Tag: daily exercises

Wednesday July 8th, 2020

I worried about doing exercises this morning because I’d experienced some pain in my left back shoulder blade and shoulder area last night. This morning, it was better and I was able to do all the exercises. In general, I should try to slow down and not rush through the exercises; if something hurts, then I need to modify what I do or do different exercises.

Since I’d had pains in one thigh last week, and last Monday’s treadmill run did not cause any new pain, I decided to stick with that and avoid jump rope intervals. Mentally, it was a bit of a challenge because I was watching the time go by pretty intently. A good podcast can help, but those commercial breaks are always an excuse for me to look at the time I’ve already jogged and mentally calculate how much time I have left. That is something I’m not proud of.

Last night, Sensei taught karate class over Zoom! A group of us had a small meeting with him after class to talk about promotion, since he’d suggested to a few students that they are ready to promote. For two adults in our group, he felt strongly that they should promote to green, which is the beginning of the advanced level. It would be good for the club, since they could then help teach. He suggested the club hold a promotion soon, particularly to reward the kids for sticking with karate during this pandemic. We are not sure how to pull that off, at the moment. TF suggested compiling a list of everyone’s current rank, and the last time they tested. Then, we can go over that list with Sensei and discuss who is ready.

We also discussed reaching out to a family that recently moved to the East Coast. Three of them studied karate with us for years, and we’re hoping to have them participate with us over Zoom. F has been in touch with the daughter, also an ichi kyu, who chose to set aside her junior shodan in favor of her adult rank.

The class was fun: Sensei went over the nunchuck kata again. SL, one of the junior shodans, also demonstrated a different nunchuck kata that he learned. He is one impressive kid.

This morning, while writing outside, I wrote this: it’s so pleasant–cool breeze, sunny but I’m in the shade; birds are singing, squirrels chirping and mosquitos buzzing. Mosquitos? Out this early? They’re the little “tiger” ones, new to this area.

Tonight, I admit, I did not do exercises. Instead, TF put together a kata study group that included the two yellow belts promoting to green, her and me. We drilled Tsuki No Kata together. It is one of the longer and more difficult kata. Once you get it down, though, it’s very cool. It focuses, at least in the beginning, on stances (kiba, sanchin, zenkutsu dachi) and emphasizes both reverse and straight punches (gyaku tsuki and oi tsuki). Lower-ranking kata will tend to have more mirrored moves and more straight punches, in contrast, and they follow a more clear pattern. This kata also starts from standing meditation, another mark of more advanced kata.

There are two versions on-line that actually look like the same performer, though one version is pretty blurry. I’m posting the more clear one, though I think we actually watched the other while we practiced.

We practiced this kata together over Zoom for roughly an hour and a half. At the end of it, I was pretty tired. I did a few push-ups, and rushed, despite planning not to rush through exercises. D came outside to check on me. I did not do squats or push-ups. It was after 9pm, and I was pretty tired. But I felt good after practicing the kata with friends. Also, kata practice is a good work-out by itself, so it’s an acceptable substitute for evening exercises.

Monday July 6th, 2020

This is my second week of one hundred repetitions for my daily exercises.

At work, a friend had told me about a comic character called “One Punch Man,” who really does seem inspired by Masutatsu Oyama’s karate teachings. In theory, One Punch Man claims to have gotten his super powers by doing one hundred push-ups, sit-ups and squats, plus running for 10 km a day, for roughly a year and a half. That comes up if you just Google “One Punch Man,” under “how did One Punch Man get his powers?”

Here’s a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Punch_Man

Though my requirement for push-ups is technically sixty, given that everything else is one hundred, I’m trying to get in a hundred, even if I have to do forty on my knees. If I were not doing push-ups on my fists, the requirement would be one hundred. H, who promoted to shodan last year, did do one hundred and advised me to go with doing push-ups on my fists.

I did do exercises before work and after work. That went well in the morning, though I did not leave myself enough time to do my usual ten minute write. Evening exercises were a different matter. My back-right thigh is still stinging some, so I did squats without alternating punches. I did try to work in some punches around fifty repetitions, and it just hurt. Most likely, the hip-twist I do while punching at the top of the squat is somehow messing with that sore muscle.

During my lunch break, I jogged for twenty minutes on the treadmill, with a warm-up and cool down. I am hoping that, on Wednesday, I’ll be up for jump rope intervals again, but not today.

Work is also worrying, given the lack of work at work. As I mentioned earlier, my company does visual effects for live action, which is not happening at the moment.

I was also saddened to learn on Sunday that one of my cousins unexpectedly lost her younger sister. She had the burden of informing her father and the rest of the family of their loss. These kinds of events remind us to be grateful for the family and friends we have and for our own health.

On a lighter note, one of the stories in “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones” reads like a joke. Soyen Shaku, the first Zen Master to teach in the United States, would take a nap every afternoon. This is according to his students in Japan.

One day, they asked him about it. He said, “I go to Dreamland to meet the old sages, just as Confucius did.”

One hot afternoon, the students, children at that time, also took a nap. Shaku scolded them upon finding them sleeping. The children answered, “We went to Dreamland to meet the old sages, just as Confucius did.”

“What was the message from those sages?” asked Shaku.

“We asked them if our schoolmaster came every afternoon to meet them, and they said they’d never seen any such fellow!” answered one wise child.

Thursday July 2nd, 2020

It’s night: today officially has about an hour left before it is tomorrow. I did push-ups, sit-ups and squats in the morning and evening. In the morning, I rushed through because I expected a call from a recruiter. I was able to get in some exercises, as well as make a cup of coffee before the phone call. Getting push-ups out of the way always feels like a major accomplishment, so it’s nice to have that psychological boost before a conversation like that. It went well.

Work is odd, now that my lead, as well as my direct report, are both furloughed. I spent some time studying Houdini’s crowd software. Houdini is an off-the-shelf software package popular for various effects, particles (smoke, fire, explosions, debris scatter) in particular.

Exercises after work are often tough, particularly push-ups. Earlier in the day, I experienced some pain in my hands and wrists; that worried me. However, my hands were perfectly fine after the exercises. I did “chest” style ones; admittedly, the sixty on my fists, on the floor, were tough during those last ten. When I switched to the mat for forty “tricep” style ones, I dropped to my knees after ten. I didn’t worry about staying up longer. Evenings are about getting through them, not perfecting form or pushing myself harder. Just not stopping is an accomplishment.

Squats with alternating punches, performed outside on the balcony, were easier. I practiced the punches, keeping in mind pulling my fists back into hikite, before beginning squats. That helped. I also did lower-ab focused exercises there, too, as well as the leg stretches. My legs, thighs in particular, are tight these days.

Tomorrow evening will be my first time to teach Zoom karate for the Martial Arts Club. I’d like to teach Tensho. Recently I found an excellent video of Bobby Lowe, so I can show that. Tensho is one kata that doesn’t require a lot of room; many of the students do not know it, and it just looks cool. I first learned it as a lower rank from Sensei in Malibu State Park, during a karate camp-out. He had camp for the black belts, brown belts and junior shodans. S was too young to go, but F was already a junior shodan. I went on the “mom” pass, so I got to practice high-rank kata with them. That was one of my favorites. I think I was a yellow belt then!

Wednesday July 1st, 2020

I wrote most of my entry in the doctor’s office. I had my annual check-up this morning, and wrote while waiting for Dr. KC to arrive.

My weight is only about three pounds higher than it was last year. That’s a good reality check: I’d worried that I’d gained a lot of weight in the past few months. Apparently I have been ten pounds heavier for at least a year. I hope a good chunk of that weight is muscle. I don’t feel bigger but my clothes do fit differently. Some items are too small. My arms are visibly larger and my shoulders more rounded–that is definitely more muscle. I can also lift bags of cat litter more easily or open jars that I’d once struggled with.

Here’s another upside to the weight gain: I can donate blood! I’ve not only met, but exceeded, the weight requirement. I called the Red Cross from the parking lot of the doctor’s office and scheduled an appointment. Seriously, for years, when blood drives came to the office or to my college campus, I wasn’t able to go, and felt bad about it. My friends donated, and I couldn’t. Now I can! And, according to Dr. KC, they really need blood right now.

This morning, I rushed through push-ups, sit-ups and squats, but I got them in. I did not clean or sanitize in the kitchen or write. In order to get in an hour of work before my appointment, I clocked into work at 9:15 am.

I should mention my doctor said my blood work was great. She even told me she finds my karate practice inspiring! I need to tell Sensei. Last year, Dr. KC saw me when I had what was either a badly bruised or fractured rib. In class, we’d had a hard kumite match for practice. She told me, “Don’t quit karate! Let that heal, but don’t quit! You’re one of my healthiest patients!” I was able to tell her today that my rib healed fine and I passed my ichi kyu test last August. This August, I told her, I’m hoping to test for my shodan. We are not quite sure how that will work. Sensei has ideas, however.

Later today, my son S taught the martial arts club’s first class. He had about eight students. S lost the Zoom connection at least once, but rejoined and kept teaching. He lead them in a review of the Pinan kata.

I took a lunch break and was there for roughly half his class. He had us do a set of twenty push-ups, sit-ups and squats. I did some kihon with him. I don’t know if that really counts as a cardio workout. After work, then, I only had to do eighty of each exercises to have in my second set. Push-ups after work were chest ones, on my fists and toes. I got through my sixty and was relieved to switch to tricep ones on the mat.

Today’s exercise sets were better than yesterday’s. For some reason, yesterday was a real struggle. I got in both sets, but I struggled and even lost the count during squats in the morning. I need to put up yesterday’s entry so any readers will realize that every day isn’t awesome. Just some. Unfortunately, I often feel more like going to bed early on those days that are not awesome. Yesterday was one.

Monday June 29th, 2020

daily logs of preparatory exercises for a shodan test

This morning, I set a timer for seven minutes for writing. I had exactly ten minutes before I had to clock in for work. As usual, I went outdoors to write.

One hundred is the magic number for me for this month, though for “tricep” style push-ups, sixty is still the magic number for my shodan test (*phew!*)

In the morning, I did sixty tricep push-ups on my knuckles on the floor, then forty “chest” push-ups on the mat. For those, I managed fifteen on my toes before I needed to drop to my knees.

Afterwards, I did one hundred squats, still alternating with punches on every other set as I come up from the squat. I tried to get the punches right, following Sensei’s suggestions from Friday. My first set of squats with punches wasn’t great, but by the second set of those, I did pretty well. I remembered to start in hikite and to draw each fist back after punching. Sometimes I put in a straight punch rather than an uraken shita-uchi, but I normally got in the twist.

At the moment, I hear something behind me that sounds like an animal. Will pause to make sure one of our cats did not get out.

*pause*

It’s not a cat but a squirrel! It sounded much heavier behind my back. Here is my little neighbor:

Back to writing about exercises: I did one hundred sit-ups: two sets of toe-touches, diagonal-abs once, “full” touch-your-toes sit-ups once, and the other sets were what we do in class, that is, sit up from the mat and slap the floor between your feet or next to your feet.

That morning, after writing these things, I was feeing very good about my first day of one hundreds.

During lunch, I did jump-rope intervals, following the work-out posted by Sensei. That cardio workout lasts for fifteen minutes. Afterwards, I ran a few katas. I had to look up Pinan Sono San. I confused it with Yon, I think. That exercise showed me I need to start drilling the Pinan kata.

After work, I felt more in “survival” mode during exercises. For push-ups, I performed sixty “chest” ones on my knuckles and toes, on the floor, though that last set was not terribly low or graceful. Then I switched to “tricep” push-ups on the mat, and went to my knees for the entire forty. I did squats with alternating squat-punches outside on the balcony. Those went more smoothly than push-ups. Back inside, on the mat, I did one hundred lower ab-focused exercises, so toe-touches, leg lifts, dutchmen, bicycles and, just because I apparently like torture, more diagonals. By the time I walked out onto the balcony for flexibility stretches, I felt winded. Flexibility, I admit, is still my weakness, so I make myself do leg stretches every day.

After dinner, I went walking with my husband. My shin splints were punishing, so I tried to keep to the grass in the median rather than the sidewalk. We went to what we call the “figure eight” park. It’s a little exercise park at Hollywood Way and Clark.

Tonight I will read another story from “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.” However, after a busy Monday, I felt a couple Advil and an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with the kids was in order.

Monday June 22nd, 2020

I had a blood test done this morning at Quest Diagnostics for my annual physical. Initially, while trying to leave the house, I forgot my mask. After arriving and checking in at the clinic, I realized I’d left my bundle of cards in the car.

Instead of carrying a purse now, I take only important cards, such as my driver’s license, credit cards and insurance cards, and bundle them together with a rubber band. I usually put the cards in a back pocket. However, I wore some “skinny” jeans and was not confident about the back pocket. Since I’d planned to leave whatever I wore out in the garage for up to a week, I wanted to wear something I would not miss. So old, less comfortable skinny jeans seemed to fit the bill, except that then I didn’t have good pant pockets. I did wear a comfy plaid shirt with front pockets to compensate. In any case, I had to run back out to the car to retrieve the card bundle.

I will see my doctor soon, so the tests were to prepare for my annual physical. The gentleman who helped me was kind. He said his name was “Bernie.” He wore his silver hair in a braid and had high cheek bones; I couldn’t help but wonder if he is Native American.

Today, my son and I did interval training with jump ropes: per Sensei’s prescription, we jumped for two minutes and rested for thirty seconds, for six rounds. Afterwards, I practiced Tensho, and B critiqued me. B reminded me to pull my hikete hand back while the other hand performs its move. He also tried to distract me during Sanchin. Poking my belly button with a bo staff, even gently, he discovered, made me giggle. During my second attempt at Sanchin, he pushed, slapped, grabbed my hands, made noise, etc.–he performed the more “usual” distraction– and did not poke my belly button. This was much easier for me to handle.

I did not do exercises today. Friday was my last “official” day of exercises for nineties. Soon I should put up that day’s entry, because I timed myself for each set of exercises. This week is my fourth week, so it is the “meditation” week. After work, I set a timer and meditated for ten minutes.

Note to self: wear gi with belt over belly button for actual black belt test Sanchin, if B is helping to test me.

Thursday, June 18th, 2020

I did exercises. Managed to stay up on my toes through seventy reps now for “tricep” push-ups. Tomorrow I will time myself. Hopefully, with a little extra sleep, my times will be good. I thought about timing myself in the evening after work, but getting through exercises after work consistently is my evening goal. No use in muddying the mental waters with an extra expectation. Hopefully, after a week of rest, I’ll be able to increase the number of reps I can stay on my toes. Next month, I should start with sixty knuckle push-ups on the floor, then do forty on the mat.

I should also look up the spelling of mat. Mat or matte? Okay mat is the padding on the floor we use for exercising. It is also a tangle of hair. Matte refers to a decorative piece of material (though “mat” also works for this, too.) If in doubt, “mat” is most commonly used. “Matte” can refer to a metal mixture–that’s one I had not heard of. Here’s a link:

https://www.homophone.com/h/mat-matt-matte

This morning, the air outside was damp and gave me hope for rain. I’ve watered the trees in the front, but the ones in the back also need watering.

Last night’s “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones” story was a bit odd. The first Zen Master to go to the United States Soyen Shaku, gave the following recommendations: go to bed and get up at the same time every day; have meals at the same time every day. Shaku also said, “Behave with guests the same way you would behave alone; behave alone the same way you would with guests.” He was all about consistency and developing healthy habits. Were we Americans, as a culture, already out-of-balance by the time Master Shaku visited in 1893? The seeds of our current disease, and also its cure, were evident to him so early?

I admit that, when I lived in Germany, life felt more balanced. The pace was humane rather than frenetic. France was also better than the US, but still a little crazy. Sometimes that French craziness was creative; other times dysfunctional. I am speaking, of course, of life as I experienced it in those places, as compared to my experiences in the United States. Admittedly, while culture holds sway over us, individual experiences can still differ greatly. My experience of Germany was right around the time of the Reunification; it was a joyful time, over all. Paris in the mid-1990’s felt like a big adventure to my husband and me, both in our mid-twenties. One’s age plays a role, too.

Wednesday June 17th, 2020

My ten minute write will have to be seven. I have to login to work in ten minutes.

I did do push-ups, sit-ups and squats. Richard came down for breakfast early, so I did exercises outside. It was peaceful, outside, in the morning. Last night, I read “the Story of One Hand,” from “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.” An eleven year old boy begged his teacher for a koan, and received that one. He was twelve when he solved it. His first guess was great: music. He heard the geishas playing instruments, and realized music was a sound coming from one hand. Of course his teacher disagreed. He returned to his teacher multiple times with a different sound each time, until he became enlightened, with No-Sound.

So Enlightenment has to do with the mind, or slipping past the mind. What a tricky thing this mind is! We take vitamins, and our C vitamins are in clear capsules. They are a bit long. We take others, too: allergy pills, daily chewable vitamins, Evening Primrose, etc. I thought, holding the C vitamin, “This is the hardest one to swallow.” I choked on it. Then I thought, “How silly of me. I take these every day.” I swallowed it with no trouble.

So what about minds and pills that are hard to swallow? When others who mean harm tell you things about yourself, you must counter them. If you find yourself thinking, “They think I’m bad/inferior/stupid because ….” be sure to follow that with a reality check. Say “No, that’s not right,” and be firm. Say what’s right: no, my gender does not make me inferior. No, my religion makes me stronger, not weaker. No, my heritage and my skin color do not make me inferior. The same holds true for you.

Tuesday June 16th, 2020

I did exercises this morning. During push-ups, I am trying to stay up on my toes for more repetitions, and today was better. During karate class, Sensei had us do sets of thirty push-ups, sit-ups and squats in between various exercises. I had one more set of thirty to do after class in order to get in my evening ninety.

F lead kihon and did a good job, though she has not lead in a while, and spaced on the names of some moves that she normally knows. Nerves, most likely, but her form is crisp. She set a steady, quick pace. We were out of breath after her kihon.

Sensei returned to third kyu syllabus for another type of exercise: we did ten of each move on both the right and left sides. So, after doing this, it was easy to remember the syllabus. Also, it is a method of using the syllabus as a workout. He said the IFK will often have students do this for multiple syllabi.

A younger version of my step-mother appeared in my dreams for a few nights in a row. She read my diary, though this didn’t bother me. Since it was published, I was glad to have a reader. In another dream, she was in a room with a girl strongly resembling her daughter, my younger step-sister, who died about ten years ago. I should get in touch with my sister and let her know about the dreams.

Around lunch time, I went to the office to retrieve my things. The company is giving up one of the floors of our building, and they are moving other folks into our offices. I don’t know when this will happen. For now, most of us work from home and will in the near future, given we are not furloughed.

I enjoy working from home. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before. We can thank the pandemic for significantly reduced traffic and more family time . One friend from the dojo, a parent of two, told me that her husband, before the pandemic, was never home from dinner. He drove to and from work for over an hour. His commute, in addition to working overtime, meant he simply arrived home well after family dinner. Since the shutdown, he has not missed a family dinner.

Obviously the loss of life and the isolation that many feel as a result of the pandemic are terrible. Hopefully we as a society will figure out how to be better prepared for these events in the future. If we can avoid or minimize suffering and death, while hanging onto improvements in quality of life, this is best.

Monday June 8th, 2020

I did do push-ups, sit-ups and squats this morning. During my lunch hour, I called a friend and ran on the treadmill for twenty minutes. After work, I did my second set.

Mondays are my “get going again” days: Saturdays will often include karate and a walk or a run, but I do not do push-ups, sit-ups and squats unless we do them during class. On Sundays, I do try to rest, but rest, admittedly, will often include yard work, laundry, and taking out the trash.

This morning, I wrote in my journal that I was not looking forward to work. Dealing with one of the new folks in our remote office had felt weird last Thursday, and I dreaded picking up that interaction today. I thoroughly documented what I needed to do in order to solve the issue, but I also believed the problem had a straight-forward solution.

Here’s what happened: the documentation helped to bring everyone onto the same page; and the artist in the remote facility turned out to be much easier to deal with, even kind. I think he is new, and just unfamiliar with the workflow. The problem, itself, turned out to be more thorny than I’d expected. By the end of the workday, I felt like I had a working solution, however.

While writing this morning, my mind wandered back to issues we’d run into with organizing the martial arts club. I wrote, “The whole cat-herding aspect of community organizing is tiring.”

Later today, I thought of the Sisterhood at my family’s temple: they are primarily ladies above seventy, along with a couple pre-school mothers and me. Nevertheless, they hold monthly meetings, plan and cook multiple Temple holiday meals, host an annual yard sale and and often raise, during that sale and throughout the year, a good deal of money for the synagogue. Now, you might argue that, because many are retired, they have time than working, middle-aged adults and teens in school. However, they have their issues; our former president is living with a slow growing, incurable cancer. Despite this, she attends meetings regularly and does as much as any other member. The Sisterhood women often care for spouses, or grandchildren, or elderly friends. They are busy. Yet they get so much done.

They inspire me. So, our dojo community is full of smart people and none of us are over seventy or fighting cancer. We can do this.