Topic: Big D's (Don Morrow) Training Log

[Donald Morrow]

Well, just starting parkour, I figure I should start one of these to show my progression. Since I am just starting out, my weights and stuff are not where I would like them to be, but you gotta start somewhere right?

First, I'd like to set some goals. They are very simple, and I'll add new ones as I go.

Goals
- 20 Complete Pushups
- One Mile in less than 10 min.
- 5 Complete Pull ups/Chin Ups
- Silent Landings - May 5, 2011
- Non-painful and in control Rolls - May 5, 2011
- Lazy Vault Smoothly
- Precision Jumping Comfortably.


Long Term Goals
- Back flip (Off ledge)


Tuesday: April 19, 2011
Tuesdays I have private lessons for Tuba (Pretty rocking instrument, I know:P) so this will be considered my light day.

Run/Walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes followed by some stretching. (Snowing today, so no outdoors for me)
Worked Rolls in the basement on my carpet. Laid some tape out on the floor so I have a guide to follow to get the straightest roll possible.
Worked on simple jumps up the stairs, just working legs. Did this in a pyramid fashion (1 step, 2 steps, 3 steps, 2 steps, 1 step, repeat)

That is it for today.
Any input on my goals and ways to help me achieve them, as well as anything else, is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Big D

[Andy Keller]

I like your avatar.

[Donald Morrow]

Haha, Gee I wonder why. I definitely don't mind it though, oddly enough.

[Joe Brock]

- 20 Complete Pushups
- One Mile in less than 10 min.
- 5 Complete Pull ups/Chin Ups
- Silent Landings
- Non-painful and in control Rolls

Any input on my goals and ways to help me achieve them, as well as anything else, is greatly appreciated.

Alright Big D...you asked for input, so here goes step 1.
-20 Push-ups.  How many can you currently do?  If it's at least 5, then "grease the groove" to get more endurance on them.  If not, then I'll see about a helping you with a progression into them.
-1 Mile in less than 10 minutes.  (SPRINT...trust me on this.  Sprint for all you're worth, then walk, then sprint, then walk, then sprint...you see where I'm going with this, right?)
-5 Complete Pull-ups/Chin-Ups (same questions as Push-ups...I need to know where you are to help you figure out where the next step is.)
-Silent Landings (ohhhh........practice)
-non-painful and in control rolls.  DRILL THEM, every day.  Roll like you're training to be Sonic the Hedgehog.  Watch Tutorials, read up on the physics of them, study them until you have a holistic understanding of body mechanics.  There's no better way than doing them.  Start somewhere softer, and then move on to concrete.

Hope that helps.

[Jordan Strybos]

To elaborate on Joe's "Watch Tutorials" suggestion, here are links to my three favorite roll tutorials:

Roll Tutorial - Parkour
Advanced Parkour Roll Tutorial - UCC
Advanced Parkour Roll Tutorial - SkyNative

[Donald Morrow]

Alright Big D...you asked for input, so here goes step 1.
-20 Push-ups.  How many can you currently do?  If it's at least 5, then "grease the groove" to get more endurance on them.  If not, then I'll see about a helping you with a progression into them.
-1 Mile in less than 10 minutes.  (SPRINT...trust me on this.  Sprint for all you're worth, then walk, then sprint, then walk, then sprint...you see where I'm going with this, right?)
-5 Complete Pull-ups/Chin-Ups (same questions as Push-ups...I need to know where you are to help you figure out where the next step is.)
-Silent Landings (ohhhh........practice)
-non-painful and in control rolls.  DRILL THEM, every day.  Roll like you're training to be Sonic the Hedgehog.  Watch Tutorials, read up on the physics of them, study them until you have a holistic understanding of body mechanics.  There's no better way than doing them.  Start somewhere softer, and then move on to concrete.

Hope that helps.

To elaborate on Joe's "Watch Tutorials" suggestion, here are links to my three favorite roll tutorials:

Roll Tutorial - Parkour
Advanced Parkour Roll Tutorial - UCC
Advanced Parkour Roll Tutorial - SkyNative

To both, thanks for the input. The vids and the advice will definitely be put to good work.

Joe,

Currently, I am in-capable of doing more than 1 or 2 push ups because I just finished healing from a dislocated shoulder. I literally have no strength left in my left shoulder. So I am hoping to get back to where I was, which is 20 push ups.

I have seen numerous people say sprinting for working on running, and I will definitely give that a try.

Going back to the shoulder, I can do none. However, before my shoulder injury, I could only do 1, so it is a very big goal for me

Landings and Rolls: Between vids, input, and my body telling me what works and what doesn't, I have already a noticed a huge difference just today. My rolls are a lot smoother, not quite straight and my shoulder gets sore, but much better.

Again thanks. I love everybody on here, such a friendly community

[Donald Morrow]

April 20, 2011

Today I worked on rolls again. I rolled to the point I was dizzy. Lost count around 100....
I went for a nice run, trying to get some sort of endurance back in me. Approx 1.5 miles
Very light weight lifting, worked upper body. Consisted of Knee Push-ups (10x3), 40 lbs Dumb bell curls (8x3), and 25 lbs dumb bell flies(8x3).
Finished the workout with some ab work, sit ups, planks, v-sits.

Once I strengthen my shoulder up a little bit more, I'll be hitting the gym.

[Donald Morrow]

April 21, 2011
Rolls x 50
Landings x 50
Jumped up to a ledge at my house (3 ft height) x 25
1.5km Run
37 Sit ups in a Minute
Planks 4 x 15 sec
Side Plank 4 x 10 sec

Rotator Cuff exercises for shoulder

Off to the bar for a great Thirsty Thursday!
Happy Training all.

[Joe Brock]

I'd feel pretty uncomfortable making suggestions regarding the push/pull-ups, simply because I don't know the details regarding your shoulder injury.  Steven Low is extremely useful for PT related training.  I'd hit him up in the General Fitness forums, and get the "ok" from your doctor regarding training.  If you can, I know that assisted pull-ups might be a great way to slide back into the work.  Also, what are unfortunately referred to as "girl push-ups" might be a good way to ease yourself back into push-ups.  Good training.

[Donald Morrow]

Yeah, I simply call them Knee Push ups so nobody can call me sexist and they do help. As for the assisted pull-ups, I may have to try some of those. And I have been talking to Steven in the injury section, and he gave me a few good things as well.

Thanks everybody for your input and following my (so far) whimpy training log. Just gotta start somewhere.

[Donald Morrow]

April 22-24, 2011
I've been busy with family for Easter so I haven't had the time to do what I wanted.

No training other than a little bit while I'm out and about. Just worked on rolls, jumps, balance, etc. when I could.

[Donald Morrow]

Little late of an update, but an update none the less.

April 25, 2011
1.5 mile run
6 mile bike
15 x 4 Bodyweight Squats
15 x 4 Sit ups
30s x 3 Front & Side Plank
50 Rolls - These are coming along quite nicely, I'm happy.
50 Landings - My landings are becoming very controlled and comfortable.
-- Side note: Very close to achieving my Roll and Landing goals

April 26, 2011
Had music lessons today, so I had a limited workout
1.5 mile run
20 rolls
20 landings

April 27, 2011
Today is a good day. My shoulder brace arrived, so I can start lifting some weights now. My cycle doesn't start till Monday so I'll continue working on some basics as well as some cardio stuff.
Workout tonight will consist of
2 mile run (hopefully)
30 Rolls
30 Landings
20 Bodyweight Squats
20 Body push-ups
15 x 4 Sit-ups
30s x 3 Planks (Front & Side)


That's up to date. Thanks all who care to follow. More for my own personal reference anyway

Happy Training.

[Donald Morrow]

April 28, 2011

Not a good day. Slept weird on shoulder and neck as it was sore all day, plus I was not feeling good at all.

Managed to fit in some sit-ups and stretching after work, but otherwise took a night off.

April 29, 2011
Had an easy day, just body weight stuff.

1 mile run
3 x 15 sit-ups
3 x 10 knee-push ups
3 x 30s Planks
4 Dips (Very hard on my shoulder, so I didn't want to push too hard)
Shoulder & Rotator Cuff exercises

Weekend forecast is for rain and snow all weekend. Hopefully I can score a few hours of decent weather to try some rolls on the grass, rolls from a ledge rather than ground level, and start working on my first vaults. Plan on starting with safety vault and a lazy vault.

[Donald Morrow]

April 30, 2011 & May 1, 2011

These days were, and are continuing to be a complete waste of a good weekend. Weather outside is horrible, so I've been stuck inside doing very little. Worked on a lot of flexibility stuff while watching TV, played some Call of Duty where I did 5 push ups/5 sit ups per death each game. Needless to say, it was a great motivator to not be a kamikazee Still felt good, while relaxing at the same time.

This upcoming week will mark the beginning of my weight lifting regimen. It is a basic program to get me into the shape, and as strong as  I need to be to be able to experience parkour the way I want. I just got a shoulder brace end of last week, so I'll start of somewhere comfortable and work from there. Last thing I need to do is have it dislocate again and be out another 4-6 weeks.

Just as a side note, I have a long term goal set for myself for the summer. I really hope I can get it done, but I have no idea if I'll ever get close. That goal is to be able to do a back flip (probably off a ledge) by the end of September. If I can do it on level ground, that will be even better, but I don't want to push it too hard. Just something I will constantly be working towards throughout the summer.

Again, thanks to all who read these useless posts It's nice for me to put my thoughts down somewhere, so I can revisit them and think "What the hell was I thinking?" haha.

Until next time,

Big D

[Donald Morrow]

May 2, 2011

First day at the gym! Yessssss.

Excitement aside, Most of the workout felt really good. A few of the exercises were harder on my shoulder than expected, but as I work it more and more, it will get stronger.

My numbers are a lot lower than where I would like them to be, but it's given me a good, solid starting point to work from. Let the games begin

Warm-up
200m run

10 Knee Push ups
10 Leg Lifts
10 Bodyweight Squats
30sec Samson Stretch (each side)

Repeat Two More Times

Workout

Squats - 195 - 8 x 4
Bench Press - 105 - 8 x 4
Bent-Over Rows - 25 - 8 x 4 (Can bring this weight up a fair amount)
Overhead Barbell Press - 90 - 8 x 4 (This one hurt the shoulder, had to take some extra rest time)
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - 105 - 8 x 4 (Could be brought up but was a comfortable starting weight)
Barbell Curls - 55 - 8 x 4
Calf Raises - 30 - 8 x 4 (I've had calf issues before when lifting, they tend to cramp easily. I started light to see how it feels, and I can probably afford to bump the weight up a bit)

Cool-down of a nice 800m jog, the last 200m being a walking cool down.

Total weight lifted (very surprising how it adds up) is 19,360 LBS. Makes you feel good when you say you just lifted Nineteen Thousand pounds all by yourself. (Just don't tell anybody it wasn't all at once! )

[Donald Morrow]

May 3, 2011

Cardio Day

After finishing a gig, I went out and did a half mile jog followed by 50m wind sprints. 6 sprints, 30 second breather in between.
Quite a simple day

May 4, 2011

- Warm-up

200m run

10 Knee Push ups
10 Leg Lifts
10 Bodyweight Squats
30sec Samson Stretch (each side)

Repeat Two More Times

- Workout

Squats - 180 - 8 x 4
Bench Press - 90 - 8 x 4
Bent-Over Rows - 30 - 8 x 4
Overhead Barbell Press - 75 - 6 x 3 (I forgot my shoulder brace today and this one started hurting a lot. Didn't need to do any damage so I cut it back reps/sets)
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - 95 - 8 x 4
Barbell Curls - 65 - 8 x 4
Calf Raises - 40 - 8 x 4

[Donald Morrow]

It's been a few days since I last posted. Lets see if I can remember everything....

May 5, 2011

Cardio Day

30 sec brisk walk, 30 sec sprint x 8
30 sec x 3 Front & Side Planks
50 Sit ups
7 Complete Good pushups (7/20 for my goal, slowly coming )
Upon review of my Silent Landing goal, I realized this is darn near impossible. However, I believe I can say that the goal is completed. I have very quiet landings off of anything up to 4 ft. Mission success.
As well, with my Non-Painful Roll goal, I believe I have also achieved this goal. My rolls are very controlled, I know exactly where I am going to end up and I feel confident I can graduate to a drop to roll, and just standing rolls on a hard surface.

Goals updated as needed.


May 6, 2011

Today, for whatever reason was the day my shoulder decided to complain about everything. Anything that required my left shoulder to move was not going to happen. I spent the evening doing my best to just stretch while I iced my shoulder. What a waste of a day.


May 7, 2011

Official Day off. However, I did get in about a 3-5km bike ride (I just rode around, no idea how far but definitely within those margins) followed by kicking ass at Beer Pong all night. (6W - 0L with my partner, if I may say)


May 8,2011

Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely Mom's who have done so much for us. I <3 my Mom, do you?

Official Day off. Might go for another bike ride to scout out some good Parkour places, not sure. Relaxing day though, barely any sleep due to Beer Pong on previous day. Hope everybody had/has a great weekend.

Big D

[Donald Morrow]

May 9, 2011

Shoulder acting up again slightly after a very heavy day at work. Lifted close to 30,000 lbs at work, so I figure today wasn't completely a waste. Worked on some precision jumping and balancing around the house.

Balance = Good.
Precision Jumping = Needs a lot of work. Hard to stop my momentum from going forward. Continuing to try and absorb the landing with my legs so that I don't continue forward, but it is a work in progress.

[Donald Morrow]

Man it's been forever since I've been on here. Summer has taken hold and I find very little time to sit around anymore.

These days I've basically stopped hitting the gym (for now) because I currently plan on partaking in Skydiving in a little under a month. Cool hey? The predicament is that they have a 230 LBS weight limit (due to gear limitations). So, I've been doing more weight loss/cardio stuff rather than building muscle. Besides, losing weight is a good thing anyways.

I started a little over a week ago (9 days) at 260 LBS, and since I've started my program to lose weight, I've now dropped a total of 12 LBS. I'm down to 248 right now. My goal would be to get around 220-230 and then hit the weights again. Once I'm that low, I'll feel great, and the gym will make me look great (hopefully )

Any tips on how to drop weight and keep it off is always welcome. I've done a lot of research so I have a good knowledge, but if anybody feels like they want to submit something for me to try, I'm always open to suggestions.

Thanks, and I hope everybody has a great, fun, and safe, summer season!

[Donald Morrow]

Well. If anybody ever wants to go skydiving, do it. It is worth every penny. The rush of adrenaline is unmatched, so far.

As for the weight loss, I was 228 lbs the day I jumped, so I made that fine. And since then, I've dropped another 10 pounds, so I am currently sitting comfortably at 220. I'm looking into a new gym right now, one a little closer to home, and once I get that issue settled, I'll be back to the weights.

I've done a ton of lurking the past month, and I've read a lot of things. Here's what I've decided.

I don't plan on training parkour itself intensely until next year. I'm going to take the rest of the year to continue to cut fat and get stronger. I know that in order for my body to stay healthy while I train all the different moves, I will need to reduce the spare weight my body carries, and I need to develop the protective bubble that is muscle mass.

While I'm doing this, I will still work on basics, precision jumps low to the ground, like parking curbs, rolls, balance, quadrupedal movement, and landings. That will allow me to have the fundamentals engraved in my head so I can be as safe as possible when I go all out.

Hope everybody's summer is going great.

Until next time,
Big D