The Very Hungry Catterpillar

Polaris started this discussion · 11/12/2009

http://localhosthttp://www.ebeanstalk.com/images/thumbs/119-002.jpg Hi! So for the caterpillar move (the one where you climb up rather than slide down) what do you pull up with? Do your knees just hold ya and your hammies pull you up? or do you push with your hands? I finally got cumphy just holding on upside down with the thighs, but the knees seems pretty tough! When I tried to stick my butt out caterpillar styles, I noticed that I wasnt moving anywhere! "RRRNGGH!" "NRRGH!" nope, still in the same pozzie 😛 Does anyone have any suggestions for me? 😀 Hamstrings are my crappest muscle but I can definately hammy-curl my own bod weight! I guess pulling yourself up into oblivion by the power of your knees is a bit different than a hamstring curl though! lots of xx's and oo's!

21 replies

RoxyPink · 11/12/2009
Yes you do pucsh with your arms too!! I found the easiest way of doing this was to think about putting your butt on the ceiling...once I visualzied that I had it nailed down!! Good luck!! and hope you share a vid with us!! 😀
SissyBuns · 11/12/2009
LOL, that picture is so cute!
untamedshrew · 11/12/2009
One of my favorite est books of all time!! 😎 😎 I had trouble making my caterpillar go up the pole. Your upper body does most the work here. Once you get your butt sticking up and out, you have to straighten your legs while keeping your body in the same place. Does that make sense? While you're straightening, your weight is on your arms and your chest on the pole. Slide those legs up nice and slow, cuz your weight shifts around a bit. Good luck!!
Veena · 11/12/2009
lol I like that book too!! So yes, your gripping in between the knees and back of calf and heel, engaging your hamstring, AS your pressing away and up. To move up...Try to get yourself into a ball at the top of the move, so press allllll the way up (get squishy) Then switch your grip to a elbow or forearm using the hand that was at belly or hip height (not the lower hand) lower hand stays. Keep your legs engaged and working while you make the quick switch with your arms! Then you can get your balance and slide the legs up the pole. Slide them up don't just take them off the pole!!!! Maintain contact with the pole as they slide or you might fall on to your back (I HAVE DONE THIS) 😲 Repeat the process. The only time I have ever taken a fall off my pole was doing a caterpillar up be careful and use some cushions below. 😂
amy · 11/12/2009
i love this move! especially doing this in a climb up the pole. i do it one-handed, and i'm strong but not hugely strong, but i would def agree with veena and say it's a lot of legs also. picture having an orange in your knee pit and just squeezing the heck out of it to get your legs engaged. the more legs you use, the easier it will be and the less you ahve to rely on your upper body. what i do is i push my upper body AWAY from the pole with my hand, and then to get my pelvis away from the pole i bend my legs. i think it looks more graceful that way--instead of going up and back at the same time. when i've pushed all the way up, and my butt is all the way up in the air, i can take my hands off the pole completely and stay scrunched as long as i'm engaging my legs.
Rouge_LAmour · 11/14/2009
That is my favourite childhood book!! no idea about the caterpillar move, but love the book.
Polaris · 11/15/2009
I know! how adorable is it with its little bites taken out of the pages 😀 I wasnt sure if anyone would recognize it! 😀 Ok! I'ma try this caterpillar thingy, and then one of those upside down ayisha thingies! YES! Lets get all Naruto on its bum! 😀 I'll definately do some vids up!
velvetvixen · 11/16/2009
Good luck on the caterpillar! I noticed you said Naruto, I'm assuming the anime. If that's what you meant, I was curious if your watching it in Japanese (with subtitles) or the English version which is behind the Japanese one. 🙂
Polaris · 11/17/2009
Yay are you a Naruto fan? I watch the Japanese subtitled one, and read the mangas... hehe I'm a big anime fan! And you could imagine if Naruto wanted to do the catterpillar he'd practice til he collapsed and would fall on his face a thousand times and just keep getting back up. 🙂 I think we should call it 'the Naruto approach'. hehe What about you? Why do you ask? 😀
velvetvixen · 11/17/2009
Yes, I'm a Naruto fan and I watch the Japanese subtitled ones too! I sent you a PM message so I don't hijack the thread with anime discussion. he he 🙂
carriej · 11/28/2009
Whew...I just got another pole move I've been trying forever so I'm not too upset that I'm not getting this one yet! I figure if I'm working on about 3 or 4 moves, I'm bound to get one of 'em sooner or later! haha. Anyway, I can get smushed up with my butt up in the air and can get the forearm position but as much as I try, my legs will not go up the pole! hmmm....
Mary Ellyn · 11/28/2009
Carrie...are you using the forearm grip or the elbow grip? Try both to see if one works better than the other for you.
LittleC · 11/28/2009
I have been struggling with this too - and I finally did it today! I had been trying to caterpillar climb with forearm grip, but when I tried the elbow grip it clicked for me. I guess I just needed to try something different to make it happen!
DeaconJungleCatPoles · 11/28/2009
Now you know as the resident children's librarian I have to chime in. That pic really was too cute!!! 😂 *giggles*
DeaconJungleCatPoles · 11/28/2009
Carrie...are you using the forearm grip or the elbow grip? Try both to see if one works better than the other for you. Is there a trick for the forearm grip? I can elbow grip climb all day long but when it comes to the forearm grip I can't get that for the life of me. Maybe cuz my palms are smooth and more sweaty?
Former member · 11/29/2009
i think im mostly gripping with my ankles, and i use both hands to push myself up- then i grip with my knees.....
Mary Ellyn · 11/29/2009
Carrie...are you using the forearm grip or the elbow grip? Try both to see if one works better than the other for you. Is there a trick for the forearm grip? I can elbow grip climb all day long but when it comes to the forearm grip I can't get that for the life of me. Maybe cuz my palms are smooth and more sweaty? I have a difficult time with the forearm grip but I haven't tried it in a while since I started building up my strength. I'm much more comfortable with the elbow grip. However one concept of the forearm grip is the same as the elbow grip - to lean your hips away from the pole and not allow your body to be too close or you slide down.
Mary Ellyn · 11/29/2009
i think im mostly gripping with my ankles, and i use both hands to push myself up- then i grip with my knees..... At various stage of this move, you are using different parts of your body. Just like climging upright - you use everything at one point or another. I couldn't do this at all until I started working out my arms more. That helped but I still struggled. Then at one point when my arms were very strong I was still having difficulty doing a reverse climb and started working on upper as well as lower leg strength and then it became easy. Of course core and abs are used throughout the reverse climb/caterpillar. I have found that if I have students put on PVC (patent leather) ankle boots that they can learn the mechanics of this move much easier as the boots hold them up while they figure our how to coordinate the rest of the arms and body. After they get that down, they stop using the boots and continue to practice without them.
amy · 11/29/2009
i learned it with forearm grip first. i took a pic so that it's easier to explain! because i tried typing up the explanation and realized how hard it was to describe. IMG00095.jpg when i do it, i don't have my forearm perfectly parallel to the pole. i snug the pole in the crook of my elbow so it's got the skin of my elbow, bicep, and forearm to grab on to. then i run my entire lower arm along the pole, including my wrist. i dont know if this is how everyone does it but i find this is very secure.
poledanceromance · 11/30/2009
i learned it with forearm grip first. i took a pic so that it's easier to explain! because i tried typing up the explanation and realized how hard it was to describe. when i do it, i don't have my forearm perfectly parallel to the pole. i snug the pole in the crook of my elbow so it's got the skin of my elbow, bicep, and forearm to grab on to. then i run my entire lower arm along the pole, including my wrist. i dont know if this is how everyone does it but i find this is very secure. 😲 Is this before or after you remove the bones from your arm? Maybe it's the angle of the pic making it look more extreme 😂 EDIT: yeah it's just because you took the pic yourself but to me it looked like your arm was all twisted hehe
carriej · 12/7/2009
hey junglecat, i just got the caterpillar tonight! It's so funny to me how everyone is so unique! You use the elbow and I can't figure that one out for the life of me! I got the forearm! I'll work on your way next! hehe I'm just glad I finally got it at all! Now I gotta figure out how to do more than one without being exhausted! 😨