Upside-down stuff hints, please!

Foxy_Rei started this discussion · 4/27/2009

I'm not quite sure what to categorize these kind of moves... lol. I have several new moves in my sights I'd like to work on, but they all have one thing in common - they're all inverted and use the support of another arm under you on the pole. These would be things like the straight edge, caterpillar, and the cartwheel mount and handspring. I know I'm not strong enough to do these quite yet (well, maybe I am, I dunno, I'm too scared to try!) but I want to know what kind of things I can do to practice these kind of things. I'm worried about my lower arm giving out when I'm on the pole... The only things I'm coming up with are doing handstands to work on shoulder strength, as well as balance, and for the cartwheel mount and handspring just prance at it. But I thought I'd ask for more expert advice... I know Veena has a shoulder workout video that I may re-watch, too. Any thoughts??? Thanks! 🥂

6 replies

Deirdre · 4/28/2009
I'm working on a lot of those moves too, and it's scary when you don't know if you have the strength to hold yourself up upside down! One of Veena's very helpful exercises is the shoulder push-up. Another thing I do is get inverted, then slide down the pole until my bottom arm (the arm that's holding most of my weight when I'm doing extended butterfly, aysha) is actually on the ground instead of holding the pole. It gives me a chance to learn to position the rest of my body, while still building up strength at the same time. I'm less likely to fall, and if I do it's not far, lol. HTH!
RoxyPink · 4/28/2009
Foxy...I read this post earlier and decided to hold off on my response so I could think a bit...here is what I recommend from my own experience. The catapillar climb is a great conditioning exercise...this took me a while to get. This move gives you an opportunity to try different grips (split, elbow and forearm) to see which you prefer. I personally do the catapillar climb using the elbow grip. If you can't quit get the "climb", can you just do a catapillar?? second, the extended butterfly is perfect for any kind of split grip moves (cartwheel mt, straight edge..etc). This is the move that I actually had to have down before attempting any of the others. You build the strength in your arms while still maintaining a pt of contact with your ankle. Then when you feel comfortable you can move on to doing the straight edge from it. Deirdre has a great suggestion as using the floor before going aerial. I actually used this quite a bit...esp when I was learning how to do a brass monkey. You already have the right idea on practicing hand stands...great strength builder for the arms plus you get more aclimated to being inverted with total support in the arms. Good luck and I can't wait to see your progress!
yogabeachbabe · 4/28/2009
Foxy, you might want to practice headstands and handstands the way we teach them in yoga (which is slightly different than gymnastics). On your new blooper video (so much fun, by the way!), you do a tripod headstand against the wall. First off, whenever you do a headstand, make sure your hands (or elbow points, if you're doing a dolphin headstand or even a forearm headstand or yoga scorpion) are not too far apart. Try to keep them in line with your shoulders for protection. If you're doing a dolphin headstand, your elbows should have an arm's length in between. The easiest way to do this is to cross your arms, hold opposite elbows, then place them on the ground and release your hands. Second, instead of popping your legs up, try to either draw them up slowly in a pike position or from a straddle position. Believe me when I saw that this will immediately warm up your abs! Once you're confident, try your headstands against the pole (smaller surface area so less dependence). As for handstands, I place my hands on the floor first, instead of reaching to the sky like gymnasts. Yes, the yoga way is much less sexy, but it's for practice! That way, you tend not to use the momentum of kicking your legs up. I tell my yoga students to first find their "guide leg" and their "push off leg" and then get them to start that way. Once they're much more advanced, after placing their hands down, they've got to "hop" (using abs, of course) into a tuck or pike, getting their hips on top of their shoulders, and then bring their legs up with control. And since I'm on such a Jamilla kick these days, to gain even more strength and showmanship, control your exit out of the headstand or handstand. Wow, you've inspired me to start practicing those again!
azzwoo · 4/28/2009
Handstands are fab! Try doing a handstand against a wall, then shift your hips around to change your centre of balance, you will have to tense various shoulder muscles to maintain your balance. Scapula setting exercises (you can find these on the net) will help stabilise your shoulders. If you have a big exercise ball, a fab shoulder stabilising one is to lay on top of it on your front, put your hands on the ground, then walk forwards so the ball is under your knees and you have your weight over your hands (don't let your lower back drop!). Then build it up by taking one hand off the ground and balance. Rotator cuff exercises. Press-ups. Tricep dips. Exercises to work your uppers traps are also essential as they support your shoulderblade. Good luck!
Foxy_Rei · 4/28/2009
Thanks for all the tips! I'll definitely be trying to put them to good use. I took gymnastics for a few months when I was much younger, so the ways I do the headstands and handstands is kinda habit, but I can practice the other ways. 🙂 I should probably also note I have really short ceilings, only 7', and I wouldn't be able to do the caterpillar climb. I only have enough room for a caterpillar (unless I slide all the way down, then maybe I'd have room for 1 climb). But thank you! I'll keep these in mind! 😀
cali · 4/29/2009
yes it is scary 😲 i bet you could do it but just to be sure try workout your arms some more. it will give you a little more security ya know use a bunch of pillows also and a spotter 😀 best i can do lol i have not got that far yet ever since chat last time my pole is still down 😢