Sunday, August 16, 2009

Body Modification 8#

braces were tightened up a little bit on Monday, and a heavier wire was put in on the top. also got little rubber bands to help keep the brackets from chewing my lips up so much.
the teeth were a little tender for the first two days, but are back to normal now. no problems chewing (using the molars), and very little trouble biting (using the incisors). I may just live thru this... 8#

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Reverse Crunch - rehab...

still taking it easy on the reverse crunches, adding 5 at a time, while my back gets better. hope to do the 100 on video sometime this month.

(also still need to render the video and figure out how to post it...)

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Pushup Practice

also started doing pushups over the last few dojo sessions, the shoulder is doing better, almost healed. did 10 (as a test) then 15, then 20. hope to do 25, 30 and 35 this week and start with week 3 or 4 (again) next week... we'll see how that goes.

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Pullups - history

I've never been good at pullups. now, at 220 to 230 lbs, I'm really bad at pullups. first time I tried was just before the trip, and got one. not bad, after all these years. been working for a while and can do two fairly well. tonight, got my first almost-three (chin didn't quite clear the bar). I won't be working on it like the others, but will be trying to add a count every week or so.

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

long time... no post

not dead ... yet!

been busy. vacation, worrying about a traveling kid, prep for brown belt test, getting the kids ready for school, all the usual excuses...

shoulder almost back to 100%, so I go and tear something in my back two days before brown belt test. real rocket scientist, me. 8( passed the test, but only on condition of a repeat to show proper form for two of the techniques.

started some limited pull up tests. this has always been my weakest point, and now that I weigh 230 pounds, it's even tougher. I can do two pull ups clean, and a third if I struggle. going to start working this into my "regular" routine, along with pushups.

braces are doing well, ached and made biting and chewing an annoyance for the first three weeks, but hasn't been a problem since. Monday is the next appointment, so I'm going to ask them to step it up some. also, the worst part of braces is they are still chewing up the inside of my mouth. I'll talk to them about that.

still need to do my 100 reverse crunches for record, but that's out until I get my back straightened out (so to speak). hopefully in the next few weeks I can re-do weeks 5 & 6 as a way of getting back into the swing of it.

also haven't done much with silent meditation, but having fun with guided ones instead. I think I will need to circle in on pure silence, although I do try to get short bursts of silence from time to time. another seminar, on zen and stress (if I recall correctly), will be starting in a few months, so I'll need to get my zen on... practice doesn't make perfect. perfect practice makes perfect. 8(#)