Night Ops: 4th Homework Assignment
Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 2:30 pm
Is this post tl;dr? Fuck you, read it anyway. If you don't have time, put a reminder somewhere to look at it when you do have time.
We operatives are a dark lot in the sense that our lifestyle revolves around the night. However, each of us have a day life too that we have to maintain. This daily life often gets in the way and prevents us from opping as often as we'd like. And on the rare occasion we have the time to do an op we either lack the motivation, are out of shape or simply can't get into the "zone".
But just because we can't op enough doesn't mean we have to fall completely out of touch with ourselves. So for the next few weeks I'm going to be setting homework tasks that I expect each and every one of you to complete. Just simple exercises to help you stay sharp and in shape.
These assignments also extend to you visiting guests and silent lurkers - yes, you, the reader - I want you all to participate as well.
Lesson:
Continuing on from last week's lesson on fitness, it's also important for an operative to be agile and dexterous. As mentioned last week it's important for an operative to be fit and ready for action and I had you doing pushups to facilitate that. But being able to punch down a brick wall doesn't serve one very well when trying to remain hidden. Perhaps the only thing more important than good muscle development is having good muscle control.
When it comes to climbing over obstacles and generally moving about on an op, movements have to be done in a very slow and deliberate manner - an operative does not vault a fence on an op at night the same way they would do in a park during the day. Vaulting a railing, climbing a fence, hopping up onto or down from a ledge, going prone and generally moving about on an op requires a great deal of control to pull off quietly. Even simply shifting weight from one foot to the other while in an awkward crouched position takes a great deal of precision when compared to normal walking. Particularly when it comes to crouch walking it's difficult to keep low and move steady enough if one is not particularly agile.
Homework:
In addition to the pushups from last week I'd like you all to do some stretches as well. These stretches come from a military endurance manual for conditioning recruits that come in a handy 5 day workout routine. Of course you don't have to do all of that, unless you want to, but I'd like you to focus on a few of the daily stretches focusing on legwork. In particular the lunges (forward & rear), windmill, overhead arm stretch, thigh stretch and (of course) keep up with those pushups. In addition to these I'd also like you to do one additional stretch where you sit on the ground with your legs straight out in front and try to touch your toes. This will stretch your lower back and hamstrings, vital areas to keep in tune if you do a lot of crouch walking.
Do about 10 of each stretch and do about 30 seconds of the thigh & 'touch-your-toes' stretches daily, in addition to the pushups. Let's start now.
Brotips: * Again, try doing all the exercise just before going to bed. Your tired muscles will help you get to sleep easier.
* Pain is your body's way of telling you not to do something. Don't strain yourself if any of these stretches become unbearable as pulling the wrong muscle can be a real setback. Of course a bit of pain is to be expected (that's how muscles develop after all) but don't overdo it to the point of injury.
* If you already go to the gym or have some other exercise routine, try focusing on workouts that involve a lot of legwork. If you do Parkour I find precision jumping a great way of stretching the hamstring and developing better leg control.
* If you don't do Parkour then I highly suggest you start learning. It's easy to grasp and is invaluable to the operative.
Class dismissed.
We operatives are a dark lot in the sense that our lifestyle revolves around the night. However, each of us have a day life too that we have to maintain. This daily life often gets in the way and prevents us from opping as often as we'd like. And on the rare occasion we have the time to do an op we either lack the motivation, are out of shape or simply can't get into the "zone".
But just because we can't op enough doesn't mean we have to fall completely out of touch with ourselves. So for the next few weeks I'm going to be setting homework tasks that I expect each and every one of you to complete. Just simple exercises to help you stay sharp and in shape.
These assignments also extend to you visiting guests and silent lurkers - yes, you, the reader - I want you all to participate as well.
Lesson:
Continuing on from last week's lesson on fitness, it's also important for an operative to be agile and dexterous. As mentioned last week it's important for an operative to be fit and ready for action and I had you doing pushups to facilitate that. But being able to punch down a brick wall doesn't serve one very well when trying to remain hidden. Perhaps the only thing more important than good muscle development is having good muscle control.
When it comes to climbing over obstacles and generally moving about on an op, movements have to be done in a very slow and deliberate manner - an operative does not vault a fence on an op at night the same way they would do in a park during the day. Vaulting a railing, climbing a fence, hopping up onto or down from a ledge, going prone and generally moving about on an op requires a great deal of control to pull off quietly. Even simply shifting weight from one foot to the other while in an awkward crouched position takes a great deal of precision when compared to normal walking. Particularly when it comes to crouch walking it's difficult to keep low and move steady enough if one is not particularly agile.
Homework:
In addition to the pushups from last week I'd like you all to do some stretches as well. These stretches come from a military endurance manual for conditioning recruits that come in a handy 5 day workout routine. Of course you don't have to do all of that, unless you want to, but I'd like you to focus on a few of the daily stretches focusing on legwork. In particular the lunges (forward & rear), windmill, overhead arm stretch, thigh stretch and (of course) keep up with those pushups. In addition to these I'd also like you to do one additional stretch where you sit on the ground with your legs straight out in front and try to touch your toes. This will stretch your lower back and hamstrings, vital areas to keep in tune if you do a lot of crouch walking.
Do about 10 of each stretch and do about 30 seconds of the thigh & 'touch-your-toes' stretches daily, in addition to the pushups. Let's start now.
Brotips: * Again, try doing all the exercise just before going to bed. Your tired muscles will help you get to sleep easier.
* Pain is your body's way of telling you not to do something. Don't strain yourself if any of these stretches become unbearable as pulling the wrong muscle can be a real setback. Of course a bit of pain is to be expected (that's how muscles develop after all) but don't overdo it to the point of injury.
* If you already go to the gym or have some other exercise routine, try focusing on workouts that involve a lot of legwork. If you do Parkour I find precision jumping a great way of stretching the hamstring and developing better leg control.
* If you don't do Parkour then I highly suggest you start learning. It's easy to grasp and is invaluable to the operative.
Class dismissed.