December 13, 2007 by jleeger.

Here’s a good template to use for your daily workout:

Muscle Activation (more about that later)

Core Stabilization (low-back exercises, any static abdominal exercises, etc.)

General Warmup

Main Workout

Foam Rolling

Stretching

We haven’t discussed stretching a lot, but it is something that is critical, and something you should be doing, if not every day, at least after every time you work out.  Research has shown that static stretching before activity leads to decreased muscle-firing rates, so if you do static stretches, save those for after everything else.

Here’s the workout today:

10 Tiangan your choice - go as slow as you can

50 Pushups

10 Jiben Shoufa your choice - again, as slow as you can, focus on the movement

20 Pullups

30 Sprinter Situps

10 1-leg squats ea. leg

Repeat 3x.  Rest as much as you need to, and change the tiangan and jiben each round.  After all that, take a few deep breaths and do:

2 minute static  San Ti Shi hold.  Try to get your posture perfect - sit back as far as you can, let your low-back flatten out like a sitting bear’s, the top of your head is pulled straight up, your body is completely relaxed, with all your weight resting on one leg.

Foam roll yourself, stretch, and relax!

After all that, take a day off tomorrow!

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December 12, 2007 by jleeger.

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note on program design again.  I’ve been reading a lot about the Russian Conjugate Method of periodization recently (and actually started implementing it two weeks ago).  It looks to be a highly effective method, applicable to most athletes.  Basically, it looks like this:

Day 1 - Max Strength Upper Body Day

Day 2 - Explosive/Jump Lower Body Day

Day 3 - Off

Day 4 - Endurance Strength Upper Body Day

Day 5 - Max Strength Lower Body Day

Days 6 and 7 - Off

The schedule above is good for the beginning of such a program.  As the “season” moves on, it would become more intricate, incorporating GPP days, agility/speed drills, etc.

This post is inspired by a conversation George and I had about strength.  I can’t remember the exact quote, but Luo Laoshi told George that the stronger person has a better chance of victory.  I think if you combine strength, speed, and power development, in a system such as the above, you put yourself in a much better place than others.

For today, let’s have a Max Strength Upper Body day -

Get a good warmup - 20 burpees will do

5 Sets of 3-5 reps - 1-arm Pushup

5 Sets of 3-5 reps - Pullups (if you can do more, try adding weight to your pullup)

3 sets of 10-15 - Regular Pushups

3 sets of 8-12 - Chinups

2 sets of 12-15 - Scarecrows, or Band Chest Expansions, or Reverse Flyes

Abdominals - 2 sets of 20, of four of your favorite ab exercises

Stretch!

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December 10, 2007 by jleeger.

I just read a review on Amazon of Herbert Benson’s book “The Breakout Principle.” Dr. Benson was one of the first scientists in America to systematically examine the practices of Eastern meditation and the processes that occur in the body as a result. What struck me in the review of the book, was that it outlined what I’ve found to be true during periods of R&R after intense periods of practice. Here’s a direct quote:

* Stage one begins with a hard mental or physical struggle.
* Stage two involves pulling the Breakout trigger, completely severing prior thoughts and emotional patterns - the doing “it” part.
* Stage three is the `peak experience’, or performance element of the process.
* Stage four is a return to a `new-normal’ state, meaning one with enhanced mind-body performance patterns.

This is the reviewer’s breakdown of the book’s message. Basically, don’t forget to take a break now and then.

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December 10, 2007 by jleeger.

Just a quick note, then the workout -

Take some time to sit down and figure out what’s really important to you today.  There are as many ways to live, to make a living, and to survive, as there are people in this world.  Use your time on this Earth wisely!   Your life is YOUR TIME!  TAKE IT!  Make time for the things that are important to you!

Ok, here we go!

Today, do these exercises throughout the day, as you’re able.

Pullups

Bodyweight Squats or Wall Sit or 1-leg Squats

Romanian Deadlift

Pushups

Do them all day long, as many reps at a time as you can get out!  This is a great protocol for folks with office jobs, etc.  You can actually improve your strength a great deal if you keep close track of how many you do every day, and increase it over time.

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December 9, 2007 by jleeger.

What do you need to successfully work out at home?  And how do you do it for cheap?

Well, the easiest way is to use your body weight.  However, some folks have to start slower than that.  Here are some good implements to consider adding to your home gym:

The first thing I recommend is a stability ball.  If you get one, get this one: http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_4716_A_CategoryID_E_397

Those things can burst!  And you want to lessen the chances of that as much as possible!

Next, a jump rope…the cheap plastic kind are best.

Then, bands - they make great, versatile training tools.  There are so many types to choose from, I won’t go into it in depth.  Try to get a couple of sets, that way you have different resistance levels.

There are many ways to do pullups, but I think if you can use rings or pullup straps, you have a much more diverse training tool.  Here’s a link to rings: http://www.ringtraining.com/ and here’s one for straps: http://www.amazon.com/Lifeline-USA-1-JG-Jungle-Gym/dp/B00069CN2S

You can make these on your own too: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah/Grunt/Bodyweight.html

And…a BALANCE BOARD.  Any type will do, but I’ve been SERIOUSLY impressed by the Indo Board…

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December 9, 2007 by jleeger.

Posterior Chain

Today’s WOD is going to be a “Posterior Chain” exercise day. Most folks focus on the muscles on the front of their body because they’re the ones they use the most, and more importantly, they’re the ones they can SEE.

The “Posterior Chain” is comprised of all the muscles along the back of your body. Typically these muscles are associated with “pulling” motions.

If your shoulders are rounded forward, or you hunch over, or your lower back bugs you, you should probably be doing a posterior chain workout at least once a week, and prioritizing the posterior chain work in your other workouts.

Here we go!

Warmup - Back Bridge (30 seconds) + V-ups (30 reps) - 2-3x

Bodyweight Rows - 3-5 sets of 2 shy of your max reps

Chinups (palms facing you) - 3-5 sets of 2 shy of your max reps

1-leg Romanian Deadlift - 3 sets of 2 shy of your max reps

Pull throughs - here you take a band, or cable handle (if you have access to a gym), or even a towel or rope (for isometric pulls), set at floor-level. You have your feet set back a bit from where your upper body will be, and you pull the band through your legs. It’s a bit like a weighted hyperextension, which will suit as a replacement exercise as well. - 3 sets of 2 shy of your max reps. If you’re doing isometrics, hold for as long as you can sustain a full contraction

Band Expansion/Reverse Flye - you need a band for isotonic movement, or towel for isometrics… - hold the implement in front of you, arms straight, and open your arms out to the sides till it touches your chest. Same reps/sets as above.

External Rotations - this is a good rotator cuff exercise, and most people need to do it at least once a week, if not two or three times. You need a band/cable or dumbbells. Basically, you’re bending your arm 90 degrees at the elbow, and rotating the upper arm (humerus) externally (away from your body) against the resistance. If you have a band, it’s best, because you can do this exercise with your humerus perpendicular to the ground (your arm at your side), and then parallel to the ground (out from your side) rotating your radius/ulna up and back from parallel…here’s a good photo of the perpendicular one -

for parallel, just raise your arm out to the side.

3 sets of 12 will do. 2 sets of 12 each if you’re doing both movements.

Stretch your posterior chain!

That includes your rotator cuff! Here’s how to do that: http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask_joe/archives/ask_joe_08-12-05.htm

Have fun!

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December 7, 2007 by george.

Be Present.

One must come to class.

Its often that simple. There are always distractions; whether its work, traffic, significant others, sleep, TV, video games or whatnot, there is always something beckoning one away from what one wants to do or sometimes just should do. If you want to do it, if you want to get better at it, you have to do it. Its that simple.

I remember noticing this in my teacher’s classes in Taiwan. There were people who came through who were physically more gifted, perhaps mentally more the fighter type, had more free time, were independently wealthy, had a lot of previous martial arts experience or whatever other potential benefits a certain person might have. Greater potential does not always mean greater success and greater skills. I often saw people who came to class consistently, who did their work earnestly, eventually develop great skill sets in the martial arts above and beyond those who might have had more potential. This was often simply a matter of consistent practice.

A sparring partner and friend of mine in Taiwan who was also had a great interest in yoga told me a funny story about a thought he had one time while training yoga in India. He was in India training yoga full time for about a year and a half. He mentioned how he was doing yoga for 8 - 10 hours each day and how he was improving by leaps and bounds. Then one of his letters to me had a great line that said “damn - if only I trained Baguazhang this much I’d be awesome!”

These arts and their training process are also not constructed on a logical, linear progression of development like many systems in the western world. There is sequential training involved, some things are better learned before others. Much of the learning process is also non-linear; different parts of the whole will feed back in on each other leading to greater comprehension and understanding. One needs to be there to see the wide and the narrow, the non-linear expanse and the linear progressions of material. One needs to review old material and learn new. One needs to be available to constant correction and themselves ready constant questions. One needs training and sparring partners. These are all things that a class is an absolute necessity for.

I recall something that struck me as funny at some point. When I first started studying with my teacher, I was getting information left and right. I was elated. I listened as I could and tried to understand the principles to the best of my ability. I took notes. After a year of seeing the same stuff and hearing the same things, I thought I could understand some of it. Then after year two I thought “now I’m really getting better at this stuff.” Then in year three you finally realize you were a dipshit in year one and two and think “now I’ve got it!” It took me a while to just get to the point where I’m not thinking “I’ve got it” all the time, but come slowly to the place where I would accept that I’m continually getting it, deeper. Throughout the whole process I eventually found out that what my teacher was showing and saying were the same. He was not coming up with new information or new moves, though he might couch it in different terms or methods. The teaching was the same in year one as it was in year three, as it was in year six… The difference in understanding came from me. Being there, doing it, hearing and seeing the principles repeated in different manners over time, all of this led to improvement.

Can you learn alone without visiting a teacher? I highly doubt it. There is too much to these arts that can’t be put into words or video.

Can you learn while occasionally visiting a teacher? Theoretically yes. Will it take longer? Yes.

Do you remember while in school how teachers’ would take attendance? Do you remember how that would be part of your grade? There is a lesson in that. Sometimes just being there and following along, soaking things in, even if only passively, does have an effect. Think of it as the minimum necessary requirement.

Its funny that it even needs to be said.

Luo Dexiu Laoshi knocking me on my butt with the houtian technique Duo.

Posted in Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Training, General Info | 6 Comments »

December 4, 2007 by jleeger.

Hi Everybody,

I’m heading to Michigan to see my dad for a few days, so I won’t be posting again till Sunday.  Keep up the hard work.  Do some of the previous workouts when you have time.  And above all, PRACTICE!

Josh

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December 4, 2007 by jleeger.

Ok, since I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday, let’s make up for lost time:

20 burpees

50 jumping jacks

10 Bodyweight Rows

1 minute Handstand

10 1-leg Romanian Deadlift

10 Tiangan of your Choice (slow or fast, low or high)

30 V-ups

Rinse, repeat - 4-5x

ENJOY!

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December 3, 2007 by george.

My years of teaching students the arts of Baguazhang and Xingyiquan, as well as the years I spent observing and assisting my teacher Luo Dexiu in teaching these arts, have given me a certain perspective about their training process. Although I, myself, am still undergoing this training process (still growing and learning the arts, and finding joy in doing so), I have come to the opinion that certain ways of training and attitudes towards training will help one along in the process. Although I try as often as possible to get these ideas across to my students in classes; nonetheless, I believe I should try to write some of it down and provide a more thorough treatment of the subject. As this is a big topic, I will have to tackle it in pieces.

Today we will start on How to Succeed in the Internal Martial Arts with part one of a series.

Now, before I begin, I must say a few words of caution. By writing this I am not trying to scare anyone off my school or trying to come down as a “Mr. Bad-Ass we all have to train 8 hours a day” Cobra-kai “sweep the leg” type of teacher.

A funny and very strange thing once happened to me as a teacher. I was trying to give a sort of pep talk to some students. I was trying to spur them on to train better, to train harder. I mentioned some of the examples that led me to train as hard as I did. I mentioned how one of my seniors would practice tiangan all day. Whenever he had some free time, whether between classes or at a bus stop or at many other periods during the day, he would bust out 20 good reps of a tiangan. Many often referred to him as one of the most powerful students. Another senior mentioned to a friend of mine how if you wanted to be serious as a martial artist, you needed to train full time, that means 40 hours a week. Like others have jobs that they put their time into to be masters of their craft, you need to be just as serious with your training. One senior of mine who was very influential to my development told me of a period in his training where he would get up at dawn to train for two hours, have breakfast and then train for another two to three hours, he would then train for at least an hour before and after class. Bagua class usually lasted for 2-3 hours. This would go on for six to seven days a week for nearly two years straight. And I haven’t even mentioned the incredible dedication in training that my teacher underwent. I was talking about some of this to my students, in the hope that some of the work ethic and desire of those who came before us would rub off. Before one can stand on the shoulders of giants, one must begin the climb up there.

Now, I later heard from one of my students who up until that time was training pretty seriously. He told me that he was quitting. He said that he does not feel like he can live up to my ideals of what a good student should be. This “pep talk” did not turn out how I envisioned it. I tried to talk to this student and get him to start training again, but his decision was already apparently made. I have tried to be more careful with how I talk with my students and in public, but at the same time I try not to hold back because someone might misunderstand me.

Its my feeling that students should try their hardest in training. They should put their all in to it. But each person’s all will be different. Different periods of life also might require pouring your time and dedication into other areas of life. Modern life is not always so amenable to our desire to train. But just like anything that is truly worth it, you must find the time to do it. I view these arts as life arts. If one can not make their art fit within their life in a positive way, then maybe one is going about something wrong. There is great value in practice. Although we are training the martial arts, some of the greatest benefits to me have come in the form of health, healing, balance, and mental training. For the long term, I think it is valuable to have something like this in one’s life, to provide a constant source of exercise, a constant source of balance to your mind and body, a constant source of diligence and a constant source of fun. I also find that in my life, it has sometimes been hard to forsake the demands of the moment for something that will give back to you in the long run. But then, I’ve also always found it worth it.

But please do not take this and say he expects too much. I think that any level of training these arts can bring benefit to one’s life. Whether you train once a week, or hours per day, you can get something out of the arts. Do not get discouraged because you can not do as much as another or as much as you want. Do not get discouraged for any reason really. These are wonderful arts to be enjoyed, if something gets in the way of that joy - well, you’ve got a problem and are approaching it wrong. Change your approach. There is fun in it, and there is a healthy diligence as well.

To sum up my preamble: Would I like for my students to train hard, train well, train smart and have success with their training? OF COURSE! But I don’t expect all my students to be Xingyi tanks or Bagua badasses. Everyone can get something out of these arts at every level of training. That is one of their strengths. Just have fun with it and do what you can.

Some of the most important lessons I have ever received from my teacher have to do with how to train. I hope to get some of these ideas across to people and to provide my experiences along this path as well. Please take this advice in the spirit it is given.

Since this is already becoming long, I will start with my thoughts and experiences on how to succeed in training in part two.

Be well, enjoy and circle on,

George

Two Zong Wu Men students sweating it out while training their throwing techniques in uncooperative grappling practice.

Posted in Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Training, General Info | 5 Comments »

December 2, 2007 by jleeger.

Gymnastic work…

I’ve gone back and forth about working with weights a lot.  There are distinct benefits to some weight training techniques.  And, there’s evidence that building hypertrophy in muscles allows a person to achieve greater levels of strength than they could without.

But when I think about functional athletes, with the greatest level of power per pound of body weight, the best flexibility and dynamic range of motion, and the greatest balance/proprioceptive sense, I think of gymnasts.

And the fact is that gymnasts work almost exclusively with their own bodyweight, and very little with external resistance.

There are two exercises in particular that I’ve begun to work with, that are called the Planche and the Front Lever.  They’re both covered extensively in this article - http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229/ which is the progression I’ve based my own work on.

Today, read the article, and start working on your own Planche and Front Lever.

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December 1, 2007 by jleeger.

Hi y’all…here are some ideas to incorporate when designing your own workouts

• Superset movements with opposing muscle groups (pushups and rows, handstand pushups and pullups, etc.) - this keeps your total rest level low, while still allowing adequate rest for muscle groups
• Perform movements that you can only get 1-5 reps with once a week.  1-arm pushups, maybe 1-leg squats, whatever…  Try to get a total of 20-25 reps for this movement, 5 sets of 5, or 8 of 3, etc.
• Do isometric work after strength work.  If you’re in the 3-8 repetition range on a movement, do an isometric hold at the end of all your sets.  For us, San Ti Shi is a good iso after leg work…
• Stick with the same movements for at least 2 weeks
• That being said, alter your position slightly each workout - e.g., for pushups, one workout do diamonds, the next do wide, the next close, etc…This will help to maximize the functional capacity of the group and avoid burnout.
• HAVE FUN!  -  if you aren’t having fun, why are you doing it?!!!

Based on these principles, and previous posts - Make your own workout today!

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