Results...

I failed. I done 280 of each.

But I have increased the number of pressups I can do and 140 in a day is a new personal best so that's a bonus.

Pics:

First Pressup and first Situp





I only managed 10 of each when I first started as I had to make some food. My G/f was going to work so we had to eat before she left. The rest of the night was punishment!

I'm glad I attempted this challenge even though I failed it. I have just bought a rowing machine so I can feel another challenge coming on... ;)

Another weekend challenge!

This weekend I am challenging myself to do 500 press ups and 500 sit ups.

It can take from the minute I finish work to the minute I start work on Monday.

Thats 1700 tonight 'till 0845 Monday morning.

This number may seem low to some people but it is a challenge to me!

I'll take pics of me starting and finishing (if I finish it!) and post them up here and in my blog on Monday.

Have a good weekend!

Good Start

I've started this every night (except Tuesday and Thursdays as they are muay thai days!):

Press ups = 10
Sit ups = 10
Press ups = 9
Sit ups = 9
Press ups = 8
Sit ups = 8
Press ups = 7
Sit ups = 7
Press ups = 6
Sit ups = 6
Press ups = 5
Sit ups = 5
Press ups = 4
Sit ups = 4
Press ups = 3
Sit ups = 3
Press ups = 2
Sit ups = 2
Press ups = 6
Sit ups = 6

rest get a drink of water then:

Pull ups = 5
Squats = 10
Pull ups = 5
Squats = 10

Split Squats = 20

And its punishing!

I'm gonna stick this out for a while and see what happens. It feels good so far. I've also started running in the morning again, just 20 mins on alternate days but I like it already. At 7 in the morning no-one is really about so it fels like I have the whole town to myself!

Rubbish!

Right, I was ill and injured over christmas/new year with this stupid flu bug that is going around right now so I got 2 days of hardcore training done and no filming for my video.

I've actually decided to not do a whole video but to just put clips up now and again to get help/advice. I know people will be thinking "just put them all together and mak a video!" but I don't see the point in that. I am not willing to put the time in, to be perfectly honest. I woiuld rather be training Muay Thai or Parkour or Drums than wasting time on a video, worrying about angles, music etc etc. bugger that. My time is better spent on more productive things!

Saying that I need to get back into training after a lax new year :(

That is my plan for February (seeing as there isn't much of January left!); I want to get back into regular training, not just parkour but for everything. My fitness levels have sorta plateued and after I made such brilliant advances with regards to my climb ups and strength I neglected to keep working on them and they have now gotten worse!

COLD WEATHER IS NO EXCUSE! GET OUT AND GET TRAINING! IF IT'S RAINING TRAIN INDOORS!

That's what I will be shouting at myself when I feel lazy.

Leave me a comment on how your new year and christmas went, I'd love to hear if other people were as lazy and ill as me!

Peace

Hardcore Holiday!

Christmas is almost upon us! Personally I don't like to celebrate christmas. All the values and things associated with Christmas are actually how I try to live my life anyway. you know, the usuals like be happy, be kind to everyone, joy to the world, enjoy the company of your close family/friends.

In addition to Christmas celebrations, my birthday is on the 1st of January, and I will be 21! I get two weeks off work for Christmas/new year so...

Instead of a traditional celebration (read: get really drunk...) that most of the country will be doing (or would be if it was their 21'st) I have decided to have a hardcore holiday. Every second day I will be training muay thai, parkour and conditioning to the extreme. Proper hardcore training.

As I most likely won't get access to the internet too much over thie festive period I will keep a diary of my work and post it up here at irregular intervals or all at once when I come back to work on the 8th.

In the mean time, have a merry christmas, a happy new year and good luck to you all. Thanks for reading my blog this year. Hopefully I will have my first video mid January for you all...!

Kieran

Almost a year...

I started parkour on January 12 2006, so it has almost been a year...!

In this time I have learned so much.

I have learned the difference between knowing something from reading it on an internet forum and knowing something through actually training! That is one of the most important things I have learned this year.

I have also learned that everyone progresses and learns at a different rate, both physically and mentally.

Only recently, I discovered the benefits of training with someone vs training alone. I understand reasons for wanting to train with someone, but also for training alone. I think that to learn new things, it is amazingly helpful to learn first hand from someone that knows the technique but to improve on the technique it is best to train alone, in isolation. This is something I will hopefully be able to use in the future.

Being forced to train on my own for 90% of the time this year has made me a better person in a few ways. I don't often get time to myself, but when I do, it is because I am out training and no-one else wants to join me. This has developed into a brilliant way to get rid of stress because I am getting everything off my mind and just focusing on one thing again and again and again and again and again and again (you get the drift..!).

This week onwards I am going to try and start filming my one year progression video which will hopefully be finished by the 2nd week in January. The tripod I ordered last week came this morning, so I may go out for a quick half hour session at dinnertime to try it out... haha! :D

Weekend Challenge Results

Not to make excuses, but I had more on at the weekend than I though. I had to work on Saturday and I got roped into christmas shopping with my girlfriend on Sunday!

Friday:

I went home and done press ups, pull ups and chin ups. I didnt keep track of numbers. It was bitterly cold outside and raining horribly so I stayed in with my book and some music. Every 10 minutes or so I would stop reading and do something physical like 20 pull ups, or 20 press ups, then read (rest) for a bit, then do more. I musta done quite a few because I done this for a few hours.

Saturday:

After I had finished work at 3 on Saturday I went home, got changed and headed straight back out to train in the cold. :(
I was training from about half 3 to half 5 on one wall, just on climb ups. I know 2 hours sounds weak to those of you who are hardcore, but that is plenty for me as I am that weak!

Sunday:

Most of the training done today consisted of carrying shopping bags around town :(
I'm gonna make up for the lack of training on Sunday by training tonight as well. I have to paint the ceiling tonight, but I found that my loft is perfect for practicing clump-ups...!

The weekend challenge

I'm setting myself a goal and I'm gonna try my hardest to reach it. I only have Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday to complete it.

I'm gonna do this for the rest of the year and see how I get on.

This weekend I am going to improve my climp ups. Zeno from Glasgow seen how weak they were and with his help I did improve slightly on my technique. I know it will take more than a weekend, but I hope by Monday I will feel more confident in my abilities.

I'm going to try film myself and see if I can get a few progression videos from the weekend. It may be possible...

Wish me luck!

Training tonight

I was training Muay Thai last night, and it wasn't as physically intense as it usually is because I was training footwork and also Yaang Saam Khum (three stride movement) as well as my left and right low kicks on the heavy bag. Tonight I plan on making myself work hard!

There are two things which I don't like about my parkour at the moment.

1. Take Off

When I take off for a vault or whatever, I will usually stall (as seen on my video below) slightly before taking off. I think that learning a split foot takeoff will improve this, as well as make me more efficient in my movements. I plan on learning this, or at least making a start, tonight.

2. Climb-ups

These are a real weak point. I have very good power and strength in my legs but because of this, my upper body is pretty weak. My climb ups are really really rubbish, so tonight I will also be working on these.

I know it may not be sensible to train both upper and lower body in the same period, so I am thinking about going out tomorrow morning as well. In the afternoon I'm going to see a guy in my Muay Thai club fight. Should be fun!

I leave you with this photo of my mate, Graham. This was the second time he came out training with me. He has since decided parkour is not for him and is sticking solely to boxing, but at least the photo is good :)

I made a video

I made this video to figure out how to use Windows Movie Maker and to see if the quality of my digital camers's camcorder mode was any good. It's only 36 seconds long, but it had the best ever music in any demo I've ever seen.

I was intending to make a video on training in my garden a while ago, but I forgat about that project and focused more on training rather than making a video. I decided to stick on some random clips to figure out how to do it, and this is the result.

I know some of the editing and movements are a bit shit, but I was learning how to use that program so I can make my one year progression video in January! :D

Looks like a nice day

Yup, outside looks like a nice day, and hopefully that means a rain free evening. Which means PARKOUR! :D

I now have a video camera. My Dad got a new one for his birthday, so I got his old one. I may take this (rare) opportunity to try it out tonight. I'll have to learn how to edit it, but that should be no problem! All I need to do now is to convince my girlfriend that she should come out and hold the camera for me... ;)

RE: standing jump entry earlier

Took a pic:

Back from Glasgow

Stayed the weekend in Glasgow.

It was mad on Saturday night because of our football result against France (GET IN!!!!) but during the day I met up with a good few of the lads (and lass!) from the Glasgow parkour "scene".

Hopefully I can remember names:

Bj
Liam
Sean
Ross
Ryan
Paul
Mick
Nina
Cal
"guy that fell on his arse at the scaffolding"

Can't remember his name! Ach well... :(

It was vey good fun speaking to all there people I've spoken to electronically but not in person and having a bit of a jam with them. That was the first time I've ever done Pk in such a large group, I think the largest group I've trained with before was about 4...

Hopefully I'll be going back to Glasgow again very soon and this time I won't forget my camera!

If any of you Glasgow traceurs fancy coming to Arbroath for a weekend or whatever just give me a shout!

Going to Glasgow

This weekend (7th & 8th) I am going to meet some traceurs in Glasgow. I often visit the Glasgow parkour website and frequent their messageboards and I think it's about time I met them all and checked out some of the spots down there.

Hopefully I'll get one or two photos of us all from the day.

I really hope I do meet up with the Glasgow guys because my girlfriend is going shopping and I really don't want to have to go with her!

I'll update tomorrow with a few photos I got last night before it started raining :(

*EDIT*

Click here to see one of the best parkour Media pieces I've ever seen, whch just so happens to have been from members of Glasgow Parkour!

Some pics and movies...

Ok, I remembered I had a Photobucket.com account and that I had put a few photos in there so here ya go!

This is me training in my garden. The blocks are there to help my landing technique, not mark distance. My landing here is a bit guff... (video may/may not work)



This is one of my friends practicing his balance



This is the perfect height for learning most vaults and that is exactly what I used it for!



Darren airborne!



Finally, I was trying to help my two pals with their diving saut de chat techniques and overall confidence. First is the video of me doing it, then my pal Darren's attempt.

Meditation

Just yesterday I was introduced to Buddhist meditation techniques.

I downloaded an e-book on meditation from buddhanet.net, which I have printed off and started reading.

From what I have read and heard from other people, meditation is exactly what I need. here is an excerpt from the e-book:

"In the Buddhist tradition, meditation is used to defuse the source of all the trouble -the illusion of self and other. In Cha'an (or Zen), the aim is to overcome thought and defilement. Having done this and with thoughts no longer strring, the real substance of mind becomes evident. Without thoughts and without the illusion of self and other, greed, anger and hatred have no place to arise; and the energy that was tied by those illusions becomes avaliable, helping to provide an overall improvement in health"

This is the paragraph which made me decide I wanted to try out meditation for myself. To raise my subconscious concentration to a level where I can block out everything, including my own thoughts and focus on one thing a time, whether this may be the huge saut de bras I require all my energy to even contemplate or the guy in ring who I need to knock out. It may even be that I require my concentration to be focused solely on the pile of work in front of me! I can see how this sort of thing can help me in many aspects of my life: Work, drumming, parkour, muay thai etc.

As usual, any progress will be up here.

Standing Jump

I have found a spot in Arbroath where I can drill standing jumps for as long as I want without being disrupted. At the business entrance for a local gear making company there is a nice area with a few trees and a view of the river. The trees are in what is best described as a concrete box filled with earth.This box is no higher than my knees. Anyway, round the edges of the "concrete box" there are ledges about as wide as my foot is long and the distance between then is about 8 and a half of my feet. I know for a fact that I can get to 9 of my feet, but that's not a comfortable land. I can make 8 and a half feet, but again, that's not comfortable either.

I plan to drill this one day this weekend. Possibly Sunday. Hopefully I will get some pictures as this blog seems to be lacking in the image department!

Muay Thai

Ok, I know I said I was going to do boxing but I accidentally came across Muay Thai - Thai boxing. I watched one session of muay thai take place and I instantly knew this was what I wanted to do, not boxing. Muay Thai claims to not only get you fit, but get you fighting fit (what a line!)

On top of getting extremely fit (which is what I desperately need), I also have never really learned to fight properly. I mean, I'm so bad I have been headbutted and punched and not retaliated through lack of confidence that I could do anything. In the few weeks I've been attending training I feel I now have the confidence to stand up to anyone who confronts me.

In the greater picture, I feel I have taken a step forward in becoming the most useful person I can be. In my opinion, parkour is not just about overcoming obstacles of concrete, metal, height or distance. To me, it is not just about escaping but about being useful. I feel that this is where the roots of parkour lie and where my true path lies. In learning Muay Thai I have taken a step towards something positive. I am taking action for the future, so that I can protect my loved ones from physical harm when they are around me. I am also taking steps to effectively protect myself from anyone who is overly aggressive towards me.

I am still making progress, It's just getting harder to maintain a view on the future while concentrating on the now.

Boxing

Boxing has been estimated as approximately 70-80% anaerobic and 20-30% aerobic. Anaerobic means to conduct an activity without oxygen. Anaerobic exercise, like boxing, stresses the muscles at a high intensity for short periods of time.

I see similarities between parkour and boxing. I would estimate that training parkour is 70-80% anaerobic too. I think that boxing will bring me the sort of discipline and commitment to training that I need.

On top of that, my friend wants to try out boxing too and he reckons he could wipe the floor with me...!

Lets the games begin ;)

New Traceur!

I met a Ukrainian called Anton the other day.

I was practicing balance at one of my usual "spots", which just happens to be outside a supermarket. Anton was doing shopping and he spotted me. We swapped numbers and arranged to meet up last night (Monday).

He told me that he had only been training for 3 months but his abilities would lead me to believe he has been training for much longer!

As he is not from Arbroath we went around town, with me showing him places where I go and him scouting for more locations. We had a brilliant time and we have arranged to meet up again on Wednesday, when we will be joined by one or two more. :D