Pneumatised!

MM,

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

I went to the do jang for gumdo and taekwondo. After taekwondo, I headed to the gym to meet Nathan for our weight training workout.

Leg lifts
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Leg press
Hamstring flexor (called seated leg curls)
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Seated row
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Tricep extensor
Back extensor
Stomach curls

Free weights:
Pectoral fly (lie down with weight in each hand, arms extended; pull hands together at arm’s length in front of chest)
Bicep curl
Two shoulder exercises (no idea what they are called; someone showed them to me)
Wrist strengthening

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

I went to the do jang for taekwondo. I ended up helping the red belts practice all their patterns. After, I did the regular class. My knee was acting up for some reason, so I decided it was best to skip the half hour “crazy kicking class” (yes, it’s really called that) and go home and get some rest. There is no point in stressing out my knee and I probably need to go for a run again soon.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Today is Nate’s birthday! Happy birthday! As a birthday present, please go to his website and read his novel, Alice, and his other writing. He’s a wonderful up and coming author.

Today is also spring equinox. Yes, that means that Nate is a spring chicken… er, baby. This means we get double happiness today. Yay! Here’s to a good year ahead.

Blessings,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Nathan and I went to my friend’s special hapkido training class at Deep Impactx. It was a good training session. We practiced some front falls and back falls. We also practiced some hapkido kicks, which are slightly different from taekwondo kicks. The kicks in hapkido are focused more on attacks to the lower body. Then we did a few hapkido self-defence techniques. We also did some breathing exercises and a little bit of meditation before and after class.

My friend is an excellent teacher with a background in a variety of martial arts from taekwondo to aikido as well as many different weapons techniques. To anyone interested in learning some practical self-defence, I would definitely recommend taking one of these classes. (Just click on the above link for more information.)

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

I went to the do jang finally and took gumdo and taekwondo class. There was only six people in gumdo class which is nice because it’s easier to concentrate and see the teacher. I haven’t practiced swords in awhile so it was good for me. After I took taekwondo class. The last time I was in was exactly two weeks, so of course I go to class and my Master feels like making us spar. But… I wasn’t too tired for it. My knee was bothering me a little bit, but not too much. This time I could kind of ignore it.

After I left the do jang I headed to the gym to meet Nathan.

Leg lifts
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Leg press
Hamstring flexor (called seated leg curls)
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Seated row
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Tricep extensor
Back extensor
Stomach curls

Free weights:
Bicep curl
Two shoulder exercises (no idea what they are called; someone showed them to me)
Wrist strengthening

Side situps and stretching

It felt good to get some cardio and some weight training.

BB,
Cassandrah
Brigid’s Flame

Learning comes from all sources, everyone and everything – even your bitterest enemy. Knowing this, you already have the advantage.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress and wise woman
Brigid’s Flame

When you think you know all there is to know is the moment you are farthest from wisdom and enlightenment.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress and wise woman
Brigid’s Flame

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Nathan and I made a small trip to the gym.

Leg lifts
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Leg press
Hamstring flexor (called seated leg curls)
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Seated row
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Back extensor

Free weights:
Bicep curl
Two shoulder exercises (no idea what they are called; someone showed them to me)
Wrist strengthening

We skipped out on the cardio as we were planning on going for a walk later. Next time we’ll probably do some more cardio work.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Nathan and I went for another mile run. My time was 8 minutes 55 seconds. Then we headed to the gym. Here’s the list of exercises I did.

Leg press
Hamstring flexor (called seated leg curls)
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Pull-ups (again military and parallel)
Dips
Chest press
Bar pulls (works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Pectoral press
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift
Leg lifts
Back extensor
Stomach curls
Seated row
Seated leg extension (My knee hurt a bit after doing these and I don’t know why I did these. the doctor for my knee surgery warned me to be wary of this machine as it puts a ton of stress on the knee joint. I guess I just wanted to see if my knee was willing to do this. The machine works the quadriceps, but I guess I’ll just be happy with other ways of strengthening the quads.)

Free weights:
Bicep curl
Two shoulder exercises (no idea what they are called; someone showed them to me)
Wrist strengthening

I did some pushups – 5 variations of them (hands in triangle; hands wide, fingers pointed out; knuckle pushups; regular pushups; and finger pushups (I can’t do them full length yet, so I do them while doing side splits – less weight on the fingers). Total 100 pushups.

Then we did some cardio. I was tired but still managed to do the following.

Eliptical 0.98 mile in 10 minutes
Stair climber 34.6 floors in 10 minutes 15 seconds

Then, we did some stretching and headed home.

Friday, March 10, 2006

I skipped out on the do jang this week. I just wasn’t in the mood for it. As someone said to me, “you have nothing to prove”, which explains why I go when I feel like going and try not to freak out when I don’t go because others expect it. Frankly, I’m only concerned with what my Master thinks (because he’s such a great guy) and he isn’t complaining about my training. Besides, what with the running and the work I need to do, it’s just hard to keep up sometimes. In any case, training for the black belt test starts in May and it’s not like I’m being lazy eating “bonbons” every night.

Today, I went for a run. It’s good for my knee to run and I like getting out for some fresh air (or as fresh as it’ll ever be in this city). It helps clear my congestion from my allergies too.

I decided to go for a mile and a half run. This is probably the second time I’ve done it all in one run. I’ve been doing it split up into a half mile and then a mile. Today my time was decent – 12 minutes 55 seconds. It works out to 8 minutes 36 seconds for a mile. My time is getting better again. I think it has much to do with the cold weather. It just hurts alot to run in the cold, but it’s good for me to get used to it. Since I have to run the 10k in July, it’s good that I get used to running in the cold. I should end up running faster in the summer. Less weight on the body to run with and I don’t have to worry about my lungs and my ears freezing up on me. 🙂

I’m hoping in the next few weeks I should be able to run 2 miles. The one mile should really just feel like a warm-up, not my whole workout. Though I guess it doesn’t help that I have allergies and am congested on the days I’m at home working. Ah well… just love my kitties.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame

MM,

Spring is just around the corner! As the snow melts and the sun gets hotter and brighter as each day passes during this time of year, we start to breathe a sigh of relief having made it through the cold season. The spring equinox occurs when day and night are of equal length again (the autumn equinox being the other time) and each day thereafter the days grow longer. Spring is the time when the earth is fertile again and the plants begin to grow, therefore, spring is about beginnings and starting anew.

Spring equinox is also known as Ostara or Lady Day. Ostara is a Norse goddess of fertility and fecundity. One of her symbols is the hare and for obvious reasons another one of her symbols is the egg (fertility). Variant forms of her name are Eostra and Eostre from which is derived the term Easter. (Easter Sunday, by the way, is simply the first Sunday AFTER the first full moon AFTER spring equinox which would make it April 16 this year. Check it! It works every year.) Spring equinox is also termed Lady Day as this is the time of the maiden. The maiden being young and fertile herself is closely associated with the changes in the Earth at this time.

Spring equinox is still celebrated by many people, pagans and Wiccans being first to mind. From a Wiccan view, Ostara is one of the greater Sabbats and is a time for celebration. Rituals are held as close to the day as possible in order to show reverence and to celebrate the new season. This year Ostara is Monday, March 20. (Astrologically, the sun enters Aries at 1:25 p.m. EST.)

There are a variety of ways to celebrate the spring equinox. One particularly nice way is to wake up early and watch the sunrise. Light a candle and state what you wish to begin in this new season. It is also a good time to think of new ideas, plant new seeds in the ground or your mind, and make new plans for the upcoming year. As the spring equinox is also called Lady Day, pay your respects to the maiden goddess at this time. Remember that what you do for the spring equinox is auspicious for the rest of the year.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local webmistress
Brigid’s Flame