With the public schools out of session, it's always a perfect time to train at the high schools and middle schools that're always so well-constructed for this kind of thing without looking like a bunch of pedo predators. As such, we made the decision to do our training at Robinson High School, which offers ledges, ramps, walls, and the like. Due to people coming at various times, it took on more of a relaxed jam atmosphere, but I and some others managed to do a few conditioning things here and there. Nothing intense, but the aim is fun, especially when people like Leon and Corey are back for the holidays. I did some long duckwalking, backwards QM upstairs, and that sort of thing. We tried various wall-related exercises. At the playground, I did some pull-ups. Three total sets, though it was 5, 8, and then 7. Nice to know I max at 8, now, which means that I can probably GTG at six without an issue. I know my dips need more work than my pulls. I can pull to my chest easily at this point. It's dipping to the clavicle that presents the serious problems. Once that gets clear, I'm sure the muscle-up will be easy-peasy. All the same, I'm not going to rush things and I will continue to follow Dan's program. I'm sure I'll be able to get a muscle-up before completing all the necessary steps in the program, but will it be clean? Probably not. And even so, how many can be sustained? So, slow and steady.
At the end, I was trying to instruct Andy a bit in climb-ups. He does that thing where he pulls until he can lean his chest over the ledge and push up the dip from there, which I think slows things down. He says he has trouble climbing up on ledges that are flat and don't allow a finger-curl. In any case, I demonstrated a climb-up for him while keeping my fingers extended and keeping my chest away from the wall entirely, and his response was, "I think you're cheating." It was rather amusing to me, given that the climb-up has always been something that came to me intuitively, even when I was a fat tub of lard. All I could suggest is pull-ups and dips. Even though I know there's no real direct transfer between the two. Who knows. It's not something I necessarily get or understand.
All in all, it was a fun night. There were vaults, there were climbs, Leon busted his nose on a bar he didn't see cause it was dark... Poor him. But we all had fun. And, in the end, that's what this is about. At least when we get together on holidays. Next week? Next Thursday? It's back to the tough shit. It's back to harsher training. So I hope they enjoy the break.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Retching in the Car
I had the pleasure of getting back into the weight room this morning after two or three weeks away. Intent on working on Danno's muscle-up program, I added a greasing-the-groove workout with pull-ups and bar dips into my regular lifting routine. Maxing at seven pull-ups, my routine would consist of sets of five. In any case, here's the low-down:
5 sets of:
5 clean and jerks (low weight just working on technique.. I believe this was 80lbs)
5 pull-ups
5 low bar-dips
5 squats (low weight, 110lbs.. need to move that up soon)
5 deadlifts (ditto as above, 130lbs)
There was a warm-up consisting of jogging, jumping jacks, lunges, etc. A joint rotation, and a stretch at the end. Nothing too different from normal, nay? Except something must have been different. I was fatigued absurdly toward the end and my stomach started churning. Wheezing and whatnot. The asthma. So I spent my time stretching slowly, trying to slow everything down. That seemed okay, but the motion of driving home was making things worse.
I vomited three times on that drive. All over myself. All over the steering wheel. It was pretty gross. Upon the clean-up, I managed to find a WHOLE fish oil pill. That's right, a WHOLE one. Thinking about it, I have no clue what happened to the other one I took that morning. I took them at the same time, so there's no reason why one should've been processed and the other not, right?
What I wonder is whether this is good dedication or just too much. The asthma is a limitation, I know, and it's something I need to work around. But is what I'm doing just bursting through doors before I'm ready for what's on the other side? Or is it the only way to truly push my boundaries?
I received a message from Josh Deaton, one of the newcomers to my Mason meets, a few days ago. It was a response to my Meridian Hill post, questioning whether I'm cut out for this at all. He politely reminded me that, in some respects, I'm a role model in the community, that people look up to me. I guess I find that really weird, since there's so many people that I personally look up to and look to for guidance. I feel like the new kid. Always have. It's sometimes strange for me to be reminded that, in some ways, I'm not the new kid. To some people, I'm the vet. To some people, I'm a leader.
No, this post isn't going to be another one questioning whether or not I should stay in the game. It's a question of whether or not pushing myself as hard as I do is something I want to pass onto others. Pushing boundaries to self-destruction is probably not the way to go.
After discussing things over with Dan, he reassured "slowly and safely." And maybe the routine up there isn't actually that much.. compared to anyone, and not even myself.. But maybe the problem was the rest period inbetween each set. Maybe I kept thinking, "Intensity, intensity, intensity!!" and so I didn't allow myself adequate rest between sets... the adequate rest required of an ATHSMATIC. And maybe that's what led to the downfall. After all, the weights weren't necessarily heavy. But everything I was doing was explosive-explosive-explosive. Do it quick, do it hard, forget rest. Between sets, I doubt I gave myself more than fifteen seconds at most. And maybe that was the downfall.
I've been recommended to start doing SHORT periods of HIIT four times a week by Dan. I'm hoping I can fit this into my schedule, which shouldn't be TOO difficult... since I don't expect to last more than five minutes under HIIT anymore. We shall see.
5 sets of:
5 clean and jerks (low weight just working on technique.. I believe this was 80lbs)
5 pull-ups
5 low bar-dips
5 squats (low weight, 110lbs.. need to move that up soon)
5 deadlifts (ditto as above, 130lbs)
There was a warm-up consisting of jogging, jumping jacks, lunges, etc. A joint rotation, and a stretch at the end. Nothing too different from normal, nay? Except something must have been different. I was fatigued absurdly toward the end and my stomach started churning. Wheezing and whatnot. The asthma. So I spent my time stretching slowly, trying to slow everything down. That seemed okay, but the motion of driving home was making things worse.
I vomited three times on that drive. All over myself. All over the steering wheel. It was pretty gross. Upon the clean-up, I managed to find a WHOLE fish oil pill. That's right, a WHOLE one. Thinking about it, I have no clue what happened to the other one I took that morning. I took them at the same time, so there's no reason why one should've been processed and the other not, right?
What I wonder is whether this is good dedication or just too much. The asthma is a limitation, I know, and it's something I need to work around. But is what I'm doing just bursting through doors before I'm ready for what's on the other side? Or is it the only way to truly push my boundaries?
I received a message from Josh Deaton, one of the newcomers to my Mason meets, a few days ago. It was a response to my Meridian Hill post, questioning whether I'm cut out for this at all. He politely reminded me that, in some respects, I'm a role model in the community, that people look up to me. I guess I find that really weird, since there's so many people that I personally look up to and look to for guidance. I feel like the new kid. Always have. It's sometimes strange for me to be reminded that, in some ways, I'm not the new kid. To some people, I'm the vet. To some people, I'm a leader.
No, this post isn't going to be another one questioning whether or not I should stay in the game. It's a question of whether or not pushing myself as hard as I do is something I want to pass onto others. Pushing boundaries to self-destruction is probably not the way to go.
After discussing things over with Dan, he reassured "slowly and safely." And maybe the routine up there isn't actually that much.. compared to anyone, and not even myself.. But maybe the problem was the rest period inbetween each set. Maybe I kept thinking, "Intensity, intensity, intensity!!" and so I didn't allow myself adequate rest between sets... the adequate rest required of an ATHSMATIC. And maybe that's what led to the downfall. After all, the weights weren't necessarily heavy. But everything I was doing was explosive-explosive-explosive. Do it quick, do it hard, forget rest. Between sets, I doubt I gave myself more than fifteen seconds at most. And maybe that was the downfall.
I've been recommended to start doing SHORT periods of HIIT four times a week by Dan. I'm hoping I can fit this into my schedule, which shouldn't be TOO difficult... since I don't expect to last more than five minutes under HIIT anymore. We shall see.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Themed Training - Cardio Conditioning
Too tired to write this up last night. So... last night was another themed session down at Mason, focusing on cardio conditioning. It went pretty well and went something along the lines of:
2 laps QM
1 lap QM with right hand behind back
1 lap QM with left hand behind back
1 lap QM with right leg up
1 lap QM with left leg up
2 laps backwards jog
2 laps QM gorilla run
2 laps duckwalk
2 laps reverse QM
Obstacle shuttle run
Then a joint rotation. I then took them to a long hill that was probably about 150m long with two rails to either side. I didn't make them do the whole thing because they were pretty exhausted, but down about a quarter of it (yes, only a quarter), I made them zig zag the path, vault both rails back and forth until they reached the end, then QM back up the center path. Then they did it again and reverse-QM'd. Then we opened it up for free play.
Over all, it was quite a bit of fun. People got tired, legs probably gave out a little... People were actually rather amused by what "cardio" meant for me and had a difficult time getting used to using their upper bodies in cardio (even though it WAS just quad). The arm-behind-back stuff done in the gym is easy-peasy, but on icy cold concrete, it was interesting. My palms started to get a little torn up, and I can only imagine what that did to the people with softer hands (although... to be fair... my hands are girlie-soft). That's the reason why the limb-restricted QMs were only one lap rather than two.
The free play was good, light-hearted fun. Nick's daringness and balance are both rather impressive. We tried some rather high wallruns that I couldn't surpass. Best, on all of them, was a finger-curl. Not a big deal. They'll be conquered.
What actually excites me is that now that I've introduced this group to the conditioning and a tiny bit of more appropriate themed training ideas, I can start doing the conditioning in conjunction with proper themes. It cuts down on possible free time, but it seems this group needs a longer structured period, anyhow. That's fine by me. Luckily, I also have two weeks to plan out our next session.
On the note of things, I'm feeling a little sore. Particularly in my lower legs. But that's probably due to my tibiales getting weaker again and, after the session when every split off, I decided to sprint back to my car which was a pretty fair distance on its own.
2 laps QM
1 lap QM with right hand behind back
1 lap QM with left hand behind back
1 lap QM with right leg up
1 lap QM with left leg up
2 laps backwards jog
2 laps QM gorilla run
2 laps duckwalk
2 laps reverse QM
Obstacle shuttle run
Then a joint rotation. I then took them to a long hill that was probably about 150m long with two rails to either side. I didn't make them do the whole thing because they were pretty exhausted, but down about a quarter of it (yes, only a quarter), I made them zig zag the path, vault both rails back and forth until they reached the end, then QM back up the center path. Then they did it again and reverse-QM'd. Then we opened it up for free play.
Over all, it was quite a bit of fun. People got tired, legs probably gave out a little... People were actually rather amused by what "cardio" meant for me and had a difficult time getting used to using their upper bodies in cardio (even though it WAS just quad). The arm-behind-back stuff done in the gym is easy-peasy, but on icy cold concrete, it was interesting. My palms started to get a little torn up, and I can only imagine what that did to the people with softer hands (although... to be fair... my hands are girlie-soft). That's the reason why the limb-restricted QMs were only one lap rather than two.
The free play was good, light-hearted fun. Nick's daringness and balance are both rather impressive. We tried some rather high wallruns that I couldn't surpass. Best, on all of them, was a finger-curl. Not a big deal. They'll be conquered.
What actually excites me is that now that I've introduced this group to the conditioning and a tiny bit of more appropriate themed training ideas, I can start doing the conditioning in conjunction with proper themes. It cuts down on possible free time, but it seems this group needs a longer structured period, anyhow. That's fine by me. Luckily, I also have two weeks to plan out our next session.
On the note of things, I'm feeling a little sore. Particularly in my lower legs. But that's probably due to my tibiales getting weaker again and, after the session when every split off, I decided to sprint back to my car which was a pretty fair distance on its own.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Hamilton
I suppose now's as good a time as any to finally update on my trip to Hamilton. For the record, I ate pretty terribly over the weekend. But I did my best to stay within the realm of health-ishness. So it's a bit hit or miss. The Saturday session, though, was a lot of fun despite the wet conditions. It was nice to be in those areas again and also nice to see that Hamilton has stepped up their game quite a bit since I left. It was pretty light overall, but no one expects super intensity when it's raining out. The "Forearm Game" was pretty entertaining. I'll admit that I almost fell off at one point because of a grate pushing me away and one part having a smaller grip, but other than that, it was smooth sailing. The overall level of conditioning was light, lax, and fun. And tehre was something about climbing up the TSH wall that brought in a wave of old memories. Good times. I do wish that my climb-ups could be faster, but I think I'm going to start a pull-up/muscle-up program soon to get involved with that.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Meridian Hill and Asthma
This is the PKTO post that is referenced in the later entry... I'm putting it first for reference.
---
No one should ever be happy with where they are, but should always strive for improvement.. and be happy with WHO they are for doing so.
I just got back from a meet. It was cardio intensive, and I completed the tasks and goals laid out for us. It was enough to trigger an asthma attack, and at the end of the second task, I collapsed onto the floor and heaved for a good fifteen minutes. I felt like I was dying.
On the drive home, I was on the verge of pulling over and vomitting. I was hating myself for being so useless. For, after all these years, not being able to beat the fact that my pipes tighten up under extreme exercise and cause me to wheeze, gag, and vomit. I felt terrible, not just physically, but mentally. I'm still super depressed about it, because I keep thinking in my head, "Why am I doing this? I'm never going to be able to be who I want to be and who I feel like I need to be. I can't beat this. I don't deserve to be where I am in Parkour and I don't deserve the respect that people have given me. I should just give up right now."
When I came in and sat down here, though, I remembered that three years ago, Dan took me out on my very first training session (proper training session that is) and I was gasping for air after him making me do like... four lazy vaults. I remember just last year where Dan made me vomit (with the assistance of a spicy dinner) from a few cardio circuits.. and how even if I failed, I still ended up doing SOO much more than those four lazy vaults three years ago. I remember last winter at the anniversary meet when I was gagging and spitting up from tire flipping, but I FINISHED the damned thing, even if everything was telling me, "If you do it one more time, you're GOING to pass out."
What I did today, I wouldn't have been able to do last winter. What I did last winter, I wouldn't have been able to do two years ago. And what I did two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to do that first day with those four lazy vaults. Even if I feel useless, even if I'm never EVER going to be the traceur that I WANT to be... I have to be proud of myself for sticking with it, for training as hard as I have, for training harder and harder as time passes.
And I think that's what Dan's getting at, too.
---
Sometimes, I feel like an absolute failure. Today, Washingtonian Magazine was doing a story on the DC scene. I decided to attend even though I'm more involved with the Virginian scene these days (which has become its own distinct entity). I arrived late, missing on the warm-up, which may have led to the ultimate failure that I'm about to describe. Things started off pretty well with a nice bounding exercise that was a lot of fun. It was interesting to see how the Primal guys go about things, honestly. I will never agree with their mission, but that doesn't mean that I can't learn from them and take what I like. That's how you grow. In any case, since I was hardly warmed at all, I used this time to bounce around in-between the exercises to get myself up.
We did, later, three different circuits before I had to leave for a family obligation. The first involved traversing to the top of the fountain from the bottom (you can see the picture of the fountain in my previous post). The first climb-up is extremely awkward, but I managed it okay enough. This run was good and had me pretty winded on its own.
The second run consisted of doing the same thing, but from much earlier. We ran it in pairs. I think I showed my overall strength level by performing the climbs much quicker than my partner, but toward the last four vaults of the fountain itself, I began to wheeze and cough. My partner later said that he was amazed at how quickly I got up everything. All the same, he reached the summit first because my lungs got in the way.
The last thing that really did me in was a wall shimmy, climb-up, quad along a ledge, then a drop and roll. It doesn't sound like much, but after the fountain runs, my lungs were dying on me. I know I'm not in the best shape in the world. Far from it. But I would've hoped that I could've handled things as simple as these. As stated in a PKTO post, I'm still proud of myself because of everything I've managed to achieve up to this point in my training. I'm proud that I've progressed as far as I have and that I continue to progress every day that I have spent in Parkour.
But there are so many occasions where I just feel like I'm not good enough and that I should just give up. Sometimes, I wonder what it's all really for. Is it my depression that drives me to these thoughts? I mean, I really have no clue. I should continue to be proud of myself and happy of being where I am. It is incredibly difficult at times and days like today are incredibly disheartening.
---
No one should ever be happy with where they are, but should always strive for improvement.. and be happy with WHO they are for doing so.
I just got back from a meet. It was cardio intensive, and I completed the tasks and goals laid out for us. It was enough to trigger an asthma attack, and at the end of the second task, I collapsed onto the floor and heaved for a good fifteen minutes. I felt like I was dying.
On the drive home, I was on the verge of pulling over and vomitting. I was hating myself for being so useless. For, after all these years, not being able to beat the fact that my pipes tighten up under extreme exercise and cause me to wheeze, gag, and vomit. I felt terrible, not just physically, but mentally. I'm still super depressed about it, because I keep thinking in my head, "Why am I doing this? I'm never going to be able to be who I want to be and who I feel like I need to be. I can't beat this. I don't deserve to be where I am in Parkour and I don't deserve the respect that people have given me. I should just give up right now."
When I came in and sat down here, though, I remembered that three years ago, Dan took me out on my very first training session (proper training session that is) and I was gasping for air after him making me do like... four lazy vaults. I remember just last year where Dan made me vomit (with the assistance of a spicy dinner) from a few cardio circuits.. and how even if I failed, I still ended up doing SOO much more than those four lazy vaults three years ago. I remember last winter at the anniversary meet when I was gagging and spitting up from tire flipping, but I FINISHED the damned thing, even if everything was telling me, "If you do it one more time, you're GOING to pass out."
What I did today, I wouldn't have been able to do last winter. What I did last winter, I wouldn't have been able to do two years ago. And what I did two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to do that first day with those four lazy vaults. Even if I feel useless, even if I'm never EVER going to be the traceur that I WANT to be... I have to be proud of myself for sticking with it, for training as hard as I have, for training harder and harder as time passes.
And I think that's what Dan's getting at, too.
---
Sometimes, I feel like an absolute failure. Today, Washingtonian Magazine was doing a story on the DC scene. I decided to attend even though I'm more involved with the Virginian scene these days (which has become its own distinct entity). I arrived late, missing on the warm-up, which may have led to the ultimate failure that I'm about to describe. Things started off pretty well with a nice bounding exercise that was a lot of fun. It was interesting to see how the Primal guys go about things, honestly. I will never agree with their mission, but that doesn't mean that I can't learn from them and take what I like. That's how you grow. In any case, since I was hardly warmed at all, I used this time to bounce around in-between the exercises to get myself up.
We did, later, three different circuits before I had to leave for a family obligation. The first involved traversing to the top of the fountain from the bottom (you can see the picture of the fountain in my previous post). The first climb-up is extremely awkward, but I managed it okay enough. This run was good and had me pretty winded on its own.
The second run consisted of doing the same thing, but from much earlier. We ran it in pairs. I think I showed my overall strength level by performing the climbs much quicker than my partner, but toward the last four vaults of the fountain itself, I began to wheeze and cough. My partner later said that he was amazed at how quickly I got up everything. All the same, he reached the summit first because my lungs got in the way.
The last thing that really did me in was a wall shimmy, climb-up, quad along a ledge, then a drop and roll. It doesn't sound like much, but after the fountain runs, my lungs were dying on me. I know I'm not in the best shape in the world. Far from it. But I would've hoped that I could've handled things as simple as these. As stated in a PKTO post, I'm still proud of myself because of everything I've managed to achieve up to this point in my training. I'm proud that I've progressed as far as I have and that I continue to progress every day that I have spent in Parkour.
But there are so many occasions where I just feel like I'm not good enough and that I should just give up. Sometimes, I wonder what it's all really for. Is it my depression that drives me to these thoughts? I mean, I really have no clue. I should continue to be proud of myself and happy of being where I am. It is incredibly difficult at times and days like today are incredibly disheartening.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Themed Training - Strength Conditioning
Today, we ran through a conditioning set that wasn't terribly intense, but it left a few of the guys pretty drained. It involved a Leon-jumptuck warm-up, QM push-ups, forward burpees, inclined push-ups, one-legged jump-ups, broad jumps, etc. We took a break in the middle to do a quick agility drill inspired from Danno's training. Then more jumps. Reverse QM. Jogging. Pseudoplanche push-ups and plyopush-ups. And then we took a break and began to train more laxly. The conditioning wasn't super difficult, but it was more intense than anything I had done with this group before. Everyone pretty much lasted through it all right, others wanted more intensity. I'll do it slowly, especially when I have a much better plan for it all. I think the overall QM/duckwalk endurance is increasing, especially when I recall that horrid day at Robinson in the summer... That was pretty embarassing.
Josh was a new guy this time around and we managed to get some people asking. Josh seems pretty interested in it overall and shows a lot of heart. He also told me that this blog shows up on google searches. Not sure if I like that. LoL. In any case, it'll be nice to see how far he goes with this. Nick, for his second day, has impressed me quite a bit. He certainly has far more bodily awareness than the others. The only thing that disheartens me is Frank's pessimissm. I think he makes excuses more often than just trying and moving. But maybe that'll change over time.
Josh was a new guy this time around and we managed to get some people asking. Josh seems pretty interested in it overall and shows a lot of heart. He also told me that this blog shows up on google searches. Not sure if I like that. LoL. In any case, it'll be nice to see how far he goes with this. Nick, for his second day, has impressed me quite a bit. He certainly has far more bodily awareness than the others. The only thing that disheartens me is Frank's pessimissm. I think he makes excuses more often than just trying and moving. But maybe that'll change over time.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
BWE Circuits
This is actually for last night, but my internet damned itself and I couldn't get around to posting. It's been awhile since I've done any BWE circuit training, and light as this was, it was a bit of a struggle toward the end. I'll build it back up. I could've gone more intensely than I did, so that's always good to know for next time. I really hope that I can get to the gym to do some lifting sometime soon, though. It's been awhile. Hopefully, this weekend. I also want to get some running in before Thursday's session, but it's rainy today. We shall see, especially sicne my leg bones/joints have been feeling strange. Is it because I stopped taking the fish oil? When I get back onto them, we'll have to see if it actually does help.
Circuit 1:
15 Pseudoplanche push-ups
10 ab-wheel kneeling roll-outs
20 squats
1:00 front plank
Circuit 2:
15 wide-stance push-ups
25 reverse crunches
20 squats
1:00 front plank
Circuit 3:
15 tricep push-ups
10 ab-wheel kneeling roll-outs
20 squats
1:00 front plank
One minute rest between circuits. Zero rest between exercises. Done as quickly as possible.
Circuit 1:
15 Pseudoplanche push-ups
10 ab-wheel kneeling roll-outs
20 squats
1:00 front plank
Circuit 2:
15 wide-stance push-ups
25 reverse crunches
20 squats
1:00 front plank
Circuit 3:
15 tricep push-ups
10 ab-wheel kneeling roll-outs
20 squats
1:00 front plank
One minute rest between circuits. Zero rest between exercises. Done as quickly as possible.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween Jam at Meridian Hill
Today, a day after halloween, was a costumed jam at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC. Never been there before and it served as a way to meet and mingle with the new DC community so very influenced by Primal Fitness. We began with a pretty nice and long warm-up of one-legged jumps, inclined push-ups (I clapped, which was very stupid of me), then a long QM, a long reverse QM, and walking up and down steps. There was a brief technical run through the park, which consisted of my costume falling off at one part, showing my nice boxers off.. and then me deciding to walk the rest up to the top. Must say, it was rather amusing. The rest of the time was jamming, although I did a very awkward arm hang at the end which left me rather sore and spent. Overall, a good jam.
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