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Ed's log (climbing, calisthenics, piano, and stretching)


Ed Heddle

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Hey all!

I'm back to regular strength training after being derailed by a weird shoulder injury a few months ago. (I was still exercising and climbing during these months, but at a much lighter load.)

Re the injury, I'm still puzzling over what it could be. My current suspicion is that it's a stealthily tight pec minor, maybe with the left levator scapula working as a co-conspirator. Anyway, it's improving at a rapid clip :) I shall keep investigating...

Doing regular strength training is not actually my new year's resolution; but it is related to it. The resolution is simple: in bed and lights out at 10 (unless I'm playing a late gig, but this happens about once a month only). (Just before the New Year, I logged on and saw Kit's seasons wishes, and realised that the advice contained therein was gold.) For years, I've given into my night-owlish ways, but I simply can't argue with how much better my focus, mood, and productivity is after an early night. So far it's going well.

I anticipate my training for hard climbing will slowly ramp up over the autumn months as temps get cooler. For regular strength training, I'm currently using a five-way(!) split, wherein I do only one/two hard strength exercises will as much awareness as I can muster every day. So far (and this could change), it seems like this keeps the deep fatigue I've experienced from calisthenic training at bay, because I'm never doing too much in a single session. I'm keen to see if/how it works over the coming months.

Here are the last few workouts.:

Thursday (2018/12/27)

Warm-up:

  • shoulder inlocates/dislocates—paying heed to really squeeze the shoulder retractors, esp. on my left shoulder
  • yuri band sequence—in particular, leaning over, tucking the tail, and hitting the juicy lines in the lats and teres maj
  • cossack squats
  • some german hangs on the rings
  • spending some time moving around in a squat, hitting ankle flexibility and this crazy tight line in my right lower back (which slowly reconstituted as sensation in the right piriformis, surprise suprise)

Skills:

  • handstand practice for about 10 minutes

Strength:

  • three rounds of SLS work, trying to eccentrically lower down into a chair (I've regressed in this skill quite a bit, but I think it should come back quickly; the muscles didn't feel weak, they just felt asleep)

Friday (2018/12/28)

Warm-up:

  • shoulder inlocates/dislocates suuuuuper slow (henceforth I/D)—focusing on shoulder blade retraction, really demanding concentration-wise, especially on the side of my injured shoulder
  • yuri band sequence (henceforth YB)
  • cossack squats (henceforth CS)
  • some german hangs/skin-the-cat (GH or STC) on the rings, playing with the tight lines
  • wall angels (WA; I think most folk call these wall slides, but I like the name wall angels better so I'm running with that): two sets of 1 minute of slow up and down with a 1kg dumbell in each hand, lower back to the wall, keeping my arms as close to the wall as possible, focusing on what's working and where—brutal.
  • more time just mucking around in a squat (SS = squat sequence = playing around in a squat). I'm quite comfy with both feet on a 2 cm wood block, reasonably comfortable with only one foot on said block (this is where I get the best stretches), and feel just a bit back-heavy without the block.

Skills:

  • wrist prep (WP) + handstand practice (HS) for about 10 minutes

Strength: going super slow, trying to really feel what is working (3 minutes rest between sets)

  • 5x10r BW pushups 
  • 5x5r BW pullups on the rings

Probably working below capacity here, but it's just nice to really focus on the movement and to make sure I'm not aggravating my left shoulder.

Saturday (2018/12/28)

Warmup:

  • YB (stretching the external shoulder rotators, among other things), I/D, GH/STC, CS, massaged shoulder blades with the Stick of Virture, WA (with 1kg in each arm, 3 rounds of 1 minute).

Skills:

  • WP + HS practice

Strength:

  • Downward dog pushups: 3x5—this doesn't feel too good at the moment, so I'm going to change to a simple shoulder press with dumbells until this improves. I'm comparatively quite weak in this plane of movement.
  • L-sit work: 3 holds of 12 second. (My body was like "Oh... I remember these")

Tuesday (2019/1/1)

Warm-ups:

  • YB, I/D, WA (3x1 min + 1 kg in each arm), CS (free play, about 5 each side), SS, WP.
  • Slow tuck STC x4—noticed a slight weakness in how my left shoulder engages for the pull up from the bottom position, so, to counter this, doing it as slowly and mindfully as possible. Hard and probably nourishing.

More stuff:

  • Toehook strengtheners (working tibialis anterior—1st set w/ the red band, 2nd set w/ the blue). Really trying to connect my awareness with the TA muscle.
  • SSS (for glutes, feet and balance). 30s on each leg. 4 rounds on weaker left leg, 3 on right.
  • HS practice.

Strength (circuit-style today, 1:30 rest, around 30 seconds exercise):

  • 5 sets of shoulder press* (using the 8kg dumbells): 8r, 10r, 5r, 4r, 7r.
  • 5 holds of shalabasana—not the full pose, but, rather, with arms only a bit extended ("cactus arms")
  • 5 sets of BW pushups*: 8r, 6r, 7r, 6r, 8r.

*doing each rep really slow, hence the weird rep numbers. Working on the mind-body connection.

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More workouts:

Wednesday (2019/1/2).

Was up early, before sunrise. (I had too much coffee too late in the day. This just won't cut it for a 10pm bedtime. I think noon is the cutoff for the daily pot of joe.) Still, I got to see venus and the waning crescent moon (with a bit of earthglow, I think, illuminating the disc) very close together, which was a real treat.

Exercises (early morning):

CS, SSS, SS, WA (the usual 3 rounds of 1 minute, with 1 kg in each hand), I/D, STC, WP + HP.

SLS negatives: 4x each side as slow as I can, holding a 1 kg weight. (< 30s exercise, > 90s rest, swapping legs.)

Floor L-sit: 5x12 s.

Followed by a yoga nidra and a cold shower. Very nice in this torrid weather.

Climbing (in the evening):

  • slow (and I mean slow) climbing on easy climbs, seeing what emerges into awareness.
  • two harder boulders, probably around V5 and V6.
  • a few exploratory 1-3-5 campus ladders; can't yet access the strength in my left arm lockoff...

Thursday (2019/1/3).

Warm-up: YB, I/D, STC + some funky-ass ring stretches (vide infra), CS, SS, WA (3x1 min w/ 1 kg), HS practice (mucking around with the opposite kick-up stance. Have to relearn the timing of the legs).

Strength:

  • Ring rows: 5 sets of 10 (focusing on retracting shoulder blades like crazy—the rows suddenly feel very intense!) 10r, 10r, 7r, 8r, 8r.
  • Shoulder press: 5 sets of 8. Slow reps.

Re the stretches: I spent a lot of time playing around w/ stretches on the rings, getting into those tight spots in the shoulders. (A) From german hang, with feet on the ground, walk the feet back, and explore—especially rotating the arms at the shoulder joint. (B) In a half standing forward bend, explore tight lines in the rings. Investigated some freaking intense pec stretches.

Friday (2019/1/4).

Warm-up: YB, I/D (focused on keeping upper traps relaxed), S.T.C. (focused on the exact direction of pull I need to exert with the arms at each point in the movement. I have to slow the reps way down), CS, SS, WA (3 sets, the usual), WP + HS practice—felt good! I managed to kick up to a free-standing one (albeit with the wall very close by).

Also did some light stretching of (left) pec minor. I suspect that when doing solo stretches of p.m., my body somehow finds a way to cheat, so, to avert this, the stretch needs to be sufficiently gentle. I'm finding using a pillow between the wall and my shoulder makes a world of difference in the felt sensation.

Strength. Alternating sets of 

  • pull-ups (5x8r)—7r on the very last set, so did a slow isometric hold and and a slow eccentric to finish
  • push-ups (5x10r)—no complaints from the shoulder.

Listening: Martha Argerich, playing Chopin's 1st piano concerto (google "martha argerich chopin warsaw 2010"). What a sound.

Saturday (2019/1/5).

Warm-up: WA, CS, YB, STC. HS practice: progress! One rep in particular I did had about 4 or 5 "back..oop...forward..." adjustments from the hands.

Strength: floor L-sit, and straddle–L-sit (with hands staggered), three sets of each, alternating (2 minutes rest).

  • L-sit: 15s, 15s, 15s.
  • straddle: 8s, 8s, 8s.

Breathing well while in L-sit is very hard still.

Trad climbing: did a bold lead (Resurrection 17R) at Far crag today, followed by some movement practice on a wonderful crack climb (Barad Dur 21). Really felt some progress in how my body is using my glutes for climbing—when a climber says "use your core!", I suspect that most of the time it's a proxy for "do a strong a tail tucking movement!"

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Sunday (2019/1/6).

Warm-up: YB (a lot of this, working on mobilising my scalenes, which are very tight, esp. on the left side), I/D, STC, CS, SS, and WA.

Skills: Wrist prep and HS practice. Practicing fixing my gaze.

Strength: horizontal pushing today.

  • Straight Arm Tuck Planche: 3 holds of 6s +/-. First time trying this skill in months. I mucked around with the hands pointed backwards—feels very weird, balance-wise. This version seems to hit the biceps a lot more than the hands pointing forward version.
  • BW Pushups: 5x12r, focusing on keeping the tail tuck throughout the movement.

Climbing: more trad climbing, just doing the same sorts of practice, but with more fatigue in the body. A lovely afternoon out. The climbing was generally quite easy, so it definitely felt like a moving meditation on the body. Also nice was finding myself dropping more and more into the meditation state while belaying: it was very interesting—I was fully present, absorbed in the beautiful view, and I found that I was observing some thoughts/memories as phenomena that were arising now, as opposed to getting whisked away by them.

Listening: Nick Drake "Five Leaves Left"; Miles Davis "E.S.P."

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4 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

This version seems to hit the biceps a lot more than the hands pointing forward version.

Yes, very much so. You should be careful with the hands-backward holds if you haven't spent a good amount of time conditioning the biceps with things like RTO support holds and planche leans.

4 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

Listening: Nick Drake "Five Leaves Left"; Miles Davis "E.S.P."

Good stuff :)

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9 hours ago, Nathan said:

You should be careful with the hands-backward holds if you haven't spent a good amount of time conditioning the biceps with things like RTO support holds and planche leans.

I've done a large amount of RTO support work, especially last year. Sets were typically 5 holds of 20s, stopping well before failure. Thanks for your word of caution. :) Being aware of potential hazards is a good thing, and, thinking about it now, the biceps is being asked to exert very large forces at (near?) maximal length—a guaranteed stressor. I need to make sure it is a good stressor.

I plan to return to religiously working the RTO skill once (1) I strengthen the lower- and mid-trapezius, so that these aren't the weak points in the form; (2) I have much looser quads—the quads are a restriction that make it harder for me to form a clean line with my body; (3) I release a large amount of tension from my scalenes—I've recently realised that I've have large amounts of habitual tension in these muscles since childhood, and it feels like the scalenes are a major contributor to my grumpy shoulder (which feels great today, by the way!). Which latter will be many months works is my guess.

On (3), I did a lot of stretching of the scalene group and levator scap yesterday and I slept like an freaking angel, to the point where I'm convinced that this is one of the most important stretches to improve the quality of my sleep.

Monday (2018/1/7).

Warmup: YB (more scalene work, and giving the lats some love); I/D (suuuuuper slow—there's so much sensation to unpack here); STC, straight-armed, tuck, very slow; SS; CS—focusing on the glutes pulling the big leg bone down; WA—3 rounds of 1 minute, w/ 1kg in each arm.

Skills: WP + HS practice. Focus: keeping upper abs tight to keep the torso in a single line.

Strength: vertical plane pushing.

  • pushing down: I tried ring dips, but my shoulder didn't feel happy. I dropped to a simpler progression: dips with hands on a small wall constructed of stone pavers, with legs supported on a chair at same height as hands (henceforth paver-wall dips, or PWD): 4x15r, 1x13r. This feels like it's perfect for my shoulder. Again, super slow, focus on which muscles are doing the work. I'm trying to keep the shoulder blades retracted and depressed—or, at least, keep that feeling in my shoulder—and I'm also mindful of not letting the elbows escape out too much. I noticed in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th sets like my left arm and shoulder were really "waking up". A good feeling.
  • pushing up: shoulder press w/ 8kg dumbells. 3x10r. Last set felt hard.

Listening: S. Richter playing Medtner's beautiful Sonata Reminiscenza—google "Sviatoslav Richter plays Medtner Piano Sonata Reminiscenza, op 38, No.1"–I played through this piece this morning, so it's been rattling around in my head, and it was great to hear a rendition by a Master.

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1 hour ago, Ed Heddle said:

I've done a large amount of RTO support work, especially last year. Sets were typically 5 holds of 20s, stopping well before failure. Thanks for your word of caution.

Yeah, I figured I would be preaching to the choir, but I decided to mention it anyway ;) That sounds pretty solid for RTO holds, although the stress on the biceps can vary widely depending on degree of turnout, how far the arms are held out from the sides of the body, etc. I'm sure you know all of this. Doing planche leans with the hands backwards is probably a better option since you can control the amount of lean more precisely and you have less going on than in an RTO hold. You might consider progressing tuck planche with hands forward (or out to the side - my preference) while simultaneously progressing hands-backward planche leans.

1 hour ago, Ed Heddle said:

(3) I release a large amount of tension from my scalenes—I've recently realised that I've have large amounts of habitual tension in these muscles since childhood, and it feels like the scalenes are a major contributor to my grumpy shoulder

I definitely feel you there! My whole neck area is a huge bundle of tension. I'm working on it, but it definitely takes time.

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Tuesday (2018/1/8).

What's tight today: my right lower back, right glutes, right piriformis. (Probable cause: was doing a bunch of powerful heel-hook moves with this chain last night.) Hung out in some version of revolved head-to-knee pose, enjoying the sensations.

Morning YN: still going strong with the yoga nidra practice, using Kit's relaxation scripts. I started doing this regularly in late October, so it's probably around the 2 month mark now, with the odd lapse day here and there.

Warmup: I/D (going slightly wider, but a lot slower—like a minute to go from front to back); STC (tuck, as slow as possible); CS (adductors are tight today!); SS (right back is substantially tighter than yesterday); 15 BW squats; WA.

Practice: WP + HS. A tiny epsilon of progress each session. Daily handstand play is really nice.

Strength: SLS negatives (with heel on 2cm block, other leg held out with core/quad, hands making a pistol). 5 negatives on each side (so, do one side, rest for 90s, do the other, etc.). I can feel my body slowly learning the movement.

Listening: "Alexis Weissenberg plays Petrouchka - Stravinsky (complete)," watched on YouTube. But holy damn, this is ridiculous.

Climbing: about to go into the bouldering gym and do an hour of as-slow-as-possible climbing, seeing what I notice about my body, and then find someone to help me do the partner HF stretch.

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17 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

Listening: "Alexis Weissenberg plays Petrouchka - Stravinsky (complete)," watched on YouTube. But holy damn, this is ridiculous.

I love this aspect of your training log!

Of course, that you have, thus far, an eclectic and - to me - appealing taste in music, helps a great deal.

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3 hours ago, pogo69 said:

Of course, that you have, thus far, an eclectic and - to me - appealing taste in music, helps a great deal.

Hahaha! Obviously, I applaud your taste. :D

Wednesday (2019/1/9).

Didn't sleep particularly well. To this end, I'm going to do yoga nidra practice so it's the last thing before bed (instead of first thing). This morning, I did a sitting practice in place of where I'd normally do the lying relaxation. (So: wake up –> put away futon –> fix coffee –> "what's tight today?" limbering –> sitting practice –> exercise!) Generally, I'm feeling quite fatigued, so I'm going to have an idle afternoon full of naps, and simply enjoying this cooler weather before the oncoming Heatwave Of Certain Death.

Warmup: YB, I/D (I'm now realising that the slower, the better), STC x3, CS (having fun working low transitions between the two sides), SS (using slightly thinner blocks), WA (this exercise is slowly getting less gruesome).

Practice: WP + HS. With feet on the wall, experimenting with tucking and untucking the tail, to build awareness in that regard.

Strength: due to fatigue, only one exercise today—BW pull-ups on the rings, slow and controlled. 4x8r, 1x6r with a long isometric hold on the last rep and a long eccentric to finish.

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Thursday (2019/1/10).

The YN before bed worked very well: the sleep of the just.

What's tight today: the TFL/IT band/obliques line. Compared with the square-hips HF lunge, this line is substantially tighter on my body, and on both sides. Spent many rounds going between the sides, letting some tension release.

Initially, large resistance to the thought of exercise today, but I gradually got more psyched as I drank my pot of coffee. :D

Warmup: YB (looking at lats and scalenes); I/D (by relaxing left upper trap and externally rotating at the shoulder when the stick is still reasonably overhead, I'm able to get a perfect pec minor stretch); Rings—one arm hang, stretching out lats/obliques, before doing a slow STC; SS—felt like I was able to do an active piriformis stretch on my right side by instructing myself to full my torso forward relative to my femur; CS (feeling somewhat tight in the adductors today); WA (slowly learning about what my lower traps are saying).

Practice: WP then HS—again, a quantum of progress.

Strength: L-sit and Straddle-L sit work—alternating exercises with 2 minutes rest between.

  • Straddle-L, hands (backwards) on a chair*: 15s, 15s, 15s—feet are getting closer to horizontal.
  • Floor L-sit: 15s, 15s, 10s.

Lot of listening today. Alicia de Larrocha "Isaac Albeniz - Iberia"; Brian Eno "Thursday Afternoon".

Climbing: slow climbing and technique practice. Glute activation is the big focus at the moment.

 

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Friday (2019/1/11).

The fatigue has accumulated substantially, so I'm doing a light workout today.

Warmup: YB, CS, and STC (even though I'm tired, I'm noticing my strength in this movement has recovered substantially, and it is more consistent through the ROM due to the slow practice).

Practice: HS. Yep, definitely tired—less coordinated than yesterday.

Strength: 4x15r of PWD (paver wall dips).

That's enough for today. :)

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Saturday (2019/1/12).

Warmup was just a few SSS (to make sure my glutes were working) and a few CS. Had a morning climbing session on a friend's Moonboard. (https://www.moonboard.com/what-is-the-moonboard) Did a bunch of V4s and V5s, and peaked with one V7, before easing off with some easier problems. The good news is that the climbing didn't feel as hard as I was expecting, especially given all the accumulated fatigue. After a few more moderate sessions, I'll be very keen to try as hard as possible, to see where my limit currently is. Given all the heed I've been paying to the glutes of late, I can create much more body tension while on the wall—I felt I was able to climb very safely. After about two hours of this, I rested for the rest of the day. I have a feeling I'll be sore tomorrow!

Sunday (2019/1/13).

Yes, I am sore, but in an exciting place—there is virtually no fatigue in the shoulders despite how overhung yesterday's terrain was (some tightness in the T-spine, however). The real—and substantial—fatigue is all in the lower back/obliques/glutes/TFL area. I'm very happy about this, because it (likely) means that I'm using my prime movers for climbing, and that the slow mindful climbing on easy terrain is having a profound effect on my technique.

I joined my friends for an afternoon of trad climbing in the shade. We got lucky, because there was a cool breeze through the valley—it was very pleasant. I didn't do anything hard; I did, however, set up a top-rope on the crux of the 17R that I led a week before, and investigated about three of four different sequences through it. (I wasn't happy with how "rough" the lead was, so I really wanted to study the rock and investigate all the movement options.) It was really nice—just climbing over the same six metres of rock, trying out different combinations of moves, and getting myself into all sorts of tangles. I had the thought that working on fundamentals happens almost automatically when I really shrink the practice space. In this case, I was literally shrinking it to just a few metres of rock.

Monday (2019/1/14).

I slept close to 11 hours last night, so my body is clearly recovering from some exertions. Okay, but I really am resting today. I may go into the climbing gym this evening, but just to catch up with folks and do some stretching.

Observations:

  1. I'm happy to have done some tinkering with how I've scheduled my meditation practice, because I can now report that I find lying yoga nidra practice in the mornings much more effective for me, when compared with a morning sitting practice.
  2. After hard training, I can anticipate that I will sleep for at about ten hours.
  3. The morning exercise regime works reasonably well, in that the fatigue doesn't accumulate too horrendously, but I'll clearly need to schedule in the odd rest day (probably best to do it by feel). I'm also curious to see how long the interval can be between doing one session of (say) pull-ups and the next while still seeing an increase in capacity. Something to tinker with.
  4. Related to (3): I'm finding that strength training feels most effective when I really concentrate on the muscles being used. I'm also finding that this particular style of concentration becomes almost impossible when I'm tired. I expect that (modulo physical factors such as muscular cross-sectional area) this mind-body connection is strength in some deep sense.
Edited by Ed Heddle
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8 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

I'm happy to have done some tinkering with how I've scheduled my meditation practice, because I can now report that I find lying yoga nidra practice in the mornings much more effective for me, when compared with a morning sitting practice.

Interesting. What makes the yoga nidra better for you in the mornings? Do you find sitting more effective following a nidra session (either immediately or some time after)?

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On 1/14/2019 at 9:34 PM, Nathan said:

What makes the yoga nidra better for you in the mornings?

I find the yoga nidra feels causes a deeper shift in my awareness when compared with a sitting practice (I'm not sure why). Given that it feels like the most relevant practice for me, doing it earlier in the day (when I'm less tired) makes it more effective. Wild speculation: music has trained my focus from a young age, meaning that my major obstacle to being present is largely lack of tranquility.

On 1/14/2019 at 9:34 PM, Nathan said:

Do you find sitting more effective following a nidra session (either immediately or some time after)?

Yes, I do! I occasionally enjoy a quiet sit just before bed. It's not any fixed duration—it's more of an informal, "Well, I'll just see what arises."

Tuesday (2019/1/15).

Warmup: YB (slowly making progress on the scalenes); I/D; STC; CS; SS (my squat blocks are now just pieces of 1 cm ply); WA.

Practice: HS—playing with the line of the body.

Strength: SLS negatives, with heel on 1cm block, other leg held out with core/quad, hands jointly holding a 1 kg weight. 6 negatives on each side, alternating sides (so, do one side for about 20s, rest for 100s, do the other, etc.). Wow! Substantially worse on my right side in the bottom range of the movement—it may be a strength issue, but I'm suspecting a motor fault/restriction in the right hip.

Climbing: easy bouldering, just tinkering with movement. My training partner is back from climbing in the blue mountains, so I was able to recruit him to do deep partner HF stretch—so good! I felt like I was standing upright for the first time in about a month.

Wednesday (2019/1/16).

Warmup: YB, I/D, OAH (one arm hang on my rings at home, about 30s per side, alternating sides—this feels particularly nourishing for my shoulders), CS, SS, WA.

Handstand practice: still playing with the line of the body. I still need to consciously fire the abs in order to keep the hollow body shape.

Strength: alternating sets of BW pull-ups (5x8r) and shoulder press (two 8kg dumbells) (5x10r).

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3 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

I find the yoga nidra feels causes a deeper shift in my awareness when compared with a sitting practice (I'm not sure why). Given that it feels like the most relevant practice for me, doing it earlier in the day (when I'm less tired) makes it more effective. Wild speculation: music has trained my focus from a young age, meaning that my major obstacle to being present is largely lack of tranquility.

Interesting. I began with lying relaxation (which is similar to nidra) long before I ever sat for the first time, and I think it influences how I sit quite a bit. I tend to search out tension and focus on deep relaxation of the body before moving into concentration-type practices like feeling the breath even when sitting. It's too soon to tell for sure, but I think this is actually improving my lying relaxation sessions as well. It's more difficult to achieve that state of deep relaxation while sitting with an erect spine, so getting better at doing that seems to be making it easier to move into the state when lying down. It might be interesting for you to try approaching a sit like a nidra session and see how it feels for you.

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On 1/16/2019 at 9:44 PM, Nathan said:

It might be interesting for you to try approaching a sit like a nidra session and see how it feels for you.

Thanks! I shall tinker with this.

Thursday (2019/1/17).

Limber: quad stretch using the wall, modified revolved head-to-knee (for side-body & lower back), backbend over a cushion atop two yoga blocks, outer hammies.

Warmup: distracted ankle stretch (henceforth DAS), YB (focus on pec minor), I/D (retraction!), OAH — 3 sets on each arm for 30s (hard!), CS (trying to get chest up), STC (the higher rings make the final german hang position really intense—at the climbing gym, I'll play with the final hang position with toes touching the ground), SS (heels on 1 cm ply, bouncing around and exploring), WA (no weight—instead, focusing intently on shoulder blade retraction).

HS practice: foci are (1) open/extend at the shoulders, (2) hollow body (tail tuck plus engaged deep abs).

Strength: L-sit party—alternating floor L-sit and straddle L-sit.

  1. Weighted pike, standing on a stool (to loosen hamstrings)—I found it helpful to squeeze the quads, and "push my hips toward the ceiling" (not exactly sure what that's cueing, but it helps).
  2. Straddle L-sit (with hands split): 4x15s.
  3. Floor L-sit: 3x15s, 1x13s.

This feels like the hardest of the five workouts.

Friday (2019/1/18).

Limber: quads and HFs.

Warmup: DAS, YB, I/D, OAH (4x30s for left arm, 3x30s for right arm, swapping sides, with little breathers. I really feel the restrictions in the chest—it's a really demanding breathing exercise!), CS, SS, STCx3, WA (no weight, as much awareness as I can muster).

HS practice: playing with some donkey kicks today. I've noticed that when kicking up into a donkey kick, the lower back instinctively flexes in an effort to more quickly bring the pelvis over the hands and shoulders. I'm working on flexing the core and tucking the tail to minimise/control this tendency.

Strength: PWD (15r, 15r, 12r, 10r, 8r)—working on awareness and immaculate form, stopping well before failure. I'm focusing on strongly retracting/depressing the shoulder blades—especially in the bottom position, and stopping when pec minor gets too dominant. I find this happens when I move too quickly.

New exercise: "corrections"—at the bottom of a paver wall dip, let the shoulder blades round forward into pec-minor land. Then slowly engage the shoulder blade retractors to mindfully correct the shoulder position while under load. Also: add a chin-tucking/back-of-the-neck extension to the correction. Feels nourishing.

Saturday (2019/1/19).

Limber: focused on outer hammies and piriformis.

Warmup: YB, I/D, PM stretch using ring (trying to strongly contract pec minor at its longest length), OAH (4 sets of 30s on each arm), STC x 3, CS, SS (with the heels raise on a broom handle, playing around with noose pose, a.k.a. pasasana), WA.

HS Practice: working on core engagement with donkey kicks. Feels hard today.

Strength: alternating sets (2 mins rest between) of (1) ring rows 3x12r, 1x11r, 1x10r and (2) push-ups 5x12r.

Tiring! I think I may need to take a rest day tomorrow :)

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  • 4 years later...

Hey folks! It's been a good while since I have logged any posts here, but the time now seems ripe to do so. My regular stretching partner has left to go rock climb around Europe for two years (I take partial credit for this: years back, I prodded him with Kit's "What do you want?" question around the campfire one night), so posting here again regularly I think will be a useful fixture in my routine.

Some context: my doctoral studies are coming to a close (albeit painfully slowly), I've gotten tad stronger and more flexible, and I'm more keenly aware of my tight lines and how they're holding back my progress in other areas.

My current goals (or perhaps "systems" is a better term) relate to strength training, meditation, climbing performance, and making progress with these tight lines. At the moment:

  • for strength, I'm running a easy strength–style program 3X/week (quick mobility warmup, BB snatch practice, snatch DL, KB bent press, weighted pull-ups, hanging leg raises, loaded carry, and sport-specific hangboarding);
  • for climbing, I'm bouldering 3X/week (1X/week, I'm working on a wonderfully hard project; 2X/week, I'm getting in skills practice at the gym);
  • for stretching, I'm primarily doing solo work, working on my tight lines—calves/ankles, hamstrings, and my front body, aiming towards the squat, pike, and bridge, respectively.
  • for meditation, I'm doing a yoga nidra relaxation most mornings.
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I am outrageously sore from yesterday's hard bouldering and loaded stretching.

Today's practice:

Easy Strength, somewhat light session.

  • goblet squat w/ prying: 2 x 5r x 24kg (pry on last rep)
  • liu sidebends: 2 x 5r with empty barbell
  • barbell snatch: 5r x 20kg, 30kg
  • snatch-grip deadlift: 5r x 50kg, 70kg
  • weighted pullups: 3 x 3r x 16kg
  • KB bent press: 1 x 5r x 16kg on each side
  • suitcase carry: lap of front lawn with 40kg, on each side
  • hangboard: 3 x 10s / side, OTM(ish), for
    • one-armed hang on 2" edge
    • assisted* one-armed hang on 20 mm edge, with "3 finger drag" grip
    • wooden pinch block attached to a 20kg KB (sumo deadlift off the ground)

* The feet are currently bearing between 10 to 20 kg of BW. (I do the hangs while standing on a pair of bathroom scales.)

Yoga Nidra. A short one today.

Stretching. Stretched pronator teres and brachioradialis (I think) using the arm of a couch and a 4kg kettlebell.

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@Ed Heddle: translate, please "OTM(ish)

A little tip: especially for exercises that rely heavily on tendon strength (like your hangboard/hanging ones), best to not do these when "outrageously sore from yesterday's hard bouldering". Best to not use the flexor tendons for at least a day after a hard session, especially if that has left you sore—the reason men's gymnastic strength training protocols have de-load days (and weeks) is because tendons and ligaments have about one-tenth the blood supply that muscles have. Muscles and nerves get stronger much faster than tendons and ligaments, and you don't want to find out how fast yours are adapting the hard way. 

Thanks for posting.

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@Kit_L: OTM(ish) = on the minute, ish. To be concrete: for the warmup jug hangs, I do hangs at 0:00 (RH) and 0:30 (LH), 1:00 (RH) and 1:30 (LH), 2:00 (RH) and 2:30 (LH). If I don't feel the forearms are sufficiently warmed up, I just repeat this until I feel they are. For the three-finger drag and the pinch block, I reduce the work rate to one set per minute, doing each hang at the top of the minute: 3:00 (RH), 4:00 (LH), 5:00 (RH), etc. This way, each hand gets just shy of two minutes rest between sets, which seems to be sufficient recovery for the next set.

Your point about adaptation of tendons and ligaments is well taken! Changing my schedule so I don't train the forearms the day after projecting the boulder problem is an easy fix. That said, I should have articulated "my soreness" more clearly: I felt it all in my trunk and legs—glute medius, spinal erectors, right hamstring and piriformis, QL, and so on. My obliques, in particular, were singing, and hence, outrageous. Indeed, the boulder problem itself is likely more a test of body tension than of pure finger strength (although one needs this too!), so it makes sense that my trunk felt so strongly worked.

Re: deloads, I had a few weeks off around Christmas and new year's, and I'll be taking three weeks off in March to travel, so now is the time to hit it. (Sensibly, of course.)

Meditation. Had a go at a shikantaza sit (15 minute), which I've seen discussed in these forums a bit. Later, during the day, I had the thought: "The present moment needs no instruction."

Easy Strength, medium-hard session.

  • goblet squat w/ prying: 2 x 5r x 24kg (pry on last rep).
  • liu sidebends: 2 x 5r with empty barbell.
  • barbell snatch: 3r x broomstick, 20kg, 30kg, 35kg — more than achievable, but my technique needs much work. I'll stick with these weights for the next month and practice the groove of the exercise until it's effortless.
  • snatch-grip deadlift: 3r x 70, 80, 90kg — 90 felt very achievable, but hard. I think a very realistic goal will be to aim for 2 x 5r x 90kg at the end of Feb. (I'm sure I could have done that today without a hassle, but I think it's better just to potter slowly with this stuff.)
  • weighted pullups: singles, increasing each time. 1r x BW, 8kg, 12kg, 16kg, 20kg, 24kg. (Could have done 28kg, but, again, better to wait.)
  • KB bent press: 3r x 16kg, 20kg; 2 x 2r x 24kg.
  • farmer's walk: walked around with 40 and 44kg kettlebells, swapped sides, then walked around some more.

Boulder. Light session at the gym with a dear friend.

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19 hours ago, Ed Heddle said:

"The present moment needs no instruction."

Perfection, right there!

Thanks for the clarification re. "OTM(ish)". I did think about what it could mean for a few minutes before posting.

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Very tired at the start of the week; no problem—just took it easy.

Tuesday:

Shikantaza (30 mins)

 

Thursday:

Was woken really early by the noise of blinds bumping in the wind, so I had the time to do an hour sit in the morning, before climbing.

Bouldering. Warmed up on a V0, V3, and V5 (each three times), and then worked on my project (V11ish, I think). I was lacking in body tension, and wasn't able to do the trickiest move nicely. (Speculation: fatigue, in general, and left obliques and QL, spinal erectors, left hip flexors, and right hip external rotator group, in particular.)

 

Friday:

Easy Strength.

  • goblet squat, 2 x 5r x 24kg
  • liu sidebends, 2 x 5r x empty barbell
  • snatch: 3r x 20, 25, 30, 35, 35, 35kg
  • snatch deadlift: 5r x 70kg, 80kg (I found the hook grip to be fine with 70kg, whereas it was agony with 80kg and I needed to switch to a overhand grip)
  • bent press: 2 x 5r x 20kg / side
  • weighted pull-ups: 5r x 12kg, 16kg
  • suitcase carry: a lap of the front lawn, per side, with 44kg 'bell

Stretching.

  • KB ankle stretch, with band, using 32, 36, and 40kg. I feel that my stubborn calves/ankles are yielding, albeit very slowly.

Shikantaza just before bed (15 mins)

 

Saturday:

Shikantaza (30 mins)

Bouldering. Climbed in the gym, trying some moderate climbs. (Was planning on having a hard session, but my body wasn't in the mood.)

Stretching. Some loaded end-range work:

  • KB pullover: 5r x 10, 12, 12kg
  • KB armbar: with 16kg, 24kg (the rotational line, with KB in my LH, is my tighter direction)
  • "sawhorse" piriformis: with one leg in front of me on top of two stacked sawhorses, knee bent at 90, I played with moving the working hip away from the midline of the body and up. I enjoyed the fact that this can be loaded and unloaded without difficulty, depending on how I use my hands for support.
  • loaded elephant walk with 36kg KB (feet on the sawhorses) — adding micro twists to hit different lines in the back
  • jefferson curl with 16kg, a few very slow reps
  • pancake good morning with empty barbell
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  • 2 weeks later...

Bit of a backlog!

Sun 5 Feb. No-handed climbing in Morialta gorge. (See, for instance, the master Johnny Dawes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j57Bxc4aQIs), evening sit, and some squat movements.

Mon 6 Feb. Morning sit (1 hr), limbering with squat movements, and easy strength:

  • goblet/OH squat complex: 2 x 5r x (24kg and stick) — goblet squat down, bicep curl the KB down, pick up stick, OH squat up and down, put down stick and curl up KB, etc. Here, my heels were on a 16 mm plank of wood.
  • liu sidebends: 2 x 5r x 20kg
  • KB soleus/ankle stretch using 40kg, 48kg KBs on my thigh
  • snatch: 3r x 25, 30, 35, 40kg
  • snatch DL: 3r x 70, 80, 90kg
  • bent press: 5r x 20kg, 3r x 24kg, 2r x 28kg
  • weighted pullups: 5r x 14kg, 3r x 18kg, 2r x 22kg
  • suitcase carry: on each side, two lengths of front lawn with 48kg
  • hangboard: 3 x 10s per side for
    • one-armed jug hold on 2" edge
    • assisted one-armed 3 finger drag on 20 mm edge (progress — with my RH, I got the reading on the scale down to 5kg)
    • wooden pinch block with 20kg attached

Tue 7 Feb. Sit (1 hr), and bouldering (four different V4s, five times each).

Wed 8 Feb. Easy strength:

  • liu sidebends: 5r x 20kg
  • snatch: 3r x 25, 30, 35, 40kg
  • snatch DL: 5r x 60, 70kg
  • bent press: 3 x 3r x 24kg
  • weighted pullups: 3 x 3r x 12kg

Thur 9 Feb. Outdoor bouldering (and coffee!): worked on my outdoor project before teaching. Somewhat tired, due to poor sleep, but matched my previous highpoint. This is encouraging!

Sat 11 Feb. Trad climbing with a friend at Mount Arapiles. Led an interesting old-school route called Mr. Hyde (grade 15) with a few nice jams here and there with some interesting thrutching (climber lingo for "awkward, indescribable movements that nonetheless seem to be effective") near the top.

Following this, we set up a top-rope on the adjacent slab and did a bunch of no-hands climbing. This is so much fun! It demands a high level of presence and concentration on the body. I did the slab (without hands) three times, each attempt with fewer falls. My friend and I were staggered by the accumulated fatigue: foot arches, hamstrings, side glutes, connective tissue around the foot and ankle, calves, deep core muscles, spinal erectors—you name it. Whenever I do no-handed climbing, I feel that on the hike back I'm walking much better—that, although tired, my legs, hips and back have properly "woken up" and I'm properly finishing the "stroke" of each leg. The other great thing about it is it's so ludicrous that it's impossible to take it seriously!

Sun 12. Trad climbing. Led both pitches of Ejaculation (15), a route where the crux is slightly runout and has some notoriety for spitting out leaders' gear placements. Not hard climbing by any means, but certainly thought-provoking, with some large potential falls at points.

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Mon 13 Feb.

Squat work. It feels like I'm making progress! After today's work, I could do a BW squat with a heel raise of less than 1 cm (see the photo below).

  • calf-ham stick — feeling some tension in gastroc and lower hammies (the photo shows I need to do this one a whole bunch)
  • elephant walk — playing with raising the toes on a 2 x 4 plank to emphasise the nerve stretch
  • single-legged downward dog — just playing with movements here
  • KB soleus stretch (using 36, 40, 44, 48kg 'bells) — I do this as a "split-squat" movement. The foot of the ankle/calf to be stretched is put on two stacked bumper plates with maximal knee and hip bend, and the other leg goes back behind me, much like a hip flexor stretch. One observation: as I focus on the cue to externally rotate my femur and to untuck my tail, I feel a stretch in glute medius (I think), with sensations going up into QL. I wonder: can tight rear fibres in glute med. prevent the full expression of anterior tilt when in a squat? Further, could that be what's happening here? In any event, this might be the "unlock" I've been searching for.
  • squat limbering movements, with heel raised slightly

In sum, my guess is that the main things that I need to regularly aim to do in order to improve my squat are (1) to lengthen and strengthen soleus, (2) to relax gastroc and my hammies with the rod of correction (which I've taken to calling the stick of virtue), especially near the knee, and (3) to spend time in a relaxed squat each morning, heels slightly raised on a book.

squat-progress.HEIC

Yoga Nidra, the 2018 Brisbane ITS script.

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