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Rebuilding
Mar. 6th, 2007 01:18 pmI'm becoming louder as I get older. Not that I raise my voice much... my ankles, knees, neck, shoulders and wrists no longer move without making crunching sounds. I don't seem able to move silently any more, as any movement comes with a chorus of creaks. I wonder if there's something I should take for my ligaments and joints - it's possible that my mostly-vego diet is lacking something important, as I seem to need oiling.
I've started riding again, which was a bit of a shock for my knees. For a joint that's designed to have one very specific axis of movement, I have an uncomfortable amount of lateral twisting if I'm not warmed up properly. Kind of painful, and it disrupts my balance. Riding helps to clear my thoughts, though, and I'm enjoying the weather at the moment.
This morning marked the start of the year's Tai Chi classes, breaking a long (apathy-induced) training drought over the summer. Now that I'm working from home, I can practice forms and stances whenever I need a break from painting, without attracting strange looks from co-workers. Score! The long, lazy summer has stripped away any reserves of strength that may have existed last year, so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm expecting to take 2-3 intensive weeks getting my basic fitness back up, and then a few months of rebuilding my old forms from the ground up. By mid-year, I should be in shape to start learning something new - hopefully the Wudan Sword form.
There are more synergies between the Wushu and Tai Chi classes than I originally thought. That's unfortunate, as my ankles are unlikely to let me take up Wushu again... I've slowly come to the realisation that my Tai Chi reached a plateau after I stopped cross training with Wushu, and it's never been back up there since. The extra strength and flexibility gives a much longer window for training properly, before the movements become sloppy from tiredness. Plus, the routine of taking 3-4 classes a week helps to keep that physical memory active.
I'm going to experiment a little, isolating the the strength and flexibility training from the regular Wushu classes, and incorporating in into a daily training routine. As with all things, it's a bit of a hack but the end justifies the means...
I've started riding again, which was a bit of a shock for my knees. For a joint that's designed to have one very specific axis of movement, I have an uncomfortable amount of lateral twisting if I'm not warmed up properly. Kind of painful, and it disrupts my balance. Riding helps to clear my thoughts, though, and I'm enjoying the weather at the moment.
This morning marked the start of the year's Tai Chi classes, breaking a long (apathy-induced) training drought over the summer. Now that I'm working from home, I can practice forms and stances whenever I need a break from painting, without attracting strange looks from co-workers. Score! The long, lazy summer has stripped away any reserves of strength that may have existed last year, so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm expecting to take 2-3 intensive weeks getting my basic fitness back up, and then a few months of rebuilding my old forms from the ground up. By mid-year, I should be in shape to start learning something new - hopefully the Wudan Sword form.
There are more synergies between the Wushu and Tai Chi classes than I originally thought. That's unfortunate, as my ankles are unlikely to let me take up Wushu again... I've slowly come to the realisation that my Tai Chi reached a plateau after I stopped cross training with Wushu, and it's never been back up there since. The extra strength and flexibility gives a much longer window for training properly, before the movements become sloppy from tiredness. Plus, the routine of taking 3-4 classes a week helps to keep that physical memory active.
I'm going to experiment a little, isolating the the strength and flexibility training from the regular Wushu classes, and incorporating in into a daily training routine. As with all things, it's a bit of a hack but the end justifies the means...
