A Couple Training Experiments - Weight Vest and Blind Start

The Past month has been pretty hectic getting back into the schedule of school and CrossFit.  Nonetheless I have been getting some training in and would like to share a couple exercise experiments.

Weight Vest

20# weight vest - an awesome investment - I initially picked one up for CrossFit workouts and have gotten some good use out of it over the past couple years. They run between $60-100 depending on the quality, but they are pretty durable and worth the money if you intend to use one. On this day of training, being the first time using a weight vest for parkour, I decided I would go into it without any plans/intentions and just see what I could discover. Below is a summary of this day.

                               

The complete workout I did after precision training is as follows:
50 box jumps
30 push up to two-hand hold
20 pushup to one-hand hold (each hand)

Couple things to take note of during the training portion (precisions) - the weight vest obviously adds an element of resistance for any exercise - in this case the lower body being used during precision. What I did notice, and was not totally prepared for, was the lower back strain it caused as well. Primarily I think this is due to the location of the weight being above my hips. This causes an additional need for back extensor stabilization as I land due to the upper body weight + vest still moving forward. In the end my core fatigued faster than my legs during the precisions, although I continued with conditioning afterward to finish off my legs.

Training application - Besides the obvious benefit to adding a vest to body weight conditioning, I believe there could be some training benefits as well. As I mentioned in the video, I felt like I was literally floating after I took the weight vest off. I felt much more in control of my movement and strength during the post-vest precisions vs. the pre-vest precisions. Also, I believe weight vest training can be a great addition to any flow work or light intensity training as it will add resistance and create more of a workout during those times. The vest makes easy vaults, jumps, and climbs become strenuous - this has the benefit of forcing your mind to focus on the skills you believe you have down and can mimic the effects of fatigue that could occur in "the emergency situation."

Blind-Start Training
I would first like to thank a member of the Panther Parkour club - Jabari Dawkins - for being my guinea pig for this training experiment. Jab and I were training in a spot that is awesome for stringing together strides, vaults, and precisions (as you will see in the video) - This was the perfect area where I intended to try this training experiment, which was hanging around in my mind for a couple weeks at this point. I did not tell jab right away that I planned on using him, and instead allowed ourselves to warm up, fool around, and try a few things in this area.

After we were sufficiently in training mode I say, "Alright Jab, were gonna play a little game. You're gonna start over here, and keep your eyes closed. I'm gonna yell "GO" and you will open your eyes and run to me, wherever I am, as fast and safe as possible." Thus Jab kept his eyes closed, I would run to a random part of the area, scream go, and Jab would run to me. Done. Below is a video of a couple runs filmed during the exercise that Jab, and later I, participated in.

I will first talk about my predictions I had for this exercise, followed by what I actually observed during the training.

Predictions - The warm up and fool around session went exactly how I expected. This is because it is what I have observed that most people do during training sessions. It consisted of exploring the area - Doing big/fun precisions and vaults - and more importantly for the sake of this exercise, it consisted mainly of planing out runs, stringing together specific strides and precisions and repeating the run a couple times to make it more fluid and perfected. This was the point I wanted to challenge.

How big of an influence does the observing-analyzing/planning-try-repeat-do-repeat-perfect method of training have on our overall ability to adapt in emergency situations? My thought was that Blind-Start training would force the first 2 steps of above process to happen immediately and eliminate the rest of the steps since there was only one try, and it was a must do. This would mimic an emergency situation. I believed that this would have a large effect on what movements we chose to do when put "on the spot."

Observations - Jab, you were a wonderful guinea pig. On the first run, Jab reinforced all my beliefs at what this training exercise would accomplish. Jab's exclamation of "ahhh" near the end of his first run showed this - he realized there was a more direct route if he were to stride onto the planter/wall instead of drop off the table and run around it, but his mind did not feel 100% capable of making that move, and thus naturally chose the safer route. Knowing Jab's abilities, I am completely certain if he had time to see the route beforehand and prep his mind, he could easily have continued that stride - but he did not have that time. I inferred from this that whatever moves you have in your parkour repertoire that are not 100%, in an emergency situation, your mind will not let you attempt them, when given the choice. Since fear is meant to keep you alive, any seed of doubt during an emergency situation will play a role on what moves you may perform, when given the choice. And this makes sense - Jab could have made that stride - and saved maybe 0.3 seconds on his time reaching me - but made the safer choice. Ultimately it was a decision between 0.3s and a sure-thing movement. Now to what I observed from my turn.

My initial observation - anxiety. Exactly like waiting for the gun at the start of a race. I had no idea when Jab was gonna yell "GO," nor did I have any idea where he would be. I was surprised at how much a sense of this fear/anxiety built up in me. Next, Jab yells "GO!" Even before my eyes are fully open I start running. By the time I spot Jab and attempt to direct my path I am already at full speed and within a step of my first obstacle. At this point I literally have "Oh Shit Oh Shit" going through my mind on repeat. Besides that, there was close to no thought process going through my mind. No planning routes, steps, or foot take off. During the pre-exercise fool around training, you have the ability to plan a route and make sure you follow that plan, thus have a sense of control over your movement. During this exercise, however, there is no planned route, and once you are in motion, you stay in motion. You can only control the current movement, and have very little sense of seeing what the next move should be. An example from the video - on one of my runs (3rd run I believe) I take 2 steps on each table before striding to the next one. This route could have easily been accomplished by single stride across each table, but it was too late. I got in a rhythm of 2 steps on each table and could not, if I tried, switch it to 1 stride without loosing speed. 

Also, on my first run, you can see a similar instance to what Jab experienced. I have a distinct change in direction in the middle of the run. I remember feeling that I had no safe/efficient path going in that direction, and even before I completed that thought, my body was already switching directions and I was forced to instantly find a new path. It was not a feeling of - see a path-switch direction-go on path. It was a feeling of - can't do this path - body automatically switches to new direction - mind catches up and searches for new path - then go on path. It very interesting realizing how much my body responds to second nature, and how little on the spot analyzation is actually accomplished.

Conclusion- What I took away from this experiment was this - Blind-start training should be implemented in every traceur's training and can be a good addition to the "plan-a-route" training session. The observing-analyzing/planning-try-repeat-do-repeat-perfect aka "plan-a-route" had little to no affect on the ability to adapt when put on the spot with blind-start training. With no time to observe and analyze, it is impossible to consciously think of a route. Instead your body acts on what it knows and your mind tries to keep up. Thus I can see the plan-a-route training as necessary to improve this blind-start training - as you train movements in a planned setting, it allows you to focus on those movements to perfect them and reach the point of second nature. Only when they are absolutely 100% perfected will those movements be useful in emergency situations. Even then, it is interesting to note how regularly the mind will choose the safer, possibly less time efficient, and definitely less flashy route. The Blind-start training as a great method in testing what you have down as well as giving you the opportunity to analyze yourself, your movement patterns, and your adaptation skills.

Opposite Day

I am guilty, and assume many other traceurs are as well, of disregarding the training of non-dominant movements. To those who regularly train their non-dominant side, you have my respect. To those in the same boat as me, who ignore one of the most fundamentally important aspects of basic training, join me in turning over a new leaf and giving our non-dominant movements the training they deserve. I am ashamed of the countless times I have done the following in past training:

• Stutter stepped after a movement to initiate a second movement on my dominant side - sacrificing momentum and efficiency
• Counted my steps before an obstacle to make sure I end up taking off my dominant foot
• Torqued my body in mid-air to avoid a non-dominant roll
• Completely avoid the obviously more efficient path, in order to avoid using non-dominant movements

I find these aspects of my past training extremely hypocritical according to my philosophy on parkour. How can I consider myself prepared for the emergency situation if I am uncomfortable with pretty much half the movements that could be useful. Thus I have started to introduce "opposite day" training into my routine.

Opposite day training is as straightforward as it sounds - train completely with non-dominante movements. I hope that "opposite day" will only be a temporary component in my training. My goal with these training days is to allow my non-dominant movements to catch up with my dominant movements so that I can be ambidextrous with my future training. Eventually, I want to never have to think about my footing and take off when approaching obstacles.

Below is a video of my first day of non-dominant training. The movements I focused on are very basic and are those I find to be the most necessary when it comes to ambidexterity in parkour.

I was somewhat surprised at how quickly I began to catch on to some of the non-dominant movements. Safety vault, tic-tac, and turn vaults in particular. I also attempted some moves that I did not document with video. These moves include non-dominant lazy turn vault, strides, and cranes. I felt much less comfortable with these movements, which will require more attention in the future. I attempted to do most of this training without breaks (consistently running between reps). This incorporated a fair amount of cardio, as well as fatigue, throughout the reps. I found the later reps to feel more comfortable as a movement, but required a higher amount of focus due to fatigue.

Stripping Down to the Basics

If there is one thing I love most about the parkour community, it is the discussions among traceurs of personal philosophies and purpose of training. I have talked to many traceurs at jams, training sessions, and online about their views, and never once have heard the same words to describe their motivation. My philosophies on parkour have changed drastically in the several years since my introduction. As I delve into my personal beliefs on parkour, in no way do I mean to convince anyone that this is the way they should view parkour. I merely want to display my beliefs based on fact of how much I enjoy hearing others', and hope to spark those who read to ponder their motivation to train and how it has evolved since their introduction. I would first like to bring up the question, "what is parkour?"

In most definitions, parkour is mentioned as a discipline. Parkour is not a sport, for sport requires competition, which is a highly debated topic for another day. Nor do I see it as an art, because I believe art implies expression, which I would categorize under Freerunning. Also another debate for another day. Discipline, I believe, is the most important aspect to parkour's definition. Discipline in itself has many meanings, but two common definitions strike me as relating most to parkour: "1.) training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character," and, "2.) control gained by enforcing obedience or order" (Merriam-Webster). Parkour as a discipline allows it to be up to the interpretation of the traceur's purpose/goals meant to be achieved. The discipline is used to achieve those goals. Thus this is why the question, "what is parkour?" is usually followed by, "what does parkour mean to you?"


To me, the philosophy behind my past motivation correlates to the first definition of discipline mentioned above. As I was introduced to parkour, I was amazed at the physical capabilities of the traceurs around me. I found this to be the core motivation of my training - to push my physical limits and overcome mental barriers in attempt to discover the capabilities of the human body in natural movement. I saw my training as an interpretation of the definition 1.), but in a physical aspect. I trained to take a movement, practice it and perfect it, in the pursuit of being able to push my limits onto the next extreme. My overall goal in this sense was to constantly exceed my physical capabilities. I no longer view this as my motivation to train. Looking back, I can only view it as a "go big" philosophy - a reckless method of training that wore down my body and completely lacked the 2.) definition.


As I fell out of training over the past year, due to my lack of motivation from my past philosophy, I tried to look to the core of parkour and why I should really train. Going back to its origins, parkour was founded off the ideals behind George Herbert's "Natural Method." Too lazy to cite sources at this point, but did a 20 page informational essay on parkour for a writing class a year or so ago, so I guess take my word for it. The "Natural Method" was based on the philosophy "be strong, to be useful," Etre fort pour etre utile. This philosophy outlines the idea that we should physically prepare our bodies for emergency situations, so that in the moment we can "be useful." Herbert was part of the french navy back in the day and spent some time in Africa where he witnessed natives who could effortlessly and efficiently maneuver themselves in their environment, yet were not necessarily muscularly built. Thus he based his natural method program around the fact that in an emergency situation, it is going to be more important to maneuver your environment efficiently than it will be to lift weights (which the armed forces fitness was based around at the time). Soon after the parcours (french military obstacle course) was created. The origin of the name parkour.


This simple idea - preparing for the emergency situation - is what I feel the core philosophy of parkour training should be based around, and is what I have started to base my training around. I am sure many will look at this as a "purest" philosophy, and in ways I suppose it is, but I feel this is the true goal of parkour. Very much like how martial arts is a discipline based on self-defense, the fight mechanism, I believe parkour to be a discipline based on escape-defense, the flight mechanism. Even if it is extremely unlikely a situation that actually requires parkour occurs, the discipline is in the preparation.


So how is this philosophy going to affect and change my methods of training from the past?


Let me start with a scenario - you are running, from something or to something, in that rare emergency situation. Ahead of you is a vault-able wall, but you cannot see the other side. Are you going to run and do a massive kong? No, and there is my point. In my past training, and in the training I see in a lot of traceurs, the movements are based on environments we know, not environments we do not know. The environments we do not know is what I believe parkour training is supposed to help us adapt to. Back to the scenario, we obviously do not have time to run up, see that there is a clearable gap for a kong, run back and then do it. So how would we approach it? I would run up and safety vault onto it, assess my options, and act accordingly. If its a gap, I jump it, if its a drop, then drop into a cat and land. No matter how efficient of a movement as a massive kong could be in its own right, it would not be used in the unknown elements. Safety comes first, efficiency second.


Thus I am "stripping down to the basics," trying to analyze the movements that truly prepare me for those situations in which I must be strong, to be useful. This training is going to be based on the 2.) definition mentioned earlier. My goal in the discipline of parkour is to master control of my body through a structured and ordered training based on safety and efficiency.

Find the Traceur

I am at a loss in my parkour training, and have been for the past year. It has been truly hard to admit this to myself for a couple reasons. First, due to the responsibility I have to my community. I am extremely proud to be the co-founder and co-leader of Panther Parkour, The University of Pittsburgh's parkour club. Starting as just a way to reach out and unite unknown traceurs in the college scene, the club quickly grew into something unexpected: A microcosm for incoming freshman - trying to find their niche in the macrocosm of college. Aidan Gallagher (co-founder) and I - sophomores at the time - realized this after our first meeting of the new academic year, when 50 kids showed up, 90% of them being freshman and with no prior experience, let alone knowledge, of parkour. We also realized we were going to need structure. I've had prior experience running jams in my hometown of Philly, so the numbers weren't daunting. We decided to put everyone through an hour worth of QM to weed out the kids who joined the club thinking it was going to teach them to "backflip off shit." The true traceurs returned after that. The significance of this club was that it pushed an unforeseen teaching role onto me (being a leader of the club and one of the few prior members with credible experience). Thus the club became more than just the weekly jam sessions we initially intended. It soon became our responsibility to run conditioning sessions and skill workshops, and overall teach the philosophy and movements of parkour (something that a lot of traceurs actually get paid to do). This did not phase me since I truly love to teach, but recently it has become increasingly hard to show my commitment.


The other reason I have had trouble admitting hitting this wall in my training is a little more complicated. It comes to having to admit to myself that I am no longer in love with something that has undoubtedly had the biggest influence in my life - making me the person I am today. The reasons for this I am still trying to identify, but simplistically, the motivation to train is gone. The philosophies that have matured over the past 6 years of my training no longer get me outside. I am not disregarding the influence these philosophies, which I will delve into later, have had on my life. I still whole-heartedly believe in the ideas behind them. I honestly feel they have just matured beyond parkour training and into other aspects of my life, and thus no longer have effect on my drive to train.


Thus the point of this blog. I am not ready to admit the end of my training, but I am ready to admit that there must have been a change in my view of parkour. A change I believe I have recently discovered and hope to nurture. This blog will in effect be and open personal journal of my new training and philosophies as they mature throughout the next episode of my life, however long it may be. My hopes of this blog are to help myself track, identify, and discover my own views of parkour training as I attempt to "find the traceur" that motivates me to train. I hope this to be a positive influence on any traceur who reads this...


Next blog title Stripping Down to the Basics: a look at my past philosophies, and my newly discovered ones.