Reinvigorated BLog

I have been very lax with my blog lately but intend to reinvigorate. I shall start us off with a poem I feel applies to Warrior’s Way.

Lost at Sea

Lost at sea I prowl the deck

The front of my mind busy with the typical tasks at hand

Trimming the sheet, steadying the rudder

Aiming the bow toward the horizon as it rises and falls with the waves

But behind that, in the deeper, darker sea, I fear

I know the tasks I render are meaningless

Pointlessly paring the sail to move quickly towards an unknown direction

Why do I feel as if my aim will be true when I can’t even see the target?

Hope

I have to believe that, with no indication as to the direction I need to go

I’ll pick the one of sixteen that brings me home

Why move if it is hopeless?

I move because it means I have a choice

I am choosing my fate not resigning myself to it

I choose to move, I choose to hope I choose to believe

Move

Choose a direction and move

Move

 

Thai yoga

Tonight, Friday April 8th at 7.30 pm Warrior’s Way is holding another Thai yoga class. This is a long and gentle yoga class that has Karen and Andy doing Thai adjustments to your poses. This is really less of a workout and more of a recuperative class. Everyone who does it raves about it. $20 for members $25 for guests. Come along and bring a friend.

Warrior’s Way Sleepover

Everyone on our email list has gotten an email already but for those of you not on our list, We are having our annual Warrior’s Way sleepover this weekend. Saturday night April 2nd. Kids should come with pjs, sleepingbag, pillow, toothbrush etc.

$20 per child and feel free to bring a food plate (no nuts please) we have chips desserts, fruit plates etc. a big pasta dish would be sweet but really anything is great.

This is a great time and no child has ever left unhappy. We get a projector to play movies on the wall and we have dancing, video games, board games etc on the other side. We are even going to have some little warriors action going on and don’t forget the Black Dragon award.

63 Great Rd, Maynard 7.30 pm Saturday.

Jumping Spinning

One of the most intimidating aspects of advanced Taekwondo technique is the Jumping Spinning techniques. The differences between an outside crescent kick and a jumping spinning crescent kick seem infinite and daunting. One seems like a basic technique and the other seems like a move only done well in the movies.

In reality, jumping and spinning is only a little more difficult than a regular “jump and switch your stance”. In both techniques the feet are merely trading places. However in the switch your head is stationary and in the spin your head spins in 360 degrees. So the challenge becomes maintaining your balance while twirling your head in a circle. Often just this realization; that the feet are doing no more than a regular switch, is enough to get the student to do a successful jump and spin.

One word I use often to help people maintain balance in a jump and spin is “chimney”. Imagine yourself standing inside a chimney when you are about to jump. Try to avoid touching any of the walls of the chimney as you jump and spin. Keeping this vertical aspect to the jump is 90% of any spinning technique. Losing your vertical axis creates dozens of other problems making executing the technique almost impossible.

Once you can jump and spin inside of a chimney, you only need to perfect your timing in order to perform any jumping spinning technique. For example, a  jumping spinning crescent is just an outside crescent delivered at the apex of a jump and spin. As long as you know hot to do an outside crescent properly and you deliver it at the right time, your jumping spinning crescent will be great. This is why I focus so heavily on foundation techniques. If you breeze by your basics then your advanced techniques will only be harder than they already are.

Outdoor classes

Come spring we want to schedule a class outside. Using the large grass area behind Warriors we’ll be able to do high speed exercises that are just not practical indoors.  Additionally it will be a nice change of pace.

Triathlon Training

This spring Warrior’s Way will be doing some outdoor adventures to help people train for a triathlon. Weather you have a specific race in mind or are just interested in doing some unique training the Triathlon adventures are for you.

These adventures won’t be a scheduled class but rather, we’ll be planning some rides from Warrior’s Way to  some body of water to run and or swim and then return.

It will be a great workout and some good fun.

Inline skating

Okay I know it is the middle of winter and with all the snow we have had we will be lucky to have clean roads by the fourth of July but now is a great time to start planning your sun shine activities. In addition to being inspired to exercise during these dark days you will also have all of your duck s in a row come spring time.

Inline skating or “Rollerblading” is an excellent outdoor fitness activity. It is very low impact and thus greatly reduces your risk of injury and it works all your big muscle groups in the legs and butt forcing your body to use lots of fuel (read Calories).

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you do lace up those skates.

First, try to sit into your skating. What I mean by that is don’t lean forward. This is a common error which is bad both in that you use more of your joint strength and less of your muscle strength but also, it makes you more likely to fall and thus risk injury. Try to concentrate on having all four wheels of each skate maintaining contact with the ground at all times  especially during your push. The tendency is to lean forward and then push with only your front wheels. This will make your push weaker as you will end up using your calf muscle as opposed to your Quads and Glutes.

Second, keep your knees bent. You should feel like your knees are shock absorbers going from bent to even more bent as you get a feel for the terrain. Never straighten your legs. In addition to being less stable and thus more likely to fall, you also run the risk of jamming one of your joints by hitting  a bump and not having anything else to absorb the shock.

Third, I know I don’t need to say this but wear safety equipment. A helmet, knee pads and wrist guards may not be the fashion statement you are looking for but it is way better than skinned knees and missing teeth. Even a small stick can send you flying so protective gear is a must.

Lastly, do it to have fun. As soon as it becomes a chore you are not going to do it. Push and glide and push and glide and you can go for hours.

I hope you guys give it a shot. It is a great fun exercise for your legs. And for a few bucks you can buy an old pair of ski poles and add an arm workout too.

DVD drawbacks

As most of you know I sleep little. Sometimes in the wee hours of the morning I’ll click on the tv and am immediately inundated with various pieces of exercise equipment or DVDs “guaranteed” to help you lose weight and get fit.

Now it would be easy to pass off all of these programs as “snake oil” and be done with it but the reality is that most (and I mean most) of these products and DVDs have good solid fitness theory and principles behind them. A lot of them are great programs and, when adhered to, offer some level of results. However there are some problems that cannot be overcome and as a result you will almost never get the long-term results you are looking for from anywhere but with a  trainer.

Problem #1 Repetition

The only reason your body changes is because it has to. It changes when you ask it to do things it can’t do in its current state. Once you can do everything in a given program your body will no longer be challenged and thus it will no longer change. This is why programs work great in the beginning and then the results plateau. Unless the program is a subscription one, where new one’s are sent every 3 months or so you will eventually lose the results.

Problem #2 Drive

Most people cannot drive themselves to the same level they can be driven by other people. As a result of this, the tv is never going to push you like a live trainer or even a friend would. This is what makes workouts hard is someone there encouraging you and pushing you past your norm. My hardest workouts were with the meanest coaches who made you so angry you worked harder to get them to shut up.

Problem #3 Individuality

This is the most significant. Every individual has different needs and goals for fitness. Even two people with similar goals are going to have two different roads to get there.  Your fitness consists of dozens of variables each one needing to be addressed individually in order for you to feel challenged and to produce results. For example, just in the area of flexibility everyone carries his or her tightness in someplace different. To help with your individual flexibility you need someone to look at you and asses you problem areas to best tailor your program to achieve your goals. This can’t be done through the TV.

Am I saying that there is no value to any of these programs? Of course not. Lots of them are very sound programs based on sound fitness principles. However unless you have a wealth of fitness knowledge yourself and are highly motivated you will not achieve your goals solely with a  a program of piece of equipment of the tv. These items can be used quite effectively in conjunction with live training and are often a very good supplement to your gym training.

Good Night

Intensity sooner or later?

As odd as it may seem, working hard at the beginning of the workout is actually more beneficial than at the end of a workout. Working out intensely (after warm up of course) for 15 minutes and then easing off to just a  “hard” level of exercise for 45 minutes  will give you better results than working out hard for 45 minutes and then exercising intensely for 15.  The reason for this is that most of the benefits from working out happen after you hit the “wall”. You know, that moment when you go from feeling spunky to flunky in about 10 seconds? The wall is your body’s way of telling you to ease up because you have used up you normal supply of fuel. Of course we don’t want to ease up.  We want our bodies to change (either by getting less fat or more muscle or better endurance etc.) and the only way they will change is when we ask them to do what they are not capable of doing in there present state. This is what is happening after the wall.  Your body is restructuring itself  (and using the fat stores to do it) to better accommodate the new needs. So instead of pacing yourself early in the workout, you should instead push hard at the beginning (after warm up of course) to get the best out of your workout.

So the next time you start dragging during your class REJOICE! you hit the wall and the real work has begun.

Google Schedule availiable for viewing

Hi Guys, so while I sort out my website disaster you can access our schedule at the following link.

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=warriorswaymaynard%40gmail.com&ctz=America/New_York

Thanks for your patience and spread the word