Merry Christmas

Christmas day and I can't wait for tomorrow to come. I'm not the most christmasy of people, I give all the time, not just one day out of the year. I'm nothing but peace and love and joy and happiness. As far as I'm concerned, everyday is Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, and my birthday all rolled into one. Why wait for a holiday to feel good and celebrate? I feel good and celebrate everyday of the year. Guess I'm just blessed. Must be dashing off now, smell the cooking from the kitchen and such.

Finally Earned My Black Belt

Yesterday, in a private testing with our instructor, we finally earned our first degree blackbelts. It was my wife's third attempt and she was as excited as school girl on the first day of summer. I took it all more philosophically. It was my second attempt. After practicing and polishing up forms and board breaking techniques I finally got up there and screwed it all up again. I don't know what it is but every time I get up there with my wife, I fuck it up. My board breaks I did get on the first attempt this time. I think that was the main reason I no changed my first test. If I had kept it all to the schedule everyone else does I would have had my blackbelt in the late winter or early spring. Of course I'm not everyone else, I am only myself. My instructor called me up just as I was coming out the shower preparing for the test and asked me if I was ready. Ready, I don't know the meaning of the word. I do know anyone, anytime, anywhere, and I do know that no inspection ready unit is ever combat ready and no combat ready unit is ever inspection ready. I live my life by these two adages because I have personally experienced them. Ready she asks, if I were ready about anything in my life I'd have not ever progressed out of diapers or even my mother's womb. I don't know the word or probably ever will. Ready is one of those states one probably experiences on their death bed as they are just about to die. Anyway, I have my blackbelt, Dana has hers and life goes on.

Latest Happennings

Here it is the end of October almost and it has been a busy month. Dana and the girls went up for their black belt test and no changed. That's a nice way of saying they didn't make it. I went up for it last week and I no changed myself. Unlike Dana and the girls I just didn't do three forms, I opted to do all nine. I screwed up the last three of the nine and took three attempts to break the last station of the board breaks. Dana and Judith didn't break their last station. I don't remember how they did on their first attempt. This was their second black belt test and my first. Now we all go up together again the middle of next month.
Victoria fucked up her knee at the end of September. Allegedly, she was doing cartwheels on the hard tile surface at the mall. I didn't see it, I was walking in front of them when it happened. Her sister Judith isn't saying and Victoria won't fess up only saying that she felt her whole knee cap shift out of place. When I heard her crying, I thoght she was just screwing around. She stayed at home the next day and the following day we took her to the doctor. They sent her to an orthopedic specialist nad he say s the cartilage is damaged behind the knee cap. Victoria underwent a knee scope last week to remove some small slivers of loose cartilage and to have some holes drilled behind the patella to help facilitate blood flow to heal what cartilage remains. She's hobbling about on crutches now.
What pisses me off about the whole thing is that she was out fucking around doing cartwheels on a hard surface. If it had happened in taekwondo their insurance would have helped. If it had happened in volleyball, there would have at least been witnesses. Now I'm out 350 dollars and that's with the insurance. As if I had 350 to laying around. At least she's okay and that's what's important.

House Party B-B-Q

Hosted a B-B-Q yesterday, my first in 15 years or so. The last time I did this we weren't married but a couple of years and we invited my inlaws. It was a January or February and it was a cold sunny day so we were all cooped up inside. This time I did much better.
Invited a group from work and their friends and a family from the taekwondo school we're with. Actually this is a sort of summer house party series we've been doing with people from work. One of us will host the get together, every one brings something, and we sit around drinking beer, eating, shooting the shit, playing card games and scrabble and such. I invited my taekwondo instructor and some people from the taekwondo school to even out the guests. Mostly it's just people from work who show up at these things. The takwondo instructors didn't show but one of the families did and they brought this delicious bean dip and cheese/sausage sauce.
I marinaded two briskets overnight, one in italian dressing and the other in teriyaki sauce, wrapped them up in several layers of aluminum foil, threw them on the fire ring out back over some charcoal and some scrap wood and six hours later the meat was tenderly tearing up on a fork. I also boiled up a big batch of beans seasoned with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and garlic powder and pepper and oregano and parsly. The rice came out a little sticky. Everyone raved about the food but the real star was my mothers homemade tortillas.
I had made a batch of masa the night before but my mother was not satisfied with it, I had used self rising flour. The tortillas were coming out crispy and not soft, a cardinal sin committed moments before the firsts guests were supposed to be showing up. She through me out of my own kitchen, flew out of the house bought some all purpose flour and whipped up homemade flour tortillas. They were to die for. Between the tender juicy brisket and her tortillas and cooperative weather, it was a good time had by all.
The last guests didn't leave until 2:30AM or s0. I'm not used to staying up all night like that, even though I work nights. I'm beat today and spent most of the day napping and snacking off the left overs. I drank beer and wine last night but not to excess so no wicked hangover to nurse. Sucked back a couple of coronas left over from last night and picked up the backyard. Everything back to normal.
By far the worse part was getting everything together and motivating Dana and the girls to clean up the house. Once people started showing up it all flowed smoothly. Can't wait to do it again. Next time I'll start earlier and have everyone out early so I can relax or I'll just fire up the fire pit for us here at home on a weekend. Staying up to 0300 is for the birds. I just don't do that all the time. After everyone had burned off I laid out a moment thinking in my hammock. The stars are really pretty in the early morning quiet and no more self rising flour for my tortillas.

Back To School

Today my children returned to school. There is a quiet in the house, a peace for just a little while until, Dana, their mother returns home and pierces it with the TV or the computer. She, more than myself, is more than happy to rush them of to school this morning. It's difficult for Dana to be with her own children for more than a day and the summer vacation can be a pure hell for her.

I don't know why, but for some reason, Dana has difficulty dealing with her own children. Perhaps it's because she's a full time stay at home wife and mother or perhaps it's her own up bringing or perhaps it's that perfectly normal part of growing up in which teenage daughters naturally butt heads with their mothers? I don't know, I do know I spend a lot of time outside in my garage and I do not get to watch much TV or work on the computer or relax in my own house unless Dana and the girls are gone.

Back to school time for me is time to spend with Dana alone for a few hours. We may go to a book store or the movies or out to eat or just stay home and fuck, but it's time together and alone and it's valued. She won't get physical such as riding a bicycle or go for a run or lift weights or work out in the yard or garage and that's what I want her to do with me. Now she'll go back to her routine, drop the the girls off at school, come back and read the paper, have a cup of coffee, rot in front of the TV until she has to get them at 1430. She may get some house work done or go to the library or a bookstore; but, unless we do something together, this is her routine.

As for myself, it's life as usual. I'm used to her routine and to what she values. I'm used to her and that's what can actually be a bit scary. I can almost predict the way of her day. I get up in the morning, or the afternoon if I have to work, and I am on God's good graces. Not that Dana isn't, but it seems we each have to make our own self and our own happiness and it has to come from within. A really nice trick is to balance it all out with the ones we love. If we can, if we're able.

In other news, my brother has moved away to Jasper, Texas with his girlfriend Kaylie. She and her daughter are also starting school today. The most important men in my life are all going away it seems. My father moved out to New Mexico a year or so after my grandparents passed on, my maternal grandfather in a nursing home in Pasadena because Mary, his wife, can't care for him, and now my brother out in east Texas. Yesterday, before he left we shut off the electricity and the water and turned off the gas at the valves and now the house is truly empty.

It's a different emptiness from what I remember after my grandparents had passed 8 years ago this year. The emptiness then was more inside of me because I knew the house would be filled again by my brother. This emptiness is different, there's no one to fill it and the house actually seems dead. No life there except for my memories. It's an empty shell next door housing my brothers things and he says he'll be back in a couple of weeks or a month but I know better.

He's gone for a good long while and it's up to me to cut the grass and to keep the place until he returns. He says he'll pay his own taxes and bills and I hope and pray he does because owning your own home is important. I don't want him to lose it to the tax man or to let it go or to sell it. I hope he knows what he's doing. He even took the cat.
The cat is old, at least 12 maybe even 16, and he or she has been an outdoor fixture of the house and that property for as long as I can recall. Since before my grandparents died. When my brother would go on trips or away for more than a day or two I'd go over and feed it and check on the house and make sure that everything was ok. Now there is no reason to go over. The cat is gone, Mark is gone and I am left with an empty feeling. So I cut the grass for him and parked my truck there so it looks like someone lives there still and maybe to leave just a hint of life.

15 Years at UTMB

Today is the 21st of july and I'm home in front of my computer after working the night shift. I want to post these thoughts while they are still fresh in my mind. Yesterday, the 20th of july, marked my 15th anniversary at UTMB. Had I been asked 15 years ago where I was going to be today, I wouldn't have had an answer. Had it been suggested 15 years ago that I would remain at UTMB this long I would have laughed at the folly of the thought. My original plan was to spend 2-3 years here, get my degree and move on. After all, my father was a "30 year man" and retired from UTMB.
I remember, as I was growing up, how he would come home after a rough night or day on call. I promised myself to not ever work "for the state". I would not ever work at UTMB in any capacity.
Funny how life can turn on a dime and how easily promises to self can be broken. I was married barely a month or two when Dana told me she was expecting our first daughter. I immediately called my father and asked if he could arrange a job interview for me. My life was about to really change in a matter of just a few short months. I was to become a father myself and that meant real responsibility, a real job, health insurance, retirement, and other such job benefits. No more part time job bull shit. My world was about to end as I knew it and a new one was about to begin. Less than 2 months after my start date, Victoria was born at UTMB in Galveston.
Her sister, Judith was born november of 1993 and Stephanie was born february of 2000 there also. Consequently I have not ever separated myself from "the state" for more than a month or two since. My fate is as good as sealed and it looks like I'm to become a "30 year man" as my father. The Lord doth work in mysterious ways.
I would not ever imagine following in my father's footsteps so closely. Well not exactly so close, my father is an x-ray tech and I'm a nurse, he's been married and divorced 2 or 3 times and I'm still married to Dana. My father remained in the same building for 20 or more years and I have worked between Galveston, Texas City, and prison infirmaries all over southeast Texas.
As I type this, I'm thinking about my father and all the changes he has seen over 30 years and all the changes I have seen over the last 15 years. I'm proud and happy to say we actually were employed for 5 or so years together although in different departments and shifts. We know a lot of the same people, some of who have known me since I was a child. Many have retired as my father has and today only a few remain. We have worked with a lot of great people over the years.
It's so incredible how much we turn out like our parents no matter how hard we try to not become like them. In the end we can not escape our ultimate fates and a part of those fates is to assume some of the mantle of our parentage. Either we do it because we become parents ourselves or because we grow in wisdom or for whatever reason, some things we are unable to escape from.
I'm looking forward to the next 15 years, God willing. I drove out of the parking lot this morning thanking God for my little job and for these last 15 years and the years to come as He sees fit. It's all in His hands. I take comfort in this knowledge.

I Lament

This family is on the verge of exploding. We're talking major meltdown here in my house. I have two teenage girls trying to find their place in their world and the seven year old with an attitude from hell. Toss in their mother who really doesn't want to do anything but sit in front of the tv, the computer, or bury herself in her books and we have one hell of a potentially explosive situation which will make the Chernobyl disaster look like a backyard barbeque mishap. I'm fucking losing my mind here in my own house! No peace and quiet, no love; just constant arguing, bitching, shouting, and such. Sure they do the taekwondo thing - when they want , sure Dana goes to choir practice weekly and to her parents house on Sunday with the girls - but they come back with the same poor attitudes. My only deliverance this summer thus far is when my brother's girlfriend, Kaylie, takes them out to the beach or the mall or the track.
A lot of it has to do with these girls not getting along with their mother. It's supposed to be a normal part of the developmental process at this stage but this is ridiculous. My older two girls are at the awkward ages of 14 and 13, not little girls anymore but not quite grown women. Their sister is seven and picking up on how to push mom and dad's buttons by watching her older sisters. The mother, Dana, is stressed out by all this and now it's to the point where it's getting to our sex life. Sex used to be the one pressure relief valve we had between us, but not anymore. We lock the door when we're fucking, but earlier this month Victoria, our oldest, took it upon herself to unlock it with a butter knife as Dana was giving me a blowjob. We told her to get away from the door as we heard her knocking but she opened it all the same. I know my girls are curious and that's the scary part of being a father right now. I pray daily, sometimes twice or more daily.
Maybe if we had a bigger house with each girl having her own room? Maybe if we had money so each of us could burn off in our own separate direction for a little while? I don't know. What I do know is my little two bed one bath house is a fucking pressure cooker with a faulty release valve and the pot is starting to steam. I even look forward to going to work because now that's where I get my only dose of peace and quiet and that's in a state prison!
The positive note about all this is that my oldest girl, Victoria, is taking a little more interest in what her daddy does outside in the garage. I taught her how to ride the riding mower and she cut the grass out by the railroad tracks all by herself with just me watching from the fence. Last sunday, I had to work on her mother's car and change the oil and such on both the car and the truck and she came out and took a fleeting interest in what I was doing and asked a few questions and put two quarts of oil in the truck for me without spilling it all over. That's daddy's little girl!
My middle daughter, Judith, has always been my shy, demure, quiet one. She's more content with computer games and the tv and took no interest in learning how to ride the riding mower or any interest in what daddy's doing out in the garage except for playing with the cat outside. She's taking up after her mother and that's starting to scare me. I'm not pushing the matter but she's my more inward girlie type out of all three of my girls.
My youngest, Stephanie, is hell on wheels with a bad attitude and my only salvation is my brother's girlfriend Kaylie and her six year old daughter, Erin. Now Stephanie has someone closer to her own age to play with and they get along fabulously. Thank God for Kaylie and her little girl, Erin.
Last weekend I took Victoria and Judith with me to visit my grandfather who's in a nursing home in Pasadena. My mother came along also and it was actually a pleasant day out. No drama, no bullshit, everyone behaved and my grandfather got to see my older two girls and they got to see the last of my living elders. Victoria and Judith were actually very sincere in their affections toward their great grandfather and they behaved accordingly. I provided moral support for my mother and drove to and from the nursing home as my mother doesn't like to drive in Houston traffic. When my mother's around all three of my girls behave well or maybe they're afraid she'll string them up by their toes if they misbehave?
My mother has always been the strict disciplinarian, as were her parents when she was growing up, and I see a lot of my parenting style reflecting my mother. When I'm out with my girls without their mother it's usually an OK trip without any drama or bullshit. When I'm with my girls at my brothers or sisters house it's usually a pleasant trip.
Anyway I have to get off this computer and move my ass, it's been a lazy day for me and I havn't accomplished anything today. Next month, July, I'm planning to teach my two older girls how to drive. Let's see how that goes!

Peace and Quiet

I'm not asking for much, just some peace and quiet. It's a damn shame but I have to go to work to get some occasional peace and quiet and no drama. In my house, my very small two bed, one bathroom, house there isn't much peace. My wife is loud, the girls are loud, they fight and bicker and complain. I know very little, but I do know I don't have to shout to be heard and that loud plus loud or noise plus noise doesn't equal peace and quiet.
It's really so simple, just peace and quiet, no TV, no stereo, no computer. How more simple can it get? I think Thoreau had it all figured out right, go off alone for a while with just a little and your spirit and God. Jesus must have told His disciples something along those lines, Jesus Hisself would go off in a qiuet and peaceful place to be alone with God. There has to be something said for just the sounds of nature and being alone without all the crap we add to it.
I remember reading about a young American monk in a monastary in Egypt who related one of his first experiences after his arrival. He said that when he first was surrounded by the peace and the quiet it was loud, loud like a rushing wind. The loudness wasn't anything external, it was all the storm that was in his self, deep within his self. The noise of what he was so used to and from where he was from and what he had become, waiting to be calmed. He wasn't even aware of the storm within until he found himself surrounded by true peace and quiet. I can only imagine such an experience.
In my life, I am content for the peace and quiet of Sunday mornings. It's so beautiful, no wife, no children, no TV, no stereo, just me, the Sunday paper, a cup of coffee, and God. Sometimes I won't even go to church because even church can get too loud. I'll just sit in my own house and relax. It can be so calm here. Last Sunday I actually did go to mass, then I came home to peace and quiet, made myself some breakfast, read some, washed the truck in and out, cut grass up front and back and even lifted weights in the evening hours. I was just so pumped up from the peace and the quiet.
Sometimes even church can get too loud I just wrote. Want to get good with God and feel His presence. Go to an empty chapel or an empty church when no one is around and just sit there. You don't even have to pray, just sit still and breathe. I love it and I can remember the first time I really felt it. I was in the Navy stationed in San Diego at the hospital and one day I just dropped into the empty chapel to pray. Since then I have made it a point to visit churches and chapels when I come across them.
It's sad that many churches lock their doors unless there is an actual service because of vandals. However if you come across one go in and just sit still and just breathe. One of my favorites is St Mary's Basilica in Galveston, another is the chapel at UTMB. I make it a point to stop into the chapel of UTMB at least once during the shift if I work there. Hospital chapels are great because they are, for the most part, open 24/7.
In Houston I love stopping into the Rothko chapel, the Byzantine frescoes chapel and the chapel of St. Basil on the campus of the University of St. Thomas. They're all within walking distance of each other and the walk and nearby coffee houses and book stores and museums and art galleries all make for a great way to spend a sunday or any day off. Just go and recharge, I've taken my family before. Sometimes my wife and I will go by ourselves but the best times are when I take just my girls and we sit and actually talk. We'll really open up to each other in ways few other times will allow.
Must be dashing along now, have to get ready for work and such. Life goes on. As I type this little bit I am alone in my house, no TV or stereo or anything. The girls and their mother have gone off to taekwondo and I am at peace with just the windchimes and my thoughts and a calm like the calm before the storm. More to follow on that later.

Second Real Taekwondo Tournament!

This entry comes a little late as I'm just getting back online. The computer had to be upgraded and then I had to deal with tech support and get a connection back up, so for about a month we've been off line - no internet. It's amazing how little one can live with, that will be the subject of another entry one day.
We went to our second real taekwondo tournament in Humble, Texas in med February and our skills have improved significantly. I don't recall how my wife and children placed, except for my youngest daughter, Stephanie. I watched her compete in the tiny tigers division and she place first in forms and sparring. I'm so proud of my little girl.
My first two girls , Victoria and Judith placed in forms and sparring, I just don't recall what exactly. My wife Dana placed in sparring I think. I placed second in sparring and third in forms this year. There were three of us competing in the 30- 39 year old age bracket.
My classmate, Mike Ghirardi, most certainly the more passionate taekwondo student of the two of us, placed third in sparring. He went up first against the guy he sparred last year this same time from Louisiana; we call him "the jolly green giant" because of his size. He towers over Mike and myself at well over 6 ft. The gentlemen I sparred against last year did not compete in sparring but I did speak with him. He said his knees were giving him problems and he was working with a lot of special needs children this tournament. I really was looking forward to going up again against Jack to redeem myself for last years fiasco. It was good to see him.
Mike went up first against the "jolly green giant", then it was my turn. After the dust settled, Mike placed third, "the jolly green giant" placed first, and I came home with the silver in second place. Much better than the third place I came home with last year and I didn't get knocked down this time. I came right at him, forced him out of the ring once and almost knocked him down once. This guy kept me back with the sheer length of his arms and legs and I would try to exploit any opening I could and try to use my size and body mass against his speed and superior skill. There's next year and my sights are set on coming home with first place in my age division.
This August I turn 40 and when I return next year I will be the youngster in my division of 40-49 year olds. I hope to come back with first in forms and sparring. The age difference and better attitude, and by then I'll have my first degree black belt and my continued training should bring home the gold. I'm really looking forward to next year and I'm trying to hone my skills under the very skilled and young Mr. Diego Salas. Oh to be 23 years old again!
Anyway more on my taekwondo journey as things pop up. I am now a instructor trainee and am hoping for my instructors collar. As of this writing we are first degree recommended black belts - the red/black belt. Victoria remains at red belt and Stephanie is green belt in the tiny tigers division. The journey continues and more to follow with later postings.

Physical Fitness Training Routines II

Seeing that we're all on the physical fitness bandwagon and such, here's one routine I found on the internet. I don't recall the exact site but I believe it was www.crossfit.com. It's called "the Murph".
Murphy was the name of the US Navy officer and an avid triathalete who is attributed to be the developer/inventor of the routine. Sadly Murphy gave his life in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan a few years ago and his comrades posted the routine on the internet in his honor. This much I do remember reading on the website and in at least one physical fitness magazine. I'll have to pay better attention to my sources in the future.
The "Murph"
One mile run followed by 100 pull ups, then 200 push ups, then 300 squats. Wrap up with another one mile run. The pull ups, push ups, and squats can be partitioned in sets of 10 or 20 or whatever just so long as you do 100 pull ups, then 200 push ups, then 300 squats. No particular order or sets, just get them done. No time limit either and simply start and finish with a one mile run. No weights involved save our own body mass and no special equipment required save a good pair of well cushioned running shoes.
200 push ups and running a couple of miles are not a problem for me, however I have yet to attempt 100 pull ups or 300 squats. I used to pump out 200 plus basic push ups with one of the guys at work before I picked up taekwondo. We'd do a pyramid routine of starting with 20 the first set, then 19 the next set, then 18 the next set and on down. Now to get down to the hardware store for a couple of bags of sackrete and a couple of 4X4's to set up a pull up bar in my backyard. I've been wanting to do that for some time now. Enjoy!

Physical Fitness Training Routines I

I've been wanting to post these routines and ideas for some time now and just didn't make time for it until now. Most of it is simple common sense. I've employed these concepts for years. Until July 2005, my physical fitness routine was divided between aerobic and anaerobic days. Monday, Wednsday, and Friday were aerobic days of either running, cycling, or swimming. I toss in raquetball if I have access to a court. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were anaerobic days of just lifting free weights. Sunday was a rest and recover day. Since July 2005 I've started studying martial marts, ATA style taekwondo, and now it's a whole new ball game.
Martial arts and training for martial arts can and has become the core of my workout routine. I rarely lift weights or run or swim or cycle anymore. One gets enough exercise if one just shows up for an hour or two or three of class and the physical training it entails. I've kept my weight to a steady 210-220lbs, depending upon my diet and that's a whole different story in itself. This post is focusing just on training and some issues related to training. It's nothing to complicated and just barely scratches the surface.
Before actually starting any exercise in any form I will stretch all major muscle groups from core groups of abs and back and chest, then out to legs and then arms. the routine is in Bill Pearl's book, Getting Stronger. The routine works, I've done it for years and the times I've injured myself are either because I didn't stretch or didn't warm up or simply overtrained.
I cannot overemphasize enough the point of proper and adequate stretching and warming up before any routine to prevent injury, maintain flexibility, and getting the most out of the actual workout routine. Stretching and warming up is primary and fundamental and cannot be skipped. Enough of that, except refer to Bill Pearl's book and actually do it, do it each and every day.
Warming up entails the few minutes between the stretching routine and actual training. One PE course instructor taught me that it is specific to the exercise one will be doing that day and should take about 10-15 minutes. This is to get the body ready for the actual training and to get the heart and lungs going. If one is crunched for time, that could be 1/4- to almost half the time allotted for the training routine. It all depends upon how hard one will train, what kind of training will be done, and how much time on has devoted to the numbers of time and heart rate at the recommended level for ones self.
Warming up for running/jogging/cycling has always been the first mile for me. My muscles and breathing don't get into the flow of it all until I pass that first mile. I'm unable to explain it except that I feel a certain flow with the exercise after that first mile. Maybe it has something to do with the release of endorphins or distance travelled or overcoming some invisible mental block; but for what ever reason, once I'm past that first mile I can go on and on and on like the energizer bunny. If I'm swimming, it's the first couple of laps, I mean from point A to point B and back to point A again. That's one lap, not just one length of the pool.
Jumping rope is one of the best warm ups I've discovered and 20 or so minutes of jump rope alone is adequate aerobic exercise for me. I found an article in Men's Health magazine from an issue in the mid 90's which gives different routines to jazz up a jump rope workout. Twisting side to side with feet together and jumping across a line similair to a down hill ski motion to work the abs, adding a lunge to work the quads and hams, spreading legs as in doing jump jacks to name a few. Toss in running in place and alternating between jumping on one foot and the classic crossover routine to the basic skipping over the jump rope and one has a hell of a warm up routine. Don't jump too high, just enough to clear the rope and mind the surface you're jumping upon. Concrete is the absolute worse because it has no give, asphalt is next worse followed by wood flooring which isn't too bad if one has thick soled running shoes. Best surfaces to jump on are a not too soft exercise mat, rubberized running track, or zebra mat. Crosstrainers or running shoes are important, in fact, adequate soles to absorb the repeated shock are critical to prevent injury to your feet and not coming down to hard on your feet and legs. A slight bend in the knees is also important.
Start out slow and take your time. Learn to do it right and do it right the rest of your life, do it wrong and spend the rest of your life trying to do it right. Go too fast or overtrain and you risk injury. First lay down the foundation of the proper technique of skipping over the rope then jazz it up later. Remember, small bites here and don't get frustrated. Even the most uncoordinated, awful dancer type with little or no rythum like myself can master an effective and safe routine. It just takes time and practice.
Jump ropes come in all manner of types and sizes. The rope should measure from your standing in the middle to just under your arm pits. Any longer and you have too much rope to jump over, any shorter and your knees are coming up too high and taking too much of the impact. Inexpensive ropes of braided rope with swivel handles are good to get started with but I feel don't weigh enough to get the flow of my routine, weighted ropes are just that, weighted ropes and maybe or maybe not too much stress on the arms. I go mid way with a mid price range plastic speed rope, lighter than the weighted muscle beach stuff and a tad heavier that the braided rope and my routine flows like oil. Nice easy motion, good handling and great for an all around warm up/ aerobic technique.
Packs up easy when travelling also. My jump rope has been on cruise ships with me and on long drives I pull over at a park or rest area and get the blood flowing and it keeps me awake for the road. I even have one in my locker at work. Jumping rope is great for getting warmed up with before all the leg work of taekwondo and sparring. It's the essential part of my warm up routine before lifting weights. On my bad days in which I don't have time for much else, I'll just get in 5- 10 minutes of the jump rope routine. I've even named mine, her name's Brumhilda. It's a scandinavian name meaning she who stands by her man, or at least that's what she told me.
Another good warm up routine is the tried and true high school PE class/ US Marine Corps daily seven. Jumping jacks, crunches, pushups, 8 count bodybuilders, mountain climbers, cherry pickers, squats, leg raises, tricep dips, pull ups, running/walking up and down stairs/bleachers and/or any variety of the aforementioned exercises. Sometimes a little tweek like knuckle pushups or decline pushups will make all the difference between an easy exercise or a more challenging one. One of the best books I've found in this regards is Get Tough, the U S special forces physical conditioning program by Tom Fitzgerald. It's an oldie but a goldie. Toss in push ups while standing on your head with a wall for support and some of the wonderful tortures I've picked up in taekwondo and your wieght set will get a nice coat of rust.
The beauty about calisthenics is there's no special equipment but a good pair of running shoes and your imagination. All that's required is your own body mass and the enviorment around you. Be here now and all that good stuff.
There are ankle and wrist weights but I caution the use of these with any sudden fast movement, like kicks or strikes, because too much weight can tear the tendons and ligaments of the major joints. Even a small amount of weight can damage if the joint is not conditioned. I tried a simple kick with a 10lb weight on a my ankle once felt I could have done some serious damage to myself if I had kept at it. Ankle and wrist weights are good accessories for tweeking my basic weight lifting routine a bit or to simply add some resistence to ordinary day to day movement like just plain walking. I wear a pair when doing yard work, like pushing the lawnmower or gardening, or cleaning up around my house; but no sudden fast moves. I wear them before taekwondo class and take them off just before I start and my legs are all loosened up and I can kick good and high. The key here is no sudden powerful moves, just ordinary day to day stuff. Our joints can only take so much stress and the easiest way to damage a joint is to stress it out fast and hard.
One thing about injuries before moving on, injuries hurt and we're "training, not paining". In the end you'll spend more time healing an injury and less time training and reaping the benefits thereof. So keep it slow at first, keep it real, and listen to your body. It will tell you the difference between just a plain old ache and being truly injured. One can expect some initial discomfort, but just that, discomfort - not pain. Over time, as we improve with training, one will notice mental and physical even spiritual improvements and one will notice positive advancements in the body's form and function. working out is just that, working out and not killing ourselves or hurting ourselves. In the end we're looking for a "balance".
Now let's touch on the weight lifting routine, it's real simple. Work the large muscle groups first then the small ones. I personally like the routine of ABS then CHEST, then BACK-LATS, then SHOULDERS. Then I work LEGS - QUADS, HAMS, and CALVES. Then ARMS - TRICEPS, BICEPS, and FOREARMS. That's the full body routine and I keep it to every other day when I do do it. A day between allows the muscle to repair and grow and rest. That's how those guys get big, they add reistence ( weights) and move the muscle slowly and deliberately in a proper way. Then they let the worked/ slightly damaged muscle rest and repair itself and grow. Add in a little more protein in your diet to feed the muscle tissue, water to hydrate, lube and keep healthy; shave off your hair from the eyebrows down and you too can be the governor of an independent party of one of these united states with all sorts of radical ideas and finding yourself on the Oprah Winfrey show. The least you'll get out of it is possibly a movie or book deal and look great at the beach.
Do keep it natural, all those weight gainers, protein supplements, and such can tax the liver and kidneys. I like soy protein because it has less cholesterol than animal protein. Avoid the steroids or any other disguise they use because they can kill. They have long term effects on the heart, brain, liver, kidneys and other stuff you can't afford to live without.
Ladies, keep it natural and light and you will reap all the benefits without getting "too big". Personally I like the way female body builders look, it's a real work of art what those women have accomplished. I don't agree with anyone who says they don't look feminine or appear too masculine. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if a female who can bench press or squat my weight, 220lbs and then some, tells me she's feminine; I'm not argueing with her.
Like calisthenics, weight lifting is also limited to your imagaination and what you can safely do. Whole volumes have been written on the subject and the one I keep is Bill Pearl's Getting Stronger. He touches, in depth and in simple to understand terms with excellent illustrations all sorts of issues from different routines to stretching to rehabilitation of injuries to specific body parts to sports related routines to mental attitudes to cardio to nutrition to all ages from kids to grandparents and so much more. The guy has been doing it for 50+ years and he knows what he's talking about. This book is the core of my fitness library.
Cool down routine. This is as critical as the warm up. You've just warmed up your body put it through some major stresses and now you have to cool it down. For years I had neglected to do this. I like a modified stretch, about half of the pre-workout stretch routine, to cool down with. Even better is some yoga, I say some yoga because a yoga routine can be just as physically demanding as a full on work out. So whatever the cool down routine, just take it easy. One can do some light , and I mean light, calisthenics. I like to cool down with some of my taekwondo forms done slowly and deliberately. This gives me a chance to work on my form, check my stances and specific moves and go from full throttle to nice day to day coasting speed.
The best cool down for any running/cycling/swimming is just that but at a nice slow even pace until I'm just coasting along or walking or floating in the pool. It's essential to return to the pre-work out level of breathing and heart rate and movement without the sudden stop. It's good for the body and it's good for the mind as well.
That's enough for now and there really is so much more to tell but this is the iceing on the cake. I've touched on some stuff deeper than other stuff and whole other postings have yet to be written. Remember, speak to your doctor before starting out any fitness routine. Start out slow and easy and work your way up. Don't get frustrated, physical fitness and training is only half physical - the other half is mental. Have fun, be careful, and enjoy your rewards. More to follow later.