Blood on the dance floor.....

Tonight the training was intense - I gave it my all - for my troubles I got a bloodied nose (twice), an eye that will probably be black tomorrow, some light bruising on the legs and a bit of pain around my front teeth.

The pain will pass, the blood will clot, the bruises will yellow and fade.

Tomorrow is another day, another experience, a whole lot more learning.

The session tonight covered some cardio, a LOT of sparring, some core work.

Sparring wise - straight boxing - I get tagged a lot and keep dropping my hands, but I tried to listen to what the coaches where saying, how to move, to keep pushing in and out.

It worked to a degree - I got hit less, but still got frustrated with myself.

Then it was onto kick boxing (sparring) - my first time doing that tonight - it adds a whole new degree of complexity to the mix, something I wasn't sure I was ready for - but you don't know till you dive in, you'll either succeed or fail and I plan to succeed.

So dive in - what's the worst that could happen?

Well tonight I got a bloodied nose and a punch to the mouth that left my teeth sore - need a better mouth guard - other than that it was a fantastic eye opening experience for me.

After the session the coaches both praised me on me efforts, intensity and improvement which is good to hear - helps to keep pushing.

On another note - tomorrow is D day for the 75kg challenge, I already know I haven't made it quite there, but I'm happy with where I have got to, not content because with contentment comes complacency, with complacency comes laziness, when you get lazy you go backwards.

That's not my way, go forwards keep pushing.

Change the target date and roll with it.

End game is still the same - body recomposition while learning how to be a fighter or maybe it's the other way around - learn how to be a fighter and change my body in the process.

Either way I don't mind that I won't reach this short term goal - I know I'll reach the long term one.

Anyway I think that's enough rambling tonight, time to shower, stretch out, chill out, reflect and have a milo :)

Running with the mouth guard in...

This morning was a sweatsuit run again, this time with mouthguard in.

Have to say I'm not a fan of running with it in - restricts the breathing quite a bit - but I guess if you can train with all the adversity in the world - then when the time comes for real it doesn't feel like it's an effort.

So far the running has been average - I push myself hard but the sweatsuit kicks my ass everytime.

I know it works but god damn it's hard.....

Hopefully still on track for the weigh in on the 1st September - but I'm not expecting to see the win.

I've hit another weight plateau and can't quite seem to break it - I guess the only way to do it is tighten the nutrition belt even more, push myself harder and work like every single day is my last on earth.

I've found a couple of songs that really motivate me on my run as well these are:

Brotha Wolf - Imperial March (Dubstep)

Tool - Forty six and two

Avenged sevenfold - Natural born killer

These three songs energise me each and every time I hear them - make me put in that little bit more even if I feel I'm spent.

I think that's about all for now... time to get sorted for the day.

Fight training

Today's session was hard.

Hard and intense - not as full on as other sessions with sparring, but today was different.

Different for me more than the others.

I went with a different mindset, instead of being nervous about being rubbish, worse than others or that I was going to hurt - I just went, prepared for whatever the coaches would give us.

No matter what it was I was ready - and ready to give it my all.

Made a huge difference to my training, instead of a degree of nerves and trepidation - I just wanted to get it going and get it done.

After the session we talked about the mental switch and what it takes to be a fighter - I understand 100%. It's the switch I had to toggle in my own head and finally have it sorted.

It's about zoning out all the other bullshit in your life, work, family, friends, none of it matters when you're training. You just have to push as hard as your body and mind will let you.

Listen to the coaches, do what your told and push until you feel you can't push anymore - then suck it up, find that last 10% and give it everything.

Lay it all on the line because if you don't you're not getting everything out of it, you're holding yourself back.

So today that's what I was ready to do - work till I puked, then keep working, push till I had nothing left then find that extra.

It was an incredible session for me.

Really looking forward to taking this attitude to next week and all future training sessions.

A taunting from the scales of doom.

This morning I weighed in on the 'official' scales, disappointing result as I was expecting to be under 80kg - I've been pushing harder than I thought I could, dropped the body fat significantly but nope still a reading above 80kg.

The unofficial scales have me at 78 / 79kg in same clothes.

Guess that means I need to push even harder, tighten the diet and restrict the calories even more so I can get as close as possible to the goal weight.

Expectation at this stage is that I won't make it, but my mindset isn't going to change.

I am going to push like a MADMAN to reach the target the closer I get the happier I will be.

I can't complain either - I've dropped from 95kg to 81.6kg (Official weigh in scale) in a 6 month period - but in reality I've only been training hard and correctly for the last 3.

In other news I ran at 12% incline at 13.5kph today - that's FUCKING KILLER! (Sorry for the bad language) it smashed me something fierce.

Anyway time to get sorted for work and back to what I'm supposed to be doing.

Kicking ass and taking names.

Todays session was kick boxing and thai - I tried to push as hard as possible. Felt really good tonight, really really good.

Almost at the end of my challenge time and I think I'm on track, feel confident that I'm going to make the weight.

tomorrow is weigh in day and I expect to see <80kg closer to 75kg the better :)

Thai was good tonight, intense but not as full on as fight training. Lots of punch combos.

Really feel that I've passed the mental stumbling block and can push push push!

Fight team training

Tonight was intense - really intense, lots of core work in the first class then a full hour of sparring and finish with a bit more core.

Was good I love it when it's intense, tonight almost made me puke - but I hung in and pushed through.

My sparring was better - but still a long way off - refocussing myself last night and this morning really helped a lot as well.

Nothing like identifying the problem and working on ways to sort it.

Had an unofficial weigh in tonight and hit 78kg again on the analogue scales - so expect the digital ones on friday to read a little higher :\ I'm going all out to hit the 75kg mark and not 100% if I'll get there.

Side note I found how I'd like to look today - everyone should look up Benson Henderson (UFC Fighter) he's the same height as me and the weight I would like to get to, only thing Ben is lacking is the guns - I don't want small arms but don't want monsters either.

Looking forward to smashing myself over the next few days till 1st September and see just how close I can get.

I think that's all - till tomorrow.

Mindset

After some reflection last night from my last post, I've realised what I need to do.

Instead of holding back and accepting that I am not as fit or as good as the other team members, I need to train like every session is the last before I fight.

I need to embrace the moment and do the things I know I can.

The self doubt is something I need to put to bed 100% and accept that to get what I want I need to work harder, push myself passed my mental and physical limitations.

I need to keep going when others stop and not be the first to bitch out - just because it hurts or my mind loses focus.

I know what I want, I have the tools and knowledge to make it happen, I have the heart and dedication - it's time to silence my mental critics and work hard to make it all possible.

I need to stop making excuses and finding ways out of things - real or not I need to learn to train around them (Sick, Injury etc) and make sure I push myself as hard as I possibly can - otherwise I will not improve.

There is one more thing I need to remember: I will get hit, it might hurt but it WILL NOT KILL ME!

Going to finish this post with a quote because it is not only apt but very true.

" The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses -behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."

Muhammad Ali

Mind games.

In the last week my mind has really let me down at fight training.
It's something I want so badly - I'm prepared to sacrifice to make it happen, but when I get there something doesn't twig and I'm full of self doubt.

It's not normal for me to feel like this with anything, I normally dive in and get things done so I don't know why it's affecting me the way it is.

Tonight was fairly disappointing - I ended up bailing on Muay Thai because I felt sick.
I puked in the earlier class, but swallowed it - no idea why I couldn't do the same for Thai.

I'm going to conquer my mind over the next week and get in the right head space to make the most of my training, my fitness and my nutrition plan.

If anyone has tips on the mental game feel free to leave a comment :S

Fasting day 2 + sweatsuit

Well as promised I'm updating after a workout today - there's another two to come so will hopefully manage one more blog post today.

Firstly todays workout was another 5.6km run done in the sweatsuit, done on day two of a 48hr fast.

The first run wasn't to bad - I felt ok (probably due to the n02 ripcuts) the second run I struggled so much with energy and muscle fatigue.
Took me longer than planned and I ended up having to walk quite a lot - no sprints today though - I just couldn't manage them.

Secondly the challenge (1st September - 75kg) is almost up and according to my last weigh in I have 7.5kg to lose in 10 days. I'm planning on smashing it out.
I last weighed in 3 weeks ago and my current routine is pretty full on including ultra lean nutrition.

As you can see from the below it's a fair epic amount of work - but it will be worth it
My expectation is that I will be able to shed nearly 10kg in 10 days (1 kg a day) based on current experience.

Every day has approx 2.5 - 3.5 hours of exercise a day - most of it is high energy cardio and conditioning (note there are no weights included at this stage - I will get back to the weights after 1st September).

Hopefully my body can withstand the onslaught and hold out till the 1st.

Anyway see below for the next two weeks plan:

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Week 21 – 27 August:
Sunday: Fast (No food, only water, 1 protein shake post workout) = 5.6km run in ‘sweat suit’
Monday: Fast (No food, only water, 1 protein shake post workout) = 5km run in ‘sweat suit’ + kick boxing + fight training
Monday night after training: Break the fast – steamed vegetables and grilled chicken.
Tuesday: Morning Tabata workout + 1 protein shake, lunch: Tuna and green veg salad + 1 boiled egg, Afternoon: Circuit + Thai dinner: Steamed veg and grilled chicken
Wednesday: Morning Tabata workout + 1 protein shake, lunch: Tuna and green veg salad + 1 boiled egg, Afternoon: Hardcore cardio + fight training dinner: steamed veg and steak
Thursday: Morning 5km run + 1 protein shake, lunch: Tuna and green veg salad + 1 boiled egg, Afternoon: Kick boxing + Thai boxing dinner: steamed veg and chicken
Friday: Morning 7.5km run (treadmill) + 1 protein shake, lunch: Tuna and green veg salad + 1 boiled egg, Afternoon: No exercise dinner: Thai restaurant
Friday: Morning Weigh in – after workout – I will record the details but hide them in the spreadsheet – This is more for my own records than the competition.
Saturday: Morning fight training (Cardio + conditioning) + 1 protein shake, lunch: omelette (3 egg, ham, cheese, tomato, herbs), Afternoon: 50km bike ride (slower pace, higher distance) Dinner: unsure

Week 28 – 31 August
Sunday: Fast (No food, only water, 1 protein shake post workout) = 7km run in ‘sweat suit’ + 1 protein shake, 30km bike ride (Higher pace, lower distance)
Monday: Fast (No food, only water, 1 protein shake post workout) = 5km run in ‘sweat suit’ + kick boxing + fight training
Monday night after training: Break the fast – steamed vegetables and grilled chicken.
Tuesday: Morning Tabata workout + 1 protein shake, lunch: Tuna and green veg salad + 1 boiled egg, Afternoon: Circuit + Thai dinner: Steamed veg
Wednesday: Morning Tabata workout + 1 protein shake, lunch: Tuna and green veg salad + 1 boiled egg, Afternoon: Hardcore cardio + fight training dinner: steamed veg

THURSDAY 1st September: WEIGH IN.

Running in the sweatsuit

Well I've now done two runs in the 'sweat suit' AKA thick tracksuit pants and hoodie, which is awesome for the amount of sweat it helps produce.

Working towards a big loss this week and next before the 1st September weigh in.
The aim was 75kg - I am hoping to be below that and with the way things are going I think that's easily possible.

My last weigh in (2 weeks ago) I was 81kg so losing that last few kilos shouldn't be out of reach.

I also know it's a long time between updates (again) - I just don't have time to update - so I will make time.

Every workout will be a post workout blog entry - will be my new recovery routine.

I've had to take two weeks off until now due to a rib injury at fight training - not training has been mentally taxing - but getting back into it now and giving myself a flogging to make up for it - is helping :)

One last thing - I'm trialing 48 hour fasting for the next few weeks - basically Sunday / Monday no food only water.

Pre workout is N02 Ripcuts and post workout is a plain iso whey protein shake.

Monday night after final training session I break the fast with steamed vegetables and grilled chicken.

The remainder of the week will be the same supplements and two meals a day + 1 protein shake for breakfast.

Breakfast: 1 x protein shake (30gram protein + 300ml skim milk)
Lunch: 95g tuna + green leafy veg salad
Dinner: lean meat and veg

Upping the ante now and really aiming to smash my body to achieve my goals.