2026 Training Log Part 23

On the Stereo today- Depeche Mode

On holiday most of last week and arrived home on Wednesday afternoon. When I go on holiday I need to keep moving. Not out of some complusion to keep training, but more because I need to keep everything loose. I don’t rest, I rust! But on this occassion I didn’t have a hotel gym, so it was just a few swims (badly) and 2 short calasthenics sessions in the apartment I was staying in. Enough.

Wednesday

Flew in after a week of beer and lovely food, and got on the mats that night for a couple of rounds just to get a sweat on.

Thursday

I was working in the gym and looked out on the mats to ee everyone having loads of fun, so I threw a Gi on and jumped in. I did 8 rounds. Very enjoyable.

Friday

Some light work in the gym-

1. Bike 10mins
2. Single leg box squats 5×10
3. Close grip bench 5×8
4. Pec deck 2xmax
5. 3 way bridging 3 sets
6. Plate grip preacher curls 3×12

Saturday

NoGi Sparring, 10 rounds

Some good work but it’s always so hard to get back on the mats properly after a break. Particularly when you’ve been in good shape for a while. You feel sluggish and just not “on it”. That being said, this was a tough room to train in no matter what shape you were in.

Training Thoughts of the Week

My neck and back are so tight after holiday that it really does bring back the Rest/Rust thing I say to all over 35s. Stay moving, it doesn’t have to be hard, keep on top of your mobility, especially when it’s NOT hurting, and get your heart rate up and the oil flowing around your body when you’re in your quiet “rest” periods.

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

Did you watch the World Cup final? I thought it was a dreadful game, obviously, but whatever about the football, the pageantry around it ran counter to the sport rather than accentuating it. I’ve been going to games since I was a kid, and honestly, for all the flaws, the dreadful football you sometimes watch for example, there’s never been a time when I’ve looked around and said, “You know what this place needs? A bit of K-Pop at half time”. My least favourite bit in any stadium is when they play music after a goal. This is the one time you don’t need anyone to help with the “atmosphere”. Scoring is a collective release of joy. There’s nothing like it, especially when the stakes are high. They’ve destroyed something natural.

It’s probably a bit much at the bottom of a blog post about martial arts to go into the writings of obscure sociologists, but Durkheim spoke about collective effervescence as a spiritual experience. I’ve felt it, you might have too. And most recently I’ve felt it at football with my son. The tension as you get near to the goal, everyone inhales, you grab the arm of the person beside you, no one moves for a fraction of a second, and then…

And some prick ruins it by blaring a remix of Seven Nation Army over the PA.

So I can do without Shakira at the World Cup.

See you on the mat,

Barry