Deans Training Log

IP Phase 2 Day 2

2012-01-31T08:31:00.000-05:00

Wow, "legs day" It's been forever since I've done one of those! I'm sure I'll have some major DOM's tomorrow. I can't remember the last time I did squats with a barbell, front squats no less! On paper I thought "Oh, this legs day is going to be easy".... NOT! I might even have to play with the schedule and do legs Tuesday night because my normal work schedule has me at work by 7:30 AM. That wasn't the case today but from here on in it will be and I don't think I'd be ble to complete that workout in time without having to rise from bed at 4:30AM. It might be do-able, I'll have to see.

I did get one big program change last night from Ido because on the bent arm session there was a movement that I was REALLY having a problem with. Anyway after he got my tape he had asked "Why have you changed this? You are supposed to do XYZ here and you are doing this"... so I started thinking about it and I thought, "Well, it's weird that he said that because we never worked on anything similar to this movement" and I thought maybe he was speaking in general terms about that "type" of movement. Anyway, I brought it to his attention and I got a new bent arm session (not quite as advanced) from him. I think he must have had me confused with another student or something. So now I have to look that over today and see what it entails. Some of it is the same (most of the PM session)the AM session that changed quite a bit though.

Not looking forward to tomorrow's sore legs!

IP Phase 2 Day 1

2012-01-30T08:42:00.001-05:00

Here we go again. Wow, that was one brutal workout. Having to keep checking my notes, watch video's etc... it took me 2 hours to complete, not including an additional 1/2 hour of warmup time. So the journey begins and again another tough 6 weeks ahead of me.

I asked Ido yesterday what happens in phase 3 as far as programming. Mainly what I'm concerned about is this 2X/day 6 day training regimine. I don't think I can do it beyond the next 6 weeks. I mean, physically I could do it but I want to have a life other than training. I do have some other goals and this schedule makes it almost impossoble to do anything else. Added on top of that is I work 6 days a week so there is very little time to get anything done, that includes stuff like grocery shopping, chores around the house etc... Anyway, enough of my whining. I'm into this for another 6 weeks. When the 6 weeks is up I hope Ido can accommodate me with a different type of program that will still challenge me and take me where I want to go with my fitness. If not then I'll persue something else and be glad that I had the opportunity to learn from one of then best.

IP Day 26

2012-01-28T07:16:00.000-05:00

I was feeling the blah's last night. Generally tired and sore (shoulders, from phase 2 movement familiarization) so I skipped my equilibre training. I feel energized this morning after getting a solid 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! Did my SAS session and now I'm about to go out and do some hunting and gathering at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods LOL!

Still waiting to hear back from Ido on my phase 2 video I sent to him yesterday. Hopefully he gives me the green light and I can start on Monday. If not I will continue with phase 1 unless he advises me otherwise. My PM straight arm session will happen tonight after work!

IP Day 35

2012-01-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

I was pretty tired this morning and had to take a little pre-training energy booster. I use this stuff called "Super Pump" from Gaspari Nutrition. I usually only do one scoop. The recommended dosage I believe is two. This gives me the extra little boost I need when feeling drained. I only use it once every couple of weeks.

I did the bent arm training this morning and increased my HSPU # again this time hitting 50 reps. I think my pull-ups might have gone backwards though, I only did 53 today.

I have most of my "pre-test" videos done for phase 2 and I'll be getting them over to Mr. Ido later today. After feeling really good about myself for a couple of weeks I've been knocked back to reality! Going through these exercises brought back vivid memories of phase one when I first started. Well, here comes another tough 6 weeks. I'm sure after a couple of weeks I'll start getting more proficient at these new movements.

IP Day 34

2012-01-26T06:59:00.000-05:00

Another early workday means another earlier than usual workout. Equilibre this morning after bent arm session last night. Tonight will actually be my first missed session since starting this program. I have to work tonight and wont be getting home until 9:30 - 10:00... Bedtime! Ido said equilibre can be altered or skipped here and there so I won't feel too bad about missing one session out of 72 (6 days/week 2X/Day X 6 weeks).

I'm hoping to get the rest of my videos done for the new program sometime Friday, get them to him by Saturday and then start phase two on Monday. We will see. I'm pretty close to having most of them done.

IIP Day 33

2012-01-25T06:56:00.001-05:00

A hitch in my work schedule forced me up early 4:30AM this morning so I could get my straight arm session in. Yes it was the toughie this morning but it's in the books now so I am happy. I feel pretty good about the progress I'm making with the handstand at this point. I'm still a ways away from doing a freestanding one but I can see where the progressions are leading and I think maybe in phase 3 thats something that wil be worked on. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself though. I have not even started phase 2 yet, if I survive that then I'll start thinking about a phase 3.

IP Day 32

2012-01-24T08:13:00.000-05:00

I don't know if its the effects of 5 weeks of this program or just the fact that I was up a little late Sunday and then got home late last night and didn't finish training until around 9PM but... I am beat!

Trying to get through my morning session and then having the extra task of looking over the 2nd phase exercises, trying them and then getting them on video is also adding more work to the load! The preparation alone is time consuming. Over the weekend I installed a climbing rope in my fitness room and also had to figure out how I was going to do some of the other exercises that required special equipment I do not have. So I have to improvise on a few things

Well anyway, this is turning into a bitch session so I'm going to sign off.

IP Day 31

2012-01-23T08:16:00.000-05:00

I did my bent arm training this morning. Good session, my numbers increased in both the pull-ups and HSPU soI was happy about that. I decided after my workout was completed I would start working on the video clips of the new exercises for phase 2. It probably wasn't such a good Idea to do the exercises for the bent arm AM session following the bent arm session I had just completed. Very frustrating because I just couldn't do anything he had down for that workout. Well some I could do and there are easier versions of what he is asking for that I can do but the stuff he wanted just was not happening. I'll have to try again when I'm more fresh not after a very draining workout.

IP Day 30

2012-01-21T09:30:00.001-05:00

This morning was a really tough workout. I implemented some of the corrections Ido passed on to me and it just made things more intense. By far,this AM straight arm session is my least favorite! The PM one isn't nearly as draining.

We have our first snow falling here. Woke up to a couple inches and a couple more have fallen since then. So, had the extra added bonus of having to shovel snow this morning. BUT I am blessed with a snow day which means I get the day off. I will be heading in for a couple of hours but at least I wont have to be there all day long.

I've got some things I need to set up for the next phase of the program. I was at Home Depot yesterday and picked up a baracket used for towing that I am going to anchor into my ceiling. I will then fix a rope to it so I can climb up and down! Yes, 20 feet of rope climbing is called for. I think the ceiling in the cave is about 10 or 11 feet. There are a couple other things I need to figure out as well so having today off really helps.

IP Day 29

2012-01-20T09:23:00.000-05:00

I got my BAS session in earlier this morning. It was @ 40% volume so it was a pretty quick session. I heard back from Ido last night on the videos I sent to him. I got some good marks on several things but then there were a few exercises that still need to be improved. I'm pretty happy so far with the feedback he's given me. He tells you like it is, no nonsense or BS, everything is pretty black and white with him.

I've been looking over the next phase and like I posted yesterday, yikes. I'll probably be sleeping less for the next 6 weeks. Some days have not two but three sessions! on a couple days I will be doing bent arm and equilibre in the same AM session, and then bent arm again in the PM. There is also a legs day that gets combined with equilibre in one session. Pretty hardcore, I'm up for the challenge though, I want to see if I can do it and I a determined at this point!

Day 28 IP

2012-01-19T07:07:00.000-05:00

Straight arm training last night, equilibre both sessions today, bent arm tomorrow AM, and shortly after a massage. Boy am I looking forward to that hour! Thank god it's almost Friday.

I did't get a review from Ido on the video I sent him yesterday but I did get the next phase of the program and OMG, if I thought phase 1 was tough phase 2 takes it up another notch or two. I know I'm in for it when he say's I should "Enjoy the Pain". All that said, after almost a full 5 weeks I must say I am enjoying this. It's starting to become addicting and I'm finding that I'm really starting to enjoy training again. Not to say I wasn't enjoying it before but the last year or so I felt like I really didn't have any direction. Yeah,I was staying in shape but the specific goals weren't there and I sort of felt like I was just spinning my wheels and not making any major gains in strength. I'm really happy about my progress and even though this program has had a major impact on my free time I'm looking at it as an investment in myself.

IP Day 27

2012-01-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

This morning was my straight arm strength session but at 40% volume. SAS starts with a pretty brutal "straddle flexibility warmup" which involves lots of good mornings and cossack squats, you'll see this in the video when I get it done. I had to make a few adjustments in my equilibre training. Ido gave me a good report card on almost everything. The one exercises that really had major flaws was the wall pulls. My body line was not strict enough. Luckily I got his comment before my evening session so last night I worked with some of his cues and I made a major improvement with it. I'll be sending him video of that later today along with what I shot this morning.

IP Day 26

2012-01-17T06:59:00.000-05:00

I did an equilibre session last night, taped for Ido's critique and I just finished my AM equilibre session.

Yesterday I sent Ido the video of my AM bent arm session. I got an A+ on my pull-ups but my HSPU needs some tweaking. He said I was too vertical and my elbows need to be pulled in tighter to the body. The main change I need to make is that as I descend into the bottom position he said to try and picture being in a headstand tripod where the hard is at the top of the tri-angle. This will make the training more useful for when the time comes to do it freestanding. The other comment on the rotator cuff exercise (rotations) was that I need to increase the weight (progressively) via micro loading with the ultimate goal being able to do solid sets of 5 reps with 1/4 my body weight..... THAT is a way down the road!

IP Day 25

2012-01-16T08:22:00.000-05:00

Go Giants!

This morning marked the start of the 5th week of "Operation Ido". Feeling like I have loads of energy after the day off yesterday.

I just completed my bent arm training session and video taped some reps for Ido. I should have a compilation of all the different exercises up on this page sometime by the later part of the week. I was able to increase my HSPU # by a few reps.. I was able to do 47 this morning. I think I might have only done 43 or 45 last Friday. Happy about that but Pull-ups stayed at 50 reps. Tonight and then both sessions tomorrow are equilibre training which means lots of time being spent inverted and horizontal practicing body-line drills!

IP Day 21

2012-01-14T10:05:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a great workout this morning (and last night for that matter). The toughie this morning is starting to get a little easier for me on most exercises. I'm really happy with how I went from zero to hero on many of them. I can remember thinking I would never be able to get the wall assisted press handstand and now it's a piece of cake. One more session tonight and week 4 is in the books. I'll have the video camera running next week to tape for Ido's critique.

IP Day 23

2012-01-13T07:38:00.000-05:00

The shoulder pain I was feeling yesterday morning went away and last night's equilibre session went fine. This morning was a bent arm strength training session which means pull-ups and HSPU's. I managed 10 sets of 5 on the pulls but only a total of 42 reps on the push. Still trying to get that number up but HSPU's are a toughie, especially since I have not done any type of serious overhead pressing in a long time.

This coming week I'll have the video camera rolling so I can send Ido a progress report. This initial accumulation phase was laid out for a 6 week period. It will be interesting and I'm starting get anxious to see what will be coming next in terms of exercises, volume etc... I'll post the video so anyone interested can see what I've been up to. That's all for now. Equilibre again tonight and SAS both sessions tomorrow.

IP Day 22

2012-01-12T06:59:00.000-05:00

An early Thursday morning training session is complete. I'm having a tiny bit of soreness in my left shoulder. Not sure what that's about, it was there when I woke up but felt normal during warm-us and training. I will pay close attention to it today, hopefully it won't become an issue. I will be doing equilibre training again tonight and then tomorrow morning another bent arm session.

IP Day 21

2012-01-11T07:56:00.002-05:00

There I was tucked under the blankets after last night's SAS session at 9PM. Alarm set for a 3:30AM wake-up and the phone rang. I was off the hook for the early get-up! I was all set to go but it would have been tough. The SAS session I did last night was brutal! I managed to do every rep of every set but it was a tough workout. My altered (because of the work situation) plan had me set up to do an equilibre session this morning. After thinking about it though I changed my mind and did my 2nd SAS session which was at 40% prescribed volume. Ido's plan has the two SAS sessions back to back. Originally I was thinking with the 3:30AM start time I would be better off doing the equilibre session just because of time. I didn't realize until just last night that my next SAS session was a volume reduced session which cuts the entire workout down to about 30 minutes. This actually would allow me an extra 15 minutes to get myself ready in the morning. So that is what I just completed this morning.

Tonight and both sessions tomorrow will be equilibre training. Talk about accelerated progress! I'm amazed at how much better I am getting at some of these exercises..... I guess working out for 3 hours a day 6 days a week will do that to you!

IP Day 20

2012-01-10T15:30:00.000-05:00

Well I did it, I got my butt out of bed at 3:30 AM and did my AM equilibre session. I definitely felt tired during the afternoon but was unable to get any food until about 20 minutes ago (other than a recovery shake at 5:30 AM). I'm making one minor change to the plan and doing SAS tonight and tomorrow morning. It works better this way because that second SAS session will be a 40% volume reduction session so it will go quicker than the equilibre session which I will place in the Wednesday evening slot. I thinkI might be able to get an extra 15 minutes of sack time that way!

IP Day 19

2012-01-09T08:17:00.000-05:00

Week 4 has begun. It started off this morning with a bent arm strength session. With a 60% reduction in volume it almost felt like a day off! I did do extra work though on my HLR's 15 minutes of 2 rep sets. I managed a total of 16 sets. I'm going to try and do this 3X per week for a while in an attempt to get those #'s up.

My body seems to responding positively to this training. My energy seemed good last week I just really need to make sure I get enough sleep and eat good. I am actually going to attempt to get in the 2 sessions I had planned on skipping because of work stuff this week. It will mean getting up at a totally un-godly hour (3:30 AM) to train. I plan on doing an equilibre session at that time on both Tuesday and Wednesday then doing straight arm work in the evening. Am I nuts or what? Ido had something posted on his FB page the other day in regards to "Optimal This and Optimal That" when it comes to training. His point being that you may not always have the luxury of being able to have the stars aligned for perfect training conditions whatever they may be. First things first... are you training consistently? There will always be times when you have to buckle down and get the work done regardless of things beyond your control. So I think I will tough it out and go for it, see what I'm made out of:)

IP Day 18

2012-01-07T09:33:00.002-05:00

The equilibre session I did went good again. I even shot a quick video with my iPhone of me practicing wall pulls that It was mainly for Ido to critique.

This morning I completed a SAS session. It was 40% day. On the third go round of each strength training session you only do 40% of the total volume prescribed for that day. So instead of ten reps for example you do only four. I really needed that break. I stayed up a little later last night but also slept in ater as well. It was nice to lighten the load a little bit. Tonight it will be back to the SAS PM session and there will be no volume reduction.

IP Day 17

2012-01-06T07:59:00.000-05:00

I did my equilibre training last night and that went well. This morning was another bent arm strength session. I managed to increase my handstand PU #'s by 3 reps so my total was 43 at the end of ten sets. Pull-ups stayed the same at 47 reps. That HSPU is really a tough exercise. I can remember doing military presses which is a similar movement and always having a tough time with them.

The one thing I've been trying to concentrate on most other than the prescribed tempo for these exercises is staying tight throughout the entire body. I notice during the pull-ups that if I don't stay tight my body tends to swing slightly by the time I reach full extension at the bottom. As a result I have to use energy to counter the swing and get back to a hang with no movement. The pushups I'm against the wall so there is no swing but I'm trying to keep my body line straight all the time when doing pushups.

Tomorrow (after tonights equilibre) will be back on the straight arm sessions AM and PM.

IP Day 16

2012-01-05T07:08:00.000-05:00

I feel pretty good after the last 2 sessions; SAS last night and equilibre this morning. I'm starting to get in the groove now with the schedule knowing pretty much how long each workout will last and how much sleep I need etc.... I unfortunately have to miss 2 sessions next week because of a work commitment. I tweaked the program slightly so I wouldn't miss any of the strength training, just two of the equilibre sessions. Ido concurred.

Speaking of Ido, he really has a no-nonsense, no BS approach to thrainng. If you ever go on Fcebook look him up. He posts some really good information about training related issues and also speaks his mind! He responded to one commenter on a very heated thread about the quality of coaching with this; "You, my friend have more excuses than a pregnant nun"! I almost spit my mouthful of tea all over my computer screen when I read that one. The thing I see is that he has a huge a amount of pride for what he does, he's really good at it and when he sees someone else selling a bunch of bull he calls them out. Well, not directly (he doesn't name names) but more in a general sense of certain things he sees going on in the fitness industry that just irritate him.

IP Day 15

2012-01-04T08:09:00.000-05:00

I had a good Equiibre session last night and this morning it was time for the toughie, straight arm static strength. There are a lot of straddle good mornings in the program. It's in every workout except the bent arm session and the PM straight arm session. Over the last couple of workouts It seems like my hammies are actually getting tighter rather than looser. I can't figure that one out. Maybe I just need to add in some compensatory work for the hams like I've done with the shoulders.

I feel like I am making good progress on this AM SAS session. Wall assisted half press HS is a piece of cake now. The tuck lever and tuck planche have come a long way as well. I'm feeling pretty good about the program at this point. It will be interesting to see how I feel energy-wise towards Friday/Saturday. I slept great last night, got a good 7 hours in but I could tell early on in the workout that my energy level wasn't at it's best.

IP Day 14

2012-01-03T06:43:00.000-05:00

I got up SUPER aery this morning. I think I over estimated my time requirements. On Thursday I will sleep a little bit later and rise at 4:40 instead of 4:20. Twenty minutes doesn't sound like much but I'll take what I can get. I hit the pillow at 9PM last night. about an hour earlier than normal. I slept good and my energy was fine this morning.

Last night I got my equilbre session in and it went fine, same goes for the one I just completed. I will repeat equilibre again tonight and then Wednesday it's another straight arm day. I told Ido I was having problems reaching the #'s he prescribed in one of the exercises on SAS day.... the hanging leg raise. He gave me a plan to get those #'s up and said I should see results quickly. It basically involves doing as many 2 rep sets as possible in a 15 minute block of time (3X/wk). 2 reps because currently my max is 4. As I build it up I will increase from 2 to 3 to 4 and so on.

IP Day 13-week 3

2012-01-02T08:03:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe I am already on week three of the accumulation phase with Ido's program. This is the week were I will experience what it's REALLY going to be like doing this program while back to full-time work hours. It means getting home from work at around 7PM instead of 5 and being at work by 7:30 AM on Tues and Thurs. So, I really have to make sure I get enough sleep because on Tuesday and Thursday I'll need to get myself out of bed by 4:30 AM. I'm hoping I can hit the rack a little early on Monday and Wednesday to make sure I get at least 7 hours of good pillow time. I think my Sunday's off will be spent entirely in bed!

This morning another bent arm strength session. I increased my pull-up by two reps over the last session. HSPU stayed the same though. This combo really gets tough after the 5th round. I'm definitely feeling beter on the HSPU, it has improved quite a bit and I think next BAS session I will try and add at least get one or two more reps in the earlier sets.

Equilibre is on tap for tonight

IP Day 12

2011-12-31T10:22:00.000-05:00

Wowsa!I had the greatest equilibre session last night before heading out for a nice steak dinner. I have made so much progress on my straddle, getting my chin to the floor during the 10 second hold on my straddle good mornings. It feels great. But, last night whilst eating said steak dinner I got this crazy cramp in my hamstring, the kind that could make the toughest of the tough cry like a baby. WOW, it only lasted for about 15 seconds but it came really close to locking my leg in that painful position it was in. Luckily I escaped by fidgeting around a little. This mooring I was pretty sore in both hammies and wouldn't you know it after warming up the first thing on the list was this really intense straddle flexibility sequence. I guess it was the medicine I needed because I feel pretty good now.

The straight arm session this morning went well. I made some progress on the wall assisted half press handstand. I was having difficulty just getting into the proper starting position and then actually doing the movement. I've got it wired now and it feels really good to be able to do something relatively easily that seemed impossible the first time I tried it a couple weeks back. Tuck lever is feeling better as well.hl's are my weakest exercise in this program. Ido's asking for sets of 10 and I'm barely getting 4. Hopefully those numbers will improve with time.

Tonights straight arm session will be my last workout of 2011! 2012 Training starts Monday.

IP Day 11

2011-12-30T08:10:00.001-05:00

Did my Equilibre training last night and this being Friday morning meant a bent arm strength training session. I've been finding that my warmups; Joint Mobility, plus specific shoulder and wrist work with the staff and rubber bands, takes me about an hour to complete. The workout is also about an hour. For the PM sessions I don't do head to toe joint mobility, I instead usually just do shoulders elbows and wrists, plus the staff and band work. So I've been spending about 3 and a half hours a day training 6 days a week. That's the most I've ever done and it will be interesting to see where I'm at 4 weeks from now when I hand in my video to Ido. I'm feeling stronger and more skilled already actually.

The bent arm session is pretty basic: 10 rounds of Pull-ups followed by HSPU's. with 100 seconds rest between each round. Strict tempo of 0301 on each rep. the goal is 4-6 reps of each exercise per round. Today I got 45 Pull-ups and the minimum of 40 HSPU's. Once done with these two exercises there is a seated dumbbell exercises called "External Rotations" You do 5 sets of 10 on each arm with a strict tempo of 0402.These are really hard, in fact I'm only using a 7LB DB. lots of time under tension with these.

Equlibre work tonight if I can get out of work early enough. Dinner plans may interfere though. Ido does give you the flexibility of skipping an equilibre session here and there so tonight just might be that night.

IP Day 10

2011-12-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

Time is just cruising by. I'm on my tenth day of this program already. Definitely been noticing improvement in many of the exercises. The toughest work, I'll say it again, is on the Straight Arm Strength days. Ido had a great post on his FB wall yesterday though which really helped me.I had sort of been figuring this out as I was practicing some of the straight arm stuff but this post really hit it home and makes total sense me:

The secret to upper body strength, in as general and as B&W statement as possible, lies in both ends of the arms: 1. Scapula Mobilization/Stabilization. 2. Grip. Being able to stabilize the scapula, under loads, (hence it is not just stability, but the ability to move the scapula under load as well) and in all directions - depression, elevation, protraction, retraction and rotation will enable one to create a stable base to express strength from - into the arms. Grip: well, if you cannot grip it or you can poorly grip it - your CNS will be turned off to a large degree. The body is not stupid, show it you can be trusted by strengthening the musculature responsible for Scapula mobility/stability and grip and it will give you easier gains in all around upper body strength. Put this on your wall and structure your training accordingly, results will soon follow.

Stuff like that is gold to me! I'm super stoked to be feeling this good after all the overhead work. I was really worried about my shoulders but they are hanging in there. I got a massage yesterday and signed up for a once per month visit at this place up the road from me. It's a total luxury but I need that once in a while. Self massage with the Thera-Cane, foam roller lacrosse ball etc... is great but sometimes one needs to be pampered!

So anyway this morning my equilibre session went well, there is another one on tap for tonight.

IP Day 9

2011-12-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

I had a great equlibre session last night and this morning it was back to straight arm strength training, my weakest area I feel. There are 2 straight arm workouts one which is done AM and the other PM both Wed. and Sat. are Straight arm days. Last Wednesday was when I initially started to worry about my right shoulder. I had felt a pinch while doing wall assisted haf press handstands. Well today it was my left shoulder. Same sensation. It was slight but it got me to worrying about injury again just as it seemed everything was feeling good. Hopefully this wont turn out to be anything major. I actually thn it had to do with the position of my elbows while holding the HS. Rotating them inward slightly alleviated the discomfort.

All I can say at this point is this is some of the toughest training i've done in a while. I'm still a little bummed there is no room for conditioning but I might just have to add some in during January. I'll monitor my energy and see where it's at. I'll probably just get back to some KB swings and jumping rope. The only reason is the trip to Costa Rica where I plan on doing a lot of surfing which require a huge amount of cardio. Tac Fit would be the best thing to do but there's no way I'm going to be able to perform well doing TF after Ido's training. I could take a whack at it though:) Maybe something like Warrior at a really moderate pace and not going to high intensity with it.

Got the day off today. Going to get a massage with a friend of mine and then trainig again later. PM straight arm session which includes wall runs!

IP Day 8

2011-12-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

Last night's and this mornings equilibre session went well. After some worries about my shoulder over the weekend everything seems pretty good. I've been spending so much time on preparation and a proper warmup, it seems to be paying off thus far. I think working the trigger points has helped too and may have lead to some of the soreness. Digging into your scapula with the thera cane, and rolling over the same areas on a lacrosse ball can leave you feeling a little sore even though there is a benefit to the muscles below. I've got some knots back there so I know it is helping.

The exercises I am practicing in the equilibre session are a mixed bunch. 2 different handstand variations plus some work on the lower back and the groin. There are also the front and back line body drills which are designed in helping you achieve a hollow body for when doing handstands and other gymnastics work.

I've had the luxury of short work days all of last week and then up until next Monday. Once my regular work schedule kicks in I'm going to have to tweak a few things on Tuesday's and Thursday's morning session, either that or I will have to go to bed at 9PM so I can get up at around 4:30. This will give me the roughly 2 hours it's been taking me to get through the warmups and workouts. I'm thinking I could skip some of the joint mobility before the AM session and then make up for it before the PM session.

IP Day 7

2011-12-26T07:58:00.001-05:00

Week two. After a day and a hlf of no training (which felt like an eternity) I was back at it again this morning. Bent arm strength training on tap which meant lots of handstand pushups. I was a bit leery and a little worried about doing these. As I said last post I felt as if my shoulder was on the fast track to an injury. Maybe it was just sore from being blasted all week? It sure wasn't because of lack of preparation. I've been spending a lot of time warming up and I've even increased that now with another additional series of warmups using elastic bands, something I found on Ido's YouTube channel. Also yesterday I worked on some of the trigger points in the muscles that effect the shoulder with my thera cane. I think it really helped, my shoulder felt pretty good throughout the workout.

I will be proceeding with the program very cautiously and I think I really need to be diligent with things like self massage, foam rolling, compensatory stretches and all that recovery stuff I've spent so much time learning about. I also need and being careful and REALLY focus during the training. Bad form on thses exercises can wreck havoc on the shoulders.

IP Day 6

2011-12-24T12:25:00.000-05:00

Late night late start to todays training. It's OK, I have the day off! I'll back track to my evening session last night. I had to end the session 1/2 way through because my shoulder started to not feel right. I did about 1/2 of the session and ended it. This morning was a Straight arm strength session I did probably 3/4 of the work but stayed away from the wall runs and 1/2 press wall assisted handstands( because of the shoulder). I REALLY don't want a shoulder injury to happen. I feel as if I'm on that path at the moment and I really need to be careful with it. I will take tomorrow totally off as scheduled and see what it feels like Monday. If this persists I might have to discontinue this training for a bit and talk to Ido about possibly coming up with a different schedule that includes more recovery work. For now I'm hoping its just sore from the intense training.

Merry Christmas everyone!

IP Day 5

2011-12-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

Well I had a great equilibre session last night. I'm already feeling improvement within that routine. This morning was the bent arm strength session. It's not very complicated. After warming up it's 10 rounds of Pull-ups and Handstand PU's. The goal is 4 to 6 reps. On the pull-ups I'm shooting for chest or adams apple to bar. I have no problem getting to chest height but getting that extra pull to actually touch the bar with my chest has proven to be difficult. There is a strict cadence to be followed too when doing both exercises. Explosive on the concentric part of the movement and 3 seconds on the eccentric part with no pausing at either extreme.So on the pull-up you explode up and then lower down slowly, same for the HSPU. This took a little getting used to because I had never trained this way. It feels pretty normal now.

After the push / pull work there are 5 sets of external dumbbell rotations for the shoulder and thats it for this workout.It still takes better than an hour not including the warmups.

More equilibre tonight.

IP Day 4

2011-12-22T07:46:00.000-05:00

Backtracking to Wed. PM. I had a good session last night, tough work (straight arm strength training)but I felt pretty good about how I performed. This morning and like every morning I started out with a full joint mobility session with an emphasis on shoulders and wrists. I have had some minor soreness in the lower back, not an injury, more likely due to all the new exercises I'm doing that involve stress to that area.

Today (and tonight) I do the equilibre training. This workout is done 6 times during the week. It involves the back and front body line body drill lots of handstands and a few other torturous things like the 5 step horse stance which is held for a minute during "rest"! Good stuff. I will repeat this training again tonight

IP Day 3

2011-12-21T08:12:00.000-05:00

today's session = Brutal. It started out with a really cool warmup involving straddle good mornings and a cossack squat sequence that has you going all the way to the floor, opening what was the loaded leg into a straddle position and then going back up into a cossack and repeating on the other side. I got into a good rhythm with that, talk about groin openers!

After the warmup there were two different combos: assisted (against wall) Half press handstand followed by a tuck lever hold. Then, band assisted tuck planche followed by full ROM HLR's. These have proven to be the toughest exercises for me so this morning was a real challenge. I have another (different) "Straight Arm" strength session tonight.

Feeling like a warrior:)

IP day 2

2011-12-20T08:08:00.001-05:00

Tuesdays are all about equilibre. Both the AM and PM sessions are the same workout, which is the same workout I did Monday night. So you repeat this on 3 consecutive training sessions. Lots of practicing proper body alignment offset by some deep forward bending with jefferson curls, and backwards bending and arching.

One of my favorite drills is the practice of a handstand against the wall called "Heel Wall Pulls" you get into a HS about one or two hands distance away from the wall (back to wall)and via wrist flexion you pull your heels away from the wall. There is no active kick in the legs or feet. The wrist flexion travels through the myofascia and naturally pulls the feet away from the wall. I think this is a huge part of learning how to hand balance. I already feel like I have much more control in the HS when practicing this.

I've been really trying to focus on proper warmup and doing lots of extra work on my wrists and shoulders. The "Healing Staff" video that came with Sonnon's TF Warrior has been a godsend for shoulders. Well, in about 12 hours I'll be sitting here logging the PM session!

PM Session:
The PM session went off without a hitch! It felt great and I'm really liking this equilibre training session. There are some brutal aspects of it but I'm pushing through.

I.P. Day 1 AM

2011-12-19T08:22:00.001-05:00

I just completed the first workout of the new program that Ido has laid out for me. I thought it would be a short workout. On paper it didn't look like much volume-wise but it did take quite a bit of time to get through everything. As per usual I started my morning with Intu-Flow to get the blood circulating. I also did some hip openers and I worked with the staff again from the TF Warrior program to really work on opening up the shoulders.

The way this program is set up there are 3 different routines: Bent Arm, Straight arm and Equilibre. They are cycled throughout the week. This morning I did bent arm and tonight I'll be doing Equilibre.

About the only thing I'm left wondering about is where am I going to fit some conditioning work in? I'll have to see how much time the rest of these session take and then see if I can manage to squeeze a session in here and there. I'd like to at least be able to do some swings twice a week.

PM Session

Equilibre took about an hour or so after warming up my shoulders and wrists. No easy workouts here!

Green Light

2011-12-16T14:11:00.000-05:00

I'll be starting the new program this Monday. I sent Ido a video of each exercise and he emailed me back a bunch of corrections I need to work on. I'm looking forward to getting on with it.

My shoulders were a little sore this morning so I did a lot of mobility exercises focusing on the shoulders. One thing I revisited was the "Healing Staff" program that came with Tac-Gym. I felt really good after going through the entire sequence and will probably start incorporating it into my training more often

Humbled!

2011-12-14T07:42:00.000-05:00

All I can say is WOW. Just going through a few reps of this new program has me reassessing where I stand in terms of overall strength. Yeah, I'm sure I'm probably more capable than the average 47 yr. old, but with all the time I've been putting in I thought I'd be able to handle whatever was thrown at me. I guess it all just comes down to the law of specific adaption. Meaning, you're not going to develop the strength and skill required to do handstands, levers, planche, etc.. by swinging clubs and kettlebells!

I sent Ido a quick message telling him I felt weak after just doing the run-through and video taping he needs before giving me the green light to march on into the full program. His response was not to worry, adaption will come.

I'm pretty excited to get going on this. It should be an interesting, challenging ride for the next few months.

Ido Prep

2011-12-13T06:56:00.000-05:00

This morning and last night actually I spent some time getting famliliar with the exercises from this new program I'm about to start. Some of the exercises I'm familiar with and have done before. Others are tottally new to me and then there are some I've done but are done differently if that makes sense. Take the "good morning" for instance. I've done a lot of these but in a standing position. In this program I am to be in a "straddle position" on the floor lowering with a flat back and then after reaching the sticking point continue the movement with a rounded back until chest is to floor! I'm not quite there yet. Lots of work to do! Oh and by the way that GM exercise is what I am doing while "at rest" from a previous exercise.

Not only have I been familiarizing over the last 3 sessions but I have also been shooting video of each exercise for Ido to look at. He wants to see me do every movement he's planned out before I actually start the program. My hope is that I can start on Christmas day (Merry Christmas to me!) If I could do that the first 6 weeks of this accumulation phase would be done a day or two before leaving for Costa Rica... my reward!

Getting ready for Ido's Program

2011-12-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

For the last several months I had been saving up some $ because I really wanted to go and do the MovNat 5 day program in WV. Unfortunately for whatever reason they are not offering the program during the month of June which was the only time I could have participated. The last 2 years they have had two sets of June dates but this year none:(

If you've been checking out my training over the last few months you know that I've been working on the handstand and the muscle-up. I attended Jim Bathurst's seminar a little over a month and a half ago which helped and even though I have made progress I have felt like there must be another approach or another teacher who can offer some expertise on doing these types of exercises/movements. A few ears ago I discovered Ido Portal one of the best movement specialists I've seen out there in cyberspace. I've always been amazed by his videos and what he can do with his body. For the last couple of years he has been traveling around the world giving seminars to athletes who are interested in learning things like handstands,levers, etc... I don't think he's been to NY in quite some time but I'm always checking his website to see where he is because I always wanted to learn from him. Cutting to the chase! A few weeks back on Facebook he posted a video of one of his "on-line" coaching students. It was a montage of what this guy did using Ido's program in 6 months time. The student had no prior experience with any of the things he did on the video like the press handstand, HSPU's, and OAHS. I was pretty amazed and contacted Ido about what he offers in the way of on-line training. Through a series of eMails I am now one of his students! I've made a 3 month commitment to him and I just started this morning filming some of the exercises in the program. He wants a video clip of each one before he gives me the green light on starting the "program"

I'm pretty excited about all of this. It's an intense program, he warned me and even offered to give me my money back if I thought it was something I couldn't take on. It's very different from what I've been doing with the GMB programs as of late, a departure from that for sure. He expects a solid effort and that's what I'll be giving him! Wish me luck!

P1 Level B (day 5)

2011-12-07T08:10:00.001-05:00

Training on the paralettes continued this morning. I said Monday I was going to start trying to link consecutive flows together but that didn’t happen today either. I was in my shoulder stand and went “over the bars” so to speak during my first round… crashing to the floor! Not hurt or anything, just left me feeling like a spaz. On my second run through I was really concentrating and paying attention to how I was feeling strength-wise and I felt like I could have easily made it through the 1st half of a 2nd flow sequence but I just figured I’d wait until Friday. No rush.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Flow – Level A 2X
• P1 Level B W/O 1
• Weighted Pull ups (8,7,6)
• Hollow body holds and handstand practice
• P1 compensations

I’ve added back in, some handstand holds facing the wall. Progress has stagnated a little. I want to continue to build strength and the ability to maintain a hollow body for longer periods of time

Recovery

2011-12-06T06:54:00.001-05:00

I’ve been feeling really good of late. my only existing injury is still the elbow which for the most part has been feeling better. I can’t believe it’s been almost a full year since I originally injured it. Slowly is is getting better and it doesn’t bother me while training so that’s a good thing. If I were swinging clubs that might be a different story!

This morning was the usual Intu-Flow joint mobility work followed by some hip and groin openers and then some prasara and bodyfow work.

P1 Level B (day 4)

2011-12-05T08:13:00.002-05:00

The flow is pretty beastly, I still have yet to link two consecutive run-throughs together. I was a little preoccupied with the video this morning. I’m going to see how far into consecutive flows on Wednesday.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Level A Flow 3X
• P1 Level B (workout B)
• Weighted Pull-ups, 3 sets 8,7,6
• Hollow Body Holds / Handstand practice
• KB/JR circuit 1 min swings / 1 min JR for 20 minutes. Used a 20kg for first 8 rounds of swings switched to 24 for last 2 rounds
• P1 Cooldown compensations

I should be able to drag my butt out of bed early tomorrow to get a good yoga session in. Thursday is usually a bit tougher.

Recovery

2011-12-03T11:12:00.001-05:00

Intu-Flow Joint mobility, hip-openers and prasara flows completed this morning. I’ll probably do another session tomorrow as well.

P1 Level B (Day 3)

2011-12-02T11:47:00.002-05:00

The level A flow is coming along great. In fact I’ve increased the difficulty of all of the exercises which are done in a plank position from the knees by doing them from a full plank. I did the flow three times before going on to Level B.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers• P1 Warmups
• P1 Level A Flow 3X
• P1 Level B exercises
• Weighted Pull-ups, Handstands and Handstand assistance drills
• KB/Jump Rope cqt. 20 minutes 1 min. 20KG swings, 1 min. JR
• P1 Comps

A prasara session is on tap for tomorrow. Maybe Sunday too.

P1 Level B (Day 2)

2011-11-30T08:21:00.001-05:00

I was able to run through the full flow routine from Level A twice this morning before working on Level B. What I thought was roughly 1/3 of the flow was really 1/2 of it. It was pretty easy to link the two halves together. The flow is pretty strenuous and I definitely need a little rest after doing it. My immediate goal will be to link two consecutive flows together with no rest, then working to add more from there if possible.

Day 2 of Level B was again very similar to Level A with a few tweaks. Basic strength building movements and exercises just slightly more advanced than Level A.

GMB released a really good Handstand Module yesterday to the Alpha Posse. It will be available to the public shortly. It comes with a bunch of videos and a manual. Really nicely done. I got it yesterday. I think they will be selling it for $17.00 if I remember correctly. Speaking of the handstand which I’ve been working on for a few months now. Today I did my best one. I held it for a good 10 seconds or so, no wall! It felt awesome to balance in a HB for that long without making contact with the wall.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmups
• P1 Level A Flow 2X
• P1 Level B Routine
• Weighted Pullups (3 sets 7) HB Holds & Handstands
• Mace 360′s 50R, 50L – non-stop
• KB TGU’s (20KG) 5 each side non-stop
• P1 Compensations

I didn’t log yesterday as all I did was an Intu-Flow session. I’ll probably do the same tomorrow. These early work days are tough. I’ll get a good prasara session in over the weekend

P1 Phase B (day 1)

2011-11-28T08:38:00.000-05:00

In P1, the end of Level A is a flow routine. It basically consists of the components from the last 2 week phase (3) of the program. Today I worked on the first 4 movements linking them together. There are a lot of exercises in the flow so I will be biting off little chunks and building it bit by bit over the next couple of weeks. Rather than attempting the whole thing in one session.

I also started Level B this morning (after running through the flow segment 3 times). It picks up (sort of) around the first week of the 2nd phase of level A. It’s a lot of strength building exercises that are just slightly more advanced than Level A. Nothing fancy just working on the basics while maintaining a thight core, legs, etc…

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmups
• P1 exercises
• Weighted Pull-ups, Handstands
• KB/Jump Rope cqt. 20 minutes 1 min. 20KG swings, 1 min. JR
• P1 Comps

I was able to get a prasara session in yesterday morning. I dod my I.F., Hip Openers, and a few of the Prasara flows

P-1, LA, P3, Day 5

2011-11-23T07:59:00.001-05:00

Though I felt a little tired this morning I was still able to perform well during this morning’s practice. Friday will be the last day of this phase on the P1 program. I’m looking forward to moving on to the next phase.

To anyone who is reading this; Have a great Thanksgiving. Indulge, but don’t overindulge!

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Components and Strength Cqt.
• Weighted Pullups and Hollow Body Holds
• Handstand Practice
• Compensatory stretching

Recovery tomorrow and back on the bars Friday

Recovery Mode

2011-11-22T06:57:00.001-05:00

Just more of the same this morning with some joint mobility and then my standard series of hip and groin stretches/openers. I also did the P1 compensations.

P1 LA P3 Day 4

2011-11-21T08:10:00.001-05:00

OK, second day of the component drills that I did for the first time last Monday. I had the video camera rolling so at some point I’ll edit my clips of the entire program.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Weighted Pull-ups (grip varied) Hollow body holds
• Handstand practice
• KB Jumprope combo. 1 min KB swings (20kg) followed by 1 min. jumping rope. 20 minutes non-stop

More recovery work tomorrow

Recovery

2011-11-20T07:17:00.002-05:00

Early morning Intu-Flow hip openers and prasara flows this morning since I slept in on Thursday. We are supposed to be in the 60′s today. Just two nights ago it was in the low 30′s. This is the craziest Fall I can remember in some time!

It’s back to the paralettes tomorrow morning.

P1 LA-P3. Day 3

2011-11-18T08:13:00.002-05:00

Another new series of flow components today which were again fun though I think Wednesdays workout was the most challenging skills-wise.

I’ve decided to take a different approach for the next month or so on my quest for the muscle up. I don’t seem to be progressing all that much doing assisted MU’s so I’m going to concentrate more on weighted pull-ups for a while. Man have my pull ups gone down the tank. I could only get 6 clean reps per set today with the vest on. I did 3 sets but I seem to remember being able to do more than that. It’s been a while since I’ve trained them so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

Great news on my handstand though! I did my first unassisted handstand today! Well, the wall was there for security but I kicked right up into it and held it for a good 5 seconds before coming down (zero contact with the wall). Progress has been very gradual but every time I practice it feels a little easier.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Routine
• Weighted pull-ups, hollow body holds, handstands
• Flow Fit L4 five rounds
• Mace 360′s 100 continuous
• P1 Compensation series

I will try to get in some prasara flow over the weekend.

P1 Level A, Phase 3 DAy 2

2011-11-16T07:39:00.001-05:00

I think I mentioned on Monday that this phase of P1 has 3 different workouts. So today was the first time for me going through WO#2 and it was a fun one! I was swinging from L-sits to unassisted shoulder stand (but with bent legs) and doing some pretty fun yet challenging work. Each one of the workouts in this phase consists of 3 different components (two exercises linked together) which I’m guessing will at some point be linked together to form a flow routine. There is also some strength work following the component practice. So after a sort of not so exciting start to this program I am really digging it now. Probably because I can see real progress being made skill wise.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Headstand, Handstand, and Muscle-Up work.
• Flow Fit L4 – 10 Rounds
• P1 Compensatory Stretches

I might catch up on sleep tomorrow morning and take the day off. I’ll make up for it over the weekend.

Recovery Mode

2011-11-15T06:54:00.001-05:00

I feel goof this morning, no soreness after the week off and then hitting P1 yesterday which is a good thing. It was back to the yoga matts after this morning's Intu-Flow practice. I started with what has become my standard hip openers and groin stretches. I followed that with the P1 cooldown series which foucuses mainly on the shoulders and wrists. Then I completed the session with cricket flow and spider monkey flow. I feel awake and ready to face today's challenges.

P1 Level A Phase 3 Day 1

2011-11-14T08:24:00.002-05:00

This is post # 900 here...... I thick when I hit 1000 I will kill this blog and start a new one!

The week off from training was great. I got to catch up on a lot of things around the house, little projects and whatnot. I felt really fresh this morning. Yesterday I took a hot yoga class to get things loosened up in preparation for today.

This phase of the P1 program has 3 different routines as opposed to the first two phases which had two different routines. They call this phase “Flow Acquisition”. What you doin this phase is link a couple of (2 sometimes 3) different exercises previously learned into little mini flows. There are three different flows each day which you perform 3 to 5 times each. This is then followed by some basic strength work which is basically 3 rounds consisting of 3 different exercises performed for 5 reps or so.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Headstand, Handstand, and Muscle-Up work.
• Flow Fit L4 – 10 Rounds
• P1 Compensatory Stretces

I will be getting back to my yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well.

P1 Phase 2 completed today (post#899!)

2011-11-04T08:15:00.002-04:00

...I just saw this is my 899th on blogger. It wont be long (another 3 months or so) 'til I'll be at 1000!

I had a great workout this morning on the paralettes, the highlight being the full shoulderstand I did several times while doing the assisted shoulderstand exercise. It felt good, almost natural. I had been playing with lifting both legs off the ground during the first two sets and then just decided to see what would happen if I tried to extend and fully straighten them. I was in a full shoulderstand with no problem at all. A great way to enter my week off.

Next week I intend on getting to at least one, two if I’m lucky Hot Yoga classes. Thats does not include this weekend (probably Sunday) Anyway I’ll also try an get out for a few strolls on the beach as well. It’s been since the summer:(

Today’s Practice:

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Muscle-Up, Head/Handstand practice and assistance exercises
• P1 Cooldown

Signing off for a week!

Recovery

2011-11-02T07:20:00.002-04:00

And I really needed it this morning. It felt good to not be checking the clock as often as I normally do on my recovery days, which usually fall on the days I need to be at work early. This made the session more enjoyable and productive. I was able to focus better on what I was doing.

Today’s Practice:

• Intu Flow
• Hip/Groin Openers
• P1 Cooldown series
• Prasara Flows – Cricket, Diving Dolphin, Spider Monkey, Tunbleweed

More recovery on tap for tomorrow morning and then P1 on Friday.

P1 Phase 2 Day 11

2011-11-01T07:56:00.002-04:00

Parallette training again this morning. As the temps are dropping outside I’ve been back to training mostly indoors within the confines of my fitness cave. I am so glad I’ve put the days of going to a commercial gym behind me. Not only does the driving back and forth suck and waste a lot of time but there are too many distractions (for me anyway) in that setting. Between the awful music, people staring and asking questions, guidos, lack of room on the floor because of all the unnecessary machines etc…… my little cave is paradise!

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Muscle-Up, Headstand and Handstand practice and assistance exercises. Some progress being made on the handstand. I haven’t tested the muscle-up lately. I might give that a shot later this week to see where I’m at with it.
• Some Clubbell swinging, pendulums, side pendulums etc… My elbow still is not 100% but damn do I miss swinging cb’s:(

Recovery for the next 2 days and then P1 again on Friday. A little hitch in my work schedule this week has me readjusting my workout times. Next week off! Probably a few hot yoga classes and prasara sessions though. I’m dedicating the entire week to recovery

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-10-31T08:55:00.002-04:00

I took this morning off because I had to be at work early. Saturday morning I made it to a Hot Yoga class at 7:45 AM. and on Sunday morning I did what would normally be my Monday morning workout. So it was P1 phase-2 Day 10 along with some work on the muscle-up, Headstands and handstands.

Tomorrow will either be a yoga morning or another P1 session. I have to check and see if I have an early work morning again on Wednesday.

Happy Haloween, don’t eat too much(ANY) candy!

P1 Phase 2 Day 9

2011-10-28T08:03:00.001-04:00

One more week to go and this phase of P1 will be complete. How time fly’s, it only seems like yesterday that I started with these exercises!

I switched things up slightly this morning. I took the day off from my Muscle-up exercises and worked on the handstand a little more which included some assistance exercises to enhance and strengthen what is known as the “hollow body position” After doing that and practicing against the wall I decided to run through Tac-Gym FUBAR for some conditioning work. Fridays have always been a bit of a question mark after the P1 work and I’ve been wanting to do a little more conditioning. Tac Gym fit the bill perfectly because it is not super high intensity but still produces a nice sweat which was all I really wanted.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Handstand assistance exercises and practice back to wall
• Tac-Gym FUBAR (Delta) completed 6.25 rounds in 20 minutes
• P1 Cooldown

I’ll be back on P1 this Sunday because of a schedule change at work… Hot Yoga tomorrow morning.

Recovery

2011-10-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

I’ve been working on 7 hours of sleep per day for the last 2 weeks and I think it caught up with me today. Though I did do my full session of Intu-Flow and then my hip openers and Prasara flows I wound up cutting the session about 20 minutes short of what I normally do on my recovery days.I’m thinking maybe a week off after I’m done with this phase of P1 might do me some good. I’ll focus on recovery for a full week and getting some extra zzzzzzzzz’s

P1 Phase 2 Day 8

2011-10-26T08:11:00.002-04:00

My mind was wandering a little this morning so I feel like even though I did the work it wasn’t my best effort. On some sets my focus wasn’t entirely there. I did catch myself a few times though so even though some reps weren’t my best there were good ones in there as well. On Friday I hope my concentration is a little better. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately and this morning my brain was a bit overloaded.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Muscle-Up assistance exercises
• Handstands
• P1 Cooldown

A day of recovery tomorrow:)

Recovery

2011-10-25T07:07:00.001-04:00

I started out with my morning Intu-Flow ritual. Intu-Flow is like brushing your teeth… Gotta Do It! I always feel better after oiling the joints, great stuff. After my I.F. practice it was back on the mats for some hip and groin opening stretches. These never seem to get any easier. I think it’s been close to a year now that I have been doing them consistently. I’m not at where I’d like to be (flexiility-wise) but I’m in for the long haul anyway. I figure I’ve spent probably 25 years or so not compensating for fact that the flexibility our hips become comprimised as a result of living in a seated culture. Spending too much time in chairs is a big contributor to losing hip mobility. This is going to be ongoing in my practice probably for the rest of my time on the planet!

P1 Phase 2 Day 7

2011-10-24T07:46:00.001-04:00

My 7th day training the phase 2 movements from P1. Today would be the half-way point in this phase and like I said previously, every time I run through the exercises they feel better.

I’m still strugging with the muscle-up. I’ve been practicing a leg assisted variation standing on a box. This is one of the assistance exercises I learned from Jim at the Beast Skills seminar. I’ve also started working on “cest to bar” chins. If you havent tried that one give it a whirl. I’m about two inches or so from being able to touch my chest to the bar on a chin-up. This is also an assistance exercise for the muscle-up

Today’s Practice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Handstands (getting beter:))
• Assisted Muscle-Up’s / Chin-ups
• Flow Fit L4 for 10 rounds
• P1 Cooldown

Recovery / stretching tomorrow morning

Recovery

2011-10-23T09:23:00.001-04:00

Just back from the 7:45 AM Hot Yoga “Yoga Jam” class at Rocky Point Hot Yoga. What a great way to start the day.

P1 Phase 2 Day 6

2011-10-21T08:17:00.001-04:00

On the parallettes and getting stronger each time through the exercise series. Really getting the knack for these things and can totally tell where a lot of these movements are headed in terms of progression. You’ll see it all on video one of these days!

Today’s Practice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Handstands and Pull / Chin-ups
• Cqt: GS Kb Swings (20R, 20L), KB snatches (10R, 10L) Mace 10 to 2′s (20 reps). Non-stop for 5 rounds (14kg bell)
• P1 Cooldown

Hoping for some Hot Yoga this weekend if I can squeeze it in.

Recovery

2011-10-20T07:04:00.001-04:00

Todays’s recovery session:

• Intu-Flow
• Hip and Groin Openers

P1 Phase 2 Day 5

2011-10-19T07:46:00.001-04:00

Here we go, another P1 session is in the books and it’s going really well. I’ve increased sets to 4 on each movement and all is progressing really well.

Today’s Training

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Head/Handsatnd and Muscle-Up work
• Clubbell combo @ 10Lb’s
• P1 Cooldown

Recovery

2011-10-18T06:53:00.001-04:00

It felt really good to get some flow work in this morning. I haven’t started the day off with yoga for a while. I’m hoping to get to the Hot Yoga studio at some point this week, most likely Sunday mornings I can really stretch things out:)

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip and Groin openers
• Prasra flows: Cricket, Diving Dolphin, Spider Monkey Tumbleweed, Flock of Pigeons

What a great way to start the morning:)

P1 Phase 2 Day 4

2011-10-17T08:29:00.001-04:00

Back again today on the parallettes. Although I didn’t train over the weekend it was go,go,go between working, trying to get things done around the house, running errands, cooking etc… It was non-stop only getting maybe an hour from 9 to 10PM to relax and catch my breath before hitting the rack. Seems like it’s like that all the time nowadays. How many days until February and I go to Costa Rica?

Today’s Training

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Head/Handsatnd and Muscle-Up work
• Flow Fit L4 – 10 rounds
• P1 Cooldown

Recovery and prasra flows tomorrow.

P1 Phase 2 Day 3

2011-10-14T07:58:00.000-04:00

I had to skip yesterday’s recovery session. I just didn’t have the energy to get out of bed at 5:30 after a long work day. I will try and get either flow yoga or hot yoga in tomorrow morning because I will not have to be in to work so early.

Today I had another run through of the P1 “Day 1″ routine that I did for the first time on Monday. I’m definitely liking this series of exercises. I feel much stronger on the parallettes than I did when I started the program a little over a month ago. This is turning out to be more fun than the first phase.

Today’s Training

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Head/Handstand and Muscle up work
• 20/20/20 combo: 20 KB swings (24kg), 20 mace 360′s 20 sledge/tire slams for 20 minutes non-stop
• P1 Cooldown

Awesome training today!

P1 Phase 2 Day 2

2011-10-12T08:31:00.002-04:00

Back on he bars again this morning. I’m feeling good with the exception of lingering elbow pain which is really annoying but oh well, I’m dealing with it the best I can and it doesn’t bother me while training so that’s a good thing. It’s not looking good for a Thursday morning Prasara session but who knows, that could change.

Today’s Practice:

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Muscle-Up, Head and Handstand work
• Light (10#) Clubbell swinging
• P1 cooldown series

After 4 days of blissful Spring-like weather it feels like Fall again around here.

Recovery

2011-10-11T08:56:00.002-04:00

This morning I did my usual recovery work. Intu Flow and hip/groin stretches. I also did the P1 Cooldown series of stretches.

P1 Phase 2 Day 1

2011-10-10T08:24:00.002-04:00

Saturday was the workshop with Jim Bathurst in NJ. It was a fun time. The head and handstand progressions he taught were very similar to what GMB teach but I did pick up a useful tidbit or two on my handstand and I’ve already made some progress. The muscle-up was (and still is) my biggest challenge and though I still have not been able to do one I came pretty close at the seminar using a leg assist technique Jim showed us. This was performed from a dead hang so it was dissimilar to how I had been using my legs. He also showed us a bunch of really useful assistance exercises using a plyo-box in conjunction with the rings that I started working into my practice today.

I started phase 2 of P1 today and just like with the rings the bar has been raised by having some of the exercises combine two movements. I dropped back down to 3 sets of each but kept the reps at 12. I’ll increase as I progress.

Today’s Practice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• Head/Handstand and Muscleup work
• P1 cooldown
• Flow Fit L4 for 10 rounds

Compensations and yoga for tomorrow.

P1 Day 12 - 4 week wrap-up

2011-10-07T08:20:00.001-04:00

Today was the 4th week of my paralette training with the GMB P-1 program. Level A is in the books and I will be moving on to the next phase on Monday. I will need to find some time over the weekend to preview the exercises and print out some wall charts. Overall I like this program. I think Rings-1 was a little more “fun” for some reason, maybe this next phase will be a little more exciting:)

Today’s Practice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 warmup
• P1 Exercises
• BMU’s (8 reps) followed by Pike and V-Up Headstands (4 reps) 3 X
• The 20,20,20 Circuit for 20 minutes non-stop – 20 kettlebell swings @24Kg, 20 Mace 360′s (10R,10L) and 20 Sledgehammer Tire slams (10R, 10L)
• P1 Cooldown series

Beast Skills seminar tomorrow

Recovery

2011-10-06T17:45:00.001-04:00

Got up early again today (5:30) so I could get a quick session in before heading to work at 7:30. I’ve been getting to be slightly later the last few weeks but thankfully this week I’ve slept like the dead. only waking up a few minutes before the alarm. My built in alarm kicks ass!

Today’s Practice:

• Intu-Flow
• Hip and Groin openers
• Prasara Flows: Cricket, Diving Dolphin, Spider Monkey, Tumbleweed

P-Bar training tomorrow

P1 Day 11

2011-10-05T08:22:00.000-04:00

My 11th day on the parallettes feels quite different than the first day. Reps and sets have increased and I feel I’ve made improvements with my form on all the exercises. I’m really looking forward to the challenges in the next phase of the program.

Today’s Practice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Training
• BMU’s 8 reps followed by Pike and V-up Headstands, 4 reps X 3
• Handstand back to wall. 3 holds
• Mace 360′s (50R, 50L) continuous with the “Monster”
• P1 Cooldown

I inched the rings up a bit more on the baby muscle-up. This weekend’s seminar with Jim Bathurst should really help with the muscle up. I feel like should be able to do it and it’s an issue with technique that is holding me back.. we shall see!

Recovery

2011-10-04T08:51:00.002-04:00

Recovery work this morning consisted of Intu flow and a series of hip openers and groin stretches. More parallette training tomorrow.

P1 Day 10

2011-10-03T08:13:00.001-04:00

This is the start of week four for my paralette training. I upped the reps this morning. Last week I did 4 sets of 10 on each exercise today I did 12 reps. I have to look back at the manual to see what the length of the first phase is. I thought it was 4 weeks but something tells me it might be 4 to 6 weeks, If that’s the case I will stay at this level for another week and complete 5 weeks.

This weekend is the seminar with Jim Bathurst who writes the “Beast Skills” blog and conducts workshops in gymnastics movements at various locations throughout the country. I’m looking forward to some high quality coaching this weekend!

Today’s Training
• Intu-Flow
• Hip Opener
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• BMU’s X 8 followed by pike and pike V-up Headstands X 4 – 3 rounds
• Handstand practice – back to wall gradually getting both feet off the wall and holding for as long as possible! Today’s best was about 2 seconds or so. It doesn’t sound like much but that’s a long 2 seconds!

P1 Day 9

2011-09-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

Back at it once again. Todays workout was aided by a scoop of Gaspari Nutrition “Super Pump”. I needed it after the last couple of days which were really hectic. I hadn’t been getting to bed on time for the last 3 days plus I pushed my wake-up time to 1/2 hour earlier in the mornings. The Super Pump gave me the boost I needed to have a solid workout.

Today’s Pracrtice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Routine
• BMU’s 8 reps followed by Pike V-Up Headstands 4 reps. 3 Rounds
• Handstands with back to wall slowly pulling my feet away and trying to stay unsupported for as long as possible.

I skipped my conditioning this morning because I wanted to get an early start on some other things I needed to do. I might try and get a session in tomorrow morning if time allows.

Recovery

2011-09-29T07:18:00.001-04:00

I’ve been feeling pretty good lately the only injury present is my left elbow. I’ve made some decent progress with healing over the last couple of weeks using trigger point therapy. After an initial major improvement though I seem to have hit a plateau with that. I’ll keep on doing it though because I was amazed at first by how much it helped initially.

Today’s Practice
• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• Prasara Flows: Cricket, Diving Dolphin, Spider Monkey, and Tumbleweed.

Back at the P-Barz tomorrow morning.

P1 Day 8

2011-09-28T10:42:00.001-04:00

The P1 training continues. Feeling better about my performance with the program each time I do it. What felt awkward the first couple of times now feels natural.

Today’s Practice

• Intu Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Routine
• BMU’s 8 reps (rings inched up a bit) followed by Pike V-Up Headstands 4 reps. 3 Rounds
• Handstands with back to wall slowly pulling my feet away and trying to stay unsupported for as long as possible. Best today was about a 3 second hold. 3X
• P1 Cooldown
• Mace 360′s w/ Monster Mace 100 continuous (50R, 50L)

Prasara Flows tomorrow

Recovery

2011-09-27T07:17:00.001-04:00

Intu Flow, then lots of hip openers and groin stretching this morning plus a run through the P1 recovery stretches. Tomorrow I'll be hitting P1 in the morning. Hot yoga is on hold for a few weeks. The studio switched up their schedule. I might still do an evening class here and there but I'm thinking after my scuba diving is done late October I'll switch to going on the weekends early in the morning.

P1 Day 7

2011-09-26T08:29:00.002-04:00

Happy birthday to me (yesterday) I’m the ripe old age of 47…feeling pretty good though. One of my scuba students yesterday said he thought I was around 35. That made me feel good….. I wish I was a spry 35 year old!

Back on the P Barz today feeling good after two birthday celebrations (restaurant meals involving lots of beef, wine and of course CAKE!). Week 3 already, this P1 is going good. It’s still not super exciting/fun but building the foundation never really is all that exciting. It is however very important to have a solid one.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Workout
• BMU’s (8) followed by V-up headstands (3) X 3 sets
• Handstand Holds – back to wall 3 X 30 seconds
• P1 Cooldown
• Flow Fit L4 – 10 rounds moderate pace

I was able to dold the handstand a couple times without the wall, I’m starting to get the feel forgetting more of the weight come into m fingers rather than just having everything in the palm. A spread out weight distribution seems to make it easier to balance.

P1 Day 6

2011-09-23T08:43:00.002-04:00

Back on my “P Barz” today with another run through of the day 2 workout which I did last Monday. This program follows the same layout as Rings-1 in that there are 2 separate routines that you alternate on a M,W,F schedule. This would mark the 1/2 way point in phase one of the program which goes for 4 weeks.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 warmup
• P1 routine
• BMU’s (8 reps) followed by V-up headstands (4 reps) X3
• Handstand holds against/facing wall 45 seconds X 2 and then back to wall attempting to pull feet away.
• P1 Cooldown
• KB swings (20kg) 1 minute followed bu rope skipping 1 minute for 20 minutes non-stop.

I got a good 5 seconds unsupported handstand today after pulling my feet ever so slowly from the wall. This is progressing pretty nicely:)

Recovery

2011-09-22T07:18:00.001-04:00

I was tired yesterday after my morning training session and then having to go out diving in the afternoon so I skipped yoga class last night. I got really good sleep so I jumped out of bed at 5:30 this morning and spent about a 1/2 hour doing Intu Flow joint mobility and then work on my hips and Prasara flows. I did my full circuit of prasara which included; cricket, diving dolphin, spider monkey, tumbleweed, and flock of pigeons. I think it’s been a while since I’ve done all of those in one session. I need to start working on tree to complete the “A” series and then start with the rest from series “B” (aka the primer). More paralette training tomorrow.

P1 Day 5

2011-09-21T08:42:00.001-04:00

Today was the 3rd time going through the Day 1 workout of the P1 program. I’ve started adding an additional set on each exrcise. The recommendation is 3 to 5 sets and 8 to 12 reps on each exercise. I usually increase the #’s as I move through the program always starting close to the minimum recomendation with the goal of maxing out towards the end of each phase.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• BMU’s (8 reps) followed by Headstand “V” Ups. (4 to 5 reps)
• Headstand against/facing wall 3 holds for 30 – 45 seconds
• Mace 360′s with the Stronger Grip Monster Mace (50R,50L continuous
• Cooldown

The handstand is feeling a lot more comfortable during the hold now. I must be getting stronger or just more accustomed to it. I made a few attempts at pulling my feet away from the wall (with back to wall) and was able to hold it for 2 or 3 seconds before losing balance. Long way to go.

Recovery work

2011-09-20T07:19:00.002-04:00

Well, so much for the dive trip to Block Island. On the upside, after my Intu-Flow practice I was able to get in some really deep stretching, the focus being on my hips and hammies. I had intended on doing some prasara flow but time ran short. I might do a little “before bedtime” session tonight depending on how things shake out this evening. There’s been a little bit of soreness in my triceps and shoulders from doing P1. It usually subsides after a day. I was surprised after doing R1 for so long. I guess the parallets are making use of some muscle that wasn’t seeing much action in R1!

P1 Day 4

2011-09-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

Second time through the “Day-2″ workout and I’m starting to get used to the new movements. That “unfamiliar” feeling you get when you start a new program is starting to disappear as I find my groove. My day of recovery tomorrow might not be of the usual kind. I’m scheduled to take a group of divers to Block Island. If the seas cooperate I’ll be on a boat out of Montauk tomorrow at 7AM and not on my yoga mat!

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip openers
• P1-warmup
• P1- exercises
• Baby Muscle-up (8reps) followed by pike to headstand (5 reps)
• Handstand holds (against wall-facing wall) 30-45 seconds
• P1 cooldown
• Flow Fit – Level 4 for 10 rounds moderate pace but picked it up for the last four rounds

There’s another headstand variation that I will start working on because the pike is a cinch now. it starts with your legs in a split “V” position. I can’t remember what it’s called:(

P1-Day 3

2011-09-16T08:48:00.002-04:00

Backtracking to Wednesday night, I did my yoga class and I thought I would get up “early” yesterday so I could do some more recovery work. I wound up not setting my clock for the right time and though I got up at 6AM it didn’t leave me enough time to do anything other than Intu-Flow. I should have set it for 5:30. Oh well, a “No Intensity” day was fine because I had to work for 14 hours yesterday.

This morning I got up at 6AM again and wow, talk about a weather change! I shut all the windows last night before hitting the rack and I’m glad I did because a crisp fall-like wind blew all night and is still going….. I had to put socks on because my feet were (are) cold. So things are slowly changing around here. Love the Fall weather, it’s the Winter that gets me down. I do have 10 days of sun and surf in Costa Rica this February to look forward to though.

Today’s Practice:

• Intu-Flow Warmup
• Hip Openers
• P1 Warmup
• P1 Exercises
• P1 Cooldown
• Metabolic Circuit-20 minutes continuos, no rest other than sips of water between stations.
º 20 Sledgehammer Tire Slams (10R, 10L)
º 20 Mace 360′s (short mace, 10R, 10L)
º 30 KB swings @ 24KG

I didn’t get to mu BMU’s Head, and Handstands this morning, I will try and get a few sets in tonight. That was a pretty exhausting circuit to finish things off with today!

P-1 Day 2

2011-09-14T09:02:00.000-04:00

Ok, so late night Monday, slept in Tuesday but I stuck to my word and after work did a full Intu-Flow session plus the P-1 cooldown series and several Prasara flows. I needed it,my shoulders were pretty sore (not injured) from the first day of P-1.

This morning I got down with the day-2 series of exercises in P-1. Today seemed a little more “fun” than day-1. The exercises were still pretty basic but I had more fun doing them for some reason.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P-1 Warmup
• P-1 exercises
• P-1 Cooldown
• Pike to headstand X 3 followed by baby muscle up (6-8). Three rounds
• Handstand – facing the wall (supported) hold 30-45 seconds X3
• Mace 360′s with the Monster Mace 100 continuous (50R, 50L)

Recovery begins tonight with ashtanga yoga. I will try and drag myself out of bed early tomorrow for some Intu-Flow, hip openers and prasra.

P-1 Day-1

2011-09-12T09:18:00.000-04:00

The first day of Paralettes-1 is in the books. As with all the GMB programs the first phase focuses on very basic strength building movements which in the subsequent phases get linked together to first form combo’s (a combination of 2 exercises) and then linking several more advanced versions of the basic exercises into flows. So after reaching the top of the mountain with Rings-1 I’m now down at the bottom again! Nothing super exciting in this first phase but I have looked at all the training video and there is definitely some fun stuff waiting later on.

Today’s Training

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• P-1 Warmup
• P-1 Exercises
• P-1 Cooldown
• Pike to headstand 3X3 second hold followed by Baby Muscle-Up 6-8 reps. 3 sets each
• Handstand facing the wall 3 X 30 to 45 seconds
• Flow Fit L4, 10 rounds at a moderate pace

Heading in to Brooklyn tonight to see Peter, Bjorn and John at Brooklyn Bowl…. might not be able to get myself up at 6AM tomorrow. If so training will wait until the evening.

Friday, here already

2011-09-09T09:13:00.002-04:00

This has been a strange week for me feeling slightly out of whack because of the day off on Monday. Anyway, it’s Friday which means today was the last day for me on the Rings-1 program. Monday I will be starting Paralettes-1 and I will continue with some of the other things I’ve been doing like Flow Fit and working on my handstand and muscle-up. Stay tuned for progress reports via photo’s and video!

Today’s Training

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• Rings-1 Warmup
• Rings-1 Flow sequence
• Pike to Headstand (sets of 3 during the rest period of the rings flow)
• Handstands facing the wall 30-45 seconds followed by baby muscle-ups (sets of 6-8)X 3
• Kettlebell Swings (20kg) for 1 min. followed by rope skipping for 1 min. 20 minutes non-stop

I got a lot in this morning, Friday is usually my toughest training day, I like to go hard knowing I will be taking Saturday and Sunday off. As the cold weather approaches and my work schedule lightens up I will probably tweak things a little but this is how I’ll be training through the end of October most likely.

Rings -1 almost done

2011-09-07T09:21:00.000-04:00

Sorry to say that I only have one day left with R-1:( But I'm looking forward to some new challenges. I will also still be working on that damn muscle-up gradually inching the rings up little by little. I'm also hoping the seminar I am taking with Jim Bathurst next month will help since part of it will be focusing on the MU.

My plan for the next couple of months is to give Paralettes-1 a total run-through. It follows the same M,W,F schedule I've been following with R-1. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be for recovery. I'll also be adding in some extra work (M,W,F) Handstands, Headstands and of course continuing work on the MU. There will be some conditioning work following the P-1 program. Flow-Fit, some KB swings, Mace Swings, maybe some Clubbell work as well. Once winter gets here I'm thinking of going through a couple of months worth of Tac-Fit to really get the conditioning back up to speed.

Today's Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• Rings-1 Warmup
• Rings - 1 Flow
• Baby Muscle ups followed by Pike to headstand (3 sets)
• Handstands facing the wall 3 X 30-45 second holds
• Mace 360's 100 continuous (50R 50L) with short mace

Big progress on the pike to headstand I can now go from pike position (looks like an L-sit but with your head on the mat) to full headstand holding each position for 5 seconds and repeating without touching the floor. I was doing sets of 3 no problem... it's all in the hips, little trick I discovered.

Recovery

2011-09-06T09:07:00.001-04:00

This morning after my Intu-Flow practice I was back at work with deep hip openers. When I got done with my hip work I did a little shin-box test and low and behold I could get both sits bones pretty evenly on the floor. I had been lopsided for quite a while. I remember the first time I tried to do a shin box it seemed damn near impossible because of how tight my hips were. This was around 3 or 4 years ago. I’ve made some good progress but still have lots of room for improvement. I can tell because there are quite a few yoga asanas that I’ve tried to get into that put a ton of stress on my knees (good old pigeon being one). If my hips were fully open I’d be able to get into these poses without that stress. So, I wont be stopping these stretches anytime soon! I’ve been working a bit here and there on my pike to headstand and my handstands facing the wall too.

Labor Day Workout

2011-09-05T11:11:00.001-04:00

I had a big Paleo BBQ last night with a couple of my dive buddies and was up pretty late (for me). Didn’t hit the pillow until around midnight. I slept until about 8:30 this morning and was dragging a little but once I started moving felt much better.

This is my last week of the Rings-1 program in its entirety. I will still be working on the muscle-up but I will be starting P-1 (Paralettes) next week. I’ve got a fresh set of “P-Barz” on the way. I have a set of PVC ones that I made a couple of years ago but I messed up a little on the height, they were a little low to the ground. They worked fine for some things but not good for other exercises. I never really liked the plastic feel of them so I’m looking forward to these wood ones I’ve ordered.

Today’s Practice

• Intu-Flow
• Hip Openers
• Rings-1 warmup
• Rings-1 Flow series
• Flow-Fit L4, 10 rounds s l o w

Rings & Things

2011-09-02T08:58:00.001-04:00

Going back to Wednesday night. I did the Ashtanga yoga class and then took Thursday morning off. In the afternoon I went out on my SUP and had a pretty intense workout first paddling East into the wind and then paddling West against the tide. It was lose lose! My legs were like jello afterwards from all the bouncing around (choppy surface conditions).

Last night I posted my second rings training video. (See previous post). The video should give you a pretty good idea on the type of things you’ll be doing if you decide to check out Rings-1 for yourself.

Todays Practice:

• Intu-flow
• Hip Openers
• Rings-1 Warmup
• Rings-1 Flow sequences
• Kettlebell swings for a minute(20kg.) followed by 1 minute jumping rope – 20 minutes total, non stop

I’m not sure I’ll be able to train at all over the weekend but I’ll probably sneak in some Head and Handstand practice somewhere.

Rings Video

2011-09-01T22:00:00.000-04:00