Category: Weight Training

TRACK EVERYTHING!

Typical advice in training is to make sure you are keeping track of what you are actually doing. Why? It keeps the momentum going and ensures a sense of direction. However, it is very important that you are covering all the areas.

In Judo, you might want to be keeping a look at:

  • JUDO: Well, duh. This isn’t so much “I went to training today”. It is making a personal note as to what was covered in the session and what you got out of it. What were your strengths? Weaknesses? How were you feeling? What do you think you need to work on next time? Anything you forgot to ask your coach but should bring up next time? What are your short-term and long-term goals? Did you rely on your tokui-waza too much? Same applies for competitions. What did you learn? Why did you lose? What would you do differently next time? Did you win but feel you won ‘cheaply’?
  • SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING: What weights did you lift? How far did you run? Was it easy? Hard? Is anything a bit more sore than it should be? Think you can push harder next time? By the way, I think we can put ‘Reading’ as a supplementary here, so have you read up on a few combinations that you would like to try next time in Randori?
  • NUTRITION: You can lift all the weights in the world but if you are living on pizza you are not going to be getting all the benefits. Keep it logged, check you are within your limits. Are you getting enough protein? Not ODing on carbs? I recommend Gyminee for this (note you can also track your workouts!)
  • REST: Yes, sometimes you need to log that you’re not actually doing anything. Rest days are important. Your cardio and your muscles do not improve at the instant you are training. It happens when you are asleep. Take appropriate days off, get plenty of sleep!

Here’s my own story to illustrate some of the above points.

When I started Judo, I lost over a stone just from Judo training itself. I hadn’t really exercised in the previous 10 years since leaving school, apart from occasionally getting motivated to go to the gym, then losing that motivation again. Going to the gym for its own sake eventually lost appeal.

Judo gave me the motivation. I love Judo. Going to the gym, or out for a run, to help improve my fitness for Judo was a purpose in its own right.

However, I did nothing about my nutrition. I was still knocking back pizza and my carb levels must have been through the route. So I’ve always remained overweight. Nicely at the top end of the U90s category but hardly looking like a ‘Judo athlete’.

Then, due to various factors (Getting my Dan grade, breaking a toe, Christmas, lazyness!) I stopped going to the gym and training so much. I put on a bit of weight again.

I’m now back at it, only this time tracking my nutrition as well. This sense of direction means I have not just cut back on intake, but I am eating the right things: Lots more protein, much less carbs! Keeping everything in balance. White bread is replaced with brown. No butter. No full-fat drinks…. all sensible changes in their own right.

It’s a start and I am only three weeks in. I am losing weight and my body fat is dropping. Controlled. Still hitting the weights to minimise muscle loss (and I’m still seeing gains right now, so I must have hit the sweet spot!)

Track all the factors. Missing just one of them will stunt your Judo development.

Training update

So, training continues…

I’m back into the swing of weight training. Slow improvements, but they are there.

As previously posted, my stamina has been letting me down in competition. Aside from the attitude that I’ll have to push myself more in Judo sessions, I’m supplementing the weight training with two days of cardio a week.

I’m sticking with the Tabata system, although now using Rowing as an exercise. I feel this workout may be more Judo relevant, due to it using a wider range of muscles than just my legs!

It seems the Concept2 rower has a great reputation in general, and handily my gym has three of them!

A side effect of this routine adjustment is that my Squats suffered this morning (My body still recovering from the rowing movements the day before). I had to reduce the weight. But there was a significant gain in my Deadlift, and I have fixed my wrist issues with the Bench press (Although I was making sure my right hand was holding the bar correctly, I was then subconciously putting it back in to the wrong position when I looked away again! I made MORE of an effort today… problem solved!)

Bench press and wrist pain

The weight training is still going well, and I am succeeding at sticking to my three times a week routine. I’m being mostly sensible and waiting until the form is right before increasing the weight at any point.

One problem I have noticed recently is in the Bench press. I am getting pain in my right wrist, almost feeling as if it is bending the wrong way. This is to the degree where it feels like the wrist is the weakest link.

I’ve found a great post and I’ll be following the advice:

http://munfitnessblog.com/how-to-prevent-wrist-pain-from-your-weight-training/

My instincts tell me that the problem I am having is this one:

Not to roll your wrist backward when you do bench press. Once the wrist is rolled backward, the weight will hurt it. The wrist has to be aligned with the forearm.

Judo with TWO shoulders

The good news is that it looks like my AC joint injury was just a Grade 1.

I rested it over the weekend, and went along to a session on Tuesday. I strapped it up but in contrast to Thursday (where it just did not want to go in some directions at all!) it was excellent. In fact, no noticable problems whatsoever. I think there may have been a small amount of weakness but no pain.

The bruising has come through: Several inches away from the injury site!

The joint itself is still a little popped up, but the swelling may not have completely gone down yet. That said, reading around on the subject would indicate that even though the injury may completely heal, the bump may remain.

The session itself was good. Upset at myself for falling back to some “old favourites” in Randori (Hello, Hikikom Gaeshi), but at least I tried a few other things. I just need to try those other things MORE.

Made up for that in Newaza, even though if I did get pinned due to experimental chokes going a bit awry 😉 This is the one in question:

I need some advice on the correct spinning (turning?) motion once the hands are in place as that is where I am getting stuck.

Weight training continues, with the numbers going up. Unfortunately, due to stubborness I now have a slight pulled muscle in my back. I dropped a weight when doing deadlifts due to losing my grip, and should really have called it a day then, but retried it. Stupid.

Myth Watch: Women and Weight Lifting

One of the unfortunate myths about weight training, is that if you are a girl who does it, you will turn into some sort of freak, right down to probably growing testicles.

Not true. In fact, any of the typical hot girls (Hi, Angelina Jolie!) will not have gained that figure by chewing on lettuce. Weights are a requirement. This article gives some more information.

Need more evidence? Here you go…

First week of Judo and Starting Strength

This has been the first week that I have been combining Judo with my new weight training routine.

I have already covered Monday’s Judo session so here are some crib notes from the rest of the Judo:

Tachiwaza:

  • I’m continuing my left-handed approach, with further success with Osoto Gari. My version is more of the “hook and drive” style and I really do need to watch the Kuzushi on this. It’s something you can get away with against smaller players, but an extremely hard counter will result if Tori is not careful.
  • The above throw against opponents with extreme right-sided stances makes it difficult to gain the entry. So probably not the best throw to use then. Ouchi Gari would perhaps be a better option, or of course a forward throw instead. And consider the usual sacrifice possibilities, and Ura Nage.
  • One of my favourite throws is Hikkomi Gaeshi (sometimes referred to as Obi Tori Gaeshi). Works well when working as a left-hander against a right-handed opponent as it is easier to get the over-the-top belt grip. Now working on throwing when getting the LEFT hand over the shoulder. First attempt was amusing… I got the grip, then threw myself onto my back as I forgot to go in the opposite direction 😉
  • At one club, there are more people either my size or bigger! This is great, as it means I will have to adapt a lot. Really means I have to play for movement and not try and beat strength vs strength when I am weaker… it does not end well!
  • MUCH more work on Ouchi Gari needed. Feels all over the place.
  • Hiza Guruma is working MUCH better now I am stepping closer. When successful it really does FEEL like Uke is being wheeled over! The closeness also means that the standard Osoto Gari to Hiza Guruma combination feels more natural in my head now.
  • When gripping the collar, back etc, BEND THE ELBOW. Or that arm is very vunerable to being locked. Reminded me to go for the Whizzer grip myself when someone makes the same mistake… it’s very strong and useful to proceed into Ouchi Gari with.

Newaza:

  • Speed over strength. Newaza can quickly turn into a bit of a tug of war in some positions. Far better to use speed to gain positional advantages, and to switch between different techniques.
  • Turnover: Grab Uke’s right wrist with right hand (IMPORTANT: Thumb on TOP so your own grip doesn’t prevent movement). Rotate around Uke’s body anti-clockwise. Be on your feet for power and balance. Once on opposite side, use both arms to pull Uke onto their back. Need to practice this further. Note there is a Sangaku entry from here when half-way round.
  • Don’t be taken by surprise. If “rushed” by an opponent, balance should at least be as such so they can be pulled into guard. Should NEVER be forced to turtle. Keep one leg up?

And the weight training?

I went Wednesday and Friday (remember I only started on Wednesday). Ouch. Sore. The good kind though, as opposed to things going a bit awry. Certainly means I have less strength available for use in Judo when in recovery, but hey, if that helps with my technique then that can only be a good thing…

Starting Strength

I think I’ve decided on a new routine to ease myself back into weight training. Compound movements are certainly the way to go, as I want to build usable strength for Judo, as opposed to vanity exercises (Hello, bicep curls!)

Starting Strength, authored by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, is much touted as a great way to get introduced to weight training with free weights, and also see results. And despite keeping to a compound movement routine to some of last year, I still very much see myself as a newbie: I’m just not very strong when you look at it in the context of how much I am lifting compared to my own weight.

I have found a great modification to this routine, by Sean10mm.

There are lots of versions of the “Starting Strength” workout floating around the internet, with various modifications done by different people. This is my take on the same basic workout. It is a simple strength training workout intended for people new to weight training. All the fundamentals are the same as the original Starting Strength workout, and most of the exercises are the same. The changes I made were pretty minor.

The changes in question revolve around replacing some of the more complex exercises with ones which are more beginner-friendly (Some exercises REALLY need a coach in order to ensure proper form). On the coaching front, I love Gayle Hatch’s old-school approach.
In addition, dips and chin-ups are introduced.

The routine is designed to be performed three times a week (see his post for the full details, including the exercises!)

Monday – Workout A
Wednesday -Workout B
Friday – Workout A

Week 2:
Monday – Workout B
Wednesday – Workout A
Friday – Workout B

This is fine: three times a week is how I used to schedule things.

We’ll see how I get on. I’d be aiming to do the tabata sprints at the end of each workout too. Could be quite punishing. It would also all need to be fitted into a lunch hour (dropping Dips and Chin-ups would be allowed, as then the routine would revert to the original Starting Strength one!)

There is a great thread elsewhere on the Internet which goes into further amounts of detail on the basic Starting Strength routine. Note that the quote below also has the more complicated Power clean exercise replaced with something more beginner-friendly (Pendlay Rows):

Workout A
3×5 Squat
3×5 Bench Press
1×5 Deadlift

Workout B
3×5 Squat
3×5 Standing military press
3×5 Pendlay Rows

Interesting toy time:

I personally have never really had the desire to do pull-ups in my living room, but this Powerbar seems like quite a cool gadget. Hook it to a door-frame and away you go.