Progress Report

It's been two weeks of full time training so time for the report card. I'm glad that I didn't go into this part of my training thinking that a break from work meant a break from working. Let me tell you it is anything but a vacation. With multiple intense sessions a day, all I really want to do when I get home is lounge and sleep. Yes, I do get to sleep in, I never thought waking up at 8am would feel so great, but whatever excitement I felt by having slept in is wiped away when I'm hunched over in exhaustion during morning sessions. After every session it's a debate between taking a shower, eating or laying down, so far laying down has won every single time. Which means after a little relaxing my stomach starts to complain and I have to get up and go eat. I know what you're thinking, yuck, sweaty, stinky Pascale doesn't shower after practice, calm down after I've rested a little bit and fueled up a hot shower comes next. If anyone has a problem with that I challenge you to find a stadium near you, run up and down for 20mins(you didn't even have to sprint up like I do) then tell me what you would chose 1st and in which order, that should give you a glimpse into what a 10mins of a 2 hours session might feel like. Anyway after my shower I rest again before the lunch then the afternoon session. Recovery, eat then weight room to finish off my day. Aside from the intensity of training the biggest change has been the recovery work after workouts. Before I rarely was able to ice or get flush out massage after practice, but now I can get taken care of properly by the medical team, anything from massages, adjustment, acupuncture and anything else that needs attention so I'm back on the track ready to go. It has really made a difference because without it I would not be able to make it through these sessions day after day.
With increase rest and proper recovery comes increase in performance, nowhere is that more apparent then in the area of my strength. In just brute weight room strength I got all new maxes in all the major lifts squat 400lbs, dead lift 300lbs,  and clean 170lbs, I think with some straps I could increase the last two lifts. I weight of 126lbs right now so those are all increases even with me being lighter then I was. As far as functional triple jump strength with the results from testing all around this is the strongest I have ever been.
I've had a couple of short approach competitions to give me a chance to apply some of what I learn at practice so far its been good. I'm inching closer to the 13meter mark on a short approach and my second phase it more solid now. We are now ready to have a bigger 3rd phase with 2nd phase body positioning fixed. Towards the end of the month coach might let me take a full approach competition before I leave for France. I'm keeping my fingers cross that he likes the progress he is seeing and believes I am ready to convert and execute a proper jump with a full approach behind it.

This is the video from a couple of weeks back when I first started to fix 2nd phase I had better jumps this past weekend but I had no cameraman so no video to show for it. You can see that my arms are still faster then they need to be and 3rd phase, well I guess if I can call it that is really flat as a result of the slow recovery. But all in all I'm fortunate that I'm making progress, grateful that I'm healthy and I'm excited for what's to come. Until next time, keep the positive energy flowing my way!