Girl Scout Troop 337 visits WMMA

Self-Defense Seminar

Woodstock, IL - March 15, 2009 - Girl Scout Troop 337 took part in a two hour self-defense seminar at Woodstock Mixed Martial Arts. Troop Leader Donna Warner joined in as Black Belt Instructors Kurt and Carolyn Schulenburg provided a tour, lecture and physical workout for the girls, demonstrating the need for vigilance and a proactive stance about safety in Woodstock.

The tour portion was a walk about the Square, highlighting potential danger areas and showcasing safe havens as well. The speaking portion highlighted the need for a mixture of awareness and common sense as the first line of self-defense while the physical workout showed the girls how strong they could be in a panic situation.

The girls learned how to escape from a variety of common holds and how to punch and kick effectively. Culminating with elbow strikes, the girls were delighted when each broke their own 12" X 12" X 3/4" wooden board.

Participating were troop members Danielle Hurmis, Leah Warner, Jolene Warner, Madison Schnulle.

If you're interested in a FREE Self-Defense Seminar for your group, please call Carolyn Schulenburg at 815-334-9662 to arrange a date.

The Schulenburg Family's Woodstock Mixed Martial Arts, formerly known as the Young Hong Karate Institute, has a long history of providing self defense in Woodstock. Offering classes in Mixed Martial Arts for all ages, WMMA prides itself on being a Character Development Center, actively teaching social skills such as responsibility, honesty and trustworthiness to all students. WMMA is a Family School where the Focus is on Fitness and Fun, where the whole Family can enjoy an exciting and healthy workout.

Call us at 815-334-WMMA (9662).

Tabatas

I discovered the Tabata Interval a couple of years ago... and it's a GREAT way to burn calories, lose a little fat, gain a little muscle and work up a sweat!

Basically, Izuma Tabata and some colleagues at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports over in Japan tested all sorts of athletes on treadmills and came up with a paper entitled "Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max".

Um. Right. What does THAT mean?

Moderate-intensity endurance means that we're not running 26 mile marathons. They tested for shorter runs.

High-intensity means that when they were running, they were sprinting!

"Anaerobic capacity and VO2max" means that they were measuring both strength and endurance.

Putting semi-pro runners on treadmills, Tabata and company had them sprint and relax for a whole bunch of different intervals. One minute on, two minutes rest. Five seconds on, ten seconds rest. All sorts of times were experimented with.

They came up with the most efficient interval for developing BOTH strength and endurance for the average human being. It's now called the Tabata Interval - or simply "Tabatas" and refers to exercise where you work full out (sprint!) for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds... and repeat 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.

Believe me, 4 minutes doesn't sound like much, but there's a reason that these intervals are the best: they're killers! Last winter, I tried them on my stationary bike - wow! What a workout! There was many a day when I only managed 6 or 7 of the repetitions, becoming completely exhausted after only 3 minutes or so.

Another great thing about Tabatas is that you don't have to run. You can ride a bike, do pushups, situps, just about any exercise that you can imagine. The secret is to work full out - to sprint - with whatever exercise you're doing. And do so for 20 seconds with only a 10 second rest in between.

Watching a clock - it's truly amazing how the darn thing slowed down while I worked and sped up when I was resting. Stupid clock.

I've since written a couple of musical tabatas, fun little ditties that alternate between 20 seconds of thumping and 10 seconds of restful sounds. They're kind of fun, and we've used them in both MMA classes and kickboxing.

Our BootCampers will soon experience tabatas, too!

Getting In Shape

Trying to find a title for today's blog was tough. Yes, it's about getting in shape. But "Getting in Shape" sounds like something you choose to do this afternoon, or plan on doing next week. It sounds like an entry on your To-Do list, a task that gets checked off when it's completed.

The bad news for those trying to get in shape: you're never finished.

The good news? Well, if you're going to bother at all, you've got to make it a lot of fun. That's good news because many of us never even considered the possibility that diet and exercise could be remotely classed as "desirable" let alone "fun"!

Mrs. Schulenburg and I have just finished teaching and participating in two month long Fitness BootCamp classes. We're also still involved with our ongoing Fitness Kickboxing program.

We both lost weight. We both gained inches where we wanted to... and lost them where we wanted to as well.

Now... are we both "in shape"? Are we finished? Is it pie and ice cream time?

No. We have plenty of miles to travel to reach our long term goals. But our short term goals? Yes, we've reached them - and even surpassed them!

The short term goals may come as a surprise as they didn't necessarily involve scales and tape measures. Our short term goals were to change our lifestyle - a little - so that exercise and proper nutrition were the base line that we return to. In other words, when a particular program or class is finished, it's not bon-bons and the remote control. It's having fun with kickboxing, taking walks as the weather gets nicer and planning our next healthy meal.

Getting in shape IS a lifestyle change. It's a choice that we're making to live as healthy as we can. It doesn't mean that either of us are aiming to become rail thin models (ha!) but rather that we're more comfortable with the genes that we were dealt and happy with the choices we make about activities and food.

Our next Fitness BootCamp starts the first week of April. Come join us as we learn about nutrition, what to look for on food labels - what to look out for! - and enjoy three exercise classes per week that we go out of our way to make fun.

Yes. We have fun. You'll have fun. That's the only way we're going to make it something that you'll stick with for the rest of your life.

Youthful Secrets #1

There are a lot of health and fitness gurus and nutritional experts out there who will be glad to sell you the "Secret to Staying Young". Our TVs are awash with ads for concoctions to grow hair here or remove it from there, skin and facial creams and... uh... other products to restore youthful vigor.

There are diets left and right, all Protein, no Protein, all Carb, no Carb. Eggs are good for you - eggs aren't good for you - and, by last survey, eggs are good for you once again! Each fad diet promises that you will lose weight, get in shape, add years to your life. All for $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

The best thing about those exercises devices that store under your bed is that... they store under your bed.

Nobody talks about mental health. I don't mean those sad, depressed individuals (but they'll sell you some pills...) or those serious issues that do indeed need proper doctoring. I'm talking about you and me - the so-called "normal" folks that are getting older one day at a time and somehow living to tell about it.

From a physical standpoint, I always teach older people to work on keeping their legs in shape. To do so, you will need to do a combination of weight bearing and aerobic exercises that will keep your heart strong, work the lungs - even take care of the back and stomach muscles. Don't worry about the rest of you, focus on legs!

From a mental standpoint, I explain that when your legs are in shape, you'll have the strength and dexterity to get down on the floor and play with the grandkids.

And there's the important part, the Secret of Eternal Youth: Playing. With the grandkids. On the floor.

As adults, when we play, we tend to do things that we enjoy. Too often, the same things, over and over. It's tough to jump in with new games, unfamiliar ideas or strange directions. But when we play with the grandkids, suddenly we're swept up into a world of imagination that our ossified brains haven't visited in years. We are shown new toys with new uses, bright colors and defined shapes that go together in so many ways.

This then, is the fountain of youth, this is how one truly stays young. Don't sit by yourself and pine for worlds that might have been. Instead, be young. Play young. Don't be afraid to imagine, to dream of worlds that might yet be.

There are always more choices to be made: which ones will bring you to the Best You that you can be?

(Picture used with permission - that's Grandpa G. (aged 76) and Grandson C. (aged 2.5) playing with blocks!)