Couch2MMA

A couch potatoe journey to competition glory

[couch2mma]

Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY I approach getting fit with a few important points. Each of these is the cam about after years of set-backs and successes. 1. NO SHORTCUTS. I don’t believe there is a shortcut in getting fit. I will not do fad diets. I’m not going to avoid carbs, or eat nothing but butter, or anything else ridiculous in an attempt to get fit. I will not take any supplement expecting a significant change. I’m not going to chug down protein powder expecting to become ripped or take diet pills expecting to lose weight. That said, I may still avoid certain foods and take certain supplements for other reasons. For example, I am a vegetarian and thus will avoid meat and drink protein shakes to make up for the lack of protein. 2. LONG TERM PLANNING; SHORT TERM GOALS: I believe that fitness is a long-term experience. It starts in the current moment and continues for a lifetime. At the same time, I believe that smaller, easier goals are important to success. If I want to run a 10k, I would jog today. Run a mile next week. Run 3 miles next month. And so on. These little goals create an important incentive system which keeps me from dropping out or from pushing myself to hard. 3. BASICS FIRST: This applies to martial arts, working out, nutrient. Fancy moves, fancy equipment, and fancy diets are useless without a proper foundation. If I can’t throw a decent jab then that complex double jab, rear hook, spinning round-house combo isn't going to work. If I can’t do a decent push-up then buying a six-way push-up/ sit-up/ pull-up/ lunge bar isn't going to help. Nutrition works off the same principle. Understanding what calories are, the difference between good and bad fat, and why carbs are important is crucial. 4. AVOID THE HYPE: If I spent all my time comparing myself to others, then I would never have an accurate idea of how fit I am. I don’t want to hype up my boxing skills only to be beat down later. At the same time, I don’t want to compare myself to a professional body builder. Knowing how fit I am will prevent me from being discourage or from doing stupid things. 4. ENJOY THE ACTIVITY: If I don’t enjoy the activity, I’ll find a way to make it fun. Enjoying the journey is everything. 

[couch2mma]

FITNESS LEVEL

FITNESS LEVEL For the last three months, I have avoided measuring my progress. I do this because when I first start working out after a long break, I always have tremendous gains in general fitness. This is mostly muscle memory kicking back in. Eventually I reach my first plateau and my progress slows down. If I measure my fitness from when I start working out, then I would see tremendous gains the first few weeks, then a leveling off. That’s pretty demoralizing and not accurate. Instead, I find it’s better to wait for the first plateau and then measure from there. I’ll have a more accurate account of how my fitness level is improving. The Navy SEAL Fitness Test (taken April 2) (Reference)  500 Yard Swim: n/a Push-ups(min: 50; competitive 80-100): 37 Sit-ups(50; competitive 80-100): 48 Pull-ups(10; competitive 15-20): 3 1.5 Mile Run(10:20; competitive 9-10): 15:10

[couch2mma]

Basic Stats

So here’s the basic stats: As of April 1st Age: 20 Height: 5’9 Weight: 231 pd Body Fat Percent: 25% Activity level: Moderately High Nutrition: Mixed

[couch2mma]

Intro

My name is Ryan, and I am three months into what I am calling “Couch to MMA”. This is my self-guided (and possibly mis-guided) attempt to become a competitive fighter, and with prompting from my good friend Eugene, I have decided to record my progress.