Early Drills

So it turns out the drills were a bit harder than I expected last night. Balancing on the ball of one foot for a minute at a time was quite difficult. I gave a it a few tries and was happy enough with the results, but I think I'll keep at it for a week before I make any videos for public viewing. Also I did it topless and was quite embarrased at the wee pot belly I spotted. Evidence that my complete lack of aerobic exercise is kicking in already, but it's given me impetus to learn the drills and get on to runing asap, and I'll also be watching what I eat more carefully.

I also tried changing feet in the pose stance, again it's very difficult but this time it's more of a mental barrier. You're standing on one foot and have to lift that foot away from the ground BEFORE you let the other foot drop naturally to stop you falling into a heap. I think I can do it, but I won't know until I video myself and watch in slow motion for the lift happening first. If it isn't then I've got a big mental perception to overcome.

Lastly was a "Pony" drill. It's much like the change of support, but you don't lift your non-support foot clear of the ground. I found this one very difficult. I'm not sure what it should feel like, or what it's purpose is. I'll read back through the section of the book covering it.

This morning I was up early and decided to do a few more pose stance drills, before moving onto flexibility. I'm worried that the hip injury I'm carrying will affect my ability to drill properly, so I want to do as much as possible to avoid that. Especially given that a full chapter of the book focuses on the hips. I began with some general flexibility exercises that are also covered in the book. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sure that Dr Romanov hasn't just put this section in to show off!! Haha!! But after a few of these it is clear that I have some work to do on flexibility. Worryingly though, my right shoulder lacks a serious amount of range of movement, especially compared to my left. I've had trouble with this shoulder in the past and there is a constant niggling pain in it at all times. This became apparent as I tried several of the flexibility exercise. By the time it got to my legs and back I was sure that I'll need to do a lot of work in this area, and hopefully it'll pay off. I'll be doing these exercises as often as possible from now.

Onto the specific hip exercises. I managed to get through quite a few of these, and again I think working on these will be a huge benefit. I wish I'd had more time to work on these, but I could feel an immediate benefit especially on the side that has been injured.

After work today I'll be going back to do some more of these exercises and work up a bit of a sweat. Then it's off to the pool this evening to begin my adventure with TI swimming. The first lesson is learning balance in the water. From what I've read I'll either get it straight away or I'll struggle to get the perception. The lack of underwater video facilities at my local pool means I'll have to rely on being honest with myself as I work through the early drills.

Today's training:

• More flexibility and hips
• More drills (Pose stance, COS, Pony)
• First attempt at TI swim drills.