Mad Hatter does handstands

[Tobbe]

5 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Uhmm right maybe I should've NSFW tagged it. If you've been doing pole you kinda forget that other people's IG feed doesn't consist 80% of butts.

 

We're all adults. It's fine   And if you can be on NF at work you can probably get away with watching a video like that   (Also, working from home FTW!)

 

 

5 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Oh man that music is NOT my cuppa tea!

 

It's the kind of music I listen to when I'm home alone, or while driving my car. And it's the kind of music you have to listen to with the volume cranked up to 11. It's also the perfect "noise" for me when I need to focus on programming. It drowns out other people, and it drowns out my own wandering thoughts. But yeah, I do see how it can be a bit difficult to listen to  

[Mad Hatter]

2 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

We're all adults. It's fine   And if you can be on NF at work you can probably get away with watching a video like that   (Also, working from home FTW!)

Well of course I would agree, but I think Scandinavia and say the US have an ever so slightly different opinion on this.  

[Tobbe]

8 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Well of course I would agree, but I think Scandinavia and say the US have an ever so slightly different opinion on this.  

 

I have no idea what you're talking about   

[Mad Hatter]

Did handstands for a bit yesterday but was having a bad day. Partly self inflicted because I was too lazy to warm up properly.  

[Lara]

On 9/12/2019 at 8:32 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Hmm maybe occasionally. By accident.  

You are a positive influence in my life  

[Mad Hatter]

13 hours ago, zenLara said:

You are a positive influence in my life  

<3 

[Mad Hatter]

Monday Handstands were still rubbish, but I got in a little practice.

Tuesday was handstand class.  

 

Warm up

Tennis ball on a string exercises:

1. Kneeling, palm follows ball
2. In horse stance, both palms follows ball
3. Lying on the back, sole of foot follows ball

My teacher commented at one point that I should try to be more precise when following the hands, and I was like I'M TRYING! Lol. Buuut then I noticed what he actually said and it was to follow the hands and not the ball, and I don't think he necessarily meant to say that, but I was like AHA, let's try doing that, and it turned out to be much easier as I only had to follow the little movement instead of the big swing the ball makes which is hard to keep up with.

 

Squishy ball tosses - partner and I were tossing a ball to each other, giving it a good squeeze for every catch

 

Drills

Standing pike hops (compression/press drill) - one person is in a standing pike, with their hands on the floor, squishing a soft ball in the hip crease. Then they make a little hop and the partner, who's sitting behind them, catches the heels and slowly lowers down. This got heavy very, very quickly! And I couldn't hop very high. Really good drill though!

 

Side bends. So so many of them. We spent most of the class doing these. At one point the teacher comes around and asks how it feels and I'm "complaining" that it's really, really heavy. Then he asks me to show him, where I proceed and bend so that my foot ALMOST touches the floor, and he goes no, no, no you don't have to go to your max depth, little bends are plenty for this exercise. Oops.  On the plus side, it felt like good conditioning, and now doing the little side bends are super light in comparison.

 

Puppy press (one legged straddle press) This was odd. It felt like when my teacher spotted me, they went up relatively easy and it didn't feel like he had to work toooo hard to lift me, more like his spotting was timed really well. But when I tried it with my partner I got completely stuck, I couldn't move at all, I was just standing in some awkward pose with nothing happening. I'm for sure not strong enough to do it on my own, but I couldn't figure out what the sticking point is, if it's mostly strength or mostly timing/coordination.

 

Then I spent half an hour or so after class to practice straight handstands, which did not feel terrible.

[Mad Hatter]

Wednesday freeeeeee running! 

 

I was mentally drained and struggled with following the class. It's all in Finnish, so I have to pay close attention to the demonstrations and at the same time I'm trying to pick out words from the verbal cues to try to figure out what we're supposed to focus on. This was harder than usual yesterday, and I had to ask for help a lot more often. For a lot of the class we were changing exercises really frequently too and I found myself not being able to do as much initially, as by the time the teacher had explained to me, the round was already over... While I think the exposure to different moves is good, at the moment I prefer drilling, as it gives me a chance to experiment with the same move and try to feel things. Not that it's working very well, my aerial awareness is still very much garbage.  Despite that I had a lot of fun in class.

 

Moment 1

Me: I'm really confused, I don't know what we're supposed to be doing at all now.

Teacher: Front flips and side flips.

Me: Cool, sure thing, I'll get right on that.  Can I maybe have a cue or progression?

Teacher: Yeah, focus on sticking the landing. In 20 minutes we'll be doing it on rails. 

Me: Perfect, thanks. 

 

He did in fact get more helpful, but while he's awesome he's perhaps not the best teacher out there. There are two young guys teaching the class and between them they make a good team though. I have to say I really like watching him do flips, he's really tall and it looks suuuper impressive as he gets so much air time and... flippiness. Technical term. And he does it in jeans and fluffy socks.  

 

Moment 2

Teacher: In Finnish - for the next time I'll remove the low bars

Me: Aha sure you will. But you realise that since you've been saying it every week at the end of class even I can understand that now. 

Teacher: Turns away embarrassed.

Good times.

[Mad Hatter]

Should've mentioned - on Wednesday I also worked on handstands in the morning.

 

Thursday - rest

 

Friday - handstands + push ups + squats.

 

Fun fact - I discovered that the gym floor is sloping which makes kicking up into handstands different depending on which way I'm facing. 

Tried a few straddle handstands at the end of the session, but after squats my handstand ability plummets.

 

I'm trying to be encouraging to my gym buddy who just started up again that it's perfectly ok to get back to square 1, but secretly I'm sad about my lost gainz too. On the plus side, she's the one that got me started on the strength train again!

[@mu]

On 9/18/2019 at 7:46 AM, Mad Hatter said:

We spent most of the class doing these. At one point the teacher comes around and asks how it feels and I'm "complaining" that it's really, really heavy. Then he asks me to show him, where I proceed and bend so that my foot ALMOST touches the floor, and he goes no, no, no you don't have to go to your max depth, little bends are plenty for this exercise. Oops.  On the plus side, it felt like good conditioning, and now doing the little side bends are super light in comparison

 

That's awesome!

 

On 9/18/2019 at 7:46 AM, Mad Hatter said:

Puppy press (one legged straddle press) This was odd. It felt like when my teacher spotted me, they went up relatively easy and it didn't feel like he had to work toooo hard to lift me, more like his spotting was timed really well. But when I tried it with my partner I got completely stuck, I couldn't move at all, I was just standing in some awkward pose with nothing happening. I'm for sure not strong enough to do it on my own, but I couldn't figure out what the sticking point is, if it's mostly strength or mostly timing/coordination.

 

I feel like that sometimes without being spotted if it can give you any extra info on the sticky point. One rep it goes up almost on its own and the next I'm just STUCK. Not sure, but I think it's technique related not necessarily strength. Although strength and self-confidence will help getting the technique of the starting point. But I have had this feeling of being stuck, and awkward is exactly how I would describe it. It's just weird and does not work, like, on a mechanical level. So it's probably more timing and coordination. Now when I get that feeling, I will try to shuffle again my hands and feet, shake the butt lean a bit more (+ sort of protracting hard and prepping the traps), and think of lifting my hips rather the legs but still keep my legs super active. It's indeed a lot of little things that have to come up together at the right time. So I'd bet on that rather than a pure lack of strength.

 

[Mad Hatter]

8 minutes ago, @mu said:

 I feel like that sometimes without being spotted if it can give you any extra info on the sticky point. One rep it goes up almost on its own and the next I'm just STUCK. Not sure, but I think it's technique related not necessarily strength. Although strength and self-confidence will help getting the technique of the starting point. But I have had this feeling of being stuck, and awkward is exactly how I would describe it. It's just weird and does not work, like, on a mechanical level. So it's probably more timing and coordination. Now when I get that feeling, I will try to shuffle again my hands and feet, shake the butt lean a bit more (+ sort of protracting hard and prepping the traps), and think of lifting my hips rather the legs but still keep my legs super active. It's indeed a lot of little things that have to come up together at the right time. So I'd bet on that rather than a pure lack of strength.

Maybe, I'm not sure. You're A LOT stronger than I am! Especially in the lean, my lean is almost non existent.

[@mu]

Just now, Mad Hatter said:

Maybe, I'm not sure. You're A LOT stronger than I am! Especially in the lean, my lean is almost non existent.

 

I do not lean a lot either. I'm not sure why. I had also assumed (shamelessly) that I'd be the type brute forcing the press with a big lean because my strength is > to my flexibility. But not really.

Try it with an elevation. But again, I have had exactly that same problem with press from a chair for instance, which wouldn't be a strength problem for sure. I just get stuck

[Mad Hatter]

No you don't have a big lean (making it look really nice!), but I can't even handle the lean required for crane. Just mentioning that to be clear that there's a big strength differential.  

 

Learning to press is not really in the cards at this point, just trying to get better at the basics. But I'll definitely keep playing around with it in class and otherwise. Experimenting is fun. When I'll feel ready to start press work be prepared! I will come to pick your brains.  

[@mu]

5 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

I will come to pick your brains.  

 

ha ha

 

What's up with handstand factory by the way? Have they released it? I haven't check IG in a while.

[Mad Hatter]

Just now, @mu said:

What's up with handstand factory by the way? Have they released it? I haven't check IG in a while.

They released their beginner program a week after schedule, meaning that in theory the intermediate program should still come at the end of October, maybe beginning of November if it's been affected by the delay. I don't mind the wait, at this point I do not feel at all ready for the intermediate program, which was probably a bit optimistic to begin with!  Handstand gainz are slooooooow.

[Mad Hatter]

Saturday - more handstands. 30 of them to be exact. The last 5 I went into a straddle and tried to do the side bend thingies from class, but it was very tricky freestanding. I need fresher shoulders to even attempt them.

[WhiteGhost]

On 9/19/2019 at 3:28 PM, Mad Hatter said:

Moment 1

Me: I'm really confused, I don't know what we're supposed to be doing at all now.

Teacher: Front flips and side flips.

Me: Cool, sure thing, I'll get right on that.  Can I maybe have a cue or progression?

Teacher: Yeah, focus on sticking the landing. In 20 minutes we'll be doing it on rails. 

Me: Perfect, thanks. 

So easy, just do the front and side flips, what else is there to understand?  

[Mad Hatter]

38 minutes ago, WhiteGhost said:

So easy, just do the front and side flips, what else is there to understand?  

Just jump and tuck. Super simple.  

[Tobbe]

On 9/15/2019 at 11:54 AM, Mad Hatter said:

Before I take a YT break, I want to post this because I frickin' love this performance.

 

 

 

A random friend on facebook just shared this video. I had no idea he was in to pole dancing, but anyway, made me think of you

 

 

(Might want to watch that in fullscreen so you don't miss any of the footage at the top or bottom)

[Mad Hatter]

9 hours ago, Tobbe said:

(Might want to watch that in fullscreen so you don't miss any of the footage at the top or bottom)

I made a note to watch it in 4 weeks.  

I've seen some interesting performances by her before though, is that the Alice in wonderland one? If so it's amazing! Such a cool way of interacting with both the video and the apparatus. I often find video rather distracting, when they movement is not really related to the screen.

[Mad Hatter]

Monday I had a very hard time getting going in the gym. Why is it that why I'm most resistant to warming up when I need it the most?  Basically I was killing time until my morning coffee friends arrived haha. After coffee my gym buddy was strong and walked away from the chit chat and into the gym, which kicked my ass into gear too. By that point I had wasted most of my time, but I did a bit of handstand work.

 

In the evening I got bored and did more handstands. They were mostly terrible because I didn't warm up, but I did do what I'm pretty sure is my longest handstand ever!! It felt like twice the length of my usual "long" hold. Which is cool and all, but I'd rather trade that for stability and consistency.  I feel those haven't improved at all, it's only the average length of holds that's increasing, maybe.

 

[WhiteGhost]

6 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

I did do what I'm pretty sure is my longest handstand ever!! It felt like twice the length of my usual "long" hold. Which is cool and all, but I'd rather trade that for stability and consistency.

Sure, but still, getting a long hold like that just feels so awesome.    Seems like you are getting some good consistency in terms of getting inverted, so that's probably more than half the battle right there.

[X-23]

Following. Because, well, handstands. And... mental health struggles I relate too.

 

I did my first handstand (actually a forearm headstand in a yoga class) about a month ago... and I freaking loved it. 

I am loving hearing about what you are doing in your class and reading about how you are doing. 

 

I want to lose some more weight before doing handstands and/or headstands regularly (and work on building my shoulder strength back up... my forearms are apparently ungodly strong according to the yoga lady...) 

 

I'm so excited to keep reading your updates.

 

[Mad Hatter]

On 9/24/2019 at 2:19 PM, WhiteGhost said:

Seems like you are getting some good consistency in terms of getting inverted, so that's probably more than half the battle right there.

Yeah, it's so WEIRD!  And awesome, surprisingly I'm enjoying it a lot. The consistency, the handstands have always been fun.

 

On 9/25/2019 at 3:05 AM, X-23 said:

Following. Because, well, handstands. And... mental health struggles I relate too.

 

I did my first handstand (actually a forearm headstand in a yoga class) about a month ago... and I freaking loved it. 

I am loving hearing about what you are doing in your class and reading about how you are doing. 

 

I want to lose some more weight before doing handstands and/or headstands regularly (and work on building my shoulder strength back up... my forearms are apparently ungodly strong according to the yoga lady...) 

 

I'm so excited to keep reading your updates.

 

Yay welcome!

 

Ohh that's amazing - it's such a cool feeling getting properly inverted for the first time. I've always struggled with forearmstands because they're scarier to me, not as easy to bail from. Would be fun to try again soon.

 

I understand that, but please don't ever let weight stop you from doing things that you want! If you feel like your wrists and shoulders are not ready to handle the load you can start conditioning them through things like animal walks, you get leg support but it's also fun and good prep for handstands.  

 

Awesome to have you here!

[Mad Hatter]

Handstand class on Tuesday was great, as per usual.  See if I remember what we did:

 

Tennis ball on a string exercises:

• Standing up, evade the ball with our upper body
• In horse stance, evade the ball, with our lower body - OMG my quads and butt struuuugggle! We do this for a whole song. Which is a very long time to stay in horse stance.

Mobility + shoulder strength and stability: Sitting in a straddle, we bent at the waist towards one side, one arm extended in the direction of the leg, the other straight up with the palm facing the ceiling, holding a medicine ball. The partner would then push on the medicine ball.

 

Drills:

• Straddle to tuck against the wall
• Tuck HS, both chest to wall and back to wall

Free HS training for about 45 minutes afterwards. I tried crossing my legs to see if it would help me stabilise the pelvis, it did not. I also spent a little bit of time doing wall handstands, and that is much better training for me to get rid of the "the seaweed effect". There's usually one or two people training post class, and I quite often have a little chat with the guy (I think the girl is not too comfortable with English, or just more shy.) and sometimes he gives advice as he's much more advanced. It's funny though, because he looks at me and is jealous of my mobility, and I look at him and I'm like dude, I really wish I had your stability!  

 

Ok that's all I remember, it was a whole two days ago.  

   

What I do need to remember is to be happy about things in the moment. I'm so focused in class that I don't notice the things I do well, I use all my focus to either do the exercise, or analyse what I did in the exercise. My teacher was very happy about my performance in class, and even gave me a high five, but it didn't even click for me that I did something particularly well.  It's definitely because of focus rather than negativity, but maybe class would be even more fun if I paid attention? 

 

Interesting tidbit about the tuck handstand - when I see pictures of what's considered a really nice tuck, it's always with a straight or rounded back. My teacher doesn't seem to like that, he seems to prefer a slight arch in the lower back. He said that it was "bad" for the shoulders. I didn't ask for details, so I'm not sure if he really meant bad, or if he meant that it's a lot more unnecessary strain on the shoulders as you have to lean more. Same with straddle, but for pressing it's a little different of course. I found it interesting because I got the impression that the straight tuck is a prerequisite for one arm handstands. But then again I have seen my teacher do one arm HSs and he has a slight arch in those (plus not awesome shoulder mobility). @@mu do you know anything about this? @KB Girl, how does Jaap teach this? My anatomy knowledge is not good enough for sure to understand if it's simply heavier or actually not optimal shoulder positioning.