Glasgow had the heaviest snow in years today so i seized the opportunity for some good training - here's the video, and it would be awesome if you could take the time to read my thoughts on the day.






My quest for today was to return to my familiar spots and movements - ones that i knew very well - and attempt them in fresh snow. I know the surfaces very well, so this meant I could make certain assumptions, and wouldnt have to check everything first.
By checking and feeling surfaces first I would have unsettled and shifted the snow, and missed out on a chance to move on it.
Now obviously I had to find a balance between making assumptions about surfaces and my safety, but for the most part i tried to use my instinct and experience to determine wether I could make a jump without checking.

I started off with a run to warm up, then some quadrupedie on quite wide surfaces just go get my body,movement,touch and sensitivity accustomed to this new obstacle of cold,slippery, icey snow.
I moved around on some familiar surfaces around the Uni - my regular training ground - and realised I could move just as well on them in the snow.
What training in the rain has also taught me is to anticipate and deal with slips - if i dont land perfectly i must deal with it so that i balance and can continue on my route without hesitation.


So after this warm up I began. I went to a few familiar jumps, and that's when the focus really begins. I started off with a big running jump between 2 concrete benches covered in snow. usually I could do this jump without hesitation, but the fear of these new conditions kicked in.
I know I can do this jump.
So i knuckled down, put 100% focus into my vision, technique and movement and went for it. I completed the jump and repeated a few times just to make sure.

I then carried on with the same method and idea, and tried to push myself to do some quite difficult movements and jumps, for example vault combinations on slippery snowy rails, cat balance and balance on rails and even right up to some rail precisions.
One particular jump I came to(at the wellington church) was across a 6ft gap at about 8ft up. On my landing, i slipped forward but manadged to focus and recover quickly. (you can see this in the video towards the end).
It's a jump I would do quite casually in normal circumstances but i was 100% focused due to the snow, and it paid off when I slipped.

This training was completely invaluable - movements which are no longer challenging,suddenly require focus, overcoming of fear and absolutely perfect technique, as well as heightened response time to recover mistakes. It's a reminder that I should ALWAYS have this level of precision technique and focus and it gave me the opportunity to refine this and learn how to call it up and use it very quickly.

The other aspect to training in the snow was the strength required for more slow and demanding movements like balance, quadrupedie, traversing and cat leaps. On top of this, these movements tend to require your bare hand to be in contact with these surfaces which are covered in snow. ITS derogatory-swear-word-of-your-choiceING COLD.
These movements suddenly become a massive test of strength, endurance and mental fortitude.
I worked very very hard on these movements today - quadrupedie and rolls in the snow to condition my body to the cold, followed by traversing and cat leaps, which require so much more strength in fingers and forearms.
Once I was a bit tired, I tried to work on some cat balancing on rails to train my strength and endurance ever further. It's amazing how much harder it is to hold on in the cold, and on top of that the grip of the hands has to be tighter to compensate for the slidy icy surfaces, especially rails.


The snow gives a unique opportunity to take movements that you now take for granted and make them extremely challenging again. This is useful when the weather is bad, and is also great for increasing confidence when conditions are good.

You also have to learn to have an increased and thorough awareness of risk. It's so so important to be safe, and still push your limits at the same time.

Today has been amazing. If it snows - please train in it.
It's a blessing for your training, not a barrier.

Grant