February 1st

My body is not used to cycling! Legs ached like hell all day, and I was dreading gym training. Once I got there I loosened up and got into it though. Had a good session.

Back pain is ever present, and becoming annoying to even mention. Just assume that it hurts until I say ‘stop’

Diet
Breakfast: Oatmeal with nuts, seeds and honey
Mid morning: Tuna, ricecake and apple
Lunch: Disgusting lamb stew I made. Nigel Slater has let me down and I couldn’t finish it, so I went hungry. Had 2 cream crackers to tide me over.
Mid afternoon: Tuna, ricecake and apple
Pre-workout: Pack of raisins
Post workout: Chocolate milk
Dinner: Delicious Indian-style wraps with lettuce, red onion, raita and marinated chicken. Kirsty had these waiting when I got back from the gym and they were AWESOME. Very healthy too.

Good diet, except the crappy stew. It was supposed to be ‘Aromatic Italian Lamb’, and I concede that it smelled good, but it tasted like lamb in mulled wine.

Exercise
Warmup: Increased pace jogging on the spot, high knees, jumping jacks, sprinting on the spot etc.
Circuit 1: Shadowing. 2 minutes x4 sets. Good workout, I was able to keep going at a really quick pace with full speed punching the whole time, so I must be getting fitter.
Circuit 2: Skipping. I gave this another go, but stopped about 2 minutes in when my ankle started to twinge. For the rest of the time I did knuckle pressups and crunches.
Circuit 3: Bag work: 2 minutes x4 sets. Alternated between moving while throwing combinations and stationary punch-outs.
Circuit 4: Not sure what you’d call this, but I’d look at it as a intermediate step between shadowing and sparring. With a partner, you circle about throwing light punches against his guard. It a good exercise to get used to punching range. 2 minutes x3 sets, swapping between hitting and getting hit.
Circuit 5: Focus drill. With a partner, throw a left-right combination against his extended gloves, He then swings a left arm which you weave underneath, and come up with a hard right cross. It’s a basic focus-pad drill, great for movement and aim. Really enjoyed this one. Hopefully more of this in future.
Circuit 6: 10 pressups/10 squats/10 crunches/10 burpees. Repeat 3 times, rest for 1 minute = 1 set. Do 3 sets. Easily the hardest thing we’ve done so far. I was exhausted after 1 set, almost collapsing after 3. I think I was the last to finish all 3 sets, but I completed every single rep, so I can be proud of that.
Circuit 7: Planks, 3 x1 minute. Harder after the crunches, but still easy enough to hold a comfortable conversation while doing them. It seems weird that 1 minute is nothing now, and a month ago 30 seconds was a challenge.

Overall I’m very happy with the day. The workout was really tough, but the harder the better. I also found out today that I’m not the only one carrying a few injuries. A few other guys are also having issues, strangely it’s their ankles and backs that are suffering too.

Only other slight issue is my shoes, I picked up some blisters today, stupid and preventable, and the last thing I want to worry about. I got a good lead on a martial-arts shop in Marina Square, so I’m going to head over there on Saturday in search of some boxing boots.

68 days to go…