This week I started to get back into a new work out routine. My back is still doing quite well so I have finally gotten back to a more regular training regiment. I now work out six days a week alternating between an arm intensive workout, an abdominal intensive workout, and a leg intensive workout. This format works well with my schedule and hits the major areas of my body twice a week in a rotation.
Currently the I am not able to do as much as I once was able to, I lost a lot of strength over the several months that I was unable to train with my injured back. My workout consists of a series of exercises that we do in my school in a relatively small number, which I will work to increase to what I feel is more reasonable. Currently my workout is as follows:
Monday and Thursday
- 10 jug raises with my fingertips forward
- 10 jug raises with my fingertips out to my sides
- 10 jug raises with my fingertips held out at shoulder height rowing inwards
- 10 jug raises with my fingertips held out at shoulder height rowing outwards
- burn out raising a brick held by my fingertips forward
- burn out raising a brick held by my fingertips out to my sides
- burn out raising a brick held by my fingertips held out at shoulder height rowing inwards
- burn out raising a brick held by my fingertips held out at shoulder height rowing outwards
- 25 wrist raises with bundled rebar with each hand
- 25 “stocking the shelves” on each side
- 20 standard palm push ups
- 20 fist push ups at the sides
- 20 fingertip push ups
- 20 wrist push ups
- 20 diamond push ups at the chest
- running for 30 minutes
- random arm and shoulder exercises including; spear thrusts, punching drills against the heavy bag, dips, and pull ups
Tuesday and Friday
- 30 seconds of plank with one leg held up resting on the forearms on each side
- 30 seconds of side plank with extended arms and legs on each side
- 30 seconds of plank with one leg help up in extended push up position
- 25 crunches with legs held out at 45 degrees; 2 sets
- 25 leg lifts; 2 sets
- 50 low bicycle kicks forward
- 50 low bicycle kicks in reverse
- 20 Phifer scissors
- 30 side crunches on each side
- 25 leg climbs on each leg
- 25 mason twists; 2 sets
- 200 staff twists
Wednesday and Saturday
- 5 minutes of horse stance (Ma Bu 馬步)
- 2.5 minutes of cat stance on each side
- 2.5 minutes of floating stance on each side
- 100 shifting horse stance
- 3 laps of cat walks
- 3 laps of cat perch walks
- 3 laps of horse, dragon, bow transitions
- 3 laps of unicorn walks
- 3 laps of cross unicorn walks
- 20 stand up on on leg with the other held out straight on each side
Each of these workouts is started after a long stretching routine that lasts approximately one hour and stretches most of the body concentrating heavily on the area that will be used most that day. The numbers and time limits for these exercises are low and I hope to work up to steadily increase them until I have gotten to my goals. I will write about my progress as I get nearer to my goals.
It feels good to be training more heavily and with a more consistent schedule. I leave work and go straight to the school where I train until I have my classes or until I teach and wrap up anything else that I wasn’t able to get to after those are done. This means that I get a good couple of hours of strength training in a day. Once my strength is back up I will be able to change to fewer more difficult exercises and trade out exercises for more forms practice.
