The Year of the Mouche

[mouche]

Monday 9th July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: head-arm choke (from side control, jumping over to other side)
Sparring: 4 rounds - didn't get any taps, got tapped twice (choke by Martin, ankle lock by guy in Thai shorts to which I tapped early)

Final round with the wife of the Oxford gym's owner who apparently trains an hour a day with one of the best black belts in the country, weighs about 56kg according to coaches, 65kg according to Ben. She was strong but I didn't struggle with her strength - struggled with the tightness of all her techniques; she had noticeably better control of my legs than most people I have grappled with before. Got interrogated by all the coaches after and today so it must have been a big deal! She would have won the round as she got side-control and mount, but no submissions, and I swept her at one point.

Thumbs up: got a brilliantly fast escape from an armbar attempt from Martin, pulled guard successfully a few times, made use of my half-butterfly to delay any attacks, very nearly completed a triangle on my second sparring partner, and swept my female sparring partner.
Thumbs down: obviously, got choked, but not too disappointed as Martin has learnt loads of new tricks from his gi work. Need to learn to pull guard more convincingly in a way that doesn't result in an ankle lock being put on me, and to be faster with my triangles.

Pleased with the session overall, and Ben reckons it was the best he's seen me grapple ever.

[mouche]

Tuesday 10th July
Afternoon off in lieu so got in to the gym nice and early to do some relaxed lifting.

Deadlift:
Worked up to singles at 70kg again, adjusting foot position and really focusing on keeping my hips low. Had to stop possibly a little earlier than we might have done as left knee was crunching, not painfully but enough to distract me from what I was meant to be doing (raised the alarm as it had hurt in grappling yesterday - suspected bursitis).

Bench:
5 x 20kg bar
2 x 40kg - easy!
1 x 45kg - strong
1 x 47.5kg - right elbow a little sore before the lift, right arm struggled with the lift but the bar went up! (PB)

Chin-ups:
3 x palms facing out
3 x palms facing out, jump straight into first rep
3 x palms facing in, jump straight into first rep
Had a little help from Ben, but apparently I did each of the first reps on my own, and may have done all three of the first set. Still won't be happy until I'm doing them completely on my own though.

Abs:
20 reps of 4 of the most horrible Swiss ball ab exercises I have ever done.

[mouche]

Wednesday 11th July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: spinning knee-bar from half guard
Sparring: 2 rounds (one with Steph, one with some tiny kid), no taps either way

Boring grappling tonight, both partners were probably about the same sort of level as me so were good enough to stop me doing anything but weren't able to attempt much themselves. Personally was very disappointed with my session but Ben said it was a good one, predominantly because I responded to instructions very quickly and accurately.

Strength & Conditioning
Thought there were only going to be two of us tonight, so we went down to do some deadlifting, but then people showed up so we had to do a more standard class
Lifting matrix: block 1 (straight-leg deadlift, row, clean, press), block 2 (2 pressups on bar, jump legs in to deadlift, deadlift, two bent-over rows), block 3 (2 x wide squat, 2 x narrow squat, 2 x snatch balance - too heavy for me so replaced snatch balance with jerk)
5 x block 1, rest, 5 x block 2, rest, 5 x block 3
4 x 1, 4 x 2, 4 x 3
3 x 1, 3 x 2, 3 x 3
4 x 1, 4 x 2, 4 x 3
Cardio: x-trainer intervals (2mins level 8, 1min30 level 10, 1min level 12, 45sec level 14, 30sec level 16, with recovery in between) - total of about 8 minutes on the x-trainer, 0.89mile
Abs: 8 x 30 routine backwards with rest in between exercises

Was grouchy because wrist was too sore/tired/weak to do the lifting properly but in all honesty it was a pretty good and tough session.

[Talyn]

Did you train everyday you were on holiday? You're very dedicated!

1 x 47.5kg

Solid work. Nearly at bodyweight bench then!

[mouche]

Thank you!

I know, bodyweight bench is so close, really want to pass the 50kg barrier soon but progress is slow! Though if I compete I could probably drop to 48kg, by which time I'd expect to be lifting at least that much, so that would be a bodyweight bench

As for the holiday, well, "train" is probably a strong word to use but I think we did do something every day... the rest of the time, though, we were lying in the sun or sitting on the couch so I probably still expended less energy than normal! Normally wouldn't have logged something as small as a set of pressups, but I was making good progress on my pressups so couldn't resist

[Talyn]

Though if I compete I could probably drop to 48kg, by which time I'd expect to be lifting at least that much, so that would be a bodyweight bench

Just fyi - based on GBPF, the current national qualifying totals for women are 177.5kg for the 47kg class, and 192.5kg for the 52kg class.

With your current bench, and squat & deadlift 1RM's from the strength table, you're sitting on 207.5kg.

Food for thought.

[mouche]

Thanks Talyn, I like your thinking However, I haven't gotten much training in at all yet so holding off any serious thoughts of competition until I have done some more training - haven't squatted since my first 1RM testing session months ago, and still working on deadlift technique - and visited a powerlifting club to see what people there think!

Thursday 12th July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: transition armbar - triangle - omoplata
Sparring: 3 rounds (didn't get any taps, got tapped once by an armbar with about 2 seconds to go)

Was specifically instructed to go nuts tonight, to attack with anything and everything I could think of, at the risk of getting tapped 10 or 20 times. Need to learn to get more aggressive and more adventurous. Though I didn't make a huge amount of submission attempts I certainly went pretty crazy and was possibly the most active I have ever been. Need to keep working at that pace!

Abs class
Surprisingly tough class tonight, but annoyingly my neck was fatiguing more than my abs. Took a few little breathers during some sets so I could continue the slow positional exercises with correct form and timing.

[mouche]

Friday 13th July
Beginners' MMA (Luiz)
Drill: calf crush from side control
Sparring: one round, with Luiz, until he tapped me (knee on belly, of all things) - felt like 10 minutes, was probably like 3

Felt very strong tonight. Very determined too. Although I knew he was my instructor and there was no way I would tap him with any of my basic beginners' techniques, I still attempted a triangle, an armbar, and numerous chokes - I could see him leaving me openings, testing me for my reactions and aggressiveness presumably, and anyway it's good for me to practice attacks. Resorted to all my grimiest techniques, namely grinding my chin into the back and side of his head when I couldn't get a rear naked choke on. Petty, but it was all I had.

Surprised at how long my muscle strength lasted, until all of a sudden everything just seemed to flop, which is when the knee on the belly situation occurred - resisted for a long time, but when the feelings of sickness and suffocation and the realisation that I just couldn't get away from it all came together it seemed a good time to tap.

[mouche]

Sunday 15th July
Strength & Conditioning
Lifting matrix: 5 x 1, 4 x 1, 5 x 2, 4 x 2, 5 x 3, 4 x 3; 3 x 1, 2, 3; 4 x 1, 2, 3; 5 x 1, 2, 3
Medicine ball balance/coordination work
Legs: 3 x 5 single-leg squats onto bench, 3 x 10 squat jumps down to bench
Abs: 8 x 30 backwards

Only 3 of us, so was a relaxed technical session, and I've also been eating too much and feeling sluggish so I did some cardio to finish:

1 mile x-trainer level 8
0.5mile 3:14
1mile 6:14
Think there was something wrong with the distance counter as there is no way I did it that fast - even if I did have an amazing session, it didn't even feel like an effort, so definitely something wrong

5mins hand crank level 3
2mins 80-85rpm
2mins 70-75rpm
1min 80-110rpm (max speed 111rpm)

10mins stepper, 15mins recline bike, stretching

[mouche]

Monday 16th July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: table takedown
Sparring: 14 minute round with Ben, no taps either way but he was sort of instructing me as well

14 minutes! No wonder I felt so goddamn tired. Was a little wary of not squeezing Ben's face which has been injured for some time now, but still vaguely attempted a calf-crush, a few triangles, a few armbars, a couple of chimoras. Had a bit of trouble getting my mind into it because I was rolling with Ben - far from being an excuse, this is a definite sign I need to learn to switch my aggression on. Felt tired to start with, and gassed quite badly towards the end but this was more psychological I think. Still quite pleased overall.

[mouche]

Tuesday 17th July
Didn't make it to the gym because of work so worked out at home, and felt like I needed some long steady boring cardio:

Pressups to fatigue - 52
10mins x-trainer level 6
15mins stepper level 10
20mins upright bike level 7
8 x 30 abs

Pleased with the pressups, and abs felt strong. Legs are tired though.

[mouche]

Wednesday 18th July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: table takedown from back, followed by headlock choke
Sparring: 2 5-min rounds, no taps either way

Nearly caught a couple of triangles, just didn't seem to have enough left in my legs to squeeze properly. Got a couple of really nice sweeps, spent some time in mount, got a knee on a belly but couldn't quite pass. Went for a couple of guillotines but didn't get convincingly close.

Strength & Conditioning
Dynamic full-body circuit with 10kg bar: 5 exercises - 8 reps, 10 reps, 12 reps with rests
Shoulder and upper back circuit with 2kg dumbbells: 4 exercises - 16 reps, 18 reps, 20 reps with rests
X-trainer intervals: 1min-ish efforts of varying intensities
Abs: slow controlled exercises

Impressed myself with the circuit work, really just hit it hard and fast and dealt with the pain, but had nothing in me for the x-trainer. Got a bit grouchy and panicky so it might have just all been in my mind but I couldn't seem to make my legs move. Abs were fine but the burn was disgusting, and my neck was tired.

Lower back is starting to ache a bit and I keep catching myself hyper-extending, Ben says my abs are now too strong so we will need to do some lower-back work.

Physically haven't felt quite right this week, probably paying the price for feeling invincible last week. So it goes.

[mouche]

Thursday 19th July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: footlock from guard pass (and escape)
Sparring: 2 rounds, no taps, got tapped twice (omoplata/chimora thing I'd never seen before, americana)

First guy tried to head-arm choke me straight away - he always tries this and I know he never gets it so I just gave myself as much air as I could and waited until he got tired. Quite an active round, got a couple of sweeps, stayed active. Second guy (think he must have weighed about 90kg, had big wrists making it really hard to grip him, and is quite advanced) immediately went for a footlock which I escaped. Again, fairly active round though I would have lost quite convincingly on points.

50 rope pulls
2 x 25 double rope pulls

20mins recline bike level 6
10mins x-trainer level 8
5mins stepper level 75
lots of stretching

Wasn't feeling good. Something is definitely not quite right with my body this week. Not feeling drained but just flat and a bit fuzzy-headed. Appetite is back though so that's good. Luckily I can't make it to training tonight due to a work event, because I don't think I'd have done very well and it just wouldn't have been a good idea.

[mouche]

Sunday 22nd July
Strength & Conditioning
3 x leg crank (with outs-to-ins and mountain climbers)
Balance and coordination work
Pressup circuit with rest in between sets (with head-touches and star pressups)
Abs: 3 sets of 5 exercises - 25, 20, 15 second efforts

25mins recline bike level 6 (level 4 for the last 5 minutes)

Nice straightforward class, really should have been able to push it to the absolute limits but although I worked hard, I wasn't pushing as hard as I could have. Straight from the warm-up I could tell things weren't quite right as I had absolutely no sort of oomph in my legs, even stretching felt pointless as I felt like I had no elasticity to my muscles (or no muscles whatsoever). Along with the other "symptoms" that have been dragging me down this week, it sounds like I am getting close to overtraining, so have been prescribed 4-7 days off with the exception of a very light 30min cardio session. Going to train tomorrow then take the rest of the week off training.

Still a pretty good class though, definitely am getting better at pushing the pace and dealing with the lactic burn.

[mouche]

Monday 23rd July
Beginners' MMA
Drill: side-control - 1min on the bottom, 1min on top, trying to escape/hold position, rotating partners
Sparring: 3 rounds, no taps, got tapped by a head-arm choke

The ups: Got 3 sweeps in total, ended the final round (reckon my partner weighed at least 80-85kg, although he was fairly inexperienced and unfit) in mount which is always a nice feeling. Almost got caught in an armbar at the end of the second round but saw it coming a mile away and escaped.
The downs: Just not with it this week still. Totally should have known better than to get myself into that head-arm choke, and couldn't be bothered to try and escape much.
The lowdown: Just need rest. Motivation is the lowest I can remember it (ever?) being, legs burn at the mere thought of the warm-up, heart racing unnaturally. Still got some decent moves going but nothing should have felt as hard as it did.