[Fitness] That was a first

[digitaldiscipline]

Managed to do my very first full handstand (against a wall) pushup - from scalp on the floor to full extension - at lunch today. Triceps seemed the least happy about it, rather than the shoulders.

I'm working on various gymnastic holds to try and address core and upper-arm/upper-body strength as well. Also, being able to do the flag just looks cool.

Front lever: http://beastskills.com/FrontLever.htm

Handstand stuff: http://beastskills.com/Handstand.htm (scroll down to the "training" part)

Planche holds: http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229/

Up to 2x1 minute tucked front levers; on the ground, I'm only able to maintain a frog planche for about ten seconds right now, because my balance sucks, and I have an aversion to falling on my face.

Comments

feats of strength

[saansaturday]

Yay!

[silentq.livejournal.com]

Bookmarked, thanks!

[bathalamus.livejournal.com]

Go ahead, make me feel weak and pathetic. See if I care. *sniff*

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Stuff it, pretty boy. You're still outlifting me in everything else.

[cheez-ball.livejournal.com]

Heh. The beastskills guy and I have mutual friends - for about a year or so we had the same gymnastics coach and used to have handstand contests in the gym. Sadly osteoarthritis makes handstands impossible for me these days. It's also why I have to use parallettes to do pushups.

The next step after the frog planche is a straddle planche. I preferred to do them on blocks (when I could still use my wrists in that way): http://www.lostartofhandbalancing.com/products/hand-balancing-stands/ These will work your hip flexors in ways you didn't think were possible.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Nifty!

I find using either the "perfect pushup" handles or a pair of dumbbells to be far more comfortable than traditional puships as well.

I need to get more balanced on the frogs before I can move to the tuck planche, but that, and, maybe, the full one are goals for the future. Those little stands look like a Home Depot trip waiting to happen...

[cheez-ball.livejournal.com]

We always made our own. :-) Just make sure you do an excellent job with the sanding and finishing. Nothing like splinters to discourage further use. In a fit of laziness I bought an inexpensive pair of parallettes for pushups from the local sports store - mostly for the squishy stuff to cushion my hands.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

The link etcet references shows the straddle with the toes pointing away from the head, but it sounds to me like you're describing the next step as a move with the toes pointing toward the head, basically straightening the knees from the frog planche. Am I interpreting your advice correctly?

[cheez-ball.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're asking, but the straddle is a bit easier to hold and balance than the perfectly straight bodied planche. Sommers lists additional steps, like the tuck planche (a frog planche with the knees off the arms), but they're all pretty much in the same progression.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I think you're both on the same page here.

As I understand the progression:

1. Frog
2. Tuck (curved back)
3. Tuck (flat back)
4. Straddle (as wide as possible)
5. Straddle (narrower)
6. Straight

This is the same general progression for the front levers, just inverted (facing the ceiling).

Given my relatively limited flexibility in the straddle plane (hips, hamstrings, et al), that's also going to take some doing.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

While I could walk on my hands and pirouette on my hands, I never managed pushups without a wall or a spotter.

With the frog planche, if you tuck your head under and straighten your arms when you feel yourself overbalancing forward, you can come out of it in a forward roll. I have done these within the last 5 years, I think I'll try them again tonight. I'm suspecting my forearms and patience won't be able to hold them for a minute :)

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I typically fall back onto my toes, being substantially low-body heavy and actively countering too much forward rotation. I need to work on finding the right arm angle and hand placement, methinks.

I don't think I've walked on my hands since I was a kid, and even then, not for very long.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

I took gymnastics lessons at a training gym when I was little. I had to quit when the coaches wanted me to start training for a team. I practiced and competed at school a few years longer than that. I haven't walked on my hands much since then, but I did use the skill for diving and still use it to wow Pilates instructors when doing their version of the frog planche.

When working on arm angle and hand placement, also play around with head/neck angle. Where you're looking has a huge impact on balance and can affect the rest of body position. As a wee little gymnast, I looked pretty much at the floor between my hands (http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/5977038/2/istockphoto_5977038-gymnast-hand-stand.jpg) in a handstand, but I also had the wee little gymnast swayback to help balance like that. If you look straight ahead (http://www.gymtidemedia.com/images/00PhotoAlbums/bigpage63/03.Mari_hits_a_nice_undercast_to_lowbar_handstand.jpg), you can maintain a more neutral body position in the handstand.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I think I was doing the "look 'up' at the hands" thing when I would do them as a wee little sprat. I foresee spending a lot of time falling over on the lawn behind my office (and hopefully not on any fire ants) while I practice.

[kendra-manycats.livejournal.com]

Yowza! Excellent work.

[ivy]

That's totally awesome. Go you. I discovered tonight that our climbing gym has a set of rings. I can't do anything but invert on them... yet.

[ivy]

Does a pillow in front of your face help?

[etcet.livejournal.com]

I may try it on a yoga mat to help allay the "do not wish to abrade my face" issue.