meditation should be far deeper than relaxation it should be the equivalant to a profressional massage,if you dont want to dont,im just recommending something for helping you train better thans been around since martial arts and still exist,proof enough it works

I guess the term "meditation" just brings to mind certian religious images from religions I don't agree with. Were you refering to a specific religion or were you just saying to clear my mind in general?

lol in general not religous at all,most martial arts will teach you meditation some focus on it HIGHLY bushido for example ,and kung-fu it is generaly good for your health to let your body relax competly and to competly clear your mind

Wl is right medatation is awsome for healing . I would suggest turning off the music and just sitting in a chair doing nothing for an hour 3 times a week . But if you are hurting after workouts good ! No pain little gain . Take a hot bath . I soak in a hot bath for an hour atleast 3 days a week . When I was 18 I was a 130 pound weakling . 20 years later I'm 175 pounds and much stronger than I look . Btw I think cardio is the best thing you can do for your body . Skate , scooter , run or bike and your body and life will be much better .

I scooter all the time. The skating rink is visited a little less often because of time (There's a good scootering street rigt in front of the house and the skating rink is something that I have to drive to. I'm a college student and don't always have the time.) I also love horseback riding and now that the weather is warming up I'll be attempting to do it from time to time. Although time and money ($30-$45 for an hr. of riding) are limiting factors.

*insert bitching about only having 30 dollars to my name as a college student(not even yet)here*

Just to clarify, when you are deciding to go with heat vs cold....

If it is within 48 hours of the workout and you feel like garbage, use cold to reduce swelling. Basically if you are working out more than once every 48 hours and it is a continuous problem you need to stick with ice, not heat.

Heat will cause more swelling and you could get fasciitis.

If it has been longer than 48 hours the swelling part will be mostly gone anyways so heat is cool then. Warm up before every work out with like 5-10 minutes of cardio and maybe add some time in the sauna. Reduces the chance of injury.

Stretch AFTER workouts. The science used to lead toward stretching before but stretching cold causes more injuries than it prevents. Before just do a very light warm up and that should be plenty.

I used to notice that if I was stretching every day I'd get less flexible, & if I did it every other day I'd b get more flexible. You can over do it in karate just like weights.

Thanks for the advice guys. As always it's appreciated.

Whitelion and Flora give good advice and please be mindful to get the best nutrition as Flora will give you for your real golden years because you will so be better off later!

Thank you, again, Kapes!

Yes, and, YAY, for us - knowing more than people knew in the past about the basics!!!