From ashes to...?

It's been a crazy few weeks. Exams as usual managed to hog far too much time and I had an infection to contend with. But, it's over now and I'm determined to make up for lost time. I haven't really trained at full intensity since my hospitalisation. Friday saw BGS in action in the first round of the English Schools Cup waterpolo, everyone played out of their skins and we won the tournament winning every match in the process, very satisfying. Waterpolo fitness continues, I'm focusing on my speed and speed-endurance which means lots of sprint work and some horrible exercises involving swimming fast without breathing. It's doing me good though.

Saturday we went to Sheffield for the anniversary jam which was fantastic. Seeing Sam and Luke for the first time in ages and plenty of other people too along with the great atmosphere and spots, it was a great day. For me, it managed to inspire me and get my confidence going again. I'll definatley be back to do some of the stuff I was too tired to commit to at the end! Popped into Decathlon quickly to buy a few bits and pieces and then back to Leeds. Sunday was spent in Leeds training, Liam, Sam and Sean were out along with Matt from York. I began by doing some drills on my own at the Art Gallery, working on tidying up my techniques and moving more efficiently. People showed up after a while, it was a good atmosphere and I was able to build on my freshly renewed confidence to work on some of my fears including level armjumps and rail work. I felt strong mentally and physically for the first time in a long time and was very happy with my standard of parkour, can only bode well for the future.

Today was school and now I'm free of exams it was gym time. Won't bore you with specifics but I had a very good upper body session. Now I have the time, I plan to do one session a day in the school gym, rotating between upper, core and lower. The aim at the moment is a steady gain in muscle mass and a bit of fat-loss, the target is of course strength to bodyweight ratio. Ordered myself some more protein powder, some creatine and some Omega 3 caps last night, I finally feel like I have the time to spend training to justify using creatine. Hoping to be pushing my training very hard indeed over the coming months. Can't wait.

Oh and courtesy of Ben Anderson:

Wheeeeeeeee

Just a quickie, very busy with exam stuff at the moment but 11 days and it's all over and I can get back to my main focus in life. Training since I last wrote has been mostly conditioning, shoulder pressing is coming on great, as a result, straight armed tuck planches and straddle planches are happening now. Irritatingly, handstand raises are fine until I get to the handstand, at which point I simply can't straighten up and tend to fall over. More pressing strength required. Biceps are still a bit touchy so the OAC training has been gentle, the last thing I want is another round of tendonitis. Technically I'm not doing great at the moment, lack of movement training is showing up when I do train. After the exams I'll try and put that right, lots of drills and rebuilding technique and confidence are what I need. Got the chance to teach two people from scratch on saturday, really enjoyed it and made me think more about my own movements. On the flippy/spinny front, running fronts are pretty good on the floor, just need to land a little more upright (Jamie style!). I'm confident enough to do gainer releases without mats now which is nice. Sideflips and double-legs are one confused mess at the moment but hopefully that'll sort itself with practice. And backflips are just messing with my head. A lot of work to do there for sure. Interestingly, even though by my normal standards, life's not that good at the moment, I feel surprisingly happy. Maybe spirituality helps, I realised that the key to staying reasonably stable and happy always is not to found your happiness on any one support, rather to spread it across many. That way, when one vanishes, your house doesn't fall down!

Oh and I forgot to mention, waterpolo training has been good lately though 4 weeks without a swim over the holidays sure makes your first sessions hurt. Managed to complete a challenge involving holding a slowly emptying barrel containing 19kg of water over my head whilst trying to stay afloat in the deep end. The real difficulty is coming up for air the first time because at that stage the barrel's still really heavy, after that and a bit more time underwater, you can come up and stay up. But, sink too much and the barrel stops emptying. It's sadistic, I swear! More cardio fitness is my priority, thus tomorrow night is Hungarian reps and sprints/intervals. My emotions are a mixture of excitement and dread!

Standing on the edge...

As usual, loads of stuff has happened between now and my last post. Some of the highlights have been the return of parallel armed muscle ups and sending a boulder problem on Ilkley Moor that has tormented me for a long time. I spent the New Year on the moors with Hollie, Tim, Ben, Gin and Molly, thanks for a fun time guys. 2007 in all honesty was a year I'd rather forget, it's had some good moments though (no particular order):

* Trace.
* Early mornings and evening sessions in Leeds with Hollie.
* Learning to climb with the Corbett family and Hollie.
* My nephew's arrival into the world.
* Brimham rocks with Ed and Jamie.
* Rock climbing in Northumbria with Rory and Andy (my first outdoor lead, my first E1 etc.)
* The HUB festival.
* Doing the swimming pool armjump (one of the defining moments of my parkour journey).
* And of course, every single session with the guys in Leeds, that never fails to make me smile.

But then also a hell of a lot of bad ones, personal, physical, academic and family; I don't think here's the place to talk about that but if you know me, you'll know at least some of these. Truth be told, I still suffer pain as a direct result of my accident, my strength and endurance are still below their old levels and it's trashed my mental state. But it also taught me a lot about myself, I asked for a speedy recovery, I was kicked whilst I was down so that I might learn the true meaning of strength. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else but I came out of hospital a stronger man, not physically but in character.

2008 will be a defining year for me. Things are going to change a lot, I'll have a new home for over half of the year, there are lots of places to visit, lots of new people to meet and a hell of a lot of training to do if I'm to stay on track. It's a crazy, crazy ride this life but I wouldn't trade my seat on the roller-coaster for anything or anyone else's.

I made just one New Year's Resolution and that is to be true to myself. In my head, that makes perfect sense but I can't find the words to explain it. Go forth, and never, ever give up the fight.

If you'll excuse me, I have weights to lift... ;)