AM:
5.2K in about 23 min  (Felt fast this morning, so after first 2 min warm up, I was between 4.48-3.50 for the rest of the time)

3 x 5 Pull Ups (5 chin ups)

2x 20 Full Contact Twists (30 kg)

Ab work: 100 on floor, 80 on ball
20 back on ball
Stretch

Monday!
AM:
5K on average 4.48mpk, speeded up last k

DL
4x 40
4x 60
2x 4x 80
4x 85
1x 90
1x 90

Squat
4x 20
4x 40
4x 45

Bench
4x 20
4x 30
4x 40
1x 40
Followed by ab work – app. 100 of various kinds + stretching.
In the end, it got so cold in the gym, so I couldn’t continue benching. Went to the shower as a human popsicle.

PM:

Two classes at Womens Only Fitness gym:
1. Kettlebell class. I got a new program together for this monday (my third KB class), which I really liked. Only have a few repetitions of drills and goes on by 20 or 10 reps pr. drill. Class is 45 min. and we spend around 5 min in total for warm up and cool down. Ladies were very good at the drills and a few went all 45 with a 8kg. (I’m very proud of them!)

KB program:
Swings
Squats
Mid Halo
Push Up (touch chest)
Sit Ups
Pelvic Tilt
Swings (both hands to top)
Lunges
Top Halo
Twists on knees
Push Up (touch chest)
½ TGU
Russians
Pelvic Tilt
Swings (one hand)
Windmill

2nd Class: BOXERCISE
This class is really taking off! Fully booked and was booked a week in advance – new record according to the owners. (And yes, I am very proud of that!) Boxercise was one of my favorite classes to teach back in Copenhagen, and it seems like its gonna be the same here in Ireland. (To be honest – I like teaching all my classes! Boxing however – you just can’t help falling in love with it)

To my big delight a lot of the ladies who came last monday for our Boxercise premier, returned this monday (yesterday) and did a great job.
I can’t wait till we get longer into the season – when the basics are down, a new world is going to open up for us. And as with the real deal boxing – boxercise only gets better with time!

When I moved to Ireland in november last year, I re-stated an old goal on my deadlift: 100 kg. My previous attempt was a bet with Jacob Søndergaard – an old good friend of mine. He was supposed to do 200 kg and I was supposed to reach 100kg. For reasons not recalled we decided to skip the bet and I stopped at 86 kg.

Now, I won’t be able to make 100kg saturday. But I hope to make 87.5 or 90kg.

Time is 2012 and place is Cork & Clonakilty, Ireland. After a year travelling back and forth Liam and I decided it was time to try the joys of waking up and going to bed together again, and since he has committed to stay here for four years, it was my time to move.

Life is good in Ireland and we are doing great. Only minus has been the cold, wet weather and the fact, that we still haven’t joined a Thaiboxing gym in Cork. But that will change this week!!

Training wise I picked up weightlifting again. Both Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting – and I’m actually going to compete this saturday in powerlifting. I don’t have high expectations, cause I haven’t really been doing any kind of serious lifting since before Christmas. First day back in the gym was monday (yesterday). But it’ll be fun to try… I guess.

Since this is the start of a new beginning, I’ll allow myself to write a few words about my blog this year. I will try to keep it simple and clean. My 2012 blog will consist of three areas:

1. Sport – health, fitness, diets, training, fighting and my classes
2. Professional stuff – photographs and my journalistic work (if I’m lucky to pick up a writing position here)
3. Expat & personal – thoughts about living away from home

My hope for all females in 2012. Not that we should get a build like strong girl in the picture, but stop obsessing about being skinny! Skinny's not gonna make you feel fit!

Please feel free to comment or ask questions if my writing inspires you to do so. But please keep it in a good tone, all my writings are subjective and come from own personal experience (and occasionally studies if it involved training and dieting facts). In any case this is my blog and my way of keeping track of my training, putting words to living abroad and hopefully a way to give back some of the inspiration, I get from life every day.

Last: I’ll try to keep this blog updated during week days and when ever we have internet connection in Clon!

Wednesday: Fitness.dk Class
7.5K in 30min
3 rds:
10 TGU, 12K KB
20 Russian Twist, 10K
20 Evil Wheel

Thursday:
1 Hr Sparring: box/ Grappling
6rds:
Deadlift: 5x 30K
FTC: 20x 20K barbell/ 10K weight
Rings Push Ups: 5

10 min skipping
2 rds shadow
5 rds bagwork

Finisher:
585 knees
5 x Ross Work Capacity 101: 5 pull ups, 10 ball slamms, 15 burpees, 20 jumpin’ jacks

Sunday:

Box event @ Fitness.dk Adelgade

Monday: Travel day

Tuesday: 8K run – morning
Evening: 2 hour class in Fitness.dk + Snatch/ pull ups afterwards

Wednesday: MMA class @Fightcraft. Was really well, except for got the pleasure of sparring with two guys, who didnt know the meaning of taken it easy

Thursday: 1hour Sanda + Cross Fitt circuit @butchers lab (Deadlift, burpee pull up (looked silly, as I had to step up on box to do the pull up), skipping. Think I did 6 or 7 rds.
evening: 1.1/4 hour muay thai

Friday: 

So here 8 days later – I’m in Ireland (again). Training has been picked up (again) and I actually managed to get a Personal PR (today!).

So let’s get the training down first:

Tuesday 4th:
Gym Session!

Warm Up: 12 min, 2K

Clean & Jerk (15K, 20 K, 25K) – Can’t remember how many sets and reps – but a lot! Technique suffered the first times around, as it has been a while. But came quickly again – and felt really good.
Flys 5x 6 (8K)
Pull Ups 5x 4

Wednesday 5th:
1½ hour Thaiboxing @ Brucies Gym – Really good and hard. Someone drove me under the bus with the pads
1½ hour Jujitsu @ Brucies Gym – Lot of fun! Got to try some techniques for armbar, reversing position, choke and sidecontrol

Thursday 6th:
Gym Session
Warm Up: 10 min running 2.2K

Flyes: 5x 6 (8k)
Leg raises 10x 3

Ross Circle x 7:
DB Bench Press (5 rep)
Burpees + 16K KB overhead raise (10 reps) – New one! Going down as to a burpee, instead of jumping and clapping when getting up, you take the KB from the ground and lift it above your head. Was pretty tough!!
6k KB Side raise (15 rep) – This was a little mystery for me.. I didn’t get much out of it, and I would swear the guys got even less. To be efficient we should prob have used a 10K DB.
Knee tugs (20 reps) – Always a winner and great for feeling like Kermit!

4 x 2min rds of Shadowbox
4x 2min rds of Pad work

Friday 7th:
Big Ol’ Nothin’

Saturday 8th:

1½ Hour Thaiboxing @ Brucies Gym – Pads with Bruce! My kicks seemed better today! Curse my flexibility – sometimes I forget my hip – still!!

Afternoon session:
Warm Up: 1.3K in 5 min

Snatch (trying w/ 20K barbell – fell flat on my butt) – really have to practice this one a lot more. And with a 15K barbell, as I learned it with!!

Run: 1K in 4.17 min
Clean & Press 5x 3 (20K)

Bend over row
5x 2x 16K
5x 2x 18K (PR)
5x 2x 20K (PR)

Run: 1.03K in 4.09 min

Finisher: 5x 3 Pull ups (mixed grips) – super set with – 10 x 3 leg raises

West Cork is as usual very beautiful and the sea view is from another world. I even got a christmas present – which was slightly embarrassing as I only brought for the family – Ah well did actually get two presents. A nice one and another one. Have had a rough day too.. but the sun was up again this morning – which was a bit odd, as I’d dreamt about spring time, and the loveliest blossoms!

May 2011 bring happiness, prosperity and love to all

‘Morning’ session:
15 min running (stupid machine wouldn’t let me see distance only time)

Little play with snatch and Clean & Jerk, with a 20K barbell

Then of to the good ol’ stuff:
Deadlift
1x 10x 30K
2x 5x 40K
2x 5x 50K
2x 5x 60K

Full Contact twist
1x 10x +5K
5x 10x 10K

Evening:
1½ hour muay thai in Siam with Clemme as coach. Really nice combos – even did a ‘dutch man’. Very cool – and about 20/ 25 min sparring. Also really nice!

Also saw a really good friend today. Made me so happy to talk to – and so nice to be supported in being me!! Just a very good day! Tomorrow will be a really good day aswell: Fight Club finally airing the big boys! K-1 Grand Prix – Final 8 – 2010!!

K-1 2010

December 26th: GPP4 – a session with Ross is never out of style + ate ALL the christmas candy. (Hurt my stomach)

December 27th: Taken out by bingeing on Christmas Candy. Felt pain and bloated stomach, lazy mentally as well as physically. Just not a good day at all!

December 28th: Fitness.dk Classes
Toning: Introduced the one-legged RDL! So much fun!! Also: Saxon, Russian side twists, lunges, squats (as* to the grass), balance dog, plank, push ups
Abs n Back: Ball drills, V-ups w/ ball, one-leg hamstrings curls on ball, plank, back drills
Box: Uh – all the nice stuff incl. Box jump, fitness sparring (hit btw shoulder and hip), evil Wheel, TGU, Medicine ball throws, combos, Cleans w/ sandbags. Finisher: 100 Abs, 100 Push ups

Afterburner:
1K  – started out slow, fast paced last 400m
6x 5 Flyes – decreased – 7K
3 x 5 Pull ups – started getting decent, but felt heavy from the christmas dinner/ binge
1K – started out slow – fast paced last 800m
Stretch
1 min back bridge

Back bridge (Neck training) - the guy on top must be bonus

Legacy Gym 2008

Muay thai & MMA
Ubon Ratchathani
Thailand

Legacy Gym was my second time, trying out the art of the eight limps in Thailand. It’s in the town of Ubon Ratchathani in the North East of Thailand and is owned by Danish/ Philippine fighter Ole Baguio Laursen and his wife Anchalee.

So – this review will not be up to date, but hopefully still gives a good impression of the camp.

Legacy is located next to the big lake, which also makes out for the morning runs. Lake is supposedly 8K, but the first times you run it, it probably feels longer. The twist and turns around that dam* thing, just seem to go on and on – and after you spot the roof of the camp, from the other lakeside, and think to yourself – ahhh half way there.. another surprise awaits. You still have a good run ahead!

Anchalee in front of the lake

After the run its time for skipping, jumping tire and shadowbox, and from there bagwork and rounds on the pads with the trainers. Training with you on the pads, will be depending on your strength and experience. After about 1½ – 2 hours its time to wrap it up and get in the shower – and then breakfast will be served.

Afternoon training start off by a shorter run about 2 -3K, followed by the same: shadowbox and bagwork. For some students it’s also time for sparring 3 days a week: Every other day is box sparring only, otherwise MT. If you’re not sparring, you’ll do pads or sparring (light) with the coaches. Also clinch work late in the session.
Finisher: kicks/ knees to the bag, abs, strength training.
Dinner will follow the afternoon session, and afterwards you have free time – if you have energy to do stuff. Most people go to the park for smoothies or ice cream.

Muay Thai training is twice a day, six days a week. Sunday is normally off day.
MMA training has it owns schedule with specific strength and conditioning classes to follow.

Fighting: If you want to have a fight, the trainers will have to OK you – but its pretty easy to get a fight, as there’s lots of small events every week around in the esaan area. However – don’t expect to meet the local tuk tuk driver or cook, as you will down south. You will face a muay thai fighter for opponent, but – they will match you up against ‘weaker’ opponents for your first fights. (Weaker: older, smaller, ‘retired’ etc.)

Ole and Per Eklund sparring

Trainers: As far as I know, Ajarn Nimnuang and ajarn Lei are the two trainers left from my last time in Legacy. They are both really good and nice to be around. Ajarn Nimnuang is now the headcoach (I think) and takes mostly care of the fighters. I know more trainers have joined, but I don’t know who.
For MMA Malik Arash Mawlayi was the great headcoach, but he is currently in Sweden. Like with the new thai trainers, I don’t know who took his place, but I’m sure – that just how much Malik is missed, there will be a really good guy filling in for him.

Accommodation: There’s two houses you can book a room in.
Right next to the cage – like literally 5 steps from the action, or you can live in the new complex next door. Each room has shower and bath, two beds, tables and a clothes rack. Rooms are double and if you travel alone, and the gym is packed, you’ll probably get a room-mate. But since there’s no beachlife and nightlife is sparsely, there’s usually a really good social life in Legacy. People hang out together, train, sleep – and eat together.

Of course you can find the ‘falang-falang’ thailand in Ubon – there is a hookerbar, and you can even find some ladyboys (katoys), but the general rule is, people either come to Legacy because they’ve know about Ole – or they want to get away from all the ‘falang-falang’ stuff, that takes focus from training.
The personal impression: A lot of Scandinavians and foreigners find their way to Legacy – level is from new beginners to A-class fighters. Most are very dedicated to training, learning and fighting. Those who are more into drinking, bargirls (hookers) and party usually skip to the islands after a few days/ weeks. (And then there are those who wants from both worlds: Go for ‘holidays’ on the islands, and then return to Legacy after a couple of weeks of pure debauchery on the sunny shores further south).
But fact is – if you like to train in a place with little distractions, a good social life -and easy living (a stay in the camp can include everything you need: Food, clothes washing, motorbike rent, internet etc.), Legacy is a good place to be.
And its easy to get to: Flights, trains and busses – all depending on economy, time and how you feel.

Read more:
www.LegacyGym.com
My articles (in Danish):

http://ekstrabladet.dk/ferie/article1097937.ece

http://ekstrabladet.dk/ferie/article1097938.ece