spin my mind

emily - 25 - birmingham, al nature, dogs, rock climbing + yoga last.fm | instagram

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We began Week Two of the Rock Climber’s Training Manual on Sunday.

Day 1: Outdoor Mileage + Projects -- I did a quick run of the gym climbing all V0-2s up and down with silent feet, and then spent the rest of the night working on harder problems that I’m juuuuuuuust nearly there to send (pictured).

Day 2: Rest Day Labor Day -- aka no climbing for me, but I did get in a quick yoga session to stretch my muscles out and then I ate a lot of really delicious food

Day 3: ARC Training -- after warming up and doing a quick run through the gym picking our 2 favorite V2-4s on each wall to climb up and down to get our bodies pumpin’ we began ARC’n.  This time, we did a 30 minute traverse of the gym on straight arms and focused on getting crafty with our resting in corners.  After ARC, we spent 10 minutes doing a quick core session in the weightroom to really feel the burn

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Ryan and I decided to fully take on the Rock Climber’s Training Manual to get ready for season, and we just completed the first week!  It’s been a hard week, but we’re both super excited for the results and to finally take our climbing training seriously.  

Days 1 & 2: Outdoor Mileage -- since it’s still super hot in Alabama and we both work in a climbing gym, we just decided to simulate OM by climbing all of the V0-2 problems (53 problems in total) in the gym.  We added on climbing with silent feet and down climbing every problem back to the start.  Our only moments of rest were while the other was on the wall, then we immediately hopped back on. 

Day 3: Alternate Cross-Training -- it was an off day from climbing but we spent the night in the gym’s weight room doing cross-training exercises focusing on our legs, back and shoulders. Two different circuits of exercises and we were super duper sore.

Day 4: ARC (Aerobic Respiration and Capillarity) Training -- climbing for a long period of time until you hit your MSS (maximum steady state) or that solid pump in your arms but not going over to result in failure.  Our program this night was a 30 minute traverse on straight arms and silent feet, aka not getting off of the wall for 30 straight minutes.  We were supposed to do this 2 times through, but instead we decided to climb the White Wall before it was stripped and reset.

Day 5: Recreational Climbing -- we were supposed to do a second day of ARC, but since the White Wall was set this day we decided to play on the new stuff.

Day 6: Rest Day -- aka Emily eating whatever the heck she wants and watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix

Day 7: Outdoor Mileage -- we actually went to climb outside!  We went to Yellow Bluff, which is a beautiful piece of cliffline just south of Huntsville, AL.  I climbed my first 5.12, too -- Teeth was a brilliant climb!  After climbing all day we ended the trip by finding this amazing swimming hole (pictured) just 10 minutes away from the trailhead and dipping our feet into some super duper cold water.

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Since coming home from the beach, it’s been a challenge to get back on my daily practice.  I felt, for a day or so, a bit out of steam.  And to make the struggle even more real, I got hit with a case of food poisoning yesterday and it just knocked me out.  But even though I wasn’t practicing yoga, I was still climbing 4-5 days/week in the gym.  Here’s to getting back on the yoga and send train, and start feeling alive again!

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Spending the night in Mobile at my parents’ on our way to the beach, and found out that Momma’s new nook is perfect for backbends!

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For this afternoon’s practice, I focused on legs and core.  Lots and lots of variations on crunches and squats; and boy, it feels great!  We head south on Sunday for the beach and the weather is not looking like it’s gonna be on our side, but it will be good to see my friends and family at home.  I’m still doing my daily sun salutations for good measure though!

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I hit my deepest wheel yet in today’s practice!  I’m so excited with my progress with backbends.  We are now half-way through Week Five of the 4 Hour Body, and it’s amazing how my body has transformed in just a month.  Followed an hour of core flow with a short bouldering session.  Ready for an intense core and climbing day tomorrow!

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Tonight’s flow was done to the music of a thunderstorm.  Thunder clapping and lightning flashing was actually a nice balance while my body moved through the practice.  My back flexibility has greatly improved and I’m excited to move forward with challenging myself to try other backbend variations.  

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Yesterday, we drove to Atlanta to spend all day climbing at Stone Summit and then went out for dinner and turned around to drive back to Birmingham.  The weather was a stormy mess, but it was really nice to be able to climb on ropes even if in a gym.  Even though I spend at least 5 days a week in a bouldering gym, I had a hard time tearing myself away from SS’s bouldering to climb routes which was our main intention; but whatever, we had a super successful day and I logged a little over of 4.5 hours of climbing followed by an hour of yoga for cooldown.

After spending the majority of the day curled up on the couch watching Veep because my ovaries were trying to murder me from the inside out, I finally got my butt up and did 45 minutes of core flow followed by 15 minutes of core-specific HIIT. Crow to Chaturanga pushups are no joke, but they are actually a lot of fun to work on!  I also practiced in our living room for the first time ever since our office where I usually practice is taken over by an organization project.

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This morning, we woke up and practiced together.  Usually we both do our own thing with fitness (except for climbing), but I love when we both get to have Emily-Ryan time to practice together.  It’s an experience that really opens your heart.

We head to the beach a week from today, and I am so excited!  I’m obsessively checking the weather and sending screencaps demanding that there is sun.  So, in excitement for it being only a week away, I put on my swimsuit and did 30 minutes of sun salutations on our porch in the sunshine!  Rosie tagged along at the very end and decided that her Momma was crazy and she was going to pose like the Queen that she is.  Me, I stuck with Crow.

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I was feelin’ a little silly and decided to post an outtake.  I am able to hold a forearm stand, but not for very long.  But hey, progress is progress.

This morning, I woke up and did 35 minutes of core flow and my body was so tight.  I love how energized I get after holding wheel, and three times through for 25 seconds each at that!  I then went to the bouldering gym, where I work, and found that my FitBit had arrived!  I have been polling everyone that I see wearing a FitBit about their thoughts on it.  Since mostly everyone that I spoke with was a random stranger, after the initial “who are you and why are you talking to me” phase, everyone told me how much they love it.  So, I bit the bullet and bought one yesterday -- thanks Amazon Prime!  I tested it out for a 2 hour bouldering session, and I’m really excited about what else it will be able to do and help me with my all-around training.

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I’m so happy that I took the time to practice this afternoon.  This morning really got away from me and things kept sending me in every direction, but at least I was able to come to my mat and slow down.  I spend a lot of time in Down Dog.  Today, in addition to my hour flow, I ended with 20 minutes of Down Dog variations.  As you can see, Rosie is in her favorite variation.

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This morning, I did an hour of light slow morning yoga with some friends at the gym and it was awesome.  I love having partners with me to share practice and energies.  After work, I came home to do 25 minutes of a core specific practice and ended with holding plank for 3.5 minutes.  My longest yet! 

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Since incorporating at least an hour of core yoga flow into my daily practice everyday for the last 3 (going on 4!) weeks, my strength and endurance in climbing has improved drastically!  I’m climbing at least a grade harder than I was and I am so excited for this next season!  Gonna train super hard this summer and keep using the 4 Hour Body, and continue being stoked about my progress.

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This morning Ryan and I went for a run -- my first run in years.  I didn’t make it very far, but it’s baby steps and at least I made it out the door.  I plan to run every other day and continue slowly gaining more time where I run through without stopping.  Gotta get that cardio!

This evening I did my usual hour of core flow and followed it with a restorative practice.  Lots of deep bends and long stretches.  Ended the practice by taking a short, but powerful, 10 minute nap with my bum against the wall and my legs resting up straight on the wall releasing my lower back to the ground.

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An hour of core flow followed by 20 minutes of intense core specific exercises and ended it all up with a 2 minute plank hold.  Holy moly, that got shaky really fast but it held!  Body and mind working together will always be a force to be reckoned with.

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1 hour of core flow + certain pose endurance.  I’m getting much happier with my form on Crow!  I love seeing progress even if it’s small.

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As usual, I started off the day with 40 minutes of a core yoga practice.  I then spent 15 minutes working specifically on Dhanurasana (Bow Pose).  Since I’ve started taking photos of my practice, I’ve been able to really target what I want to improve on.  This pose, in particular, has a lot of room for improvement.  I want my thighs more on the ground with my feet pointing straight up and my belly to lift up to where I rested on my pelvis instead.  With all of that being said, everyday shows progress.  Keep at it, and don’t let it discourage you that it’s not 100% every time.