Cardio vs. Weight Training When You are Low on Time

    

 This is one of those age old arguments that fitness people have. Which is better? Is it cardio? Is it weight training? I don't know if "better" is really the right word. These are two different disciplines that train two different systems in your body. One trains more the muscles and creates greater muscle density while the other trains your cardio-vascular system. However. given that your body has multiple systems that work in concert together to make you an amazing and functioning person, I do not think it is fair to isolate these disciplines. Many times, when we choose our training methods, it comes down to personal preference. What do I want to do and what do I like to do?

    That is a fair question also. If you do not like what you are doing you most likely will not do it. However, like most things in life, I would say you would benefit from a balanced approach. Balance is a key in making you more effective and efficient. You can do both, and still get the benefits of both, without sacrificing your goals or your enjoyment. How is this possible? It is because there are endless choices for activities that can lead to both.

    You would be amazed at how many activities can lead to cardio-vascular fitness and increased strength (and size and tone, if those are also your goals).It just comes back to making choices and knowing what your choices are. I am a big believer in fitness and I believe we can fit some kind of fitness routine into anything that we do without much trouble if we are simply willing to adjust. 

    For example, I love the gym and how it gives me an intense workout. There are lots of machines and gadgets and it is endless fun for me there. However, I cannot always get there and do a 2 hour workout. Does that mean my workout for the day is ruined? No. Not at all. There are options I can do for many situations in between doing nothing and doing 2 hours at the gym. Many people make the excuse "I have no time". There is usually always at least 10 minutes somewhere where you can do even push-ups, sit-ups, and air squats. Let's just be honest about things here. However, those may be boring for some people. I totally get it.

        There are both cardio and weight training options that exist outside of the gym. Let's just look at some of the basic ones first. 

    If you are a person that is not active at all, it will not take much to create a cardio or weight training plan. Any type of extended movement and any type of resistance can function as cardio or weight training just about. We can explore some options for people in various scenarios and see how these might apply.

Let's say you have new parents, and the new baby, job, and life in general are just intense. There seems to be no time anywhere. Whether you want resistance training or cardio training, there are options. Let's go to the extreme where there is not gym equipment and maybe just 10-30 minutes in any given day for activities. The baby goes down for a nap and you have 15-30 minutes to do a workout before the little one is awake again. Here is a chance to have a preselected play list of zumba videos on youtube where there are probably many options for routines between 10-20 minutes long. Put it on and dance away! That is, if zumba is your thing, dance away! Maybe you prefer strength training versus cardio. No problem. There are quick 4 exercises, like a 4 set circuit of calisthenics can take you 20 minutes and leave you pretty exhausted as well, and you have also trained strength! There again are many options on YouTube if you are at a loss for what to do exactly. If you have some money, you can hire trainer to help you design a plan to fit into your time constraints also, but that requires money, as opposed to YouTube which is free if you just have a cell phone. 

    If you are saying, "Well, 10 or 20 minutes just is not enough time to do anything," my response would be a saying I have. "Something is better than nothing." Also, there is plenty of research out there that has shown even 10 minutes of exercise has many benefits. The benefits only increase as you can add minutes to it as well.

Let's take another example. You are a busy executive and you are on the run all day long. The only thing you have is 10 or 20 minutes at the beginning or end of the day to fit something in, and you want to increase strength and muscle without sacrificing your schedule. I say you can do this, with the caveat of do not expect to look like a body builder if you only have 10 minutes a day. However, if your goal is strength and toning, then, definitely, we can make it happen if you are willing to do the work. Once again there are lot of choices that can happen within a 10-20 minute time span that increase strength and muscle fitness. There are people out there that specialize in this type of training, and muscle shredding routines are crammed into a 10 minute span. One of my favorite guys, Frank Medrano, has many routines that require no weights. What's more, if you are the executive or worker type that has some money to spend on fitness, you can get some help designing the workout with a trainer that specializes in this type of situation. There are options. 

    Let's look at a third, more extreme, scenario. Let's say you only have 15 minutes three days per week. That is pretty extreme, but event then, you can get something done. Do not underestimate the power of exercise. Exercise on any level can be very beneficial. Even at 15 minutes and only three days per week, you can get a lot done. It all depends on how you set it up. If you are a complete beginner, you build slowly. For example, 15 minute walks with push ups and sit ups every 5 minutes. That is a great way to start until you can build to a jog. Maybe you are experienced in the area of fitness and want a routine. There are so many routines that can be fit into 15 minutes and yield great results, particularly if it is a circuit type of routine. You don't even need weights. Often times all you need is a chair and some floor space. The possibilities really are nearly endless.

    Let's explore some scenarios where a long gym session, or a long run, or a long bike ride, are just not options. What are some alternatives and why those alternatives are beneficial. I will use myself as an example. I am a consistent gym-goer. I love to use the gym, usually 1-3 days per week. I get 1 or 2 hour workouts in, and I get so much done, and they have lots of equipment and options for doing so many things. Obviously if everyone had the money and time for fitness sessions like that, we all would be Olympic level athletes! However, the reality is, I have a job, family, chores, and more to handle every day, and every week. I juggle my gym goals with what I have available. Some people may need to write down some, or all of it, to keep track. For me, I have a goal in my mind, and I try to assess each day what I am able to do, and then what I have already done for the week. It's pretty casual in that sense. 

    Let's say I have a good week, and I get to the gym both on Saturday and Sunday (my days off). I have a goal of working out at home at least 1 or 2 days more during the week, depending on my schedule. I want to either maintain or increase my fitness level. Home workouts are usually only 30-60 minutes. I know with that rotating schedule I will get in a lot of workouts week to week. I have my gym routines and I have my home routines. I go into the week and the workouts with the idea that something is better than nothing. I rarely get to do everything I want in any given workout, but I do get a lot done.

    Substitutions sometimes are necessary. My wife and I recently traveled to the mountains and were on a get-away. We went hiking through the snow, down into a ravine, to experience a waterfall in winter. Now, the workout itself was not the most challenging. We were in jackets and boots. it was maybe an hour or so of light, slow, walking up and down a fairly steep hill. Was it the ideal workout? No. However, it is part of the reason I do workout, so I can be able to climb hills and ravines and see things like this in nature. It was a workout of a sort, and I was not just sitting all day without exercise. I did not get to a workout that day. I had the intention, but at the same time I still had the chance to exercise and I was ok with that substitution that day. Once in awhile you have to substitute one activity for another.

    As far as cardio vs. weights goes, I offer this insight. Do the balanced approach. If you are an athlete, then adjust it for your goals. They are both good and both helpful, but for the average person, I think we need both. I am a martial artist and I coach track and field. I still go with the balanced approach. If you are a body builder, for example, you may want to go more with weights than cardio. If you are a marathoner, you may do more cardio than weights. But, for us average people, do both. Balance it. You find it greatly beneficial. 

    I don't mean to be cliche, but Nike kind of has it right when they say in their slogan "Just do it." Just get out and do it. Something. Put together the will and the drive and just go do the activity.

    Enjoy your activity or workout and keep training!

How to Make Martial Arts a Way of Life

   

    After training in martial arts for 30+ years, you would think that I could have boiled down some answers to standard questions to a simple sentence or two, but I just find that the answers to almost every question just become more detailed and spread out. I mean, I could try to answer this particular question with a simple one sentence answer, but I feel that would be doing the rich and fulfilling life of a martial artist a disservice. Let me say that it does not look like any one type of life style or fit any preconceived idea of what a martial artist might do. We are in all walks of life and we do it for years and years because it is part of who we are, and perhaps in the simple statement you can find the most truth. It is just part of who we are, but does not answer how we make it a way of life, otherwise I suspect that more people might choose to walk that path.

    I can only tell you about how I live it and make it a way of life for me. My way looks very different from many other people's way of living a martial arts life style. I don't think it is right, or wrong, it is just is who I am and how I walk the path of martial arts. We all have a different path, and that is the only path that we can walk, because it is part of who we are. If I had made martial arts a higher priority, I guess, I would have moved up faster in rank over the years since I have stayed with it for this long. However, I had to do other things while I pursued the martial arts path, so it has been a slower walk. Is it any less valid? I don't think so, because it is my path and it is valid for me. I have done what I needed to do as I have trained, and my training reflects who I am. I have been blessed with one instructor for 30+ years, which is extremely fortunate. He has taught me a great deal, not the least of which is consistency in maintaining a focus in this art of Kenpo Karate so I could eventually arrive at a black belt. (see my other blog entries on that progress).

    The way of the warrior, the martial journey, is a reflection of each person and how he or she lives. What does that encompass? It is infinite, in my opinion. It depends on each person's perspective. Every martial artist, every school, and every style has a legacy. How that looks, depends on so many factors. I think that is what makes it great and interesting. It is part of what makes us who we are. It all also factors into how we make it a way of life. 

    As with many of my articles, I like to boil things down to digestable steps that make sense. I don't know if this works for everyone, but I think it simplifies concepts and makes them easy to follow. So here are my steps to making martial arts a way of life, if that is something that you want to do.

1. Be Ready to Study, Be Ready to Train

    Martial arts, among so many other things, is about studying and training. It never stops. Even if you are a 10th degree black belt, studying never stops and training never stops. It is how you stay sharp and stay focused. It is also part of a daily practice that most people do who make this a way of life. How that daily practice looks in your training and studying can vary. Everyone's path is different. Don't assume everyone trains the same way. I actually think this gives great variety to the martial arts world when multiple martial artists gather together, we have so many different ways to train and we can learn and use ideas from each other because we are so different.

2. Find Joy in Your Training

    You absolutely have to like what you do. It is essential. If you do not like it, then why do it? It is really an essential requirement that you can cannot get around. If you like what you do, then you want to do it. If you want to do it, then you want to do it more. If you want to do it more, then you get better. The logic is pretty straightforward. There are ocassions where people do stuff they do not like. One example comes to mind is that people want to make themselves suffer in order to get better. Whatever that may look like, I am not sure. I am not one for that. Training in martial arts may be challenging, but even in the most challenging moments, it should never make you suffer. At worst, it is an adventure with unknown outcomes, but you should never suffer.

    The joy should come from the activity, the people, the place, and the process you experience in your martial arts journey. When you find joy in what you do, it becomes part of your life. You feel compelled to make it part of your life.

3. Accept the Challenge and Humble Yourself

    Martial arts is a journey of challenges. You must be willing to humble yourself as you encounter new knowledge and realize that you are not good at something. It is part of the process of learning. Some people have a very hard time with this. You cannot be a person that thrives on ego if you want to truly discover martial arts as a way of life. You should be willing to put ego aside as you always learn something new. We learn something new every day. Whether it is big or small, it is this essence of always being a student that is part of the way of the warrior. You learn so you can expand yourself and become better. Martial arts is truly a unique discipline in this way. It is a path of self-discovery, and you must be willing to do this and challenge yourself.

4. Seek Out Others Who Train

    This sounds like an odd one to make it a way of life, but hear me out. If you have others who share the experience with you, then you are more likely to make the training a way of life for yourself, because you have shared experiences with others to motivate you. Whether you are a teacher looking for a students, or a practitioner looking for a training partner, having another person who shares the experience with you is a motivating factor that keeps you going on some level. It makes you want to do more. It makes you want to share the knowledge and expand the knowledge. Most people do not want to do things alone, so if you can share it with someone, the journey is more enjoyable.

5. Don't Give Up on the Training

    This seems obvious, but it requires reminding. You can't make anything a way of life if you just give up on it. Many people give up on martial arts and never look back. That could be for many reasons. You have to have patience and persistence, along with all of the other things mentioned so you do not give up on it. You may change schools. You may change styles. You may change your training methods. However, if you do not give up, then it is still a way of life for you. For me, personally, I had to break for a short time from training at my school because I was busy with my career, but I kept training and I returned. If you train, if you make it part of who you are, then it is part of a way of life. If you have all of the other things mentioned above, then you will be unable to stop training. You will always train. You will live the life of a martial artist, both inside and outside of training. It has become part of you, and you cannot separate yourself from it.

Conclusion

    If you have read this far, you must be wondering at least if you can make martial arts a way of life. You might ask, why even write an article on how to make it a way of life? Believe it or not, from the very beginning, I wondered if I could do this or not. I did not think of it in these exact terms, but I felt the connection. One of the reasons I wrote all this is I wanted to share the things that have helped me make it part of my life, and give someone a possible path if they wanted it, but were unsure of how to get there.

    One of the things that you realize the more years you spend in the martial arts, the ranks and awards don't mean much. It is more about knowledge and relationships. If you focus on the latter two things, the other things follow in time. As so many people joke about McDojos and how people can buy ranks if they subscribe to one plan or another, you should really begin to realize, if you have the right teacher, there is nothing that can replace the hard work that goes into training. Martial arts is about training and knowledge. If you look for those things, then most likely it will become a way of life.

    You can't "buy" a way of life. You have to "live" a way of life. Transcend the material temptations that disguise themselves as part of martial arts and seek the knowledge, discipline, and relationships that build a lasting experience. It will make you better. Continue to train and good luck in your journey!

 

Every Solution Starts with You

    For better or for worse, every solution starts with you. You alone have the power to make the choices for change. There is no trainer, sensei, sifu, teammate, spouse, parent, or anyone else that can make the change or decision to drive you forward. When we seek to create a fitness program or get fit, or embark on a martial arts journey because we were inspired by a movie, the big question becomes, how do we keep the motivation that got us excited? For some people, it  immediately clicks and they just keep running with it. Others, they may get excited for a minute and then never even set foot in the gym or a dojo to follow through.

    There is a comforting fact about all of this. Everything is in your hands. You make the decisions to do or not to do the journey. The martial arts or fitness journey is up to you. You control it. Your steps take you to the path that lead you on your way to achieving the goal that you want to achieve. 

    You can find inspiration with others. You can find motivation in all kinds of places. You can find a lot of things to help you, but the decision comes back to you. For me, that is a huge positive. It means you control what is going on and what you have to do. 

    I wrote in my last article not to be intimidated by the impossible standards that have been set by society. This is the other side of that coin, where I am telling everyone that all of you, all of us, control what we can do to help better ourselves and become the best version of ourselves. I am big on boiling things down to digestible steps. That makes things accessible. Remembering how to keep control for yourself is not so difficult. It comes back to five simple things.

Step 1 - Focus on Yourself

    Remember you have the control. You are taking the journey. You can make the change, just choose to do it. It can look any way you want it to. It can be every day, or it can be twice per week. We all have to decide on our fitness journey and shape it to what will work best for our lives. That being said, remember you are in control of what you want to do.

    Sometimes having control is not enough. Some people want more than just control to be able to make their journey happen. One thing that helps is that it is a way of life, and you can make it a way of life, because you are in control. Once you make the decision to do it regularly, it becomes part of your life and it becomes easier. Don't be intimidated. 

Step 2 - Find Support

    You may be in control, but it does not hurt to have support in making the journey. As people we all look for support in living our lives. Whether that is a family unit, a group of friends, or a group of strangers. When people share a goal, or an interest in a goal, there is a bond that takes place that creates support and motivation. It is undeniable. We all need it, unless you are one of those types of people that just needs to train alone, then that is different. But most people at least need one or two people who take an interest and can share the experience.

    A perfect example here is that I created a fitness program for two people. I know them both personally. In order to help them, I created a chat group where we can post small notes, photos, updates, etc. After having created it, what do you think happened? Everyone started feeling like they belonged and took pride in each other's successes. We supported each other on our workout journeys, no matter how different or similar they are. We just made each other feel like we belonged and gave positive feedback about whatever we were doing. Don't under estimate the power of shared experiences in a journey. Find that support for what you are doing, even just one person.

Step 3 - Get Some Basic Knowledge

    This is really not that complicated. In today's age, the internet is a great source for helping people get started, and for almost no money most of the time, if you know where to look. If you are willing to spend some money, it is even better. It does not take much knowledge to start something new either. Once you find your knowledge of how to start your plan, or update your existing plan, organize it and get it going.

    The key here is to not get discouraged when you start something new. When you start something new, you won't be as good as when you are doing something familiar. Think of it as an adventure that you are embarking on and the new knowledge is your map to that adventure. It may be new, and unfamiliar, but it should be fun for what you are about to do. 

    Organize it so it makes sense. If you have the money to help you organize your plan, spend a little to make your life easier, if you fitness or martial arts journey is important and you have a little to invest, do it. It is an investment that will definitely pay itself off many times over if you treat it right. Maybe you need a teacher or a trainer. Maybe you need some equipment, or maybe it is something else. Whatever it is, spend the money to make it better for yourself.

Step 4 - Make it a Routine and a Way of Life

    This is the quickest way to make it successful. Make it a habit, or a routine. Once it has become a routine, it becomes a way of life. Whether it is martial arts training, fitness training, or both. When something is a way of life it just kind of becomes part of who you are, and that is the best thing that you can do for yourself.

    It fits into how you act. It becomes part of a way you see the world. You become efficient and fluent in what you practice. There is no substitute for this step. It is a conscious decision to do it for yourself and share it with those people around you.

    I think people sometimes believe it has to dominate your day, every day, for hours and hours. That is definitely an option people choose, but it could 30-60 minutes per day just 3 days per week. Just choose how it looks for you, and that will be your expression of the discipline of martial arts and/or fitness. I say expression because the way we live our lives is ultimately and expression of who we are in some way, shape, and form.

    Whatever you choose, however you choose to do it, don't let it intimidate you or scare you, or even discourage you. Just choose to take the path and follow those above steps and you will find a measure of success that is worthwhile for you, your mental outlook, and your physical health. It is an enjoyable path that can truly make a difference in the quality of your life and bring a great deal of fulfillment to your life. 

A Way of Life is not About Numbers, It's About Knowing How to Make the Ordinary Extraordinary

Some Statistics

    Here are some statistics to consider based on my friendly neighborhood AI and I having a conversations about fitness, athletics, sports, and martial arts. Why do I begin with a conversation about statistics when it comes to martial arts and fitness? Because it might help break down some of the myths that pervade both. Martial arts and fitness are two disciplines that are readily available to most of the US population either online or in person, or both. As of today, (I say this because I posed the questions to the AI today) between 3-4 million people each year in the US try to join a martial arts school. Around 55 million try to join a gym or begin an exercise program. When you consider the number of people in the US, which is upwards of 300 million, these are not large numbers. I feel we, as a society, have created a mystique around martial arts and fitness. We look at these guys on UFC or in other professional sports and they are put on these towering pedestals with such star power, and maybe deservedly so. My point here is this; do not put other people in such a category that it diminishes your own drive to do something. Let's just look at some statistics and some mindsets to help put everything into perspective.

    For a person who starts college, the average person who earns a master's degree is around 8% of that population. College is a pretty common standard for us in education. But that next level really becomes a smaller percentage. When you consider all the people who play high school sports, the average athlete to go on to play college sports is about 7%. When you consider all the people who start a martial art, about 1%-5% go on to get a black belt. When you take the college athletes who play sports and try to figure out how many of those will go on to make an Olympic team, the number is around .5%. Now, you are looking at these numbers and saying, "Hey! These numbers are super low, I thought you had something encouraging for me!" I do. I have one more number. The average number of people who can sustain a given workout program for 4 weeks or more is 50% of those who start. I also have this to say about those other number. Of all those statistics, there is only one that I have not been able to achieve (well 2, but I am presuming in 2024 I will have earned a black belt finally if I can maintain course), and that was I did not make an Olympic team. So, how did I do all those things? I can tell you for certain I am not that special. What I do have, though, is a very determined mindset when I set a goal for myself.

    There a few keys to making martial arts and/or fitness successful in your life, and that is making it part of your life. It also helps to have a good mentor or teacher. Also, it helps to keep it in perspective and be persistent. Those are the things that have helped me to overcome those statistics above and do what I did. I am just a normal school teacher that had dreams. I am very normal, I am not extraordinary. I might have a rather extraordinary mindset, but my skill set is not that different from anyone else. That is why I started with those statistics. Statistics are just numbers. And, really, the last one I gave, about a person sustaining a workout program (or martial art also) is as simple as taking it one day, one month at at a time. It is very doable. Half the people that try to workout can maintain for more than a month. If you can do that, then you can do another month. It is all about perspective.

A Way of Life

    If you are going to be successful at anything, it will start with making it part of your life. When people choose to live a way of life, it increases their ability to execute that particular discipline. It could be writing, fitness, martial arts, building things, or anything else. part of making something part of your life requires a person to understand who he or she is. That involves learning about what you like and dislike, how to balance yourself, prioritize goals, and then understand what tools you need to achieve the goals you have for yourself. If some of those goals involve martials arts or fitness, then this article will prove very useful and demystify each of these disciplines. Patience is involved with achieving these goals, and if you can focus on one day at a time and one class at a time, and not get ahead of yourself, it will be much easier to achieve high level goals. Patience and consistency in your life style is a great ally.

        For me, sports and martial arts just became part of a daily routine that I enjoyed. I had friends, I had dreams, I had goals, and just generally enjoyed both activities for all those reasons. If you have those elements, it is easy to make it a way of life. 

    I had a lot of friends within the world of sports and martial arts, so it made it easy to form bonds with others. If you can create bonds with people who are doing the same things, then it is easier to continue the activity. 

    I had dreams of what I wanted my activities to lead to. Any dream or goal related to your activities will keep you going. In fact, I would call it necessary to have goals for whatever you are doing to keep you interested or motivated.

    Overall enjoyment was always there for me. I wanted to always have those experiences present at one level or another. Whether or not we enjoy something it up to us. The key is to find our motivation. Motivation can be way more than what I have listed, but some of these experiences I have shared may help you find your motivation as you begin, or continue, your journey. Only you can find that motivation. A teacher or friend or trainer can help inspire, but it ultimately comes back to each person to make the decision of whether or not they can find room in their life for these activities.

Choosing the Right Teacher/Trainer

    This is pretty important. It will help with longevity in fitness or martial arts or sports. I had many good coaches and martial arts teachers. They can help you find your identity in the endeavors you are doing. They help shape your experience and help you understand what it is you want to do, as well as what you are capable of doing. For me, if I had not had a good teacher in martial arts, I would not have sustained my longevity in the activity. It is not hard to find good teachers, if you know what to look for It is the same with coaching. You can find good people, and they can help you sustain your effort and teach you a great deal along the way. They help with your progress and enjoyment of the activities that you are doing.

    With coaches and teachers, you want someone with good morals, ethics, outlook, and knowledge, among other things. If you have someone that is questionable, it taints the whole experience. If you go to a gym, find a trainer you can connect with. Or, if you are able, search online and work with someone online. I had coaches for about 15 years or so in track and field. Then I had a training partner, who was also my friend. I looked for trainers since then, and I just did not find one who was satisfactory for me and could enhance my experience. I finally found one online, but I am referring my wife to her instead. In fitness, I do not require a coach or trainer at this point in my career since I have a lot of knowledge in that area already. In martial arts, I have always had a very high level teacher who always teaches and motivates me, so I have been fortunate there. Early on you have more choices, just know what you are looking for to make your experience the best it can be. 

Perspective

    This is super important because it gives you flexibility to adapt to unforeseen circumstances that arise. Your training will always have unexpected events, and you need to keep your perspective in order to be successful. You have to keep the bigger picture in mind and not get frustrated by setbacks. Everyone's perspective is shaped by their context. If you are unsure of how to keep perspective, this is where that teacher/coach really help. The coach and teacher can guide you in keeping your perspective, which takes experience to do so. 

    When you have perspective it leads to persistence. You can overcome the obstacles that come up in your journey. Perspective is about understanding the experience. Understanding leads to longevity in the activity. 

Persistence and Consistency

    I also talked about persistence, and I would add consistency also. The ability to persist in spite of obstacles is necessary. There are always going to be obstacles. It is ok. You will overcome obstacles. I just keep pushing forward. People are incredibly resilient. You set your mind to it, you will find a way to keep going forward. It is remarkable how innovative people can be in the face of obstacles.

    A good teacher can help shape your perspective, which will help you stay with your given task. This is another reason I have emphasized the importance of finding a good teacher, because they guide you in how to get it done. My teachers and coaches have all taught me about perspective and being persistent. Sometimes all you need is a reminder to get up and know it will be ok. If you had a goal of losing 10 pounds and you only lost 5. It is ok. If you wanted to run a 9 minute mile and you only ran 11. It is ok. If you wanted to make yellow belt in 3 months and you are still learning the material, you still know more than when you walked in. It will be ok. The teacher reminds you of keeping it all in perspective so you don't give up.

    I added consistency here, even though it is separate issue. The link is if you are consistent in the process of training, it makes being persistent so much easier. Consistency builds persistence. It is vital. If your routine is to train three days per week, then keep that. After awhile, if becomes a habit where it feels weird if you don't do it. If you go three days a week for six months, then you run into an obstacle, it becomes a lot easier to tell yourself it will be ok because it has been ok for 6 months, and you can keep on going forward and overcome whatever gets in the way.

    Routines create paths to consistency. It is key to find a routine that will help you and fit you. Routines are the foundations of success. I will write it again, routines are the foundations of success. If you can make a routine that leads to your fitness or martial arts goal, then you are half way to your goal already. 

Making the Extraordinary Ordinary

    Now that we have some building blocks in place in how to make things successful for you, let's break down some of these perceptions and myths that go with martial arts and fitness. I know I quoted a lot of statistics that seem daunting to the average person. However, numbers just tell a story, just like Instagram reels and photos. We mythologize so much in our society that we create our own barriers. Just like the numbers above, Instagram and social media create an unfair standard for people to follow. We see all these incredible and beautiful people online and want to be like them. Very often they rarely show a realistic path to achieving what they have achieved. However, you can achieve your own success if you have a plan, a method, a routine, and a good teacher. 

    Every extraordinary achievement has humble beginnings. We are all capable of greatness. Greatness should be measured by our own standards, not anyone else's standards. Greatness could be running 10 miles, throwing a certain kick, or losing some weight. We all need to create our own standards of greatness and measure ourselves by those standards, not other people's standards. You can make the extraordinary ordinary by just creating a plan, a routine, and following some steps. The rest falls into place on its own. Don't be overcome by other people's ideals. Make your own ideal and follow that. You will find your path, your goal, and your dream.

    Simplification is needed to help make things less intimidating. If we can take away the intimidation factor of some of these concepts, then more people can find success on their terms. Believe in yourself and believe in the process. 

Training and the Use of Scheduled Breaks

 I recently wrote about my experience in training for me next test. It is intensive, and sometimes slow. So slow that it is painful, because I almost feel interrupted by all the things that get in the way of training. However, brief breaks (I am finishing about a five day break from my training efforts), can be helpful. There are few ways to look at breaks in training. There is a physical aspect of it, there is a mental aspect of it, and then there is a philosophical aspect as well. Let's take a look at the use of breaks in training.

Breaks can be scheduled, or unscheduled, but the benefits can be the same, if the context is correct. In my case, I took about five days off of training. Do I prefer that break? No. This was an unplanned break that I was kind of forced into. I work an extremely busy job that I balance with my workouts and training. However, I reached a moment where I saw an opportunity to take a break instead of forcing the training into time slots that were not really there and could have ended up hurting my progress had I persisted with it. I was pulling long hours and my sleep was right on that borderline between being enough and not being enough. Had I forced a bunch of workouts in during this past week, I might have lost some sleep, as well as some productive time that I needed at work. I knew I had a vacation coming up at the end of the week, where I could restart my intensive training sessions. So, I took advantage of the situation and told myself to take five days to rest from training and then start again. If I was a professional athlete and could pick any time to take a break to benefit myself, then I would not have taken this particular break, but that is not real life for many people. They balance work and training all the time. So it is important to think creatively when presented with situations that are challenging.

How did I make the decision to take the break? One, I knew I was at a point where my body could use the break and rest some for more intensive work at the end of the week. The break just made sense. I feel recovered and ready to take on a new cycle of training. Two, mental breaks are important. If I stressed myself out for five days, trying to jam in way more than I could really handle and mentally process my martial arts training as well as my work needs, then I would have just cluttered my thinking by creating stress for myself when it was not necessary. I also would have lost sleep, which is vital for both mental and physical progress in your martial arts journey. Three, the mental fatigue from pressing more than you should would lead to several setbacks. It makes it more difficult to think and process information. That part is often overlooked for athletes. As athletes, we need to process a lot of information, and the use of your mind wears you out, and it requires a lot of sleep. Sleep is key when making decisions like this. Now, maybe sometimes your training calls for a sacrifice where you push through a period of time, like a day or two, with less sleep. But the overall health of the athlete should be taken into consideration when sleep and lack of sleep are factors in the decision-making process. The other part of this is that when the mind falters, and the body falters, the spiritual and philosophical fortitude of the individual can falter too. This is a difficult measurement to make, but you can see it. Let's say you are training for a big fight - if you are a MMA fighter - and you lose some sleep leading up to the fight. To get through a battle like that, requires spiritual fortitude. When you back is against the wall, and you see defeat looming, you draw on spiritual fortitude to carry you through to give you a chance to still win. That is just one example. These factors help me make a decision as to when it is time to take a break, or when to push through. There is no reason to push through in this moment, and the rest was beneficial, so the decision was pretty easy. 

The danger that you do run into, if you are not careful, is that it could become more than just a scheduled break. Five days becomes two weeks, which leads to doubt, which leads to maybe giving up on the goal. That is why a break cannot just be time off with no rules. Impose a timeline and stick to it, then make it happen again. 

Everything is a balance, and as martial artists and athletes, we need to recognize balance. If we fail to balance what we do, things go wrong. Rest is essential and productive, if not overused. Don't be afraid of it, because your body and mind need it. The question comes back to how to use it. That is where you achieve your balance. Right now, I just came off of my break, and I feel rested mentally and physically. I feel productive because I could write in my blogs, which tie into my training. I feel ready to do more work. The rest has been positive because I planned and did not let it push me off my goals. Sometimes a person has to think creatively to make the most of a difficult situation.

Train hard. 

Meal Prep For The Average Person

 

Meal and Food Planning for the Average Person

   So, you finally got a workout program that you like and you are doing it. Great! How can you take it to the next level? The great news, you have a lot of choices when it comes to this. One of the choices, is reorganizing your diet and planning meals so you do not give in to the munchies from the corner market. We all get that feeling, but how do you cut down on the temptation to get something that is less than healthy? I am hoping some of these ideas can be of use. I struggle with this as much as the next person. These are some of the things that work for me, and hopefully this can help you on the right path.

Have a system

     We all look at Instagram, or some other social media, and we see these slick reels with great sounds, colors, and camera angles that make food prep sooooo easy!! It is that way for everyone, right? Wrong! Those reels are designed to bring in viewers and maybe sell some products, or whatever else the goal is. Don't get me wrong, they have great ideas, but how do the great ideas get translated into application into a practical use in your own kitchen? I am hoping that this small article can push you in the right direction towards application.

    Have a system in place. There are tons of systems out there. What you have to do, is find the one that works for you. The one that catches my attention is the person that cooks up a batch of whatever for a week, uses all these nicely color coded pyrex dishware, and infuses all these sounds of opening and closing them, along with the colors of some great dish, or dishes neatly divided into 7 days of the week. It looks absolutely amazing, and I want to do it! There is also another one, these come from celebrities or top athletes who have these giant refrigerators with tons of space, and they buy whatever products it is they buy, and the inside of the ice box looks like a grocery story with bright colors and rows of nicely lined products and containers that just speak of healthiness. Fabulous! Right? Only if that is your system. The reality is, most people are not celebrities or single 20 or 30 somethings that can just organize food for themselves for the week. We have families, kids, schedules, tasks, and demands that make life in a kitchen nearly impossible, and definitely not enjoyable, at least a portion of the time. 

    How do I know this? I know because I was raised in a family that revolves around the kitchen and I enjoy kitchen work a lot of the time, but my work schedule can get to me, and I have a family I cook for and account for. So I know how unrealistic some of these ideas are. They look great on video, but how do you make them work in the real world? I am hoping I can give you, the reader, a few ideas of how to proceed and get healthier choices in your diet.

    First, let's identify the obstacles. Working people work long hours and often come home tired. The first response is to eat something quick and processed. The second thought may be to order out, expensive, but you can probably find something moderately healthy if you are willing to spend enough money, but that is not a long term solution, or even a viable short term solution. 

    When developing a system, first be sure to talk with the family and see what will work for them. Take them into account, and then be in agreement on how the system will help everyone, because everyone needs to eat. I am the one that really does most of the shopping and the cooking in my house, so it all starts with me, but if you are not the primary person who does kitchen work in the house, I suggest you become at least an active partner in it. 

1. Shopping

Figure out how the shopping will be done, and buy things that are healthy and practical. You may want to meal plan a week at a time, but I leave that to each person. I tend to shop for common items we use each week, and make food from the common items. Make a list, it helps keep costs down. Make a budget as well. It will save you money and keep you in line when things start looking very tempting. Also, don't food shop on an empty stomach. Everything looks perfect to buy when you are hungry!

2. When to cook

How often can you cook? In my house, we can cook about 4 days a week. That is an average. That means we need leftovers for the remainder of the week. Sunday is often the biggest and best day for cooking and I tend to make food for 1/2 the week on Sundays. I try to cook balanced and I try to make sure everyone has something they like. If you plan things out, this can be done. But you have to be honest with yourself how often you can cook, and clean the kitchen. I have a couple of quirks that potentially slow down my progress in the kitchen. I can't cook when I am too hungry, and I can't cook if there are too many dishes, I have to wash them, but if I do too many dishes I may lose my motivation to cook. Just understand how often you can cook and stick to it. 

3. Plan your storage solutions

    Storage of left over food is important. Know how you are going to manage it and make it practical. This is key to make the system work. The whole point of a system is to save you some time. For the food to be usable and helpful, know how your storage solutions are best going to work for you. 

Make it realistic

    So, realism is going to be most important, because if you can't pull it off, it does you no good. It will just waste your money if you can commit and follow through. Part of this goes back to the system, that we just talked about. Part of it is your level of commitment, and how well you can account for things to go off plan, and just be willing to fix those problems and make it work. 

Here are some tips for making things work.

1. Know your resources

This means know what you have to work with and what are the options in food that you have to make for yourself and your family. Everyone is different, but know what will work to make it all doable.

2. Know your goals

Have the goals outlined and have some preferred choices of food that can help you meet your fitness goals, whatever those may be.

3. Know your preferences

Be sure to understand what you like and what will help you stay on track with your new way of approaching food.

4. Be ready to be disciplined and make it a habit

Be ready to make this a lifestyle. It is about habit for the long term. Be disciplined. Don't give in to old habits. The motivation is there for you to have made it this far. It is time to make it a habit, and the more people in the family that are on board with this new way of doing things, the easier it will be.

Plan ahead

    Planning is the best way to help you be successful. Create a vision and plan for it. Motivation is great, but a plan helps you with discipline, and that is where the true success lies. If you make it a way of life, then it will be almost impossible to fail. It becomes your new baseline for operating each day. Positive habits help create successful people. Create the vision. Research the path to success. Lay the foundation for the path. Follow it through. Have faith that it will lead you to the goal that you have set before yourself. 

Working with your family

    As I said before, the more your family buys into the new way of doing things, the easier it will be for you. People who work together towards a common goal (in this case, a goal of eating better and healthier) will most likely be more successful. For us, it was me understanding more of what my family liked on the healthy end of the food spectrum, and taking time to make sure I could make what they liked while I created things that were better for myself. A lot of the time, our preferences will intersect. Sometimes, maybe not. However, since I was the one in charge of the cooking, it was easy for me to make the menus.

    If you are not cooking for yourself or your family, I might encourage you to start doing so. This gives you the most control over what you are eating. I believe in having the ability to be self-empowered is always a wise move. You do not want to hand over the reins of your success to someone else, unless it is only absolutely necessary, and even then it should be temporary. Besides, I am sure your family will be most grateful for the effort of trying to make food for them!

My example

    I understand the challenges based on my own experience. What we have done is a version of everything I have recommended. Is it always 100% successful? No, absolutely not. It is a learning curve, and we always have to adjust for life. But what we do have is a pretty solid basis of successful habits that help us stay moderately on track in even the most challenging of times. Keep everything in perspective, and always remember your goals. Maintain your discipline and you will find at least a measure of success. I try to remember it is a journey and a process. Try to develop an appreciation for the healthy side of food and what it is capable of. I will try to go into some of the details of what works for us and what we do to keep our meals interesting, as well as when we do when we just are too tired to cook also. There are always solutions, if you can just try to follow your goals. 

Achieving Balance In Your Workout

 Why is there a need for balance in your workout?

    Everyone has their favorite activities and exercises. We can't get around the fact we have preferences. It is in our nature to move to what we like best. However, in order to do that activities and exercises we like so much, we will need to do some work that may not be our favorite, but it helps us achieve balance. We should all strive to want balance and want to do the work that makes us balanced. 

What does a balanced athlete look like?

    There is no one answer to this, but let's look at a hypothetical profile of an athlete. Let's say we have a football player, like a wide receiver that plays football. Obviously there is a defined skill set within the sport itself that has to be mastered. That is what the player loves the most. However, what allows the player to be able to run fast, lose defensive backs, jump high for passes, and hold contorted positions in an effort to make great plays? It is a complex array of physical abilities that come from training muscles, joints, central nervous system, and so much more. Some of that training and work is enjoyable some of it is not so much. Some is easier, some is more difficult, and some may even be temporarily painful if you are pushing your body to the limits.

    Let's face it, doing exercises in a strength and conditioning room is a lot less interesting than testing your speed and agility against other players on the field. However, what allows a player to excel in that contest are the drills and conditioning exercises that help control the physical abilities of the athlete. This is what they often talk about when it comes to separating the good athletes from the elite athletes. 

    It takes a special level of dedication, concentration, knowledge, and motivation to work hard and find balance to the point where you make yourself not just good, but great. If you look at the great athletes, in any sport, you will find that they achieved that level of balance needed in their sport in order to excel. Greatness requires an athlete to be extraordinary. To be extraordinary means you have to be balanced to excel beyond what your peers are doing.

That is great, but how does this apply to the average person?

    I realize that the average person is not going up against other athletes on a daily basis, so how do we convert this concept into terms that can apply to a person in his or her day-to-day life? Let's just look at people as they approach their 40s and 50s. Things start to change in the human body. Let's say a person likes to go for long walks, but as they age, walking alone is not enough, because joints can stiffen, muscles get tighter, injuries are more likely to occur. What would be an element that can be added to their morning walk that would help them extend it back to the mileage he or she used to do? Well, some basic mobility training to get the joints a more full range of motion. That may not sound as enjoyable as the walk, but it will make the walk much better if you allows a person to go for longer periods of time. It is not always about an opponent. Sometimes it is about meeting the challenges of a changing body or environment. Maybe there was an injury, and there is a need to do rehab. Obviously the rehab may not be the most interesting work or activity, but it will get you back to the point of where you can go for your walks, and maybe other forms of exercise are needed long term to maintain stability. That aging process forces this on us all at one point of another. Also, the process of achieving balance in your physical activities is an evolving process. It will not always be the same, and changing the routine just might make it more interesting as well.

    Talk to your trainer or your doctor about how to balance your exercise and fitness routine. research options, and educate yourself. Martial artists have spoken for years about striving for balance to be a complete martial artist. There is a reason for this. An imbalanced martial artist is one that is not that successful. You have no further than to look than at the symbol for yin and yang. The very symbol speaks of balance.

    Keep training. Do what you like, but branch out and explore your options so you have have a larger set of physical tools to enjoy your daily activities.

Keep training and stay safe!