Seeking Balance

I've started attending my martial arts school's "core" class on Saturday mornings. It's the one day I can attend, it allows me to reconnect with the community there, and it's a great workout.

I have to be careful about kicking since my right knee no longer has an ACL. I can't torque on that leg, I have to kick in a controlled manner without too much force, and I can't balance on my right leg. I make adjustments.

I'm still going to the gym before work 4 or 5 days a week, doing cardio and weights. But the class on Saturday is a good booster for me, physically and psychically.

How My Experiment With Sparring Again Turned Out

My wife says she has "nothing nice to say to me" about the incident last night. My friend The Hulk says he's going to kick me next time he sees me.

So I'm not a very popular guy right now in certain circles.

What I did was try out sparring in my boxing class--and, in the process, I twisted my trick knee again. I was hoping sparring would be okay because you don't kick in boxing, and kickboxing is how I tore my ACL in the spring.

However, last night I twisted my knee anyway when I was moving by placing my foot improperly. Since I no longer have an ACL to hold my knee in place--and despite tons of exercise meant to strengthen all the muscles around my knee--my knee bended in a funky direction and I dropped down to the floor in pain. End of sparring.

Today, I'm using the RICE method of treating the knee and generally taking it easy.

Why did I try sparring again? Because I find sparring to be life-affirming for me--I challenge my fears, I test my skill against another person in a controlled setting. Getting ready for sparring was exciting: the trainer actually put vaseline on my face, which of course you see in real boxing matches, and put some on our gloves as well.

I was sparring with Kenny, a young man who's much stronger than me (though I may be in equal or better cardio condition). He's studied boxing for a year (and took two years of karate when he was young, which he said helped keep him out of fights by boosting his confidence--he didn't feel the need to fight.) He was really good. He moved his head very well, and I found him a tough target to hit with my jab. He hopes to go into the Golden Gloves.

Since I had been able to train in boxing without hurting my knee, I truly hoped that I wouldn't get hurt during sparring. I was wrong. We didn't even finish the first round before I twisted my knee.

I could conceivably get a metal brace made for my knee. I do think my sparring days are over unless I go through another ACL reconstruction operation. If I did, I would likely opt for an allograft, since the biggest remaining problems from my prior surgery are from the incision to remove part of my patellar tendon to use as a graft. All in all, I'd rather not do the surgery, which would be painful, expensive and take me out of commission for months.

So today I have a stiff knee--I do hope and expect from experience that my mobility will increase with rest and time--and a couple of close people really mad at me. I do hope and expect from experience that issue will also improve with time.

Physical Therapy, Exercise, Careful Training

I'm feeling a bit encouraged about my prospects of continuing to train, with modifications, post ACL tear.

I've been to three physical therapy sessions, and have been good about doing my PT exercises twice daily. Compared to working out, the PT exercises don't feel like they're doing much, but they are clearly doing something to strengthen the muscles around my knee and give me more range of motion (a limitation imposed by the meniscus tear).

I've gone on the elliptical machine at the gym at work three times. I'm using it because there's a limited motion and there's no impact, but I can still get a good cardio workout.

I have also now taken three classes in my mixed martial arts school. I have been very careful about kicks, and my knee has been fine. It's good to see my friends and instructors and to continue to get a workout.

One of those workouts was a private class with our school's Joshu, a young (20s), very skilled martial artist and a friend. We just worked on form for punches and kicks (again, being careful not to do anything that would torque my ACL-less right knee). I had developed a way of throwing round kicks that involved a lot of leaning and turning in order to avoid punches. He worked with me to move my hips independently of my shoulders, which should speed up the kick, allow me to focus more on the target, and I think put me at less risk of torque injuries to my remaining good leg. It will take time to undo prior habits.

I'm not going to spar until I get a knee brace, which I plan to order from my doctor when I see him in three weeks.

My plan continues to be that I will not get ACL reconstruction surgery. I needed ACL reconstruction four years ago to get my black belt. I don't believe I need the ACL reconstruction if I am training for fun and fitness, and if I am very careful.

There's some precedent.

There are, I realized, two women in my school who ruptured their ACLs and who continue to train wearing braces. They're both excellent athletes; they'v had mixed success training in their condition.

One is a second-degree black belt who has been without one of her ACLs for many years. She's one of those amazing Gumby-like types who's about a foot taller than me but can kick me in the head. I haven't seen her on my abbreviated training schedule, but when I do, I will definitely talk with her about how she takes care of her knee. She does some sparring; she doesn't do grappling. Mostly she takes the "core" classes that are bag workouts.

The other fellow student offers a bit of a cautionary tale. She's also a good athlete and is a former cop. However, she did injure her other knee a few months ago--I believe while sparring--and has some discomfort in her daily activities.

That's what I don't want to do.

So for now, it's PT and patience for me.

A Good Week Of Training

In training, you make a plan, things get in the way, and you come up with another plan.

Monday: An hour of grappling.
Tuesday: Rowing machine at the gym at work.
Wednesday: First setback: Had to settle for one hour of sparring; couldn't stay for the second hour of grappling.
Thursday: Rowing machine again at work.
Friday: Worked late, got to class late; so I just took 3/4 of an hour of "core" class (bag workout, cardio, strength training) and one hour of sparring. Was reminded that when I'm jabbing, it's not enough to keep my right hand at my cheek--I need to move it in front of my face for protection.
Saturday: Two hours of training: First hour, grappling; second hour, sparring, which included among my first two rounds of actual MMA fighting--starting in standup, transitioning to grappling but with punches allowed.
Today: Blessed Rest.

When I'm 54

I turned 54 yesterday. I was 44 when I first joined my school; at the time it was called a karate school, but was transitioning to the mixed martial arts school it is today. In January, it will be 10 years since I first joined.

I had a nice birthday. I took the day off from work, and when my wife got off at noon, we went to a local beach town, had a sinfully good burger lunch (Five Guys Burgers--I'm not a burger person but it's great). My wife's joke was that I was very Buddhist in ordering my hamburger: "Make me one with everything." Then we spent time poking around the town and hanging out on the beach. In the evening, I went to my usual two-hour Friday classes, first a kind of cardio class and then kickboxing, which I enjoy a lot. My college-bound daughter made me delicious lava cupcakes.

Since my last post, I have been training pretty consistent lately--an hour of grappling on Monday and Wednesday evening, and the two hours on Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, I get to work a little early and go to the nice, inexpensive gym there--I usually do lunges, pushups, crunches, planks and 25 minutes on a bike. The theory is to take Saturday off and, on Sunday, do some type of workout (that hasn't been so consistent).

Part of the idea for this schedule is that at my age it's best to be very steady in terms of working out--not take breaks of multiple days between working out. I think its working. I feel like I'm in better cardio condition than a couple of months ago. I've lost a little weight--for the first time in years, I've dropped below 190 pounds this week (I know that sounds like a lot, but I'm 6'2" and I'm happy with my weight).

I do feel a bit frustrated this week about the skill level I am reaching in grappling and kickboxing. I am getting better at grappling doing it two times a week, but it isn't an art that comes naturally to me. When presented with new situations, I have trouble finding a solution. In kickboxing, it's easy to forget about the need to focus on moving (feet and head). I need to look at how I'm improving more than how I fare against classmates.

Later this month I will get my annual checkup; I'm wondering how my cholesterol is. There was an interesting article in the (subscription) Wall Street Journal about how to calculate your arteries' age; I would like to see what mine are.

Watching Dad Grow Frail

I've spent much of the past two weeks in Virginia, helping my family after my 89-year-old father fell and broke his arm. I took four days off work the first week, then returned, with my wife and daughter, for a few days around Thanksgiving.

One of the defining experiences for many of us in middle age is seeing our parents grow old, frail and ill. It rattles me to the core because my Dad was such a strong provider and protector of the family while I was growing up.

Both my parents are suffering from early dementia or Alzheimer's, which is evident in the disappearance of their short-term memory, and their inability to really follow through on any task out of the ordinary. But they still love seeing their children and grandchildren, know who we are, and reminisce about the past.

Dad's fall, and the cascading problems that have ensued from that, have finally allowed us to force on my parents 24-hour home health aides, who are being accepted by my folks. It's a great relief for my brother and me; my brother lives near my parents and has devoted a huge amount of time to helping out, which has me concerned for his own health and well being. Unless my Dad shows lots of improvement, which often doesn't happen at his age, we will need to find a facility that can care for them both--the 24-hour help at their house is great but in the long run unaffordable.

On the way back home, we swung by one of the art colleges my daughter is considering attending, Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore. My son spent Thanksgiving on the west coast, visiting with his biological family (both my kids were adopted). I'm glad my son is in touch with his biological family, I think it is good for him; we also can see how some of the volatility that bedevils our son is also very inherent in his birth siblings as well. (My daughter, born in Korea, doesn't know who her birth family is.)

Needless to say, I haven't had much time to train or work out. Seeing my Dad's growing frailty really reinforced for me the importance of staying in shape, to keep the quality of life as high as possible for as long as possible.

My three month stint at my new school is about over. I'm now seriously considering going back to my original martial arts school, where I still have a lot of classes paid for. I've learned a lot at the new school, particularly in the weekly private lessons. And the sparring is very much in control, which as a resident of the late middle ages I appreciate. It's a lot less expensive than my old school as well.

However, it's mostly me and a bunch of teenagers in class; they're nice, but not my friends--I have many friends at my old school. The workout isn't as intense as I used to get at my old school. And I can't wear the black belt I earned at the old school at the new one.

I'm planning (and we know not all plans work out) to continue getting up early and hitting the inexpensive and convenient gym at my office before the day starts, four days a week, for cardio and weight lifting. Then I'll attend martial arts classes two or three times a week. If I feel comfortable sparring at my old school, I'll do that; if not, I may continue to spar at the new school, and go to the old school for the exercise and camaraderie (and maybe for grappling).

New Plan

I am trying some new things.

I've started attending a new martial arts school. I'm adding some basic weight training to my exercise regime. I want to see how these changes affect my health and my skills and enjoyment in martial arts.

My old school is terrific; it got me into excellent shape, taught me a lot, introduced me to new friends, and provided a path to get my black belt. I still have classes I paid for there that I will use.

After eight-and-a-half years of training at my old school, I now want to see what I can learn at another school, and see how I like a different approach to health.

My new school is also a mixed martial arts school; I have entered as a non-belt student (the school also teaches a more traditional martial art, complete with belt rankings; I'm not doing that). At the moment, I'm focusing on standup/striking, the part of martial arts I have usually liked most.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, publishes suggestions for physical activity; based on those, I'm trying to get 2 hours and 30 minutes each week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, and also do weight training muscle-strengthening activities 2 days a week. I'm doing the weight training at the inexpensive and convenient gym at my workplace twice a week; it provides a nice break to the stressful day at the office.

The weekly aerobic activity I'm trying to get through my new school and, one weekend day a week, a jog, run and/or sprint session. This schedule would allow me one day of rest a week (probably Mondays).

At the moment, I'm going to two one-hour group classes a week at the new school. The classes are quite vigorous, as my prior school's group classes were, though there are of course lots of differences in how the classes are vigorous.

Also, my new school offers a half-hour private lesson each week as part of its curriculum. I'm hoping that these private lessons will be a way for me to learn quickly.

There's a lot to learn. This new school approaches things differently, starting even with how you place your feet in the basic stance. We train in orthodox and southpaw stances, which is so new to me I was laughing at how awkward I felt in the southpaw stance. The school places more emphasis on wheel kicks, hook kicks and side kicks than I'm accustomed to; it has different ways to place the hands defensively than I'm accustomed to.

And all this I've noticed in only a week.

Whether I can, at 53, learn how to DO all these new things is another question--I'm not sure I have the flexibility to do all these new kicks well, for instance. And in my darker moments I wonder if, even with private lessons, I just can't learn how to move properly in stand-up sparring at this age.

My hope, however, is that, with the private lessons, I can reach new levels of skill and knowledge, while also finding new friends--without losing or forgetting the old friends.

Wish me luck!

Unexpected Responses from Sensei

Last night, I talked with my sensei about what's next after getting my black belt.

I started off by telling him I wished he had seen me grappling at the black belt test (he was judging students in a different ring). I wanted him to see because I enjoyed it and did well... and because I had a feeling he wasn't very confident in my grappling abilities before the test.

His response: He had been more confident in my grappling skill than I was.

I was very surprised. But given how hard I can be on myself--and how nervous I was about grappling before the test--it made sense. After all, he wouldn't have sent me to the test if he didn't expect me to pass.

I told him I want to cut back a bit on training for a stretch to give more time to my family, and he said, that's fine, I earned it.

But I want to continue to learn. What's next?

Next is the second degree. But he said not to rush. In our school, there is a deliberate process that has to be followed to earn higher degrees to the black belt, and it can easily take two or three years. I expressed concern at how tough the ring is where candidates for higher degrees compete at the test; he said I would have the skills for it by the time I went.

We talked about my interest in sprinting for conditioning and leg strength. He said it's a great idea, but I should ideally do it at least a couple of times a week.

I said I could only picture one day a week to sprint, Sunday, because during the week I rise at 5:45 AM for work, and return home about 7 PM. And on Saturday, I take a couple of hours of martial arts classes, so I clearly can't sprint that day.

His response: Why not sprint early on Saturday? Just leave several hours between sprinting and martial arts class.

He said that in preparation for tournaments, he would work out, run or train three times daily, day after day.

Hmm, I thought. Well, I'm 52 and he's not.

But I won't be doing it every day, and I won't be doing three workouts in a day. I can try a double workout once a week and see how it goes. As Hack Shaft says, eventually the muscles adjust.

Tomorrow is Saturday, the first Saturday of the rest of my life, and I'll give it a try.

One sign that I've taken the black belt as a beginning, not an end: I expected that after the test, my weight would rise somewhat. Instead, it's continuing a slow decline.

Swimming

Yesterday, at my wife's suggestion, I tried swimming as a non-impact form of cardio cross training. It may be something for me to pursue.

I'm not a person who loves being in the water, though I've been a swimmer since I was a kid. My swimming was complicated by my continuing shoulder pain--doing the Australian crawl was impossible, so I did the breast stroke, though that was also a bit of a strain. The thought occurred to me today I could even just get a half-board and kick to do my laps until my shoulder is healed.

I wasn't able to do lots and lots of laps, but I was able to do enough to suggest that eventually this could be a great form of cross training that could build my endurance. One thing I'll also have to build is the muscular endurance required to swim, not just cardio endurance.

The biggest limitation on swimming is getting to a pool. But it would be less expensive than a gym membership.

I'm thinking I might be able to swim once on a weekday and then again on the weekend--probably Sunday, given my martial arts classes on Saturday. Twice a week wouldn't make me an Olympic candidate--nothing would--but it would be a good addition to my training. And it would be easier on my middle-aged joints, feet, etc.

Swamped But Training

Work and home have remained busy, but I did get to three classes this past week (no classes over the Memorial Day weekend). This morning, I did a self-directed physical therapy session for my knee--push-ups (one hand on a ball for some extra work), sit-ups, then lunges with a resistance band, knee leg lifts, etc.

In class, I'm trying to concentrate on grappling, and core class for cardio and strength. While I really love sparring, I don't need that for my black belt, and it's where I re-injured my knee, so I'm taking my time about going back to it.

I put my gym membership on hold. I joined so I could get some cross training during working hours (allowing me more time at home with family), but with my new job I just can't get to the gym.

Hack Shaft is just about to return to his American Karate class after ACL surgery and rehab--we're all looking forward to his report of his return.

I spent a lot of time painting--nothing pink, only blue.

Later this week we're having a home alarm system involved. One of the things preoccupying me after our trip to Philadelphia is we did have a break-in by a confused and troubled person, so we're installing an alarm.

Happy Memorial Day, everybody.

Exercise, Socialize

I've fallen off on my training a bit, not only because of my bruised femur, but also because I've been having more of a social life lately, which isn't such a bad thing. Work has also been very busy, which again, isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things.

One corollary to having a little more social life is the occasional drink. My impression is that some people, in intense training, don't drink. One very quick Google of alcohol and exercise yields this quote: Consuming alcohol the night before an activity can hinder your performance by causing dehydration and loss of minerals and electrolytes. I think even one drink affects my athletic performance the next day. And yet a glass of red wine a day is supposed to be good for the heart. I guess, for those of us able to use moderation, it comes down to how intensely are you training. If it's intense, I probably won't drink at all.

Today I did half an hour on the elliptical machine in the afternoon, and in the evening did some leg PT, sit-ups and push-ups. Tomorrow, one of our "core" classes--shadow boxing, hitting and kicking pads, a little self defense, and LOTS of push-ups and sit-ups/crunches.

Finally, the Calzaghe-Hopkins fight Saturday night was a GREAT boxing match because it was about two minds contesting. Hopkins, the amazing 43-year-old (on the left in the photo above), had studied Calzaghe and come up with a plan, a way to fight him, a way to nullify the 36-year-old Welshman's incredible speed. After about four rounds, Calzaghe figured out how to combat Hopkins' clever plan. And Hopkins couldn't readjust, leading Calzaghe to the win.

Resistance Training

I signed up a while back for 10 sessions with a private trainer at the gym downstairs from where I work. I'm nearing the end--it was interrupted for a number of weeks when neither the trainer nor I could make appointments.

Historically, I've relied on martial arts, some running (nowadays elliptical machines) and some body-weight resistance training--push-ups, squats, etc.--to get into shape.

My trainer says that running alone can eat into muscle, and that you need resistance training--weights, Nautilus-type machines--to get into the best shape (along with cardio work like running).

One of my favorite exercise books, The Ultimate Boxer, says that weight training is beneficial for those martial artists known as boxers--but that if you're limited in time, you can get great benefit from push-ups, crunches, etc. instead.

I wonder, to really get into and stay in shape, what do you add to martial arts? Running? Sprints? Calisthenics-style resistance training? Weights?

Don't tell my plyometrics, my knees and feet can't take those!

Triangle Choke

Today I went to two hours of martial arts, with my buddy The Hulk in attendance also. Hulk is in his late 50s, and is incredibly strong. His knees are going, that's really his only limitation. He and I both got hurt within seconds of each other at the black belt test--he broke a couple of ribs and popped them off his sternum, and I got my ACL wrecked.

The first hour was core class, a great cardio workout. The second was grappling. We focused on the triangle choke, something I want to improve because, with my long legs, it should be an important move for me. We also worked on posturing up to get out of the triangle choke.

Sparring And Music

I had my first sparring class in two weeks. I was drenched at the end of class. One of my classmates looked at me when my helmet was off and said, "Well, you got a good workout!" When I got home, my wife said, "You should see your hair!" (Time for a haircut.)

I gave one of the younger guys a bloody nose. I didn't realize it at first. Usually I feel like I can barely touch this guy, he's so fast, but tonight I was reaching him. He was fine about it; I feel uncomfortable, and perplexed, because I don't feel like I was hitting very hard. I'm just not sure what happened.

As usual, I was boxing during the free sparring, not kickboxing. When we did drills, I did some kicking; my kicking strength has faded, and will need to be built back up again.

There are a number of ways that sparring is like music--both activities involve tempo, rhythm, timing. But another similarity is one my high school band teacher said about music: There's always somebody better than you.

I do a few things well in sparring. I keep my distance well, which is good for somebody with a long reach. I'm beginning to read my opponents and adjust my actions to take advantage of weaknesses. Tonight I think I did a good job of covering up when my opponents got inside and threw lots of punches--in the old days, I would just panic and squirm.

But there is an infinite number of levels of skill in sparring. As I move from one person to the next in free sparring, I see how much difference there is. I go from easily being able to spar with someone, to being clearly inferior. And of course, each person may be at a different level each night.

One interesting opponent tonight was a black belt named Suzanne; her husband (another black belt) is a tall guy, and she's pretty tall, too, though I'm taller. She moved really well, and wasn't afraid of taking a hit or two to get inside and hit me. What she showed was that to spar well, you need not only technique and conditioning, but also heart, aggressiveness, a will to win.

Jump Rope Aftermath

My body is talking to me today, and it's saying, "Jumping rope is hard on my knees and feet!"

The most painful thing is plantar fasciitis, which has posed a problem for me before. It's an inflammation of soft tissue running the length of the bottom of the foot. In my case, oddly, it's my right foot that's hurting the most, though the left knee is the one that got the ACL operation.

My left knee doesn't hurt a lot, but I want to pay attention to any pain I have there.

I figure that doing half an hour of cardio workout in the morning, and then a core class at night, probably burned off an extra 800 or 900 calories for me yesterday.

But in the spirit of listening to my body, I'm going to work out just once today--no AM cardio workout. I will take kickboxing class tonight, and we'll see what I can learn and how I'll fare in the elite Wednesday class. How can I neutralize Larry's pressure tactics? Can I move well against Gumba Frank the way I learned about a month ago?

Maybe I can go back to two workouts tomorrow. But today, I'll be doing some Christmas shopping.

Nautical Cruise; Knots In A Jumprope

On Saturday night, about 140 students of my martial arts school and their immediate families went on a dinner cruise. My wife got to meet a lot of the people I train with, or see them again. While she's very supportive of my avocation, she has no interest in doing martial arts herself, beyond maybe Tai Chi.

I realized while introducing her to people how many of my friends in the school are, like me, at the Brown Belt Bottleneck. Many of them, like me, have had setbacks due to injuries.

The boat, on Nautical Cruise Lines, ride stayed close to Long Island and was fun. I think the boat pictured above is the one we were on.

I'm on vacation this week and getting to do some extra training and cross training. Yesterday I went through the push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, dips, squats and elliptical routine my trainer and I worked out. Today I just did cardio, doing the elliptical for 20 minutes and, for the first time since I wrecked my ACL, about 7 minutes of jumprope on a padded mat. The front of my leg below my knee hurt a bit, but not a lot.

I've forgotten a lot about jumping rope, but It was fun to do it again.

Tonight, I'm going to core class.

Guitar Hero Homecoming

This was my last day of commuting to work this year--what a relief. No more three-hour round-trip commute for the next couple of weeks.

My daughter turned 15 today--I'm sitting within earshot and eyeshot of a bunch of loud teens playing Guitar Hero at our house. Her age is why I can't move closer to work. I don't want to take her out of high school and away from her friends. When she goes to college, we can move--my wife is willing--although by then, who knows where my office will be, given that my company was just taken over.

I stood next to a teen boy in our living room whom I don't know earlier tonight. Suddenly he looked at me startled, realizing I had been standing next to him for a few seconds.

"I was joking about that," he said.

I had no idea what he had been talking about. I should have said, "Good." Instead I said, "Don't worry, I didn't hear you." A missed opportunity to intimidate a teen, alas.

I have been more careful this week about when I work out, and I feel much stronger. My schedule:

Tuesday night: Core karate/martial arts
Wednesday afternoon: elliptical cardio and body-resistance training with private trainer
Thursday night: Core karate
Friday afternoon: Jersey City Fight Club
Tomorrow, at noon, I've got another core karate class. I missed sparring this week due to a friend's going away party Wednesday night.

My trainer at the gym downstairs from work came up with a new routine after I told him I was missing cardio training, and that the other workouts were taking too long for me to complete. He responded well. I start with 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. Then I go through a sequence of push-ups, pull-ups (on a machine that offsets some of my weight), crunches, dips (also on the http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifmachine), and squats. Being a personal trainer, he always scrambles things up, but this is something I can do on my own.

I've always since I was a kid wanted to be able to do pull-ups, but I didn't work on them for fear of being embarrassed by not being able to do them. It's good to be working on them--and they'll help muscles that the push-ups don't tap.

This coming week, when I'm off from work and not traveling, I'll be able to do at least two of these routines during the week. I've been too busy at work to do more than the one private training session a week.

I'm not going to be able to afford a private trainer all the time--I only have four lessons left. But I'm learning some cross training from him for my martial arts.

I'm also really enjoying the Jersey City Fight Club. The other "members" are editors, like me, at my job. A couple are true athletes: One's a marathon runner, one's a triathlete. We do through a warmup, push-ps and crunches, shadow boxing, and a bag workout. I'm teaching them punching, moving and, just a little, kicking from kickboxing.

I enjoy it for the workout, but also because I'm making friends. I realized earlier this year that I was too close socially at work to the reporters working for me--I am doling out limited resources, and they will inevitably be disappointed sometimes in what I can do for or give to them. To protect me from the emotional trauma of their disappointment, I realized I need to look to other editors more for my social circle. This is one way of doing that, and it's been a lot of fun. Everybody agrees, too, it's a great emotional release.

A Brief Stretch Of Enough Exercise

I'm taking off three days in the middle of the week, for reasons related to a business trip by my wife, a day off from school by my daughter, and a need to use up vacation time before year end.

One way I'm keeping myself busy is by going to the gym in the morning and martial arts class at night, at least on Tuesday and today, Wednesday.

Yesterday, I found that doing two sets of exercise during the day didn't hurt me--in fact, I found I was more flexible and warmed up more quickly at night in the martial arts class. True, my arms felt the burn from the push-ups a bit earlier, but they kept moving--it was like they were oiled or something. Yesterday I did resistance training at the gym, and today I did a cardio workout.

I wish I could work out this much every day.

Also on my brief break, I'm reading. I read the play "The Persians," by Aeschylus, yesterday (a quick read). I've heard it's the oldest play still preserved in writing, and is a sympathetic portrayal of the Persians who had invaded Greece less than a decade earlier--and against whom Aeschylus himself had fought. Pretty remarkable if you think about it.

I'm now reading Bill Bryson's "I'm A Stranger Here Myself," about the surprises, delights and consternations for him of moving back to America after spending 20 years in England.

Kickboxing class tonight (I'm still focused on boxing or on exercises, no free sparring kickboxing for me yet).

The trees here are turning beautiful colors as the cold grows.

Card-io

I tried New Sensei's push-up regimen today. I went through 18 cards of a deck, and did about 157 push-ups until I finally couldn't finish the 19th card (the joker). (Only 36 cards to go.) When I moved onto the elliptical machine right afterwards, I was primed--my heart rate was already raised, it was in cardio range in no time.

I did hands-wide push-ups (the easiest for me), shoulder-width push-ups, and a few diamond push-ups. Man, are my arms tired. This is a lot for a middle-aged guy.

I'm going to be surprised if my arms recover enough to give a decent showing in martial-arts class Tuesday night, which will be embarrassing.

Cardio and King Lear

That's Sir Ian McKellen (aka Gandalf, Magneto and, in the photo, King Lear) on the left. We'll get to him in a minute.

Today I went to the gym, after missing karate class yesterday to see a contractor about a leaking roof. I did:

Stretches

Resistance training:
Four sets of 20:
Push-Ups with one hand on a medicine ball
Scissors kicks with legs raised
Crunches
Bicycle crunches
20 lat pull-downs, 80 pounds (new for me)

Physical therapy for my knee, post ACL surgery:
30 leg presses, 160 pounds
30 single-leg leg presses, 80 pounds
30 calf raises, 80 pounds
30 side-stepping squats, with a resistance band
30 front and back lunges, with a resistance band
30 knee bends with my right leg on a Swiss ball
6 across the room fast defensive-stance gallops

Cardio and knee:
Ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill, plus two minutes warming up and two cooling down.

Tomorrow my plan is to go to the gym downstairs from my work for crunches and cardio.

Funny, this afternoon I planned to watch the new Contender TV show, but I ended up watching a DVD of King Lear instead. I had read about Ian McKellen in the role now in New York (no tickets left); the NY Times loved him, the WS Journal less so. So I watched the Ian Holm (aka Bilbo Baggins) Lear from 1999.

Last year, I was able to watch the Contender episodes on my long commute on my iPod. Alas, this year, ESPN isn't putting the episodes for sale on the iTunes store, to my disappointment. They're on too late during the week for me to watch; I guess I won't see 'em. My real boxing buddies didn't like the show, but I enjoyed it a lot.