Saturday, February 02, 2019

Parenting month 97: Ai yaaa * 3

This month, DD4 joined her big brother and I in doing American Taekwondo Association (ATA) classes.  Of course, she has been watching us do these classes in the basement for a few years now, so she has been looking forward actually being in the class, doing the forms, the exercises, and even the curtesies (bowing in etc)  She has been doing as expected as a third member, being fairly fluent in the conditioning exercises like ladder drills and picking up forms (at this age, they follow on forms instead of memorizing) which she has been seeing all her life.



She has enjoyed doing this at home, and we let her program part of the workout.  The  ladder drills exercises, conditioning exercises, punching bags,weapons, or forms.



T (DS8) has also been continuing.  We've been battling various illnesses over the past couple of months.  One milestone is that he has been accepted in to the National Talent Search program through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. So we are looking forward to having access to a set of online and summer courses with a very different set of kids, who will become his peers for a lifetime.
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Monday, December 31, 2018

Parenting month 96: in sickness and in health

The dominant theme of the past two months has been pneumonia.  DS8 went down first around Thanksgiving.  We basically missed a week of school. Then, as he was getting worse, we spent a week in the hospital.  Followed by another missed week of school while he was joined by DD4.    My wife and I have the fortune of having some control over our schedules, so we every semester we set up our class schedules so that it is possible for one of us to stay home if the kids were sick, and we did that for 2+ weeks.


Visiting the Carnegie International at the a Carnegie museum of Art
DD4 (A) is more and more an outgoing and willful child. Always exploring and talking. Turning into a consumate storyteller.
Holiday open house at the Pitt Cathedral of Learning nationality rooms

DD8 (T) has steadily been meeting requirements for the gifted program.  He started this year as last year he just moved into his new school.  And in the past two months, a few other new kids have joined in.  We note that the gifted program is more interesting than just additional academic work, but they do different and interesting things.

For next year, the main concern is T with creativity and initiative.  He seems good when it is just kids, but he often freezes or does nothing instead of doing something.

For A, she is moving up to transitional kindergarden (which seems to occur based on the age population of the pre-school.  So she gets to be the youngest in the class, which is a good thing for here to experience.

Fruit Flambé at Carnegie Science Center
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Saturday, December 29, 2018

75 WODs of Streetparking


I made it to one of Streetparking milestone, 75 recorded WODs. And this does not include non-Streetparking WODs I have done like hero WOD or non-Streetparking events. I started CrossFit in August using an online program named StreetParking. The way CrossFit works is that the exercise programming that includes constantly varying workouts covers a range of fitness and time domains. So for StreetParking, in a day there are 2 or 3 movements(sometimes 1, but that is going to be a doozy) done in a circuit at high intensity, generally hitting different body stimuli.

The 10 fitness domains are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. And the exercises they use to get there are taken from gymnastics, power and olympic lifting, and endurance sports.  Time domains can be short to long, where short are usually power movements, middle are less than 2 minutes, and long with more than 2 minutes on reps of a single movement.

So 75 workouts took from August 19 until December 1, 104 days or 15 weeks at about 5 StreetParking workouts per week.  In cases where I have TKD, I would normally do the SHIFT version of the workout, which is meant to be a simpler workout (i.e. less complex movements). The normal StreetParking workout is done with dumbbells.  I have two sets of handles and about 210 lbs of weight plates.  They also have a barbell version that I used to often use as an excuse to use my sandbags (I have a 50 and 65 lb) because they are so much fun. Now that I have a short power cage, I've started to use the barbell more.

Some things I've noticed (i.e. how does CrossFit keep you in)

  1. Every week or so I add in a new movement.  The way CrossFit works is that because they constantly vary the workout, there are a lot of movements drawn from powerlifting, olympic lifting, and gymnastics.  So there are two ways of scaling, or adapting a movement to be within capability, one is to lower weight, the other is to substitute a movement that is easier to perform, but still hits the same muscle groups and provides the same stimulus. But the scales are designed to prepare you to some day get closer to the actual goal movement.  So, as I do more workouts, and repeatedly scale the same movement over the months, every now and then I get to the point I can actually do the programmed movement.  This is what the video game crowd calls "Achievement unlocked", but in this case it represents a physical capability. And that is a really cool feeling.
  2. As an online source of programming, StreetParking replicates the gym experience through its Instagram and Facebook accounts, with the actual workouts being distributed through a members only website and a private Instagram account.  Members also monitor the #streetparking hashtag on Instagram on Facebook. So, one, you get a lot of likes and a few comments when you post the workout. And in the CrossFit ethos, the kudos are for doing the workout at your level of intensity, not the weight or how you look. They also have two-three motivation montages a week made up of StreetParking members. And what they highlight is the diversity in the fitness levels and stages of life of the members, some look like top calibre athletes, and others would never be mistaken as such, some have a full set of equipment in decked out garage gyms, others are improvising every which way.  But all are doing the workout with intensity (as it means at their level of fitness)  And that is cool.
  3. I've made it on some of the montage videos. It is so much fun to realize that I'm counting as a source of inspiration to others. Especially since I'm watching the montage videos and commenting to my 4 yr old daughter about how cool they are.  (she is only interested in the ones that I am in, with bonus when she is in the video with me doing the workout)
  4. I really like the fact that so many of the people posting videos are parents in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.  Not the usual gym workout population, and beyond the usual selfie types.
  5. As an online program, the community is based in Instagram and Facebook. I post most of my workouts on Instagram. While there are those that look good, in CrossFit, the real applause comes from struggling. Because, it turns out that even though people have different levels of fitness and skill, and therefore scale the workout in different ways, people doing the workout hit the pain points at around the same time.  So an honest effort followed by an honest recap of the workout gets alot of "me too", and reading everyone's recap of the workout shows a lot of similarities, down to the round that you realized that this workout is not as easy as you thought of it and when the struggling began. It makes for a shared experience, even when each of us are doing the workout alone at home.
  6. The way CrossFit works is that there are benchmarks, and because weight, scaling, and time are recorded, there is a record of progress.  I actually have not been doing this long enough to get benchmarks repeated, but I have done enough benchmark WODs that I should be having repeats, in addition to the basic lifts.
  7. When I was single, I would get in caught in the conversation of what body type I wanted (in a potential date). My reply was always, I did not care so much about what the body looked like, but I cared that that body was active, because I was a runner who liked to hang out around active people. And while that group had a range of body types, they were all quite capable, and anyone I dated had to keep up.  This usually earned me looks like I was from another planet and completely missed the point of the conversation.  But in StreetParking/CrossFit, this is clearly my kind of crowd.
  8. My daughter likes to watch CrossFit and do workouts with me.  We like it that when I watch these videos we can watch women exercising at both the elite CrossFit Games level as well as the normal people on StreetParking. I like having her grow up thinking that women can exercise and be strong. She also likes doing the workouts with me.  We have gotten pretty good at scaling the workouts and figuring out options within her capability.
  9. Having a home gym means I get my workout in wherever I can squeeze in the time. Sometimes that is 0 dark thirty in the morning. Sometimes I am squeezing in 30-40 min in the middle of the day or early evening, sometimes this is the late at night. Time and schedule does not matter, my home gym is ready for me.
  10. I made it this far with dumbbells and sandbags. And I made a pylo box, kettlebell, and purchased a short (6') power rack to go with my short (5') barbell. And I no longer look like a gym that is missing equipment.  I hope to be doing this for life, and I like having my own home gym to do it in.
  11. So far 91 Street Parking workouts.  Since August 2018, workouts have included two hero workouts (Saman and Chad), two of the girls (Fran and Running Jackie), multiple benchmark and signature workouts, qualifiers for a competition (Wodapalooza qualifiers were in StreetParking), one actual competition, (Vetwod), 




To the people who have adopted the belief that anyone can do it - and there are really no excuses. 3 months left of 2018 are going to be 🔥🔥🔥 • STREETPARKING.com • @cjdomin731 @kaymarie35 @thechubbycrossfitter @jimzagelow @anxiouscrossfitter @megmakesgains @triwellnessmom @blair_streetparkin @garagetraineddad @afisher.streetparking @brittany_danielle_fit @zengonestrong @circusneverleaves @christina_dennis @mitzycalderon @butterand_honey @amanda_ajoy @melissa_merriken @martin_sp_athlete @johnstreetparkingjourney @ovifitnessjourney @will_wod_4_donuts @redeemed_strength @hollypaigevincent @painandgaines94 @aaronyounkins @mrs.pt @themodernmombodblog @innercompass_co @lovgrenf @lluang70 @yoadrian4 @painterdpt @ashgrace21 @az.fit.girl @wodmothers @mssolina @amydrack @iamkerrit @mjcashio @mpape78 @xfitathome @j_flagg @xj_1208 @mandi28 @triciawhite2008 @Chicki103d @chuymzg @joepetri @team_runyan @mcclain_98 @cel.cf7 @marysgaragegym @hillarylv2fly @vishudayounkins @lily_g_5 • #fitnessmotivation #streetparking #fitness #homegym #garagegym
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Watch this video. Watch every clip. The extremely wide diversity in fitness levels and available equipment doing what they can to keep moving and reach their goals is freaking amazing. That is all. • STREETPARKING.com • @Donuts_n_squats @chicki103d @chaparrita_crossfitera @conscious_crossfitter @noc_rn @lisa_marie_1124 @vanbebsbarbellclub @somers_sp @circusneverleaves @lily_g_5 @jojo_finnes @melissamwauddpt @martin_sp_athlete @gorana_girl @strive4fitness5 @coffeencurves @garagetraineddad @lesliej11 @jennielynn0210 @afisher.streetparking @danielleschlegel15 @anxiouscrossfitter @texas_country_girl_strong @megan_cox_norris @cassiemgagnon @meli.aefit @srstrouse14 @jonmaxwell2121 @gypsy_heart07 @coach.wendy @zenlotus77 @barbellbeaute @squats.and.scrunchies @mandylcox @sufferwithfriends @m4iiis @crossfitpeacock @myleslifts @carbiehydrates @strongsweatymom @get.back.in.my.levis @painandgaines94 @lluang70 @pressitwristwraps @blair_street_parkin @daleyfitspiration @2fitgingersisters @johnstreetparkingjourney @oddsocksandtextbooks @__heydom @fit_girl_colleen @sq01_actual @kaci5 • #streetparking #fitness #garagegym #homegym #hotelworkout #fitnessmotivation
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‘Twas the week before Christmas - and as you can see - the dudes of Street Parking still getting after 2018!! • JOIN SP in December and have your Jan payment waived. So whatever membership you choose - you get a full month added for free! Valid on any SP membership option. • #mancrushmonday #mcm #streetparking #fitness #fitnessismadeinthewinter #homegym • @blair_street_parkin @crossfitcouch @lluang70 @martin_sp_athlete @cypressgaragedad @g_sanchez.16 @milano.fit @seb_felipe @bowmanallen @srstrouse14 @jasonmiotke @mullet_dj @teacherfitrx @mrchopsticksaka @stevenmc777 @myleslifts @lugon_01 @velezpau @redeemed_strength @dad.bod.adventures @adam_tries_fitness @titansyndicate @mcclain_98 @jennielynn0210 @afbuilder63 @jmemart44 @jays_fitness_journey @garagetraindeddad @argyle2233 @jonmaxwell2121 @velezmig @movestrongstaystrong @hecbru
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