Training Log

When you become committed to achieving a goal through training it is important to know what you have tried, tested and achieved with. As a martial artist or just someone who wants to achieve a certain fitness level, there is nothing quite as annoying as performing countless sets of certain techniques only to find out that it has been a waste of time or that it is harmful for you. For this reason it is worth keeping a record of all your training and dieting via some sort of training log.

Imagine you plan to achieve a six pack within 10 weeks. You start to perform your ab training, do your cardio and watch your diet, however at the end of it all, you have not achieved you goal. You then think to yourself, that you did everything you where meant to do, why has this not worked?

The bottom line is, you may have done what you where meant to do but did not do it correctly, otherwise you would have achieved your goal. What’s worse, because you did not record your training and eating you do not know where you went wrong and how to fix the problem. It could have been that you where eating too many calories or the wrong food types. If you wrote down what you consumed, showed it to a professional, he/she would be able to tell you instantly where your problem was and next time around you wouldn’t fall into the same trap

Following on with this it can’t be stressed enough how much a log can help when dieting. It is so easy to consume little nibbles and snacks, thinking that they are not adding any extra calories. If you kept a log of the exact foods you consumed during the day including the nibbles, you may be amazed at how much these nibbles can dramatically effect the way your body looks and the amount of weight it holds. The log will instantly inform you where your dieting may be going wrong. Without the log you may never know.

A training log will also help in gaining strength and size through weights. How many times have you seen someone at the gym pushing the same weight, workout, after workout after workout, without any change in there appearance. By keeping a log of the amount you lifted during your last months training, you can make the decision to try and lift an extra couple of pounds during next months training. You would be amazed how much a written figure can motivate you to try that little bit harder to exceed you boundaries.

A training log is a wise extra to have on board in your quest for bettering yourself. By knowing what you have done in the past and where you achieved the most, over time you shall be able to plan what works best for you and disregard what does not.

Marks

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Martial Arts in the Movies

Wesley Snipes, Bruce Lee, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Jackie Chan, Jet Li. These are just a few of the people that have brought the martial arts to the world through the years via cinemas and televisions. Has this been a good idea or a bad idea.

Well firstly, without films the publicity that martial arts have, would not be near as big as it is today. By seeing these different ways of fighting, people enquire about them, find out where they are taught and start training, so martial art films give this advantage.

Also martial art films and actors are seen as role models for young people and give them motivation to strive to be successful at things. The amount of people that have said that Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris are there heroes can not be counted. People that are not even martial artists have been inspired such actors.

So how about the disadvantages,

Well imagine a young child has just seen a film where the star takes on and beats all his adversaries with high kicks, flying punches and uses back flips to dodge attacks. Inspired by these techniques he practises daily in his room to learn them, thinking that he will be invincible and untouchable. A few weeks later he gets into a confrontation at school, tries to use the techniques used and gets beaten up as he painfully finds out that fights in reality are not like fights in the movies. He then abandons watching martial art films or learning anything to do with martial arts as he thinks they are not worth it.

Martial arts are great for marketing fighting systems, showing feats that can be obtained through practise and motivating people to set, and achieve goals. The techniques used are mostly unrealistic but help for all these reasons and will probably not be altered. The best thing is to not try and replicate these techniques but try and replicate the hard work that these actors have used to get where they are, so as to be successful in your own life.

Marks

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Overtraining, Signs and Treatment

Overtraining in martial arts and weight training is common. To be the best you have to push yourself to limits that surpass your normal boundaries. Weather by lifting heavier weights, sparring an extra two or three rounds, aiming to complete an extra thirty press ups or trying to roundhouse kick a couple of inches higher, these types of goals must be set and met if you are to become one of the best. However this is where overtraining comes in and where you may do more damage than good.

Overtraining signs which I have experienced through my training include,
Aching of muscles,
Constant drowsiness,
Falling to sleep very quickly,
Boredom of training,
Not being able to focus on everyday tasks,
Loss of weight (muscle weight as well as fat) whilst eating the same amount.

As I said, these are just my experiences through overtraining. You may experience different signs or maybe non of the above. But whenever I feel any of these, I cut back slightly and give my body a chance to recuperate.

The aching of the muscles, loss of weight, drowsiness and quick sleeping can be dealt with quickly. By giving training a rest for a couple of days, these issues seem to take care of themselves. But boredom of training and losing focus on everyday tasks seem to take a week or maybe two to deal with. I am not quite sure of why this is, but it could be because I am mentally drained from the repetitious movement’s martial art and weight training entails. Taking time off and focusing on other things in my life really does help in this area, and up to now, once I take a break, I come back to training with extra vigour, motivation and strength.

To be the best you have to train hard, but you have to also train smart. There is no point going into the gym for a chest workout, when you blasted your chest the day before and it is still aching even when you warm up. Your body will tell you automatically if your overtrained so listen to it. Rest according to your bodies wishes and you should come back stronger.

Marks

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Dieting and Cravings

Most people sometime in there lives decide to try and lose some weight. Martial artists sometimes need to lose weight (mostly fat) so as to compete in there chosen weight category. Bodybuilders also need to lose weight (fat again) so as to look very “ripped” and toned. Every time a diet does happen you will always get cravings.

To some, cravings can be a good thing. If you crave, it means your hungry, if you stay hungry you shall lose weight. But to some cravings can get very bad, and that is when they start nibbling at little things. Maybe opening the fridge, staring inside for around 15 minutes, taking tiny nibbles of different foods. Before they know it, they have eaten a meals worth of food consuming extra calories. When you deprive yourself of certain food types, you will always get cravings. As a martial artist it is a good way of training your self discipline, but not everyone are martial artists. For those who are not, there are a couple of things that may work.

Add extra calories WISELY!- If you feel you have a craving (which is usually at night), have ONE table spoon full of something like peanut butter, just to give you a little taste of something different to your usual chicken, tuna and salad.
Perform some light stretching – I have always noticed that if I perform some light stretches for about ten minutes, my cravings disappear. It may work for you.
Drink water – Fill yourself up with the one thing you consume with no calories, water. Drink lots of it so it fills you up, expands your stomach and makes you think that you are full. Sometimes seeing a bloating stomach is enough to give you the motivation not to eat anything.
Stay within your meal consumption every 2-3 hours – Cravings will always appear, but as long as you are having your meals every 2-3 hours without skipping one, it SHOULD keep your cravings to a controllable level.
Build motivation – Watch a Bruce Lee film, check out Internet websites, read inspiring books. Whatever builds your motivation to succeed and not sway of your diet, do it.

Dieting is one of the hardest things any one can do. It is a true test to see whether you have the guts and determination to succeed at something. Cravings are just one of the things that life throws at you to try and make you fail, but with everything, you just have to keep on going. Dont stop and you shall succeed.

Marks

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