Frederic Barbe : swing dancing and performance training

Thursday, May 15, 2014

1 leg deadlift - 100lbs increase by my 12th workout

I started at 135lbs for 4 reps and I ended at 235lbs for 2 reps in a 5-3-2 scheme after 12 practices

Kettlebell side press

When I started 2 weeks ago, I could only lift my 24kg for 3 reps and now I easily lift my 28kg for some sets of 5 reps. Neural adaptation is my best bud!

Monday, May 12, 2014

Latest videos

Solo routine for a bridal shower

Move idea from open tuck turn +Audrey-Anne Bouchard

Move idea from texas tommy +Vivianne Carrier

1 leg deadlift 185lbs 5reps

Basketball dunk attempt - ring mid-fingers

Friday, May 9, 2014

As I mentionned, I want to learn new skills this summer and on of them is re-learning basketball. I used to be pretty good in high school, but I always missed the magic touch, in my case, finishing my baskets. When I was 15 years old, bigger and taller than other kids of my age, I could pick my own rebounds forever and finish the games with 25-30 pts, but by the age of 17, 6' 180lbs is not that impressive.

What I had for me is a pretty good understanding of the game, which make me a great team player, and good defensive skills. What I would like to improve this summer are all my individual skills. I would divide them in 4 categories:

Shooting

Jump shots, free thows, 3 pointers, by the basket, with or without the board, etc.

Dribbling and handling
Layup

with the board, without, dunk, etc.

Cross overs

Classic, outside the legs, inside the legs, behind the back, double or triplle cross overs ,etc.

I'm using my good old motto:

Simple beats complicated every time

Here's a list of my goals I want to achieve:

Improving my dribbling and handling

Like to learn any skills, I'm doing some drills here and there many times a day if possible.

95%+ for any shot wwithin 2 feet of the basket especially if there is no defender!
80% for any shot around the key
Mastering 2-3 simple cross over variations, transitioning into a layup without looking at the ball.
1 hand dunk

Simple rules:

I play with other people only if that doesn't mean cutting on my practice. I try to do it at least once/week.
I stop when tired. The first symptome is usually the unsoppable need to mess around and doing some studip moves.
If I play with other people, I'm extremely careful not o hurt myself. Basketball is the most risky sport for middle age men.
I pick a simple theme from my 4 categories and I work on it for 5-15 min or until I get bored.

Kids these days have it really easy. Everybody is sharing their ressources for free. Whoever is not half-wits can figure it out by himself. I realized the way I shot and dribble are completely wrong and have to re-learn them completely. Fun, fun, fun!!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Summer goals: the short list

I love summer! It's about 3 months I love to work on something new. This time, might be because of the never ending winter, but I'm on fire. I keep my dance training, strength training and cardiac coherence training. Here's a list of my mid-term goals:

Mastering the longboard. I just got this sucker a month ago and I just started feeling comfortable (by that I mean not beng scared of killing myself every time I step on it). Crazy thing when you own a loagboard, you will make new unexpected friends who will have the feeling that you share something in common. Same happened with my tattoo!
Honing my basketball individual skills. I used to play basketball as a teenager and thought I was the next big thing until I realize I wasn't good enough to play in a college team. I now apply what I discover about learning new skills and apply it to the sport. After 2 weeks, all skills are either back or better than before and a lot of room for improvement. I want to dunk by the end of the summer what I never could.
Honing my volleyball skills with +Vivianne Carrier. I never truly learn that sport even if I have always been way better than the next guy. From my analysis, the individual skills re less than basketball, but playing as a team is no an option. For those familiar with some recreative volleyball, you probably noticed that most points are scored on services which is pretty lame if you think about it.