Begin Phase 1 again

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 09 Oct 2010 10:25

Word up guys. Thanks for the responses. I think for me just getting out there and playing 2-3 times a week and enjoying is the most important thing. I started freestyle at an age (24) where most people have already moved on, so it was never about being competitive for me.

I had a good session Thursday, hit blurry whirl and a bunch of hangtime rake tricks. Flip spinning / flip clipper is becoming less shitty, which is really nice.

Oh also, last week I ran 6 miles for the first time. That was pretty awesome. Most I'd done before that was 4.2. I am running as much as I am footbagging these days, if not more. My body can only take shred 3x week max it seems. I'm slowly getting stronger though.

In other news, I joined a new weekly D&D (tabletop / pencil & paper) game. That has been LOADS of fun. I haven't played in about 7 years. 4th edition is pretty cool. I have an Elf Shaman named Zelzanord.

Texas State tournament next weekend! I never did put a modified topic did I? Just footbag.org and facebook... man I hate organizing tournaments.

Kljopa · Post by **Kljopa** » 09 Oct 2010 11:30

Props on that award you got on your job Ben. Very good achievement

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 12 Nov 2010 11:54

I was in New Orleans last weekend for a wedding. You better believe we got some freakin' footbag in though

Mark, Rob and I had a 2hr+ session. Awesome time. Mark doesn't get to play with other shredders much so that was cool. If I ever head down there again guys, we will shred.

New crap I've hit in the past month or so:

Spinning PS Mirage
Gyro Diving Rake
Gyro diving mirage (maybe not new)
Ducking PDX DLO (was way too excited to finally hit this, probably 2-3 years of getting razor close).

My style is still rake-city. I can now hit ducking and spinning rakes pretty much on command.

Here's a video from this past summer that I never posted in my footblog:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2n5Z0XVcRA[/youtube]

Filming at our club sesh tomorrow. Since Curtis moved to town he's pushed Cody and I's game A LOT. Should be fun to make a new vid.

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 14 Nov 2010 01:05

YEAH BEN!

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 01 Dec 2010 13:44

Taking 8 weeks off footbag. Gonna train for this:

http://toughmudder.com/events/texas-dal ... ourse-map/

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 15 Feb 2011 14:31

Iron Clad Ben wrote:Taking 8 weeks off footbag. Gonna train for this:

http://toughmudder.com/events/texas-dal ... ourse-map/

I'm back. Tough Mudder was awesome. 10 miles in the mud 19 crazy obstacles, wow. But I made it, finished in 2:20 and didn't die. There's going to be another one in the Dallas area in October, definitely hitting that up. Pictures are up on my facebook. Don't feel like reposting them here.

Injury status:
Knee is definitely 100%. Glad that injury is over.
Ankle is 90%. Still have pain after shredding >1hr or running >2 miles.

Went to the chiropractor today. Apparently my right hip is 16mm lower than my left and I have a couple other minor spinal misalignments that need to be treated. The hip issue could be part of why my right leg has been so susceptible to injury all these years. I feel like I'm on this endless quest of getting injured, coming back and doing new preventative stuff from getting injured, only to get injured somewhere else. Dammit.

Diet:
Switching to going vegan and getting off soda/energy drinks. I've been eating mostly raw vegan, so fruits, vegetables & soaked nuts/seeds. My body has been detoxing like a mofo. I feel really good. My energy level is higher, I'm sleeping like a rock at night and my recovery time from workouts is starting to go down.

The Life Regenerator has been a huge inspiration for me, check out one his videos here:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U3pnVKrhdo[/youtube]

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 15 Feb 2011 17:01

That dude on the left doesn't look very healthy, and like he's possibly on crack. lol

I tried a raw food diet for a month but found it too expensive to keep up for much longer. Good luck man.

Kljopa · Post by **Kljopa** » 15 Feb 2011 23:50

Yeah good luck and props on your vegan diet, and for getting off soda/energy drinks, these little things are sometimes hard to get rid off.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 28 Feb 2011 15:03

So yeah been vegan this whole month. Body is detoxifying. Lost 10lbs of fat and gained 2lbs of muscle.

Jugglefest was pretty dope. Good to see Rob again.

I hit some sweet stuff:
Legbeater > Torque
Spinning clip > ducking clip x 3 > spinning ducking clip > run
Gyro Diving Rake (confirmed clean by Cody)
Whirl twice in one run, once out of osis.

Whirls are much easier now that I've been working on hamstring flexibility. I think that was the problem all along. Flip whirls still suck though.

Body is doing well for post-tournament/jam weekend. My hip is a little sore from unsuccesfully trying nukes, but other than that I'm fine. Normally I'd be totally sore from the waist down. Definitely going to get some shred in this week.

Who knows, maybe I'll get to the point where I can play 5+ times/week. That would be awesome.

pips · Post by **pips** » 20 Mar 2011 10:54

Woohoo! Love the spinning, ducking, diving, and gyro stuff. I think gyro is a pretty sweet concept.

My body was hating me after that night I tried your challenge. My body always hates me after ducking and diving sessions. Like you, I hope that I can find a way to play more often. For now, I had to lay off the shred for a couple of days, because I could feel my shins starting to inflame??

So I have six weeks of this one class before I have a short break and head to campus for traditional classes. I was thinking we should try to get together somewhere and kick a bit if we all got the time.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 29 Mar 2011 08:30

Just wanted to give you props again for how you played at Vegas jam. Your control and form have improved a lot. Feeling healthy must have a lot to do with that.

On a personal note, I also wanted to say that sharing a good date with you was a highlight of the weekend.

There's no way that could be misinterpreted by anybody.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 29 Mar 2011 14:25

^^^Thanks dude. Big ups to you on still playing at a world-class level after all these years. I think as long as you are enjoying it you should keep playing. So I really hope you do.

We've hung out at other tournaments together before but I feel like we really got to know each other better at this one. Maybe the fruit had something to do with it. I'll leave it at that.

==========

Vegas jam was incredible, once again. I think the coolest part was that my body help up over 4 days without any real soreness or injuries. So many highlights, I can't think to list them all now. Thanks Evan for throwing an awesome jam and calmly keeping things orderly in amongst all the chaos.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 30 Jun 2011 12:03

Bananas eaten in the last 4 days: ~80. The more you eat, the better they taste.

Found a newly minted "workout room" at my work. We're having weekend sessions there now, it's great. Carpet, A/C, water, free gatorade, speakers hook up for ipods, ba-BEWMski!!

Been working on:
Dexless
Rakes
Osis
Control / playing slow

Playing as much as I can, which is about 3 days a week. Definitely in the best shape of my life still, it just gets better. Did my first one-arm pushup last week, I'll have to get one on video if I can do it again, kinda scared to try. I'm 9% body fat, down from 18% in Nov '10... pretty crazy never expected to lose weight. My diet now is about 85% raw fruits and vegetables. The other 15% is cooked vegan stuff like rice and beans. I typically eat 3000-3500 calories a day (30-35 bananas) Damon Mathews has been a huge inspiration for me to get fitter and healthier (even though his approach with diet is different than mine).

landon palmer · Post by **landon palmer** » 30 Jun 2011 14:35

I started my "juice cleanse" about two days ago. I start and end the day with a jug of green juice and drinking about 2 gallons of water a day. Im sleeping better and wakening up more "awake" workouts are getting a little woozy tho.

here's to a six-pack in a year!

boyle · Post by **boyle** » 30 Jun 2011 16:44

lucky you're not in Australia, bananas curently go for $15/kg...

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 25 Jul 2011 11:41

7/25/11
Dropped running from my workout schedule. I am now playing footbag 5 days a week and lifting weights 1-2 days/week. Gotta ready for US Open! I have been working on consistency. Big tricks just don't do it for me. Recent hits

Infinity x 31
Ducking clipper x 21
Rake x 24 (alternating sides of course)
Spin > Duck > RPT 14 contacts
Dive > Duck > RPT 18 contacts
BOP drill 35 contacts
Osis x 9

(needs more work)
Osis x 2> Rake x 2> RPT (freaking HARD, but fun)

Day 11 of eating nothing but fruits, vegetables and a tiny amount of seeds.

Not really getting sore despite lots of exercise

Sleeping great

Even energy throughout the day, no slumps

Superb mental clarity like nothing else.

PoisonTaffy · Post by **PoisonTaffy** » 27 Jul 2011 05:03

Props on the spin->duck drill! I imagine I'd be lucky to get 4 contacts on that with my shitty flip spin

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 13 Jan 2012 23:26

Hey everybody! I haven't played footbag since Texas States 2011 in Ocobter, but Cody and I are shredding tomorrow.

November, 2011: Ran my first half marathon.

Right now, training for Tough Mudder (12 mile extreme obstacle course) in 2 weeks and then another half marathon in February. Plan is to run a full marathon this spring.

2012 training log
1/1 10-mile long run
1/2 Bar workout
1/3 3-mile recovery run
1/4 Bar workout
1/6 4-mile run
1/7 Bar workout, .5 mile run in vibram 5-fingers. I hit full-dangle chin-up x 7 on video
1/8 4-mile run
1/9 Bar workout
1/10 3-mile run
1/11 Bar workout
1/12 3-mile tempo run
1/13 3-mile interval run

Fitness goals for this year to run my first ultramarathon (50Km / 31.1 miles) in under 5 hours and quality for Calisthenic Kings (5 muscle ups, 10 pull-ups, 6 levers, 30 second handstand, 20 dips, 20 pushups in sequence)

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 04 Sep 2012 20:59

No posts all year? Not much footbag in 2012 but I did this today which was pretty cool.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEKIDTw0zTY[/youtube]

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 04 Mar 2013 10:39

Started playing again a little while ago.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6iwFVs0IuY[/youtube]

modified

Begin Phase 1 again

Re: From Footbagger to Ultrarunner and Bar-Barian in 2012

Re: Begin Phase 1 again