TRAINING WITH MR. T
Public Service Announcement: If you have abs, stay at least 10 km away from me (by the way it's km, not miles; come join the rest of the world people). An 8 pack? Oh, please. I will flat out refuse to acknowledge you and your stupid chiseled features. Who even needs 8 abs on display? You're being selfish and I can't respect that.
I have no problem being more bitter than Angostura. Don't expect me to feel bad about sulking over something that's completely under my control. I'm a borderline Millennial; on the cusp if you will. According to those Baby Boomers we expect results with out the work, which I think is a fitting description for my relationship with my abs. And realistically, if I were to be painted with that brush of entitlement attitude just because some old geezer thinks that's the case for all youngsters, I'll happily act like that. I'm a people pleaser, I'll give you want you want to complain about. Just like I will complain about my figure.
I've started to taper my junk food intake. Reluctantly. I can't stress that part enough. Transitioning into a Keto diet again after some intense binging is not easy. Seeing as I forgot my meal prep lunch today, I'm going to say it's not going as well as it could be. Anyway, up at 5:00am to try and sweat off some of my flab. Azza was a no show so Mr T took the class. He broke my 10 km rule.
We started with three rounds of 100 skips, 10 push ups, 5 burpees and a stair run before warming up on the bag with our rounds of uppers, straights, hooks and over heads. After the warm up we jumped on pads and worked through the following three combos:
Jab, right hand, right elbow, grapple on and 2 back knees
Jab, right hand, right elbow, grapple on and 2 back knees, right kick, left hook, right hand, step in left kick
Jab, right hand, right elbow, grapple on and 2 back knees, right kick, left hook, right hand, step in left kick, leg kick, light right body kick, power right body kick.
In between each combo we had to squat and do 2 punches overhead, increasing them by 2 until you reached 20.
After pads we did some strength and conditioning which included planks, running man, sit ups, leg raises, static leg raise hold, and push ups. Even if it is only for 10 minutes, try and do some core work where you can. A strong core is extremely important and beneficial. I'll blog about the benefits in another post.
After class I went and did some pads with Rock. I wasn't overly impressed with my performance this morning but I definitely feel like my balance is better. I can tell the difference in my kicks and general stability, but that also has to do with strengthening my core. Rock was awesome as always. He taught me a long boxing combo which I actually picked up - he was excited.
edit: I wrote about how Azza, my trainer and friend, didn't turn up to training on this day. Azza is the type of person who could run a marathon, travel to the other side of the earth and back, and still be at the gym before sunrise to train his clients. I found it strange when he didn't show, but brushed it off with an array of excuses. I was too busy preparing my insults for the next day when I would see him so I could pull him up on missing training, just like he does to me. How I wish I got to insult him the next day.
I received a call for my partner who broke the news that Azza had sadly passed away. He died suddenly from a pulmonary embolism while cooking dinner. Tragedy is the only word that comes to mind. Actually "fuck" made a few appearances, too. It's heart breaking. For his daughters, family, friends, clients. He touched so many people. Someone I saw almost everyday will no longer be in my life. His larger than life personality is something no one can pretend we don't know is missing either. We will constantly be reminded of his absence. I will tribute him in a seperate post, but I wanted to express something on this post. If you take one thing away, let it be this:
Life is short. Too short. Nothing in the short time we live matters more than relationships, memories and happiness. Let those grudges go. Forget those stupid fights. Swallow your pride. Don't let something so small and unimportant steal time in which you can be creating memories and laughing with loved ones. Enjoy every moment you have here, and spend with people; we never know how much time anyone has left. When you find yourself alone, having said goodbye to those you love, you will only have memories to keep you company. It's your job to create ones that make you smile, not those that fill you with regret and thoughts of "I wish I did it differently...".
I spent 10 years preparing for my Mum's eventual loss to Cancer, only to learn you cannot prepare for it. I always comforted myself knowing I had been through that process and learnt that lesson early; so I would be fine next time. Well, I was wrong. I can no longer be comforted by that. The news of someone I see every day being taken so unfairly, in an instant, is truly terrifying to me. However it only reinforces how important creating relationships, memories, and happiness is. Because at the end of the day that's all that matters, that's all we have left, the scary part is no one knows when it's the end of the day until it's too late.
E.xx
