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Date Posted: 18:43:50 02/05/02 Tue
Author: Anthony
Subject: Finally!
In reply to: Misty 's message, "Re: the "Thundercat Ideal"..." on 06:39:36 02/05/02 Tue

Finally, someone posted a topic!!!

Sorry to hear about the knee trouble, Misty. Obviously, it would be nice if it didn't require surgery. If it does, however, that doesn't mean you'll be "out of the game" forever! There will still be plenty of low-impact options available to you :)

So, you wanna be like Cheetara, eh? Okay, let's start by examining what that means (if you have a different interpretation, by all means, let me know... it's YOUR goal, after all!). To me, Cheetara represents the ultimate in female fitness, possessing tremendous aerobic capacity, agility, and muscular strength and endurance. There are a number of ways one could go about achieving these qualities. I'll go over a few possibilities here. Feel free to email me with any questions you might have, or to help you set up a personalized training regimen.

Much of the following information comes from one of my all-time favorite books, LIVING THE MARTIAL WAY, by Forrest Morgan. If you have the means, I strongly recommend getting your hands on a copy!

AEROBIC CAPACITY--
The word "aerobic" means, literally, "to live in oxygen." In the 1960s, Dr. Kenneth Cooper conducted a study among Air Force Academy students in which he discovered that regular aerobic exercise strengthened their hearts and lungs, improved their circulation, reduced their body-fat percentages, lowered their blood pressure, and improved their overall health. In addition to this, he found that it also dramatically increases a person's capacity for prolonged, vigorous, physical activity.

Common examples of aerobic exercises include: running or jogging, cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, even brisk walking. Basically, the activity should force you to breathe deeply, but not gasp, and be maintained for at least 20 minutes without stopping. This should be done at least 3-4 times per week.

FLEXIBILITY--
A common theme in Zen and Taoist philosophy is that of "winning by yielding." The supple sapling bends and survives the windstorm, while the great, rigid tree resists and breaks. So too, with the martial artist. Not only should stretching be included in your exercise warm up routine, but should also comprise a regimen of its own.

Stretching during warm up serves to increase circulation to your extremities and minimize the chances of a muscle tear or injury. As with all stretching, try not to "bounce," but go into the stretch to the point of discomfort (NOT PAIN!) and hold it for 10-20 seconds. Repeat until the muscle feels sufficiently warmed up and ready to go.

Stretching to increase flexibility is similar. Do not swing or bounce; this is both inefficient and dangerous! Move slowly into the stretch position, taking it out until you first feel discomfort. Hold this position for about 10 seconds. Your muscles will instinctively tense up, resisting the stretch. Concentrate on relaxing the muscles, then take the stretch out a bit further. Now hold it for at least 30 seconds. DO NOT OVERDO IT!!! Increasing flexibility is not an overnight venture. It takes persistence. Trying to go too fast can easily result in injury, which will only set you back.

MUSCULAR STRENGTH & ENDURANCE--
Ahh, now we get into the meat and potatoes of what most people consider "working out." Our bodies' adaptive processes are truly amazing, and our ability to increase muscular strength and endurance is a great example of this. It's like being able to take control of evolution and watch it happen in the mirror! When you work a muscle to the point of fatigue, the cells (fibers) of which it is composed suffer small microtears. Your body responds to this by using available proteins to rebuild the muscle fibers stronger and thicker and therefore capable of performing the work more easily the next time. There are an infinite number of ways in which a person can do this in a controlled fashion: body weight exercises, free weights, weight machines, isometrics, and innumerable combinations and variations thereof.

The "Cheetara Ideal" could be achieved by following a fairly basic training regimen (in conjunction with a balanced diet), consisting of 3 days of strength training and 3 days of aerobic conditioning per week, in addition to a stretching routine at least 3 days per week.

Following is a variation of my own (Tygra Ideal) training schedule, that would also be quite effective for a "Cheetara." For a more detailed explanation, or for your own personalized routine, please email me at thunderianmartialarts@hotmail.com.

"WEEK A"
Monday: Upper Body Strength training (60 min.)
Tuesday: Cardio (30 min.), Stretching (20 min.)
Wednesday: Lower Body Strength training (60 min.)
Thursday: Cardio (30 min.), Stretching (20 min.)
Friday: Upper Body Strenth training (60 min.)
Saturday: Cardio (30 min.), Stretching (20 min.)

"WEEK B"
Monday: Lower Body Strength training (60 min.)
Tuesday: Cardio (30 min.), Stretching (20 min.)
Wednesday: Upper Body Strength training (60 min.)
Thursday: Cardio (30 min.), Stretching (20 min.)
Friday: Lower Body Strength training (60 min.)
Saturday: Cardio (30 min.), Stretching (20 min.)

I hope you find some of this useful! Like I said, feel free to email me with any questions.

Anthony Bondioli
Founder, TMAA

JUSTICE, TRUTH, HONOR, LOYALTY.

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Replies:

Oh yeah, the weapons... -- Anthony, 18:50:01 02/05/02 Tue
- Re: Oh yeah, the weapons... -- Misty, 12:58:19 03/30/02 Sat
Re: Finally! -- Misty, 12:56:25 03/30/02 Sat