Bananaman Joins The OAC Club

Firstly, I wish to thank everyone who visited my blog over the past couple of weeks and left comments on my article. The amount of feedback was very unexpected and I'm really glad the post had such a positive impact on so many people in the community. For those who contacted me via Email, Myspace, Youtube, by phone and in person regarding the article, I appreciated all of your kind words. Thanks also to the various organisations who contacted me asking to publish the article on their respective websites, it helped spread the word.

Just a quick update on my training:

Some of you may be familiar with Bananaman, the fictional schoolboy also known as Eric, who turns in to a superhero when he eats a banana. If you are not, please click here.

"...For when Eric eats a banana, an amazing transformation occurs. Eric is Bananaman. Ever alert for the call to action."

I reached one of my training goals yesterday by completing a one-armed chin up through the full range of motion. My secret? Just like Eric, all it took was a banana!

Half-way through the session I took a quick break from training on this new scaffolding tower, had a drink, peeled a banana and took a bite... with the banana still in my right hand I walked around a bit and jumped up to grab a horizontal bar with my left hand. I started pulling and for the first time, didn't stop until my chin was right over the bar. It must have been a funny sight to see my face straining, chewing, smiling and laughing at the same time whilst waving this half-eaten banana around, but it was worth it.

I did 3 complete repetitions throughout the rest of the day and plenty of partial repetitions. Although I could only do a complete one with my left arm, I'm sure the right arm isn't too far behind as I can also do 90% of one with that arm and it felt a little closer than ever yesterday.

So if ever there was a secret to breaking through that barrier and achieving something that is just beyond your reach, think of Eric and consider a banana might be the solution...

The one-armed chin ups have been on my mind since I last visited Lisses and met Thomas Des Bois for the first time. He inspired me to begin training for them and I began the process on Monday 19th February 2007. I started using a belt around my chin up bar and used that to support the pulling arm. This, combined with slow negative repetitions formed the basis for my training and I set a goal to complete one complete repetition with each arm by 1st May 2007. I now have 14 days to complete one with my right arm to meet my goal.

And this was not the end of my banana-powered adventures for the day, later on I rescued a football from a tall tree that some guys in the park kicked a little too hard. I believe that if everybody in the world completed just one random act of kindness everyday then the world would be a much better place. Whether this is helping an old lady cross the road, retrieving a ball from a roof or pushing a old man and his wheelchair up a steep hill (Nice one Jin - hahaha), we should be using our skills and training experience to aid others as well as ourselves.

Tune in next week for more adventures of Bananaman!

-Blane