Okay, I’m not sure what the difference between a compression shirt and a rash guard is. From what I have been able to gather, they are pretty much the same thing. Please correct me if I am wrong. I have a very open mind.
Here’s the deal. When I head up to do my Jiu Jitsu workouts with the guys, I wear a gi. I don’t wear a shirt under the gi top. I used to wear a t-shirt, but I was getting seriously overheated. That may have been because I was really out of shape, because I was just starting out and not using my energy efficiently or just because it was hot outside. Who knows. I do know that I have been wearing a t-shirt under my gi top for the last two classes and it’s been working out okay. Still, I don’t trust the t-shirt thing.
When wearing a t-shirt under a gi, I tend to sweat much more than I normally would. When the t-shirt gets sweaty, it bunches up and I lose a little bit of mobility. You know, in this sport, I need my mobility. I had to figure out an alternative to the t-shirt.
Wait…why do I need to wear anything under the gi? I guess I didn’t explain that part. Okay, it’s a good idea (from what I have discovered) to wear some sort of protection under the gi to avoid having the gi smear into the skin all the time. A gi is pretty rough. When guys are trying to gain top control and side control on me, they aren’t caring too much about how sensitive my tender epidermis is. They just want to get their position. When they twist and turn, sometimes I get roughed up.
That’s where compression shirts, or otherwise know as rash guards come into play. You can see what a short sleeve compression shirt looks like here and a long sleeve rash guard here. Rash guards are slippery shirts. They are very much like spandex and when you put one on, it feels like you are stretching a big rubber band over your body.
The other day, I ordered a short sleeve Cliff Keen compression shirt through Amazon. It just arrived today. I think I paid about $27 for it with approximately $10 for shipping. That’s about $37 bucks. Yesterday, I found short sleeve rash guards in Wal Mart for $10. No shipping. These compressions shirts are made by Starter. Since I now have both makes of rash guard in hand, I can make a quick comparison.
I think the Cliff Keen compression shirt is a bit thicker and has more heavy duty stitching. The Starter shirt is very good though. I am very surprised at that. Even if the Wal Mart ones fall apart in half the time, they are still much less expensive than other brands out there. The Cliff Keen shirt was actually priced better than many others as well.
I suppose I really have to see how they do once I hit the mat. Perhaps in a month or so, I’ll write a follow up post comparing the Cliff Keen compression shirt with the Starter compression shirt.
I have to say though, I really like the Cliff Keen brand. I have head gear made from them and am thrilled with its performance.
Okay, until next time.
Cliff Keen compression shirt tag
Cliff Keen compression shirt logo
Starter compression shirt logo
Oh yeah, there’s one more thing I wanted to mention. Sizing these shirts can be a pain in the butt. I had no idea what size I was. I guess the rule is that you buy the same size compression shirt or rash guard as you would regular shirt. I am almost 6′3″ and weigh 190lbs. I bought size XL and they fit perfectly. These shirts are meant to be like a second skin, so they are tight to the body.
So, I am a few days shy of my four month mark in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Can you believe it?
I remember a little over four months ago. I was driving around going nuts trying to find some sort of martial art to keep me physically fit and to maintain my body’s lethal-ness. Okay, well maybe I wasn’t lethal before…oh hell, I’m still not lethal, but at least I am a bit more physically fit.
A few weeks into Jiu Jitsu training, I got a few back spasms. That really stunk. They were from using muscles that I have probably never used. I was just telling Laura today how good my back has been feeling lately. At my age, it’s important to keep the body doing all sorts of moves and exercises and I seriously can’t think of anything better for that than Jiu Jitsu. One of the stretching exercises I do every time we have class is to lay on my back and lift my legs all the way over my head until my feet are touching the floor. I never used to be able to do that. It’s a great stretch by the way.
For the past few weeks, I have been working out with two guys – one is my fellow classmate and the other is my instructor. They are both much better than me and really great to train with for this stuff. Since I am the newest, my instructor has his work cut out for him. Every so often, my classmate chimes in with some good advice. It’s like I am getting private lessons. Hey, not a bad deal.
I have been getting better. I can feel it. I am not getting my butt kicked as bad as I used to and I am starting to implement some submissions as opposed to just playing defense the whole time. I am also getting better at keeping pressure on my opponent (physical pressure by using the weight of my body) and I have gotten MUCH better at not getting completely exhausted every time I go out there with someone. That was a huge obstacle when I first started. I didn’t like the feeling of losing, so I used all my strength to stop what was happening. I would tire myself out to the point of being useless.
From what I have gathered, Jiu Jitsu requires some degree of intelligence to progress at. It’s not walking out on the mat to randomly see what happens. You need to have a plan and to be able to moderate yourself. You need to find your opponent’s weaknesses and exploit them. It’s a tricky thing and it’s as much in the head as it is in the body. Maybe that’s why I like it so much.
Today was a great day. After about 45 minutes of getting a great workout, my instructor walked over to me and put another blue stripe on my white belt. He said that I was getting much better and then offered some advice on the day’s matches. Always good advice, I just wish that I was able to use more of it. It’s not the easiest thing to try to submit guys who have years of experience at this stuff.
I will say this – there is a real benefit of working out with guys who have so much more experience than I have. While I do play defense, I am learning what types of moves to defend against. For example, back in the beginning, I would just stick my arms up in the air to stop whatever was coming at me. Now, let’s just say my arms don’t go up in the air nearly as much as they used to and I use many alternative strategies to defend myself. Every so often, I actually get in top position to see where I can go from there. It’s fun. Hey, only eight more months of doing what I’m doing and I might be close to my blue belt. I am looking forward to that challenge.
Here is a pic of my belt and a nice motivational video. By the way, stop by to say hi and you might want to give Jiu Jitsu a try yourself – Jiu Jitsu near Hartford, CT (located in Glastonbury).
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu white belt with two blue stripes
I think I have been doing pretty well. For a few weeks now, I have been exercising like crazy. I like to do some sort of strength training along with cardio every day. It’s funny, because when I sit around and don’t exercise, I feel guilty. I remember that from way back when I was in shape a little more than I am now.
Just to start things off, I want to tell you that I did find a school where I could get more exercise. It’s three times a week and it’s really, really cool. I’ll talk more about that later.
So basically I am doing just a combination of things to keep me entertained. I do the workout DVDs, I use the Bowflex, I play tennis, I now go to the exercise school and I ride my bike. Oh yeah, I also jump rope. Believe it or not, I actually got up to 150 jumped ropes today and could have gone for more. I assume at some point, I will stop counting and just keep going. That’s going to be a rush.
I wanted to tell you about this really awesome workout DVD I got called “The Pit Workout.” It’s serious business for serious people and that’s what I am…serious. It’s a mixed martial arts full body workout taught by trainer John Hackleman (Chuck Liddell’s trainer). I did it for about 15 minutes yesterday when I realized that I had to get some sort of rug for downstairs. My feet were absolutely killing me from the burpies. Tile isn’t any good for the toes. I had to stop and hop on the Bowflex instead.
Here is a video of how to do burpies…
and here is a video of the Pit workout…
I do feel good because my stomach muscles have been hurting for two days. That means I gotta be doing something.
Sticking with the strategy of doing at least one cardio and one strength training activity per day, I decided to go for a bike ride this morning. Well, I decided this last night after one of those beautiful warm spring days. Unfortunately, this morning is a bit chilly and windy. It’s supposed to rain over an inch tonight. That’s okay, because I aerated the lawn again yesterday and the rain will wash all those little dirt plugs back into the ground.
Back to the bike ride. Since one of the areas I really have to work on is my legs, I thought a bike ride would fit in nicely. The legs have some large muscles in them that, if toned, can really help with overall fitness. I absolutely hate working on legs and pretty much avoid it if possible. Doing that doesn’t do me any favors though, so I try to at least do something that I don’t hate too much. That’s bike riding.
The ride I took covered about five miles. There were a good amount of uphills and downhills. Remarkably, I plowed right through all of them. The first big hill is usually the one I have to stop and walk a little on, but this time I just rode right up it. I wasn’t even that tired. I think it might have something to do with the weather though. It’s a heck of a lot easier to breath in cool weather than it is in hot, humid weather…and that was the type of weather I had to put up with the last time I tried to climb this hill.
Today’s ride was really good. I actually focused on my breathing, which helped. One of the things I always get yelled at during a tennis lesson is to “BREATH!!!” Umm, yeah, I guess oxygen would help.
The first 4 7/8 miles were on pavement and the last 1/8 of a mile was through the woods. I had to be a little careful while riding through the woods because there are those round rocks hidden under the leaves. If you go too fast, whoops.
Overall, the ride felt great. I am probably going to mix riding in with all the other cardio activities I have thought of over the past week. By the way, if you want to learn a little more about why cardio exercise is important, just click here.
Riding my Mongoose mountain bike in the middle of the road
Preparing to ride my mountain bike through a wooded trail
Attention Boomers! If you are not physically fit, stop with excuses and start exercising! This article provides great tips for those over 50 and reasons why is it important to stay active! Read on the learn more.
Companies open up to Sponsoring Mixed Martial Arts
Once considered too risky, mixed martial arts is now seen by companies as a way to reach young male consumers.
That cup of coffee that many gym rats, bikers and runners swill before a workout does more than energize them. It kills some of the pain of athletic exertion, a new study suggests. And it works regardless of whether a person already had a coffee habit or not.
Obesity experts agree that daily exercise is essential for good health, but whether it can successfully lead to long-term weight loss is a question of much debate.
How do you find motivation to exercise when you just don’t feel like getting off your butt? I ask myself this question every now and then, and I have the feeling I’m not the only one.
Today was a great first day to try out an exercise DVD. We have a pretty well stocked library of them, so I thought it might benefit me to get going. I knew I was going to play tennis in the afternoon, so a morning workout would be nice. I had to do it. If there is nothing I hate more, it’s sitting around at night time wondering why I didn’t do what I had set out to do that day.
Let me tell you, the biggest challenge with getting more “fit” is motivation. I mean, what in the world is going to stop me from sitting around and being comfortable when being comfortable feels so damn good? Yeah, I really want to get up and jump around into an ugly sweat. I guess I just have to get past that. I do that with other stuff I do already, such as mowing the lawn. How is exercising any different?
I pulled out the Budokon DVD because it’s pretty well rounded. I am really going for flexibility, stamina and strength. As we get older, each one of those areas fade. I have never admired muscle heads or people who do yoga all day long. Or, those who just run on the treadmill for that matter. A nice combination of the three is nice.
The instructor, Cameron Shayne, is pretty awesome. He isn’t just some guy who can’t do what he is telling you to do; he can really move.
Take a look at some of his stuff. He’s the one with no shirt on.
As I got into the program, I quickly realized that the yoga section was first. I also quickly realized that yoga is really difficult. I think it will just take some practice, but those moves are pretty straining. I liked the cardio section more than the yoga. Partially because I was in the mood for some aerobic exercise and partially because there was less burning of the muscles. Take a look at some of the exercises.
Proudly enough, I completed the whole workout. I sweat like a pig, but I did it. My heart was pumping for a full half hour which felt really good. Later on, I met a friend up at the high school for a quick tennis set and now I’m back. Strangely enough, I feel full of energy.
I can’t wait to move on to more DVDs. I ordered one from Amazon the other day and after I complete it, I’ll let you know about it. This one is totally different and I bet will be more humorous for you to read about. I’m not sure I’m going to get through this next one.
I had another tennis lesson yesterday with Mike. About 20 minutes into it, I was huffing and puffing away. Mike was too, but I am far more obvious. As he continues to play just a little slower, I toss my hands in the air, walk off the court and gasp for breath. My question is this: Why in the world am I still out of breath when I exercise more than anyone I know? It’s not even a gradual decline. It’s all good one minute and the next, I am completely exhausted and totally finished.
When I was a little kid, I was able to run a lot in short bursts. No one could catch me unless they could run a longer period of time than I could. By the time I got myself all tired out, I was too far away to reach. That’s the way it’s always been. In school, when we used to go out to the track during gym class, I could usually only jog a half lap. The rest was half jogging and half walking. I don’t think I came in last, but close to it. While I was the one who was at home riding my bicycle, running around and climbing trees, my friend who sat on a beach chair eating bologna sandwiches and devil dogs all day was beating me in a race around the school track. Strange. I will admit that I did pretty well in the 50-yard dash though.
I’m not sure if this is a typical experience, or if I am just weird.
As an adult, it’s hard to find out if this type of thing is still happening. When I do exercise and get out of breath, I just say, “Boy, I am out of shape” and chalk it up to being lazy. I know I need to get out there and work out more often, but it is just difficult to do without someone pushing me. That’s why I like to play tennis, but at once or twice a week, it’s not enough.
I woke up a few days ago with a goal. I told myself that I am going to work on my stamina once and for all. To be honest, I would really like to know what it feels like to be able to exercise for a long time without stopping. I envy those people I see jogging down the road for miles. I don’t know how they do it.
I ordered some crazy “beat me up” workout DVD this morning. It’s supposed to be pretty good. I’ll let you know how that goes if I do it more than twice. I fear being my own motivator.
I have been hitting the Bowflex again. It feels really good and I am mixing it up with a bunch of different exercises.
I have been in an all-out search for a local to semi-local “exercise” studio. I have something perfect in mind, but just haven’t found it yet. I visited a few places and talked to a few people, but my socks haven’t been knocked off yet. I am not sure I am going to write about this one though.
Let me tell you a funny little story. As I was standing out in the driveway yesterday, Laura walked out with her jump rope in her hand. She said, “Hey, why don’t you try this; it’s real hard to do.” I’m like, “Yeah right, it’s a jump rope.” She handed it to me with a smirk and let me “jump rope” about 20 times. I nearly fell over.
Okay, for all of my adult readers who are saying, “C’mon man, get up off that lazy butt of yours and jump that rope,” I say, “You try it. I bet you can’t do 100.” I just did 100 out in the driveway and my throat still hurts from all that huffing and puffing.
Jumping rope these days is a little different than when I weighed 80 pounds and was skinny. I would say the main difference is instead of lightly hopping up and down, it’s now like a cement block being dropped 100 times. It ain’t pretty. As I was jumping the rope a few minutes ago, a kid walked by and waved. I waved back and felt like a fool. I bet that kid could totally embarrass me at that activity. I am sure I would win at hopscotch though.
My point is, how in the world do I finally get in shape? Is there a “in shape?” If someone gets in shape, do they know it?
Boy, I really need to find a place to start working out. Some classes would be nice, but I don’t want to be the only guy in them.
You know, I am not sure I like this whole “getting older” thing. I mean, I try and try and try to stay in shape by walking, playing tennis and working out on the Bowflex, but it seems like all my body wants to do is get tired and ache from it.
I am playing tennis four times this week. I already played two ladder matches (Mon and Tues), have a lesson today and then a clinic on Saturday. I did well on Monday’s ladder match because I had a lot of energy. I ate a nice big dinner and then went to burn it off. Last night, I ate at around 4PM, so by the time 8PM rolled around, I could only last so long. About half-way through the second set, I began to fade. Towards the end of the third set, I was almost crawling off the court. Mind you, we did play 30 games.
When the time came to roll out of bed this morning, my age started to show. I am sore and tired. Sounds rough, huh? Also, my feet are killing me and my shins hurt…not to mention my arm that has been aching for over a month. Boy, I feel like I am complaining a lot here. I only wonder what this lesson will be like today…these things give you a real cardio workout.
I keep telling Laura that I need to get past that “hump.” It’s like I am chasing it and once I catch up to it and get past it, I won’t get as red in the face, sweat and lose my breath as much. The only problem is…that hump might be unattainable. Perhaps I was able to catch it when I was 18 years old, but now, I am going to have to work twice as hard and I’m not even sure it’s possible.
I guess I have a few choices here. I can double down and start running, like I have always wanted to do, or I can just keep going as I am. There are a few runners who play tennis and it really helps their game. They are able to play a heck of a lot longer and are much faster on the court. They can pretty much get to any ball you hit at them because they are so light on their feet. As I try more new things on the court, that is becoming more important. The good ol’ days of me smacking a powerful ball over the net and admiring it are over. These guys are starting to return them to me.
Since I have written so much about tennis on this blog and have hardly shown any pictures or videos, I am planning on bringing my video camera today. I am going to have my buddy take some videos of my serve so I can post them here. We’ll see what happens with that.
So, as I mentioned in my last post, I decided to get back into taking private tennis lessons. After today’s lesson, I am sure I made the right choice.
For now, I am going to skip the Wednesday tennis clinic. I am going to replace it with a private lesson. I think the one-on-one instruction is a better bang for the buck and I learn so much. Both private lessons and clinics have their merits. As I said above, private lessons offer a full hour of intense instruction. The learning potential and cardio workout is awesome and personally, I walk away with a lot to think about. Clinics are great to get out there and hit the ball around with some other people. There is some light instruction, but the tennis pro is honestly incapable of getting into the nitty-gritty of every ball each player hits.
I was really pleased with today’s lesson and it lifted my spirits after Monday’s terrible loss. I know Mike feels the same way after he loses, so I don’t feel all that bad.
Okay, so I thought I would give you a little breakdown of what we did. First, we warmed up “short court.” That’s typical to get the arms and legs functioning. Basically, that is simply standing on the service line and gently (and cooperatively) hitting the ball back and forth to each other. Then, we backed up to the baseline and hit some forehand shots back and forth for about five minutes. Then, Jim (the tennis pro) said something I found pretty entertaining and quite welcomed. He said, “Okay, I think I’ve seen enough.” That was exactly what I was looking for.
For some strange reason, whenever I try to learn something, I think that I have to walk in and guide the instructor on how to teach me. I have a faith issue. It’s weird. I guess you know when you are with one of the “good ones” when they can totally pick up on what you are doing wrong and what you need help with all by themselves. I really liked his style. Also, I wasn’t in the mood to do a horrible job trying to explain what I need to work on.
So, as it ends up, I needed some fundamental changes with the way I have been hitting my forehand. The way I used to used to (before today) hit it was to have my chest facing the net. My arm would extend to the side and do most of the work. Jim very kindly explained to me that I needed to rotate my shoulders to the right, so I was completely facing the side of the court. Then, as I swing my arm forward, move my shoulders and torso with the racquet. Makes sense to me, but it still feels pretty strange. The reason I am having so much difficulty, is because I am trying to shed years of hitting a terrible forehand. As I explained it to the ladies at the front desk, “I am like a piece of taffy that keeps trying to twist back to the way I always was.”
Jim didn’t care about what grip I was using, as long as I was comfortable with it. Also, I can still use my open stance, I just need to turn my shoulders more. After I tried this for a while, I was hitting some pretty solid forehands.
Take a look at this video. Ignore the “Eastern grip” part that he is talking about. Just look at the way his body is facing when he hits his forehand.
Also, I needed to loosen up on my racquet grip a bit. I was squeezing too hard and it showed.
Next, we talked a bit about the mental side of the game. I explained that I have a bad habit of totally falling apart during a match if I start losing some games. It’s not a good scene. Jim told me that the reason for this is that I (and everyone else out there) start to get nervous and start over-correcting everything I think I am doing wrong. Once that happens, there really is no chance. He said that once I am playing a match, forget about what I learned, about form and all that. Those things will start to show naturally during a match, once I get proficient at them during the lessons and the clinics. Again, that made sense to me.
Next, we went over what to do if you are experiencing some low, fast balls being hit towards you. I told Jim that when that happens to me, I just pop them back over the net to keep them in play. The problem with that is that the other player is sitting at the net waiting for them. He told me that what I was doing was correct because it’s a defensive shot, I just need to lob the ball over my competitor’s head to neutralize the play. Basically, I want to take the other guy away from playing offense and myself away from playing defense. If I can lob the ball over the other player, we will be on equal footing again. This holds true for the backhand and the forehand.
After we got that squared away, we went over where exactly on the court I was supposed to be when the ball is in play. Jim hit me a few balls and watched as I returned them from behind the baseline and stayed there. The way it is supposed to happen is, I am supposed to start on the center of the baseline and move back if I need to return a deep ball. After that, I need to get back on the baseline, where I started. That was a stupid mental block for me. Also, if I am trying to return a shot from in between the service line and the baseline (approach shot), I need to move up and hit into the ball, then get back to the baseline, unless I feel really good about where I hit the ball and in that case, I can get up to the net. If I am returning a ball that is hit before the service line, I need to get up to it and then play the net. I told Jim that the whole idea was just genius. One of my main problems was that I relied on my wonderfully powerful hits that I would stand there and admire my work.
Lastly, something was discovered as we were going over our little court strategy. Jim noticed that I wasn’t hitting the ball at the peak of its bounce. I was waiting for the ball to fall too far and then trying to grab it as it neared the ground. The better way to do it is to smack it before it starts falling and move into it.
I am starting to notice that playing tennis is a lot like trying to land a plane…you need to think about and do 20 things at the same time. I guess this is why it takes so long to get proficient at either.
I know, I know, you have been getting “Jay’s Blog withdrawal.” I haven’t written in a few days. It’s not because I don’t love all of you, it’s just because I have been a little tired.
Ever since we got this Bowflex and I started playing tennis again, it seems as though I am constantly sore. I mean, my muscles are always in recovery. My shoulder hurts, my back hurts and I think I pulled a butt muscle.
The muscle injury in my shoulder is from twelve years ago when I “over served” a few days in a row. I was so thrilled that I could actually serve, that I went to the club day after day to practice. Well, lets just say that I must have served about a thousand balls. I am not sure I even got any better. If today’s playing is any indication, I didn’t. Oh well, it’s working itself out, with the help of some Motrin and ice.
I remember when I could do a good workout and then go back and hit the gym the next day. I am trying that now, but unfortunately, it’s not the same. Apparently, it now takes two and a half weeks to recover. Maybe that is exaggerating a little bit, but for any of you over 30 years old, go out and get drunk. Then, come back here and tell me how long it took you to recover from that. My point is that we are falling apart. That is why I am trying to stay in shape as best I can.
I have now been to two tennis clinics and have had two private lessons. I learned a lot in yesterday’s lesson, only to apply none of it in today’s clinic. I don’t know what happened. I guess I am going to have these kinds of days. Tomorrow, I am going to hit with a youngster from the club. He is a really cool kid (17 years old) and is going to kick my butt. He has been playing since he was four years old. His father is the pro that gave me yesterday’s lesson. I think he is pretty lucky to get free lessons for life. I told him that today. Tomorrow, we are just going to hit back and forth, with no games. He is great at giving advice too, which I appreciate.
At least I am now learning the proper way to hit a tennis ball. After all these years of playing tennis, I never actually had a real lesson. I mean, I guess I had a few lessons over at the town beach when I was like five, but those don’t count. These are real, hour long tennis lessons. I walk away actually thinking I might get better.
Now to the point of this blog post. I have been using the same tennis racquet since I was 21. It’s one of those cheap ones from some store like Jamesway or Caldor. I am not even sure where I got it. I have been using it with some success, but thought that since I am going to need to get it restrung soon, I may as well get a high quality racquet to play with. I tried a few different racquets at the club and there is a huge difference in quality and playability.
A few days ago, I ordered a new Prince O3 Speedport Black Team tennis racquet and received it today. It’s the latest from Prince. I did a lot of research on different racquets and am hoping this is the one.
Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet
Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet
Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet
Here are the specs:
- Length: 27.0”
- Headsize: 100 sq in
- Cross Section: 23-24-22mm
- Weight: 9.9 oz/280g unstrung
- Balance: 13.6 in/34.5 cm, 1 pt. Head Heavy
- Grip: DuraPro+
- Rec. Strings: Syn Gut w/ Duraflex 16
- Power Level: 975
- Swing Weight: 295
- String Pattern: 16 x 19
If you notice in the photos above, the great feature of this racquet is the “Os” on the sides, where the strings go through. These “Os” are supposed to make the racquet more aerodynamic. When I read that, I said, “Yeah right.” Well, as is turns out, you can actually hear the wind whistle through the racquet when you swing. It cuts through the air much easier than my other one.
I had this racquet strung at 57lbs, which is too loose. The recommended stringing tension is 58lbs, plus or minus 5. 57lbs is too loose for me and I may play with it for a while and then cut the strings out to get it strung tighter. We’ll see. I can always wait for them to break too.
I am going to give this racquet a try tomorrow and let you know how it plays.
