Another change in exercise program

I recently had an emergency operation to repair a retinal detachment.  As a result, I now have a gas bubble in my eye and am under doctors' orders to maintain a face-down head position the majority of my waking hours and avoid any exercise or other activity that would affect the pressure in my head.

Thus, I stopped training on the rings and the parallettes.  I also cut down my consumption of meat and other fattening foods to try to avoid gaining too much body fat as a consequence of reduced exercise.

I don't recall if I ever explained why I got into ring and parallette training in the first place.  I forgot the exact reason(s) but I do recall my interest in exercise on these apparatus developing as part of my growing realization that the reason I started strength training was to improve my athleticism and movement.  Getting bigger muscles was never a priority - I just assumed that if my muscles grew bigger, it was just part of getting stronger.  I later learned, as I read Pavel Tsatsouline's book Power To The People and the writings of other respected trainers that muscle size does not always increase with strength.  I enjoyed lifting weights to get stronger, but ring training appealed to me as a way of increasing strength and learning new movement skills as the same time.  As documented earlier this year, I was sort of forced by a bicycling accident to switch to parallette training for a while, but I also quickly grew to love training on the parallettes as well.

Unfortunately, as explained earlier, I had to give up training on the rings and parallettes.  Fortunately, I found another exercise program which I could start following, which features exercises I can practice without generating enough internal pressure to cause problems with the gas bubble in my eye, and do so while maintaining face-down position the majority of the time.  I don't know if I'll burn enough calories under this new program to prevent unwanted accumulation of body fat, but it's better than not exercising at all, and I'll be exploring a new set of movement skills, which always appeals to me.  It also promises improvements in flexibility and strength.

Perhaps not coincidentally, this program is also offered by GMB and is called Elements.  I completed Day 2 today and am looking forward to Day 3 tomorrow.

I was also pleasantly surprised to discover today that I can practice the unassisted pistol squat without much strain - and thus no dangerous internal pressure.  I practice it "grease the groove" style - one rep on each leg once every 40-120 minutes.  My recollection of this concept as explained in Power To The People was that you practice the chosen skill (in this case the pistol squat) all day, but you do it when you're fresh so you can concentrate on technique, without the distraction of fatigue.  The more you practice this skill mindfully, the better you will get at it - "better" usually translating to less effort to execute the skill and greater work capacity (ability to do more reps of it).

New article from GMB about stretching for stiff/inflexible people

Great tips on stretching for inflexible people:

https://gmb.io/stretching-tips/

Hamstring flexibility (or, lack thereof) are a particular problem for me, so I look forward to trying these at the next opportunity

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 6 Report

Above The Rings

Dips - 8 reps max.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 6 reps max.

Hanging Knee Raises -  7 reps max.

Below The Rings

Pull-ups - 9 reps max.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 6 reps max.

Skin The Cat -  5 reps max.

Supplemental Exercises

Pistol Squats (counterweight-assisted) - 5 reps max.

Tuck Sit To Bent Arm Stand (parallettes) - 2 reps max.

Kind of interesting that despite doing two Above The Rings sessions and one Below The Rings session this week, my performance in the Below The Rings exercises improved while staying the same for the Above The Rings exercises.  I wonder if the pattern will repeat next week, with improvement showing in the Above The Rings exercises, and none in the Below The Rings exercises.

Progress on the Tuck Sit To Bent Arm Stand has been good this week.  At the start of the week, I could barely do one rep, starting from the Bent Arm Stand, with shaky control.  Today, I did two reps per set.  My technique still has room for improvement, particularly the coordination involved in rolling forward, but the progress is encouraging.  For today's Above The Rings session, I attempted to roll forward from the Tuck Sit position into the Tuck Shoulder Stand.  As expected, this movement is still much harder for me on the rings than on the parallettes.  Just attempting the move is much more strenuous than starting in Tuck Sit, then lowering my feet and walking them back.  My guess is that I need to be able to do at least 3 reps of this movement on the parallettes with solid technique before I'll be able to do my first complete rep of the same movement on the rings.  I might need to be able to do as much as 5 reps... or maybe even more.  We'll see.

Today's training

Today was an Above The Rings session - nothing special or otherwise new to report.

I think replacing the Bent Arm Stand hold practice with the Tuck Sit To Bent Arm Stand may be a good idea for me.  My technique is maybe a 4 out of 10 - not great - but I can do one full rep of this move without touching the floor with my feet.  After that one full rep, my form breaks down and touching the floor is inevitable.  So, instead of sets of 1.5 reps, I'll just do singles.

This movement is clearly a good candidate for Grease The Groove practice, which is doable for me on weekends.  If I can develop this skill on just the floor, I can try this at work too.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 5 Report

Above The Rings

Dips - 8 reps max.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 6 reps max.

Hanging Knee Raises -  7 reps max.

Below The Rings

Pull-ups - 8 reps max.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 5 reps max.

Skin The Cat -  4 reps max.

Supplemental Exercises

Pistol Squats (counterweight-assisted) - 5 reps max.

Tuck Shoulder Stand Holds (parallettes) - 45 sec. max.

Barely perceptible progress within Rings One itself, but I did achieve a significant milestone:  My first fully unassisted Tuck Sit to Bent Arm Stand on the parallettes. I find it easier to start the movement from the Bent Arm Stand rather than the Tuck Sit, because it’s easier to roll back from the Bent Arm Stand into the Tuck Sit, than it is to roll forward in the other direction.  Because I just barely gained the strength to do this movement, I can probably do at most 1.5 reps (start in Bent Arm Stand, do one complete rep back to Bent Arm Stand, roll under control back to Tuck Sit to finish).

Since the purpose of the Tuck Shoulder Stand Hold practice was to build strength towards the Tuck Sit to Bent Arm Stand,  starting next week I will replace that hold with 1-2 sets of this movement after each ring session, with 1.5 reps per set.  The idea is that as I gain skill and strength in this movement, I will get closer to achieving the similar move (Tuck Sit to Tuck Shoulder Stand) on the rings.

Today's training

I didn't have a great Above The Rings session today - just ok.  I think it was because I didn't sleep very well due to my ongoing aches/pains in my hips.  I'm a side-sleeper - it's hard to break that habit.

On the plus side, I tried the Tuck Sit to Tuck Shoulder Stand move on the parallettes and found that I'm closer that I thought to doing the move fully unassisted.  The key seems to be to maintain downward pressure on the parallettes throughout the movement.  I have a tendency to ease up on this pressure as I roll forward from the Tuck Sit towards the Tuck Shoulder Stand.  I can roll back from the Tuck Shoulder Stand to the Tuck Sit without touching the floor with my feet - once in a while anyway.

My "off-day" routine (the weekdays between Rings One sessions) has been this of late:

- Rings One Warmup routine

- 2-3 sets of counterweight-assisted pistol squats (currently 4-5 reps/set - only done if not bicycling to work)

- Tuck Shoulder Stand Holds (parallettes) of at least 20 seconds (1-2 sets).

- Bicycle ride to work (12-14 miles) - if not doing pistol squats.

Based on today's discovery, I will replace the Tuck Shoulder Stand Holds with Tuck Sit To Tuck Shoulder Stands on the parallettes, with "foot walking" assistance as needed.  I will limit myself to 2 sets to try to avoid overtraining.

Seven tips to get your bike ready for winter

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/seven-tips-to-get-your-bike-ready-for-winter-198857?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

I don't plan to follow #5 because we don't get enough days in the year with icy roads to justify the expense of studded tires, but the other tips look useful.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 4 Report

Above The Rings

Dips - 8 reps max.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3-5 reps/set.

Hanging Knee Raises -  7 reps max.

Below The Rings

Pull-ups - 8 reps max.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 5 reps max.

Skin The Cat -  4 reps max.

Supplemental Exercises

Pistol Squats (counterweight-assisted) - 4 reps max.

Tuck Shoulder Stand Holds - 20-30 secs.

I've been doing the supplemental exercises after every rings session.  The pistols are being done to test the theory that strengthening the hips and gluteus muscles, along with the legs, will reduce the lingering aches and pains in my hips/low back from that deadlifting accident from several years ago.  The shoulder stand holds are being practiced to improve my skill as well as help develop the strength to do a tuck shoulder stand hold on the rings.  What both versions of the tuck shoulder stand hold (parallettes and rings) have in common is that balance is the key.  Where they seem to differ though is the balance - it seems like the body might be at a different angle on the rings.  The instability of the rings compared to the parallettes continues to pose a problem.  However, I did manage to achieve a tuck shoulder stand hold for 2 seconds on the rings, before I lost my balance.

What I did to achieve the shoulder stand hold on the parallettes was primarily follow the Parallettes One program as instructed.  However, I also started trying to put less and less weight on the supporting foot in the One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold, eventually putting no weight at all on the foot by kicking up a little.  Eventually, I was able to go straight into the full tuck shoulder stand without kicking up.  I'm doing the same thing on the rings now, kicking up a bit and seeing if I can support my body with just my hands on the rings.

I only commuted by bicycle to work once this week, because I was hoping to get home in time to head out to attend the Salsa Cycles demo.  On that day, I did 5 sets of assisted pistol squats.

Tutorial on the Side Crow and Crooks Pose

This tutorial comes courtesy of the PCC folks, specifically Grace Kavadlo.

http://pccblog.dragondoor.com/side-crow-and-crooks-pose/

Three simple exercises for feeling better in the upper back, shoulders, and hips/lower back

http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/daily-exercises?cid=SOC_sp_MH

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 3 Report

Above The Rings

Dips - 7 reps max.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3-5 reps/set.

Hanging Knee Raises -  6 reps max.

Below The Rings

Pull-ups - 8 reps max.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 5 reps max.

Skin The Cat -  4 reps max.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 2 Report

Above The Rings

Dips - 7 reps max.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3 reps/set.

Hanging Knee Raises -  6 reps max.

Below The Rings

Pull-ups - 6 reps max.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 5 reps max.

Skin The Cat -  4 reps max.


In addition I have started practicing pistol squats and the Parallette Tuck Shoulder Stand - 1-2 sets each - at the end of each Rings One session.  I also practice them on the in-between days, along with the warmup and cool down routines.

While I still unable to perform a tuck shoulder stand on the rings, I improved my best hold time in the parallette tuck shoulder stand to 30 seconds.  When I first started doing a true tuck shoulder stand on the parallettes, my feet still hovered a few inches above the floor.  I have since learned that by lifting my feet higher, and also raising my hips so that my torso is at a greater angle in relation to the floor,  I get an interesting sensation of my lower body floating up like a balloon.  I guess this has a lot to do with body mechanics and balance points.  Sometimes I feel my lower back working a bit to raise the lower body a little higher off the ground.  I may have the upper body strength to get into the tuck shoulder stand on the parallettes and hold this position for up to 30 seconds, but it seems that my control still isn't good enough to do the same thing on the rings yet.  There's always a few seconds of fiddling around with body positioning, weight distribution, etc. before my hips start to rise into the air almost effortlessly.  I think that "fiddling around time" needs to be reduced to improve my chances of performing this skill on the rings.

Day off

Taking the day off to visit friends.

I have lingering soreness in my triceps, rear delts, and lats.  My pecs were also sore yesterday but they seem to be fine today.  I guess Rings One just works these muscles differently than Parallettes One.

I still follow GMB's instruction to not train under Rings One or Parallettes One on consecutive days.  So I bike to work on the in-between days.  When I get back home on a bike commuting day, I usually do the cool down routine from whatever GMB program I'm working on, then do the hip stretches taught here.  I then do calf stretches then finish with the hamstring stretches from GMB's Focused Flexibility program (mentioned in the linked article).

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: End of Week 1

Taking Friday off, so today concluded Week 1 of Rings One, Level A, Phase 2.  As previously posted, I added the parallette shoulder stand hold to the routine, immediately after the warmup.  The results:

Parallette Shoulder Stand - 2 sets of 5-10 sec. holds.

Pull-ups - 4-6 reps/set.  Sloppy form.  Need to work on pull-up prep move.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 3-4 reps/set.

Skin The Cat -  3 sets of 3-4 reps

This was a "get reacquainted" session.  It was great to do pulling exercises again for the first time in months.  My inverted hang was more stable than expected.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Start of Week 1

Today I resumed work on this program, after 17 weeks of parallettes training, with an Above The Rings session.  The results:

Dips - 5-6 reps/set.  Looks like my improved pressing strength from the parallettes training carried over here, despite the shaky form due to not  having practiced on the rings in months.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3 reps/set.  I was disappointed that I was unable to do a tuck shoulder stand on the rings like I can on the parallettes.  I don't know if it's because I'd just achieved that skill a couple of weeks ago or if it's because the rings are a less stable platform for shoulder stands than parallettes.

Hanging Knee Raises -  6 reps/set with 5 sec. hold per rep.  This is one of the exercises recommended for preparing for the L-Sit, in GMB's just-updated L-Sit tutorial.  After this session, it was easy to understand why my progress towards the L-Sit has been so slow - until today, I haven't been really working on the necessary core and hip strength for the L-Sit.  If I can't even do 10 reps of 5-sec. holds in the Hanging Knee Raise, I have little shot of nailing the L-Sit.  For this exercise I had the option of working from either the pull-up position or the top-position hold on the rings - I went with the latter as it fit the theme of the Above The Rings session.  I have just enough stamina in the top position hold to do a max of 6 reps, and I'm sure it will improve as my reps go up.

I then grabbed my parallettes just to see if I could still do a tuck shoulder stand hold, after my discouraging failure to do it on the rings.  It turns out I still could do this hold for at least 5 seconds.  I'll keep practicing this hold on the parallettes regularly, just to keep reminding myself regularly how it feels to hold a tuck shoulder stand.  A certain level of strength is a prerequisite, but I'm finding balance is even more important.  When the balance is right, the load is spread throughout the body structure and multiple muscle groups - the triceps, the chest, the shoulders, the abs, and even the intercostals.  Because this exercise relies a bit more on skill than just brute strength, I'll practice in the mornings of my bike commuting days and whenever I feel fresh in general.  This isn't the type of exercise to be practiced when one is exhausted.

The concept behind frequent practice of an exercise to master it was coined "Grease The Groove" by Pavel Tsatsouline.  A nice explanation can be found here.

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 17 Report

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises 

Plank Push-Ups - 9 reps max

Plank Jump to Dip -  12 reps/set

Battle Rams, Version 2 - 10 reps/max.  Back to the Phase 1 version.

Tuck Hold - 7 sec. hold per leg when keeping one leg tucked and extending the other as far forward as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds -  12 reps max.

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - 10 reps max.

Tuck Shoulder Stand Hold - Initiated each hold from Tuck Hold, walking the feet back, then getting into Tuck Shoulder Stand.  This is the same as the Assisted Tuck Hold to Tuck Shoulder Stand in Rings One, Level A, Phase 2.  I also worked on increasing the angle of my torso in relation to the ground, so that my hips and feet would be higher.  12 sec. max hold.

Tuck Swings - 12 reps.

Assisted Inverted Presses -  12 reps max

Dive Bombers Standard - 10 reps.

I'm satisfied with the progress I've made in 17 weeks of training in Parallettes One, except for the L-Sit, which continues to elude me.  It was very satisfying to achieve a true shoulder stand, as well as improved pressing strength.

That said, I plan to switch back to Rings One next week.  Not being able to do an L-Sit is holding me back from progressing to Phase 2 in Parallettes One - Phase 2 includes two exercises that cannot be done if one cannot do an L-Sit.  By switching back to Rings One, I have a much wider range of exercises on which I can progress while continuing to work on my L-Sit.  I'd also like to work on my pulling strength again.  Rings One trains this more intensely than Parallettes One.

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 16 Report

Before this week of training, I fell off my bike and bruised my knee and my forearm in a couple of places.

On the other hand, I finished this week achieving a long-elusive goal - a real shoulder stand, feet completely off the ground and all.  It took me a while to build the strength to do it, but finding the balance point was also key.  If too much of my weight is forward, I'll do a sloppy cartwheel.  If too much of it is back, my feet will be stuck on the floor.

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises 

Plank Push-Ups - 8 reps max

Plank Jump to Dip -  10 reps/set

Battle Rams, Version 1 - 12 reps/max.  This is actually the Phase 2 version, because of the knee bruise, so I was up on my toes with a straight body, instead of working on my knees. 

Tuck Hold -  5 sec. per leg when keeping one leg tucked and extending the other as far forward as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds -  10 reps max.  

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - 10 reps max.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - Didn't have to do this anymore.  At the end of the week, I finally nailed a tuck shoulder stand on the parallettes.  I didn't quite have my feet as high off the floor as GMB's Ryan Hurst here, but I did get them completely off the floor.

Tuck Swings - 12 reps. 

Assisted Inverted Presses -  10 reps max

Dive Bombers Standard - 10 reps.

As I said in an earlier post:

One advice I have read is to change training programs once in a while.  I am considering switching back to Rings One.  It depends on which skill I achieve first on the parallettes:

a. Unsupported shoulder stand (both feet completely off the ground).  

b. Full L-sit

I achieved a. above first, but now I have bruises on one arm that will probably rub against the ring strap if I were to switch back to Rings One now - the same reason I switched from Rings One to Parallettes One.  Thus, the plan for now is to continue improving my parallette skills at Level B, Phase 1, with the exception of the One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold, which I have already surpassed.  What I plan to do there is work on the transition between the Tuck Sit and the Tuck Shoulder Stand, which is pretty much the move that I was unable to execute on the rings when I was training under Rings One.  If I can perform the movement without my feet touching the floor, I'll just repeat the movement for reps.  If I have to walk my feet on the floor between the Tuck Sit and the Tuck Shoulder Stand, then I'll work on holding the shoulder stand for time (about 10 sec.) then try lowering  out of that into Tuck Sit without the feet touching the floor before taking my rest interval.

Parallettes One - Start of Week 16

Not much progress to report, other than managing a 2-second hold in an unsupported/unassisted shoulder stand.

Week 15 was pretty much a wash as I'd decided to bike to work three days instead of my usual two days a week.

Parallette One, Level B, Phase 1, Workout 2 progress - really good session today.

I tried lifting the supporting foot from the ground while in the One-Legged Shoulder Stand Hold.  At first, I was unable to do so.  Then, I got the foot off the ground, but I must have made some sort of kicking motion to do it, and in doing so, caused my hips to move too far over my head, so that I ended up doing a sort of sloppy cartwheel.  Fortunately, my feet touched the floor first, so that I was unhurt.  I feel like I am very close to achieving a shoulder stand.  My strength is almost there.  I just need to get the balance right.

I performed a maximum of 10 reps per set - my new PR - of the Assisted Inverted Press, which seems to train a lot of the same muscles involved in the shoulder stand.

In the beginning of this video, someone shows both the tuck and straight leg shoulder stand on the parallettes.

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 14 Report

Ok I skipped a couple of weeks but here's my progress as of Week 14 - looks like I regressed a bit compared to Week 11.

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises 

Plank Push-Ups - 7 reps

Plank Jump to Dip -  10 reps/set

Battle Rams (Version 2) - 10 reps/set.

Tuck Hold -  4 sec. tuck hold, followed by 4 sec. per leg when keeping one leg tucked and extending the other as far forward as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds -  10 reps max.  Holding plank between reps decreased total reps.

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - 10 reps max.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 10 sec. hold range per leg.

Tuck Swings - 12 reps.

Assisted Inverted Presses -  8 reps.

Dive Bombers Standard - 10 reps.

One advice I have read is to change training programs once in a while.  I am considering switching back to Rings One.  It depends on which skill I achieve first on the parallettes:

a. Unsupported shoulder stand (both feet completely off the ground).  I will consider this accomplished if I can lift the supporting foot off the floor in the One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold, and maintain this hold for at least 3 sec. with the "supporting foot" off the floor, even if it's just an inch above the floor.

b. Full L-sit

I feel like I am closer to achieving a. above than b.  If I accomplish a. I will switch back to Rings One at Level A, Phase 2, because the inability to do an unsupported shoulder stand was stalling my progress there. 

What to wear under a bike helmet if you get sweaty

Something like this was suggested as a solution, for those days that you sweat so much it pours over your eyes:

http://www.headsweats.com/shorty/

Sergiu Celibidache - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Claude Debussy) Part 1/3

Just saving this for future reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4et3JyU9ymE&app=desktop

Saving for future reference...

http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial-intelligence-revolution-1.html

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 11 Report

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises 

Plank Push-Ups - 6 reps, max of 7

Plank Jump to Dip -  10 reps/set

Battle Rams (Version 2) - New max of 12 reps/set.

Tuck Hold -  5 sec. tuck hold, followed by 3 sec. per leg when keeping one leg tucked and extending the other as far forward as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds -  Around the 9-10 rep range

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - Somewhere in the 8-10 range.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 10 sec. hold range per leg.

Tuck Swings - 12 reps.  Control seems to be getting better though.

Assisted Inverted Presses -  8 reps.

Dive Bombers Standard - 10 reps.

This coming week, I plan to take a day off from work, so instead of the usual MWF schedule, I'll do one day of parallette training and 3 days of bike commuting

Black bike with stickers

I'm fantasizing about getting a road bike, having gotten a taste of cycling on my first, and still current bike.  Realistically, for a first road bike purchase, I should be looking at bikes that would deliver the best value, if I choose to go with a new bike instead of a used one.

It seems like the best price/performance road bikes are black.  I'm not fond of that color on bikes, but I'll go with performance and value over looks.  One way to spice up a black bike is to put stickers on it.  I thought this was beautifully done.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52956555@N06/19639660300/

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 10 Report

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises

Plank Push-Ups - 6 reps, new max of 7

Plank Jump to Dip -  10 reps/set

Battle Rams - 9 reps/set with Version 2.

Tuck Hold -  Started experimenting with 5 sec. tuck hold, followed by 3 sec. per leg when keeping one leg tucked and extending the other as far forward as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds -  Around the 9-10 rep range

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - Somewhere in the 8-10 range.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 10 sec. hold range per leg.

Tuck Swings - 12 reps

Assisted Inverted Presses -  8reps.

Dive Bombers Standard - 9 reps.

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 9 Report

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises

Plank Push-Ups - 6 reps

Plank Jump to Dip -  10 reps/set

Battle Rams - About 8 reps/set with Version 2.

Tuck Hold -  7 sec. range with both knees tucked.  3 sec. per leg when keeping one leg tucked and extending the other as far forward as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds -  Around the 9-10 rep range

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - Somewhere in the 8-10 range.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 5-7 sec. hold range per leg.

Tuck Swings - 12 reps, but varying levels of control.

Assisted Inverted Presses -  7 reps.

Dive Bombers Standard - 9 reps.

Tech Tip: Fenders (for bicycles)

http://www.gravelbike.com/?p=4753

Java functional programming rant: Online Tutorials taking the easy way out

I'm trying to figure out how to replace this bit of Java code:

for(String str: list){
    if(someCondition(str)){
       list2.add(doSomeThing(str));
    }
    else{
        list2.add(doSomethingElse(str));
    }

}

with an equivalent using Java 8's functional programming techniques (lambda expressions, etc.).

Spent a couple of hours searching for online tutorials, but they all seem to take the easy way out when they show how to migrate from "old Java" to "new Java" - the examples they offer include if statement without else, if statement just checking for null, etc. Fortunately, this entry on StackExchange may have what I'm looking for:


Replacing if-else from for loops with streams

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 8 Report

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises

Plank Push-Ups - 6 reps

Plank Jump to Dip - My best is still around 10 reps/set, but once I pushed the reps on the pushups, I had to cut a bit on this one.

Battle Rams - About 8 reps/set with Version 2.

Tuck Hold - I'm more in the 5-7 sec. range now.  Still need to improve stability.

Mt. Climber Holds -  Around the 9-10 rep range

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - Still not keeping close track of the reps.  Somewhere in the 8-10 range.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 5-7 sec. hold range per leg.

Tuck Swings - Same as last week

Assisted Inverted Presses -  6 reps.

Dive Bombers Standard - 9 reps.

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 7 Report

I've been slacking off in posting updates on my progress in this program because it's been slow.  It's not the fault of the program nor its designers at GMB, though.  I never had great pressing strength or core strength to begin with.

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises

Plank Push-Ups - 4 reps

Plank Jump to Dip - Improved to about 10 reps/set.

Battle Rams - I am now doing version 2 of this exercise, in which every rep ends with a pushup.  I got to 12 reps in Version 1 and was doing them easily.

Tuck Hold - I'm more in the 5-7 sec. range now.  Still need to improve stability.

Mt. Climber Holds -  Slight improvement into the 9-10 rep range.

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - I haven't been keeping track of the reps - just paying more more attention to the quality of movement, which is quite subjective.  What I'm looking for is a tight tuck on one end of the swing, and a smoothly controlled transition to top plank position.  This all takes core strength and some shoulder strength.  

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 5-7 sec. hold range per leg.

Tuck Swings - As with Tuck Swing to Top Plank, I'm looking for improved control rather than raw reps.  I can do 12 reps, but they're not always in good form.  It's coming along gradually.

Assisted Inverted Presses - Improved to 6 reps.

Dive Bombers Standard - Improved to 9 reps.

Unusual exercises for improving hamstring flexibility

Here's an article from Z-Health recommending exercises for the back of the neck - to improve hamstring flexibility.  Worth a look I think...

http://zhealtheducation.com/episode-108-improve-hamstring-flexibility/

Another hamstring flexibility routine, this time from Functional Patterns:
http://www.functionalpatterns.com/tight-hamstrings-stretching-routine-for-posterior-chain/

First ever commute by bicycle

Less than ideal start on Huntington Ave heading east - it was trash collection day and the garbage truck made a right turn onto Huntington Ave. in front of me, which was pointless because the truck immediately stopped for its guys to pick up the garbage bins. If the truck was in a hurry to get out of the neighborhood I would have understood. I couldn't pass the truck because there were cars on the left lane. I had to go on the sidewalk to get around the truck. I later submitted a complaint to Fairfax County via the online form.

Met up a with a colleague on the MVT who graciously showed me his route to work after crossing the George Mason/14th St pedestrian bridge.  He gave me a crash course in city cycling techniques: How to take advantage of red lights to get a jump on motorist traffic, how to take advantage of legal lane-splitting, etc.

Aside from the garbage truck and some scary moments riding with car traffic on N. Capitol St, I enjoyed my first commute by bike to work.

Parallettes One Update

I haven't been posting updates on Parallettes One (aka "P1") because there's hardly anything to report.

I'm still pursuing the program and enjoying each session.

I recently bought a large Brita water filtering pitcher.  I was holding the pitcher with one hand instead of two.  I believe this contributed to fatigue on both of my shoulders, which in turn has been limiting my performance on the hardest pressing movements for me in P1 - Plank Pushups and Assisted Inverted Presses.

I have however been making incremental progress in the Plank Jump To Tuck Swing, and Plank Jump to Dip, both of which require a controlled tuck.  Tuck Swing similarly requires good control, because out of control swings could lead to flying off the parallettes.  Tuck Hold is getting a little steadier.

Parallettes One, Level B, Phase 1: Week 1 Report

Late last week, I received my set of wooden parallettes, made by the manufacturer recommended by GMB.  They are very nice indeed.  Thus, I was ready to complete Week 1 of the Parallettes One (aka "P1") program.  As with Rings One (aka "R1"), P1 has beginner (Level A) and intermediate (Level B) levels to choose from, and progression of skills in four Phases.  After watching the Phase 1 training videos at Levels A and B, I decided to train at Level B.  While I did not achieve a great level of pressing strength or core strength with Rings One, I developed enough strength to enter P1 at Level B.

I don't think I ever stated why I got into working out using gymnastic exercises, using an apparatus like rings or parallettes.  Basically, I want to get better at using my body, in addition to improving my strength.  I enjoy the challenge of learning and polishing new movement skills, that require both strength and coordination, which is more fun to me than simply lifting more and more weight or simply doing more and more repetitions of a common bodyweight exercise like the pushup.  Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for anyone who can do a triple-bodyweight bench press or do 100 pushups without rest.  It's just that the quest to do a planche pushup (a pushup in which the feet never touch the ground) is more fun to me, as is going a combination movement like L-Sit to Shoulder Stand.

Another similarity between R1 and P1 is the division of exercises for Phase 1 and Phase 2 into "workout one" and "workout two" routines.  In R1, "workout one" is the "above the rings" day and "workout two" is the "below the rings" day.

One interesting difference compared to R1 is the warmup routine.  Every warmup exercise is done for time (30 or 60 seconds) instead of reps.  This makes the warmup routine a bit longer but since parallette training is more demanding for the shoulders, elbows, etc. it makes sense that this warmup routine focuses more on prepping the shoulders, elbows, and wrists.

Progress on Workout 1 Exercises

Plank Push-Ups - 4 reps

Plank Jump to Dip - 7 reps.  Fun but tricky move - a good squeeze on the core seems to be key.

Battle Ram - 8 reps.  It's actually easier in full pushup position (bottom) than being on the knees - the problem with being on the knees is I have a tendency to use my lower body to push my head forward.

Tuck Hold - 3 sec.  This is actually harder for me than on the rings.  I do notice that when I've practiced this hold on the rings, I couldn't get my knees that much higher than my hips.  P1 asks the trainee to tuck the knees as high as possible.

Mt. Climber Holds - 8 reps.  This does not feel that much different than the R1 version.

Progress on Workout 2 Exercises

Tuck Swing to Top Plank - Forgot to record how many reps I did.  It wasn't many, and my technique wasn't good anyway.  I suspect the technique will get better as my Tuck Hold gets better.

One Leg Shoulder Stand Hold - 4 reps.  Reminds me of half the Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand from R1.

Tuck Swings - Same comment as Tuck Swing to Top Plank.

Assisted Inverted Presses - 4 reps.  While waiting for my parallettes to arrive, I tried this on the floor and was concerned about how my shoulder would take it.  Seems fine on the parallettes vs. the floor, as long as I keep my shoulder packed.

Dive Bombers Standard - 8 reps.  

First ride down to Mt. Vernon Estate

Went on the longest ride I've done yet on a bike today.   I rode 23.65 miles in just over 4 hours, with several breaks to catch my breath, drink water, etc., which is ok for someone who never successfully rode a bike before May 10 (about 3 weeks ago).  Most of the ride was on the popular Mt. Vernon Trail, with the Mt. Vernon Estate being the destination.

I noticed my tailbone/butt area was sore on the way back. I wore my Zoic shorts with the removable liner that has a built-in chamois pad. I can only imagine the soreness would have been worse without the liner. Apparently you're supposed to wear a chamois liner like underwear, though I don't know if it would have made much of a difference. I also did not use DZ Nuts or Butt'r. At any rate, I found I could relieve pressure on my tailbone by putting a little more load on my legs and using the legs to push my butt back on the saddle.  My only goal on this ride was to get to the destination, then return home without any accidents or further injuries.  I wasn't thinking about speed or otherwise "getting a workout".  I did the ride just for the pure joy of pedaling on a bike, while also enjoying the scenery and a breeze in my face.  However, I did get a workout on that climb up to Mt. Vernon Estate.  By the time I approached home, my exhaustion and soreness made even the slightest incline feel like a climbing challenge.  I nearly got into an accident with another cyclist as I was trying to maneuver around a couple of pedestrians in an ill-advised manner (not that recklessly, but still it wasn't smart).

I was glad I practiced for at least two weeks before attempting a ride of this length on a popular bike trail.  This area is thought of as relatively flat, compared to, say, Alaska or Colorado, but there were some tricky twists and turns to the trail, combined with ascents/descents, that I would not have been able to handle without the practice, especially while sharing the trail with other cyclists and pedestrians.

Despite the minor mishaps and it was a fun and beautiful day.  

Transitioning out of Rings One

Because of my cycling accident yesterday, I have a bruise on my forearm that rubs against the ring strap whenever I do a dip or other pushing movement.  I was going to do an Above The Rings session today but the bruise quickly made me switch to a Below The Rings session, as none of those exercises expose the bruise to the strap.

If I hadn't gotten the bruise, I would have been content to keep working on Rings One until I complete the whole program, no matter how long it would have taken.  However, since half the program is not possible, I decided to switch to Parallettes One.  I originally got this program from GMB as part of a package deal with Rings One, but never attempted it because I haven't had parallettes.  I know I could have made my own set any time but, I'm not very good with tools.  I ordered a set.

Until I receive my set, I will practice the Below The Rings exercises 3x a week and practice pushups and pistol squats on the off days.

Biked out of the neighborhood for the first time

Today is a holiday so I thought it was time to try riding my bike to the Mount Vernon Trail, even though I knew I wasn't ready, skill-wise to do the ride without some kind of an accident.

To get to the trail requires that I bike on a street or sidewalk, as there is no dedicated bike lane or bike path.  Because of my fear of cars, I opted to bike on the sidewalk.  I reached the MVT without incident, although I had to dismount several times to let pedestrians pass by, or to get around obstacles that I could not maneuver around on my bike.

After a fun little ride in just a short section of the MVT, I biked back.  My first accident happened on the bike path leaving the MVT towards my neighborhood.  I saw two cyclists coming down the path the other way and overcompensated by riding too far to the right, bruising my arm against the wall.  My next couple of accidents happened while biking on the sidewalk.  The main problems I encountered with sidewalk biking:

• Trash cans and other obstacles require some tricky maneuvering
• You get in the way of pedestrians 
• You may even have to dismount to let pedestrians, dogs, baby strollers, etc. pass by
• You end up dismounting so much you might as well walk instead of ride your bike.

My control of the bike was still not good enough to handle the obstacles so I ended up falling several times. 

Despite the falls, cuts and bruises, it was a fun exploratory ride overall.

Progress on cycling - "Just like riding a bike" false for this adult

It's been roughly two weeks since I learned how to ride a bike and bought my bike.

I've been practicing riding my bike almost every day.  I found a nice training area near my house, which includes a park.  I first tried to ride my bike on the grass in the park, but I had to relearn how to balance myself on the bike again.  There is an American saying "Just like riding a bike" which implies that the skill of riding a bike is never forgotten, once learned.  This is not true for me.  Every single day I take my bike out, I have to learn all over again how to balance and how to start pedaling without losing my balance.  However, the time to relearn how to pedal while maintaining balance gets a little shorter with each practice session.

There are multiple skills I need to develop before I will be ready to use my bike for grocery shopping or riding the wonderful bike trails in my ares:

• Descend  hills and other declines under control (proper braking, body positioning, no fear)
• Sharing the road with cars - resisting the urge to duck to the right and thus confuse drivers.
• Turning, especially if I have to bike on a sidewalk.  Curb ramps are often on the corners of sidewalks.
• Bike on sidewalks when the road has aggressive drivers - no swerving.
• Proper signaling.
• Biking on the bike lane without swerving - absolutely necessary to avoid unwanted contact with cars, pedestrians, cyclists, etc.

I'm getting better at using my front brake to control my descent - basically tapping with the front brake lever instead of just holding it down - but I still have to make sure I don't hold down the front brake lever with a death grip.  I've only had one car/van follow me while I'm biking, but I need to resist the urge to pull off the road and let the car/van pass, because that would be "weaving" which would make my behavior unpredictable to the driver.

As for turning, I still need a warmup of at least 10 minutes because I have a tendency to lose control of my balance on turns before my mind and head are warmed up.

The sidewalks in my neighborhood are noticeably narrower than the streets and the narrowness messes with my head.  I continue to struggle to stay within the width of the sidewalk and not swerve off of it.  But today I did a better job than before staying on a sidewalk.  Ideally I shouldn't have to bike on a sidewalk but some streets have traffic with aggressive drivers - I feel safer being on the sidewalk.

Signaling continues to be difficult due to losing balance when I remove a hand from the handlebar to signal.  It's hard enough just to turn my head to see if there's anybody I should be signaling to.

If weather permits, I'm going to try biking to the park where WABA's "how to ride" and "City Cycling" classes are taught.  It'll be a challenge because I'll have to descend a steep hill, then bike on the sidewalk part of the way, then cross a huge intersection with lots of cars around to get to the bike trail leading to that park.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 9 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - 5 sets of 4-5 reps.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3 sets of 5-7 reps.

L-Sit Hold -  Max 6 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - Max reps improved to 10.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 5 sets of 4-7 reps.

Skin The Cat -  3 sets of 3-4 reps

The Rogue wood rings absorbed the sweat from my hands just as I’d hoped, so no additional danger of losing the grip due to accumulated sweat.  They’re the best rings I’ve trained on so far.

Continued practicing pistol squats and hollow body holds on the off days.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 8 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Improved max reps to 5.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3 sets of 4-6 reps.

L-Sit Hold -  Max 6 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - Max reps improved to 9.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - Max reps at 6.  More sets of 5 reps, out of the 5 total sets.

Skin The Cat -  Max reps improved to 4

I received my new set of Rogue wood rings w/ straps.  They're a little thicker than the plastic rings.   The wood feels really nice.  The real test will be when the temperature rises again.  My first session with the Rogues was with the temperature being more typical of spring, so I didn't have as much sweat to deal with.

Started practicing pistol squats again after giving my sore right hamstring a chance to heal up.  The hamstring seems to be holding up fine.  Also practicing hollow body holds as before.

Bought a bicycle

At WABA's "how to ride" class, the lead instructor congratulated us for succeeding in pedaling around the lot on our learning bikes, which were used bikes that had the seat lowered so that we could push off the ground with our feet.  However, she told us that if we wanted to keep our hard-earned skills, we had to practice on our own.

With that in mind, I decided to buy a bike.  As a beginning cyclist, I knew I wouldn't be a very good judge of prospective bikes when it came to handling or other "feel" related attributes, but I could at least research various types of bikes to assist in my decision.  I decided to get a commuter bike because that's the type of bike that's supposed to be suited for commuting to work and hauling groceries.  A local shop had a Breezer Uptown 8, which supposedly won "best commuter bike" awards 4 years in a row, on sale.  It has the features that seem to be standard now for commuter bikes - a rear rack, fenders to shield the rider from gravel, mud, etc.; kick stand, and wide puncture-resistant tires, as well as nice extras (lights and dyno-hub to power them).

I tried it very briefly in the parking lot next to the shop - couldn't pedal on it because the seat was much higher than the seat height in the "how to ride" class, which threw me off.  But I went ahead and bought it anyway, and had the shop guy show me how to detach the front wheel so I could put the bike inside my car without a bike rack.

Learned how to ride a bike today

I finally learned how to ride a bike today.  I took a "how to ride a bike" class for adults the 2nd time and this time I was able to pedal on a bike by myself, in the direction I want to go, without having to stop or put my foot on the ground.  The first timeI took a "how to" class, I learned how to balance by gliding down a hill without pedals - so basically gravity was moving me forward instead of pedals.  Then they wanted me glide down the hill the slalom down the hill without pedals, to show I can control my steering.  I kept running over cones or off the course.

This second time, there wasn't much of a hill so they made us push off the ground to generate momentum, and try to balance while gliding without pedals.  Because of my experience from the previous class, I was able to balance more quickly than the others.  Then the lead instructor put one pedal on the right side, to use for creating momentum instead of just pushing the ground with my feet.  That was tricky at first because the pedal made me move to the right.  But I learned how to make it move me forward instead, thus earning the 2nd pedal.  After some pedaling with both feet, the instructors let me join the more "advanced" students to work on bonus skills:  How to turn, use the brakes, signal, and slalom.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 7 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Still working at the 4 rep range, 5 sets.  When I was doing dips in the 6-7 rep range, I must not have done all of them at the full range of motion.  When I had the rings set lower, forcing me to bend my knees, it was easier to cheat.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - 3 sets of 4-6 reps.

L-Sit Hold -  Max 6 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - Max reps at 8.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - Same as last week - max reps at 6, 5 sets total.

Skin The Cat -  3 reps/set with legs untucked and thumbs out.  As the weather gets warmer, the amount of sweat generated by my palms becomes more of an issue.  I avoid using air conditioning as much as possible, but it's not that hot inside the house.  It's just warm enough to cause sweat to appear towards the end of a training session - which is a problem because the sweat is making me lose my grip prematurely.

I'm currently using Elite EXF plastic rings, which at one time was recommended by GMB for outdoor use.  They also recommended Rogue wood rings, which I didn't get at the time because I thought I'd be training outdoors more often.  I just ordered a set of the Rogue rings because I think the wood rings will be less susceptible to becoming slick due to palm sweat.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 6 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Allowing my torso to lean forward slightly, while maintaining "chest up", in order to sink all the way into the dip resulted in greater effort per rep, thus reducing the overall number of reps.  My max reps in this move is back down to 4, which is a truer indicator of my upper body pressing strength.  For the next session, I will do 5 sets instead of 3, to get the reps back up into the 6+ range.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Max reps is still at 6.  I will drop from 5 sets to 3 sets.  Until I get stronger in the Dip, I don't think I can expect much progress here.

L-Sit Hold -  Max 6 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - Eric Wong's recent email newsletter advised inhaling rather than exhaling during any pulling exercise.  So I tried it during pull-ups and it does feel like there's a bit less effort.  My max reps increased to 8.  I'm not sure it's because of this reverse breathing or if it's because I've been getting stronger.  In any case, doing pull-ups with inhalation instead of exhalation feels a bit more comfortable.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - This movement is more complicated than the pull-up, so working out the breathing, in coordination with the movement, is a bit tricker.  I inhaled during the forward roll to the chin-up (the pulling portion), which is easy enough, and exhale during the backward roll.  But the rest of the movement also includes straightening the body to complete the Inverted Hang, then tucking the legs for the next rep.  Intellectually, I believe I should inhale while straightening and exhale during the tuck, but it's easy to lose track as fatigue accumulates and I start to worry more and more about maintaining my grip on the rings so that I won't fall on my head.  This all said, my max reps improved to 6, and I did 4 reps/set for 2 more of my 5 sets - an improvement over 3 reps/set the previous week.

Skin The Cat -  3 reps/set with legs untucked and thumbs out.  My forearms were screaming by this point, so I just did 3 sets.  I don't have to do the "warmup rep" any more.  I reviewed the instruction video and it says to pull on the rings to uncoil back into Inverted Hang.  It does add a better feeling of control to the movement.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 5 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Improved to 7 reps maximum, so now doing 3 sets of 6-7 reps.  Finished the week with the rings set high enough to do full-range motion (no bending the knees).  Technique suffered a bit because it was my first time doing this full range, but I do enjoy not having the additional distraction of coordinating when to bend my knees.  I just have to remember to allow my torso to lean forward slightly, while maintaining "chest up", in order to sink all the way into the dip to maximize the benefit of the exercise while maintaining safety.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Improved to 6 reps max, so now doing sets of 5-6 reps.  Will continue trying to do at least 4 sets.  On the first rep of the first set, tested whether I can lift both feet off the ground and still maintain Tuck Shoulder Stand.  I could not today but will test on the first rep, every session, from now on.

L-Sit Hold - The increased work on the Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand (more reps, more sets) seems to burn out my core faster, so I'm back down to 6 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - 7 reps/set for all sets. 

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 3  reps/set.  Trying to go for at least 4 sets.  Reduced rest between sets from 2 min. to 1 min. which did not seem to make much of a difference.  I was most concerned about forearm fatigue being worse from reduced rest but there seemed to be no issue.  As an experiment, I had the rings set lower than usual, which for me proved to be a mistake.  I've gotten used to using my feet to reduce the swinging of the rings while I'm in Inverted Hang, so that I could concentrate on my technique without the distraction of swinging.  I don't know if it is possible to refine one's technique so that the rings never swing, but when I watch the tutorial videos for this move and Skin The Cat, Ryan Hurst hardly ever ends up swinging excessively.  I do know that if the rings are swinging too much, the move is much harder to execute.

Skin The Cat -  3 reps/set with legs untucked and thumbs out.  Also down to 1 min. rest between sets.  To protect my shoulders, I need to focus on keeping the rings parallel until my body has lowered as far as it can into the German Hang, then turn the thumbs out to get that last extra bit of the range of motion.

On the off days, continued practice of Hollow Body Hold (core strength training) and Front Scale Hold (supplemental exercise for improving hip and quad muscles for L-Sit).

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 4 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Steady at 6 reps/set.  Have to keep watching the technique, especially keeping elbows close to body.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Progressed to 5 reps/set.

L-Sit Hold - 7-8 sec. holds per leg, extended as far as possible but still not quite straight.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - 7 reps/set for all sets. 

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - 3-4 reps/set

Skin The Cat -  3 reps/set with legs untucked and thumbs out.

On the off days, replaced pistol squats with Hollow Body Hold practice.  I can get my legs to just below 45 degrees straight.  3 sets of this, with Front Scale Holds of up to 10 sec. done in a circuit.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 3 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - Improved to 6 reps/set.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Still doing 4 reps/set.  Incremental improvement in technique.  I still can't hold the shoulder stand with both feet in the air for at least one second.  Just have to keep working.

L-Sit Hold - No change - still 5 sec. holds per leg.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - Incremental improvement.  Can do 7 reps for the first set at least. 

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - Still at 4 reps/set.  Tighter tuck now makes a difference in that the core can more effectively work with the arms in the movement from Inverted Hang to the chin-up position.  The main limiting factor is now grip endurance.  I could do more than 4 reps but it would increase the risk of losing the grip and falling down.  What I need to work on now is rolling between the start and end positions of the movement with better control - in the last session I had a tendency to cause too much swinging by rolling too fast.

Skin The Cat - Still 4 reps/set with a tuck and the thumbs turned out.  Thumbs turned out results in being lowered more deeply into the German hang, and more effort to unwind from German hang back into Inverted Hang. Grip endurance is still the limiting factor. 

I did 2 sets of assisted pistol squats and Front Scales on the two off days, between warmup and cool down.  My right hamstring has been sore for a week now but not too bad.  I try to avoid running or other action that might strain it.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 2 Report

Progress on the Above The Rings exercises:

Dips - No change - 5 reps/set.

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand - Some improvement in technique.  Improved from 3 reps/set to 4.  Went back to doing this 2nd after Dips.

L-Sit Hold - Same as start of the week.  I can extend one leg at a time, but not both, and I can't straighten my extended leg yet.  Hopefully the practice of the pistol squat and the Front Scale will eventually deliver the necessary quad and hip flexor strength to straighten that leg.

Progress on the Below The Rings exercises:

Pull-ups - No change - still 6 reps/set.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up - Improved to 4 reps/set.  Tighter tuck (per video instructions) did not seem to make a difference, but I'll keep practicing the tuck with the toes pointed away from my head, shins parallel to torso, etc.

Skin The Cat - I believe I am now lowering my body into the German Hang at the maximum range of motion allowed without turning my thumbs out.  It's 4 reps/set in this range, with grip endurance being the limiting factor.  I still did a "warmup rep" to start my first set.  The video instruction says to try the thumbs out as soon as possible, to extend the range of motion a bit more, so I will try that on my next Below the Rings session.

Tomorrow I'll do 3 sets of 2 assisted pistol squats again, as well as 3 front scales - between the warmup and cool down routines, and see how it goes.  One new wrinkle I'll throw in is some basic front kicks with the toes pointed (as in the L-Sit) after leg/hip stretches.  I tried some front kicks yesterday and notice I was able to get each leg into the L-Sit angle (90 degrees) so the flexibility is there.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 2 Start

Exercise on the rings is so fun I had to resist the temptation to defy the Rings One instruction to not train two days in a row on the rings.   So yesterday, I did this:

1. Rings One Warmup, with the hip extension and hip mobility exercises from the SI joint rehab routine.

2. Assisted Pistol Squat (using a light weight - a 15lb club bell in my case - for counterbalance assistance) - 2 reps/set for 3 sets.

3. Rings One Cooldown along with stretches for calf, hip flexor, and hamstrings.

Today I have more soreness in my legs than usual - especially the quads.  On my off-days during Rings One, I'd occasionally done the Leg Module exercises but they don't work the legs with as much intensity.  I want to see what Pistol Squats will do for my lingering aches/pains in the hips/SI area, as well as the quad strength for the L-Sit.

Today is my Below The Rings day, to start Week 2.  I had to bail out of my first Skin The Cat attempt.  Looks like I will have to do one "warmup rep" in the first set - just lowering my torso a little bit (maybe 30 degrees from the Tuck Inverted Hang position) - before proceeding with the exercise in earnest.  I was able to do 4 reps/set of the Inverted Tuck Roll Chin.  Grip endurance seems to be the limiting factor for both Skin The Cat and Inverted Tuck Roll Chin.  I can only presume it will improve as I gain strength in both movements.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: Week 1 Report

I missed exercise this past Friday, due to being called by one of my bosses to check out an issue at work.  I also missed training the following Monday due to having to get up early to catch a flight back home.

Thus, today actually marked the end of Phase 2, Week 1, with an Above The Rings session.

I tried changing up the routine by doing the exercises in this order:

Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand
Dips
L-Sit (one leg out, one leg tucked)

The idea was to do 5 sets of the most difficult exercise first, then do the dips.  I thought that if I did the hardest one first, I'd be able to do more reps per set.  I did manage 4 reps for the first two sets, but could only manage 3 reps/set for the last three.  Because my triceps were already blasted from the first exercise, my performance in the dips was compromised.  I'm going to switch back to the prescribed order, so I can at least get more out of the dips, even if it's just one more rep per set, and thus hopefully continue building my pressing strength more productively.

Not worried about being "off schedule" in relation to the program chart.  I'm not under any pressure to complete Phase 2 within the 4 week timeframe and would be very surprised if I achieved either of the two most difficult moves in Phase 2 (Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand and full L-Sit) by the end of Week 4.  I'm not being negative here, just realistic, and the instruction manual says that it's ok to not be strictly on schedule - it's not a race.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: First Below The Rings session

Today was my first full Below The Rings session in Phase 2.  Skin The Cat is the most troublesome move for me, so I did it 2nd in the workout rather than last.  Maybe I could have done it first, but then  I'd have to spend extra time raising the rings for the Pullups, to allow my legs to be extended without touching the floor; then lowering them again for the  Inverted Tuck Roll Chinup.  By doing it 2nd, I only had to lower the rings once, since I can do the last two exercises at the same ring height.

Pullups - 6 reps/set as usual.  This time I focused more on rotating my palms towards my face so the move becomes a chin-up.

Skin The Cat - I had to overcome two obstacles to performing this movement: 1. My continued fear of losing control and falling past the German hang, thus injuring shoulders. 2. Not knowing what muscles to use to better control the lowering portion of the movement as well as pulling out of the German hang back into Inverted Hang.  My first two reps failed in that I lost control and fell.  Somehow my shoulders were not injured.  I realized the rings should be lowered a bit more so I could  bail out by standing up instead of having to let go of the rings and fall a foot or so.  So this is what I did:

1. First set:  Slowly move out of the Inverted Hang towards the German Hang but with a limited range of motion, really concentrating on what muscles are being used to maintain control.
2. 2nd set: Like #1 but just a little further.
3. 3rd set: Like #1 but even further than #2.  I think my torso got closer and closer to parallel with the ground.
4. Did 4th and 5th sets just like #3.

What I learned is that just about all the muscles along the spine have to be activated to maintain control.  I lost control on those first two attempts because I didn't know what muscles to activate.  It helped to think of a straight torso and lock down the hip (butt squeezed tight, abs tight).  The entire back has to work to get out of German hang back into Inverted Hang.  This is the first ring exercise I have done in which I felt the lower back working just as hard as the upper back.

Inverted Tuck Roll Chins - After Skin The Cat, this wasn't so bad.  3 reps/set.  Could have done a 4th rep but didn't want to take a chance with my grip failing at the worst moment.  This also works the core and biceps, but differently than the first two movements.  I think grip endurance will be my main limiting factor here.

One thing I should work on is looking straight ahead instead of looking up at my feet when I am in the Inverted Hang.  I think I have a habit of looking at my feet because of the fear of being upside down.  I overcame this fear enough to do exercises getting in and out of Inverted Hang, but if I can keep my gaze perpendicular to my torso, I can improve my spatial awareness and not be so freaked out by being upside down then moving out of that to face the floor.

All in all, it was a stronger debut in Phase 2 than my Above The Rings session.  I hope I can apply what I learned about muscle tension in the torso during the Skin The Cat reps to my Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 2: The first day

Did my modified warmup routine with the SI joint rehab stuff from Eric Wong.

Dips - Same as last week.  Still in the 5-rep range, with some room for technical improvement - mainly remembering to finish each rep with rings turned out and do it "pretty".

Assisted Tuck to Shoulder Stand - Much more difficult than my test rep last week, after my triceps had already done work in three sets of Dips.  Technique was pretty bad.  I think the rings were set just a bit too high.  Also, the idea of trying to swing myself from the tuck sit into the assisted shoulder stand was a bad one, as that accelerated the fatigue even more.  Should have just walked my feet back as instructed in the lesson video.  I managed only 3 reps/set.

Tuck Sit (progression to L-sit) - First set was a 10 sec. hold which was easily done.  Next two sets were done with one leg extended as far as possible while still keeping the foot in line with the hip.  5 sec. hold per leg.

Good thing I'm not in a hurry to get through this program.  The schedule says Phase 2 will last 4 weeks.  It will probably take me longer than that to achieve a full Tuck to Shoulder Stand and a full L-Sit.  The manual says suggests doing the troublesome exercise first after warmup, and doing the bare minimum on the other exercises.  I'll adopt this approach with the Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand, doing it first, then the Dips and L-Sit work.  My performance in the Dip will probably take a hit, but that's ok.  I should probably also rest the maximum recommended time between sets.

Rings One, Level A, Phase 1 Week 5 Report (part 2)

Today was my last Above The Rings day for Phase 1.  I just went with 3 sets each of Top Position Hold, Dip, Pushup, and Mountain Climber.  So at the end of five weeks of training (Phase 1), I progressed on just about all the exercises.  I did not have a dramatic increase in reps or hold time but I did progress enough to pass the little test I did in Part 1 of this report, to reassure myself that I would be ready to start Phase 2 next week.

My bodyweight increased by about 4 pounds.  Before the start of Phase 1, I'd been on vacation, eating  a lot and barely exercising.  I believe I ate less overall during this 5 week period than I did during vacation.  On the exercise side, I've been walking about 20 minutes a day to and from subway stations, at least 5 days a week.  Thus, I'm confident most of this weight gain was from muscle growth rather than fat, even though it doesn't look obvious.

I only managed to do the Leg Module more than once in a week in two out of the five weeks of Phase 1.  I have a soreness in one of my glutes that appears whenever I try to stretch the hamstring on that side of the body.  The Leg Module is an optional module in Rings One so for next week I will replace it with Front Scales and Hanging Leg Raises from GMB's How to Do an L-Sit tutorial, as well as Back Lunges.  The training schedule for Phase 2 includes L-Sits towards the end (starts with the easier Tuck Sit), so it wouldn't hurt to make sure I have the hip flexor strength as well as the core strength to do a full L-Sit.

The Back Lunge is in there because it's the third exercise of an SI joint rehab routine I found, courtesy of Eric Wong.  I've had some lingering aches/pains from a low back/hip injury that I got from a bad deadlift attempt and it wouldn't hurt to try Eric's routine.  I've so far worked in the hip extension and hip rotation portions of the routine into my daily warmup, which is mostly from Rings One.  I didn't use the Back Lunge because I was already doing front lunges as part of the Leg Module.

Excited to start Phase 2 next week!

Rings One, Level A, Phase 1 Week 5 Report (part I)

So far, the extra pushup practice has paid off a bit.  I improved from 3 reps/set in the pushups on my Above The Rings days to 5 reps/set.  I was able to do 6 reps/set on my Below The Rings days because my triceps had not been worked by doing dips.

Today was my last Below The Rings day in Phase 1.  The Rings One program schedule says I should begin Phase 2 next week.  However, the manual says I should not adhere strictly to the schedule.  If I'm not comfortable, I am free to stay in my current Phase for as long as it takes, before advancing to the next Phase.    I watched the training videos for Level A, Phase 2.  I'm confident I can start on the Above The Rings portion of Phase 2, because I feel I can handle all three exercises.  I already do Dips and have done Top Position Tuck Sit holds in the past.  I think I can handle the Assisted Tuck to Shoulder Stand.

What I wasn't sure about was the Below The Rings portion, which is also composed of three exercises: Pullups, Inverted Tuck Roll Chins, and Skin The Cat.  I'm doing pull-ups for reps now so I'm fine with that exercise.  It's the latter two I was worried about, so when I got home, I tried those two for the first time.  I did one rep of the Inverted Tuck Roll Chin without any problem and could have done more.   This was a pleasant surprise because of my struggles to execute the Jump to Tuck to Inverted Hang, which is the prerequisite to this exercise. The Skin The Cat I was most worried about because I'd never done this move before, and I've had a previous injury to one of my shoulders.  This looked like a move that could pose some serious trouble to my shoulders if I mess up.  On my first couple of attempts, just as I'd anticipated, from the inverted hang position, I struggled to lower myself into the German Hang (the finishing position of Skin The Cat), because of the fear of injuring my shoulders.  Fortunately, I'd set the rings at a relatively low height so if anything went wrong, all I had to do was extend  my legs and stand up on the floor.  I started to conquer my fear by extending one leg and letting a toe touch the floor, then tucking it back and extending the other leg.  Finally, I was able to lower myself into the German Hang with my legs tucked so that the feet wouldn't touch the floor.  I was also able to pull my body back out of the German hang into the inverted hang.  Success!  I watched the training video again and noticed that unlike the Crossfit style, the Skin The Cat just starts and stops in Inverted Hang, at least for Level A, Phase 2.

Another thing that helped me get comfortable with the German hang was GMB's update of Rings One - specifically the Warmup routine.  They added shoulder mobility movements in which you use a towel or similar cloth item to stretch your shoulders, and two of those movements move your arms in and out of the German hang (or where they would be if you were hanging in that position).

Regarding the Levels, Rings One is actually presented in two levels - A and B.  Level A is for those new to ring training and Level B is for those who have previous experience or are just too strong to get any benefit out of Level A.  I took a peek at Level B, Phase 1 and quickly determined it was too difficult for me.  My strength is somewhere between Level A and Level B at Phase 1, and just right for Level A, Phase 2.

Part 2 will be the report of my final workout for Phase 1, which is my last Above The Rings session i this Phase.

Rings One Week 4 Report

This week, I changed up my Below The Rings day routine to look like this:

Pullups 3 sets
Tuck To Inverted Hang 5 sets
Pushups 3 sets

I do the most sets on the movement I'm weakest at in the "below rings' category, which is the Tuck to Inverted Hang.  The pushups don't belong in this category, but I need the extra practice.  Unfortunately, I was unable to duplicate my performance of the Tuck to Inverted Hang from Wednesday of last week, in which I nailed two perfect reps of the movement.  Still too much swinging and lack of coordination between the pulling action of the arms and the raising of the hips via the "knees to armpits" action.

One idea that occurred to me today while walking home was to try 3 sets of 3-5 sec. of what I call a "flex-arm tuck lever".  This is what a legit tuck lever looks like, courtesy of the excellent Beast Skills lesson on the Front Lever:

Of course, I'm following the Rings One program, which has a very different way of working up to a  Front Lever, but what I call the "Flexed Arm Tuck Lever" is a lot like the Tuck Lever, except with the arms flexed.  The Beast Skills lesson mentions that the trick to get into the Tuck Lever, if you're struggling to do it, is to lower yourself into it.  I found one way is to just do a pull-up and tuck your knees as shown above, then lower yourself by straightening your arms with your knees still tucked.   The Flexed Arm Tuck Lever is just the position you would be in if your did not lower yourself - your arms are flexed from doing the pull-up.  The Flexed Arm Tuck Lever may not exactly be the middle position between the pull-up and the inverted hang position of the Jump Tuck to Inverted Hang move, but I suspect working in some holds in the Flexed Arm Tuck Lever will help me gain the strength I need to better control the movement.

Not much progress to report on the Above The Rings days.  For next week, I'm thinking of just doing full-range pushups on those days instead of partial range, with the understanding my reps will be lower on the Above The Rings days due to the triceps being taxed from doing dips.

I managed to do 5 sets of Leg Module Level 1 on Tuesday, and 4 sets on Thursday.

This evening I was struck by intense hunger pangs.  I'd never experienced this much pain before from just being hungry.  I was also bloated with gas and having to burp a lot to try to release some.  I don't believe I ate anything all that unusual.  Breakfast was scrambled eggs w/ cheese, and potatoes.  Lunch was salad - mixed spring greens, chicken slices, boiled egg slices, beets, broccoli, edamame beans, artichokes - and an Italian soup of ravioli, tomato, and sausage.  I'd experienced the feeling of hunger before but not like this.  I'd already made plans to go grocery shopping, so when I arrived at Whole Foods, I gladly purchased a $7 Nepalese dinner plate with chicken, a potato-and-cauliflower dish, rice and two dumplings and wolfed it all down as if I'd been starved for weeks.  I was still hungry afterwards and so bought more Nepalese chicken dumplings.  Was this intense hunger due to my body wanting to build muscle after what thought was a moderate amount of exercise? We'll see.

Rings One Week 3 Report

Took a look ahead in the schedule and saw that I have only two more weeks to go in Phase 1, Beginner.  I'm ahead of schedule in that I can do pull-ups and dips unassisted.  I continue to make progress with the pull-ups and dips.  But I'm behind schedule with the pushups and the tuck to inverted hang.  Looks like I should do the max recommended number of sets (5) of pushups and tuck to inverted hang since those are my weakest moves.  I continue to substitute partial range pushups (full pushup position, no knee support) for assisted pushups (from the knees) because its actually easier on my left shoulder.

Phase 2 Beginner progresses from assisted pushups, mountain climbers, and plank holds to the Tuck to Shoulder Stand.  The first time I worked with Rings One, I found this to be a huge jump in difficulty level.  I must not have been the only one to complain about this abrupt jump in difficulty because the good folks at GMB eventually published an article on how to prepare for the Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand.  Later, they updated the Rings One program itself and now I see an exercise called Assisted Tuck to Tuck Shoulder Stand in place of the full movement for the first couple of weeks of Phase 2.  Maybe they found that for some people, simply lowering the rings and using foot assistance was more effective than the program described in the article.  I'll see what happens when I get to the end of Phase 1.  I may have to incorporate the article program into a Phase 1.5, depending on what happens on my first attempt at the assisted version of this movement.

On the below-the-rings side, Phase 2 progresses from Tuck to Inverted Hang to a rolling movement in which you roll back and forth between the inverted tuck hang position to the top of a chin-up.  I may have a better chance of pulling (no pun intended) this off on first try because my stability in the Tuck to Inverted Hang improved considerably this week.

I did one Leg Module workout on Tuesday.  I was going to attempt another one Thursday but then the snowstorm came so I decided to save my energy and legs for  shoveling snow.  I might do one tomorrow.

Oh, and I found that I gained 5 lbs since the start of Phase 1.

Jump To Inverted Hang observation

The Jump to Inverted Hang movement has been a challenge for me, because I'd struggled to execute it without excessive swinging.  Less swinging and better body control is needed to progress to the next movement, which is the Inverted TuckRoll Chinup.

Towards the end of today's Rings One session, I was able to execute the movement with better control and almost zero swing of the rings.  What seems to be key is the coordination of the pull on the rings with the drive of the knees towards the armpits.  I seemed to either pull on the rings while forgetting to drive the knees to the armpits, or drive the knees to the armpits while forgetting to pull.  With the right coordination I feel a lot more in control and the unwanted swinging is eliminated.