Absence of workouts...

I haven't been doing anything lately. NO push ups. NO crunches. I just fizzled out. I need to follow what a new friend has recommended and keep an actual physical journal of my workouts. That way I have something I can pull out and say, "I DID do what I was supposed to do on this date." Plus, I need to set a realistic goal or three. I need to get off my duff and re-vitalize myself to doing what I like to do. I'm not afraid of hard work. I just have to actually DO it.

Go read this blog for a good note on incentive. It's well worth it.

Push ups and crunches

Five push ups tonight. 7 crunches. I probably could have done MORE crunches, but I wasn't about to risk good form. I found myself sagging on the push ups. I have to remember that a push up still requires good form. I'm not beating myself up, but I know that there's room for improvement. I have to work on my core strength. To that extent, I think I may put in some more isolation exercises tonight. When I belly danced, years ago, I was able to isolate certain muscles. I still have some control over various muscles, so I may go ahead and start working on that more. I should also look up some exercises for abs, plus lift some weights.

I have plans. Lots of plans. I will implement them a little at a time.

I might...

I might just add crunches to the mix tonight, when I do my push ups. I was talking to my daughter and told her that if I work hard at it, I can build up to 100 push ups in 100 days. That's a reasonable goal, I think. I know I'm feeling MUCH better about myself just for having completed 4 push ups that I can't imagine that I'll be less happy with completing 100!! I like that thought.

If I'm 100 percent honest about how many crunches I can do REALLY well, I think I'm starting small and saying *maybe* ten. If I can push out ten crunches tonight and then add one a day, I'll be up to my number in no time. That's worth a happy thought for me!!!

Successful form!

After all the whining and moaning about how I had "forgotten" my forms, I wound up showing Master F my version of Bassai on Tuesday. I had an ear to ear grin on my face when I finished. I need to put myself into my own little world and just focus on me and not anyone else. If I don't, I will continue to mess up the forms. Another thing I need to remember is to relax. That will do wonders for my forms.

I feel like I've been re-earning my belts, if that makes sense. Being a Dan is not an isolated experience at BTK. You're part of a greater whole. If you need help, all you have to do is to ask and someone will help you. There is always room for improvement in anything you do. I've been trying to get my forms "fixed". I wasn't doing them wrong, just differently. Different schools have different styles. It's not "my school is right, yours is wrong."

One thing to work on is my push up requirement and my crunch requirement. We did pushups in class on Thursday. I HURT! My arms are so sore, it's not even funny! I gave myself two days off, but am going to attempt to do pushups today. I have to get my requirement in. I have to run too. I don't mind putting my running requirement on my blog...it's a mile in 10:30. My son, who is 9, has the same time requirement as me. Now if I could just get him to actually RUN around the track and not just goof off and try to roll around on the infield.

I've been doing some exercise with my Wii in an effort to work on muscle strength and toning. It's the EA Sports Active...there's a 30 Day Challenge on it. I hit 14 out of 20 workouts today. 6 more to go. There are a lot of lunges in it, which I think helps some. I hate the running part of it. If I was in a bottom floor apartment, I wouldn't have as many issues with it, but...oh well, I'm still doing it. Real life running is next on my list.

Sunday Fitness

I went out today and got myself two new pairs of shoes, so I'm set for walking. I bought one pair to wear as "everyday" shoes and one pair for strictly walking. We shall see how this works for me. I'm going to be walking quite a bit.


I looked at my push up requirements again for my fitness test. I made a mistake. I need to do 32 push ups, rather than the 38 I had posted that I was supposed to do. I looked at the requirements for someone 30-39 years of age, rather than 40-49. OOPS! I guess I'm trying to fool myself that I'm not as old as I am?
I am still working on trying to do a correct, "guy" push up. I did my two today. It's hard to do, especially as I have a tendency to sag down at the belly!
I'm going to work on that. I bet that if I work on holding my stomach in, I'll get a bonus of strengthening my abs.

I have to work on the crunches. I don't do them the way the people at BTK do. They do more of a Pilates-style crunch, where they are straight legged and fold up to the middle. I do my crunches with my feet flat on the floor, pulling my shoulders off the floor toward my knees. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but for now, I'm going to keep doing my crunches with my feet flat on the floor. I'll do that until I get my core muscles built up.

New challenges

I'm challenging myself to do new things. I did two 'guy' push ups this morning. Not a lot, but it was a start. I usually do pushups on my knees, so the 'guy' push ups I did is a good thing. I have a tendency to "sink" down in the middle and lead with my belly, so that's something to work on. Proper form is everything. It makes a difference, not only in push ups, but in kicks, punches, etc.

I have a book from BTK that gives my requirements for fitness for my next test. Now that I'm serious about it, here's what I have to look forward to:

Crunches, push ups, kicking and run/jog: all need to be done at the pre-test AND the test.
As a 43 year old woman, at the rank of black belt, I must be able to do 38 'right angle' push ups. I'd like to have this accomplished by December. I do my push ups on my knees, but by March, I want to do them all in the proper form...hence the "guy" push up goal.

Crunches: My requirement is 34. The requirement for men in the same age group as me is 42, so I think I'm going to push for somewhere in between.

Kicks: I have to be able to perform a turning hook kick and a hop hook kick three times on each leg at a HIGH level. I'm sure that I'll also have to do a turning side kick plus a jumping round kick. High level means that I should be able to kick at a range from the shoulders to the top of the head. (need to get the excess fat off because I can't kick if I'm fighting myself to get the foot up!)

Run/Jog: For my age and rank, I have to run a mile in 10 minutes. I'm working on that now. Ten minutes? Yep...I'll work on it. I SHOULD be able to accomplish that by March.

I've got a few other ideas in mind, such as creating a training log. I don't know how many of my instructors read my blog, but I think that setting these goals is an acceptable one. From a fitness standpoint, the fitter I am, the happier I am and the better I perform.