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.

Rings One Week 2 Report

I completed Week 2 of the lowest-level Rings One program today.

For the Above The Rings days, I gave up on the Assisted Push-Up because something about the angle irritates my left shoulder.  Full pushups are fine as long as I do partial pushups - the shoulder irritation begins when it is lowered within a certain distance of the rings.  Back when I was seeing a physical therapist for my shoulder, one of the rehab exercises I did was partial pushups against a wall - so this is kind of the same thing, but with more resistance due to the instability of the rings.  I'll try partial movement pushups for the next several workouts and see how it goes.  Tuck Dips seem to be going fine - improved from 3 reps/set to 4 reps/set.  The updated Rings One instructional video for the Plank Hold mentions "Hollow Body" as one of the key points, but otherwise there's no verbal explanation in the video.  GMB does mention the Hollow Body Plank Hold and a separate instructional video for it here, and also has a link to the Hollow Body exercise that is done on the back instead of in pushup position.  Thus, it's possible my Plank Hold could use some technique improvement.  Technique is getting a bit better with the Mountain Climbers, though the reps have not gone up, due to my arms being a bit worn from doing the Tuck Dips.

For the Below The Rings days, I realized I could probably increase the volume (sets x reps).  By replacing the assisted pull-ups, reverse rows, and negative pull-ups with regular pull-ups, I basically cut the session down to just two exercises - the pull-ups and the Tuck to Inverted Hang.  Despite the inadvertently reduced volume, I still improved from barely doing 5 pull-ups to being ready to do 6 pull-ups per set.  My Tuck To Inverted Hang reps were sloppy with lots of unwanted swinging.  Today though I believe I solved the issue.  It seems that I need to engage the pull-up muscles to do the move with proper control, or at least less swinging.  What I was doing before was just pulling with the arms and trying to swing my knees and hips up, which was hit and miss.  So now I start the movement with my arms fully extended overhead, as if I were about to do a pull-up, and my legs bent as necessary so that my torso and arms are straight.  I initiate the movement with a pull, as if I were doing a pull-up, while simultaneously pushing off with the legs to facilitate tucking the knees.  With more of the back muscles engaged in addition to the arms, I have much more control over the movement, and am more likely to be able to extend my legs out of the tuck into the inverted hang without having to use my feet to steady my body.  This is much more taxing than the haphazard technique I was previously using, but feels more right.

This was the first week in which I did two Leg Module sessions.  The Leg Module manual presents 3 different ways to schedule the Leg Module training along with Rings One or  Parallels One training, but the program charts document simply shows optional Leg Module days on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the weekend.  At any rate, I did 4 circuits of Level 1 on Tuesday, and 4 circuits again on Thursday.  Today, I have quite a bit of soreness in the legs, especially near the glutes.

Starting over with Rings One

This week, I began training with the Rings One program.  In this older post I'd reported that I quit Rings One because I was unable to progress from pushups to Tuck Up To Shoulder Stand.

In the intervening time, GMB updated Rings One.  There is now an intermediate skill to practice and master before attempting a Tuck Up To Shoulder Stand, as well as other refinements/revisions over the earlier version of the program.  The program now also says don't worry if you can't do the recommended number of reps for an exercise.  For example, if you can't do a minimum of 8 mountain climbers, it's ok - just do what you can and log what you did, along with the RPE (Rating of Perceived Effort) and RPT (Rating of Perceived Technique) scores for that workout.  Yet another noticeable change is in the warmup routine - now it includes warmups for the hips, hamstrings and lower back.

Also during this intervening time, I was training with GMB's free Ultimate Guide To Ring Training program.  I progressed from a max 4 pull-ups to 11 pull-ups, 0 ring pushups to a max 8 pushups, and 5-7 sec. tuck sit holds with one leg extended.  I also played around with club bells, kettle bells, and Ultimate Sandbag.

So this week, I'm back to Phase A, Level 1 again in Rings One.   For some people, pullups, pushups, and dips are actually not the easiest exercises to do on the rings. This phase of the program is concerned with developing the foundational strength to do those moves, among others.  One significant change for this phase from the older version is that the Top Position Hold is now to be done with rings out, which is quite a bit harder than rings parallel to the body, but probably necessary for better prep for other moves that come out of that position like dips.  Because I can already do ring pushups and pull-ups, I'm substituting those in my workout for the exercises that develop strength for pushups and pull-ups.   I may also substitute what I call the Tuck Dip (the Dip as taught in the older version of Rings One, with the knees tucked) for the Assisted Dip, depending on how blasted I feel after the Top Position Holds.  So far my shoulders seem to be holding up fine.  My lats and triceps have been sore for several days because they haven't had this kind of demand imposed on them for a while.  I was pleased to find that I could still to Tuck To Inverted Hangs - its actually easier when I don't jump into the tuck and focus more on the coordination of pulling with the arms and moving my knees towards my armpits.

The full manual for Rings One has several suggestions for integrating the optional Leg Module with Rings One.  I'm just following the exercise charts, which schedules the Leg Module exercises on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I played with the Leg Module last week before "officially" beginning the program this week - it is indeed harder on the legs than it looks on the surface.  I couldn't even make it to a 5th circuit.  The only problem move with in this program is the lunge, because I have a weird tightness/pain sensitivity in my left foot that flares up when I put weight on my left toes, as I step forward with my right foot.  The left foot seems to loosen up though as the sets pile up.  Wearing my new running shoes with arch support seems to help a lot - I can get into pushup position without any pain on my left toes/foot.

Got a new Korg MS-20 Mini

Sorry for the lack of organization - just throwing some links together.

Korg MS-20 and Eurorack Intergration Thread

Another MS-20 Mini and Eurorack integration thread

MS-20 Looping Envelopes Patch Thread

http://www.pearltrees.com/johnfromberkeley/ims-20/id13829217#l562

f you wanna a random sound or random “digital CV signal” just put white or pink noise through a sample and hold module controlled by an LFO. It will work really cool

Like father, like son

Internet feline celebrity Shironeko is famous for photos depicting him in a state of perfect, meditative bliss:

I think this photo removes all doubt as to the identity of the father of Kuro, the youngest member of Shironeko's clan:

SelectORacle

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have to ramp up my CSS knowledge.   This looks like a useful website.

http://gallery.theopalgroup.com/selectoracle/

Ever wondered what a particularly complex CSS selector really means? Here's your chance to find out! 

The Sound Test Room gets it own website

The Sound Test Room

Doug at The Sound Test Room has been a fixture of the IOS musician community, with his many tutorials on various IOS music apps. Nice to see him get his own website.

Evans Health Lab video on low back pain

http://www.evanshealthlab.com/low-back-pain-video/

Zen Cat fight scene

Shironeko, aka "Zen Cat", "World's Most Relaxed Cat", "Basket Cat", is best known for photos and videos showing him in blissful repose, usually inside a basket or with a plant-based object on top of his head.

Tonight's Sunrizer sequencing experiment

Tried sequencing Sunrizer from Cubasis. No pure piano-roll entry apparently - have to enter the notes from the keyboard, then edit the notes in piano roll. Anyway in Sunrizer, I selected the gamelan tuning, then entered notes in Cubasis. A few notes from the Cubasis keyboard triggered notes in Sunrizer, and others did not. There might be a bug in the Scala keyboard mapping in Sunrizer, but need test with other MIDI controllers to be sure. I was also unable to save the Scala tuning with the patch. Then I tried sequencing Sunrizer from Symphonix Evolution Pro but had less success. The first note triggered a stuck note in Sunrizer that did not stop until I killed it as a background app. I'll try contacting the respective developers. This as all left me with a greater appreciation for the ease of use of sequencing in Gadget.  Experiment result: Failure. No way I'm going to make the Sunrizer contest deadline. Good luck to the contestants!

Also, at some point in the near future I want to try exporting MIDI from Korg M01D on my Nintendo 3DS. It'll be interesting to see which IOS sequencing app will be able to successfully import it.

Good Audiobus forum thread on how to learn modular synthesis

http://forum.audiob.us/discussion/3969/how-to-learn-modular-synth

Track from Experiment Zero

Saw the band Public Service Broadcasting play, and was led to check out this album.

Update on my ring training

This is a followup to my previous ring training post.

I've realized that to make further progress with my ring pushups, I need to improve my shoulder strength and stability.  I also want to work in more lower body training to help strengthen my back and hips.  So this is what the routine looks like now:

Warmup - Joint mobility as recommended by the beginner ring program mentioned in that post.

Pullups (neutral grip) - 3 sets of 6-11 reps (my current pull-up max is 11)

Ring Pushups - 3 sets of 6+ reps

Partial L-Sits - 3 sets of 3 5-second straight-leg holds per side

Kettlebell Military press - 4+ reps per side
Double Kettlebell Front Squat - 6+ reps

I do the military presses for the shoulders, catch my breath for a few seconds, then do the front squats.  I then rest for a minute before doing another set.  I do 3-5 sets.  Kettlebell weight is 16kg per kettlebell.

I will stick to this routine until I achieve 3 sets of 10+ reps in the military press.  Then I will go back to doing more sets of the ring pushups (going for 4 or 5 sets instead of just 3).  When I achieve 15 reps in the front squat, I will switch to reverse lunges with double kettlebells.

Looptical review

Looptical is really good for writing straightforward songs. It's very easy to create sections of songs, then append them together to create the overall song. I rarely ever write music this way, so I found that my song kinda sounded like several loops strung together. However, Looptical made it really easy to overdub some stuff to connect sections a little more. Yes, I could have messed with MIDI or whatever to try get a wider selection of sounds than the sample-based tones provided with Looptical, but I wanted to see what I could do with just the internal samples and effects. The Event Editor is limited in that you can transpose, quantize or erase notes, but you can't change the pitches or velocity of individual notes. I do see there is a "Human" slider in the velocity section of the Notes editor, but I forgot to try to see what does. As far as the Interfaces go, this was the first time I tried to record something with a virtual guitar strum interface - it's pretty good considering you can't do Hendrix-like hammer-ons or other embellishments in your chordal playing. I slipped in some experimental fun with a short solo using the Granulator interface.

I also promised to rate this app, in addition to writing a song on it, which I did: 4 stars. Very friendly popup mini-tutorials, and there's an in-app manual - not having to be online to read the manual always scores points with me! What would make it a 5-star app would be more editing capability in the Event Editor, though admittedly I cleaned up my mistakes by simply using Undo (and re-record) a lot. On one section I simply slowed down the tempo and recorded at the slow tempo before speeding it back up to the song tempo.

The main melody and the chords of this tune jumped into my head on a sunny morning, while walking around the vicinity of a particular intersection in one of the world's great cities. The song is thus named after that intersection, not after a couple. 

Anyway, here is my instrumental pop/post-rock tune, done entirely in Looptical - this will probably be the last non-experimental music I post up in a while ;) :
https://soundcloud.com/governorsilver/kimberly-and-nathan-looptical

Mindmap for Octatrack tutorials and Master Reference

Props to Mark Mosher for putting together this mind map for the Elektron Octatrack.  This machine is very deep and there's so much to learn.

 https://www.rabidelephant.com/blogs/general/elektron-octatrack-master-reference

 Glue Compressor settings thread:

https://www.elektronauts.com/t/glue-compressor-settings-for-octatrack/54758

Free ring and parallette workouts from Gold Medal Bodies

Free parallette workout from the Gold Medal Bodies crew.  I've been training using their free Ultimate Guide to Ring Training for Beginners workout and can vouch for the high quality of instruction.  In about 6-8 months of ring training, I've gone from 3 pullups to 8 pull-ups, 0 full-range ring pushups to 8 pushups, and barely being able to hold a tuck sit to 7-10 sec. holds of the tuck sit.

I also have their paid Rings One program, which has a multiple-phase progression from fundamental skill development all the way to a flow routine that combines fairly challenging movement skills.  I plan to revisit it eventually.

Octatrack Tutorial - Trigless Locks vs Trigless Trigs

As a new Octatrack user, the variety of "trigs" and "locks" seems pretty daunting.  This video does a good job of explaining the different between trigless locks and trigless trigs.

Week 1: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 1

Day 1 - Moderate Intensity

V Warm-Up + V Clubbell + V Cool Down


Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 2, RPE: 2

Week 3: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 5

Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 3 - High Intensity

CC Warm-Up + CC Clubbell + CC Cool Down
7 sets

Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 2, RPE: 4

Week 3: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 4

Day 4 - Low Intensity


Sadly, ran out of time before I could do the CC Cooldown.  Need to plan better.


CC Warm-Up + V Warm-Up + V Cool Down


Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 3, RPE: 3

Week 3: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 3

Day 3 - High Intensity

V Warm-Up + V Clubbell + V Cool Down

7 sets

Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 2, RPE: 4

Week 3: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 2

Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 2 - No Intensity
CC Warm-Up + V Warm-Up


Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 3, RPE: 3

Week 3: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 1

Day 1, Moderate Intensity.

 

CC Warm-Up + CC Clubbell + CC Cool Down

Scores:  RPT: 7, RPD: 3, RPE:3

Week 2: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 5

Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 5 - High Intensity

V Warm-Up + V Clubbell + V Cool Down

6 sets

Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 2, RPE: 4

Week 2 of 3-day schedule complete!

Week 2: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 4

Overslept, so had no time to do the full Day 4 routine, which would have included the cooldowns to both Cold Core and Vortex as well as the warmups.  Instead, I did just the warmups:

CC Warm-Up + V Warm-Up


Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 2, RPE: 4

Week 2: Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 3

Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 3 - High Intensity

CC Warm-Up + CC Clubbell + CC Cool Down
6 sets

Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 2, RPE: 4

Catching up with Hurricane Healing Mobility

I've been too lazy to keep up the blog.  I did complete Week 1 of Phase 1 of the program.

This week so far...

Week 2

Monday:

Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 1 - Moderate Intensity
V Warm-Up + V Clubbell + V Cool Down

Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 3, RPE: 4

Tuesday:

Hurricane Healing Mobility - Day 2 - No Intensity
CC Warm-Up + V Warm-Up

Scores:   RPT: 7, RPD: 3, RPE: 4

Hurricane Healing Mobility Day 3

Week 1, Day 3, High Intensity

V Warm-Up + V Clubbell + V Cool Down


For this week, do 5 sets per side







Scores:  RPT: 6, RPD: 4, RPE: 4

Hurricane Healing Mobility Day 2

Day 2, No Intensity

CC Warm-Up + V Warm-Up

Scores:  RPT: 6, RPD: 3, RPE: 1

Clubbell Flow Evolution: Hurricane Healing Mobility

Today, I started a new program called Clubbell Flow Evolution, designed by CST Head Coach Shane Heins.  It's actually three programs in one, but I'm focusing on Hurricane Healing Mobility.  From the Clubbell Flow Evolution site:

Hurricane Healing Mobility (HHM) is an incremental, 3 phase, 9 month training program that utilizes a Single 5 lbs Clubbell with all the movements specifically designed to release tension and open up the body, while laying down a foundation (or shoring up weak spots) in Clubbell basics that will provide a platform for launching into more sophisticated and challenging applications with greater effectiveness and benefit.

This program is ideal for: beginners to Clubbell Training, healing and recovery from injury, warm-ups, lighter intensity sessions and training while you travel.

I re-injured my left shoulder a couple of years ago, and it's been a bit unstable ever since.  I'm not in constant pain, but I was getting an ache there every now and then.  When I heard about HHM, I figured it would be worth a shot to take my shoulder recovery further, as well as shore up those weak spots, release tension, etc.

I'm following the 3-day, MWF schedule.  I used to assign intuitive training scores (RPT - Rate of Perceived Technique, RPD - Rate of Perceived Discomfort, RPE - Rate of Perceived Effort) for each exercise, but I'm just going to grade the entire day.

Ok, here's the Day 1 log:

Day 1, Moderate Intensity.

CC Warm-Up + CC Clubbell + CC Cool Down

Scores:  RPT: 6, RPD: 4, RPE: 4

6 pullups today

I was never able to do a single pull-up as a child.  I could even do a chin-up (the variation which has the palms facing me, so that I could use more of my bicep muscles).  I didn't have a very active childhood.  It's a miracle I wasn't as overweight as I could have been from all the exercise that I missed out on.

I did my first pull-up as an adult after discovering the weight-assisted pull-up machine at my university gym.  I started using it at a weight of around 80lbs, so that the machine would allow me to do pull-ups as if my body weighed 80lbs. lighter than it actually was.  I gradually lowered the assistance weight as I progressed.  After several months of use, I was able to do a pull-up with no weight assistance at all.

My previous best was 4 consecutive pull-ups.  After I achieved that, I didn't practice pull-ups as much, especially after I moved into an apartment where my door pull-up bar would not fit into any of the doorways.

About 6 months ago, I finally began regular pull-up practice - minimum of 3 sets per session, 2-3 sessions a week.  My max pull-up reps had decreased to 3, with the 3rd requiring noticeably more effort than the first two.  It didn't help that I'd injured my shoulder twice.  After a couple of months, I started doing 5 sets of at least 3 reps per session.  After a few weeks of this, I was able to do 4 reps/set for some sets.

About a month ago, I'd progressed to doing 5 reps/set.  And today, I did a set of 6 pull-ups for the first time in my life.  My shoulder seems to be holding up.  It's not pain-free all the time, but that's because it's a little "loose".  I'm confident it will stabilize over time as I increase my strength.

I wasn't doing just pull-ups.  I've actually been following a program called "Intro to Ring Training for Beginners".  You can get this free program by visiting this page at the Gold Medal Bodies site and scrolling all the way to the bottom.  It comes with a PDF and video.  It could be that the Baby Muscle-Up and other exercises in the program also contributed to my improved pull-up strength.

Foot Controllers for Ableton Live

Guitarists, violinists, horn players, and other musicians who don't have both hands available to trigger clips in Ableton Live need foot controllers, particularly those who record their instrumental playing into Ableton, then immediately play back the recording while recording another track (aka "live looping").

I have a Roland FC-300 foot controller, which I got to select patches and control parameters on my Roland VG-99 processor.  I've used the FC-300 a little bit as a MIDI controller, to send on/off type messages to a synth.  However, I don't see a way I can trigger Ableton clips without changing VG-99 patches, or change VG-99 patches without triggering Ableton clips if I use the same foot controller for both VG-99 and Ableton Live.  So I'll probably use my FC-300 just for VG-99 control, and get a foot controller for transport control of Ableton Live, as well as triggering Live clips.

This is my humble attempt at a roundup of footpedal makers which I'll probably revisit and update from time to time:

Maker: Behringer
Product: FCB-1010
Comments: Very popular because the cost is low.  The main disadvantages are the learning curve involved in setting up the FCB-1010 to work with Ableton, and the size of the unit.  However, there seem to be plenty of tutorials on the web.

Maker: Gordius
Products: Little Giant Module, Little Giant Foot Controller, Little Big Giant Foot Controller
Comments: The Module adds functionality to an FCB-1010.  The two foot controller products are alternatives to the FCB-1010.  The advantages appear to be smaller footprints and bigger feature set than the FCB-1010.  The main disadvantages are higher costs.

Maker: Liquid Foot
Products: LF+ series foot controllers

Comments: Like Gordius' products, these are quite a bit more expensive than the FCB-1010.  On the other hand, the LF+ 12+ and LF+ JR controllers have colored LCD displays next to each button so you know at a glance what each button is assigned to, which alone might be good enough reason to spend the extra cash.  Helps to see which buttons are for enabling recording, start/stop, and for individual Live clips.  No price however for the LF+ JR, which is probably the most appropriate option for me. 

Maker: Keith McMillen Instruments (KMI)
Products:  SoftStep, 12 Step
Comments: Both of these controllers use rubbery foot switches instead of metal switches like the other controllers.  SoftStep looked intriguing at first because each of the switches are sensitive to both direction and pressure.  However, early adopters have reported these switches being harder to "play" in practice - not that easy to play guitar and keep track of in what direction you're pressing your foot on the pedal at the same time.  Also, some users complained of the response of the pedals compared to metal foot switches, which is critical for live looping.  12 Step looks more practical to use - it can be used for triggering clips, and also MIDI/OSC note data with aftertouch and velocity.  Both KMI controllers are light, in comparison to the FCB-1010 and cost only about $100 more.

Maker: X-Tempo Zone

Product: POK

Comments:  8-pedal wireless DAW controller.  The main advantage is the POK being wireless. 

Some debate on Chord Scale Theory for Improvising

Berkelee College Of Music has a reputation of being one of the best places in the world to study jazz improvisation.  This is what one Berklee instructor had to say, in response to this article in which the author criticizes Chord Scale Theory:

Being a teacher at Berklee, I hear these discussions all the time. The chord scale concept is meant to give you a series of notes to pick from over a chord while improvising. The problem is that if the chords are moving too fast, you can't really play all the notes in the scale and have it come out musical-sounding. 

The chord scale concept was never meant to be used that way. Just the same, beginner improvisers often try their best to be able to get every note of every scale over every chord. Teachers let them do it because it's a good way to learn. There's a point where it becomes obvious to the student that it doesn't work. It's not about know "all the notes" as much as knowing "the right notes" and putting them in the "right places"

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You can't learn that from any scale. 

Yup. Practice more.

Fitness update

On August 17, 2011, I started following the Rings One program. I was interested because it was a CST (Circular Strength Training) influenced strength training program for gymnastic rings. At the end of Level A, Phase 1, I was not strong enough to progress to the next phase, so I repeated Level A, Phase 1. On November 17, I completed the repeat of this phase. I was back to doing the same number of pullups I did before my latest shoulder injury, and was able to do 5 dips, sometimes 6 on a really good day, on the rings, which was an improvement from not being able to do any. I think the Rings One program is a great program, but the results will vary depending on the trainee's physical condition. For someone like me coming off of a shoulder injury and never really possessing a great amount of strength, I think it would take at least 3 repetitions of Level A, Phase 1 before the trainee could progress to the next phase. Level A, Phase 2 includes exercises that I was not able to execute even after going through Phase 1 twice, such as Tuck-Up To Shoulder Stand and Inverted Tuck Roll Chin-Up. The exercises I could not do in Phase 1 until the middle of Phase 1 included Jump Tuck to Inverted Hang (could not do even one rep) and Mountain Climbers (8 reps minimum - I could manage 6). I have no doubt if I kept following Level A, Phase 1 over and over, I'd eventually build up the strength to take on the next phase.

 But I started to get bored and am switching to the Clubbell Mass Evolution program. This program includes the use of a 2-handed clubbell. I have a 45 lb. "Bruiser" clubbell, but it's too heavy for me, so I ordered a 25 pounder. Until it arrives, I will follow this exercise routine: Intu-Flow Intermediate 5 Pullups on door pullup bar (breaks allowed if I can't do 5 consecutive) 5 Pike Pushups on Power Wheel (partial range movement ok) 7-10 "steps" per hand Hand Walks in Plank Position on Power Wheel 5 Hip-Ups to Shoulder Bridge on Power Wheel Rest 5 min. then repeat above Cooldown: Pigeon Pose, Hip Flexor Stretch, Hamstring Stretch Cooldown routine from Rings One I'll be doing the Power Wheel exercises to address core strength (abs and back) defiencies. The pullups address pulling strength deficiencies that prevent me from doing Inverted Tuck Roll Chip. The Pike Pushups start to address the upper body strength deficiencies - particularly the shoulders - when I attempt to support my bodyweight while facing downward, such as in the Tuck Shoulder Stand.

What I hope to gain from Clubbell Mass Evolution is muscle mass to help burn fat, and particularly muscle mass around the shoulders to make them a little more injury-proof. The program also has a lower body training component that was a bit lacking in Rings One.

Some links for Emu Command Station and possibly other Proteus synths

Emu Command Station FAQ

The E-mu Command Station XL-7/MP-7/PK-7 and Proteus 2500 tutorials

prodatum - A cross-platform editor for the Proteus family of synths