A Year In The Gym: Week One

As I sit typing this week’s installment I have a bag of ice on my neck, shoulder and am debating slapping a bag on my crotch.
Given that the initial group of days back training at Legion Fighting Alliance went swimmingly I planned on getting home tonight and writing a piece about how shocked I was that I got through the first week without throwing up out of exhaustion or sustaining any “holy crap am I out of shape” injuries.
Sadly the first week was rather uneventful for the purposes of this weekly column. With no fighters getting ready for upcoming fights Legion has been in a cycle of cardio and technique drills. In all honesty it’s probably the best way to ease in back into the routine.
Today though, today was something different. And we’re not talking about the good kind of different. We’re talking the “what gypsy woman did I insult to bring this on?” different.
To start out, I got sloppy before takedown drills and didn’t appropriately check the surrounding area, only to get taken down directly and land with my neck and shoulder colliding with a medicine ball. My shoulder immediately stiffened up. After sitting out for about 5 minutes, I jumped back in only to get kneed in the cup on my very next takedown attempt. By the end of the two hour session I was unable to participate in free grappling with any effectiveness given that I felt like I had no strength in my left arm (due to the shoulder). There is really nothing more annoying than getting submitted over and over because you can only move your arm with 50% range and strength.
On a positive note, the energy boost from training at Legion is a huge boost. Norm Alexander remains as good of a teacher as I remembered from last year and Legion does remain a very good gym to learn in a positive environment.
We’ll be back next week with what should be a much more interesting weekly recap of my year in the gym. We’re heading toward a period of preparation for fights, grappling tournaments and much more.
But for now, I retire to my bed with every damn ice cube in the house.