A couple of simple goals...
About 4 months ago, I decided to set two simple goals. One was to deadlift 300lbs with no assistance (no straps, belt or chalk) and the other was to one-hand overhead press half my bodyweight (77.5lbs).
These simple goals were what I directed my training towards. Last week, I deadlifted 300lbs and overhead pressed 65lbs with one hand. I'm only 12.5lbs away from the half-bodyweight press!
In training to achieve these two simple goals, a number of other things have happened:
My endurance has vastly improved.
My pullup and grip strength has increased.
I can sprint faster, plus jump higher and farther.
My shoulders are much more stable and still injury free.
My hamstrings are more flexible and stronger when stretched.
My abs are stronger and more solid all the way from hip to hip.
I have added about 3lbs of muscle without changing my diet.
There are quite a few others I could add to the list but I think I've made my point...
As you can see, by just having two simple goals you can improve in many more ways as a byproduct of your dedicated training. It is also important to note that I took four backoff weeks for recovery and injury prevention (one at the end of each month). This means I trained for 12 weeks instead of the full 16. You see, there is even room to relax and have some fun : )
Try whittling down your list of goals to the few that really matter and see how much more you'll achieve!
Do.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wing Tsun on the beach...
On Saturday, a group of us from Wing Tsun Vancouver went to Kits Beach for Sifu Ralph Haenel's annual beach-class. The weather in Vancouver was perfect, with not a cloud to be seen. Today is another story but a great time to get caught up on my blog : )
The topic for the day was the momentary control of your attacker's arms and body. To start off, we wedged in and practiced controlling the Left arm while rendering attacks with the Right. This provided the jumping off point to controlling either arm momentarily in order to render attacks with either hand. Further to this idea, we worked on generating power from the core and hips. This power was utilized to quickly move our training partners off their stances and thus keep them off balance as we practiced whacking them in various places... nicely of course.
Stance and footwork were also a big part of our training Saturday. The first reflexive wedging of the arms MUST be accompanied by a strong and stable stance or all is lost. In fact, if we do not feel the force to be greater than our own, the stance will hold. Working on this WT concept dilligently for a few hours certainly increases the stability of your stance and further implants such a skill into the Central Nervous System. As an additional point, we worked on attacking our partner's legs with our own, further upsetting their stance/balance and adding another element to our stance training (stability when on one leg).
Ah, the basics... is there nothing they cannot do?
All in all a great class! I unfortunately missed out on the picnic afterwards : (
Thanks to Sifu Ralph and my training partner Brian Yam!
A few pics below...
Brian looks quite excited to be delivering such an elbow!
Brian no longer looks so excited...
Natalia having fun giving Jennifer not one, but two strikes at the same time!
Victor does not even bother to remove his shades, while Sacha's may have fallen on the ground.
On Saturday, a group of us from Wing Tsun Vancouver went to Kits Beach for Sifu Ralph Haenel's annual beach-class. The weather in Vancouver was perfect, with not a cloud to be seen. Today is another story but a great time to get caught up on my blog : )
The topic for the day was the momentary control of your attacker's arms and body. To start off, we wedged in and practiced controlling the Left arm while rendering attacks with the Right. This provided the jumping off point to controlling either arm momentarily in order to render attacks with either hand. Further to this idea, we worked on generating power from the core and hips. This power was utilized to quickly move our training partners off their stances and thus keep them off balance as we practiced whacking them in various places... nicely of course.
Stance and footwork were also a big part of our training Saturday. The first reflexive wedging of the arms MUST be accompanied by a strong and stable stance or all is lost. In fact, if we do not feel the force to be greater than our own, the stance will hold. Working on this WT concept dilligently for a few hours certainly increases the stability of your stance and further implants such a skill into the Central Nervous System. As an additional point, we worked on attacking our partner's legs with our own, further upsetting their stance/balance and adding another element to our stance training (stability when on one leg).
Ah, the basics... is there nothing they cannot do?
All in all a great class! I unfortunately missed out on the picnic afterwards : (
Thanks to Sifu Ralph and my training partner Brian Yam!
A few pics below...
Brian looks quite excited to be delivering such an elbow!
Brian no longer looks so excited...
Natalia having fun giving Jennifer not one, but two strikes at the same time!
Victor does not even bother to remove his shades, while Sacha's may have fallen on the ground.
