Another great session with Roger…

Back in L.A. on Thursday I had my weekly session at Core Conditioning with my teacher, Roger. We have an interesting relationship since it is both professional and personal. I pay him as a teacher / trainer, and we’re friends. I’ve introduced him to climbing, which he loves. So, when I showed up for training and told him I’d just been out climbing for most of the week he was of course happy for me, but I could see by the look in his eyes that I was about to be tested.

He had me start with the usual warm ups, but added interest to the roll up / roll down series by mixing in a roll over each rep. Then he had me do the “Footwork” on the Cadillac, a setup which puts me in a confined position, testing my flexibility. It was immediately obvious that four days climbing, hanging from my hands and standing on the tips of my toes for much of the time, had left me with a shortened superficial back line (calves, hamstrings, back and neck.) At first I could not hold a neutral spine, but it felt great to get the stretch and arrive there. Next we moved rapidly through a series of more advanced exercises, and I noticed that we skipped over the strenuous “Series of Five,” sometimes called the stomach series. I was expecting he would throw this at me late, when tired, but he upped the ante by asking for a full set of “Teasers” (a very demanding core move,) transitioning from rolling like a ball without touching down. I focused on breathing well and floated the teasers in good style, but they wiped me out. We finished our hour with some demanding back extension work on the chair, side lying legwork in springs on the Cadillac, and wound down with the push through bar.

These workouts take every bit of juice I have, Roger sees to that. But my body doesn’t feel abused. I woke up the next morning feeling like I was floating on the bed. Spent and comfortable. And hungry…