The Glade 4.0

Over the past 2 or 3 months I've cut out soda and junk food from my diet entirely and I've started up with some mild exercises...since then I've needed less sleep, been much more wakeful and energetic, my balance and coordination has improved immensely and I'm just in a good mood about everything. Been focusing on meditation and being completely relaxed and putting my mind into a "blank slate" mode.

I have this week off.

I'm drinking V8 Fusion and bottled water...about two 46 oz containers of V8 fusion per day.


That's it. Starting off with a nice cleansing diet...nothing but fresh fruit (mostly bananas) and V8 fusion and water.

I'm doing it during my week off of work because there's no way I'd be able to constantly drink fruit juice in my work environment and I'd only be limited to it on break time.


I'm also exercising....but I'm not constraining myself to any exercise plan. I'm just following natural movements. Lots of focused breathing, calisthenics, isometrics, plyometrics and very fast speed training (FAST and SNAPPY shadow boxing, kicking, striking, etc). Think of it as a combination of bodyweight training with natural movement (I'm being very very creative with the movements and EVERY exercise is a stretch, and I'm focusing on strength and agility and speed in every movement)....pilates and kung fu, that kind of stuff. I'm trying to completely restructure how my mind and body work, from the ground up...every exercise I perform is based on how I want to be able to move, and how I want to be able to think...I'm trying to align my natural reflexes and instinct with those movements. Everything in my workout focuses on cardiovascular fitness, agility, speed, and flexibility....all without weights or any equipment (ok, I do have the perfect pushup things and a pullup bar...but no weights or any other complex equipment)

At the end of the week I'm going to order some Gold Standard Whey protein...possibly the Whey and Oats. Mix protein + oatmeal together, and also protein into the V8 fusion (or water depending on how well that works). I'll also slowly reintroduce healthy foods into my diet starting with chicken breast, eggs, and brown rice.

I'll continually add more of different types of training depending on what my body feels like--I'm going totally by feel so I don't feel constrained by set workout plans and number goals because I feel those limit me and put a mental block on my training. Everything I'm doing is based on completely natural movement, functional strength, agility, flexibility, speed, balance, coordination and intense focus.

I want a punching bag, but I don't know what kind would work out in my apartment.

Later on in the year when I reach a certain level of fitness I may think about rejoining some type of kung fu class. Possibly wing chun or kickboxing (muay thai)....when I was a kid I took kung fu for about 3 years and quit...I was always the most graceful with my forms (lots of trophies) but I was really just going through the motions...trying to make it look good, etc. I never put two and two together until now. Now I understand everything I was being taught. I think martial art is my calling and today I'm going to start training for it, for the rest of my life.

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Ron Paul 2012

Let us know how it's working for you Nev. Martial training can certainly get you into good condition. If it's something you love to do that's a great advantage.

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“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general”. - Mark Rippetoe

http://www.titleboxing.com/
http://www.ringside.com

And 80# bag, swivel, chains, and stand will run you about $200 shipped. That would be the best option for an apartment. Otherwise you could just get away with a installed swivel. Check Play It Again Sports if there is one nearby. I found a 70# heavy bag, brand new, for only $40.

Try a Brazilian Jiujitsu school if there is one nearby with a reputable instructor. The entire systems is based around maximizing the bodies natural characteristics. Once you achieve a good technical perspective (hierarchy of positions, the fundamental strategy, different techniques and their associated details), it can become very physically testing if you choose to do lots of sparring (randori). Most of the techniques of ne-waza, but there is some ashi-waza which was derived from its Judo roots.

Strength and training can be done in as little as 2-3 times a week, optimally 4-5.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

Good luck on your martial arts endeavor! It's what go me into working out, and I've loved every minute of it.

Please keep us updated with what you do!

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"I've got twenty ways to tell you shut the f*ck up / nineteen of them are twenty-four bars long / the other one goes: SHUT THE F*CK UP" - Aesop Rock
"There is no God higher than truth." -- Gandhi
Formerly: Tulamian

Good Luck Nev!

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Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

I think I am going to go with a Reflex bag....a heavy bag just ain't gonna work in my apartment. And also I was kinda more interested in a speed bag...but a reflex bag looks like it's gonna be WAY more fun


[youtube]qCiGnyjM22k[/youtube]

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Ron Paul 2012

OK! I ordered that Reflex bag and some handwraps! I hope this thing isn't too loud in my apartment. I also ordered those spring loaded hand grip things.

I bought a 10 lb bag of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey and a 2000 gram tub of Creatine.

Don't worry...I'm going to take it easy on the creatine...low doses, 2 months on, 2 months off.

Here's my plan for every day.

Wake up.
Drink a bottle of water. Take multivitamin.
Oatmeal + Protein + Creatine for breakfast.
Half a bottle of V8 fusion throughout the day before work (which is about half the daily recommended fruit/veggie servings). And half after, of course!
Workout consisting of stretching. LOTS of stretching and warming up very slowly I find if I do this and drink a lot of water I have insane amounts of energy during a workout. Also, I don't work until fatigue like most people seem to think they should. I'd rather work out to a point where I feel satisfied and then have a huge amount of energy throughout the rest of the day. After stretching I'll generally do burpees (jumping pushups and squats), lunges, pullups, and bajillions of situps, shadow boxing, high kicks, etc, and work on the reflex bag.

Whenever I feel hungry I'll just have a protein shake or some fruit, depending on what I feel like, or am about to do.

After work I'll do the workout again, and possibly add 30ish minutes of elliptical training...if I'm too tired after work I'll just go to sleep right away so when I wake up i'll have more time to workout and maybe down some more protein/fruit.

I'll let ya know how this works out. Kinda hard to track my progress here because I'm not following a traditional workout plan and my goals don't have anything to do with weight gain or loss.

The only other issue I'll have is what food to bring to work....I like to keep it simple and just make sandwiches but apparently bread isn't the greatest health food...not sure what type of bread to get that is healthy. I also just gotta make sure I'm constantly drinking water

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Ron Paul 2012

Don't be surprised if you get bloated on the creatine, both weight and appearance. It causes me to gain about 3 to 4 pounds in pure water. For this reason, your idea of drinking lots of water is a good one.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

Yeah I'm aware of that...gonna take it easy and if I don't like it I'll stop, lol.

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Ron Paul 2012

Hey...just a quick update. Creatine and Protein Powder are too nasty for me to eat. That was a waste of money.

The reflex bag has been awesome, one of the best investments I've made in a while! I don't use the handwraps, though...they're a pain in the ***, and my fists are already well conditioned enough to hit the bag with bare knuckles. Gloves vs this bag, I've found, are more to protect the bag from ripping at the seams.


Another great thing I picked up is a Fitter First Bongo Board! It was originally meant for skateboarders and surfers and snowboarders as a way to train indoors when it's too dark out. It's also great to do pushups on. I picked up 2 of their 16" Tri-Level "advanced" wobble boards as well....1 foot on each of those, doing squats...is great. Especially combined with my weighted vest that goes up to 60 lbs (I'm not that strong yet...tons of room for improvement!)

[youtube]XS2hJ86I6vY[/youtube]


So anyways...I've been training my balance coordination with those balance boards. When it gets in season, I'm gonna pick me up a snowboard and start snowboarding for the first time in my life. If I get good, I'm going to pick up a skateboard the following spring! The bongo board is hella fun

That, combined with ridiculous amounts of static and dynamic stretching, shadowboxing (and lots of high kicks) reflex bag work, nunchaku for coordination and ambidexterity. I also try to practice non telegraphic punching and kicking.

I still haven't started running yet, because I'm on my feet all day at my job. At the end of the day, my feet are worn out! I had to get these inserts to heal my plantar fasciitis.

http://www.heel-that-pain.com/heel_seats.php

...those things work like a charm. Completely pain free. 2 days before I started using those things, it was so bad on my right heel that I occasionally had to limp at the end of the day at work. Also I've been slacking on my diet (too broke for food after buying a katana and all those balance boards, lol), and I wish I had access to a heavy bag and a wing chun wooden dummy.

Outside of that, I've been doing a lot of calesthenics...as displayed here. Except I try to focus more on plyometrics and speed rather than endurance or high amounts of weight. The reason being is this...look at her workout. She's moving slow, holding her breath during reps. This is bad...yeah, she looks great and is in extremely good shape, but I go even further and train the way I want to be able to move. Martial Art ability

[youtube]mgduFHz2HoE[/youtube]

This kind of training is FUN. Boring workouts....nobody sticks to those. I'd rather do fun stuff than go to a gym and do 15 reps of this, 3 sets of that, and get in a hamster wheel for half an hour. Also this type of training offers benefits over your standard weightlifting / cardio workout. It's the difference between being extremely ripped and having big soft beach muscles.

I now place extreme value on physical fitness and have the highest respect for others that do the same. Enjoy the video!

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Ron Paul 2012

Okay, I've tried to develop a method to the order I do things in my workout. Stretching is important, so I stretch first...however, it's also important to warm up the muscles and get the blood flowing before stretching.

As a martial artist, it's also important to be ready at any point in time...so I start my workout with shadow boxing, high kicking, standing on the balance board, and punching bag and nunchaku for fun.

Then I stretch...I start with my fingers, work my way to my palms, then forearms, then arms, then shoulders...then neck, and head. Then I start bending at the waist.

Another innovative stretch I then do is...dig under the rib cage while breathing deeply, and massage everything that you stretch. Then, I proceed to exhale as far as possible and breathe back in slowly, or fast, depending on what I want to do. Then I repeat the previous stretches.

Then I go into a deep meditative state while stretching the waist, 360 degrees. All stretches are slow, then fast. Static, then dynamic. I work this stretch into my hips and glutes and use my upper extremities as a tool for balance and momentum.

Then the legs....starting from the waist, downward to the toe. Same rules apply. Slow, then fast. Static, then dynamic. It's very important to start slow and make sure you breathe into the stretch...TAKE YOUR TIME, concentrate on the feel of your muscles during every stretch. Leg lifts...kicks, stretches...

Then, I bounce around in a fighting stance...and do jumping jacks. More high kicking, shadowboxing, and nunchaku.

Hand grip exercise, stretch, nunchucks, stretch. Sometimes, I stand on the balance boards when I do this...sometimes, in the horse stance...eventually I'll add weight to the vest during this.

Then, I get into the pushup position.

Pushups like crazy. As fast as possible. Sometimes, plyometric, sometimes not...I go until i can't go anymore. Then I take a break, focus on breathing and meditation, then repeat until bored. Sometimes I break it up with other exercises, sometimes it's straight pushups. I vary it too...diamond pushups, fist pushups, finger pushups, stretched palm pushups, hindu pushups, etc.

I always have water and fruit juice handy, and I drink when I'm thirsty.

Then, I do pull ups.

Then, I use the dip station.

Then, I do jumping squats and hindu squats...then stretch everything.

Then, I practice rolling on the ground, falling in all directions and getting back up as quickly and painlessly as possible. Cartwheels, and other apartment-fu gymnastics.

Last thing I do are ab exercises...and for these, I go forever, and then when I have to stop...I keep going.

Then, I run. Slow, fast, and at burst intervals. Eventually, I'll also skateboard.

I want to get a jump rope, heavy bag and wing chun dummy.

There are no rules...I like to break it up, and keep it fun...at any time during the workout I can change my mind and do jumping jacks, run from one point to another touching the ground at each point, play with the nunchaku, punching bag, stretch, kick, shadowbox, or whatever. I add weight vest whenever I feel up for it.

I stretch before, after, and during each exercise....and I focus on breath control during everything.

Sometimes, I train in front of a mirror...helps with form and non-telegraphic movement and facial expressions.

I make my own workout music.

What are your opinions?

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Ron Paul 2012

Your neighbors below you, if you have any, hate you, lol.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

Hahahaha, very true. Thankfully there have been no complaints of my apartment-funastics or music.


EDIT: Yet.



anyways, this workout plan is just ideas so far, I don't actually fall down on the ground all of the time, if I followed my workout perfectly I'd definitely have mucho noise complaints...so I have to compromise with not getting kicked out and how much time I have to work with.

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Ron Paul 2012