Membership Not Required

I have learnt a few things over the past couple of months.
Between the Physical Conditioning Course I took, the 7 day pushup experiment I finished and the Internet, I have determined I really do not need a gym membership.
I have belonged to a gym for as long as I can remember. No matter where I lived it was the first thing I did, join the local gym, so this is a huge change of habit or should I say philosophy.

First thing is time management. Recognize any opportunity to train even if its 3 minutes here and there of pushups,squats,a form, whatever. It all counts and it all adds up at the end of the day.

Secondly, you don't need fancy equipment to tax yourself. I discovered body weight strength training is very effective. Body strength training can come from an endless variety of drills and exercises that can be found on the Internet and some websites have even gone to the extent of grouping them to enhance your particular sport or martial art that you are involved in.(keep in mind its the Internet and be wise to what expertise is offered).
As an example, Sifu Prince introduced me to some excellent Hindu squats from a website that are very effective for strength training. They take up no space at all and doing a set of 200 can be carried out in the time frame of about 10 minutes or less.

To cover your aerobic training is as simple as going outside for a run. Remember there is no such thing as bad weather...only bad gear(sorry, thats a motorcycle phrase but still applies!)
If you don't like running, find some stairs..oh the dreaded stairs (try 3 flights with 20 pushups at the top 3 times..again, can be done over a lunch hour, preferably before you eat!)

Thirdly, set a daily goal of something, first thing you should do in the morning is have a game plan for your day. If you know there is no way to cut an hour out to train make a goal for yourself to achieve something. For example, 300 situps, pushups, 100 squat thrusts, 50 roundhouse kicks. Somewhere at sometime during your day you will find opportunities to slip those numbers in but you won't if you did not set a goal for yourself in the first place.
Also, learn to roll with the punches and adapt, if your day gets upset, don't get upset, think on the fly of how to re-adapt your goals.
An example of this is Sihing Bachand,... found herself without her car and used her alternate means of transportation as a way to enhance her training( walking to bus, reading on bus)..Kudos!

Last, mix it up. Never let your body get use to a routine of training. That goes for the mental aspect as well. If you are constantly switching how you train you don't get bored and you don't plateau physically.

That sums up my thoughts on fitness for the past couple of months.

However, I won't be giving up my gym membership because the good thing about the membership is the sense of purpose and focus it offers. When you go to the gym you are there with others that have the same intent as you. No distractions, you are there to train.
The same can be said for the challenges that are posted on the schools chat site. These challenges give you focus and support which is invaluable and will help you get through the "slug" moments.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Seven

7000 in 7 days...done (yeah!)
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Six

Finished push ups for today.
It went well, I have started to try and increase my number in each set.
I don't have any muscle aggravation anymore but I am careful to carry out the pushups with the best form possible and not too fast. I keep thinking if I try and go through a set as fast as possible I am leaving myself open for pulling something or injury.
I have to say I am a little surprised! I was not sure I would get this far and I did not expect my muscles to adapt so quickly. Muscles are sore and tired but I can still go.
Last day tomorrow, however, its a full day with little time for push ups.

Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Five

Push ups done for today. The heating pad helped with muscle aggravation quite a bit.
See how tomorrow goes, its late now so keeping it short.
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta , Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Four

Today was rough.
It appears I can do three days in a row and the fourth day should be a rest day.
Anyways, thats just an observation. I am now experiencing muscle fatigue and local aggravation in my left arm, specifically the left bicep and the heel of my left palm. Sorry to go into such detail but I am journaling for my benefit and for the next time(not any time soon mind you).
I have to think something to do with my alignment is out if the left arm is giving me trouble. Not sure.
I did solve the palm heel problem by rolling up a sock and supporting my hand with it! Whatever works.
I think I will be firing up the heating pad tonite.
The muscle aggravation is not bad enough that I need to quit, it is just bad enough to suck the enthusiasm out of the challenge! Once again it is the battle of mind over body.
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta ,Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Three

I finished all my pushups by 7pm. Most of it was done at the gym today. The past three days have been relatively easy only because they have been days off, the challenge is going to be later on this week when I have to go back to work.
The upper body strength is hanging in there, however, I noticed my left arm bothering me near the end of today.
I think changing up the hand positions have helped alot in preventing total muscle exhaustion.
All for now,
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Two

Today was better than I expected. I thought for sure I would be extremely sore but maybe it has not kicked in yet.
It was a weight training day, so this morning I did pushups after every set. I had company for dinner so I had to finish up after they left but fortunately it was only 90 push ups to go.
Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow.
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada