Anybody miss me?? 

I'm back from camping! Pretty exciting... Not as much exercise as I was hoping for, seeing as there were no parents ( ) and we had a four-wheel-drive pickup with us.  Lots of driving and not as much walking, although there was still a lot.

Basically, the focus that week was on overcoming fear. Or at least, continuing to forward even though you're too scared to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other. Like walking little trails along the side of a very steep hill that you just know you're going to fall over. And balance.

Did a little rock climbing. We were camped above a stream that was full of boulders, so for two days did a lot of rock hopping, working on precisions kind of. My shoes are very worn down and don't grip at all on wet rocks, so I didn't do very much work on jumping far, but rather worked on landing in such a way that my feet wouldn't slide out from under me, and balance. I have horrible trouble landing and not continuing to move forward. I just lwatched Ozzie's precision jump tutorial, and that ought to help a lot!

Tiny bit of rock climbing on a rocky cliff side thing over the side of the stream. That was a LOT scarier than I expected, but even though I wanted to  turn around and find a different way over the obstacle (we kids were traveling down stream from our campsite to see how far down we could get on the rocks without getting wet or dunked), I made myself move forward, and I did it without falling off and breaking my neck like I knew I would!

Not as much kong work as I hoped for. The picnic table at our campsite was very rickety, and tipped over if there wasn't the same weight on both sides. Along one of the trails though, there were some concrete tables that I did a little work on. I got to where I could jump my feet up from the bench to the table top, same level as my hands. I've never been to do that! Banged my shins up a lot though in the process, and they are still very sore. After all the banging from jumping from bench to table, I didn't care to try jumping from the ground to table top yet...

We found a cool spot with a wooden pole fence that we tried to balance and vault over a little. I attempted and few vaults, but they all turned into sitting on the pole and swinging my legs over.  I managed to balance a tiny bit, but the rails were all loose, and I couldn't keep my balance. The pole kept turning in the mortice and dumping me off. My brothers had no problem walking along the top, and doing various vaults. I felt very inadequate.

I was very happy to find that my endurance for running uphill has greatly improved since last camping trip! And QM came in very handy for walking up really steep places!

The toilet buildings in the camping areas were ideal for cat work. When I first started, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I worked for half-an-hour or so running up and trying to land in a cat hang. To get to the wall I had to run through a puddle, and my shoes wouldn't stick to the wall at all. After many, many failed attempts, I quit until the puddle dried up. When I went back to try again, the first time my feet stuck to the wall, and that shocked me so much I forgot to grab on with my hands and almost landed on my head. I couldn't seem to get the hang of getting my feet to stay up and gripping the ledge with my hands. I tried grabbing the corner of the ledge opposite me, but after slamming my wrists painfully onto the nearest corner a few times, decided that was a bad idea. We had to go home Tuesday to get more water and other supplies, so I checked out Urban Current's cat tutorial, and that helped alot. We switched campsites that day, and the toilet building for the new site was newer, and painted with high-gloss paint. I had a terrible time getting my feet to stay up. Every time I had to use the toilet, I spent a few minutes trying to step into a cat. I got to where I could hold one for 2 or 3 seconds, but it could take a while to actually get into one to hold it. (Does that whole paragraph make any sense? So sorry if it doesn't...)

That's all I can remember from the camping trip. There was a lot of other cool stuff, but it's not Parkour related. Now I'm home, and I seem to have lost my drive to practice. I just pulled out of another week long depression phase (I really hate those, and wish I knew how to avoid them). We're in trouble with the neighbors again, and we have to go through our stuff and get rid of a lot more.

Hopefully, I can get back to work outs. I know I really need to work on upper body strength, but I'm frustrated that I seem to be stuck, getting no where.

Yes, I've been slacking off lately. 1, I've been busy, and 2, I've been struggling with lack of energy and depression (probably connected).

Figured it's time to look at my goals I had when I started and re-evaluate things:


1: Not completed yet. Can't do a pullup, but I can hold myself up for longer than a second!

2: My squats are WAY better. Before, my knees would hurt real bad if I did more than a few squats, but I've learned better form, and it even feels good to do squats!

3: Eh... I don't know where I am on this. I don't think I'm there yet. Haven't done as much work on running lately as I would like.

4: I think this was not a specific enough goal. I accomplished the main thing I had in mind when I made that goal: to jump from the edge of the playground at the park onto the bench. That's no problem now. Bigger fish to fry!

5: Not anywhere closer to this than when I started. I think I'll scratch this goal for now, and just concentrate on conditioning enough that if a miracle happens and I can make it to a jam next year (crosses all fingers) I'll be able to learn stuff there.

New/Updated goals:

1. Complete 1 pullup.
2. 10 full-body, elbows-in pushups.
3. Run 400 meters.
4. 15 consecutive box jumps onto the side of one of our concrete planters. I think that's 21", or knee height for me.
5. Get a gym membership so I can do some of the weightlifting aspects, like deadlifts, cleans, snatches, etc. (I don't really know what those things are, but I understand I should be able to do them...)

Been sooo tired and blah feeling lately. Monday went to GNC and found an "Ultra-Woman Multivitamin Energy Pak" (or something like that). Went ahead and got it. Been taking it every day, and I think it is helping! The last two eight-hour cooking shifts that would normally have me feeling totally dead by the end, have almost been enjoyable, and I've had a little energy to spare! Not jump up and down energy, but energy none-the-less!

Haha, gotta love the name! Just reading that makes you feel more motivated, doesn't it?


A good trick for measuring distances w/o a tape measure: Find a mark on the ground (or make one) before you start. Jump from the mark, then turn around and walk back to it placing the heel of one foot right up against the toe of the other all the way there. Count the number of "shoes" it takes. Measure your shoe when you get home, and multiply the length of your shoe by the number of steps you took. For instance, my training shoes happen to be exactly 10" long. So I know that if I take 6 heel-to-toe steps, I've jumped 6 x 10", which is 60", or 5'.

Wednesday, November 4

Rest day, dealing with my painful toes. Second one possibly broken.

Thursday, November 5

Still some day left, so I may get an actual workout in, but I HAVE to report that I actually got a headstand today!! I just haven't been able to do planche or handstand work because of my wrist, but I thought maybe headstands would get me practice balancing, and a little weight on my wrist. Been working on them for a few weeks, and actually got a tripod today for 15 seconds! Woohoo! Still ended up with a burning wrist, but hopefully it's a getting stronger pain, not a messing up pain...

Thanks Carolyn! I never think of ice when it hurts... not sure why.

I've been letting procrastination get the upper hand lately, and have not been posting. I have, however, been working out. Nothing structured, just GTG stuff.

I read Georges Hebert's book, and I'm trying his simple arm and leg exercises every day. I can already tell I'm getting higher on my jumps, just by simply jumping every other day! Those tuck jumps though, I still can't figure them out!

Went to the chiropractor on Friday. He re-set my wrist. He was upset that it was so loose and sloppy. I'm not to do anything that bends it backwards for two weeks. Pretty discouraged about this. Will I never be able to use it properly? This has been going on for 9 months now!

I worked more on headstands, but although I can get a tripod easily enough, lifting my legs up is another matter! Going to have to put them on hold though, because of my wrist.

I started working hard on pushups again. I seem to have lost the progress I was making, and now I'm having to do them on my knuckles so I don't hurt my wrist.

I've quit negative and jumping pullups for now because I don't feel that I'm improving, and I'm not really GTG either, because I'm sick of them. For now, I'm leaning the ladder agianst the roof of the house, and messing around on the underside of it. Hanging from it and climbing up and down the underside feels like it's working my arms more than the pullup stuff was. And it's making me conquer a few more mental blocks. I seem to have an AWFUL lot of those!

Friday, November 13

Worked on precisions. Discovered that the extra set of tires that came with the boys' truck are perfect for precision practice! When laying on it's side, a tire measures 12 inches high. I can jump from tire edge to tire edge, and it's about the right height to get me past a little of my mental block about jumping distances that aren't flat on the ground (is that making any sense :\ ).

8 x 4'   working on tucking (who knew it could be so hard to tuck?)
6 x 4'8"
5 x 5'   First two were good, next two were terrible (I was feeling really shaky at that point. Not sure why), last was OK.

Confident physically that I could go farther. It's really not hard to jump 5' at all. Mentally, even though I know I can make the jump at 5', I still have fear.

Goal for next time: 5'4"

Beginning of the week was awful. Stuff going on at work, the politics of employers vs. employees, etc. Probably some of the worst days of my life, and definitely the worst days of work!

Things are looking up though, and I've been very busy.

Tuesday was the worst of the worst, and I didn't have any time or energy to do any work out. Plenty tired though!

Wednesday was better, and after work started moving a friend. Some lifting.

Thursday, spent almost the whole day helping with the move. Lots of lifting, climbing in and out of the back of the truck, running, walking long distances with heavy stuff, etc.

Friday, today, December 4, did a twenty-minute work-out in my new training area!!

Warmed up with arm circles, body twist things, and 10 air squats.

11 high knees

11 butt kicks

10 squats with an iron drop bar. I don't know how much it weighs... 10 lbs? Held it behind my neck. I don't know what those are called. Also did them in facing against the trailer so that I would keep my chest up, and lower back arched. Much harder!

2 squats with the bar resting on the top of my arms, arms crossed in front of my. Shaky legs my then.

Messed around on the under side of the ladder. Problem with it is that you have to wear gloves. Or at least, I do, otherwise the grip stuff on it tears my hands really bad. It hurts bad enough through the gloves! Did monkey bars (not very well) and some leg lifts. Forgot to count. >.<

Did several 5' precision. Wasn't 'till the last two that I managed to stick the landings OK. I KNOW I can hit it fine, but I still have to fight with myself mentally. If I know I can do it, and I HAVE done it many times, WHY do I still hesitate and have doubts? Erk!

Jumped a few times from 1 tire height to 2 tire height. Took a little adjusting, because the top tire likes to slip off the bottom one. Then, I was so afraid of mising it and falling backwards that I kept over-jumping, and landing on my heels. Tried to go back and do a little more precision work, but it was too dark to see.

Did a little cat hang practice from the trailer. Felt a lot more comfortable with it than I did when camping. Of course, I was kind of cheating on the little ledges that stick out on the wall. I felt like I could probably attempt a leap over to the fence behind me, but it's a really flimsy screen fence, and I don't know that it can hold me. :\

I'm going to try to include pictures of my little area:

Ok, going to try those pictures again. They're not really important, but I NEED to figure out how to share pics.

Here we go:





Forgot to mention above that mom got me a 10lb. bag of rice, and I've been working my wrists in it.

Monday, December 7:

Winter has FINALLY really come! It's been way too warm the last few weeks (70-80 F) to possibly be winter, but last night it got to 19 F. I went out to exercise, but it was pretty cold. Guess I'll have to move back inside again!

Warmed up with arm circles, wrist circles, hip circles, knee circles, ankle circles, etc.

Started squats with the bar on my back (are those back squats?). Got 5 done, but my knees were feeling wonky. Did a hesitant 3 more, but I think my form was wrong and I couldn't figure out why.

For fun, just practiced holding the bar out at arms length until my arms were shaky three times. I don't know if it's really worth anything.

Tried to do monkey-bars across the ladder, but my wrist was hurting and it was freezing cold, plus I didn't feel warmed up anymore, so I stopped there.

I can't wait to get back to pushup work. I figure I'll give my wrist one more week of light duty, and then see about putting more weight on it.

Got restocked on fish oil yesterday. I haven't taken any for a few weeks. Hoping it will help with joint repairs!

Oh no! I can't figure out how to do it right either. But try this: When you're posting a reply, look down below the box where you're typing. There should be some blue letters that you can click on, "Additional Options..." Click there, and then use the "Choose File" button to attach the pictures. It's not quite the same, but I couldn't figure out how to post them within the message either the last time I tried.

Oops! Been almost a whole month since I recorded anything! 

Really intense at work on December 11 and 12, preparing for a public, open house buffet thingy. Got the flu on the 13th. I can't remember ever being so sick with a flu before, and it took me forever to get better. Around New Years had 1 good day when I was better, and felt really good, but had a cold starting the next day, and I'm just about better from that.

I did not work for two weeks when I was sick, which turned out to be really good for my wrist. It was totally painless, and much stronger when I went back to work, which was awesome. I haven't had a day off since I started back at work, and it's beginning to wear on my wrist again. Anyway, this means no pushups, headstands, or anything that puts much weight on my wrist for the last month, and since it's so sore and fatigued feeling, I don't know about putting more stress on it yet than it's getting at work...

I've still been working out when I can. I've added weight to my squats with buckets of gravel hanging on the end of the drop bar. I keep meaning to bring a scale out to weigh them, but procrastination reigns supreme, so I have no idea how much I'm lifting.  It's not as much as I'd like, and I know I could easily handle more.

Been trying to add deadlifts to my exercises, using the same drop bar with buckets on the end. Problem is, the buckets are too tall, so I don't really have to squat down very much to reach the bar. I've tried standing on the tires, but that makes me too much taller, and interferes with bucket placement. Also having all kinds of trouble keeping the buckets from slipping off the ends, and keeping the weight even on each side.

L-sits are another thing. I'm too fat to pick myself off the floor with my hands, so I got parallette (sp?)  things to help (and take stress off my wrist), but I still can't get my legs off the floor.  Putting them on upside-down bee nucs (10"), I can just barely lift my heels off the floor.

That's all I can remember to report atm. I'm going to try to get back into a habit of recording my progress again. >.<

EDIT: Just wanted to put on the record, it used to be that even after 6 hours of working, I would be so dead after work, that I couldn't do anything after dragging myself home but plop in a chair and fall asleep. This last month, even being sick, after working six hours I have plenty of energy left! Example: Yesterday I did a lot of random lunges and squats throughout the morning, got called into work and walked there, running about a third of the way because I was late, rushed through the 6 hour shift, did lunges across almost half the building while waiting for mom to pick me up (I'm not allowed to walk by myself in the dark), and didn't feel terribly tired! Beginning of last year, if I did a day like that, I would be an exhausted, sobbing mess by the end of the day.

Last I posted, I was excited about getting through work and still being able to do stuff afterward.

The day I posted ran around the building at work 1 1/2 times. I've heard it said that 1 time = 1/4 mile. I haven't measured that for myself, but if it's true, then I may have met my goal of running 1/4 mile! I tried running with music that time, and that helped a lot with my breathing issue because I breathed in time to the music.

The day after that, Friday, I broke down at work. I was dreadfully tired, and ended up almost passing out, crying, and making a general nuisance of myself. I was sent home after two hours.

I worked Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, after working in the morning, we did two chapel services then the two oldest boys and I left for Sacramento.

The boys did tons of work for Grandma and an aunt, but Monday and Tuesday were pretty much rest days for me.

Wednesday we came home. I was feeling really good at that point and really wanted to try attending a jam that I knew was happening in Sacto that day, but I couldn't remember where or when, so... we just came home.

Ended up sick Thursday and Friday. Saturday was a good day, but no workout.

Got called at 4:30 am Sunday morning to take care of my great aunt because she was throwing up, had passed out and didn't want to go to the hospital. She had a 24 hour stomach thing, and that was a looooong day. Spent the night and came home Monday morning around 11.

Felt awesome Monday. Worked on wall plyos and box jumps. The trailer is really great because you can adjust the height by fractions of inches!

I did 10 wall plyos, placing my hands quite a ways in on the trailer. I need to measure that next time and  work to bring my hands closer to the edge. The jump was 19" high.

Last time I really worked on box jumps was in July!!  I didn't realize it'd been that long!
With the trailer set at 19 1/4 inches I did 3 sets of 3 box jumps. Last time I worked those I mentioned that I couldn't seem to do them without bouncing a little first. I didn't have any trouble with that this time, although the jump was 2" shorter than last time. I need to work a little harder on my landings. I noticed that I'm landing on the inside of my right foot. That's probably not a good thing.

Did several inverted rows. Forgot to count. Again. 

Tuesday, Jan. 19, was sick with whatever my aunt had. Throwing up all morning, and feeling generally terrible. My back and shoulders ached so bad! I guess that was from the inverted rows. Managed to hold food down by supper time and drag myself to a training meeting at work.

Wednesday, Jan. 20. Pretty tired and weak feeling, probably from yesterday. I'm trying to GTG on inverted rows, but generally failing. My shoulders were feeling better today, but after only 10 rows I'm aching pretty bad again. I'm not sure if I should just keep going, or if I should stop. I'm going to attempt a few more, but no more than that.