Sunday, March 9, 2014

Recent Fitness Adventures

A couple of weeks ago, I went for a walk/jog near my apartment. It was a beautiful morning - a great way to start the day before heading off to work plus the perfect chance to try out my new Asics sneakers. Just as I was getting ready to head home, I reached into my pocket and realized I had dropped my house key somewhere along the way.

I walked for another 1.15 hours (adding another 4 km) looking for the key. I was so distraught that I had both D and my brother leave work and come help me find the key (I didn't want to have to deal with changing the lock and telling the landlord - not when leaving for London is right around the corner!). Luckily D spotted it and saved the day. I've been slightly paranoid about losing the key ever since!



My Brazilian Jiujitsu practice has been going really well lately. There were a number of moves that I had a lot of difficulty with before. It's hard to approach training when you know you're going to do something that you're not good at. Whenever I approached the mat knowing that I was going to practice a move that I struggled with before, I would overwhelm myself with negativity.

Why?

Why do I do that to myself? I mean, it's not like I'm afraid to work hard or try. However, the fear of failure and the disappointment I feel in myself when I get something wrong is really strong.

In any case, I'm happy to say that all of the moves, and I mean ALL of the moves that I felt hesitant about went wonderfully. I just felt strong and ... determined. I felt determined. That's what it was. I wanted to get it right. That combined with what I can only link to perhaps an improvement in my overall fitness really helped. Plus we kept practicing and practicing until I felt comfortable with each move. It's been great. Really, really great.


Straight Armlock from Guard - love this move! 
If I pull his wrist downwards, into my chest, I could totally break his arm. Guard up! 


I've been timidly testing my strength at the gym with weights. I started really, really light. I'm talking 3 or 4 kg dumbbells and at max a 10 kg barbell. I was so paranoid about straining my wrist that I was doing very simple exercises - just to wake my upper body muscles up (my lower body workouts pretty much remained the same). Each day I'd get a bit stronger, and that felt so good. I'm still not ready to lift anything nearly as heavy as before, but I'm slowly making progress. At least I'm lifting again -- what a relief!


My first post-wrist injury deadlift - only 25 kg, but no pain! Progress!! :) 



3 comments:

  1. wow...what a gym style.really nice.

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  2. Good news that your wrist has improved so much. I hate it when I misplace my keys. :(

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  3. Push forward with your hips to really do them with the arm-bar, yes?

    No pain is bliss :-)

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Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I can use all the support I can get :)