Prepare section from GMB Handstand tutorial
Practice
Today's Vitamin session focusing on Butterfly Kick variations progressing to Transformer. Quality: Rough, Ease: Solid
Main circuit
Handstand Pushup Step 1 Progression exercise - 20 second set. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
L-Sit Progression exercise on parallettes - 30 second set. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
5 rounds with 2-3 minutes of rest in between rounds
L-Sit Supplementary exercise circuit
Hanging Knee Raise on Rings - 4-6 reps. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Front Scale Leg Lifts - 3 reps, hold for 3 seconds on last rep. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Dip Shrugs - 4-6 reps. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Top Position Hold on Rings - 20 seconds. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
3 rounds with 2-3 minutes of rest in between rounds
Play
Crow Pose out of Bent-Arm Monkey #3 spread through the day. Best time about 14 sec.
Push
4 sets of Shrimp Squat. Quality: Smooth, Ease: Solid
Elements Core Conditioning Beginner Circuit 2x
GMB Shoulder Mobility routine
Ponder
GMB's L-Sit Tutorial recommends choosing two supplemental exercises for the upper body and two supplemental exercises for the lower body. For the upper body, there's really only two types of exercise to choose from: 1. Front Scale and 2. Hanging Leg Raise Variations. For the upper body there are four to choose from. I chose the Top Position Hold for extra practice of the key points for the upper body - 1. Chest is up and out 2. Shoulders pulled back and down 3. Back is straight. I chose the Dip Shrug to improve my awareness of where my shoulder blades are, and strengthen the muscles that pull them down so that the upper body can provide better support for the L-Sit. I need to make sure that at the bottom of the movement, I squeeze the shoulder blades together before pushing down on the rings to reverse the shrug, in order to protect the shoulders.
Workout was fine but it took over an hour. I underestimated how much time L-Sit training would take if you practice an L-Sit set for 20 seconds or more instead of 5 seconds, and also include the supplementary exercises as recommended in GMB's L-Sit Tutorial in the same session. I don't know why the tutorial says 5 seconds per set, while the same exercise is practiced for 20-sec sets to start in the Integral Strength, and 15-60 second sets in Parallettes One.
In any case, it seems a more efficient use of time to schedule L-Sit training on a separate day from my Handstand Pushup day.
I prefer practicing hanging leg exercises from the top position on rings rather than hanging from a bar, because it's more comfortable for my shoulders. That said, I did a Youtube search and found this video in which the FitnessFAQs guy addresses a couple of commonly held myths about abs and exercise, then demonstrates hanging leg exercise variations that I may try later.
Last night I played with Advanced Front Scale and Front Scale Leg Lifts. My left knee felt a bit stiff this morning, though thankfully there was no pain. The stiffness went away after practicing the GMB Knee Mobility movements. Today after the workout, the knee felt stiff again. It has something to do with the Front Scale.
I was told a couple of years ago, when I was in physical therapy for a back spasm, that my left hip was misaligned. This was discovered by one of the staff doctors at the clinic. She "popped" it back into alignment for me but warned it could pop back out again. So there's been something out of alignment between my hip, knee, and foot. I believe this is why my previously sprained left MCL aches when I try to do a pistol squat. It was also getting irritated, though not to the same degree, when I practiced the Front Scale exercises. I think that practicing the Shrimp Squat helped alleviate the irritation when I do any Front Scale exercise but I still have a ways to go before healthy alignment is completely restored. At least the Front Scale variation which is part of the GMB Knee Mobility routine doesn't bother my knee.
Thus tomorrow's session will be a Handstand Pushup progression session. It will tentatively look like this:
Prepare
Prepare section from GMB Handstand tutorial, with Bent Arm Chest Stretch substituting for the shoulder/chest stretches. I got the idea from GMB's article on planning quick workouts.
Practice
Main circuit
Handstand Pushup Step 1 Progression exercise - 20 second set.
Rings Reverse Row Sit Back - 20 second set. This is additional insurance for shoulder health. I haven't done much pulling exercise in a while anyway, other than kettlebell swings.
5 rounds with 2-3 minutes of rest in between rounds
Play
Vitamin session focusing on Tornado Kick variations
Crow Pose out of Bent-Arm Monkey #3 spread through the day.
Push
Crow Pose practice from face on ground - 3-5 1-min. sets.
Elements Core Conditioning Beginner Circuit 2x
Finish with GMB Shoulder Mobility routine
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