There is so much diet information available out there: Acid vs. Alkaline, Fats vs. Carbs, Food Combining, Raw Foods, Veganism, Carnivorism…

… and there are convincing and compelling arguments on all sides.

At the risk of violating several laws of proper nutrition propounded by one of the many dietary sects out there, this short essay is in praise of a simple joy at the breakfast table: oatmeal.

My recipe for a treat that is comparable to a slice of pie in taste and texture, but light and easily digested, so as not to make for a sluggish morning is as follows:

1-1.5 apple(s), cut paper thin with the skin on and perhaps the core still in. Sweet apples or sour, or a bit of both.

.5 Tbsp. hemp seeds (where you get these is your own problem)

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp. thin sliced almonds

1 Tbsp. crushed linseed (flaxseed)

1 cup thin rolled oats

.25 cup orange juice

.5 cup boiling water

Mix it up and enjoy. You will be delighted by the taste and the filling effect.

As an alternative, substitute .5 cup steel cut oats that have soaked overnight in the refrigerator + .5 cup thin rolled oats for that stick to the ribs consistency (make sure to cut the amount of boiling water accordingly). Then you get even more nutrition from your sweet and satisfying breakfast.

Learning that more is not necessarily better happens again and again in the course of a lifetime, though the lesson does not always stay learned.

When it comes to training periodisation, however, your results will benefit from incorporating a less is more approach: less reps - and more effort.

Building muscle mass should not be the primary goal for a martial artist. Therefore, high repetitions of pushups, crunches, pullups etc. can become counterproductive after a certain point. And, the breakdown of muscle tissue that results can slow your progress, especially in a fighting-oriented regimen.

To build muscle strength requires acclimatising the muscles to a certain level of load, and then systematically increasing the amount of load - and therefore strength performance. This cannot be accomplished by adding more repetitions with a constanrt level of load, as is the case with most bodyweight exercises.

This is not to say, of course, that bodyweight exercises have no place in a training programme. In fact, novice athletes or those in recovery should definetly begin with bodyweight, rather than external resistance.

But, there will come a point at which 8 - 12 reps per set is easily mastered. This is when the time is right to load the exercise. There are many fun and challenging ways to do this, in addition to conventional machines and free weights.

A martial arts classroom offers, e.g. bodily resistence provided by the members of the group, which is an ideal tool and method for conditioning the kind of competitive applications native to the sport. Rather than everyone in the room simultaneously doing 50 pushups - a team of two or three could work together to complete 5-8 sets with progressive degrees of resistance and decreasing reps.

Maximising strength through maximum effort is a type of training that often receieves short shrift in martial arts training. This is unfortunate, because when it comes to a martial arts bout, or heaven forbid, a real life crisis: more strength is, indeed, better!

Eating is as much a part of the training regime as cardio-vascular conditioning, strength training, stretching and sparring. But, it is often not treated with the same degree of discipline.

How many fat karate black belts are there out there? Way too many if my experience is any indicator. What about the kids who scarf candies before the lesson, and cool off afterward with a soft drink?

Mastery demands discipline - in the area of food as well.

In order to determine the right diet, the first step is to honestly assess how many hours are spent in training each week or day.  For instance:

If you warm-up and stretch for 15 minutes once daily, strength train 3 times a week for 30 minutes, do road or bag work for 30 minutes twice a week, spar once a week for an hour and spend 45 minutes a week practicing other techniques - you can calculate that you are burning about 3300 - 4000 calories per week in training. Add to that a baseline metabolism of between 2000 - 2300 per day (roughly 16000 per week) and other activities burning an extra 300 calories per day (2100 per week), and you get = 21751 cals. per week or 3100 cals. per day. (This requires 5 hours of training per week).

Let’s now look at some junk food that might be eaten during the course of a week:

1 power bar = 230 cals.

1 Starbucks Grande Drink = 270 cals.

1 small bag potato chips =270 cals.

1 large cookie = 130 cals.

This seems to be a reasonable amount of “snacks” - but they add a total of 900 calories to your intake per week, or an average of roughly 130 per day. This is manageable as presented, but the question to ask is: are you maintaining the above level of activity?

If not - and if you are exceeding these snack figures, you are coming close to the range in which you will begin to gain weight. (3100 cals. burned - 2200 cals. average of meals eaten - 130 cals. snacks = 770 cals. deficit - i.e. good) but (2800 cals. burned - 2300 cals. average meals eaten - 270 cals. snacks = 230 cals. deficit - i.e. shaky).

Considering that the average American consumes just over 3800 calories per day, however - even strict adherence to the above workout schedule will result in a surplus of 700 calories per day (4200 per week) and extra pounds.