IRT's training log

So today

Friday 02/12/11

What did I do

- heathrow

- ido + therband + slizz

- core+wrist

- physio stability work

- 7 pullups,4 pullups

- 3 rounds of

15s L-sit + 8 BW Dips focusing on keeping chest up and shoulders back. For a long time my left shoulder has been rolling forward at the bottom of the dip and Im now being forced to rectify that.

Tried to do some BL work but shoulder felt funny so I stopped there. Pushups also felt wierd particularly PPP.

Finished with a 2 rounds of splits routine - very good

10 mins Wall HS work.

Comments: my left shoulder feel unstable. it's strange that since going to see the physio and addressing the problem it feels as if things have gotten worse but I guess this is natural when addressing a problem. I'm going to work hard on the prehab.

An example of the instability in my left shoulder is when I do a mid-pullup iso hold - my right shoulder feels fine but my left shoulder is unstable and I have to actively pull it into my shoulder socket. my right holds its position naturally.

On a different note, we're coming up to abotut a year now since I started gymnastics training properly. I'm not pleased with my progress

I have progressed but its been at a slow rate. I think this can be assigned to a couple things:

- initially I changed programs a few times playing about with things --> need to be more consistent. The best program is the one you ll stick to.

- Injuries: loosing time on injuries. This shoulder thing has showed me that you can never do enough prehab. Time well spent ultimately coz defincencies will come back to haunt you.

-Not tracking progress properly - What you can measure you can improve. Whilst I have recorded my performance carefully in this log, I haven't made full use of the information. I dont regularly check back to see how Im improving and whats worked well there.

---> This will from now on be done monthly with a review at the end of each month.

- Not testing my FSP regularly enough. This is again a result of changing things around too often. its led to a lack of consistency. I need to choose something train it hard in a SSC for about 8 weeks then test it again. I have let myself slip by not improving my BL, not testing the times for the core series etc. I need to be more aggressive in my pursuit of strength and not become so complacent.

Let this be a reminder to myself that I dont want to see myself in this position again. It's not nice having spent time working towards something (and I have worked hard) and not reap any benefits.

So lets get this shoulder back on the mend and reach a big milestone (eg full back lever, 30s Free HS, Front lever) soon.

Saturday 05/12/11

- Shoulder Prehab and stretching

Sunday 06/12/11

- 3 rounds of ido

- 3 rounds of 2nd ido shoulder stab

- wall slides - can now do with left hand all on floor ---> progress!

- 2 x slizz shoulder stretches

- physio ball work

- splits progression

Monday 07/12/11

- 2 rounds of ido

- 2 rounds of 2nd ido shoulder stab

- 1 x slizz shoulder stretches

- physio ball work

- wrist, core series.

Pullups: 7,7,6+1,6+1

Chins: 4

PPP: 4 x 8 Feeling good

Dips: 3 x 8 @ BW ensuring that left shoulder was staying back and not rolling fwd (even if this meant not going as deep as usual)

Dumbell Rows: 3 x 5 @ 25k

Squats: 3 x 5 @70k

- Splits Progression

- l-sit compression: 5 x 12s.

Felt good today - shoulder is feeling better and was just easing myself back into it. Keep on going slowly to have everything nice and ready to go for the new year.

Tuesday 06/12/12: more shoulder prehab feeling a lot better now

- 2 rounds of ido

- 2 rounds of 2nd ido shoulder stab

- 1 x slizz shoulder stretches

- physio ball work

- foam rolling

- NO SPLITS TODAY

- 10 mins HS

Wednesday 07/12/12: Gym

- 2 rounds of ido

- 2 rounds of 2nd ido shoulder stab

- 1 x slizz shoulder stretches

- physio ball work

- wrist + core series

Strength:

- Pullups: 2 x 7, Chins: 1 x 7 , Pullups: 2 x 4 - incredible how much more difficult these become when scapulas are retracted and depresssed

- PPP: 5 x 8

- Dips: 5 x 8 @ BW

- Rows: 5 x 8 @ 27.5k

Okay so looking at my progress I'm not pleased. A few posts up I have looked at how I will correct this. Also looked at some of Ido Portal online coaching clients for motivation of what can be done. Will write some goals in the next few days.

Preparation Week:

Mon 26th Dec 2011:

- heathrow

- foam rolling

- ido full

- l-sit compression: 5 x 12s

- 30 chin ups

Tue 27th Dec 2011:

- heathrow

- foam rolling

- ido full

- l-sit compression: 5 x 12s

- 3 x 8 dips

-5 mins HS

Wed 28th Dec 2011:

- heathrow

- foam rolling

- ido full + wall slides

- l-sit compression: 5 x 12s

- core series

- wrist series

- 10 min HS

-3 rounds of:

7 chins

8 XR Pushup

6 XR Row

- Finished with 3 x 5 RLL

- Stretch

Fri 30th Dec 2011:

- heathrow

- foam rolling

- ido full + wall slides

- l-sit compression: 5 x 12s

- core series

- wrist series

- BL and GH work

- 31 chinups

WOD:

1 x 10 wrist pushups

1 x 10 CWW (3+1, 3+1, 2)

5 cycles of S2W HS (35s work, 45s rest)

2 x 5 Pike HeS

2 x 5 Straddle HeS

5 cycles of B2W HS (35s work, 45s rest)

1 x 10 wrist pushups

- Slizz shoulder work

- light stretching

-physio band work

Sat 31st Dec 2011:

- heathrow

- foam rolling

- ido full + wall slides

- l-sit compression: 5 x 12s

- core series

- wrist series

- 10 min HS

- BL and GH work

WOD: 4 rounds of

60s Jumping on the spot

10 Squat Jumps

60s Jumping on the spot

20m Squat Jump

60s Jumping on the spot

10 Depth Jumps off garage wall

- Finished with 2 x 60s Seated Toe Point Stretch

-slizz shoulder

- physio work

Comments:

- raise height on HeS Presses

- do shrugs for shoulders

- start doing loaded progressive stretching: see Ido Portal's FB Page

- continue adding reps to chins.

-realise that although warmup is taking a while, correct prehab is important.

- strengthen lower traps: possibly using deadlifts.

Week 1: Plan/What I did

Goals 6 months:

- 60s Free HS --> How? 10 mins practice everyday against wall + freestanding practice

- 3 x 30s L-sit on floor --> How? SSC + grease the groove

- Full BL --> How? SSC + 2x/week negatives

- Rolling MU --> How? Practice every time I do ring strength. Improve false grip strength.

- Full Pancake (I want to be able to do a straddle press to HS) --> How? Loaded Progressive Stretching + current stretching in every warmup

Normal Warmup is defined as:

- New SSC Cycle: max for L-sit compression (found to be 50s) and BL flattish tuck (found to be 25s) + ring support (max = 22s )

- So L-sit compression: 2 x 25s, BL: 5 x 12s, ring support: 5 x 11s

- heathrow

- foam rolling

- ido full + wall slides

- core series

- wrist series

- 10 min HS

- scapula hangs 2 x 8

Mon 2nd Jan 2012 (Time - 1:40):

- normal warmup

- HeS Press: 5 Pike, 5 Straddle

- WOD 111226

Complete 3 sets each:

1 Embedded PL (10-15s Paralletes L-sit) + 5 Tempo Wide MU (15s Ring Support + 7 Chin ups)

1 Embedded BL (10-15s flat tuck) + 5 Tempo Side Lever Pulls (5 obliques hanging from bar)

1 Embedded FL (l-sit hang) + 5 Tempo Cranks (Half HLL)

Notes:

3) Rest 10-20 seconds between the embedded static and the subsequent exercise. Rest 1-2 minutes in between giant sets.

4) Use a tempo of 313 for the FBE. For the Wide MU this equates to a 3 second ascent, followed by a 1 second pause at the top, then a 3 second descent.

Finished with stretch: pike, pancake, warrior, quads, slizz, wall slides (floor), shoulder dislocates.

Tue 3rd Jan 2012:

- normal warmup; bl very tough

- WOD 111227

Complete four rounds:

60 sec Jump Rope (jumping on the spot)

30m Sled/Tire Sprint (10 squat jumps)

60 sec Jump Rope (jumping on the spot)

20m Squat Jumps

60 sec Jump Rope (jumping on the spot)

10 Depth Jumps

Finish the workout with 2x60 seconds of Seated Toe Point Stretch.

- deadlifting

- dips

Thur 5th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- 33 chinups (4x7, 4+1)

- 4 x 6 straight bar dips

- WOD 111229

Perform three rounds of the following:

10 Weighted Overhead Lunges

5 Side Lever Pulls

10m Backward Sled Sprint (couldnt do)

5 GHR (couldnt do - awful gym!)

Finish the workout with 3x10 Hip Extensions.

- loaded progressive stretching + normal stretching

-also did some horse stance which is good at opening up the hips

Fri 6th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 111230

Perform:

1x10 Wrist Pushups

4,3,3+1 Cast Wall Walks

2x5 Pike Box Press HeS (1 inch elevated)

4x5 Straddle Box Press HS

12 rds of Wall HS (35s work, 45s rest)

Finish with 1x10 Wrist Pushups

- door chest stretch

-shoulder dislocates

Comments:

-keep better form on CWW. dont arch body.

- make pike presses harder in future

- Increase HS WOD Volume next time

- HS tip: keeping a hollow body position engages the muscles of middle back nicely

- Should also keep a hollow posn in HS to avoid stressing left shoulder too much.

- start noting improvements between WODs

- Good first week

Week 2: Plan

Unsure whether I will work out M-T-Th- F or M-W-F-S this week. Will decide as week progresses did mtthf

Mon 9th Jan 2012 :

AM:

- foam

- ido full +wall slides

- 10 mins HS

- SSC: 2 x 25s L-sit compression

- HeS Press: 2 x 5 Pike

PM:

- Heathrow

-wrist series

- scapula hangs: 2 x8

- XR Rows

- WOD 120103

Perform the following(modified ring series):

3 sets of; MU, 2 XR Dips, L-sit , inverted hang, 2 slow Negative Front Pulls, 2 slow Negative Back Pulls, couple pullups at the end.

5x15 seconds Ring Support

5x15 seconds German Hang

5x15 seconds L-sit Hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Wall Extensions.

- did additional chinups: 7,7,6,5,4 (aiming for total of 34 but gym closed as I reached 29)

Tue 10th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120102 (great workout)

Complete four rounds:

2 Cast Wall Walks

3 HeSPU feet on wall

2 Cast Wall Walks

5 PB Dips to L-sit

2 Cast Wall Walks

7 Floor PPP

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

- hard stretch + straddle loaded progressive stretching

- shoulder dislocates + floor slides

- 5 x 12 s Ring Support (didnt do in SSC Warmup)

- 2 x 12 leg swings front and sideways

- horse stance

Thur 12th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x 8 rows

- ssc (all except for 1 less set for Bl)

- WOD 120105

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 Embedded BL (adv tuck) + 5 chins

1 Embedded L-sit + 8 PPP

1 L-sit hang + 5 Tempo L-sit Lifts (tuck)

Finish the workout with 10 Bridge Wall Walks (5 x 2)

4) Rest 10-20 seconds between the embedded static and the subsequent exercise. Rest 1-2 minutes in between giant sets.

5) Use a tempo of 242 for the first and third FBEs. As such, for the L-sit Lifts the breakdown of the tempo will be a 2 second ascent, followed by a 4 second pause at the top, then a controlled 2 second descent.

- dips: 2 x8

- weighted pike +straddle

- leg extensions: 3 x 10

- gh: 2 x 15s

- HeS Press: 5 Pike, 5 Straddle on 1 mat. 5 pike, 8 straddle on 5 mats

Fri 13th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup (cut back on normal sets of BL flat tuck in SSC from 5 to 2)

- WOD 111230 (this WOD might be modified)

Complete four rounds:

2 – Back Pulls (adv tuck down tuck up for all)

5 – Chinups

2 – Back Pulls

6 XR Rows for set 1+2, 4 XR Rows for set 3, none set 4

2 – Back Pulls

Comments:

- should have gone harder on ring series, particularly bl. Increase intensity and/or volume next time.

- tough week. nice to see weekend come. over weekend, do 10 mins daily wall HS and foamrolling.

Week 3: Plan

Stretching work to include this week:

- hard stretch + straddle loaded progressive stretching

- shoulder dislocates + floor slides

- 5 x 12 s Ring Support (didnt do in SSC Warmup)

- 2 x 12 leg swings front and sideways

- horse stance

- slizz shoulder

- dips: 2 x8

- weighted pike +straddle

- leg extensions: 3 x 10

- gh: 2 x 15s

- HeS Press: 5 Pike, 5 Straddle on 1 mat. 5 pike, 8 straddle on 5 mats

- BL negatives

- false grip work

Tips for this week:

-keep better form on CWW. dont arch body.

- make pike presses harder in future

- Increase HS WOD Volume next time

- HS tip: keeping a hollow body position engages the muscles of middle back nicely

- Should also keep a hollow posn in HS to avoid stressing left shoulder too much.

Mon 16th Jan 2012 (Great Workout) :

AM:

- foam

- ido full +wall slides

- 10 mins HS

- SSC: 2 x 25s L-sit compression

- HeS Press: 2 x 5 Pike

PM:

- Heathrow

-wrist series

- scapula hangs: 2 x8

- Shoulderstand work: did 3-4 L-sit press to shoulderstand

- WOD 120113

Perform the following(modified ring series):

3 sets of; MU, 2 XR Dips, L-sit , press to shoulderstand, inverted hang, 2 slow Negative Back Pulls (adv tuck) with adv tuck pull back up to IH, 2 pullups at the end.

5x15 seconds Ring Support (2 of these sets did L-sit after ring support hold to shoulderstand)

5x15 seconds German Hang

5x15 seconds L-sit Hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Floor Extensions.

Tue 17th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x8 bar rows

- XR Pushups: 3 x8

- WOD 120109 (great workout)

Perform the following:

3x5 Deadlifts @ 80k

3x5 Squats @ 60k

3x5 HeS RLL (pike) + 2x5 HeS RLL (straddle)

Finish with 3 x10 Hip Extension

-wegihted straddle + pike

- loaded progressive

- wall slides a la matt wichlinski

- slizz shoulder

Thur 19th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x 8 rows

- WOD 120110

Perform:

1x10 Wrist Pushups

5,5, 4+1, 3+2 Cast Wall Walks

2x5 Pike Box Press HS

2x5 Straddle Box Press HS

12 mins Wall HS work – should’ve done this better

Finish with 1x10 Wrist Pushups

- Did some loaded straddle stretch with 20k

- 12,10,8 Dips

-3 x 8 chinups

Fri 20th Jan 2012 +Weekend

Took Friday off and then did 35k of hiking over weekend. Will take it easy next weekend.

Comments:

Need to refocus on goals.

HS Tips:

My preference is for the head to be neutral (neither forward nor backward) while keeping the ears in line with the upper arms. You should be able to see your thumbs; not with a clear view due to an elevated chin but by glancing upward with your eyes and peering through your eyebrows. This is in addition to having the ribs pulled in, the shoulders completely open, the scapula in and upper back flat, the lower back flat and the hips the rolled under.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Week 4: Plan

Goals 6 months + their progress:

- 60s Free HS --> How? 10 mins practice everyday against wall + freestanding practice. Need to do video analysis and perform more regularly. Remeber to strech shoulders and warmup wrists before..

- 3 x 30s L-sit on floor --> How? SSC + grease the groove

- Full BL --> How? SSC + 2x/week negatives. Do more negatives.

- Rolling MU --> How? Practice every time I do ring strength. Improve false grip strength.

- Full Pancake (I want to be able to do a straddle press to HS) --> How? Loaded Progressive Stretching + current stretching in every warmup. Need to push it harder on the stretching.

Mon 23rd Jan 2012:

- Full warmup + foam rolling

- 3 x8 Rows

- WOD 120116:

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 Embedded PB L-sit full (each set) + 5 XR Dip

1 Embedded BL (IH to BL, pull back up to IH 2/3 times) + 5 chins

1 pullup to L-sit hang + 8 pike compression

Finish the workout with 10 Bridge Wall Walks

- Hard lower body stretch: passive, loaded progressive + weighted

- Horse stance

- HS work + foam rolling later at home.

Tue 24 th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x8 bar rows

- WOD 120117:

Complete four rounds:

2 PB L-sit press to Tuck PL (more like L-sit to tuck L-sit, bit sloppy on holding L-sit for enough time)

7 XR Pushups

2 L-sit press to Tuck PL

5 XR Dips (3 x 5, 3+1+1)

2 L-sit press to Tuck PL

3 Foot assisted HeSPU (struggled to keep body inline with hands)

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

- Shoulderstand work

-Loaded straddle

-Hard upper body stretch

Thur 26th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x 8 rows

- 30 (8,8,6,5,3) reps Chins@BW+2.5k

- WOD 120119 (modified to strength Leg days)

Perform :

3 x 5 Deadlift @100kg –Hardish

3 x 5 Squat @ 70kg - easyish

Superset of 3x5 Oblique Twists + Hip Extensions.

Finish the workout with 3x10 Hip Extensions.

Finished with:

- external rotation

- shoulder dislocates

- leg swings

- horse stance

Fri 13th Jan 2012

- 3 x8 bar rows (now part of warmup)

Perform:

2x5 Cast Wall Walks

2x5 Pike Box Press HeS

1x8 Straddle Box Press HS

12 cycles of Wall HS (30s work where 30s was spent in a handstand, not including time to get there and set up etc. Rest were often greater than 45s – very tough)

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

- Did SSC after WOD this time

- XR Pushups: 5 x10

Comments:

- L-sit coming along nicely

- Move on to next progression for pushups.

- Tough week

Week 5: Plan

- Do some more foam rolling at home

- 3 x8 Rows are now part of warmup

-have to change schedule around a bit this week.

Mon 30th Jan 2012:

- Full warmup - WOD 120124:

Perform the following(modified ring series):

3 sets of; MU, 2 XR Dips, 1x( L-sit , press to shoulderstand - only done on one set), inverted hang, 2 slow Negative Back Pulls (adv tuck) with adv tuck pull back up to IH, 2 pullups at the end.

5x15 seconds Ring Support

5x15 seconds German Hang

5x15 seconds L-sit Hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Floor Extensions.

- Cartwheel work

Tue 31st Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120123 (modified for my goals)  Pulling strength day:

- 10 mins HS

A1: XR Pushups = 5, XR Bulgarian Pushups = 4x6

A2: XR Rows: 5 x 7

B1: Chins @ BW + 5k = 7, 7, 5+2

B2: Dips @ BW+5k = 3 x 8

Quick stretch -wanted to stretch harder.

Straddle and pike weighted

Straddle

Shoulder Dislocates.

Fri 3rd Feb 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120126

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 IH to flat BL pull to IH + 6 Chinups @ BW+5k

1 Flooor L-sit + 6 XR Dips

1 pullup to L-sit hang + 5 Tempo Front Pulls (tuck)

Finish the workout with 10 Bridge Wall Walks

5) Use a tempo of 242 for the basic strength sets. For the Assisted OACs, this equates to a 2 second ascent, followed by a 4 second pause at the top, then a 2 second descent. For each set perform 3 repetitions on the right arm and then switch to the left arm for 3 repetitions.

Notes:

1. on some BL pop out to straddle or extend one leg.

2. Chins: 1st round all 6 with 5k, 2nd round: 4 with 5k, 2 @BW, 3rd round: 3 with weight, 2+1 without

3. Dips: 1st round 6, 2nd 5, 3rd 4+1

Finish with hard stretch all round:

- straddle compression

- pike

- horse

Sat 4th Feb 2012

- 3 x8 bar rows (now part of warmup)

- Pushups: XR 5, Bulgarian: 4 x 7

-WOD 120127 (modified to strength Leg days)

Perform:

3 x 5 Deadlift @102.5kg

3 x 5 Squat @ 75kg

Superset of 3x5 Oblique Twists + Hip Extensions.

Finish the workout with 2x60 seconds of Seated Toe Point Stretch..

-10 mins HS

- to do at home: slizz shoulder stretch and doorway chest stretch

Comments:

- did 3x15s floor l-sit good!

Some things for me to check out later to learn a press handstand:

http://www.allthingsgym.com/2011/06/pre ... urces.html

http://www.allthingsgym.com/2011/06/str ... eback.html

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=8126

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8125

http://yoga-horizons.com/2011/04/interv ... istiansen/

Thanks to everybody for the info.

Week 6: Plan

- Do some more foam rolling at home

- 3 x8 Rows are now part of warmup

-have to change schedule around a bit this week.

Mon 6th Jan 2012:

- Full warmup

- WOD 120203:

Perform the following(modified ring series):

3 sets of; MU, 2 XR Dips, 2x( L-sit , press to shoulderstand - only done on one set), inverted hang, 2 slow Negative Back Pulls (adv tuck) with adv tuck pull back up to IH, 2 pullups at the end.

5x15 seconds Ring Support

5x15 seconds L-sit Hang

5x15 seconds German hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Floor Extensions.

Notes:

2/3 sets did mu

2/3 sets did shoulderstand

2/3 Filck to straddle bl and kept good shoulder posn

1/3 did 3 pullups instead of 2.

- Cartwheel work

Tue 7th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- XR Pushups: 5 normal, 4 x7 bulgarian

- WOD 120131

1x10 Wrist Pushups

3x5, 3 ( brief pause) +2 Cast Wall Walks

2x5 Pike Box Press HeS

2x10 Straddle Box Press HeS

Twelve rounds of wall hs: first 5 - 45s rest, next 3 - 1 min, next 4 - 1 min 15 s.

Finish with 1x10 Wrist Pushups

Slizz stretch

Shoulder dislocates

Loaded straddle, straddle, pike.

Stretch tomorrow.

Thurs 9th Feb 2012:

- normal warmup

-weighted chins: BW + 5k - 7, 6+1, 6+1, 5+2

- WOD 120130 (modified with weights)

Perform:

3 x 5 Deadlift @105kg easy

3 x 5 Squat @ 77.5 kg easy

Finish with 60 seconds total aggregate work of a L-sit variation.

- did heathrow stretch,

- weighted pike and stretch

-loaded progressive straddle

- shoulder dislocates

Fri 10th Feb 2012

- 3 x8 bar rows (now part of warmup)

-WOD 120127

Complete four rounds (modified* - as I can't do should I might sub in some pushups and dips here instead.):

2 Cast Wall Walks

3 Wall assisted HeSPU

2 Cast Wall Walks

5 XR Dips

2 Cast Wall Walks

7 XR Pushups

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Hard stretch. 2 rounds of ido, wall slides and slizz shoulder.

Lower body unweighted hard stretch.

Over weekend, foam rolling, stretching and HS work. Review log and try to spot patterns and plan ahead. Coming to the end of this SCC.

Comments:

- did my best ever BL sets on thursday - could really feel the contraction in traps

- Do Wall HS long holds at least 1 time a week

- I'm feeling really strong. Probably means Im getting to the end of this SSC and its time to ramp it up agin. Statiocs felt very easy today.

- XR Pressups also help develop the traps needed for BL.

Two lifestyle blog posts i like. 1st one from allthingsgym.

http://www.allthingsgym.com/2012/02/sma ... h-big.html

Life Handbook

From: http://spartan367.blogspot.com/p/life-handbook.html

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy

5. Make time to pray.

6. Play more games

7. Read more books than you did in 2009.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..

18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come..

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Week 7: Plan

- Do some more foam rolling at home

- 3 x8 Rows are now part of warmup

Mon 13th Jan 2012:

- Full warmup

- 2 x L-sit to shoulderstand work

- WOD (rings):

Perform the following(modified ring series):

3 sets of; MU, 2 XR Dips, inverted hang, 2 slow Negative Back Pulls (adv tuck with momentary straddles) with adv tuck pull back up to IH, 2-3 pullups at the end.

5x15 seconds Ring Support (three of these sets had an l-sit to shoulderstand full without straps at the end! - think I got it)

5x15 seconds L-sit Hang

5x15 seconds German hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Floor Extensions.

Notes:

Did 3 pullups in set 1, 2 afterwards

Tue 14th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- Heavy Chins. 3 x 7, 6+1 Chins @ 5k

- WOD 120306

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 Embedded BL (15s flat tuck + pull out in flat tuck) + 5 XR Bulgarian Rows

1 Embedded PL (15s floor K-sit) + 5 XR PPP+

1 Embedded FL (1 behind-the-neck pullup to 15s L-sit hang) + 8 pike compression

Finish the workout with 10 (5x2)Bridge Wall Walks supersetted with weighted pike stretch

12 rounds of Wall HS: really good on the rest, stuck to 45s until 10th round. Total time: 16mins30sec.

Finished with:

- slizz shoulder routine

- shoulder dislocates

- quick heathrow

- active straddle (loaded)

Great session

Thurs 9th Feb 2012

- 3 x8 bar rows (now part of warmup)

-WOD legs - take this day off as I'm going away for the weekend.

Fri 10th Feb 2012:

- normal warmup

- 10 mins HS

- WOD 120207 (might modify)

Complete four rounds:

2 – Back Pulls (adv tuck - extended adv tuck)

5- XR Bulgarian Rows

2 – Back Pulls

9 – XR Pushups

2 – Back Pulls

7 – Chins (easy)

-Heavy Dips: Aim for 4 x 8 @ BW + 7.5k

Comments:

- Need to do some more false grip work to get my rolling mU. If i can get that as well i Should be able to give Basic Strength 3 Ring series a good go.

- BL feels really good. Pleased with progress witrh L-sit. I should be able to hit my goals in both of these.

- Move up the weight on weighted chins and dips.

- Fella s if I've got more in me after these workouts, time to ramp up the intesnity pretty soon.

- need to ensure I'm going enough flexibility work as well. not feeling my legs sore enough these days.

Week 8: Plan

- Do some more foam rolling at home

- 3 x8 Rows are now part of warmup

Mon 20th Jan 2012:

- Full warmup

- Heavy chins: 2x7, 2x (6+1) @ BW+ 7.5k

- Dips: 4 x8 @ BW + 10k

- 12 rounds of Wall HS. Total time - 17mins 30s.

- WOD 120213:

Perform:

3 x 5 Deadlift @107.5 kg easy

3 x 5 Squat @ 80 kg easy

Superset Hip Extensions. + Finish with 60 seconds total aggregate work of a L-sit variation.

-Active loaded stretch. Hard stretch.

- weighted pancake

- glute stretch

Tue 21st Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120214

Perform the following:

3 sets of: Basic Ring Strength 3 (L-sit MU, 2 XR Dips, L-sit, 2 x BL adv tuck to IH, lower to hang, in 2nd and 3rd set,2 pullups at end)

5x15 seconds Ring support with L-sit to Shoulderstand (on 4 out of 5 sets)

5x15 seconds L-sit hang

5x15 seconds German Hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Wall Extensions.

Finished with weighted pike, slizz shoulder stretch, straddle, straddle lifts and pike compression.

Thurs 23rd Feb 2012

- normal warmup

- Pushups: 5 x 5 XR Pushups (with hands back)

- XR Rows: 5 x 5

- WOD 120216

Complete 3 sets each:

1 FX L-sit + 2 Tempo Seated MU (needed spot on Last two)

1 Adv tuck with flicks to straddle BL with pull in adv tuck back to IH + 5 Tempo HeS RLL

1-2 behind the neck pullup to l-st hang + 5 Tempo tuck Lsit Lift (core was fried by these)

Finish the workout with 10 Bridge Wall Walks (2,2,3,3) supersetted with Weighted Pike

Fri 24th Feb 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120217

Complete four rounds:

2 CWW

3 Partial Wall HeSPU

2 CWW

5 1-clap Pushups

2 CWW

7 Explosive Dips

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Finished off with

Horse stance

Leg swings

Slizzardman Shoulder

Comments:

- When performing compound stretches, remember to stretch the individual muscles as well.

- Keep tight on Wall HS.

- Compress on L-sit to shoulderstand

- think the handstand has finally clicke, its simply a question of body tension, adequate overhead mobility and keeping your eyes on one spot on the floor. Needs to be practiced often snd when fresh. Body should be tense from the go. Thats why i think kicking up to a wall and then aligning yorself is not a very good practice as it develops sloppy practices. The feet are particularly important.

- time to move up on rows

-stay on PPP

- disengage shoulders at bottom of L-sit hang

- Grip work: my grip nearly always gives out first on weighted chins. Also use chalk.

Week 9: Plan

- So I had planned on testing my max holds last week but was very sore on Monday morning and was feeling drained all week so will do it next Monday. Dropping volume this week so should be ready to go next week.

Mon 27th Feb 2012:

- WOD 120224

Perform the following:

3 sets of: Basic Ring Strength 3 (1 MU, 2 XR Dips, L-sit, Press to shoulderstand, 2 x BL adv tuck to IH, lower to hang)

3x15 seconds Ring support

3x15 seconds L-sit hang

3x15 seconds German Hang

Finish the workout with 2 x 10 Wall Extensions

-Stretch.

- glute stretch

- pike compression: 3 x 8

Tue 28th Feb 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120220:

3 x 5 Deadlift @110 kg

3 x 5 Squat @ 82.5 kg easy

Superset Hip Extensions. + Finish with 60 seconds (16,14,14,10,6)s total aggregate work of a L-sit variation.

Finished with hard stretch:

- weighted pike and straddle

- glute stretch

- shoulder dislocates

- straddle lifts

- did what poliquin said: so PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle, static straddle and pike, followed by weighetd versions.

Thurs 1st March 2012

- normal warmup

- WOD 120223 (Dynamic Pull so substituted in for this)

Complete four rounds: I did 2 rounds, halving volume:

2 – Back Pulls (adv tuck - extended adv tuck)

5- XR elevated Rows

2 – Back Pulls

9 – XR Pushups

2 – Back Pulls

7 – Chins

No stretching or anything just got out of the gym.

Fri 2nd March 2012:

- normal warmup

- WOD 120221: I halved volume again today as yesterday. So did,

Perform:

1x10 Wrist Pushups

2x5 CWW

1x5 Pike Press HeS

1x10 Straddle Press HeS

6 cycles of Wall HS (30s on, 45s off) I only count 30s when in final HS posn and it takes some time to get there, get down etc.

Finish with 1x10 Wrist Pushups

Finished with:

• Upper body stretches: slixxardman routine x 1, floor lides: 2 x8, shoulder dislocates: 2-3 x10

• Lower body: again followed Poliquin so did PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle, weighted pike, sitting straddle, weighted active straddle. Finished off with some glute stretching and 1min bottom hodl squat position.

Comments:

Videod my ring series last night . Two points:

1. Ensure you are coming down to parallel on the BL. It was too high on Monday night but I was very sore so hopefully it was a one-off. A bit concerned about my BL now. Feel as if I have been training it a bit high.

2. On the press to shoulderstand, raise hips first before dropping shoulders.

3. I hold my ring support in a hollow body posn. I think this is normal but i should strive for chest up and shoulder blades back as i become stronger.

4. Still feeling rough and elbows and traps hurting. Going to halve volume again tomorrow and get as much sleep as I can over the next few nights and see how I feel on Monday.

5. When setting up for freestanding HS and kicking off floor, make sure you shrug shoulders and have shoulders touching ears. Makes i t a lot easier to balance once you arrive at top.

6. So it hasn’t been a great week training but I got through it and feel much better now. Going to have a restful weekend, eating plenty, resting well, and foam rolling and HS work. I think what causes this case of inflammation and severe DOMS in traps was going hard on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th and then only having one day off. I think my workload is fine and sustainable but essentially listen to your body. It is better to take it a bit slower and keep on making progress slowly than go all guns blazing and potentially overtrain and have a deload week.

7. Start doing some work direct biceps work.

Stretching tips from Poliquin.

Stretching for Strength and Muscle Mass

Practical advice on getting the most out of this effective training method

by Charles Poliquin

2/24/2012 4:08:34 PM

You can use the timing and the nature of stretching to maximize gains in strength and flexibility.

 

The timing of stretching is critical to maximize the training response, meaning that a great method of stretching used at the wrong time can be disastrous. The regular practice of stretching will accelerate maximal gains in strength and hypertrophy. However, restrictions in fascial structures slow down hypertrophy gains and make it difficult to improve flexibility. Hence, the popularity of our FAT tool courses to remove limiting adhesions – especially when combined with a NO2 increasing cream such as Zanagen Ignite.

If you stretch with the wrong method, such as doing static stretching before strength training, you make the muscle temporarily weak and increase the risk of injury. This has been proven in multiple studies of various stretching activities, ranging from strength training to warming up for rugby and football. In most studies the decreases in maximal strength and power range from 7 to 20 percent. Who wants to train or compete at 80 to 93 percent of their best?

 

PNF stretching and ballistic stretching increase strength levels for workouts and competition. The key is to perform until you feel your nervous system being activated. Using bands to stretch the joint capsules also potentiates strength and flexibility gains.

 

To maximize your flexibility gains, four to six hours after strength training do a combination of stretching methods in this order: PNF, then ballistic, then static; following this protocol will accelerate your progress in the weightroom and on the athletic field. With PNF stretching make sure to gradually increase the tension to about 66 percent of maximal strength for 6-8 seconds for the highest return on your time investment.

When using the ballistic method, use the pendulum approach, by gradually increasing both range and velocity of the stretch. Although many physical therapists frown upon this method and argue that it increases the risk of injury, this is no more than the talk of glorified bartenders with their bags of ice. Successful kicks and throws are ballistic, so you can and should train the same way you compete! It’s all about the progressions. Weightlifters lift world records after progressive warm-ups. They get there by lifting heavy weights in a progressive manner. Why not apply the same principles to stretching?

Progress on goals:

These were my original goals and how I was planning to achieve them:

Goals 6 months:

1. 60s Free HS --> How? 10 mins practice everyday against wall + freestanding practice. This is coming along fine. I think the HS has clicked now although I’m still not at a stage where I can pull one off every time. This is a function of muscle fatigue and concentration. Will continue to practice to get the balance and start to implement Wall Runs to increase strength.

2. 3 x 30s L-sit on floor --> How? SSC + grease the groove. My max at the moment is 15-20s and my abs are the limiting factor. Target this weak spot.

3. Full BL --> How? SSC + 2x/week negatives. My BL is feeling solid these days. Starting to incorporate straddle holds in workouts and adv tuck is feeling very solid. Feel as if my traps are starting to become strong enough to engage them which makes it much easier. After this next SSC will hopefully be doing straddle BL in SSC, at which point a momentary full BL should be achievable.

4. Rolling MU --> How? Practice every time I do ring strength. Improve false grip strength. I’ve been slightly bad with this one and lost focus. Ultimately it’s just a case of practice on the Monday night sessions as well as strengthening my false grip – each time I’ve tried this, I have failed to maintain my false grip making the MU very difficult after the forward roll.

5. Full Pancake (I want to be able to do a straddle press to HS) --> How? Loaded Progressive Stretching + current stretching in every warmup. This is coming along OK but I find it tough. Still continuing with weighted stretching but I haven’t seen great gains. Any tips?

Summary of comments:

- start to increase HS Volume. This is probably best done by introducing twice a day HS training in order to maintain the quality of my training.

- Foamrolling helps decrease recovery time.

- My log looks a lot tidier with my new week-by-week format!

- On every move, maintain body tension. Ie HS keep body tensed, particularly bum and toes. On L-sit, really try to press down into the floor using lats to pull shoulder blades down. This takes concentration but is necessary. Plus it’s an important skill to acquire.

- Ensure you keep up flexibility volume.

- For Press to shoulderstand, the key is to first raise the hips up keeping pike compression strong and then drop the shoulders. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

Things to implement next SSC:

- Pike compression (for L-sit)

- False grip work (for Rolling MU)

- Start doing a few pull-ups in my workouts.

- More consistent flexibility work. Keep a more consistent log of things.

Strength increases:

- BL feels a lot more solid now.

- Improved my shoulder flexibility with BWW feeling a lot better now.

- Added 10-12.5kg to my chins and dips.

- Improved my horizontal pushing and pressing.

Week 1b: Plan

- Testing my max holds this week and starting a new SSC.

Max holds were:

L-sit: 23s

Ring Support: 40s.

Bl adv tuck: 28s max hold. Slightly dissapointed with this as I expected to have made better progress but my hips were opening up making it more difficult (ie femur not pointing into ground)

So my new SCC will be:

FX L-sit: 4 x 12s

Ring Support: 3 x 20s

Bl adv tuck - half lay: 4 x 14s.

Mon 5th March 2012:

AM:

- Full warmup

- Test Max holds for: ring support, floor l-sit and adv tuck BL. Record this using my camera.

PM:

- WOD

Perform the following:

3 sets of: Basic Ring Strength 3 (1 MU, 2 XR Dips, L-sit, Press to shoulderstand, support, forward roll to L-sit hang, inverted hang, 2 x BL adv tuck to IH(did some straddle BL here as well), lower to hang, 2 pullups at the end)

5x15 seconds Ring support

5x15 seconds L-sit hang

5x15 seconds German Hang

Finish the workout with 2 x 10 Wall Extensions

-Stretch.

- glute stretch

Tue 6th March 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x 6 Chins @ BW+10k

- WOD 120220:

2 x 5 Deadlift @112.5 kg

2 x 5 Squat @ 85 kg

Superset Hip Extensions. + Finish with 60 seconds (3x10 L-sit compresion with short hold at top) total aggregate work of a L-sit variation.

Finished with hard stretch:

- weighted pike and straddle

- shoulder dislocates

- What poliquin said: so PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle, static straddle and pike, followed by weighetd versions.

Thurs 8th March 2012

- normal warmup

- WOD

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 Embedded BL (adv tuck with straddle points with adv tuck pull to IH) + 5 FL Pulls tuck

1 Embedded L-sit (floor) + 5 Tempo XR Dips

1 Embedded FL (1 behind-the-neck pullup to 15s l-sit hang) + 8 Tempo Pike Compression

Finish the workout with 10 Bridge Wall Walks (5x2) supersetted with weighted pike

Use a tempo of 234 for the first and third FBEs. As such, for the HLL the breakdown of the tempo will be a 2 second ascent, followed by a 3 second pause at the top, then a controlled 4 second descent.

Finished with:

3 x 10 bat wings

2 x 8 cuban press with 10 k - keep on doing these.

Weighted pancake hold.

- glute stretch

- straddle lifts

-weighted pancake

Fri 9th March 2012:

- normal warmup

- slow bar rows with isometric pause and squeeze at top

- 1x5 FL Pulls

- WOD

Perform:

2x10 (6,3+2,5,4) Cast Wall Walks (4mins 30s rest in between total)

2x5 Pike Box Press HS (60s)

2x10 Straddle Box Press HS (60s)

12 rounds of Wall HS (total time 18 mins)

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Finish with:

- heathrow

- 3x2 skin the cat

• Upper body stretches: slixxardman routine x 1, yshoulder dislocates: 2-3 x10

• Lower body: again followed Poliquin so did PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle sitting straddle, weighted active straddle.

Comments:

- on thursday my left shoulder was feeling slightly wird in pulling movements. Feel as if my rhomboids are weak. So am going to do the following:

- soft tissue work on scapula

- cuban press

- introduce more pulling more work eg FL Pulls and reverse planck work.

- start doing wall runs

- incorporate more extra work next week

- more variety and change tempo.

- pike flexibility was great on friday

Am now looking to improve my flexibility. Going to take the following spproach.

- increase time stretching. I think my stretching warmup is a waste of time so drop that and spend more time after stetching.

- dissect moves and identify any limiting muscles.

- continue with poliquin recommendations

Week 2b:

- 1-2 x 5 FL Pulls (tuck) are now part of my warmup

- Perfrom bar rows slowly with isometric pause and squeeze at top

Mon 12th March 2012:

-normal warmup

- WOD: Max Ring Strength: Awful workout

Perform the following:

3 sets of: Basic Ring Strength 3 (1 MU (with a failed second on 1st and 2nd sets), L-sit, Press to shoulderstand, support, (on 1 to 2 sets) forward roll to L-sit hang, inverted hang, 1 x BL adv tuck to IH, lower to hang, )

3x15 seconds Ring support

3x15 seconds L-sit hang

3x15 seconds German Hang

Finish the workout with 2 x 10 Wall Extensions

- Light Stretch.

- glute stretch

Tue 13th March 2012:

- normal warmup

- 3 x 6 Chins @ BW+10k (easyish) suppersetted with Cuban Press: 3 x8 @12.5k

- WOD: Dynamic Push

Complete four rounds:

2 Cast Wall Walks

3 Box HeSPU

2 Cast Wall Walks

8 PB Dips

2 Cast Wall Walks

6 PPP

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Finish with:

- heathrow

- 3x2 skin the cat

- Upper body stretches: slixxardman routine x 1, shoulder dislocates: 2-3 x10

- Lower body: again followed Poliquin so did PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle sitting straddle, weighted active straddle.

- Bat wings

Thurs 15th March 2012

- normal warmup: did full SCC (on these sort of workouts should still do full SCC, just means higher volume)

-weighted dips: 3 x8 , 7+1 @ BW+12.5k (still pretty easy)

- WOD: Max Bent Arm strength

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 Embedded L-sit (MU to XR Low L-sit) + 5 XR Dips (no RTO at top of dips apart from last rep)

1 Embedded BL + 6 Bulgarian Pushups

1 Embedded FL (2 behind-the-neck pullup to 15s l-sit hang) + 5 Tempo HLL

Finish the workout with 10 Bridge Wall Walks (3x2, 2x2) supersetted with weighted pike

4) Use a tempo of 213 for the basic strength sets.

Finished with:

Lots of external rotation. Left shoulder was feeling a bit dodgy.

2 x 10 bat wings

2 x 8 cuban press with 10 k - keep on doing these.

Weighted pancake hold.

- straddle lifts

Fri 16th March 2012:

- normal warmup: full SSC

- WOD -(Dynamic Pull so substituted in for this)

Complete four rounds:

2 – Back Pulls (a mix of straddle (up and down), straddle down and adv tuck up and adv tuck (up and down))

5- L-sit chins

2 – Back Pulls

5 – FL Pulls (tuck)

2 – Back Pulls

7 – XR Rows

Finish with:

- heathrow

- 3x2 skin the cat

• Upper body stretches: 2 x 10 floor slides, shoulder dislocates: 2-3 x10

• Lower body: again followed Poliquin so did PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle sitting straddle, weighted active straddle.

• Complete 12 rounds of Wall HS (total time: 17 minutes)

Comments:

Monday: really weak session. Don't let things over the weekend leave you tired for Monday training.

For stretching, PNF, then ballistic stretching then satic stretching is the way to go. Have seen great increases in pike flexibility. Now just need to do some thinking as to how I'm going to do this for all my stretches. Bridge could be tough to think of.

Move on from Wall HS to HS Wall Runs.

Good week’s training. Unfortunately, from a training perspective, not going to be a very restful weekend but should feel ok for Monday.

http://www.equilibrifit.com/blog/22-han ... oning.html

From the same site

ACROBATIC SPLITS TUTORIAL

Why do we fear and avoid splits in our workouts? Cirque Du Soleil artists say that it is not necessarily about bone structure but about tons of practice. Encouraging our bodies to go into a deeper more intense stretch may also induce some fear of harm or risk of injury. This may be because we don’t know what the best exercises are to begin to achieve splits, or why we should even strive for such an advanced stretch.

Equilibrifit members section has videos of the most efficient splits techniques, but has also prepared this FREE tutorial article on splits.

In this article we will:

Learn four of the most efficient exercises for mastering splits.

Learn about the function of posture, abdominals, and breathing in the splits.

We will look at different types of stretching and analyze their validity and contribution to Equilibrifit stretching techniques.

Learn modifications and safety techniques to protect the joints and properly warm up the legs and body before attempting the splits.

 

The two most important forms of stretching we will concern ourselves with are:

Static Stretching & Isometric Stretching

Static Stretching is a muscular stretch performed while the body is relaxed.  Our muscles will resist this stretch for a small length of time and eventually begin to relax under the pressure of stretching.

 

Isometric Stretching or PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) is a combination of statically holding the agonist (muscle being stretched) against a force. For example, laying on ones back with a yoga strap wrapped around the arch of the foot and pulling back to desired range of motion with a straight leg then holding tight to the band and resisting the band with isometric force from the leg.

 

This brings up the most important dilemma:  Nobody seems to mention Breath and Tension. Why would these be so important? The exercise should be simple right?—just contract the muscle as hard as you can against a force once you’ve reached your desired stretching range of motion—wrong.

Here are some factors to take into concern:

Are you breathing when you resist the stretch with isometric force? If so, how and where are you breathing?

What is the level of tension in the rest of your body while you perform the stretch? What muscles are you specifically contracting or relaxing?

How are you applying your core musculature (i.e. transversus & rectus abdominis, obliques, and psoas) to facilitate this stretch—if at all?

What is the position of your spine and skeleton while you stretch?  (i.e. body alignment).

 

These questions may seem overwhelming or irrelevant to your exercise regime. Nevertheless, body awareness is rewarding on multiple levels and should not be overlooked. Our attention to detail in the exercise and stretching of our bodies is as important as the work an engineer puts into configuring and designing complex structures that we depend on in our daily lives.

 

Warming Up To Stretching

There are countless theories about warming up properly, how much time you should invest, when to stretch in your workout, and what intensity is best. Equilibrifit will focus on only what is needed before you engage in an intense acrobatic stretching routine. There is no rule that you must warm up doing some type of cardiovascular exercise (on a treadmill for instance) however if you do enjoy warming up on a machine limit your time to 10-15 minutes at a moderate intensity. I recommend using an elliptical machine so as to avoid impact exercise like jogging or running before intense stretching. Certain yoga poses also provide an excellent active stretch before a deeper stretch is engaged in. If you are not well practiced in the yoga discipline I recommend you take some classes—they are complimentary to a good handbalancing workout.  Soon Equilibrifit will include videos of general yoga poses in the memebers section and how they relate to your handbalancing workout. For now let’s break down four critical poses:

Crescent Lunge; Warrior 1; Warrior 2; Extended Side Angle Pose; Warrior 2; Warrrior 1; Revolved Crescent Lunge (option to drop the back knee—reccommended) Runners Lunge; Pigeon Pose; and a variation of Head to Knee Pose.

Arms First

We will cover the complex extension of the arms to practice before placing you in the demanding yoga poses for the efficiency of your concentration and endurance.

Stand tall in parallel with all four corners of your feet connected to the floor and your weight evenly distributed between the toes and heels.

Reach your arms out to your sides extending through your peace fingers and gently cupping the index and pinky fingers.

Instead of dropping your shoulder blades (scapulae) feel them wrapping around the sides of your body as you stretch your arms out to the sides. Simultaniously feel your back muscles gently firing to retract the shoulder blades and keep the chest and shoulders open (see breathing below).

Try rising your arms to the ceiling continue to wrap the lower tips of the shoulder blades around the back and rotate the upper arms inward—into your peripheral vision.

Breathing

"Bucket Handle Breathing" requires one to feel a gentle contraction/firing of the upper back muscles (not neck!) to keep the chest open and the shoulders safe. To experience this type of breathing visualize your breathe originating in your groin and move it up through the center of your body as you inhale (also called Kegel exercise).

Passively exhale deep into your spine.

It is very easy to engage the legs in this exercise so try to keep them relaxed for now.

Let your arms go limp, rotate your triceps in towards your body, and feel a subtle contraction of the upper back muscles with each breath.

Notice how your chest does not necessarily lift due to the fact your breath is focused deep in your upper back. This ensures that you are not pushing your ribcage out and creating unwanted curvature in the spine.

Relax your face neck and shoulders while you breathe--these only create unnecessary tension when recruited.

 

Crescent Lunge

Stand tall in parallel with all four corners of your feet connected to the floor and your weight evenly distributed between the toes and heels.

Step your left foot behind you and lunge your right knee so it stacks over your right ankle.

Press the ball mound of your left foot into the floor letting the heel peel off the floor.

Distribute your weight 50/50 between your feet.

Lift your torso to the ceiling and actively draw your left thigh and abdominals in toward your front so your hips become square.

Take two full breaths through the nose with the arms stretched out to the sides and two breaths with the arms toward the ceiling. Refer to the arm positioning exercise.

 

Warrior 1

From Crescent Lunge

Keep the right knee lunged and stacked directly over the right ankle. Turn the back foot out rotating your back heel to the floor.

Connect through the outside of your back foot and lift the inner arches of both feet.

Actively draw your left thigh and abdominals in.

Take four full breaths practicing from the arm positions from the exercise above.

Lengthen through the crown of your head.

 

Warrior 2

From warrior 1

Fan your hips open by turning the left hip out and externally rotating your right thigh.

Turn your focus to the front (right) leg and keep the back (left) leg in neutral with the entire palm of the foot connected to the floor.

Lift your right abdominals strongly while you visualize the right buttocks moving forward as the right thigh externally rotates behind you. Your right knee should open and shine out over the foot.

Practice your arm exercises in four full breaths through the nose.

Keep the core strong and the torso tall as you lunge deeply into the front knee (do not let the front knee go beyond the toes).

 

Extended Side Angle Pose

From Warrior 2

Reach your arms out to the side as in the arm exercises.

Lengthen your right side as you tilt at the waistline and touch your right forearm to your right knee.

As in warrior 2 it is important to focus on your right side because it is more likely to crunch. To avoid crunching, lift the right abdominals away from your thigh and open the right hip by externally rotating the right thigh behind you.

Gaze either forward or into your left forearm and lengthen through the crown of your head.

 

In one breath cycle make your way to warrior 2, warrior 1, and into crescent lunge.

Revolved Crescent Lunge

From Crescent Lunge

Drop the back knee to the floor and release the shin and toes onto the floor.

Bring the palms of your hands together at the center of your chest. Be sure your chest remains open.

With your hands together twist your torso until you can place the outside of your left elbow on the outside of the right knee.

Create tension between the elbow and knee by equally pressing them against each other to leverage your body into the twist.

Draw your left thigh in and release your right hip back.

Lengthen the torso—don’t hunch or roll your shoulders forward.

 

Runners Lunge

From Revolved Crescent Lunge

Place your hands on the floor to the inside of your right leg while moving your right foot a few inches to the right or if your are on a mat to the outside of the mat.

Make sure your right knee is stacked over your right ankle.

Relax your head and face.

Option to deepen the stretch by moving down to parallel elbows.

Option to deepen the stretch by turning the right foot out—but keeping the entire palm of the foot in contact with the floor. Be sure the right knee shines out over the right foot.

Pigeon Pose

From Runners Lunge

Place both hands on the mat and push your right foot back to meet your left in plank pose. Stack your shoulders over your wrists, rotate your arms inwards (as if the index fingers were moving away from each other but only the upper arms should move), and press strongly through the knuckles of your index fingers.

Lift your right leg, hollow the front of your torso and place the right knee in line with the right wrist.

The degree of the knee joint is directly proportional to how flexible your rotators are—do not force your knee angle open if you feel sensitivity in the knee joint—if this is the case either discontinue the stretch and contact Equilibrifit for advice or try flexing the right foot to lightly engage the leg muscles and protect the knee joint.

Option to drop to your forearms for a deeper stretch, however Equilibrifit does not recommend laying all the bodyweight over the right knee without arm support.

Option (and recommended) to keep the left toes flexed under and the left knee lifted as  you extend through the left heel. Feel the left thigh gently moving towards your belly.

 

Head to Knee Pose

From Pigeon Pose

Come up to your hands and replace your right foot back with your left. Drop your knees to the floor, walk your hands back, and bring your torso upright so you’re kneeling on your shins.

Swing your right leg out in front of you and lengthen the torso out over the right knee—keeping the right leg straight and reaching through the right heel. Don’t force your face forward, round your shoulders, or round your back. Lift from your lower abdominals and out through the crown of your head.

Do not drop your butt back towards your left heel. Keep left hip stacked directly over the left knee.

Hold for 5-10 breaths.

Repeat The Sequence On The Left Side Before Moving On!

Hip Flexors & Quadriceps Stretch

This pose is similar to King Pigeon Pose in yoga—and there may even be a Sanskrit name for it I’m not aware of.

Find a solid smooth wall and fold a thick yoga mat in half then into a quarter rectangle.

Come to a kneeling position on your shins facing away from the wall with your big toes touching the wall.

Place your right knee two to three inches from the wall with your right shin resting on the wall and back of your right foot flat to the wall.

Use a prop like a chair if you need to, or simply come to your fingertips and move your left foot out in front of you until it supports you with the left knee stacked directly over the left ankle (90 degree knee position).

If you feel intense stretching already—stay in this position and with the tips of your fingers touching the floor for extra support and breathe. Otherwise, walk your hands up to the left thigh and bring your torso upright.

Option to lift your arms up towards the ceiling—be sure to rotate your triceps toward each other so your shoulder blades drop down your back and your upper neck muscles relax.

Breathe.

For an advanced quadriceps stretch reach back with your right hand and grab the outside or inside of your right foot (this is a very debatable grab but Equilibrifit will prefer the outside grab). Open your chest and retract your shoulder blades as you pull your right foot towards your butt. To avoid arching draw your right thigh up towards your belly and activate your lower abdominals. When you are finished, slowly release your right shin back to the wall.

 

Hip Flexor (Psoas) & Quadriceps Stretch Into Split:

If you have properly warmed up and stretched your hamstrings out already you can begin moving the left foot forward

into split formation. Use yoga blocks or chairs to give your arms higher support foundation. Or if you can reach the ground with your fingertips or hands simple press into the ground.

Use combinations of stretching techniques as you breathe. Alternate pointing and flexing your left foot. Flex your left foot and only reach the outside edge or inside edge forward (without turning the foot direction out or in). Pull your left heel back or crawl it out as if it were a wheel turning and moving your left leg on the floor.

As you move deeper into the split continue to focus on pulling your groin to the floor while simultaneously lifting the right thigh and lower abdominals.

Do not twist your body or crunch your sides to square your hips. Keep your torso long and reach through the crown of your head activating the lower shoulderblades and wrapping your armpit creases (serratus) to give freedom to the neck.

For every inch you drop into your splits you should re-activate your lower right thigh and abdominals in a gentle upward lifting motion.

Try to practice with mirrors so you can watch your back and hip angle. You will see the tendency for the back hip to be raised and behind you hence the need to draw it forward and down without twisting the body.

Breathe through your nose and inhale from the lowest part of your groin as if you were drawing it up through the center of your body and out through the crown of your head. Exhale passively into your spine.

Stretching the Gluteus Muscles (Butt) (opening the rotators)

Alternative Pigeon Pose

Obtain a soft yoga block or roll a towel up and fold the thick roll in half to create a soft but sturdy support. Keep your block or towel handy.

Come to a plank position stacking the shoulders over the hands and firmly press your hands into the ground and spiral your upper arms UP and INTO your back, rotating the triceps towards each other to create fullness in your upper back.

Place your block or towel below your left wrist with the long end pointing out with the crown of your head. Lift your right leg and place your right knee in alignment with your right wrist so that your right shin falls across the block or rolled/folded towel creating an angle close to 90 degrees in the right knee (if it does not want to go further don’t push it, be patient and stretch within your means)

Gently flex your right foot reaching through the ball mound of the big toe.

Drop to your forearms for a deeper stretch. Position your

forearms parallel to each other.

 

Effectiveness of Reciprocal Inhibition

Reciprocal Inhibition (RI) deals with opposing muscle groups such as the triceps and the biceps, the quadriceps and the hamstrings. These muscle pairings are also referred to as agonists and antagonists. The idea is that when you focus your energy on contracting a muscle (the agonist), your body automatically relaxes the antagonist or opposite muscle group. In a forward fold the hamstrings are stretching, and using RI  one would contract the front of the legs (quadriceps) which would in turn relax the hamstrings for a deeper stretch.

 

Problems Arise

Equilibrifit doesn’t disagree with the RI technique, but we want to elaborate on the degree to which one should “contract†a muscle group. An exercise enthusiast can easily get carried away with concepts like RI by over-contracting muscle groups and creating too much tension in a stretch (like the splits). Remember earlier wementioned the Fascia tissue network that connects all your muscles from head to toe. By forcing hard contractions into your quadriceps in attempt to stretch the hamstrings deeper into splits one creates excess and unnecessary tension that spreads to important stretching muscles like the illiopsoas, the tensor fascia lata, and the adductors.

To minimize these tension levels one does not need to contract the muscles so hard. Go through the tension assessment list at the beginning of this article: Is your jaw, tongue, mouth, eyes, neck, chest or shoulders tense? If so, relax these areas—you’d be amazed how much these effect your stretching. Next, BREATHE! Breathe fluidly and evenly through your nose and if a particular area of your body is extremely tight direct your breath into that area to relieve tension.

This is not to say your letting your body become one big wet noodle. You can still be core-strong and active while stretching. You can still use your arms for support (to lift ones hips off the ground in splits) but remember your arms are just attachments of your body so use your “bucket breathing†and upper back muscles (as opposed to front deltoids & chest) as an extension of your arm support.

Keep checking in for more info on splits!

~Keph Sherin, Owner, Equilibrifit llc.

Week 3b:

- 1-2 x 5 FL Pulls (tuck) are now part of my warmup

- Perfrom bar rows slowly with isometric pause and squeeze at top

Mon 19th Jan 2012:

-normal warmup

- warmup with some pullups.

- 3-4 x 6 Chins @ BW+12.5k suppersetted with Cuban Press: 3 x10 @12.5k

- false grip work

- WOD: Max Legs

2 x 5 Deadlift @115 kg

2 x 5 Squat @ 87.5 kg

Superset Hip Extensions. + Finish with 60 seconds total aggregate work of a L-sit variation. (14, 9, 9, 8 l-sit then 20s lsit compression)

Finish with:

- heathrow

- 2x10, 4x20 band pullaparts

- Upper body stretches: shoulder dislocates: 2-3 x10

- Lower body: again followed Poliquin so did PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle, weighted pike

- Bat wings

Foamrolling upper body afterwards.

Tue 20th Jan 2012:

- normal warmup

- face pulls

- Superset: 5 rounds of:

A1: 5 PPP

A2: 6 XR Rows

- WOD: Dynamic Push

Perform:

1x10 Wrist Pushups

2x10 (7, 75s, 6, 90s, 4, 40s, 3) Cast Wall Walks

2x5 Pike Box Press HS

2x10 Straddle Box Press HS

10 mins HS Wall Runs

Finish with 1x10 Wrist Pushups

- Light Stretch.

- glute stretch

- 3 x 8 bar rows

Thurs 22nd Feb 2012

- normal warmup:

- Shoulderstand work

-weighted dips: 3x8 @ BW+ 15k . 1x8 straight bar dips both pronate and reverse grip.

- 6 rounds of Wall HS (possibly)

- WOD: dynamic legs (modified)

Complete three rounds:

10 overhead lunge @27.5kg

6 oblique twist from bar

10 jumping squat

5 HeS RLL

Finish the workout with 3x10 Hip Extensions supersetted with. 3x8 Cuban Press @ 10kg

Fri 23rd Feb 2012:

- normal warmup: full SSC

- WOD

Complete the following:

3 sets of MU, , 2 XR Dips, l-sit, Slow negative mu to inverted hang, hanging L-sit, 360 Pull (adv tuck BL and tuck FL)

5x15 seconds FL tuck

5x15 seconds Ring Support

5x15 seconds German Hang

Finish the workout with 2x10 Wall Extensions.

Finished with:

Quick stretch

Pike compression 3 x10

Comments:

- always try to beat your past performances

- poor consistency on stretching

- my left shoulder is too far forward. This is a long-standing problem which I need to correct once and for all.

- read pain free and introduce fl into scc from next week

Week 4b:

- read pain free

- introduce FL

Mon 26th March 2012:

-normal warmup

- WOD: Embedded

Complete 3 sets of each:

1 Embedded BL (Ih to straddle/adv tuck BL pull back to IH) + 6 Pullups (1st and 2nd set: 4 pullups, 2 chins; 3rd set: 4 pullups, 1 chin)

1 Embedded L-sit (XR Dip to XR L-sit) + 5 Tempo Assisted HeSPU

1 Embedded FL (IH to tuck FL to IH) + 3 Tempo Cranks (did various things here)

Finished with:

- ido portal second scapula stabilisation exercise x 3

- band pullaparts and band pulldowns x 10 x 3

- Bat wings 3 x 8 @ 17.5k

To do later at home:

- 10 BWW supersetted with pike stretch

- heathrow

- Upper body stretches: shoulder dislocates: 2-3 x10, slizzardman, floor slides

- Lower body: again followed Poliquin so did PNF hamstring stretch, ballistic standing pike and straddle, pike and straddle (work on widening straddle)

- Foamrolling upper body afterwards.

Tue 27th March 2012:

- normal warmup (missed on FSP this time due to time constraints)

- WOD: Dynamic Push

Complete four rounds:

2 CWW

3 FX Negative HeSPU

2 CWW

5 PB Dips

2 CWW

10 FX PPP

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

- Light Stretch.

- Cuban press

- pike compression

Wednesday 28th March 2012

- Lots of HS Practice: several 10s Freestanding Holds although I still kick up and dont stick most of them.

- rolled my lats a lot and played with a hockey ball behind my rotator cuff - felt good.

- 4 x 6 Pullups, 1 x 4 Chins

I just wasn't feeling tired from Monday and Tuesday.

Thurs 29 th March 2012

- normal warmup: Struggled on the BL in the SCC, Fl Pulls: 5, 3

- Shoulderstand work (Help to hold rings in)

- 5x5 PPP and XR Rows: SLOW (Really pushed it hard on the PPP - they seem much harder when done elevated)

- WOD: Legs

Perform 3 rounds of the following:

5 HeS RLL (slightly elevated)

16 Killers

10 Single Leg HLL (off single bar)

30s Bottom Squat Hold (Bad sub but I was struggling for ideas)

Finish the workout with 3x10 Hip Extensions.

- Hard stretch. See Monday

- Shoulder Band Work

- glute stretch

- hip flexor

Fri 30th March 2012:

- normal warmup

2 Sets of:

A1: 6 pullups

A2: 5 XR Dips

- WOD

Perform:

2 Hanging Oblique Twist (one on each side)

2x5 Cast Wall Walks (struggled on these today)

2 Hanging Oblique Twist

1x5 Pike Box Press HeS

2 Hanging Oblique Twist

1x10 Straddle Box Press HeS

10 mins HS Wall Runs

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Finished with:

Quick stretch

Pike compression 3 x10

Comments:

- Buy some weights over weekend for chins/dips and stretching.

- PPP - they seem much harder when done elevated

- Supercompensation is good for flexibility training. Having not stretched in a while, I felt really fersh and ready to go for it today.

- I nearly always struggle to complete 4 sets of L-sit. On the last set today, only did 9s then pike compression. It's my bas strength that fails first.

- Move up on Rows -->XR Bulgarian Rows

- on BL, I need to actively push down more contracting all of upper body.

- Pack neck and contract glutes on Rows.

- HS Wall Runs make me so tired!