The Year of the Mouche

[mouche]

It's time.

I am training harder and more seriously than ever, feeling fitter and stronger and faster than ever, but I'd like to have a better record of how my sessions are going. I still have good days and bad days, so while this log may not always be very detailed, I mainly want to record how often they occur, their patterns, and most importantly highlight some good and bad points from each session.

I am also training very differently to how I used to, hence a fresh new log.

My main focus at the moment is grappling and MMA. The rest of the time I am doing mainly strength and conditioning, or other general fitness activity.

So here we go.

[Lordmuppet]

very interested to see how you combine BJJ and powerlifting as that is something i'd like to do at some point (combining them)

[mouche]

Let's start from the beginning of this week.

Monday 21st May
Beginners MMA/no gi BJJ class (1hr)
Drill: sweeps - scissor and variation
Sparring: no taps, got tapped once (armbar)
Though I didn't catch anything, I managed to survive until the very last minute (tapped to the armbar very early as my partner got frustrated and swung into it very quickly). Spent most of my first round in dominant positions on my partner, spent most of the second with my partner in side control but did manage to hit a couple of sweeps on an opponent probably about 25kg heavier than me.

Positives: managed to get some sweeps
Negatives: still don't know how to escape side control

Tuesday 22nd May
Beginners MMA
Drill: triangle, with partner standing up and readjusting accordingly
Sparring: no taps, didn't get tapped
Almost caught a guillotine but couldn't quite finish it. Almost caught a schoolyard choke but again couldn't quite get there. Rolled with three fairly small light guys, but two of them were much more experienced and I kept my hips active whilst on my back, using my feet as hooks and trying hard to scramble, and not being sat on for too long. Ben (boyfriend, physio, strength+conditioning coach) watched and said I looked like a completely different person rolling tonight.

Positives: kept my mind and my hips busy, remembered to keep elbows tightly tucked in
Negatives: felt like I was gassing a little bit, shoulders felt really exhausted, and would have been nice to finish that guillotine!

Circuit class
3 x staged circuit, core work

Positives: Abs and legs still had a lot of go in them, got a lot of height on the squat jumps.
Negatives: Just felt tired, upper body and mind felt weak.

Spoke to Ben about feeling like I was gassing, he pointed out I haven't done much hard cardio lately, so I will probably substitute some cardio instead of doing the circuit or abs classes in future.

[mouche]

very interested to see how you combine BJJ and powerlifting as that is something i'd like to do at some point (combining them)

Haha I'm not doing a very good job of it so far!

Doing it before a BJJ session is fine, but it does totally ruin my legs and it takes a very very strong mind to power through the pain during sparring! Doing it before a conditioning session is out as those are enough of a physical and mental struggle as it is. Attempting PBs after either is pointless!

Also, I do depend on Ben to coach me, but he is often busy with clients when I get to the gym so that is often our biggest obstacle.

At least it keeps me hungry I guess...!

[Talyn]

Hey nice to see you logging again! All the best with your goals!

I am trying to squeeze in some powerlifting as well, hoping to do more of it though.

Maybe the next London meetup should be a powerlifting trash-talking 1RM session?

[thestoatyone]

Wow, like the new style!

[mouche]

Talyn, I'm up for trash-talking anytime! Preferably once I hit bodyweight bench press

Wow, like the new style!

Thanks Stoaty!

Not too sure what direction this log will take me to be honest, it will be more of a blog than a log, with random thoughts on my training and such, but I think it's important as I have been criticised a lot by Ben lately for being too critical of my performances, so I think I need somewhere that I can really evaluate what's going on.

Didn't make it to Beginners MMA tonight as I stayed late at work, but it was nice to do a conditioning session feeling fresh for once!

Wednesday 23rd May
Strength and Conditioning (1hr)
Slightly different class to normal which was nice.
Almost all partner-based work, one on, one off, so the recovery in between sets was much appreciated. All were decreasing reps then increasing again, some for 5 sets, some for 7 sets. Decent rests in between each exercise.
Legs: squat jumps with 5kg bar, mountain climbers, out-to-ins
Upper body: press-up with alternate knee lifts, narrow press-up, walk-around pressup, wide press-up
Abs: series of slow, controlled small crunches, then 3 minutes to do 300 reps (finished in about 2:05)

The Good: really good height and speed on the leg work, decent depth and willpower on the pressing
The Bad: could have gotten a bit more drive on the mountain-climbers but pretty pleased with my efforts
The Ugly: didn't feel like I'd worked particularly hard tonight, no evil lactic burn, no feeling like I was going to throw up or pass out, was able to stand up and shake my limbs out after each set... but I have been promised that I won't feel this session until tomorrow. We shall see. Bring it, Gods of DOMS.

[mouche]

Yep. Everything hurt today.

Thursday 24th May
Beginners' MMA
Drill: Key lock, then partner resisting key lock and switching to head-arm choke instead
Sparring: got one tap (rear naked choke), didn't get tapped
Rolled with three guys I hadn't rolled with before; one a beginner (unsurprisingly, he was the one I choked), and a couple others I hadn't seen before.

Thumbs up: successfully pulled guard each time, stayed very active on my back, none of the guys could break my guard. They did pass guard when I attempted triangles, but never stayed in side control for very long. Defence was excellent.
Thumbs down(ish): obviously, would have been nice to get more submissions, or at least more sweeps, but overall it was a really good session.

Cardio: x-trainer, 2 x 10 minutes (level with 3 minutes recovery
0.5 miles in 3:48
1 mile in 7:21
10 minutes = 1.30something miles
Rest
0.5 miles in 3:45 (I think)
1 mile in 7:16
10 minutes = 1.48 miles

Thumbs up: really good times as I haven't done this is a while. My 1 mile best effort is one of those sessions that I have developed a major psychological issue with - knowing what I have to achieve and how much it will hurt for 7 or so minutes, I panic, set off too fast, and don't breathe properly. Perhaps because I haven't done this particular setup before, I didn't put any expectations on myself and paced myself nice and easy, and flowed steadily through.
Thumbs down: not a PB, could probably have pushed harder in hindsight but that wasn't really the aim, I am happy.

[mouche]

Might also record my supplement routine as I have been tinkering with it all recently.

Protein: about 3 scoops (about 75-85g) daily, a mix of soy and pea isolates - roughly half a scoop on waking up, up to half a scoop as a mid-morning snack or post-lunch supplement depending on when lunch falls, one scoop after training, roughly one scoop before bed
Glutamine powder: 3 scoops (about 10.5g) daily, 2 spread throughout the day as with protein, 1 with pre-bed protein
Multivitamin: currently taking a Boots effervescent multivitamin after breakfast on weekdays
Iron: 15mg tablet daily with lunch
B12: 1000ug tablet every two days
I also take a guarana tablet (1200mg) before training as I find it helps with my mental focus

Weight has just come down in the past couple of weeks to about 51.5kg in the mornings on average, but I usually only weigh myself at weekends, when my routine is a little different, so I will try to replace the batteries in my scales at home and get a better idea! Not particularly bothered about weight, mind, but I know what feels right and healthy and useful and I'd like to keep it there.

[mouche]

Sunday 27th May
Strength and Conditioning
Mainly fairly intense explosive work with decent recovery due to the heat.
Circuit: 5 x 10 hops onto step, mountain-climbing pressups, full crunches, dips on step, burpees
Treadmill: 3mins, 2 mins, 1min
Abs: time-based - slow contractions first, then circuit of faster contractions

Yay: felt very driven during that disgusting circuit, got really good height on the burpees and kept the rhythm flowing, pretty sure during the last few seconds I got my speed up faster than I've ever run
Nay: terrible form on the mountain-climbing pressups - annoyingly, my arms weren't tired but my core and hip flexors were and that stopped me bringing my knee up properly - and also totally could have run faster on the treadmill

Started using Nature's Whey Ignite Ultra-V, tastes amazing and I'm excited to see if it has any impact on how I feel and train!

[mouche]

Monday 28th May
Beginners' MMA
Drill: rear naked choke
Sparring: we had three new girls in the class so I spent the first round alternating between each of them and predictably got a lot of taps (triangles, armbars one of which from mount, key locks), got tapped twice by my last partner (armbars)

Good: always nice to tap people and to practice a range of submissions that I don't often get to use. Mostly pleased to hit two scissor sweeps, which I first learnt last week. Again, felt very active on my back and didn't get held down for too long. The last guy I rolled with normally absolutely schools me so it was nice to survive.
Bad: was quite clumsy with my arms today hence getting caught with armbars. Also tapped quite early which is good but also leaves me thinking I should have been able to wriggle out, especially as he put them on very slowly and gently instead of the usual oafs trying to rip my elbow apart, but then hindsight is always 20/20.

Finished off with 10 x 10 rope pulls, 5 x 10 double pulls
These felt stronger and faster than usual.

Had my first serving of Nature's Whey Ultra-V Ignite - very very filling!

[mouche]

Tuesday 29th May
Beginners' MMA
Drill: single-leg takedown from standing, couple of variations
Sparring: didn't get any taps, got tapped once (armbar)

Positives: immediately created a scramble in my first round with Pippa (purple belt in a gi) and almost took her back, but wasn't able to choke her. Again, throughout all my rounds I stayed really active and awkward, getting knees in between me and my partner before they get into dominant positions, defending attempted submissions
Negatives: obviously still having trouble controlling my arms as I'm starting to get armbarred again. Lost a few good positions though Ben claims the guy only pulled it off because he was physically bigger so could hook his legs around more easily (not to mention the weight difference), but I obviously don't buy it.
Overall am pleased with my roll tonight, felt very strong and determined and worked hard.

Cardio: 20 minutes x-trainer (level steady
0.5miles in 4.40
1mile in 8.31
2miles in 16.16
20 minutes: 2.47miles

10 x 10 rope pulls

Legs were shattered for first 3 minutes of my x-trainer session, but recovered well and I am pleased with my times considering the previous class. Rope pulls were alarmingly fast and strong again tonight. A good session all round I think!

[mouche]

Wednesday 30th May
Beginners' MMA
Drill: armbar and variations
Sparring: no taps either way

Happy: rolled with Steph, spent most of my time in her half-guard then in mount, then rolled with little Brazilian guy, caught a triangle I was unable to finish, took his back but was unable to finish, got in his half-guard but he reversed it... Basically just a lot more active and awkward, and very happy I am now doing that as well as starting to attack again.
Sad: obviously disappointed not to finish submissions and to have been swept, but overall can't complain about this session!

Strength and conditioning
Olympic lifting technique
Leg work: 3-4 short sets of highly explosive plyo work with long recoveries - squat jumps, mountain climbers, calf hops
Upper body: lots of pressups - mountain-climber pressups, narrow, walk-arounds, wide - one set of each, then the whole circuit again back-to-back
Abs: slow, small crunches finishing off with straight-legged holds

Happy: plyo work was fantastic, really nice to see how explosive I can be when I know I have a long recovery, abs worked hard and felt strong
Sad: managed the lower limit of each set of pressups in the first sets, but took numerous breaks in the continuous circuit

Overall, another good session. Legs felt sucked dry of any will to live by the time I got home!

[mouche]

Thursday 31st May
Beginners' MMA
Drill: chimora and variations
Sparring: no taps either way
2 rounds, one with a pretty useless small guy who just wanted to go absolutely nuts and try and rip my head off from within my guard, so I just let him tire himself out while I chilled out, one with 16 year old super tank who was gentle and respectful but made me work just hard enough.

Positives: created a lot of scrambles
Negatives: got into a couple of silly positions but got out of them fairly swiftly so I'm pretty happy overall

15 minutes upright bike (level
1km in 5:10
2km in 9:21
2.5km in 11:25
3km in 13:29
15mins: 3.38km

5 minutes hand crank (level 2)
4 minutes at 75-80rpm
30 seconds at 80-90rpm
15 seconds above 95rpm
maximum 128rpm

Abs: slow progression as in yesterday's conditioning
Stretching
10mins stepper 70-80 steps per minute

Feeling a bit tired and sore today, legs and hips very tired, hip flexor a bit niggly from mountain climbers, shoulder sore from god knows what, neck sore after grappling, but overall pleased with the session. Getting close to overtraining for the week I think.

[mouche]

Monday 04th June
Beginners' MMA
Drill: escapes from armbar
Sparring: one round with Steph, one round with very average weird guy, didn't get any taps either way.
Dominated both rounds but didn't manage to pull anything off.

Tried out some new abs with Ben.

Been a very lazy couple of days and it showed. Felt very tired and rusty, but still strong. Also ate way too much at lunch (which was at 4pm) and body just hasn't really functioned properly since. Shit happens.