Shodan

whitelightrider

Well folks,

Ive been on here a while, started a few logs and never followed through. Until now. I have 4 months to get into the best shape of my life and get my Shodan. Currently Im in pretty good shape according to my sensei. But Im not happy and I feel Im a long way off.

My stats are:

Age - 33
Sex - Male
Height - 5ft 7
Weight - 12 stone
BF - feels like about 30%

My goals are simple. To get my diet sorted, get a plan in place and stick to it. Then, hopefully within those 4 months feel strong enough to go for Shodan. Im also going to look at crossfit as part of my training plan. I have a Marcy SM600 bench, 140kg in weights and a separate lighting bar, 24kg kettlebell, chin up bar and sit up bench. So I think I have enough to do the crossfit workouts and tailor them to suit my Karate training.

My routine is as follows:
Monday - Karate
Tuesday - crossfit
Wednesday - Astro soccer / Karate
Thursday - Crossfit
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Crossfit
Sunday - Rest/Crossfit

Ill post up my current diet and eating routine tomorrow.

So if anyone can offer advice on what I should be looking at diet wise, training wise, etc, Id be extremely grateful. And hopefully in 4 months become Shodan.

whitelightrider

Ok so heres my current eating plan.

7am - Porridge
7.30am - Cup of Coffee
10.15am - Toast and tea
12.30pm - Lunch - Normally a sandwich and tea with bag of crisps
5.30pm - Dinner - Fish, Veg, stir fry, curries, etc.
Evening - snack of tea and biscuit.

I think this is where my biggest problem is and something I really have to work on.

Charlie3dan

Hey whitelightrider,

Glad to see you are keeping the training up and going for Shodan. If shodan is your main goal I would do at least one more karate night per week. I know you are trying to get fitter and stronger so you've incorporated alot of crossfit but if you don't feel the karate classes are a tough enough workout, do your own Karate training one night and go harder or for longer. Try improve your speed when doing basics and do more reps. In the dojo it's easy to fall in with the speed everyone else is doing. Believe me, basics can give you a tough workout. If possible get a buddy at a similar level to train with you and push each other.

In any case, if you wanna be good at karate ya gotta do karate. Weights, cardio, conditioning etc etc should be supplementary to karate. (again, if your main goal is shodan).

I'm certainly no expert in diet but a few simple things: No sugar in tea or coffee, find a better substitute for crisps, choose wholegrain bread or brown at least for sandwiches. Watch what you drink and I don't mean alcohol. Cokes and lucosades etc take their toll.
You're probably well aware of that stuff but I know myself I had to hear it alot before I made the changes.

I hope some of that helps!

whitelightrider

Charlie3dan wrote: »

Hey whitelightrider,

Glad to see you are keeping the training up and going for Shodan. If shodan is your main goal I would do at least one more karate night per week. I know you are trying to get fitter and stronger so you've incorporated alot of crossfit but if you don't feel the karate classes are a tough enough workout, do your own Karate training one night and go harder or for longer. Try improve your speed when doing basics and do more reps. In the dojo it's easy to fall in with the speed everyone else is doing. Believe me, basics can give you a tough workout. If possible get a buddy at a similar level to train with you and push each other.

In any case, if you wanna be good at karate ya gotta do karate. Weights, cardio, conditioning etc etc should be supplementary to karate. (again, if your main goal is shodan).

I'm certainly no expert in diet but a few simple things: No sugar in tea or coffee, find a better substitute for crisps, choose wholegrain bread or brown at least for sandwiches. Watch what you drink and I don't mean alcohol. Cokes and lucosades etc take their toll.
You're probably well aware of that stuff but I know myself I had to hear it alot before I made the changes.

I hope some of that helps!

Hey Charlie,

Trust me, all of that helps!! I really do need to get another class in but Im stuck at the minute. We're going through changes at work which means Im in Dublin the night the 2nd class is on. Really bugs me because I could do with the extra night. Ill have to try and work something out, even making every second week. Ill try and make some space in the garage for some extra Karate training. But any other advice you can offer, even on training combinations, would be a great help. Ive alot to work on with my Kumite too.

Food wise I can definitely cut out the crisps and use wholegrain bread. That wont be a problem. Dont drink Coke or Lucozade, just water. Am getting through about 3 liters a day.

Thanks Charlie and anything you can offer in the way of advice is greatly appreciated.

Charlie3dan

Ah right well nothing you can do about work but if you're missing the dojo classes try and do the training yourself and if you are going to be training in the garage try and set up a few mirrors and watch your form.

You don't need anything too complex in terms of combinations. It's all about showing you've mastered the basics so really just drill the basics. (I can send you our shodan syallabus if that would help). But set a high level of intensity and keep going. Couple of weeks of that and you'll see huge improvements.

If you can find a training partner all the better. Ask around and see if anyone else intends to do any dan grading next year. Either see if you can arrange to join in their extra training or set something up. If you can't do that try and get time with them before/ after training for kumite. If there's an exceptionally good fighter in your dojo or someone that everyone is afraid of and avoids, seek him out and ask him to help with kumite. It'll be worth it !:D

Karate classes can be quite light in terms of intensity. If classes aren't split by experience you can have everything from 8 to 80 and white belt to several dan. So remember when you are training yourself or with other similar minded people, intensity is the thing.

Again I hope this is helpful!

whitelightrider

Ok first workout completed.

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 of chins/pull ups (bodyweight) and squats (30kg). Completed in 17 minutes.

Then some light Karate work to stretch the legs and arms.

Going to look at Transform's blog and take some of his workouts and work them into mine.

Hanley

How's this one working out?

whitelightrider

Hanley wrote: »

How's this one working out?

Hey Hanley, thank God Christmas is over!!! Its working out pretty good to be honest. Im finding it a nice short workout, but intense. I know I can bring the time down and the weights up, just want to let the body adapt to this short, intense session.

Loving the Crossfit sessions. All I need to get now for the house is some dip bars and maybe some Dumbbells - Powerblock or something, and Im completely set.

Spending tonight working out an eating plan that I can stick to and checking up on the stocks of Whey. Then its simply time to knuckle down and just get it done. Have 4 months to the Black Belt so its going to be intense!!!

Oh and I start boxing training tonight which should be fun!!

whitelightrider

Just signed up for the Boards Better Body Super Challenge!!! Actually looking forward to it and seeing the results. Plus it will give me that extra focus for Shodan. Stats and measurements to be taken on Saturday morning. Unsure about the photos yet though

whitelightrider

Ok, so Ive just had my last piece of junk food for the next 8 weeks, minimum. Ive signed up for g'em's Better Body Challenge and its come at the right time for me. Its the push I need to get in right shape for shodan. And for the future holiday in the summer!!

So my goals are simple:
No junk food
Lose the flab but not the size
GET SHODAN
And the bonus will be to get in Shape.

So the routine will be as follows:
Monday - Karate (90 mins)
Tuesday - Boxing (Father in law has been on to me to join so why not)
Wednesday - Astro (60 mins)
Thursday - Crossfit
Friday - Boxing/Crossfit
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Crossfit

Ill try and work in some more crossfit sessions to my new schedule as they are nice quick workouts.

Ill post my stats and measurements tomorrow as the scales here at home is broken. So here's to the New Year, and the new me!

whitelightrider

Ok here are some of the pics I took tonight:

Back
Side
Front
Front Flex

whitelightrider

Well so far so good. Have managed to cut out all crap food and snacks, but I have to say Im a lot hungrier than normal.

Monday - Karate - 90 mins. Good intense class.

Tuesday - 10 to 1, Bench (40kg), Squat Press (30kg), Pull ups/Chins. Found this hard. Think it might have been down to lack of energy as I havent been snacking. Going to look into protein shakes also.

Wednesday - Soccer - about 60 mins. Good pace

Have to work on making my own snacks and stuff. Going to trawl through boards for recipes!!

whitelightrider

Just realised I havent posted up here in a while.
Training is going well. Karate is getting better and faster, and Im really pushing myself at soccer.

I realise though that my cardio needs some serious work so Im going to try and get some HIIT worked into my week. There's a pitch about 3 miles from the house so Ill try and make use of that.

The diet is really clean now with no junk being eaten. However I notice that Im hungrier and I need to start eating more, lots more. So going to look through the Nutrition forum and see what I can work into my diet.

Still on track for Shodan in April!!

Shotokan 1969

How did you get on with your Shodan?

I've my shodan grading in November and i'm starting to develop a training programme.