30th Nov 06- 1st official B.L. night
Post by: Spence
Bottom Level Training, session 1#
On Thursday night after I finished college at about four pm, I proceeded as usual to go train (parkour/conditioning) with my good friends Jason, Ashley, Kevin and Chris who I've been training with for quite some time now and also another eleven practitioners of parkour, gymnastics and other physical activities. We started training in our usual underground car park but today was different, today we would push our physical and mental strength to another level. A challenge for our physical and mental strength that would last four exhausting hours, traveling from place to place, controlling our strength and mental barriers; pushing ourselves to the maximum of our bodies capability.

We started by warming up and stretching; stretching every muscle in our body to obviously help our fitness and standard of training for the night that would be ahead of us. Starting in our underground car park, "Bottom Level", that has some what became our "life-line" for training in the cold weather and extreme conditions of winter. This is where we would start by doing ten minutes worth of jogging from the very bottom of our underground car park to the mid way. Two laps worth of jogging from top to bottom which starts to test your mental skills and stamina in the first ten minutes if your not used to jogging or any kind of running exercise, because this car park is full of fumes, full of complete dirt and slippery surfaces due to fumes being trapped in the underground and soaked up by the surrounding surfaces that are not usually found on the outside surfaces. Next this was followed by ten minutes worth of quadrupedal walking (animal walking/on all fours) round a certain fixed lap. quadrupedal walking stretches and uses muscles that aren't usually ever used and helps build an all round control and balance over one's body and movement.

After we finished our ten minutes worth of jogging and ten minutes of quadrupedal walking it was followed by about ten minutes worth of a technique to build leg muscle (obviously useful in precision jumps) this technique would start from one end of the car park to another, Running to a squat precision then driving into a full upwards jump of momentum to a tap on the ceiling. Previously before we started this technique we chose a certain area (spot) on the ceiling where we "had!" to reach to achieve these goals, and if we didn't hit our target then we go back to the very start and begin again until we achieve. This exercise also lasted ten minutes. Its hard to give someone who doesn't train conditioning, parkour or isn't active in any physical instance an insight into how mentally and physically demanding this type of training really is, its hard to explain how much one has to battle mentally with fear, weakness and determination in this type of training of ones body.

After this we left our underground haven and we proceeded to walk at a fast pace to another certain area, keeping in mind that every twenty steps you take "you do!" a push-up. The twenty step push-ups are a good way to improve ones climb-up abilities as they are being performed at a more random pace than a controlled set and help to build the muscle needed in climb-ups regularly instead of certain times. Once we reached the next area (which is about five minutes away) we do a set of ten chin-ups on a bar, but while you wait for others to finish there set "you wait!" in the press-up position. The press up position might sound an easy part of waiting for the other practitioners to complete there exercise, but after ten minutes and having to wait for another fifteen people to take it in turns and do there set, it gets "very!" physically and mentally demanding and puts more mental pressure on the other practitioners to succeed at a faster rate.

Once everyone completes there set of ten chin-ups everyone does a set of ten push-ups to stop the body from warming down and to build and add more pressure to ones self. Once we reached the next area, which was an old roman clock tower, built with "flint" and old stone there was no time to waist not giving our bodies time to relax we continued to "try" or succeed in climbing around the clock tower. Each person has to at least go round three times while the other practitioners wait in the press-up position on the floor until "everyone" has completed there lap. The sharp surfaces on the clock tower help to add a pain effect into the training, which will help one to learn to control pain. Obviously to succeed in this exercise one must conquer and overcome pain. It is very mentally enduring knowing that this exercise will hurt and is just another barrier one must defeat to continue.

After this was finished everyone waits in the press up position while everyone does a certain precision jump (under the clock tower) five times, and if you don't make the distance of the jump you go back and you try and try until it is done! no exceptions. Meanwhile while you are doing this jump you always have to keep in mind that your fellow team of practitioners are suffering and the faster you complete one lap and wait in press-up position for your next turn, the faster you will stop your fellow practitioners pain which helps to build a level of trust within the group.

After we completed our five precision jumps we went onto the next area, which is seconds away from the clock tower, and again keeping in mind every twenty steps you "do!" a push-up. Once we reached the next area we start our next exercise. An exercise that tests stamina, speed, endurance, strength (mental and physical) and balance. Basically this would consist of ten jumps upwards onto a small wall, then a jump to another wall where you dismount and quadrupedal walk to another wall (about two metres high) where you do a "static muscle up" also known in the french terminology as a planche (basically a chin up but to your waist instead of your chin). After this you quadrupedal along the wall and dismount down a lamp post to the floor where you quadrupedal to the next area (seconds away). The next area is a test of balance, it consists of a smallish ledge next to a wall where you do at least two rotations of the body whilst staying on the ledge.

Once this movement is completed you quadrupedal back to where you started (the ten jump small wall) where you repeat this lap five times, which lasts about thirty minutes, Always keeping in mind once you have finished your five laps you wait in the press-up position. After this exercise is completed we traveled to a shop where we buy "nothing else but!" something to eat (to give energy/nothing unhealthy) and bottled water (no coke or Pepsi) to rehydrate the body. Keeping in mind whilst you travel to the shop, which is about two minutes away each twenty steps you still "do!" a press-up.

Once we have re-hydrated the body we walk about half a mile down the high street, each twenty steps doing a push-up (those who are easily embarrassed will not take a liking to this long walk). When the next area is finally reached (which is about twenty metres of scaffolding) we do one chin-up on each bar traveling all the way down the length of the scaffolding then proceed back to the start, where you have a choice to wait in the press-up position, which is good for mental strength if another practitioner chooses to. You may wonder why someone would choose to wait in the press-up position given the choice, but this is extreme physical training, this is conditioning of ones body. No one is here against there will, everyone is here to become stronger, and to become stronger also comes a price. No one should attend Bottom Level if there not willing to train "hard!" or push themselves to the maximum of there capability.

After this area is complete we jog about a mile away down a motorway (each twenty steps still doing a push up) to a football pitch. Once we have reached the football pitch we don't waist any time nor giving our bodies a rest. On the football pitch there are 3 goal posts we start at one and take it in turns to shimmy across the goal post to the end where we wait in the Horse Stance position (spread legs, with feet pointing directly in-front of you and your backside bent downwards, Like sitting in a chair) for everyone to finish. We then travel to the next goal post doing exactly the same as last time but trying to make our movements more efficient and faster. After we have shimmyed across the second goal post we travel to the last post and once we are there we do ten reverse chin-ups whilst after you have completed your set, again you wait in the horse stance position. After we have completed the football ground area we take a light calm jog about twenty metres away to a concrete area where we proceed to warm down and stretch out our muscles.

After this night of extreme training and body conditioning, you cant help but have a sense of pride and overwhelming achievement. But after all, you have pushed yourself physically and mentally to the maximum of your capability, you have achieved goals and broken your boundaries. Its hard to give one a sense of the feeling that comes with this achievement, and its even harder to describe how hard one has to push themselves to achieve this feeling. Again no one should attend Bottom Level if there not willing to train hard and push themselves. We attend Bottom Level to purely become stronger physically and mentally for parkour and other physical activities. We train hard, and when we train hard we expect our team to train hard. Bottom Level is held each Thursday in Canterbury Around 4 pm at Castle Street Car Park (the Bottom Level). I'll be seeing you next Thursday.