Week 35 – I Feel Smarter This Week

Well there are the numbers after another week. But I needed to look at them another way this weekbecause: 1. I have to catch up on those sparring rounds. 2. I want to know what’s ahead and confirm that I’m on the right track. 3. Crunching numbers is kind of fun to me and offers a lot of information. Here’s what I’ve got:

So the highlights… Yes, I’m panicking about the sparring numbers. I need to average 40 rounds of sparring over the next 17 weeks. Oh boy… The good news is that the rest of the numbers are on the right track. I admit, I was really hoping to see a bit of a cushion. But it looks like consistency is the keyhere. On we go…

The Training/Some Research:

I want to circle back that the issue of protein for a vegetarian. Compounded with the fact that martial arts is a sport where strength training is beneficial but cardio capacity is really important, too. So, I did some research. There was lots of reading, I liked this article a lot. It was a bit scientific but still understandable for this creative writing major 🙂 If you’re interested and don’t feel like reading the whole thing, skip to the section called “Protein Requirements for Athletes.”

There’s the body mass theory that says an endurance athlete should consume 1.0 – 1.6 grams of protein per kg of body weight (for sedentary lifestyles it’s 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight). There’s also the caloric theory that says athletes (and those who live sedentary lifestyles, alike) should consume 12-15% of their daily calories in proteins. I like the calories concept better because each person’s caloric requirements can vary hugely based on activity level, types of foods, and, the one that’s often left out, genetics. Based on the research, for me:

• • At about 62.1 kg (137 lbs), that’s at least 62 grams of protein a day

• • At about 2100 calories a day, it’s at least 252 calories from protein a day
    1 gram of protein has 4 calories (1 gram of carb has 4 calories, 1 gram of fat has 9)
    So that’s 63 grams of protein a day

I’ll keep track for a few days to see how much I’m getting but my guess is that it’s somewhere around 40 grams a day.

Of course the research also says that the best protein sources are whole foods. I’ll have to do more reading on that because meat isn’t a whole food, to the best of my knowledge. I know meats boast that they contain more amino acids, but I’m not sure what the overall benefit of that is. So… more to come…

Anyway… working thru Wansu kata and looking forward to the fine tuning. Sparring will hopefully improve as I start pushing to get the rounds I need.

Slacked off on swim training and really need to figure out how to get myself motivated to get to the pool. Keeping a consistent bike/run schedule is easy. I can work thru the challenge of making myself run or bike or lift, but getting to that pool… I’m having a hard time working thru that one.

The Challenges:

Umm… getting to the pool. Haha. Sparring with people who have long arms which keep finding their way to my face. And also sparring with people who are smaller and slip right into that floating rib zone. And even with all of that happening, I just have to stay positive.

The Levels:
Motivation: Is pretty good for everything as long as it has nothing to do with swimming.
Next event: September 7th – Giant’s 1/2 Marathon

Positive Thinking: