Ido Portal's Movement Workshop day one

I am just so tired from day 1 of Ido Portal's movement workshop. All those midline stabilization drills, hand balancing progressions, and movement prep has left me spent literally from my fingers to my toes. And he says that it's really not strength work yet, just work capacity training! That is one of the lessons that I got from this day. I'm weak! And, I can say that with a smile on my face. No where else to go but up! I'm tired, but also so amazed at the breadth and depth of the information that I was able to gather.

Ido showing us how to balance a handstand with
Odelia Goldschmidt.

Even just the warm ups and preparatory exercises for the wrists, forearms and shoulders were already such gems- add in the handstand, pull up, and dip progressions and you get a treasure trove of exercises that will get any person (yes, that means even you!) stronger and more mobile, and while using a minimal amount of equipment. The value really is in the coaching, the progressions, and the programming of the training in order to get people progressing from their current level of  strength, coordination, and balance, up to greater and greater heights.

And on a different note, Ido Portal is really my kind of coach. He doesn't mince words, very diligent and uncompromising in his methods, and shows how it is to really be able to bring out the best in the athletes that he trains. That is, with quality, concise instruction and proper cues that are easy to understand, and an unwavering focus on getting the athlete to perform correctly what needs to be done. To quote him: "if you are a good coach, then you are an asshole already". Haha!

One more full day of learning tomorrow, and I'm ready to learn more. I just hope my body will be rested up and ready as well!

When I grow up, I want to be just like Ido!

Rejuvination and inspiration

I have to confess, I've become somewhat complacent these past few months.

Upon being a member and then an apprentice trainer at Crossfit MNL, and practicing more the paleo/ancestral way of eating and living, I've seen myself improve immensely. I've become stronger (increased my deadlift by 40 lbs without exclusively training for it) and more balanced (I can now do a frogstand for 30 seconds consistently, and am starting to be able to do a true handstand) while maintaining my aerobic endurance (10km run stayed at around 1 hour) and increasing my anaerobic endurance and stamina (fran time decreased from 11 minutes to 7 ). I've also become more confident and capable as a coach, being exposed and trained more and more in teaching proper movement mechanics and encouraging an increasingly diverse group of people.

You'd think with that with those improvements that others see in me, that I'd be more inspired to do more. In fact, I've felt a little bit burned out on occasion, and gave myself some leeway to slack of a bit. I guess that did have it's purpose, but that has gone it's course and it's high time to get back in the saddle again. After gaining those accomplishments it's been more than a month already that I've been slacking off in training and in eating. Thank goodness I haven't regressed (I hope!), but I pretty much am certain that I stalled.

With the help and encouragement of my dearest, I did see the need to reset myself and take opportunities that present themselves. So even when I didn't really feel that I was up to it yet, I signed up for the movement workshop by Ido Portal (also with the help of Crossfit MNL) and the Crossfit Level 1 Trainer Certification Course at Crossfit Singapore. Bahala na.

But now, with these things on my plate, I'm starting to be more diligent in my habits again. I'm eating and sleeping better again, which in turn gives me more energy to train myself more.

Also, I was lucky enough to see first hand what Ido Portal and his group are capable of, and it's just jaw dropping. I'm at a loss to describe the level of mastery that they've achieved with bodyweight strength. You really have to see it for yourself, no photo or video can suffice. Now, I realize again the importance of surrounding myself with people better than me.

I foresee these to be very exciting times ahead.

Let's go!