Experience gained: The Weight-cut

So, I was set to have an MMA-competition last weekend, as a bantam weight. For those of you, who don't know what that means: in MMA, as in most other martial arts, there are different weight classes, so the competitors stay comparable and none has an unfair strength- or weight-advantage on the others. In MMA the weight classes go something like 105lbs. (atom weight), 115lbs.(straw), 125lbs.(fly), 135lbs.(bantam), 145lbs.(feather), and so on, with the most common weight classes for women being bantam weight at 135lbs. or 62,1kg and feather weight at 145lbs. or 65,8kg. One of my best friends and trainings partners has already been competing at feather weight, plus she is taller than me, so I got stuck with bantam. 

What I mean by that is: you have to be as light as possible with as little fat and as much muscle as possible to have a better chance at winning. When I moved back to Germany after a stressful summer and loads of ice cream in Finland, I weighed 73,4kg on my worst day. Basically I was at about 72kg. But let me tell you, that wasn't muscle. That was ice cream. And chocolate. And burgers. But it was not muscle.

 

Me in October 2015, at about 69kg

So, I had to slim down. I thought feather, but then my friend told me, she was doing feather. I had six months to get rid of the sh**. So, I started a sustainable diet at first, to get my body fat percentage down as well as my weight. Which worked quite well, up to the point where I started doing Crossfit on a regular basis. While my body composition continued to shift in the right direction, my weight loss was stalling, came to a full stop by Christmas and after that went into the wrong direction. I was gaining weight. Something they call "gains" or "gainz", you know. I thought I wasn't even eating enough to get any gains, but. I was wrong. 

By the end of January, I started getting nervous, because while my weight didn't go up any longer (I was at 66kg at that time), it didn't go down either. I had a talk with my Crossfit coach, who is also a former MMA competitor and has some experience in the field. He told me to eat normal, so my body doesn't shut down or slow down my metabolism, but to switch one meal a day with a salad. No fat, no carbs, just salad, veggies, and lean protein (no cheese). Also, it would be smart to do that in the evening, so the hunger strikes at night. 

I did as I was told and dropped another 2,5kg until the beginning of March. So, by March 3rd, I was at 63,5kg, plus/minus 500-800g, depending on the number of carbs I had eaten the day before and how much I drank the day before.

A week out, I ate no more starchy carbs, no candy, reduced salt and started drinking like my life depended on it. I followed a diet plan that was loosely based on paleo. Five days out, I stopped having dairy. Three days out, I stopped eating salt and started reducing the water intake. I was at 62,6kg at that point. So, I had to make weight until Friday evening. On Thursday, I had a small breakfast consisting of fruit and a protein shake. I had one glass of water. And I started the sweating: I put on a sweat suit (non-breathable material) and did a 60min work out. Afterwards, I was already a little lighter. And light headed. At four in the afternoon, I had a small packet of low fat quark and a handful of oats (because protein and fibre, and Thursday didn't count into the diet plan anymore), and went to the gym. I put on three layers of clothing (one Nike Dry longsleeve, the sweat suit, a thick sweat shirt) and smashed a Body Combat -class. I don't even know anymore on what energy I did this, but I had the time of my life. After that it was into the sauna, then I had 150ml of water. I was weighing 61,9kg.

            

After Combat and sauna at 61,9kg

In the morning I did something, that my training mate's mom had said and that my dad had tried for different purposes; I took some Glauber salt. For those of you, who don't know what that is, it is a salt that is not being absorbed by the body, but stays in the intestines, where it draws water from the surrounding tissue until your intestines are basically flushed threw. So, it helps you dehydrate even more. Which was pretty bad, as I already felt a little light headed from dehydration the night before. My dad knew what's up the whole time, and kept an eye on me. After that went down, I was at 60,1kg. Which meant I got to drink a little apple juice ( I hadn't eaten anything since Thursday 4pm, right). Then we went and met up with the crew to make the 6 hour drive down to the competition location. Funny thing, though, our scale at home is off by 800g, so after having some coffee and some water (as I thought, I had a buffer from about 1kg), I was just so and so 61,2kg.

Friday morning at 61,1kg

And that was when we tried the old Swedish credit card trick (because my friend and trainings partner was still 600g over as well): sit in the sauna, scrape off the sweat with a credit card, repeat until you made weight. I don't have to tell you, how bad it felt to squeeze the last few drops of sweat out of our bodies. Those last few grams really were the hardest and respect to everyone who does these weight-cuts on a regular basis (and partly with a more significant weight difference). 

But before you think that this is a great way to prepare for THE party of the year or some big event with a great dress, I want to remind you that I had the help and support of three trainers who've done this routine before and a friend who supported me through this, who has been doing this since she was a kid. They knew what they were doing and had I showed any worrisome signs of dehydration, they would have known exactly what to do. So, what I mean to say is: DON'T DO THIS AT HOME!!!! 

Because this whole weight cut thing is not only physically challenging, but also mentally exhausting. I was so tired most of the time and as soon as I was free to eat whatever the heck I wanted, I ate myself through everything I found for a whole week. This is no way to lose weight, which is why it is called weight cut. You cut it out for a week and it comes back, and let me tell you, it does bring friends. 

Without the support I got, I would not have been able to do this, either. Because you want to give up and give in and just eat most of the time. You never even realise how much our culture revolves around food and drink, how often they are mentioned on tv, in magazines, etc. Also, you are desperate, tired, angry, aggressive, depressed, cold, hungry, miserable, exhausted and dizzy. There is a point at which you get into a flow and it doesn't affect you as much, but then it hits you again. Frustration and irritability. Hunger, cold and thirst. It's not fun. Cutting weight is a gruelling process and I honestly wish, I will never have to do this again. Which is why I will now go back to my sustainable diet (diet in the sense of nutrition plan, not cutting calories) to further this process of shifting body composition and losing weight the healthy way. So, the next time you'll see me in a competition, I will not have gone through this horror again. 

Project "Back to Bantam"

So, I've rarely ever cared about my weight as a number, because it rarely ever has been a problem or anything. I usually go with how I feel and when my favourite jeans feel a little tight for a change, then I ate a little more strict, meaning less carbs and sweets, but more veggies and protein. But. 

You might have noticed that MMA (mixed martial arts) and BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) are weight-class sports and when you are actively competing, you have an advantage when you are able to compete in a weight-class that has opponents about your own size. For males that is rarely a big problem. It might get uncomfy for them, but the biggest weight difference possibly are 5kg or 10lbs. For women however, this looks different, at least in BJJ-tournaments, because there just aren't enough women to fill all weight classes. And since it doesn't make any sense to have three or four weight-classes with 3 competitors each tops, they are mostly just divided into -60kg/+60kg. And let me tell you, it is no fun whatsoever to compete against someone weighing in at about 78kg, when you yourself are 65kg, which is my "happy weight". 

This being said, a friend and training mate of mine is fighting in MMA featherweight (-65,7kg), so if we ever were to start in the same competition, chances are that if I was my happy weight, we'd be fighting against each other. Which just isn't fun, because a) for the fighters it is never fun to hurt a friend, and b) for the audience it's kind of boring, because both fighters know the other's strengths and weaknesses, and tend to avoid them, which makes them careful, which makes the fight a boring escape-game. 

After my moving back to Germany this summer and the stress at work I've had before, I actually weighed about 71kg when I arrived in Berlin. After a month of okay eating I was back at 69kg. Which was still too much. Then my trainer told me after my first Jits competition here in Berlin that I had to lose weight, if I did not want to face opponents significantly bigger than me (what happened to me during the White Belt Challenge). So, yeah, I knew I was going to have to diet. And then, my "blood thirst" or rather competition spirit awoke after a few sessions back in MMA, the spirit I'd been missing after this spring's competition debacle (preparing for four different comps, making weight, thus harming my metabolism, and being told that there is no opponent). Said team mate told me that we could run the world together, if we weren't in the same weight class. And well, she's a few centimetres taller than me and doesn't have anything left to lose, except for a foot or a hand, because she's totally shredded. So, it's my turn to lose weight, and go down to Bantam class (61,2kg). Not to cut it, because I don't want to wreak havoc on my metabolism again, but slowly lose it. 

I've done this once before, in 2014, when I wanted to compete at -60kg in the Finnish Amateur Open, and back then it worked well. I just felt like I looked a little anorexic as soon as I reached 61kg. Also, friends and family started telling me to stop losing weight. So, I gained some back. I knew I could do this, so, I was ready to go, when my trainer told me what to cut and what to not cut even though it might sound like you should cut it. Like carbs in general. Cut the simple carbs, the ones your body burns through right away, which don't give it anything for fuel. But keep the complex carbs, the ones your body needs to keep up power. Because you need power to train. Oh, and he was pretty clear in that I can't have candy. Which doesn't matter, because I don't like candy anyway. The chocolate however is a whole other thing. I miss chocolate. I have an allowance of one bar of dark chocolate per week (55g), of which I am allowed to eat before craving gets out of hand. But after that, none. 

You can't imagine how hangry I got in the beginning. There's nothing that sucks as much as sugar withdrawal. Because yes, sugar is addictive. And I don't really know the middle ground, I either go all the way or I don't eat anything. 

So, yeah, working with a 1600-2000kcal/day diet (depending on how much and what I'm doing on the gym side of things) right now and last Monday I was already down to 66.3kg. Only 5kg to go, so 1/3 of the way went in two weeks. It's going to slow down, though. It always does. 

I also changed my exercise regimen, I am now attending 3 BJJ classes, 2 MMA classes, 2 Combat classes, 2 Crossfit classes, 1 Body Attack class, 1 LMIStep class, 1 Pump class, 1 rolling session and 1 boxing class a week, if everything works out. However, it rarely works out perfectly, so most of the time two to four classes a week don't work out, because of work or soreness/failure to recover properly in time. 

This is another thing I've changed; I am now taking rest seriously, too. There is one day a week, where I don't do anything, and every five weeks, I take it really easily. 

During project "Back to Bantam", I have so far fallen in love with Crossfit, LMIStep, and found my abs again. I can actually see them again (in the right lighting :D ). Also, I am feeling better now, and maybe I have become a little judgmental, when I see people eating crap, but that's probably just jealousy in most cases. Because yes, some days, a muffin would be great. Or a brownie. Or red velvet cake. And yes, I am still hangry every now and then, and nothing sucks more than having your calories for the day used or planned and then thinking about eating something great. But all in all, I'm doing okay. When I reach Bantam weight, I can add a good 200-300kcal to my diet again, but until then, well, it's really strict. Today I was totally excited, because I could eat a jackload of stuff, because the main ingredient was spinach which has so few calories that you can eat away at it until you burst, basically (not really, but almost). It's the simple things. 

Feel the burn...

Handstand push - ups on a box. Good morning, shoulders. Ouchie. This CrossFit - thing is worse than I thought. And more fun. And it hurts more. And it's way more addictive. Having the time of my life right now with MMA, BJJ and CrossFit. I'm probably in way better shape at 30 than I've been at 20. :D

Others collect stamps...

..I collect bruises. But you know what has been a really stupid idea? Face- or rather foreheadplanting into the cage to literally save your neck. I didn't get choked, but now I'm growing a second head out of my forehead. :P
On the light side of things, my 51-year old coach twerked to 50 Cents Candy Shop today. We had a blast at training and I have to say, as much as I miss MMA Team 300, the team at Randori-Pro is probs the best thing that could happen to me at this stage (while MMA Team 300 was what I needed before).
I love training again.

Those last few weeks...

...have been quite busy and a little exhausting. Mind you, I'm far from complaining, but there have been so many firsts that I don't even know where my head's at right now. I haven't yet had the time to mentally or emotionally catch up to where we're going right now.  

Firstly, I moved to Berlin. And signed my work contract on the same day just to start working almost right away for four days straight. In a new job, new field. I'm now a proud member of the IKEA clan. But. I'm also working in gastronomy. How that's possible? Well, I'm working for IKEA Food, which entails everything from selling to cooking to actually serving the customers and working the cash register. The good thing is: it never gets boring. There's always new things to learn. But well, that means a whole lot of mental input. But it's fun. My work mates are great. And payment as well as the way IKEA takes care of its employees could not be better seeing that, on average, I work only three days a week.

Secondly, I've travelled to Amsterdam for the first time. Because I only work three shifts a week, I can travel quite freely without even being on vacation. My brother had his summer vacation and thus we decided to make the six hour train/nine hour bus trip to the capitol of the Netherlands. And it's been great. I fell in love with the relaxed atmosphere in the city and its Grachten and the red light district where everyone's just allowed to be themselves and do whatever they enjoy without judgement. Also, my brother was a great companion, keeping me from shopping too extensively, but making me see things I didn't necessarily know I wanted to see. I've rarely walked this much in spite of having a tram ticket. Emotionally, the Anne Frank Huis really got to me. It's strange what human beings do to others, sometimes. I can't understand it. And I don't want to. One of the things that stuck with me was the sentence: "Her would haves are our possibilities" and in keeping with that, I now try to help people whereever and whenever I can. Also, I feel like I ate myself through most of Amsterdam's food offerings. Macaroons? I tried everything that sounded good to my ears and taste buds. Pancakes? Tried them filled with egg and salmon, decked out with bacon, cheese and syrup, and with Nutella. Belgian waffles? Yes, with Nutella, with ice cream, and with ice cream and Nutella. I also tasted myself through a whole cheese shop, had some chocolate-hemp ice cream and strop waffles. Had some espresso though I ordered coffee. Ate some great Zwieback-biscuits. And I peed at a public toilet that had a great view over the whole city centre (sorry, if that's tmi, but it really impressed me). 

Back from Amsterdam, I had a day to prepare for the visit of my mother. Three days with her and my brother planning our US-trip for 2016. 

And this last week went into getting back into some kind of everyday life like I'm used to. I dragged my old gym buddy to my new gym to attend XpressDay and do the new Les Mills choreos with me. And now I got an old new gym buddy :) Then I tried CrossFit. And fell in love-hate with it. I was so sore for three days, it wasn't even funny. So yes, first CrossFit workout? Done and done. Afterwards I ran into my German MMA partner in crime from January, who convinced me to join her in Jiu Jitsu practice. I was totally done after CrossFit, but I said yes anyways. The DOMS was strong that week. And then I finally got back to BJJ practice and made a contract with Randori Pro. Oh, and at the same time I was asked if I wanted to compete at White Belt Challenge next Saturday. I said yes. So, first competition in Germany coming up, too. So much about my pondering of maybe really just doing this for my fitness and fun. 

Oh, and before I forget; before moving to Berlin I considered applying for a certain job at a certain firm. I thought, I'd know when the time is right, when it feels right. Yeah, turns out, life is what happens while you are busy making other plans: said firm asked for applications for said job on their facebook-page. No need to say, I've already sent in my application. 

So, does anyone understand why I could maybe need a moment to get to the surface and get a good glimpse at the situation that is my life? I feel like everything is just happening all the time and I'm playing it by ear, and mostly that's okay with me, I'm good at just winging it, but I might just need a moment to get my bearings right. Though I have to admit, if everything continues like that, I might just be okay with continuing like this. 

MMA and Grit Strength 13 - or: Hearteyes, baby

Yesterday, I had a more relaxed training day, after Monday had been kind of rough. And by relaxed I mean... only 2,5hrs training. MMA and Body Balance. After Monday MMA was hard; we did a lot of hooks and upper cuts and my shoulders were sore from Body Combat and Body Pump the day before. Now, our coach always likes to send us back into the world with a grueling last exercise, yesterday it was jab-cross-tabata. We did jab-cross-combos (either fast or heavy) for a minute and got 20sec rest. Then again combos and rest. We did five rounds of that. Our coach actually took a video from that last set. I'm back there in the white Bad Boy-shorts and my technique is way off, I'm so tired. I wasn't even able to raise my hands properly:

MMA training

But. Today. I finally got to try Grit Strength 13 and I loved it. I did a "light" Body Combat class before and was already pretty done with the world, but I had to prove a point. To myself. Best decision ever. 

I love the new choreo. There's a new move in there: 

New Move

And it's coming up in Track 2 already. As always, track 1 is warm-up. Track 2 is 3 sets of two different moves you do for 30sec first. 3sec break. 10sec reps. 3sec break and a last 10sec rep round. The first move is squat to push press with a bar bell, the second is this new move. 

Track 3 is fun, because you get a little movement into the otherwise static set up: you have two teams facing each other, one does high knees for 30sec, the other upright rows to shoulder press. Then the teams change moves. After two rounds, the teams get new moves. Team 1 does jumping lunges (if there's anything I hate more than burpees, it's jump lunges...*sighs*) and team 2 moving press ups. 

Track 4 was 45sec for each set, first set 7 upright rows and 7 rows, as many rounds as possible. Second set 7 burpees (aaand there they are) and 7 press ups. After you're through with both sets, you do the same, but the rep count goes down from 7 to 5. 

Track 5 was the one minute challenge, where you took your weight plate, did a squat and one squat jump. Then one squat, two squat jumps and so on for - as the name of the challenge says - one minute. As many rounds as possible. I got to 7,4 today. 

And then it's core. And let me tell you, after these last few days, my core was incredibly sore. Actually, I can feel the muscles moving beneath the skin these days, which feels a tad weird, to be honest. I have never been an athletic child, so being an athletic adult still feels strange to me. 

But that's it, that's the new Grit. And I love it, because you can really push yourself to your limits (especially after a Body Combat-class). Came close to barfing today. But that's also the fast level changes, when doing stuff in an upright position and then going down to do a press up or sth of the sort. Does anyone of you know the feeling? It's not even being exhausted, but the fast level changes. 

And tomorrow my best friend is coming to visit for my graduation ceremony and we'll have a blast. She'll be here all weekend, so you'll probably not hear from me in a few days. Have a nice one, guys! :)

New Les Mills releases and a great weekend

June is already almost half way done. But that means that the new Les Mills choreos, the ones that will be with us all summer, have been released at our gym last weekend. On Sunday, to be exact. 

Saturday, to me, was a forced rest day, because I was at work from 7-16, and afterwards I visited a friend for her belated b-day bash. And seeing that we are both that breed of couch potato that does not appreciate wild parties and even wilder outings in town, she decided to bake muffins and pizza for the two of us and make it a movie night. We haven't had movie night in a long time and I haven't had pizza in a long time. For good measure, I also brought a packet of biscotti, and the DVDs: "Man of the Year" with the late Robin Williams and "Johnny English 2", mostly because I've been missing London these last few weeks months.

Home-made pizza!!!

But that's just how I spent my one rest day of the week. Sunday came finally and brought with it the new Body Balance and Body Combat releases (for me, that is). 

The new Balance was different. I find it hard to really judge a choreo after the first time around and with Balance, I'm almost always like... "Meh" after the first try. This time I liked the moves alright, but I wasn't too much into the music. Especially the first track didn't really get me into that "Balance"-feel, you know? 

The sun salutations are nice and I really liked the balance track, but the pilates core training was a bit... I don't know, boring? Plus, it went more on my hip flexors than into my core, but that might also be because my hip flexors are pretty tense most of the time. If it doesn't change, I have to ask our instructors for advice. 

The savasana at the end is great, though. Great music, you can follow along the piano melody lines into relaxation and calmness. And it just sounds pretty. Today, I will be trying Balance for the second time, maybe my feelings toward it will change a little.

In the afternoon I went and tried the new Combat, in which they changed not only the music, but also the lay out/concept of the class. Combat Class feels much fiercer now than it did before and the music reflects that as well. Instead of just being an interval class, it is now a high-intensity interval class, you might also call it HIIT. The first track already differs from its predecessors, even though the first Combat track might remind you of some of the ones that have been done before. It feels incredibly short, though. The first power track is already taking you to a different intensity if you roll with it and the second Combat track, track number 4, is conditioning as it already has been in 63. Number 5, the second power track is reminiscent of GRIT Cardio, with short intervals of hard work and a few breaks for your heart rate to come down. Track 6 killed me, though. I don't know if I ever mentioned that I hate - HATE - lunges. And track 6 has a lot of them. My legs were burning after that and the thought that there were still 2 aerobic tracks to go, one of which Muay Thai, was not a nice one. :D But Muay Thai is great!!! There's power and there's pain in this track and I just love it. You can really play yourself tired in this one. And then there's your basic track 8. But after that choreo, the basic track 8 feels hardcore, too. Conditioning and stretching are fine, there are only so many core exercises you can do and if you've been to a few CX classes, there are few things that are new. 

But after that class, I was done for the day. Really and genuinely done. 

After Body Combat 64. Lower right corner 30 seconds afterward, upper left 30 minutes after, when the endorphins started kicking in. 

Yesterday I did Combat again and afterward (and after a short break) I tried the new Pump. Lots of tension being built up and a pain in the ass. Or should I say a gain in the ass? The squats are okay if you do them so-so, but really engage in the track and shoot, you get your legs to shake. 

Chest hurts like hell with the right weight, I guess, yesterday I took it a little easier because my chest was already done in from the Combat conditioning and I did not know what was coming up. I loved the back track, which was really efficient in building strength and raising heart rates. The triceps track was okay, it was pretty similar to the one in 93, only the dips were a little nastier. Same with the biceps track. That one maybe let me down a little because I had heard beforehand that this one was reeeeaaal tough and then it was... well, I liked the one in 93 better and I got a better burn from it, but let's see what happens, maybe I get to add some weight... And then, lunges. Again. I did them without additional weight because my form goes way off, when I'm tired and doing them with weights. Also, I did not want to and could not find it in me to convince myself as my legs were already close to giving out. And it was good, because it was a lot of bottom ones. The track name "We Make It Bounce" is not a joke, I tell ya. The shoulder track. was. sick. I loved it. It burned and hurt in all the right places! And then there was core and stretching and we were done with that class, too. I liked it. In hindsight, I think I liked it a lot. 

I also kept working on my spine flexibility and yoga over all, after attending a class on Friday, where we were shown a pose called "Bird of Paradise", I made it my mission to perfect that pose. It looked so impossible at first, but actually it's quite easy. And it's a great stretch for your shoulders and legs. 

Bird of Paradise

Also, my hair has been growing so much into an emo thing (with it falling into my eyes all the time), that I have to take it together into a small "pony tail" these days. It looks ridiculous at best, but it is damn practical.

gym "bunny tail"

And now I'll put my hair into the bunny tail (because pony tail is just an exaggeration) and leave for MMA. For the first time in ages. Happy!!!

Busy as a bee, Body Pump 90 and new goals

The Past - busy body at work

It's been three months since I last posted here. But I have achieved quite a lot in the real world in this time. First of all, I had to write, rewrite, edit and defend my BA-thesis and write the last exams and fill in application forms etc. to get my degree before everyone at my uni leaves for their summer vacation. Now I'm officially a Bachelor of Arts in German language and culture, literary studies to be exact.
I also trained and prepared for my first wrestling match, making weight (dropped my weight from 68 to 60kg to get into the lower weight class), learning new techniques and getting into the right mindset. Just to hear - a week before the competition - that I am not allowed to take part in the tournament, because it was the Finnish Championships and even though I've been living in Finland for the past 6 years and got the citizenship application process going, I was not granted permission to compete. I get it, because where do you draw the line if you allow exceptions to the rule, but... I was a little disappointed and demotivated by the whole thing, so I kept a low profile in MMA during the last few months. and well, yeah, thanks to the stress on the university side, my time was a little limited and I got two bad colds as soon as the stress started to fade away.

The Present - Body Pump 90 and its after effects

I just returned from my vacation trip to Germany last night (literally, I arrived back home at 3:45am), took a nap and then I was off to my gym. I had missed it. Had a great Body Pump class with a budy from my MMA Team, as I had promised her before, and holy moly my muscles are already sore. Even though Body Pump 90 was scheduled to be started on Monday, she already put us through the whole shebang, and whoa, I like this release. The warm-up is a little meh, but leg track number one aka "squat till you drop" was not fun, fun would definitely be the wrong word to describe it, but after the first set, I already felt my quads and the backs of my thighs...and my bum getting sore. The chest track was kind of nice, until we were introduced to the nasty little surprise of dropping your barbell halfway down, hold, drop all the way down, hold, push halfway up, hold, slowly push up the rest of the way. It hurt. It hurt bad, but what do they always say? Pain is where progress happens? The back track was pretty basic, pretty similar to the one in the last release. And then triceps. French bench presses and lying triceps press. It was not that it was bad, it's just that are few things I hate more than french bench presses. And as a surprise at the end, there were dips. I like dips. They are hard, they hurt and they bring progress. Oh, talking about things I hate more than french bench presses: biceps curls. And the biceps track this time was... surprisingly fun. I overestimated my strength and had to change my weights 3/4 through the track, but now my arms are comfortably weak. Then lunges, pretty basic. But the shoulder track, even though basic, was hard. I loved it. It hooks in with one of my goals, so, I really loved it. Abs and Cool Down were sit ups and the basic Les Mills stretching routine, so yeah, a nice release they got there. Enjoyed it, recommend it.

The Future - new goals ahead

It's June already. So, not much I can do about that summer body any more, but I have to admit, thanks to dropping my weight to 60kg, I realised that I don't really like myself in 60kg, so I tried to gain 2-3kg back. With the result that I'm super confident with my body. Sure, there are areas, I'd like to improve, but all in all I like my body. Actually, I love it for what kind of stuff I am able to throw at it and it just performs. And rather nicely at that. So, what do I want to do? Well, when I was in Berlin, we went to see "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and I could not help myself, but admire Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman's) chiseled and defined shoulders. I want shoulders like that. Not that massive, but the female version of it; defined shoulder muscles where you can actually see the different muscles work whilst working. So, a little "bulking" up in that department. My arms in general could be more defined. So, that's what I'll be doing for the next 11 weeks.
I'll also get back to MMA as often as possible, because I'd love to compete in an MMA competition in autumn.
Oh, and I want to write into this blog more often. Maybe about other stuff than just workout and lifestyle and eating, even though I have a few subjects I could write about in those fields, too (I've been dropping serious weight with the 5:2-diet, I've been dabbling with vegan nutrition and I've revised a training program for my roommate, so, lots to tell on this side of life, too). But for now, I have to go to bed. Got an early wake-up call tomorrow. Good night!

From playschool to pre-school, or: level up from the beginner's MMA course

I have been kind of busy with politics during the last few days and weeks. I have been elected into our university's Student Representative Council last Wednesday and before that I spent a lot of time campaigning or planning my campaign or at the local Lidl basement, where my MMA/Martial Arts club is located these days.

And this is just what I was going to write about. Training has been going well, I didn't end up under someone or in an arm/leg bar as soon as we started sparring and I noticed that the whole thing had become a little more fluent and natural. I'm still losing mostly, but now I also understand what kinds of mistakes I have made and know how to avoid them in the future.

Yesterday was out last beginner's course class. On Monday there will be a fresh load of beginners and we will be advanced. Today was the first advanced level training we were allowed to attend and me and two guys seized the opportunity. It was a different kind of training, a lot more hands on, really doing stuff, but that was to be expected. At some points I felt my technique was a little meh, but everybody told me that was normal and it would all come in due time. So, longer sessions, a little more exhausting than before, even more great people to get to know and six possible sessions a week. I guess there's no point to really attending six training sessions a week, because I have to give my body time to recover and I actually want to do some other sports related stuff, too, but yeah. I guess four or five would be okay.

Though, I got to admit, I had to made some sacrifices for this; Thursday I cut my hair short, or rather my hair stylist did. But I like the new hair, it's much more practical and washing my hair is not as much of an annoyance as before (which is great seeing that I had to wash it about two times a day in summer). And I won't be wearing mini skirts anymore due to excessive bruising. But seeing how much I've gained in the short time I've done MMA, I really don't feel these sacrifices anywhere.
Someone once told me that everybody could be enthusiastic about doing sports and I sincerely doubted it then. He told me, all you had to do was find "your thing", your passion, your discipline. Guess the "joke" is on me. Dude was right. And I'm really, really happy.

A week off...

I've had a rather quiet week this week, because I had some minor surgery done on Monday and wasn't supposed to do much sports.
Just after the operation was finished, the medical assistant told me to remember that I shouldn't do any sports for the next 24hrs. I nodded and made an understanding face. I had already been at a MMA HIIT -class in the morning, so no problem. And Tuesday was supposed to be my recovery day anyway. About 20sec. later my surgeon came into the room and told me no sports for the next seven days. Whoa, weird dude say what?! I still nodded and made an understanding face, but when he left I threw a desperate look at the assistant. She came a little closer and told me to listen to my body, keep the stitches clean and dry and be careful. And that's what I did. I surprised myself a little, I didn't know I could be this sensible. On the other hand... had I ripped the stitches open, I'd probably have to spend a few weeks longer without doing sports.

But: we got a new practice model at our club. It's called MMA HIIT and is actually a normal HIIT (high intensity interval training), but the ingenious thing about it is that the warm up consists of MMA moves or moves that assist MMA training. I really like it, because not only do HIITs challenge your physical boundaries, but your mental boundaries, too. It's a little like running a (half) marathon: your head is screaming that you can't go any further (or do more reps) but your body is actually still good. So you need to step over the mental boundaries your head is setting. You give it your all, and by all I mean EVERYTHING you got. The aim is that you could not do a single rep more, even if your life depended on it. You don't save any energy, you go all in. And that's the beauty of it. By breaking these mental boundaries you actually achieve this athlete mindset that you can do everything even if it hurts like hell.
The other thing that makes HIITs so appealing, is the fact that the actual training is only about 8-12min long. Add a warm up and a cool down and you have a 30-45min training session and you're actually done. You don't have to do anything else for the day, because HIITs due to their intensity work up a high response in your body's hormonal system and they rev up your metabolism. This effect can last up to 24hrs after the training itself. So, if you got the possibility: try it.

Tomorrow the stitches are being removed and I'm almost back to normal again. I should probably be careful for a few more days so the scars don't open, but then we're back in the game!

MMA Team 300's Mikael Nyyssönen at Cage 23

The guy in the grey shorts is one of my club's professionals. I probably shouldn't show this video to my parents telling them that "Mom, dad, this is what I'm up to these days", but I like to watch MMA matches. It kind of motivates me (though I know it would/will be years till I'm as good). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB5eJZhl7zs

Mixed Martial Arts

So, yesterday our trainer let us try out everything we've learned so far in action. He gave us three times two minutes, during which we were supposed to just try everything to get the other guy to give up.

The other guy? Yes. I seem to be the only girl left standing in our course. Well, maybe the other girl that started with me just has to work, but she's missed about one third of our training sessions up till now and last I talked to her she was having problems cutting her nails short (which is a must due to safety reasons when you're doing martial arts). So yeah, seems like MMA is a rather manly sport (even if she continues it's 2-24). But anyways, where was I?

Yeah, right: training ground techniques and actually using them. It was about the hardest experience I've made so far in martial arts training, but it was also the most fun I've had during training since I can remember. The fact that most guys are stronger than me and I really have to go to my physical boundaries, just makes it more interesting and I do believe that should I decide to really compete at some point, it will come in handy that I am used to guys taller, stronger and much heavier than me.
But how does it feel? Well, you have to somehow figure out how to do your thing and to get a good grip on your "opponent" to get him to give up or disable him. Now, your opponent does his thing and makes it rather hard for you to get through, because let's face it, he too has been training and he knows what you're up to. So, while you're trying to figure out a way of getting the upper hand, your opponent does the same. And most of the time you're in a tight clinch and wrestling hands and arms and legs and you try to get up with all your might, but you can't or can and you're using every single muscle in your body. So, you're pretty done in for the day afterwards. But the feeling is just ridiculously great. I really love this and I love the fact that it's hard and tiring and that I still have a lot to learn. This is so my thing, and it is great to have finally found it. Thai boxing was great, yeah, but it doesn't compare to this rush. This is so much more hands on, down to business. I'm in love. I'm in love with a sport and the great thing is that as long as I stay healthy, nobody can take this away from me.

So, try to find your thing, try to find out, what makes you tick. I realised now, that everything I've done up to this point makes sense right now. My physical fitness is at a level it has never been before. Without this, I'd be like a dead fish trapped under a blue whale during these ground fighting sessions we've had. I also know, that I could be a much better version of myself, if I only learned to eat right and train more efficiently. But I'm getting to it. I started clean eating a few weeks ago when my favourite instructor left, but for entirely different reasons (yeah, wanting to make some visible progress within four months is a nice goal), now I only have to get it to point. At the moment I still have my problems with portion size and peanut butter (don't even ask), but I will get a grip on that, too, because now I have sth to work for. There is this guy at our club, okay, he's a professional, but it would be just great to get to the same level of functional fitness as he. I would really love to make my body functionally strong, so that it works for me. Even if I won't compete ever, I'd love to know, that I could, that my body could do it. So, here's what makes me tick.

Shrimping and half marathons

Today has been a great day in spite of being Friday 13th. 

First of all, I got to spend quality time with a friend I haven't seen since May. It's nice to know that sometimes you don't grow apart even though you haven't seen each other for a long time.

But - the most important part - I had my second real MMA training session. Ground technique. And this is where shrimping comes in :D No, it's not about peeling or catching shellfish, but it's an escape technique in MMA. It looks kind of stupid, but first of all, it's a basic technique you need to learn and second of all: you need to use a hell of a lot of muscle whilst shrimping. To give you an impression, here's a video:

So, my shoulders kind of hurt and I feel a little tired, but I shrimped. 

And then I decided to enlist for the annual Tampere Half Marathon. My aforementioned friend asked me if I wanted to go and I was mulling it over, I needed to change a shift at work, but that worked out just fine. Then I thought about the distance; would I be able to run 20k? But after a while it occurred to me: I didn't need to. If I wanted to, I could walk. So I enlisted, paid the fee and now I'm going to take part in a Half Marathon the day after tomorrow. I could have thought about this a little earlier and maybe train, but training is for sissies. :D No, I suppose my fitness these days can take 20k, and if not, well, walking is always an option. Because it's not important how fast you go, the important thing is that you go. 

I'll probably write about the half marathon, so yeah, see you Sunday :)

MMA - hell, yeah!

So, on Monday my MMA beginner's course started off with the demonstration of the several martial arts the club I'm training at teaches. There were so many people there that wanted to get in shape, wanted to start a new hobby, liked martial arts and it was just great. It was great that there are so many people out there that like this stuff, too. Nice to see that you are not alone with something, that you are not the only one.

I've been doing Muay Thai aka thai boxing for the last two years, but due to several changes at my old club and the training getting a little out of hand (at least that's how I felt), I lost interest in it. Or rather I started to fear training more than I looked forward to. Timo, our main/responsible coach at my new club, came to give an intensive course on different distances in combat one weekend. I learned more in those few hours than I had in the months before during regular training; he was the first one to say that you should never ever hit your partner with full force. I really started to like that guy as a trainer. So, when I heard that his club was moving from the outskirts of the city to the city centre (about 800m from my apartment), I decided to give martial arts another chance. But the fear/tiredness related to Muay Thai had grown too big and I decided to try out another sport in that field: Mixed Martial Arts. I always wanted to try it out, but...I feared my body couldn't take it. But these days I've become quite muscular and strong (and confident in what my body can and can't do), so I thought now was just the right time. This is how I ended up at the demonstration/introduction.

During the application process there were three other women applying for MMA (most females signed up for thai boxing). Today, at our first training session, there was only me. And about 20 guys. Whoohoo. Another male dominated sport I do. But it was fun and the guys were great. Plus, everybody knew me in the end, since I was the only girl. And who's to say I don't have a place in this world of fighting? There's a few women in UFC, Gina Carano or Ronda Rousey.

And not only are they good fighters, but they didn't lose their female charm and sexiness, either. They are cute, but pretty good at beating other people up. I think this could be me, too. Okay, I might be a little old to go pro, but at least I can overcome myself and prove to myself that I got what it takes to survive. I wouldn't be the first to die in the Hunger Games :D

Oh, and the best part? I really feel at home at my new club. The people there are so welcoming and nice and open that it's easy to feel at ease. I stopped worrying about all those things normally going on in my head, like: what if no one likes me? what if no one wants to be my partner? what if I'm all alone in this? The moment I stepped into that gym, it was just...fine. And it doesn't hurt that our club's secretary is rather sexy. :D just kidding. No, not only, he's really good looking, but that's besides the point, he's actually really nice, too. And that's what counts.
So, I guess thanks already for a great first training and a successful introduction to my new club MMA Team 300.