Urzie breaks free from Nykr's spell.

[Urzie]

 
She felt watched. She felt trapped. A vast, endless forest surrounded her. It was quiet. Unnaturally so. So quiet she could hear her own heart pounding like a Shaman's drum inside her head. The sweet song had died down. Her hunger tore at her and the dark, gloomy forest stretching out in front of her promised nothing. She had to keep going. She had to keep moving. Stopping was not an option. She had followed the sound of beautiful, enchanting song through the forest. At first the song was a faint hum, but it grew stronger as she reached deeper into the forest. Being unaware of the alluring powers hidden in the soft, promising song, she was lost. Trapped so deep inside the forest that ever finding her way out seemed like an impossible task.

I've been going through some rough stuff, and still am. This challenge is about breaking free. Daring to dream and find my way. I will be doing pole dance as often as I can in addition to this. 
 
#1 - Be able to do front splits
This is something I've always wanted to do, and since starting pole, flexibility is really something that I need to work on. I found our dear guild leaders old challenge with a 6 week program. It contains many of the same stretches as this video, which is basically what we do in pole too. I will stretch 4-7 days a week.
 
#2 - Obtaining a strong squat
Pole dance is immense amounts of fun, but it doesn't work the rear and thighs as much. Therefore I will complete 3000 full body weight squats. Starting with 20 squats a day in week one, and hopefully ending at 120 squats a day in the last week. Now.. this progression doesn't fully add up to 3k. Because I like even numbers I will add 10 bonus squats every week. Reaching the total number at the end of the challenge is more important than meeting each weeks total. 
 
Week 1: 20aDay - 140+10
Week 2: 40aDay - 280+10
Week 3: 60aDay - 420+10
Week 4: 80aDay - 560+10
Week 5: 100aDay - 700+10
Week 6: 120aDay - 840+10
 
#3 - HOoRAY
The last year or so have been difficult. A lot has changed and I need to try and feel better about myself, especially since I, right now, think I'm a terrible person. Being a Scandinavian, I am severely afflicted by the Law of Jante, and at this point in my life I really need to embrace who I am and dare to let that person out. 

#4 - Accepting my fears, work through them and dare to dream.
I can't say much about this (because of fear of judgement, even in here..), other than I want to follow my dreams. I feel like this is something that's not impossible to achieve, but I need to try to overcome or accept some of the fears listed below before I attempt. 
 
I fear the loss of love. 
I fear losing financial security. 
I fear ridicule. 
I fear rejection. 
I fear the loss of respect. 
 
Stretches: 0/4(7) - 0/4(7) - 0/4(7) - 0/4(7) - 0/4(7) - 0/4(7) 
Squats: 0+0/140+10 - 0+0/280+10 - 0+0/420+10 - 0+0/560+10 - 0+0/700+10 - 0+0/840+10

[Mad Hatter]

No more Jante lag! I hate it so much, it makes the country full of sheep living in fairy tale land. Go for it, embrace all of your awesome self.

[The Most Loathed]

#2 - Obtaining a strong squat

Pole dance is immense amounts of fun, but it doesn't work the rear and thighs as much. Therefore I will complete 3000 full body weight squats. Starting with 20 squats a day in week one, and hopefully ending at 120 squats a day in the last week. Now.. this progression doesn't fully add up to 3k. Because I like even numbers I will add 10 bonus squats every week. Reaching the total number at the end of the challenge is more important than meeting each weeks total. 

 

Week 1: 20aDay - 140+10

Week 2: 40aDay - 280+10

Week 3: 60aDay - 420+10

Week 4: 80aDay - 560+10

Week 5: 100aDay - 700+10

Week 6: 120aDay - 840+10

 

 

Do I understand this correctly, you are going to squat with a load equivalent to your own bodyweight 140 times in week one and 840 time in week 6?

[Urzie]

No more Jante lag! I hate it so much, it makes the country full of sheep living in fairy tale land. Go for it, embrace all of your awesome self.

 

It's a terrible, terrible thing. I will do my best!

 

Do I understand this correctly, you are going to squat with a load equivalent to your own bodyweight 140 times in week one and 840 time in week 6?

The numbers are correct. No extra weight. Only me, myself and squats.

[ApfelStrudi]

"Me, myself and squats" - someone should make a song about that!

I can't wait to see your progress! Pole dancing sounds like so much fun.

 

Do you have any specific ways to help with #3? I'd never heard of that before, but it sounds like a good idea to break out of that

[Lilith]

I'm going for the splits too this challenge! (not sure I will get it in six weeks, but hey, just want progress!) I like the video but I don't get why she's bouncing. I've heard that is dangerous and you can hurt yourself that way? Or am I deluded? Do you need to bounce? 

[Urzie]

"Me, myself and squats" - someone should make a song about that!

I can't wait to see your progress! Pole dancing sounds like so much fun.

 

Do you have any specific ways to help with #3? I'd never heard of that before, but it sounds like a good idea to break out of that

It would be a great song. Pole dancing is soooo much fun. You should try it!

 

I need to be honest with myself. No little lies about how I'm doing. I need to listen to what I need and what I want, and don't suppress that just because someone wants something else.

 

I'm going for the splits too this challenge! (not sure I will get it in six weeks, but hey, just want progress!) I like the video but I don't get why she's bouncing. I've heard that is dangerous and you can hurt yourself that way? Or am I deluded? Do you need to bounce? 

Yay for splits! I've heard both.. I know GMB people bounces for some stretches, and I trust them. In my experience, you can hurt yourself with static stretches too. Most important though, listen to your body. And make sure you're warm. 

[Lilith]

What are gmb people? I googled it (really!) but apparently it's an abbreviation for many things. I will try the bouncing thing then, gently. Maybe I'll like it!

[ApfelStrudi]

What are gmb people? I googled it (really!) but apparently it's an abbreviation for many things. I will try the bouncing thing then, gently. Maybe I'll like it!

Gold Medal Bodies - they have lots of fitness and flexibility programs.

 

http://goldmedalbodies.com/

[Urzie]

GMB - gold medal bodies. Check them out. They have a lot of good articles and good products.

[Urzie]

Double post. 

[ApfelStrudi]

Jinx!

[Lilith]

Very nice! They have a nice blog! ( I saw something on cartwheels that makes me very excited!) thanks for that! Will read through and I might actually try out the program!

[Lilith]

[Mad Hatter]

What are gmb people? I googled it (really!) but apparently it's an abbreviation for many things. I will try the bouncing thing then, gently. Maybe I'll like it!

 

If you're unsure about bouncing I think it's best not to. At least until you know where your limits are on each day. My take on it is that no, bouncing is not inherently more dangerous than any other stretch technique. But flexibility is partly muscular/fascial and partly neural. When you stretch to your limit your body reacts by triggering the stretch reflex, and the muscle will automatically contract to protect itself. This mechanism is something we try to overcome when stretching. But if we bounce one of two things will happen. Either the stretch reflex will trigger before we get to our max position, and we involuntarily contract the muscle. Before we have time to relax it again we're already out of the stretch and we don't really make any gains. Or if we bounce to aggressively the stretch reflex will not be able to trigger in time, and we pull the muscle while it's contracting and we injure it. This is not to say that bouncing is bad, but personally I don't think it's optimal. It can however be good for waking up the muscle before a practice if , and to somewhat improve general mobility. But I have to say, rather than bouncing I much prefer just moving slowly in and out of a position through a wide ROM and exploring the stretches in slightly different directions. It's more pleasant and it's very helpful in figuring out what specific area is tight.

[milythael]

Yay for splits! I've heard both.. I know GMB people bounces for some stretches, and I trust them. In my experience, you can hurt yourself with static stretches too. Most important though, listen to your body. And make sure you're warm. 

 

GMB pulses, they don't bounce.  When bouncing, you are using momentum to push further into a stretch.  When pulsing, you are simply moving into and out of the stretch.  Bouncing requires more knowledge and understanding to do safely, in my opinion, but I am by no means an expert.

 

A related practice, that I personally prefer is to intentionally contract the muscles being stretched at the limit of your range of motion.  Contract hard for a few seconds, then relax, and I usually get a bit more range of motion post relax.

[Mad Hatter]

Yeah gentle pulses are safe. Though I don't think they're great for max gains. Bouncing as such I think has a too high risk/gain ratio to be used in regular training. 

 

Contract-relax is also a more advanced technique, but it's much safer. It can be very effective when done correctly, but personally I find it has a too high recovery cost for me. I get stiff and sore for days.

[Lilith]

If you're unsure about bouncing I think it's best not to. At least until you know where your limits are on each day. My take on it is that no, bouncing is not inherently more dangerous than any other stretch technique. But flexibility is partly muscular/fascial and partly neural. When you stretch to your limit your body reacts by triggering the stretch reflex, and the muscle will automatically contract to protect itself. This mechanism is something we try to overcome when stretching. But if we bounce one of two things will happen. Either the stretch reflex will trigger before we get to our max position, and we involuntarily contract the muscle. Before we have time to relax it again we're already out of the stretch and we don't really make any gains. Or if we bounce to aggressively the stretch reflex will not be able to trigger in time, and we pull the muscle while it's contracting and we injure it. This is not to say that bouncing is bad, but personally I don't think it's optimal. It can however be good for waking up the muscle before a practice if , and to somewhat improve general mobility. But I have to say, rather than bouncing I much prefer just moving slowly in and out of a position through a wide ROM and exploring the stretches in slightly different directions. It's more pleasant and it's very helpful in figuring out what specific area is tight.

Thanks for the explanation, makes sense! 

 

GMB pulses, they don't bounce.  When bouncing, you are using momentum to push further into a stretch.  When pulsing, you are simply moving into and out of the stretch.  Bouncing requires more knowledge and understanding to do safely, in my opinion, but I am by no means an expert.

 

A related practice, that I personally prefer is to intentionally contract the muscles being stretched at the limit of your range of motion.  Contract hard for a few seconds, then relax, and I usually get a bit more range of motion post relax.

I see, so that's quite a difference then. Huh that's fun. When I'm deep in the stretch I'm not sure I can contract the muscle I'm working though. Especially in deep lunge. But I will keep trying that!

[Mad Hatter]

When you're completely relaxed in your max position you won't be able to contract the muscle. But if you can't relax the muscle fully straight away, the technique can help bring you to the max stretch. It also helps by tiring out the muscle so that they won't be able to fight against it. So if you do a few of those before getting into your full stretch you'll be able to sink deeper.

 

For the deep lunge what you can do is to get into your near-max stretch, then bend and straighten the back leg a few times, without changing the position of the hip. At all. Then sink into your max stretch. Once you've hung out there for a while (1-2 minutes is good), try to tuck your pelvis slightly and contract the glutes of your back leg, again without shifting out of the position. You should be able to eek out a bit more stretch from that.

[Twilight]

I love these goals! I've been kind of working on splits with my general stretching, and it's really cool to see progress. I have a couple of friends who do pole, and they said they'd show me a few things. Fun!

[Urzie]

I love these goals! I've been kind of working on splits with my general stretching, and it's really cool to see progress. I have a couple of friends who do pole, and they said they'd show me a few things. Fun!

I've been seeing some flexibility progress just from pole so far. Progress is the best! You should try pole out. It's a completely different way of strength training. To me, it's more fulfilling, and I feel like I use my body in way that it benefits from. I think it's more functional than the weight lifting. And it's certainly way more fun!

[Lilith]

Thanks Hatter! I will try this out next time I do deep lunges! It sounds really fun yay I'm going to be terminator on the muscles and tire them out so they won't resist! Muahahaha

[ApfelStrudi]

I so wish I could try pole dance! I might have to put it as a challenge reward, and splurge on a trial session (they don't even offer those for free! You have to pay 25€ just to try it!) when things calm down in my RL It looks and sounds like too much fun to just let it slip by!

[Urzie]

I paid around 45€ for a weekend class. I think they offer trial sessions for 16ish €. It's so worth it. Go try it! Now!! Or, make it a reward. Everyone deserves to swing around a pole.  

[Lilith]

The pole dance trial would be well worth the money imo!