Progress over perfection

[BetaCorvi]

New thread, more appropriate title which admittedly I spent far too long searching for even if the title doesn't reflect it. Changed usernames too (BrokenEcho -> BetaCorvi), to be more inline with usernames on other communities. Loving the new look of the Hive! Like last thread, I want to start with some goals. Never got around to doing goals for September (oops).

OCTOBER GOALS

1. Taekwondo:
   1. get ready for yellow-green belt testing.
      1. Gain confidence in the self-defense part of it
      2. Sparring practice
   2. Work in more endurance work/practice poomsae more at home.
2. Running:
   1. Get to 5K in one go
   2. Manage 2 runs per week
3. Weights
   1. Get comfortable with 8 kg weights for upper body exercises, mainly lateral raises
   2. Work out a plan to get rid of knee pain when working with weight
4. Yoga
   1. Ideally - at least 3x per week
5. Weight loss
   1. Read up on appropriate nutrition/get into a more balanced diet
   2. Lose 2-3 kg/get back to a steady weight of 60 kg

Current workout streak: 96

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 18
Done:

• Hard Reset: Cardio, day 17
• Hard Reset: Strength, day 17
• Taekwondo - kicks & poomsae. Focus on middle blocks.
• 7 minute bedtime yoga [Yoga with Adrienne]

Still no taekwondo - friend is still on vacation. Super bummed out about it because I always lose so much confidence & progress if I don't go for this amount of time. Not the best running day, the weather has been super moody so I returned a little earlier to avoid being soaked.
Missing my little V & X checkboxes for my check in. Will need to figure out a new proper system

Current workout streak: 97

 

[GentleOx]

Love the new username. Yeah, things are going to take some getting used to.

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 19
Done:

• Hard Reset: Cardio, day 18 -- 20 minutes of some light rope skipping
• Hard Reset: Strength, day 18, level 1, 6 kg weights
• Taekwondo - taeguk 1 - 4

Notes

Thank you @GentleOx!

Quieter day today - resigned my summer clothes back into storage and pulled out the winter clothes. It doesn't really seem like it is going to warm up any time soon either way. On yesterday's run, I was almost missing a jacket. Feels weird that two weeks ago, I was running in shorts.

Excited to add some jump rope to my repertoire. i think it will help with enduance building, especially the type of endurance I need for the 2 minute sparring segments. Spent quite a bit of time struggling with it - it is a new speedrope and I had to spend a lot of time trying to get it to the ideal length for me, ended up having to cut off quite a bit of the excess as I am tiny & the rope was 2.5 m total. Not the most smooth experience, but if I keep up with it, I should see progress.

Current workout streak: 98

 

[Froud]

You might find some adjustable jumping rope at Sport Direct?
I envy you, while I was going to a Crossfit box, I could not make two jumps in a row ^^

 

[BetaCorvi]

@Froud, this is an adjustable one (from Decathlon) with a screw type adjustment. Like so:

But if I didn't cut the excess off (and reapplied the caps), I had like half a meter of rope almost hitting me in the face every time I swung because there just was so much extra rope. Am not too good myself though, always kept half-jumping, or almost tripping myself.

 

[Froud]

@BetaCorvi ouch, that sound not very comfortable. I will check how works mine. but I think that the excess is confined within the handle.

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 20
Hard Reset: Cardio, day 19
Hard Reset: Strength, day 19
Poomsae practice: il jang up to sa jang
Yoga: own.

SEPTEMBER 21
Taekwondo class - friend still out of town
Hard Reset: Strength, day 20
Some more hamstring warm up stretching - runners lunge
Hard Reset: Cardio, day 20
Naeryo & yop chagi practice

Notes:
My check marks are back! Back to resuming my daily(-ish) logs as usual!

For both days, I did Cardio & Strength after each other. Can't do so for the run portions, but with these calmer in between sessions it feels better to do them one after another. Definitely did feel that Fire hydrant side raise for day 19, ooof. My bum muscles were burning by the end of that.

For day 20, the strength portion just happened to be an almost perfect leg warm up to do the kicks in Cardio. To get more used to kicks in sparring, I did the workout in full training gear (head, arm, leg, foot, and chest protectors) and was kind of happy with how they were going. Though on the left side, my chest protector was limiting the height of my front kicks. Ended with some slow practice on yop chagi & naeryo, slow and focussing on the correct form.

Still hope to get in some yoga this evening, maybe some more rope skipping? Looking forward to my run tomorrow, though I want to set a distance based goal instead of a time one. 3 km? 3.5 km maybe?

Current workout streak: 100!

 

[TheLibrarian]

Happy-100.

 

[CODawn]

Happy 100!

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

Congrats on your 100 day streak!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Congrats on 100 days!

 

[lofivelcro]

Congrats on 100 days!

 

[PETERMORRIS966]

Congrats on 100 days!

 

[HellYeah]

100

 

[Froud]

Oh yeah! That's a milestone!

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[mavie]

Congrats on 100 days.

 

[TopNotch]

Yay for 100!!

 

[val.lavigne86]

Congrats on the 100 day streak!!

 

[Anek]

Congrats on 100 days!

 

[Whirly]

Congrats on 100 Days!

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 22
Hard Reset: Cardio, day 21 (23 min elliptical, level 7)
Hard Reset: Strength, day 21, 3 sets: 1st one at 8 kg, other 2 at 6 kg.

Notes
Didn't end up going for a run after all - would have if we had a treadmill at home. Couldn't bring myself to actually show up outside in exercise clothes, so elliptical workout instead.
May still try and go for a (shorter) run today, if I end up feeling a little better towards the end of the day.

Thank you, everyone!


Current workout streak: 101

 

[LizardFriend95]

Congrats!

 

[Hbomb]

Way to go!!

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 23
Hard Reset: Cardio, day 22
Hard Reset: Strength, day 22, 3 sets at 8 kg!
Yoga with Adrienne: Head & heart Reset

Notes
Definitely feeling my legs after doing that at a higher weight. Playing around with my foot position helped elevate any knee pain, super stoked I actually managed to do it. Am feeling the legs a little more already after that workout compared to the 6 kg workouts, never usually have DOMS even after taekwondo practice. Maybe I am not going hard enough, putting in enough effort?

Tomorrow I'm going to hang out with a friend, practice sparring maybe some kicks, and the like. Then Sunday finally another Taekwondo practice.


Current workout streak: 102

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 24 - 26
Taekwondo

Okay, that's a very brief way of saying it, but pretty much all three of those days were taekwondo.

On Saturday, a friend and I spent pretty much all day going through taeguks, self-defense, sparring with a friend. More of a playful way of training, but it did allow me to work on what I know are my trouble points.

Then Sunday was my first taekwondo training back - a training very heavy on kicks after warming up, and then I pretty much got some private taeguk training by one of our main trainers as there were few seniors and high-belts and we were doing taeguks a little too high for their belt level. Also too high for my yellow belt, but because I knew them, I was invited to stay and run through them.

Then, Monday another training. For the past two trainings, we didn't do a dedicated stretching time, just dispersed stretching exercises in between warm-up exercises. Definitely noticed the difference, and ended up overstretching. Still feel my left upper leg.

No Hard Reset for those days, will continue working on it later this week.

Current workout streak: 105

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 27
Hamstring stretching (very light)
Cultivator Workout, 3 sets, 6 kg

SEPTEMBER 28
Hamstring stretching (very light) spread out over the day
Upper body dumbbell workout (10 bicep curls, 5 upright rows, 5 lateral raises, 4 sets) @ 8 kg
Taeguk practice

Notes
Mentioned last update that I felt like I overstretched and I most definitely did. Today's better, but both 27 & 28 it was hurting to sit on my upper legs and anything like squats feels like no matter how (un)deep I go, my left upper leg is not happy. Not seeing any swelling or so, nor is the leg warmer. Taking it easier until my leg feels a little more normal.

Current workout streak: 107

 

[BetaCorvi]

SEPTEMBER 29
Arms of steel, day 1 (4 sets)
Core Strength, day 1 (4 sets)

SEPTEMBER 30
Arms of steel, day 2 (4 sets)
Core Strength, day 2 (4 sets)

Catching up for the past two days. Legs are starting to feel better - not super yet but I don't want to rest them too long either. Hopefully, I will be able to re-add some more leg-work because now my legs just feel a lot stiffer even in my normal movements.

Can't believe it is the end of September already - months always feel like they go so slow, yet always the end of the month appears so easily. New month, new challenges. New goals to work towards.

Current workout streak: 109

(edited to remove Oct 1 plans)

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 1
Arms of Steel, day 3
Core Strength, day 3, level 2
Knee Strength
Stability
Daily Kicks challenge

Okay, good stuff: no issues with either knee strength or Stability, beyond the fact that my legs are super tight. Doing sporadic stretches throughout the day, hoping it will improve by tomorrow as we'll have guest trainers coming in to work through poomsae and I am really hoping to be able to join in.

Current workout streak: 110

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 2
Taekwondo training: poomsae training, focussing on techniques and first four poomsae
Daily kicks, day 2
Arms of Steel, day 4, level 2
Core Strength, day 4, level 2

Notes
Listing these pointers here for myself, because I know I am going to not be remembering all of them. I always knew I had issues in my poomsae, however it was super helpful to have someone else point out even just the smaller mistakes, make small corrections. It helps massively knowing how certain movements/kicks are supposed to feel, because I don't really have the capacity of training with a mirror in front of me nor do I really 100% know how it is supposed to look. (Notes: not 100% sure how the terms translate, winging it a little bit.)

• Clearer ap seogi, ap kubi difference -- mainly bigger ap kubi.
• More of a flowy/cirle-like knifehand motion.
• Knifehand blocks: straighter hand portion.
• Knifehand strikes: stretch arm further out.
• Yop chagi: less sparring yop chagi form. So bring knee in a bit further and flatter when kicking. Rather better technique & lower, than sloppier kick & higher.

However, overall I am super stoked that I went because it was a really good class. My legs aren't entirely happy yet and I definitely should not have gone as far in stretching as I did. (Unfortunately, I don't seem to feel I went too far until I get back up). Will have to see how they feel tomorrow.

Current workout streak: 111

 

[Hbomb]

You have several days of workouts that say day 3 for arms of steel and core strength. I’m wondering if it’s on hold or of you forgot to change the day? For me, if I forget to change the day, it messes up my count and I have to go figure it out and change it.

 

[BetaCorvi]

You have several days of workouts that say day 3 for arms of steel and core strength. I’m wondering if it’s on hold or of you forgot to change the day? For me, if I forget to change the day, it messes up my count and I have to go figure it out and change it.

Oops, thanks for letting me know! I would have definitely got myself confused there.
I did forget to change the day after copying over. (and then October 1st was in two different post, because I'd first written down the plans loosely for myself in a previous day).

 

[Hbomb]

Oops, thanks for letting me know! I would have definitely got myself confused there.
I did forget to change the day after copying over. (and then October 1st was in two different post, because I'd first written down the plans loosely for myself in a previous day).

I’m happy to help.

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 3
Taekwondo practice
Daily kicks, day 3
Arms of Steel, day 5, level 2
Core Strength, day 5 (10-ish seconds rest in between)

OCTOBER 4
Metaburn, level I (first two sets at 8 kg, then last set at 6 kg)
Daily kicks, day 4
Arms of Steel, day 6 no rest
Core Strength, day 6, level 2

Notes
Taekwondo was another day of working on poomsae. Somewhat frustrating, because we had the trainer that I have some issues with (both in teaching, and his personality just rubs me the wrong way). But I did get up to oh jang, which we normally do not get to.

Got my covid booster shot today, so I am hoping that the side effects remain small. Arm is hurting a little (which didn't help with lateral raises) but as long as it sticks to that, I'll be happy.

Slowly upping my upper body weight, by setting myself a goal (in this case, level I of metaburn) and only going back to the 6kg dumbells when I physically cannot complete the set at 8 kg.

Current workout streak: 113

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 5: Taekwondo
Daily kicks, day 5
Arms of Steel, day 7, level 1
Core Strength, day 7, level 1
30 days of yoga, day 1

Poomsae practice:
Practice being mindful of proper stances
Teach myself yuk jang
- halfway through teaching myself chil jang
teaching myself pal jang

Notes:
My club is going to be starting a poomsae competition team, or trying to at least. And to be honest, even if I am not that far in yet, I am kind of interested in trying out because I do love doing the poomsae and learnin them, and trying to perfect them. However, I do know that there is a lot I still have to practice on.
I still need to talk this over with the trainers who will be organizing the poomsae team. But I want to get to a place where I am comfortable with my performance before I do that.

In addition, I will be trying to help a friend (first dan) get more practice in on his poomsae, fix the movements and help him train them more. So I am also going to be learning the higher poomsae so I can correct him (or at least help him correct movements where I can with the guise of Kukkiwon videos and previous guidance from trainers). I don't have to do the movements perfect, my friend will correct me on them. But I do want to get the basis down.

Did not end up being able to get through everything - spent about two hours on yuk jang and the beginning of pal jang, then I ran out of time due to other plans. Going to continue tomorrow. Only level one of the other programmes, as I just wanted to get to bed.

Current workout streak: 114

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 6
Poomsae practice
Core Strength, day 8 level 2
Daily kicks, day 6
Arms of steel, day 8
30 days of yoga, day 2


Notes
Finished off teaching myself Chil jang today. Prior, I ran through all the previous poomsae, and also did afterwards so I could make sure that I was not confusing the other poomsae. Not gonna lie, there are definitely still mistakes in there, and awkward transitions. Will focus on working those out tomorrow when I teach myself the basis of pal jang, and then later during training if we get that high up.

Had to be a little careful with the front kicks, my range of motion is more limited front-back, compared to to the side and I can feel it with the front kicks. Did two sets with a more poomsae focused front ap chagi, then finished off with a more sparring focused one.

Current workout streak: 114

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 7-9
poomsae practice
core strength, day 9 - 11, level 1
Arms of steel,
Daily kicks, days 7 - 9
30 days of yoga, day 3 - 4
Taekwondo practice, sunday

Notes
Wasn't feeling yoga on saturday, rather than force myself I skipped one day. Feeling a little aimless lately, giving up halfway through something. With running when the run duration felt somewhat undoable, when it became too daunting a thing to look at for running. With anything prior I do. Need to quit the quitting habit. Lots of plans. Nothing really works out. That's on me to fix.

One lesson learned: don't go to taekwondo on an empty stomach and without a sports drink. Sundays are morning classes, and I can't really eat beforehand or I'll get nauseous. Wasn't feeling hunger or anything - I do not physically feel faint, but I did have a lot of issues staying focused and processing sound. Plus my reaction time was abysmal. Never linked that to hunger, but after a dextrose tablet (dextro energy brand, we call it 'druivensuiker' but tbh, I don't know what the English translation is - it is just pure dextrose) that did get better? So I guess that is the cause.

Another class without stretching, which definitely did not help with the naeryo chagi/axe kicks that we had to do for some of the kicking combinations. Not that much room for own stretching.

Ah well. Tomorrow's another day. Can only try to make it better.

Current workout streak: 117

 

[TopNotch]

I generally eat about an hour before class. If I can't (all my classes are early-mid evening) then I just don't bother - but that's me. My main focus is always hydration.

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 10 - 16
Daily kicks, day 10 - 16
Poomsae practice
Yoga with adrienne - 20-Minute Intermediate Power Yoga

---

I have mainly been staying consistent with my daily kicks, however I took a break from the other programs as my motivation was severely lacking. I did make sure to exercise every day, because I feel better when I do put in that effort.

With the prospect of potential poomsae competitions in mind, I spent most of my days teaching myself the poomsae that I should know at my age bracket: yuk jang up to sipjin. Way above my belt level, of course. But I am enjoying the practice and getting to learn them at home allows me to optimize how I learn them.
I find I work best with learning movements bit by bit, going slow. During training sessions, we learn poomsae by going over them twice by command and then are expected to kind of be able to run through them at own speed and just look at the others when we're stuck. However I know that doesn't work for me and tends to be really confusing for me. The Kukkiwon tutorial video's really help there: they break each poomsae into four parts, and I can learn part one, then part two when I am comfortable with part 1, and this allows me to only go into part three once I can do parts one and two smoothly after each other. Plus, setting playback speed to half to understand connecting movements is really useful. It takes me anywhere from 30 minutes (for easy poomsae) up to two hours to learn a poomsae that way, so a lot longer than when we work in training. But I feel a lot more secure in my knowledge of the movements, and my execution.

It might be that I cannot even compete - we will be getting more info about those at a later time. But having a goal right now helped me get through the week, and even if I can't compete I am finding that it helps me with the movements for earlier poomsae. Plus these are poomsae I have to know eventually. I have a friend helping me and correcting me where I falter.

---

I have spent this last week brainstorming. Trying to rebuild my workout plan, trying to rebuild a schedule. I will be pre-selecting workouts at the start of the week, but mainly following the following 'schedule', and seeing where it works out. Of course, the first day will already be not according to plan because I can't attend taekwondo this Monday and Wednesday because my training partner got injured on Sunday, hoping he recovers quickly as we have a belt test at the end of the month. Green-Yellow belt on the horizon.




Current workout streak: 124


Bit much, and maybe a bit too rambly.

 

[CODawn]

I love your spreadsheet idea. I had one for myself setup in my head but I'm too lazy to get it going.

 

[TopNotch]

I am lucky. My club taped all the patterns, breaking it down to footwork, then hands, then putting it all together. I'd watch the videos, and write down the moves. Then I work from my notes and if there's any confusion, I check the video and amend my notes. I found writing it down was an excellent way to reinforce the pattern, and of course during Poomsae training, we went into the minutiæ of the patterns, so I've further amended with angles etc. Also, if there was something I was consistently getting wrong, I'd write clearly and exactly what it was I was supposed to be doing.
Good luck with your plan. Mine always ... change.

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 17
Daily kicks, day 17
Exercise of the day: 50 side-to-side lunges
Taekwondo at home practice: poomsae practice, up to pyeongwon
Taekwondo class

Hamstring stretch

OCTOBER 18
Daily kicks, day 18
Exercise of the day: 60 seconds side raise hold (60 seconds per side)
Goliath workout (8kg weights), only switched to 6 kg for the final two sets of lateral raises
YWA: Yoga for text neck

OCTOBER 19
Daily kicks, day 19
Exercise of the day: 40 knee crunches
Taekwondo at home practice: poomsae practice, focus on the kup grade poomsae.
Taekwondo class
YWA: Yoga for travel

OCTOBER 20
Daily kicks, day 20
Exercise of the day: 60 secs squat hold
Run: C25K, W2D1 (around 6'15" pace for the running segments)
YWA: Yoga for skaters
Lower body work (forgot to schedule in )

OCTOBER 21
Daily kicks, day 21
Exercise of the day: 100 back leg raises
yoga
more stretching

Notes
Okay, 21st was a bad day. Very bad. But for now, my plan is working! I meant to pre-plan the week, which didn't really end up happening. (maybe if I did, I wouldn't have forgotten the lower back workout).

For running, I'm heading back to a lower level of couch to 5K. Was interested in trying the Zombies! Run version of Couch to 5K after seeing some people in the hive do it, but I am a little hesitant because I can't seem to stick to it even when I have a free version, and that one is paid past week 3.

@CODawn Glad to say, the spreadsheet is working for me! I was definitely hesitant about whether or not I would give up on it, or whether I'd actually get it past but I'm being cautiously optimistic about it.

@TopNotch I am jealous, that sounds super useful! The Kukkiwon videos don't always teach footwork well, so I'm finding myself making mistakes there. Have been doing the same with writing down where I am going wrong (and tend to rewatch the video at 0.25x speed to see what they're doing - though there have been small form changes since those videos have been published)

Current workout streak: 129

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 22: Run & ab day
Daily kicks, day 22
EoD: 50 folded crunches
C25K, W2D2
Abs on the beach, level 1
Yoga: Freya

OCTOBER 23: Taekwondo
Daily Kicks, day 23
EoD: crossbody push-ups (not in my ability)
Taekwondo practice

OCTOBER 24: Taekwondo
Daily Kicks, day 24
exercise of the day
Taekwondo practice
11 minute morning yoga stretch

OCTOBER 25: Upper body workouts
Daily Kicks, day 25
2 minutes of squat punching, EC
Cultivator workout, level 1, 6 kg weights
Hero's Journey, day 1, level 2
YWA: Crow practice

Notes
22nd really was a series of unfortunate events in terms of running. Forgot to charge phone (can't run without my intervals), then by the time my phone was charged enough my grandmother was visiting, then by the time she went back home I had to start my part of dinner that I was responsible for. Can't run on a full stomach, and by then it's dark... Win some, lose some?

On a much more positive note: back to taekwondo! One more poomsae heavy class - walked through Koryo & taebaek with the whole group, even the lower belts. No self-defence, no sparring. Which I really should practice again before my belt test. But all in all, a pretty good streak! I feel like my new plan is working for me

Current workout streak: 133

 

[BetaCorvi]

OCTOBER 26: Taekwondo
EoD: 40 deadlifts & twists
Daily kicks, day 26: 3x38 turning kicks
Yoga
Taekwondo class
Taekwondo sparring training in full gear, at home.
Hero's Journey, day 2, level 2
Poomsae

OCTOBER 27: Running & lower body
EoD: 15 tricep extensions, 3 sets of 5.
Daily kicks, day 27: 3x38 front kicks
C25K, W2D2 (6 min/km average for the running intervals)
Hero's Journey day 3 (Bow: 30 min of walking after my run & Hammer: 8 kg weights)
Peach workout
Yoga for Healthy Blood Flow
Poomsae work (forms 1-8)

Notes
Taekwondo class was a Halloween themed training, which is not something my friend is very into. It was a better idea to let my friend's ankle rest a bit more. In turn, I practiced my kicking combos in full gear from the safety of my own home, and found a new way to do my axe kicks/naeryo's without injuring myself as much (change in position of the supporting leg). Still incredibly nervous for my test Sunday or Wednesday, but this makes me feel a little more comfortable with the combinations.

Running went great! A little nauseous - shouldn't have eaten when I did - But I am very glad that I dragged myself out there.


Current workout streak: 135

 

[Froud]

I wish you good luck for your upcoming test!

 

[BetaCorvi]

Thank you, @Froud!

---

OCTOBER 28: Rest day
EoD: 40 W-extensions
Daily kicks, day 28: 3x40 side kicks
Yoga for Inner space travel
Hero's Journey, day 4
300 punches to defend the hive

OCTOBER 29: Running & ab work
EoD: 20 Jump squats
Daily kicks, day 29: 3x40 turning kicks
Yoga for when you feel dead inside
Madfit: 12 min standing abs workout
Sparring practice
poomsae practice
Run
Hero's Journey, day 5 (forgot )
in total 350 kicks to defend the hive between all that.

OCTOBER 30: Taekwondo
EoD: 50 heel taps
Daily kicks, day 30: 3x40 Front kicks
Yoga for when you are feeling scared
Hero's Journey day 5, level 2
Taekwondo: belt exam!

Notes
Yellow-green belt exam went well, a little make-shift, but I passed! Decided not to go for a run on Saturday to avoid having heavy legs for my test, but aaah.

Current workout streak: 138

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Congrats on passing your belt exam!

 

[JCU]

Congrats on the belt exam!

 

[Montserrat]

Congratulations!