A couple of things...

Pistols... or one legged squats. I'm getting pretty close to pulling these. I just can't get back up if I get all the way down... so I'll just keep doing the negatives for a while until I can.

Gymnasium.
A bunch of local traceurs get together at a nearby gymnastics centre and hijack the adults class to practice Parkour related skills. I went along a couple of weeks ago and practiced big kongs over blocks, and flips off a tramp just for fun. I'm going again tonight, but this time maybe I'll get a bit more serious.

Went for a jam with my bro and another mate the other day at a local school. There were a couple of good rails, and a nice rock based precision sequence. Also a big (tall) block that I'll aim to kong when I get a bit better. I also practiced monkeying up this wall (nearly chest height I think?) which was awesome as its using my upper body in an explosive movement to obtain height, which I've never really done before. Pulled a couple of rolls on concrete too... need practice on those.

Parallettes

I built a set of parallettes to train on (theres a link over on the left hand side of this page for instructions), as I'm a fan of bodyweight exercises.
It seems that bodyweight training not only increases strength but also maximises body awareness and balance etc.

The parallettes are great for all kinds of things like full range pushups (get your chest lower than your hands), L seats, and just general upper body and core workouts. At a harder level, you can start getting into planche progressions, handstand press, full range handstand pushups and other crazy stuff.

Right now I'm just sticking with L seats, dips and other easier things. I chuck in an attempt at a handstand press every now and then just for fun... although I'm not sure what I'll do if I ever get up there as I still can't do a convincing handstand...

In the beginning

To start off with I'm going to try to describe my current strengths, weaknesses and abilities, so I've got a reference point for later comparison.
I've just turned 25 (I'm not sure if this puts me on the back foot already? ah fuck it!). I weigh about 73.5 kgs and am about 5 foot 10 inches tall (I think? I'll have to measure properly one of these days.)

I started goin to the gym about 2 months ago, (nothing hardcore though) so I've got a bit of a head start on this blog. At the gym I've just been mainly on the weights machines and cycling machine, but I haven't been paying any attention to how much I've been lifting or if I've progressed at all, but I have noticed getting a little more "buff" and generally feeling healthier. This may also have something to do with the fact that I've been trying to eat healthier too, and I've started taking fish oil tablets as I'm not a fan of seafood.

I'm not looking to get a whole lot bigger than I already am (sure a few more muscles wouldn't hurt!), but my main aim is to maximise strength and speed but without too much bulk. I feel that as I have a relatively small frame, too much extra size might slow me down and reduce flexibility and movement options.

Speaking of flexibility, I feel that this is definitely one of my weak points. Overall I'm not very flexible, especially my hamstrings, but I've just got to the point where I can touch my toes after a bit of a warm up.

Sample of current abilities:

40 raised feet pushups
6 pullups (palms front or back)
Handstand against a wall
30 situps?
10 ab wheel reps from knees
Monkey vaults
Small kong vaults
Jog for 10 minutes with a couple of 50m sprints thrown in

At this point in time I have no set training routine, but I will look to putting something together soon.