Pneumatised!

Transitions. Change. That’s what life is about. It certainly seems that’s what my life is about. The only thing you can be certain of is that great ol’ oxymoron, constant change. My life is constantly changing. Sometimes what seems right at the time no longer fits in the puzzle of my life. Such is the conclusion I came to about two weeks before I finished my Summoner term (please see the blog entry just below this one). Letting go of something is never hard, especially when that something means letting go of something you thought was “right” for you. Thus, the past month and a half was a transition period for me. (Although I don’t think this transition has ended yet. Right now, I have Pluto square my natal Pluto and conjunct my descendant in Sagittarius – it’s been there for a while now. This transit is joined now by Jupiter conjunct my descendant – it started on September 24th this year. Eek! Can you say major change?! More on that later.)

Lucky for me, I’ve always had martial arts. Nothing is more important to me than being fit and healthy (healthy on all realms, physical, mental, spiritual). Martial arts has always been a spiritual path for me and it remains so. I have missed the do jang this past year. I’ve missed not being around for some of the changes that have occurred there. Now, I’m happy to be able to devote my time to it again.

I’m also lucky I learned to appreciate running. It’s hard at times. I admit some days I don’t want to be out there in the cold or in the sweltering humidity, but running helps me connect with nature as well as myself. It helps me focus and forget about all the silly nonsense that goes on in this world. There is nothing but just me and nature. Earth, air, fire, water, and (my) spirit.

There is no doubt in my mind that martial arts and running (and also weight training – I love it, I must be crazy, but I love having sore muscles) have kept me sane this past year. No doubt they helped ease the transitions I am going through. Below is my training log for the past few months:

August 21 – I went for a mile run. It was just about an 8 minute mile pace. 😀 After the run, I went to the gym.
August 23 – I went to the do jang
August 28 – I went for another run (15 minutes 30 seconds), then went to the gym.
August 31 – I went for a short run (5 minutes 45 seconds, 1 km)
September 13 – I went for a 1.5 miles run (13 minutes 10 seconds)
September 14 – I went for a run (didn’t keep time), then to the gym
September 26 – I went for a mile run (8 minutes 54 seconds), then to the gym
September 27 – I went to the do jang
September 29 – Nate and I went on the 5.7 km route. We ran about 4.4 km in 32 minutes 34 seconds (slow, but good to do)
October 3 – I went to the do jang and then the gym
October 4 – I went to the do jang and took two classes back-to-back (We had a schedule change at the do jang. Now that we have enough black belts, we have a separate class for black belts and colour belts – the black belts can take either class. I took the black belt class and decided to take the colour belt class after.)

The long distance run on September 29th felt especially good. Some days I need to feel like I’m “going somewhere”. On those days, running makes me feel like I have the freedom to do anything. Nothing can stop me. There are no obstacles as long as I have air in my lungs and I have two legs to move.

Taekwondo class felt good. I’ve missed it so much. It felt good to be back. Unfortunately, this past week I didn’t feel quite up to anything. I was having a bout of insomnia. I really can’t train without proper sleep and rest.

The insomnia I think I can blame in part on the astrological transits in effect on my chart. Pluto and Jupiter both conjunct my descendant in Sagittarius. Though I’m not a professional astrologer, I can say that lately I’ve been feeling out of place, like I shouldn’t be here. The past few years or so I’ve been thinking more and more about moving somewhere. In fact, I always planned on living somewhere else at some point in my life. It’s started to feel like now is the time for this. Of course, I need to make plans and deal with a whole whack of stuff. This idea is both exciting and scary for me. Though there really isn’t much keeping me tied here anymore except for the do jang (I want to pack up Master Kim and his do jang and take it with me), it’s still scary leaving. I’ve lived here my whole life. I don’t know anyplace better than here. But then there’s this part of me that’s saying “anywhere but here”. Ah, the great unknown, scary but gotta love it.

So, am I back to normal? That really depends on your definition of “normal”. Life is always changing. Buddhism teaches that nothing is permanent. Nothing is permanent and we shouldn’t make attachments because nothing is permanent. A sense of normalcy implies permanence. If nothing is permanent, nothing is ever normal. My life is constantly changing, nothing is permanent. No, my life is not normal, but I make the best of it wherever I am.

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

July 26th – I went for a mile run. I was feeling a tab bloated. I took it easy and managed to still run the whole mile at least. It was a slow run though, about 9 minutes.

July 30th – I went for another run. I ran for about 10.5 minutes. I forget where I ran. I just like to run sometimes, and I don’t bother thinking about how far I’ve run. It might have been just over a mile. Without stop lights, I covered the distance in 9 minutes 47 seconds.

August 4th – I went for another run – a little over a mile I think. My time was 9 minutes 22 seconds.

August 6th – I decided this year to do a walk/run down Yonge Street for my birthday. I invited people to come along. We started at Yonge and Finch and ended at Yonge and Bloor. Then I had a birthday dinner at the Korean Grill House – an all-you-can-eat cook-it-yourself BBQ. I hadn’t been sleeping well, and I only slept 5.5 hours that day so I ended up not running as much as I would have liked. Nathan and I still make good time though. We covered 12.6 km in 2.5 hours walking most of it. If we ran I’m sure it would have been under 2 hours. The BBQ was yummy. I will have to go again some time when I’m not distracted by conversations and can cook my food properly.

August 9th – I went to the do jang and the gym. I did pretty much my same gym routine.

August 14th – I went for a 1.5 mile run. My time was 13 minutes 33 seconds. It was a decent run. I’m still not at the pace I would like to be at, but I haven’t had the time to focus on running and training this year. Later though, I ended up running 1 km to meet up with someone, then I ran back afterwards. Breaking up the running is a good thing to do sometimes.

August 15th – I went to the do jang and then the gym. I was feeling stressed, so the do jang felt good. Although I pulled something in my back. It’s still bothering me, so I’m thinking of not doing the do jang again until I feel sure I’m better. Maybe a run and some weight training, but that’s about it.

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

July 3, 2007

I went for a run. I ran 1 mile. My time 9 minutes 6 seconds – a slow run, but okay.

July 5, 2007

Taekwondo day – took the 7 p.m. class and then walked home after with Nathan (he came to pick me up after his tai chi class since he was walking home anyway).

July 6, 2007

10k run – I did okay, a little slower than last year. I made the mistake of having some chai with milk the night before. Thus, I was feeling heavy and bloated for the run. I had to walk off the light cramps I kept getting each time I ran a lap and a half (600 m). I spent 46 minutes 31 seconds doing that – run, then walk for thirteen laps. Eventually the cramps eased up and I could increase the amount of laps I could run before stopping again. The next seven laps took 21 minutes 49 seconds. The last five laps took about 13 minutes (I forgot to time a lap I walked, so I estimate adding about 5 minutes to the 9 minutes 2 seconds I timed). My total time was 1 hours 21 minutes 20 seconds give or take a minute or two. A little slower than last year, but last year I ran the whole thing and didn’t have cramps. Anyway, there’s always next year.

I did notice that my legs didn’t feel as stiff as after last year’s run – I suppose I’m just getting used to the distance – my endurance might be increasing. Overall, I’ve found the running to be good for my knee – it helps build up the cartilage where it was damaged and helps to build up the legs muscles so the ligaments don’t have to do as much work (i.e., my knee won’t act up because the muscles are doing the work as they should).

After the run, those testing for their black belts had to do 1000 skips/jumps, then we administered the written test – that gave them a chance to rest a bit. Then started the curriculum part of the test. First, the candidates were warmed up with some punching drills, then they did all their patterns. After that was one-step sparring and kicking techniques. Then, of course, full contact sparring. Finally, board breaking which probably takes up most of the test. Everyone has to break with hands and feet. There are four hand breaks and four feet breaks. Everyone does the same breaks. Higher black belts have to break more boards equivalent to the level they are testing for (1st dans must break two boards to get 2nd dan; 2nd dan must break three boards to get 3rd dan, and so on). The hand breaks are punch, knife hand, elbow strike, and ridge hand. The feet breaks are front snap kick, side kick, back kick and spinning hook kick. Concrete breaking is not required due to the fact that many students have hurt their hands from it. (We have many small students, simple physics dictate that more weight exerted on a board or concrete is more likely to break it – smaller students have to compensate by being extremely good at their techniques and frankly, even then, concrete is still hard to break for smaller students.)

I helped out with the test. The hardest part was holding boards for those breaking them. Those not trained in martial arts may not realize that the board holder contributes to a successful board break. The board holder must provide resistance so that the board will break on contact. Some say that 50% of the work comes from the board holder; and of course, you can’t break a board without someone holding it for you. The other hard part of it is if someone kicks your fingers (ouch!) 😉

July 7, 2007

The second part of the black belt test is the do jang BBQ in the park with colour belt test and black belt demo. This is the fun part. All the black belts performed well and had interesting speeches – children are always so quiet with their speeches.

July 20, 2007

I took some time to rest and recuperate after the 10k run, plus life has been too stressful. Finally though, I decided I needed exercise. I ran one mile. My time was about 8 minutes give or take a few seconds. It felt good to do an 8 minute mile again. I really need to try to get to a 7.5 minute mile pace. I went to the gym after the run (actually I ran to the gym the long way around).

COMPLETE LIST OF WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES:
Machine/apparatus Exercises:
Pull-ups/chin-ups (this machine works on a counterweight, which means you are lifting your weight minus the weight you set the machine to; thus if I set the machine to 35 lbs, I’m really lifting 70 lbs if I weight 105)
-overhand (palms facing front) – 35 lbs
-underhand (palms facing back) – 25 lbs
-parallel (palms facing towards each other) – 25 lbs
Dips (same apparatus as for the chin-ups) – 20 lbs
Weighted squat machine – 120 lbs
Leg press – 275 lbs
Hamstring flexor/seated leg curls – 105 lbs both legs
Hamstring flexor (lying down on stomach) – 50 lbs both legs, 20 lbs single leg
Hip adductors – 100 lbs
Hip abductors – 100 lbs
Seated row – 65 lbs
Seated chest press – 75 lbs
Lateral pull-downs – 75 lbs
Pectoral fly (sometimes done using free weights) – 45 lbs
Reverse deltoids – 40 lbs
Shoulder fly – 40 lbs
Shoulder lift/press – 45 lbs
Back extensor – 180 lbs
Bicep curls (usually done using free weights now) – 30 lbs, or 15 lbs single
Tricep extensor – 40 lbs (the dips do a good job of working the triceps, plus a special kind of push-up that I learned from taekwondo)
Leg lifts (I do a set of 30 reps. Lift legs out in front, the right, and the left. Doing the leg lifts to the sides helps work out the obliques/side muscles. I hate the new apparatus for this. I can only tolerate the apparatus once in a while because it aggravates my back, even though it’s supposed to be ergonomically designed.)

Free weights:
Two additional shoulder exercises
– lift weight in front using shoulder muscles
– bending at waist lift weight out to the side using muscles along the scapulae (this is the same as the machine that works in reverse of the pectoral fly)
– wrist strengthening – 15 lbs
– dead lift – 30 lb bar

Other exercises:
Pushups (I’m slowly working on single handed pushups – it’s very hard! For now, I’m just holding myself up on one hand for a 10 second count)
Situps
Cycling
Elliptical

July 23, 2007

Finally went to the do jang. After taekwondo class, I stayed and practiced some hand techniques – ridge hand, knife hand, elbow strike, and two-inch punch. If I plan to test in about a year and a half, I need to get ready to break those two boards again (I’ll remember to check if they are dry this time). After the do jang I went to the gym for weight training.

COMPLETE LIST OF WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES:
Machine/apparatus Exercises:
Pull-ups/chin-ups (this machine works on a counterweight, which means you are lifting your weight minus the weight you set the machine to; thus if I set the machine to 35 lbs, I’m really lifting 70 lbs if I weight 105)
-overhand (palms facing front) – 35 lbs
-underhand (palms facing back) – 25 lbs
-parallel (palms facing towards each other) – 25 lbs
Dips (same apparatus as for the chin-ups) – 20 lbs
Weighted squat machine – 120 lbs
Leg press – 275 lbs
Hamstring flexor/seated leg curls – 105 lbs both legs
Hamstring flexor (lying down on stomach) – 50 lbs both legs, 20 lbs single leg
Hip adductors – 100 lbs
Hip abductors – 100 lbs
Seated row – 60 lbs
Seated chest press – 75 lbs
Lateral pull-downs – 75 lbs
Pectoral fly (sometimes done using free weights) – 45 lbs
Reverse deltoids – 40 lbs
Shoulder fly – 40 lbs
Shoulder lift/press – 45 lbs
Back extensor – 180 lbs
Bicep curls (usually done using free weights now) – 30 lbs, or 15 lbs single
Tricep extensor – 40 lbs (the dips do a good job of working the triceps, plus a special kind of push-up that I learned from taekwondo)
Leg lifts (I do a set of 30 reps. Lift legs out in front, the right, and the left. Doing the leg lifts to the sides helps work out the obliques/side muscles. I hate the new apparatus for this. I can only tolerate the apparatus once in a while because it aggravates my back, even though it’s supposed to be ergonomically designed.)

Free weights:
Two additional shoulder exercises
– lift weight in front using shoulder muscles
– bending at waist lift weight out to the side using muscles along the scapulae (this is the same as the machine that works in reverse of the pectoral fly)
– wrist strengthening – 15 lbs
– dead lift – 30 lb bar

Other exercises:
Pushups (I’m slowly working on single handed pushups – it’s very hard! For now, I’m just holding myself up on one hand for a 10 second count)
Situps
Cycling
Elliptical

June 26, 2007

I went to the gym.

COMPLETE LIST OF WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES:
Machine/apparatus Exercises:
Pull-ups/chin-ups (this machine works on a counterweight, which means you are lifting your weight minus the weight you set the machine to; thus if I set the machine to 35 lbs, I’m really lifting 70 lbs if I weight 105)
-overhand (palms facing front) – 35 lbs
-underhand (palms facing back) – 30 lbs
-parallel (palms facing towards each other) – 30 lbs
Dips (same apparatus as for the chin-ups) – 20 lbs
Weighted squat machine – 120 lbs
Leg press – 275 lbs
Hamstring flexor/seated leg curls – 105 lbs both legs
Hamstring flexor (lying down on stomach) – 50 lbs both legs, 25 lbs single leg
Hip adductors – 100 lbs
Hip abductors – 100 lbs
Seated row – 67.5 lbs
Seated chest press – 75 lbs
Lateral pull-downs – 75 lbs
Pectoral fly (sometimes done using free weights) – 45 lbs
Reverse pectoral fly (not sure exactly what this is called, it works the rhomboids in between the scapulae/shoulder blades) – 40 lbs
Shoulder fly – 40 lbs
Shoulder lift/press – 45 lbs
Back extensor – 180 lbs
Bicep curls (usually done using free weights now) – 30 lbs, or 15 lbs single
Tricep extensor – 40 lbs (the dips do a good job of working the triceps, plus a special kind of push-up that I learned from taekwondo)
Leg lifts (I do a set of 30 reps. Lift legs out in front, the right, and the left. Doing the leg lifts to the sides helps work out the obliques/side muscles. I hate the new apparatus for this. I can only tolerate the apparatus once in a while because it aggravates my back, even though it’s supposed to be ergonomically designed.)

Free weights:
Two additional shoulder exercises
– lift weight in front using shoulder muscles
– bending at waist lift weight out to the side using muscles along the scapulae (this is the same as the machine that works in reverse of the pectoral fly)
– wrist strengthening – 15 lbs
– dead lift – 30 lb bar

Other exercises:
Pushups (I’m slowly working on single handed pushups – it’s very hard! For now, I’m just holding myself up on one hand for a 10 second count)
Situps
Cycling
Elliptical

Then I went for a run since the gym was closing. I ran along Bloor from Bay to Bathurst. The distance was 1.8 km. My time was 11 minutes 43 seconds – a leisurely run in humidity.

June 28, 2007

I ran from Yonge and Charles to Bay, then headed south on Bay to Edward Street. The distance was just over a mile (1.7 km). My time was 9 minutes 21 seconds – another leisurely run.

June 29, 2007

I went for my 5.7 km run. I timed the run in four parts.

Part 1: running North on Mt. Pleasant from home to Roxborough – time was 8 minutes 15 seconds
Part 2: running along Roxborough Streets to Avenue and Dupont – time was 9 minutes 6 seconds
Part 3: running along Dupont to Davenport then along Davenport to Yonge – time was 11 minutes 42 seconds
Part 4: running along Church from Yonge to home – time was 8 minutes 12 seconds
Total: 37 minutes 15 seconds

Okay, I’m ready for the 10k.

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

June 18, 2007

I did a 1.5 mile run. My time was 12 minutes 34 seconds, about an 8 minute mile.

I went to the do jang and helped teach poomse class. I was feeling a little tired and didn’t stay for the regular class. Good thing though because the class was full. It can get really hot and humid in the summer with a full class.

June 21, 2007

Yay! It’s Midsummer.

I decided to go for a run and then to the gym. Nathan decided to come along with me. We ran 1.5 miles. The time was 13 minutes 2 seconds – a little slower than Monday, but we were taking it easy.

COMPLETE LIST OF WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES:
Machine/apparatus Exercises:
Pull-ups/chin-ups (this machine works on a counterweight, which means you are lifting your weight minus the weight you set the machine to; thus if I set the machine to 35 lbs, I’m really lifting 70 lbs if I weight 105)
-overhand (palms facing front) – 35 lbs
-underhand (palms facing back) – 30 lbs
-parallel (palms facing towards each other) – 30 lbs
Dips (same apparatus as for the chin-ups) – 25 lbs
Weighted squat machine – 120 lbs
Leg press – 275 lbs
Hamstring flexor/seated leg curls – 105 lbs both legs
Hamstring flexor (lying down on stomach) – 50 lbs both legs, 25 lbs single leg
Hip adductors – 100 lbs
Hip abductors – 100 lbs
Seated row – 67.5 lbs
Seated chest press – 75 lbs
Lateral pull-downs – 75 lbs
Pectoral fly (sometimes done using free weights) – 45 lbs
Reverse pectoral fly (not sure exactly what this is called, it works the rhomboids in between the scapulae/shoulder blades) – 40 lbs
Shoulder fly – 40 lbs
Shoulder lift/press – 45 lbs
Back extensor – 180 lbs
Bicep curls (usually done using free weights now) – 30 lbs, or 15 lbs single
Tricep extensor – 40 lbs (the dips do a good job of working the triceps, plus a special kind of push-up that I learned from taekwondo)
Leg lifts (I do a set of 30 reps. Lift legs out in front, the right, and the left. Doing the leg lifts to the sides helps work out the obliques/side muscles. I hate the new apparatus for this. I can only tolerate the apparatus once in a while because it aggravates my back, even though it’s supposed to be ergonomically designed.)

Free weights:
Two additional shoulder exercises
– lift weight in front using shoulder muscles
– bending at waist lift weight out to the side using muscles along the scapulae (this is the same as the machine that works in reverse of the pectoral fly)
– wrist strengthening – 15 lbs
– dead lift – 30 lb bar
Other exercises:
Pushups (I’m slowly working on single handed pushups – it’s very hard! For now, I’m just holding myself up on one hand for a 10 second count)
Situps
Cycling
Elliptical

Of course, some stretching exercises.

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

June 13, 2007

Nathan and I had to go over to my mom’s place. We decided to try running there. We ran most of the way there. We ran from Sherbourne and Bloor to Broadview and Danforth, walked a bit, then started running again from around Carlaw to my mom’s place (near Danforth and Jones). The total distance to my mom’s place from mine is approximately three miles.

June 15, 2007

I decided to run the 5 km route I did last year (actually a total of 5.7 km). Starting from home, I headed to Isabella and Jarvis, then ran north on Mt. Pleasant (Mt. Pleasant ends at Jarvis) to Roxborough Street East. From there it’s a long run heading west. First, it’s west to Yonge and Roxborough Street West, then west to Avenue Road, north a little to Dupont, west on Dupont to Davenport. From Dupont and Davenport it’s a run southeast. Running on Davenport towards Yonge is the intersection where Church meets Yonge. From Yonge and Church, the run continues southeast to Church and Bloor, then south on Church to Isabella and home. I ran most of the route, which is good since it’s been awhile since I ran that distance. I ran all the way up Mt. Pleasant to Roxborough Street East. I walked a little bit on Roxborough Streets East and West, and ran most of Davenport and Church streets. I ran all the way from Church and Bloor to home on Isabella street. My time for the total distance was 42 minutes 13 seconds – not bad considering I walked some of it.

After I got home, rested a little bit and had some water to drink, I headed out again. I was going to meet Nathan at Yonge and Bloor in order to do some routine shopping. I ran the half mile there. I wanted to see how fast I could run a half mile after I did the 5.7 km. If I’m to run 10 km later, I need to be able to move again after 5.7 km. 😉 My time for the half mile run was 4 minutes 33 seconds – 17 seconds slower than my best half mile. But I ran that after a 5.7 km run so it’s not so bad of a time.

It feels good to run again the past few days. I think after doing the run to my mom’s place a few days ago, I figured I could do the 5k run. Though I had to keep reminding myself to break up the route into smaller chunks. It makes it easier mentally because you feel accomplished after finishing one block of the run, then you focus on the next block, and eventually you’re done. I’m thinking I will attempt another 5k run next week. In the meantime, I will try to improve my speed again on the 1 mile and 1.5 mile runs. Tthe 10k run at the do jang for the black belts is on July 6 in the evening. Black belts who aren’t testing are encouraged to run the 10k to support the ones who are testing. The last test this past November, I was a little under the weather and couldn’t run the 10k then, so I’m looking forward to running it this time. 🙂

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

May 30, 2007

I planned to go to the do jang, but I forgot my belt. I was too tired for a hard workout anyway. I decided to walk with Nathan for a bit before he went to tai chi, then I walked home. I ended up walking from Bloor and Spadina to Bathurst, south on Bathurst to Queen, east on Queen to Spadina, north on Spadina to Dundas, and generally walking in a northeasternly direction towards home. I walked through some side streets and through U of T campus until I got to Bay Street, then it was a walk directly east towards home. Unfortunately, I ended up getting blisters breaking in a pair of sandals that I hadn’t worn since last summer. The walk took about two hours give or take about fifteen minutes. It felt good to get the exercise though. Sometimes a long walk helps for building endurance.

June 6, 2007

I went to the do jang. I was late so I took the last twenty minutes of class. It was good enough because I was feeling tired and out of sorts.

June 7, 2007

I went to the do jang again. This time I managed to get there for the 7 p.m. class. I stayed after class and practiced patterns and some hand strikes for a while. I stayed until 9 p.m. for Nathan to pick me up after his tai chi class.

June 8, 2007

I went for a run. Nathan decided to go with me. We ran for about 15 minutes – covered about a mile and a half. Then I got a little bit of a cramp, so we walked a bit until we got to Bloor West, then ran to the track at Central Tech. I did one lap to see how fast I could run it – almost back to my top speed. Unfortunately, I cramped a bit again during the one lap so I ran roughly 300 metres instead of the 400 metres (1 lap).

June 9, 2007

Nathan and I went to see Pirates of the Carribean, then we walked home from the theatre at Richmond and John streets. It was late and the subway was likely closed. There really isn’t any point to taking the Yonge bus since we can walk up Yonge street to home easy enough.

June 11, 2007

Nathan and I went to the gym. It’s been a while since we’ve gone for a good workout so I insisted on going. I really needed to do some squats for my legs. Kicking so much in taekwondo can really aggravate the knee, so weight training is a good complement.

COMPLETE LIST OF WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES:
Machine/apparatus Exercises:
Pull-ups/chin-ups (this machine works on a counterweight, which means you are lifting your weight minus the weight you set the machine to; thus if I set the machine to 35 lbs, I’m really lifting 70 lbs if I weight 105)
-overhand (palms facing front) – 35 lbs
-underhand (palms facing back) – 30 lbs
-parallel (palms facing towards each other) – 30 lbs
Dips (same apparatus as for the chin-ups) – 25 lbs
Weighted squat machine – 120 lbs
Leg press – 275 lbs
Hamstring flexor/seated leg curls – 105 lbs both legs
Hamstring flexor (lying down on stomach) – 50 lbs both legs, 20 lbs single leg (this machine was broken again, the pin comes out of the bar that needs to be lifted – not a good thing)
Hip adductors – 100 lbs
Hip abductors – 100 lbs
Seated row – 65 lbs
Seated chest press – 75 lbs
Lateral pull-downs – 75 lbs
Pectoral fly (sometimes done using free weights) – 45 lbs
Reverse pectoral fly (not sure exactly what this is called, it works the rhomboids in between the scapulae/shoulder blades) – 35 lbs
Shoulder fly – 40 lbs
Shoulder lift/press – 45 lbs
Back extensor – 180 lbs
Bicep curls (usually done using free weights now) – 30 lbs, or 15 lbs single
Tricep extensor – 40 lbs (the dips do a good job of working the triceps, plus a special kind of push-up that I learned from taekwondo)
Leg lifts (I do a set of 30 reps. Lift legs out in front, the right, and the left. Doing the leg lifts to the sides helps work out the obliques/side muscles. I hate the new apparatus for this. I can only tolerate the apparatus once in a while because it aggravates my back, even though it’s supposed to be ergonomically designed.)

Free weights:
Two additional shoulder exercises
– lift weight in front using shoulder muscles
– bending at waist lift weight out to the side using muscles along the scapulae (this is the same as the machine that works in reverse of the pectoral fly)
– wrist strengthening – 15 lbs
– dead lift – 30 lb bar
Other exercises:
Pushups (I’m slowly working on single handed pushups – it’s very hard! For now, I’m just holding myself up on one hand for a 10 second count)
Situps
Cycling
Elliptical

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

I went for a run. I ran to University and Charles, then ran/walked to Nathan’s work. The total distance is about 1.6 miles.

Later, we went to watch a movie (saw Hot Fuzz). When I got home I practiced some kicking techniques.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

I went to the do jang. 😀 The first class we did patterns and one-step sparring. The second class was a regular class. I stayed afterwards for a bit to practice patterns and some more kicking.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

I went to the do jang again. The class turned out to be non-contact sparring. It’s sparring season, that is, tournament season. Master Kim likes to give some extra time for the competitors to practice sparring.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I decided to run to Nathan’s work again. Picked him up from work, then we walked home.

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

Sunday, May 13, 2007

I went for another run. This time I ran only 1 mile. It was little slow like last time, but I was a little tired. A few more consistent weeks of running and I should be back up to running 5 km. The do jang’s 10 km run is on July 6. Our taekwondo Master likes to have the black belts run even if we’re not testing for our next dan to encourage the people who have to run it for the test. I missed out on the run last November as I was a tad sick, so I’m hoping and excited about running the 10 km again.

Monday, May 14, 2007

I went to the do jang again for poomse class and our regular class. There was a new person, so I paired up with her just to help her out. Turns out she took karate before, but just hadn’t done much exercise for about a year. I thought she was doing pretty good though. Some people can get pretty out of shape in one year, but she was still in decent shape. After a week or two, she’ll be fine with the cardio kicking classes.

Afterwards, I went to the gym again.

COMPLETE LIST OF WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES:
Machine/apparatus Exercises:
Pull-ups/chin-ups (this machine works on a counterweight, which means you are lifting your weight minus the weight you set the machine to; thus if I set the machine to 35 lbs, I’m really lifting 70 lbs if I weight 105)
-overhand (palms facing front) – 35 lbs
-underhand (palms facing back) – 25 lbs
-parallel (palms facing towards each other) – 25 lbs
Dips (same apparatus as for the chin-ups) – 25 lbs
Weighted squat machine – 120 lbs
Leg press – 275 lbs
Hamstring flexor/seated leg curls – 105 lbs both legs
Hamstring flexor (lying down on stomach) – 50 lbs both legs, 20 lbs single leg
Hip adductors – 100 lbs
Hip abductors – 90 lbs
Seated row – 60 lbs
Seated chest press – 75 lbs
Lateral pull-downs – 75 lbs
Pectoral fly (sometimes done using free weights) – 45 lbs
Reverse pectoral fly (not sure exactly what this is called, it works the rhomboids in between the scapulae/shoulder blades) – 30 lbs
Shoulder fly – 40 lbs
Shoulder lift/press – 45 lbs
Back extensor – 180 lbs
Bicep curls (usually done using free weights now) – 30 lbs, or 15 lbs single
Tricep extensor – 40 lbs (the dips do a good job of working the triceps, plus a special kind of push-up that I learned from taekwondo)
Leg lifts (I hate the new apparatus for this; might start doing these on a bench or the floor instead; did these on the floor in taekwondo class)

Free weights:
Two additional shoulder exercises
– lift weight in front using shoulder muscles
– bending at waist lift weight out to the side using muscles along the scapulae (this is the same as the machine that works in reverse of the pectoral fly)
– wrist strengthening – 15 lbs
– dead lift
Other exercises:
Pushups (I’m slowly working on single handed pushups – it’s very hard! For now, I’m just holding myself up on one hand for a 10 second count)
Situps
Cycling
Elliptical

Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame