Middle Split Hold

[phken4343]

I took this picture like a week ago. Tell me if this a decent middle split hold.

Sorry I didn't take the picture so you can see how wide my splits are, but my flexibility is pretty good.

[

[Joshua Naterman]

Getting there, but your hips aren't even to the front of your hands. Now it's time to work on pressing the hips forward! Nice work so far though! Better than mine I think. Certainly a much wider split lol!

[braindx]

Force your toes out wider.

Otherwise, you can start pressing it out.

I would strongly suggest you start doing this on the ground... with hands backwards.

[Blairbob]

Are you being at the knees besides flexing your feet?

Other than that, it's getting there. Pretty sure mine isn't as good as it's droopy.

[norbeex3]

Hello. My question is: Can i train my wrists to get used to the pressure/position in the hands bacwards MSH without injuring my forearm? I had those forearms splints months ago I think but now I feel nothing. So is that puts pressure on the ulnar nerve or are they only the forearm bones that i feel a little sore?(because i do not put my weight on my hands only stretch for that position right now)

[Joshua Naterman]

Progressive resistance, my friend! use bands or your heels on the stairs and slowly put more and more weight on the hands until you've got it! Ags walks help a lot too. IVzjUhRhtpA

You can always try them backwards too! Take it slow, be safe, and get strong!

[norbeex3]

Thank you slizz! I always ask about that, and I get the same obvious answer(because i should know it by now, the progressive resistance thingy). I guess you are already tired of my forearm splints anyways thanks for the exercise but it's so hard to be patient, i'D love to do harder progressions but joint&ligament preparation do not allow it to take them fast.

[Joshua Naterman]

No problem! We all have to remember that these kids spend years building up to these high level "basic" skills, and we are going to have to do the same.

[michael]

I would strongly suggest you start doing this on the ground... with hands backwards.

why?

[Joshua Naterman]

When applying pressure directly behind the body, as is done in the manna and practically no other exercise besides supinated AG walks, the chest is most easily elevated with fingers towards the head, not the feet.

To test this, sit down on the ground. Now put your hands down and lift your body so that you are arched, have straight arms and legs with your hands directly below the shoulders and only hands and heels on the ground. You should have the same shape as a rainbow, a slight arch. Try to lift the chest as high towards the ceiling as you can. You'll probably do better when you pretend you're pushing the ground away from you by retracting your shoulder blades. Try this with fingers towards feet, out to the side, and backwards. You'll find that you can elevate your chest the most by pointing fingers backwards.

The manna is all about being able to elevate a straight upper body. To do this you must open the chest. You will have a very hard time doing this with fingers forward. Since you will need to point your fingers either out or back, it is clearly smarter to train that way right from the start. You will also have a slight advantage due to the cantilever effect of fingers pointing back towards the head, which makes that finger position "better" than fingers out.

[phken4343]

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Summer break finally started last Saturday.

Here is my middle split hold on the floor as of June.

Compressing my body is so difficult for some reason. :/ I have good flexibility, but I think I lack strength on my abs.

Here is an idea of how much I can compress.

[Seiji]

I have the same problem, my active pike flexibility is the same as yours. :/ We're on the same boat.

[Blairbob]

Lean back on triceps, push crotch more forward.

[Joshua Naterman]

Also, you MUST have a straight back! That is not an option. Without the straight back you don't develop the appropriate position OR the pressing strength in the triceps! It takes a LONG time, but every day you are doing it wrong is largely a wasted day! You MUST also have your shoulders pulled back, not rolled forward.

Your first order of business at this point is to straighten your back completely before you even try to press forward, all while keeping your shoulders back, not rolled forward as in your picture. Eventually you'll look like you're laying back in a recliner with your hips like a foot off your hands and your legs around 4-6" off the ground. At that point you'll start compressing as in a straddle L.

If you aren't doing specific straddle L work you will have a very hard time achieving the manna! You must be able to hold a 30s good straddle L. It's part of the manna pre-requisites according to Coach.

[AlexX]

i would strongly suggest listening to what the others have said about palms back. When the time came to work on actually pressing up I noticed that I couldn't straighten my shoulders out completely due to the fingers pointing forward. After I turned my fingers back my shoulders set in the proper position but now I have to start working on the middle split hold again due to not being able to press as well in the new position that I never trained. Save yourself the time.

[Erik Sjolin]

I don't know about palms back. On the floor, it's definitely a good idea, however I've seen a couple of pictures of people doing fingers forward mannas (on parallel bars). For me, I can push off my wrists a couple inches on bars, but barely at all on the floor (or in my case countertop, since I'm still on the bent leg.)

[phken4343]

I'm jealous of your pike compression....

I hope I can attain the compression soon, since my pike flexbility isn't a problem.