SO...I had my first class in 15 yrs......

[Bushido492]

And the class kicked my butt! I had to step off the training floor twice to keep from passing out. I have problems with low blood sugar, and i forgot to eat before class.

How long does it usually take to get back into the physical shape needed to go all out in class?

P.S.

I'm 38 yr. old 7th kyu Shuri Ryu, training under the direction of Hanshi Robert Bowles.

 

[terryl965]

First question to you have you been evaluated by a doctor to see if you have any limitation. Witht hat being said it all depends on you right now I'm working on loosing wieght and getting back in shape to do some tourney next year, I have given myself 8 months to get it done, I'm 48 and in not the great est shape and I'm following a sensible diet as well.

Give yourself time and rest when need be.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Happy to hear you started studying again. Sounds like you had a class to remember, but you made it to the end of class.
It takes different people different lengths of time but I would say by the end of you 6-8th class you should stat felling better about how it is going. each class should get easier to get through

 

[shesulsa]

First of all, let me commend you for going back!

Second of all, don't be daunted - keep working out!

 

[Bushido492]

First question to you have you been evaluated by a doctor to see if you have any limitation. Witht hat being said it all depends on you right now I'm working on loosing wieght and getting back in shape to do some tourney next year, I have given myself 8 months to get it done, I'm 48 and in not the great est shape and I'm following a sensible diet as well.

Give yourself time and rest when need be.

I'm in tip top shape, just had a complete check up about 7 months ago. I guess i really need to do some cardio workouts.

 

[Bushido492]

Happy to hear you started studying again. Sounds like you had a class to remember, but you made it to the end of class.
It takes different people different lengths of time but I would say by the end of you 6-8th class you should stat felling better about how it is going. each class should get easier to get through

I took time off to do my father duties...coaching baseball, watching daughter in cheerleading competitions. I've really missed the training and i am determined to go all the way now!

 

[terryl965]

I'm in tip top shape, just had a complete check up about 7 months ago. I guess i really need to do some cardio workouts.

Ok was not trying to be mean or anything just did not know the cardio would be excellent way of helping your training, I only mention the DR. because I train alot of people who just got over a heart attact or are diabetics or have something else wrong.

So with that being said you had a great class and remember to keep going and take your time when training and do alot of stretching before and after class.

 

[Grenadier]

And the class kicked my butt! I had to step off the training floor twice to keep from passing out. I have problems with low blood sugar, and i forgot to eat before class.

How long does it usually take to get back into the physical shape needed to go all out in class?

P.S.

I'm 38 yr. old 7th kyu Shuri Ryu, training under the direction of Hanshi Robert Bowles.

First, and foremost, congrats on getting back in the swing of things. From one Shuri practitioner to another, let me say "welcome back!"

Since you've been away for 15 years, conditioning the body takes several months, although with each month, you'll see definite improvement. I'm actually fairly sure that your ankles are sore (probably haven't run around barefooted for a while), that your calf muscles are aching, possibly the groin muscles, and especially the upper body, are screaming at you.

Remember, you're not a spry teenager anymore, and that you should take time to take care of the body. If you have access to a whirlpool, by all means use it!

Also, a single ibuprofen tablet taken just before class starts can help.

There's no shame in sitting out for a bit, to get your wind back, since again, it takes time to condition the body. You'll find yourself sitting less and less, as you get back in shape.

Most importantly, do some light stretching before you go to bed. This will also help speed up your recovery time.

You've got an excellent instructor in the way of Hanshi Robert Bowles, as well as Renshi Sandy Bowles. Talk to them sometime, and ask them about taking care of the body.

 

[Bushido492]

First, and foremost, congrats on getting back in the swing of things. From one Shuri practitioner to another, let me say "welcome back!"

Since you've been away for 15 years, conditioning the body takes several months, although with each month, you'll see definite improvement. I'm actually fairly sure that your ankles are sore (probably haven't run around barefooted for a while), that your calf muscles are aching, possibly the groin muscles, and especially the upper body, are screaming at you.

Remember, you're not a spry teenager anymore, and that you should take time to take care of the body. If you have access to a whirlpool, by all means use it!

Also, a single ibuprofen tablet taken just before class starts can help.

There's no shame in sitting out for a bit, to get your wind back, since again, it takes time to condition the body. You'll find yourself sitting less and less, as you get back in shape.

Most importantly, do some light stretching before you go to bed. This will also help speed up your recovery time.

You've got an excellent instructor in the way of Hanshi Robert Bowles, as well as Renshi Sandy Bowles. Talk to them sometime, and ask them about taking care of the body.

Great to see another Shuri Ryu karate-ka here! All those things you said about aching and screaming muscles are very true...lol.


P.S.

Where and who do you train under?

 

[IcemanSK]

Good for you for going back.

I agree with Terry. Go see your doctor & get checked out. Your low blood sugar is nothing to mess around with. Also, take it slow at first. There's no need to keep up with the younger ones in class or prove ya "still got it." Take it one step at a time.

 

[Grenadier]

Heh. Just remember, that there are all sorts of pain relief remedies that Hanshi probably has access to, and you may want to ask him about ordering you some, such as Possumon, Dit Dat Jow, etc. Should be pretty reasonably priced, and a little goes a long way.

Where and who do you train under?

I was with Kyoshi Ridgely Abele for a few years when I lived in SC, and with Sensei Fran Babbino when I lived in CT. Both great teachers, and I enjoyed my stays with their schools.

I would have loved to stay with the Shuri system, but alas, no schools in my area of Alabama, so I went to a different system.

I try to review my Shuri training once each week, but nothing beats formal training under a live instructor. I still get a good dose of Shuri training each year at the Symposium, though. This year's was a pretty thorough review.

 

[exile]

How long does it usually take to get back into the physical shape needed to go all out in class?

Hey Bushido---I started TKD a bit over three years ago, when I was 56. It took me about three months to be able to go all out, but I was doing a lot of cardio/weight training at the time. The kind of physcial demands in MA---both in the aerobic and anaerobic limits---are somewhat different from what ordinary cardio/iron workouts prepare you for, though.

(1) The kind of cardio most people do will give them pretty good endurance and improved cardiovascular capacity over a steady haul, and is an all-around good thing. But it doesn't prepare you particularly well for the intermittant high-intensity/lower intensity pace of most MA workouts---where you have to do ten minutes of serious kicking up and down the haul, with maybe some jumping or popup kicks thrown in, and then another five or six minutes of stances, block practice and other breath-catchers. There's only one way to prepare for that kind of workout---interval training. Not forty minutes of jogging, but twenty minutes (maybe in two ten-minute segments) of steady jog for 50 seconds and all-out spring---really, all out---for the remaining 10. That's not something to start with, though. When you can do half an hour at medium jog comfortably, throw in a five second all out sprint every two minutes or so. When you can do that OK (it never gets comfortable!) ramp it up to ten seconds. When you can handle that, do it every minute and cut your total running time down to twenty minutes. Start off by doing one of these sessions every third cardio work out, then two out of three, then every one. Don't do more than three of them a week, though. A couple of things will happen:

(i) You will lose bodyfat faster than you can imagine, once you get going. Intervals ramp up your metabolism to really high speed and keeps it there for a couple of days. Physiologically, the program I described will keep your body working almost as hard as it would on the basis of twenty minutes of all out sprinting, because you stay at a very elevated heart rate almost all the time you're jogging between the sprinting intervals.

(ii) Your ability to handle the intermittant extreme cardio demands of MA training will increase dramatically. In effect, you're training your body to accept the need for a rapidly accelerated adaptation to very high demands on aerobic capacity. That's exactly what you need for most MA workouts.

The downside: intervals are very unpleasant. You have to view them like trips to the dentist: something you don't want to do but it's worse if you don't. If you decide this program is something that would do you good, give yourself plenty of time to get up to speed in it. You just can't do it over a couple of weeks.

(2) Even serious strength training won't generally work the muscle groups you need for MA applications, particularly things like side and turning kicks. A good basic high-intensity program---major weights to failure in a power rack---is a good platform. But at home, try very slow renditions of the kicks you're working on and try to hold them in the maximal extended positions for as long as you can---that will help with the specific demands those kicks impose in full-speed performances.

Take a look at Loren Christensen's Solo Training---it's probably the best single work on physical conditioning for MAs---and Thomas Kurz's stuff on stretching, particularly the importance of controlled dynamic stretching, as vs. the kinds of static stretching that most MA workouts begin with.

Good luck with your training!

 

[bcbernam777]

And the class kicked my butt! I had to step off the training floor twice to keep from passing out. I have problems with low blood sugar, and i forgot to eat before class.

How long does it usually take to get back into the physical shape needed to go all out in class?

P.S.

I'm 38 yr. old 7th kyu Shuri Ryu, training under the direction of Hanshi Robert Bowles.

Pace yourself, take your time, dont rush into it. Get some sound medical advice, I suffer from fits, and sleep apnea, they are my enemies so I need to learn how my enemies function so I know how to beat them. So I train at my peak energy Time and I always make sure someone is with me just incase.

 

[Bushido492]

Thanks for all the great advise! I will take my time and gradually, hopefully, get back to where i was !

 

[Bushido492]

Hey Bushido---I started TKD a bit over three years ago, when I was 56. It took me about three months to be able to go all out, but I was doing a lot of cardio/weight training at the time. The kind of physcial demands in MA---both in the aerobic and anaerobic limits---are somewhat different from what ordinary cardio/iron workouts prepare you for, though.

(1) The kind of cardio most people do will give them pretty good endurance and improved cardiovascular capacity over a steady haul, and is an all-around good thing. But it doesn't prepare you particularly well for the intermittant high-intensity/lower intensity pace of most MA workouts---where you have to do ten minutes of serious kicking up and down the haul, with maybe some jumping or popup kicks thrown in, and then another five or six minutes of stances, block practice and other breath-catchers. There's only one way to prepare for that kind of workout---interval training. Not forty minutes of jogging, but twenty minutes (maybe in two ten-minute segments) of steady jog for 50 seconds and all-out spring---really, all out---for the remaining 10. That's not something to start with, though. When you can do half an hour at medium jog comfortably, throw in a five second all out sprint every two minutes or so. When you can do that OK (it never gets comfortable!) ramp it up to ten seconds. When you can handle that, do it every minute and cut your total running time down to twenty minutes. Start off by doing one of these sessions every third cardio work out, then two out of three, then every one. Don't do more than three of them a week, though. A couple of things will happen:

(i) You will lose bodyfat faster than you can imagine, once you get going. Intervals ramp up your metabolism to really high speed and keeps it there for a couple of days. Physiologically, the program I described will keep your body working almost as hard as it would on the basis of twenty minutes of all out sprinting, because you stay at a very elevated heart rate almost all the time you're jogging between the sprinting intervals.

(ii) Your ability to handle the intermittant extreme cardio demands of MA training will increase dramatically. In effect, you're training your body to accept the need for a rapidly accelerated adaptation to very high demands on aerobic capacity. That's exactly what you need for most MA workouts.

The downside: intervals are very unpleasant. You have to view them like trips to the dentist: something you don't want to do but it's worse if you don't. If you decide this program is something that would do you good, give yourself plenty of time to get up to speed in it. You just can't do it over a couple of weeks.

(2) Even serious strength training won't generally work the muscle groups you need for MA applications, particularly things like side and turning kicks. A good basic high-intensity program---major weights to failure in a power rack---is a good platform. But at home, try very slow renditions of the kicks you're working on and try to hold them in the maximal extended positions for as long as you can---that will help with the specific demands those kicks impose in full-speed performances.

Take a look at Loren Christensen's Solo Training---it's probably the best single work on physical conditioning for MAs---and Thomas Kurz's stuff on stretching, particularly the importance of controlled dynamic stretching, as vs. the kinds of static stretching that most MA workouts begin with.

Good luck with your training!

Great Advice...Thanks

 

[bydand]

Thanks for all the great advise! I will take my time and gradually, hopefully, get back to where i was !

I was out of training for almost 8 years due to the same reasons you gave (family, etc...) and take my word for it, it takes some time to get the muscles going again. I was 42 when I went back and the techniques and everything came right back, just the endurance took some time. Good Luck!! The bit about not trying to keep up with the younger members is 100% accurate.

 

[exile]

I was 42 when I went back and the techniques and everything came right back, just the endurance took some time.

Let's hear it for muscle memory, eh?! Without it, we'd be in a lot of trouble everytime something came up that derailed us for six months or a year...

 

[Shotochem]

Welcome Back!!!!:cheers:

Take it easy, try not to overdo it. You are not in your 20's anymore.

Remember stretch, stretch, stretch. Before, during and after class and everyday in between. Your body will thank you for it.

-Marc-

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Here is a hint about the blood sugar battles: for a good pick me up, when your glucose goes low, the best thing is peanut butter which is hard to carry in the gym. Try Reese Cups.
I have been a type one diabetic since I was ten years old and have found that lots of types of candy will bring my low glucose up, but will plummet down quickly after, thus giving it the yo-yo effect. The starches in peanut butter give you a steady rise, but no big drop afterward. This is because starches are sugar that are harder to break down.
Reese Cups have been a staple of my life.

AoG

 

[Kacey]

I can't really add any other tips - you've gotten some great advice already. Congrats on coming back - too many people say "I'll come back when..." (my favorite is "when I'm in shape") and never do - take the time you need and remember to enjoy what you're doing!