I... We Don't Come Close

Reet, first things, first. I have almost fully recovered from my back injury, it no longer prevents me from 95% of training/movement.

My first real session back training was absolute killer, I actually got that burning feeling in my quads walking downstairs for breakfast the next day! :| Not to mention my hands! They were as raw as anything and actually started preventing me from doing certain things, something I have not experienced for a while. My first time back in the gym was also a bit of an eye opener. I lacked so much strength it was shocking! It almost paid tribute to the condition I had got my body in before the injury but my efforts that day were still appalling. I found that my legs were far too weak for my liking and my knees actually hurt when squatting measly weights. Uncool.

Since then I have come back some way towards my previous self, though I am still only benching 55kg in the gym which is poor compared to my previous 75kg lifts, it is a start and I feel I am on the mend. Last week I could hardly lift half the stack of weights on the seated squat but today I lifted the full thing with as much ease as ever before. As I had such a great session in the gym today I now feel that I will come back from this noticeably stronger and more powerful than before.

The same goes for my parkour. Since my first few sessions, my hands have hardened again and my quads are used to the strain once again, but now I feel that with minimal efforts I am able to push further than before. Again talking ‘strength-wise’ there… I am finding that more and more of my training is devoted to strength and the conditioning of my body. Something more and more guys in Leeds are doing!

A couple of weeks ago I was next in line to try muscle ups on a bar at the scaffolding spot (the first thing I did when I got to the jam was 7 muscle ups, the second was 9 of the same!!), when I had a realisation. I realised that there was 8 of us (a large majority) lining up to do muscle ups! Something that even 6 months ago would have been ridiculous and would have been more likely if we were lining up to vault a wall!!! I felt proud, proud of the group, proud of their progression.

It is hard to explain but my abilities and techniques have changed since I have come back as well. I find I am much more confident with things that were previously pushing my abilities. A lot of the larger/harder movements I had previously only felt up to doing on the ‘good days’ were now formality and there was little/no commitment needed to accomplish them. They have become part of my general training and I no longer have to push myself mentally or physically to achieve such movements. Even though I am still weaker than I have previously been, I feel stronger and I look at movements with a new broader view. Tomorrow afternoon cannot come quick enough, even though the forecast is wet I have more motivation than ever before, I am strangely excited to train in the cold rain, to test my abilities, my confidence and my determination for the discipline.

I am now wishing for my college work to be over, I have about a dozen exams to do in the month of June, and then apart from work I am free to spend as much time as I possible can training. I have been reading up and learning about David and the early traceurs and the training they did in the early days (check out Thomas’ latest post – link on the right) whilst I have been injured and what we do just doesn’t compare! I am going to try and set an example in Leeds in the few months I have left here, by putting my body through some serious pain and discipline, with a hope that others will follow.

Of course these are only words, but I feel compelled to tell nothing but truth on this page, and I am never one to not go through with something I say. Those who know me will know I don’t do things by halves. My only fear is that I have to actually study for the first time in my life, as even my insurance (lowest) offer for Uni is AAB – grades that I probably wouldn’t get without a considerable amount effort. And that this will put great restraints on my time, but none the less it will be short lived and I will then have my freedom to train.

The last time I was injured for any length of time and came back to train was when I started to understand parkour and take it seriously. I am taking this return as another similar mile stone; I believe my training has dramatically changed and that I will now be training harder than ever. Only time will tell but I intend on doing my best to get close to what the ‘first guys’ went through. Starting with at least 200 press ups, 400 sit ups and 100 pistol squats a day, with no exceptions!

To be continued I believe…

Peace