life, kids, and brazilian jiu jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Parenting

Day 34 on the wagon

Written By: admin - Jan• 22•12

My Concept II rowing machine is getting a lot of use these days.  I think it is a relatively safe way to get my exercise without too much pounding.  I’ve been rowing every day and changing it up as I go with some intervals and longer sets.

I’m feeling pretty good to be honest.   I’ve lost about 5 lbs and my resting heart rate have also dropped.  My sleep seems better as well.

Chris Wellstood invited brown belt Jason Chin-Leung from Trenton in to teach our class on Friday.  It provided us with additional refinement to the techniques we have been practicing and was a cool surprise.  We worked on escape from side control and a cool sweep.  Martial Arts Planet really does provide quality instruction on a consistent basis.

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Meditation on day 24

Written By: admin - Jan• 10•12

Wow, so far winter has not arrived in Kingston.  I thought this was supposed to be the coldest part of the year?  It is 4 degrees celcius today.  What gives?

But I digress.

A big part of mindfulness is arrived at via meditation.  Hmmm.  So I am attempting to learn to meditate.  Easy right?  Nope.  I have now been practicing for almost a week.  The idea is to calm the mind by focusing on your breath.  It is like trying to stop a run-away train with strong language.  So far it is not going well.

What IS going well is that I am on day 24 of sticking to a fitness plan.  The “Plan” is to do a minimum of 30 minutes a day of high output rowing on my Concept 2 erg.  So far I have mixed and matched 30 min,  12km, and 8x500m sessions  with intensity that leaves me just short of throwing up or falling down.  My resting heart rate has already started to drop.

The other effort involves a strategic diet strategy, namely:  EAT LESS.  That also is going well.  I am down 2.5 lbs.

Tonight I have been scheduled to work from 9pm until 4am on short notice.  Can’t sleep, so here I am writing away.  Dumb but relaxing so w/e.

 

Onward.

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Mindfulness

Written By: admin - Jan• 09•12

Mindfulness. What is it? So far it is a concept, a topic for books and blogs, a popular catch-word.

I hope it will be more though. I want to de-stress, to be happy, to find some peace. So finding some perspective and balance would help. That’s a lot to ask maybe. But I am the only person who has direct control over my well being. So I’ll give it a whirl.

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2 weeks of vacation – Kingston style

Written By: admin - Jan• 06•12

I needed two weeks to recover from numbness in my fingers from shitty ergonomics at my workstation.  I also needed sleep.  Not one or two nights but two weeks worth.  Stomach issues are improving.  I needed the opportunity to take stock.

Today will mark 20 consecutive days that I have either rowed or run.  I am starting to feel like a fat version of the old me.  Aerobic capacity is starting to return.  My left shoulder is weak but starting to come back.  Aidan and I went to BJJ last night.  We sucked.  But damn it felt good.

So I’m older and have to be smarter to be able to continue being physical.  The rowing machine is helping…low impact :)  Low key BJJ will mean I don’t get injured.  Being mindfull will help essential ego supression so I can focus on learning.

Conclusion – I’m actually optimistic about 2012.  It will be a good year.  Day by day.  Minute by minute.  Second by second.

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Rowing, Running, Diet, Vacation

Written By: admin - Jan• 04•12

So now it is becoming a “sustained effort”.  This will be day 18.  DAY 18.  Yesterday I rowed 12k at a sustained high (for me) pace.  Now I am wondering how long it will be before I’ll start to feel like I am seeing a benefit to this “discipline”.

It is too cold to run outside.  So I’ll row.  Again.  And tomorrow if it is too cold to run I’ll row again.  I’d prefer to alternate workout types to avoid overuse injuries but I will row everyday if that’s all I can do.

This taken from  http://www.concept2.com/us/indoorrowers/benefits.asp

Benefits of Rowing

Whether you already row or are considering rowing to keep in shape, lose weight, cross-train for another sport, compete on the water or rehabilitate from injury or surgery, rowing is the complete exercise for you.Arms, legs, chest, back, abs—even your mind. Your whole body gets a complete workout from the efficient, rhythmic motion of rowing. Rowing is such a great exercise in so many different ways.

  • Low-impact (easy on the knees and ankles)
  • High calorie burner (because it uses so many muscle groups)
  • Great for joint health (joints move through a wide range of motion)
  • Upper body (completes the stroke)
  • Lower body (the legs initiate the drive)
  • Works the back and abs too!
  • Superb aerobic fitness (great for cardiovascular fitness)
  • Relieves Stress (for overall health and well-being)

This is different from the rowing you may have done as a kid in a rowboat. The difference lies in the sliding seat. Your legs compress and extend with every stroke—in addition to the more obvious work being done by the back and arms.

Legs: You begin each stroke with your legs compressed and your shins vertical. You initiate the drive with the powerful muscles of your legs, and finish with your legs fully extended. Rowing promotes both strength and flexibility through this wide range of leg motion.

Arms: At the catch, your arms are outstretched; at the finish of the stroke, they have pulled the handle into your abdomen. As with the legs, this range of motion promotes both strength and flexibility.

Core: chest, back, abs: At the start of the stroke, the power of the legs is connected to the handle by means of the arms and the core muscles of the body. Then the back is more fully involved as it swings open through the middle of the stroke. Finally, the body is stabilized at the finish by the abdominal muscles.
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The Wolverine Program

Written By: admin - Dec• 30•11

I’ve been trying to get back in shape.  Life kinda got in the way of fitness so now the wagon is miles in front of me and I really need to work to catch up.

This is day 13 of my attempt to get back in shape.  Days 1 through7 were baby steps.  30 minutes of rowing.  Then 2 days running.  Then a 30 minute row, then a 10k row.

Last night I rowed intervals. 8x500m with a 5 minute rest between.  It hurt but less than I thought it would.

Today a 12km row at 2:21 pace.  Very responsible approach to building up without going crazy like I usually do.  I have a serious problem with doing too much.

Tomorrow some fixed stroke rowing.  All part of the “Wolverine” rowing plan.  Complicated but not too complicated.  :)

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Back to BJJ

Written By: admin - Nov• 27•11

After an illness, family issues, work induced hiatus from my favourite sport, this 48 year old is back on the mats (with his hulking 16 year old son in tow).  Hallelujah.

On Thursday and Friday Chris had us working on a deep half-guard with options to:

  1. Grab the foot for an old school sweep
  2. Come to our knees and if they whizzer and try and drive us down, then limp arm out and take their back
  3. Come to our knees and if they push in to us, then reach for the opposite knee and go with their push and roll them

Chris is experimenting with doing this same lesson for another week to drill the movement deep into our brains.

Cool idea.  Execution might be painful though because in the first two days I wore all the skin of my elbow and knee from the high number of reps.  It’s sooooo goood to be back.

 

 This is one strong 16 year old with 3 times my flexibility.  Grrrr.

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What goes around comes around

Written By: admin - Oct• 22•11

Moammar Gadhafi choose his actions and thought he’d get away with them. And he did. For a long time. Who wouldn’t love to have as many years as he did. Some of us who live deserve death, some of us who die deserve life.

Now in the media, questions are being raised about the manner of his death. A waste of time in my opinion. He knew what he was doing. He rolled the dice.

Freedom is the ability to do what we want, provided it harms no one else. “License” is the same, except you have no regard for other’s right to freedom.

No photo for you Mo. To got what you deserved. Be grateful there is no hell.

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Blog blog blog

Written By: admin - Oct• 12•11

image

I haven’t blogged for a while.  Life intervenes with little challenges.  Right now I’m dealing with getting my son through the first term in university.   It’s a struggle.  He’s up to the challenge but there have been some substantial road blocks.  Epilepsy being first and foremost on the list.  Our health care in Canada may be free but it is sure hard to get an appointment with a specialist.

Still life proceeds whether I will it or not.  I sometimes wonder how much of a mark any of us leave.  All the effort we put in for ourselves,  for our kids, for loved ones, at work…what does it amount to?

I’m tired and that often leads to a state of exasperation when I feel I have no time for myself.  I need to tweak my schedule so that I can start working out again, so I can get back to BJJ, so I can spend more time with Annette, walk the dogs, fix the deck, wash my filthy car.

I always feel like I’m on the brink of some kind of epiphany that will allow me,  this time, to pursue my goals all the way past the endless obstacles.  I’d like to write, start an online business, get really fit, travel more, climb a mountain.  Mark Twight might ask “what am I waiting for…I’m not going to live forever”.  The thing is,  I beat myself over the had with that concept every day.  And eventually, I become resigned to my failure, reset, and try again.  It emphasizes my humanity while failing to deliver results.  Maybe I don’t want it enough, maybe I’m trying to do too much, maybe my stressors are too mild, or too numerous.

The reality is there are very few people who excel in any one aspect of their lives.  We are mediocre by design maybe.  But it seems that a good theory might be that in order to be happy a need to be exceptional in only a single facet of our lives.  More than that is a bonus.  The theory is I think, sound, because whatever I choose, the discipline it takes to get there will set me up for the next experience / journey.

The proof is in the pudding they say.  What pudding?  And who is “they”.  Time to choose my pudding.  What should I tackle, to the exclusion of most everything else?

I’ll let you know with the results.  Annette knows because I’ve asked for her help.  But she’ll never tell.

Posted in Back to school, Canadian Health Care, family, life , | No Comments »

Say “NO” to 3g/4g for your tablet

Written By: admin - Oct• 06•11

 

Article first published as Say “NO” to 3g/4g for your tablet on Technorati.

Sometimes being cheap works out for the best. Actually I’m not cheap. I’m poor, which is sort of the same thing. In any case, when I was in the market for a tablet, I was shopping based on price first.

Enter the Toshiba Thrive. The 32GB Thrive is one of the more inexpensive Android tablets. Even better Bestbuy had an open box unit with no documentation or packaging. Someone had returned it when they discovered that Honeycomb 3.1 couldn’t handle Skype video (yet). Fair enough. The price was great, mostly I think, because it seemed to be covered in honey and cat hair. Gross. But I was pretty sure I could clean it up and there was a generous return policy. Based on price, and the fact that I knew the Toshiba Thrive has an full size USB and a full size SD card reader, I took the plunge.

I DID research the competition. I won’t go into it here but suffice it to say that I believe the Thrive stacks up favorably against the current front runners in all areas except size and weight. It is comparatively heavy and thick. FOR A TABLET. It’s still much smaller and lighter than even a small netbook.

Being cheap meant that I couldn’t afford a tablet with 3g/4g capability. This didn’t bother me because I have an HTC smartphone with tethering capabilities and I hoped fervently that using my smartphone as a hotspot would be an option. As it turns out, it works like a dream. Activating the hotspot takes seconds. The Thrive tablet’s WiFi finds that hotspot quickly and seamlessly. If there is a decent 3g signal, then I am online in seconds. Wow!

Now being cheap starts to pay off. Not only was my tablet cheaper, but I don’t need a dedicated tablet plan with my phone provider (Bell in my case). My smartphone plan gives me 1 gig of bandwidth. Given the abundant availability of WiFi hotspots around town, I have yet to come close to exceeding my monthly quota.

Which begs the question…why buy a tablet with 3g/4g? Even if it means a phone upgrade, it still makes more sense to use your phone as a hotspot when you need it. And who goes anywhere without their cell phone these days?

The WiFi tablet / smartphone combo is a no brainer.

Posted in Android, HTC smartphone, Toshiba Thrive Tablet, WiFi Hotspot , , , , | No Comments »
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