Precipitation

Today, Jarmo sent in some suggestions for lava workouts during adverse weather, replete with black and white muscles from the previous century. I quote:

"It's raining. Lava workout of the day:

Jetpacks: 4 sets, 25 reps or until failure. Use jetpack chair or hang from a bar if you're a real baller. Raise legs, keep knees from bending as much as possible. Do this hard up, slow down and try not to blow your brain. This exercise will increase your core strength, allow you to better momentum in leg-swinging movements, and increase your cerebral fortitude.

Wide grip chins: 3 sets, 10-15 reps or until failure. Grip

wide, overhand. Pull up and try to touch your nipples to the bar, if you're a dude. Doing these will strengthen your back, biceps, forearms, and hands, which are all vital for hanging, climbing, and doing pretty much anything in lava.

Pullovers: 3 sets, 10 reps or until failure. Read the directions in the picture (right). These increase the size of your thorax. Additionally, they will give you better range of motion in your shoulders to prevent injury, and will help climbing and hanging movements.

Wrist curls: 3 sets, 10 reps or until failure, 80% of your body weight. Stand with barbell held behind your back, hanging at waist level. Curl up, hold momentarily, and ease down for 1 repetition. Open your hands as you lower the bar and let the bar roll slightly down your fingers. This will increase your grip strength and forearm size, both of which are vital for many climbs and long hangs.

Dumbell flys: 3 sets, 10 reps or until failure. Read the directions in the picture. This exercise focuses on the chest, which is important when bear-hugging objects, climbing underneath structures, or doing orangutan maneuvers.

Conversely, one could also always go and play lava in the rain. Or eat Chinese food, pizza, potato chips, and play video games. On a related note, Dan and I tried for the first time a workout Jarmo had suggested earlier in the year. I'll post photos from that and explanation tomorrow.

For now check out this sweet playground we found at the end of Birch Hollow in Ann Arbor. It was like an acid trip spiderweb, and full of new possibilities, including a dunkstick onto that netting, a move which, incidentally, turns out to be harder than Link makes it look in the games. So that is that for now. Hope everyone is climbing safelyish and not burning too many singe holes in their shoes/eyes/brains. Tomorrow I will post Jarmo's other workout challenge and a new move of the day.

Introducing

Jarmo

Lava-Go-Round

Yesterday's photo came from a lava challenge that Simon completed in East Lansing a couple of years ago. He has provided a couple of more photos of team challenges to follow as well. How hot is it to cross a river with a rope? 77.6. That is the exact number. Dan and I took a day off from lava on account of the damage the lava-walk did to us, and instead played Knights of the Old Republic and went to the mall. On a brighter note, lavagames.blogspot.com has now been visited forty million times, and was named to the Forbes list 'Hot Three.' Anyway, the move of the day!

Blindfoot

Blindfoot – Like the orangutan, the blindfoot is a transfer from a one pole to another, but in this case, the lavaist extends a foot back blindly from the nestclamp in order to create a wedge between the two poles. Once contact with the back foot is made the lavaist then either pivots their body so that the transfer has been switched to the new pole or takes the leverage as an opportunity to perform a kind of guided orangutan. With enough space the blindfoot is very efficient and in some cases possible where the orangutan is not. The only real danger to the blindfoot is hyperextension (groin), or conversely, ridicule when performing the awkward swivel from pole to pole.

Simon: Boom

A Moment of Bloggerific

Silence in Honor of

Sweetness

Some Lavercizes

Dan and I played lava today at the Platt playground near Washtenaw. It was mostly uneventful but we did get a couple of sweet pics including Dan performing this crow's nest.

Also we rocked some sweet workouts, including a lava walk. What is a lava walk? Well, to understand the lava walk you have to understand one of my favorite lava exercises--the lava chin up. The lava chin up is the same as any other chin up except that you tuck your knees up to your chest while performing them, scrunching up just like your body would be in a real life challenge. They are as sweet as possum poop.

A lava walk is when you take the lava chin up position and then traverse to the end of the monkey bars and back, either turning at the end or simply climbing in reverse. It is awesome, because, scrunched up, you have to use all upper body strength to go back and forth.

And now for today's move of the DAAAAAY!

Orangutan

The Tarzan (no one calls it that) – The orangutan is a hanging transfer reminiscent of the arm-swinging primate for which it is named and is most useful on challenges that require a pole to pole transition. To perform an orangutan, the lavaist must reach arm-first from a pole hold, secure a handhold on a second pole and then their lower body to the new pole. Because the orangutan is most useful on challenges of narrow passage, often this swing requires an extreme contraction of the lower body and requires the core strength to suspend one’s knees up into the body while twisting from one pole to another—another feature of the move that lends to the primate appearance.

Hasta marinara! Until marinara!

Move-of-the-Day Day!

Dunkstick

Like the jumpstick, a dunkstick is an aerial transfer in which a lavaist jumps from one object or surface to a bar or shelf on which they hang. It requires good grip and body control in order not to over-swing and fall back-first onto the ground, only to get up gasping for air and asking absently the rest of the day if anyone else hears that.

Level Hundred Lava

Along with today's move of the day and continuing in the roll out of 'launch week' (trademark), I wanted to mention quickly the ultimate goal of lava. We talk about levels of moves, levels of transitions, levels of holds, etc. But what do all these lead to? The ultimate. Level one hundred lava. What's better than a pushup? A one handed pushup. A chinup? A one handed chin up. What's better than supporting yourself with limbs? Supporting yourself with no limbs. And that is the ultimate goal to which all of our efforts point. Levitation. Okay. Enough philosophy. Now today's move of the day!

Scissorfeet

A scissorfoot hold is achieved whenever a lavaist clamps onto a verticle using the sole’s of his/her/its feet pointed like the grip of a vise. The hold requires flexibility and leg strength and is usually a temporary hold in a complex transfer. It is especially useful in situations that require rotating around a verticle with minimal space for the lavaist’s body, and will give you biceps on your inner thigh which everyone who likes colors (everyone) can agree is awesome.