Craig Constantine

What’s up for 2016? →

Published January 21, 2016 · All posts on Jan 21 · My Journey

This entry is part 41 of 72 in the series My Journey

I’ve recently started thinking about 2016 goals. These aren’t “New Year’s Resolutions”; When I pick up a goal, it’s only after a lot of thinking and planning. Most importantly, I only commit if I believe the result of reaching the goal is worth it.

I’m considering things like the following:

Hip/ankle flexibility: Achieve being able to sit, relaxed in a full squat. (I’ve been working on this for 3 months already.)
Reach a lower weight; I’m thinking 210 is probably a good goal for about 6 months out. (Currently about 223.)
Run 10 minute miles; Maybe run a 5K in 30 minutes in October. (I think this would be pretty easy if I was 210.)

…and then a bunch of non-physical training things:

Become fluent in French. (A big challenge!)
Develop a solid writing habit.
Develop a solid reading habit. (I already read a lot; It’s consistently finding/making the time.)

Allez! Allez!

Not quite? →

Published February 12, 2016 · All posts on Feb 12 · My Journey, Instaspam

This entry is part 42 of 72 in the series My Journey

Maybe some day… soon. 45 pounds lighter than when I started Parkour; just a wee bit stronger too.

Scaf set →

Published February 19, 2016 · All posts on Feb 19 · My Journey, Instaspam

This entry is part 43 of 72 in the series My Journey

I’ve been working on coming up with a fewest-parts/lowest-cost set of scaf. (Which turned into an entire series of posts on getting started with scaf.) So far, this is the best set. Saturday I’m going to assemble all the different things you can make from this [relatively] small pile of parts.

Working on controlled precisions →

Published March 5, 2016 · All posts on Mar 5 · My Journey, Parkour

This entry is part 44 of 72 in the series My Journey

Fun with controlled precisions: I finally got around letting the camera run while repeating a jump. Here’s two that I was working on yesterday. These were just a wee bit odd for me to sort out. This is the aspect of indoor gyms that I love; being able to set up something very specific. This was taken at Innate Movement Parkour -Kingston, NY.

More things! →

Published March 12, 2016 · All posts on Mar 12 · My Journey, Instaspam

This entry is part 45 of 72 in the series My Journey

Several gap challenges here and today I’ve been playing with manuevering through bars hands down using feet/legs to brachiate. #mindblown

It’s not a priority →

Published March 17, 2016 · All posts on Mar 17 · My Journey, Apogee, Motivation

This entry is part 46 of 72 in the series My Journey

Starting today, you are no longer allowed to utter the words: “I don’t have time.” Instead, you will say, “It’s not a priority.”
~ Steve Kamb from, Why “I Don’t Have Time” Is A Big Fat Lie

slip:4unebo12.

Years ago, when I discovered the Lehigh Valley Parkour community’s inside jokes, I started avoiding the word “can’t” — if another LVPK member hears you, there’s an immediate 5 pushups penalty. (Very annoying in markets, subways, when driving, you get the idea.) Instead of saying “I can’t do that…” you start to say “I can do that when I am able to [insert something I need to work on].” Changing your words, changes your thoughts, changes your actions, changes your life.

Well, this one is my newest addition. No more “I don’t have time”; It’s all going to be, “It’s not a priority.” Go ahead, try a few of these out loud:

I don’t have time to eat healthy, becomes… Eating healthy isn’t a priority.

I don’t have time to exercise, becomes… Exercise isn’t a priority.

I don’t have time to sleep, becomes… Sleep isn’t a priority.

Oh, well brain, if you’re going to think about it that way… our whole life is going to change.

That which gets measured →

Published March 18, 2016 · All posts on Mar 18 · My Journey, Writing

This entry is part 47 of 72 in the series My Journey

I’ve often heard, “that which gets measured, gets improved.” (…and you have to actually plan and work to realize improvements.)

Ten years ago, I saw 270 pounds on the scale and decided to start tracking. The first step was to work on getting proper sleep (followed by many more steps – but that’s another story.) I’ve been tracking health related things – weight, hours of sleep, dietary supplements, habits like stretching (whatever little projects I’ve had going on) for almost 10 years. This enables me to trot out amazing things like this when I’m looking for some inspiration…

Highest weight from memory: 270
Dec 2006, earliest recorded weight: 265
Jun 2012, started Parkour: 254
Jun 2014, ADAPT 1: 240
Aug 2014, rock climbing in Colorado: 232
Mar 2016: 221

Me, excited? You betcha!!

I’ve said it before: Find the smallest first step you can make towards your goal. Take that step. Tomorrow, look back and say, “well… I’ve come this far, may as well take the next step!” The hardest part of any journey is believing the journey is possible.

Working on bar precisions →

Published March 20, 2016 · All posts on Mar 20 · My Journey, Parkour

This entry is part 48 of 72 in the series My Journey

I’ve been doing a lot of rail precisions (approaching 5,000) as part of my “10k reps” project. The goal is simply to do 10,000 rail precisions — not at any particular height or distance, but to simply get comfortable landing on rails.

But on Saturday, i spent a couple hours pushing the distance out…

Damaging my hands is not a good thing →

Published March 22, 2016 · All posts on Mar 22 · My Journey, Apogee, Health

This entry is part 49 of 72 in the series My Journey

I used to think blisters, busted skin, and crusty scabs were badges of accomplishment. But now, I think that if my hands are wounded I have done something wrong.

If I have a bashed shin, a bleeding elbow, or a bruised rib then clearly I’ve done something wrong to damage those body parts. So why did I think that injuries to my hands were cool or something of which to be proud?

tl;dr: Hubris.

Almost everyone I know has soft hands. I know a very few people who work in trades who have tough hands, and I know some Parkour people with seasoned hands. So I thought it was cool that I could sometimes show off my “I worked hard hands.” Turns out that was just a way for me to brag. (Boo! Bad, old me! Time for me to re-read My Oath.)

Even worse, there were times where I’ve left parts of my hands, or even blood, on walls, obstacles, etc.. That’s actually pretty gross, and is the exact opposite of the leave-no-trace mentality that I want to cultivate in myself.

The light-bulb moment for me was the last time I went indoor bouldering. I climbed for several hours (at a leisurely pace and without damaging ANY body parts). When I was done I found myself thinking, “AWESOME! Look at my hands! All these pull-ups and scaf work are paying off!”

Lest I get pushed under the bus by hardcore people, I want to be clear: I train hard. I love “MDK”, “gauntlets” and mental/physical challenges. I do push parts of my body to their limits. Usually, I discover those limits were farther out than I expected. But, just as I do with the rest of my body, I am now going to do my best to take good care of my hands.

I’m happy with progressions for everything I do; Now I’ll try to also be happy with progressions for my hands. If it turns out that I have to stop doing something (or tape my hands, or *gasp* put gloves on) because my hands are going to give out, that tells me what I have to work on next: Toughening up my hands.

Reality check from 2008 →

Published April 4, 2016 · All posts on Apr 4 · My Journey

This entry is part 50 of 72 in the series My Journey

My mom dug this photo up from somewhere. It was taken in 2008, and there may have been a few changes since then.

I think this is now my favorite inspirational photo.

Why inspirational? Most of the changes I’ve accomplished have been in the past four years. If I can accomplish what I did, without killing myself (literally or figuratively), while having a tremendous amount of fun… then I cannot wait to see what comes next!