24.5.07

Building Blocks

Been having some killer revision for exams as I'm sure a lot of people have, makes summer all the more delicious!
I have just been able to keep on top of my basic training with this months workload, and have been thinking about parkour a lot (as we all do) and about what constitutes training. Just come up with something for myself, that, at first glance looks extremely commonsense, but for me it is finally a way of seeing my components of how i want to/do train.
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If I were to build a kind of pyramid to my training it would be:
-Movement
-Drills
-Conditioning
-Strength

So, starting from the basics:

Strength Training:
This is the part which is where my focus is if I want a new skill concerning strength. Eg) could be more a one arm chin, planche, a certain amount of handstand pushups, whatever. It could be a group of targets concerning strength, but either way this is the component which is the focus of how to achieve that. Around this, I plan the exercises and routine in order to achive that skill, maybe some periodization or whatever. So for example, my strength training at the moment is by each day: legs/pulling movements/legs/pushing movements/repeat. So for legs for example, I'll do weighted pistols, isometrics, calf raises, weighted precisions etc. So its about getting a goal, then devising a solid plan to achieve it, and once its achieved, finding a new goal (of which there are plenty :) ).
Conditioning:
This compliments my strength training by just tiring out the muscle group I am training that day. For example, if I am training for a one arm chin (which im not), ill do weighted pullups, negatives, assisted chins, etc. At the end of this session of strength training, I will do a bunch of other movements which involve pulling such as loads of climbups, traversing, hanging, pullup max rep sets, muscle ups, etc.....all movements which emphasise the muscle group I am training that day for strength, just to wipe out the muscles at the end for (hopefully) better gains.
Drills:
This is where parkour specific movements are drilled over and over for embedding into the muscle memory. Movements like small drops concentrating on landing silent, rail precisions, passes etc. So for example, I would go to a particular rail precision and do it X amount of times, or do X amount of speed passes on both sides, over and over. Also circuits of combined movements, practicing transitions between movements. I must say that UF vol 3 stuck with me from when i watched it for the first time and this is one inspiration from it.
Movement:
This is where the benefits of the other 3 components are hopefully evident. This is the block of training which used to be almost solely how i practiced. Its like exploring, playing, experimenting, trying new things, and really progressing in terms of confidence and learning and performing newer and bigger movements. So unlike the old days when I used to just go out to 'train' in this way, this is only one quater of the equation for my training now. Its the part where I can do what I want and just move and experiment.

Throughout time the emphasis on each block can change. At the moment with exams it is something like 80% strength and conditioning with about 15% drills and 5% movement. The summer this may switch up with more emphasis on drills and movement, but I think it is a safe bet that about 40/50% should be on strength/conditioning at all times. If I had to have one, I would probably have the strength training because that is a matter of setting certain goals and the strength training is my means to achieve them, but then I also think that conditioning is just as essential so they are almost inseperable to me. Strength/conditioning are the bread and butter of my training, and I think it should be also for a lot of people.
Its the staple carbohydrate food which I compliment with some drills (protein) and some movement (essential fats) lol.
Ultimately I want to eat a lot of fat though because it tastes the best :P

12 comments:

  1. Hi Jin,

    Sorry if get loads of these...my computer went all weird on me (!) Anyway, love the novel training mantra & good luck with the exams!! I completed my degree 5 years ago, but still remember what it is like....it'll be fine, and summer will be even greater!!

    All the Best,
    Rach

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  2. I like your analogy, but its made me a bit hungry!! This is a good breakdown of the essential elements of parkour. This is what I need to do with my training. I'm too erratic especially with my conditioning/strength training. I need to set more long term goals, or even short term goals rather than just take it day by day.

    Blake

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  3. Actually oi!! Whats going on with you and Blane requiring approval for comments?

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  4. @Rach: Hey, thanks, it kind of just wrote itself hehe. Yeah, its only my first year today, but it sure feels like being back in a-levels, or gcse's! The exams are going well so far though thanks, I'm pretty confident about it,...ah just seen you have a blog too! Will have to keep a beady eye on it :)

    @Blake: cos this is my domain, i am the dictator so i get to moderate comments! lol, nah its just because sometimes you get some really annoying spam.
    Yeah, i really think goals are so key to progression, it helps me a lot otherwise i kind of just feel as if im drifting a bit with my training,
    hopefully see you next weekend, cant make this one, am gutted,
    take care bro

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  5. ...yes, from reading your blog and your positive attitude, I think you'll be pretty damn fine too!Then you can get on with the more importatn things in life...like cat-crawling and the like...:D

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  6. Anonymous8:43 PM

    hey jin,
    are you going to head up to lisses this year? would be cool to meet you there...

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  7. anonymous, any chance you could give a name? Should be in lisses in July around the 20th or so,

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  8. Hey comrade,

    I read this last week but didn't have time to reply. I love how you've broken things down and really thought about each of them and what they consist of and how much you want to dedicate to each of them to become (or continue to be!) a complete traceur.

    I'm always thinking about how I can modify my regime and improve it to get the best results and reading this post has forced me to look deeper in to my plan.

    Right now, I'm *quite* happy with my setup but I want to make some changes...

    I think I'm guilty of spending too much time on strength and conditioning and preparing my body for Parkour rather than reminding myself that the end goal is putting all of that towards improving my movements.

    I think I need to place more emphasis on drilling things and working on my weaker side for movements especially.

    I would say that strength and conditioning work makes up 70% of my overall training, 20% is just moving and only 10% of my time is spent drilling techniques.

    What I plan to do is reshape this to be more like:

    30% conditioning
    30% strength training
    20% drilling
    20% movement

    Like yourself, I think it would be a good idea to place conditioning at the end of a strength training session just to totally destroy the muscle groups.

    Your 'pulling/legs/pushing/legs' set up sounds good too. I've been focusing more on pulling lately and not so much on pushing so I might give your plan a try and see if it works for me.

    If you're including precisions in to your leg days then I recommend doing them first (if you are not already) as this will be more beneficial. The reason being is that as we become tired, we substitute good technique for bad technique to conserve energy and if you do this too much it could alter your neural pathways and you might find it hard to 'unlearn' the bad habits you could pick up.

    Anything technical, such as drilling should be done whilst your fresher then afterwards feel free to exhaust the muscle groups to failure. This will protect your techniques from becoming sloppy.

    You probably knew all that already mate but just thought I'd mention it... this comment is far too long and I have a new regime to plan! So I'll catch up with you soon bro.

    Have a good day.

    -Blane

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  9. aha, thanks for the post man, no i didnt actually consider that, its a very good point as i have been doing my presicions after my weighted pistols lol!
    Yeah, I feel its been too much conditioning and not enough parkour also, so im hoping to shift it around a bit when i finish uni in a week (fast year!)

    Yeah its so hard to dedicate time to the things you want, like i have been completely neglecting handstands and presses because my pushing stuff at the moment is centered around max effort dips at like 1 rep each and weighted pushups,
    i guess its best just to keep it fresh, but at the same time its hard to judge when to mix up a plan if you havent achieved the goal you want for a long time,

    all very expereimental and empirical this stuff!

    Anyway, cheers for the post, speak to you soon no doubt ,

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  10. hey you'll be in Lisses the same time as my friends and i are :D. Maybe we'll meet :D

    cheers
    yves

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  11. Anonymous12:45 AM

    awesome man. i agree with that so much. its kidna inspired me to be abit more formal with my trianing. its cool to see that other people are concentraiting more on the strength side of things than just the movement side. although i knew you and blane were always in to that. :D

    peace
    bobby

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  12. Anonymous5:15 PM

    Good words.

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