Tag Archives: fitness

PROMPT: Morning

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Daily writing prompt
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?
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I’m a morning person and am typically at fairly high energy levels first thing in the morning, So, that time is generally active, filled with exercise and / or physical activity of varied varieties (calisthenics, walking, running, and — of late — the occasional swim [which I normally do latter in the day.])

[Of course, there is the obligatory urinating, washing, toothbrushing, etc. (sequentially not concurrently,) but that seems like it would go without saying and would be strange to ask strangers about.]

BOOK: “Rocket Yoga” by David Kyle

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Rocket® Yoga: Your Guide to Progressive Ashtanga VinyasaRocket® Yoga: Your Guide to Progressive Ashtanga Vinyasa by David Kyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Human Kinetics

This book provides an overview of Rocket Yoga, which is newcomer to yoga’s ranks that adapts from the Ashtanga Vinyasa school of Pattabhi Jois. The objective of Rocket is to make the practice more adaptable, both in terms of being suitable for a broad range of students and for individual students to adapt the practice in ways that would fit their objectives, strengths, and limitations. There are also adjustments made in the sequence to streamline the flow.

For those unfamiliar with Ashtanga Vinyasa, it is a fixed form flow style. Fixed form means that at a given level one is repeating the same sequence the same way every session until one bumps up to the next level. This offers great advantages for building fitness, muscle memory, and connection to the practice, but many find it tedious and the threat of burnout is ever-present. Rocket attempts to keep the benefits of fixed form practice but to mitigate the burnout factor by having three sequences that can be interspersed in one’s practice, as well as by allowing more room for individual variation. Ashtanga Vinyasa is also often perceived as daunting because as a flow form it involves a lot of vigorous transitional movement and also because even some of the preliminary series asana (postures) are challenging for your average practitioner. While Ashtanga Vinyasa generally allows for modification, Rocket leans into this a bit more. (That said, the Rocket system also has ways to step up the challenge as well.)

As with many system-centric yoga books, much of the book is description of the asana (postures) that make up the system as well as elaboration on how they are sequenced. However, the book does open with philosophical and historical background and ends with discussion of how the practice might be adapted (e.g. there is a section for pregnancy.)

The book has a lot of color photographs that are clear and well captured (if of limited perspective.)

If you are an Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioner (or perspective practitioner) and are curious about how the basic concept might be adjusted to mitigate potential burnout or make the system more flexible, I’d recommend giving this book a look.

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PROMPT: Leisure Time

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Daily writing prompt
What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?
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That’s trickier than it seems. I quite enjoy reading and many forms of bodily movement activities (e.g. swimming, yoga, taiji, qigong, exercise, etc.,) but I’d count them more as personal development activities than leisure activities. (Even something as seemingly non-purposeful as juggling.) I sometimes watch TV / movies, but I don’t know that I’d say I enjoy that so much as find it an opportunity to zone out.

BOOKS: “Swimming: Made Easy” by Terry Laughlin

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Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Any Swimmer to Achieve Fluency, Ease, and Speed in Any StrokeSwimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Any Swimmer to Achieve Fluency, Ease, and Speed in Any Stroke by Terry Laughlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Google Books Page

I learned a lot from this book’s emphasis on how to smooth out and lengthen one’s strokes. The author describes his approach as teaching “fishlike” swimming, and effortlessness is emphasized.

The book covers all four of the strokes one sees in competitive swimming (i.e. crawl [a.k.a. freestyle,] backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.) For each stroke one learns how to improve balance, stroke length, and fluidness, as well as a bit about breath and coordination.

The book is presented in two parts. The first is the more theoretical bit and the second describes drills one can use to improve one’s technique. Part one is longer, more detailed, and written in more readable prose. Part two is shorter, more picture-laden, and tends to stick to bullet points. Photos are monochrome, mostly from above water level, and of varying degrees of clarity / informational value.

My biggest peeve with the book is that it frequently breaks into advertisement for other products (i.e. DVD’s [dates the book, as I’m pretty sure no one has an operational DVD player anymore] and gear.)

I’d recommend this book for readers interested in learning to swim more efficiently. The book is geared toward competitive swimmers interested in shaving time, rather than recreational swimmers who are just interested in a move pleasant experience (e.g. if one swims for fun, one will probably not be running a sequence of drills as that kind of defeats the fun of the activity.)

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PROMPT: Habit

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What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?

Movement and exercise.

PROMPT: Learned

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Daily writing prompt
What is the last thing you learned?
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Heavy Indian Club movement patterns and the core tenets of Perennial Philosophy.

BOOKS: “Judo Unleashed!” by Neil Ohlenkamp

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Judo Unleashed!: The Ultimate Training Bible for Judoka at All Levels (Revised and Expanded Edition)Judo Unleashed!: The Ultimate Training Bible for Judoka at All Levels by Neil Ohlenkamp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: July 9, 2024

This is a new and revised edition of a book that has been on the market for many years. It provides an overview of the sport and martial art of judo, with particular emphasis on the competitive version of the art. It does discuss the self-defense philosophy and approach of judo in broad brushstrokes, but the techniques that are discussed (and shown) individually are the competition-legal ones. The book does take a no-nonsense approach and focuses on a straight-forward delivery of the most crucial information for a general reader.

The book’s organization is as one would expect of a martial arts guide: an introductory overview, a detailed breakdown of the techniques by type (i.e. throwing, grappling, groundwork,) and a brief closing (i.e. “where do we go from here”) section. Among the book’s useful features is that Ohlenkamp often tells the reader which judoka were particularly noted for their adeptness with a given technique as he presents said technique. This gives the reader wanting a little more insight the opportunity to do some internet research for video clips of that particular judoka doing the technique in question.

The book has a large number of color photos that are clear and present the gist of each technique in mid-action. It also has extensive appendices discussing rules and the formally accepted techniques of Kodokan Judo.

I found this book useful and would recommend it for those interested in judo, whether as a potential student or to compare and contrast it with other grappling sports / martial arts.

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PROMPT: Physical Activity

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Daily writing prompt
What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?
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I don’t have a favorite, but there are several that I could not maintain health and sanity without, including: hiking, yoga, calisthenics, taiji / qigong, free movement, and at least one cardio (I currently swim and run.) I’m currently struggling with juggling.

BOOKS: The Shaolin Workout by Shi Yan Ming

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The Shaolin Workout: 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior's WayThe Shaolin Workout: 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior’s Way by Yan Ming
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This book presents an exercise regimen based on Shaolin Kung fu as taught by a prominent New York City martial arts teacher. The book moves from gentle joint articulations suitable for anyone through to movements that require some degree of flexibility and athleticism. The sequence is presented in such a way as to build on itself, adding a bit more each time until one is doing the entire sequence.

Interspersed with the descriptions of the physical exercises are meditations, mostly of a contemplative nature. The illustrations are color pictures and provide the sequences of movement, though the textual descriptions will be necessary in many cases to clarify the transitional movements. There are a number of full-page color plates that are very well shot, though mostly for aesthetic (versus educational) purposes.

The book is probably the most pep-talk laden book I’ve ever read. That said, there’s not much discussion of modifications or capacity building for individuals who are incapable of doing the full expression of the techniques.

The practices often reminded me more of yoga than of martial arts. There are many deep stretches and low positions, e.g. similar to Warrior I (Virabhadra I.) It’s true that there are punch and kick movements, but they are done in more of a range-of-motion building way than as one would in combative arts.

It is an interesting set of movements, and I’d recommend it for those who like to work with unconventional workouts and movement systems.

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PROMPT: Physical Exercise

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What is your favorite form of physical exercise?

I play no favorites. I love calisthenics, yogasana, running, swimming, functional movement, movement drills (e.g. martial arts,) etc.

I do have least favorites though, and – collectively – those are exercises where I have to go somewhere in particular to have access to some specialized equipment. So, for example, I don’t care for weight lifting or using ellipticals or climbers, etc. (I still enjoy the exercise well enough, but it’s more hassle than it needs to be.)

My whole equipment inventory consists of a yoga mat, a pull-up / dip apparatus, and a few resistance bands, and I can make do without those quite nicely — e.g. when traveling.