[mschatz]

NO supps give me the shits.

[Mr. Sinister]

I guarantee Diego shits more times a day than every other poster in this thread combined. It's amazing, really.

[Diego Lara]

Hey, any weight lost is weight lost.....

[Diego Lara]

Tue 4/29: Watched Matthew Saad Mohammed vs Yaqui Lopez. Lopez gave Mohammed a run for his money early on, but faded. And Saad only got better as the fight went on. Great to see a young Eddie Mustafa Mohammed on commentary, he sounds exactly the same today. Crazy, I wasn't even born yet when this fight happened.
1.6 m run.

Gym time:
Mike beat us to the gym!!! WTF....
1 round rinjacks.
2 shadowboxing.
3 rounds heavybag.
4 rounds mittwork. Mike had me running some ridiculous numbers, and he also introduced me to the double and triple left hook. The last round, we did a continuous run of 1-2 uppercut-2-double(sometimes triple) hook-2-roll-hook-2-repeat for the whole round, nonstop. I love when he gets crazy like that and pushes me beyond what I believed was the limits of my endurance. I feel my strongest then.
2 rounds double end.
2 rounds speedbag.
2 rounds skip rope.

Conditioning:
2 sets pushup circuit.
2 sets ab machine pyramid.
2x10 dips.
Mike is wonderfully random at times. As I'm walking out of the gym, he asks me if I have some gas money. So I hand him a ten and he asks, "You sure? Cuz if this all you got I don't wanna take your money."
I smiled and said," Mike, trust me, if I didn't have it to give.... I probably would anyway."
Never forget how much I owe the man. Firefox out.

[Diego Lara]

Wed 4/30: Started off watching some great bantamweights with great names, one Iranian-French, one Thai, so their names are impossible to recall now. Suffice to say it was one of the more action-packed fights of 2006 (voted fight of the year), opening round featured the Thai underdog knocking down the Iranian/French hometown hero (his last name was something close to Manipour, so that's what we'll call him for now). Anyhow, Thai underdog started out strong, knocking down Manipour twice in the first round, and kept coming on strong for the first half of the fight. He faded in the latter half, tho, and Manipour got his second wind in time to TKO Thai underdog in the 10th round. Rounds five and nine were the real spectacular ones, I believe it was one of these in which Thai underdog was throwing so hard, he kept almost slipping under his own momentum. Wonderful.
1.6m run today, I believe, not sure but Liu will correct me.

Gym time:
1 round ringjacks.
3 rounds shadowboxing.
2 light bag rounds to stay warm and loose.
6 rounds sparring with Liu. It was a tough day for both of us. I was getting counterpunched way more than I liked, and Mike was on both our asses, me to throw the 1-hook and 1-uppercut more than the 1-2, and Liu to go more to his right.
Things I did right:
-Footwork and catching. Took me 2 or 3 rounds to get it down, but once I did, I got countered a lot less than usual.
-When I did throw the hook, it was a lot better than before, and though I didn't manage to connect much, the penchant to throw it is there now.
-Punch rate. Kept throwing consistently, if not always creatively, so I kept the pressure on very well.
-Cutting off the ring. I have to in order to keep up with Liu.

Things I did not so well:
-Throwing combos. I rarely throw more than 3 at a time.
-I'm still heavily dependent on the 1-2, esp. when countering, and this has become a liability now that I know Liu can just wait for that reliable 1-2, then I'm just begging to be countered.
-Got countered a hell of a lot today. It was a number of things I was doing wrong. Throwing predictably, hands not high enough, that annoying habit of turning my head when getting hit (which I finally disavowed myself of in the 4th). So all things that need improvement.
It was frustrating day for all, Mike was riding Liu's ass about going to the left, and after the sparring we both got a nice taste of torture- er, mittwork.
4 rounds mitts with Mike. Running numbers, especially that shitty1-2 uppercut-2-double(sometimes triple) hook-2-roll-hook-2-repeat combo for God knows how long. I had to stop halfway to hold down the puke.
2 rounds double end bag, for good measure.
1 extra bag round, just cuz.
2 rounds speedbag.
No jumprope, I was pressed for time.

Conditioning:
3x10 ab machine pyramid (to reiterate: 15 reps w/ 80lbs, 12 reps w/ 90 lbs, 10 reps w/ 100 lbs).
3x10 dips.
3x10 incline pushups.
Twas all for today. One of my longer and better workouts. I was proud of the work I put in today, and sorry I couldn't stay and work longer (work always gets in the way). It's one of those days you KNOW you did everything you could, and there was no more to be asked of me. Makes one very cathartic and shit. Firefox out.

[Rinksterk]

How does Mike teach you to throw the double left hook? I always threw the first hook then twisted my body to the left so I'm slipping my head to the left before throwing the second one. Some guys look like they're not turning their body to the left before throwing the second hook.

[Liu Jin]

Here are the things you guys must consider about how much progress Diego has made. What it's like to spar him:

- Diego has no reverse gear. He comes in, and he comes in so deep to his left side that if you're a Southpaw and try to move that way he goes apeshit over it, or will collide with you, just punching while he does.

- This kid EASILY throws 80+ per round even in sparring.

- If he feels pain, you'd never know. Hitting him hard only seems to piss him off nowadays.

- Eat his right-hand flush, I dare ya.

- With either hand, he no-longer possesses a "light" setting. Every punch thuds, but he doesn't club.

And my favorite, he's developing the mentality of a cold kila. His quote for today:

"All your problems just seem to be easier to handle when you realize you can kill most people with your bare hands."

[Jacob Coile]

Damn that is some kickass work you put in there Diego! and really impressed with improvements, man you got me wantin' to call out of work today and just go Rocky Balboa on everything! NICE JOB!

[Diego Lara]

Tanks gentlemen. Sorry for the lapse in posting, finals are coming up and its kicking my ass as usual...
Now, as for the double left hook, I find it easy to pivot from the hip and the left toe nowadays, that's what kept me from successfully throwing it in the past. I twist on both hooks, but the first one is slightly lighter than the second, so that its easier for me to quickly reset and then pivot harder on the second. To me, the double left hook is used ideally in combination to set up a good left, so it's all about building up to those last few punches.
Now, for my side of Friday's sesh..

[Diego Lara]

Fri 5/2: Watched another oldie but goodie, 1965's fight of the year between Floyd Patterson and George Chuvalo. Both of these guys were bohemoths, so for most of the time they were at a hard swinging stalemate, with each one taking the others punches and returning to no avail.
1m run

Gym time:
Didn't have much time to warm up cuz i was late today. Shadowboxed for one round, then went six rounds with Liu:
Things I did well:
-Throwing more combos. More uppers as well. Have to admit, took me a few rounds to get into the swing of things, but once I noticed I was getting locked into 1-2 mode, I started switching it up more. My uppers are getting alot more effective.
-Coming inside. I don't always have to come in behind the jab, sometimes a little slip at the right time, combined with a low hook or right, can get the job done as well.
-Catching punches. Liu was trying to flurry my ass for the entire sixth, but I was parrying like a mofo. Managed to outlast his flurry and get a few of mine own in. But then again...

Things I did not so well:
-Hold my damn hands up. Took a few rights, and was introduced to the left hook as well. I think my eardrum popped. Need to keep them hands up, and try rolling sometime.
-Not get counterpuched. Cuz I did. Alot. When I thought I would get away with just throwing one or two, especially.
-Move my damn head as well. I seem to get countered less that way.
So we all learned new things on Friday. I also learned that Wes is as obsessed with cheesecake as I am. We're gonna have a cheescake party one of these days.