Athlete In The City » gymnastics

one-arm one-leg pushups

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:50 +0000

The first time I saw pavel the ketel bell russian dude perform these one-arm one-leg pushups I was very impressed. It’s taken a while but I’ve managed to get them.

The progression? Start with one arm pushups on incline, as high as you need to do them right. Over many months reduce the incline. When you can do about 15 on a flat surface, you’re probably ready to try the one-arm one-leg version. Without the second leg to stabilize, your body compensates with core strength and stabilizer muscles (intercostals etc).

working out with Hannibal!

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:00:57 +0000

This guy Hannibal is a powerhouse. Unbelievable. He does a lever on a fire hydrant, then flips up to a planche and does a few planche pushups. Amazing. In one shot it looks like he’s doing a maltese. Damn!

more planche training ideas

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:00:32 +0000

I found this video on another youtube like site. This guy has a lot of exercises for training the planche. One particular one I’ve been working on is the handstand pushups, where each hand is supported by and destabilized by an exercise ball!!

Acrobatic 3-The Planche – Awesome video clips here

Introducing The Wall Walk

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:00:26 +0000

This is an exercise I learned from my gymnastics teacher. If you can do a wall walk to start, try getting into the basic backbend or wheel as they call it in yoga. From there lift one hand for five seconds, put it back. Lift the other hand for five seconds, put it back. Then lift a leg, then the other leg. Try to remain fully inflated, and stretch through your upper back as much as possible. You want the pressure on your arms and shoulders, not your lower back. Good luck!

bodyrocks – core strength for everyone

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:00:39 +0000

We can all use more core strength. It reduces back strain and stress, contributes to over all functional strength, and is good for every fitness enthusiast from runners to gymnasts, martial arts practitioners to yoga fans alike.

If any of these combinations are too difficult with both legs extended, try it with on leg bent, and one leg extended. Good luck!

Gymnastics – tick tocks

admin — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:00:30 +0000

Tick tocks are a way to exercise the upper back and shoulder muscles, and also work your shoulder and back flexibility. Try to work up to the by doing the yoga wheel first. Push up into your shoulders… As you progress, do them as slowly as you can, this builds up a lot of your stabilizer muscles.

straddle planche hold

admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:00:44 +0000

After many years of building basic strength, I’m finally starting to get somewhere with this planche training. Take a look at my first straddle planche holds…

V-sit on the parallettes

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:13:41 +0000

The V-sit is the next step towards working the manna skill in gymnastics. It requires a LOT of triceps, hip flexors, and abdominals. You can also work this on the floor if you want to.

deep press handstand pushups

admin — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:10:57 +0000

I’m at it again this week with another exercise on the parallettes. This time I do handstand pushups, using the parallettes to get a deeper range-of-motion. This is heavy on the triceps and deltoids…

english straddle L on parallette

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:06:51 +0000

This week I have a video working the parallettes. I use one parallette to do what’s called a “straddle L” in gymnastics. There is a lot of stabilizer muscle work in this skill, plus triceps, abdominals and hip flexors.

circles on the mushroom

admin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:00:01 +0000

A lot of people see the mushroom sitting in my living room and ask me, what the hell is that thing? Heh, finally you can see a demo.

For the gymnasts out there, this is basic stuff. In fact the mushroom is like training wheels for the pommel horse, and other strength gymnastics training. For me, it took a few years just to get this down. Now I’m starting work on the flair… eventually!!