Taekwando - fighting stances and Jenny Craig

I was proud of myself for actually getting up and out the door in time to take my first Saturday Taekwando class, which starts at 8:30. With getting ready, walking the dogs and eating breakfast, sometimes Saturday morning classes (aka Spinning) don't happen as planned. Since next semesters classes will be on Mondays, I'm looking to take classes on Saturdays so I can still go a few days a week.

Unfortunately my other classmate was also on call for work, he had to head out halfway through class. So I got a semi-private class, where we worked a bit on stances and my side kicks.

So for the stances, there are 2 main fighting stances I need to be concerned with at this point, and another stance which is mainly used for training:

• L stance - front foot facing forward, backfoot facing to the side, about a shoulders width apart. weight is about 70% on the back foot, 30% on the front, this is mainly a defensive stance. Want to make sure that the front foot is not blocking the rear, so that when I need to shift into a kick, I don't have to go around my front leg and lose momentum. Shoulders are facing over the front facing foot.
• Forward stance - I'm a little fuzzy on this one, but legs/feet are similar to the L stance, but about a shoulders width and a half apart. It felt a little awkward, it doesn't feel like a very ladylike position. Weight is more forward, and facing is almost at an angle.
• Horse stance is not a fighting stance - feet are parallel, about shoulders width and a half apart. Balance is more on the outside of the foot, knees above ankles. It's like a squat. This pose is mainly used for training, since you don't have much stability front to back. It works the legs, which should eventually help with the kicks.

We also worked a bit on my side kicks, since they were feeling a bit like my roundhouse kicks. Leg swings up to a table position (flat with knee bent, facing back), and then knee extends to hit the target. Important with the side kick (and front kicks for that matter), is that you are kicking down a line, to strike the target straight on, where the roundhouse comes a bit from the side. Another point we worked on was the counter balance. Similar to the punches we worked on earlier in the week, the reaction to my kick is a slight twist of the torso. It sounds awkward, but going through it a few times it made sense, and I felt like a had a little more power behind me. I also need to work on power, not neccessarily height which I have a good grasp on. Targets will not always be on the same level, it's good to have a variety of methods to choose from.

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Sunday was also my first WI for Jenny Craig, and I was down .8 lbs. I have to admit I was a bit dissapointed, but with my history of weight loss I know that's decent for me. Since I was struggling towards the end of the week with being very hungry, I've temporarily been bumped up from 1500 calories to 1700 calories. So far so good, but tonight will be the first test. I have also found that hot tea helps me get through the afternoon a bit better, so I have be substituting tea in for my afternoon hot chocolate. I do have to admit though that I miss the milky way hot chocolate, but I'm trying to keep my potential wedding dress in mind.

The food on JC has been suprisingly good, with a few exceptions with the shelf stable lunches. My councelor said that other people have had similar comments, and was more than happy to swap the similar lunches. I've been quite happy with the breakfasts, dinners, snacks and the majority of the lunches, though the anytime bars could use some work. Though I always felt that I ate a lot of fruits, veggies and dairy, I'm making more of a concentrated effort now to get these in. And I'm learning to substitute - I don't drink milk except in my coffee, so I'm eating a lot more yogurt. I'm keeping a variety of fruits & veggies in the house as well so I don't get bored.

Taekwando & self-defense

Last nights class was just myself and one of the teenage girls, plus the instructor obviously. While the majority of taekwando is kicking (about 70%), there is an element of punching and blocking that is also done. The instructor said that most schools have an emphasis on the kicking side, but his master, and now my instructor, have an emphasis on being more well-rounded (hence the running, which in the past week has actually been dodge ball which is a fun way to warm up, and all the yoga/stretching).

Since it was just two of us who are relatively new to taekwando, we had a lecture/Q & A period going over punches and blocks. There are a few rules that apply to the majority of the moves (though I know I'm going to butcher some of them, and I don't know a lot of the terms. But it make sense to me). Release blocks don't necessarily follow these patterns, and at a higher level, your reaction to the punch might be your core instead of your opposite arm. But for a beginner, this is what I need to remember.

1. Each punch has a contraction before the action - for example, if I'm doing a forward punch, I prepare by bringing my elbow back on the prepare (count 1), then forward for count 2
2. Each punch has a reaction - with the example of my forward punch, I would do a rear elbow strike. The reaction helps with balance - the action of the forward punch would bring my balance slightly forward, the rear elbow strike would help to counter that.
3. each punch has a twist for more power - think of if you were trying to push a screwdriver into the wall, to give it a little more oomph, you would twist it to get more force. In the forward punch, when I pull my elbow back, I face my closed hand up. When I punch forward, I twist at the end. Supposedly this is why boxers put Vaseline on their face (and I always thought it was sweat!), because the twist caused skin to tear.
4. In cases where the prepare move (count 1) cross (if I was doing an elbow block with an outside sudo, which is like a chop with the pinky side if your hand), then the arm striking/blocking with the pinky side is on top, or the arm closest to your body. If the punch/block hits on the thumb side, it's the bottom arm.

We also talked about on directions as well as upper (neck up)/middle(about waist to shoulders)/low (about below waste) zones. If I was fighting an opponent larger than me, what might be a mid height action for me, if I hit in a lower zone would be considered a low punch/block/kick etc. But for the most part I would be working with the heavy bag or an opponent my size.

Also did a little more work on patterns, and I'm starting to understand the words a bit more (though I'm sure my spelling is way off, I'm thinking phonetically, and I'm not the best at new languages). suju jurugi was the 4-way punch, and suju maki was the 4-way block. And the trick with the 4 way block - the right hand is aways on top (rule #4) when the right 4-way block:-)

And last nights taekwando class was one of the reasons I had been interested in trying out martial arts for a while - self-defense. While I've been very fortunate not to have been in a situation where I have needed such knowledge, I don't think you can be too careful. A semi-recent situation a coworker of mine was in kind of solidified it for me. We did some discussion and practice on getting out of certain situations, just some things to keep in mind. They weren't necessarily taekwando related, but the goal is to get out of the situation and to safety.

Taekwando - week 5 and Jenny Craig - day 1

I ended up joining Jenny Craig yesterday, and have currently joined with the 4 month plan. I might upgrade to the full plan, but I need to check with my weight loss benefit first to make sure that they will reimbuse the program. With my blue cross blue shield health insurance, I get both a weight loss and fitness benefit incentive, where if you pay $300, you get back $150. It's a fantastic benefit if you can take advantage of it. I'm not sure either JC or my gym counts for them though.

I found out though that I'm about 10 lbs about where I thought I was, which was a bit of a shock. That puts me about 4 lbs above my WW start. So I have about 40 lbs to go to get to my goal. I know it's going to take me more than 4 months to reach that, which is why I am considering the full plan.

I didn't know much about JC going in, but they seem to have a solid program. To start though you rely on their food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and at least one snack. You supliment the meals with milk/yogurt as well as fruits and veggies. it gets mixed up throughout the week (at least on the pre-planned menu I too). I'm at 1500 calories to start, but once I get about 1/2 way to goal it drops down to 1200 - not sure how well that will work for me. Also about that 1/2 way point (I think), you start working off of the JC foods to making your own stuff, until you get to a point where you don't need to rely on the JC food. The ultimate goal is that the program has shown you the right portions and way to eat, their food is just the guide to get there.

And I have to say, so far I'm happy with the food, with the exception of the cookies and cream anytime bars which were just OK (though semi-filling with a piece of fruit). My menu today (I did skip the kiwi though, and I had a tea with a splash of milk this afternoon). I did get a bit hungry after work but before dinner, so I had my soup a bit early. My JC coach wants me to each every 3 hours, but since I eat breakfast close to 9 most days and lunch is as 12, I don't know if I will eat between that other than a piece of fruit if I do get hungry.

B: Cranberry Almond Cereal (JC)
3/4c bluberries, 3/4 c 2% greek yogurt (100 cal)
coffee w/1/4c milk, 2 equals (1 limited free food?)

S1: Cookies & cream anytime bar (JC)
peach

L: Turkey burger (JC)
Garden salad w/butter lettuce & raddicio, shredded carrots, dill alfalfa sprouts & JC balsamic dressing

S2: kiwi
~1 c green pepper strips & cucumber slices

D: Spaghetti & meatballs (JC)
Minestone supertizer (JC)
1.5 c summer squash & zucchini sauted in 1 tsp EVOO

S3: Cinnamon Twist cookies (JC)Yoplait light yogurt

The totals for today - unfortunaly, calcium in the body bugg is tracked in mg, and packaging does it in %, so I don't usually enter it in. But I've had a lot today. I'm very happy to see sodium so low, I'm usually much higher. Fiber is about where I usually am (maybe a little lower), but with much less calories.

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I had one of those nights in taekwando which I wish I had already lose those 40 lbs however. Tonight we were focused on splits again, and I know my legs will be killing me tomorrow, I'm already a little stiff even with stretching. And I am flexible, and can get within a few inches even without that much practice in a straddle split (box splits are much much easier and I don't even need to use my arms for support). But the instructor, trying to help everyone get more into their straddle splits, had each of us hold onto his arms so we could lower into the straddle split. And I got pretty darn close, until my left foot cramped up for a minute. Granted, I probably weigh less than the guys there tonight, though not by much. But the two girls there are tiny little things, mainly because one is 9 and the other is 14 or 15. Though I don't think I was that tiny at either of those ages. And the instructor is super strong and was able to hold all of us, but it's a little embarassing since I probably outweigh them by quite a bit. I guess it's more incentive.

So outside of the focus on flexibility, we did some drills, and worked high double kicks (side kicks where you kick twice without putting your leg down between, it requires a lot of core strenth and flexibility to get the height). They I got a little scared when he bought out the sheilds since I guess they have been used in the past for jumping (I was worried enough tripping over the heavy bag), but instead we were focused on side kicks to get the ball off the top of the target.

I need to work on my initial kicks, and then trying to get my hip to turn more so my foot starts to face down, right now I tend to kick with toes more up. And trying to practice it right now, I can already feel the muscle soreness setting in.

With that, it's off to run the dogs out, and hit the showers! Hoping for another good JC day tomorrow.

Will I try Jenny?

Inspired by C.G. and another former weight watchers friend, I actually called Jenny Craig this afternoon to see about signing up. I have my first appointment for noon tomorrow. Unfortunately, all the centers seem to be 30 min or so away, so this may not last too long. I'd prefer to go on weekend late morning, but that doesn't seem like an option for some of the sites. I don't want to miss out out going to the gym, but unfortunately I think I'll be missing walking the dogs for a bit.

I wanted to try to go in person since there is a level of accountability, and I honestly hate talking on the phone. Plus you have to pay for shipping if you choose the at home program, and that seems a little silly when I can just as easily drive up there. They have a coupon on the site for the first week - 7 Breakfasts, 7 Lunches, 7 Dinners and 7 Snacks free, but I'm not sure if that can be done in conjunction with the $20 for 20 lbs or 10 weeks deal. Evidently the sign up is $399 without that, in which case I will be walking out (I'd rather attempt to find a personal chef service for that! Not that I have any ideas how much that is).

So some people may think this is cheating, but for me I'm looking at it to try it for a month or so, and try to re lose some of what I have gained over the past couple of years since making lifetime at Weight Watchers. My portion control needs some work, but mainly I need to just stop snacking. I need some more structure, so I'm thinking this will help to put me back on track. They do have some recipes, and from skimming through them they remind me of the lower point recipes for weight watchers. But there is a certain convenience of being able to just grab something and go. The Fiance is already on board with fending for himself for a while, we usually eat dinners together but not usually breakfast & lunch (except on weekends depending on what is going on) or snacks.

I am a bit worried about dealing with certain events - I have a tapas dinner coming up in a week and a half (with one of the girls who just started Jenny, so this could be good), and the Fiance and I are heading to Bermuda for a long weekend at the end of the month. But maybe the first few weeks leading up to our trip will be enough to feel a little better about braving a bathing suit for our trip?

Ultimately I want to be able to lose this 25-30 lbs, and get back into my goal weight clothes. I'm not looking at a single weight, but a range where I know I have some wiggle room not to freak out. Losing is hard; I've been through this process enough times now to know that maintenance is just as hard for me, once the novelty of getting to goal has worn off. And I have a nice white dress I'm going to want to look fantastic in, coming up in the next year or so!

Fruit 2 Day

As a member of BzzAgent, my fiance occasionally receives offers to try new products, which he can accept of decline. Late last week he received 2 free coupons to try Fruit2Day, as well as some sample coupons to pass onto friends if he likes it. Each pack comes with 2 drinks, in Strawberry Orange, Pineapple Banana, Mango Peach, and Cherry Grape.

After looking in 4 different stores, he was finally able to locate this product in Hannafords Supermarket, which is a bit out of the way for us. Granted, my town doesn't currently have a grocery store, and the two closest stores to us are small and not exactly known for carrying a ton of stuff. So depending on where you live it may be easier to find.

We chose the Strawberry Orange, since that sounded the most appealing of all the flavors to us. I would also like to try the pineapple banana.

The Nutritionals:

Ingredients:Strawberry pieces, apple juice from concentrate and puree, white grape juice from concentrate, orange juice with pulp from concentrate, banana puree, pineapple pieces and puree, aronia berry juice from concentrate, acerola cherry juice from concentrate, natural flavor.

The Verdict:
This is not really a beverage or a smoothie, but rather a thicker drink base with chunks of fruit. The texture is much thicker than a smoothie, but I got some nice pieces of strawberry & pineapple, as well as orange pulp. I LOVE my orange juice pulpy since I think it's more filling, and I think this is along those lines. I do like the flavor, though for some this may be a bit on the sweet side. I would consider this more of a dessert than a glass of juice with breakfast, and in fact I did try this for dessert.

I don't see any mention of anything organic, so if this is a concern you may want to pass this by. Some of the juice used is from concentrate, and there is "natural flavor" added, but no sugar which is a plus. As for covering 2 fruit servings though, the downside is that 110 calories is about 2 pieces of fruit, but with only 1 gram of fiber you're missing out on some of the benefits of having the actual fruit.

I would buy this again, though it's something I would probably look for on sale rather than something I would always have on my list. In the summer I like have fruit or fruit juice for dessert, so this fits well into that category. It's kind of a lazy man's fruit serving, but for someone who gets in plenty of fruits & veggies, and tends to want something quick and easy after the gym, this is a good option.

**UPDATE** I had my Fruit2Day last night around 6:30, after eating dinner (but skipped the gym since dinner took longer to cook than expected). I was satisfied enough that I wasn't tempted to snack, which is unusual for me.

New Giveaway from Uncovernig Food

CG at Uncovering Food is giving away a sample of of 3 Boundless Nutrition Oatmega 3 Wellness bars (love the name!). This looks like a yummy food find, and something that would be great for me as a nice treat after those killer 2 hour tae kwan do sessions!

taekwando - week 4

So I'm still going at it, the running part is getting marginally better, but running has always been a challenge for me. At least on the plus side I know that the flexibility part is pretty good from my years of yoga, so if I ever do make it to a black belt I'll do fine with that portion of the test. I guess I have a few years to worry about that though.

There still feels like there is so much to remember, one thing I do like is that we usually do line drills near the beginning of class so we focus again on form.

Today we were focusing on our roundhouse kicks again, and I found that Ive been slacking a bit and coming in at a 45 degree angle, where the instructor wants us to start almost in a front kick, and get the power on the pivot, but have your torso facing towards the target, where your next move would most likely be to come in with a punch. Problem I see is that at barely 5'4", most of my opponents will probably be taller, and therefore have longer arms.

One of the discussions today was on finding your best style, because although others may disagree, size does matter (I tried not to snicker at this, but I digress). I'm not a 220 6' tall guy, I'm over half a foot shorter and weight less (not as much less as I'd like, but that's also digressing) but I'm probably more flexible. I'm not sure if speed is going to be more of my friend, since I'm not going to have as much power behind me as someone who is bigger. This is something I'll be discovering as I progress.

I'd like to say taekwando is helping me lose weight, but i think eating as much as I have been over the weekends kind of counteracts that. Right now I'm going on Mondays and Wednesdays, but the Saturday classes seem pretty quiet so I might try those as well and skip that spinning since I usually do Tues and Friday spinning anyway.

I also think I need to start being more diligent about yoga again, 20 minutes yoga stretching is good, but I'm thisclose to being able to hold a crow pose now. Flexibility is a part of taekwando, even if it doesn't get as much notice as kicking and punching. Pilates helps with my core strength, where the power originates, but the flexibility helps with my height and my aim.

Practice will hopefully make perfect! Or at least a yellow belt one of these days.

DONE!!!

I just submitted my final paper for the semester, a couple of days early. I am now free until next semesters classes start on Sept 14. But since I only go to school part time, my "summer break" will be spent working. With a long weekend to Bermuda thrown in there end of August, but still. Summer definitly isn't the same as when I was in school. Even though at Northeastern I had summer/fall classes and winter/spring co-ops, I used to try to get a little break even when working part time through undergrad.

The while I'm looking forward to next semesters class (Leadership), I am dissapointed as class meets on Monday nights. I will have Yom Kippur and Columbus day off (that one from work too), but it looks like the last day of class will be Nov 23 so that will be something to look forward to.

A love of Goat Cheese

When on of my favorite local restarants in the area closed, O'Naturals, there were two menu items I missed the most - the tomato vegetable soup, and the Goat Cheese Flatbread sandwich. While I have other soups that I also enjoy, I have not found other flatbreads quite like theres (though I haven't looked *too* hard), and I wasn't sure what kind of goat cheese they used as the ones I tried in the past weren't quite the same.

When DF had to travel to Portland ME this week, he took a side trip to O'Naturals and got my sandwhich, as well as a loaf of flatbread. I enjoyed my sandwhich for lunch on Friday, but wanted to do something else with the loaf of flatbread (about 8-10 sandwiches worth). While at the farmers market today I found herbed goat cheese in addition to the plain, so I picked up some of that. I also got some carrots and cucumber, but unfortunatly forgot the sprouts.

The sandwich is quite simple, slice the flat bread in half, schmear 1 half (or both) with gthe goat cheese, and layer in the sliced cucumber and julienned carrots. Add sprouts if available, and you have a tasty and refreshing sandwich (that I think goes very well with tomato veggie soup...)

Sidelined

I had a good clip going to the gym this week, Sunday was Step Bosu, Mon and Wed were Taekwando, and Tues was pilates reformer and spinning. My plan for Thursday was to go to pilates reformer as well, but somewhere between driving home and getting out of my car on Thurs afternoon I tweaked my right calf. So until then I'm taking it easy, spinning (My usual Friday night class) is probably not the best idea. This is probably a good thing, since I do need to finish my term paper so I can be DONE with this semester!