Core Performance Week 1 & Dissention

For quite some time now I've been going to soccer practice and watching people get hurt. They generally don't get seriously hurt, but they pull something and can't continue playing. It's really not that surprising since we're all at desks for 12 hours and then start running around on a soccer field. I would often feel on the verge of such injuries myself and so I realized that I can't go on this way. I mean, I'm planning on playing in a major soccer tournament in July and I'm pulling muscles in an hour long practice? There were other issues too, like my not getting enough time to exercise regularly and my getting tired every day around 3-4 pm. I finally decided I can do better...and did something about it.

This week wraps up week #1 of a 12+ week exercise/nutrition regimen known as the Core Performance Program (or Core for short). I bought the book by Mark Verstegen and was immediately impressed with his approach. It was very much in line with the philosophy of Aikido (of which I'm a former student) in emphasizing the improvement of your body as a whole. The program has a lot of movement and stretch routines, but also incorporates aerobic exercise, strength training, and nutrition suggestions. The major changes as a result of this program is that I now get up every morning at 6 am and exercise for at least an hour. I also eat every three hours, which also means I don't eat monstrous breakfast, lunches, and dinners. In only a week I am feeling more flexible and do not get tired during the day. Wow. I can't wait to see how I look/feel after week 12.

On a totally unrelated note, this weekend was the Dissention PreRelease. The set is the last in a great (especially by comparison to the last) block. Dissention is also better than Guildpact (according to what I've seen and heard) and yet after all of this, the attendance numbers around the northeast and in MD were low. So, this was overall a pretty mediocre PreRelease. Nobody's really sure why this is, but we're all hoping it doesn't carry over to Cold Snap, though it probably will since Cold Snap is an orphan set.