Drop the ashes

[Francesco]

Any pointers on how to spot a good teacher?

[Francesco]

So the class began with a general warm up, constisting of joints rotations, lateral flexion of the spine, nerve flossing (dorsiflexion in pike; bilateral arm abduction and external to internal rotation, or wrist and finger extension to flexion - these were quite interesting, and I need to experiment a bit with them), calf raises and single leg balancing with eyes both open and closed, knee circles in gong bu and a short mabu hold.

He said the class was based on principles that would later be used in the form - basically lifting the hands with shoulders relaxed, then holding the position (like in the standing pole), then same lifting the hands but with a partner to resist so that you don't work with the shoulders but rather work on "expanding" from the feet up so as to gently unbalance the partner; then same thing but working on this expansion toward the front and then downwards. Basically the work was a lot on creating a stable base with the feet (I think it is called grounding?) so as to generate the force from them upwards (and to let the force travel downwards when resisting the partner). 

Strange stuff, quite interesting also because he came many times to me and other beginners to demonstrate what we should have done. 

 

I'm not sure I want to go on with Sanda because we did nice thing on both days, like playful partner drills (like Rafe Kelley's "Sternum tag", but touching shoulders/thighs/feet or all three) to work on coordination and peripheral vision and such stuff, but as far as technique goes it didn't seem too good to me (like, we had to do sideways stepping and then kick, but no explanation on how to kick?! And half of the people were beginners) and the conditioning part was embarassing (like, "let's do side splits" out of nowhere, from cold - with people a meter away from the floor; then dancer's split - with people 50cm away from the floor; then lots of crunches). Still, both the teacher and his "senior" students seemed to be quite good at striking and the other drills. 

I was/am planning on continuing to ride the fear-busting wave and also try BJJ and/or muay thai, but I may have to wait since I kind of broke my R little toe while doing one of the partner drills. 

 

(Fasted) bouldering session today; gym re-opened after summer break and there were lots of new routes. Hands skin was the limiting factor today, though it was a good session overall. If time allows - some prehab work later. 

 

Tomorrow, if I don't have DOMS from yesterday's cold splits - legs strength and stretching session. 

[Craig]

Sounds like a decent class! The truely exceptional teachers are rare to come by  and it's also difficult to separate them from the 'good but not quite exceptional' teachers until you have an eye for it yourself or get an introduction from someone who does. if the class was explaining those mechanics you are already in the upper bracket of Taiji classes, so I would stick with it if it's interesting you!

[Kit_L]

Francesco wrote:

Quote

It's just incredible to notice how many times you lose awareness once you start paying attention to it; I constantly kept going on autopilot mode.  

The noticing is the key part. On meditation workshops it's common to see people's heads nodding every 10" or so, and then gently snapping upright; they will tell you they "had the best sit ever". Actually, they were falling asleep and waking up, and all unconsciously. And others will tell you it "was the worst sit ever; I kept noticing that I was being distracted the whole time". These people are meditating; it's about remembering to be present, and noticing when your attention is pulled away from your meditation object. Tibetans I have worked with have said that the mind creates 60 new thoughts a second. 

And on the workshop, I thought your piriformis routine was excellent; I do something similar, but from the standard adv. position (where part of the lower leg and the whole thigh is supported). The key elements are the pulsing, and the isometric holds, then the deep stretch. I will be writing up a bit on my current hamstring work later today, too.

[Francesco]

@Kit lately it has been happening more and more that something acts as a trigger and I suddenly become fully aware. I don't know why this is happening so frequently now and what triggers it, but it really is an amazing sensation, so I'm working a lot on simply re-creating the sensation as soon as I realize I am lost in thoughts. This may be banal for you all, but it's truly exciting to me - and (just like with awareness and relaxation while stretching at the workshop) it is making me really understand why people here are so much into awareness practices. 

Today - epic forearm DOMS; mild adductors and hamstring DOMS, which forced me to do low volume and no iso splits - hammered hip flexors instead.

Warm up: joint rotations, ankle and knee prep, 2 behind the leg pistols 

A1: 3x5 front split squats  (20kg)

A2: 3x5 harop curls 

B1: 3min horse stance

B2: ballistic hip flexors

B3: 1x10 SL RDLs  (20kg)

C1: ballistic hip flexors 

C2: 1x5 SL good mornings 

C3: external hip rotators sequence 

D1: SL dog pose 

D2: 1x partner wall quad-hip flexors; 2x partner backward head to toe  (body tessellation stretch I saw on Dave's Instagram)

Also some upper body stretching to allow a better front rack (lats with partner traction, shoulder rotators, triceps, forearm flexors). 

 

Some comments: 

• a possible addition to the external hip rotators sequence may be partner squaring your hips after all the other 3 things - it gets into a different area (at least in my body), possibly because you have already spent a couple of minutes into the position stretching more "superficial" lines of tension (?).
• we experimented with partner traction from the side on both lat stretching (same side of the stretched lat, in a position like that of Dave's "Fascial lat stretch" video) and ballistic lunge hip flexors (opposite side); both feel great, since in the first you can get the hip farther away from the shoulder, whereas in the second the partner does a nice hip-squaring action that gets into some lines I usually can't access solo. 
• the backward head to toe was very interesting; it was not so hard on my hip flexors (though I wasn't in the split, so that may be the cause) and felt a lot like a bridge, but more intense on the abs and throat (particularly with deep diaphragmatic breathing and arms overhead). Definitely worth exploring.

[Kit_L]

On 9/23/2016 at 7:00 PM, Francesco said:

Any pointers on how to spot a good teacher?

A few. How happy are they? Are they genuine human beings? Do they take offence when questioned or challenged? How relaxed are they? Teachers have 'feet of clay' remember; there are many ways of working with this. I always chose the "what can  learn from this person?" approach and ignored the rest.

Teachers founder on power, money, and sex (a specific form of power). And if there is much to be learned from this individual, and you are awake (awakening), then take what's useful and spend no time on thinking about the rest.

[Kit_L]

13 hours ago, Francesco said:

@Kit lately it has been happening more and more that something acts as a trigger and I suddenly become fully aware. I don't know why this is happening so frequently now and what triggers it, but it really is an amazing sensation, so I'm working a lot on simply re-creating the sensation as soon as I realize I am lost in thoughts. This may be banal for you all, but it's truly exciting to me - and (just like with awareness and relaxation while stretching at the workshop) it is making me really understand why people here are so much into awareness practices. 

My strong suggestion is to not get attached to this and definitely do not try to recapture any experience. Simply drop your awareness into the belly and relax more. One of the traps along the way is the experiencing of wonderful things, and the usually unsuccessful attempts subsequently to recapture. All experiences are grist to the mill in this way. You will see clearly one day that the mind carves the universe in two: the half you like; the half you don't. Moving to one and avoiding the other is attachment (one of its forms, anyway). The very way we view experiences is conditioned; we filter everything, in other words. Simply try to experience directly.

Nonetheless, to be waking up is exciting—so enjoy it (don't think about it!)

[Francesco]

Kit, thanks for your suggestions - much appreciated. 

Do you know the thing you said somewhere about having to first experience the feeling of being relaxed to later come back to that sensation? That's what I was talking about when  I said "recreating the sensation" - having now experienced the sensation of being aware, I can now come back to it; it is not something I consciously do - it's just as you say: I take a breath in, relax, and there I am. Truly exciting. 

 

Today - still epic DOMS in forearms, now joined by hamstrings, adductors and glutes. Lots of walking as active recovery, gua sha on forearms to (hopefully) speed up recovery and gentle exploration of the sore muscles through pulsing and long holds (without contractions).

[Francesco]

Today - bent arm strength session(s). 

AM:

Warm up: joint rotations, 1x5 arching hang, 1x30sec ring support

A1: 5x5 weighted ring chin ups (+7kg; 22X3)

A2: 4x5 ring dips, 1x10 ring push ups

B1: 3x5 one arm active hangs (3sec at top, turning ring to parallel) 

B2: 1x3strokes lizard crawl

PM:

6 rope pull ups (parallel grip); 1x5 arching hang; 1x fascial lat stretc with partner traction; 40rep curl complex (15 reps of prone incline reverse curl with 16.5kg EZ bar; 15 reps of prone incline hammer curls with 8kg DBs; 10 reps of prone supine curls with 8kg DBs); 1x human crossbow. 

Later, time permitting - 3x5 lying external rotations (6kg), lats-pecs-subscapularis stretching. 

 

Some comments:

• I was pondering the possibility of doing one set of rope pull ups (parallel grip, not one under the other) in place of one of the sets of regular ring chin ups - both to hit a bit more directly the brachialis and to work the grip strength (so that if I want to switch to rope climbs or its progression in the future I already have some grip strength). Will try next time. 
• I've noticed that when I do incline supine curls I can do more reps if I lift the head (like, as if I had the forward-head-posture) than if I keep the neck relaxed and the head in line with the torso. Does anyone have any idea as to why it is so?
• As an aside, I've found a 3rd partner to experiment with the "long class", ie. lots of partner stretching, body-tessellation style, once a week for 2-2.5 hours. Great!

[Frederik]

2 hours ago, Francesco said:

PM:

6 rope pull ups (parallel grip); 1x5 arching hang; 1x fascial lat stretc with partner traction; 40rep curl complex (15 reps of prone incline reverse curl with 16.5kg EZ bar; 15 reps of prone incline hammer curls with 8kg DBs; 10 reps of prone supine curls with 8kg DBs); 1x human crossbow.

" Medicinal curls " Excellent.

 

2 hours ago, Francesco said:

Some comments:

• I was pondering the possibility of doing one set of rope pull ups (parallel grip, not one under the other) in place of one of the sets of regular ring chin ups - both to hit a bit more directly the brachialis and to work the grip strength (so that if I want to switch to rope climbs or its progression in the future I already have some grip strength). Will try next time. 

Towell pull ups would  be my go to assistance exercise to build that hand and forearm strength for doing rope climbing later on. If you have rope to do ordinary pull ups from rope that would work very well too, but I would recommend getting more reps in here. 8-12 rep for sets range would be a minimum. Hanging passively from the rope would be worthwhile as well (which could be done on a straight arm day if you want to fit it in elsewhere).   And I would certainly do more than one set! Rope climbing takes a fair bit of preparation because it is quite hard on the elbows, and the grip dimension is humbling. I love that movement!

[Francesco]

@Frederik the reason I'd do just one set is that I am doing a low volume of work in general - because even though I like training, I like climbing more, and I have already had to take a break from it because I was pushing too hard on my strength training and kept getting elbow problems. 

So I'm now focusing on slowly building back the basic rough strength with weighted chin ups for later OAC specific work, and I'm using one arm active hangs and dumbbell rows as assistance work because they are the most-bang-for-your-back exercises, imo.

I know that doing just one set of rope pull ups won't do much for the rope climb - but it is also not my first priority now, so I'm ok with that.

 

 

[Francesco]

Yesterday, before going to bed:

lats stretching with traction (solo; this gets into a different area, around the middle of the lats, close to the ribs - whereas supinated passive hanging gets into the upper part and the basic hanging fascial lat stretch gets into the lower part) and wall pec stretching with directed breathing; 2x subscapularis stretch paired with 3x5 lying external rotations with dumbbell (6kg, 40X0); supinated passive hanging; 30/30-20/20-10/10 feet supported "armpit" stretch; passive backbend over couch edge with 6kg KB, with directed breathing.  

 

[Francesco]

Yesterday - AM: short (1hr) bouldering session. Worked on the same 3 routes over and over and over to find the best way to do them.

PM - "pump & prehab" session: 6 rope pull ups; 100rep curl complex (50rep reverse curl, 50rep regular curls, both with 9.5kg EZ bar), 1x45 tricep pushdown with band, 1x30 PJR pullovers (9.5kg EZ bar), 1x30 reverse flies (4kg DBs); 80rep forearm complex (1x20 rope pronations with 8kg; 1x10 radial deviation + 1x20 ulnar deviation with 2kg; 1x10 reverse wrist curls + 1x20 wrist curls with 8kg); 1x10 lying external rotations (4kg).

 

Today - took advantage of the increased awareness of biceps and long head of triceps to stretch them properly. Also of note yesterday I had a deep soreness of the adductor pollicis. 

In the afternoon - legs session. 

Warm up: joint rotations, ankle and knee prep

A1: 3x5 harop curls

A2: 3x5 back split squats (22kg)

B1: 2x2 hip CAR to "multi-angular pistol" (alternating legs)

B2: 2x8 SL RDLs (22kg)

C: 1x30 KB swing (16kg)

I'm following the same approach of low volume and slow increase of intensity (+2kg/week) with the split squat and single leg romanian deadlifts to see how far I can get with a simple linear progression. 

Within an hour - ballistic, isometric and passive partner stretching.

[Francesco]

On Friday - 2.5 hours stretching. I realized that at the moment it's better to use a set of ballistics/isometric/dynamic stretching as a warm up, and spend the rest of the time on passive (partner) stretching, focusing on just 3-4 stretches for some time (wall quadriceps-hip flexors, lunge hamstring, advanced piriformis and tailor's pose; possibly some human crossbow as well).

 

On Saturday - longer (2 hours) bouldering session in the morning, quick prehab session in the afternoon - 2x8 DB rows (24kg, 21X3) alternated with 2x5 lizard crawl lv3, 2x5 lying external rotations (6, 5kg). 

 

On Sunday - dance.

 

On Tueday - bent arm strength session.

Warm up: joint rotations, 1x5 arching hang, 1x30sec ring support

A1: 5x5 weighted ring chin ups (+8kg; 22X3)

A2: 5x5 ring dips

B1: 3x5 one-arm active hangs

B2: 2x6 lizard crawl lv3

C1: 45rep curl complex (15 reverse curl with 18.5kg EZ bar, 15 hammer curls with 9kg DBs, 15 supinated curls with 18.5kg EZ bar)

Increased weight in the curl complex, and volume in the ring dips; something I realized is that doing ring dips (compared to parallel bars) is much harder on my sternum, but it has also allowed me to gradually feel better and better, to the point that now it doesn't even hurt - and I feel it wouldn't have been the same if I continued with parallel bar dips.

The idea is to now work toward RTO dips by striving to keep the rings slightly more turned out with time (rather than adding weight).

 

On another note, I've started back using ballistic stretching as limbering; I'm currently doing 2-3 sets per leg of about 108 bounces of the standing lunge and the elevated advanced piriformis, and about 50 pulses of the outer hamstring stretch.

[Francesco]

On Thursday - attempted a straight arm strength-focused session but I was feeling too tired/weak so I ended up doing just 3x30sec ring support and 2x8 DB rows (25kg, 21X3) and some stretching.

Yesterday - legs session in the afternoon:

A1: 3x5 harop curls

A2: 3x5 back split squat (24kg)

B: 2x8 single-leg snatch-grip RDLs (24kg)

C: 10 high step ups (knee height, "constant tension" ie. hovering off the floor without touching)

D: 3min horse stance

E: 3x lowering into side split

Strong pump in the glutes and lower back after the RDLs and step ups, that made holding the horse stance upright quite difficult (plus afterwards my legs were shaking). First time lowering into unsupported side split in about two months - I didn't go as far down as I used to, but I haven't lost too much.

 

In the evening - partner stretching.

Partner hip flexor; outer hamstring pulses; wall quadriceps-HF with partner + outer hamstring pulses x2; long-held tailor's pose; HF stretch inspired by the "chariot of fire" but with 2 partners, folded back leg and almost straight front leg; long-held tailor's pose; advanced piriformis with 2 partners (one squaring hips, the other pulling from the side).

Edited October 20, 2016 by Francesco

[Francesco]

Saturday morning - bouldering session.

Saturday afternoon - 3x4 advanced tuck front lever rows (rings) paired with lizard crawl lv 2,3 and 4 (1 set each); some forearm training with dumbbell as well. 

Sunday - dance

 

Today, bent arm strength deload session

Warm up: joint rotations, 1x5 arching hang, 1x30sec ring support

A1: 3x5 weighted ring chin ups (+9kg, 22X3)

A2: 3x5 ring dips

I was training with a friend of mine, and we decided to try some 1RMs on the ring chin ups. He got 15kg and failed 20kg, I went on and pulled 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40kg (video), and failed 42. Very happy about this since I had never pulled so much (previous 1RM - 2 years ago, before getting golfer's elbow - was 36kg).

I also decided to start back training overhead pressing; did 1x8, 1x6 one arm DB press with 14kg in between the chin up attempts; 45rep curl complex after the 42kg failed chin up (15 reverse with 18.5kg EZ bar, 15 hammer with 9kg dumbbells, 15 supinated with 18.5kg EZ bar). 

[Francesco]

Today, AM - straight arm strength oriented deload session:

A1: 3x~20sec advanced tuck FL

A2: 3x30sec ring support

B1: 1x7 DB rows (26kg, 21X3)

B2: 1x supinated german hang (playing with scapular position and humeral rotation to stretch the pecs)

C2: 2x5 trap-3 raises (4kg, 6sec pause at top)

 

Some comments: 

- I decided to switch back to advanced tuck FL (rather than one leg) and progressively extend the hips.

- I was aiming to hit 60sec in a slightly RTO support before turning the rings further outwards, but I've plateaued at ~50sec for some time now, so I am now working at about ~60° out.

 - I also started back with the trap-3 raises for structural balance

 

 

PM: 

1x5 arching hang, 2x human crossbow + 3x~15sec one arm active hang (on bar, which is thicker than the rings), subscapularis wall stretch + 2x6 lying external rotations (6kg, 40X0).

[DavidGrey]

14 hours ago, Francesco said:

I decided to switch back to advanced tuck FL (rather than one leg) and progressively extend the hips.

Much better idea imo! I think most people fool themselves with one leg out as it looks more advanced. Keep working on extending the hips. Eventually you will go to a piked straddle and then full straddle....

[Francesco]

@DavidGrey indeed, that's what I realized. I can already hold a piked straddle but my setup doesn't allow me to, so I'll try and see if by extending the hips I can get to half lay.

Yesterday - AM quick leg session:

Warm up: ankle and knee prep

A1: 3x5 back split squat (26kg)

A2: 3x5 harop curls

B1: 2x8 single leg snatch-grip RDLs (26kg)

 

PM - stretching. 3min horse stance, partner soleus stretch, lunge HF, outer ham pulses; 2-partner folded tailor's pose, wall quad-HF with partner, 2-partned folded tailor's pose II, wall quad-HF with partner II; backward H2T; cat pose with partner; passive backbend over couch edge with partner traction. 

Very nice session. My horse stance (stick on thighs) is now 1m wide (in august it was 80cm); the partner soleus stretch unlocked my L ankle, which have always felt limited in a way that the straight leg calf stretches couldn't solve; hit forehead to floor on the folded tailor's pose, which was very very strange (and hard on the piriformis).

[Francesco]

On Saturday - bouldering.

Yesterday - bent arm strength session:

Warm up: joint rotations, 1x5 arching hang, 1x30sec RTO support

A1: 5x5 weighted ring chin ups (+10kg, 22X3)

A2: 5x5 ring dips (first 3 reps of first 3 sets 45° RTO, the rest regular dips)

B1: 2x5 one-arm active hang (3sec pause at top)

B2: 2x5 one-arm DB press (14kg)

C: 40rep curl complex (15 reverse curls with 16.5kg EZ bar and 5sec negative; 15 prone incline hammer curls with 8kg DBs and 3sec pause at top; 10 supine incline curls with 8kg DBs)

D: 4, 5, 5, 3 lying external rotations (7kg, 40X0)

Some stretching afterwards (lats, pecs, subscapularis). Good session.

 

On another note:

• last week I started a 2-year soft tissue certification, which so far has been great for a number of reasons: the fear-busting aspect (having to touch/be touched by people you've never seen before on the first day, being "forced" to talk with people through group activities, etc), the subject itself, the amazing feeling I experience while lying down, breathing and being massaged - shifting the focus between relaxing the muscles being massaged, diaphragmatic breathing, the touch of the person's hand or simply being aware (and also the state of full awareness I get the first few times I do a sequence).   
•  I signed up for Emmet's workshop in Utrecht. I'll be there from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, if anyone wants to train/eat/hang out together I'd be happy to.

[Craig]

Cool! See you in utrecht! 

[Rik]

I'll be in Utrecht as well! I haven't been this hyped since the arrival of Assassin's Creed 2.

[Francesco]

This morning - straight arm strength session

A1:3x20sec advanced tuck FL

A2: 3x30sec ~60° RTO support

B1: "the swan"

B2: 3x5 deficit ring push ups (ie. pelican push ups)

I decided to experiment with the swan, and I've got to say the word that best describes it is unpleasant; incredibly hard to breathe in that position. I'll try it next time as well and decide, but at the moment I do not think I'll keep it in my routine as the DB rows is a more "bang for your buck" exercise. 

I've also decided to try and see if by lowering to a fixed height (ie. until I hit chest to bench) and gradually extending the ROM (I was lowering 15cm today; chest to ring with arm straight is about 60cm) I can develop some strength for later hefesto/back roll work while minimizing the risk of getting elbow problems; it took some time to experiment and understand the proper motion, but I think I got it (at the beginning I was doing a motion similar to an external rotation, so pushing the rings to the side, but I think the right way is to push the rings both back and to the side)

 

Shortly after - 1.5 hours bouldering session. My current school schedule gives me free Thursdays and Fridays (until January), and this combined with an offer my gym did made me decide to do shorter but more frequent sessions. Good session today - lots of overhanging routes done over and over. 

Then before dinner quick prehab session: 2x5 trap-3 raises (4kg, 6sec pause at top), 2x7 lying external rotations (5kg), lats/pecs/subscapularis stretching and forearm work (pronations with bent and straight arm, wrist curls and reverse wrist curls with bent and straight arm)

[[DW]]

On 08/10/2016 at 6:15 PM, Francesco said:

In the evening - partner stretching.

Partner hip flexor; outer hamstring pulses; wall quadriceps-HF with partner + outer hamstring pulses x2; long-held tailor's pose; HF stretch inspired by the "chariot of fire" but with 2 partners, folded back leg and almost straight front leg; long-held tailor's pose; advanced piriformis with 2 partners (one squaring hips, the other pulling from the side).

Francesco! Great training log, my friend.  It makes Dave very happy to see someone taking the ideas he has published and dive right in to exploring and tinkering with them.  [DW]

[Francesco]

Yesterday, in the morning - didn't feel like strength training, so I went for a walk in the woods and did an exploration off the beaten track: lots of jumping on and beyond dead trees, single leg balancing with eyes closed, zhan zhuang, balancing over logs standing and on all fours, running around and sprinting uphill, locomotion while hanging from a dead tree with both feet and hands, sitting meditation. Super nice and definitely something to do more.

In the afternoon - short leg session as I still had (have) hamstrings/adductors DOMS. 

Warm up: ankle and knee prep, pistols, behind the leg pistols

A1: 3x5 back split squats (28kg)

A2: 3x5 harop curls

B: 3min horse stance

 

In the evening - partner stretching. In the previous sessions I was experimenting to see where my stretching partners are tightest; yesterday I decided to do an anterior chain-focused session since all 3 of my stretching partners are quite tight in the hip flexors and thoracic spine/shoulders (not surprisingly). We did: lunge HF, wall quad-HF partner HF (x2), human crossbow, cobra pose, lats stretching (x2), cat pose, box bridge. 

I'll likely stick with this type of session for some time (since 2 of them couldn't even get close to straightening the arms during the box bridge), maybe also including a passive backbend and quad stretch. Of note - we realized that one of my stretching partners (the one who has been training with me the most, about 5 months now), who had a massive anterior pelvic tilt (to the point his back hurt when he stood for too long because his erector spinae were constantly contracted) was standing perfectly straight yesterday. 

 This morning - 1.5hour bouldering.