Standing hip circles
Standing Knee to Chest, with forward pulses per Muay Thai mobility routine
Practice
L-Sit progression practice from tutorial with toes on floor, occasionally lifting toe - 4 sets of 15-20 sec. hold
Couple of attempts at the Kettlebell Flat Back Pullover with the 16kg KB, as taught by Mark Wildman:
The weight was fine, but my problematic shoulder didn't feel as good in this position, compared to performing a standing pullover with the same KB.
Then I moved on to the Hunter Squat as taught by Wildman:
Isolateral (same side) version - 4 reps/side
Contralateral (opposite side) - 6 reps/side
Isolateral (same side) version - 4 reps/side
Contralateral (opposite side) - 6 reps/side
Felt a little awkward because it's a new move. I found I had to look down in the bottom position and pull my knee forward to be in line with the toes of the opposite foot. This alignment forces the working knee to be past the working foot toe but I'm already used to that from practicing Shrimp Squat. By following the cue to sit back as far as possible, we prevent ourselves from putting too much pressure on the knee.
Next, was the other new movement, the Low Windmill, which places the weight on the lower hand rather than the upper one. I found 16kg too light so I switched to the 24kg. I did 4 sets of about 5-6 reps per side.
Next was Top Position Single Straight Leg Raise on Rings - 3-4 reps with 2-sec hold on top, 4-sec. negative for 3 sets. Did a 4th set without the 4-sec. negative.
Next was Single Leg Deadlift w/ 16kg KB - 6-7 reps/leg for 4 sets and 1 min. rest
Play
Jefferson Curl - tried empty hand, with 15lb clubbell, and 16kg kettlebell. I asked Mindful Mover about what weight and the response was to use whatever weight can help me get lower than what I can achieve empty-handed. I didn't observe any difference in how low I was able to extend my hands. For my final sets, I decided to try staying in the bottom position and see if breath exhalation can let me lower my hands some more. Yes, exhaling did cause a release so that I got my tips of my fingers at roughly the same level as my toes.
Mindful Mover also advised that check out the Weighted Pike Stretch that they also posted on Instagram. However it took a while to find it because I just can't get the hang of how to search efficiently on Instagram. In any case I found it:
Push
My hamstrings felt like they got enough work that I decided to skip the KB swings that I was thinking of doing. Instead I did this short circuit:
Wheel Pose/Bridge Hold - 14-8 sec.
Brachial Hang - 45-65 sec.
Ponder
The workout went a little long, but I had the time to spare. It was a fun exploration of transitioning from an L-Sit focused workout - granted the focus hasn't been very long - to a core-oriented workout utilizing kettlebells. Mindful Mover seems to have concluded that lower body training with weights is more productive than bodyweight-only exercises, so that's influencing me.
Since the standing kettlebell pullover seems to be fine for my shoulder, I'll continue practicing that as part of a daily warmup, ideally focusing on squeezing the core (butt and abs), and squeezing the elbows together.
I'll continue practicing the L-Sit stuff until my shoulder is ready for the Kettlebell Flat-back Pullover, at which time the progression to the No-Roll Kettlebell Deck Squat will replace the L-Sit as an ab strengthening exercise.
The Hunter Squat is a keeper as a lower body kettlebell exercise. Wildman seems to advise it be done with isolateral load first, then switch to contralateral load within the same set. After today's experiment, it makes sense, because the move is actually easier with contralateral load. Isolateral load seems to be more difficult for the working leg. Contralateral load is easier, but as promised it does make my core light up more. Using both types of load in the same set seems more efficient than separate sets. Wildman says it is a useful human movement. I have observed that this is a position that people tend to sink into naturally to pet a dog, pick something up, etc. Getting strong in a movement that comes naturally anyway makes a lot of sense to me. For reference here's the video in which he introduces the Hunter Squat:
The Low Windmill is another definite keeper. Wildman says he likes this exercise for clients coming off of a back injury. It's been years since my own back injury, but any exercise that promise improvement for back is an easy sell. Today's session made it clear to me that the Low version allows more weight to be used than the High version, which is ideal for lower body training. Also, the Low Windmill has a slightly reduced range of motion, and thus is less of a risk to the lower back. So my tentative plan is to work up to Low Windmill with the 32kg kettlebell for decent volume. I'm guessing that by the time I work up to that level, the lower back and hips will be better conditioned enough to tolerate the greater range of motion of the High Windmill, and the windmill form overall will be much better. Wildman categorizes the Low Windmill as a "standing abs" exercise. I didn't really feel my abs working hard with the 24kg KB. Maybe I'll feel them working more when I progress to 32kg. I did feel my glute/hips and hamstring working at least.
Leg Raise - Hanging or on top of Rings... hmm... I guess I'll keep this exercise in my routine for now. If I work up to a kettlebell Deck Squat and it blasts my abs as much as Wildman says it will, then I may drop the Leg Raise. The main appeal of this exercise is it promotes hamstring flexibility and delivers the ab strength to keep the body straight in the handstand.
No comments:
Post a Comment