Topic: Shiroboi's Journey to Parkour Enlightenment

[shiroboi]

Hello all,

I'm just starting and would like to document some of my progress and share some of my experiences as a novice. If I do or say something you don't like, heres the place to let me know so I can correct and improve myself.

About me:

My name is Jesse Davis, I just turned 29 last month. I have a bachelors in Computer Art and I work in the sign industry as tech support. My hobby though is doing illustrations and comic art. I also made a video game called Charred Dirt. http://www.charreddirt.com I've been married for 2 years now to a Thai girl and I also speak Japanese and have been to Japan twice and Thailand once. I do consider myself pretty international for an american guy. I'm about to buy my first house this month so I'll be moving soon.

My background in physical activities:

I was always a sort of average kid, only acceling in situps in elementary school. Played Soccer/football, basketball and did gymnastics. Again, i was never great at any of those. Ran track in high school. Did hurdles and triple jump. Wasn't always last place but I was never super fast. I gained alot of flexibility from doing the hurdles though. In college I played full contact roller hockey in a league. I was actually pretty good at that, I love to skate and I'm fast on roller blades. I also dabbled in Martial arts with limited experience in Tae Kwon Do and Aikido. I can roll well. Currently, I'm taking one on one kung fu lessons with my friend whos an instructor once a week.

[shiroboi]

Saturday, June 10th, 2006
Parkour Training Week 1:

I used to be in good shape but right now I'm 6 feet tall (I think 180cm or so) and I weigh about 204lbs (92kg).  So even though my body distributes weight well and I look like I weigh much less, I still have a challenge with getting lighter so I can start performing jumps.

This week I realized that I needed to do some serious workouts if I was to lose weight and gain muscle enough to start doing parkour.  So my journey hasn't really even begun yet.  Every day, I get to work early and walk laps around my office.  Im not sure how much fat i'm burning but it seems to be helping at least with my overall energy level.  I have a sedentary desk job so I don't get to move around alot, hence my weight gain.  I come home everyday and I run until I'm about to throw up.  I've been trying to eat better too, getting things that are low in fat and calories and trying to work more fruits and vegetables into my diet.

Yesterday, I wanted to test my basic parkour skills to see where I was at.    My standing lunge jump was a woeful 2Meters.  I was expecting much more but I guess when you're hauling around that much extra weight, it really affects your jumps.  I tried swinging from tree branches.  The old gymnastics training kicked in and I didn't feel like I was doing so horrible at that.  I vaulted over a few small railings which seemed to be no problem.  I tried to go through a railing and kindof strained a muscle in my back which was rather embarassing.  I tried doing a cat vault over some wooden railroad ties made into a wall.  I felt like it would have gone fairly well had it not been wet.  I slipped and almost took a tumble.  I'm also having issues with what I call "Clutch Leg" from driving a manual transmission car though constant stop and go traffic for 2 hours each day.  It really bothers me when I run with a nagging pain right in the shin.

This morning I dropped wifey off at a building to take a test and I needed to eat something. I was in an urban area so I parked a distance away so I could walk farther.  Along the way I was walking along curbs, jumping over things and it hit me that this whole parkour mindset of finding my own way through the urban landscape was starting to take hold.  I got a bagle and fruit smoothie at a Dunkin Doughnuts which frankly, is amazing considering that Doughnuts are a huge weakness of mine.  It was neat because I got to sit next to a father and his 3 year old boy who were on their way to a pool party.  I like kids and I felt like I wouldn't have had that experience if I wasn't on my parkour training kick.  (There were other places much closer to my car).

To all you younger guys out there.  Relish your youth.  Doing this crap gets exponentially harder when you are about to turn 30.


As always, I welcome any comments about my training and/or suggestions on how to get better.   I'll post again next week.

[shiroboi]

Thursday, June 15th, 2006
Parkour Training Week 2:
Weight: 204 lbs

I got sick this week.  I normally have a good immune system but when the wife gets sick, she gets me sick.  Despite feeling like crap, I just medicate myself and then train anyway.  At this time, I probably have a week of solid training under my belt.  I don't feel so rusty anymore.  Granted, I'm nowhere near the shape I want to be in, but i don't feel weak and sluggish anymore.  Every day I run a little bit farther,  I don't get out of breath so quick and find that after my run, I recover better and am still able to do some more exercises without feeling like I'm going to throw up.  My strength is getting better too.  I was able to do several chin ups yesterday  which was an improvement over last week.  I also finally executed a nice vault over a railing which felt pretty good.  I also worked on a small course in my back yard.  running, climing a tree, jumping down, swinging around a pole, kicking off another tree and back.  I also tried running up a wall and seeing how much height I can get.  I seem to be slipping.  I have a new pair of nike running shoes and they seem like they are pretty good.  I imainge its a problem with my form.  I'll keep working at that.

My weight is frustrating me.  Yesterday, a kid yelled out the window, "Lose some Goddamn weight!"  Its not like I'm a huge fatass or anything.  I tried not to let it get to me and I'll keep workin on it.   My weight has fluctuated but I've had a hard time getting it to go down.  I'm assuming its because I'm building alot of muscle to replace the fat.  I am looking and feeling better so I suppose I should just keep spirits high and keep trying.  The weight will come off evenutally.
Today for lunch, I think i'm going to walk to boston market to get a salad as its my mom/sisters birthday tonight and I dont' anticipate having time for a full workout.

[shiroboi]

Friday, June 16th, 2006
Parkour Training Week 2:
Weight: 203 lbs

I'm feeling a bit discouraged.  I think I have a shin splint on my left leg.  Even though I walked a good bit yesterday, I took a break from exercising in the evening and had dinner with my family.  I walked this morning and felt fine.   I went for my normal 1-2 mile jog and I tried to stay on the grass to lessen the impact to my legs.  I got a resonable workout in but had to cut it short do to pain in my shins and my left hip.  Damn I feel old.  It seems as though my weight is trumping me again.  When I run my foot takes the initial impact and then my weight shifts down and I feel a second impact.  This is probably not a problem with lighter people but enough body fat makes running not so fun.  I need to keep exercising but its clear that this type of running will defeat the purpose if my legs get any worse.  I think tomorrow, I'll try rollerblading as It is a low impact exercise that still works the legs pretty good.  I wont give up.

[shiroboi]

Thursday, June 22nd, 2006
Parkour Training Week 3:
Weight: 201 lbs

Monday I saw my Grandparents from florida and that took all night so I didn't do much training.  Tuesday, I took my wife to the house of my martial arts instructor and he gave us some lessons.  My wife did pretty good.  It was nice to train with her.  We both got a real good workout.  At the end, I did some katas with a live katana outside of his house.  It wasn't sharpened but I was still expecting people to call the cops on us with me swinging around a real polished sword.  My kicks are improving, they have alot of power now.  I guess half that is proper technique, but If I ever kicked a person, I shudder to think about the result.  Back to parkour.  Last night, I did some rollerblading.  I would have gotten a better cardio workout but my legs were sore from all the squats I did in martial arts training the night before.  I still had some energy, so I practiced jumping over railings, scaling trees and rolls.  My wife asked me if I was a monkey.  This morning, I feel good but sore.  The weight is slowly starting to come down and my body is getting noticably better.  I've been eating this Kashi ceral which I've aptly dubbed "Shit 'till lunch" Crunch.  Its like super high in fiber.  Last night got out of control and i was like farting all night.  My wife made me stop eating the cereal.  I'll go with the honey bunches of oats for awhile.  I've been eating alot of fruit too.

[shiroboi]

Wednesday, June 28th, 2006
Parkour Training Week 4:
Weight: 201-204 lbs

Thought it was time for an update.  It rained all weekend and monday so it really cut down on my training time.  I didn't go to kung fu last night but instead stayed home and did my normal kung-fu stretches and workout with my wife at home.  I definitely got a good workout and I feel great today.  My strength is definitely up.  Sometimes I carry my wife to bed, she likes it.  Normally I was straining to pick her up and she's not that heavy.  Last night it was no problem.  I worked on my jumps a little bit and I hope my verticle is getting better.  My standing jump still sucks but i'm not so bad at running jumps.  If it stays sunny, I plan for a good parkour workout tonight.  I weighed myself last night and I was 204 pounds.  This morning, I weighed 201 so my weight does fluctuate a few pounds within a few hours.  Still feeling better and I have more energy.  I'll post later.

[shiroboi]

Friday, June 30th, 2006
Parkour Training Week 4:
Weight: 201-204 lbs

Well, didnt' exercise yesterday but its okay because I did so much moving and driving and all that I was just exhausted.  Just got my new house yesterday so I'll be devoting my time to that.  I'm hoping that next week or so I can resume my normal excercise schedule once we get moved in.  Found out that I can do pullups underneath my deck so thats cool.  Peace.