Warrior Conditioning 2: The Zulu warrior workout

They were fast

Zulu Spear and Shield

They were strong
They were relentless
You couldn't outrun them.....even if you tried

They were Zulu.

On the battlefield of Ulundi stands a domed monument, and let into the wall of the south passage is a simple marble plaque bearing the inscription

                                     'In Memory of the Brave Warriors who fell here in 1879

in Defence of the Old Zulu Order'

The Zulus were initially a small, insignificant African tribe who had to constantly fight to defend their grazing lands. Eventually they were transformed into ruthless, aggressive warriors by the brilliant military leader Shaka Zulu.

In 1816, Shaka Zulu took power of his Zulus after distinguishing himself in battle, both physically and strategically, and began a campaign of conquest to unite all of the clans in the region under his rule. By 1824, Shaka had conquered all of his neighboring tribes and grown his original small army to more than 40,000 skilled warriors.

Shaka's Zulu warriors or ‘Amabutho’ were truly legendary and stories of the grueling and often cruel training are innumerable. Forced marches of up to 70km per day carrying weapons and surviving on what they could find in the bush, proficiency in handling their weapons and the methods of dispatching the enemy were the order of the day.

Shaka soon discovered that the crude sandals traditionally worn by Zulu men hampered speed and agility and as a result the army marched, ran and fought bare foot - on sharp stones, through thorn bush, in deep sand, rivers and every type of terrain possible.

During training, young men were forced to toughen up by fighting for food, stomping on thorns in bare feet and traveling distances of 50 miles in a single day. Zulu warriors were trained to be confrontational and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

However, Shaka never expected his men to do anything he couldn't or wouldn't do himself, and he set the example.

They could travel fast and were highly mobile, able to cover around 20 miles in a day, or twice that distance in an emergency, and fight at the end of the journey.

(To be Continued)

Taking control of your new year resolutions

Guideline Daily Amounts and your fitness

I'm sure you've seen this picture before; its on every pack of food you purchase, just that most people dont pay any attention to it.

Well, today's your lucky day, because I'm going to simplify the body of knowledge of GDA's for your benefit.

GDAs are guidelines for healthy adults and children about the approximate amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium/salt in the particular product. The GDA labels have the percentage of daily value per serving and the absolute amount per serving of these categories.

Although these key nutrients form an important part of a balanced diet, unfortunately many people tend to consume too much of them. Long term overconsumption of calories in combination with a lack of physical activity is associated with gaining weight and obesity, which increases risk of poor health and various diseases.

Calories (Energy GDA: 2,000 kcal)

Calories are a measure of how much energy food and drink products contain. The calories a food delivers depend on the nutrients it contains. A gram of carbohydrates has four calories, just like a gram of protein. One gram of fat instead has nine calories and a gram of alcohol seven calories.

Being overweight is a direct consequence of excessive calorie/energy intake, which in turn can increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and ill health. However, eating too few calories is just as damaging to your general wellbeing and can lead to serious health conditions caused by nutrient deficiencies. 

The Guideline Daily Amount for energy is 2,000 calories, 

Sugars (Sugar GDA: 90g)

Sugars, together with starches, are the two main types of carbohydrates and the main sources of energy. Sugars provide a sweet taste, texture, structure and consistency to foods.



Sugars play a role in functions of the body; the brain needs glucose (a simple sugar) as its only source of energy and the body's tissues use sugar (stored in liver and muscles) to carry out their main functions.


While neither starch nor sugars have been found to have any special role in the development of serious diseases such as diabetes it is still important to keep an eye on their intake if you are already suffering from some diet-related medical condition, if you are watching your waistline, and to limit the risk of tooth decay.

The Guideline Daily Amount for sugars is 90 grams.

Fat (Fat GDA: 70g)

Fat provides energy (nine calories for each gram of fat), and foods that contain a lot of fat provide a lot of energy. 

Fat is made up of different types of fatty acids. You can have monounsaturated (such as those found in nuts and vegetable oils), polyunsaturated (such as those found in oily fish) and saturates fatty acids (such as those found in butter and animal fat). 

It is important to have some fat in our diet because it's a critical nutrient for many functions that take place in our body and because some of them (the essential fatty acids) cannot be produced by our body and must be supplied by the diet.

Fats are important for the formation of hormones, which carry fat-soluble vitamins, and are necessary for their absorption. However fat is only needed for health in small amounts. No more than about one third of our energy intake should come from fat. 

Some examples of foods high in fat are oils, butter, full-fat milk and cheese, pies and pastries.

Whilst monounsaturated and especially polyunsaturated fatty acids are good for our health, a high intake of saturated fatty acids can have a negative impact on health, which is why we can have a GDA for both total fat and saturates (saturated fat), so we can help you keep an eye on your intakes. 

The Guideline Daily Amount for fat is 70 grams,

You will see on the food label GDAs for both fat and for saturates (saturated fats). The GDA figure for fat is the total amount of fat a food contains - this includes saturated and unsaturated fats.

Saturated fat (Saturates GDA: 20g)

Saturates (saturated fat) are the type of fat you should try to eat less of because too much can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which in turn increases the chance of developing heart disease. Eating less of it minimises the risks.

Experts recommend that not more than 10 percent of your calories should come from saturates (saturated fats). This means that on a 2,000 calorie diet you shouldn't eat more than 20g per day. 

Some examples of categories of foods high in saturates (saturated fats) are meat products and pies, sausages, hard cheese, butter, pastry, cakes and biscuits, cream and palm oil.

The Guideline Daily Amount for saturated fat is 20 grams.

Salt (Salt GDA: 6g)

Salt is used in food manufacturing as a flavour enhancer, a food preservative, to inhibit microbiological spoilage and to give texture to some foods. Salt is made up of sodium and chloride and it's the sodium that, at high doses, can be bad for your health. 

Sodium together with other nutrients plays many important roles; for example, it helps to regulate the body's water content and it's involved in nerve function, in muscular activity and in energy utilisation.

An excessive intake of salt (sodium) in the diet can increase the risk of high blood pressure which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. This is why it is generally recommended to limit the daily intake of salt to 6 grams (2.4g sodium) and to check and compare the salt/sodium content of a food on the front of pack or back of pack nutrition labels.

The Guideline daily Amount for salt is 6 grams (2.4 grams sodium).

Know your Nutrition!!!!!

The Capoeira Workout

Capoeira is a highly intensive martial art, and the amount of athleticism and conditioning that it builds is apparent when you see a Capoeira artist. It's like Yoga, Bodyweight Exercises, Plyometrics, and Dance all in one workout. The physical demands of Capoeira, let alone the techniques and reactions involved, cannot be approximated by even the craziest and most overboard workout schemes.

Cross-training is one of the most effective ways to prevent injuries in capoeira. Many of the most common capoeira injuries (knee problems, back pain, etc.) can be avoided by staying in proper shape. Developing strong leg muscles, for instance, greatly reduces the strain capoeira puts on your knees and ankles.  Strong abdominals and back muscles can keep your spine safe.  Capoeira, as we all know, is very physically demanding, and joint injuries are the price a capoeirista pays for not meeting those demands. Cross-training can help bridge the dangerous gap between a day spent hunched over a computer working on an Excel spreadsheet and an evening spent attempting back-flips in your academy.

Almost nobody is born with the type of exotic athletic aptitude necessary to master a wide variety of capoeira movements without the investment of time and training.Targeted cross-training is one of the best ways to overcome one’s physical limitations.  Strength, flexibility, and agility can all be greatly improved with proper training and dedication, allowing us to break through our personal glass ceilings and discover the capoeira within.

Here are some basic capoeira techniques which can be added to your daily workouts. 

Ginga

The ginga is a basic step in capoeira. Other techniques often flow out of the ginga. Perform the ginga by moving your right foot back behind your left foot. Sink into a stance with your left knee bent and your right leg extended. Bring your right forearm up in front of your face just below eye level. Switch arms and legs to perform the ginga on the other side. Continuously flow side to side while practicing this exercise to the rhythm of music. The ginga gives you a cardiovascular workout, strengthens your legs and improves your coordination.

Esquiva

The esquiva is a capoeira technique you can incorporate into your ginga practice. The esquiva is a defensive technique that allows you to quickly evade kicks. To perform the esquiva while doing the ginga, bend your torso over your front leg. Execute this move without touching your hands to the floor. Keep one arm up in front of your face as a protective measure. By bending at your waist, your core muscles get a workout. The esquiva also increases the burden on your leg muscles, thereby giving your legs a nice workout.

Esquiva Lateral

Martelo

The martelo is known as the roundhouse kick in other martial arts. In addition to strengthening your legs, this capoeira technique improves flexibility and balance. Try the martelo while you practice the ginga. Raise your rear leg off the floor and kick horizontally with the top of your foot. If you kick with your right leg, protect your face with your left arm. Return your foot to the rear position after your kick.

Martelo

Aú

The aú is a cartwheel. This technique has several applications in capoeira. For example, perform the aú to move around your opponent or avoid his attack. Execute this technique by placing your right hand on the floor. Tilt your head down to your right side as you lift your left foot off the floor. Place your left hand on the floor as you bring your right foot off the floor. Bring both legs up over your body and set them down on the opposite side. Return to the ginga following the aú. This capoeira technique strengthens your upper body and improves your agility.

Negativa

This is a move that the Capoeirista uses to move quickly on the floor; it also work as an all purpose evasion tactic. From this move almost any move can be executed, and it can be used to move and deceive the opponent.

· Right leg bent completely and leans on the toes.
· The butt sits on the heel
· Left leg is almost straight at 130 degrees.
· Left foot leans on its blade
· Body leans forward.
· Right arm protects the face with the elbow.
· Lean on left arm. Lean on the palm. NOT on the fingers
· Left palm close to the left knee.

To switch sides-
1) lean on left hand
2) leap easily with the right leg.
3) On the second the body is in the air, leaning on the hand, switch legs position.
4) Switch hands.

In the picture, note that it's very important that the blade of the foot will be on the floor. It provides support and balances the body. It is also very important to protect the face with the opposite hand: Make sure your elbow is towards the opponent; It might be all that protects your face from your opponents foot.

Negativa

Bencao

This a really powerful kick which can be used to kick the opponent's stomach; and it will help you build an impressive stomach.

1) From the basic position, the right knee moves up to the stomach.
· Right foot in "flex" position.
· Right foot and the buttocks are lined towards the target.
· Body leans forward towards the knee
· Hands forward a bit more ahead than the right foot, as if "catching" the opponent.

2) As if pulling something with the hands they are bent towards the body.
· Right foot and the buttocks remain in the same height.
· Right leg is straightened.
· The kick is a push movement meant to push the foe away from you.
· The foot in "flex" position.

Bencao

 A sample workout using the above move would be

• Ginga for 10 mins, try to perform 20 esquivas per side
• 10 Martelo's per side
• 10 Bencao's per side
• 10 Negativas, switch sides with each rep
• Execute an Au, landing in the Negativa, stand up and deliver a Martelo. repeat 5 times.
• You should be sweating heavily by now; sit and meditate upon your training.

Capoeira workout

Spiritual Bencao

This Afro-Brazilian art, combines elements of martial arts, music, and dance. It was created in Brazil by slaves from Africa, especially from Angola, Mozambique and Congo sometime after the sixteenth century. 

Participants in this game, form a roda, or circle, and take turns either playing musical instruments, singing, or ritually sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The sparring is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, takedowns, and with extensive use of leg sweeps, kicks, and headbutts.

The Roda has a deeper significance to its members:
 

' When we play capoeira in the Roda, towards the center of it, all of us become equal so Capoeira does not have sexual, colour or any kind of prejudice, for me we are all just capoeiristas with our differences and limitations."

Jogar de Capoeira

 Capoeira is played by all- regardles of age or gender. It encourages the practitioner to find himself through play, to discover the quasi orgasmic pleasure of living in the moment.

Capoeira imbues its practitioners with its beauty and strength; it requires them to reach beyond themselves, to discover the warrior, the poet, and the philosopher that resides deep within each one of us. The capoeirista, when he discovers his potential to be a great artist, must find his inner change and gradually develop his own originality, he must find a deeper way to be unique.

This is just a teaser... 


Watch out for the real capoeira workout tomorrow

Legends of Bodybuilding : Frank Zane

Zane is a three-time Mr. Olympia (1977 to 1979). His reign represented a shift of emphasis from mass to aesthetics. 

Zane's proportionate physique featured the second thinnest waistline of all the Mr. Olympias, with his wide shoulders making for a distinctive V-taper. He stood at 5'9" and had a competition weight of 187-195 pounds when he won Mr Olympia (He weighed over 200 lbs when he competed in the 60s). 

Zane is one of only three people who have beaten Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding contest (1968 Mr. Universe in Miami, FL) and one of the very few Mr. Olympia winners under 200 pounds. Overall, he competed for over 20 years (retiring after the 1983 Mr Olympia contest) and won Mr America, Mr Universe, Mr World and Mr Olympia throughout his illustrious career.

Frank grew up in a tough Pennsylvania coal-mining town. A shy quiet guy when young, he often found himself trying to finish a fight his younger brother had started, only to get beat up. 

At age 14 Frank discovered bodybuilding when he walked into his high school math class and spotted a muscle building magazine in the wastebasket. Studying the magazine, he soon started training at the local Wilkes-Barre YMCA weight room. He also bought a 30 pound set of dumbbells and began training at home. His father was angry at him for devoting time to training when he should have been doing work around the house. "Build yourself up by cutting the grass" he was told. This only made Frank all the more determined to succeed and he worked out with weights for three years in high school, with two four month lapses during football season. He grew from 130 pounds at age 14 to 160 pounds at age 17 and felt great because he could actually see the visible results from his workouts.

During his junior and senior years in high school Frank spent his summers as an archery instructor at a Boys Scout camp in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, working out hard and drinking lots of milk. He would hitchhike home 20 miles on weekends and since his weights were all at camp, Frank would carry 55 pounds of weights along with him so he could train. This way he made sure never to miss a workout. His parents' attitude about bodybuilding began changing as they realized his dedication. Frank's mother especially encouraged him in his training.

Frank met his future wife, Christine in Florida in September 1966.  Frank had been bodybuilding for almost ten years before he moved to Florida in search of a better climate and training conditions. When Christine met Frank, this was her first encounter with anyone had developed his body so completely. She had seen all the Hercules movies when she was younger but had just assumed these men grew that way naturally. She soon learned otherwise and took up bodybuilding as a means to improve her own figure. She had always had a good figure but found it a challenge to keep her weight under control. With weight training, she found her bodyweight easier to control and felt a lot more energetic from her daily training sessions.   

Frank won the Mr. World title in Brugge, Belgium in 1969, the Mr. Universe title in 1970 and 1972 in London, England and the coveted Mr. Olympia title (world professional bodybuilding champion) in 1977, 1978, and 1979 after 21 years of training. He also earned a second bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University in Los Angeles in 1977, a California Life Teaching Credential in all subjects k through grades 14, and a Master's degree in experimental psychology in 1990 from California State University in San Bernardino.

 

Christine won the Miss Universe Bikini Crown in 1970 and then retired from competition to devote her time to her studies and art. She graduated from California State University in Los Angeles summa cum laude earning a Masters Degree in Fine Arts with skills in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and jewelry. She also earned a California Life Teaching Credential in elementary education and obtained a teaching position with Santa Monica City Schools where she taught from 1973 to 1977. In 1990, Christine earned a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from California State University in San Bernardino.

Frank and Christine worked to develop each other into the most perfect people they could be. This is the crux of a loving relationship, the lover focuses all effort on bringing out the best in his beloved and vice versa.  

Drag your cursor across the picture to view before and after pictures of Frank

Competitive stats

• Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
• Contest weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)
• Off-season weight: 200 lbs
• Arms: 18"
• Neck: 17.5"
• Chest: 51"
• Waist: 29"
• Thighs: 26"
• Calves: 16.5"
• Wrist: 6.5"
• Ankle: 8"

Things you shouldn't do to lose weight

 

   

Starvation, fasting, or very low-calorie diets: 

Many diets have helped people meet their weight loss goals, only to watch these people celebrate for about 5 minutes then they gain even MORE weight. 

Don’t cut calories below 1,200 per day; otherwise you will struggle to meet nutrient needs, fuel activity, and satisfy hunger. It also causes a shift toward a higher percentage of body fat, which increases the risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

  

Dubious supplements and over-the-counter diet pills that make grand promises 

These are unlikely to be effective, and they’re not necessarily safe or capable of delivering on their claims. 

Over-the-counter diet pills may not appear to be dangerous, but some over-the-counter or Internet products “can be harmful, ineffective, and a waste of money,” . “Most diet pills are nothing more than a quick fix loaded with caffeine and diuretics that can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance," says Diekman, director of nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.

   

Cleanses or detox plans: 

Cleanses cause weight loss from water and stool weight, at best, but they can be dangerous and carry risks of dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and more. 

Losing lots of fluid without medical supervision is risky and when combined with fasting, even riskier. Your body is uniquely fine-tuned to detoxify and excrete toxins, so cleanses are unnecessary and can lead to serious complications by messing with your body’s finely-tuned system.

   

Obsessive behaviors such as extreme exercising

Extreme exercise is physically intense on the body, causing severe wear and tear and increasing the risk for injury, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance and psychologically turns exercise into punishment for eating.

Its all about balance, remember, fitness should be fun!!! It shouldn't cause you pain or substantial discomfort.

Check out my hawt bootie....