Last week Ry posted on the 100 Push Up Challenge that we are both doing.
Well, it’s now week 2 day 2, and things are going pretty well. I have been able to do each set as recommended, but no more than the minimums.
I am really enjoying this challenge. I am excited to see if I can make it at the end and am very proud of how much I have improved already. Doing 100 consecutive pushups has been a goal of mine since fitness tests in middle school gym class.
Another goal of mine has been to get a blackbelt in some type of self-defense Karate. I started doing Tiger Schulmann’s Karate in Connecticut but didn’t have a chance to progress beyond a white belt (beginner, lowest level). During college there were many martial arts clubs, but they were all more formal and stylized; I wanted something physical with grappling and self defense! ever since I stopped going to TSK, I have been wanting to get back into the martial arts. I enjoy the confidence, flexibility, and core strength these types of exercises bring – it really is amazing how much of a full mental and physical workout it really is.
Randomly the other day I found a local dojo walking distance to the apartment – Northeastern Martial Arts. It’s located in the back of a plaza I often go to, but I just never saw it there.
The school offers self defense classes in styles including Kendo, Jujitsu, Bujitsu, and Okinawan Karate. I am interested in the Okinawan Karate. I went in and got some information on the classes and program, and it sounds really exciting.
So, after doing tonight’s round of the push-up challenge I made a promise to myself:
I am going to start karate again tomorrow.
I am tired of putting things off, especially health related things. Karate is fun and a fantastic work out – and the classes are designed to accommodate working adults. So I have the class schedule and phone number, and tomorrow from 8-9 I will be starting again.
Photos curtesy of: The Okinawin Karate Club, and With Fitness and Health
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Kendo sounds simply fascinating… I was a part of the ATA for a while, doing taekwondo… I've got my purple belt, then because of a lot of stress I ended up stopping. Unfortunately, I have yet to pick it back up… And I'm half way to my black belt too. Right now, the main things stopping me are time (Not enough of it) and money (not enough of that, either.). One thing I really miss is the awesome workout, and the fact that I had visible abs after only a few months of training… (Something I've vowed to work on and get before my husband comes back from the desert in October.)
Good luck on the 100 pushups challenge. I'm doing it too, and am on day 2 of week 2 as well. I've been able to do the pushups, and plus some over the minimums so far, but i know its only going to get tougher after this week. I'll include you in my roundup when i do one!
Did you make it to the karate class? My husband did taekwondo back in the day- his older brother actually owns his own school out in Indiana.
I am going on Monday night to an introductory session – tour the school, meet the sensei, take a class, etc. They wanted to schedule a time rather than just have me walk in. My dad and brother are both blackbelts, and my uncle has a second degree in a different style; but my dad is the only one who still does it – uncle got injured and brother just got lazy.
It's really cool that your brother-in-law owns his own school!
Thanks, and good luck to you too! The first day I was able to go over the minimums was yesterday, I did 18 rather than 15. Before that the minimums maxed me out.
So far it hasn't been too bad, but looking ahead the next few weeks, things are going to get tough really fast.
I think it's really cool that so many of us are doing this. I know there are definitely days when I haven't wanted to do any pushups, but knowing you guys are also doing the challenge has kept me going.
Yea, Kendo does sound cool. I'm going to look into those classes too. I was worried that I'd have to buy a lot more stuff, like the protective gear and shinai/sword rather than just a uniform.
Like I mentioned in the post, I did TSK karate for a few months. While I was there they changed their belt system, so I would have been a blue belt but instead was a white belt with a black stripe – either way I only made it to the second level. I am not familiar with purple belts? I think each school and style has their own ranking other than white and black.
Karate is totally an awesome work out. I'm hoping to develop a lot more endurance, as well as visible abs – they have always been hard for me to maintain too.
100 pushups is a neat idea! My work does a "take the stairs" challenge between depts – hasn't been our dept. yet but it gets competitive! I do take the stairs in the parking garage 2x daily (2 flights each) so I hope this challenge comes our way soon!
Good luck with yours!
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