Hufflepuff this

[@mu]

 

 

Summary for the quick reader:

Likes: pull / push / bend

Tools: body weight, parallettes, aerial silks, ball

Epic quest: complete GMB Parallettes 2 (P2)

Side quest: Nerdwarts Mini – Hufflepuff house

 

GMB Parallettes 2 recap:

Prep phase: 4 weeks + deload week /done

Phase 1 cycle 1: 3 weeks + deload week /done

Phase 1 cycle 2: 3 weeks + deload week /done

Phase 1 cycle 3: /on-going

 

This challenge will look like this:

NF break week = P2 Phase 1 Cycle 3

Week 1 = Deload

Week 2 + 3 + 4 = P2 Phase 2 Cycle 1

Total = 5 weeks

 

I will be on holiday towards the end of the challenge. I should still be able to do parallettes but I might not be able to hang as much. I will do what I can and focus a bit more on stretching and physio instead.

 

The structure is still BSG-inspired and pretty much the same (if it ain't broken, don't fix it   ):

 

~ Toaster battles ~

 

Battlefield > GMB Parallettes 2 – 3x/week + lower intensity 5x/week on deload week

 

Skirmish > add 1 or 2 extra parallettes HS practice every week to P2 as needed to ensure HS training is happening 3x/week

 

 

~ G-Force training ~

 

Reporting to the CAG

> Aerial conditioning – 2x/week

> Greasing the groove – bar leg raises and side butt inverts 6x/week

 

Party on the deck > Aerial skills and flow – 2x/week

 

Holiday alternative plan:

• rings/rope/pull-up bar work if possible

• alternative: extra study of the Sacred Scrolls (below) and/or extra parallettes practice (but light)

 

~ Study of the Sacred Scrolls ~

 

Alignment

> Silks inverts drills – 3x/week | holiday: if possible

> HS drills – 1x/week

 

Stretching

> Hips and shoulders stretching – 1x/week

> Back bending session – 1x/week

> Hall of shame entry if I don't stretch after a strength session

 

Cirque Physio > 1x/week the evening before back-bending + leg drills 3x/week (Mini Chasing)

 

~ Hufflepuff homework ~

 

 

Log training time for Herbology, Flying and Astronomy classes (parallettes/silks/backbends).

Chasing (leg work) basically 5-10mn every day or so.

 

That's it! Have a good challenge everyone!

 

[Mad Hatter]

HUFFLEPUFF!!!

[@mu]

And here is my Mini log from the previous week - I believe we win the Quidditch and take a huge lead on skill training!

 

 

NB: Hufflepuff homework runs from Monday to Sunday, however my own training week runs from Saturday to Friday. Why make it simple when it can be so complicated

 

[annyshay]

[@mu]

TEAM!

 

 

Monday is rest day but for some chasing for the new Quidditch match!

 

Mini > Quidditch > Chasing

Silks hamstring curls 10x4

Floor glute ham raises 5x4

Lying flexed foot straight leg extensions with ball 10L 10R x2

Child's pose pike lift 10L10R x2 (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Child's pose glute activation 10L10R x2 (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Child's pose middle splits lift 4L4R (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio) super mean! I only did 1 set instead of 2, very painful 4 points

Total=124

[mkdutch]

Heckin' yeah! Way to crush it right out of the gate!

[RogueLibrarian]

[@mu]

 

 

Busy day today.

 

So far:

 

Toaster Battles > Battlefield (Mini > Herbology - 95mn)

Elevated plank lean hold 5s x5

High frog max hold + knee float LR x8 => max=32s single knee floats are in the 1-3s range, it's very hard on the forearms ouch. I also need to work on protracting but keeping a flat back.

I did some failed tuck planche attempts, I may have found an intermediate progression though: I go into a tuck and press my knees against the inside of my arms, like this:

It might be easier to transition to a full float from that! This is the next goal, got a lot of work to do:

 

Straddle hold 5s x8 focusing on entrance and exit work

=> I stacked a bunch of books between parallettes to prevent myself from lowering the shoulders too much. If I do, I face plant on the books – mean but effective!

V-sit tuck to V for reps 5x8

Supported tuck planche hold 10s x3

L-sit pushes 3x3

HS 5x5 5+s=10/25 max=15s

=> I went for Mad Hatter's suggestion, 5-6s holds at most for consistency work and a max out on the last rep of each set. To be honest, it's a bit tough on the ego... I only have 5 attempts to either improve or maintain my max time. On set 3 I started panicking and only did max out attempts, got a decent time and could then relax for the following sets... This is such a silly thing really! I might completely separate max out hold attempts from consistency work to let go of that ego crispation.

I had to do those in front of the sofa, I still have some fear there but it' getting better.

 

 

Mini > Quidditch > Chasing

Silks hamstring curls 10x4

Shrimp squats partials 5x2

Assisted sissy squats 5x2

Lying flexed foot straight leg extensions with ball 10L 10R x2

Child's pose pike lift 10L10R x2 (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Child's pose glute activation 10L10R x2 (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Child's pose middle splits lift 4L4R (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Total=124

 

Sacred Scrolls > Stretching

Stretching after strength workout /done

 

Will do some silks later.

 

[@mu]

Aerial session:

 

Sacred Scrolls > Alignment

Aerial inverts drills on silks

 

G-Force Training > Reporting to the CAG

Leg raise knees to chest → toes to bar → V hold → leg push towards the bar x3

Bar bent knees butt side invert LR x2

 

G-Force Training > Party on the deck

Silks:

Aloha prep sequence

Flamenco grip and stand + hip lock to mobile extension

Skin-the-cat press from a climb into split silks thigh hitch to salto walk down (can't drop on my apparatus)

=> unfortunately I don't have enough height for that one, there is a lot of slack from skin-the-cat to the thigh hitch but I can't press from higher because closer to the rigging point I can't get my bum through the silks - too narrow + too much tension

 

 

Twisty flow from round the back hold => need to practice that twist more often

Double foot-lock middle split progression – Single foot-lock vertical split progression – Peekaboo

 

All on both sides (except the skin-the-cat one)

 

Sacred Scrolls > Stretching

Stretching after strength workout /done again

 

>> Mini > Flying - 60mn

[raptron]

I love/hate Cirque Physio's child pose glute med and glute max work.

[@mu]

12 hours ago, raptron said:

I love/hate Cirque Physio's child pose glute med and glute max work.

It's HARD. I get cramps with a ROM of like 2 centimetres

 

Yesterday night:

 

Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio

Back-bends soft tissue prep.

 

This morning:

 

Mini > Quidditch > Chasing

Silks hamstring curls 10x4

Lying flexed foot straight leg extensions with ball 10L 10R x2

Child's pose pike lift 10L10R (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Child's pose glute activation 10L10R (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Cobra leg lifts 10L10R x2 (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Cobra leg lifts bent legs 10L10R x2 (Sacred Scrolls > Cirque Physio)

Total=120

 

NB: I did the cobra leg lifts somewhere down in the stretching section not that early. I have to watch out my form on those, my lifting leg is rotating to the side.

 

G-Force Training > Reporting to the CAG

Leg raise knees to chest → toes to bar → V hold → leg pull back towards the bar x3

Bar bent knees butt side invert LR x2

 

Sacred Scrolls > Stretching (Mini > Astronomy - 60mn)

Custom GMB spinal flexibility, back drops and bridges, elbow stand and scorpion.

I did not have time to do hollowback headstand at all. I spent more time on drop back, by the time I got to scorpion I was fried, I could not hold very long.

 

So I tried to come back up from rocking with various degrees of success I don't have the technique quite yet, I bent my arms and try to push up mostly. Should I avoid bending my arms?

Here is the video of the best I could do:

 

 

Current stupid niggle: A couple of days ago, I got a small slit under the tip of the tongue, I only remember trying to remove something from my teeth and having an ouch moment. I'm gargling salted water every day... but it's not healing that quick. 

 

[@mu]

I suppose many of you got it but I love this new GMB article:

https://gmb.io/amrap/

AMRAPretty!

[Mad Hatter]

Haha maybe I should've warned you about the handstand ego thing.  It's very real.

 

4 hours ago, @mu said:

It's HARD. I get cramps with a ROM of like 2 centimetres

At least your ROM is 2 cm. I have to do the modified elevated versions. 

 

For the drop back - it looks like you're doing the first part of the rock fine, stop and then push up, rather than using the momentum of the rock to push up. The arms should stay pretty straight, when you get the timing right you should have enough momentum to get up with just a small push from your wrists. If you bend them too much you'll end up doing a bridge push up first which negates the point.

 

A second thing is leading with the head. That shifts your center of gravity further away from your hips/legs i.e. further away from your base of support which makes it more difficult to get up. Instead the order should be the reverse of coming down - so first the hips get as far up and out as possible (make sure to tuck the pelvis as much as you can), followed by your low abs (which should be working really hard at this point), rib cage, chest, sternum and finally the head comes up last. This articulation is very important both on the way up and down.

[annyshay]

Videos of skiiiiiiiills. Looking awesome!

[raptron]

MH got most of what I would say but a good cue to prevent leading with your head is to watch your hands with your eyes while you are rocking, pushing, and also coming up in general. I agree that the rocking itself looks pretty good! How do your chest/shoulders feel in it?  

[@mu]

10 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

At least your ROM is 2 cm. I have to do the modified elevated versions. 

 

ha ha no it's a tiny rom WITH a cushion the half middle split lift in particular, it's crazy low. The other ones are a little bit better.

 

10 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Haha maybe I should've warned you about the handstand ego thing.  It's very real.

 

At least your ROM is 2 cm. I have to do the modified elevated versions. 

 

For the drop back - it looks like you're doing the first part of the rock fine, stop and then push up, rather than using the momentum of the rock to push up. The arms should stay pretty straight, when you get the timing right you should have enough momentum to get up with just a small push from your wrists. If you bend them too much you'll end up doing a bridge push up first which negates the point.

 

A second thing is leading with the head. That shifts your center of gravity further away from your hips/legs i.e. further away from your base of support which makes it more difficult to get up. Instead the order should be the reverse of coming down - so first the hips get as far up and out as possible (make sure to tuck the pelvis as much as you can), followed by your low abs (which should be working really hard at this point), rib cage, chest, sternum and finally the head comes up last. This articulation is very important both on the way up and down. 

 

5 hours ago, raptron said:

MH got most of what I would say but a good cue to prevent leading with your head is to watch your hands with your eyes while you are rocking, pushing, and also coming up in general.

 

Thanks for your feedback, Much appreciated! The head cue sounds like a good one, I can feel it helps when coming down, so doing it on the way up as well makes sense.

 

5 hours ago, raptron said:

How do your chest/shoulders feel in it?  

 

Chest and shoulders felt ok. If anything, it's a bit hard on the lower back when coming up, which makes sense in a way, I don't feel like I'm really accessing my full “posterior chain” nor my abs at this stage (I mean the load distribution feels a bit better when I lower down). It feels mostly new. I have never really done anything dynamic from bridges before, it's quite exciting!

 

Thanks guys! You're fantastic!

 

 

[@mu]

I went to a pharmacy to get some stuff for my tongue because it's still burning quite a bit. I got some myrtle drops. And it's very efficient indeed... It burns like crazy at first. Then I don't feel anything anymore. And then it goes back to a normal state (no burn, and tasting my food). Little Druid experience!

[@mu]

Week-end!

 

Pressing felt good if not maybe a bit stronger. I'm wondering if it might have something to do with Cirque Physio soft tissue prep from Tuesday evening (upper and middle back in particular).

 

Toaster Battles > Battlefield (Mini > Herbology - 100mn)

Push-up hands closer to waist 5x5

Double arm lever x5 => did some pike hold but no record (~26s max), mostly working on hyper-extension in a straddle without lowering the shoulders (10-16s range). Hello glutes...

Single arm lever, two-hands hold, one hand holding forward LR x4 => worked on not lowering the shoulder too much and piking it. Left is much better than the right.

Bent arm press progression:

> Crow single knee float to 1-leg crow RL => sort of the same

> Hips lifts to elevated headstand => I spent quite some time figuring out a new drill - cf below

> HS lower down (partials) 2/5 2/5 2/5 3/5 => I had to do them in front of the sofa and needed more sets to get my usual range of volume. My body is trying various types of counter balances (aka noodling like mad)... there is a sweet spot somewhere with the right arm angle and the right body line angle... I can feel it, and at times it's shaping up a little but yeah still a lot of work to do.

> Decline and floor pike push-ups 5x4 + 10s bottom hold on last rep x4 => backed down on rep count to focus on form, I was way too tired by then

Single arm push-up progression one hand forward, straddle legs LR 3x3

 

Sacred Scrolls > Stretching

Stretching after strength workout /done

 

So, I experimented with a new bent arm press drill involving an elevated headstand. I think I'm always collapsing into a deep bent arm stand for 2 reasons:

1. not enough shoulder strength to maintain 90 degrees – fair enough but I know I can manage above 90 degrees, so there is another reason.

2. lowering the shoulders make it easier to stack the hips up. With higher shoulders, the hips have much more to travel to get up and I cannot currently manage that press.

I could verify (2) with that drill: I cannot press into that elevated headstand, I have to jump. I need to progress from a jump to an actual press.

 

Video from today to illustrate that drill research with different objects  + some work in progress from that session (elbow levers and HS lowers)

 

 

I will have a good break and do some silks/pull later on.

[Mad Hatter]

I love your experiments!  And I may or may not have just tried your headstand press!  

 

I'm a little confused where you're trying to go in the last exercises. It looks like you're bending your arms and straddling at the same time, is this to go into the bent arm stand or something else? 

[@mu]

 

Yes it's to lower to a bent arm stand, straddling helps with balance and leverage somehow.

[Mad Hatter]

Cool! It makes sense that it would help, lowering the center of gravity and all that. Looks tricky to coordinate though!

[@mu]

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

Looks tricky to coordinate though!

 

Very, and I totally lose the core while trying to find that sweet spot, and then I'm done for.

 

Sacred Scrolls > Alignment

Aerial inverts drills on silks

 

G-Force Training > Reporting to the CAG

Leg raise knees to chest → toes to bar → V hold → leg pull back towards the bar x3

Bar bent knees butt side invert LR x2

Bar straight arms straight legs inverted pikes to front lever tuck 2 2 2 2

Seated shoulders dislocate 15

German hangs (silks + mixed grip bar/silks LR) + silks climb down to climb from skin

 

>> Mini > Flying – 35mn

 

Sacred Scrolls > Stretching

Stretching after strength workout /done

 

[annyshay]

My teammate is super impressive.

[@mu]

Cheers! Well, it's a journey as they say. Hips lift, here I come

 

[@mu]

Sacred Scrolls > Alignment

HS alignment drills + pike stretches/activation

Today I received Cirque Physio Pike e-book 2^nd edition for free. I will have to look into it, see what's new.

 

Toaster Battles > Skirmish

HS untracked, I worked on max holds, HS to L-sit and some assisted HS using the scarf.

Quite poor. Max hold was 13s. I kept under-kicking / getting stuck in a tuck – or powering through and falling over and over and over.

The L-sit transition was also very hard today. And the harder it was the more of a bunny in a rut I was? A lot of effort for not much of an outcome. I only got 1 full transition.

I ended up doing assisted work using my scarf (tied between the rig bars, it make a flexible wall / spot line), working on my tipping over issue and descents in a slow pike.

I felt like I worked really hard but it was not a great session. Bah.

 

>> Mini > Herbology – 45mn

 

I will do some silks later on today.