Weekly Progress Report: 2012-01-09
My Vacation of the Year™ is already over. Back to Work and Stuff™ !
Challenge #6 : Straddle Press to Handstand
Elbow Planche: I got it! 67 seconds max hold, effectively adding 9 seconds to my last record and blasting the goal away. On to the next step of learning hand balanding: trying it out as much as possible!
Tuck Planche: 11 seconds! Steady progress. I’ve been experimenting with movements and variations based on Darryl’s work, but Read more
Weekly Progress Report: 2012-01-03
They’re back! Welcome to 2012!
Challenge #6: Straddle Press to Handstand
10 seconds on the Tuck Planche. I’m working on application of the latest hints Darryl has given me; one that’s proving tricky is attempting to bend more forward. I’ve also Read more
Flexibility Training: Experiments
I love flexibility, and flexibility work.
Some people think it’s necessary. Others despise it. According to my observations, points of view are in great part related to the kind of physical discipline one is involved into. I’ve been into martial arts for many years, so following my theory, I guess my opinion of flexibility training is biased in favor of it.
Weekly Progress Report: 2011-11-23
Aloha!
Challenge #6: Straddle Press to Handstand
A couple of things. First, it’s unfortunate as I was unable to catch it on video, but last Thursday I successfully stood my Tuck Planche for 5 seconds, thus adding another second to my latest max PR.
I’m at 15 seconds for the Tuck Front Lever;
And also 15 seconds for a satisfyingly straight Elbow Planche. Read more
Parkour Training: Learning from the Roots
Some weeks ago, I mentioned I was attending a Parkour seminar. Here’s my review.
(Note: All pictures are property of ADD Quebec or SLA Coop.)
The formula was fairly simple: Friday evening and both days of the weekend, totalling around 16 hours of training. Each day included a physical training session with parkour-specific movements, followed by a longer stretch of technical learning and training.
More importantly, the seminar was held by by Chaû Belle, one of the founding members of the widely known group Yamakasi.
(Chaû is the guy giving a wink at the kid)
Handstand progression (#8) and other Training Shenanigans
Within the last year, my training has been directed a lot towards general weightlifting strength, endurance and ability. Some of my favorite progressions:
- 1 rep max Deadlift: 275 lbs to 375 lbs in 4 months;
- Power Clean & Jerk : 135 lbs up to 195 lbs 1RM in 6 months;
- Clean & Jerk : Ditto;
- Push Press : 12 642 lbs to 61 305 lbs in Volume (200+ reps @ 115 lbs in 20 minutes)
- Plate Curl: 25 lbs with each hand
These are among those I’m the most proud of, but they definitely are not the only ones. My PR (Personal Records) log is getting bigger everyday I train, thanks to the beauty and genius that is the Gym Movement Protocol. I’ve been using this protocol regularly for almost a year now, without a single need to switch to something else. I highly recommend you to have a look at it.
In the recent weeks I’ve felt an intrinsic need to alter my focus towards more of my bodyweight goals of strength and ability. The arrival of summertime definitely is part of the factors in this change.
Challenge #9 “Le Moment de Vérité”: THE TEAM
Now is the time to finally reveal who will, with me, take part in the exciting challenge participating to “Le Moment de Vérité”. For purposes practicality, let’s call it the MdV Team.
Here they are, in all their greatness! (and foolishness)
From left to right: Yannick, Myself, Jean-Luc and Marc
As it happens, they’re 3 of my dragonboat teammates. This picture was taken following our last competition, for which we’re proudly showing our gold medals!
- Jean-Luc (yes, as in ‘Jean-Luc Picard’, except he’s not a Picard) : Loud, outspoken, freakin’ strong dude. He’ll be a perfect motivation and energy booster, and I have not an ounce of doubt that if we need strength, he’ll show up.
- Marc : He’s the runner (and a damn good one at that), as well as the does-way-more-than-he-looks kind of guy. He’s always there to lend a helpful hand to everything and everyone he happens upon. Very dependable and very skilled in many fashions, albeit kinda quieter than Jean-Luc (OK, that’s not very hard to do).
- Yannick : I haven’t known him for very long yet; however he’s quickly shown as a very dependable and adaptable kind of guy who likes to have fun. He seems willing to try out anything you might dare him to, and in thus he didn’t hesitate for very long when I asked him to join the Team. I can’t wait to get to know him better.
What’s very cool with the brand new MdV Team, is that we’re all very fit enough to take on any kind of physical challenge. It also happens that we’re all studying in engineering, and very much capable of a number of mental challenges. More importantly, we’re pumped and ready to tackle anything they might throw at us.
I will soon organize with them to produce a presentation video, which we’ll be using to actually apply for the Show. Of course, when it’s done you’ll be the first to know about it!
So, all of this being said…
BRING IT ON!
Challenge #3: The Metro
Hi guys! Quick post while I’m actually (yes, yes, for real!) building the post to present the next 3 challenges. I know I could just tell you what they are and keep it at that, but I prefer to, you know, do a good job?
For one of them I actually have to select a team of friends to do it with me, so that’s also part of the process. I’ll try and take a picture of us 3 or 4 
Anyway, here’s the actual pic of THIS post:
The metro
I unfortunately didn’t catch his name, as I had barely enough time to actually take the pic; he was just getting out of the wagon. Still, thank you metro guy! Hope you get the chance to find your pic
Aside from that, I had the awesomest of awesome weekends. It was my dragonboat team’s training camp at Lac Mercier, Mont-Tremblant, and you have no idea how much fun we had. Weather was gorgeous, people were gorgeous (our girls being the gorgeous-est, of course), and we did more shenanigans than we can count.
Spending a whole weekend suffering, recovering, and having fun just glues people together. Our team is now FAMILY.
