Topic: Nikkystapf's training Log

[Nicole]

Hello, I've decided to start a training log because I think it will help me keep track of my goals and motivate me to progress. I generally don't like to open up about my training progress or goals generally because I feel horrible when I'm not able to do some of the things other people can. I've found that in the past year I've been training parkour this method has slowed me down and I'm not nearly where I should be because of this. So, instead of continuing my old bad habits, I'm hoping I can change and progress!

I'm going to use the same format my friend Liana used on her training log.

My Goals:
Starting on 2/3/2010. I would like to accomplish these by the Midwest jam!

10-20 Pull-Ups- As of yesterday I was able to do 3. My push strength isn't bad, I can do 30 pushups, but my pull strength is weak. Overall I would like to work on this and be able to increase my arm strength all around. I plan on doing this by using the pull-up bar at school, the weight room, getting a pull-up bar, and just doing them whenever I have the opportunity. I'm going to be working on this with Liana so hopefully we will motivate each other!

150% body weight squat- I currently can do full range of motion squats with people about my size on my back, lol. Working with weights and maybe some of guys in the club I can work up to a higher weight.

Kong over a picnic table!- This goal has been bane of my existence now the entire time I have been training. Because I have been training about a year, everyone I talk to says I should be able to do this. I did do it once, width wise last august, but haven't been able to redo it yet. I know I have the strength for it, I can do similar kongs over mats in a gym, but for some reason I have a huge mental issue when it comes to this. Now, I don't simply have this goal so that I can get these people off my back, I want to be stronger. Training for me isn't necessarily about my skill level, it's about overcoming fear, which I tend to have a lot of. In that respect, I've come a long way this past year, but I still have a long way to go.

What I can do:

30 consecutive pushups
Squats with equal body weight or slightly higher.
Jog three miles
about 10-15 pistol squats each leg
3 pullups

Parkour (ones I can do marked with X)
Lazy vault X
Speed vault X
Thief vault
Kong vault X/ Kinda
Dash vault
Kash vault

Cat (wall grab?) X
Wall run x (not very high though)
Tic Tac x?
Precision x
Crane x

Roll x
Landing x

[Nicole]

Feb.4, 2010/b]

Today was frustrating. Did a bunch of basic conditioning at home, along with konging an over-sized armchair in the living room a few times. I'm hoping if I do this often enough it will help me get my form down. Overall my training has been pretty decent this week. Swimming, weightlifting, basic conditioning, and some skills training.

Tonight was bad though. Went out and tried the kong again. I didn't get it. I'm getting so frustrated with this, I almost want to give up. I mean I've been training a year and what do I have to show for it? Parkour has helped me mentally grow, but physically I'm not any different than when I started. I also really hate when people start telling me what I should be able to do, and how I'm not really trying otherwise I would have it.

Also, it was pretty cold tonight. My hands went numb as I was practicing. Now my left hand hurts, I can't move it right, not sure what I did. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow.

Anyways, I know this was really pessimistic, but I'll be out training again on Saturday.

[TraceuseDS]

I also really hate when people start telling me what I should be able to do, and how I'm not really trying otherwise I would have it.

Ugh, that's terrible! I'm sorry someone said that to you. Everybody progresses at their own rate in parkour. You get it when you get it! I know people who have been training for two years or more who still don't have their kongs down, while other people get them on their first day. It's all about individual growth. As long as you feel you're progressing compared to what YOU could do previously, don't worry about it!

[Nicole]

They didn't mean anything by it I know, just trying to motivate me to be better. It just gets so frustrating! Especially when I can do that same kong a different object of the same size, but for some reason have a mental bock on the table. I am progressing though, and that is whats important!

[mook]

I agree with TraceurDS, I understand that people are trying to motivate you, but they need to understand that maybe you could get over the mental issues in different areas rather than telling you what you should be able to do. It's typical for people to do kongs, but that shouldn't be a measure of your growth and development. After all, you did that precision, which I consider equally, if not more scary and daunting than doing a kong on concrete or picnic table. Maybe if you can get over your mental blocks there first you'll have a better understanding when you approach kongs. I can understand that it's frustrating. I thought I was doing kongs right for a while but then I started having problems again with technique and it wasn't until last Saturday that I got it. Even now when I start thinking about it I get nervous. Maybe we need to just stop thinking about it when we're not training. If kongs aren't working out for you right now, there are plenty of other things to learn and practice in the mean time. I think people need to stop rushing others. I've found that what helps me get out of a nervous rut best is to just stop listening to people for a second and just do something. And don't do it because you think you're supposed to or because others want you to. Do it because YOU feel like it at the moment. If you don't feel like it then do something else until you eventually (it feels like randomly) feel like it. Don't let it get you down. HUG

[Nicole]

2/8/2010
 
Today is a rest day, I kinda need it after yesterday

Yesterday was awesome, FRAP got together and helped a college student film a short story about our club and parkour. Hopefully that turns out really well. Having him there also motivated me to train my best. Unfortunately we couldn't do a ton of skill work, due to all the snow. Did work on my turn vaults and kongs which went well.

While there I managed to to do 5 one armed pushups ( I guess 5 for each arm) and the guy got it on video! I was pretty happy about that, I've really been progressing on my upper body strength. One of my friends is getting me a pull-up bar for my birthday so hopefully my pull strength will soon match my push strength, cause right now they are very uneven. I want to do a muscle up, but that is probably still a ways off.

Tomorrow means more training Lately I've been addicted, I don't really want to do anything else.

[Nicole]

2/10 2010

Today was a decent training day. I ended up getting a little sick so I took yesterday off too, but I made up for it today I think. I also wrote down everything, just so I actually knew what I did exactly. I can think about it but its a lot different seeing it all on paper at the end of the day.

Arms
30 pushups x 2 sets
30 dips
30 elevated pushups x one set
5 one armed pushups (right)
5 one armed pushups (left)

Legs
10 pistols x 2 sets (right)
10 pistol at one set (left)
30 squats x 2 sets
50 calf raises x 2 sets

I did a bunch of crunches with different variations, didn't really count those though

Parkour
about 10 kongs over an over sized chair in my living room, lol
worked on precisions a bit

I'm really hoping that if I keep pushing myself I'll have achieved a lot of my goals by the Midwest jam. Also, can't wait till Saturday, I get to go out with the LPK guys, hopefully get some more training in there too.

[Nicole]

2/17/10

So I haven't been keeping up with this the past few days, had a lot going on, with it being Valentine's weekend and all.
I'll state what I did the past few days:

2/11/10

Basically worked all day, did basic conditioning as in the previous day, plus some extra pistols, and one armed push-ups. Also added in some cardio. Not much, just a bunch of jumping jacks and burpees. Worked on the kongs more, which is my goal so I try to get those in whenever I can.

2/12/10

This Friday I traveled down to Louisville, KY for the weekend. I was really tired that day from training the past few days so I basically slept and ate till I left. I swear I eat enough to feed a pro football player!

2/13/10

This day was awesome! Went out with the Louisville Parkour crew. That is the group I initially started training with so it was nice to see them all again. We met at a park and started tossing ice blocks around as a variation on a game one of the guys thought up. I gave up on that really fast though, my hands just are not ready for sharp jagged blocks of ice thrown at them yet...
We worked on precisions a little after that, then we started running around the city. Just goofing off.

We found a wall to practice on, basically on a hospital complex area, and I konged over it! That was the highlight of that day. I've had such a mental block with things konging over anything solid has definitely been a challenge, but progress is good. I did hit my knee going over it once, but nothing major.

2/14/10

Spent my valentine's day in a gym practicing parkour. My boyfriend is into it even more than I am so that's just what we do. I was vaulting over an object that was as tall as my shoulders. For the other guys thats not too bad, but considering I'm 5'3" thats a big accomplishment for me.

After that I went back home to Indy.

2/15/10

Did nothing, lazy day yet again. Mostly because I had to run errands with my sister and got into a car accident... not fun.

2/16/10

Went to a gym and practiced vaults some more. Also working on a back walkover so I practiced that a bit. Ran around with the fencing people for a bit, then went and lifted weights. Mostly leg work with the weights, my arms are pretty much dead at this point, lol. I did manage do do some more one armed push ups. I can do about 10 on each arm now. I know by midwest I'm going to have bigger arms than some guys out there!

2/17/10

Today has been a lazy day so far. I'm not sure why but I get really tired sometimes to the point where all I want to do is eat and sleep. I just get exhausted. I'm not sure if that means I'm not eating right, or sleeping right, or maybe I'm just pushing myself too much? I've been working on all of these but I want to keep pushing myself as much as possible. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

[Nicole]

2/18/10

Arms

Diamond push ups: 30x 2 sets
Praying monkeys: 2x10 sets
Elevated push ups: 30 x 3 sets

Legs

left pistols: 10 x 2 sets
right pistols: 10 x 2 sets
squats: 30 x 3 sets
calf raises: 50 x 3 sets

Abs

100 crunches: 3 sets

Cardio

jumping jacks: 100 x 3 sets
burpees: 10 x 3 sets

[Nicole]

2/20/2010

Had a birthday party for my niece and nephew, they turned two. So needless to say not a ton of training. I did manage to get some basic conditioning in though.

Pistols: 2 sets of 10 each leg
Squats: 3 sets of 30
One armed push ups: 2 sets of 10 each arm
Diamond push ups: 3 sets of 30
Elevated pushups: 2 sets of 30

2/21/2010

Today was a study day, so I spent the day sitting in the library. Did nothing, though I felt bad about it.

2/22/2010

I meant to go do stuff,but because of phone calls, class, ans homework I wasn't quite able to fit anything in. Lame.

2/23/2010

Awesome day today

First worked on skills in the axillary gym at skill. Practiced my kong and speed at least 50 times at various heights. Just working on getting fluid with it. I tried a dash vault and was successful, Thanks to Tanya! I've never done one before so I was extremely stoked!

After that I went and lifted weights for like an hour I suppose. Did a ton of body weight squats, got one of the guys to show me how to do a dead lift, worked on my pull ups and did some push ups, pretty much showing off at that point, lol. I stopped when I got a charlie horse in my calf,that really hurt, so I figured I better call it quits. I'm pretty sore and tired now, so overall a pretty good day!

[Nicole]

3/1/2010

So, I haven't been writing stuff often, but I don't really think anybody's reading this anyway so I suppose writing don my training has ended up being more for my benefit, lol.

Today was awesome! It was the first halfway decent weather we have had in a long time, and by that I mean it was 40 degrees and cloudy. So I took full advantage of the opportunity and jogged about three miles, and did about an hour of outdoor pk skills practice which included wall runs, precisions, and cats. then went inside and worked on some vaults and lifted. I felt like a kid at recess, lol. I'm so glad the weather is finally starting to clear up enough for me to train outside, I hate being inside all the time. When it gets warmer I'm going to start barefoot training!
The conditioning has been good for my overall skills, I saw major improvements on stuff I had trouble with last year now that I've gotten stronger.

[Nicole]

June 16

It has been a very long time since i've updated this blog and this goes without good reason I think. I've been very busy focusing on school, work, and planning the midwest jam so this kinda got put on the sidelines for a while.

There have been some major improvements since the last time I posted though! Always nice to have I can now kong over a picnic table! That was my major goal from the beginning I was so happy when I finally got it. Now I'm working on konging it longways and I'm about 3/4th of the way there. Hopefully I'll have it done by midwest but well see.

My distance running has improved tremendously. I can now run about 8 miles consistently. Hopefully I'll have a half marathon by the end of the summer, thats the goal anyway.

I feel as if I a'm way more comfortable in who I am and my abilities. I'm not nearly as scared as I used to be and the barriers are not there like they were. I was able to go to Beast coast this year and it was awesome training with everybody because I felt like I wasn't just on the sidelines watching I was able to keep up

Traing as of late has been rather difficult to sneak in unfortunatly. I've been working a lot and going through some emotional stuff (breakup) which always seems to hinder my progress I'm on vacation right now and I hope when I get back I can start serious training again. I was working on weighted pistols by holding a 20lb baby as weight and that seemed to be pretty challenging so my next goal is like ten of those. I need to work on pushups again because I'm backsliding on those slightly.

Alrighty, well more to come later

[Nicole]

6-24-10

So this week has been pretty amazing as far as breaking barriers goes. I've managed to do a front handspring, which is something I never thought I would be able to accomplish! I never really thought about flipping and tricking much, I mean it looks cool but it really isn't efficient so it wasn't my main focus in training. I do however have a slight obsession with Harley Quinn so I thought flipping around like her would be pretty nifty!

The front handspring has come pretty easy, and now I can do a front flip on a trampoline, hoping to be able to do that on the ground soon. I wanna start working on back handsprings but not really sure on the progression. The forward motion comes much more naturally to me than the back so I'm not sure how to go about it.

Anyways, hopefully I'll get more training done this weekend, some more progression to report!

[wolf555]

See amazing things happen on my birthday (June 24th)

[Nicole]

8-15-10

So I haven't been updating this regularly, been a lot going on, mostly good! The Midwest Jam was amazing, so much fun getting to see and train with all of my friends again. I can't wait for the Ohio Valley Jam next weekend, should be a lot of fun. It is always nice to go back home and train with those guys, they are amazing. The had an article in the local paper The Courier Journal today, which somehow I got included in. I'm glad they are getting lots of exposure and I hope their jam is a success.

Anyways, I've been training a lot lately. Went to Monticello, IN and trained with John Conway and the WI boys. I saw a lot of improvements from the last time I was there. That always nice

Went to the gym yesterday and lifted weights which was fun. I can do about a 95lbs squat, which isn't great but it will get better soon hopefully. Also I can do about 7 pull ups, which isn't terrible. While I was there I found out I only have a 7.5% body fat, which I think is way to low from what I've been reading. Guess I'll have to try and eat more...

Then went and had pk training and did some things I had no idea I could do. Found out I have like a 8ft precision distance which is pretty exciting for a girl who is 5'2". I then tried to front flip on the grass, which ended with my butt being sore lol.

Well hopefully I'll post again soon, lol.

[Chris Salvato]

7.5% bodyfat is dangerously low for a female.  You would have known something is up because you would have stopped menstruating months ago and probably would have gone to your doctor.  I am thinking that the reading was inaccurate and you should get it done again.  7 pullups is pretty good, too, actually.

[Nicole]

10-25-10

So this past weekend was pretty sweet as far as training goes. I traveled down to Louisville, Ky for their regional jam. It was nice to be able to go down and train in the spots that I started training in and see how much I've improved.

We arrived late Friday night around 11:30pm and got to have fun in the gymnastics gym. Its pretty awesome to see how far I've come as far as flips are concerned. I can do a front walk over and a front hand spring. I've backslid on my front flip slightly. Instead of landing on my feet in a crouch like I was I'm landing on my butt. I know I'm not jumping up enough and tucking but it seems tat I'm scared to jump up and tuck.

Also I'm starting a stretching program to increase my flexibility. I believe that leg and especially back flexibility will help me with flipping and walk overs. Right now my flexibility is terrible.

Saturday had a slightly chaotic beginning. The main organizer of the event woke up about an hour late so he had not contacted anyone. After everything was straightened out and he was woken up we played around in the gym a little more because it was raining. After it cleared up we went downtown for the afternoon. Later that night we went back to the gym and I started learning Muay Thai.I know how to jab and punch, and I know the proper stance. I practiced on a punching bag so now my knuckles are now scabbed up.

Sunday we traveled early to the falls of the Ohio, which is an awesome place to train. Its mostly rocks and precisions and the fact that I feel comfortable in them helps a lot. I was able to clear gaps that previously I would not have tried. In the early afternoon we went back to the gym for a cookout and hung out. I worked more on my to step take off, and distance kongs. I was able to figure out some of the things that I had been doing wrong and hopefully the next time I train I'll improve.

It amazing how far I've come in the past year and a half of training. I want to make a video soon just so I can see where I'm at and have a marker for future progress. PK has given me the ability to overcome obstacles in my life and the strength to make it through a lot of hard times I've had this year. I hope to be able to inspire other women to become strong and that is why I'm going to be starting as a personal trainer.

Anyways, I'm done rambling about the amazing things pk does for me. And Chris, I do have a lot of health issues, that I'm hoping gaining some weight might solve, That's just gonna be really hard because I eat a ton just to keep up with all the activity and gaining weight has always been hard for me.

[FreeStyleFox]

Saying Hi!!  Keep up the work!

[Chris Salvato]

Anyways, I'm done rambling about the amazing things pk does for me. And Chris, I do have a lot of health issues, that I'm hoping gaining some weight might solve, That's just gonna be really hard because I eat a ton just to keep up with all the activity and gaining weight has always been hard for me.

I see.  Best of luck.

What do you eat that is a ton, exactly?  If your BF is that low and you need to get more calories, that shouldn't be hard to do if you plan the meals out in advance, no matter how difficult they are - unless you have a tapeworm or something.

[Shyam Subramanian]

Cool stuff!  You've made tons of progress from your first post, nice work.

About konging the picnic table lengthwise, try to kash it first.  After that what I did was got a piece of tape and put it a half foot further up the table each time.  Also, an important tip is: DON'T BE AFRAID.  Just dive as far as you can, the worst thing that could happen is that you hit your knees.  Trust me, it hurts a lot less than you'd think it would haha.

Hope I helped (but probably not, sorry if it all sounded like bs lol)!  Good luck, and I'll be following this for sure