuing to work on my form.
2. Become comfortable using the 15# CB for simple movements.
3. Refine Bodyflow and Be Breathed practice.
4. Prevent overtraining and injury.
5. Lose weight.

Mondays
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + Mill Density w/10# CB
Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + 15# CB Basics

Tuesdays
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + Bodyflow + Be Breathed
PM - Escrima

Wednesdays
if working:
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + Mill Density w/10# CB
Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + 15# CB Basics

alternate program if not working:
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
Mid-Day - MMA Training + Warrior Wellness Intermediate
PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + 15# CB Basics

Thursdays
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + Bodyflow + Be Breathed
PM - Escrima or Swing Dancing

Fridays
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + Mill Density w/10# CB
Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate + 15# CB Basics

Saturdays
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
Mid-Day - MMA + Warrior Wellness Intermediate (if not working)
PM - OFF

Sundays
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
PM - MMA + Warrior Wellness Intermediate

NOTES:
1. I will take extra time off as my body dictates.
2. I will improve my diet.
3. I will focus on developing skill.
4. I will use Bodyflow, Be Breathed, Escrima and Swing Dancing as Active Recovery rather than as workouts.
5. I will stick to the CB movements I already know when working the 15.

[JasonE]

May 24, 2004
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate followed by
CST w/10# CBs - Mills - 40x5 L/R in 40 minutes. RT 6 RPE 5
Total Work - 400 reps at 10 reps per minute

Back was a little tight from grappling last night, but it loosened up nicely. Mill technique was pretty good most of the time, but I did bump myself a couple of times in the back and once on the knee. I have better control with my Left than with my Right. I will review the OCS Training Manual for tips on improving technique.

Since I am working one side, then the other, I can't use the exact same set/rep/time compression that I used for a Density cycle with Double Swipes. Today I basically did 40x5 in 20 minutes with each arm, for 40 minutes total.

I will work this up to 20x10 in 20 minutes with each arm, for 40 minutes total. This will build technique and some endurance. Once I've done that, I will work on speed.

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate

PM - CST w/15# CB - RT 8 RPE 6
Used Exponential Ladder Protocol from CT4CS, page 168
Clean to Order - Armpit Cast - Swing
Steps:
1 - 1 - 1
1 - 1 - 2
2 - 2 - 4
3 - 3 - 6
4 - 4 - 8
5 - 5 - 10

Went through these steps twice with each hand, switching hands after each time through. I had so much rest time for each hand that I could have spent a long time working through the ladder, but limited myself to twice through. Focused on maintaining pec-lat lock throughout, and had no trouble with joint stability under the extra weight.

Finished with Warrior Wellness Intermediate

[JasonE]

May 25, 2004
AM - Bodyflow and Be Breathed
Reviewed squat positions and posture, Knee switches, Squat Creep, Long Leg Creep, and standing to ground engagement and back up. Worked a few other movements as well, names escape me right now. Basically spent about 3-5 minutes on each one, occasionally blending one into another. Felt cool to really focus on the movements instead of just messing with them here and there amidst everything else.

Worked on standing and lying structural breathing and reviewed BB tape for fine points before pressing on. Picked the Butterfly and did slow reps over 15 minutes while concentrating on form and control. Got a nice gentle core workout that left me with a pleasant warm sensation while I got ready for work.

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate

PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate followed by Escrima

[JasonE]

May 26, 2004
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate plus Bodyflow and Be Breathed

MMA training session shot due to unexpected car issues, so just did the above to shed stress and get my body ready for the day.

[JasonE]

May 27, 2004
Woke up with sore right knee. Must have slept with leg in weird position. Odd tightness above and below the joint, in medial posterior quadrant. Was so busy during the day and evening that I didn't do Warrior Wellness, though I did move it about and massage the tense muscles now and then.

May 28, 2004
Knee slightly better, but still weird soreness. Abated somewhat, but still needs work. Like day before, didn't do Warrior Wellness, but moved it about and massaged it when I had the chance.

May 29, 2004 - Kicking myself!
AM - Warrior Wellness Beginner and Intermediate
Felt very tight getting out of bed, so integrated Warrior Wellness Beginner and Intermediate and did it all. TONS of tension throughout my body, with accompanying crepitus and some impressive popping noises. :shock: Knee much better but still has some odd tightness.

[JasonE]

May 30, 2004 - Slept most of the day, woke up feeling GREAT! That's pretty much it. :lol:

May 31, 2004
Mid-Day - Mixed bag CST session with various weights & low reps. Too guage the relative difficulty of handing various CB weights, I didn't choke up on any of them.
10# CBs - Double Swings, CTOs, Armpit Casts, and Swipes. Overall RT 10. No problem, made for a good warmup. :D

15# CB - Swings, CTOs, Armpit Casts, Parry Casts, Reverse Parry Casts, Head Casts, Torch Press, and F/B Pendulums. Overall RT 7. More difficult, but not too bad! Need to get another one so I can work doubles.

20# CBs - Double Swings, CTOS, F/B Pendulums, and Parry Casts. Overall RT 5. Very difficult to handle this much weight in each hand with no choke; had to bail out once. :oops: Will put these down and work up to them.

Kept total session to about 15 minutes, with short rest periods as needed. Overall RPE was a 5.

It was very educational to feel each successive weight increment at zero choke. While I can handle the 20#s somewhat, it will be a while before I start using them for combinations. I may incorporate them for strength development after this cycle is done, but there's no great rush. I did like the way I had to generate greater hip snap to move the 20#s... if I didn't really shoot my hips into it, they didn't want to go very far. Aside from that, the trick was to NOT augment the hip snap with my shoulders.

Looking at some pics afterward, I DID keep my back straight and fold at the hips this session. I've been focusing on not developing NEW bad habits, so it was good to see evidence that I'm on the right track. 8)

If I shed my BAD habits, I'll be doing great! :lol:

[JasonE]

June 1, 2004
PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
Escrima: Worked 1-for-1 drills with partners. Incorporated evasions, parries, blocks, and random striking angles. Emphasis was working technique, flow, and reading attacks. Worked stress drill with each person defending a random attack from everyone in the class as they came on in a line. Worked stress drill with person in the middle defending against attacks from surrounding ring of classmates. Very difficult, there was no pattern and no set timing. :twisted:

Learned that I passed my recent Escrima test and can now focus on studying for the next test. If all goes well, I may even be able to study and test for my first guro rank. :)

Soft-stick sparring after class was lots of fun. Did quite well in first matchup, was able to play the game I wanted. After discussing first match, I paired with the same guy for another match. Wise to my strategy, he was much more difficult and I took more licks. :?

June 2, 2004
AM - CST w/ 15# CB - overall RPE 6
Tried new approach to acclimate to weight of heavier CB.

Set 1 - No Choke - overall RT 7
1x12 - Swings L/R
1x12 - CTO L/R
1x12 - Armpit Cast L/R

Set 2 - 1/2 Choke - overall RT 8
1x12 - Swings L/R
1x12 - CTO L/R
1x12 - Armpit Cast L/R

Set 3 - Full Choke - overall RT 9
1x12 - Swings L/R
1x12 - CTO L/R
1x13 - Armpit Cast L/R

Most rest periods were just long enough to switch and do the other hand. However, I threw in 2 extra rests of 1-2 minutes where I needed them. I guess this takes care of part of the GPP requirement for CST Epsilon, but I will keep working these in with other exercises as I work to complete the requirements.

PM - CST w/10# CBs
Mills - 34x6 xL/R in 29:36 - RT 7 - RPE 7
Total Work: 408 reps at nearly 14 reps per minute

Huge jump from the last time. Increased reps by 8 while decreasing time by over 10 minutes. :shock: 8) This is partly because the movement grooved much more comfortably, and I felt better about going a bit faster. The other reason is that I only took a full rest break of 30 seconds after every 5 sets completed with both hands. Here and there I miscounted and got an extra rep, for a bonus.

Despite the reduced rest time, my grip felt great throughout, and I found my shoulders and upper body feeling the effort most. It took a conscious effort to establish and maintain the proper shoulder pack during the latter half of the session. Overall my form felt good, but I still lack consistency in the angles of the pendulums and casts. I lightly bumped my back once when my hand went too far behind me during the cast, but I corrected it immediately. :?

[JasonE]

June 3, 2004
Like a complete idiot, I forgot to do Warrior Wellness before or during work. I could feel the DOMS setting in, but I just didn't make time for it. By the time my work day was over, I was regretting my inactivity. :cry:

PM - Swing Dancing - Took my G/F out and twirled her for a few hours. Nothing like Warrior Wellness, but it certainly helped shake some stuff loose. Got a nice little sweat going, too!

June 4, 2004
AM - CST session - mixed bag - overall RPE 7
10# - Mills - 5x7 L/R - RT 8
15# - Swings - 1x12 L/R - RT 8.5
15# - F/B Pendulums - 3x12 - RT 8
15# - Parry Cast - 3x12 - RT 8
15# - Armpit Cast - 2x12 - RT 8
* No choke on any reps with 15# CB

This started as a Mill Density session, but my arms were still too sore, so I grabbed the 15# and worked other movements instead. My triceps and elbows loved the change! Working with the 15# CB is coming along much faster than anticipated. It's feeling very good so far, and by the time I get another one, I'll be ready to handle them properly. 8)

[JasonE]

June 5, 2004 - Day off for entertaining.

June 6, 2004 - First CST Group Session
Mid-Day - 80 degrees and sunny - perfect day for a group workout!

Warrior Wellness Beginner

Be Breathed - Basic Standing, Sitting, and Lying - 20 minutes altogether

20#Clubbell L/R (full choke)- Swings 1x10, CTO 1x10, F/B Pendulums 1x10. Overall RT 8, RPE 4

8# Clubbell L/R - Armpit Cast 1x10, Parry Cast 1x10, Reverse Parry Cast 1x10, Shield Cast 1x10, Swipes 1x5, Bullwhips 1x5. Overall RT 10, RPE 3

It was cool to work out with other people for a change. 8) There were 5 of us altogether, and one person came to observe. Occasionally someone in the park would come over and watch for a while, too. There was an excellent vibe going on! :D

During Warrior Wellness Beginner, it was cool to see other people struggling where I used to be, while enjoying the feeling of being where I'm at now. MAJOR difference!

Be Breathed is feeling good. The structural breathing is starting to come more naturally, and I didn't have to think too much while repping it out. Some people hadn't tried it before and were having a bit of trouble at first.

We skipped Bodyflow work due to time - we all wanted to work with the CBs!! :lol: One guy had outgrown his homemade 12#, so I loaned him my 15# for a test-drive. Then I grabbed my 20#! :twisted:

Basic ballistics with the 20# felt really good, if not quite easy. I really focused on technique and kept it clean and smooth. Choking up helped, of course. :wink: Switching to the 8# for grinds was almost laughable. It felt like a toy, by comparison. I am looking forward to getting back on my Double-D program after this mixed-bag session.

[JasonE]

June 7, 2004
Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness here and there at work.

June 8, 2004
AM - Warrior Wellness and Bodyflow
Focused on Squat Creep, Long Leg Creep, Knee Switch, & Shoulder Roll.

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate and Bodyflow
Focused on Squat Creep, Long Leg Creep, Knee Switch, Squat, Shoulder Roll, and simple combination: Knee Switch Squats :idea:

PM - MMA & Escrima
MMA Open Class - Light warmup, then grappled a bunch of guys for 4-6 minutes each. About 30 minutes grappling altogether. Felt good and didn't get tired. Movement and positional changes are getting better. Took a short break to watch my instructor grapple for 5 minutes... the man's like water, truly inspirational! Did my best to emulate his movement for the rest of my matches, with some success. :)

Escrima - Spent most of the night working Decuerdas disarms vs a stick. Hadn't done them in ages and was very rusty. Felt good and fairly smooth by end of the night.

June 9, 2004
AM - Slept in, body's been short of sleep lately.

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness Intermediate followed by
CST w/10# Clubbells
Mills - 29x7 xL/R - Did 5x7, turned on stopwatch, then did 24x7 in 24:18
RT 7.5 - RPE 7 - Took 30 sec break every 5 sets.

Mill skill is definitely improving, it took less effort to control arc of CB as it changed planes. Didn't whack myself at all, which is also a nice improvement. :lol: The shoulder pack is also coming more naturally, but I'm not comfortable enough to try the alternate grips in Doug's OCS Manual yet. I'll get to those later, after I've grooved the basic skill some more.

PM - MMA Training - 6-9 pm
Open Session - Helped coach newer students through some moves. No real effort, but got a little work in.
Technique Class - Good warmup, then spent the rest of the class working on escapes from armbar attempts.
Open Class - Spent 30 minutes drilling armbar escapes until the movements became easier. After a few thousand more reps, I should have them down. :) Grappled a bit, then finished with Warrior Wellness Intermediate.

[JasonE]

June 10, 2004
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate and Bodyflow
Reviewed Squat Creep, Shin Twist, Shin Switch, Shin Roll - Descending, and Shin Roll - Ascending.

Overall movement felt pretty good, though balance in midpoint can be challenging. I'll conquer that before too long. My goal is to have a certain measure of comfort with most of the basic Bodyflow movements and a few sample kinetic chains by CST Epsilon. Right now I am pretty much just working through the Bodyflow tapes and consulting the book for suggestions and insights.

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness plus some PNF and Yoga stretching

Felt unusual tightness in upper back along the spine. Worked Warrior Wellness for upper body, trunk, and hips. Still had some tightness so attacked it with several PNF stretches and yoga poses. Alleviated much of the tightness, but not all. Will monitor this over the next few days.

[JasonE]

June 11, 2004
AM - Warrior Wellness followed by
CST w/10# Clubbells
Mills - 25x8 xL/R in 25:02 - took 30-60 sec break every 5 sets
RT 7.5 - RPE 7.5

This was a pretty good session, except for the damn mosquitoes! :evil: Sans mosquitoes, I would have finished up 1-3 minutes sooner. During the last 10 sets, the little bastards were driving me nuts, and I had a hard time focusing on my work. Nearly hit myself twice when I reacted to them mid-swing. :( My lower legs are covered with bites. :evil:

Note to self: MUST WEAR MOSQUITO REPELLANT IN FUTURE. :oops: :roll:

Mid-Day - Did a little Warrior Wellness here and there.

PM - CST w/15# Clubbells
Swings - 3x5 - RT 9
F/B Pendulums - 3x5 - RT 8.5
Inward Pendulums - 3x5 - RT 8
Outward Pendulums - 3x5 - RT 8
Shield Cast - 3x5 - RT 6.5
Wrist Cast - 3x5 - RT 6

Overall RPE 7

Did all exercises with each hand. No choke on the Ballistics, 1/2 choke on the Shield Casts, and full choke on the Wrist Cast. I am feeling much more comfortable with the extra weight now, but I have a lot of work to do before CST Epsilon. :)

While this program is definitely progressing, a chaotic schedule has put me a bit behind, and I may have to suspend work on the Mill Density to get back on track. I will make my decision based on how this next week goes. I don't dare push too far into overtraining at this point in my preparations.

Finished day with Warrior Wellness.

[JasonE]

June 12, 2004
AM - Overslept! :oops:

Mid-Day - BJJ seminar with Rodrigo Vaghi, got there late so missed the warmup (a mixed blessing) - worked out from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Had a great time. Learned better ways of dealing with a variety of positions. Lots of work on standing grappling and self-defense strategies. Went into some depth on using awareness, positioning, subtle repositioning, and surrounding environment to advantage. Drilled clinching, takedowns, and lots of ground options (of course!). Emphasis was constantly on perfection of technique and implementation of universal principles underlying the techniques to flow with changing variables. Rodrigo Vaghi is an amazing teacher, and I STRONGLY recommend working with him or attending one of his seminars if you get the chance. His web site is www.submissionjiujitsu.com.

Did Warrior Wellness and took the rest of the day easy.

June 13, 2004
AM - Started day with a little Warrior Wellness, then went to Day 2 of Vaghi's BJJ seminar.

Mid-Day - Got to do warmups at seminar, always a challenge! Spent rest of seminar from 11:00 - 2:15 working ground positions, transitions, and techniques. Again, an amazing experience, Vaghi's skill as a teacher truly rivals his exceptional grappling skill. I walked out with my brain throbbing from the information download and still wanting more.

PM - Went to MMA class to work on some of the stuff Vaghi shared with us over the weekend.
Technique Class - reviewed some takedowns from guard against standing or kneeling opponent, then worked escapes and counterattacks against same, and finished with working a new entrance into a leg lock that I like.

Open Class - reviewed guard escapes and passes with white belt and gave basic principles of using guard position effectively in sport and in real life. Finished night with grappling a more advanced guy for a good while.

[JasonE]

June 14, 2004
AM - Got up feeling surprisingly spry! Not super-energetic right away, but not stiff and sore like I expected. Hallelujah!! :D

Started with breakfast: a 5-oz. steak with 1/2 cup of 1% MF cottage cheese, and water.

Warrior Wellness for my upper body followed by
CST w/10# Clubbells
Mills - 23x9 xL/R in 23:05 - took 30-60 sec break every 6 sets
RT 8 - RPE 7.5

Didn't expect to feel so good this morning, but after a little Warrior Wellness I was raring to go! My shoulders felt great in spite of the usual joint noises, and I feel that I will have Mills properly grooved within another week or so. I took the precaution of using bug repellant this time, so didn't have the mosquito swarm issue like last time. :lol:

Breaking the session into 6-set intervals changed up the overall dynamic by removing one of my rest breaks. I'm glad I did it, and I think I will stay with this until it seems feasible to split the session into just 2 pieces. I am actually contemplating finishing this cycle with a DOUBLE-GAMA set of 100 reps with each hand, non-stop, if I do decide to keep the 10# Mills instead of switching to working only the 15# exercises.

I will see how my body reacts to the training load this week and make my decision based on how I feel overall. My work capacity has definitely increased beyond what I thought I could handle! I am going to explore this capacity further before making a final decision.

[radiantkd]

4 parts to breakfast

within an hour of getting up
.4 - .6 grams of protein x your body weight divided into 3 meals.
every day
with a serving of complex carbs - brown things...whole grain toast, oatmeal

You got a great start! How about adding some brown?

Warmly,
Kathleen

[JasonE]

June 14, 2004
PM - CST w/15# Clubbells
Snatch to Bottom-Up Torch - 3x5 - L/R - Full Choke - RT 8
F/B Pendulums - 3x12 - L/R - 1/2 Choke - RT 9
Inward Pendulums - 3x12 - L/R - 1/2 Choke - RT 8
Outward Pendulums - 3x12 - L/R - 1/2 Choke - RT 8

Overall RPE 6. Stopped due to excessive mosquito bombardment in spite of using repellant. :roll: :x

Overall this felt good, and I did vibration drills every now and then. My left lower back tweaked slightly as I started the Inward Pendulums, so I did hip circles and infinities to loosen it up. It eased up and I finished the session feeling fine. I probably should have done Warrior Wellness first, but I wanted to get the CB work done before the mosquitos got any worse.

My grip was starting to fade a bit by the end of the Outward Pendulums, and it seemed like a good time to stop. I didn't trust myself to push through more sets while fending off the bugs. :lol:

Finished day with Warrior Wellness Intermediate

[JasonE]

June 15, 2004
Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up: Organic bagel, 1-1/3 cups 1% cottage cheese, and water.

AM - Be Breathed - Butterflies - about 20 reps - RPE 3
Bodyflow - about 20 minutes - RPE 3
- Shin Roll - Ascending
- Long Leg Creep
- Arm Screw
- Rear Leg Swing
- Double Shin Roll

Didn't have time to get Warrior Wellness in before getting ready for work. Will have to work on getting up earlier, as having breakfast "eats up" the time I once used for this. :roll:

Be Breathed Butterflies felt great, pretty easy actually, so will start increasing reps before working Pike position. Had a little tightness in left low back from yesterday.

Bodyflow was very challenging - I was working barefoot on highly frictive carpeting. Had to move very cautiously to avoid toe injuries. Will work with tape a bit more and then move to kitchen tile or back yard so I can rep out at normal speed with less danger of hurting myself.

Right now I am basically working through the tapes in exploratory fashion, using this as active recovery as opposed to really working any movements in particular. I am curious to see how each movement feels and what kinds of reactions they provoke in me. I haven't had any major emotional experiences while working through any of the CST protocols I have tried so far, and I am curious whether anything will come up during this initial survey of the Bodyflow tapes.

I do have difficulty getting my forward foot to rotate enough to assume a proper Triangle Squat, and the Shin Box is challenging due to limited outward hip rotation on my right side. The hip thing is due to an old injury from improper stretching :evil: and not realizing I had torn muscles until the scar tissue was well established. The foot rotation thing may or may not be related, but it is the same on both sides.

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness™ Intermediate - back tight, needed this!

PM - Escrima - 9:20-10:50pm
Worked Sinawali drills 2-6 for about 40 minutes, focusing on angulation of attacks and flow with partner. Experimented with chaining drills too. Spent the rest of the night working Decuerdas disarms.

Got a good sweat from this class, and actually felt my grip softening, which I attribute to Monday's PM session with the 15# Clubbell®. My sticks are starting to crack and break open, so must tape them and start looking for new ones.

[JasonE]

June 16, 2004
Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up: 9.6 oz steak, 7 low-fat Triscuits, and water. Not the most delicious breakfast ever... I will have to plan my meals better before I go shopping. :lol:

AM - Warrior Wellness Beginner and PNF stretching
Needed this! Left low back is still a bit tight from Monday. Did Beginner routine because it hits me differently than the Intermediate, and sometimes opens things up better. Felt great, but discovered a LOT of tension in my low back and hamstrings. :(

Feeling somewhat better, I attacked the tension with PNF stretching, starting with my upper back before moving down into the main problem area. Achieved some great releases and eliminated most of the tightness. :D

Since my old nemesis of tight hams seems to be coming back, I will have to work in 1-3 intensive stretching sessions per week, focusing on retraining the neuromuscular controls to let the muscles stay relaxed and allow greater ROM. For these sessions I will incorporate some of the methods recommended by Thomas Kurz in Scientific Stretching, 4th Ed.

[JasonE]

June 17, 2004
Breakfast - within an hour of waking up - 1 cup 1% cottage cheese, banana, and water.

Warrior Wellness and PNF stretching with some Bodyflow - about 30 minutes.

Low back and hams very tight again when I woke up. Suppose I should have done something before I went to bed, but live and learn. :oops: I followed my intuition instead of a routine today.

Body wanted to work some ROM and get into back, hips, and hams again. Upper body felt okay, but worked from top down to keep tension from creeping up into my shoulders. I have to assume this issue is a result of doing a Double-D day right after a HEAVY weekend of BJJ. Of course, I did a CB work day right before the weekend, so I walked into it in need of a rest and didn't take a rest after. Basically, I overtrained a bit.

As I moved through different positions, I noticed that my left ham is much tighter than my right, and at one point I felt some interesting tension all the way down into my left heel. Dropping into the Flat Foot Squat, then moving into Shin Box and doing Shin Switches seemed to help somewhat. I finished with some PNF stretching, using a spiral staircase to maintin progressively higher leg positions during the contractions. I would then relax into the position, contract the antagonist, and move up to the next step. This was working great, but time ran out before I got the big release I was hoping for. Future sessions will definitely incorporate more hamstring-loosening before I get into the heavy work.

[Scott Sonnon]

Jason,

Go with your intuition. It's working for you.

Up your breakfast protein. It will help!

[JasonE]

Thanks for the tip, I probably will add more protein soon. For now, it's odd just to be eating breakfast.

June 17, 2004

PM - Escrima Class - 9 to 11 pm
Warmups were fine, except that my grip endurance for "spider climbs" in which the stick is walked upwards through the grip still sucks. It's a thumb-intensive exercise, and my thumbs always tire and cramp before I complete the assigned number of reps. :evil: :cry: In all other exercises my grip endurance is excellent.

We worked Decuerdas disarms against sticks again. First we reviewed the disarms from Tuesday and cleaned them up a bit. After that we started working some new movements. For a short time, I tried working them with my other hand, and it was interesting to learn which movements still worked about the same and which ones had to be modified or discarded. Eventually I went back to working with the usual hand, and tried to polish the specific details of each movement.

PPM - Swing Dancing - 90 minutes
Took G/F swing dancing and got a good workout showing off with her. My cardio is much better for this than it used to be! 8)

June 18, 2004
Breakfast - within 30 minutes of waking up - 4.5 oz steak, 10 peeled baby carrots, and water.

Took it easy and visited with friends today. Got some walking in.

Finished with Warrior Wellness and some PNF stretching shortly before bed.

[JasonE]

June 19, 2004 - one more easy day!
Breakfast - within 1 hour of waking - 1 cup 1% cottage cheese, 12 peeled baby carrots, and water

This breakfast thing is getting easier, but I really need to plan better for some variety. :P I see a trip to the grocery store in my future. :lol:

Mid-Day - Warrior Wellness and Stretching - LONG SESSION
Still a bit stiff, so scrapped other plans to work out. Started with Warrior Wellness to work out the easy stuff and find the hard stuff. Noticed tiny pains in right ankle during some hip and torso movements. Pains eventually went away as I kept moving.

Once I got the worst of it worked out, I attacked the tight back and hamstrings with a combination of PNF stretching, Active Static, Passive Static, and Isometric stretches. I worked on every part of the legs and hips, and achieved some great releases in my right hip and low back. I also gained some moderate releases in my hamstrings. It's been a long while since I had a stretching session this intense and structured.

:idea: One new approach I tried was working the legs a couple of ways, then the back a couple of ways, then working the legs a few ways again. I also would take a posture and activate the stretches in 2-3 ways, using different combinations of breathing, tensing, and relaxing. By alternating muscle groups and methods, I hoped to prevent overstretching any one part, something I've regretted in the past. This approach did allow me to spend far more time stretching and making incremental gains in this one session than I had expected. I will have to try this again some time soon!

I thought of playing with Bodyflow a bit, but scrapped that when I realized that going from intensive stretching into movements requiring Stored Elastic Energy was not a good idea. :)

[JasonE]

June 20, 2004 - Day off
Breakfast - within 1 hour of waking - 1 cup 1% cottage cheese, wheat toast with jam, and water

June 21, 2004
Breakfast - within 1 hour of waking - 6 pieces turkey bacon, 2 waffles w/ maple syrup, and water

PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate followed by CST w/ CBs

15# - Full Choke
Snatch to Torch Position - 3x7xL/R - RT 7
Shoulder Cast - 3x5xL/R - RT 6.5
Head Cast - 2x5xL/R - RT 4.5

10# - No Choke
Head Cast - 2x5xL/R - RT 9

15# - No Choke
Parry Cast - 3x5xL/R - RT 9

Overall RPE 6

Warrior Wellness felt good, could tell my hamstrings and back are much looser. Overall mobility in my hips and low back were dramatically improved compared to a couple of days ago! :D I will continue to do 1-2 heavy stretching sessions per week to prevent a recurrence and hopefully increase my functional flexibility.

This was my first CB session in a week, and it was great fun to get back to it. I had planned to do the whole session with 15# CBs, but my right elbow tweaked a little and I had to mix in the 10# CBs to finish the Head Casts. The Parry Cast was added to work ROM and hopefully release some of the tightness in my right elbow. There's a lot of building to do to make up for the lost week, but everything feels pretty solid and I feel my body is ready for more.

[JasonE]

June 22, 2004
Breakfast within 1 hour of waking - 2 3oz chicken breast strips w 3 Tblspns melted cheddar cheese and 2 Tblspns salsa in a tortilla, 2 waffles w/ maple syrup, and water.

AM - Bodyflow session - 20 minutes
Double Shin Roll
Leg Swoop
Elevated Scorpion
Circular Scorpion
Long Leg Roll

This was a challenging little session. I have a very small space to work in while watching the tape, so I was constantly having to adjust my position relative to barriers to complete the movements. :P I will have to find a larger space to practice before these adjustments become ingrained into the patterns. :roll:

I've known for years that my hips need to open more, but this session underlined that fact again. I'm just glad I was able to work these movements without a warmup! The Long Leg Roll was the most difficult thing I tried... years of grappling has made it difficult to turn over in that fashion. Then again, objects in my path really limited my ability to drill it, so I'm back to the first challenge of finding a larger space. Since my work hours have just been radically changed for the worse, I may be up the creek without a paddle for a while. :evil: :evil: :evil: Wish me luck!

[Scott Sonnon]

For the worse? For the BETTER! Cleaning the Slate!

[JasonE]

Lemons and lemonade, Scott... we'll see what I can salvage from this mess.

June 22, 2004
Mid-Day - Bodyflow at work - 10 mins
Shin Switch Squats
Squat Creep
Long Leg Creep
Shinbox Switch
4CBD - Intermediate

Short but fun, grabbed a little space next to my cubicle and started playing. Right knee popped when I first started the SS Squats, but no pain and everything was fine from there on. I did a couple short laps with the Creeps and some reps of the other movements. I was particularly careful about maintaining balance in the middle portion of the Creeps, as that's where I am most likely to cheat.

PM - MMA & Escrima practice
MMA Open Class - arrived late so jumped right into grappling. Grappled most of 40 minutes, with 2 short breaks. This was a pretty good session for me. I've been working on positional control and transitions a lot, and I was tapping some fairly big guys with relatively little muscle. When they were done, I grabbed another big guy and started drilling sweeps against resistance. It was a great learning session for us, and we both walked away with a better understanding of sweeps in general. :D

Escrima - 9 to 10:30 pm
Warmups were pretty good, though shoulders were somewhat tired from grappling. "Spider Climbs" were much better, as thumbs were much less crampy than usual. I also noticed that when my thumb brushed the shirt I was still wearing from grappling, the extra sweat moisture made it much easier to maintain grip adhesion to the stick. :idea: Whenever the sticks became hard to move upwards, I would remoisten my thumbs and it would get easier again. I will not forget this trick anytime soon!

We spent an hour and 15 minutes doing 1-for-1 flow sparring at low speed. I worked it 75% with my right hand and 25% with my left hand. We used the Decuerdas short stick and attack angles for this drill. I am became very comfortable with this drill and used it to practice blocks, parries, evasions, footwork, and counter-attacking. Low speed was about 25% of full speed, so this was a nice relaxed pace for skill practice that was easy to maintain for a long time.

After Escrima was done, I took about 10 minutes to work some Warrior Wellness with a classmate who has tight shoulders. I also took advantage of the mat space to work Bodyflow for about 10 minutes:
Arm Screws
Elevated Scorpion
Circular Scorpion
Quad Switch
Shin Twist
variations on Pike position

June 23, 2004
Breakfast within 1 hour of waking - 2 2oz chicken breast strips w 1-1/2 Tblspns melted cheddar cheese in a tortilla, Cinnamon Raisin bagel, and water. Supplements: Multi-mineral, Omega 3 gelcap, Glucosamine/Chondroitin complex

Found myself getting hungry less than 2 hours later, so had some trail mix and started on a bottle of Mountain Dew. Had already drunk almost a liter of water at work, but stomach absolutely was demanding something more.

2 hours later stomach was feeling odd and a little bloated. Not hungry on lunch break so went for a walk that turned into shopping. Ran low on time, so had to run 5 blocks to get back to work on time. :oops:

Even though I haven't "gone running" for over a year, my breath had hardly quickened when I got back to work, and a few seconds of Performance Breathing got me back to normal. :shock: 8) I didn't break a sweat until about 10 minutes later, when I was at my desk working. This is a HUGE change from a few months ago, when I could barely have jogged the whole way, and would have been sweating and feeling like crap for an hour. What a great improvement! :D :D

PM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate followed by
CST w/ 15# CB

Snatch to Torch - 3x9xL/R - w/choke - RT 8.5
Shoulder Cast - 3x6xL/R - w/choke - RT 7
Head Cast - 3x6xL/R - w/choke - RT 6.5
Parry Cast - 3x9xL/R - no choke - RT 8

Overall RPE 6

Getting more comfortable with the extra weight, and am integrating breathing and rest of body with movements more effectively now. Dominant hand is handling change much more readily than off-hand, but the gap is closing! :D I will start looking at combination movements and a second CB when I have progressed a bit further. I think tonight's session went better than the last one partly because I gave myself more rest between sets.

[JasonE]

June 24, 2004
Breakfast - within an hour of waking - 2 2oz chicken breast strips, 2 waffles w/maple syrup, and water.

PM - MMA and Escrima
MMA Open Class - Spent 30 minutes grappling with and teaching a newbie. Light workout, but still good practice and review.

Escrima - Warmups went well, finally completed "spider climbs" without thumb cramps, simply by occasionally wetting my thumbs with sweat. :lol: The added adhesion made it much easier to maintain my finger-and-thumb-tip grips so the stick wouldn't start slipping.

Spent bulk of class drilling Inayan Sinawali patterns 2-7. Learned some fun variations and also practiced chaining them together. At end of class, each student picked a pattern and worked it with every other student, as fast as they could handle, with footwork and moving about the room. This was an excellent drill! I particularly enjoyed some of the variations we practiced, as the extra beats and occasional use of kicks adds a whole new richness to "the same old drills". :P :D I should have done Warrior Wellness too, but oh well. :roll:

[JasonE]

June 25, 2004
Breakfast w/in an hour of waking - 2 2oz chicken breast strips, 12 peeled baby carrots, and water.

AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate
Feeling kind of tight, especially in hamstrings and low back. Took time to work extra reps for hips, hams, and torso. Added in some extra movements to hit the muscles a little differently. Need to get some quality stretching in soon. Skipped CST work to focus on reducing tightness.

PM - CST session w/ CST Instructors Billy Cook & Asif Rafeek
Billy and Asif of www.ClubbellTexas.com were in town and we hooked up for an hour. They generously gave me their time to work on my CB technique and answer many questions. Thanks to them, my hip snap and pec-lat lock are *much* better, and I feel like I will be better prepared for CST Epsilon. :!: :D

I lost track of everything I did in terms of sets and reps... I was much more focused on grasping the fine points... the familiar movements I "knew" became new and different beasts. To make sure the new technical points become a natural part of the movements, I have dropped the Mill Density Cycle altogether. Instead, I have started a new program to get prepared for Epsilon, and this program is ended.

[JasonE]

June 26, 2004
Breakfast w/in an hour of waking - two 1.5 oz chicken strips w/10 peeled baby carrots and water
AM - Warrior Wellness Intermediate and Stretching session

Woke up feeling stiff, so used Warrior Wellness for DROM with a long, moderately intense stretching session afterward. Had some HUGE releases in hamstrings, hips, and low back. Was able to sit and move comfortably in some positions that I normally can't get into. I used a combination of PNF and Isometric stretches to achieve the releases, and at the end of the session I used Passive Static stretches to relax before moving about. I haven't set specific flexibility goals as yet, as my main concern has been to eliminate stiffness to facilitate progress with MMA, CST, and Bodyflow practice.

:idea: I may take some Before pics of my current flexibility so I can see what my future efforts do for me.

June 27, 2004
Breakfast w/in an hour of waking - two 1.5 oz chicken strips, organic bagel, and water

Took day off to visit with friends.

June 28, 2004
Breakfast w/in an hour of fully waking - Atkins Advantage Chocolate Shake - :roll: Was in a hurry, so gave it a try... they taste funny. Definitely not a great way to go! :P 20g protein, some nutrients, but few carbs and not at all satisfying.