Goal Setting Guide by Dan Faggella

I’ve been reading Dan Fagella’s Goal Setting Guide.  I really like it.  The cool thing about this guide is, it translates well to almost everything.  I am hoping to use the ideas and principles he talks about, not only for my BJJ training, but also for my ski improvement.  Maybe I could use it for remolding my body as well, but I doubt I would stick to it…  LOL, I’ve already set myself up for failure.

Anyways, I’m at the hardest part right now; deciding what my goals should be.  I don’t want to be over ambitious.  I think moderation might be appropriate here.  My first step is going to be my determining what my strengths and weakness are.  If you’ve followed anything I have said here for any amount of time, it will be quite clear to you that coming up with what I consider strengths is going to be really hard for me.  When you truly believe that you suck at all aspects of life, giving yourself even a small compliment isn’t easy.  Nevertheless, I shall endeavor to list some technical, physical, and mental strengths and some areas that need improvement in the same categories.  The key is going to be not to compare myself to anyone, but to really reflect on my game, and what works for me.  After that, I will list 3 to 5 goals that I will work towards for the next 6 to 9 months.  I will then reflect on what I need to do to meet those goals.  For example, if one of my goals is to perfect the triangle choke, then meeting that goal may mean drilling the position 50 times per week.

It should be interesting.  I will write everything down in my journal and have a quick look at it to remind myself before every session.  Wish me luck!

The End

D’Oh!

I gave up on the Wolverine transformation.  There was no point in working so hard when I eat the equivalent of a dozen fried mayonnaise balls every day.  It’s just wearing the body out for no reason.  I’ll just stick to an easy workout.  I’ve done a number of spin classes lately.  My taint is really sore.  I haven’t been to BJJ in a couple of weeks.  I don’t really feel like it.  I got fall down, black out, puke everywhere drunk last weekend.  It took a couple of days to recover from that.

That is all.

Phase 2

Wolverine

Today I started phase 2 of my Wolverine transformation.  I can hardly wait for the claws to burst through my knuckle skin.  Actually, I worked really hard at phase 1, but haven’t seen any physical differences.  I’ve noticed a slight strength gain, but I don’t care about that.  I just want a hot body before I’m 40 (3 months).  I know it won’t happen, but I can dream.

What is the Wolverine transformation you ask?  It just the name of a workout I found online.  It’s nothing special.  It’s just a 3 phase, 6-9 week program that focuses on building muscle.  Not too different from several workouts I’ve done and/or created in the past.  I like it though.  Being that Wolverine is my favourite comic book character of all time, I thought, “What the heck?”

I’ve modified the way I do pull ups in a n attempt to become better at them.  By better I mean being able to do more than 5 or 6 in a row.  i did a fair bit of research on different ways to improve pull up ability.  Actually I found a fair amount of people who claim that you can either do them or you can’t.  I’m not sure that I but it, but I’vee been trying to do them for years and haven’t made any gains.  So this is what the new process is.  10-15 sets of 1 or 2 reps.  That’;s right.  Each rep is done with complete focus on the pull up and completed as explosively as you can, completely resetting in between.  I tried it today and I have to say, my back was pumped when I finished.  I’ll keep it up for 6 weeks and see if there is any improvement.

I haven’t been to Jiu-Jitsu in a little while.  It’s just because of work.  My shifts as of late haven’t been conducive to attending class.  I’m hoping next week I will be able to make it 2 or 3 times.  I find myself really missing Muay Thai lately.  I can’t have it all though.  I think maybe that ship has sailed by.  Oh well.

5 Core/Abs Strengthening Workouts

I thought that some of y’all might be interested in this.  I found it at MuscleAndStrength.com

Core/Abs workout one.

• Cable Crunches  3×8-12  30-45 Sec Rest.
• Bodyweight Side Bends  3×12 on each side 30 Sec Rest.
• Crunches  3×12  30 Sec Rest.
• Seated Leg Tucks  3×12-15  45 Sec Rest.

Core/Abs workout two.

• Seated Barbell Twists  3×8-12 on each side  30 Sec Rest.
• Air Bike Crunches  3×12  30-45 Sec Rest.
• Crunches Hands Over Head  3×12-15  30 Sec Rest.
• Flat Bench Lying Leg Raises  3×8  30 Sec Rest.

Core/Abs workout three.

• Frog Sit Ups  3×12-15  30 Sec Rest.
• Jack Knife Sit Ups  3×12-15  30 Sec Rest.
• Oblique Crunches on the Floor  3×12  30 Sec Rest.
• Reverse Crunch  3×12  30 Sec Rest.

Core/Abs workout four.

• Russian Twist  3×12-15  30 Sec Rest.
• Ab Crunch Machine  3×8-12  30-45 Sec Rest.
• Barbell Side Bends  3×8 on each side  30 sec rest.
• Crunch – Legs on Exercise Ball  3×8-12  30 Sec Rest.

Core/Abs workout five.

• Decline Crunch  3×8-12  30-45 Sec Rest.
• Dumbbell Side Bends  3×8 on each side  30 Sec Rest.
• Exercise Ball Crunch  3×12-15  30 Sec Rest.
• Leg Pull-in  3×12  30 Sec Rest.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, where to start…

Last month my blog was very depressing.  Not only to me as I wrote it, but by judging from the replies I received, depressing for the readers as well.  Nothing has changed as far as the condition of my knees.  They still hurt, throb, swell, clunk, lock, etc, etc.  At one point I was ready to give up on all that I love (not my family but my hobbies/passions).  My wife said it right, I was completely heartbroken.  It wasn’t because I had been injured.  I mean, between Muay Thai, BJJ, and skiing, I’ve been injured a lot.  I’ve learned to accept it and hope to heal quickly.  This was different though because it had been so long since I’d had a major injury to my knees.

Growing up as a kid/teenager/young adult, I suffered several traumas to my knees resulting in several surgeries (6 to be exact), crippling pain, and months and months of rehab.  I was very upset this time around because I know exactly what I face.  There’s no, “Let’s wait and see what happens.”  I know what is on the horizon, and I’m REALLY not looking forward to it.

My initial reaction was to cancel all my competitions/trips/fun.  I was supposed to go to the Provincial BJJ Championships put on by the OJA, but I canceled that.  I lost my hotel fees and still haven’t been refunded my entry fee.  Then I was going to cancel my Whistler trip.  I basically decided that I would eat the money that I had spent.  Well, my wife was against me canceling.  The guys that I was going with were against me canceling.  Basically all were against me canceling.  After a lot of thinking and a lot of research about ACLS and leg muscles, I decided to go.  I had expected to come back on crutches.  My aggressive style of skiing doesn’t bode well for ACLless knees.  Somehow though, I came back with only a little swelling.

The final thing I was considering calling off was my Blue Belt grading.  This was actually to be my first ever grading if you can believe that.  All of my promotions in SAW and Muay Thai were based on performance.  I received my SAW black belt by defeating a Judo black belt in a grappling match.  I received the rank of Kru in Muay Thai by spending my time training and getting in the ring to fight.  So this something new I was facing in my martial arts career.  Like I said, I was considering calling it off.  My wife was right, I was heart broken.  It was like my will to look on the bright side of this situation was gone.  Anyways, after talking with my wife, my professor, and receiving a surprise email of encouragement from a team member, I decided to go ahead with it.  Result…  Blue Belt!

Tomorrow I will attend my first BJJ class as a Blue.  I’m going to keep it up as long as I can.  I know that when I have surgery, I’m going to fall way behind all my team mates.  This is actually the first time in my BJJ career that I feel like purple, maybe even brown, is attainable…