Sunday 20 November 2016

On the Mat Day 775: Running and Squatting

Being so disappointed with my stamina last week and impressed with how useful my 5x5 Stronglifts app has been I decided to use a running app on my android phone to help me go running and build stamina. Do more jiu-jitsu and rolling you say? Wish I could, but I am already maxed out at 3~4 times a week in the mornings and I can't roll often because of my neck. I'm not reducing my bjj to go running, I'm adding jogging to my normal routine.

I chose the 10k running app because it was the first one I came to and it looked sleek on the display.
I've only done 2 days so far but it has been easing me into running and I've had little muscle ache because of this. It starts off with 60 sec running and 90 sec walking for 8 rounds in succession. Eventually after 14 weeks it builds up to a 10k run. I ran last night in the park near my home. It was so dark with nobody about it felt a little spooky to be honest but I liked the feeling of being away from people (something that is hard to get in Japan with its 120k population - half that of the UK).

I'm also up to 80kg on squats now. I have that to do during my next session on Wednesday. I like squats, they make me feel strong and are a great supplement for BJJ. I've been taking creatine when squatting so am now about 75 kg from my normal 73 kg.

Today I trained for 4 hours. Starting at 8AM with drilling. Little bit of sparring with the white (soon to be blue) belts. All 3 are young in their 20s. I'm impressed by how good they are getting and at the same time happy for them. Jiu-jitsu is hard, especially at white belt. I then did Yoga from 10~11AM and was about to put my kit away to go home then said "Fuck it" and did the afternoon lesson from 11~12.30. I sparred for 2 rounds then left shattered. It made me very happy to see people I've not seem for a while and to spar with them.

My neck is a little stiff right now so I have to ice it. It's a constant pain in the arse and is on the verge of fully healing so its a crucial time when I have to be most careful.

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