We are working on conditioning getting ready for a level 1 test at my gym. My husband and friend wanted to get more strength training in and asked me to come up with something we could do at the gym. They have kettlebells and very few weights. So I put together something that we could do there with little problem.
I personally love kettlebells for several reasons:
It helps you work multiple muscles at one timesaving you time. This makes your workout time shorter by half or more. When you work multiple muscles at once you don’t have to do as many isolation moves which takes a long time.
Swinging the kettlebell requires strength and power to generate force. You also have to focus on your dexterity to keep from dropping or throwing the kettlebell away from you.
It is a full body workout. You use your legs, hips, back, and arms to control, throw and keep from dropping that kettle bell.
Easy to learn and execute if you just focus on form.
These two have never done a kettle bell workout before. So I wanted to make it easy. =)
The thing they hated the most was the bulgarian split squats the most. Then our awesome teacher Tony for Muay Thai killed us in conditioning. It was a good killing. It was hard, and I needed him to push me past my own original workout, cause I was done. So Yay!
Kettle bell workout: Use the kettle bell weight you can swing around and control but still taxes your muscles. This is a Super Set no rest between two exercises, one set is two exercises, repeat for three sets, 30 second rest between each set
Bulgarian Split squats 10 reps Lunge and curl 10 to 12 reps
Bent over row 10 reps each arm Squat and press 10 reps each arm
Around the World 1 minute 30 seconds one way 30 seconds the other way Figure 8s 1 minute 30 seconds one way 30 seconds the other way
Kettle bell swings as many as you can do for 1 minute
I thought you guys would want to see it. So here it is. Let me know what you think. I hope you get a chance to try it.
This is the Tens Unit that my doctor uses. It makes me tingly.
Today and Yesterday were rest days. Boy did I need it. I took a 2 hour nap yesterday, and could have kept sleeping. Today I took a 45 minute nap. Only because I had been waken up with a phone call. I have been eating/fueling my body, and it seems after doing so it just wants to crash and sleep. So I am listening when I can.
I have been making sure to drink enough water. Get protein, carbs, fat and fiber into my food.
I also went to my Chiropractor today. He adjusted my back, my hips, and my neck. My hips tend to get jammed on one side and cause lower back pain. He then electrocutes my back, using a tens unit.
“A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit is a battery-operated device that some people use to treat pain.
TENS units work by delivering small electrical impulses through electrodes that have adhesive pads to attach them to a person’s skin.
These electrical impulses flood the nervous system, reducing its ability to transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain.
The same electrical impulses also stimulate the body to produce natural pain relievers called endorphins.
In my doctors case it is not battery powered, it is plugged into the wall.
I am packed and ready to go. I am excited, and will keep a journal about my adventures in Muay Thai Camp. I don’t know how much I will be able to upload, but if I can’t upload any I will add the posts when I get back.
4 hours of conditioning training. This was my last push before I head to Muay Thai camp. I am taking Sunday and Monday off to replenish my glycogens. Per my trainers I need to let my body rest.
Today it is 100 degrees F out. Hotter than hells porch so no run for me. But that was just as well, because I can feel my bodies exhausted.
I did 15 rounds of pad work. I did 8 rounds straight of mixed kicking (both fast flow and strength). Between each of this rounds I had a 45 second rest. Then after 8 rounds I took a round off. Then I did 4 more rounds of kicks to knees. Then three rounds of kicks to knees to elbows. After that was Striking class where we did boxing practice.
I can definitely feel my muscles are exhausted. It’s a feeling of some soreness but more of I stretch and I just feel I can’t pull that muscle far enough to get it truest stretched out. It’s not lack of motion or flexibility but more it’s just tired. My motion and flexibility is exactly the same and or better so I think it’s just exhaustion.
I have conflicting feelings about rest. On one hand I feel I need it. The logical science understanding part of my brain knows this. The Martial Artist I. Me wants to keep going to keep improving. So I am listening to those much smarter than I. I am resting for the next few days.
So that was my last hard push. I hope I am physically ready for Thai Camp. 4 x 10 hour days.
Thanks for reading and keep being the best you that you can be.
this is my actual leg, no models were abused in the taking of this picture
4 hours of conditioning training. I did not run today. It was 96 degrees Fahrenheit or 35.56 degrees Celsius outside I was not going to run in that. It would have just sapped my energy and I would have not gotten the training rounds in that I wanted to. I don’t like running and that would have been miserable. I run as a cardio component to my workouts, but not for funsies. I tell people I am a water mammal. I used to be a competitive swimmer, and would only run for cross training.
Muay Thai camp is just around the corner. I leave on Tuesday, and it is 4 x 10 hour days of training with the best. I hope I can keep up. =) I hope my form is not crap, I know it breaks down the more tired I get. So I just have to work on making it awesome. Kru Krysta has said my knees are so much better in just a few weeks.
Per Kru Krysta I am taking tomorrow off, hitting it hard on Saturday, and then taking Sunday, and Monday off. Tuesday I will be flying.
Monday I have an appointment with my Chiropractor. One last adjustment before I go put my body through hell. I am both excited and have trepidation.
Mostly I just want to honor my instructors and make them proud. I also want to learn everything. I want to improve on my technique and I want to experience this.
Anyway enough babbling here was what I did:
1 x 3 minute round of jump rope warm up ( I did not count this in on my rounds)
1 x 3 minute round of shadow boxing ( I did not count this in on my rounds)
16 rounds of hell/heck/poopy, I am fine no really I am.
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking. Kicks for speed, and kicks for power. My partner and pad holder would call out 1 kick, that was for power, then he would call out 3 kicks left side, and I had to do those for speed. Taking the power out but putting speed and flow into it.
30 second rest
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking. Kicks for speed, and kicks for power.
30 second rest
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking. Kicks for speed, and kicks for power.
30 second rest
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking. Kicks for speed, and kicks for power.
30 second rest (Note: at this point I am gassed, that is a lot of kicks)
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking (speed and power), and spearing knees or knees to push back
30 seconds rest
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking (speed and power), and spearing knees or knees to push back
30 seconds rest
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking (speed and power), and spearing knees or knees to push back
30 seconds rest
1 x 3 minute round of mixed kicking (speed and power), and spearing knees or knees to push back
30 seconds rest (this is the point where you want to die, or be ded, but no sitting or laying down, must just walk it off.)
1 x 3 minute round of kicking (speed and power), Knees (spearing, push back), and tie ups with #2 knees
30 seconds rest
1 x 3 minute round of kicking (speed and power), Knees (spearing, push back), and tie ups with #2 knees
30 seconds rest
1 x 3 minute round of kicking (speed and power), Knees (spearing, push back), and tie ups with #2 knees
30 seconds rest
1 x 3 minute round of kicking (speed and power), Knees (spearing, push back), and tie ups with #2 knees
30 seconds rest (dead, just dead, but keep trying)
1 x 3 minute round of punching and elbows,( jab, cross, elbow), (jab, cross, body shot) indicated by if the focus mitt was in the air, or if he patted the belly pad.
30 second rest
1 x 3 minute round of punching and elbows,( jab, cross, elbow), (jab, cross, body shot) indicated by if the focus mitt was in the air, or if he patted the belly pad.
30 second rest
1 x 3 minute round on the heavy bag, 30 second burn out of knees and two kicks.
15 second rest
1 x 3 minute round on the heavy bag, 30 second burn out of knees and two kicks.
15 second rest (fin… for now… I stopped there, cause I had class in 20 minutes)
Thai Class – Get in and get out
Thai class we worked on more clenching, defending an elbow attack with a pillar block, then returning a punch combo, like jab to hook, or cross, jab. The deciding factor is where the elbow is coming from, and what opening you have.
Then the upper ranking armband students were split off and we did clench sparring. Whew boy, I was tired. But I got some good pointers on how to deal with taller people. And at 5 foot nothing everyone is taller than I am.
Also Kru Kristen mentioned again, our motto, get in and get out, or often said you go all the way in or all the way out. If you are being aggressive say, then you may want to go all the way in. If you are defending or don’t want to get hit, you are all the way out. Don’t hang around in the middle and get hit.
Kali we worked on espada y daga, and gunting:
In Kali Kru Krysta shows us double stick, espada y daga, and just single knife. Gunting drill 1 – 5. I love kali, but at this point my brain is saying nope, you need to feed me and we need to sleep. So my partner and I just went slowly and worked the drills.
We also did 1 – 12 strikes. With the 1 – 5 gunting response added into it. So for instance your partner swings a one, you defend it, then you gunting, and finish with the 1 – 5 for every strike. This is just to get us to think along the lines of, lets just not get hit, and lets return shots.
Savage Vag
I have bought all of my Grrrl clothing I have. I am not sponsored in any way, but I love the company. For girls from strong girls, to lift us all up sot that we can all be stronger. So I saw these leggings and I loved them. They say Savage with the word VAG in bright red letters. They crack me up. They are great quality, and support this great woman run company.
The quality is great. They pass the squat test. The compression is spot on. They have awesome patterns, and I just love them. Oh also they fit a thicc booty like mine.
This is the website, and if you use this link you get 20% off your first order. I get credit for your first purchase. I have not had anyone buy anything yet, but one day I hope some one will, and that money will go right back into Grrrl and I will get new tights. That is how much I love them. I have bought 5 of their tights to date.
Today did not go as I expected, heck last night did not either. When we got home we found our house sweltering. A 90 degrees. Our air conditioner had stopped working and we ended up having to sleep with all the fans on in the house that is 3 of them.
So I did not get in to do my workout. So I am having an active rest day. Kru Krysta said maybe I should have a rest day today anyway when we were training yesterday.
What did I do? Well aside from waiting for the tech to come and fix said air conditioning unit, I cleaned house, and we just got back from a 45 minute swim. So while not the same training I have been doing I got a swim in. I did laps of the pool and played with my kiddos.
My lunch was egg whites, spinach, green onion, and sriracha sauce pita sandwich, with snap peas.
Oh and they have to replace the fan, the motor, and capacitor, in our air conditioner. Let hope they fix it.
Anyway have a great day… and keep being awesome. I am going to hit it hard tomorrow. I have another 4 hour workout ahead of me.
4 hours of training today on day 15. I am exhausted. I hit a wall. Not a plateau, nor do I feel like I hit an over training hurdle. I just hit a wall like Wile E Coyote hits the ground after falling off the cliff. Like a Mac Truck hit me. I know that for your body to adapt you must hit these walls/hurdles and keep going, so that is what I did. I got in 20 rounds of training.
Yup that is what it felt like. But I had to keep pushing through.
I started out with a 1 mile run. It was not great timing wise. It was a 13.33 minute mile… it was also 93 degrees out.
I cam back in and did kicking rounds.
Power kicking rounds. 1 to two kicks per side for the entirety of the round.
Speed kicking rounds. Power is taken out, and technique is focused on. Pyramid kicks from 1 kick, 2 kicks, 3 kicks, 4 kicks, 5 kicks, 6 kicks, 5 kicks, 4 kicks, 3 kicks, 2 kicks, 1 kick. All in succession.
Speed and Power kicking rounds mixed together.
I did 4 bag rounds of 3 minutes each with a 30 second burn out.
I also working on rounds of boxing. Jab, Cross, Upper cut, Upper cut, body hook, body hook.
Muay Thai Class
Then we had Thai class. We warmed up with jump rope, then we did clench work to warm up.
Kru Kristen had us then work on punches transitioning to elbows, to knees. I got to work with Kru Krysta so we could both work on our conditioning for Thai Camp. As we are both going. Yay!
Each round ended with an elbow flurry blitz.
Kali – Espada y Daga
Then came Kali class, the 4th hour. My brain had stopped braining. My body was just tired, but I kept working at the drills. We worked on Gunting (scissor) five count. With double stick, Espada y Daga, and with single knife. We worked on pass, cut and disarm.
I know this is not super detailed but I am exhausted, need to shower and get to bed. I hope you all have a great day/night when ever you get to read this. Keep being awesome and working to be the best you can be.
