That was a Surprise!

When I woke up this morning I was in so much pain and discomfort from bloating and cramps that I couldn't even stand up straight and walk or breathe properly. I was actually in more discomfort than pain. The bloating felt like my stomach was about to pop; it was terrible.

I sat on the couch in the living room for a while, trying to will myself to go to the gym and just walk because light exercise can help relieve cramping ... but the bloating was just too much (way more than the cramping) and the dizziness and nausea made me feel like trying to attempt any exercise at that moment in time would be a bad idea. So I went back to bed and slept for another hour or so and definitely felt much better by the time it was time to get up and go to work.

It was a short day at work today - just admin stuff. I'm really happy with how my students did on their final exam. Their overall grades for the semester are great :) Yes, definitely pleased with how this term went. Just a few more days until summer vacation ... can't wait!

I just relaxed in the afternoon. Today was supposed to be my first proper Kajukenbo class and I didn't want to miss my first day. The bloating and pressure had gone down a bit. I knew the main thing that I had to do was fix my mind -- if I was going to go to class then I'd have to just suck it up and do my very, very best. No excuses. Just do it.

I went, and I think I did great. It was just me and another girl. She had been doing Kajukenbo for 2-3 months. The first thing I noticed when I saw her was that she was thin, and I thought, damn. Here I am, still the fat one in the class. Blah.

The first half hour of the class was warm-up: burpees, tons of jumping jacks, mountain climbers, running, tire flips, tire/hammer swings etc. Whatever he asked us to do, I did. It was really tiring, but it was good. I felt like my workout at CrossFit have really  helped me build up my endurance, though of course there's a lot more work to be done. I felt most proud when we got to the jump rope section. I think I jumped for about 5 minutes straight. In the meantime, the other girl couldn't even do a few skips. It seemed like she had never jumped before (perhaps she hadn't). So for the entire time that she was trying, I was continuously skipping. I felt good.

Something new we tried was rolling on the ground - basically somersaults but without putting our head on the ground. It was tough and intimidating. I tried - didn't do a very good job (was more rolling to the side than the front) but I tried.

After that we worked on punching and kicking, my favorite part. We don't wear any handwraps or gloves, so it's straight punching on the pads. I'm fine with that, but it definitely hurts more when trying to use both power and speed. I gotta watch my wrist positioning and work on improving my wrist strength.

Then finally ... he had us stand in fighting stance ... and that's when I saw him get the baton -- a 2 foot long hard plastic baton ... and I knew what was coming next. He had us raise our arms up, exposing our abdomen.

As he approached me I just looked straight ahead. I tightened my abs and I focused on my breathing. He said he was going to hit my abdominal area once for me to get an idea of how it feels. I didn't say anything, just stood there concentrating.

Whap!

Fuck that hurt.

I didn't flinch. I didn't move. I just breathed ... and at the same time I was thinking, holy shit, did that just happen?

He did the same to her and she yelled.

He came back to me and hit twice.

Whap! Whap!

Same thing. No reaction from me. Just me talking to myself in my head - staying calm, staying focused, this is only something physical. If you trust your coach, then you trust them 100%. I knew he was not trying to hurt me, and I knew that if I was going to do this - If I was really going to try and become a fighter in some shape or form, then I was going to have to learn how to take pain.

For me, this was lesson #1, and I was really happy with my performance.

So yes, this whole part of the lesson was definitely a surprise! 

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Not much appetite today ...

Breakfast: The usual - banana, peanut butter, 1 date + a cup of green tea (not pictured)

Lunch: Grilled chicken with tabbuleh salad

Dinner: King Fish on the George Foreman grill with steamed carrots and string beans 

Dessert: Papaya (12 pieces)

Today:
- Workouts:

• Kajukenbo at KOK (1 hour)
• Stretching: 15 minutes
• Burpees: 10 {total: 3,730/20,130}
• Squats Day 7: Rest Day

- Food:

• Breakfast: banana, peanut butter, date, green eat
• Lunch: grilled chicken with salad
• Dinner: grilled king fish with steamed vegetables
• Snack: papaya

- Other: Booked my London hotel! :)