Get outside! Go on, git!

It's really, really important to take your training outside as much as you can. 

Let's say that the gym is where you develop your muscles, the more you train, the stronger you get... but it's running and climbing and jumping and leaping and hanging and swinging outside that you actually develop your tendons and your connective tissue and your stabilising muscles.

You'll realise this as soon as you try and obstacle course somewhere... you might be able to do a pull up or two, but suddenly on some course, getting from one tire on a chain to another tire on a chain is really, really challenging... it's those stabilising muscles that you're missing.

You might also notice that your legs or arms or whole body gets sore from running and leaping around, and that's exactly what you need to train and develop.  Sometimes on the Ninja Warrior show, you see competitors take massive falls as they've leaped off an obstacle at speed.  The strength and toughness to hit hard and carry on is as much practise as anything else.

AFL is a good example.  Sometimes you see footballers get hit hard or monster tackled to the ground and they just spring back up.  That's because all their stabilising muscles are as strong as their main gym muscles, and their body is used to being hit.  Kickboxers have to practise heaps before hitting the bag doesn't hurt their shins anymore, Karate kids get hit heaps to deaden the nerves and strengthen the connective tissue and fascia.

You'll need to be tough and you'll need to be strong to take on the Ninja Warrior course. You are definitely going to make awkward falls, you're going to have to grip on so tight that your hands would bleed if they weren't so calloused... you're going to have to take the hits and bounce along like nothing happened.  You can not be successful any other way.

So, training in the gym is fine, get as strong as you can... but you also need to train outside, anywhere that you can find so that you can also get as tough as you can. 

Jigsaw puzzles - now on www.jspuzzles.com

Soooooo, for the long weekend that we spent down at the coast, being the crazy drunken party animals that we are, we attempted two jigsaw puzzles, both going late into the night as five of us remembered that you grab all the edges, and start from there.

The jigsaw puzzles were already at the holiday house thingo we grabbed through AirBnB, and so it was total devastating dismay that at 1am in the morning, after everyone else had gone to bed that my partner and I only got this far:

I had an inclining early on that there wasn't nearly enough pieces since we couldn't get all the edges and therefore didn't know how big it was... so I lost interest... but after everyone else went to bed, we just wanted to get as far as we could.

It was fun and super frustrating all at the same time. 

The next night, a Saturday night no less, after being completely amazing by the little pub we found with the blind Hawaii piano player, and our server who stopped service for a while to play the entire Chicken Dance song on liquor bottles, we started a new puzzle.

Again, fun, then frustration hit us at 2am.  Look at the beaver's face.  LOOK AT IT.

That one felt so much more personal.. someone stole that piece on purpose.

So, with an itch that needed to be scratched, I went in search for a puzzle that couldn't be ruined by jerkkids, and found this... and OMG, suddenly competitive puzzle solving is now in my life:

I present to you, Jigsaw Puzzles Online, found at : http://www.jspuzzles.com/

 

 

How anyone finished this in 22 seconds is absolutely beyond me, but it's definitely got the competitive fires burning in a dude. Also, best thing ever, check out these bad boys:

 

You can add your own jigsaw puzzles!!!! So good!

Lucy really gets me y'know:

I've got 3 puzzles, you can access the photo of me here. The photo of young Kacy smashing obstacle courses here... AND a special puzzle just for you gentle blog reader.  Click on me.

So, the message of this little post is, http://www.jspuzzles.com/ is so good!  Get on it!

 

 

 

American Ninja Warrior - NOW ON HULU!

I cannot tell you just how great it is that ANW is now on Hulu.  The struggle that we've faced to watch this show over the years has been great.  Australian television has only just started broadcasting at Season 8, and with all the regional restrictions with NBC, Esquire, YouTube and Amazon, I basically had to find people in the US to buy it for me, get it shipped to their place and then have them send it onto me.

I thought being in America would make it all so much easier, but we haven't subscribed to a cable package, instead just using digital platforms Hulu and Netflix.  Since both NBC.com and Esquire were advertising they were showing full episodes, I didn't think it would be a big deal to hook my laptop up to the TV and watch it that way... but the day after the premiere Season 8 episode, neither website had the full episode available, just a heap of spoilerific clips for me to quickly try not to look at.

My apartment building does have a cable TV available for residents,

Then, thanks to Hulu's advertising splash screen thingo, it was right there for us, all set to use the normal TV remotes and watch it all commercial free.... so so so happy.  It's the little things really.

So, to all the people that made American Ninja Warrior Season 8 on Hulu possible, I am hugely appreciative.  Go Team!

Pretty much my two favourite things - together at last!

There's literally nothing more I can add to this, except bravo!

American Ninja Warrior - STARTS TONIGHT! WOOOO!

Before I start, Jessie Graff (who is flying through a new obstacle called the Tic Tac) is the best.  I totally starting watching Supergirl because she was doing the stunt work for it.  I'm really hoping she does well this year.

 

Anywho, American Ninja Warrior Season 8 starts airing on NBC and Esquire tonight. Neither are super handy for those of us just rocking the online guys Hulu, Netflix & YouTube, but we'll manage to make it work for sure.

 

I am pumped for this season.  I'm really glad last season had two rock climbers win it... not only because they are incredible athletes, but I'm also happy to have less forearm centric obstacles and more jumping type obstacles which is way more my strength.  Watching this teaser clip and this little intro thing has done nothing to quell my own doubts about my abilities though, everything just looks so epic and amazing AND insurmountable. Guess I'll just have to become x10,000 times more mighty, it's really the only answer for it.

 

I don't want to sound like a ridiculous fanboy, but get up on this show, it's just so great!  I will no doubt be blogging about the various episodes because greatness.

 

American Ninja Warrior - Parkour Update

So I've graduated myself from the Beginner class to the Beginner 2 Parkour class, and am much happier for it. The Monday night Beginner 2 class is for ages 16+ so it's a bit less rambuncuous but also it's way more technical. I've actually discovered I don't know how to jump with my left foot. So far, no matter the exercise I've always found a way to kick off with my right... it's terrible. I actually have an amazing leap with my right, (maybe because it's always done all the work) but I'm now going to have to put some work in to un-program my brain and teach myself how to jump with my left. So weird!

I actually think I've got enough natural talent to join the intermediate class... except, it's really taking my 2 full days to recover from the beginner 2 class. That balance between striving forward vs acclimatizing your body is something I've always struggled with.

American Ninja Warrior - Things that are holding me back - #1 Update

The update is that there is no real update. It still hurts like a jerk most days. I've given the physio the flick since he either didn't know how to tackle it or was stringing me along. I only get 15 visits a year so I didn't want to waste too many. I'm now trying to strengthen my feet by working on my balance, and doing the exact opposite to what the podiatrist said, and spending as much time in bare feet as possible, and wearing different shoes all the time. Previous advice hasn't worked so I'm trying something new. I'm hoping the foot, being a miraculous feat of evolutionary engineering will figure itself out. I'm also massaging it with a golf ball and rolling out my calves every chance I get. I've got some Fish Oil that I'll be taking daily and I'm starting hot yoga to try and help as well.

American Ninja Warrior - Competitors in Oregon?

Asking for a friend...

Would love to meet anyone else training for American Ninja Warrior on the North West Coast of America.  Feeling a little bit lonely and unsure at the moment.

American Ninja Warrior - Things that are holding me back - #3

Shoulder Subluxation is a problem I completely forgot about. It first happened a few years ago in indoor soccer, then again when I was hit by a car on my bike, now it's happened about 5 times. On Thursday I was bouldering on a climb that was too hard for me... but I wanted to push myself... and my left shoulder popped out. Now it only takes a few seconds to roll back into place, but the recovery takes weeks. My left arm can feel weak for up to 6 weeks after... it sucks. I need to work some shoulder/rotator cuff exercises into my routine to strengthen the muscles around the ball joint. Blurgh!

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Endurance

I had a shoulder injury last Thursday, so during the recovery it was a good time to start the Maffetone Method. Summed up, it basically gets you to stop using the anaerobic fibres in your body so you can train your aerobic fibres instead... basically transforming me from a sprinter to a marathoner. I know American Ninja Warrior is about short bursts of action, but I think the really great guys have a crap ton of endurance in their tank. A lot of guys go out because they get so tired, they then don't tackle obstacles properly and fall. I'm trying to prevent that from happening to me... like everything else on this journey, I have to go back a heap of steps to start from the start in something brand new to me. It's been challenging the last few days, especially the no carbs or sugars for 2 weeks thing... but I think it'll be worth it.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Calisthenics

I'm basically working my way through the book Convict Conditioning. It's really, really good. It's been frustrating basically starting over with almost literal baby steps... but I always go too far too fast and end up injuring myself... so I'm trying to do the exercises exactly as the book dictates.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Rock Climbing

The gym that I joined is also an indoor rock climbing centre, which is very lucky that it's so close. I did the beginner rock climbing course which was great and I learnt a ton. The only friends I have in Portland are the two girls I did that beginner course with. So, I basically go twice a week to do some bouldering by myself and then do a rock climbing session with the girls once a week. It's weird how different in skill level we are. The girls have great balance and leg strength, so they can do climbs I can't, whereas I'm a bit more upper body so I can get through spots they don't even want to attempt. It's great. At the moment I can do V0 & V1 climbs. I haven't finished any V2 bouldering climbs yet. In rock climbing I'm kinda sticking to the 5.8 & 5.9. Haven't completed a 5.10a yet.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training - Parkour

At the moment, I'm doing one beginner class of Parkour a week, and I'm usually sore for at least 2 days afterwards. It's really fun though and I'm really not that bad at it. I've got a good leap and I'm strong, I can usually muscle my way through things (not ideal) if my technique isn't great. Some of the other dudes in the beginner class are just amazing, it's very inspiring. I actually can't wait until I'm conditioned enough to go more than once a week.

American Ninja Warrior - 4 steps to training

One of the reasons I love Ninja Warrior is that no one type of athlete, body type, age or discipline is perfect for it. The rock climbing guys are usually great at Stage 3, but there is a heap of balance obstacles to trip them up before before then. I have no real background, I did competitive dancing in my early 30s, then played a heap of indoor soccer, and gym it up a lot, but I've overhauled everything to train for Ninja Warrior. Basically, my thinking is that the four areas I'm training are: Parkour, Rock Climbing, Calisthenics and Endurance. I am brand new to all of these things, but it's fun.

American Ninja Warrior - Strategy

I know it seems obvious, but slow progression is going to be key. Currently, I can't do a single thing that I'll need to bring to American Ninja Warrior, so it's all about progression. Start off small, master that, build on it, advance. Rinse and repeat. It's extremely tedious, but starting small helps condition my old bod, which'll open a whole heap of doors for me. I'll actually be going backwards for quite a while, doing exercises I can totally easily do... all in order to build up the tendons and supporting muscles. Usually I jump into everything as hard as I can, and usually end up injured along the way... slow and steady and driving myself crazy... that's my approach.

American Ninja Warrior - Things that are holding me back - #2

All my problems are tendonitis-y, I also have RSI but that doesn't really affect this new crazy goal of mine. Golfers Elbow in my right arm is a big problem though, it started when we were touring around Spain. I had been going to the gym heaps before we left, and then while we were bouncing around that crazy hot country, I'd only sporadically get to a gym... I tried my normal pull-ups and my elbow did not like it one bit. It's been a problem for nearly 10 years now. Basically Hammer Curls are impossible, and pull-ups develop an ache pretty quickly. 

 Dagnammit.

American Ninja Warrior - Things that are holding me back - #1

This came outta nowhere about 8 months ago. I was playing indoor soccer like 4 times a week and everything was fine for ages.. then I wanted to get better so I started training twice a week and my heal very quickly started to hurt a lot. I've now been to 2 podiatrists (and paid through the nose for orthotics) and will still no end in sight I'm now working with a physio. He thinks it's because of my tight calves. Which have always been crazy tight, but I've basically done no cardio for 8 months to heal this sucker so they really shouldn't be tight at all.

Damn old man calves.

American Ninja Warrior - Current specs

I wanted to take a serious of measurements before I started in order to see if there were any changes along the way. I honestly don't know what to expect... but I do know that it's hard to see how far you've come if you don't know where you started.

Australia's First Ninja Warrior

I know, I know... Doesn't seem likely.

American Ninja Warrior - Goal 2 : First Australian competitor

 

This one is a little out of my hands, but I'm chasing it regardless. My partner and I moved to America seeking change and adventure, and this show was a big reason for me for picking the United States. We could have moved to Japan or Malaysia or the UK to compete on their shows, but I've loved the American version of Ninja Warrior for years now. I am slightly worried that while I'm attempting to be on American Ninja Warrior that Australia launches it's own version (which would be epic, the weather allows Aussies to be ridiculously fit and sporty) but I'm chasing more of a sure thing here.