all posts post new thread

Bodyweight Skin the Cat and Work-In-Progress Front Lever

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
@305pelusa, I don't purposely tense my abs during a StC; I feel them working. I don't do a lot of direct ab work, and one of the reasons I like these is that they provide a different kind of ab stimulus than my usual things: kettlebell windmills, swings, and military presses, and barbell deadlifts. I like the StC because I get a nice stretch for my tight shoulders and some good and different stimulus for my abs.

I won't argue with you about the risks of a StC, save to quote Rif and say it really doesn't demand a whole lot - it's a gymnastics movement that I can do without training it, so that's another thing I enjoy about it, that I can just decide to do one or a few whenever I feel like it.

As @Harald Motz has also observed earlier in this thread, I don't feel like I'm hanging on my shoulders. I just let out a little of the tension I'm carrying in order to get deeper, then come back up. I get that one can hang loosely by the shoulders doing these and therefore place one's shoulders at risk, but I don't think doing that is even in my physical vocabulary. I'm doing these as weighted mobility, the weight being my rather low bodyweight. :) All kidding aside, I am long torso-ed and chicken-legged, and there ain't much chance that a StC is going to hurt my shoulders. I could, BTW, say the same things about my barbell deadlifts - the strengths and weaknesses I've developed mean a too-heavy deadlift just sits on the ground for me, not that I'm going to hurt my back trying to pull it.

For whatever reasons, valid though they may be, the things you're concerned about in the StC aren't concerns for me.

-S-
 
Rif said:
Also if you doubt the abdominal development of competitive gymnasts please show me ONE example of a collegiate or equivalent level gymnast that doesn't have serious abs.
Click to expand...

305pelusa said:
Ok. I agree competitive gymnasts tend to have strong abs, just like most competitive strength athletes.
Click to expand...

?? I already agree with you. They tend to have strong abs.

Rif said:
Again, with respect, do you have any real gymnastics experience?
Click to expand...

I do. However, with all due respect, I don't want this thread to become a d@#$k measuring contest about who has done most gymnastics, in order to somehow prove the point that one person knows better than the other. So I'm going to refrain from talking about my gymnastics background. Look at my logic, my explanations. If they make sense, great. If not, we can agree to disagree. My personal HS and college gymnastics experience plays no role in that.

Also, the OP understands my point well and that's what matters to me. That was the simple message I was trying to get across.
 
305pelusa said:
?? I already agree with you. They tend to have strong abs.



I do. However, with all due respect, I don't want this thread to become a d@#$k measuring contest about who has done most gymnastics, in order to somehow prove the point that one person knows better than the other. So I'm going to refrain from talking about my gymnastics background. Look at my logic, my explanations. If they make sense, great. If not, we can agree to disagree. My personal HS and college gymnastics experience plays no role in that.

Also, the OP understands my point well and that's what matters to me. That was the simple message I was trying to get across.
Click to expand...

we can agree to disagree then. If you have done a decent amount of more than recreational gymnastics and don't agree with me there's nothing I can say.
 
@Rif : That last comment ("Even if most gymnasts have serious ab development, being debatable") was because I was counting the HS and college level ones. Later on, you clarified you meant the more competitive ones past a certain level. With that agree with. There was an issue with my initial post. It didn't show up in my browser completely, I edited it, and lost content. But you read the initial response (where I mentioned that most gymnasts aren't that strong and the perception of a strong gymnast comes from people mostly seeing Olympics). And you then clarified you were talking about the more competitive ones.

It was simply a misunderstanding. At the higher level of competition, I think it's fair to safe strength athletes (not just gymnasts... O-lifters as well) have excellent abdominal development. The core is so paramount for total body tension that there's just no other way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rif
Today's Skin the Cat and Front Lever practice on the rings:



NB: As mentioned earlier in this thread, I don't train these much, but like to do 1-3 of them on Wednesdays, which are my Variety/Easy/Off days in my current training cycle. I started this thread about a month ago, so I've had a couple of more cracks at this. Video is "rep" #2 of 3 today.

-S-
 
@Harald Motz, I see progress - I'm getting around further. My wife says I should still go a bit further, and I think I can and still be in my comfort zone with these. The front lever is also going better - a little closer to parallel.

-S-
 
Yet another go, from a few days ago.



Speculating about how this move works the abs, I tried some lower back stretching before I did this, and I believe that improved the quality of the movement throughout for me. I tend to have a tight lower back and, because I have a bad back, I prefer it a little tight to a little slack and don't stretch it very often. For these, however, I will continue to stretch briefly first.

-S-
 
These gymnastics type moves look wicked awesome. After the SFG I'm going to need to find a body weight course near me, this stuff looks too cool to resist.
 
Thank you, @MikeMoran.

I need to get a solid front lever before I do anything else along those lines. I had done two of them before the StC/FL video, and the first one was good pretty decent, but I'm just strong enough to do one decent one per session - probably need to start doing these more than once a week in order to make further progress.

-S-
 
Usually the back lever is easier to get than the Front. Front Lever is up there with Human Flag in the static holds.
 
I think I'll have the front lever soon enough - I don't know why, but it seemed clear to me what I needed to do, and a back lever, not so much, so I decided to tackle this one first.

-S-
 
I guess I'm not too far from being able to do a back lever, looking at the bottom position of my StC ...

-S-
 
After that the back lever should be pretty easy! I am sure you will get it when you are ready. I have been working on free standing handstands.
 
MikeMoran said:
Usually the back lever is easier to get than the Front. Front Lever is up there with Human Flag in the static holds.
Click to expand...
Back lever with overhand grip is definitely easier. With underhand (the "strict" version I suppose), they're similar in difficulty however. That's reflected in the gymnastics points as they're both A skills.

Also, I agree with FL being similar to Human Flag in difficulty. Pretty difficult holds.
 
In my video, if I straighten out my body at parallel, would I be doing the easier or the harder version? I was just rolling around from where I started.

BTW, anyone else notice that my elbows hyperextend? I've been told they do, and looking at my position at the bottom, both elbows look past the point of being straight to me.

-S-
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom