Busy, Busy, Busy

Woke up to 265 lbs this morning. My weight isn't dropping as fast as I think it should, and it's definitely not from a lack of exercise. That only leaves the diet portion of my training, and sadly I haven't been as strict as I should be. I'm making changes to remedy that problem.

I've been working out everyday for about a week and a half, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is quickly becoming my favorite part. I can't say that there's anything easy about it, or that any of it comes naturally to me. Ironically though, my weight sort of works in my favor. Sunday night I was rolling with some of the guys at Delano MMA and Fitness. I was in the mount position trying to put a submission hold on this guy, and he tapped out before I could even get the hold on him. Then I heard him say, "I can't breathe." That's embarrassing, but in competition, I think that's still a victory.

This was my first time taking Jake's BJJ class. I've been wanting to do it for quite some time now, and I finally got my chance. It's incredibly intense, and a great workout. After a good warm up and a few drills, we got to roll for the rest of the class time. I was a little timid because I'm the new guy in class, and I'm really not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. I said I'm going to be really good at this, but right now, I'm not really good at this. I rolled with Dave for a little bit before I almost suffocated him. Then I rolled with Gary and Bryan. Everyone was incredibly helpful and supportive - Gary especially. He corrected a lot of my mistakes and gave me a bunch of pointers.

I was so tired and sore when I got home; I couldn't wait to get to bed. I had trouble sleeping that night because my muscles ached so badly. I really didn't want to go to fitness class the next morning, but I don't want to start those bad habits again. I forced myself out of bed and made it to class. It's been that struggle almost every morning, but so far I'm still making it.

A day or two ago Chris suggest that I try a Friday night fight. He said I can wear my protective gear, and it's basically hardcore sparring. For a second there the shit got real. I wouldn't have to worry so much about hurting my opponent, but they wouldn't worry about hurting me either. I can live with that, but my biggest concern is: do I have to take my shirt off? Yes, I have at least an ounce of vanity in me, but the Lord continues to teach me the virtue of humility. It's all or nothing, right? I'll give my all, even if I have to take my shirt off.

One last thing. My buddy Greg hasn't been able to make it to the gym like he'd like to. I know it's driving him crazy, and it's driving me crazy too because he's supposed to be my sparring partner. I'll feel so much better about sparring with a guy because I won't have to worry so much about hurting him. I know Casey is a woman who beats me up pretty good when we spar, but I'm still afraid that I might accidentally hit her and hurt her. I just sparred with Amber the other day. She's incredibly skilled, but still, I accidentally kneed her in the leg and caused a charlie horse. She said she was ok, but I felt terrible. So, Greg, feel better, and hurry up. We have some training to do.

Great Week 2/14 - 2/18

I made a real effort to at least double up on classes this week at Delano MMA and Fitness, and for the most part, I did. I guess the most important thing I learned this week is: I'm tired. Holy smokes was this week hard. Some days were harder than others. Tuesday I was dragging ass all day, but Wednesday, as tired as I was, I felt energized. I know that doing Jiu-Jitsu that day was the impetus for that great feeling. Maybe it's some sort of endorphin release; whatever it was, I was in a great mood that day. I don't know what it is about Jiu-Jitsu, but even after just a few classes, I can feel a change in myself. It's a real confidence booster. Already I feel - no...I know this is something I'm going to be really good at. I don't have any physical evidence to back me up; I just know it in heart to be true.

Today's workout ended on a great note. I got to do a little sparring with 3 different opponents. Two of them were women, and the other was a guy. It was really fun to spar against a guy who is closer to my level of experience. I don't feel that I did that great against him, but at least I don't feel bad about hitting back. It's great exercise, and a lot of fun.

One of the women I sparred with was pretty funny. It was her first time, and she was really hesitant to take a swing at me. It's always awkward the first time around, but I think she got into it. I didn't throw anything back at her, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't duck and dodge her punches as well as I should have. Thankfully she doesn't hit that hard yet.

Easily my most formidable opponent is Casey. If you've read previous posts, she's the woman who always beats me up. She has a strong punch, and a lot of heart. She kept catching me with a hook today, and it really lit me up. If I can get to the point where I can block and/or dodge her punches, I'll feel like I've made some major improvements. Until then I'll just be happy to stay on my feet.

Get On Top Of Me

My scale was all over the place this morning, so I'm going to estimate my weight to be somewhere between 265 and 267 lbs. Pretty much the same as the past month or so. I'm not too happy about that, but still I continue with my plans.

I didn't make it on time to the 8 am class, but I was early for the 9 am class today. I used the extra time to warm up with some jumping rope. Chris has had me mixing up my jump rope routine to make it a little harder. If you've ever seen a Rocky movie, I can do pretty much all his jump rope techniques. That may not sound like much to you, but I never thought I'd be doing the criss-cross jump rope. That's pretty easy for me now. The one that I had trouble with a couple of months ago was the one where you jump on one foot twice, and then switch to the other foot. That's not a great description, but it's the technique you see at the beginning of this video. In the beginning I couldn't balance well, and my rhythm was way off. I just wanted to throw my hands in the air and go back to the regular jump rope style. Chris pushed me, and I eventually got it down pretty well. I could tell that my left side was weaker though because I had more trouble balancing and hopping from that side. My left side has gotten stronger - not quite as strong as my dominant right side, but a noticeable improvement. I can actually get a pretty good, fast rhythm with that style now. Again, I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but these are little things that I never thought I'd be doing.

Now for the big things. After the fitness class, I took my first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this. I know it's not going to be easy, but the best things in life rarely are. It's awkward at first having a guy sit on your chest, but you get over that pretty quickly. You have to. This definitely works a bunch of different muscles than my other training because I got tired pretty fast. So that's another great aspect of it. I don't have a whole lot to say about it just yet because I just started, but if anyone wants me to put them in an armbar, I can. All in all, I'd say I had a great day of training, and I'm looking forward to many more great days with the guys at Delano MMA and Fitness.