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Jan
23rdBack to My Karate
Last Wednesday saw me make my return to Funakoshi karate, for my first training session of 2012, after having enjoyed a nice month and bit holiday break from all the punching, kicking and shifting around. The break had been good, but I could feel it was definitely time to come back and get my knuckles dirty. Unfortunately for me though, I couldn’t have picked a worse night to start up again. With the Western Cape trapped in the burning clutches of an extreme heat wave the past week, the little dojo was like a mini furnace, and even the slightest of exertion earned you a soggy, clinging dogi as you battled to keep the sweat out of your eyes and hopefully off of the floor. It was pretty damaging and exhausting, and it has to be said, the karate on the night wasn’t exactly pretty. Still, at least I went, so that has to count for something! :P Mind you, it’s not like I went back completely unprepared. As a lead up, I have been doing my early morning jog/walks for the last while, and thanks to my newly discovered SmartTraining pedometer app on my Samsung Galaxy Ace smartphone, these sessions have turned into a daily mission of trying to beat the record of the day before! An added bonus is the addition of Chantelle and Jessica on some of these morning excursions, with Chantelle finally seeing the light of my madness and venturing out into the early morning sunlight, [...]
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Aug
19thTraining Regime Restart
Right, time to get back into the faithful old training regime, now that Spring seems to be finally creeping up on us, and all the Winter chest pains, bugs and coughs appear to have finally deserted me. The karateka have returned from the very successful gushku in Germany, meaning that karate training is now back on track for every Monday and Wednesday evening (though attendance from my part is always a 50/50 – if Chantelle is working a late then I’m needed for Daddy duty, no argument there!). I’ve started my weekly early morning jogs/walks again, now that it isn’t so cold any more, and for a change I can actually convince my body to get out of bed at 05:20! (On that topic, I rather impressed myself, having been able to pick up right where I left off on my first outing, resulting in a pretty chuffed Craig on his sweaty return.) Lunch time gym activity is also back on track, now with every 20 minute elliptical trainer session being complemented by a quick huff with some fixed weights before I have to hit the showers and make it back to the office for more quality time behind the keyboard. Lastly, the better weather does of course signal an increase in weekend pram strolls with Jessica, and now that she is a little older I can venture much further from home – she seems to enjoy them as she sleeps for the most part, while I basically get a [...]
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Aug
18thDekneecapitated
It would seem that the treadmills at Steenberg Virgin Active have suddenly all decided to rebel against me. So picture this. It’s lunch hour and I find myself happily kitted out in gym and ready to put in a quick 20 minute run before I return to my ball and chain back at the office.
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Jan
1stA Trojan in Our Midst
Now as I mentioned previously, I had surprised Chantelle by purchasing an elliptical trainer (or Orbitek as you might know it as from all those darn TV commercials they used to run a while back) for Christmas, and can now proudly say that as a man, it is currently standing fully assembled in the main living area, neatly tucked away in our newly created little fitness corner, complete with sagging exercise ball.
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Mar
15thCrunch Time
Hmm, the last couple of years I’ve been taking it easier and eating more than I used to, meaning that inevitably my waistline is beginning to expand. This never used to be a problem until I started noticing it while walking past mirrors etc. I still exercise a fair bit, basically 5 or 6 days a week, so the problem isn’t there. Rather it is the complete and utter lack of self control when it comes to food, especially muffins, doughnuts and ice-cream. Seeing that I don’t feel like giving those slices of heaven up just yet, I think I’ll need to approach this problem from a more archaic, sadistic point of view – stomach exercises. Crunches and sit-ups will now become my friend. Well at least for a week (hopefully more). Actually, I’ve made this resolve a lot the lost couple of years. So far no luck – Its like an oil-covered snail – not sticky.
