Jeb Corliss on the Table

Jeb Corliss has posted up footage of his run-in with Table Mountain. The static images at the end are astonishing (as is the footage in general). But the stills taken at the point of impact really do highlight how brave/awesome/lucky he is! Absolutely frightening.

Some people might think he is stupid/foolish, but the guy just feeds at the edge. That's what drives everyone at the frontiers - from Einstein and Newton to Captain Scott and Damien Walters. It's where you feel most alive. It's an expression of self-awareness and self-understanding.

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Just noticed someone on MDA posting as Asclepius!  We are not the same person.

New Lore of Running

Professor Tim Noakes, author of runner's 'bible' The Lore of Running, has come out in support of a paleo diet!*  Noakes was an advocate of carb-loading and high carbohydrate diets, but has now changed his position, particularly for people like himself, who exhibit carbohydrate resistance,

• "I used to say 'carbo-load every day, as much as you can'. Yes, this is a turnaround. Absolutely," he said,...
  The 62-year-old turned conventional feeding wisdom on its head with claims that fruit juice contained "hidden dangers" and that cereal was one of the worst things parents could feed their children.

Clearly a more subtle and nuanced type and use of carbohydrate has found favour with him, and in the rewritten chapter of his book hopefully he'll spell this out.

Where the rubber hits the road Gary Taubes' ideas are still profoundly influential and even if you disagree with much of his rationale, it is good to see CW being reappraised.

*(Hat tip to That Paleo Guy)

Gymnastic Week 3 W/O2

What a difference a week makes.  This time last week we had a cool spring breeze, sapphire skies and strong sunshine! This week we're on a severe snow warning!

With respect to the workout, I am lowering the weight and upping the volume.  I am also changing to pure sets rather than mixing across a handful of exercises.
Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (35 minutes).
1. Handstands (over 5-10 minutes)
2. Pistols (75kgx8, 75kgx8, 75kgx8)
3. L-Sit/Manna Variation (3x5ish seconds)
4. OAC (5x60kg, 5x55kg, 10xBW)
3b. Backlever to Frontlever (5s, 5s, 5s)
4. Golfers Elbow Drumstick Rotation (12)
5. Two-Way DB Rotator Cuff (12 x external and internal shoulder rotations)
6. Wrist PUs from the Knee (12)

Max Headroom

I like Art DeVany's observation that when the difference between the most you can do and the least you can do merges, you're dead.  I train to make sure that the most I can do IS the most I can do.  I try to build headroom to handle the vicissitudes of life.  I choose fundamental strength based exercises and a few fun sports to build 'rounded' ability.  Training should prepare you.  You've got to be able to ride a black swan.

Hopefully I will never have to utilise this 'over-capacity' in an emergency situation, but one guy who did was That Paleo Guy,

• Later reflection on this day put many of the reasons behind why I train into perspective. I strength train, I interval train, I sprint, I walk, I climb,and I eat in such a way that my energy levels and ability to exert myself are not contingent on having eaten something in the last two hours. People ask why I do all of this, most often perplexed that I don’t do any of this for any particular sporting endeavour. I do this for the very reason outlined above – to give me the capacity to respond to any given scenario that a day might present.

A good read.

Landing a Wingsuit

I've posted some Jeb Corliss footage on this site - flying 'The Crack' is pretty impressive.  All of this pales in to insignificance though, when people talk of landing a wingsuit without a canopy!  Gary Connery is that man,

• Next month Connery will realize a lifelong ambition of jumping from a helicopter 2,400ft above the height of the box rig over Ridge Wood to the ENE of Henley on Thames. Gary will drop for 3 seconds before his suit starts to fly. He will then accelerate to approximately 80mph. He will get into his tried and tested best glide position where the speed will decrease to 60 mph forward speed with a 22mph vertical descent rate. The whole flight should last about 50 seconds and will come to an end with Gary landing on a box rig.
  
  “I am excited and overwhelmed at the prospect of sticking a new post in the runway of aviation history. I am 100% confident of my abilities/methods to achieve this landing on what will become a historic day,” said Connery. “I am very pleased to be working with Bremont on this as we very much share the same principles; everything to do with this jump is about precision and timing. Working with the manufacture Tonysuits we have only now been able to develop the wingsuit technology to be able to do this jump. At this current pace of development the possibilities of future wing suit design will change the world of aviation.”

(Yes I did check the calendar).

Gymnastic Week 3 W/O1

It's a good time for Paleo as a concept.  There are some really strong ideas coming through, and an ambition to cut through the BS.  I've been spending more time in the Asylum and this post is a good example why.  Melissa at HuntGatherLove also has a thought provoking piece up at the moment.

I've read nothing to sway me from my own approach to the paleo-gig.  Real foods, some seasonal bias, respond to hunger and no grazing throughout the day.  Keep it simple - the science can bamboozle, the pseudoscience doubly so.  Avoid gurus (and messiahs!).

Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (30 minutes).
1. Stairgators (1)
2. Barefoot Sprinting (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)
3. Planche Variations (25s, 25s, 25s)
4ai. Rope Climb (3)
4aii. MU to Ring Routine (3, 3, 3).
5. Scissor Splits (3x '2L, 2R, 2C')
6. Barefoot Kill Carry (1)
7. 321 (8L, 8M, 6/8M)