Our Method of Attack

First of all, Mike came with some physical limitations. Because of his weight, nearly every exercise hurt his back. His knees would not allow proper movement for most of the techniques used to train. His cardio was basically limited to 30 seconds worth of -whatever- so we had a little struggle between what he was willing to do, and what he was capable of doing. And to top that off, we were dealing with a gentleman who could barely walk across the room without being winded and I was worried about hurting his health, agitating his back, even in the name of getting in shape.

But the desire was there, so we worked with what he was able to do. For the first month, we trained four days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 9 to 9:20 a.m. Not exactly a huge calorie-burning session, but he needed something to jump start his program. This is what the typical session consisted of:

• about 3 to 5 rounds (30 second rounds) of punching a focus mitt
• at least 3 sets of punches (10 reps per set, per hand)--straight punches (the chambered "karate" punch), back fist, jab, cross
• walking across the floor while punching (we started with 3 trips back and forth, and worked our way up to 10 trips)
• 3 sets of "machine gun punching"--rapid punching for 30 seconds with no pauses, and 60 second breaks in between

Sorry folks, that was it. Really a simple workout, which would help anyone that was inactive, but as long as he did it, he got results. As the weeks progressed, Mike got stronger, his wind capacity increased, and he worked his way up to 7 to 8 sets of 30-second breaks. Our workouts got to 45 minute workouts (where it is now), and there are only a few breaks. On top of that, we have added:

• squats and calf extensions to build leg strength
• standing leg lifts to build hip strength
• footwork drills for boxing (yes, he's doing bag work now)
• side-to-side shuffling (10 reps back and forth across the width of my studio)
• KICKS (yes, KICKS)--about 3 sets of 10 snap kicks and side kicks per leg
• moving target practice with punches
• jumping jacks. he started out with 2 or 3 sets of 5, and now we're up to a minimum of 5 sets of 15
• basic eskrima (Filipino weapons fighting)

Our next step--after he has had about 3 months of kicking--is to teach him stances and prepare him for the Southern Kung Fu style called JOW GA (more on that later, but if you must know now, check out www.jowga.org ). You see, losing weight is only a small part of Mike's goals, he has a serious desire to study the martial arts. And boy, oh boy, just you wait and see what he'll be doing a year from now!

Sooner or later we'll add video clips via YOUTUBE. Pics coming soon!

Welcome to Jaguar's Journey

This is the story of Mike Jaguar, one of my clients. Since the journey is his--not mine--I'm not going to post anything about me; not even to tell you my name. What I will tell you is this: Mike is a 40-something man with a mission, to lose weight. He has tried everything under the sun to accomplish his goals, and so far nothing's worked. He is disciplined, determined, and has pain tolerance like you wouldn't believe. There have been trainers with no patience, little desire to see him succeed and just collect a paycheck, or just no empathy at all.

And this is where I come in. I am not a personal trainer; I am a former martial arts competitor who has had my own weight-loss story. Mike trains like one of my fighters, and he's making progress. Keep reading, and check back with us periodically to see how he's doing.

Oh, by the way, when he first arrived, Mike stood 5'6", and weighed around 359 lbs. That was two months ago, and he is now 327....