Chopper (v) invert problems

Woobidewoo started this discussion · 2/17/2010

Hi all, I am getting really frustrated with this move, the weird thing is I can do it from standing, from vertical swing and spinning and I can do it in shoulder mount but I just can't get it from a straight climb ( I can't do it from static once I have climbed the pole) I can't figure out why and neither can any of the teachers at the school I go to. It's holding me back from getting into the next class level, I had to repeat a class for the first time and it almost brought me to tears. I'm not sure if it's maybe my body shape as I'm tall with long legs and big hips so maybe I'm bottom heavy? Has anyone else overcome the same problem or know any exercises or moves to work up to doing it? Any help would be appreciated!! Thanks x

14 replies

Sassafrassle · 2/17/2010
I suspect if your teachers have supervised then this may have been checked for already, but are your hands gripping too high? You've got to remember to more or less be in the same sort of body position that you would be on the ground and that includes hand placement. That's the only thing I can think of! I doubt it would be your body type to be honest.
amy · 2/17/2010
heeey that sounds frustrating! i'm not a teacher or pro by any means but are you kicking into your chopper? can you do a regular invert from a climb? i'm not sure what you mean by a vertical swing...
Woobidewoo · 2/17/2010
Thanks guys, I think my hand grip is ok, a vertical swing is basically just jumping from one side of the pole to the other. You stand to the right of the pole then jump up and swing to the left side ending up still facing forward so when you do it into the v you swing from left to right and straight into it without touching the floor. I'm trying to kick off the pole a bit but it's not really working. I can pull into it from the floor without jumping so I don't think it's a strength issue, it's a mystery!! Oh I've not tried a regular invert, maybe that would help 🙂
Mindy4pole · 2/18/2010
Chopper has been a long time nemesis for me 😈 , but I finally can do it, thanks to my pull-up bar. I have one of those pull-up bars that fits in a doorway, and it has two handles that stick out. Using the handles, I pull my upper body up, then pull my knees to my chest, tipping backwards. I hold as long as I can and them come down as slow as I can. Sometimes, I'll lower my legs in a V or straight out, too. For some reason, doing this on the pull-up bar works much better for me than doing it on the pole. As far as body type goes, it may be your posture, rather than your shape. My (old) normal posture included having my pelvic bone tipped pretty far back. This meant my lower abs were always lengthened, so it was hard to get them strong. Other muscles would just take over. I've been working on getting my pelvis to a more neutral position, and I believe this has contributed to my increased ability. Plus, it makes my abs look better! 😉 GOOD LUCK with this move!! Mindy
Woobidewoo · 2/18/2010
Oh, maybe it is strength then. My teacher didn't think it was since I can do shoulder mount from sitting, I go to a pole tone class but maybe I need to do more. Unfortunately I put up the achitraves around my doors myself so I wouldn't trust them to hold a pull up bar 😂
SissyBuns · 2/18/2010
Can you do an aerial invert? Is the problem inverting or holding yourself in a chopper once you're inverted?
Woobidewoo · 2/18/2010
Umm I'm not sure what an aerial invert is, is that a climb then invert? If so no I've not tried it but I guess I would probably have the same problem. It's getting up in the first place, I can get my knees up and my body lifted up but I just can't seem to be able to get my butt any higher than horizontal 🙁
glitterhips · 2/18/2010
Yes I would try aerial inverts, and also do some ab strengthing work because I had a hard time with air inverts until I spent a few weeks doing ab workouts and then I did it. Also it helps me to do it if I have my side exposed, it's probably cheating but I can only do an air invert about half the time if my side isn't helping me stick to the pole. Good luck, I know you can do it!
MilienElayne · 2/19/2010
I have trouble inverting from a climb too. A lot of it is in my head, and some of it is strength and positioning. I have to remember to lift up into it like I would from the ground. So I go into a pole pull up (from the pole stand, climb, sit or whatever I am in) before I flip over into a chopper. I barely ever engage my abs, so they're still flabby and weak. They're so fricking lazy, I can barely do all the ab work on the floor we do towards the end of pole classes, and my push ups suck really badly. But I can do lifted shouldermounts from floor pretty easy, and am up to straight leg choppers lifted from the floor? Just not aerial... ha ha. Need stronger abs to make aerial choppers and aerial shouldermounts easier. Ooh and what's helping me slowly build more arm and ab strength is doing spider climbs every week. I'm up to 9 now! Spider climbs -> ( http://ver3.studioveena.com/lessons/view/2613 )
Mindy4pole · 2/19/2010
Oh, maybe it is strength then. My teacher didn't think it was since I can do shoulder mount from sitting, I go to a pole tone class but maybe I need to do more. Unfortunately I put up the achitraves around my doors myself so I wouldn't trust them to hold a pull up bar 😂 Maybe sounds a little crazy... but if you have a playground nearby with monkey bars, you can do the same exercise on those... Just use the cross bars and pull yourself up into a ball while tilting back. Strength is an interesting thing! Pole has this habit of exposing areas where our muscles are not quite working together the way we want, even if you are very strong. I used to go to class with a nice lady who is a body builder and incredibly strong. I was constantly surprised that little ole me could do things she couldn't... But I'd had months more experience doing pole movements. Do have faith, though with the evil chopper! You'll get it eventually. It's taken me almost a year. (But, to be fair, I've avoided working on it a lot, too!) Mindy
Woobidewoo · 2/23/2010
Think I may have figured out what's wrong, I'm not dropping my arms early enough. Does that sound like it could be right? I'm going to try tomorrow night again, fingers crossed 🙂
amy · 2/23/2010
Think I may have figured out what's wrong, I'm not dropping my arms early enough. Does that sound like it could be right? I'm going to try tomorrow night again, fingers crossed 🙂 🤔 🤔 not sure what this means? i dont drop my arms, i pull up into it and keep my arms bent. but i hope that it works for you!!
Woobidewoo · 2/27/2010
Damn it, still not working 🙁 off to practice session this morning to try again
amy · 2/27/2010
you could try uploading a video?