Yeah, I'm excited for this trip like I haven't been excited for anything in a loooong time. I've been anticipating it for a good 2 years, too (since the conference location was announced) since I've always wanted to visit BC. Should be awesome. So much naturey shit there.
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Splits routine notes for today: I tried out this one pretty much verbatim -
http://antranik.org/antraniks-splits-routine/
I will have to modify it, though. Mainly, it feels way too long and boring. (took ~40-50 min and I want something more like 20 min including warmup....some of that was just learning the routine, though)
1) 7 min warmup with sun salutations yoga stuff was ok. I followed his suggested video. I found it a bit rushed though, maybe just because I hadn't done it before.
2) stretching:
a)leg swings....meh, ok. I guess this is good warmup/mild stretching, I don't think I need to do 20 per leg times 3 kinds of leg swing though. Maybe I'll cut it down to 10, or even 5.
b) standing splits was a pretty decent hamstring stretch. I did it along with him for the video (~1 min per leg)
c) pigeon pose was a good hip stretch. I didn't have a timer so I held it for 15 breaths for each side. I'm not sure how many seconds that would be, maybe 30-60?
d) couch stretch - augh this was painful. Apparently it's supposed to be stretching the anterior hip but I felt it mainly in my quads. Apparently those are tighter than they should be, which is surprising. I guess that means stretching is good. I did 15 breaths/low pose and 15 breaths/high pose, per leg. Maybe shorter is ok.
3) splits:
a) 2 min hold of middle splits - these were OK. I tried and failed to take a photo, my room is just too cramped for that (my floor space is about the size and shape of two yoga mats arranged in an L shape). I can get to 21" off the ground.
b) 2 min hold of front splits, per leg (following the video) - again I didn't have a timer handy so I held it for 15 breaths instead, it got pretty painful so I may have been overdoing it. Not sure how to track progress here. Distance between front heel and back knee? I dunno.
c) 20 sit up to straddles - I thought these were kinda dumb and unhelpful, plus hard to fit into my floor space. I'm dropping these.
d) 2 min pancake split - used a timer this time. It was ok I guess, nothing handy to pull against though, so it's hard to avoid bad back rounding. also a bit cramped in my floor space.
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So for tomorrow (since I'll do it after my bodyweight routine) I can skip the warmup, then maybe a shortened version:
1) stretching (~8 min):
a) 5 leg swings/leg (x front, back, and side) (~2 min)
b) standing splits (~2 min)
c) pigeon pose 15 breaths/side (~2 min?)
d) couch stretch 15 breaths/leg, moving from low pose to high pose halfway through (~2 min?)
2) splits (~8 min):
a) 2 min hold of middle splits
b) 2 min hold of front splits, per leg
c) 2 min pancake split
Will see how that goes. It seems like a good length on its own (guessing ~25 min including warmup) but a little long when added to my bodyweight stuff. I'll see how long it actually takes tomorrow (and how long it feels).